FEBRUARY 10 • 2022 | 53

the words: “Command the 
Israelites to bring you clear 
olive oil, crushed for the 
light, so that the lamp may 
always burn” (Ex. 27:20). The 
Sages drew a comparison 
between the olive and the 
Jewish people. Rabbi Joshua 
ben Levi asked, “Why is 
Israel compared to an olive? 
Just as an olive is first bitter, 
then sweet, so Israel suffers 
in the present but great good 
is stored up for them in the 
time to come. And just as 
the olive only yields its oil 
by being crushed — as it 
is written, ‘clear olive oil, 
crushed for the light’ — so 
Israel fulfils [its full potential 
in] the Torah only when it is 
pressed by suffering.”
The oil was, of course, 
for the menorah, whose 
perpetual light — first in 
the Sanctuary, then in the 
Temple, and now that we 
have no Temple, the more 
mystical light that shines 
from every holy place, life 
and deed — symbolizes the 
Divine light that floods the 
universe for those who see it 
through the eyes of faith. To 
produce this light, something 
has to be crushed. And here 
lies the life-changing lesson.
Suffering is bad. Judaism 
makes no attempt to hide 
this fact. The Talmud gives 
an account of various Sages 
who fell ill. When asked, “
Are 
your sufferings precious to 
you?” they replied, “Neither 
they nor their reward.” 
When they befall us or 
someone close to us, they 
can lead us to despair. 
Alternatively, we can respond 
stoically. We can practice the 
attribute of gevurah, strength 
in adversity. But there is a 
third possibility. We can 

respond as Henry responded, 
with compassion, kindness 
and love. We can become 
like the olive which, when 
crushed, produces the pure 
oil that fuels the light of 
holiness.
When bad things happen 
to good people, our faith is 
challenged. That is a natural 
response, not a heretical one. 
Abraham asked, “Shall the 
Judge of all the earth not 
do justice?” Moses asked, 
“Why have You done harm 
to this people?” Yet in the 
end, the wrong question 
to ask is, “Why has this 
happened?” We will never 
know. We are not God, nor 
should we aspire to be. The 
right question is, “Given 
that this has happened, what 
then shall I do?” To this, the 
answer is not a thought but a 
deed. It is to heal what can be 
healed, medically in the case 
of the body, psychologically 
in the case of the mind, 
spiritually in the case of the 
soul. Our task is to bring 
light to the dark places of our 
and other peoples’ lives.
That is what Henry did. 
Renata still suffered. So did 
he. But their spirit prevailed 
over their body. Crushed, 
they radiated light. Let no 
one imagine this is easy. It 
takes a supreme act of faith. 
Yet it is precisely here that we 
feel faith’s power to change 
lives. Just as great art can 
turn pain into beauty, so 
great faith can turn pain into 
love and holy light. 

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan 

Sacks served as the chief rabbi of 

the United Hebrew Congregations of 

the Commonwealth, 1991-2013. His 

teachings have been made available 

to all at rabbisacks.org. This essay 

was written in 2020.

J

ARC, a Metro Detroit based nonprofit 
agency that serves individuals with 
developmental disabilities, has received a 
$25,000 grant from the Donald R. and Esther 
Simon Foundation to support a relatively 
new therapeutic program to combat isolation 
and depression brought on by the COVID-19 
pandemic. 
The program provides individualized 
support, enabling each person served to 
partake in activities that benefit them. This 
grant will also allow the program to promote 
leisure time and will be led by newly hired 
JARC therapeutic staff who will engage with 
persons served in JARC group homes in a 
COVID-safe way.
One of the biggest challenges of the 
pandemic for JARC persons served has been 
isolation. 
 “Most of those we serve have even more 
down time now, and that has brought with it 
mental health struggles such as depression and 
anger,” said JARC CEO Shaindle Braunstein. 
“Mental health plays a strong role in physical 
health, so it is crucial that we address isolation 
and do what we can to safely mitigate its 
effects. The JARC therapy program addresses 
that need by providing the necessary mental 
stimulation and encouragement needed for 
persons served to be active and engaged.”
Serving mental health needs has always 
been vital, but the pandemic has amplified its 
importance in JARC homes, especially when 
day programs were closed, and persons served 
were unable to socialize outside of the home. 
While the State of Michigan provides much 
of the funding for their physical needs, other 
costs for needs like mental health, therapeutic 
activities and engagement are not funded. 
Part of JARC’s mission is to meet this need 
and, as a result, JARC pays for these services 
independently.
To date, the newly instituted program 
already has several success stories. These 
new activities combined with individualized 
therapies with a trained professional has 
helped JARC persons served to further express 
themselves and uncover new abilities. 

JARC Receives 
$25,000 Grant

