I’m always moved, as we near the end of the book of Bereshit (Genesis), at one particular piece of the narrative arc of this first book of the Torah. The first question that a human being asks, in the first parsha of the Torah, is “am I my brother’s keeper?” In the immediate aftermath of Cain killing his brother Abel, Cain pushes back on the responsibility that any of us has towards another. Throughout this book of the Torah, as we witness broken family relationships in every generation and brothers that treat each other poorly, Cain’s response to God reverberates in our ears.
But this week, as we conclude this book of Bereshit, we finally, at long last, learn a different answer, the true answer. With the reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers, and with the brotherly relationship of Ephraim and Menasheh, we finally see a model of brothers that can treat each other well. But the message from this final parshah is more than just brotherly love, it’s a message of what it takes to look out for each other, to act with the other in mind. The power for me in this model is that it is precisely what allows for the possibility of moving to the next book of the Torah.
Next week, we begin the book of Shemot, which is the book of community building. No longer are we in the realm of family stories, but we had to learn how to treat each other before we, as a nation, could build community. We would not have been able to enter the stage of community building if we had not learned how to be each other’s keeper. This was true for our ancient Israelites and it’s just as true for us today.
This week, Time Magazine revealed their Heroes of the Year, and we saw the faces of four scientists on their cover. These scientists, developers of the mRNA vaccine technology, have not only been answers to our prayers, but they have embodied the true answer to Cain’s question. They have fully embraced what it means to be our brothers’ keeper. Among these scientists is Dr. Drew Weissman, son-in-law of Beth Sholom members Anne and Morris Weiss, and husband of Mary Ellen Weissman who grew up at Beth Sholom. I have been so inspired by Dr. Weissman and his colleagues’ contributions to our world and the way that they have truly allowed each of us to embody the mitzvah of taking care of not only ourselves but others.
Their heroic, life-saving work, enables us to build community. The Israelites couldn’t move to Shemot, the book of community building, until they knew how to look out for each other, and we can’t either. It is because of these heroes that we are able to turn being our brothers’ keeper into action. It is only because of their actions that we are able to even imagine community. I pray that more and more of the world looks up to these scientists as heroes. I pray that we all interalize the message, as they did, of being our brothers’ keeper.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Sarit
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