Within minutes of hearing about a terrible train crash in Philadelphia and first responders immediately rushing to the site to aid the injured, I learned of a Colorado sheriff's deputy's death and that $67,000 had been raised for the local Sheriff Family Relief Fund and his patrol car been bought for and given to his teenaged son as an expression of consolation. In the wake of disaster, tangible expressions of support demonstrate love and compassion more powerfully than reams of poetry. People need support and care; we need to display tangible acts of concern just as we need to receive these acts of human compassion.
There are too many threats to our personal and familial safety to enumerate. Acts of terror, cyber-bullying, white-collar crime, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, abuse of loved ones-the list is discouraging. Yet, volunteers and professionals alike continue to selflessly offer their energies, their funds and their personal hope; standing as human shields of compassion for strangers and loved ones alike. Flooded by news stories of anguish, pain and loss, we often do not remember the many accounts of kindness and concern which also abound. All of us want our families to flourish; nothing is more important!
In this week's Torah reading (Behar) the challenging rules of the sabbatical year are put forth. During every seventh year, farmers in ancient Israel were commanded to refrain from planting or harvesting crops. Instead, they were to rely on bountiful crop yields in the 6th year to carry them through to a Divinely-promised bountiful 8th year of crops. Letting the earth itself rest reflected tangible compassion for the earth and an abiding faith in God. Kindness to others, for Israelites shared their crops with others, fostered faith in humanity, a link to the world and a personal bond with the Divine.
This year is a Shmitah (sabbatical year) and modern Israeli farmers are still bound to comply with Torah agricultural law. Legal loopholes which developed 2,000 years ago through Mishnaic innovation allow Israelis to sell or lease land to non-Jews, thereby allowing the land to be farmed. Also, land parcels outside certain Biblical boundaries are exempt from Shmittah. But the overarching concern for others still remains. Tangible acts of compassion are essential for life and the sensitivity which prompts our acts of concern is not limited to people and extends to animals and our world itself.
May we never lose our abilities and inclinations to offer support and kindness to others.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Steve Silberman
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