Sometimes it is only in difficult times that you truly learn who your friends are. In this week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah, Abraham finds himself bereft and completely alone. Sarah has died, and not only does he not have anyone to help him grieve, he does not even have a place designated to bury her.
When he reaches out to his neighbors they could easily have turned him away. As he told them, he is but a “resident alien,” a ger v’toshav, and is at their mercy. But, instead they treat him with love and respect, helping him purchases the cave of Machpelah, the first Jewish presence in the land of Canaan.
This past week, in wake of the horrific attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, we too have been overwhelmed by the kindness of our neighbors. Whether it has been the constant stream of calls and emails to us from every religious community in the area, the support of the local politicians and police force, or the love and compassion shown by the normal folk living in the area, we are grateful.
Grateful for the hundreds that showed up on Sunday night at Temple Beth Tzedek, the countless other public and private vigils held in the area, the bouquets of flowers that arrived at Shir Shalom on Monday, the dozens of church signs announcing their friendship with the Jewish community. It all matters.
One handwritten letter included eleven blades of grass for the eleven lives lost, with the words, “your loss is everyone’s loss.” Or the email from former Buffalonians who recently moved to Virginia, “you or any of your congregants would always have a safe place with me and my family.” There are simply no words for the gratitude I feel. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is indeed in difficult times that truly learn who your friends are.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex