The Rhythm of Jewish Life - Even Now, Even Virtual - August 18, 2020

The Rhythm of Jewish Life...Even Now, Even Virtual

A Purim Carnival and Spiel

A postponed naming for our smiley granddaughter 

many miles away 

A Bat Mitzvah

A Wedding 

And then....

PANDEMIC

The closings began 

Facebook live services

Morning Prayers, Blessings and a Psalm

Torah Study on Zoom

And since that worked...all this on Zoom: 

Weekly Tanakh Study

Religious School gatherings

Board meetings 

A Community Passover Seder recorded with local rabbis 

A Virtual Congregational Second Night Passover Seder 

Passover services 

An Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah on its planned day, with a Torah scroll nearby 

Last Day of Religious School with a Drive-by thank you

The Temple Annual Meeting 

Friday night services with multiple readers

Erev Shavuot study 

Shavuot Yizkor service 

A baby naming for our smiley granddaughter from a distance

Two conversions

A Grand retirement event

One socially-distanced outdoor memorial gathering 

And, behind the scenes: 

A variety of webinars and classes in April, May and June

NewCAJE through all of July, with weekly Kumsitz sing-alongs

West-Coast Saturday sing-alongs once a month

This has been about 

Keeping our rhythm 

Of holidays, conferences, learning, and connection 

What will happen 

as the High Holy Days approach

As the time for the holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah draw near? 

We will respond

With creativity 

That will modify or replace the old mold

To fashion a new approach 

That will serve 

To unify

To inspire 

To lead us through 

With joy

With hope

And with the knowledge

That we are not alone.

A Nation of Miracles? The Miracles I want to see come to pass - August 28, 2020

If we are citizens in a nation of miracles, perhaps these are miracles some people would like to see:

*An end to racism, prejudice, hatred and discrimation of all kinds, which would take a sea change in how we view inside what and whom we see on the outside, and where the immediate response would not be fear, but an attempt to understand and repair what needs fixing for those who are victims of discrmination, prejudice, racism and hatred. 

*Respect for workers in all types of jobs on the part of customers, employers, and heads of corporations, enough to provide them with a living wage, health care/health insurance, and a secure pension.  

*People viewing responsibility as equal to rights, rather than seeing rights as the only thing that’s important, especially when we need, more than ever, to care about each other’s health and well being. 

*The creation of a truth serum that would be given to all candidates for public office that they would have to take before they speak (I know, this might cause problems, but it could be better than what we have now). 

*Education for children and adults that enables people to think for themselves, to help them understand their place in the economy, in society, and in the world. 

*The fulfillment of a rabbinic story in which God tells the first couple that this world has been created for us, and that we should not destroy it. 

*A world where love, compassion and cooperation overcome the thirst for power and the need to compete, all of which would lead us to peace.  

On this anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, it appears that I have a few dreams.  They may not be realized soon, but I, for one, won’t stop dreaming.

Reflections on the day - August 28, 2020 (From a retired rabbi looking at past, present and future)

Standing behind the curtain of community

I can hear words

Melodies 

that are still very much a part of me

Others have stepped into a space of duty

And responsibility

While I look back

Far back

To expressions of my mind and heart and soul

Infused into public spaces 

To call upon the Oneness 

That can inspire us to do good for one another. 

I have touched remnants of moments 

When the wisdom and knowledge of others

Deepened my own understanding 

Of the world around me

And enhanced my own foundation 

Of knowledge, of values, of a desire to serve 

That was created so long ago. 

Settings for leadership may change

Contexts for conversation will turn to new, smaller vistas

Yet, there is too much happening

That threatens to destroy the very principles

that have guided me and many others

For me to be silent 

Or afraid. 

The Oneness 

Senses our essential holiness

Through coverings that keep us safe

And through isolation that does not disconnect us 

One from another 

For it is in our oneness

fashioned and strengthened by acts of kindness and compassion

That the Oneness will enter

And walk with us along this journey

And bind us together 

And never permit us, ever, to feel alone

 

Unexpected Counsel (A Midrash on Retirement) - for Parashat Shoftim - August 16, 2020

    “You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes.”

