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Getting in The Way (February 2010)

It was a photo of a doctor, a picture similar to many others we have seen in the past few weeks. The doctor was standing in a make-shift tent in Haiti, quietly speaking to relatives of the injured, trying to treat the scores of people surrounding him. Yet this photo was different - for I personally know the doctor in the photo. He's from the Boston area, and I met him through a mutual friend. He has been active for many years with an organization called Partners in Health, and I know that he has been going back and forth to Haiti for several years now. I know that he is dedicated; I know that he is Jewish; and I also know that he is a Cohen, a descendent of the priestly class from the days of the First and Second Temple. But why should this last fact matter?

Because long, long ago, his actual ancestor, Aaron, stood in a similar position. In B'Midbar (the Book of Numbers) we read that soon after a unsuccessful revolt against Moses and Aaron by Korah and his followers, a plague breaks out among the Israelites. All around, there is sickness and disease, despair and misery. Moses doesn't act. But Aaron, his brother and High Priest, grabs his staff, and runs out into the middle of the people. He stands at the edge of those who are ill, holds out his staff, performs a priestly ritual, and prays. He literally stands there, between the sick and well, between the dying and the living. He stands there, trying to hold back the tide of illness, trying to do whatever he can to stop the tragedy. And soon, due to Aaron’s courage and efforts, the plague ends.

The doctor and the priest, separated by almost three thousand years, both standing between the living and the dead, both “getting in the way.” And that’s exactly what we are all expected to do. Our tradition expects – no, commands - that we all try to “get in the way.”

We do not have to be a priest or a doctor. Even before Aaron’s example in B’Midbar, we are told in VaYikrah (the Book of Leviticus) “You shall not stand idly by the blood of your brother.”  We are commanded to notice, to be moved; we are commanded to act. We are not allowed to stand on the sideline. When we see someone in need, when we know that our brothers and sisters are in trouble and in need of assistance, we are commanded to move, to “get in the way” of further sorrow and tragedy.

And there are so many ways to “get in the way” of sorrow and tragedy. Some of us, like the doctor in the photo, may actually go to the cities and countries in need, and share their skill and time with great compassion. But we do not have to travel far. We can volunteer at the local offices of aid agencies; we can help at local food pantries; we can serve a meal at a local shelter; we can organize a collection of needed items. For whenever anything we do averts further suffering, even in the smallest amount, we “get in the way” of tragedy. 

And if we can’t “get in the way” physically, then we can do it financially, with our generous donations to local, national, and international aide groups, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Every dollar literally “gets in the way” of further suffering.

At the end of this month, we celebrate a woman who also chose to “get in the way” of tragedy, and by her action, saved an entire people. Esther could have easily stayed quiet, her Jewish identity undisclosed, and watched as Hamen destroyed the Persian Jewish community. But even at great risk to herself, she decides not to stand by. She literally moves ahead, walks into the king’s chamber, and initiates a series of events that will save her people.  Esther “got in the way” of Haman’s plans, and thus a tragedy was averted.

How do we celebrate this brave woman? The Megillah itself tells us: by giving donations to the poor, by “getting in the way” of poverty and suffering in our own communities.

So let us all stand up, and not stand by. Let us all decide and discover the unique ways we can help, both locally and around the world. Let us all strive to “get in the way” of tragedy and sorrow this month, as we celebrate Purim, and remind ourselves of our own strength and our blessings.