Healing When it Still Hurts

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Meouth Israel in Houston. Sometimes we say that we
like to pick a portion of the Torah chapter and
verse because it means something to us. But sometimes the
chapter and verse choose us. And so it is that
this week we open into the Book of Numbers in

(00:24):
the chapter twelve, where we learn about the story of
Moses and Aaron and Miriam. It's there that Miriam and
Aaron malign their brother Moses. They pick on him for
a particular reason. It doesn't really matter what, because the
result is something that the Torah records. First, we learn

(00:45):
that Miriam is stricken by a scaly affection on her arm.
It makes her unclean and aarin, though it says very
little or nothing about what happens to him. Rabbitical commentary
later help us understand that Aaron suffered emotionally because of
his sister's affliction, and what does Moses do? Moses turns

(01:09):
to God and says in Hebrew ail nah rafan allah.
Those beautiful alliterative poetic words simply mean God, pray heal her.
Sometimes we have to find an extemporaneous, spontaneous and impromptu
prayer that really does respond to the moment and expresses

(01:34):
our urgent plea for what needs to be done. And
there are other times when a longer, more prosaic prayer
can be found, either written for us or even discovered
in deep in our own hearts. But in this particular case,
Moses turned and said to God, pray heal her, and

(01:55):
in fact Miriam was healed, and after a certain number
of days, entered the camp again, and the community continued on.
I know there are many times in our life when
something hurts, when something needs healing, and prayers are welcome.
I've shared the story before when I've walked into a
hospital room and someone says to me, will the prayer

(02:17):
really make a difference, And a very common Jewish response
is to say it couldn't hurt. And in fact, it
couldn't hurt, because very often we feel that beyond the
medical and other sources of healing that we have, there
might be something larger than ourselves that we need to
draw upon and to feel His present for us. It

(02:39):
isn't uncommon for me to say to a patient in
the hospital or want to make a visit at home,
to say, God help this soul, feel your presence and
guide the hands of those who help in healing, so
that this one can return to all that one loves
and needs to no peace amen that extemporaneous prayer brings meaning.

(03:07):
It helps us to relate not only to the circumstances
that we're in, but to all that surrounds us in
front of us, but also above us and around us
in ways we can only begin to imagine. And no
one should feel afraid or inadequate to offer one's own prayer.
We all have prayer books. We have books of poetry

(03:29):
and other words of meaning that someone wrote to us,
and they mean so much to us. They really do
make a difference. But we call to fil at kalive
prayers of the heart, the most important prayers that we
could possibly utter. Not only does God hear our prayers,
as we urge us to know, but a prayer from

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the heart is one that draws from the very essence
of our feelings and needs and hopes and dreams. If
it's a long prayer, then wonderful you're good with words
or you have a creative way of expressing yourself. But
if it's a short prayer, like Moses, said, God, pray

(04:10):
heal her. It is enough to express exactly what's needed
in the moment, and there's no difference that it might
not also be responded to. There are times when we
say that God answers our prayers in ways that we
don't expect. Certainly, healing and health is one way to

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feel that God responded. But even when healing doesn't come,
we might also understand that it isn't in our future
or our destiny. It isn't our fate. The world hasn't
come up with a cure yet. But it doesn't mean
that we're not surrounded by love and hopefulness and appreciation.

(04:53):
I once said to a young man in the hospital
who was barely thirty five years old and he was
coming to the end of his days, that while he
felt that life was unfair to him, I reminded and
that in the short time that he feels that he
had on earth, he made a significant difference that left
an indelible impression on many people, including his colleagues and

(05:13):
friends and family. And when he asked me, do I
really believe that is it? Of course I do, because
he was a person of great character, great personality, and
I had learned that even his office mates were already
creating ways to remember him after he was gone. When
I told his parents later about that conversation, they too

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found comfort that even though it seemed wrong that parents
were bearing their children, and it does go hard against
nature to be honest, they were comforted in knowing that
memory preserves our hope, that that life wasn't for naught,
and it certainly wasn't, but that it was for meaning

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that would endure for many years to come. And for us,
whether physically healing from something or overcoming some ailment, all
of us feel and see and observe the hurt in
the world around us. There are ways that we can
make a difference. For example, just a couple of weeks ago,
here in this large city of Houston where I serve,

(06:20):
I hosted lunch for judicatory heads. What's a judicatory head?
Bishops of Protestant faiths and the Archbishop of the Catholic
Diocese of Galveston, Houston join me in my synagogue for
lunch and conversation. Together. Not only did we open with prayer,
but we talked about the very real work that we

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needed to do together, regardless of our respective faith traditions.
We found common ground in talking about the hopes and
dreams of the people we serve, and we discovered that
whether we were Jewish or Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, or another
brand of Christian or other faith, that every story had

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a common theme. People lived with fear and uncertainty, but
they also had dreams of prosperity and peace. They wanted
their children to do better than they did. They wanted
to provide an education for their children and grandchildren. They
wanted to own a home and drive a car and
feel safe where they were going. Now, there's nothing in

