Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

I am feeling the stress.  As I write this two days before the election, I am taking to heart what any number of pundits have told me: That this is the most consequential election of my lifetime. I know that, for my own sanity, I am only supposed to worry about events that are in my control. Yet I worry on.

According to Dr. Altha Stewart, past president of the American Psychiatric Association, this is mostly the stress of the unknown. This is a stress that is not dissipating after November 3 or even after the inauguration in January.   

It is easy, in this moment, to think that our state of unrest is unprecedented. A thoughtful reflection on history will tell us that this is clearly not the case. However, it is difficult to see outside the moment. 

A source of comfort is the knowledge that tension is a necessary component of positive change. That said, I anticipate much stress and tension in the days and years to come. As we go forward as a congregation working for justice, we must also take care of one another. As we advocate for a more just community and world, let us also be advocates for mental health and emotional well-being. If we are to be in service to others, as our Jewish values obligate us to do, we need to be at our best. We must acknowledge and honestly confront the challenges to our emotional well-being, and take the needed steps to care for ourselves and each other.