{"id":57441,"date":"2020-10-16T07:46:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T13:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=57441"},"modified":"2020-10-16T08:53:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:53:23","slug":"off-the-pulpit-no-perfect-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/off-the-pulpit-no-perfect-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Pulpit: No Perfect Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE<\/p>\n

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Such unease is part of the true nature of home. Commenting on the phrase ger toshav, \u2018stranger-resident\u2019 the Maggid of Dubno explains we should all feel both comfortable in the world and out of place in it, like residents and like strangers. Echoing this insight is the philosopher Adorno: \u201cThe highest form of morality is not to feel at home in one\u2019s own home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The realization that things are not entirely safe, or perfect, is one that everyone in the world acknowledges in a time of pandemic. But even in normal times there is no place of perfect safety, and the awakened spirit hears the low hum of peril beneath everyday life. Therefore we are energized to make things better, to take care of one another, to improve the world.<\/p>\n

If home is flawless we need not repair and to grow. This is an unredeemed world, an imperfect home; so we have much work to do.The realization that things are not entirely safe, or perfect, is one that everyone in the world acknowledges in a time of pandemic. But even in normal times there is no place of perfect safety, and the awakened spirit hears the low hum of peril beneath everyday life. Therefore we are energized to make things better, to take care of one another, to improve the world. If home is flawless we need not repair and to grow. This is an unredeemed world, an imperfect home; so we have much work to do.<\/p>\n

(Rabbi David Wolpe is the senior rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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