Think about a time in your life where you displayed courage. What gave you the strength to engage in this action?
The Latin root of the word courage is “cor” which means heart. In Judaism, the name for courage is Ometz Lev—Heart Strength.
In a few days, we will read about Ometz Lev during the Jewish holiday of Purim, (Monday night, March 2 to Tuesday, March 3). The Scroll of Esther tells the story of unfounded hatred and courageous women who stood up against evil.
In the first chapter we learn about Queen Vashti. The King holds a party with unlimited drinking, while she hosts her own party. When the king asks her to appear at his party wearing (only) her crown, she refuses. Saying no to the king is an act of courage. Vashti was banished from the kingdom.
As I read about Vashti this year, I thought of the courageous women who have spoken up against abuse. Even when the courts lag and justice is delayed, their acts of moral courage inspire others to stand up for their rights as the work for systemic change continues.
After Vashti’s departure, the King held a beauty contest to find a new wife. A Jewish man, Mordechai, guided his orphaned cousin, Esther, to enter. He cautioned her it was not safe to share her heritage.
Esther was chosen as queen and, soon after, the evil minister Haman’s plot to annihilate all the Jews was uncovered. Mordechai urged Esther to speak to the King to save the Jews from death.
She hesitated. One was not allowed to approach the king without being asked. Yet remaining silent was certain death.
Mordechai emphasized, “On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” (Esther 4:14)
Today we are witnessing acts of moral courage from people near and far who are speaking out and showing up for neighbors around the country.
Civil rights leader Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Berlin during the Nazi regime, shared in his speech at the 1963 March on Washington, “Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man’s dignity and integrity…The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.”
Vashti used her voice to stand up against injustice. Esther used her voice to stand up against evil. Today we too have the choice not to remain silent in the face of hatred. Whether we are directly or indirectly impacted by attacks on neighbors throughout our country, from Morgan Hill and Gilroy to Minnesota to Texas to New Jersey, a moral call is before us.
The Torah commandments include “love your neighbor as yourself” and “love the stranger for you were strangers” (more than 36 times). We are neighbors to those in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and beyond. We work to make the world a better place by starting at home and by responding to the moral imperative to care for human beings. It is exhausting to feel the weight of the world’s problems upon our shoulders. But, we can each do something—including speaking up against injustice, providing care for someone in need, donating to a cause or working on policy change. We can listen to our hearts and the hearts of the stranger and exercise moral courage, Ometz Lev. Paraphrasing Esther 4:14, perhaps you were created for such a moment as this.
Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz is the rabbi of Congregation Emeth. Located in Morgan Hill and serving all of South County, Congregation Emeth was founded 45 years ago and is the oldest Jewish community in South County. Rabbi Dantowitz can be contacted at ra***@***th.net.
