May this year be one of meaning and fulfillment to each of us. May we enjoy health and the love of family and friends.
May peace show us the glimmers of hope that we can build a better world and someday learn to live in harmony.
לשנה טובה ומתוקה
לשנה טובה תכתבו
Listen. The word occurs over and over. “Listen to me”, “Hear this,” I heard that”, “Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai Echad.”
The portion tells us to listen. But how do we listen when we ourselves need to be heard?
Moses recounts the story of Meribah and shares his truth; he is punished on account of the people, Lmanchem— because of you. That is not the story we read in Exodus. But that is how Moses remembers, and that is how he shares. That is Moses’ story. So how do we reconcile two different recountings of the same events?
This is the story currently underway in Israel. Our narrative is of a proud miraculous nation forged from nothing against all odds. Theirs is a very different story. Both share many of the same facts. How do we hear a truth that is so different from the one we know? How can we hear the truth of another, if we are caught up in our own narrative and our own need to be heard?
If we are to someday reconcile and create an opportunity for two people to coexist, we must listen. We must try to understand the retelling of the story in a different way while maintaining and building our story.
Once again the fragile truce has been shattered. And it is all but impossible to step back enough to gain the perspective that is needed to move beyond this time of war. But somewhere down the line, as we insist that “they” must listen to us, we too must somehow also listen to “them.”
Let us continue to work for a day when peace may come.
Shabbat Shalom
We are on the final day of our CCAR Israel mission of solidarity and learning. I have not written about most of my experiences and I have refrained from posting anything except for some re-posting of pictures to Facebook that my colleagues have taken, commemorating our time in various places. Although I want to share the extraordinary and incredible experiences, I also want to give them some time to sit inside me as I ruminate and try make sense of them. In some I will be successful and in some I will not.
These days have been filled with visits and talks and discussions and analyses. We packed as much as we could into our days and often into the nights as well. There is much pain here as we struggle to remember who we are while fighting to make a future possible. The actions we take now are the foundation upon which we build that future. Often building is difficult and now in this time of war it is acutely so. The price is paid in blood and also in our souls. If we are the caretakers of the world for our next generation, what is it that we will leave to them? The answer to that question is being forged now.
The singular most important thing I could do was be here to express my solidarity with the people and the State of Israel. So I came. The gratitude was palpable. And for that I am grateful as well. But now it is time to bring it back home and share what I have experienced. I hope to do justice to that sacred task.
There is a time for every thing under heaven. Now is the time to express support, reflect on what is happening and then engage in what is to be done, once the immediacy of this war is concluded. There is much to do tomorrow. But for today, I support my people and pray that all may live in peace.
I am a day away from heading off to Israel. I prepare to leave feeling a combination of excitement and trepidation, but I leave with three goals in mind: First and foremost, I want to support and show solidarity with Israel, then I want to learn first hand what is happening and finally, I want to return prepared to share with my community the result of these experiences.
So far I have refrained from writing publicly about the war. Enough people are weighing in. Emotions are running high, facts are difficult to ascertain and thoughts continue to be tested. And I struggle with it all.
I believe that there is a time and place for things. Now, it is the time to show support and solidarity. But I will share that I believe war is a hellish nightmare that consumes and irrevocably changes all it touches. It is my hope however that from the ashes of destruction something meaningful and hopeful can rise. And it is my hope that I will be able to contribute something positive to the process.
Shabbat Shalom!
I am excited to share the news that I am heading to Israel with my colleagues from the Central Conference of American Rabbis. We are going to show our support and solidarity with the State of Israel and its people. We will visit and be briefed and I am sure we will ask many questions in order to more fully understand the situation.
I look forward to this upcoming trip and to sharing what I learn when I return.
A few minutes to hear what happened at Gush Etzion yesterday
Israelis, Palestinians Defy Recent Violence To Break Fast Together : NPR.
To our brothers and sisters throughout the world and especially in Israel,
שבת שלום
In the aftermath of four dead children, we need to carefully assess who we are, not who we believe ourselves to be. It is hard to be self-critical, but it is critically important. The tragedies of the four slain boys is deeply shocking and painful. What it can tell us about ourselves is a step toward understanding those we currently consider adversaries on so many levels and how we might find a way to live together. The horrible reality is that we have been sacrificing our children for way too long. Our tradition compels us to continue to seek another way. It will be hard and fraught with obstacles and disappointments.
Israel is a nation of laws. Once, the aspiration was that Israel would be a nation like all other nations. But in fact, we hold Israel to a higher standard of ethics and morality. Although inevitably she will fall short of our ideal, it is the aspiration that makes her the land of hope for all Jews. We support and love her and commit ourselves to striving to reach the ideal where all children might live in peace and security. We have much work to do. Let everyone use the tragedy that has befallen all of us to dedicate ourselves to the possibility of achieving peace someday
May we find peace and solace this Shabbat.
