Shabbat Messages

During this week’s graduation ceremonies, on the bimas of our congregation, there were song parodies sung and student speeches given and blessings shared and certificates presented. In the congregations, there were tears shed and laughter shared. And mostly, there was an overwhelming amount of pride.

This time of year is filled with graduation ceremonies, so chances are good that you, too, have either participated in or been witness to scenes similar to this one (Brawerman and ECC cultural norms notwithstanding). Across the country, students of all ages are being celebrated. They are reflecting on the memories and experiences they are leaving behind while simultaneously being challenged to consider how best to step into the next stages of their lives.

Each spring, I am captivated by the messages that are delivered in culmination addresses at universities around the country. Often, they are messages that speak to the issues of the day and when they are done well, they are messages that we all need to hear. One address that has resonated this year came from Amy Hood, the Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft, who spoke at the graduation ceremony at Duke University last month. She spoke directly to the graduates that day, encouraging them to accept that things do not always work out the way we plan or expect. Uncertainty, she suggested, is inevitable. The question is whether we will allow it to paralyze us, or whether we will, in the face of this uncertainty, be resilient enough to keep learning, growing, and exploring. Her message, to choose curiosity over fear, is critical in these uncertain times, but it is not new.

In this week’s Torah portion, Sh'lach L'cha, it is the twelve scouts, sent by Moses into the land of Canaan, who were challenged to come to terms with the uncertainty that lay ahead. They had been sent with a straightforward assignment: observe the land and bring back a report. What is it like? Are the people strong or weak? Are the cities fortified? Is the soil fertile? They were sent on a fact-finding mission.

At first, that is exactly what they did. When they returned, they went straight to Moses and Aaron, and to the community that had gathered, to share their findings: The land is indeed abundant. The fruit is extraordinary. The cities are fortified. The inhabitants are powerful… But somewhere along the way, the report of facts devolved into an editorial report of their deep-seated anxieties:

"We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them." (Numbers 13:33)

The facts had not changed, but the story had. Ten of these scouts were overcome with anxiety about what would happen after the inevitable step of settling the land finally came to pass. Only two of the twelve, Caleb and Joshua, who had reported the same facts, drew a different conclusion:

“Let us by all means go up.”
(Numbers 13:30)

We need to look no further than the latest headline notification that has popped onto our screens to be reminded that our everyday reality is replete with uncertainty that can provoke paralyzing anxiety in the strongest among us, and we need not be recent graduates to be reminded of how challenging and essential it is to allow our curiosity to prevail over our fears.

Our tradition does not ask us to deny reality or ignore uncertainty. It asks us to lean into our faith, our community and our own strength, so that we can resist surrendering to fear, always believing that we can, by all means, go up to whatever comes next.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Leah Lewis