Dear Friends,
By the time you read this Dvar Torah, Australia will be days away from an election which will determine who will be in charge of this country for the next three years. While in other countries elections can symbolise serious unrest and violence, we are blessed in Australia that our elections, with all their nastiness and negativity do not usually go further than that.
The transfer of government in Australia is almost always peaceful. While the ruling party that is elected by a majority of Australians may not please all people, we are lucky to live in a country that will seamlessly transition and in a month from now we will almost all have forgotten this election period.
Election days in Australia have a rhyme and rhythm. While other countries may have a public holiday to vote for their new government, Australians look forward to their election day sausage (‘Seudos Shabbos’) and usually line up at the local town hall, church or community centre to cast their compulsory democratic vote.
This process is repeated election after election and there is a certain level of comfort in the rituals and repetition of the process involved in voting. Australians have largely come to expect the process to proceed as it always has-calmly, orderly and with an adequate BBQ.
Interestingly, this week’s Parsha, Emor, discusses the Jewish life cycle of festivals and calendar. The Parsha outlines all Biblical festivals including Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and the Omer period. Each of these festivals brings a level of comfort and routine to our Jewish calendar and ensures that no matter how far and scattered we are as a people we are all in ‘sync’ with our calendar and routine.
In Australia we know that the seasons are opposite to Israel, so when Pesach takes place in our Autumn we appreciate that in Israel the Spring season is beginning and reflect these changes in our prayers. Living so far from Israel we appreciate that the festivals are a way of connecting the global Jewish community through shared ritual and practice.
We also take comfort in the festivals that provide us with an opportunity to spend quality time with our families and reflect at different periods, as mandated in our calendar.
Currently, we are in the period of Sefirat HaOmer in which Jews across the world reflect on this solemn mourning period and take on extra stringencies to mark this period of introspection with no weddings, music or haircuts, which generally symbolize joy.
As we embark on our Australian election ritual this week, we can take a moment to reflect on our Jewish rituals which similarly anchor us and help us to assess our progress and our need to implement real and meaningful changes when necessary.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Gabi
ARK Centre acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our activities. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. ARK Centre is committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.