This week Rev. Mariann Budde made headlines this week after she angered President Donald Trump with her sermon during an inaugural prayer service. She said:

Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and Independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, wadara and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands, to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honour the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. The good of all people in this nation and the world.

People in Trump’s camp were horribly angered by what seemed to be a straightforward appeal to be merciful to the stranger. Some claimed that she brought politics into religion in an inappropriate way, maybe we need to bring more religious mercy into politics.

I was thinking about this week when reading VaEra, this week’s Torah portion. we read about the plague of hail.  Moshe warns them in advance of the hail. There we read:

This time tomorrow I will rain down a very heavy hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Therefore, order your livestock and everything you have in the open brought under shelter; every man and beast that is found outside, not having been brought indoors, shall perish when the hail comes down upon them!’” Those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the Lord’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety; but those who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the open. ( Exodus 9:18-21)

They were warned that the hail was coming and that they needed to move inside to evade the plague. But those ” who paid no regard” would get hurt by the hail. My dear friend and teacher Shalom Orzach pointed out that the language here is critical. “Who paid no regard”-לֹא־שָׂ֛ם לִבּ֖וֹ- lo sam libo-literally means “who do not place their heart”. In many ways we learn that Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. Here we see that Moshe is appealing to their hearts. While it still might be hard, Moshe is asking for them to be openhearted. What would it take to be vulnerable and put their hearts out there?

“Paying” attention assumes that there is a bank of attention, we pay out that commodity, and it is finite. This art of distraction is at the core of the Trump doctrine. Being vulnerable and open assumes that we could be have more attention. We all have room to grow in our vulnerability. As  Brené Brown, my vulnerability Rebbe, teaches:

Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path. (Daring Greatly)

We need to pay attention to when we are called to be vulnerable, openhearted, and merciful. From this place we can liberate ourselves and others. If people were shamed by Rev. Mariann Budde‘s appeal for mercy, they need to look within. Being critical of her is only an admonition of our ignoring and not placing our heart on those who need our mercy. Her only action was holding up a mirror. If they do not like what you see, they have work to do because we are looking at themselves. We all need to dig in deep, be vulnerable, openhearted, and “place our hearts” on the important things.