December 14, 2008
It is Sunday evening and I am sitting in Panera availing myself of the Internet. Today is the third day without power, telephone and cable. National Grid now says the power will be back on Tuesday. You can walk around our neighborhood and listen to the roar of the generators. I can only be thankful for the investment I made several years ago for a generator and a switch box. For us this is only inconvenient. We have heat and light. The refrigerator runs. Even more important, the sump pump runs. Many neighbors have to worry about frozen pipes, spoiled food and flooded basements.
This makes me think about what we owe our neighbors. Whenever I have spoken to them I have offered a warm place to relax and a hot cup of coffee. But somehow that seems inadequate. Should I be more active in seeking out my immediate neighbors who may need assistance? After all, we could move the generator around or run long leads to help with sump pumps or to run a refrigerator.
The immediate storm aftermath will soon pass and this will quickly become one more story to retell whenever we are threatened with another storm. Most people will not have their lives changed or suffer grievous loss. But, some of our neighbors are suffering from another storm, an economic storm. Jobs are being lost, salaries cut, lives changed. Our local governments are stretched to the breaking point and, just when they are needed most, they lack the resources to meet the growing needs of our community.
More than ever, it falls to us who escape calamity to consider whether we are doing all we can do. Are we giving more than lip service to the needs of our neighbors? It is just at times such as this that those of us who have been fortunate to maintain our economic situations have to resist the temptation to reduce our contributions to social agencies out of fear of what the future holds. Rather, it is all the more critical that we stretch to give more, as the needs to be met grow.
The need to support agencies that provide food and shelter are greater than ever. But, I hope that you also recognize the needs of the B’nai Sholom community will also grow. At the same time that we are seeking to better meet the needs of our members to provide community and support, some of those members will find it difficult to continue to provide the congregation with their support. We will have to look towards those members who have not lost their jobs or substantial income to help us to continue our programs and to allow us to continue to serve our members caught in this economic storm. I hope all of you who can will choose to help, if not our congregation, then those other groups in the community that are working to meet the needs of the less fortunate.
L’shalom, Hal
