“Fear Not,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings
Shabbat Awakenings November 1, 2024
Welcome to Shabbat Awakening as we move into Shabbat. This week I share with you the d’var Torah I offered during last week’s Qabbalat Shabbat. You can listen to it as a podcast here .
Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings as we move toward Shabbat.
This week has filled us with emotions, but it is the expression of fear that has captured the attention of so many.
Fear of the future and past experience.
Fear from uncertainty.
Fear full of vulnerability.
Fear of ever finding common ground for the common good.
Fear has a way of insinuating itself into our vision, clouding our ability to see clearly. Yet, fear is not a strategy even if it is a very real feeling.
In searching for wisdom about fear, I was struck by the idea of how fear appears in both this week’s Torah and Haftarah (prophetic reading) portions.
Abram started in Ur, traveled to Haran. It was there where God summoned him to go forth to the land of Canaan. Though he knew little of what would become of him, he followed God’s instruction. In his journey he battled four kings. It is right after this encounter that God consoled him:
“Fear not, Abram, אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם
I am a shield to you אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ך
(Gen 15: 2)
The commentators recognized that Abram held his fear from his past because of the kings but also expressed his concern for the future since he did not have any children.
The prophet, Isaiah (41:10), spoke to the exiles in Babylon centuries later:
Fear not, for I am with you, אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּ֣י עִמְּךָ־אָ֔נִי
Be not discouraged, for I am your God; אַל־תִּשְׁתָּ֖ע כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ
The presence of fear is a message from the ancients that fear is not new or extraordinary. It is part of the fabric of life whether we are like Abram instructed to go forth amidst great uncertainty or like the exiles in Babylon, forlorn and discouraged. These words of encouragement could help them feel that they were part of a greater whole held by the presence of the divine.
We too know fear. Like those before us described in our Torah and Haftarah, we, too, can harness the eternal and enduring truths that continue even if it seems like the whole world shakes beneath our feet.
Whatever might unnerve or unmoor us, there remains the certainty of what we do have, what holds, supports, and guides us to move through our fear toward the enduring values of our Jewish tradition. That has not changed. Our values remain intact as our foundational sustenance to pursue justice and compassion.
Where we have control and agency is how we respond to the people in front of us with kindness. Whether we know them or not, whether they know us or not, our response allows us to transcend fear and raise ourselves up to feel the presence of what is sacred. Then, perhaps, may we regard ourselves as among those who can help to heal a world waiting and wanting to be whole again.
Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום
***
I continue to value the many comments you exchange with me through these Shabbat Awakenings. Share with me what you think here. Your email goes directly to me!
Let’s join together tonight to be in one another’s presence, to sing, to pray, to share words of comfort and insight, and wisdom from our tradition. Qabbalat Shabbat begins at 6:00 p.m.
Riverway gathers for a pre-Shabbat dinner at 6:45 p.m., followed by the 8:00 p.m. service. Drinks and dessert will follow.
On Shabbat morning, we gather at 9:00 a.m. in the library for a short Shabbat service and Torah reading followed by a lively discussion of this week’s Torah portion. All levels and abilities are welcomed. Register here to join on Zoom.
See Temple Israel’s webpage for Livestream options.