By Rabbi Ron Stern
The last lines of the Haftarah reading for Yom Kippur are embroidered across the collar of my Tallit. They are:
אָ֣ז יִבָּקַ֤ע כַּשַּׁ֙חַר֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ֖ מְהֵרָ֣ה תִצְמָ֑ח
“Then shall your light burst through like the dawn and your healing spring up quickly;”
These words follow Isaiah’s sharp 2400-year-old rebuke to the Jews in Babylon insisting that their own healing will only come after they have secured the well-being of the weakest in their society: the widow, the hungry, the wretched poor. It is a piercing and compelling call for compassion and kindness and a reminder to Jews at this most sacred time of the year that we are a people who endeavor to lead with those traits.
In our world today where so much is out of balance and the very foundations of our lives often seem to be shaken by the events and circumstances that surround us, we believe that our religious traditions can offer us strength and a secure mooring in the raging tempest of life’s storms. It is for this reason that Wise is hosting an interfaith prayer vigil with religious communities from across the Westside of the city.
LA is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, a surprisingly harmonious blend of religions, ethnicities, and immigrants that defies the discord that we find elsewhere in our nation. However, we should never take our relative tranquility for granted and always endeavor to strengthen the bonds that we know can just as easily fray. Having said that, there is still much work to be done in our city. Our capacity to embrace and cherish the many paths to God and spiritual wholeness and celebrate our diversity is one of the ways that we can strive for greater harmony.
We invite you to join us for a prayer vigil bringing together religious communities from the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. Together we’ll affirm our deep respect for each other and our various paths to God, spirituality, and meaning as a part of our unique American fabric. We’ll recognize that some of us are in pain and overwhelmed with a sense of distance from the country they call home and show that we in the religious community can “love our neighbors as ourselves.”
It will be a time for healing and harmony as well as an opportunity to celebrate what is best about our city and our nation.
We hope that you’ll join us on October 16th at 7:00 p.m. at Wise – and of course, be sure to bring friends that reflect the mosaic that is Los Angeles!
