T orah P ortion
Confronting Our Worst Fears
BY RABBI GREGORY S. MARX
Parshat Haazinu
ONCE A LITTLE BOY had
a part in the school play. He
was scripted to come out to
center stage and say, “It is I: Be
not afraid!” But once he finally
stood out there in the middle
of an empty stage he panicked
and cried out, “It’s me, and I
am scared!”
We are like that frightened
little boy.

America’s longest war in
Afghanistan ended with the
Taliban taking control. Just as
the Vietnam War ended years
ago with the collapse of South
Vietnam, Afghanistan fell with
emergency airlifts of our allies,
soldiers and citizens.

Our climate is not only
changing; it is collapsing. We
are seeing massive fires in the
West due to drought and major
flooding in the East. Category 4
and 5 hurricanes are becoming
the norm, and major areas of
our coast will, over the next 20
years, become uninhabitable.

Some have said that offset-
ting our carbon footprint by
planting trees is already too
Expand Continued from Page 8
difference between his New
York office and Philadelphia-
based family and synagogue.

It’s that type of loyalty that
sustained the congregation’s
200-family base during Gabbai’s
tenure. And Oslick is banking on
that loyalty to grow the congrega-
tion, as well as the fact that now
Mikveh Israel has more to offer.

“Mikveh Israel is a very
special place,” Oslick said. “It’s
the right blend of being tradi-
tional while being completely
non-judgmental.” More people already seem to
be recognizing the old synagogue,
Gabbai said. A month ago, the
shul hosted its first wedding in
20 SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
little too late. Like an addict,
we have become dependent on
an energy source — fossil fuel
— which is killing us and our
future. And in Washington, D.C.,
we see a pathological hatred
of the other’s political party.

Partisan opponents are willing
to die or kill others in order to
see the other fail. This terrifies
me. That brings me to Haazinu,
Deuteronomy 32.

In it, Moses, following his
journey out of bondage to the
border of Israel, readies himself
and his people for his exit from
the scene. About to die, Moses
chooses Joshua to move the
people forward.

Can you imagine the fear
of that moment? Moses, the
greatest of all Jewish leaders,
the most effective, the one with
the closest relationship with
God, the lawgiver, the inter-
cessor on the people’s behalf,
is about to leave the people.

Moses knew all too well that
the Israelites made tragic
mistakes when he was absent.

While he was on Mount Sinai,
he delayed in returning; the
people panicked and made the
golden calf. Perhaps the same
would happen again.

But there is a sliver of hope
in Haazinu. It says, “The Lord
spoke to Moses in the middle
of the day.” Rashi, the Biblical
commentator noted that this
phrase is used three times to
describe three different events
in the Torah. The phrase signi-
fies courage, faith and hope.

At night when there are no
spectators, when we are alone,
we can be afraid. We cannot
even see our enemies. But “in
the middle of the day,” we can
act with courage, have heart
and believe in triumph.

First, Noah prepared the ark
that was to save his family from
environmental disaster. The
Torah states, “in the middle
of that day Noah came into
the Ark.” Second, the Israelites
left bondage in Egypt in the
middle of the day. They did
not sneak out of Egypt, but
rather departed in full view of
their enslavers. “In the middle
of the day, God brought the
Children of Israel out of slavery
in Egypt.” The third time is
when Moses in Haazinu went
up to Mount Nebo and turned
over his leadership to Joshua,
its new space. People hung out
under tents on the grass between
North Fifth and Sixth streets and
walked through the social hall
doors leading both outside and
back in.

It worked, and Mikveh
Israel has already received
“many requests” for more big
events, Gabbai said.

“For a small wedding, you
can be in the social hall,” he
said. “For a large wedding, you
can open the doors.”
If the plan works, Zarnighian
may become the man who
inherits its success. Both Gabbai
and Oslick mentioned the new
hire as a possible successor to
the senior rabbi.

During the search process,
Zarnighian attended Shabbat
services several times and gave
some lectures over Zoom. Oslick
said that when the young rabbi
interacted with the congrega-
tion, he showed an openness
and passion that convinced the
committee he was right for the
job more than any interview.

“He seemed to understand
what we were about, who our
population is, the need to
welcome everybody,” he said.

Synagogue leaders also liked
his educational background
and current military service:
Zarnighian studied at Yeshiva
University in New York City
before being ordained at the
Shehebar Sephardic Center in
Jerusalem. As he starts his new
position in Philly, he is also a
first lieutenant and chaplain in
JEWISH EXPONENT
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
Sept. 17
Sept. 24
“in the middle of the day.”
We are in the middle of
the day. No matter how dark
things may seem, we can still
have hope.

I grew up in South Florida
during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I remember being told by my
second-grade teacher to “duck
and cover” in case of a nuclear
attack. Like a trusting child,
I somehow believed that my
wooden desk, with a spot of an
ink well, would protect me from
a nuclear blast. But somehow
it was still the middle of the
day. Nuclear sanity prevailed
between the two superpowers.

Later, when in high school,
we were in the middle of the
Cold War with the Soviet
Union, and so many feared
the “end of time.” One of
my favorite movies was “Dr.

Strangelove or: How I Learned
to Stop Worrying and Love the
Bomb.” It was hilarious but
also quite terrifying. Those,
too, were dark times, yet it was
the middle of the day.

And then there were the race
riots and civil rights protests
that tore our country apart in
the ’60s and 70s. But it was the
middle of the day.

6:48 p.m.

6:36 p.m.

Even in 1967, just before
the Six-Day War, Jews were
panicked about the end of
Israel. Israelis were digging
thousands of graves in antic-
ipation of the conflict. But it
was the middle of the day. In
all cases, we somehow never
gave up hope.

Hope is essential; faith is
critical. Without it, we will find
ourselves in the darkness of
despair, and that can overwhelm
us. But with it, with resolution
of heart, and an imagination
based on wisdom, science and
character to see us through the
crises, we will find ourselves “in
the middle of the day.” l
Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior
rabbi of Congregation Beth Or in
Ambler and the co-president of
the Board of Rabbis of Greater
Philadelphia. The board is proud
to provide diverse perspectives on
Torah commentary for the Jewish
Exponent. The opinions expressed
in this column are the author’s own
and do not reflect the view of the
Board of Rabbis.

Congregation Mikveh Israel’s new outdoor event space
Courtesy of Congregation Mikveh Israel
the Air Force Reserve.

“We’re a patriotic synagogue,”
Oslick said. “We like the idea of
a chaplain serving in the armed
forces representing us.”
Zarnighian may be repre-
senting Mikveh Israel now, but
Gabbai has no imminent plan
to retire.

Instead, the point is to have
two rabbis for now. There was
a time when Mikveh Israel had
three rabbis, but due to budget
cuts, it dropped to two and,
ultimately, one.

“Now the congregation’s plan
is to expand,” Gabbai said. l
jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
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