Something I Learned From Rachel Goldberg-Polin
A few weeks ago I listened to a speech from Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a true hero, and mother of Hersh Polin who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023. In the course of that speech she referenced an idea that she’d heard from her rabbi. Unfortunately, I have forgotten his name.
The Amidah is the central prayer in Judaism. It is recited three times each weekday, four times on Shabbat and major holidays, and five times on Yom Kippur. It contains nineteen blessings, and always ends this way — “He who makes peace in His heavens, may he make peace for us and for all of Israel.” (And for the world at large)
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published"עושה שלום במרומיו, הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל."
Before that last part is said, we take three steps back.
Rachel offered a beautiful, simple explanation for why we step backwards when praying for peace: We step back because peace requires space.
It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot these days.
We step back. We step away. We make space —if only for a few moments—from our prejudices, our anger, our fears, and our entrenched and ossified conceptions of the world. We step back to ascertain that as human beings we simply don’t know everything. We often don’t recognize that there is a great mystery at play in the universe and beyond—that there is order even as we see only disorder.
And so, we step back to make space for God.
Wishing you and your family the space and presence of mind to experience true peace,
Peter
Pre-order Suspended By No String
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