“There’s a storm brewin’ up!”
So says Professor Marvel in the 1939 film version of the Wizard of Oz. As the audience watches the wind rip around and the various characters prepare to take cover, they know that something momentous and potentially dangerous is on the horizon. It is not by chance that the Wizard of Oz was in theatres in the very same year in which Hitler’s Germany had invaded Poland and begun the horrific final solution. The storm of the Wizard of Oz most certainly paralleled the storm surrounding the world in 1939.
When I watch that scene in the Wizard of Oz, I often find myself thinking about the biblical story of Noah and the coming storm that God has told him about. In the days before that storm arrives, Noah spends his days building an ark of protection to save some of the earth’s creatures. I say some because, besides his own family, Noah does not save any other human being. Noah allows all of humanity to perish in the storm and only saves those in his own inner circle.
Noah is known as being righteous, but only dorotav or in his own generation – a generation of self-obsession and ego-centric pride. Noah’s righteousness is limited by his inability to think of and act for anyone but himself.
The real hero of the Noah story is not Noah, but rather a white dove who is sent out from the ark to find land once the storm has ended. Unlike the raven who leaves the ark and never returns, the dove comes back and saves all of the inhabitants. The dove is the true protagonist of the story because he cares about more than himself.
Similarly, in the Wizard of Oz, the true protagonist is not Dorothy who simply wishes to return home, but all of the characters who help her – who put their own needs away in order to protect and care for another.
We are in the season of elections – and so many of us, no matter who we are voting for, feel a sense of dread about a coming storm. Our values and our sense of hope is embodied by these elections. We are all right now seeking cover and preparing our own arks of protection – that is certainly why we vote and we encourage others to do the same.
The central question is what our vote will reflect – does our vote only reflect our own interests, our own concerns for our inner circle? Do we vote as Noah who only thinks of himself and his own needs? Or do we vote with a deep dedication to protect and be there for the other, who needs us now more than ever?
This is a season in which I hope we all respect and love one another. As a congregation and community, we have diverse views and opinions – but we must strive to care and respect for one another – and in the end, defend one another vociferously.
Please note that Cantor Anna and I are working to put together a short Monday night pre-election non-partisan prayer service in which we can find some calm before the storm.
Wishing you and your family a Shabbat of peace and hope
Shabbat Shalom!
