“By three things is the world sustained...”
This morning while
anticipating commitments in the month of October, I turned the page of my
beautiful Jewish art calendar to peruse the coming month and fill in the
necessary appointments. On the art page
facing October, beautifully and mystically wrapped by a 12 pointed star
(created by superimposing 3 Stars of David) are these words: By three things is the world sustained:
by justice, by truth and by peace.
The words come from the Pirkei Avot, a work that is
often translated as “Ethics of Our Fathers”.
I don’t have a lot of familiarity with Pirkei Avot, but I have heard these familiar lines from the same body of wisdom:
“If I am only for myself, who am I?”
“Say little and do much”
“You
are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free to desist from
it.”
The daily headlines in The Boston Globe are disheartening
and frightening, filled with immature name calling, treacherous threats, post hurricane anguish, NFL protests, more name
calling and on and on.
As I it sit with the ancient words in front of me - meditating
on them, if you will, I find them by turns, challenging, condemning, and filled
with hope.
If indeed, the world is sustained by justice, by truth
and by peace, then we are on very shaky ground in this, what used to be
considered a shining, democracy. In too
many spheres, justice seems owned by the white and the wealthy. Truth suddenly has many “alternatives.” Peace seems more fragile than a spider web in
a storm.

So many words - - too many words - - swords rattling and rampant rumors of war as
destructive wordiness fills the headlines.
Ineffective wordiness in the houses of Congress; hyperbolic wordiness
and juvenile insults on Twitter and in public rallies - but no positive and
creative action on health care or tax reform; no humane development of a sane
immigration policy; no life embracing action toward preserving the life of the
earth. I wonder what “the Fathers”
encountered as they concluded it was wise to ”Say little and do much.”


If, indeed, the world is sustained by justice, by truth,
and by peace, then even a small island in the Atlantic is both judged and
challenged...and blessed by the “Ethics
of Our Fathers.” We dare not lose
sight of the power of simple actions that keep faith with the care and concern for others
and for the earth in focus. And even
though we may have cause to wonder if the grass roots actions we take have any
effect on the whole in the end, we are never free to simply slack off and hope
that someone else will do the job.
Vicky Hanjian
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