Dear friends,
Shabbat shalom. It’s been a week! Don’t you sometimes feel like life takes us on a rollercoaster ride? This week has been true to that form. With the crazy weather, political turmoil, the restarting of the Iran war, two ICE shootings, and more, I hope you have buckled in.
This week’s Torah portion, Devarim, the beginning of the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, begins with Moses standing at the edge of the Promised Land. The Israelites have endured forty years of uncertainty. These years of wandering in the desert have been hard. They have known war, loss, disappointment, political conflict, and their future is unknown. Moses does not pretend those hardships never happened. Instead, he retells their story, helping the people understand that resilience is born not from forgetting the past but from finding meaning within it.
That message feels especially timely during this month of America’s 250th birthday. It would be easy to look around and wonder what exactly we are celebrating. Our nation faces devastating weather, rising costs, renewed conflict abroad, political violence, painful divisions at home, and far too much uncertainty. Like the Israelites, we may find ourselves asking, “Are we really moving toward a better future?”
Devarim reminds us that hope is not so simple. Hope is hard work and one must be disciplined. Remembering the past allows us to realize that having faith in humanity is worth it because people rise to the occasion and ultimately do the right thing. Look how American leaders moved our country forward in previous moments of challenge. Moses teaches that before the people can move forward, they must remember where they have been, acknowledge their failures and their blessings, and recommit themselves to the values that define them. Do not lose your faith in humanity because humanity has ultimately come through.
Judaism has never asked us to ignore reality. Instead, it calls us to become partners with God in repairing it. Every act of kindness, every moment of justice, every word that builds understanding instead of division becomes another step toward the Promised Land.
Perhaps that is the truest way to celebrate America’s 250th. Not by pretending our nation is perfect, but by believing it is still capable of becoming better. As Moses reminds us, the journey has never been about arriving in a perfect place. It has always been about becoming the kind of people who can build one.
On this Shabbat, we hold on as we ride life’s rollercoaster, finding hope in knowing that life brings us ups and downs, but by buckling in and building our resilience, we can strengthen our resolve, deepen our compassion, and remind us that even in difficult times, the next chapter of our story is still ours to write.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Michael Shochet
