Thursday, April 29, 2021

In This Moment, April 30: Judaism Embodied; Honoring Alberto


In This Moment

The Shabbat-O-Gram is sponsored by Dana Horowitz and Peter Wolly in honor of their children, Brooke and Jordan becoming B'nai Mitzvah on Shabbat morning. Mazal tov to them!


Honoring Alberto
As we mark what we hope is the concluding chapter of this agonizing pandemic, what better way to celebrate than to bring in the music of Nefesh Mountain, whose very name is a breath of fresh air, and whose music lifts our eyes to vistas of the Shenandoah (even if they actually hale from New Jersey). Their upcoming new album features titles like “In the Wide Open Air,” which is precisely where we need to be right now, and "Wanderlust," which is precisely what we have. Nefesh Mountain will remind us how to find that wide open air.

Katie Kaplan has also been a breath of fresh air. Her musical talents, leadership and spiritual focus have provided us just what we’ve needed in a challenging year, and now, at long last, she is bringing that talent out from behind the Zoom screen and onto our bima. It has been a pleasure to work with her on our clergy team and I look forward to many more years of Cantor Katie Concerts.

At the same time, we are celebrating nearly half a century of service by our most veteran staff member, Alberto Eyzaguirre. What I can’t figure out is how Alberto looks exactly the same as he did when I arrived a mere 34 years ago. I feel privileged to have benefitted from his wisdom, his patience and devotion to our community, and to be his friend.

For many he is the face of TBE, the first person to greet bar mitzvah families entering the building on their big day. He’s sent scores of brides down the aisle of our sanctuary (and prepared all those light bulbs to smash under the huppah). He’s prepared shiva meals and kiddushes by the hundreds.  He’s been here nearly every day, rain, snow or shine, never complaining (even when a complaint or two might have been warranted). He’s “bought” more pre Pesach hametz from me than an Amazon warehouse filled with Dunkin's.’ And he’s done it all with dignity and a smile. Alberto is a consummate educator, teaching by example how to be a mensch- putting our best face forward.

Mazal tov to Alberto, Patty and Daniel. We are so grateful for all you’ve done for us all these years.  


-------------------------------------------------------------

Namaste-a-while!
Judaism Embodied
Reconnecting with the world around us, and within us, here are some examples of how we employed Yoga at our outdoor Religious School classes this past week. What a wonderful way to symbolically join hands with classmates while staying physically distant.

This week's portion of Emor focuses on those aspects of Jewish practice that, like yoga, are sensual, physical and "embodied," bringing us to a greater degree of mindfulness. the portion begins with restrictions related to priests’ sexuality and marriage, then moves to a detailed description of holidays, including Passover, Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. A special focus is placed on the the omer period, a time when Israelites were asked to bring food offerings to the priests for seven weeks. Through food, sacrifices and connection with fragrant and tasty vegetation (the four species of Sukkot), all the senses are engaged. We hear the shofar, feel the lulav, smell the etrog, taste the matzah and see the elevated sheaf of the omer. Emor, a word that sounds both like Omer, which itself means "speak," encourages us to look around and see how beautiful our world is. What a perfect time for the masks to begin coming off.

If there is a Jewish version of May Day, it is Lag B'Omer, which falls Thursday night and Friday. You can read all about this quirky, obscure minor holiday, known for bonfires, weddings and haircuts, here. And here's a guide to having a great picnic on a holiday that is itself a picnic. And here's why in israel the biggest bonfire of all is held way up north on Mt Meron. Meanwhile, bonfires have been banned in most of Israel this year because of hazardous conditions caused by a heatwave. But the big celebration bonfire in Meron is happening as we speak. Click below for the live broadcast!
Watch Live 24 Hours: Lag Ba'omer in Meron 2021 | שידור חי מאתרא קדישא מירון - ל"ג בעומר תשפ"א
The flames at Mt Meron are juxtaposed by the flames of funeral pyres right now in India, where Covid has struck with an unprecedented vengeance. Lag B'Omer celebrates the end of an ancient plague. May such plagues end completely and everywhere, in our own day.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Temple Beth El
350 Roxbury Road
Stamford, Connecticut 06902
203-322-6901 | www.tbe.org
  
A Conservative, Inclusive, Spiritual Community

Friday, April 23, 2021

In This Moment, April 23: Does Jewish Law Mandate Vaccinations? Bystanders and the Chauvin Trial; Breaking Down Real Barriers, Virtually


In This Moment

The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored by Lisa and Eric Strom in honor of their daughter, Sarah, becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Shabbat morning.

