Tonight there is a service of healing and meditation that was planned before the election to be held regardless of the results at the First Congregational Church in Elgin, 256 Chicago Street at 7PM. I had planned to be there whatever the results. As the Rev. Paris Donohoo stated there are great divides in this country. He is hopeful that this will become a monthly series, with each church (and my synagogue) taking a month. I welcome that challenge.

Last week I was at a conference on Jewish leadership. We studied Jewish texts, Bible, Talmud, codes. We talked about our own leadership styles and the challenges that face us in our own leadership. More on that shortly. But in journalism class we learned to lead with the most important.

Yesterday my phone started ringing at 6:45AM. Even for me, an early bird, that is an early hour to be on the phone. Especially after a late night. Calls like that continued throughout the day. Some sad. Some fearful. Some happy. I wondered what I would say to the Hebrew School kids.

Here is a synopsis of what I shared with my Hebrew School students yesterday.

Today is Kristalnacht, the beginning of the Holocaust 78 years ago. So we are lighting a candle to remember. And to hope. And to work for a day where it will never happen anywhere. To anybody. Today is also the day after the election. Some of your parents voted for Clinton. Some of them voted for Trump. Some voted for someone else. Some may not have voted at all. Today that doesn’t matter. What matters is this. As Jews we are told to improve the world around us, to work for tikkun olam, repair or fixing of the world. We are told that we are all created “b’tzelem elohim”, in the image of G-d. That means the Trump supporter and the Clinton supporter and even the one who didn’t vote. We are told—you just sang it—that we have a covenant with G-d, a brit. G-d made a promise to Noah to never destroy the world again with a flood. The rainbow is the sign of that covenant. G-d made a covenant with Abraham to make him as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the sea. G-d made a covenant, a brit with the people of Israel and Shabbat is the sign of that covenant. With a covenant comes a responsibility. We have to do something in return. What we have to do is be responsible for one another. As adults—rabbis, teachers, the police officer who was just here—we have a responsibility to protect you. Many of you have told me that you have been picked on in school because you are Jewish. That is never OK. Continue to tell us if that happens again. You have another responsibility too. You have to take care of your parents. It is a very special task for tonight. Many of your parents stayed up very late into the night. They are tired. They maybe cranky. They may be sleepy. Talk to them in the car on the way home so they don’t fall asleep! (there was some laughter at that one, and that was good)

So this candle is the sign of our covenant with you. That sign of remembrance and hope.

Then we sang Hiney Ma Tov. “How good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together.” That is our hope. That is what matters.

Back to leadership. I spent time with my study partner, Rabbi Linda Shriner Cahn and our dear friend Rabbi Eliana Falk, looking at the first two chapters of Genesis. In the beginning G-d began to create. That’s leadership. What else do we learn from G-d’s leadership?

That G-d can be a collaborative leader, for instance when G-d says, “Let us make man in our image.” That G-d sets boundaries. “Don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” That G-d is like a parent. That G-d trusts us enough to give us free will. That G-d cares about us. “Where are you?” That G-d evaluates the project. “And G-d saw that it was good.” That G-d rests. Remembering to take that time is important. These are essential leadership qualities.

The study was eye opening. We saw things in this text that none of us, including our professors, had noticed before. And it was so good to do this in person, rather than on the phone.

Recently we completed reading Deuteronomy and began reading Genesis again. When I was a college freshman I went to the Tremont Street Shul in Cambridge. There was dancing in the street . Rabbis who were funny and led the service to different tunes like Jingle Bells. There was a song, The High Holiday Blues, written by a Wellesley College music professor. There were snacks and l’chaims. It was fun. It wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before. I decided that night that I wanted to be a rabbi. I wanted to be a part of it. Up close and personal. The Joy. The Enthusiasm. The Passion. I wanted to help create it for others.

The end of Deuteronomy talks about the death of Moses. The text tells us that never again there arises a leader like Moses. But in addition to starting the cycle over, we also read the haftarah, about Joshua. Joshua was the leader that followed Moses. The text tells us “Chazak v’emetz. Be strong and of good courage.” That was a huge leadership transition.

We are heirs to that tradition. Pirke Avot begins by saying, “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted to Joshua. Joshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.” Those are leadership transitions too.

That is what we are called on to do. Be strong and of good courage. And to transmit our vision of a world redeemed with hope.

Come join me this evening as we pray and meditate for healing. Tomorrow we begin again to work toward that vision.