March 27, 2020
As the weeks go on, I’m hearing from more and more of you who are ill yourselves, worrying about friends or family who are ill, or mourning deaths. I’m sending much love and prayers for healing your way.
This week has been dominated by conversations about how many deaths would be acceptable in order to save the economy. We’ve seen elected officials — and even some who claim to speak in a religious voice — justifying condemning older people, and those with pre-existing conditions to death, as sacrifices to the god of the economy.
But the only religious answer to how many deaths are acceptable is zero. We know that we cannot achieve zero, but we must never stop mourning every single death as a tragedy.
Our tradition teaches that every single human being is a unique and infinitely valuable creation in the divine image. Indeed, the loss of a human being constitutes a diminishment of God Godself! As one midrash puts it, “If one sheds blood, it is accounted as though that person has diminished the divine image. For it is said: Whoever sheds human blood… For in the Image of God God made humanity (Gen. 9:6).” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishma’el, Tractate Bahodesh)
As a human rights organization, T’ruah will never abandon our responsibility to protect every single creation in the divine image.
This week, so many of you joined our virtual action to demand that immigrants detained by ICE be released before COVID-19 overruns detention centers. We learned together, we got updated on the crisis, and then we muted and called our governors. In the coming weeks, we will offer more opportunities to connect and take virtual action as a community.
If you missed the action, you can still call your governor.
Yesterday, a deal was likely struck in Israel by which Prime Minister Netanyahu will probably remain in power for another 18 months, with Benny Gantz taking a senior ministry now and then becoming Prime Minister in September 2021 (exact parameters of this agreement remain in discussion). We remain alarmed at the likelihood that Netanyahu will advance annexation and permanent occupation, perhaps using the COVID-19 crisis as justification for emergency measures. Next week, we will offer two webinars to understand the current situation in Israel; watch your inbox for more information and a link to sign up.
On Wednesday 4/1, we will also be offering a webinar on running a seder, which you may find yourself doing for the first time or perhaps virtually, using the T’ruah haggadah. If you haven’t already gotten a copy of the haggadah, you can still order it.
We are continuing to support the rabbinical students who have been taking part in T’ruah’s human rights program during their academic year in Israel. Most of these students have returned home, though some have decided to remain in Israel. We are offering virtual learning for them with Israeli and Palestinian human rights leaders, and continuing to train them to be the human rights leaders we need — especially in this moment.
Thank you to those of you who have reached out with financial support during this time. We will do our best to acknowledge your gifts as soon as we can, but please note that it may take us some time to process checks, as we are not working out of our office right now, in accordance with New York State and City guidelines. You can always give online to support our work during this crisis and beyond.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, and a refuah shleimah (complete recovery) for those in our communities and families who are suffering.
Thank you as always for your partnership,
Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Executive Director