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those descriptions that sound different from anything that anybody would
ever want. And so we made a pack together, as
we often do in Houston, between faith leaders to be
advocates for those who don't have a voice of their
own and to speak up for the most vulnerable among us.
And we decided that we would take some action from

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the pulpit. We would write an editorial for the newspaper,
and we would continue to meet with local leaders in
all the places where a difference can be made. And
by local leaders, I mean that one of the ways
that we do it in Houston and could be modeled
in places where you live, too, is to speak to
elected officials, to those who work in the business sector,

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in health care and education, and religious circles too. Because
the economy drives the city, the economy drives the places
where we are. And if we're marginalizing or leaving people
out of the marketplace, then at some point we suffer,
and we suffer together. And maybe those who have so

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much that even if they hurt, they'll always have enough.
But there are many more people unlike them who have
only enough for today or tomorrow, and without a little
bit more, they will really hurt. So what can we do?
When we work together, we leave space and time for healing,
because if we don't work together, we have limited time

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and resources to get it all done. When we work together,
we leave time for healing, even if it is an
enough for a complete cure. In that free space and
free time, we can begin to recognize the limitation of
our power, which would incline us then to find others
to help us in the work we need to do together.

(09:15):
Even our sages and Judaism taught long ago when they
reflected on the verse from Leviticus chapter nineteen that says
you shall be holy for idle Lord, your goddam holy.
They immediately responded and urged us to be humanly holy.
Don't get ahead of your skis, as people often say,

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all the more so should we place human expectations on
our power to heal the world's wounds. With such awareness,
we can strengthen ourselves, to be sure, but also we
can be more effective where we can be We can
read for information and knowledge. That's one thing we can do.
The time seems to move in quick thirty second videos,

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a podcast or a book can be a valuable learning
time where large ideas and social policies merge to tell
a fuller narrative about the world that is slow down.
Don't look for quick answers. Most of the best answers
take time. We have to research them, we need to

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apply them, and we tell you need time to think
hard about whether it's the right application for the problem
in front of us. What else can we do? We
can meditate or worship for personal mindfulness and shared hopes.
Personal wellbeing can begin with a cleansing breath, a deep breath,
and social bonds can be formed in congregational worship in

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your house of worship and there you'll find prayers in
a prayer book and prayers of the heart about which
I just spoke, because sometimes prayers of the heart can
be even better than the prayers that are given to us,
even the ancient ones. They link us to a awareness
of who we are and the people we're a part of,
but also in a relationship to the greater good we find,

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and that heritage and that religious culture. It's a sacred
reflection of our covenant with God. We can also converse
with family and friends and neighbors to listen to them
and even more importantly, to learn from them. When we
engage in conversations, even with people whose opinions we oppose,

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we can listen to their dreams for the future. And
except for those who are indifferent to other people, in
most cases we'll hear a common thread that includes hope
for prosperity, love and peace. It might emerge in different
expressions of culture and heritage, because we're all different and

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we all come from different places. And even if we're Jewish,
we still celebrate ors worship in separate synagogues in some cases.
But no one is in immune from these common human desires,
except those who thrive on indifference, and remember that Eliuisel
taught that the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.

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Because love and hate are both emotions we can deal with.
We can derive meaning from understanding someone's love and also
someone's hate and maybe even transform it. But someone who
is indifferent is inhuman, and we need to help that
person understand that emotions about what's going on, how to

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feel something is the beginning of humanity and finding the
shared conversations that lead us to some conclusions and greater hope.
These simple steps can be the start of your own
personal well being. And while the world rages, it's not
your responsibility or mind to resolve all of it. However,
it is our shared responsibility to tend to ourselves and

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the part of the world where we work and live
and worship. As we learn on an airplane, put it
your own oxygen mask on first, that assist others around you,
including your children. And when you're ready to do more,
let's do it together to build community and organization to
support us and our allies who help us along the way. Remember,

(13:20):
practice makes perfect isn't always true, but it always taught
us to keep trying until we can make proper improvements
and Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel in Houston.
To listen again or to share this message with others,
please find it at my podcast called Heart to Heart
with Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety nine dot com,

(13:42):
are on the iHeartRadio app. As our week continues, as
your days are filled and the news continues to rage,
remember to listen, to learn, to pray, and to help
yourself first, then you can be helpful to others. But
let's find the common ground and the common message, because

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within the shared conversation may be respective ways to worship
and different kinds of dreams. But everyone prays a little bit,
everyone dreams a lot, and everyone wishes for a better
day of peace that begins at home, continues in the workplace,
goes on into the community, and perhaps even in parts

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of the world that have rarely known peace. But even they,
for their sake and for their own dreams, deserve greater
peace too. And so I wish you well, and certainly
on Father's Day, look to the people who have been
the leaders in your own home, the fathers, the parent
figures who have led you, supported you, and helped you.

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May they also be well, And may those who have passed,
may their memories be sources of strength to us in
all our own days as well. Thank you for joining me.
I look forward to being with you again next time.