
We watch with horror and fear as devastating fires rage across the hills outside of Los Angeles. Thousands of homes were destroyed in an instant. Hundreds of thousands were suddenly displaced, uncertain when they might return home or if their home still existed.
I’ve heard commentary from television hosts, political figures, first responders, and self-proclaimed experts trying to assign blame all week. Some say it’s climate change. Others claim it’s a punishment from God. There are accusations of budget cuts, poor leadership, and arsonists.
I even heard that Israel’s conflict in Gaza was somehow responsible.
I will leave the blame game to others. In moments like this, I prefer to focus on how we respond. Our tradition teaches that we find God not in the disaster but in our response to it. We encounter the divine when we mobilize our efforts to provide shelter, food, medicine, clothing, and education for those suffering. We become God’s hands in the world.
This week’s Torah portion, parshat shemot, offers a powerful example of this principle through the actions of two courageous women, Shifra and Puah. When Pharaoh’s attempts to suppress the Israelite population failed, he took his cruelty one step further: he ordered the murder of all male Israelite children. He commanded the midwives, Shifra and Puah, to kill the newborn boys as they were being born.
The Torah tells us that Shifra and Puah "feared God" and refused to comply with Pharaoh’s decree.
God did not appear to them in a vision, and there was no divine message or miraculous sign. They simply acted because they knew that their response mattered. It was through their refusal to follow Pharaoh’s evil order that they made a difference.
In times of crisis, like the wildfires in Los Angeles, we, too, are called to act. We should focus on what we can do to help those in need. We have made it easy to contribute: You can donate directly to the Los Angeles Federation’s wildfire relief efforts at https://www.jewishla.org/wildfire-crisis-relief/. You can also support local efforts to assist displaced families here in Las Vegas at https://www.jewishnevada.org/wildfireresources.
We pray for the health and safety of all affected by these fires, from the victims to the first responders.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel
Comments