These days I am experiencing a lot of darkness. As a non-binary rabbi, I feel exposed by the political climate. I know that I am not alone in my experience.
I value robust policy debates that respectfully engage with a diversity of opinions. I do not expect that everyone in this country will accept my understanding of gender. However, over the past few years, I have observed the normalization of hateful rhetoric against trans / non-binary folks masquerading as policy debate.
Many of the students I serve are also genderqueer. Others are immigrants or budding climate activists. I find myself at a loss for words. I can’t tell them that everything will work out okay, because I don’t know that it will. The darkness we are experiencing is palpable.
This week’s parsha, Parshat Bo, contains a lot of darkness and night. Darkness can be a source of fear, anxiety, and despair. However, darkness can also be a source of safety, hope, and freedom. Here are some passages with darkness or night:
- Locusts that darken the land (Exodus 10:15)
- A plague of darkness so thick it can be touched (Exodus 10:21-23)
- God telling Moses that God will go out around midnight among the Egyptians (Exodus 11:4)
- Israelites instructed to eat Passover sacrifice during the night (Exodus 12:8) and burn leftovers by morning (Exodus 12:10)
- In the middle of the night God struck down the firstborns in Egypt, Pharaoh rose in the night and summoned Moses and Aaron in the night (Exodus 12:29-31).
- Finally, describing Passover: “That was for Adonai a night of vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt; that same night is Adonai’s, one of vigil for all the children of Israel throughout the ages.” (Exodus 12:42)
The symbolic meaning of darkness and night in these passages is complex. On the one hand, darkness brings Egypt’s suffering, culminating in the death of all firstborns in Egypt, many of whom were innocent (Exodus 11:5; 12:29). On the other hand, darkness brings freedom for the children of Israel. Darkness symbolizes uncertainty and change. It represents the grave, the womb, or both.
It is tempting to read the Passover story as an allegory, assigning contemporary figures into ancient roles. However, doing so elides the precarity of the moment: when living in dark times, there is no way to know what will happen. The night can lead to our destruction or our liberation.
My prayer for all of us experiencing darkness in these times is that like God and the children of Israel, we keep vigil. I pray that we gather together, honoring and celebrating who we are even as we continue to engage in respectful dialogue across lines of difference. I pray that we work for the safety of the most vulnerable of our society. And I pray that these dark times will eventually lead to freedom for us all.

Rabbi Dr. Maor Greene (they/them) is the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. They previously served as the first Ritual and Music Rabbinic Intern at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action and as Senior Rabbinic Intern at Park Slope Jewish Center. They were ordained by Jewish Theological Seminary, where they also earned their doctorate in Hebrew Bible and Its Interpretation. Their work has previously been featured in 929.co.il and North Carolina Public Radio. A spiritual director, musician, and outdoor enthusiast, they live in Durham, NC, with their partner and child.