Striving for Unity - January 26, 2021

I have tried very hard, as a citizen, to be informed, to be steadfast with my opinions and positions while being willing to take in new information, to see the value in compromise, and to recognize all people around me in my country as valued human beings.  Even when lobbying and speaking representatives and senators, even ones who disagreed with me, I only wanted them to listen and consider what I had to say.   I didn’t always sway them, but they heard me. 

  Now, I see senators and representatives either believing a quasi-fascistic approach to party politics that focuses on one person who has influence over their voters, much more than they have.   And what can some of them do if they want to stay in office, other than vote in a way that still shows homage to that person, whether or not they believe it’s moral, appropriate, or warranted?  

    These leaders say current proposals on how to handle the difficulties of the last several weeks are all about “hatred” of that person.   That person had many opportunities to win people over, but he was never inclined to do that.  It was more important to ridicule and denigrate.  It was more important to him to burn bridges than to build them.  So now, as the burning reach the most extreme level of communal arson, accountability must be a condition of unity.  Yet, those who say, “it’s time to move on” fear the consequences of revealing their moral fiber which could deprive them of their influence and power.     

    So it is likely that they believe, or have to believe, falsehoods that they must present as true if they want to retain their positions. 

    This isn’t the first time a need to hold onto a lie has happened in American history, of course.  However, when this approach excuses the perpetration of a campaign meant to undermine the fabric and foundation of our democratic government, its consequences will be with us for the foreseeable future.  

     I pray that some of us will find a way to preserve and add to the American tapestry and make it more colorful and more beautiful, rather than to see anyone eliminate altogether its many hues that are essential to our national character.   

      That must be our mission moving forward.

A Prayer for January 20, 2021

A Prayer for January 20, 2021

God, bless this new day. 

A time of renewal,

A moment of regeneration. 

An opportunity for reconciliation. 

A celebration of history. 

A commemoration of growth yet to come. 

God, bless this new day. 

A reflection of our people 

A consequence of our colorful human tapestry. 

A culmination of consistent and honored service 

A confirmation of a choice of leadership. 

A consecration of national persistence. 

God, bless this new day

A reminder of our hallowed values. 

A challenge to demonstrate our essential moral fiber. 

A clarion call to exhibit the best of our collective character. 

A restoration of avenues leading to intersecting perspectives. 

A recognition of the role of every resident 

   in this ongoing pageant of democracy. 

God, bless this new day

And may there be more days in the future

That mirror 

This day

And, Eternal One, 

With the strength of Your hands 

Working through our hearts, 

Hold within those many approaching days

Hope

Consideration

Cooperation 

Promise 

Equality 

Charity 

Prosperity

Progress

Understanding 

Love, 

And

Peace.  

To the new day - Sunsets...and beyond January 19, 2021

To the new day - Sunsets...and beyond 

January 19, 2021

As the sun goes down

There is a cavalcade of colors

And a glow on the horizon 

Over the houses and hills

The lingering radiance is an invitation 

To consider hours just passed

What did you achieve? 

How did you make a difference? 

Did you create something wondrous?

Did your routine assume new meaning? 

When you wake up tomorrow, 

Will you remember what you learned from today? 

Creator of day and night,

Rolling light from darkness 

And darkness from light, 

Causing day to pass and bringing the night

Dividing between day and night

The Eternal One, 

Author of Creation’s essence

Is Your name. 

As the darkness descends

There is a blanket of protection

Under the cover of clouds 

Or beneath the sparkling stars and planets

Reflected in the city lights below

The universe spread above us is an invitation 

To find moments of contemplation 

About what has come before

And what is yet to be. 

Will we connect with other people

Who search the sky and the human soul 

for beauty and hope? 

Under our common heavens, 

Will we find a path of resolution for

Elusive understanding

Compromise that was once beyond our grasp

Unity that transcends 

divisions that require vigorous deconstruction? 

Creator of day and night, 

Rolling away wrong from right,

Open our eyes to see bright possibilities

Even in the darkness

Lead us to enough agreement 

That we will be One 

As You are One, 

Author of Creation’s essence

God of our days.

We pray for You, always, 

To repeat the cavalcade of beautiful colors 

Of sunset and sunrise.

What can America Be? An “-ism” response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - January 19, 2021

So what is America, Secretary Pompeo? 

Do you realize that multiculturalism is at the heart of the state you represented in Congress (although some state leaders try to dismiss that reality)? 

Of course, when you say, “all the -isms,” are not America, 

You might want to reconsider.  

What about patriotism?   

Well, of course, patriotism comes in many forms, not just the type you try to claim exclusively for yourself.   Peaceful protest is patriotism when it works for change.  You see even peaceful protests in the name of acceptance of people of color and different backgrounds as unpatriotic. 

There are -isms that you would deny exists, but we have seen them all too much, well beyond these last four years. 

You probably would say there is no racism, but it persists.

You would claim there is no classism, but the oligarchy rears its ugly head all too often. 

Fascism hovers around people in the United States who prefer authoritarian leadership over the democratic processes of our federal and state governments.  

