Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

The present Israeli-Palestinian conflict rarely strays from my thoughts. I tend to be a news junkie — television, radio and print media — during more settled times, and these are not settled times. I’m rarely far from the next piece of news regarding the hostages or progress toward a cessation of the destruction from all sides.

And, yet, the myriad of other problems in the world persist. An exhibit at the Momentary Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, on the continued devastation of the Amazon Rainforest reminds me of the need to address the perilous human-caused harm to our environment. And while workers have recently made significant strides toward greater equity, in Missouri we still need to pass a measure to require paid sick leave for all workers and make progress toward a living wage.

Closer to our Kol Ami home, there are students at MLK School in need of basics that we take for granted: decent clothes to wear and school supplies for learning. The needs of migrant farmworkers are ongoing. While the problems of the world and the problems in our own city can seem overwhelming, there is some respite in problems closer to home in that the answers are more readily available. We know with greater certainty the actions we can take to help schoolkids in schools that lack needed resources; we know the needs of migrant farmworkers; and we know that advocating for workers to get a decent wage, a safe working environment and paid sick leave move us toward a more just world. Unlike the war and the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine, knowing what action to take, even if it is a small step toward justice and equity, is a comfort to me.

As we rightfully continue to struggle with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, let us not lose sight of the work to be done here at home.