Rain down your blessings - D’var Torah - Parashat Ekev - August 23, 2019

Eternal One,

I hope you are listening to me because I am listening to You. 

A phrase from the week’s Torah reading is sticking out in my mind.

I am thinking of it because I pass by it every day.  

Many of us do if we have a mezuzah in our doorway. 

“It will come to pass that if you hear and follow the commandments that I am giving you this day, to love the Eternal your God, and serve God with all your heart and soul, then I will give you rain in its season.”

You know, Divine Rainmaker, we don’t get much rain here,

And we are reasonably sure that it’s not because we haven’t loved You with all our hearts and souls. 

But we do our best to practice the tenets of our tradition. 

And here we are now, in difficult times, still trying to recover in the wake of violent acts

That were motivated by hatred and a desire to cause havoc in the lives of others. 

What message do You want us to hear on this day? 

I would hardly think that You, our Creator, would ask us to 

Do anything to detract from the earth’s natural beauty

Or to jeopardize its future. 

I could not fathom that You would direct us to sow division among people

In ways that would marginalize any one person or group.   

I still believe that You want us

To appreciate the majesty of Your cosmos and our world. 

To discover the love embodied in Your Torah. 

To nurture the love that lies within each of us and share it with others. 

And to engage in acts of deliverance for people in dire straits. 

You lead us 

To remember from whence we came so we can know where we are going. 

To emulate your acts of healing and freedom in all that we do. 

And to raise ourselves up by performing acts and kindness and godliness. 

You inspire us 

To practice the underlying values of Shabbat for preserving creation and ending slavery of any kind. 

To be humble and grateful for the gifts we enjoy every day.  

And to do all we can to engender in our world the peace that you fashion in the highest heavens. 

That is what I hear You saying in the here and now. 

These are echoes of the prayers we recite every Shabbat. 

These are principles of our heritage to which we should be loyal at all times, above and beyond the whims and judgments of anyone who might not quite understand who we really are. 

Following your teachings will offer us blessings 

even if those blessings are not in the form of raindrops.  

May the wisdom that our people has passed down from one generation to the next

Continue to preserve and strengthen 

the foundations of our lives,  individually and together. 

Keep us safe, Eternal One, and be our hope. 

Amen.

When You Rise Up - A Divine Rumination - Parashat Va-etchanan - August 16, 2019

When you rise up - Parashat Va-etchanan 5779 
“Recite them when you stay at home, 
when you lie down and when you rise up.”
This is what I told you, long, long ago 
So that the words I commanded would begin your day
and resonate with you and guide you with every step you would take. 
But now I see that rising up requires so much more.  
I have watched your struggles, 
your trials and your triumphs, 
your despair and your survival.
So if I were to command you once again, I might say this....
Rise up to justice
Which moves beyond personal biases 
To promoting complete fairness for all people among you. 
Rise up to freedom 
Recognizing that this does not mean that you can do or say anything
But that you can join with others in agreement 
And even in disagreement
And still call yourselves friends, neighbors and communal partners. 
Rise up to gratitude
Acknowledging the ways in which you are blessed 
Wittingly and unwittingly
Expectedly and unexpectedly 
By friends and by strangers, by planned celebrations
And by the spontaneity of a cherished moment. 
Rise up to humility 
Accepting and appreciating how others helped you to get where you are
So that you will see yourself as one of many who can make a difference
Rather than the only one who should have say, influence or power.
Rise up to integrity 
So that you will realize that acquiring and maintaining a good name 
May be the greatest gift you can give to yourself and to your community. 
Rise up to peace 
So that you will see ways to help people step above conflict 
To find ways to live, side-by-side, that will benefit both friends and foes. 
Rise up to love 
that will encompass yourself, the people around you, the world, 
and all of creation, so that you will be able to stop yourself
when causing harm might be a temptation 
Acting, instead, on the best impulses and intentions inside of you
that will affirm the commonalities that could bring you close to one another. 
Rise up to hope,
So that you will see even the smallest glimmer of light in the deepest darkness,
Making it possible for humanity to respond to indifference and evil 
With compassion, kindness and a commitment to practicing goodness that I have placed deep inside of you. 
Rise up to holiness
So that we can work together to bring repair and healing to this world. 
“Recite them when you stay at home, when you lie down and when you rise up.”
I have created you with the potential to rise up to the best that is in you.
Know that every morning, when you open your eyes, I will be with you as you rise up once again. 

