My Dad

It’s been five years since my dad’s passing. I continue to marvel at how he encouraged us to build lives worthy of our dreams. He himself did. Which, of course, is the best way to warmly inspire it in the rest of us. 

This week’s portion has a lot to say about toxic influences (Deut. 13).We’re swimming in their polluting waters. For example, spending your day assessing blame. Or hanging around those frothing with flimsy claims and arresting solutions. These are hardly healthy ways to annex happiness. 

Rather, I’m drawn to Sarah Hurwitz’s timely and vital forthcoming book that helps us reclaim our people’s story at its best. She describes the benefits of visits with authentic passages “urging me toward my best impulses and away from my worst.”

Of course this isn’t easy. Influences are so named for good reasons. They’re often irresistible. Consider two pieces of advice. One from the Torah: “Remember the day you (singular) went forth out of Egypt, all the days of your life” (Deut. 16:3). Why is this verse addressing you singularly, and not you collectively? After all, in the Ten Commandments and the Shema, God identifies as the One who brought you (plural) forth out of Egypt. Perhaps it’s singular here to emphasize how much elbow grease you need to extract yourself from the grip of alluring influences.

A second piece of advice comes from this week’s prophetic lesson: Learners will be peace-builders. When? When they’re minding business that “keeps close to establishing righteousness and far from exploitative designs” (Is. 54:14). Again, in a power-preserving world, such discipline is rare. But it’s not impossible. 

Taking the Exodus personally is something to be recalled, “All the days of your life?” At the Seder we learn this could indicate at night or in a distant harmonious future. Both of these – nighttime and the messianic era – are dreamy times. Again, I remember my dear dad. He built a life worthy of his dreams, and emboldened us to do no less. Bert Hamilton’s beloved memory continues to bless.