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Courage, Outrage And. Hope:
The Path Back To A Just World

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allowing her to survive from century to
century.
Why then is Israel likened to the lily?
The lily is a beautiful flower, yet its roots
are shallow in the earth. Sadly, it has
often been Israel's lot to be displaced
from her land.
It is Israel's ultimate destiny to be
rooted firmly in her land, never again to
be displaced. America must likewise
draw courage not only from the beauty
It's
a
simple
concept,
C ourage.
of her ideals, but from the sturdy foun-
yet it poses a challenge.
dation of this nation, which shall remain
In a world where evil flour-
rooted despite the deeds of her enemies.
ishes before our eyes, it is
Outrage. Many generations
exceptionally difficult to exhib-
have
been perplexed by
it courage. This era of perva-
Hosea's
closing words — "the
sive terrorism, which has now
ways
of
the Lord are straight,
engulfed the United States as
and the righteous shall walk
well as Israel, poses an ext-raor-
in them; but the wicked will
. dinar), challenge to our
stumble
in them."
courage.
The
wicked
stumble in fol-
Outrage. We Americans shy
lowing
God's
ways?
Perhaps
away from extreme emotions.
the
most
dangerous
evil
is
Just a day after the perfidious
that
which
garbs
itself
in
false
assault upon our nation, even
righteousness.
The
Muslim
RABBI
DANIEL
in our collective grief and dis-
zealots who have made sui-
NEVINS
may, we hear little outrage. We
cide and mass murder into
are eager to celebrate the hero-
Special to the
religious virtues are stumbling
ism of emergency workers and
Jewish News
in their pursuit of God. Our
we are justifiably cautious
outrage
is not against Islam,
about pointing fingers. But we
which
has
many
peaceful
proponents,
find it difficult to give voice to our out-
but
against
those
wicked
people
who
rage — even though such outrage is
have
turned
their
religion
into
an
ideol-
both justified and necessary.
ogy of hatred. We must identify this evil
Hope. As prospects for peace in Israel
and express our outrage.
and America have been dashed in a dra-
Hope. The haftorah closes with rous-
matic and calamitous fashion, hope
ing
words from Joel: "Then shall you
seems both naive and misplaced. Yet
know
that I am in the midst of Israel; I
here we stand just within the gates of
and
no
other am the Lord your God;
the New Year, yearning somehow to find
My
people
shall not be shamed forever."
hope.
God
is
in
our very midst, giving us
Shabbat Shuvah is usually dedicated
power to persist despite the traumatic
to introspection, individual and com-
success of the terrorists. We have been
munal, as we seek to improve ourselves
taught the straight path of righteousness.
in preparation for Yom Kippur. We look
We
are humbled by the power of evil,
to the ancient teachings of our people
but
we
must draw courage from the
and find there both solace and guidance.
greater
power
of good, which will pre-
This week, we focus primarily on the
vail.
haftorah, an unusual composite of
May we be blessed this year with the
teachings from the prophets Hosea,
combination
of courage, outrage, and
Micah and Joel.
hope
that
are
necessary to find our way
For courage, I think of Hosea's words:
D
to
an
era
of
peace.
"Ehyeh k'tal lYisrael — I shall be like

Shabbat Shuvah:
Deuteronomy 31:1-30;
Hosea 14:2-10;
Micah 7:18-20;
Joel 2:15-27.

dew to Israel — yifiach kashoshanah —
she shall flower like a lily — vayach
shoroshav kalvanon — and her roots
shall strike deep like the [cedar of]
Lebanon."
According to Rabbi David Kimchi
(Radak. Provence, 1160-1235), God is
like dew which never ceases, and is a
reliable source of blessing. So too, God's
grace is constantly nourishing Israel,

Daniel Nevins is a spiritual leader at
Adat Sbalom Synagogue.

Conversations

What texts give you the strength
to confront evil? Does the right-
eous indignation of the prophets
resound in our modern comput-
er age? Is the world more com-
plicated today, or was their
worldview somehow even more
nuanced and perceptive?

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