I went to Guatemala not quite knowing what to expect. Delighted to have been chosen as a Rabbinic Global Justice Fellow, by American Jewish World Service, I was one of 11 rabbis to complete a two year program. But this was a commencement and not a graduation, a celebration of our accomplishments and not a finale.
Why go all the way to Guatemala to learn about the needs for tikkun olam, repairing the world? Aren’t there enough things to do in Elgin? Certainly. But having a global perspective is like the quote from Hillel. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”
It turns out this August was a very good time to go to Guatemala. The elections in Guatemala are happening September 6th and there was much discussion of the elections in every meeting we had. In every encounter on the street. Even sitting on the plane on the way back to Miami. So if not now, when?
It turns out that Guatemala with its Mayan roots, is deeply spiritual. This trip was highly spiritual—from the texts we studied in chevruta and the very Jewish connections we made with the NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) we were visiting. Whether it was the story of Shifrah and Puah we told to Codecut, an association that trains midwives, or Rebecca assenting to her marriage to Isaac which we told to an NGO that works of women’s right to education, or Abraham’s purchase of the land and the subsequent struggle for it, which I told to CCDA, a coffee collective, this trip had a very Jewish feel. Perhaps David, a Conservative Rabbi in Boca Raton said it best, “This is the way we live out our Jewishness.” And it is important to remember we were not looking AT the people of Guatemala, we were looking with the people of Guatemala. So I return with Spanish language sex ed materials for the Community Crisis Center, thoughts about farming corn since as I always joke, we live in the middle of a corn field, and curiosity about that plant on Route 20 in Hanover Park. Does anyone know what is going on in that plant that processes bananas including those from Guatemala? So there are lots of local connections.
It turns out that Shabbat in Guatemala at Lake Atilan is gorgeous. Kabbalat Shabbat outside with a backdrop of volcanoes with a little bit of lightening over the mountains. A vegetarian Shabbat dinner and lots of singing, a guided walking meditation in a rose garden, enough time to really enjoy davenning, great Torah discussion, shared leadership so we all participated but no one was burdened, leisurely lunch and a late afternoon hike over narrow swinging bridges and a swim in an infinity pool. The flowers. The colors. The birds. The butterflies. The lake. It was perfect. But one of those roses, William Shakespear by name, was planted in 1983 at the height of the violence. How was that possible? What were the innkeepers doing (or not)? What are they doing now? Is this a sanctuary, a refuge or just another example of privilege? I never could decide, but I am grateful for my Shabbat of rest and healing. Ours is not to finish the task, so says Pirke Avot, neither are we free to ignore it.
So if I am only for myself, what am I and if not now when?
It turns out that the fellowship was designed to teach Jewish leaders, rabbis, to be better leaders. It is professional development. And through the course of the week, as we learned frameworks for education, we got more adept as leaders. We learned how to present our story of self to be engaging and to connect with the story of us and the story of now. We learned about upstream/downstream, while on a boat. We learned not to make assumptions with our observations and instead to ask more questions. We learned about moral courage. All of these models were good for the work I do right here in Elgin, building the community at the synagogue and coalitions in the wider world.
Guatemala is a beautiful country. It is a land flowing with coffee and honey, corn and bananas. It is a land that has been fought over for generations. It is a land where it is hard to reconcile the beauty with the brokenness. It is a microcosm of the world and our task as Jews is to walk with the people of Guatemala, to help them achieve what they want for themselves…a reduction of violence, education, health care, nutrition, basic human rights.
9 days and a lifetime. There are many more stories to tell. I thought that once I went to Guatemala my fellowship would be over. In fact, it has just begun.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?