On such a glorious day with the skies so blue and a beautiful sunset it is easy to be uplifted. Over the past few weeks with incessant storms our moods were easily affected. Now we have come out from under the gray skies and we feel a bit more renewed and settled.
It is the tail end of Yom HaShoah. There is a sense of slowly settling down. The memorial service concluded last night. Some of us here in Mobile kindled memorial candles. In communities throughout in Israel and Europe people gathered in cemeteries and those ceremonies have concluded. People are beginning to look towards the future. After Shiva and Sheloshim (30 days after burial) and hopefully with ongoing communal support, mourners begin to slowly see a new and different path. We walk forward shakily, perhaps losing our balance, relying on the guidance of others and the support of our loved ones, but we slowly begin to make our way along a new path.
This week's Torah reading is called ‘After the death’ (Acharei Mote). It refers to a tragic event wherein Aaron the Kohane lost two sons. Surely, he, their Uncle Moses, the rest of the family and the community were shocked, distraught, terrified and angry.
We do not know exactly how the community responded. We do not know if they had their own version of Shiva. We only know that a community for which ceremony was critical stood by Aaron as he initiated a protocol which took root and endured for 1,300 years. It was the symbolic presentation of two goats associated with the removal of group error and the striving for group and individual reconciliation and personal growth. Perhaps it was the awareness that life is fragile that led to this ritual’s being associated with Yom Kippur. But, the community stood by Aaron as he grieved.
Even today, as modern people, we struggle with the challenges before us and the fragility of our lives. We seek support from loved ones and the reassurance of community, anchored in tradition, testifying to the assertion that we are far from being alone.
May we be blessed to offer support to each other in times of crisis and fear. May we be humble enough to accept the encouragement of others when we are in need. May our hearts be open.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Steven Silberman
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