      I heard Moses announce that to all the people.  

    “Justice!  Justice shall you pursue!” 

     I heard him say that as well. 

     I was one of those magistrates appointed 39 years ago, when Moses’ father-in-law Jethro paid a visit and recommended that he delegate his exhausting caseload of hearing disputes between one Israelite and another to people “who were trustworthy, who spurned ill-gotten gain.”   

     That was when I started hearing cases.  

    It was difficult.  We were in the wilderness.  There were few boundaries between people as we traveled from one place to another and encamped for a short time in each location. 

    “They shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality.” 

     That is what Moses just proclaimed to the Israelites.  He told us that, too, way back when we started.  

      Showing no partiality was not the hard part.   The reactions of the people between whom we judged was difficult.   

    Some would accuse me and my fellow magistrates of being unfair, even when they knew they were clearly in the wrong.   

     Others would praise us for our efforts to view everyone with a lens of equality, even when the decision did not go their way 

      Did I make mistakes?  Yes.   Did I try to rectify them?  Yes, I did, whenever possible.   I know I am created in the image of God, as my parents taught me from when I was young.  I know all of us among this wandering community are intricately connected, one with another.   That is why I tried to be fair. 

     “You shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.”  

      Moses needed to say this again and again.  Did people try to influence me and my colleagues through bribery?  They did, but, fortunately, not often.  We immediately rebuked those who did (as far as I know).    We knew how important it was to be trustworthy throughout our careers. 

     At that point, my time of serving as a magistrate was over.  We had trained a new generation of judges over these years.  Moses’ declaration for officials to pursue justice was the culmination of all of our teaching. 

      I was wondering what I should do, as a rank-and-file Israelite.   

     I stepped away from the people for a few hours.  Then, I saw a figure approaching.    

      It was Moses, who was preparing to deliver the next part of his farewell address.   

      “Peretz, is that you?”  

    “Yes, my teacher Moses!  It is. You remembered! I came here to think about what I should do next.” 

      Moses looked at me with concern. “Peretz, why would you wonder what you should do?  You have been one of my most reliable and consistent magistrates.   People appreciated your thoughtfulness in your decision-making, and how you helped them grow in character as you announced your judgments.  You should rest.”  

     I was grateful for the guidance, but I was still was unsure of my next steps.  “Moses, I know that your time as leader is coming to a close, and that you will soon be succeeded by Joshua as you remain on this side of the Jordan.   I will be crossing with the Israelites into the land which we have been waiting for so long to enter.   What can I do?”

     Moses didn’t hesitate to answer.  “Peretz, you know so much from your many years as magistrate.   Continue to teach.  Impart your wisdom.  Reveal to the new generation of judges how to truly be impartial.  And, more than that, go among the people and teach them how to be fair with one another and to how treat each other with a sense of respect and decency in their daily lives.   Living in the land might provide a sense of security to every Israelite, but the nature of relationships will not change.   There will be misunderstanding, impatience, cruelty, and a lack of hope.  You can help people to treat one another with compassion, and even love.” 

     I had listened intently.  Moses’ words overwhelmed me. “That all sounds like more than I did when I served as magistrate, Moses!  How can I make all of that happen?” 

    Moses reassured me.  “You don’t have to do it all at once, Peretz.  You saw how we moved in the wilderness from one place to another, step-by-step, learning along the way how to be a people.   Establish one goal for yourself every day.   It doesn’t take being a person with a formal position to make a difference in this world!” 

     “Thank you, Moses.   I know what I have to do, and we know that all of us must emulate your humility and your special spirit.    I will do my best.”  

     “I know you will, my son.  I must return to the people now to continue imparting my teaching.  Can you help me walk back to the place where I need to stand?”  

     “Yes, of course, my teacher.” 

      I knew that I was about to perform an act of kindness and support as a “regular Israelite” that I would long remember. 

       Many more would follow. 

