“Arise shine for your light has dawned” -Isaiah 60:1
For each of the seven weeks leading to Rosh Hashana, we read special Haftarah’s that are collectively called the Haftarot of consolation. Our ancestors had lived through destruction and devastation, but these passages from the Prophets promised that this reality was not the end of the story. They promised a better future if only we are willing to work for it. In each of these readings we are told that our actions in the world matter. And through these actions we can redeem ourselves and the entire world. Our tradition has such a hopeful view of the future. It insists that human beings are capable of self-improvement and that the world is getting better.
For most of my life I experienced the world as improving, while other times I experienced setbacks, and a world that feels unredeemed. It is times like this when I ask – where will we find the strength to do our part in Tikkun Olam, fixing our broken world?
It can’t really be farther away for us than it was for our ancestors. All of Jewish history is filled with sadness and fear but also great hope. “Don’t give up hope” has been the quintessential Jewish message for thousands of years.
What if I focus on my own light? Can I rise like the dawn? Can I light the path for others?
