D’var Torah – Standing Between One Another and the Plague

Written by Rabbi Hannah Kingston — 20 June 2020

Three months ago, when we were first instructed by the Government to avoid non-essential contact, and especially indoor gatherings, an email was sent to our community which said:

“In these extraordinary times, our paramount responsibility as Jews is that of Pikuach Nefesh, “saving a life”, and the broader responsibility that we have for the wellbeing of ourselves and of others.  As a community we take that responsibility very seriously.”

Still to this day, Pikuach Nefesh remains the core focus, not just for us at Alyth but for the entire Jewish community. As Jews, we follow on from a legacy of community leaders who came before us, all of whom placed the principle of Pikuach Nefesh at the centre of their work.

We only need to look to what we read in Torah yesterday to see how this guiding principle was actioned by our Ancient Israelite leadership in the time of a different pandemic. As a plague struck the Israelites, we witness Aaron running to the midst of the congregation, where, ‘he stood between the dead and the living, until the plague was checked.’

Midrash states that Aaron physically grabbed the angel of death by his loins and pulled him away from his community. In this moment, the ultimate act of protection and self-sacrifice, Aaron acted as a true leader.

Italian Rabbi Sforno comments that the plague stopped as soon as Aaron went out into the midst of the people. But instead of returning to safety, Aaron waited and helped those who had already been taken sick but had not died yet. He did not return to normality at the first sign of a break from the plague, but rather delayed until there was no risk factor, until no one else would be struck down.

At this time, we have needed a different type of leadership. We are all Aaron in this moment, all needing to stand between one another and the plague of coronavirus. We each have a mutual responsibility to keep one another safe.

And so, we have kept the doors of our sanctuary closed, to create a physical barrier between you and the plague. And just as Aaron stood there even when there was no sign of imminent threat, we all must continue to act in this way to keep each other safe, until we truly feel that there is no threat.

Although our doors have remained closed, our community has remained open. Despite the lack of physical connection, over the past three months we have been very much socially together. The word community comes from the word common, and communities form when groups of people share things in life. Even as we have been asked to distance from one another, sharing moments of prayer, learning and support has remained our purpose.

Rabbi Josh spoke on Friday night, about the core idea of areivut – that we are all bound in covenantal relationship not only with God but with everyone else too. Areivut teaches us that we remain utterly responsible for one another and that it is not only our individual Jewish life or needs that matter, but those of every member of our community. This principle needs to remain at the centre of our decisions about the return to community life of old, a community of commonality, where our responsibilities to each and every single person remain at the heart.

Therefore, although we all yearn to be together once again, to really feel the divine presence enter our Beit Tefilah as we each sit in our regular seats and hear one another’s voices fill the room, we all must continue to act as Aaron, keeping each other out of harms way, acting as a physical barrier around the threat.

We know that a gradual reopening of our building will not allow for the kind of communal gathering that makes our communal life so special. So, whilst our building remains closed, we will work even harder to remain as a community. We will still meet, we will still pray together, learn together, and celebrate lifecycle moments together. And to truly do this together, we must keep the root meaning of community in our hearts,  that we must all share things in life, we must all be in common and we must not honour the ability of some to the detriment of others.

And we must remember that although a moment will come in which we feel safe, each and every one of us must still continue to act like Aaron. So for now, we all continue to stand between one another and the plague. For now, we must continue to live communal life at a safe distance. And for now, we wait until the moment when the plague has truly been stayed, and we are able to be physically together and safe again.