Caring for the marginalized in Hebrew Scripture and tradition
Rabbi Michael Cahana, Senior Rabbi for Portland’s oldest synagogue, told an audience Sept. 19 at Catholic Charities of Oregon that the task of humanity is to repair the world.
Rabbi Cahana addresses a full room during his talk on caring for the marginalized in Hebrew Scripture and tradition.
Catholic Charities invited the rabbi to give the annual Tobin Lecture since the teachings on care for others from Jewish tradition are a foundation of much social action and social justice in the western world.
In Jewish mystical tradition, the flow of divinity at creation was so great that what sought to hold it was shattered and scattered. Humans are to find the pieces, or the sparks, of divinity and reassemble them, the energetic clergyman told the crowd.
“We are partners with God,” Rabbi Cahana said, explaining that the first principle is the value of each human life. “We can dislike someone and still see their humanity. We can still see their divinity. That’s what social justice is about.”
Rabbi Cahana welcomes in person and online guests to his lecture, The Roots of Care.
Rabbi Cahana lauded the work Catholic Charities does with migrants, saying it is an example of accompanying people who have been denigrated.
He explained the Jewish idea of tzedakah, which is an ethical obligation to empower people to support themselves by helping them develop talents and skills.
He said that all Jews are expected to give.
He cited Ezekiel 36:26, in which God promises to remove our hearts of stone and replace them with a heart of flesh and a new spirit.
“God’s going to enable you to see the humanity of people around you,” the rabbi concluded. “It is a lot of responsibility. It is really a very hard thing to do. Those of us who come to organizations like Catholic Charities, who see a responsibility in the world and look to each other to make the world a better place know we can’t live with a heart of stone. We are part of that divine flow, releasing the sparks of divinity that exist in our world.”