Rabbi Howard Morrison

Last week, Beth Emeth transitioned from requiring the wearing of a mask in the synagogue to recommending the wearing of a mask in the synagogue. Some will experience this decision as liberating, and others as terrifying. 

We can turn to Moses in the Torah as a model for how to live in this in-between space of masking and unmasking that we face now in synagogue and in society. In the book of Exodus, chapter 34, Moses' close encounter with God after receiving the Ten Commandments leaves his face radiant with the light of encounter. However, the light is too bright for the Israelites to see him in all of his radiance. Thus, they shrink back at the sight of him. For the rest of his life, Moses chooses to mask with the people to cover the light of his face and to unmask when before God. When Moses spoke with God, he would remove his mask. After he finished speaking with God and was with the people, he would continue unmasked while transmitting prophecy, and then, once finished, he would put on the mask for his everyday interactions with the Israelites. 

The lesson of Moses teaches that seeing and being seen are at the forefront of the human experience. At the same time, Moses' lesson teaches us that there is also an imperative to understand those for whom unmasking is an impossibility and to ensure that they too are fully respected and understood. 

In this transitional moment, may we be like Moses, able to deftly move between worlds, knowing when it is safe to unmask and when it is necessary to raise back up the mask in order to allow all people to draw together without fear.  (inspired and excerpted from "The Torah of Masks: on seeing and being seen," by Rabbi Avi Strausberg, Yeshivat Hadar).

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison