The Lesson of A Hurricane
PARSHAS KI TZAVO
Good Shabbos! Our Torah portion begins by reminding us of the Mitzvah to be thankful to G-d for all which He does for us. I would like to thank G-d on behalf of this entire congregation for the good that He did for us in the recent dark days of our slice of Hurricane Ike. I would like to thank G-d that our Synagogue did not lose power for even one moment. Numerous people were not so fortunate. Their lights went out, their TV’s shut off, their computers went blank, and they were without power. It must be a very scary thing to be without power. So, again, I say to G-d, on behalf of Congregation Anshei Sfard of Louisville, Kentucky, thank you so much for maintaining our power during the storm.
I see some confused looks. Yes, we too lost electricity. Most of the neighborhood around our shul was without electricity for nearly 3 days. In fact, the Synagogue was the last building in this neighborhood to have the electricity turned back on. We lost our electricity, but, we never lost our power. King David writes in the book of Psalms (62:11), “Power belongs to G-d.” The prophet Isaiah says, (Chapter 40:29-31) “G-d strengthens the powerless and gives power to the weary. Trust in the L-rd and He will renew your power”. Our congregation trusted in G-d. We had services morning and night, with no lights and no air conditioning. But, we had a minyon. And, each one of those people who came to help make the minyon during those special days, deserve much blessing and reward from G-d.
King David writes: “Put not your faith in princes for they cannot bring you salvation.” We saw this on Sunday morning, during the beautiful program that we had with the Mayor, the prince of our city, but then out of the blue, the lights went out. And, even the mayor was forced to continue in the dark.
In the portion it says that if we observe the commandments, G-d will give us blessings that are so great, that they will “overtake us”. Sforno explains that this means that we will get blessings out of the blue, when we least expect them.
So, there we all were, on Sunday morning, listening to the Mayor, when out of the blue, the lights went out. As we now know, this gift of Hurricane Ike turned out to be the worst wind storm to hit Louisville for as long as they have been keeping records. Hundreds of thousands of people were left with no electricity. It happened out of the blue, but was it a blessing?
Imagine, in just four hours, hundreds of trees that looked so beautiful, majestic and strong in the morning fell to the ground in a state of destruction. There were limbs torn asunder and trees uprooted throughout our community. The winds came at close to 80 miles an hour. When it was over, numerous trees were downed, changing the look of many of our neighborhoods forever. Only the sturdiest of trees, with deep and healthy roots, were able to withstand those massive winds.
I discussed this issue with Professor Natalie Polzer, who suggested an interesting lesson which I found intriguing. Over the past few months, our Jewish community has seen a “hurricane” of sorts strike at our local communal institutions. Majestic trees such as Eliahu Academy, Shalom Towers, Four Courts Nursing Home, the Kosher Café at the JCC, and the Hebrew program at University of Louisville have all been torn from their roots and our community already looks starkly different than it did just one year ago.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans made major changes to protect themselves from future hurricane winds. In the aftermath of our hurricane, our Jewish community must also consider the consequences of massive trees (communal institutions) with a weak or undernourished root system.
The roots of a tree are hidden from view. But, it is specifically these roots that provides sustenance to the tree and enables it to withstand dangerous winds. Our roots are our faith in G-d. Like the roots of a tree, faith too may be unseen to the naked eye, but it is precisely one’s faith that protects them from the stormy winds of life that seem to strike with little or no warning, and without faith may overwhelm us.
Jewish organizations are also built on faith. Faith in G-d…. Faith in goodness… Faith in the future… Every Jewish organization should take the occasion of this hurricane to pause and ponder: Are we faithful to our mission? Is our faith in G-d intact? Do we still include G-d as a full partner in the way we run our communal institutions?
The hurricane may indeed been a blessing. I heard of no looting during this difficult time without lights. On the contrary, I heard numerous stories of neighbors helping one another by sharing ice or the use of a generator or cutting the trees and gathering the debris that fell. Furthermore, this hurricane may yet be a greater blessing still, if we use this occasion to strengthen our personal faith in the power of G-d and the strengthening of faith in G-d by our communal institutions.
King David writes, “Hashem Oz leamo Yetain - G-d gives power to His people, Hashem Yevorach Es Amo Bashalom - G-d blesses His nation with peace.” May the New Year bring no more trails or tribulations or power outages. Rather, may the upcoming New year bring good health, brotherhood, prosperity and peace for all, and let us say, Amain.
Tags: Be Thankful, faith, Power, Roots, Trees