  

    

The Urgency of Generosity - Parashat Re’eh - August 14, 2020

Thinking about Re’eh - A D’var Torah for our time

(I wrote most of this commentary in 2007, as the 2008 campaign was in full swing - in the 30 days that followed after this interpretation first appeared, I attended events for Senator Barack Obama and Senator Sam Brownback.  Now, its basic message - with some updates- becomes even more poignant)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an economic situation that is difficult in the extreme.   The question of opening up our communities — or not opening up—can be left for others to discuss, debate and decide.   

    The question in my mind is how to deal with people who are now unable to pay for their mortgages or rent, or for food, will be able to survive.   There are many sources of assistance coming from communities in a voluntary way.  The possibility of the continuation of government support is dim at the moment. The goal, under these unusual circumstances, should be to support people who would normally be supporting themselves through their employment, with, perhaps, some extra help.     

     The idea of providing a safety net for those who have the greatest need at any time finds expression in this week’s Torah reading.   Deuteronomy, Chapter 15 (Re’eh) states both ideal and down-to-earth suggestions for how to  deal with the continuing challenge of alleviating Vpoverty. Verse 4 of Chapter 15 declares, “There will be no needy among you if only you listen to 

your Eternal God.” Verses 7 through 11 then present the realistic perspective: “If there is a needy person among you….do not harden your 

heart or shut your hand. Give to a person in need readily and without regrets, for in return your Eternal God will bless you in all your undertakings. For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land…open your hand to the poor and needy in your land.” 

    This passage seems to contradict itself, but it did, quite simply, offer a prescription after setting the ultimate goal. In other words, this passage might be understood in this way:   “Listen to the teaching that says that people should not harden their hearts towards those in need but, instead, they should open their hand and give without regret…THEN there will be no 

people in need, trapped in poverty.”

 Perhaps this paragraph from the Torah can guide us as we listen to candidates and leaders, especially now,  speak about the solutions they propose to enable people to continue to acquire what they need for  food, shelter and a measure of comfort during our current situation and in its aftermath.   Maybe it can spur some of those leaders to move beyond their current inaction. 

   Let us hope that our communities and nation still have the ability to provide for people in need with openness, concern and generosity.

God’s face...and our faces - August 9, 2020

I led a memorial gathering tonight at the local outdoor downtown plaza.  Everyone was wearing a mask.  There was mostly adequate social distancing between people from different households.    Sound equipment was sanitized between people who came up to speak.   

      As people talked about the congregant and community member to whom we were offering a memorial tribute, it occurred to me that people who have been saying lately, “God created me without a mask, so I am not going to wear one” might not be approaching the biblical statements about “faces” quite right.  

     Biblical passages portray God’s face as shining on us and being lifted towards us, both being signs of favor and kindness.   Other biblical verses speak of God hiding the divine face from us, indicating a separation, a gulf that we might want to close as much as we can by performing acts reflecting kindness, goodness, and reverence for all creation.      

     Of course, saying that God has a face is an anthropomorphic statement.  Many people of faith don’t mean it literally, even when sacred texts talk about God’s eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hands.  Face can mean a sacred presence and spirit, a Oneness that connects us all and pervades the entire universe. 

       The face, that is, the presence and spirit, of our friend and family member who recently died was very much felt during the memorial service.   And while our faces were covered, our masks could not conceal the love, appreciation, and gratitude that was expressed in recollections that were shared.    We were able to recognize each other as a community that had gathered for a loving remembrance, even while wearing masks that were intended to bring the best possible preservation of our health.  

      Our collective “face” transcended our individual physical appearance.  We were one community, hearing some stories for the first time and learning lessons from a life well lived that will lead us to do good works in the community.    

     It’s the intangible and unseen face that represents our character and our soul that will guide us to reach out to one another in love and support to bring healing  and hope.

A Facebook Post-Retirement/Pandemic/Election Year Diary - July 8 to August 8, 2020

August 8, 2020

Cutting the payroll tax seems to mean no $$$ going into Social Security and Medicare.   Isn’t that special?   Thanks for the non-gift that will hurt many people and break a campaign promise, oh resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

August 8, 2020

I think someone forgot that there is no mask exemption for indoor peaceful protests, and that peaceful protests of the last couple of months mostly took place outside with people wearing masks (with some social distancing).   I also don’t understand how a press conference turned into a peaceful protest. 

