In the wake of the horrific images coming from Haiti, there was something I felt I could withdraw from all of this as a positive.
Yes, there were people acting desperately because the times in this terribly poor nation are desperate. Perhaps they were near desperate prior to the earthquake.
But all in all, we’re seeing a vast human spirit, in which people from all over the world are converging on Port Au Prince to do what ever they can to help.
Don’t think it doesn’t make us all burst with pride to know that among the first responders were Israelis. Be it ZAKA, known as the first responders on the backs of motor scooters after terrorist strikes, to the highly skilled medical, rescue and military teams who arrived as the clearest example of Tikkun Olum, bringing light onto the world.
Also, Jewish organizations from as locally as here in Baltimore to around the globe are collecting needed funds to get to the ravaged country.
We know of people who aren’t in a financial position at this time to donate much of anything, yet they still are.
As Rabbi Steve Schwartz of Beth El told some 800 worshippers last Shabbat, if you think your $10 doesn’t matter, just look around this room. Do the math. $10 can become multiplied into hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
We are doing what God has mandated for us as Jews. We are watching out for fellow man, feeding him and healing him and helping him get back on his feet.
And we’re doing it with difficult unemployment numbers here in Baltimore, financial assistance requests at an all-time high and in the cold, gray middle of winter.
Yet there’s the figurative sun ray of hope coming through into the darkness.
We kindled our Chanukah candles last month and brought light into that darkness.
The afterglow of that light remains in us all.