Last week we were in Morocco!
JWC Atlanta took a spectacular journey touring the length and breadth of this beautiful country.
We saw breathtaking sunsets and were inspired by tales of great faith and courage.
It was a trip that delighted the senses as we viewed intricate mosaics and magnificent buildings and inhaled the otherworldly scents of the tannery (iykyk) while sipping sweet tea with colorful locals in their indigenous environments.
There was so much to see and digest, literally a feast for the senses.
When one returns from such a trip a common question is
“What was your favorite part?”
I mulled over my response at length, but as I reviewed the trip over and over in my mind, there was something that came to the fore.
It was not a scene or a place or an explosion of color.
It was an action.
It was kindness.
For an entire week, I experienced a sisterhood of women who supported one another in sickness and in health, with sensitivity and kindness. I saw scenes of caring and thoughtfulness in a time that was meant to be an opportunity for focusing on self.
It was the most inspiring view.
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, which means laws.
After last week’s epic installment of the giving of the Ten Commandments in technicolor, and a sound and light show, we land with the veritable thump in a thicket of rules.
The grandiose journey seems to have ground to a halt in the mundane rules of civil laws pertaining to property and animals and their proper care.
It seems so mundane.
And how is your ox goring my ox even relevant?
All of you are well aware that I own no such animal, nor any animal at all.
But the Mishpatim, the statutes, are the practical procedure on how to bring Mt Sinai home.
How to interact with one another properly, with respect and care so society can thrive in justice.
Mishpatim also means sentences.
This focuses us on the idea that the glory of Mt Sinai is actualized in the sentences of daily life. The “lines” we exchange with one another. That is where the Ten Commandments come to life.
The drama of the big gestures are exclamation points, but the stuff of life, the meat of the script, comes to life in the delivery.
Do we speak kindly?
Do we feel our sister’s pain?
Do we lend a helping hand to ease a burden?
JWC Atlanta went on a journey that expanded our vistas as we explored a beautiful country.
I want to thank my sisters for giving me an altogether different view as I watched them walk with intention, kindness and an eye for compassion.
That is the best journey I could ever have experienced.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!