Lecha Dodi is at the heart of Kabbalat Shabbat, Welcoming Shabbat. Joey Weisenberg and Deborah Sacks Mintz bring us the last two verses of this wonderful poem in beautiful fashion.
To the left and to the right they go out to welcome the coming of the Shabbat Bride.
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
It’s National Be Nice to In-Laws weekend!
There is a wonderful commercial on the airways. The “Good Hands” insurance folks have Tina Fey driving with her mother-in-law, aka Mayhem, portrayed by Dean Winters. It is a caricature of the tensions intrinsic in this relationship. But it is not always so, as we see in this week’s Parsha, Yitro. This week we see how the wisdom of the elder father can be shared with the son. Yitro is transferring knowledge borne from the experience of leading others, he is a Midianite priest after all, to Moses, a relative “newbie” to this challenge.
The wise should share their wisdom. That is straightforward enough. But it is in the transferring that things can often be complicated. If I try to impose my wisdom, it likely won’t be heard, shunted aside instead of embraced. I must find a way to communicate successfully, requiring understanding and sensitivity. And on the other side of this relationship, the one benefitting from wisdom needs to be ready for the learning. Jethro had to listen and find a way to connect with his son-in-law, and Moses needed to be overwhelmed enough to realize he was in over his head and was in a desperate place. Only then could that wisdom be shared.
Both sides of the relationship are challenged to set aside ego and power so that they can find a place to work together for a common purpose. How timely a message for all of us.
Shabbat Shalom!
(I have been away for a few weeks traveling in Israel and Rome. I bring home many new experiences I look forward to sharing soon.)
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
What are you dedicated to?
Hanukah is a special time.
For most of us, we only get part of the story behind Hanukah. It is a mix of celebrating a victory over oppression, particular identity over assimilation, an opportunity to celebrate the Sukkot holiday that had been earlier denied. And of course, let’s not forget Hanukah is the miracle of light when the purified oil miraculously lasted eight days until the new holy oil was available.
And with all of this part of the Hanukah story, we relegate it to “minor” status and often criticize those who make a big deal of the holiday as though it was something truly important- like Shavuot for example. I come down on the side that embracing Judaism is a good thing- whether it is done for a major or minor holiday seems less important. It is up to us to find meaning and to infuse our traditions and rituals with the things that help all of us resonate with them.
Mordecai Kaplan is quoted in Siddur Lev Shalem from his work, Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion, that the Jewish Religion imbued our rituals with such “universal, ethical, and spiritual significance that the issue involved was felt to be not only the saving of the Jewish people but the saving of all that made life worth living.” Kaplan was referencing the historical challenges of the various conquerors in our history. But the Al Hanissim prayer acknowledges a certain timelessness; The prayer ends “Bayamim hahem, uvazman hazeh,” “in those days and in THIS time.”
This year we are on the other side of the Winter Solstice. In other words, the darkest days are behind us and every day brings increasing light. We can only hope that this is true in all ways to interpret this. But it is up to us to determine what is important and worth fighting for. At the time of celebrating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple, to what is it that we are prepared to rededicate ourselves?
Chag Urim Sameach and Shabbat Shalom
As we welcome Shabbat, this weekend will mark the start of Hannukah.
May the sacred lights brighten your soul.
! חג אורים שמח ושבת שלים
And enjoy this wonderful Hannukah medley from the extraordinary Six13:
Welcoming Shabbat with a beautiful rendition of Shir HaMa’alot, Psalm 126,* by Joey Weisenberg and the Hadar Ensemble, featuring Deborah Sacks Mintz.
Shabbat Shalom
Psalm 126
A pilgrim song. When God restored the exiles to Zion it seemed like a dream. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with joyful song. Then they said among the nations: “God has done great things for them.” Yes, God is doing great things for us, and we are joyful. Restore our fortunes, O God, as streams revive the desert. Then those who have sown in tears shall reap in joy. Those who go forth weeping, carrying bags of seeds, shall come home with shouts of joy, bearing their sheaves.
The whole world is a narrow bridge, but do not be afraid; you are not alone.
