During an interview several years ago, Rachel Naomi Remen recounted a story her grandfather used to tell her (emphasis mine)[1]:
”In the beginning there was only the holy darkness, the Ein Sof, the source of life. And
then, in the course of history, at a moment in time, this world, the world of a
thousand thousand things, emerged from the heart of the holy darkness as a
great ray of light. And then, perhaps because this is a Jewish story, there was
an accident, and the vessels containing the light of the world, the wholeness
of the world, broke. And the wholeness
of the world, the light of the world was scattered into a thousand, thousand
fragments of light, and they fell into all events and all people, where they
remain deeply hidden until this very day.
Now, according to my grandfather, the whole human race is a response to this
accident. We are here because we are
born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people,
to lift it up and make it visible once again and thereby to restore the innate
wholeness of the world. It’s a very important story for our times. And this
task is called tikkun olam in Hebrew. It’s the restoration of the world.
And this is, of course, a collective task. It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive, all people yet to be born. We are all healers of the world. And that story opens a sense of possibility. It’s not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It’s about healing the world that touches you, that’s around you.”
The world was scattered into a thousand fragments of light, deeply hidden. In these days of endless heaviness as we witness human suffering, political posturing, widespread oppression, and the ongoing pressures of everyday life, it is easy to imagine fragments of life that no longer shine. Yet, according to this beautiful story, the light is not extinguished, it is only hidden. And it is not hidden forever, but temporarily so until we, the human race, work to find that light and let it shine once again.
This we need to remember. That as long as there are folks like you and me and so many willing to see past the darkness, willing to look for the good, willing to be the good, there will be light. As long as we put our trust in an all-powerful God who will lift all that is cast down, there will be light. As long as we work towards the common good of all people, there will be light. The light of the world’s wholeness exists in everything and everyone at some level. Sometimes we can see it brightly, and other times we need to uncover it.
As we move through these warm summer months, may you find the light. May you be the light.
Lori+
[1] https://onbeing.org/programs/rachel-naomi-remen-the-difference-between-fixing-and-healing-nov2018/