   And.....it would seem to me that one side of negotiators in the coronavirus relief package may have been told to stonewall so that a certain person could portray himself as the hero (against his opponents) by signing executive orders to that would accomplish what one chamber had already proposed and passed weeks ago.   

   The art of the deal.  Such a deal.  

    😞

August 7, 2020

As Shabbat is about to begin, I must say emphatically:  this election campaign had better not turn into a “who’s hurting God and the Bible more” contest.   I have already seen that Pastor Robert Jeffress has said that Evangelical Christians who support Biden have “sold their soul to the devil.”  Well, thankfully, Jews really don’t believe in the devil, as such, so I am off the hook.  Many who have said “they want to keep God out of our schools” were unable to recognize that, if they believe that God is everywhere, then they have to believe that is God is already in the schools, and that if God could be kept out of the schools, God would certainly not be God.  Moreover, hurting the Bible and hurting God is not a thing, especiallly in a non-theocratic country, and also, if God is not a human being, then God cannot be hurt.  And if the Bible is a book, the Bible can’t be hurt.  We can talk about reading the Bible and following the Bible for those who are intellectually curious or for those who say they are religious.   In this nation, the Bible is not the only sacred text followed by people of faith.  So, “hurt the Bible” is a very narrow, non-diverse statement when it comes to religion in America.  It is a statement of judgment by a self-appointed religious authority that goes against the Establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.   Hmm.  Let’s try to really protect and defend the Constitution.  

    I am going to exercise my religious freedom (First Amendment) in a few moments to observe Shabbat (“Remember/Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy”). 

    Shabbat Shalom!

July 30, 2020

For those who say “of course, Black Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter”: will you join those who oppose voter suppression through closing polling places (especially to prevent people of color and young people from voting)and taking legitimate voters off the rolls, and will you work against housing covenants that still discriminate against people of color?

July 30, 2020

Stop believing a man who would make false claims about mail-in voting and who would withdraw troops from an ally nation because he despises the leader of the host country and because he wants to please and appease a non-ally/ nemesis to whom he defers at nearly every turn.

July 29, 2020

So....

    Some people say that taking down a video with inaccurate information about hydroxychloroquine is a conspiracy and cover-up rather than a move to preserve their health,

     While tax returns that a certain resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue should have released as a positive gesture, like his predecessors, remain secret, and that is NOT a cover-up, and that people pursuing the release of that information believe in Fake News, of course. 

     What a nation we live in.

July 26, 2020

Watching the John Lewis’ casket being taken across the Edmund Pettus Bridge,  I am wondering if there are some people who want to take us backwards, to undo the work of John Lewis and others. 

     I believe that I have seen examples right before my eyes.   It’s up to us to stay on John Lewis’ side of that bridge.

July 25, 2020

As I prepare to lead a Torah study session for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces on the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, I am feeling a little like Moses, who, in this portion, began to retell the history of the Israelites from his perspective.  It makes me wonder how, as the months and years go by, I would tell my own story in the context of the communities of which I have been a part.   

     In his commentary on the Torah, Richard Elliott Friedman notes that Moses is relevant to us because, while he was the first great man and leader in the Bible, he was also a regular human being, with weaknesses, a temper, flaws, and fears.   He was seen as humble for many reasons, perhaps, because we were able to see him not as perfect, but as someone who dealt with challenges that might relate, in some way, to what we face in our lives. 

     As I near the end of the first month of my retirement, I do feel like Moses, in some very small ways.   I remember most everything of my 39 years as a rabbi.   There were challenges, pitfalls, times when I didn’t do what I should have.  There were times when partnership with a community, and, specifically, members of those communities who shared with me values and goals, led to positive and productive results which created warmth and connection.  

     Hopefully, there will be adequate time to reflect, so that this new chapter will emulate the best of the past.   That is something that each of us can do, even before retirement.  Of course, retirement is simply a starting of a new chapter, perhaps, even, a new book.   May the chapters we generate in our lives bring us goodness, blessing and hope, as we look forward to the future.

