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Dear Or Shalom Community,
I write to you from a total daze.
I spent the last five days as an independent citizen, door-knocking in Chester County, Pennsylvania with Seed the Vote and UNITE HERE, within a smaller pod of organizers in my network, to get out the vote for democracy and justice in this historic election.
There were moments throughout my time door-knocking where I felt utterly defeated and hopeless. Devastated at how starkly divided we are as a country, how people are afraid of their own neighbors, silenced even within their own household. Terrified at the amount of hope and trust people have placed in a false messiah who promises greatness for some at the expense of all.
And yet, each night, our pod of about 20 people would gather, debrief, and share stories from the day, and no matter how hard my day had been, I would feel buoyed. Buoyed by the stories of my collaborators. Of all the beautiful connections they had made throughout their days. How they were able to support someone to vote who otherwise would not have been able to, or who would have voted incorrectly due to how complicated this country has made it to actually vote, or who was feeling confused about which candidate would actually look out for their best interest, and simply needed someone with whom they could talk to sort it all out. Those nights gave me hope.
Yesterday, while the polls were open, I knocked doors in Coatesville, a majority-black city with a poverty rate over double the national average. And again, I was buoyed. Buoyed by the way the community across the city came together to support one another in getting to the polls because they knew the importance of this election. Buoyed by the trust they all had in us, as strangers, to help them to do so. And, buoyed by the photos my fellow door-knockers were texting our group thread throughout the day–selfies of those whom we had door-knocked proudly touting their “I voted” stickers. Dozens of photos of beautiful souls who trusted enough in us as strangers to share themselves and their hopes and their faith in a better future with us. I felt inspired and truly hopeful, perhaps for the first time in days.
Today, I awoke to news that much of me was expecting, and yet which was somehow still shocking. I feel broken. Angry. Exhausted. Aggrieved. Terrified. Despondent. Frozen.
And yet, today has not been without hope. Throughout the day, my fellow door-knockers and I started receiving texts from those we had door-knocked, reaching out on their own accord, checking in on us to see if we’re okay. To fortify and soothe and care for us. Committing themselves to working with us in the long haul for a just and equitable future for all. In the midst of all of this pain and this heartbreak, total strangers are still choosing to reach for one another, and come together in love.
So too shall we.
I cannot begin to imagine the breadth and the depth of emotions we all must be feeling in this time. After years of so much heartbreak, it can feel like there is not much more we can take. Yet the heartbreak keeps coming, and we keep choosing one another. We keep choosing life.
So please join with your Or Shalom community this Saturday, November 9th, to grieve and process and breathe together. We will be holding Shabbat services from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at 333 Cortland, where we will be reading Parshat Lech Lecha and using it to imagine how we might go forward from here. Then, please join us in Holly Park for a potluck picnic and time to be and process together, from 12:30-2 p.m.
I will be out of town until Friday the 8th, but if you are in need of a time to speak with me to process the results of the election and all that might be up for you around it, don’t hesitate to schedule a time with me during my office hours through my calendar here, or to reach out via email.
If you are looking for an online space to process with fellow Jews this afternoon, you can join T’ruah, the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, at 4 p.m. through this zoom registration link.
I will be holding you all in my heart on this day. Despite our fear, may we be beckoned forward, toward one another, and toward the shared future we all deserve–one of and built through deep and abounding love.
With a heart wide enough for us all,
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