09/10/2024
Before clocks were invented, rabbis had to decide when “daytime” begins and “nighttime” ends. Some said it’s when you can see the difference between a green thread and a blue one. But my favorite answer is this, from an anonymous rabbi: “It is daylight when you can look into the face of another human being and recognize that he or she is your brother or sister. Until then,” he said, “it is night.”
At a time when darkness is sweeping over the land, I find this story powerful. While the traditional definition of “daylight” relies simply on the movement of the sun, this rabbi’s requires us to act: only when we look into the face of another can we determine whether it is light or dark.
Today our political conversations are caricatures, portraying those we disagree with as enemies: fascists, communists, capitalists, socialists. The longer we respond to these over-broad generalizations, the farther apart we are from looking into each other’s face and seeing light.
True, some people do not want to talk with us; they do not want to see or acknowledge our humanity. Judaism demands that we defend ourselves against those who want us gone, or dead. But now, as we prepare our souls for the start of a New Year, let us commit ourselves to looking into others’ faces, especially into the faces of those we consider “other.” There may we discover the light with which God created us, and them, and everything.
-September 10, 2024/7 Elul 5784
Rabbi Don Weber
