Struggle Toward Repair; Ascend Toward Miracles

“The world was unformed and chaotic, there was darkness across the surface of the deep. . . And on that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst apart, and the floodgates of the sky broke open. . .” (Genesis 1:2 and 7:11)

This past week, the weather around the Los Angeles basin, where we had inadvertently spent the night because of a flight diversion, seemed very much like these descriptions from Genesis. For days, the region had been inundated with violent winter rains and their resulting floods, and all this on top of parts of the region still badly scarred from the fires of early 2025. The loss of life and property has been staggering and unbearable.

This past Erev Shabbat — late Friday afternoon — the rains abated, which permitted us to renew our journey to Santa Barbara, whose airport closure had caused our unexpected delay in the first place. And despite the rain still falling on the LAX runways, our 19-hour delay was finally ending as we ascended into the clouds over the Pacific.

During that 26-minute flight, God permitted us to view Nature at her very best; I have shared here a photo that I took from the plane showing a clear demarcation of the ending storm. The clouds parted, the setting sun shone brightly on the ocean, and by the time we landed (to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 91st birthday), there were, unexpectedly, calm and clear skies. If you had not known about the devastation we left behind in Los Angeles, you could focus only on that miraculous view from the air and lovely weather of the days to come.

Thankfully, we humans can focus on more than one miracle at a time. So, in addition to the phenomenal sights of Nature’s wonder that we are allowed to perceive in the heavens, let us think also of the hearts and hands of the caregivers, first responders, rescuers, and other heroes who performed their own remarkable life-saving tasks of returning order to human life where there is devastation. As our changing climate and its effects become even more unpredictable and lethal, these heroes’ passions and skills will be in ever greater demand. And their efforts and accomplishments deserve our support, not to mention our gratitude.

As individuals, we may not be able to change the weather. But we can and must make a human response to its aftermath. So, please find a helping organization to whom you can offer some of your substance to enhance and strengthen the work they perform. And when you encounter fire-fighters, police officers, power company crews, or even municipal employees doing their best to ameliorate any situation, please directly offer them your thanks. They will appreciate it more than you might realize

Our ancestors believed that God had the desire and ability to bring forth order from the chaos of creating our world. We understand differently today, as we work to strengthen the partnership between deity and humanity for tikkun olam, the ongoing repair and perfection of the world. May we all discover our moment to engage in this crucial and miraculous work.