Shabbat Blast

Dear Congregation Beth Ohr,

Last week I sent out the song Shiftu Dal VeYatom because of how it related to a verse from the Torah portion (Mishpatim), reminding us to care for the most needy members of society. The actual words of the song were from Psalm 82, the Psalm of the Day for Tuesday. I decided to continue that series this week with a song from Psalm 94, which is the Psalm of the Day for Wednesday. These are from a set of seven songs that I wrote three years ago at Oceanside Jewish Center, because we wanted to have more singing in our morning minyanim.

CLICK HERE to listen to Ad Matai (Psalm 94)
Composed by Cantor Sarah Myerson
Recorded and arranged by Cantor Sarah Myerson (voice) and Ilya Shneyveys (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums)
The psalmist in this verse looks at the world and sees injustice. Innocent people suffer, while people who do abhorrent things seem not to be punished. The psalmist cries out the unfairness:
Until when will the wicked, God, until when will the wicked rejoice?
​Today we might ask, when seventeen people are murdered for no reason other than being at school, how can there be such wickedness in the world? What can we do about it, both as individuals and as a community?
I look to this week’s Torah portion (​Terumah)​ for answers, and I read the detailed instructions for building God’s sanctuary.  This is the place we dedicate for God to dwell among us. And I wonder, where is the sanctuary today? In a world in which students are afraid to go to school, parents are afraid to let their children get on a school bus, teachers are afraid to turn their backs on the classroom door, where is the Divine Presence? How can we create a space for God in the darkest of places, and bring light to that darkness?

I hope that as we gather together this Shabbat, we are able to find comfort in community. May our prayers bring healing, and may our rest be pleasing to God. And in the coming week, may we each find a way to start to make the world a better place. Tikkun Olam: repairing the world. This is our sacred mission.

Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Sarah Myerson

Guarding the Flames for 24 Hours
Sign up (as a pair or more) to sit vigil with 6 candles representing the 6 million Jews lost. You will sit and reflect in silence, read about the Holocaust, recite the names of those who died.