Help us to hold on - D’var Torah - Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Board Meeting - August 15, 2019

Eternal God, 

Beloved Guide,

Dedicated Companion, 

Help us to hold on to our heritage. 

Teach us new ways to keep Your words

Of respect, love, support, justice, and peace

On our lips 

When we lie down and when we rise up. 

Help us to hold on to our freedom. 

Turn our minds back to the many experiences 

Of our people

From the time they went forth from slavery to freedom 

To eras when liberty came at the cost of being treated 

As despised and persecuted second-class citizens 

To centuries when emancipation and enlightenment 

Brought decades of trial and tragedy

That gave way to incredible progress and understanding. 

Help us hold on to our community. 

Promote in our hearts an openness that will enable us

To truly hear one another

To speak our minds with honesty

To approach disagreement with a generosity of spirit

And to relish consensus and agreement as one of Your 

Constant miracles in our midst. 

Help us to hold on to our values 

So that compassion, patience, kindness, commitment, and trust

Will lead us to be ever closer to one another 

And to members of the human family throughout the world. 

Help us to hold on to You, 

Our Creator, 

Our Sustainer, 

Our Rock, 

Our Protector, 

Our Hope. 

 

I AM WITH EMMA - August 13, 2019

I AM WITH EMMA

I am a child

Two generations removed

Of the tired and poor

The huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Who came to this “Golden Land” 

Over 100 years ago

Seeking safety, hope, 

eventual acceptance

And a good life. 

Once one family member 

established a foothold

Others came.  

One came, went back, 

but returned again.  

It seems that, at Ellis Island,

Officials especially wanted to know 

Answers to these questions: 

Do you know a trade?

 Do you have money? 

($50 was enough)

Where will you work in the United States? 

Even people with satisfactory replies 

To those queries

Would likely have been

Among the “huddled masses”

Who would work hard, 

Achieve moderate to major successes

And reach a level of self-support 

That would assure that they would never

“be a burden.”

Their children and grandchildren 

Studied hard, 

Worked diligently at their jobs,

Took positions in government service, 

Fought in wars,

Endured the Great Depression,

Became lawyers, doctors, clergy,

Teachers, professors, writers, 

Singers, songwriters, actors, 

Artists, Factory laborers, law enforcement,

Business owners, farmers, journalists

Scientists, engineers, technology experts, 

And so much more.   

Isn’t that history enough for us

To still open our arms to aspiring Americans

As Emma Lazarus did

In her poignant poem,

Written during the “Gilded Age,”

Words that echo down to us 

In another Age of Prosperity 

For some but not for others. 

To honor my immigrant grandparents,

I know

I AM WITH EMMA

And will always be

Because were it not for the courage

Of my recent ancestors 

There would no one 

Sitting at this computer

In this rabbi’s office

Writing these words.

A culture of honor preserves dignity, engenders respect - Column for August 2, 2019 Las Cruces Bulletin

     Twenty years ago, as part of a “Countdown to the year 2000” in one of my previous 

communities, I was asked by the local newspaper to share some insights for shaping a 

productive and positive future. I included in my article suggestions that were firmly rooted in my heritage:

• Sing the praises of successful programs already established in our area.
• Respect other people and try to discover their inner feelings, beliefs, and hopes.
• Communicate - Try to talk to and with each other more than about each other. We should do our best to listen to one another, to agreeably disagree, but always to agree to be partners in advancing towards the future. 
• Do acts of kindness - volunteer on a regular basis to help someone in a school, home, community center or helping agency facility. 
• Give thanks - express appreciation to those who offer support, and show gratitude by returning that support in kind.
• Celebrate - create places and programs that gather together people of all ages to relax and to enjoy each other's company.

       I look at these statements now and, rather than wondering whether or not I was dreaming, I still firmly believe in the importance of this type of approach to community life. 

    There was an organization in the American Jewish community called Synagogue 3000 which, for many years, developed programming to promote new ways of thinking about congregational purposes and programs (strategies which could also apply to communities and cities). 

   One of the founders of Synagogue 3000, Dr. Ron Wolfson, described this innovative approach in his book, The Spirituality of Welcoming.  One principle which Dr. Wolfson emphasized was that communities should create and sustain a culture of honor, rather than a culture of blame.  

