The Importance of Showing Up

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Hillary Gardenswartz, (DS, KGS ’07), Director, Student Experiences at Civic Spirit, Member, JTS Board of Trustees.

What might be a compelling reason to think and act beyond oneself? 

“You are not obligated to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” (Avot 2:21).

“If I am only for myself, what am I?” (Avot 1:15). 

These teachings from Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of Our Fathers) emphasize one’s individual responsibility to the collective. Our singular actions affect others; we each have an obligation to positively impact our greater communities. But with so much happening in these unsettling and unstable times, it is reasonable to want to simply check out and stay in our personal bubble. The issues are seemingly endless: antisemitism, political instability, misinformation, climate change, social media saturation, the loneliness epidemic, and on and on. When simply getting out of bed some days is a victory, why add the obligation to show up for others?

Our deep well of Jewish tradition and wisdom, alongside our rich and complex American history, provides inspiring guideposts on how to navigate this sense of obligation. Jewish ritual life is built upon the presence of a community. We literally cannot complete certain obligations without a minyan, especially those obligations connected to the celebration and commemoration of seasonal, annual, and life-cycle events. Our tradition demands that we be counted and that we take count of others, which includes everything from daily prayer to knowing who is sick or grieving or celebrating a milestone. Being counted in community means one shows support for those who need our presence without needing to do anything more than share the same space. Our mere physical presence positively impacts another’s ability to experience a life event with communal support.

Showing up and being counted in the civic space is just as important as it is in Jewish spaces. Being civically engaged fulfills that same sense of obligation to others; you are part of a larger community, and therefore your voice not only matters but is necessary to create progress and change. Showing up in the civic realm—whether attending a community board meeting, voting, paying taxes, or participating in a park cleanup—matters. It matters, and it also takes practice. We cannot expect our children or our students to understand what it means to be civically committed if we do not show them. We must model the skills of being responsible members of the community: engage in respectful dialogue with others (especially with those who hold opposing views), know our local representatives and issues, and build relationships with different members of our community. In his speech “Democracy and Education,” educator Booker T. Washington said, “Character, not circumstances, makes the man. It is more important that we be prepared for voting than that we vote, more important that we be prepared to hold office than that we hold office, more important that we be prepared for the highest recognition than that we be recognized.”

As we enter 5785, may we take our obligation to bolster our various communities seriously. May we find strength in each other and power in our actions to make positive change. May we create civic and Jewish spaces that foster authentic relationship-building across differences and allow democracy to flourish. 

Back to Glimmers of Light: Reflections on Hope for the Days of Awe 5785