These are the immortal words of Reb Nachman of Bratslav. Rabbi Yosef Goldman put these words to new music creating an inspiring message, a beautiful way to welcome Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom
I, like so many others, have struggled with Abraham’s responses to God in the stories of Vayera. Why was our Patriarch eager to confront God and bargain to save Sodom and Gomorrah and then be so passively accepting of God’s command to kill Isaac? Abraham responds to what he heard, a message filtered by his own biases and his perception of God, the other in this relationship.
In the Akedah, God instructs Abraham in painful detail, “Take your son, your only son, the one that you love, Isaac, go to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering.” God is carefully staking out Abraham’s test of faithfulness. There is no room for a conversation. The Akedah is so intense; it is almost impossible for Abraham to catch his breath, let alone say something in response. Although there is no conversation, the ensuing language makes it clear that the next three days, Abraham is thoroughly deliberate traveling to Mt. Moriah. Abraham cannot deliberate with God, but it is clear he is consumed in his mind by what is to come.
Sodom and Gomorrah were decidedly different. God deliberates about telling Abraham His plan, which included assessing the situation on the ground, framing an invitation to a conversation. Abraham joins in, and God encourages it by continuing to engage Despite the trepidation of arguing with the God of Justice about acting justly, Abraham bargains to lower the number of righteous needed to spare the city until he reaches what he perceives as the best he can do, 10- a minyan. The negotiating ends with the best deal Abraham believes he can achieve.
How we hear and understand something sets the table for how we respond to it. Why Abraham feels he has license to argue in one case and not in the other remains one of the mysteries of our text. But it is all too familiar territory for all of us. Each of us responds to what we think we have heard, rendering very different responses, even to the same person, based on the facts and our emotional and situation, among other factors.
What do we hear when another speaks? Have they spoken undeniable truth, or is it an invitation to engage to achieve a better understanding of each other? Knowing when to speak and when to be silent is among the more difficult decisions we make. Grappling with this issue is as hard for us as it was for Abraham. Our tradition encourages us to confront it.
The practice of Mussar works hard at getting us to understand the virtues, or middot, that drive both the person with whom we are in relationship and us. We learn that the successful relationship requires that we appreciate the middot are working on both of us so that it can be complicated. We often do not get it right, but we stand a better chance of engaging in meaningful dialogue when we try. Abraham’s inconsistent reactions to God is a lesson with a timeless message, certainly one that is pertinent to today. Torah is a profound understanding of the human condition. The issues Abraham and all the characters of our tradition confront are genuinely human issues, as relevant today as they were when first written down. Let’s try harder to listen better to understand each other.
Shabbat Shalom
The tragic murder of 11 people one year ago in Pittsburgh is a harsh reminder that hatred is real and we are not always in control of events. Things often happen to us. As painful, hurtful, or even devastating as something can be, how we react is in our control. What is the life-lesson that we learn and how do we actively embrace that life lesson going forward?
Do we react cynically or with an open, albeit wounded, heart? Can we forgive? Will this event haunt us holding us back, or compel us to move onward? What is the vision of the future we see that is shaped by what happened, what is the world we want to see, and how will we get there?
I struggle with an anger and pain that could be overwhelming, especially as one of the Rabbis initially deploying to Pittsburgh with the Red Cross in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Our Jewish tradition helps me re-center myself. Here I can embrace the timeless values that understand the human condition and provide a framework for a just society where we all might live in peace, based on the idea that we should treat our neighbors as ourselves. But it is a hard climb up to that mountaintop.
This is the challenge of Pittsburgh. Our hearts ache for those lost as a result of violent Anti-Semitism. We take solace in the love of our neighbors and find strength standing shoulder to shoulder with other people of goodwill to continue to strive for the kind of just society we want America to be.
Our tradition is one of deeds. Our response to this tragedy needs to be more than a feeling. There are many ways to respond through civic involvement and community activism. Judaism requires that we belong to a community committed to promoting our values be it a synagogue, philanthropy, or civil rights group. The important thing is that you are compelled to respond with actions to live the values of our tradition and to build a better world. What will you do?
Zichronam Livracha and Shabbat Shalom.
