Commit Random Acts of Kindness

          I grew up during a time in history which produced many amazing, improbable and once thought impossible events. I saw the Berlin Wall attacked with sledge hammers and the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union. I saw, experienced, and participated in the birth and propagation of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Solar power began going main stream. Hybrid and alternative fuel cars are now becoming less of a novelty and more commonplace. I owned a first generation Pentium chip. I have a cell phone. The president of the United States is a person of color.

          Although all these events and innovations truly are nothing short of amazing, the truth is that since we live amidst all these events, it's like trying to appreciate corn when you're standing in the middle of a corn field. The things during my lifetime that touched me most were things NOT from my lifetime. I have been humbled having known people from the World War II generation. I met Shoah survivors and listened to their stories. I listened to stories of espionage, rationing, patriotism, immigration, and sadly, extreme, unthinkable cruelty.

          I can't help but wonder when I reflect on the events that led up to "The Great War" where things went wrong. How did an otherwise "civilized" country give rise to such an uncivilized government? How could "gentlemen" commit such barbarous acts of hatred and cruelty? We could speculate for days. We HAVE speculated for years. One of the theories simply put by Elie Wiesel was that we didn't think it would ever go that far. Was this naive?

          Yes, it was naïve. The tragedy wasn't in the events that followed though. Rather, the tragedy was that this trust and faith in humanity should ever be naïve. We as Jews are taught to be kind, open, hospitable, accepting, non-judgemental, charitable. These were some of the merits of Avroham and Sarah, whom Hashem blessed with a great nation. Why should we not expect the same in return?

          B"H, there were people who didn't completely lose their minds. They not only helped, but befriended the downtrodden, the ostracized, the shunned. Thanks to these people, many of us were able to escape and start new lives. More importantly, we were able to survive, against all odds. So in a society gone almost completely mad, how do we explain these few, sparkling beacons of hope?

          The answer is, although humanity left their society, humanity did not leave them. We all have the capability to discern right from wrong, we only need the will to do so. The will, I believe, comes from emunah, faith. No, not faith in humanity (we see how that lets people down), not faith in economy, or government, or community...these are all inventions of humans, after all...we must put our faith in an absolute, and that absolute is and always has been G-D. It is only with an acknowledgment, fear, love, what have you, of G-D that we can truly experience compassion and love for others. It is because of G-D that we become truly selfless. One needn't be terribly religious or even religious at all to experience this. The danger comes when we turn inward and inward only, and strive only to satisfy ourselves and our own indulgences. When we have nobody else to answer to, inward is the only other logical destination.

          We light candles every Friday night to signify the onset of Shabbat, our Sabbath. There is a belief that candles represent a soul, a small point of light. When there is darkness, we must shine and light up that darkness. Today we remember the almost unrelenting darkness in Germany and Europe during World War II. Although we overcame such a bleak time in history, we cannot continue to live with the naïve notion that this will never happen again. We must be active and vigilant in our watch, and meaningful in our actions. We must fight when we must, but the most overwhelmingly powerful weapon we have is our kindness and our selflessness.

          I invite you today, in remembrance of the millions of Jews who perished almost a lifetime ago, to do a random act of kindness; to take your internal lights and kindle somebody else's. Through love, patience and kindness, we can defeat the darkness in our world. Through our inner strength and unity, we can stand firm against the evil in the world. Have a wonderful week. :)