As for me, 

I would prefer

Optimism

Volunteerism 

Altruism (for the good of everyone, not just some) 

Professionalism (in how people approach positions of responsibility and leadership) 

Universalism (in how we see the world)  

Pacifism (in how we treat each other) 

Idealism (with a dose of realism, and vice versa) 

Ethicism (where values are not dismissed as necessary for communal well-being) 

To name a few. 

I think we need those, Mr. Secretary. 

Please write a speech on every one of those -isms and how they have been a benefit to the United States at one time or another. 

That is your assignment. 

Send it to me ASAP 

Signed, 

A former Kansas resident 

Secretary of State Pompeo’s rant against multiculturalism as “not who we are”

Pre-Inauguration Day - Time to admit that “Stop the Steal” was false - January 19, 2021

Senator Romney just said of his fellow Republicans that their calls for “unity” are useless when it is the LIE they perpetrated about the election that is causing disunity.   

Good morning, Senator, and thank you for speaking truth.  

Those of us who were upset about the election of Donald Trump in 2016 were not claiming voter fraud and unfair elections.  We were claiming that there had been waves and waves of incorrect information in the campaign that led people to make decisions based on those lies, much more than ever before, that led them not to vote.  The perpetrators of those waves tried again in 2020, but we we were able to identify their efforts and reject their information. 

  We were, also, claiming that the new 2017 incumbent’s character would not comport with the office.    Some still believe it did.  Many of us believe it didn’t.  The mismatch of character and the office - and our democracy- was demonstrated by the campaign of lies by the incumbent about rigged elections as soon as the 2016 election was over and on into 2020 and 2021, culminating in the events of January 6.  

   Yes, we do want our country back, and we will get it if these baseless lies coming from the leader stop.   

    He will try as a former President, to continue to spread his falsehoods and grievances. Some will listen. 

   Many won’t.

A response to a commissioner of a neighboring county in NM - January 17, 2021

FREEDOM?  

STOP IT!  JUST STOP IT!

YOUR “STOP THE STEAL” MOVEMENT IS A LIE! 

YOU ARE PERPETRATORS, NOT THE PERSECUTED!

YOU SAID THAT I, AS A REGISTERED VOTER OF THE PARTY OPPOSITE YOU, WOULD ONLY BE GOOD IF I WERE DEAD, ALONG WITH OTHERS LIKE ME!  

AND THEN YOU TRIED TO BACK-PEDAL ON THAT. 

SORRY. 

AS ONE OF THE POSTS GOING AROUND SAYS, IF YOU ARE STANDING WITH ANTI-SEMITES AND NAZIS, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE.  

OR, MAYBE THAT EXPRESSES YOUR VIEWS.

(I SUPPOSE MY JEWISHNESS DOES NOT HELP ME MUCH IN YOUR EYES, EITHER). 

AS A COUNTY COMMISSIONER, YOU SHOULD DEFEND EVERYONE’S FREEDOM, AND YOU ARE NOT DOING THAT WHEN YOU REJECT ELECTIONS DEEMED SMOOTH AND FAIR BY ELECTION OFFICIALS AND GOVERNORS OF ALL STATES WHO BELONG TO BOTH PARTIES - THAT INCLUDES YOURS! 

YOU ARE IN A CLASS OF YOUR OWN, WHICH IS ALSO OCCUPIED BY ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO TOOK PART IN AN UNDEMOCRATIC RAMPAGE OF A HALLOWED NATIONAL CENTER OF GOVERNMENT. 

YOU SHOULD RECONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE WORTHY OF YOUR POSITION OF LEADERSHIP. 

AND, YES, I AM SHOUTING! 

Cowboys for Trump leader arrested

Benediction for Dona Ana NAACP Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday program - January 18, 2021

In a 1957 sermon, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about love and about hate.  

He said: 

 “Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys one’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes people to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.”

  In recent months and years, we have seen the fruits of hatred. 

  Hatred has led some people to believe that what some say is true must be false, and caused those people to define their false claims as true. 

   Hatred has led to pardoning the guilty, 

Sidestepping necessary accountability, 

minimizing and dismissing claims of brutality and abuse against people of color, 

denying that racism and prejudice persist among us, 

and dividing people in communities to an extent where they no longer speak a common language of values and personal character. 

   Eternal God, who created us as one worldwide family, 

    Remind us that Martin Luther King, Jr.  taught us

   To dispel fear with sincerity, compassion, trust and patience. 

    To engage in an endless search for the goodness within our fellow human beings, even when that quality might seem elusive. 

    To shine a light into the darkness of the soul of people around us, so that their eyes will see the shining possibilities of cooperation and partnership. 

    To share one truth, and then another, and then another, so that there will no longer be room in anyone’s mind for false notions that would lead them astray.  

    To confront misunderstanding, ignorance and contempt with the power of love.   

    To see the Unity that You, Our Creator, bring to the universe as 

   enveloping every single one of us in bonds of essential equality that cannot be broken. 

    This is our dream, God of justice and righteousness. 