Shabbat Shalom and welcome back (in body or spirit)!

Mazal tov to Sarah Strom, who becomes bat mitzvah here this Shabbat. On Friday night, we'll have services outdoors (weather looks good), livestreamed so everyone can participate.

We are coming off of Earth Day and with so many exciting plans being made to safeguard our planet, here are three things to remember about Jewish Values and Earth Day.

The Chauvin Verdict was a great source of relief and excitement for so many who have wondered aloud whether whether that proverbial long arc of the moral universe might finally be definitively bending toward justice. My op-ed for the R.N.S., "Bystanders in a Digital Age: The Heroes of the Derek Chauvin Trial," was picked up by The Washington Post. It speaks of how bystanding 'aint what it used to be; in fact, there really is no such thing as a pure bystander anymore. The mitzvah found in this week's portion of Achare Mot - Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:16), not to stand idly by the blood of our neighbor, has been rendered nearly obsolete with the proliferation of cell phones and cameras nearly everywhere. No one can stand "idly by" anymore. If you are at the scene of a crime, you need to get involved, because you will be found.
200,000,000 Shots!

This week Americans received their 200 millionth vaccine shot - and yet there is grave concern that too many people are backing away from taking it. Stamford's health commissioner called me this week to discuss what religious leaders can do to spread the word that these vaccines are safe and absolutely necessary. Jewish sources resoundingly concur. In short, they say, "take the shot!"

So if your question is: Does Jewish Law Mandate Vaccinations? The answer is YES!!!!

If you don't believe, me, take a look at this packet that I put together (presciently) in 2019, prior to Covid-19, but remaining relevant nonetheless. See also this more recent responsum, written this year: "Does halakhah require vaccination against dangerous diseases such as measles, rubella, polio and Covid-19?" by Rabbi David Golinkin, which passed the Committee of Jewish Law and Standards by a vote of 13-0-0. Rabbi Golinkin concludes that Jews are obligated to vaccinate themselves and their children, excepting only cases where vaccination would endanger an individual with pre-existing medical conditions that prevent it. Jewish schools, synagogues, and the government of the State of Israel are permitted to require vaccination. The CJLS also passed "Vaccination and Ethical Questions Posed by COVID-19 Vaccinesby Rabbi Micah Peltz by a vote of 18-0-0.

This consistent message is also connected to this week's portion, which speaks of the need to save lives as the Torah's highest value. As Rabbi Peltz writes: The Torah emphasizes that we need to take responsibility for the well-being of those around us when it says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” This is understood to mean that we do everything we can to safeguard the health of others.

There's that verse again! I'll talk more about this at services on Friday night.

Share the packets, especially with your recalcitrant friends. I'm especially concerned about young adults, who are now eligible.

My advice - and halacha's - take the shot!
Praying Out of the Box

We saw with last Shabbat's bar mitzvah just how much we can do with just a little out-of-the-bima thinking. Our hybrid service was wonderful both for those on-site and remote. At one point we had a split screen where the student's grandmother read the prayer for the State of Israel FROM Israel (see photo above) - and in real time, those in the sanctuary responded "Amen." I'm looking forward to many more such dramatic moments. The breaking down of barriers between, between in-person and remote prayer, combined with the experience of online community generated this past year by our Zoom services, reminded me of reflections I shared at the dawn of the internet age, in the late '90s, when I was putting together my initial thoughts about spirituality and cyberspace for my book, thelordismyshepherd.com:Seeking God in Cybersplace. For the past several years, and for good reason, we've become very skeptical about social media. But back in this period, before there was a Facebook, we saw the potential for community building and breaking down barriers. Covid brought us back to that - and last week's service was a stark reminder of the power of this medium, at its best See below a brief excerpt from that book:

Alone/Together: Breaking Down Real Barriers, Virtually

When we are alone in front of a blipping screen, there is sanctity and there can be community. One is truly alone, yet simultaneously in the presence of millions, and easily in the presence of a minyan who are like-minded. In any chat room, by definition, if there are ten people in the room who chose to be there because of that basic concern, whether it be saving the whales or nominating Jerry Springer for President, these are ten like-minded people. The masks come off, the hearts merge, and the aloneness is transcended. The experience of finding that minyan is incredibly powerful, obliterating boundaries, dissolving differences.... 
             
