Jewish Relationships Initiative

Category: Uncategorized

  • An Open Letter to Jared Kushner

    An Open Letter to Jared Kushner

    Mr. Jared Kushner

    Publisher

    The Observer

    1 Whitehall St.

    New York, NY 10004

    November 11, 2016

    Dear Mr. Kushner:

    Congratulations to you on the victory of your father-in-law becoming the President-Elect. The election was fair and the people have spoken. However, this election has left a deeply divided country, many of us fearful because of things Mr. Trump has said and the groups that allied with him. We must see the repudiation of racism and bigotry, and Donald Trump must extend the hand of peace and wholeness.

    You have claimed that Donald Trump is not an Anti-Semite. However, his words of divisiveness preyed on the fearful and the hate mongers. Groups including the Alt-Right, White Supremacists, and the Ku Klux Klan have rallied to your father-in-law finding permission to boldly and blatantly express their despicable views. This cannot be abided.

    You uniquely have the president-elect’s ear as a confidante and advisor. You must use your position to speak on behalf of those genuinely fearful of persecution and loss of civil rights under the protection of a Trump Administration. The values you hold as an American and a Jew are antithetical to hatred and bigotry. Your full-throated voice must be raised to help heal and bring our country together, re-assuring all our citizens they are safe, their civil rights intact and sure, that all of us enjoy the full protection of law and dignity.

    Sincerely,

    Rabbi David Levin

  • Prayer for those in the path of Hurricane Matthew

    A prayer for our friends and families in the path of Hurricane Matthew

    thu-am-surgeMay you find shelter from the storm, a safe passage until it has passed and may you emerge whole and unharmed.

    My thoughts turn to the Hashkivenu prayer, said as part of the evening (Ma’ariv) service asking for God’s protection during the night at a time when we are so vulnerable. I hope that it provides some comfort.

    Be Safe

    הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְהַעֲמִידֵנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ לְחַיִּים. וּפְרוֹשׂ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ וְתַקְּנֵנוּ בְּעֵצָה טוֹבָה מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ וְהָגֵן בַּעֲדֵנוּ. וְהָסֵר מֵעָלֵינוּ אוֹיֵב דֶּבֶר וְחֶרֶב וְרָעָב וְיָגוֹן וְהָסֵר שָׂטָן מִלְּפָנֵינוּ וּמֵאַחֲרֵינוּ וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ תַּסְתִּירֵנוּ כִּי אֵל שׁוֹמְרֵנוּ וּלְשָׁלוֹם מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַפּוֹרֵשׂ סֻכַּת שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל יְרוּשָׁלָיִם.

    Hashkiveinu, Adonai Eloheinu, l’shalom, v’haamideinu shomreinu l’chayim, ufros aleinu sukat sh’lomecha, v’takneinu b’eitzah tovah milfanecha, v’hoshi-einu l’maan sh’mecha. V’hagein baadeinu, v’haseir mei-aleinu oyeiv, dever, v’chere, v’raav, v’yagon, v’harcheik mimenu avon vafesha. Uv’tzeil k’nafecha tastireinu, ki El shomreinu umatzileinu atah, ki El chanun v’rachum atah. Ushmor tzeiteinu uvo-einu l’chayim ul’shalom, mei-atah v’ad olam. Baruch atah, Adonai, haporeis sukat shalom aleinu v’al kol amo Yisrael v’al Yerushalayim.

    Grant that we may lie down in peace, Eternal God, and awaken us to life. Shelter us with Your tent of peace and guide us with Your good counsel. Shield us from hatred, plague, and destruction. Keep us from warm famine and anguish. Help us to deny our inclination to evil. God of peace, may we always feel protected because You are our Guardian and Helper. Give us refuge in the shadow of Your wings. Guard our going forth and our coming in and bless us with life and peace. Blessed are You, Eternal God, whose shelter of peace is spread over us, over all Your people Israel, and over Jerusalem.

  • Shabbat Shalom

    Shir Lama’alot- Psalm 121, A Song of Ascents

    Cantor Harold Messinger shares his beautiful melody

    This thoughtful rendition helps set the mood for this Shabbat in Elul.  Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom.

