“New York’s streets are silent now, but our city will come back noisy as ever,” says our Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. “As we rebuild, we, ourselves, will be rebuilt.”
On Shabbat morning during Passover, Rabbi Samantha Natov discussed Moses’ crisis of faith which paralleled that of the Israelites’, leading them to create the Golden Calf. “The first thing Moses says to God is: ‘Oh, please, let me behold Your presence.'” God lets Moses see His back as He passes by — a perfect metaphor for the experience of faith.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch asks what kind of person each of us will be when we emerge from social isolation and finds guidance from Jewish tradition.
On the morning of Passover and with spring in the air, Rabbi Samantha Natov spoke about how our history and practicing gratitude for even the smallest things helps us to be resilient in tough times like these.
On the Shabbat before Passover, each Israelite household was commanded to watch over a lamb for four days before using its blood to mark their doorposts. “God wanted the Israelites to earn their freedom — even if it was simply by keeping watch,” says Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. “So today, each of us must do something — even if it’s simply keeping watch — to restore our freedoms.”
“We read in the Book of Daniel, ‘thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting.’ We must pass this test — or there will be incalculable human suffering,” says Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. “Have patience. Keep these monotonous days in perspective. They will not last forever.”