We find God on the Internet because it binds us all as One.
              
The Sh'ma, that central affirmation of monotheism, is speaking not about an abstract being "out there," but as that glue, that woven knot, that web, that binds us all. Jewish theologian Arthur Green has written:

"In it we declare that God is One -- which is to say that humanity is one, that life is one, that joys and sufferings are one -- for God is the force that binds them all together. There is nothing obvious about this truth, for life as we know it seems infinitely fragmented. Human beings seem isolated from one another, divided by all the fears and hatreds that make up human history. Even within a single life, one moment feels cut off from the next. To assert that all is one in God is our supreme act of faith."

Think about it:

When we receive e-mail, unless the correspondent specifies where he or she lives, the geographic address remains unknown -- and irrelevant. The artificial barriers of space are broken down.

When I read the Israeli newspapers every evening before I retire, I'm reviewing the stories that my Israeli sister is just waking up to. Even though we live seven time zones apart, my spiritual clock is in Jerusalem. The barriers of time have been obliterated.

When my son Ethan checks out the major league baseball scores on the ESPN website, then shifts to my synagogue's site to see himself listed along with other 6 and 7 year olds on our temple's junior baseball league (our teams are the Lightning and Matzah Balls), his uniqueness as an athlete and a human being are placed on the very same level as that of major league baseball players. This dissolves artificial barriers of talent, income and age, affirming that all human beings are of equal and infinite worth.

When with just a few clicks I can gain access to resources of rabbinic commentary larger than the combined libraries of all the great rabbis throughout the ages, the barriers of access to knowledge have been washed away.

When a single click can shuttle me from Newt Gingrich to Greenpeace, from Alvin Toffler's conservative "third wave information age" to what Frank Rich has called a "whopping stealth victory for the counterculture," we have dismantled the intellectual boundaries separating left from right. The Internet is a grand party to which everyone is invited, and which everyone has in common. Everyone is part of the same single in-group. Everyone, that is, who has access to it – and as computers become more common in public schools and the Internet more affordable and available through other means (e.g. cable television) – that access will become increasingly democratized. 

The Internet is the first real Main Street that we've ever had.
Above, a scene from last week's service,
and below, Hebrew school returns to in-person outdoor classes.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Sarah Strom on Ahare Mot - Kedoshim















Shabbat Shalom! 

Those of you who know me know that I loooooove Broadway. I’ve been going to shows for much of my life and I’ve really missed it during the pandemic. My favorite shows are “Hamilton'' and “Dear Evan Hansen” as most of you know. I can even rap the whole first song of “Hamilton.” Anyone want to hear me? (wait for response). Well, its on my tiktok so go look on there. 

It so happens that my portion of Ahare Mot – Kedoshim teaches many of the same lessons as those two shows. The portions have many life lessons to share. Let me give some examples… 

One key commandment is “Lifnay Sayva Takum” – “Rise before the elder.” Being respectful of the older generation is an important lesson in the Torah and it’s important in “Hamilton” too. At the end of Hamilton, we hear the song, “Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story.” Those who came before us are dependent on us to tell their story after they are gone. Eliza teaches us this by telling Alexander’s story so his ideals live on. 

In my life, as I continue to grow older, I’ll tell the stories of my ancestors too – like my Dad’s bar mitzvah in Poland. And when he became the first bar mitzvah in Poland after the Holocaust, he was respecting his elders - the Jews who came before him there - who died a half century before - and the survivors in Krakow. Most of you know his story though. 

Also in Kedoshim, we find the commandment, “Lo Ta’amod al Dam Reyacha.” “You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” Never be indifferent to the cry of someone in need. In “Dear Evan Hansen,” “You Will Be Found,” a song at the end of the first act reminds teenagers and others that no one should ever be alone. Evan Hansen decides not to stand idly by after his school loses a classmate. 

In that same chapter, we are instructed not to “Take Vengeance” against someone who has wronged us. In the song “Good for You” Evan Hansen’s mom - she’s my favorite character - tells Evan how disappointed she is even though she probably wanted to show her true anger. But in the end, they find forgiveness for each other. 

Some more laws from the portion include the commandment not to spread rumors or be a talebearer. Well, that’s the whole second act of Hamilton. The election of 1800, the Reynolds Pamphlets, you name it. It was politics at its meanest. 

