Two Kinds of Mighty

Newsletter July 6th, 2025 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

One thing I remember vividly from my (simulated) trip to the moon and the training that goes into it though the official US Space Academy's Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama in 1994, was that it took a herculean effort of thousands of people across centuries to understand atmosphere, space, flight, thermodynamics, hydraulics, chemistry, biology, and more to send humans into space.

And one of the most delicate parts of the journey was the moment of liftoff when two SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) are ignited perfectly simultaneously (or else the capsule would not fly straight). With as much training as astronauts get, nothing could possibly prepare you for the might of the twin solid rocket boosters shooting the rocket into the sky with a combined 7.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. At space camp, I could only imagine what liftoff would have been like. 

But, Jeremy Hansen crewmember of the Artemis II that took off last week shared, "The fact that we launched -- it just totally takes you by surprise, even though you're expecting it, at least for me anyway, and just had a huge smile across my face.”

Indeed, that moment was overwhelming even for those on the ground to see the blinding brightness of the ignition, hear the sound of the burning solid fuel even through ear muffs, and feel the vibration of the capsule lifting off into the air. Talk about might!

Fellow astronaut of Artemis II, Victor Glover, shared, 

"We call amazing things that humans do 'moonshots' for a reason, because this brought us together and showed us what we can do when we not just put our differences aside, when we bring our differences together and use all the strengths to accomplish something great.”

The combined focus of all of those who make spaceflight for humans possible yields a mighty result. 

Last week, we read in the Passover Haggadah, and we are told again in the Torah (including here in Deuteronomy 26:8): 

"God freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.” 

Indeed, this description of might, in Hebrew the word is chazakah, has all of the signs of might, power, awe-inspiring strength and a kind of miraculous happening that reminds me of what people might have experienced at liftoff. This is the might of miracles. 

But in Jewish tradition, there is another kind of might that is understood as well. It is more of an internal kind of strength called gevurah. This is a kind of strength that comes from courage. And, this week, rather than the chazakah (power) described in the seder story of our Exodus from Egypt,  we enter into our second week of the cycle of the counting of the Omer. (Count the omer with us here!) It is a week that is, fittingly, dedicated to considering the kabbalistic aspect of might, of courage/ gevurah. 

Gevurah is the might noted in Deuteronomy 6:5. You may recognize it as the first verse of the Ve’ahavta which commands, “You shall love Adonai your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Why does it take gevurah/might/courage to love God? 

I think it has to do with a different teaching from the rabbis, in the Mishnah Pirkei Avot 4:1 where the rabbis ask, “who is mighty/ who is courageous?” And they answer their own question: “The one who can master their own inclinations,” is truly mighty. Not some body builder. But starting at home, rising to a level of sanctity in a world filled with temptation, frustration, hatred, fear, and greed is, I would argue, perhaps more of a mighty lift than even that of a rocket off of a launchpad. It takes continual vigilance, dedication, and focus. Beyond the 30 seconds and 30 mile trip of the SRBs from a strong launch to separation from the module. It takes courage to place one foot in front of the other each day, day in and day out. 

Local congregations have joined together to help immigrants working to live with courage in Los Angeles day in and day out. Those who are courageously continuing to show up at an honest job, those who courageously show up at court hearings to keep moving their immigration process forward. Those who courageously raise families and keep homes and schedules to give them a shot at life here.

Our community, Keeping It Sacred, has joined this effort, with friends at Nefesh and IKAR and JPLA and others to support the efforts of CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) to bring together funding for bonds for those abducted by ICE. 

Bonds are necessary because if the breadwinner was detained by ICE, everyone depending on them is in jeopardy. Plus, conditions in detention centers are abysmal. Each Jewish community has signed up for a different week of fundraising, and our KITS week begins this Thursday. So, then, or anytime really, if you’d like to contribute to the bail bond fund at CLUE (which is a tax-deductible donation), please use this link. And anything you do to continually show up for those who are courageously finding their way through the immigration system in the US, by courageously helping, or if you are courageously helping anyone who is exerting courage to get by every day in whatever situation they find themselves in, counts. 

Courageously encouraging one another is how we keep it sacred.

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred… 

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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 Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...