Be an instrument of transformation!

עושה שלום

 

In times of sorrow, i.e., the death of a beloved person, we recite the Kaddish. This is mainly in Aramaic with conclusion prayers in Hebrew. It is a blessing, words praising God even in times of pain, in moments we cannot find words to comfort others or to express our pain. We stand and praise God. Concluding these words of prayer, we ask that the Maker of Peace will bless Israel and humanity with peace. 

עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן

Reciting it, we hope to be the instruments of Peace in times of sorrow. Instead of blaming God, we praise and surrender ourselves to the Eternal Mystery. 

When earthquake shakes the Earth somewhere in the world and a tornado causes horrible tragedies somewhere else. “Acts of God” is the common expression to describe what is out of our control, beyond our power. On Galician television a group of comedians took this phrase and made it into a parody. In it a group of investigators approach the “divine being” to present their claims, making the “divinity” responsible for all the catastrophic events and demanding that “he” fix the world. Some may be alarmed and offended by that type of comedy (of course, we must be very careful with that approach to a very serious matter). However, how often the same people speak of those tragic events as “normal”? Implying, at times, that God is in control of it or interpreting it as a punishment from the Almighty (often quoting out of context Isaiah 45:7). They dismiss “global warming” as something “aceptable,” hence, in the order sat by the Creator, making the Eternal Mystery responsible for everything we do not understand or cannot control.

God created everything perfect. We, humans, have corrupted it. Everything was done beautiful, but we have made it ugly. The troubles with the environment are not an “act of God,” it is the fruit of our own actions and decisions and mismanagement of this beautiful world.

Blaming the Almighty for every “natural” event or even crediting ‘him’ for wining a football game (as we see often in sports where a winner acts like God was on his/her side – what about the one who did not win? Some times he/she is a more devoted religious person than the winner), as if the Eternal One cares more about a silly game than the troubles humanity faces! These are responses that do not reflect reality. The sun shine for everyone so the rain falls on everyone. Some people win while others are “the almost-winner” (el casi ganador), as a children television show host used to say.

He called the one who lost “el casi ganador.” Giving the gift to the winner, he turned to the “casi ganador” (the kid who lost the game) and asked him to choose a toy from what was left. You can see the expression on the face of the “winner” silently screaming: “Why I did not lose?” The “looser” choose the toy he wanted. Isn’t that how some times is in life? Some win, some loose, and looser some times end in a better situation than the winners. A tragedy suddenly happens to good people while some no so good people made a fortune in their investments. How much is God to be responsible for the good or the evil that happens to humanity? Others simply ask the classic theodicy question: Why if there is an all-mighty good God there is so much evil, tragedies, in the world? Something we learn from Qoheleth is that there are questions for which we will never have an answer. We need to learn to live with the reality of unanswered questions. Stopping blaming God for everything is where we should start in order to have a little understanding.

The transcendent Eternal Mystery empowered humans to build their own destiny. Humanity has the power to do good and rebuild a world free from nuclear weapons, or any other weapon of mass destruction. We can change the future and the path to self-destruction by letting all the good within us make a new and better world. The future is not written on scrolls neither on stones. However, the prophets warn us about the future and the tragic consequences of our choices and actions unless we do a drastic change. Prophecy is not something that must happen rather a warning to prevent it from happening.

Let us take responsibility for our own decisions and actions and stop blaming others or referring to everything we think was out of our power to prevent as an “act of God” when often was the outcome of how we neglected this world: destroying the forest, hunting for fun, waging violence for selfish reasons (not that there is ever a good reason), denying just salary to the workers, and similar evil actions. Actions that lead to natural disasters or to human conflicts and insane wars.

We can make this a better world for everyone. Start today. A little contribution, a small act of kindness to others and the environment by everyone can become a powerful instrument of change.

 

The following is a beautiful song by John Michael Talbot. Its words are from a prayer popularly attributed to Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, a.k.a. Francesco d'Assisi. Although no one knows who wrote it, the origin of this prayer is found on a card during WWI. The principles the prayers we read in our siddur on Shabbath and especially in the Mahzor of Yom Kippur are embedded in this beautiful poem.

 

 

Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying (to ourself) that we are born to eternal life.