Sunday, May 22, 2011

Untroubled and peaceful - May 20, 2011

Shabbat Shalom!
“I will grant you peace in the land, and you shall lie down untroubled by anyone.” This declaration from Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 6 offered the Israelites reassurance about their life in the land they were about to enter. They were told that they would know that peace if they kept the divine commandments and walked in godly paths.
Yesterday, President Barack Obama discussed an approach to peace in that same land, which focused on the pre-1967 borders between Israel and the neighboring countries, borders that were actually armistice lines from Israel’s War for Independence in 1949. As I understand it, the President suggested that those borders be used as a basis for arriving at a final peace agreement that would include the creation of a Palestinian state, with “land swaps” as a mechanism for creating flexibility and reassuring Israel and the Palestinians on rights and security. President Obama also commented, “For the Palestinians, efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure. Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state. Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. And Palestinians will never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist…. As for security, every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself -- by itself -- against any threat. Provisions must also be robust enough to prevent a resurgence of terrorism, to stop the infiltration of weapons, and to provide effective border security. The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state. And the duration of this transition period must be agreed, and the effectiveness of security arrangements must be demonstrated.”
There is a great deal of ink in the printed media and space on websites that will be devoted to reactions to the President’s speech. Specificity on the exact borders to be established will continue to be a “hot-button” issue. The central question is this: Are enough people on each side ready to accept the other and their state as legitimate and deserving of a right to exist and thrive?
Time will tell if this new attempt to inch closer to an Israeli-Palestinian accord will bear fruit. Our hope for those on both sides of the conflict is that they will know true peace in the land and that they will lie down untroubled by anyone – not because of one side defeating the other in a war employing rhetoric or violence, but because they will come to see their common interests in a shared future. Perhaps, one day, this dream will become a reality.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry

Count Us Up and In - May 13, 2011

Shabbat Shalom!
The Jewish tradition of “counting up,” as demonstrated with the celebration of each year added to the history of Israel as a state, as well as through our observance of enumerating the days of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot, offer us a chance to be positive and optimistic. We can always find ways of seeing the glass half-full rather than half-empty, and of taking difficult situations and finding light even in the middle of supposed darkness.
The Torah reading for this week speaks of counting not only days, but years, first in sets of seven (for a “sabbatical year” for the land), and, cumulatively, in a set of seven-times-seven, where the 50th year is called a YOVEIL, usually translated as “jubilee.” In that year, at least in theory, land would return to previous owners, debts would be forgiven, slaves would go free. The sounding of the shofar would proclaim a DROR (a release, but often translated as “liberty”) that would commemorate this “grand equalization.” The jubilee was an admission and affirmation of our stewardship of the earth rather than ownership, where we are God’s representatives on earth, bound to treat the land – and other people – with care.
The jubilee experience must have been humbling, but it also has great meaning. Its message of equality at the end of a series of years of “counting up” could be a source of positive thinking about how we can affect the world. Thinking positive about the world and community is not always easy, but it is possible. One classroom exercise meant to teach that approach has the teacher create a sheet of paper for each student with his or her name on top. The papers are passed around the classroom with the instruction the students write on the paper a positive comment about that classmate. When asked to do so, we are able to “count up” and find the good in each other.
In that spirit, I would like to ask you to imagine that you have been given piece of paper that says “Temple Israel Dover” on top. I would like to ask you to write one positive comment about Temple Israel Dover in an email and send it to me. I will include your comments in my message at the annual meeting on May 22.
As we continue through the counting of the Omer, and moving to the future in general, may the increasing sunshine around us offer us a sense of optimism for the days to come.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry

Friday, May 6, 2011

Marking and Making Time - May 6, 2011

Shabbat Shalom!
EMOR, the Torah reading for this week, includes a complete list of the Israelite holiday calendar, including Shabbat, the counting of the Omer, Shavuot/the Feast of Weeks, the Day of Shofar Sounding (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Sh’mini Atzeret (the conclusion of the fall holidays combined in many Reform congregations with Simchat Torah), and the New Moon. Judaism still offers us rituals and customs that enable us to engage in regularly making moments holy and special. Most of the above observances are about beginnings, in one way or another, or about “taking time out of life” to refresh and renew ourselves. Most of those celebrations brought the community together (a “holy convocation” means “being called together for a sacred purpose”). Hopefully, we still can hear that call to come together, not only in our many pursuits related to our ongoing activities, but also as members of a Jewish congregation.
The coming weeks present us with a variety of opportunities to congregate, as does every season of the year. A new month began this week; we will continue to “count up” as we enumerate the increasing days of the Omer; we will mark Israel’s 63 years; we will study, share our culture and customs with the greater community (at the Nosharama), join to make decisions for the future (at the Annual Meeting), and celebrate the last major festival of every Jewish year (Shavuot). This is how we, through the Jewish heritage and tradition, mark time. Please join us as we gather to continue to do what our ancestor did so long ago: to make moments special and sacred.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry K.