Shavuot could not come soon enough. It’s been seven weeks since Pesach, eleven weeks since our sheltering at home began. At Pesach, we spoke of liberation. But liberation for anyone requires law for all. On Shavuot, we willingly accept the yoke of Torah, saying Na’aseh venishma—we will do it and we will understand it. Torah is a gift: to guide us to stand firm against the worst human instincts, the yetzer hara, the human inclination toward selfishness and desire at the expense of others. It is taught that God gave the Torah because God needs us to be God’s hands in the world.
While we have each experienced the stresses to adjust to everything that is new, it has been challenging to find a way to protest and to defend the rights of others. But this week, one name cries out, demanding that we raise our voices. George Floyd. George Floyd is the latest symbol of the unending injustice and brutality of our world, injustice that even a pandemic cannot stop. Add his name to the shameful list of unarmed African Americans who have died at the hands of a society riddled with racial bias and hatred: Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, Amadou Diallo, Emmett Till… Say their names (Janelle Monae gives voice to the outrage that should embolden us all, as members of this unjust society.)
In Torah, names are sacred. Each name tells a story: Cain and Abel, Abraham, Dinah, Miriam, Nachshon, Bezalel, Moses. It is up to us, who have received Torah, the time-tested words that impel us toward goodness and toward creating a society infused with divine ideals, to tell their stories and to live their words. It is up to us to speak and to act, not out of hatred and not to perpetuate violence, but to use Torah to stand firm against the yetzer hara within each of us and all of us.
When violence flourishes,
we need Torah:
You shall not stand idly by the blood of another. (Lev. 19:16)
When people are starving because of a global pandemic; when they risk their health and the lives of those they love just to stand in line for a food pantry,
we need Torah:
Cursed be one who subverts the right of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. (Deut.27:19)
When corruption rages among government officials, opening gateways for the wealthiest to profit while the poorest have nothing,
we need Torah:
You shall not falsify measures of length, weight , or capacity. You shall have an honest balance and honest weights. (Lev. 19:35-36)
You must have completely honest weight and completely honest measures. (Deut.25:13)
When crowds of people flagrantly disregard public health measures for their own enjoyment, regardless of the impact on others,
we need Torah:
In cases of a contagious affliction, be most careful to de exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. (Duet. 24:8)
When government officials show no concern for the deaths of the most vulnerable, we need Torah:
You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old. (Lev. 19:3
When people attack others for keeping social distance or wearing masks,
we need Torah:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18)
You shall not hate another in your heart. (Lev. 19:17)
Tonight, we pause to celebrate Torah on the holiday of Shavuot. Let us all take time to learn, to understand, and to teach the lessons of Torah, to create a world of common concern and mutual support, a world of equity, governed by truth and by justice dispensed fairly for all. We can’t wait for a miracle from God. God is depending on us.
Let’s rise up and do everything we can to bring love and joy into this world.
Chag same’ach.