I am taking a course called, “Genesis With the Rabbis.”
It is a course that examines the book of Genesis, often called the Book of Creation, with a Jewish lens. Each participant (Christian, Jewish, and me, the Muslim!) is to bring a Bible or Torah of his/her choice to the class. Additionally, we were given a list of rabbincal commentaries and asked to select one.
I chose “Covenant & Conversation, Genesis: The Book of Beginnings,” written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Maggid Books & The Orthodox Union, 2009).
In one essay called “Three Stages of Creation,” Rabbi Sacks maintains that the stages of creation are (1) And God said, let there be … (2) And there was …, and (3) And God saw that it was good.”
It is what Rabbi Sacks wrote about the third stage, “And God saw that it was good,” that absolutely astounded me and made me cry. I think that all chaplains who work in corrections can relate to Rabbi Sacks’ observation and wanted to share it with you:
“In the course of my work, I have visited prisons and centres for young offenders. Many of the people I met there were potentially good. They, like you and me, had dreams, hopes, ambitions, aspirations. They did not want to become criminals. Their tragedy was that often they came from dysfunctional families in difficult conditions. No one took the time to care for them, support them, teach them how to negotiate the world, how to achieve what they wanted through hard work and persuasion rather than violence and lawbreaking. They lacked a basic self-respect, a sense of their own worth. No one ever told them that they were good.
To see that someone is good and to say so is a creative act – one of the great creative acts. There may be some few individuals who are inescapably evil, but they ae few. Within almost all of us is something positive and unique, but which is all too easily injured, and which only grows when exposed to the sunlight of someone else’s recognition and praise. To see the good in others and let them see themselves in the mirror of our regard is to help someone grow to become the best they can be. “Greater,” says the Talmud, “is one who causes others to do good than one who does good himself.” (Bava Batra, 9a) To help others become what they can be is to give birth to creativity in someone else’s soul. This is done not by criticism or negativity but by searching out the good in others, and helping them see it, recognize it, own it, and live it.
‘And God saw that it was good’ – this too is part of the work of creation, the subtlest and most beautiful of all. When we recognise the goodness in someone, we do more than create it, we help it to become creative. This is what God does for us, and what He calls us to do for others.”
Prison chaplains need to constantly examine what it is that we are creating in our facilities.
Do we take pride in causing inmates to do good, or do we pride ourselves in the “good” we think we ourselves do? Preparing inspiring sermons and khutbahs is important. So is leading classes and other religious activities. But finding and nurturing the good in inmates is an important part of helping them to create self-respect and self-worth.
It’s not always easy. People who lack self-respect and self-worth sometimes sabotage their growth. They sometimes push us away. They dare us to love them.
That’s where we chaplains have to get creative. It’s worth it.
And they’re worth it.
Sadly, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” controversy has leaked into military chaplaincy.
