By Laura Seymour

Dear Families,

Every time someone says, “I read your column in the TJP,” I feel honored. I am not a great thinker or a great writer but I am a pretty good reader, which means that I share ideas from others that remind us of the important stuff — our relationships and our responsibilities. Today, especially during this challenging holiday season, we try to make sense of our world and find ways to understand and then to take action. Here is a poem by Rabbi Ariel Tovlev that reminds us of our job to make the world a better place. Let us strive to make peace in the world, in our communities, in our families and in ourselves.

The one who makes peace

Blessing bread bought
From the supermarket,
Our blessing says, thank you God
For bringing forth bread from the earth.

But this bread didn’t come from the earth.
It came from a store,
From a factory,
From flour ground
From wheat
From the earth.

This bread did not sprout forth.
It was created from human hands

We don’t thank God for the wheat
Which actually came from the earth.
God did not create bread
But God knew we could.

My kids ask, why do we pray for God to make peace?
I tell them, God makes peace
Like God makes bread.

Which is to say,
We have all
The necessary ingredients.

Peace will not sprout forth.
It will be created from human hands.

Thank you God, for giving us the wisdom
To turn wheat into bread.
Thank you God, for giving us the wisdom
To turn love into peace.

Laura Seymour is Jewish experiential learning director and camp director emeritus at the Aaron Family JCC.