    This is our mission, Wellspring of hope.  

    Walk with us, Eternal One, on our continuing journey. 

    Amen. 

My thoughts after watching raw footage (from the NEW YORKER) of January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol

Some leaders only want to hold on to their power

Even if it takes 

Perpetrating lies and suspicion before established procedures

To determine their worthiness. 

If those procedures don’t work

Those leaders have, at least, two choices:

Accept the results 

Or say the results were fraudulent and incorrect. 

In this pandemic year, 

The suspicion proponents objected to adjustments

In procedures 

That would allow more citizens to vote 

Securely and safely

Without having to risk their lives. 

Challenges to those procedures 

That have been created by courts and 

Wise election officials

were questioned all along 

But most changes were affirmed as legal

And appropriate

During a persistent pandemic. 

Yet, attempts to limit voter access 

Creation by the suspicious ones of 

Fraudulent drop boxes for mail in ballots

To soil and undermine the voting the process

Did not prevent what election officials 

And intelligence experts termed

A fair and free and smooth election, 

Amazingly enough. 

As returns came in, 

Processing of large numbers of mail-in ballots

Were termed as “theft” or “fake”

Claims of observers having only limited access

When rules were being followed

And accusations about voting machines 

(Which subsided as those companies sued their accusers) 

Persisted 

Because those who questioned the election 

Just couldn’t believe the outcome

That their “chosen one” 

Had lost to someone he had called a “loser” 

And much worse. 

It was not the media that called the election by itself

But the media in response to the state officials 

Who certified their state results

Sometimes after pressure from the incumbent

Sometimes after claims that they were criminal

In their actions 

Sometimes from members of their own party

Who just could not believe what happened. 

The incumbent, and his legislative 

And rank-and-file supporters

Continued subvert a smooth transition 

With calls of “steal” 

Which, for some, only ended 

After the failure of nearly every court challenge 

That found no widespread wrongdoing 

No fraud

Only 

People 

voting 

Their 

Views 

And conscience. 

The continued claims of “fraud” and steal” 

Created a pandemic of conspiracies 

On top of conspiracies 

And expressions of 

the “Steal believers” feeling 

Disappointed and disenfranchised. 

You know what.....

I have personally felt disenfranchised

By the presidential results 

Eight times in my memory 

Seven times as a voter. 

Yet, for some reason, I did not storm ANYTHING.

I did protest the candidates with quiet words 

That sometimes became louder and,

Occasionally, public expressions 

But I would never have done what 

I saw on January 6.  

Candidates may lose because of smear campaigns

Lies in political advertising 

Revelations of their own misdeeds and personal foibles

And as a consequence of poor leadership and decision making. 

No candidate or leader gets it right all the time. 

However, when lives have been lost 

And deaths from a deadly pandemic 

Have been ignored, dismissed, or practically swept under the rug

In favor of claiming victory with the creation of vaccines

And people are told by many leaders that they still deserve

To be in power

It can lead to 

What happened on that day

That has emboldened some of those 

Who accepted at face value

What the incumbent told them. 

At a time like this 

We need

accountability from those who trespassed buildings and norms

Sincere apologies that might lead to forgiveness and healing

truth 

Dispelling of theories that have no basis

Patience 

Acceptance of each other’s humanity

Agreeable disagreement 

Respectful discourse 

And a little more love and peace in our lives. 

It’s time to start on that journey.  

Today.

Where we hope to be - A Prayer - January 14, 2021

Eternal One,

Can you bring us to where, perhaps, we never were? 

We may have thought we were in a place of...

Freedom

Cooperation 

Partnership

Living side by side

Neighborliness 

Progress

Civility

Increasing Hope

Charity

Justice

Welcome

Advancing opportunity to address persistent inequality

Emerging Acceptance

Growing Understanding. 

Some of us tried with all of our might to be “there.” 

Others sought to create a community based on a different sense of values: 

Latent and overt prejudice

Veiled hatred

Open contempt

Asserted Superiority 

Disdain for those whom they considered “inferior”

A belief in justice for some but not for others

Xenophobia

Suspicion of newcomers 

Grievance 

Privilege based on position and pigmentation 

Spreading of untruths to foment conflict 

Claiming to be “us” while insisting on the elimination of “them” 

Declaring they, exclusively, are Your voice among us

We know, God of Righteousness, that we may have never been in that place where we thought we were. 

Yet, that is no reason to stop our quest for 

Life that gives everyone a chance

Liberty that recognizes every person’s humanity and the divine spark in them

Happiness in which we can all share so that divisions will subside. 

Faith in our ability to make this happen. 

Peace that will enable all of us to grow and thrive.  

We say thank you to the man who said, in 1968, “I have seen the promised land.  I may not get there with you, you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” 

Eternal God, Source of Mercy, 

we are all now “the people.” 

Make us One. 

Calm our fears. 

Move us forward. 

Keep us together

On our journey to the promised land.

Eternal One,

Can you bring us to where, perhaps, we never were? 

We may have thought we were in a place of...

