The results of this historic election are now clear and I offer congratulations to and blessings for President-elect Donald J. Trump. I echo President Obama’s remarks from earlier today: “We are all rooting for his success,” and “The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of American democracy.”

It is no secret that our congregation is predominantly (but not all) liberal and Democratic. I know that many of you are feeling hurt, confused, angry or all of the above. I also know that some of you and many across the country are satisfied by the election results. Indeed, members of my own extended family are on both sides of that divide. Our temple is not a political salon or think tank so I offer little assessment or explanation. However, our temple is a place of living Torah wherein no aspect of life is excluded. Our vision is: to be a congregation where members feel a strong sense of Jewish community; enjoy a personal connection with the temple and their clergy; are intellectually and spiritually engaged; are inspired, stimulated and challenged by the Reform Jewish tradition; and are building a strong foundation for the future. In that spirit, please consider the following.

Leon Merrick credits his luck and the kindness of strangers when he talks about surviving the Holocaust and building his life in America. Leon, a temple member, shared his story during our annual Yom Hashoah memorial service. He told us about his move to Washington, DC, and his first days in America. He recalled the two older women who came to pick him up at Union Station, the man who met him at the boarding house and gave him $20 that first day, and the stranger in the park who overheard his accent, befriended him and eventually got Leon his first job.

The kindness of other people also ran throughout Leon's story of survival in Europe: the man who gave his father and then him a job in the ghetto, the kapos at Buchenwald who "hired" him to clean their bunk in exchange for an extra piece of daily bread, and the American GIs who shared their roast beef, spaghetti and chewing gum in the immediate days after liberation.