Lessons from Mandela

Yesterday, as the last day of Chanukah came to an end I received a text message from a close friend, currently in Cape Town with her family; it said "B'de" and had a picture of her In-laws with Nelson Mandela.  B'de- Baruch Dayan Haemet- is the customary expression said upon hearing about someones passing, and means blessed is the True Judge.  It is with this tradition that we acknowledge that death is beyond our understanding.

 Mandela's death is a time of loss and sadness for all the communities of South Africa, and for all of Humanity.  Surrounded by South Africans in Atlanta, our very own Leah Sollish, being one expat, you can feel the deep sense of loss for those that feel deeply connected to this revered leader and his Long Walk to Freedom.  I am pondering the fortuitousness of the time he passed; as Chanukah was coming to a close, perhaps this is not by chance.  To reflect on someone like Nelson Mandela and all he accomplished for his brothers and sisters as an anti-apartheid revolutionary, reminds me of the core message we have been imparting to the children at Intown Jewish Preschool about the Maccabees during Chanukah.  To be brave, and tenacious while standing up to the "bully" Antiochus, who tried to strip away basic human rights and freedoms for the Jewish people.  This is not an easy mandate, and it did not come without great turmoil and inner struggle for the small band of warriors, the Maccabees.  Someone like Mandela, who stood strong with the utmost dignity in the face of oppression, can be a modern example to stand strong when confronted with injustices large or small.  What we are attempting to imbue, in our impressionable, precious, young children at this school, is the recognition that they too have this ability to reach inside themselves and be like a Maccabee, be like a "Mandela".

 As the Torah teaches, “Ki Karov Eilecha Hadavar Meod-It is within your close reach-", to draw out of ourselves this power.  At the preschool age it might mean standing up for one’s own turn, or to not stand silent when they see a friend being treated unfairly by another.  It is with this knowledge, that I have the courage, and with the practice of small acts of character that will, please G-d, turn our children into upstanding citizens of the world, Mentschen or dare we hope heroes in their time.  

Judaism teaches that the best way to pay tribute to those who have passed on is to do good deeds in their honor.  The greatest tribute we can pay is to take the relevant messages in accordance with the values he practiced and taught – values of human dignity, forgiveness, kindness, courage, tenacity, strength, honesty and integrity.
With wishes for a Shabbat Shalom, Dena