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October 30, 2020 | 12 Cheshvan 5781
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A Pre-Election Message from President Anisfeld
30 October 2020 |12 Cheshvan 5781
Dear friends,
This is our last issue of News & Views before the election, and above all, I want to take this opportunity to urge you to vote.
Hebrew College will be joining with dozens of other Jewish organizations across the country in closing for Election Day this year. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to take the day—to vote (for those who haven’t already), to reflect, to advocate, to protect polls, to do whatever feels most personally meaningful as we rededicate ourselves to the health and vitality of American democracy (all while staying safe, observing COVID protocols, and remaining dedicated to the health and vitality of ourselves and our communities!).
This non-partisan campaign, called Free&Fair: Our Duty to Democracy, is being led by the Lippman-Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah (and one of our own HC alumni, Rabbi Ayalon Eliach) and is animated by three core commitments:
- A commitment to the rule of law.
- A commitment to nonviolence.
- A commitment to a free and fair election in which everyone can vote, and every vote is counted.
We are proud to stand with the other organizations participating in this effort.
I want to add a personal note of reflection as we approach this election, many of us, with an acute sense of anxiety about what is at stake and what the coming days, weeks, and months will bring.
This past February, on one of my last trips before the pandemic, I had the privilege and joy of being in Israel, visiting our rabbinical students and meeting with some of our partners in Jerusalem.
One of those partners is Rabba Tamar El-Ad Appelbaum, spiritual leader of Kehillat Tzion, a teacher in our Balevav Year-in-Israel program, a dear friend and colleague, and one of the people I often turn to for inspiration in troubled times.
I happened to be in Israel a few days before an election that was, once again, bringing to the surface deep and painful divisions in the country, and presenting citizens with a choice that everyone understood would have profound implications for years to come.
Tamar wrote and offered a prayer at that time, one that has stayed with me, and that I offer now, as we too stand just days before an election of unprecedented significance, with the fabric of our shared society fraying at best, and the polarization of public discourse deeper than it has been in a very long time.
Our circumstances are different in many ways, of course, but there are some striking similarities. As we face our own election just a few days from now, and prepare for the difficult days and weeks that are likely to follow, I pray that we do not let ourselves become habituated—our hearts hardened—to these deep trends in our life together as a nation:
- The diminishment of human dignity
- The degradation of language
- The demonization of those who disagree with us
- The erosion of our democratic values and institutions
Wherever we stand on specific questions of policy and partisan politics, may we stand together against these disturbing and dangerous trends.
May we pray, work, and live with an active and abiding awareness of the dignity and sanctity of all life, the awesome significance of the words we use, the humanity of those who disagree with us, and the preciousness of our democracy.
I will be offering Tamar's prayer on Tuesday morning next week, slightly adapted for our American context. I invite you to join me.
In prayer,
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Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
President, Hebrew College
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Lech Lecha
With God’s opening words to Abraham, the Torah reminds us that the journey forward and the journey inward are simultaneous and inseparable. This is the deep grammar of Lech Lecha.
From the beginning, the Jewish journey has been one of engagement, of responsibility for rather than retreat from the world. To love God is to love God’s world. The imagery of the midrash sharpens the message: The world is God’s palace, and the palace is on fire. Such awareness is difficult to sustain, we well know. But the words Lech lecha vibrate with divine urgency: Go forth, the world needs you. Yet, in the same breath, God beckons—Lech lecha, Go inward. With a subtle shift in inflection, the same words convey another layer of meaning: Start with yourself, the places where your own heart is aching, the chambers of your inner palace that are in need of repair. Go inward and go outward, this is what we ask of our students and each other again and again.
We’re living in a time when so much conspires to make us feel alone and untethered in a world that is fractured and frayed. We are—we must be—active witnesses to a deeper truth. One of connection and compassion. One of humility and hope. This is the Torah we must continue to teach, to learn, and to live. May it give us courage for the journey ahead.
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Journeying Toward the New World We are Being Shown
"The road ahead is uncharted. It is times like these when we most need our sacred stories to serve as a lamp, illuminating even the darkest places. This week, Parshat Lech Lechasummons us forth into the unknown future. May we answer the call with open hearts, courage, and an openness to deep learning, growth and change. In so doing, may we discover 'ha aretz asher arekah'—the new land—the new world—that we are being shown."
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Spend election night from 8-11 pm ET refreshing your spirit for whatever comes next. Hebrew College is co-sponsoring T’ruah’s Tikkun Leil Election, a space for musical performances, meditation, poetry readings, Jewish wisdom and more. Join us for a mental health break or for the whole night.
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FALL ONLINE EVENTS | All times are EST (U.S.)
T'ruah Tikkun Leil Election
Hebrew College. co-sponsor
November 3 | 8-11 p.m.
Learn more | Register
Virtual Information Session
Hybrid Master of Jewish Education Program at Hebrew College
November 12 | 7:15 p.m.
Learn more & register
The Heidi Urich Annual Lecture on Jewish Genealogy
"Myth and History in the Recent Jewish Past"
Featuring Steven J. Zipperstein
November 15 | 1:30-3 p.m.
Learn more & register
LimmudBoston
Hebrew College, co-sponsor
November 15 | 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Learn more & register
Sigd Ethiopian Israeli Commemoration
Consulate General of Israel to New England
Hebrew College, co-sponsor
November 16 | 1 p.m.
Learn more & register
Film Screening of "Children of the Inquisition"
Discussion with Director and Guests
November 22 | 2-3:30 p.m.
Learn more & register
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