Here’s another one. “Don’t place a stumbling block before the blind.” Although this can be read literally, it also means, “Don’t deceive people,” which, of course, is what the plot of Dear Evan Hansen is all about. Evan wanted to comfort the family of someone who died and by pretending that he was a close friend, he did just that. Things are just a little out of control. Actually, a lot out of control. 

Finally, the central commandment of the portion is also the most important one in the entire Torah, “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.” Notice that it indicates that you need to love yourself in order to love others. Evan needed to gain some self-confidence before he could be friends with Zoe, and live a happy life. 

For Hamilton, “Love Your Neighbor” is about inclusiveness. The actors are all people of color. And Hamilton himself was an outsider, born in the Caribbean. In the song “My Shot,” he shows how he needs to take advantage of an opportunity for an outsider to make it in a new country. And Lin Manuel Miranda echoed the Torah when “Hamilton” won the Tony Award, and he said, “Love is love is love is love is love.” The Torah could not have put it any better! 

For my mitzvah project, I have been raising money for Emmet’s playground. If you don’t know what that is, it is a playground made in memory of my good friend Emmet, who passed in 2019. His amazing parents Lisa and Jeff, have worked to make the playground great for all kids. I am raising money to keep it clean and safe. I hope you will think about donating soon. *wink wink* Im guessing you are all bored of me speaking now so i'll make this fast. 

Bystanders in a Digital Age: Washington Post

 


Bystanders in a digital age: The heroes of the Derek Chauvin trial

(RNS) — This week, in the wake of the historic guilty verdict in the most charged racial justice case since O.J. Simpson, Jews around the world will read in the Torah (Lev. 19:16) the commandment not to stand idly by the blood of our neighbor.

Rarely before has that directive been more profoundly followed than by the witnesses testifying this week to what they saw the day of George Floyd’s murder — and the impact that could change forever what it means to be a bystander.

There is no question that the sources stand on the side of active intervention rather than passivity. As the Talmud states (Sanhedrin 73a), “Whence do we know that if a person sees his neighbor drowning, mauled by beasts, or attacked by robbers, he is bound to save him? From the verse, ‘Thou shalt not stand by the blood of thy neighbor.’”

Recent events have demonstrated idleness is, in many ways, no longer an option now that most onlookers carry in their pockets small, handheld instant-justice machines that can make star witnesses out of 9-year-olds. When a crime happens and you are there, either your cellphone camera is on or someone else’s has you in the frame. Either way, you will be found — and you will be involved.

What does it mean to be a bystander in a digital age? Is it even possible to stand back and stand by anymore without more direct involvement?

We’ve been asking that question a lot lately. The riveting testimony of the trial for the murder of George Floyd was marked by emotion, especially from the mouths of the youngest bystanders. Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the viral video of Floyd’s arrest, said during her cross-examination there have been nights when she has stayed up and apologized to Floyd for not doing more to save his life.

“(Floyd) looked like he was fighting to breathe,” said another teen witness, Alyssa Nicole Funari, 18, who was outside Cup Foods during the arrest. “It was difficult because I felt like there really wasn’t anything I could do as a bystander,” Funari said. “The highest power was there and I felt like I was failing — like, failing to do anything.”

“Technically I could have done something; but I couldn’t do, physically, what I wanted to do,” Funari said, because police were ordering bystanders to stay back. Again and again, we heard the voices of the bystanders, like the off-duty firefighter who wanted to give CPR. They’re now stepping up to take responsibility for their inaction. But was it inaction?

At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve seen bystanders fail to respond correctly to recent hate crimes directed against people of Asian descent. They did respond — poorly — and their response also thrust them to the center of the story. Two New York City apartment building workers were fired for failing to help a 65-year-old Asian American woman as she was being violently attacked on the sidewalk outside. As she was being physically and verbally assaulted, cameras show these workers not only failing to assist but closing the door on the scene.

In Orange County, California, an Olympic hopeful was in a park training for the summer games when a man targeted her in an incident she captured on video. She became, in effect, her own corroborating witness, victim and bystander all in one.

Research shows most people are more than willing to intervene and help someone.

A whole branch of psychology has grown from this question, based on the famous 1964 Queens stabbing attack on Kitty Genovese that was ostensibly witnessed by 38 passive onlookers who did nothing to stop it. Later it was proven the numbers were inflated, and New Yorkers did not deserve the reputation for apathy that has been given them.