We include the name of Mohammed Abu Khdeir to the names of Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach this evening as we recite Kaddish Yatom. We ask of the Divine One:
May the One who makes peace in the high heavens
make peace for us, for all Israel and all who inhabit the earth.
Amen.
עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה
שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְעַל
כָּל יושבֵי תבל, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
Oseh shalom bimromav, hu yaaseh shalom aleinu,
v’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei teiveil,v’imru.
Amen.
Our sages impress on us that Shavuot is the time of the Giving of Torah. Giving and Receiving are seen as two separate acts. The Giving is important because it is a one-time event and it is in the Receiving of Torah that we experience ongoing revelation. However, I think it is more complicated than that. Both the Giving and the Receiving are inextricably bound together, two sides of the same coin. Both come with their own set of expectations and obligations.
Giving
A true gift is given freely and without strings attached. Like so many of us, I have commented in the aftermath of the giving of a gift, with the gift box open and wrapping paper strewn, that “If you don’t like it, you can always bring it back.” And that is true. I do not want a gift to be kept merely to keep from offending me. But whenever I give a gift, I select it thoughtfully and with care. I want the gift I am giving to convey the meaning and love with which it was given. And I also want it to be loved and enjoyed. So I rarely shop for Jewelry for my wife, unless I find something truly extraordinary that I know will fit her aesthetic sense.
Similarly, I believe the Gift of Torah is given with a similar intention. It is given as an extraordinary expression of love that God has for his people. And, if you will permit the anthropomorphism, I cannot help but think the Almighty would be crestfallen if we asked whether the receipt was still in the box somewhere. Torah was not given just as a something for us to have. It is to be a prized possession. It is the greatest gift of all, short of life itself arguably. There is an expectation and hope that we will embrace it fully and use it to guide our lives.
Matan Torateinu, the Giving of our Torah, is more than something given in love. This extraordinary act of Giving requires an equally extraordinary act of Receiving. Sadly Torah can be rejected and “returned” as it were. It can be ignored, or possibly worse, misused as a means to exert power or personal gain at the expense of others. All of us are diminished when one rejects Torah. Instead we hope to we turn it and turn it delving into its beauty and depth, revealing wisdom and ways for us to make meaning both in our relationship with God and in our relationships with each other.
Receiving
The Receiving of a gift is another matter. I recall my mom teaching me as a boy, that it was proper to receive gifts with graciousness and gratitude. The value of a gift lies in the intention with which it was given, not the price paid. So understanding how a gift is given is very important to the receiver. But what we actually do with the gift is up to us.
We determine how a gift is to be used. A gift can be placed on a shelf. It can be an object to be admired and appreciated. But without interaction, it often does little more than collect dust. Our willingness to engage it will determine how much it will mean to us. But we must decide how to do this. Even when the giver advises us how to use our gift, it is ultimately up to us.
And certainly when we do interact with it, the way we do it is also under our control, even when the gift is Torah. We can return to it regularly or sporadically, we can be ready to engage fully or we could be more nonchalant, ready to pick up where we left off or to start afresh, we can be literal or figurative in interpretation. We can plumb its depth and seek ways that it speaks to us and guides us. It is said that when a piece of art or great literature leaves its creator, it becomes that which the recipient decides it will become. All the more so Torah; for Torah is the supreme such work and yet still can only have as much meaning as we are willing to impart to it.
I recall a Midrash spinning a story about the moment the people received Torah. God lifts the mountain and suspends it over B’nei Yisrael by a thread. The people are told they have a choice to accept or reject Torah. But if they reject Torah, God will let go. I actually prefer to understand the story another way. The gift of Torah is the thread itself. The world, as the mountain, can be harsh and cruel and the weight of the world can be crushing. Torah gives us the ability to live under the reality that is our world and keep it from destroying us, instead giving us the opportunity for a full and meaningful existence. Torah is the ultimate lifeline.
In this case, both the receiving and the giving are dynamic. We are always in the process of receiving, and arguably God is also always in the process of giving. The Torah writ large is a living work, continuing to expand and evolve. Both giver and receiver are actively involved in the process. Both are intimately involved in the give and take.
So how do we do justice to the gift of Torah?
For one thing, it is to embrace it with vigor to engage it and find how it speaks to us in ways that can affect our lives. How do we grapple and test and probe with a sense of reverence and gratitude that comes from knowing Torah is given in love and the giver hopes that this priceless gift will be used for all its worth.
