Rabbi Greengrass: Love Over Tolerance in Pinecrest This High Holy Day

Pinecrest residents are invited to move beyond mere tolerance toward active love as the High Holy Day season approaches. Rabbi Rachel G. Greengrass emphasizes the biblical commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself," suggesting that tolerance can imply enduring something unpleasant.

Greengrass proposes that the Torah's call to love is an active practice. "Love is something we do," she states. This involves treating another person's needs, dignity, and humanity with the same importance as one's own. Active love begins with genuine listening and curiosity, rather than assumptions.

"Real love begins with listening," Greengrass writes. "It begins with curiosity instead of assumptions. It means taking the time to learn another person’s story, to understand what keeps them awake at night, what brings them joy, and what burdens they carry." She reminds the community that every individual is created "b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God," and each person encountered reflects a divine aspect that cannot be discovered alone.

The High Holy Days offer an opportunity for this transformation. Greengrass asks the community to consider, "What causes them pain? What can I do to help?"

This introspective period, she suggests, is a chance for deep teshuvah, a return not only to God but also a turning toward one another. Greengrass hopes this year will bring the community to the "harder, holier work of love."