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Dear TBZ Community,
This week’s election has brought relief and renewed hope for many of us. There are reasons to celebrate, to take a breath, and to recognize important victories. We celebrate the strength of our democracy, the richness of our diversity, the affirmation of human dignity, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of all people.
For me, this moment carries a particular meaning. I grew up in Chile under a dictatorship; I was 15 when the country began its return to democracy. Having lived through a time when people could not freely choose their leaders, I never take the right to vote for granted. This election is a reminder of how precious that right is, and how much depends on our ability to protect and exercise it. Voting is a sacred act, and I am deeply grateful to be able to take part in it.
And still, even as we recognize all there is to celebrate, I know that this moment is not experienced in the same way by everyone. We may be holding different, and sometimes conflicting, feelings about this moment. We may feel energized and exhausted, hopeful and fearful, joyful and uncertain, sometimes many of these feelings all at once. We can celebrate the victories while also recognizing the deep divisions that remain in our country and within the Jewish community. This election has brought with it many layers of uncertainty, including questions about antisemitism, and we don’t all experience its results in the same way. I hope we can make room for all these feelings, without losing sight of the reasons we have to celebrate and the enormous amount of work that still lies ahead.
This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Chayei Sarah, brings us to the final chapter of Abraham’s life. The parasha opens with a description of Abraham that is both simple and remarkable:
וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה׳ בֵּרַךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל
Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and Adonai had blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1).
The Torah describes Abraham as blessed ba’kol (with everything). This is a remarkable statement when we consider the life he has lived. His story has been marked by journeys, uncertainty, conflict, separation, loss, and pain. And yet, as the Torah describes this moment in his life, it emphasizes that he has been blessed in all things.
Perhaps it invites us to recognize that a life can hold both. We can acknowledge the wounds and the unfinished stories while also seeing and celebrating the blessings.
The parasha then turns to the next generation. After Sarah’s death, Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant arrives at a well and prays that the woman who offers him water, and then offers to water his camels as well, will be the one destined for Isaac.
And then Rebecca appears.
The Torah tells us:
וַתֹּאמֶר שְׁתֵה אֲדֹנִי וַתְּמַהֵר וַתֹּרֶד כַּדָּהּ עַל יָדָהּ וַתַּשְׁקֵהוּ. וַתְּכַל לְהַשְׁקֹתוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר גַּם לִגְמַלֶּיךָ אֶשְׁאָב עַד אִם כִּלּוּ לִשְׁתֹּת
“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they finish drinking” (Genesis 24:18-19).
Rebecca responds with generosity, not only giving the stranger water but going beyond what he asks of her. She draws water for all his camels, an act that requires considerable effort. Before we know anything else about Rebecca, we encounter this quality in her: her willingness to notice another person’s needs and respond with generosity.
This is precisely what Abraham’s servant had hoped to find. The quality he is looking for is chesed (lovingkindness), generosity, and the capacity to extend oneself for another. Rebecca’s actions, even before she knows who this stranger is or why he has come, reveal something essential about her.
Yesterday, our day at TBZ began with a moment of sweetness, almost as if we were standing at a well of blessing, like Abraham’s servant and Rebecca in this week’s parasha. The Syrian refugee family that we have been supporting through the Newton-Brookline Asylum Resettlement Coalition came to visit us. They brought homemade sweets to thank the volunteers in our community for the support they have received.
There was something particularly moving about this encounter happening the day after the election. A family who came to this country as refugees, and whose lives have been shaped by the experience of displacement and the search for safety, came to our community as neighbors, bringing gifts and expressing gratitude. It was a moment of connection, generosity, and mutual care that I found deeply meaningful (and the treats were delicious!).
Welcoming the stranger is not only a value we read about in the Torah. It is something we practice through our relationships, our communities, and the choices we make about whose safety and dignity we defend. At this moment, when the rights and futures of immigrants and refugees remain uncertain, I am reminded how important it is to continue showing up, building relationships, and protecting the dignity and rights of those who are vulnerable.
The parasha ends with another remarkable moment. After Abraham dies, his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, come together to bury their father:
וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ יִצְחָק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל בָּנָיו
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him (Genesis 25:9).
These are two brothers whose lives have been marked by separation and pain. We don’t know what happened between them in the years since the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael, and the Torah doesn’t tell us that everything was reconciled or repaired. But they come together. They stand alongside one another at the burial of their father.
This image is a reminder that even when relationships are complicated, even when histories are painful, we can still imagine moments of coming together. We can still work toward a different future.
As we move beyond this week’s election, I hope we can hold on to both the relief and the responsibility that come with this moment. Let us celebrate what deserves to be celebrated. Let us recognize the blessings and the possibilities that are before us. And most importantly, let us not confuse a moment of victory with the completion of the work.
There is so much more to do.
May this Shabbat give us room to breathe, to celebrate, to grieve what still needs healing, and to renew our commitment to the work ahead.
May we find strength and courage, keep our hearts open, and continue to work toward a world of greater justice, compassion, and peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia