As our neighborhood becomes more vulnerable, there is, understandably, a state of concern throughout our community.

In this week’s Torah parshah, Vayigash, Joseph’s brothers are also feeling nervous. They think they’re in a terrifying position. How could they possibly leave their youngest brother, Benjamin, in Egypt, with this powerful Egyptian? How could they ever explain this terrifying situation to their father?

So this is when we have to recognize the similarity with our own state of fear. This is when Judah realizes that he can’t just give up his younger brother. He has to step forward to offer his own self—his own service—in place of Benjamin. And it is only because Judah lets go of his own sense of control in this situation—when he surrenders to this Egyptian leader, who appears to have complete control over his life—that he can learn that he is safe. Only then can Joseph finally reveal the fact that Judah and his brothers are, in fact, safely in the protection of their own brother. What relief!

This is where we Jews find ourselves right now. We think that this increase in violence against our people is a terrible, frightening situation. We’re waking up to something we have to admit: we’re not as safe as we thought we were. Of course it’s not good.

But this is when we have to recognize the similarity between our own situation and that of Judah. We need to remind ourselves that there is a higher power who can see us, who knows what we’re going through, and who can take care of us.  And this protection can only happen when we realize that we are not completely in control of what is happening in our midst. We need to let go of who we think we are, to discover how much more strength we really have within us.

There is a higher wisdom who made a covenant with us many years ago, and this covenant still stands. When we are able to surrender our needs into the loving arms of this higher wisdom, we will find that we really are safe. Even though these occurrences can be quite frightening, our trust in the higher wisdom can become the stimulant to wake us up to a new, more enlightening, more empowering awareness of our own true self.