Look to the Skies! Haftarah Rosh Hodesh

Isaiah 66:1-24

When Rosh Hodesh falls on Shabbat, a special Haftarah is read. Coming from the last chapter of Isaiah, there is a vision of new moon after new moon and Sabbath after Sabbath as a promise of God’s unending relationship with humanity. God’s sovereignty will endure forever.

At the beginning of the chapter, we have God’s lamenting the troubles in getting someone’s attention.

For I called and none responded,I spoke and none paid heed.
- Verse 4

God wants us to pay attention. When we don’t pay attention, God stops being nice.

I attended an interfaith group meeting yesterday whose speaker was Pablo Suarez, one of two climate change experts that works for the Red Cross Red Crescent society. He spoke to us about what it means to be proactive about climate change at the local level and how that affects society at a global level. He spoke about how understanding the changes that are happening and working to be ready for them can prevent food shortages and deaths. He spoke about common sense solutions like storing grain in bags as opposed to granaries. When heavier than normal rains come, which happens more and more often these days, the bags can be moved to higher ground and the food saved.

These ideas save money, prevent the need for disaster relief and put survival and recovery int the hands of the people much sooner than the Red Cross can get there. These ideas aside—and there were many of them—Mr. Suarez then moved the conversation to the metaphysical. He asked us to determine if we believed a variety of climate issues were the cause of Man, Nature or God.

Man. Nature. God.

The ice caps melting. Man? Nature? God?
The flooding after hurricane Katrina. Man? Nature? God?
The Tsunami in Indonesia. Man? Nature? God?
The deaths after Katrina. Man? Nature? God?
The oil spill in the gulf. Man? Nature? God?

The list went on.

One response from the audience to this list and the options presented was that perhaps there was no difference between God and Nature. I also considered that I have often mentioned that I believe when we work for positive change, we are partnering with God.

God? Man? Nature?

As I was listening to this I was wondering about the message that we are supposed to be getting when nature is talking to us. Whose attention is nature trying to get? What is going to happen when we don’t listen, or can’t listen or choose not to listen, or let politics dictate what we think science is telling us?

It will soon become the case that something will replace the oil spill and its effects in the news and in the American consciousness. Remember Haiti? Remember Darfur?

God. Nature. Man.

God’s complaint in the opening verses of this chapter from Isaiah speaks for the complaint of more than God. It speaks for the complaint of Nature and Man as well. God is not the only thing that we sometimes tend to ignore.

Who will we pay attention to this week, this month, this year? There are so many things that need our attention. Let us hope that we can give it when it is warrented.

Shabbat Shalom