This Shabbat coincides with Veteran’s Day.
Shalom Aleichem seems a particularly appropriate prayer. The Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra combines several influences from their home in Spain and Ashkenaz. May the music lift our hearts to welcome Shabbat.
Wishing everyone Shabbat Shalom
There is nothing like the threat of economic consequences to elicit a heartfelt apology.
Yes, that is as cynical as it sounds. The recent antisemitic bile spewed from Kanye West and Kyrie Irving has met with pushback and outrage from the Jewish Community and severe fallout in the business community. And voila, apologies have started to cascade out. But writer/activist George M. Johnson pointedly shared in a recent interview that West had been spewing hatred against the Black community for a while before turning his sights on the Jews. That, however, did not provoke the same level of outrage from either Jews or businesses. This is for reasons ranging from racism to the idea that such vile thoughts didn’t hurt anyone’s bottom line enough.
We all need to do better.
We all must enjoy the same rights and responsibilities in our society; that hatred against one group threatens everyone. Businesses are rarely the bastions of moral virtue. But businesses will respond when we inflict economic consequences on bad behavior, such as not going to Nets games or buying West’s sneakers or clothing, because hatred directed at any group is unacceptable to all of us. This is a call to all who find themselves in a group that has been “othered” in our society and those who enjoy the privilege of not being so ostracized. Jews need to speak for the civil rights of all people, not just Jews. Blacks likewise need to talk about injustice whenever it happens in our society, not just when Black people are affected. And so too with everyone. To echo Langston Hughes, Let America be America for all Americans.
Some hate for hate’s sake and believe we live in a zero-sum game where a gain by me is at your expense. This is patently false. A gain by me in the areas of justice and civil rights is a gain for all of us. We measure the strength of our society not by the will of the stronger but by our ability to protect the vulnerable and give voice to the otherwise unheard and exploited.
I did not have much use for Kanye West before these recent rantings, and I have none now. Irving’s comments are likewise repugnant. And I do not need to patronize brands that undermine the “arc of justice” to which we as Americans should aspire. I support the right to free speech even when it contradicts my values. But words have consequences; Hate speech leads to violence and injustice. That is un-American, where all of us are called to draw the line.
This coming year, may each of us strive to be just a little better- loving and kinder- to each other and to ourselves.
This beautiful message from Central Synagogue in New York is a wonderful way to welcome Shabbat
Shabbat Shalom
Sometimes making it through a year is heroic. The struggles of day-to-day life, frightening world crises, fraught personal relationships, and even making a living presented overwhelming challenges this the past y.ear
For me, Leonard Cohen’s Halleluyah is an anthem speaking to triumph, but like most hard-fought battles, the victorious also depart the field scarred and sometimes bloody. Victory is bittersweet and comes at the cost of leaving us forever changed.
As we reflect on the past year, there were moments of accomplishment and hardship. As we seek the forgiveness of others, as our tradition requires, we must remember to forgive ourselves. We often fell short of the mark and were less than our best selves. Understanding that and seeking to do better are the first steps to returning to a place where the Days of Awe become an opportunity to start afresh. Forgiveness that admits our shortcomings and comforts us while encouraging us to do better gives us the strength and vision to make the new year one of hope and possibilities.
L’Shanah Tova Tikateivu, May you be inscribed in the book of life.
Shabbat Shalom
For this final Shabbat of Elul, I share Leonard Cohen’s Halleluyah, among the most moving and beautiful song poems ever written. This version is in Hebrew.
The tensions between generations has existed, likely from the beginning. Cat Stevens (Yusuf), a favorite troubadour of my youth, captures the issue in his iconic song, Father & Son. As we struggle our differences, let’s also treasure the things that link us together.
Shabbat Shalom
Don’t buy this kippah
In fact, it is not for sale. We are not selling the Sunflower Ukrainian Kippah. Instead, we ask for your contributions to support the overwhelming needs of the Ukrainian and Polish people dealing with the horrible war that rages in Ukraine.
The JCC of Krakow is on the front lines of helping people through this tragedy.
With your donation, we are sending you this kippah as a way of saying thank you for your help and as a way for you to stand publicly, proudly, and Jewishly in support of this humanitarian cause.
Please join us.
#standwithUkraine
I am deeply grateful to bear witness to the important stories coming from my mission to the JCC of Krakow in support of Poland and Ukraine and to bear witness.
Thank you to Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt of Temple Ohav Shalom in Allison Park outside Pittsburgh and to Rabbi David Ackerman of Beth Am Israel of Penn Valley, PA outside Philadelphia for graciously opening your shuls to me.
Help us help them. Please invite me to share this very Jewish and very human story with your community.
Paul McCartney wrote Blackbird as a tribute to the civil rights struggle in the United States. It is a song that needs to be sung now for all seeking freedom. The incomparable Jon Batiste performs this rendition.
Shabbat Shalom
The United States must be a haven to asylum seekers. People fleeing war and violence must be provided safe harbor here. My people, the Jews, were turned away and the consequences were devastating. 100,000 Ukrainians is a start. The bureaucratic red tape must give way to an open door to give immediate refuge.
We must help those wretched huddled masses yearning to breathe free. This is more than a slogan on the base of a statue, it is the aspiration of our land. We must be color blind, sensitive to the desperate plight of these people whether they come here from the war-torn streets of Ukraine, Honduras, or Guatemala.
If America is the leader of the free world, then President Zelenskiy is correct; we must be the leader of peace.
Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is being shed- Lev 19:16
There is something we can do; Contribute to the organizations on the ground aiding the victims of war. Choose from among many humanitarian groups trying to ease the suffering. Consider a donation to Doctors without Borders; HIAS, JDC, World Central Kitchen. Everything helps, no amount is too small. Thank you.
