A Lament and a Prayer for the 200,000 - September 25, 2020

23 new cases of COVID-19 in our county in NM today. 

“It affects virtually nobody,” says he.  

So Mr. and Ms. Nobody are at least in quarantine today.   

Over 200,000 “nobodies” have died in our country, people of all ages.  

Eternal God,

Do not let us forget 

Those who have died of this disease

Those who have recovered but feel the lingering effects every day

Those who have risked their lives to bring comfort

To effect healing when possible,

To support the loved ones of these people 

Now facing the challenge of empty spaces in their families. 

We see. 

We listen.

We stand up

To help

To give

To heal.  

For those who see the steep numbers of the people who have died of COVID-19 as a “success,” 

May compassion spring forth inside of them when they least expect it

So that they will realize 

That they haven’t cared enough 

But that they still have a chance 

To change their perspective 

And to unselfishly see people in terms of people.    

IT IS NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE.

“Return” - A reflection for Shabbat Shuvah 5781 - September 25, 2020

As the Shabbat before Yom Kippur (Shabbat Shuvah) begins, we think about the need for return to the path that we know is best for all of us together. 

   Perhaps I should ignore the horrible things people wrote in comments on the livestream of the service for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this morning.  Rather than seeing differences of opinion as disagreement, they resorted to character assassination. 

    Perhaps I should ignore comments like, “the only way I will l lose this election is if it is rigged,” with accusations and rumors flying.  That means that if I go to vote and don’t vote for the man who made that comment about cheating, then I am a cheater.  Sorry, when I cast my ballot legally, that will not be true. 

    I cannot ignore any of that.

    I also will not ignore the people who are decrying these comments, who are now targets of criciicism because of their truth tellling. 

     I will not ignore people who want to see our community members come together, even when disagreements exist, so that compromise that can accomplish much, can win the day. 

     I will not ignore dishonesty. 

    I will support truth-telling that is not based in vindictiveness and rumor, but in a desire to help us make the best decisions we can as individuals and citizens.  

     "Forgive all iniquity and accept the good; and we shall offer the fruit of our lips,” says Hosea in the Haftarah for this Shabbat. 

     May we rediscover what is good and speak of it and do it together.

Beyond faith and because of my faith - what I believe as a citizen - September 22, 2020

For me....

   The Constitution is a living document that must be interpreted to positively take into account new situations and realities. 

   The battle to guarantee Civil rights to African-Americans is not over.  We have to win this continuing struggle that never seems to end. 

   The struggle for equality for women, for equal treatment for members of the LGBTQ community, and the elimination of prejudice against many ethnic and religious groups in America is not over (that includes combating antisemitism). 

   Looking squarely at the wrongs perpetrated against slaves brought to this continent against their will and against Native Americans is part of our patriotic duty so that we can become a better nation now.      Dialogue in any arena, including politics, would be best served by people from across the spectrum willing to treat each other as human beings based on decency and willing to speak to one another with respect...and willing to listen and take to heart what they heard. 

   Vile, bullying words and name calling have no place coming from our highest officials. 

    I am a product of public education and a member of a family that values public education, with schools funded well by government entities that provide students across the board an equal opportunity and support for teachers in their great work. 

    I believe that issues such as abortion have personal and religious components to them, enough that public policy should not prevent a woman from following the dictates of her conscience and faith in her decision making along with her physician.  

    I believe that a partnership between government and the private sector, including religious groups, should provide a safety net for people who have fallen on hard times, many due to no fault of their own.  That is a biblical and rabbinic and human value.   

    I believe that taxes can be considered a contribution to improve our nation when distributed properly.   

    I believe that our environment is undergoing changes that are the result of misguided policies that did not (or, perhaps, did) foresee the negative effects on the future of our air, water, and ecosystems.  We need to take responsibility now to preserve our world.  I believe in listening to the preponderance of scientific wisdom on this issue and others (such as COVID-19). 

     I believe that borders should be watched but that immigration should be a possibility readily open to aspiring citizens, including to asylum seekers and refugees, whom we should not view with suspicion, but with open arms.