July 22, 2020

I don’t think that,  when people thought that a business man would make a good national leader, that they expected that person to run the country exactly as he did his business and organization.  There is no need to use the term “deep” for this appropriation of our country and its de facto transfer in to that organization.   This is shallow.  It is insidious.  It is everything that this person has ever said and done and imagined, including accusations against African-American men who were innocent, answering legal actions against him with stonewalling, praising contractors who did work for him and then not paying them, saying that they did a terrible job, and that they could take a pitifully small amount of payment or they would get nothing.   It is about someone believing that he can be in charge without needing to be accountable to anyone, that he can shift and change his story at will, and that he is always a victim and never a perpetrator (or bully).   And now, he can use others to impose a certain type of will based in physical force rather than working with others to solve problems and address concerns for the well-being of people in the country.   And now, he can claim that the number of lives lost from a pandemic could have been much higher, so that makes him successful.  

     I know that this person would not make it a week as a clergy person.  

    That is for sure.

July 19, 2020

Stop it with the “they said no masks, and now they are saying to wear masks.  Why did they change their mind?”  

The “no masks” statement in late February was intended to be sure that medical personnel in hospitals and clinics had masks.  

Once the spread of COVID-19 among us was recognized as a reality by mid-March, it became clear that the aerosol spread of the virus would be significantly prevented by wearing masks.   Your mask protects others from what might be in your system.  Another person’s mask protects you from what might be in their system.   

    Maybe some people think they have never carried germs that they have inadvertently given to someone else.   It’s inevitable that such a thing has happened.   Now, it’s happening big time.  

      So, I declare that my inhalers are NOT political, they are intended to control my asthma.   My blood pressure medicine is NOT political, it’s intended to keep me alive and safe.   My medication for my new lower back ailment (it’s been painful, folks) is intended to keep me COMFORTABLE and is NOT political. 

      My mask is intended to keep you safe and healthy when I am in your presence.    It is NOT, in any way, political.   So I ask that others wear masks to keep me (and people in their presence) safe and healthy.

July 15, 2020

Dear Gracious Giver of Knowledge (says one weekday Jewish blessing), 

     Franklin Graham says that You are truth, and science isn’t.   Why did You give us this knowledge, including to keep us safe and healthy, if we can’t use it to help one another? 

       Oh.....that IS why you gave us the ability to deepen our knowledge, and to be Your hands to bring healing when we are able?  

       Okay.  Thank you.

July 8, 2020

Sometimes a pandemic is just a pandemic - fatal, sadly, for some, challenging healthwise and emotionally, a crisis during which we must be cautious and resilient.  As for delusions that it’s all about you, you can stop.  Many of us are looking in other places for guidance, insight and comfort.

Travel lends perspective to history, present - Column for the Las Cruces Bulletin - August 7, 2020

     My childhood summers were spent traveling around the country.  

     From our home in the midwest, we could travel in all directions and arrive somewhere significant, interesting and important in our nation’s past and present.  

      My parents wanted my brother and me to learn about and appreciate the country to which our grandparents had immigrated to create a new life for themselves and their children. 

      We visited many state capitals, entering some of the capitol buildings, and, at the United States Capitol, we sat in Senate gallery on a day of relative quiet.   

      We explored the Rocky Mountains, ascending (by car) to the top of Mount Evans, and riding across the precarious bridge over Royal Gorge. Following Royal Gorge, we visited  Mesa Verde National Park, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Carlsbad Caverns, El Paso, and Ciudad Juarez. 

     Most years, we traveled east.     I remember President Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield (and his tomb).  We spent time at Gettysburg and Antietam to deepen our knowledge of major Civil War battles.   We saw the sites of the first battles of the Revolutionary War at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill in Massachusetts.   We toured President George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, and President Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.   We visited the Statue of Liberty, as well as the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall.  We witnessed the wonder of Niagara Falls. 

     We went to the top of the Washington Monument, stood inside the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and toured many of the museums associated with the Smithsonian.   We gazed at the memorial flame at the grave of President John F. Kennedy, and visited presidential libraries.  

