Valentine’s Day may not be on the Jewish calendar, but as we are surrounded with pink and red this week it is an opportunity to reflect on our own hearts and what is happening within them. As we have been reading in Exodus, Pharaoh's heart is at various moments stiffened, hardened and made heavy both by God and by Pharaoh's own stubbornness. King David possessed an “integrity of heart” and King
Solomon an “understanding heart.” The language of our sacred text credits the cardiac muscle as the locus of the sentiments that guide us through life. A beautiful Midrash explores the multitude of ways in which our hearts lead us: love, envy, contrition, fear, grief and joy.
To open our hearts requires vulnerability. That is the human condition. We are reminded that what we do with our own hearts is within our control. The great Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto taught in his ethical manual The Path of the Upright, “Our external actions have an effect on our inner feelings. We have more control over our actions than our emotions, and if we utilize what is in our power, we will eventually acquire what is not as much in our power.”
That is an 18th century philosopher's way of saying “fake it until you make it.” We may be filled with grievance and rage but if our actions reflect compassion and empathy our hearts will follow. As we navigate times filled with heartbreak, we can do good with integrity and we may be surprised to find, as the prophet Ezekiel teaches, that beneath our hearts of stone are actually hearts of flesh.
Torah Study: Mi Shebeirach Through Disability Theology
In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), Rabbi Emily Aronson is leading Torah Study on Saturday, February 24 at 9 a.m. on Zoom. The Campus Rabbi at NYU Hillel and the founder of Shleimut: Centering Judaism, Chronic Illness, and Disability, Rabbi Aronson will be discussing Mi Shebeirach as it relates to disability and chronic illness.
Shabbat B'yachad
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Temple Beth-El 70 Orchard Ave Providence, RI 02906 401.331.6070