But we are forced to ask ourselves, if we were outside of that Manhattan apartment building or Cup Foods in Minneapolis, what would we have done? And how has digital technology changed the equation since 1964?

Or since biblical times. When the young Moses went out and saw his fellow Israelite being beaten, as he was about to strike the taskmaster, the text says, “ he turned this way and that. … ” Perhaps he saw no potential witnesses and figured it was OK to strike.

Or perhaps he saw lots of people around, but they all looked haggard and weary — like slaves — and he calculated that no one would have the strength to testify against him. Moses understood that moral paralysis is the mark of enslavement; the people had been cowed into complicity — to idleness — indifferent to the plight of their fellow and unlikely to get involved. So Moses got involved.

In Leviticus 9:22, an older Moses is once again a bystander as Aaron blesses the people. But then, curiously, in the very next verse, Moses joins Aaron in a blessing do-over, and this time, “the glory of God appeared to the entire people.”


According to the medieval commentator Rashi, Aaron’s initial blessing was a misfire. And Aaron, afraid he was not in God’s good graces, appealed to Moses, who immediately leapt once again and joined his brother in a renewed appeal to God, who this time responded with an appearance.

The early Hasidic master the Baal Shem Tov takes from this the lesson that we are bystanders for a reason; not to stand in judgment — and Moses did not — but to share the burden. From that perspective of humility, Moses did not judge Aaron. He simply seized the moment when his moment arrived, and he ran to assist.

In his moving closing remarks at the Chauvin trial, Prosecutor Steve Schleicher called the bystanders “Random members of the community, all converged by fate at one single moment in time to witness something. To witness 9 minutes and 29 seconds of shocking abuse of authority, to watch a man die …”


And he added, “All they could do was watch and gather what they could. Gather their memories, gather their thoughts and impressions, gather those precious recordings. And they gathered those up and they brought them here. And they brought them here and they got up on the stand and they testified and they bore witness to what they saw.” 

Those people in Minneapolis waited for their moment, having no idea their moment to act would be delayed for nearly a year. That’s a lot of bystanding but not a minute of idleness. They may not have been able to save George Floyd, but through their testimony, they may save the integrity of the American justice system. These heroic bystander witnesses in Minnesota heard the clarion call of Elie Wiesel: “Don’t stand idly by if you witness injustice. You must intervene. You must interfere.”

(Rabbi Joshua Hammerman is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Connecticut, and the author, most recently, of “ Embracing Auschwitz: Forging a Vibrant, Life-Affirming Judaism that Takes the Holocaust Seriously.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Bystanders in a digital age: The heroes of the Derek Chauvin trial

Bystanders in a digital age: The heroes of the Derek Chauvin trial See on RNS Site

Idleness is, in many ways, no longer an option now that most onlookers carry in their pockets small, handheld instant-justice machines that can make star witnesses out of 9-year-olds.

Photo by Pexels/Pixabay/Creative Commons

(RNS) — This week, in the wake of the historic guilty verdict in the most charged racial justice case since O.J. Simpson, Jews around the world will read in the Torah (Lev. 19:16) the commandment not to stand idly by the blood of our neighbor.

Rarely before has that directive been more profoundly followed than by the witnesses testifying this week to what they saw the day of George Floyd’s murder — and the impact that could change forever what it means to be a bystander.

There is no question that the sources stand on the side of active intervention rather than passivity. As the Talmud states (Sanhedrin 73a), “Whence do we know that if a person sees his neighbor drowning, mauled by beasts, or attacked by robbers, he is bound to save him? From the verse, ‘Thou shalt not stand by the blood of thy neighbor.’”

Recent events have demonstrated idleness is, in many ways, no longer an option now that most onlookers carry in their pockets small, handheld instant-justice machines that can make star witnesses out of 9-year-olds. When a crime happens and you are there, either your cellphone camera is on or someone else’s has you in the frame. Either way, you will be found — and you will be involved.

What does it mean to be a bystander in a digital age? Is it even possible to stand back and stand by anymore without more direct involvement?

We’ve been asking that question a lot lately. The riveting testimony of the trial for the murder of George Floyd was marked by emotion, especially from the mouths of the youngest bystanders. Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the viral video of Floyd’s arrest, said during her cross-examination there have been nights when she has stayed up and apologized to Floyd for not doing more to save his life.


