Category: Torah

The Kotel holds a mystical sway over so many

I recall the evening I landed in Jerusalem at the beginning of my year in Israel, the start of my journey to become a rabbi.  I dropped my bags and headed to the Wall.  I was thoroughly exhausted.  It was very late and I had not slept for way too long.  But I needed to go there.  As I stood before her, I was overcome with emotion.  My eyes filled with tears and my heart raced as I slowly and deliberately made my way to touch the massive stones.

As a rational person, I can argue for why the Wall should not be important.  It is perilously close to idolatry, it is only a retaining wall, the religion I embrace has moved beyond this physical space, etc., etc.  And yet I was awed and inspired none-the-less.

Each of us proclaiming our Judaism has a right to be in this place.  We all are entitled to encounter Judaism and therefore this extraordinary manifestation of it in our own way, on our own terms.  To those who claim I am not a good Jew based on their understanding of Judaism, all I can say is, we each have our paths.  I do not ask you to agree with mine, only to respect my path and my sincere efforts to engage Judaism as best I can. Likewise, I shall extend the same courtesy to you.  Although we do not agree, we are both part of Am Yisrael.

The Sharansky plan to bring various streams of Judaism to this special place is what we each should expect and deserve.  Robinson’s Arch is part of the wall, as is the southern wall. But something about the area we all call the Kotel is special.  Thus, the Sharansky plan is the acceptable and appropriate way to move forward.  Providing space elsewhere is just that, providing space elsewhere; and therefore that is unacceptable.  If the actions of the liberal community are offensive to my more traditional brothers and sisters, it would matter little where we might go.  We will not force you to participate and I hope we will not be “in your face” and incite you.  No legitimate authority can take away our precious place away from us as they could not deny it to you.

Trayvon and Judaism

With Trayvon Martin gone, the question is not whether justice has been served or if George Zimmerman was really guilty.  The Jewish question before us is, “How do we prevent another such tragedy from occurring?”

 There is no justice to be served here.  A seventeen year-old boy is dead.  Trayvon Martin’s parents will be forever changed by the death of their son.  George Zimmerman will spend the rest of his life knowing he left his home one evening filled with the self-importance of a neighborhood watchman and returned home later that night a murderer.  Nothing we can do can change what has happened, we can only hope to change what will happen.

 At this time of year, we begin to look toward the High Holidays and we begin the process of preparation.  We engage in introspection and self-reflection as we search our souls thinking of our own shortcomings, asking for forgiveness and planning to make the coming year better if only we are so blessed with the precious gift of life.  Yet there are other questions we are compelled to ask.  We look at the world in which we live and ponder what we can do to make it a better place; to leave a place to our children that is better, safer and more secure than the one we inherited, moved ever slightly closer to repair through our actions.  What is our role to make society more civil and more just for everyone? That is our historic mission, the essence of being chosen to receive the extraordinary gift of Torah at Mount Sinai and the real hope for being written into the book of life.

Tisha B’Av prayers

During Tisha B’Av, as we contemplate our losses, let us also remember the hope that comes from our capacity to rebuild after tragedy.  Let us also take time to reject Sni’at Chinam, the baseless hatred that rips the fabric of Am Yisrael from within. Let us work to build our people based on respect for every Jew’s serious engagement with Judaism, even when we do not agree or accept it as our own personal practice.

It’s only business…

The bad-guy in those gangster movies invariably says, “It’s not personal, it’s only business.”  He rationally explains that he is simply doing what he must for his bad-guy business to be successful.  “How would it look if I let this slip?” He expounds that word would get out and then everyone would take advantage.  And then the bad-guy proceeds to do his really bad bad-guy thing.

I share this because as I understand in my practice of Judaism, things are precisely the opposite.  “It’s not business, it’s only personal.”  For me, the creation of relationships and the development of those relationships are paramount. Relationships are at the core of making meaning in my life.  Judaism gives us a way to find that space to become connected to another and a greater community that shares traditions and values.  It is not about the business of getting it right. I am not counting how many mitzvot you do, nor how well you may do them or how well you do in the business world.   It is not about me judging you, punishing you or even rewarding you for how well you performed.  It is acknowledging that we are all created in the divine image, although each of us is flawed and completely human.  It is about learning to respect those who are different from us as they learn to respect us.  It is about creating relationships that can bridge those differences.  It is all deeply personal, and great business!

Disband Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, save Judaism’s good name – Opinion – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Rabbi Eric Yoffie offered a profound and profoundly sad conclusion to the situation with the Chief Rabbinate in Israel.  I share his words with you.

 

Disband Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, save Judaism’s good name – Opinion – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Relationships – some insight from Torah– ונועדתי לך שם

Exodus 25 gives us detailed instructions on the finishing of the Ark of the Covenant and in doing so provides extraordinary metaphor for us to embrace and understand the nature of community and what it means to be in relationship.

 We are told to place the Tablets of the Covenant, given by God, into the Ark, which is finished in the most precious of earthly materials, gold.  The top of the Ark is not only to be finished in gold, but it is to be capped by figures of two cherubs also made of gold.  They are to be facing each other with wings outstretched to each other and protecting the cover.

 “There I will meet you,” says God, in the space in between the two cherubim.

These extraordinary words help us understand that relationships are at the heart of all we do.  The cherubim represent us reaching out to each other.  When we do this, standing upon the Law, God is present. We can build our relationships both with God and each other on a holy foundation and thereby, our relationships become sacred.

Exodus 25.16-22:

And deposit in the Ark [the tablets of] the Pact, which I will give you.

You shall make a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.  Make two cherubim of gold — make them of hammered work — at the two ends of the cover. Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end; of one piece with the cover shall you make the cherubim at its two ends.

The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They shall confront each other, the faces of the cherubim being turned toward the cover.

Place the cover on top of the Ark, after depositing inside the Ark the Pact that I will give you.

There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you — from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark of the Pact — all that I will command you concerning the Israelite people.