Week VI: Care

In chapter six, Dr. Wolfson shares a simple truth:

Everyone wants to make a difference.

How do we do that? By doing simple acts of caring and kindness…

Dr. Wolfson shares a story made popular in the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book. The story’s origins are not well known, but it seems to be based loosely on an essay by scientist and poet, Loren Eisley. Today there are literally hundreds of versions of the story and it is told over and over again on the Internet, in graduation speeches, etc. Why? Because it illustrates a basic truth: every act you do matters to someone or something in God’s Universe.

The gist of the story:

A man walking along a beach meets someone picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back in the ocean, saving them from certain death. There are hundreds of starfish strewn on the sand. The observer comments that the star thrower’s efforts seem futile; he cannot possibly make a difference. As the star thrower tosses another live starfish into the sea, he says, “Made a difference to that one.” (God’s To-Do-List: 103 Ways to be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth (Jewish Lights, 2007, p 68)

The question for us then: how will WE make a difference?

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Dr. Wolfson)

51. Make a difference in someone’s life today by simply caring: hold a door for a stranger, hug a loved one.

52. Perform a random act of kindness – on purpose.

56. Bring coffee and a treat – cookies, bagels, cake – to the office.

59. Never part from your loved ones without kissing them good-bye, no matter what.

60. Always say “I love you” at the end of phone calls with loved ones and friends. You never know whether it will be your last opportunity to tell them.

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Rabbi Locketz)

1. Pick up the phone and a call a friend or relative that you haven’t spoken to in a while – just because.

2. Do something thoughtful and unexpected for a friend or family member such as surprising your spouse or children with their favorite meal – prepared without asking.

3. Help an elderly neighbor with yard work or (this time of year) shoveling the driveway or walkway.

4. Say hello (with a smile!) to someone you don’t know and watch them smile back at you.

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Yours!)

What is on YOUR list this week?
1.

2.

Week V - Comfort

Again this week, our chapter in God’s To-Do List corresponds with the Torah portion that we will read this Shabbat. “Comfort” is what the beginning of our portion is all about! Abraham has just entered into the Covenant with God and is healing from his circumcision. Our commentators tell us that what happens next can be interpreted as a divine house call. We read:

The Eternal appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he (Abraham) was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot… (Genesis 18:1)

God was visiting the sick – Abraham – to offer him comfort in his time of pain!

But there is another type of comfort offered in our portion. The text continues:

…Looking up, he (Abraham) saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves… (Genesis 18:2-5)

Abraham exemplifies what it means to be hospitable; to offer hospitality to guests, to make them comfortable, no matter what else might be going on…even if it means ending a visit with God!

Using this text (which will be read Shabbat morning – come hear it!) Dr. Ron Wolfson tells us what it means to “comfort.” He teaches that when we visit someone who is sick, we bring God’s presence to those who need it most; that when we offer comfort, we are doing God’s work; and that when we welcome strangers (as Abraham did) we just may be welcoming God’s angels in the world.

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Dr. Wolfson)

41. When your friends or relatives are sick, bring them soup, ginger ale, tea, tissues.

43. Let someone go in front of you in line; yield to someone trying to merge into traffic.

45. When you see someone who looks sad or unwell, ask whether there’s anything you can do to help.

46. Go to funerals; comfort the mourner at the wake or shiva with your presence.

49. Take new colleagues in your company out to lunch.

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Rabbi Locketz)

1. Introduce yourself to someone that you don’t know when you come to services or other programs here at Temple.

2. When someone new moves into your neighborhood, greet them and welcome them to the community.

3. Donate your old jackets and coats to SHIM (South Hills Interfaith Ministries) by placing them in the bins in the hallway near the Temple gift shop so that someone who really needs them will feel warm and comfortable this winter.

4. When a friend or neighbor is going through a difficult time (caring for a sick parent, mourning a loss, etc.) offer to help with errands, childcare, bringing meals, or to do whatever would make the burden a bit easier.

God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Yours!)

What is on YOUR list this week?

1.

2.

Week IV: Call

Rabbi Mahler writes:

We’re now up to Chapter 4 of God’s To Do List: “Call.” “Call” coincides perfectly with the Torah portion for November 7 and 8, Lech Lecha. Lech Lecha begins with God’s call to Abram to leave his native land and go to the land that God will show him. God does not identify the destination to Abram. All that God says, in effect, is “Get up and go,” Lech Lecha. That was enough for Abram to get up and go. Oh and by the way, Abram is seventy five years old when he gets the call from God. We might expect Abram at that age to inquire about the destination God has in mind. Boca Raton? Scottsdale?

We know what Abram didn’t know. Canaan was the destination. Canaan was the Wild West of Abram’s day. By contrast, Abram’s native Haran was the heartland of civilization in the ancient Near East. The contrast underscores that the journey was far more spiritual than geographic or economic. Spiritual journeys are the only kind that God ever has in mind.

Ron Wolfson reminds us that God calls to us today, as surely as God called to Abram in Lech Lecha. These spiritual journeys may take us no farther than to the sick bed of a friend or to the dining room on Friday night to celebrate Shabbat. Sometimes spiritual journeys take us no farther than the depths of our heart to offer love and kindness when only love and kindness are needed. But sometimes God calls us to undertake a spiritual journey where the destination is imprecise, distant and perhaps even difficult. Abram then becomes our perfect role model. He did not hesitate to get up and go, simply because it was God who called to him.
God calls to us. God calls to us in the words of the Torah and the Prophets. God calls to us through the wisdom of the ancient sages of the Talmud. God calls to us in the many needs of our world today. May we always answer God’s call.

Some favorites from God’s To Do List….

38. Study how biblical figures answer God’s call.
39. Listen for God’s call.
You’ll know it when you hear it.
40. Respond to God’s call. Remember, you
are on a mission from God to do God’s work on earth.