RELATED: Of terror and testimonies: Living through the Derek Chauvin trial


“(Floyd) looked like he was fighting to breathe,” said another teen witness, Alyssa Nicole Funari, 18, who was outside Cup Foods during the arrest. “It was difficult because I felt like there really wasn’t anything I could do as a bystander,” Funari said. “The highest power was there and I felt like I was failing — like, failing to do anything.”

“Technically I could have done something; but I couldn’t do, physically, what I wanted to do,” Funari said, because police were ordering bystanders to stay back. Again and again, we heard the voices of the bystanders, like the off-duty firefighter who wanted to give CPR. They’re now stepping up to take responsibility for their inaction. But was it inaction?

Protesters gather June 1, 2020, at a memorial for George Floyd where he died outside Cup Foods on East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Protests have continued since his death after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Protesters gather June 1, 2020, at a memorial for George Floyd where he died outside Cup Foods on East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Protests have continued since his death after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve seen bystanders fail to respond correctly to recent hate crimes directed against people of Asian descent. They did respond — poorly — and their response also thrust them to the center of the story. Two New York City apartment building workers were fired for failing to help a 65-year-old Asian American woman as she was being violently attacked on the sidewalk outside. As she was being physically and verbally assaulted, cameras show these workers not only failing to assist but closing the door on the scene.

In Orange County, California, an Olympic hopeful was in a park training for the summer games when a man targeted her in an incident she captured on video. She became, in effect, her own corroborating witness, victim and bystander all in one.

Research shows most people are more than willing to intervene and help someone.

A whole branch of psychology has grown from this question, based on the famous 1964 Queens stabbing attack on Kitty Genovese that was ostensibly witnessed by 38 passive onlookers who did nothing to stop it. Later it was proven the numbers were inflated, and New Yorkers did not deserve the reputation for apathy that has been given them.

But we are forced to ask ourselves, if we were outside of that Manhattan apartment building or Cup Foods in Minneapolis, what would we have done? And how has digital technology changed the equation since 1964?


RELATED: Faith leaders praise Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdicts, acknowledge work ahead


Or since biblical times. When the young Moses went out and saw his fellow Israelite being beaten, as he was about to strike the taskmaster, the text says, “he turned this way and that. …” Perhaps he saw no potential witnesses and figured it was OK to strike.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash/Creative Commons

Photo by Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash/Creative Commons

Or perhaps he saw lots of people around, but they all looked haggard and weary — like slaves — and he calculated that no one would have the strength to testify against him. Moses understood that moral paralysis is the mark of enslavement; the people had been cowed into complicity — to idleness — indifferent to the plight of their fellow and unlikely to get involved. So Moses got involved.

In Leviticus 9:22, an older Moses is once again a bystander as Aaron blesses the people. But then, curiously, in the very next verse, Moses joins Aaron in a blessing do-over, and this time, “the glory of God appeared to the entire people.”

According to the medieval commentator Rashi, Aaron’s initial blessing was a misfire. And Aaron, afraid he was not in God’s good graces, appealed to Moses, who immediately leapt once again and joined his brother in a renewed appeal to God, who this time responded with an appearance.

The early Hasidic master the Baal Shem Tov takes from this the lesson that we are bystanders for a reason; not to stand in judgment — and Moses did not — but to share the burden. From that perspective of humility, Moses did not judge Aaron. He simply seized the moment when his moment arrived, and he ran to assist.

In his moving closing remarks at the Chauvin trial, Prosecutor Steve Schleicher called the bystanders “Random members of the community, all converged by fate at one single moment in time to witness something. To witness 9 minutes and 29 seconds of shocking abuse of authority, to watch a man die …”

And he added, “All they could do was watch and gather what they could. Gather their memories, gather their thoughts and impressions, gather those precious recordings. And they gathered those up and they brought them here. And they brought them here and they got up on the stand and they testified and they bore witness to what they saw.” 

Those people in Minneapolis waited for their moment, having no idea their moment to act would be delayed for nearly a year. That’s a lot of bystanding but not a minute of idleness. They may not have been able to save George Floyd, but through their testimony, they may save the integrity of the American justice system. These heroic bystander witnesses in Minnesota heard the clarion call of Elie Wiesel: “Don’t stand idly by if you witness injustice. You must intervene. You must interfere.”

(Rabbi Joshua Hammerman is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Connecticut, and the author, most recently, of “Embracing Auschwitz: Forging a Vibrant, Life-Affirming Judaism that Takes the Holocaust Seriously.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)