Turning Convictions into Actions

Rabbi Joel Fleekop

Saturday, January 5, 2008

I have driven through Iowa more than once, and once is all it takes to know that the drive from Des Moines to Council Bluffs isn’t nearly as scenic as the Big Sur Coast. Yet for months and in some cases years, Presidential hopefuls repeated this drive and others along the Hawkeye state’s corn lined highways in search of supporters who would caucus for them this past Thursday.

The candidates spent millions of dollars trying to reach every one of Iowa’s registered voters. And if media reports are to be believed, they were successful. Iowans attended rallies in record numbers, participated in parlor meetings, and staked campaign signs into their frozen lawns. They canvassed their neighborhoods in subzero temperatures and, perhaps even more painfully, participated in poll after poll conducted by the media and various campaigns.

Hundreds of thousands of Iowans pledged support for one candidate or another. But when Thursday night came, many of them didn’t show up. Perhaps they had to work late, were intimidated by the caucuses’ procedures, or simply couldn’t bring themselves to venture out into the winter night. For one reason or another they weren’t able to join their neighbors at the local high school or library for the caucus. Though interested in the outcome, they left the decision to be made by others.

Those who didn’t attend Thursday’s caucuses will have the chance to vote in November, but because they failed to exercise their disproportionate power this week, the candidate they favored might not be on the ballot come fall. Their failure to participate may come at a great cost.

In the book of Exodus, Moses, like a presidential candidate, goes in search of supporters for a big occasion. In fulfillment of God’s earlier instruction, Moses gathers the elders of Israel to accompany him and Aaron in appearing before Pharaoh. The rabbis suggest that Moses was successful in rallying their support. But when the Torah describes Moses’ subsequent interactions with Pharaoh, the elders are absent. It is just Moses and Aaron who appear before Pharaoh.

What happened to the elders? According to Midrash Exodus Rabbah, they started to go out with Moses and Aaron, but stayed at a distance. As they walked one by one and two by two they dropped off and returned to their homes so that by the time Moses and Aaron reached Pharaoh’s palace, not one of the elders remained.

The elders supported Moses’ efforts to free the Israelites from slavery, but fear was enough to keep them from appearing before Pharaoh.

The rabbis teach that the Israelite elders paid a great price for missing their appointment with the Egyptian King. After being freed from bondage and having journeyed to Mt. Sinai, Moses and the elders went up to receive the Torah. But God turned the elders back. According to Midrash Tanhuman they were not allowed to ascend the mountain as punishment for having abandoned Moses in Egypt.

Because they had earlier failed to turn their support into action, the elders were denied the chance to be part of one of history’s most important and holy moments.

Though not standing alongside Moses in Egypt, each of us has the chance to play an important role in shaping the future. But as it did more than 3,000 years ago, much depends on whether we decide to turn our support of various causes into action.

In his dvar Torah, Adam drew a parallel between the plagues of the Bible and the possible effects of global warming, calling upon us to take better care of the environment. Many of us have already aligned ourselves with this important cause. Like the elders following Moses, we have started down the path and are demanding changes be made. But the question remains, will we be there when this campaign reaches its goal?

As you know, environmentalism is not a new idea. Some of us participated in earth days going back a decade, or two, or three. You might have even been at the first earth day in 1970. We have long championed protecting the planet but we have not always converted that idea into action. Instead, like the Iowans who chose not to caucus and the Israelite elders who left Moses and Aaron to face Pharaoh alone, we have come up with a list of excuses, many of them well justified, explaining why we left the work for others. But our past failure to turn our convictions into actions has come at a cost. If we are to succeed in saving the planet we can’t afford to make the same choice again

The same is true for other causes we care about, both on the global level as well as closer to home. Whether the goal is to have more family dinners, to make your workplace or school a more welcoming environment, or to help Shir Hadash expand its community of learners, success requires your participation. It is not enough to simply say you support an idea or to come to a committee meeting. Success requires making scheduling choices so you can be home for dinner. Success requires raising your hand at a meeting, volunteering for a task, and completing it.

This week much of the nation turned its attention to Iowa where a decision was made that will help decide the future President of our nation. The results out of Iowa may prove to be very important. But as the campaign managers will tell you, the decision of the people who caucused was equaled in importance by the much larger group who made the decision not to participate.

Jewish tradition warns against abdicating our role in deciding the future. In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Hillel asks, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself what am I? If not now, when? If not me, who?”

As we go forward may Hillel’s teaching echo in our ears. Let it compel us to forgo the excuses of the past. Let it inspire us to act upon our convictions. Let it lead us to play the role God intended for us in shaping the future.

Shabbat Shalom