Resources

For those who are experiencing darkness today, light will come — we just need to commit to the belief that darkness is unacceptable.

Ethical perfection is not possible in an imperfect world, and running away from reality to seek private peace is not an option. Instead, we must act with love within our spheres of influence. There are opportunities for coalition-building across disagreements.

The path may never be clear, a single arrow to follow towards moral perfection, but Jacob teaches us that it is holy work to wrestle, to struggle with forging our own winding path towards what we feel is moral.

Jennifer Margulies shares thoughts on her family’s life under the Christian Right in Texas and how the very coalitions that can feel unbearable can also give us life.

We must not merely curse the world as irreconcilably wicked, incapable of beauty, love, or justice. Rather, we must bless what is good, offering our gratitude for the holiness in our lives and in each other, so that we may see to our work to repair the world with that much more love and compassion.

As we start to imagine, strategize, and plan around what the next four years will hold and how we will continue to defend human rights and advance justice, we will need to draw not only on our resilience and determination, but also on our creativity and imagination; our willingness to experiment, to fail, and to try new things.

In the aftermath of trauma, there is a natural desire to protect, to retaliate, and to secure our own safety at all costs. But in seeking safety, in seeking justice for our own pain, we can risk perpetuating cycles of violence that dehumanize others — and ultimately ourselves.

Like Abraham, we are called to step forward, raise our voices in defense of those whose rights are being violated, and advocate for a more just and compassionate world.

We are not only here to receive blessings but to redistribute them, to share them with others. In a time of profound global instability, we must remember that true blessing is found in the act of blessing others.

Sofi Hersher Andorsky and Aaron Dorfman make the case for Jewish investment in liberal democracy.