Parashat Emor 5769--Rally for Darfur

On Sunday, May 17, at 2:30 p.m. the Orange County Jewish community will join together at Mile Square Park for an unprecedented action. Together, we will stand side by side and march in a Rally for Darfur. Together as one community, we will protest the ongoing slaughter taking place in Darfur, Sudan.

Many of you gathered last Sunday to hear Holocaust Survivor Leon Leyson speak at Temple Beth Sholom. Still others joined two weeks ago with Hadassah to hear TBS Congregant and Holocaust Survivor Sarah Schweitz’s story, and still others joined with our TBS Teens to hear Jenny Unterman’s story. Yes, we have been deeply honored to have many in our Orange County community come together to hear first-hand accounts of the horrors of the Shoah, the Holocaust, in commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place on Tuesday, April 21.

We say “Never Again” and we gather to hear the sacred memories of those in our community who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. We say “Never Again,” and yet violence continues in our world. What is our moral responsibility as a Jewish people when we witness acts of violence and genocide in our own times?

This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, continues to explore that which makes life holy and ritually pure. Like the rest of Leviticus, Parashat Emor goes to great lengths to describe details of ritual purity, including the ways in which Israelite priests must remain ritually pure, as well as the rhythm of the Jewish holy days. And, while the ancient particulars of the Levitical Authors may seem removed from our own sensibilities, I believe their deepest intentions are well in-line with our own.

The Levitical Authors intended to construct a world, a world of order and holiness, a world that mirrored the Divine and the Divine’s intention. A world which, illustrated through ancient sacrifices and rituals, breathed out messages of wholeness, holiness, and life. We too aim to create a world of wholeness, holiness, and life. And, we at times succeed. And, we at times fail.

We know in our hearts that what takes place in Darfur each and every day is a crime. We know that the crisis in Darfur is the antithesis to all that our Torah and we hold dear: wholeness, holiness, and life. We know and yet we feel overwhelmed by the scope of the task.

On May 17, we have an opportunity to take another important step against the outrage in Darfur. Let us gather as one community. Take one hour out of your life to spread a message of wholeness, holiness, and life. Our brothers and sisters in Darfur cry out for our help. Never Again. May it yet be so.

Please check out details regarding the May 17 Rally for Darfur in Mile Square Park at www.jewishworldwatch.com.