Dear Friends,
Now that our children are adults and out on their own, it's nice for my wife and I when they come home for the holidays and our little family of four are reunited. Ever since our kids were young, one of our holiday traditions has been going to the movies. This year, our daughters recommended Don't Look Up, widely regarded as one of 2021's best. Thanks to COVID-19 we watched from the comfort of our own home.
Don’t Look Up tells the story of a young Ph.D. candidate and her professor who discover that a “planet-busting” asteroid is headed directly for Earth. It parodies many aspects of our world today and consists of multi-layered themes that are both disturbing and (even more disturbing) believable.
Spoiler Alert: Despite everything they do to warn the government, go on national talk shows, meet with the President, etc., the scientists run into a number of 21st century roadblocks: PR spin, sound bites, Yes Men, an administration that is all-too-recognizable, anti-science mobs, and even a galvanizing three-word refrain (“DON’T! LOOK! UP!”).
The director did an excellent job of scaring the you-know-what out of me; in fact, this movie was the last thing I needed. Between COVID, climate change, a dysfunctional government, the rise in antisemitism, bigotry, racism, hunger, refugee crises, the renewed emergence of autocrats around the world, Frank getting kicked off American Pickers, and the fact that the Orioles haven’t been to the World Series in, well, forever, I did not need any more stress!
Where am I going with this? Well, I’m sharing this with you because—you know me—I could not help but view this movie through a Jewish lens.
Judaism teaches that when we pass from this world and seek to enter ha’olam habaah (the world to come), the Heavenly Tribunal will ask us a series of questions to assess our merit. Rabbi John L. Rosove paraphrases those questions as follows:
- Were you honest in business?
- Did you make time for your spiritual life? Did you set aside time for Torah?
- Did you busy yourself with creation/procreation? Did you create something lasting?
- Were you hopeful?
- Did you seek wisdom/learn to discern what’s true and what’s false?
- Have you been true to yourself? Did you do your best with what you were given?
As I watched the action unfold in Don’t Look Up, I could not help but reflect on the events of the past several years and juxtapose them with these questions. To be honest, I could not help but feel frustrated, angry, and sad.
In fact, to be perfectly candid, watching the events of the past several years flash before my eyes in the form of this movie was not only upsetting—it was frightening. Had Don’t Look Up been made six years ago, I bet very few people would have believed it. “No way could that happen,” they would have said. And yet, here we are, more than two years into a global pandemic and a year since our nation’s capitol was overrun by insurrectionists—and both people and “facts” continue to be manipulated successfully at virtually every turn. We even have a family friend—an otherwise intelligent, thoughtful woman—who has said, “I don’t care if it’s true, it’s what I believe.”
It’s absolutely maddening.
Especially since here inside JCC MetroWest, we work hard every day to operate in such a way that I believe the answer to the questions listed above is an unequivocal YES. To deal with people honestly and transparently. To provide opportunities for Torah study and Jewish connection. To plant seeds for the future. To remain positive and hopeful. To teach right from wrong and provide people with a safe place to learn and grow. To make the most of what we have, including time and resources.
Even over the past two years, as more has been asked of everyone who walks through our doors, the vast majority of us have done our best to fulfill our obligations to the J—and to each other—with grace, generosity, and rachmanus (compassion). Have we been perfect? No. But have our intentions been good? Absolutely.
As we continue to be subjected to the incessant rhetoric, infighting, name-calling, and discord coming from our elected officials—despite all that’s happened—I’m becoming increasingly disheartened that so many of our so-called “leaders” seem to be, in my opinion, failing us. To borrow an example from another movie, Network, it sometimes makes me want to go out on my patio and yell at the top of my lungs, “I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!”
So, where does that leave us?
Well, it leaves us right where we are. Doing our best. Working our hardest. Telling the truth. Relying on facts and science. Committed to learning, with—and from—each other. Creating memories and legacies. Remaining hopeful. Seeking wisdom. Recognizing the different between true and false—and right and wrong. Making the most of the gifts we’ve been given—individually and collectively.
That said, as we look to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day this Monday, perhaps we should take some inspiration from Dr. King as we continue to face life’s challenges. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness;” he said. “Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” In addition to which he said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
We at JCC MetroWest recognize that this is a time of challenge—challenge which has bred controversy (or, perhaps more accurately, vice versa). We thank you for being a source of light and for standing with us—and each other—as we navigate this sometimes-treacherous landscape and adapt to new and changing policies and procedures TOGETHER.
We are a community of communities, both accepting of—and reliant on—one another. May we go from strength to strength together—and may 2022 bring us renewed opportunities to look up, look out, and move forward.
Shabbat Shalom,
Stuart
Stuart Raynor
Chief Executive Officer
JCC MetroWest