Freedom

Cooperation 

Partnership

Living side by side

Neighborliness 

Progress

Civility

Increasing Hope

Charity

Justice

Welcome

Advancing opportunity to address persistent inequality

Emerging Acceptance

Growing Understanding. 

Some of us tried with all of our might to be “there.” 

Others sought to create a community based on a different sense of values: 

Latent and overt prejudice

Veiled hatred

Open contempt

Asserted Superiority 

Disdain for those whom they considered “inferior”

A belief in justice for some but not for others

Xenophobia

Suspicion of newcomers 

Grievance 

Privilege based on position and pigmentation 

Spreading of untruths to foment conflict 

Claiming to be “us” while insisting on the elimination of “them” 

Declaring they, exclusively, are Your voice among us

We know, God of Righteousness, that we may have never been in that place where we thought we were. 

Yet, that is no reason to stop our quest for 

Life that gives everyone a chance

Liberty that recognizes every person’s humanity and the divine spark in them

Happiness in which we can all share so that divisions will subside. 

Faith in our ability to make this happen. 

Peace that will enable all of us to grow and thrive.  

We say thank you to the man who said, in 1968, “I have seen the promised land.  I may not get there with you, you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” 

Eternal God, Source of Mercy, 

we are all now “the people.” 

Make us One. 

Calm our fears. 

Move us forward. 

Keep us together

On our journey to the promised land.

People don’t say what you say they say! January 12, 2021

I am tired of him saying “people say.” 

“Do not carry false rumors.”

“Do not go about as a talebearer among your people.”

Not every President has always told the truth, certainly. 

The incumbent is the least biblical of them all. 

I just watched the PBS Documentary about Alex Jones and Trump, and I was reminded about the horrible things he said about Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

The incumbent is 

Not David. 

Not Cyrus. 

Not Moses

Not Joseph. 

Not a Messiah. 

By any means. 

He is a human being who thinks only of himself, and, maybe, his family, a little. That’s it.  And he will say anything false and repeat it over and over to turn it into truth.   

More and more people aren’t buying it anymore. 

Yes, supporters of the incumbent, he did not tell you the truth.    

Praying for an end to the extensive influence of these rumors and conspiracy theories.  

They are tearing people apart from others and from themselves. 

Praying for 

Healing 

Hope

Truth  

Peace.

From where? January 11, 2021

From where do your facts come? 

Investigative reporters? 

Trusted news anchors? 

A variety of news websites? 

Only one or two websites? 

Raw video and full transcripts? 

Doctored video? 

Theories that make sense to you but not to others?

News channels that say they are entertainment for their viewers? 

From where do your truths come?

Wise family members? 

Mentors?

Sacred texts?

Treasured books?

Listening to people’s stories and their hopes?  

Thoughtful and experienced leaders who try to unite, despite disagreement?

Demagogue/“Messiahs” who try to divide to fuel disagreement? 

Teachers? 

Your life experience? 

From where does your love come? 

Your heart? 

The fruits of your relationships? 

Examples set by people who nurtured you? 

Inspiration? 

A Divine source? 

Valued connections that hold us close? 

Warm memories of those no longer with us? 

From where will freedom come?

Consensus? 

Disagreement that leads to compromise?

Concern for others? 

Concern for yourself alone? 

Coordinated peaceful action?

Conspiratorially planned use of force? 

Cheerleading violent acts for a perceived cause of freedom? 

History? 

Equality granted to everyone? 

Privilege granted to only a few, even by those who do not share in teh full measure of that privilege? 

Personal, rational discussion that leads to common cause?

I don’t pretend to have all the answers for everyone else, but I know the ones  that I prefer.  

Sometimes we just have to ask and consider the full range of questions to get where we need to go, and see the questions in juxtaposition to decide which ones just might be right. 

LPK - January 11, 2021

Remembering Debbie Friedman - January 9, 2021

As I look back through my digital photos, I see there are no photos of Debbie Friedman.  There are slides that have not been digitized from CAJE Conventions, from Debbie’s concerts to a wonderful Kumsitz in 1990, at which Peter Yarrow joined us after an evening performance when he sang, and then Debbie joined him.  

    The Kodak moments imprinted in my memory are many. 

    My first indirect connection was through my brother Steve, who was on Chalutzim faculty with Debbie at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp in 1973.   He brought home Debbie’s “Sing Unto God” album.  

    Debbie visited University of Illinois in 1975, when she did a Friday night concert, our Hillel Choir had a special session with her, and she performed at a Saturday night Bet Cafe at which I sang a bit, as well.   It was then that we realized we had been at UAHC Kutz Camp in 1970 at the same time, when she was a songleader and I was at National Torah Corps. 

    Those are the beginnings for me.  For the rest, all I have to say is....

*Learning, singing and teaching her music religiously, mainly from her albums and bringing it to my congregations 

*Singing in the CAJE Chorale that she directed, starting in 1989.  A particularly special memory was singing in the CAJE Chorale at Hofstra in 2000 standing next to one of my favorite singers, Adam Karol.  

