This is a time where filling in a circle takes on incredible weight and meaning. If you haven’t already exercised your right to vote, there is still time to fill in the circular bubbles for the sake of our democracy.
I am reminded of Honi the Circle Drawer, a character of Talmudic legend. The “circle drawer” in his name comes from an occasion when rains did not fall one winter. Incensed, Honi drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and demanded more rain; it then began to pour,damaging crops and causing flooding. Audaciously, Honi explained to God that he would prefer a gentler rain, at which point the storm calmed.
Honi holds his ground and demands justice. He must be afraid, in the face of either famine or flooding that presents itself, but holds firm for what is right.
Edwin Markham, in his poem poem Outwitted , writes of the ways in which we can draw our own circles:
He drew a circle that shut me out— Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in!
In a time when fear and anxiety reigns, let us not forget our power to draw circles to demand justice and right from God and from humans alike. May we also open our hearts to draw circles of love that embrace our neighbors and build for a better future.
Friday, October 30, 2020 / 12 Cheshvan 5781 5:45 PM
Shabbat Service & Bat Mitzvah of Hana Shuster, daughter of Sandra and James Shuster. We look forward to celebrating with the Shuster family as Hana is called to the Torah to become a Bat Mizvah.
Alan Axelrod Frances Berger Stella Nevelson Block H. Jack Feibelman Anna Cohen Haberman Herman Haberman Terry Holland David C. Isenberg Farrel A. Jaffa Jean Moverman Jaffa Sloan Myles Jaffa Alvin Kurzer Maxwell Mann Joan Adler Mark Sheila G. Miller Eileen Parker Judith Spindell Faye Rozovsky Florence Tilles Norman Toobe
YIZKOR ELOHIM The Congregation joins in mourning the death of Stanley Smith Lenore Rakatansky Maria Mauricia Azevedo Dr. Harvey W. Neitlich Harriet Blum Dorothy Miller Rosen Dr. Carmine Capalbo Jean Wiebe Barbara Bing Kaplan Sherry Royall Donna Beth O'Hara Eysman Lawrence Hoffman
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Temple Beth-El 70 Orchard Ave Providence, RI 02906 401.331.6070
