Maui Jews News

Ki Tetzei: Saying Goodbye

The Torah portion this week is aptly named, "when you go out," and is especially relevant as I sit here in the Maui airport about to depart with so much to reflect on for my last sermon to the community. For the past year and a half of service to the Jewish Congregation of Maui, I think about how we have laughed, cried and struggled together.

Our Torah portion is full of commandments that urge us to act righteously. Deuteronomy 22:8 instructs someone building a home to make a guard rail on the roof so that no one will fall down and hurt themselves. Installing fences are important for safety; normally we think about how fences separate, whereas this fence is intended to keep us safe. Ethics of the Fathers 1:1 has the Great Assembly who received the Torah from the prophets saying, "...make a fence round the Torah." 

The Torah is our home away from home, even when we are in exile. We can draw comfort from the fact that Jews from all over the world will read from the same text that goes back thousands of years. When we celebrate the fences that define our behavior as the Jewish people it becomes a moral compass that guides us forward.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the great 19th century German Jewish sage, wrote, "In building a house, a person must be motivated from the outset by consideration for the welfare not only of those people who will dwell in it at present, but also of those who may dwell there in the future. They must therefore not permit anything in their household that might cause injury to someone else." We must think of the needs of others and not put off doing the right thing. We need to not overlook our obligations and pretend that they do not concern us. 

The great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria would not recite the afternoon prayers until he paid his workers their daily wage. He reasoned: "How can I appear before the Eternal in prayer, when I am behaving unjustly and unkindly with my workers." Here we are in the month of Elul when we are called to turn out thoughts to self-improvement and repentance as a congregation.

Overall as a community, the Jewish Congregation of Maui has stepped up to help during the unfolding tragedy that we recently experienced with the fires; whether it is our Community Manager, Kalo who spent endless hours collecting and transporting goods to distribution centers or the Vojdani family who transformed their Kula Lodge into a refuge for those who lost their homes and the hungry emergency workers.

As I depart, I am filled with immense pride of our little community that does the right thing even under the most challenging of circumstances. Those who would like to stay in touch are welcome to email me at rabbi.mallek@gmail.com

Goodbye my friends, blessings to you all and Shabbat Shalom.

The Jewish Congregation of Maui
Beit Shalom Synagogue
Kihei, HI 96753