Goodness and Plenty
Our stories can inspire us. Here’s one from 2,000 years ago when Judaism faced a potential extinction-disaster in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem.
It can guide our steps today.
A leading rabbi (Yohanan ben Zakkai) petitioned the Roman Ruler for three things:
1) relocating an academy for learning in Yavne (on the mediterranean coast)
2) preserving the line of dynastic leadership
3) a physician to give medical attention to a particular ailing sage. All three were granted by Vespasian.
It’s clear why the rabbi sought to secure firmer-footing for learning and leadership with his first two requests. But, what about his third request? Why attend to the suffering of a solitary elder?
Liel Leibovitz brilliantly tells us why. Because the rabbi refused to let the devastation become too abstract. He knew he couldn’t help millions whose faces and names and stories he didn’t know. But he could help one man. His suffering friend. In so doing, he set an example of what he wanted the society he was rebuilding to look like.
Stories like this one are yours. They belong to you. Drink from them and savor their lessons. Hydrate your spirit.
Music, like stories, is so plentiful. Enjoy this 30-second clip from Jacob’s Ladder at KI two nights ago.
Activate some plentiful goodness today.
Continue to provide specific items from this registry for IDF units in the north. They should be sent to: KI Chamal, 384 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA, 02446.
And join us this Wednesday night for a visit with Rabbi David Wolpe who is at the epicenter of campus threats to Jewish students.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Rabbi William Hamilton
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