Community Blog Rituals of Care

On Tuesday morning, election day, I woke up to pray.

Now, to be clear, I am not someone who believes in a God who determines the outcome of an election, or for that matter, the outcome of a surgical procedure or a turbulent airplane flight. That said, I am also not someone who is committed to theological consistency, and I am not above begging. As the old saying goes, “There are no atheists in foxholes,” and I have called out to God from a few metaphorical foxholes in my life.

And so, I was surprised to discover on Tuesday morning that I was not drawn to praying for a particular outcome to this week’s election, in spite of my strong personal feelings about the candidates and the vision of America each has represented.

Instead, I found myself drawn to the ancient words of Birkhot Hashachar, the recitation of daily blessings that would still be there to anchor me when I woke up the next morning, and the morning after that — no matter what the outcome of this particular contest might be.

Blessed are You, our God, Sovereign of all creation, Who gives the rooster the understanding to distinguish between day and night. Blessed are You, Who created me in Your image, Who made me a Jew, Who clothes the naked, Who releases the captives, Who lifts up the downtrodden, Who gives strength to the weary.

It struck me on Tuesday morning that this recitation is not only a reminder to awaken to gratitude and praise each day. It is also a reminder to awaken to daily acts of care: when we clothe the naked, when we release the captives, when we lift up the downtrodden, when we give strength to the weary — we are manifesting the divine image in ourselves and in those around us.

In the words of this beautiful poem entitled “Priesthood” by David Gates:

Doing the laundry
And the dishes
And meal preparation
Are not tasks of the mundane
Because being clothed
And clean
And fed
Declares the dignity
Of human life
And nurtures us
Into new days
Into new eras
They are not mundane, no
They are the rituals of care

We are living in profoundly — historically — tumultuous times, when there is so much that feels beyond our control and out of our hands. It feels vitally important that we find ways to remind ourselves and each other what is, and has always been, within our reach. What is, and has always been, up to us. The words we choose. The blessings we offer. The kindness we show. As we stand now on this side of the election — trying to understand what it all means, what it says about our country, what it says about us — may we reawaken to the rituals of care that can nurture us into new days.

A year ago, shortly after October 7, a dear Israeli friend, Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, had key chains made that say in Hebrew:

.תִּהְיוּ הַסִבָּה לָזֶה שֶמִישֶהוּ מַאֲמִין בַּטּוֹב שֶבְּאָדָם

“Be the reason that someone believes in the goodness of human beings.” I still carry that key chain with me everywhere I go.

May our Hebrew College community continue to be a place where people come together daily — across whatever differences may divide us — to declare the dignity of all life with our words and with our deeds.

Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld is President of Hebrew College in Newton, MA.

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