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Weekly Jewish Wisdom by Dr. Erica Brown, "Random Kindness" - June 25, 2009
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Random Kindness
By Dr. Erica Brown
June 25, 2009
"Boast not of tomorrow; you do not know what a day may bring forth."
Proverbs 27:1
This week, two trainloads of people in our nation's capital were coming home from work and various warm weather wanderings. But some of them never made it home. Nine of them were killed and dozens seriously injured when two Metro trains collided. The cause is still unclear. The tracks are still closed. The pain is still raw. We honor the memory of those lost and pray for those still in critical condition. And all the while, the fright is palpable. How do any of us know when we leave our homes in the morning and the people we love that we will be returning in the evening? What happens when an everyday, routine commute turns into a nightmare?
Proverbs does not mince its words about the existential randomness that such fear creates: "Boast not of tomorrow; you do not know what a day may bring forth." Contrary to the general, forward anticipation that religious life generally offers, Proverbs sobers us up. You have no idea about tomorrow or if there will be a tomorrow. If that is really the case, then people may simply give up today. Why bother making a difference if it could all end in a few hours?
We make a difference today because we still have today. We make a difference today because it is another day to love and give. We make a difference because Rabbi Eliezer in Ethics of the Fathers advises us: "Repent the day before you die" (2:6). What funny and clever wisdom. We don't know the day when we will no longer be here. Just to make sure that every breathing moment makes a difference to someone, we have to improve our lives constantly. We engage ourselves deeply in the struggle, the challenge and the joy of now so that if today is our last day, we are able to say that it was a day in which we truly lived.
When we look at our Proverbs quote, we're breathless by the first verb; we're told not to boast about tomorrow. What could this mean? We boast when we feel proud, in control, masters of our own destinies. Proverbs asks us not to be so sure. Randomness is a cruel power that we confront when we think that all is within our ambitious reach.
What is in our power is not what happens to us but how we respond to what happens to us, as the American writer Eric Hoffer once said, "Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature." Listening to Metro professionals talk about the outpouring of love and kindness that followed the train collision was a way to take control of our humanity, to act in situations that seem beyond comprehension.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson said that, "Man was created so that he can lift up the heavens." Random acts of disaster must spur us to do random acts of redemption, small deeds of kindness that help us lift up the heavens when the tracks beneath us fail to carry us on our way.
Shabbat Shalom.
Dr. Erica Brown is the Director of Adult Education at The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and Director of the Jewish Leadership Institute at The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is also an adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University, was a Jerusalem Fellow and is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation. Brown lectures widely on subjects of Jewish interest and leadership, in addition to extensive writing in journals of education and Jewish studies. She has chapters in "Jewish Legal Writings by Women, Torah of the Mothers," and "Wisdom from All of My Teachers" and writes a weekly internet essay on topics of Jewish interest. Brown is the author of the book, "Inspired Leadership: A Jewish Perspective" and co-author of "The Case for Jewish Peoplehood." This article first appeared on the web site of The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning.
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