     I believe that everyone should have access to quality health care at an affordable cost without exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and that attempts to create such systems in the past should not be destroyed only because of the identity of their creators. 

     And I believe I can say all this without naming names of any particular political figures or parties.  

    When my students in Religious School would ask me (even 30 years ago) how I voted on election day, I told them that I couldn’t say, but I offered them a list like this.   They said, “Oh, we know whom you voted for.”   

     It doesn’t matter.   What matters is to believe in something, and to find the people who will make at least some of these goals come to fruition.   

      Be strong, and let us strengthen one another.

The Shofar’s Call - September 19, 2020

This Shofar presented a call today (through me). 

It is a call for truth over blind acceptance.

It is a call for freedom that admits who has really been able to partake of freedom for our nation’s history (not everyone), and who should be able to live in true freedom (everyone)!

It is a call for rights that must be balanced by a sense of responsibility, for preserving one’s well being in a way that sustains the well being of others. 

It is a call for justice for all, not just fairness and privilege for some. 

It is a call that directs us to recognize the divine image in every person, and not to pretend that a colorblind society leads, in and of itself, to true equality. 

It is a call for us to be humble enough to admit our mistakes, patient enough to help others improve their character, and steadfast enough in our rejection of arrogance and evil that true peace and unity could descend upon us, even unexpectedly.

It is a call for heroes and helpers, teachers and experts, allies and friends, and even open-minded opponents to come together to meet challenges with courage and wisdom. 

It is a call to love and compassion and hope.

The Shofar presented a call through me today.  

This time, I know that I must listen and act.

A Traveler’s Prayer for Current Journeys - September 14, 2020

A TRAVELER’S PRAYER FOR CURRENT JOURNEYS

September 14, 2020

Eternal God and God of all generations, 

Be with us on the journeys of short or long distance or duration 

That we take at this time of challenge.

Guide us to make sound decisions on where and how to go

To our destinations and then back home

We pray for Your protection 

When we are in situations that could endanger us

When those around us are not taking or encouraging precautions

And as we live in this world 

Where the current virus can spread all too easily. 

Grant us wisdom that will keep us safe.

Heighten our patience towards others.

May gentle but firm words of persuasion come from our mouths

As we encourage our partners in community 

To make our neighborhoods, businesses, stores,

And cities 

Havens from the current silent microscopic storm

That compromises our well-being 

When we are not careful. 

We are all Your precious creations 

Who deserve mutual respect and support

And who are all capable of hearing the truth -

The full truth - 

About this lingering challenge 

And acting upon it 

In ways that will allow us 

To come together once again 

In common places

In hope and in peace.   

May we do all we can to make safety and healing 

A reality 

that we can sustain every day. 

Blessed are You, our Eternal God, who hears our prayer.

ARE WARS, DISEASES AND NATURAL DISASTERS JUDGMENTS OF GOD? - October 31, 1987

From the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, October 31, 1987

ARE WARS, DISEASES AND NATURAL DISASTERS JUDGMENTS OF GOD? 

My response: 

     Some streams of Jewish tradition have portrayed God as a judge who rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. Many people believed that there is a divine purpose behind wars, diseases, natural disasters and the suffering and death that result. Still, rabbinic tradition stated that God knows the path each person will take, but we control our actions. Therefore, human beings choose to wage war and bear the full responsibility for the tragic consequences that follow. 

   While insurance companies call natural disasters "acts of God," we can view earthquakes, tornadoes and diseases as acts of nature. Rabbi Harold Kushner has said that there are no judgments, only consequences of nature and human action. God does not let things happen or cause everything that occurs. We can discover true acts of God in the courage of people to rebuild their lives after facing disease or disaster and in the rush of human assistance to the victims. God is the source of strength that helps people overcome adversity and go on living with faith and hope.

Strength - Facebook post on Friday, September 11, 2020

Strength is not covering up a challenge so that there won’t be panic.   We all have those moments when something unexpected throws us for a loop.

