“How to Prepare for an Ice Storm” Rabbi Dan Slipakoff’s Qabbalat Shabbat Sermon, 1/23/25

Cantor Rabbi Dan Slipakoff
Qabbalat Shabbat, January 23, 2026
Temple Israel of Boston 

How to Prepare for an Ice Storm

The foreseeable forecast looks treacherous
A storm threatens large swaths of our country
Now is the time to get prepared

Here are some considerations:

• Check in on your neighbors.
  Not after the storm, but before.
  Learn names. Learn stories. Learn who might need a knock on the door
  and who might need someone to keep an eye out for them
  Storms reveal what isolation hides. 
• Expect closures.
  Schools may shut their doors.
  Shops and workplaces may go dark.
  Not because people don’t want to show up,
  but because the conditions outside make showing up dangerous. 
• Plan for staying home.
  Not everyone will be able to go to work.
  Some will choose caution.
  Some will have no choice at all.
  Preparation means making room for that reality with compassion, not judgment. 
• Learn from other cities.
  Places like Minneapolis and Chicago that have seen this before
  And as they struggle through the storm, they are learning
  There are preparations to make, policies to put in place
  There are best practices to follow. 
• If your elected officials have failed to address the ice, call them.
  Hold them accountable.
  Storms become disasters when leaders refuse to plan
  or insist that danger isn’t real. 
• And if you find yourself out there, confronting the ice head-on
  know that protection matters.
  Protect yourself
  Limit exposure.
  No one should be harmed simply for moving through their own neighborhood. 
• Stay alert.
  Stay connected.
  And don’t wait for the storm
  to decide how you are going to respond
  It’s cold out there, stay warm

As a young man from Minnesota once sang,
You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows

Trust your ears, trust your eyes.

This is not normal, This is not right.

But God’s people have seen this story before

God’s people who gather in synagogues and churches and mosques and temples
God’s people hear the cries of the oppressed and are answering the moral call to confront tyranny.
God’s people are descending on Minneapolis not like locusts but like angels
To raise their voices like the blast of a shofar

Declaring,

This is not normal, this is not right.

We do not want this – GET OUT NOW

This morning I joined a local prayer gathering at the Episcopal Cathedral on the Common. 

Hundreds of faith leaders, clergy and lay leaders,
were there to show moral courage 

And in our own way broadcast our support 

to the faith leaders who are gathering in Minneapolis. 

As our song sheet proclaimed – it was a room full of gentle but angry people. 

We listened to the livestream of voices on the ground
as they shared their experiences of this 

Quote “spectacle of cruelty”, 

but also as they shared the beauty and resilience of their resistance 

We prayed for our own community,
knowing far too well that harm may escalate here in Massachusetts

And we made plans to march to the State House
to speak to the governor about public action
to defend Massachusetts from federal malfeasance.

Judging by her remarks at the State of the Commonwealth,
she may have known we were coming. 

But before the marching, we needed fuel for the righteous fire.

Because sincerely,
How are you gonna love your neighbor if you don’t know your neighbor?

So we turned to greet a new friend. 

To share what brought us in to the room, to share what we loved about our faith and our people

To share where we feel pain and struggle in this moment

And finally, to bless one another. 

My neighbor was a man named John.

He is close to 80 years old, born in Cuba, lived in Georgia, currently in Watertown but his bi-lingual church is in the South End

He wore a black face mask to keep himself and others safe,
but it couldn’t hide his piercing blue eyes and his very sincere smile lines. 

He told me that his congregation was small,
but they run a robust youth program which serves the neighborhood –
which has not been under attack,
but they are not naive to the risk. 

And I told him about all of you. 

I told him about our congregation that lives our Jewish values
How we lean into interfaith opportunities, especially around justice.
How some of us are scared or angry,
How some of us are fired up or frozen. 

We both agreed – if not now, when?

And then we blessed each other.
And friends, I’ve been blessed to be blessed by some incredible people,
but John’s warm hand on my shoulder was the only thing keeping me from floating off the ground. 

And as we looked up, we saw a room full of huddled pairs and trios,
hands held, arms around one another,
heads bowed or lifted in prayer to the many names of a great and merciful God.
Wishing strength, courage, comfort, and peace on the uncertain journey which lies ahead

If that wasn’t holy, 

I don’t know what is.

Many of the familiar faces in the room I recognized from the
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization.
This is an organization that understands the assignment

This sacred relationship building is at the core of GBIO’s organizing. 

Connect. Organize. And Act Together. 

If you have not had the sacred experience of looking into someone’s eyes while they share their story, as they envision the world as it should be – 

Or for you to be heard and held as you share yours… you simply must.
This is what justice looks like
This is what resilience looks like
This is what democracy looks like
This is what living Judaism together looks like

Good news. You can start tonight. 

After services, join our GBIO Core team for a listening session.
We will meet in Slater to share stories, concerns, and hopes for the future. 

I promise, you will be glad you came

And there will be more listening opportunities to come – we’ll keep you posted.

And also tap in to our Immigrant Justice team
who offers many opportunities for righteous impact
Trainings, lobbying, rallying, volunteering, and more.

This sacred relationship building is an action within your reach.
So start here, and keep growing.
I’ve got more to say, and I am sure many of you do too.
We are in this together, so let’s keep talking

In this week’s Torah portion the plague of Darkness descends on Egypt

It is a physical, dense, Darkness –
so debilitating that people could not move from their homes.

And לֹֽא־רָא֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אָחִ֗יו,
they could not see one another.
Actually the Hebrew is stronger – They could not see their kin.
What we are witnessing, what we are fighting against
Is not a blackout, it is a moral collapse

This morning, Rev. Mariama White-Hammond put the responsibility on all of us
“The problem is that we as a nation are failing to understand who we are called to be in this moment.

We are called to be God’s People.

The Egyptians could not see the other.

But the Israelites had light emanating from within them.

וּלְכׇל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר
God’s People have light to guide them in the darkness

For the love of God, now is the time to spread your light

Shabbat Shalom.