Since the election, I have a number of times facilitated the
following discussion with elementary school-aged students and their parents at
WRT:
Since the election, I’ve been
thinking about three Jewish holidays that fall around this time. Each holiday
has a value associated with it.
The first holiday that I’m thinking
of is the one that just passed, Sukkot.
On Sukkot, we wave the lulav and the etrog. The lulav and the etrog are made up
of a three of different kinds of tree branches, plus a citrus fruit. And
although these four elements are different from one
another, we hold them all together. So from the holiday of Sukkot, I’m reminded
that it’s important to spend time with
people who are different from you.
The second holiday that I’m
thinking of is the one that’s coming up, Chanukkah.
On Chanukkah, we light the menorah each night, starting with only one candle,
and every night adding another candle—until finally, on the last night, we have eight bright candles aglow in the menorah. So from the
holiday of Chanukkah, I’m reminded that the Jewish tradition believes that the future is always brighter than the
present.
The third holiday that I’m thinking
of is one that we celebrate every week, Shabbat. Shabbat is a day of rest.
Rather than doing schoolwork or going to our jobs, we spend time relaxing with family and
friends. We rest on Shabbat, in part, so that we can be replenished for the
other six days of the week, when the world really needs our hardest, best
efforts. So from the holiday of Shabbat, I’m reminded that our work in the world really matters.
My question to you is: In the wake of the election, which of these three holiday values is most
important to you right now? What makes that value so important?
I’ve heard families make the case for each of the three holidays, often underscored by
an obvious emotional seriousness.
One of the most interesting responses came from a family that agreed on a
holiday/value (Sukkot/spending time with people who are different from you),
but disagreed on how to interpret that value. This family had three
generations present at the conversation. A fifth grader said: “I think it’s
important to be around people who look different than us, or pray differently than us, or speak different languages than we do—because the United States is made up of lots of
different kinds of people.” Her mom added: “On top of that, it’s
important to try to understand people
who may have voted differently than we did—to recognize that not everyone
thinks the same way as we do, or has the same life circumstances as us.” Her
grandfather added: “Yes, it’s important to try to understand people who may have different life circumstances than
us, but we can never let our own goal of seeking understanding become a free pass for
bigotry.”
The fifth grader believes in multiculturalism, and regrets
that that Trump’s rhetoric has alienated so many people. Her mom wants to widen
the circle of understanding across the political divide, feeling it her duty to understand the lived differences of Trump voters who feel that the American
system has forgotten them and left them behind. Her grandfather is open to
widening the circle of understanding, but no so wide as to make space for
intolerance and bigotry.
I resonate with all three generations—each appropriate to its age and stage. I pray that we are able to enact all three, and most importantly, to know when is the right time for which response.
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