During this past week I had the good fortune to participate in a Diwali celebration in Canberra. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists. It represents the symbolic victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. In the lead-up to Deepavali, celebrants prepare by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their homes and workplaces with diyas (oil lamps) and rangolis (colorful art circle patterns).
During Diwali, people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with saaki (earthen lamp),diyas and rangoli, perform worship ceremonies, light fireworks and partake in family feasts.
During Diwali, people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with saaki (earthen lamp),diyas and rangoli, perform worship ceremonies, light fireworks and partake in family feasts.
I was moved by the strong community spirit, the devotion and the joy of the participants, the light and the colour. I was struck by the similarities to some of our Jewish practises especially around Passover and Chanukah. At Pesach or Passover time we also clean our homes and perform a ritual with light (a candle ) to symbolise the searchlight into our souls and we dress in our new and fine clothes in honour of the festival. The Passover or exodus story has its origins in a fiery or burning bush revealed to Moses. At Chanukah time we hope our chanukiyot or eight-branched candelabras at our windows will spread the power of light into a dark world outside.
The theme of light illuminating the darkness is shared by most religions and is desperately needed in these dark days of climate devastation and deadly war. During these worrying times, there are at least three steps worth taking.
The first step is to create space in your life for the things that really matter, for family and friends. If you are fortunate enough to be in a marriage or partnership, to have a family and friends you can rely on, then never take them for granted. We need to work hard and constantly at our relationships. No one ever achieved success without hard work and not for nothing is the Jewish word for serving God avodah which also means hard work.
Researchers at Michigan University found that married people aged 22-79 who had at least two close friends – meaning at least one beside their spouse – had higher levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem and lower levels of depression than spouses who did not have close friends outside their marriage. The rabbis of the Mishnah obviously knew what they were talking about when they said strive in life to find a chaver tov and a partner tov/tovah.
We need to be careful not to idealise these relationships – they are not only hard work, they’re also heart work and can be gut-wrenching. Relationship therapists, Tim and Kathy Keller write that marriage (and I would say parenting and friendship) – involve fighting and recovery, small and large acts of betrayal and apology. They say, “the one person in the whole world to hold your heart in your hand, whose approval and affirmation you most long for indeed, is the one who is hurt more deeply by your sins than anyone else on the planet”. And, I would add, this is also the one your genuine apology and acts to restore recovery will matter to most.
The second step is to reach out, create and strengthen community. It’s about creating connections. We are wired for connection – it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives (Brené Brown). That’s what the Hebrew word kesher means -connectedness, linkage, a bonding; it’s the last letters of the alphabet right there close to the omega, the final solitary.
Covid 19 is still with us – the cracks revealed in health; aged and disability care; the fissures opened in relationships; the fractures created for many young kids and it seems most acutely for teens in their development; the aching loneliness of many living solitary lives. Antisemitism and dismissal of the other is thriving across the world.
There is something transformative about being part of a group who pray, celebrate, remember and hope together. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a community to reach a full flowering of happiness. If we have learnt one lesson from the pandemic, it should surely be that virtual communities are no substitute for real communities. Facebook can’t replace a face-to-face encounter. It is by strengthening our connections to our own communities – as well as to the wider community of Australia – so that we can help heal the fissures and create a better future for the next generation.
The third step is to recognise and affirm that life is not about the idea of power but the power of the idea. Greek philosophers may have excelled at this but Judaism has made it an enduring part of our lifestyle and remains one of the most powerful gifts we continue to give to the world. We have a great intellectual tradition that encourages curiosity and questioning, searching and seeking and restlessly asserting that the world can be a better place. In my mind this in itself is a reason for young people to remain Jewish.
There is an old saying that if you catch on fire with enthusiasm, people will come for miles to watch you burn. It was Abraham who ignited that passion by breaking the idols of his father, confronting God and challenging the society around him. It was Moses who fuelled that passion with his burning bush moment. These founders of the Jewish people with their fearsome protection of the vulnerable, rejection of authoritarianism and power, fanaticism for freedom and social justice helped shape Western civilisation and are an inspiration for the younger generation. And I say, thank God for all the incredible models we have in our community and in Australia across different communities of young individuals inflamed by tzedakah and mishpat, justice, charity and compassion.
Shavuot – A Festival of Love and Hope