blogs/rabbi-noah-farkas

Making the Homeless Count

I felt a little silly last night as we drove the hills of Encino at 10:00 PM looking for homeless individuals amongst the million-dollar mansions.  Yet, we had to drive those streets as part of the annual Homeless Count coordinated by the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority (LAHSA).   I was joined by over forty volunteers mostly from VBS.  This annual count tries to locate Angelinos experiencing homelessness in order to secure federal dollars to deal with this crisis.  Last year our region counted over forty-four thousand homeless folk �" the largest number ever.  This year's count is even more comprehensive. I suspect the numbers will rise again if for no other reason than we are better at finding them.

So as we drove around last night up and down the hills and across Ventura I did feel a little silly. “How could there be homeless in Encino?”  “It's not that kind of neighborhood.” As I reflected with my team about these questions, I realized that the part of us that assumes we will find no one, is the part of us that tells us that there is no one to be found.  Each of us has this little voice that offers dark council.  Our rabbis call it the Yetzer HaRa or our Evil Inclination.  This yetzer tells us that the homeless are just the moral tax we pay for living in an urban environment.  They live amongst the benches and trees, sleeping at bus stops or behind dumpsters and treated with the same regard as other urban landscape features.  This is the voice that tells us no to see them. Our neighborhood is a “good one.”  Trying to find a homeless person or even a family is silly. 

Judaism tells us not to listen to this voice, as loud as it is.  Judaism tells us to lean into our convictions and hear the voice of our prophetic conscience and see what is invisible, hear what is inaudible, and touch what is untouchable.  This is the greatest gift of our religion. The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said, “Religion is the art and theory of the internal life.” “[It is] a system of general truths which have the effect of transforming the character when they are sincerely and vividly apprehended.” This week's Torah portion, Yitro, captures a similar notion.  The Israelites have gone free from Egypt, they approached the quaking Mountain and saw the thick clouds, the fire, and the blaring horn of shofar.  In this moment, God entered a relationship with each and every Israelite for all eternality saying, “I am the LORD your God who took you out of Egypt.” The midrash explains that God looked like mirror in which each Israelite saw themselves transformed by their relationship to the Divine.  You are not mathematic or scientific, but you can be religious. It is our religion and its truths found in Torah that has the unique capacity amongst human endeavors to transform who we are and how choose to live.

With this heightened sense that our Torah gives us, we can see what we did not see before.  We can act in a sacred way.  We can refine our characters and become godly.   As we arrived at Ventura and the 405 Freeway, we found a couple of makeshift shelters and a family pushing shopping carts.  We took note.  We recorded their location and added it to the tally.  There are homeless in Encino after all.  We are not immune to scourge of our city, but with the eyes given to us a Sinai we can turn into light and try to make a difference.   If you want to have an impact and to make a difference reach out and join me.