Sometimes, it’s quite serious. Sometimes, it’s a threat to our health or even to our lives.  We might be immobilized for a moment, and we might take a little time to ponder our next steps. Yet, we often find all the fortitude within ourselves that we need, augmented and energized by support from the people closest to us and from professionals who lend expertise and assistance to guide us through the passage. Those people are our cheerleaders: the ones who will stand by us, knowing and acknowledging the gravity of the situation and knowing that their help will be essential to our ability to live and thrive.     That is strength. 

    

Ethical Foundations can help us navigate uncertainty - Column for The Las Cruces Bulletin - September 4, 2020

  “They shall all sit under their own vines, and under their own fig trees, with none to make them afraid.”

    This verse from Chapter 4 of the biblical book of Micah follows a familiar passage that also appears in the book of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nature, nor shall they learn war anymore.”

   Temple Beth-El’s Tanakh Study group (Tanakh is an acronym for the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures: Torah, Prophets and Writings) is currently studying the book of Micah.   This group has engaged in discussion of selected biblical books for the last twelve years.  Father Gabriel Rochelle of St. Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Christian Mission, and several of his members, along with Temple Beth-El congregants (including me), are the current participants.  

   The famous passage from Micah about safety and security, often quoted by President George Washington in speeches and letters, followed chapters of pronouncements against the leadership and the people of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah for failing to follow the right path in their behavior.  Judges took bribes, undermining the integrity of their decisions.  Community prophets (other than Micah) said what the people wanted to hear.  Priests, the religious leaders of the time, offered service and instruction only if it led to personal gain. 

   Most societies face times when people lose their moral bearings, leaving them wondering if they can ever find their way back. 

     There are rituals of all types in which individuals might engage to facilitate their own return to where they want to be.  

    In my tradition, the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, bookend a ten-day period of introspection that can enable individuals and communities to reinforce the ethical foundation that has engendered compassion and continuity for generations.    Prayers of confession of wrongdoing, stated in the plural, remind worshippers that they are human, that they are not alone,  and that they can support each other in their attempts to do better in the future. 

   Those prayers are echoed in the saying of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav: “All the world is a narrow bridge; what is most important is not to be afraid.” 

    Our feelings of connection with family members, with friends, and with our neighbors are supposed to help us to overcome fear by creating partnerships based on mutual respect and understanding.  The admission that we sometimes err in judgment and action necessarily instills humility in each of us.  In a synagogue, at this time of year, that humility, in turn, leads to empathy and patience towards others.

   In most any community or organization, leaders are at their best when they apply the depth of their wisdom to their service, and when they are able to recognize their missteps and offer repair and restoration.  Some leaders may be afraid to acknowledge when they chose a path that was unwise.   In most cases, honesty and a sense of responsibility will allow them to demonstrate how personal improvement can model, on a larger scale, positive societal change. 

    Change is something that we know all too well during these last few months. There may be fear, but there can also be compassion, support, and generosity that can bolster a shared sense of optimism.  May we truly unite in mind and heart, so that nothing will make us afraid.

Talk at Rally on Washburn University Campus - May 5, 1992 (after Rodney King verdict)

Talk at Rally on Washburn University Campus 

May  5, 1992

Rabbi Lawrence P. Karol

      I was told that I was asked to speak here today as representative of the local clergy and faith community-yet I am not quite representative of the overwhelming majority of clergy who are pastors, ministers and priests in Topeka because no one calls me father, reverend or pastor. I have been Topeka's only rabbi for 8 years, serving Temple Beth Sholom and a Jewish community that is a nearly invisible but proud religious and ethnic group . I say nearly invisible because our numbers, less than 500 in our area and about 14 million worldwide, make it rare for people to even realize that Topeka has a Jewish community. I say proud because I represent a tradition that few people realize has developed over the last 2000 years into a rich heritage of celebrations that teaches values which many of us prize in our own way.

