Cover the Unisured Week

Words for Cover the Uninsured Week – Interfaith Luncheon
April 27, 2006

Sometimes, it is easy for us to separate the workings of our faith from the struggles of society. It is easy for us to put blinders by our eyes so that we only see what lies directly before us and if problems should happen to not lie in our path, well… we have problems of our own.

Yet, removing our blinders allows us to see that all of the things around us are part of our path. We cannot act as if we may never need to turn or that our path will never intersect with others. We must be aware.

When we turn our heads and even our bodies, looking not only ahead of us, but to the sides and even behind us, we may see that others do not move so easily along their paths. Obstacles that are easy for us to overcome may even be impossible for them to overcome on their own. It is incumbent upon us help them.

In Jewish Scriptures we find directives to act:

"Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself."

"Thou shalt not remain idle while thy neighbor bleeds."

So many are bleeding. So many struggling without help, without love.

There is another directive in Judaism which is called in Hebrew, Tikkun Olam. It means “The Repair of the World.” Our tradition teaches us that the world is not perfect, it is not as it should be, it is like my car, which had to be towed to the car dealer this morning, broken. Our job as Jews and as righteous human beings is to labor to repair it bit by bit.

We are told by the rabbis of old some advice which I leave you with here today, “It is not up to us as individuals to finish the work, but neither can we desist from it.” We must do our part, even if it is but a little bit, to help.

Thank You.