Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso
Bryan Stevenson reminds us “to pay attention to the dark.” If we look with open eyes, we see a landscape darkened by hatred and injustice, racism and exclusion. The Hebrew phrase to “pay attention” is sim lev. It means to give your heart; not only to see, but to feel the dark. Only when the dark breaks our heart can we find a way to bring light.
Judaism teaches that we may reach God through many doors. Each one has a unique key. But there is one key that opens every door. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk taught, “Nothing is more whole than a broken heart.” With broken hearts, and open eyes, we must bear witness.
The Talmud teaches: “Those in a position to protest the sinful conduct of their town who fail to do so are liable for the sins of the town. Those in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the whole world who fail to do so are liable for the sins of the whole world.” (TB Shabbat 54b) Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel challenged us, “In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
We need to pay attention, to direct our hearts to compassion unevenly granted, to justice unfairly distributed, to history biasedly told. Then we need to act. More than shame and atonement, we need to cast a new light that will heal the broken heart and make us whole.
Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso
Congregation Beth-El Zedeck