    שיר למעלות
    אשא עיני אל ההרים
    מאין יבא עזרי
    עזרי מעם הי
    עושה שמים וארץ
    אל יתן למוט רגלך
    אל ינום שומרך
    הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל
    הי שומרך
    הי צלך
    על יד ימינך
    יומם השמש לא יככה
    וירח בלילה
    הי ישמרך מכל רע
    ישמור את נפשך
    הי ישמור צאתך ובואך
    מעתה ועד עולם
    Song of Ascents
    I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
    from whence cometh my help.
    My help cometh from the Lord,
    which made heaven and earth.
    He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
    he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
    Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
    The Lord is thy keeper:
    the Lord is thy shade
    upon thy right hand.
    The sun shall not smite thee by day,
    nor the moon by night.
    The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
    He shall preserve thy soul.
    The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
    from this time forth, and even for evermore.
    Psalm in English and Hebrew from
    http://lyricstranslate.com/en/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%AA-shir-lamaalot-song-ascents.html

  • Shabbat Shalom

    Lo Yaavod- A great music video based on the commentary of Rabbi Obadia by Yaakov Shwekey.  A translation of the lyrics is below.

    It is a message of brotherhood, love and Klal Yisrael- a great way to start Shabbat.

    Shabbat Shalom

    Do not be as slaves

    Do not be as slaves who serve their master for the sake of reward.
    One should serve his Creator solely out of love.
    (Mishnah Avot, C – commentary of Rabbi Obadiah)
    Do not be as slaves who serve their master
    for the sake of reward.
    A man should not serve
    A man should not serve his Creator
    Unless out of love
    Unless solely out of love
    Alone

  • Shabbat Shalom

     

    Let’s move into Shabbat together with Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael.

    Wishing you peace and wholeness this Shabbat.

  • Mourning the loss of an innocent life

    Hillel Yaffe Ariel
    Hillel Yaffe Ariel

    We mourn the loss of Hillel Yaffe Ariel, brutally murdered while asleep in her bed. Hatred, violence, and murder of children do nothing to further the cause of peace or coexistence. Indeed often hardens the heart making the future for two people even more difficult.

    Let us take this time to grieve for this innocent child and refuse to let anger and hatred consume us.

    May her memory be a blessing.

  • Shabbat Shalom

    Shabbat Shalom

    Welcome Shabbat with this upbeat song, Psalm 29:1, from the incomparable Neshama Carlebach.

    Shabbat Shalom

  • Shabbat Shalom

    Nava Tehilah’s beautiful Oseh Shalom.

    May we all find perfect peace this Shabbat and someday always.

  • It’s your World Now

    This week we lost Glenn Frey, a remarkable artist and musician.  This song from the Eagles’ album Long Road Out of Eden is a lovely tribute and a guiding thought for us this Shabbat.  Glenn reminds us that  we leave the world to our children.  What shall we leave behind as our legacy?

    Shabbat Shalom~

  • One Small Significant Step Forward against Gun Violence

    One Small Significant Step Forward against Gun Violence

    hugRabbi Tarfon taught: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work [of perfecting the world], but you are not free to desist from it either” (Pirkei Avot 2:16).

     The Executive Orders signed by President Obama is such an example of Rabbi Tarfon’s teaching. We cannot eliminate all acts of gun violence, but we must do what we can to advance the cause. Regardless of one’s stance on the Second Amendment or the effectiveness of these Executive Orders, we cannot turn a blind eye to the horrifying levels of violence and death that occur in our country. These limited executive actions seek to better enforce existing laws. The idea that criminals and emotionally disturbed people will find it harder to gain access to weapons of death is a good one.

     I wish we could do more, but that is not a reason to do nothing. Progress comes in small steps, an incremental march toward what should be from what is. We measure a great civilization not by its great monuments but by its ability to protect the weak within its society. The victims of mass shootings, the victims of urban gun violence, the victims of suicide are all testimony to how much more we have to do to protect ourselves and lift everyone to a better place.

     “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” says the Chinese philosopher Laozi (Tao Te Ching). We have a long way to go before the work is complete, but at least we are started on the path.