*Attending Hava Nashira at OSRUI nine times between 1999 and 2008 with Debbie present as HN Creator/Faculty member.  

*Singing the Mi Shebeirach at the UAHC Biennial in San Francisco in 2003 at Debbie’s last night concert while standing next to my mom, Ruth Karol, who was undergoing cancer treatment during that time - plus all of her performances at Biennials.   I last saw her in Toronto in passing at the URJ biennial, when we had our last chance to exchange warm greetings. 

   Most of all, what I learned from Debbie was generating spirit and enthusiasm, engendering connection between people, valuing everyone, being open to inspiration to create new music, and lifting prayer to uncharted holy spaces and places in my soul.   

    I was one of the singers who had an opportunity to add a video performance of a song by Debbie Friedman for the Boston-based memorial tribute at the end of January in 2011.    

   Here is an updated video of my contribution to that 2011 collection, for which I chose to sing Debbie’s “Shelter of Peace.”

Symbols, Words and meaning - January 10, 2021

Apparently, the flags at the US Capitol are at half-staff to honor the memory the Capitol Police officer who was murdered on Wednesday during the attack/insurrection.  

Also, you would think that the White House would follow suit, even if it’s not required. 

Not so far.  

Not surprised. 

Several days after the horrendous events of January 6, what I know is this:

There was no steal, and I say that not because of the news media.  Secretaries of State and Governors of BOTH PARTIES certified the results. 

It’s not about one news network or another.  It’s about government and election officials and poll workers doing their job well. 

That means, as many of us know, that everything that took place on Wednesday was based on a false premise and a BIG LIE.

Those who perpetrated the forced and unauthorized entry into the Capitol are really proud of themselves.   Such pride could lead to an encore.  We will hope not.  

Some Senators who supported the incumbent all the way are now saying they didn’t, which is their way of rewriting their own history.  

Other Senators, and many Representatives, who supported the BIG LIE have not changed their viewpoint.    That not only saddens me, it angers me.  They need a “time out,” at least, but certainly much more.  Censure?  Refusal to seat them again? Recalls from back home?   Yes.   

There are more of us than not who believe that the election was smooth and fair, that the results were accurate, that democracy is something worth our time for advocacy and defense, and that simply carrying a flag and chanting “USA” does not mean you are patriotic unless you are prepared to accept and work with EVERYONE from all backgrounds in the country, and willing to see your party go out of certain leadership positions after elections in which your candidate(s) has/have lost,  and to work with the new leadership.   

And to that guy from Wednesday with the “Camp Auschwitz” hoodie with the word “Staff” on the back, read up on the Nuremberg Trials.   We don’t know your name yet, but we have you on video and in photos.  You can’t say, like some tried to do at those trials after World War II, “I am not responsible.”   Yes, you are, and you should turn yourself in, along with many others who tried to upend our country.

Eyes, Ears, Heart, Mind - and Change - A Revision from a 2013 piece in the face of attempted insurrection - January 9, 2021

This column, published in the Las Cruces Bulletin on October 25, 2013, began with the statement by then-Congressman Steve Pearce at a Town Hall about his view that we needed to have a change of mind and heart.   He just tweeted that the incumbent will be “President Forever.”   He can stand with all of the people who believed and perpetrated lies not just for these several years of the current - and almost finished - administration, but for many years.    I am furious.   I was furious when I sat in his office with a group from NM CAFe and he tried to paint himself as open to many types of people and then went on to declare his opposition to the way the American community might look after immigration reform.   It was xenophobia in a nutshell.   

On this Shabbat, as we continue to consider the fallout from a very dark January 6, I offer these words.  

*******************************

Eyes, Ears, Mind, Heart - and Change - Reflections on the Jewish High Holy Days 5774-2013 - An unpublished column - September 15, 2013

At a recent Town Hall meeting in Las Cruces, a local public figure, in responding to a question on a particular controversial issue, noted that we need a change of “mind” and “heart” rather than stricter laws that would compromise what he and others consider to be a right guaranteed in the United States Constitution.

What captured my attention was the use of the terms “mind,” “heart,” and change.  

    There are brilliant minds, underused minds, and closed minds.   There are warm hearts, cold hearts, and hard hearts.     

      Change of any kind can elicit fear, or foster progress, or lead us backwards, or create a new opportunity.  

    In addition to “mind” and “heart,”  I believe that “eyes” and “ears” are crucial as we encounter the world.  

      We can turn our eyes away, or look intently and honestly at what is going on around us.  

     We can open our ears to truly listen to what people are saying to us, or close our ears to calls for help or change or progress.   

     In a recent installment in a series called “Jewels of Elul” (Elul is the month on the Jewish calendar preceding the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah), world-renowned singer Achinoam Nini (Noa) shared her thoughts on “The Art of Welcoming”:   “For me, the word ‘welcoming’ is deeply associated with the word ‘opening’ - opening a door, a heart, a mind. Opening your eyes in order to truly see those around you, opening your mind to new ideas, opening your heart, even to what seems threatening, frightening, ominous, with the knowledge that we fear most what we are unfamiliar with. Reaching out to those whom we are suspicious of, those whom we have formed weakly based opinions of, is the key to dissolving fear and making way for growth and acceptance.”

