Jewish Relationships Initiative

Category: Peace

  • Shabbat Shalom

    As part of our recent CCAR* cultural trip to Israel, we visited Polyphony, an organization dedicated to teaching music to young people, Arab and Jew, together.  One of the great gifts of humankind is Western Classical Music.  The message of this school is that this music belongs to all of us; We all have access to this beauty, regardless of our backgrounds, and through music, we can come together sharing this exquisite high art form.

    The following is a clip produced by Polyphony promoting their important work.  It is a message of hope and building bridges through the common language of music.  Watching the young students perform works of the Masters was inspirational and a wonderful way to welcome Shabbat.

    Shabbat Shalom

    *CCAR- Central Conference of American Rabbis

  • Shabbat Shalom

    We still believe that there is a better place, a promised land, and the way there is through the wilderness.  There is no way for us to get from here to there, except by joining hands, marching together. (Mishkan Tefillah, adapted)

    If you can, be at the rally in New York this Sunday to express solidarity as a first step toward achieving the values that are at the center of Judaism and America.  Together as the Jewish community of the United States with all others of goodwill, we will overcome forces of hatred and bigotry.  There is much work to be done and miles to go before we sleep.  Together we can get there.

    Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    By Robert Frost

    Whose woods these are I think I know.
    His house is in the village though;
    He will not see me stopping here
    To watch his woods fill up with snow.

    My little horse must think it queer
    To stop without a farmhouse near
    Between the woods and frozen lake
    The darkest evening of the year.

    He gives his harness bells a shake
    To ask if there is some mistake.
    The only other sound’s the sweep
    Of easy wind and downy flake.

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

    Shabbat Shalom

     

  • Happy New Year

    A New Year’s Wish

    May we find joy and companionship in the goodness that resides in most of us and not allow hate from the few to define who we are.

     

     

     

    Let us strive to make 2020 be a good year for us all.

     

  • L’Shana Tova- 5780 and Shabbat Shalom

     


  • Shabbat Shalom

    This Shabbat I am writing from Virginia Beach where I am deployed with the Red Cross Disaster Spiritual Care Team. To the victims, their families, and everyone here affected by this tragic event Shabbat Shalom- a Shabbat of Peace.

  • Memorial Day

    To all of you who sacrificed your lives to protect and defend us, Thank You.

    Your memories are a continuing blessing to us all. 

  • Shabbat Shalom

    As we enter this Shabbat, the last of the year 2018, I share Craig Taubman’s Hashkiveinu.

    This prayer as part of the evening service asks for Divine protection from the darkness. May God’s shelter of peace bring us safety and peace.

    Shabbat Shalom

  • This Christmas, Let’s enjoy what we have

    Each year I hear the following:

    ~Put Christ back into Christmas

    ~Get materialism out of Christmas

    ~Don’t Mix Hanukkah and Christmas

    Do this, don’t do that; lots of proscriptions  and prescriptions.  But maybe we might pause and  appreciate it precisely as it is.

    Christmas is more than the birthday of Jesus.  Indeed, as we all know, it is not the day of his birth. That Christmas is more than the  marking of Jesus’ birth is not new.  The idea that we may universalize the message of the holiday has been at the heart of a Christian message, softly spreading of the values at its core.  I have always been taken by the beauty of the idea expressed in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…”  It is a message of love and light and our world does not have enough of either.  The message is enlightening and one I can deeply appreciate even if I do not embrace the theology.

    To those who attend mass or use this as a moment of sacred holiness,  I stand respectfully quiet.  To those who decorate homes with all kinds of festive lights, I drive by like a tourist taking in the spectacle, even grading for taste, presentation, originality, and use of the secret ingredient (with deference to Iron Chef).  For those who gather the family to share a meal and time together, I only wish we had more reasons to do that.  For those who give gifts, no matter how big or small, I hope that each gift is an expression of love and caring for both the giver and the receiver, bringing both close together.

    Christmas in America is beautiful, even those parts some of us just don’t get.  But that is okay.  So, to everyone,  a very Merry Christmas (and a Happy New Year)!

     

  • Shabbat Shalom

    A prayer for peace this Shabbat from Nava Tehila.

    Shabbat Shalom.

  • Shabbat Shalom on Shabbat Nachamu

    We Rise- an inspiring song by Batya Levine sung by my friends at the Interfaith Music Project of Philadelphia.

    Shabbat Shalom!