My family arrived in Allentown this past summer and we have jumped into the many opportunities the Lehigh Valley affords, from the Da Vinci Science Center to the Steelstacks and much more.
Beyond the recreational, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of my fellow clergy through the Allentown Police Department’s Chaplain Program, the Allentown School District Superintendent’s Interfaith Council, and from participating in communal events hosted by forums such as the Allentown Chamber of Commerce and Greater Lehigh Chamber of Commerce. I wish to express gratitude to the leadership and residents of our community for their warm collegiality.
With credit to Mayor Tuerk and Genesis Ortega, we recently inaugurated the first Hanukkah Menorah Lighting at Allentown City Hall. In addition to the meaningful candle lighting ceremony, and joyful singing, we brought hundreds of doughnuts for all of the staff and anyone who wished to partake. I was deeply grateful to the public officials, fellow clergy and other community leaders who participated in the occasion.
As a Morning Call subscriber, I have been following the challenges over city governance for some time now. I have personally met with many of our elected officials and I believe that we are all fundamentally righteous people who want what is best for our neighbors.
In Judaism, we have a concept called “arguing for the sake of Heaven” in which debate for a good cause, such as the betterment of society, is considered sacred. At the kind invitation of previous City Council President Daryl Hendricks, I shared the following prayer at the recent swearing in ceremony:
“Almighty God, we come before you as men and women of noble will. Your prophet Isaiah (55:8) declared, ‘my thoughts are not yours.’ And so we do not possess Your infinite wisdom. Yet, we humbly endeavor to fulfill your mandate to ‘work and safeguard’ the City of Allentown, the Garden which you have entrusted to us.
“O God, you declared: ‘Is not My word like fire? says the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces’ (Jeremiah 23:29). Just as this hammer breaks a stone into several fragments, so too, one verse is stated by God and from it emerge several interpretations. (Sanhedrin 34a).
“Debate and difference of opinion is not a bug, but a feature of our human condition. However, Your Sages elucidated that argumentation need not result in alienation.
“In Psalms (127:5) it states: ‘Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate’ (Psalms 127:5). Your Sages teach: That even a father and his child, or a teacher and his student, who are locked in intellectual combat become likened to adversaries with each other due to the intensity of their debate. But they are not permitted to leave the study chambers until they express their love and affection for each other (Kiddushin 30b).
“Almighty God, much debate has occurred in this hallowed chamber — and there will — and SHOULD be many more. However, one thing I request of You O Lord — that you bestow upon us and bless us with the wisdom, the patience, the resolve, and the fortitude to see that even when we may seem like ‘enemies at the gate’ that is only a temporary illusion — for we are all in pursuit of the same fundamental goal. Like a hammer that strikes the stone, we produce different methods. However, we are not adversaries, but allies working together for the betterment of our neighbors and our city. May God bless our Mayor, our City Council and all who work for the betterment of the City of Allentown, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and may God bless our United States of America. And let us say: Amen.”
It is trite to mention that we live in a polarized society. At the same time, we live in the most pivotal swing state, and the bellwether region of the Lehigh Valley. I believe God has granted all 700,000-plus of us the opportunity to serve as a model for broader American society. What we do here can set the tone for the nation.
Upon this realization, I began a show entitled “As I Walk Through the Valley” (like Psalm 23, but minus the ominous “shadow of death” part). My goal is to feature and fully understand where our diverse community is heading and what are the most salient challenges and opportunities that we all face. I sit down with politicians, pastors, business leaders and much more. All in the spirit of “arguing for the sake of Heaven.”
The show can be found on Spotify, Apple and standard podcast platforms. If you would like to connect, please feel welcome to email me at: rabbi@sonsofisrael.net.
This is a contributed opinion column. Rabbi Moshe Kurtz serves as the rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Allentown, and is the host of the “As I Walk Through the Valley” podcast.