Dear Friends,
In our Torah portion this week, we read the familiar story about the miracle at the Sea of Reeds. Standing at the shores of the sea, the Israelites recognize that their journey into the wilderness has been a journey into the unknown and that the sea before them is impassable. As Pharaoh’s army is on their tail, the Israelites feel trapped, hopeless and defeated. They have nowhere to go. Nothing short of a miracle can save them – and a miracle is what they received.
As we read this passage on the heels of Martin Luther King Weekend, we are reminded that some of the greatest miracles in life are generated by the human spirit for goodness and truth. Indeed, the real miracle of every generation is to live in ways which maximize the God given gifts that each of us has been afforded.
We are blessed with the capacity to think and feel and see and – most of all – to act. When we act in response to the needs of others, to feed the hungry, heal the sick and clothe the naked, to root out hatred and prejudice in society, and to use our talents to make this world a better place, then and only then are we – like our ancestors who crossed the Sea of Reeds long ago – able to fully bear witness to the greatest miracles of our day.
L’Shalom–Steve