    At a conference of that organization, Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, a modern Orthodox rabbi from New York City, addressed this concept of maintaining a culture of honor.  He noted that congregations that should be seen as sacred communities do not always reach that level.  Instead of creating a culture that honors every human being, where people see each other as being made in the image of God, many congregations are rife with dissensions, fights and arguments among the very people charged with leadership. Rabbi Rosenblatt challenged congregational leaders to learn what their tradition says about honoring each person in a community, and confronting shortcomings without ascribing blame, while building a community that is responsible for what happens within it. The goal of this approach is to preserve dignity and engender the highest level of respect for all those who work for the betterment of a congregation.  His recommendations can apply to organizations, workplaces and communities that seek to create a culture of honor.   

    I realize that my own statements from 1999 were intended to engender that type of culture.  As we approach 2020, here are suggestions which I would add to my earlier list:  

• Be humble, and remember to learn from other people, because everyone has something to teach.  
• Take responsibility for your actions and, when necessary, sincerely apologize and make amends.   This is not weakness.  It is positive human behavior. 
• Be steadfast in the principles by which you live, and, if you seek to change them, be sure that you are doing so in the interest of furthering true respect, compassion, kindness and even love.  
• And, finally, in the words of the ancient rabbi Hillel, “In a place where there are no decent human beings, strive to be a decent human being.” 

A life of service - My column for the Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Adelante Newsletter for Augustl 2019

    I sometimes find myself revisiting my reasons to pursue the rabbinate. 

      I didn’t start, in earnest, until my senior year in high school.   I enjoyed my involvement in Youth Group, leading a panel of my peers, the “We Speak for Judaism Panel,” that spoke to churches in our community about the Jewish religion and our customs, practices and traditions.  

     I also became more involved in adding my own sense of spirituality through music at youth events and during special worship services.  

     I couldn’t have done that without my attendance in the National Torah Corps 7-week summer session in 1970 at the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York. We studied with rabbis who made a major impact on their communities and on American Judaism.  I had the opportunity to learn chords for some of the worship melodies that we used in my home congregation, which enabled me to add a new dimension to my participation in service music, after singing for several years in the junior choir.   Now, I could be a leader.

     Those pursuits continued at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where I ultimately chose sociology as my major, and religious studies as my minor. I engaged in the study of Hebrew and Judaism in a number of college courses that further stablished my foundation of Jewish knowledge.   As a senior in college, the Hillel rabbi and other leaders chose me to be the inaugural intern in a new leadership development program.  I read books on Jewish thought, led a weekly Shabbat dinner at a dormitory, and co-directed the Hillel choir.  After an interview at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, in January of 1976, I was informed of my acceptance at the end of March.

      After five years of rabbinic school, and 38 years serving congregations, I continue to ponder what drew me to the rabbinate.  It was always about my own comfort with Temple life and Jewish tradition.   The music was part of it, but so were the prayers, the teachings, and being part of a community.   And, even more, it was about service and partnership.    I valued learning from mentors when I was an assistant rabbi in my first congregation, but I also have had many partners in making Judaism come alive, lay leaders who were committed to sustaining and enhancing the well-being of a community.   We did what we could to overcome challenges that arose in order to create a sense of joy among our members and an enduring and positive presence in the community. 

     Our recent family visit to Kansas City and Topeka reminded me of all of those reasons for being a rabbi, as we had a chance to connect with former Temple presidents, confirmands, congregants, community members, and friends.   We also connected with family, who have supported not one, not two, but three Rabbis Karol.  

     As a rabbi, I enjoy my interactions with members of all ages, as well as my participation in the greater community. 

     Temple Beth-El’s place in Las Cruces, and mine as well, came to mind on July 23, 2019.

     On that day, I attended the installation of the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, Peter Baldacchino.   I began attending the diocese-sponsored luncheon that mostly included priests from around the state and some of Bishop Baldacchino’s friends.  I was impressed with the humility exuded by the religious leaders who were present, and the obvious camaraderie that pervaded the gathering. 

     At the installation,  I joined Pastor Jared Carson, spiritual leader at Peace Lutheran Church, and the Rev. Dr. Margaret Short, chaplain at Memorial Medical Center, in representing the interfaith community to greet the newly-installed Bishop.  

      The service included many moments of celebration, which generated a special spirit among all those who were present.   I saw and greeted a number of people with whom I have worked over the last eight years.   The theme of service was reflected in the statements of the installation speakers and in the songs that were included in the ceremony.  

