A favorite midrash of mine teaches us that at the time of creation, God pulled back in order to create a space for the world. It was in that space that the universe was formed. But now, in that space, there was no God. So God created Divine Sparks of light to be placed back into God’s creation in ten holy vessels. Due to a cosmic accident and the containers broke and the universe became filled with sparks of God’s Divine Light and shards of the broken containers which scattered everywhere like stars. The Midrash teaches that until the sparks of God’s light are gathered together, we will live in an imperfect world. It is, therefore upon all of us to repair the vessels to collect the sparks. We call this work tikkun olam – repairing the world.
Tzedakah or righteous giving is a great tool to help us in this endeavor. The root of the word tzedakah is tzedek which means justice and Torah teaches us “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof – Justice, justice you shall pursue, that you may live, and inherit the land which God gave you.” Deuteronomy 16:18.
This semester, the Rabbi Leslie Yale Gutterman Religious School is partnering with Tzedek Box to help us do just that. We put coins in a Tzedakah box, but in a Tzedek Box, we put slips of paper on which we document our contributions to a better world (“I called my Senator,” "I helped feed the hungry," “I spoke out against racism”) This program will provide us with the opportunity to pause and reflect as well as provide us with sacred accountability. Tzedek Box will help us partner with the Divine to collect those sparks of light and repair the world.
The creator of Tzedek Box, Rabbinical Student Andrew Mandel will work with our B Mitzvah Academy (Grades 5-7) students and their parents on Sunday, January 29 to create their own Tzedek Boxes. Together, they will help us launch our school-wide campaign so that we can track our efforts as a community. On the last day of school, we will open our School Tzedek Box and share all of the wonderful things we each did to make a more just world.
We invite the entire congregation to join us. To make it easy, there is a Tzedek Box App you can download to your smartphone. Join our tribe called “Temple Beth-El of Providence, RI,” code 60237393, to do it with us! Not a fan of technology, document your own efforts and collect them in your own personal Tzedek Box or drop them off in our Temple Tzedek Box that we will have in the building. Shabbat Shalom, Rachel