      It was just a coincidence that the Rodney King verdict was handed down last week on the day when Jews around the world were beginning to observe Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, to honor the memory of victims and martyrs of the Holocaust who died at the hands of the Nazis 50 years ago. Some of you may know of the current attempts to deny that the Holocaust even happened--yet it did happen. and in the same way we cannot deny brutality we have seen with our own eyes, including the beating that led to the King case being brought to trial. The response of violence and looting in Los Angeles and other cities was a reflection of the frustration of the African-American and other minority communities in our country. In remembering these days, I would hope that history will focus not on tragic deaths and the beating of a number of people, including a white truck driver, but on the example set by the African-American woman who saved that truck driver and guided him to the hospital. That woman's act of courage and caring in the midst of an inferno of tension grew out of the same motivation for dialogue and reaching out to one another that has brought us together today. 

    This week, the portion of the Torah, the scroll of Genesis through Deuteronomy, that Jews around the world will read includes the statement in Leviticus Chapter 19, "Love your neighbor as yourself." These words can make a world of difference and a difference in our world if we understand them properly. This fundamental teaching of consideration for all people lies at the root of the religious faith that many of us espouse. This past Monday, I asked the board members of my congregation, Temple Beth Sholom, to define what is meant by love and neighbor in this teaching that is central to the Bible's message.   Love, they said, meant respect; concern; cooperation; acceptance of others as they are; and showing love through actions and outward behaviors. Neighbor, they said, meant everyone--from across the street to across the world--including people we know and others we may never meet, but always starting with our own community.

     I remember standing with hundreds, maybe thousands of people at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City on the Sunday after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. I was thirteen years old at the time. I felt privileged to be there among people of all backgrounds who had come to pay their respects to a great leader. My rabbi spoke along with clergy of various Christian denominations and other faith groups. Within 48 hours, that beautiful tapestry of unity was torn asunder by the riots that erupted all over the country. It was that same frustration that rose to the surface 24 years ago that we saw last week. There are many explanations for what has caused the racial tensions that have never subsided in our country for its entire 216 years of independence. Part of the answer is in a saying of a Jewish teacher named Shammai who lived 2000 years ago in Judea under the shadow of Roman oppression and tyranny. Shammai said, "Say little and do much.” If our leaders in the White House for the last 12 years as well as other public officials, would have followed these words, we would have seen laws, Supreme Court decisions, and government and community programs that engendered a sense of that all of us are equal as human beings and deserve equal opportunity. Instead, it appears that our presidents, judges and other leaders decided that the best course was "say much and do little." We know that actions speak louder than words--now is a time for positive action to make the vision of a society based on equality, acceptance and understanding a reality. 

    That vision will not be real until we are certain that all people have adopted the broadest definition of who is their neighbor. That vision will not be real until we are willing to speak to and listen to people from beyond our own class, gender, faith community or ethnic group. That vision will not be real as long as the words "kinder, gentler nation" are only lip service and not the expression of true intention. Some people who experience the worst discrimination may feel that they can rely only on themselves to make that vision real. I believe that this is not a journey to be made alone. Another teacher in Judea of 2000 years ago named Hillel said. "Do not separate yourself from your community." Community begins here and now--with the commitment to keep talking with each other. no matter what our differences might be; to celebrate our diversity and to share with others the best of our heritage; to build bridges. not barriers. so that we can journey towards that cherished vision of equality and understanding and make it real.  

     As we have joined our hearts and minds today in common cause. may we now unite ourselves in spirit. I delivered these words to the State House of Representatives this morning--and I offer them here with hopes for the better days to come: 

“Creator of the Universe, God of all humanity, we know, especially from the events of recent days, that many of our brothers and sisters feel tired and isolated, abandoned and lonely; teach us to be their friends. Many are anxious and afraid-help us to calm their fears. Some are tortured in body and mind; imbue them with courage and strength. Others in their emptiness seek only wealth, fame or power; teach them to value the many other gifts that life can hold for them. Some are drained of faith; they are cynical, bored or despairing; let our confidence and vitality shine forth for them to see the many opportunities around them for personal creativity and human progress. And some live with death in their souls; they are stunned, violent, and filled with hate: Give us the wisdom to save them from the wastelands of the spirit. And teach us to show our love; let our compassion and knowledge flow forth from within us and direct us to seek the welfare, dignity and vigor of everyone. May we join together in our efforts to engender warmth and fellowship throughout the human family so that all may know they are not alone. Amen.”