Temple Beth-El Las Cruces held its Annual Meeting tonight on Zoom. It was a first held in a digital space (hopefully a last...we pray). As my retirement will begin on July 1, 2020, when I become Rabbi Emeritus, this was an unusual moment in many ways. Here are the words I shared tonight: my invocation, an introduction to the Mi Shebeirach, and my annual message.
Invocation
Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM
Annual Meeting - May 14, 2020
Eternal God,
Make us aware of our strengths
Help us to accept our limitations
Some people think we should be able to do it all
Yet, you have provided us
with only
two hands to serve
Two eyes to see
Two ears to hear
Two legs to move forward
Teach us, God, that we are enough.
Eternal God,
Make us aware of the needs
That people are too sad
or too reluctant to share
Some people think everyone should do it all
And always be able to solve their problems on their own
But that is why You gave us
two hands to serve
Two eyes to see
Two ears to hear
Two legs to move forward to help, to love, to hope,
To act with compassion
Teach us, God, that we are enough.
And, Eternal God,
If we have eyes that no longer see as they did in the past
Ears that no longer hear
as well as before
Legs that move more slowly than ever, or do not even move at all.
Show us...remind us
That we can still see.
That we can continue to listen.
That can move forward with our minds and our hearts,
That we can sustain our souls so that we will ever be able to
connect with You,
the Soul of the Universe,
May we wake up every morning
Renewed
Reborn
And may the brightness of the day
And may the moon shining down on us at night
Give us faith,
grant us blessing,
And create among us
and inside of each of us
Light and peace.
Amen.
Introduction to the “Mi Shebeirach” for healing
At the Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM Annual Meeting
May 14, 2020
I want to take a moment,
While we are together,
To pray for healing during this pandemic
For people of all ages whose bodies have been touched
By the coronavirus,
Some who are still struggling for their very lives
And others who have recovered but still feel the effects of their ordeal;
Healing for the families that have been separated by weeks of quarantine;
Healing for the loved ones of those who have died of COVID—19, who were not able to be with their family members at a time of need;
Healing for the spirits of health care workers who have been overwhelmed as they have served patients needing their care;
Healing for those who have experienced upheavals in their occupations and careers, in their learning school environments, and in their future plans;
Healing for essential workers who have put their well-being on the line to serve others;
Healing for all who seek to move from uncertainty to confidence,
Resignation to hope.
Rabbi Larry Karol -Annual Message - Temple Beth-El Las Cruces NM Annual Meeting - May 14, 2020
The year: 2150.
The world had returned to normal well over a century before. Tales of the pandemic of 2020 had been passed down from one generation to the next.
Somewhere in southern New Mexico, a family sat down for their Passover Seder. They took it for granted that some of their guests would join them in person, in their home, while others would participate from a distance through the magic of the newest version of Zoom. Surprisingly, they had forgotten the release number. It was 130.18 - better known as “130 CHAI!”
They recounted the story of the Exodus as always, from their Passover Haggadah which they had created by merging the best parts of their many favorites that had been handed down by their grandparents and great- grandparents.
In this Haggadah, instead of the usual four questions, there were five, with this addition:
“On all other nights, when we join for our meal in our home, digital devices are not permitted on the table. Why, on this night, are our computers placed on our Seder tables in a prominent position?”
In this Haggadah, the description of the Seder plate added one new symbol, which was very hard to come by: the smartphone. It had to be one of the models used in 2020. Participants at the seder were always amused that “smartphone” rhymed with “shankbone.” That is why they thought it fit perfectly on the Seder plate.
A new section of the Haggadah recounted the tale of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, describing how Jews around the world would not allow themselves to miss celebrating their Festival of Freedom or to be thwarted in their attempts to maintain their communal connections. This new portion of the MAGGID - the retelling section - told of a year that began like all others, during which Jewish community members gathered in person in their synagogues for study, social programs, worship, holiday observances, fundraisers, and life-cycle events. Then came the rise of the coronavirus. This special Haggadah outlined the strategies that followed: teachers met with students of all ages on Zoom; services were live-streamed from the homes of rabbis, cantors and lay leaders; Temple leaders and congregants found ways to overcome separation and isolation to maintain a strong sense of community; singers found ways to unite their voices in song even with the limitations of online singing at the time; calls and check-ins among members made sure everyone was getting what they needed; donations supported worthy causes that offered much-needed assistance; some life-cycle events went on as planned; and planners ascertained the best way to resume in-person events so as to preserve everyone’s health and lives.