         Rhonda and I took our son, Adam, to many places I had not yet visited, including the Grand Canyon, Ellis Island, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.   Adam and I also toured the Baseball and Basketball Halls of Fame.  

       The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the museum and memorial at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City challenged us to consider how to combat hatred in all its forms.   Rhonda and I did the same at the 9/11 museum in New York City.   

    My rabbinic convention in 2017 took us to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.  We paid our respects at the graves of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.  We sat in the original Ebenezer Baptist Church, and then attended a service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church across the street.  We were welcomed at the center of the The Names Project/AIDS Quilt.  

      Adam and I attended the 2004 dedication of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, commemorating the United States Supreme Court decision to end racial segregation in America’s schools (a short distance from our home). 

     This list is woefully incomplete.  There are many places to explore locally and in our state that are integral to the American story, offering reminders to recognize narratives told from different perspectives, to which, I know, I need to listen. 

     I know, also, that I need to pray.  These words conclude a prayer for our nation in the Reform Jewish prayerbook, Mishkan T’filah:  “Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit.” 

       May we truly appreciate one another, especially at this time of challenge, and may we add new and positive chapters to our shared story.

Prayer on the Tenth Anniversary of the attacks on 9/11/2001 - 09112011

Avinu Malkeinu/Parent and Sovereign of All:

As we mark a decade since September 11, 2001, we turn to You for guidance 

and support. Help us:

• To remember the individuals who died in the murderous attacks who had names and dreams, life stories and loved ones-- each of them an Image of God, a unique individual, an entire universe.
• To recall with profound gratitude the heroism of first responders, their bravery and caring devotion to society-- as well as the compassion and chesed of ordinary citizens who turned to help both strangers and friends.
• To restore the unity of the human family, which more than ever must manifest the kinship of humanity and interdependence.
• To reject prejudice, hatred, and violence -- in words and in deeds --countering them with a vision of pluralism, mutual dignity, and respect.
• To relate to survivors of terror worldwide, with deepened understanding and support, and extend our open hearts and outstretched arms, to be as helpful and possible.
• To reprioritize, on the basis of many faith traditions, the allocation of resources, especially during challenging economic times so that health, safety, housing, education, and other basic needs are protected.
• To continue to honor and support those who have bravely served in our country’s defense
• To reinvest in programs and services that aid the indigent, the suffering, and the traumatized, and build ever-stronger bridges of civil discourse and positive intergroup relations.
• To rekindle Hope and Trust -- especially but not only in our young people – in a caring community, and in a just and merciful society.
• To replace hateful tribalism with constructive community, xenophobic exclusion with principled outreach, so that the social contract is enhanced and the bond of all humanity deepened.
• To respond to this and every anniversary of 9/11 by building a better life, of health, happiness, justice, and peace, repairing our broken world through Torah, learning, contemplation, and deeds of lovingkindness. 

So may we do – let us say amen. 

For NewCAJE (Virtual) 2020 - August 2, 2020

For NewCAJE (Virtual) 2020

August 2, 2020

What song do you want to sing? 

One of equality and understanding 

One of confession and forgiveness

What song do you want to sing? 

One that is filled with wisdom 

One that inspires insight

What song do you want to sing? 

One that brings a smile to our faces

One that engenders a desire

To move forward, to dance 

To cross the narrow bridge 

Without fear.   

What song do you want to sing? 

One that tells the story of our past

One that can chart to course of our future

As learners, as teachers, as guides, as leaders 

And as partners in confronting a challenging time

With the richness and resilience of the heritage

Which we so proudly share and practice. 

What song do you want to sing? 

One that enlivens our spirits

One that opens our hearts

So that the presence of the One

Will suffuse our souls

And engulf us with warmth and love. 

What is the song we want to sing? 

One that will resound beyond 

Our lives limited by circumstance

One that will sustain connections 

And Friendships 

Between us

that can transcend miles and years

An hymn of reunion. 

An anthem of healing and hope. 

That is the song that WE want to sing.