03/18/2026
Rabbi Simmons gave the Invocation at the opening of the Legislative Session of the Maine State Senate this morning!
Read their invocation here:
Good morning, everyone.
It is an honor to stand before you today and to offer words of blessing at the opening of this legislative session. I am grateful to you all for your service to this state and to our nation.
In the Jewish tradition, we speak of rabbis from centuries and generations past, considering them to be our teachers even though we did not know them personally. In keeping with this custom, I would like to invoke my teacher Simcha Bunim, a Chassidic rabbi from the early 1800s. Rabbi Bunim famously carried two pieces of paper every day, one in his right pocket, and one in his left. One of the pieces of paper said “I am but dust and ashes.” The other piece of paper said “For me the world was created.”
In other words, every day Rabbi Bunim carried with him reminders of the great paradox that comes with being human-- the paradox of both having immense agency and power because of our free will, and at the same time the necessary humility that comes with knowing that our time on Earth is limited, and that we are part of a system that is much bigger, and much more powerful and ancient, than anything any one human life.
That is to say: we are all but dust and ashes, and for all of us, this world was created.
This teaching especially resonates with those of us who are burdened and blessed with the mantle of leadership, whether political, religious, or otherwise. To lead effectively means, often, embodying and embracing this paradox. It means being both curious and confident; being both bold and adaptable: and both believing that we can truly make a difference, while also knowing our limitations, and letting go of unrealistic dreams and unreachable goals. Maintaining this paradoxical balance can be challenging even in easy times, but all the more so in difficult times, like the ones in which we find ourselves today.
This chapter of history is shaking the very foundations of this nation, and it is reminding us both of how far we have come as Americans and how far we have yet to go. As Mainers, too, we are at a crossroads: deciding what will come next for our beautiful State, and what kind of a legacy we will leave behind for our children, who will inherit the world as we leave it.
This is all to say that Rabbi Bunim’s paradoxical teaching is not just a series of empty words for all of you in our legislature. We private citizens need you more than ever to lean into both the humility required to hear and learn and work together, and into the bravery and confidence to act for what you believe is right in the greater scheme of things. We need you to remember that you have real power, and also that you are beholden to forces greater than yourselves. We need you to understand that although the votes you make in these halls may take only seconds to cast, their impact affects real lives today and in the future.
As caretakers and leaders of our wonderful state, you carry both the power and the weight of knowing that life for Mainers will be easier, or worse, fairer, or more unjust, because of the choices you make here today.
And so, as a citizen and a faith leader, I stand before you today and offer you blessings as you embark on another day of service to the people of this state. May God bless you all with the courage to take a stand for causes you can be proud of; may God bless you with the humility to stop talking and listen to the world around you and to its many lessons (this one is hard for rabbis, too!); may God bless you with the compassion to see that our fates are all interconnected in one human family; and finally, may God bless you with the balance and wisdom to remember both that this world was made for us… and that we are all but dust and ashes.
May the Source of Life bring peace to us and to this whole world, and let us say: Amen.