Another section of the Passover Haggadah, one of most ancient passages, normally stated that there were three things that needed to be mentioned on the holiday, or else the participants would not have fulfilled their observance of the festival. Those three things are: Pesach, the Paschal Lamb; Matzah, unleavened bread; and Maror, bitter herbs.
In this Haggadah of 2150, there were additions to that section that appear to have been unearthed in a southern New Mexico congregation. It seems that the rabbi there, as the early stages of the pandemic continued to require some separation, asked members of all ages: “What Jewish value is more important to you now than ever before?”
Details of how discussions on this topic were held were sketchy. But the results of their conversations were clear.
The children and their teachers in their school listed these tenets that had the greatest meaning to them:
- Taking care of your body and health
- Togetherness
- Practicing Judaism at home
- Kindness/CHESED
- Remembrance for loved ones, and for those who have died in recent months during this pandemic.
- Family
- Generosity, whereby people support fellow community members going through a hard time.
- Peace at home/Sh’lom Bayit
- Tzedakah - Righteous giving
- Acceptance
- Community
- Patience
- Being helpful
- Connection: Do not separate yourself from the community
- Compassion
- Finding Simchah/joy and happiness amidst everything going on.
- Gratitude - finding something for which to be thankful at any time.
Other members of the congregation also shared their perspectives, adding these comments at the request of their rabbi:
- Performing bikkur cholim, visiting the sick in any way possible, through whatever mode of connection would offer the most comfort.
- Treating everyone as equally valuable in this world, and being the tough, resilient, logical thinking, giving, hopeful, and caring people with beautiful souls that Jews have always sought to be.
- Staying connected with family and friends near and far.
- Remembering that Hillel’s maxim, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor” could mean wearing masks and distancing enough to preserve the health of one another - and to show concern for each other’s welfare.
- Practicing Hillel’s teaching, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” constitutes an expression of love and consideration for our neighbors.
- Providing for those who are less fortunate, who deserve our help because they are members of the human family.
- Pikuach Nefesh, saving a life, so that we will not jeopardize our lives or the lives of others, and promoting healing for those who are ill where and when we are able.
- Altruism - selfless concern for the well-being of others
- CHAYIM - life - which is central to Judaism. As God sent Moses to save the lives of the Israelites, we can be like Moses by leading one another to safety, security, health and hope.
- Noticing the wonders happening around us in nature, even amid our concerns, and giving thanks for them.
- Truly trying to understand someone else’s viewpoint, following the rabbinic teaching, “these views and these other views, too, are the words of the living God.”
- Remembering and (hopefully) learning from the past.
- And leaving the world better then when we got here - Tikkun Olam.
The Haggadah continued: “And so, they celebrated Passover. And when the festival was over, they continued, within the best digital spaces available to them, to pray, to study, to meet, to express to one another an unwavering faith in their ability to maintain their bonds with one another and to guarantee their future as a holy congregation.”
A footnote in the Haggadah, in fine print at the bottom of the last page, bore this note: “It was said that the rabbi soon moved on to a new chapter of his life, while his wife continued to work for a time. They were eventually able to see their growing grandchildren once again, in person.”
It was also noted that the rabbi bequeathed to his congregation, and to his relatives and friends, essential teachings, in the form of musical lyrics, based Jewish sacred texts. Those central principles included these declarations:
“Two are better than one, for if one person falls, one will lift up the other.”
“Every day is a day that God has made: always remember to rejoice and be glad in it.
“When you acquire a good name, you do make it for yourself, but when you immerse yourself in the wisdom of your heritage, you receive a piece of something timeless.
And, finally, “Choose life, so that you and your children may live well.”
And as their Seder ended on that Pesach in the year 2150, everyone at the table, and those whose faces graced the Zoom screens on their devices, exclaimed together: “Next year in Jerusalem! Next year, may all be free! And next year, and in the years to come, may we again sit with each other, side by side, as ONE community!”
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