    In any community, we are called to be welcoming, to reach out beyond the labels we place on other people and beyond the labels that may be associated with us. 

     Judaism, and other religions as well, teach that we are created in the divine image, meaning that there is a special spirit that comes from the Oneness that binds us together.   

    In Leviticus Chapter 19, not only does it say “love your neighbor as yourself.”  It further declares: “When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them.  The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” To truly follow these teachings, we must begin by recognizing the humanity and dignity of every person.

       A powerful symbol associated with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is the Shofar, which we sound at specific times during our worship for these High Holy Days.   The Shofar is intended to move those who hear its call to be decent, caring and respectful human beings who are willing to look into themselves, see their strengths and failings, and strive for positive change.     The sound of the Shofar is hard to ignore, and that is as it should be.  Changing mind and heart for the better is crucial to living a good life. 

      We must, however, also consider that open eyes and ears might bring about positive change in the world. On the morning of Yom Kippur, Jewish worship includes the reading of an excerpt from Isaiah Chapter 58, which calls on us to “unlock the fetters of wickedness,” to “let the oppressed go free,” and to take the poor into our homes. Only then will our light “shine in the darkness.”   In the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus about the Statue of Liberty, the last line declares, “I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”  The High Holy Days of Jewish tradition call on us to lift our lamps towards one another, so that we can see, as well as hear, those who are asking us for help, appealing to the compassion that they know is essential to our humanity.

    The rabbis of the Talmud suggested that God prays.  What is God’s prayer?  “May it be that my attribute of strict justice will be overcome and overtaken by my attribute of mercy.”    This is how we can approach each other in communal life.  We have laws, but we can apply them with mercy.  We have definite ideas about how a friend or co-worker or classmate should act, but sometimes we need to give him or her the benefit of the doubt.   We have our own opinions, but perhaps we can see even one valid point in an opposing position, which could lead to a meeting of minds and hearts in the middle.  A community will thrive when it is founded upon compromise and compassion, and when its members are willing to open their minds, hearts, ears and eyes.

      ON THIS DAY OF JANUARY 9, 2021, I WOULD ADD:  WE NEED TO BEGIN TO STEP BACK FROM THE PRECIPICE OF DIVISION THAT COULD DESTROY US.   IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO HEAL, AND TO REALIZE THAT SOME PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO COMMON TRUTHS THAT COULD ENABLE US TO WORK TOGETHER, OR EVEN TO SPEAK PEACEABLY TO ONE ANOTHER.  IT IS A TIME TO BE PATIENT, BUT ALSO FERVENT IN OUR DEDICATION TO DEMOCRACY.   I HOPE THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ACCEPTING THE LIES OF A NARCISSIST AT FACE VALUE WILL BEGIN TO CONSIDER THAT HE LED THEM DOWN THE WRONG PATH, ONE THAT WAS DEVOID OF MORALITY OR A GENUINE ACCEPTANCE OF THEM AS VALUED PEOPLE.   BASED ON “GOD’S PRAYER,” THERE WILL BE JUSTICE FOR THOSE WHO ACTED ON THEIR WORST IMPULSES.  IN TIME, THERE WILL BE MERCY AS WELL. 

        In the months to come, may we consider how we can reach out to each other with concern and offer needed support.  May our hearts be warm as we offer one another a welcoming spirit.  May our ears clearly hear voices calling for change that will benefit us all.  And with our eyes, may we see one another in the most positive light.

Keeping unity within our reach - January 8, 2021

I just saw a meme that I will describe and not share.

On the left is a young man, marked “Democrats,” holding tightly to the arm of a young woman, with scratches on her face, on the right, identified as “America.”  He says to her, “C’mon, man,  I’m sorry you made me angry.  Let’s unite.”  

 A note by the poster said, “Gaslighting culture.”  

I am now on “unfollow” with this soul. 

I don’t think this person realizes that some people would put the name of the incumbent on the young man. 

I just think such a meme is not at all helpful - NOR IS IT ACCURATE.   

But I now learned something about what some people are feeling, and it is not based in reality.  It’s based on everything this person has taken in and believed, including the claim that Rep. Matt Goetz made about “antifa” being at the Capitol on Wednesday, when we are getting a stream of identifications of known right-wing extremists who were there, with some subsequent arrests.  

When someone posts a meme like this, sadly, I see no path for discussion or engagement.  

As Shabbat begins to arrive, quite soon, what I do hope is the our rhetoric will calm down, our memes will be humorous and poignant rather than caustic and untrue, and that discourse among citizens and among legislators will be respectful, even if heated, conversation about ideas and policy, in a way that DOES NOT DENIGRATE ANYONE’S HUMANITY, or in a way the precludes friendships. 

But a few ground rules: 

No denigrating ridicule. 

No xenophobia. 

No fomenting of fear. 