       What surprised me was the gratitude that was expressed to me by people I didn’t know, over and over.  They appreciated that I was there, representing the Jewish community.   I also think that they see something spiritual, valuable, significant and godly in furthering Catholic-Jewish ties in a world that seems to seek division rather than commonality, prejudice rather than acceptance.

      And it wasn’t only for me that I attended.  I took you all with me through my presence. That is the essence  of rabbinic service to a congregation.  It is about the “we” that we create and sustain whether we are together or apart.  

      As we begin to prepare in the coming weeks for a new Jewish year,  may we remember to connect, celebrate, study, sing, and believe that the community which we create can take us to joy, healing, and hope. 

More learning...more wisdom! Reflections on #newcaje10 - August 2, 2019

   I had the opportunity to tell a story from the very beginning of my rabbinate in the last few days. 

    In August, 1981, I was scheduled to attend the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE)  at Oberlin College.  One of my rabbinic school classmates was expecting me to provide a ride.  A death in the congregation (Temple Israel), while my senior rabbi was away, delayed my attendance.  A Religious School faculty member gave my classmate a ride to Oberlin on the Sunday that the conference began.   I officiated at the funeral in Cincinnati on Tuesday.  I got up early the next morning to take in at least one day of CAJE. 

     What I remember from that one day was seeing many people I knew, finding several meaningful learning experiences even in a very short time, and enjoying a Debbie Friedman concert that night.  It was enough to make me want to return.  

     And so I did, sometimes with my wife Rhonda, and sometimes with our son Adam as well.  Rhonda and I attended in 1982 soon after our wedding.   As a rabbi, a religious school director and faculty member, a bar/bat mitzvah tutor, a religious school music teacher, and a Confirmation class teacher, there was so much to learn that I felt I needed an annual infusion of insights, knowledge, direction, inspiration, and clues on how to develop new skills to enhance the passing of Judaism from one generation to the next.  

      I attended the conference 18 times. I sang in the CAJE Chorale from its inception in 1989.  Once I became a Jewish singer/songwriter, I performed my original music on CAJE stages for five years.   

       A variety of considerations required CAJE to close in 2008.  The concept and spirit of CAJE, as well as the persistence of community ties that had developed over many years, combined to demand a renewal of the organization and conference in some form. A mini-conference in Baltimore in 2009 proved that notion, and then NewCAJE was born, holding its first conference at Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2010, which I attended during my rabbinic service in New Hampshire.     I again joined the NewCAJE community in person in 2015, 2016 and 2017 as a rabbi from New Mexico. 

       I have just returned from NewCAJE 10, held on July 28-31 at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  I have only traveled to the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) because of CAJE/NewCAJE! 

      Admittedly, I could feel the “miles” on my personal odometer over these last few days.   However, my continuing thirst for new insights, skills and knowledge is the same as in the summer of 1981, when I was a mere 26 years old! 

     I attended sessions on teaching about antisemitism, Judaism’s views on welcoming the stranger and how they relate to immigration, the links between songwriting and lesson planning, songs about God, treasure troves of Jewish music to share with students, how to create productive dialogue about peace in the Middle East, and the transmission of tradition embodied in the rituals and prayers of the Passover Seder.  I once again added my “bari-tenor” voice to the NewCAJE Chorale, directed by Ellen Allard, and a number of us were treated to a delightful session with Eric Kimmel, author of Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.

     It was a m’chayeh to be part of a community that included a few people whom I have known for over 40 years, along with other familiar NewCAJE participants, plus discoveries of  “small world” connections (which included colleagues and family members) with attendees I had just met.         

     The late-night “kumsitz” (come and sit) is a CAJE and NewCAJE tradition, providing an opportunity for us to engage in a musical jam with colleagues.    This year, those of us who brought guitars (some of have done this together before...a lot) and ukeleles and everyone present sang classic Jewish/Israeli songs and popular hits from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.  It was an intergenerational community that joined in song until the early hours of the morning!  

     The concluding ceremony on Wednesday, July 31 was an expression of heartfelt gratitude from individuals who spoke for many of us.  To Cherie Keller-Fox, NewCAJE President, staff, and everyone who made NewCAJE10 possible, thank you, and to NewCAJE, on to 11 and many, many more!