If you don’t think one person can make a difference, think again. Nine years ago, a public school teacher in Wisconsin named Todd Bol wanted to do something to honor his recently diseased mother. And while he didn’t have a lot of money, he had books and access to wood, so he built the very first “Little Free Library,” a small lending library with books to share with anyone who happens to walk by. He told a few friends around the country and pretty soon these libraries were popping up all around the world all with the motto “take a book, return a book.” There are now over 75,000 of them, some in obscure place like the Mexican-US border and war torn areas like Uganda and the Sudan, and some in our neck of the woods only a few miles from CSS. While Bol died this week, his legacy and his mothers are firmly in place.
This week we continue to read about the life of Abraham and Sarah. And while the portion is packed with their adventures including the Sodom and Gomorrah and the binding of Isaac, perhaps the most important one is from the first the beginning of the portion when the couple notices strangers approaching in the distance. Instead of battening down the hatches, they run toward the men and welcome them in to their tent. They go so far as to wash their feet and offer them a meal. This simple act of kindness becomes the foundation of the Jewish value of welcoming guests,hachnasat orchim. It is also the basis of the wedding canopy, or chuppah, being open on all sides.
Yes, one person or one couple can make a difference. The only question, as Bol and our biblical forbearers demonstrate, is which one of our many daily actions will change the world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 12/20/2018 by Marc Slonim