No questioning of who is a citizen and who gets to be an aspiring citizen. 

No - or, please, God, a radical decrease in - racism. 

No voter suppression. 

No promotion of inequality to sustain an oligarchy. 

Wide support of people in need of jobs, food, and assistance. 

Strong encouragement of health care heroes.  

Offering a steady flow of condolences to family members of those who have died of COVID-19 

Looking out for each other’s well-being. 

Doing our best to think the best of each other. 

Keeping knowledge, understanding, and peace as our goals for our nation and the world. 

Shabbat Shalom, everyone.

Let there be...cooperation...and more - January 6, 2021

The documentary film, “The Social Dilemma,” revealed how people are fed information by social media platforms that mostly comports with their views.  Apply that to the 2020 election, and we can imagine that the reason that people think there was a “steal” is that the accurate information coming from state election officials, many of them Republicans, has not made its way to many who voted for the incumbent.  What’s more, the incumbent himself, who has always tried to create his own truth in business, and seems to believe that truth because he probably couldn’t deal with the REAL truth, has perpetrated a BIG LIE because he can’t deal with the facts that have emerged from the election that clearly reveal his defeat.  

   So, to all those folks demonstrating in DC, who think that there is only one set of facts...

     I know I will never be able to change your minds, so I won’t try.  

      But know that we are watching, and we have no less fervor for our belief in democracy over person and party than you have for your adopted cause.  

    We need to deal with reality, especially at a time of pandemic, even if you don’t believe there is a pandemic.  

     This time is about preserving lives, keeping people healthy and safe. 

     It’s also about keeping our democracy healthy and safe.  

     That includes the fact that, if the Georgia senatorial election has two Democratic victors, the Senate will necessarily be an arena of compromise, unless there is stonewalling and gridlock. 

     Please, God, let there be cooperation and partnership. 

     Just this once...and in the years to come.

A Prayer for US - January 7, 2021

Eternal God, 

We are a fragile people

Living a precarious existence

As we seek to hold communities together. 

Why did You make it so easy for us

To see what divides us 

Rather than to recognize what unites us? 

Oh. 

You did make it easy for us 

To make common cause. 

Commandments about

Love

Respect

Honesty 

Charity

Justice 

Righteousness

Are supposed to enable us to 

Live in some measure of peace

With each other

Side by side. 

The problem is ours. 

Some of us have 

Closed our ears

Covered our eyes

Hardened our hearts

Shut our hands 

To anyone 

Or to any idea

Which we consider foreign 

Different

Strange.  

Teach us that 

Nothing is different or strange

Remind us that 

Eyes belong open

Ears should allow all types of sounds to be heard

Hearts should be open 

Hands should be outstretched 

To everyone

Enough for us 

To overcome differences 

Sufficient for us

To sustain and strengthen our mutual understanding 

So that unity will not be beyond our grasp. 

Eternal God, 

We are a needy people 

But we can help each other  

We live uncertain lives

But we can provide assistance and confidence 

That would draw us close.  

We may lack knowledge and awareness

Of who we all are 

But we can journey together 

On a new path of discovery

And find 

Peace.

Reflections from the distant sidelines of an Insurrection - and a Confirmation - January 6-7, 2021

January 6, 2021

So some people are calling anyone a hypocrite who decries what happened today at the Capitol and did not decry the protests during the summer.    

   It is possible to oppose violence while supporting a right to protest, and I support protests of continuing racism, because it is there and it’s not going away unless we make some major changes in how we think and act. 

  I choose to decry the protest today because it is based not on truth, but on a stream of baseless information and lies, and because the President incited the crowd to protest at the Capitol to perpetrate his lies.   This was not only protest.  It was as close to a Putsch as anyone could get, and I would say it was after seeing the photos of protesters occupying the House and Senate floors and sitting in Capitol offices that were not theirs.  

    There is NO comparison, folks.  Plain and simple.

***********************

January 7, 2021

I stayed up until the very end of the vote last night, and the closing prayer, which was inclusive in its language and called on us to see the divine in each other.  

It was the only way I could gain closure on the day.   Or, so I thought. 

The vote was only a beginning, and the fallout from yesterday uncovered so much of what many of us knew was there.    Question linger for me.  Here are some. 

How did these fringe groups become mainstream?  (I know, enabled by the enabler-in chief and by politicians that saw their fervor as politically helpful to them). 

Why do they think the incumbent is, practically, Jesus Christ incarnate?  (His unfortunately expert messaging, his willingness to say out loud what they have been saying in their private spaces, and his appearances among his people were too much to pass up.   Of course, in this case, the parables are morally bankrupt, and there is no sermon on any mount, because he did not believe in Reagan’s “shining city on a hill” - he only believed in breaking down rather than building up, so that he could be seen as the only one who could “fix it.”   Messiahs don’t do that - of course, I haven’t seen one yet so I am not sure.  But False Messiahs certainly do that). 

