Super Power
Have you ever asked yourself what super power you would want if you could have one? Have you sat around a table with friends and each said what yours would be? I have. White sitting quietly this morning and having my coffee, the super power I want emerged. It is not Batman, Ironman, or Wonder Woman.
Today is Friday, January 24th. Okay, nothing too unusual. Like most Jewish families I know, we are getting ready for Shabbat. We are making dinner, we are doing what I call “the Shabbat clean” before family or friends come over. We are buying flowers and setting the table. But something about this Shabbat is unusual.
We are waiting for the names of the next hostages to be released. We are holding our breath that nothing in this horrific but necessary deal changes. We fill our hearts with so much hope, so it spreads to those who need it. We pray they come home. As we light candles everything about this Shabbat is different.
October 7th was a day of great loss, but few get it. I could write pages and pages of how much was taken from so many on that day and every day since, but who will read it? We live in a world where we rely so much on each other because we have been written off. I will never be ok with it. To understand, means to not just hear, but to listen. Hearing is just sounds. Listening is where the work starts and is the most important aspect of communication.
Over the last 475 days we have screamed from the tops of our roofs, tried to sit across the table from others, and gone to Shul with armed officers. We have written letters and petitions so our kids can feel safe in schools and at college. We have walked past people protesting and spreading fear. I am exhausted aren’t you?
But… There is no exhaustion greater than a parent fighting for their child or family members to be returned home. They don’t need anyone to swoop in. They need to be surrounded by hope. They need strength to get from one day to the next. They do not have the time to get those who don’t understand, to try. But for them, I can.
My super power does not need a cape. I don’t want to be the most powerful person in the world. With understanding, I simply want us to be written back in.