February seems like a different lifetime. I flew to New York, stayed in a hotel, ate in restaurants and wandered the streets with everyone else, mask free. In many ways it was a different life, one which has changed. Some things have been lost forever but others, hopefully, have been gained.
During that trip to New York, I had the honor to sit in a room, surrounded by colleagues, who like me, would soon officially join the world of the Conservative Rabbis. We were gifted with matching mezuzot* and tasked to remember the importance of both the external case and the text inside. A mezuzah case is simply decoration until it has the klaf (parchment) inside, and without the protection of the case, the klaf would eventually fall apart and the message it contains would be lost. Likewise we were reminded, a building is just a building without the people inside, the people are the community, and the people are protected and enhanced by the building.
Judaism teaches that a house becomes a home only when we move in and affix a mezuzah on it’s doorposts. Likewise, the Cross of Christianty, the hamsa (hand) of the eastern Mediterranean, the all seeing eye or Nazar of the East, and the Lucky Cat or Maneki Neko of Japan all adorn homes across the globe with much the same meaning. Our globe has gotten smaller this spring, our houses have taken on new life and with few exceptions, our religious buildings stand empty. We have redefined what it means to be a community and how we share experiences. We have been reminded that although the house (building) is important, it is the people that keep us strong.
There is more to be learned from the klaf protected within the mezuzah case. These words from the book of Deuteronomy are written by a trained scribe in a specific way. The letters are written in black plant based ink and commonly using a reed, a tall slender plant, as a quill. Imagine a waterway or lake whose banks are covered in reeds. With a light breeze, they bend and dance only to return to their original upright stance. Our predecessors of the Talmud remind us to be always “Yielding like a reed and not unbending like a cedar [tree].” While the cedar tree is infinitely stronger, given enough pressure it will break. This spring we also have been asked to bend in directions that are new and unknown. To commit ourselves to decisions, often made by others, which may bring us nearly to the breaking point and then the breeze lets up and we are again able to get our feet firmly under us once again. But look again at the waterway covered in reeds. No one reed stands alone, they too have each other to help them return to upright. To use as needed and support as possible.
There is something else about that klaf that I love. It is not just the black letters creating the words that are important. Equally important are the white spaces between them. If two letters were to touch and eliminate the white space then this klaf could not be used. Together these are a beautiful model for how we are a community. As one sofer put it: “We do not write letters; we create spaces.” Each of us is a black letter bringing ourselves to the conversation. But those white spaces – those are the places where we meet each other, influence and are influenced, bend and stand strong. And like us this spring, they are never allowed to touch yet only with each and every letter and person is our community complete.
We must know who we are, yet provide space for those who are different. And in doing so we will find that we bend like the reed but stay whole and strong in that flexibility. May we always be blessed to find our space and to create the space for others. May we stay healthy and together be the community that holds up the walls of the building until we return to the protection of it’s walls.
I hope you take a moment and wonder:
How are you a cedar tree and how are you the reed?
How are you the black letters?
How are you the white space between the letters?
*A Mezuzah (mezuzot in plural) is a decorative case with parchment inscribed. On the parchment or klaf are written the biblical verses Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21. It is found on the doorposts of the homes of Jews
Hannah, thank you your inspiring words. At this time the spaces between us highlight the importance of our connections. We have the opportunity to see and feel the value of connection, be it virtual or in person. These online connections give us more access to one another than we could possibly have in person; the spaces between are just wider.
Rita
So very true Rita! You always make me smile.