Why are people saying it was “antifa” dressed in right-wing clothing that breached the Capitol yesterday, when many of the individuals who were there have been identified as right-wingers?  (Well, the same thing happened after 9/11, when people said it was Israel that did it rather than the Al Qaeda perpetrators.   Also, bullies who do something seriously evil/bad are often known to try to blame someone else.  And, perhaps, because some people on the right are STILL not capable of believing that these folks on the extreme right are capable of violence, even though there are so many examples). 

Why are white protestors and perpetrators, from Dylan Roof, shooter at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, SC, to yesterdays’ breachers of sacred national space, treated with kid gloves while people of color who simply protest are seen as dangerous?    (Um, deeply ingrained racism that won’t go away, which we have to address).

Why did so many Republicans in the House of Representatives still insist on questioning the vote in two states after the horrendous events of yesterday, events that many of them had probably enabled? (Read Stuart Stevens’ book, IT WAS ALL A LIE:  HOW THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME TRUMP.   The answers are there.  This has been going on for a long time, so that some Republicans still hang on to the BIG LIE that only these deserve power and that they should do anything to keep it, even to perpetrate more BIG LIES about the election, even after the courts had rejected those claims).   

What are we going to do now?  

LISTEN.

SPEAK OUT. 

CONNECT.

SUPPORT.  

REMEMBER. 

FOCUS ON TRUTH. 

REACH OUT WITH COMPASSION. 

BE STRONG IN A WAY THAT TRULY BRINGS UNITY. 

LOVE. 

PRAY. 

HOPE.

Sunsets - January 5, 2021

Sunsets. 

They reflect beauty

They show a tapestry of colors

They illustrate the turning of our planet-home. 

They represent the waning hours of one day

That offered opportunities to

Rest

Renew 

WorkConnect

Restore

And revive

Hope. 

They challenge us to consider 

What more we can do 

When the sun rises once again

To seize the chance to

Reach out 

Support

Smile

Laugh

Give

Sing

Heal

Harmonize

Empathize

Pursue justice

Engender compassion

Promote respect

Further understanding

In word

In action 

In the very essence 

Of who we are. 

Sunsets 

Lead to 

A new day

When anything good

Is possible.

Still believing in Liberty - January 3, 2021

I believe in a modern version of what this Liberty Bell represents.  

It is about freedom from oppression.  It is about freedom from hatred. 

It is about freedom to express our views, especially when they are based on fact and truth. 

It is about freedom for participation in our democracy for all people, without fear of voter suppression or prejudice.  

It is about freedom from waves of rumors, disinformation and propaganda meant to undermine the truth.  

I know, from my years in congregational and community life, how people can concoct a story - a “BIG LIE” - based on rumors and innuendo,  that can take on a life of its own, and no amount of fact and truth will ever change the minds of those who believe the LIE. 

So, now, people are using their freedom of speech to spread a LIE about the election.   No amount of certification of votes by Secretaries of State from both parties, governors from both parties signing on to those certifications, failed court cases related to the election, will change the minds of today’s “believers.”

Neither will a “10-day audit” or a “bi-partisan commission,” because if the “believers” have rejected everything until now, why would they accept the conclusions of any other body, when they base their views only on untrue tweets and conspiracy theories? 

Yes, these “believers” will be there.   I spent years of my rabbinate living with such “believers” and working with them in the congregations I served.  They denied that I was trying to serve the congregation and congregants equally and to the best of my ability.   It was hard work.  I just kept my focus on the “North Star” of community life: progress, education, connection, spirit, and dedication.   

  So the “believers” will still be here, even after January 6, when, I hope, processes based on true democracy and liberty will prevail. 

 I keep hearing that some of us questioned the legitimacy of the incumbent’s election in 2016.   NO.  It was not about the election results.  It was the legitimacy of his rumor-and-ridicule based leadership that is now fueling the “believers.”   That is why we asked the questioned.  We saw THIS coming. 

   This is different, but I can’t stay silent.   I made a special trip during a convention to stand by this icon of American life in 2015, knowing that some people have not known the liberty they deserved to its fullest extent, but with the hope that we can truly build community based on our truths and work together to create a positive and hopeful and strong national consensus that includes everyone, based on respect, understanding and decency.     I think we can still do it.   What about you?

A New Year’s note to 2021 - January 1, 2021

Dear 2021, 

 Please be good to us 

And be kind. 

Teach us to diligently heed the lessons

 which some of us learned in 2020

Like

The importance of respect and mutual consideration 

The primacy of health and reverence for life

The imperative to generously help people in need when measure to keep us safe might not keep everyone secure. 

The value of the advice of true professionals.  

The intangible significance of connections across the distance

Or six feet apart and masked. 

Remind us that responsibility is an all important quality 

To seek in our leaders

And that attaining or keeping power by maintaining control 

Rather than by engendering cooperation and partnership

Is ultimately fleeting.  

Focus our gaze on what we see in the eyes of our fellow human beings

Fear

Sadness

Concern

Hope 

Elation

And may we respond with the support that will enable us all

To journey on 

During our world’s new circuit of the sun. 

Happy 2021, everyone!