The marquis on the church near our house is flashing, “Stay Woke. Follow Jesus”. Stay Woke. In the anti-racism and social justice world, being woke means being aware, being self aware. It’s perhaps the modern equivalent to being “hip” to something.
Stay Woke. It's a phrase that's begun to creep into my existence. The flashing marquis that has wormed its way into my thoughts.
We’ve recently begun a new Jewish year. This past year has been a year of often horrific awakening. The news, and my social media field has been filled with images - black men being killed by police, LGBT folks slaughtered in a nightclub, terrorism around the world, refugees on boats and on shores, the list goes on and on. They are images that move me, and that move all of us - images that shock me awake. For a moment. And then I scroll down. The next image - a silly cat, a political rant, a new meme. Sure, I do things. I volunteer; I make donations; I vote. But do I truly stay aware; stay woke?
The period between the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is about reflection, apology, and change. Each year, I try to take this seriously. Each year, I apologize to others, to myself, to the force in the world I call God. Most years, there is a moment, sometime, the afternoon of Yom Kippur, during the powerful Neilah service, when I am, finally, awake. And then, the next year, it’s the same stuff. I make the same mistakes. I have the same regrets. Am I truly able to stay woke?
There have been other moments of awakening this year. That flash of wonder on a gorgeous day. The moments where time freezes in joy - laughing hysterically with my parents and sisters, seeing the look on my daughter’s face after nailing a successful dive into the pool, watching my son read from the Torah in front of our community. Moments of pure awakening, when the world is only goodness and truth. These moments, also, are gone, almost as soon as I recognize them.
Stay woke. It’s beautiful in its new use of the past tense. Stay woke is about taking a moment, of awareness, of being, of change, and remember it, act on it, remain aware of it. I awaken over and over. But stay woke? Not yet.
