Los Angeles is on Fire

Los Angeles is on fire.

The Palisades are gone.

My teacher and friend, Rabbi Bradley Artson shared on TikTok:

What are we supposed to do in all of this? All of our traditions, all of our wisdom, teach us to dig down and find he resilience to be there for each other. In the words of the Bible, God is not in the fire, God is not in the earthquake; God is in the still small voice of people who care for each other and who each out for each other, so let’s do that. Let’s find each other amidst the flames, amidst the smoke. Let’s make donations, let’s give of our time, lets reach out and care.

And then what- when the fires are contained, when people return to their homes- how do we support healing?

Rabbi Sharon Brous shares a story in The Amen Effect, about her father-in-law, who wore his best suit to his father’s funeral. In Jewish tradition, one often rends their garments at the death of an immediate relative, to symbolize the brokenness and rawness of their grief, and to show their status as a mourner through the week of mourning. He didn’t want to tear his best suit, and chose to cut his tie instead.

She continues:

The Rabbis explain, that it is acceptable to tack the tear with rough stitches after a week, and you may repair the garment more carefully after a full month has passed.

The garment can be worn again, but colleagues, friends, neighbors, strangers who get close enough won’t be able to help but notice that you have suffered a loss that has changed you forever. The torn garment, gingerly repaired, is like a scar tissues over a wound. The skin around the mark is simultaneously more tender and tougher, having been torn apart and stitched back together.

The tears in our hearts and in our society are so deep, some days it feels impossible to imagine that the garment could ever be repaired. And yet, the healing begins when we tack together the rough edges, then slowly, lovingly, begin to restitch the seams. It will never be perfect, but that’s never been the point. Beauty will be found, even in the imperfections.

The Marshall Fire, which ignited on December 30, 2021, in Boulder County, Colorado, claimed two lives and destroyed over 991 structures, making it the most damaging wildfire in the state’s history.

On August 8, 2023, powerful winds fueled devastating wildfires on Maui, Hawaii, leading to the destruction of more than 2,200 buildings and causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. The historic Lahaina district suffered the greatest loss, with over 100 fatalities reported.

Our world is on fire, and the amount of destruction is unfathomable. How do we heal?

We bear witness on mountains and hillsides in Colorado and California. We also see the rebirth of trees and nature. Land and humanity are resilient.

And we have to continue to show up for one another.

Rabbi Brous continues:

No one can do this sacred work alone. One must hold the frayed edges close while another threads the needle, and yet another begins to stitch away, all of us taking turns as our weary hands callous from the work. The amen effect affirms the tear, holds the broken pieces together with grace, lets the healing begin…

Let us become the tailors, to help bring healing to people, communities and earth. Let’s pay attention to what’s showing up, so we can shift the flames of climate change, so we can escape the constant threat of fires. Let’s continue to do the healing work together. Here are some suggestions to help fire victims in California.

You are invited to join us for a reflective class on finding Light in Darkness, starting next week at Kabbalah Experience.