And Then What Happened?

When listening to a stimulating story, a child may hasten the tale’s end by asking “and then what happened?” In these times, I feel like every day is a “then what happened sort of day.” The story of our times is grueling. Being perpetually careful is fatiguing. Being tired is exhausting (anyone else having disrupted sleep?). Yet, it is most important that we anticipate the future . . . especially when it feels like we are getting swallowed up by the present.

I was thinking about another crisis that swallowed people up. A short while ago, we read in the Torah cycle about Korach’s rebellion. In response to a revolt by priestly families, the earth opened up and swallowed 250 of the challengers including Korach.  Chapters later, in Parshat Pinchas, we learn that Korach’s sons did not die with their father. Korach’s descendants kept their place in the religious life of the Jewish people. In fact, eleven of the psalms were attributed to Korach’s offspring.

The story of Korach’s heirs gives me hope. Theirs is a story of future generations, the descendants of rebels, who sustain a righteous path. Theirs is a story proving that the children can transcend the mistakes of their parents.

These descendants of a rebel wrote beautiful psalms, speaking of overcoming their own despair. They placed their faith in God. They wrote “Why so downcast, my soul, why disquieted within me? Have hope in God.” Psalm 42.

Many of us feel downcast and disquiet.  I overcome despair with hope. For me, hope is the faith that God has set into motion all of the healing, all of the repair, and all of the sustenance we need. My faith in people is not always so steadfast, although my confidence in future generations is more resolute.  As the descendants of Korach wrote:

תַּ֣חַת אֲ֭בֹתֶיךָ יִהְי֣וּ בָנֶ֑יךָ תְּשִׁיתֵ֥מוֹ לְ֝שָׂרִ֗ים בְּכָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

Your children will succeed your ancestors; you will appoint them ministers throughout the land.

We need healing; a vaccine, a just society, and a healthy planet. I believe that cures will be developed, civil rights laws will be passed and the environment will be improved. I believe that healing will come as today’s children and grandchildren become the ministers of the future.

We have not respected the science, the morality and the planet. We focused on personal freedom without prioritizing social responsibility. We focused on personal success without prioritizing civic responsibility. We focused on personal comforts without prioritizing environmental responsibility. But our failings are not the end of the story.

When the story of these times is told the children will question: “and then what happened?” I believe that the answer will be that the sons and daughters prevented plague, secured justice, and saved the planet.

Rabbi Evan J. Krame