Facebook Post by Rabbi Perlin in the Time of Coronavirus (4/17/2020)
Friday Post 4.17.20: Comfort in Continuity
by Rabbi Amy R. Perlin
Nothing is normal now.
Parents are teachers and teachers are home.
Some are able to work remotely,
and for others the possibility of work is remote.
Human touch and contact are discouraged, even as
human yearning for connection fuels the courage of the distanced.
And those who are essential sacrifice their lives to save lives,
as we redefine priorities and prioritize that which is a necessity.
And so, I open to this week’s Torah portion to prepare for Shabbat Shemini,
as I have done for decades, and find that it is still there.
Moses and Aaron; sacrifices both animal and human;
Once again,
I struggle to find meaning in the death of Aaron’s sons,
even as I embrace his silence.
The weekly order of Torah continues,
immutable in a plague and pandemic.
Here in Leviticus, the biblical saga continues to unfold.
It doesn’t stop, because we have stopped.
And that is a comfort to me now.
Now, rather than struggle to find meaning in the words,
as I have for what feels like an eternity,
I find solace in the fact that they are still here for me to struggle with,
and that the weekly portion we all share is still there for us to share.
We may be socially distant from the Torah scroll itself,
unable to kiss or touch it in person,
but the words are there on the page before us –
Eternal, Enduring, Everlasting.
And I find comfort
in this ceaseless cycle of readings —
They give order to the current chaos of my life
and structure and direction as I drift from day to day.
This week in our haftarah from Second Samuel,
King David dances before the holy ark,
as he brings it to Jerusalem.
We can feel the mixture of his holy joy as a Jew and
the sting of the criticism he faces as leader of the Israelites.
And I realize that I don’t have to find a message in the words,
At this time, their existence is a haven,
And their coming this week, reliable and unfailing,
is all I need right now.
I find comfort in the continuity of Leviticus on this spring morning,
as the trees begin to bud green,
and the daffodils break through the still chill earth.
Vayikra, Tzav, Shemini…
And next week the big two:
Tazria-Metzora, filled with its assorted diseases,
will most certainly follow.
I find comfort in the continuity,
as Shabbat is coming.
And right now, that is enough.