Rabbi’s Column - November/December 2016 - Chasing Peace
הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
Hillel would say, “Be like the students of Aaron (the brother of Moses): Love peace and pursue peace, love all of creation, and bring people near to Torah.” Pirke Avot 1:12
By the time you read these words, the election of 2016 will (probably) be over. That makes prediction very difficult. However, regardless of the outcome, our country will need to come together. At this point, most people are counting down the days until after the election. However, just reaching November 9th will not solve any of the problems that have arisen in this bitter political season. Although there may be no more political ads on TV, your e-mail inbox may not refill each day with requests for donations, and there will be no more televised debates, the aftermath of the election will be more than the healing that needs to come from hurtful rhetoric, but the realization of the actual issues that we may have, naively, thought were behind us. Peace is not the absence of conflict; peace is easing the pain and suffering of all.
We often ask just for a moment of peace and quiet - as if a cessation of noise would make all the bad things go away. In fact, we often return to the real world to find that things have boiled over in our absence, and that there is more tension rather than less. When Hillel, above, spoke of peace, he did not mean the peace that we find with a pillow over our heads, but the peace that comes when agitation is actually lessened.
In the past year, we have seen open anti-Semitism, class conflict, tensions between native US citizens and immigrants, fear of Muslims, and a demonization of our political structure. The end of the election is not the end of these important feelings - which we must confront to overcome. Government is actually one of the chief means that we have, in our democracy, to address these issues. If we settle for the peace of not thinking about Congress between elections, we remove our heads from the sand to find things have only gotten worse. We need to talk to our politicians not when they are coming to us and asking for our votes (and our money), but when they are sitting in Washington. If we want our government to be responsive to the people, we need to respond to our government - not just during the political season.
The challenge for us, as of November 9th, is to let our elected officials know that, whether we voted for them or not, they are still our representatives - that we expect them to work, not to posture. We want them to meet with the people across the aisle, and come to deals that make none of us overjoyed, but bring different sides of the issue together in working for a solution.
Here is how to pursue peace - start with yourself. After you re-establish the relationships with your friends, family, and co-workers whom you defriended over the past eight months, write a letter to your Congressional representative, your Senator, your President, and even your state Assemblypeople and Senators. Congratulate them on their victory, then lay out the issues that you think they need to tackle first. Tell them you want them to speak with people of differing opinions - and to make compromises. Tell them you want to stay in the loop, and read what they send you. If you want to go the next step, schedule a visit to their district or Washington/Trenton offices and meet with their staff.
The only hope of peace is the pursuit of peace. It take effort. Let us do what we can to restore and rebuild the peace of our nation. Let us remember to respect all of creation - no matter who they may have voted for, and let us show that we bring people near to Torah by living out the values of Torah in our own lives.
Rabbi Joel N Abraham
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