“And Grant You...SHALOM” - a blessing for our transitions - D’var Torah for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Shabbat service on May 21, 2021

   

       May the Eternal One bless you and keep you. 

      May the Eternal One look kindly upon you and be gracious to you.

      May the Eternal One bestow favor upon you and grant you peace.           

     These words of the priestly blessing, the BIRKAT KOHANIM, from chapter 6 in the book of Numbers, contained in this week’s Torah portion, are familiar and iconic. They communicate care, compassion, support, warmth and well-being. 

    Today, rabbis offer this blessing at birth ceremonies and when students become Bar or Bat Mitzvah.   They may offer the priestly blessing individually to students at a Confirmation service, and for a wedding couple at the end of the ceremony, just before the breaking of the glass.  

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(Rabbi Larry:)

 Three years ago, I stood before the ark at Temple Emanuel in New York City and blessed a newly-ordained rabbi whose children are our grandchildren.   Two weeks ago, I blessed a rabbinic colleague on his retirement via Zoom.  Last year, I uttered these words over a long distance at the naming of our granddaughter Eva during a virtual Shabbat service at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City.  Forty years ago, on Shabbat morning, when this passage was read from 

the Torah,  I received this blessing as a newly-ordained rabbi. 

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We are all part of a long-lasting stream of tradition that has viewed moments of transition as holy and unique.   At moments of completion and times of new beginnings, we gain comfort and confidence from receiving this blessing. 

    So, at this moment of change for all of us, how can we bless each other? 

   We can ask God to bless us with love of family, warm relationships with special people, and respect towards everyone.   

    We express a hope that God will keep and preserve us by enabling us to maintain good health, to set aside for ourselves moments of leisure that can renew and refresh our spirits, and to develop the wisdom to make sound decisions based in true partnership. 

    When the light of the divine face shines on us, we are challenged to perceive the essence of God’s light in ourselves and in other people.  That discovery can lead us to act with kindness and compassion. 

    We experience the grace of God when we realize that the imperfections of our human condition do not prevent us from being good people.  In this blessing, we ask God to continue to grant us space to reach our highest potential for menschlikhkeit. 

    This blessing envisions God lifting the divine face in our presence in a sign of affirmation and approval, perhaps with a parental smile, perhaps with a figurative nod and a pat on the head.  

    On the Friday evenings when we join Adam, Juli, Josh and Eva for Shabbat blessings via FaceTime, Adam and Juli offer the priestly blessing for their children.  They conclude with a spirited declaration of the word SHALOM at the end, with Josh now joining in that pronouncement that embodies the Jewish view of peace, well-being, completeness, and wholeness.  

    These ancient words are still vibrant and vital today, creating a foundation for family and community.  As we are together in these moments, and as we continue on our journeys, may we be partners in fashioning a future that God will reveal to us, in which we will have the opportunity to always be a blessing. 

May the Eternal One bless you and keep you. 

May the Eternal One look kindly upon you and be gracious to you.

May the Eternal One bestow favor upon you and grant you peace.   

 So may it be. 

Invocation for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Annual Meeting - May 20, 2021

Eternal One, 

Our beacon of freedom in ages past,

Our source of inspiration in the present moment,

Our wellspring of wisdom, guiding us in the days to come,

Bless our coming together as a community. 

Enable us to sense the lines of connection between us 

Even at times of physical separation. 

Enlighten our eyes to see Your presence in one another 

So that our relationships will be grounded in 

respect, fairness, cooperation and compassion. 

Enliven our souls with a passion for shared creativity

So that our exploration of our faith and heritage

Will lead us to fresh insights and uncover depths of meaning

That will help us to discover who we really are. 

Empower each of us to humbly and sincerely 

contribute our personal abilities and 

Accumulated knowledge and expertise

So that we will work as equal partners

In strengthening Temple Beth-El 

As a vibrant and vital congregation

That strives for goodness and holiness. 

Join us, God of our years, in looking back on the months that have passed

So that all that we have done will offer us the reassurance 

And affirmation we need

To move forward into a new year 

With confidence and hope. 

We praise You, God of our people, 

For keeping us alive, for sustaining us

And for bringing us to this moment of reflection 

And communal celebration.  

And let us say Amen. 

 

 

Remarks - Southern New Mexico Islamic Center Iftar meal - May 6, 2021

   Thank you for opening up this Iftar gathering to the greater Las Cruces community.   It’s an honor to be here.   The diversity represented here truly reflects our community and our nation.  

   Sadly, some political leaders persist in asserting that “multiculturalism” is not what America is about.  Even the idea of a “Melting Pot” did not mean for us to give up our religious and family customs and traditions. It DOES mean that we appreciate the opportunity we have in the United States to do what we can to give back to the community, through charitable acts and working for equality and freedom based on our respective traditions. 

   In Jewish congregations throughout the world, this week’s reading from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, comes from the book of Leviticus.  It begins with the commandment to observe a Sabbatical year every seven years, letting the land lie fallow so it could regenerate itself for the future.   This passage also established the Jubilee year, to be observed every 50 years, when the land would lie fallow, debts would be forgiven, slaves would go free, and land would revert to its previous owners.  

    We are not sure whether the Jubilee year was ever totally observed as presented in the book of Leviticus. 

    However, the idea of the Jubilee year teaches us that we are stewards of the land, doing God’s work to tend to it and preserve it.  Moreover, the Jubilee year taught that slavery and indebtedness should not persist for more than two generations.  At some point, economic systems and the land on which we live need a reset, which illustrates the divine perspective on our intrinsic equality. 

   So, to do God’s work, we create partnerships that can assure that people in financial straits can find assistance, that the homeless can find shelter, and that those who are hungry can find nourishment. We do what we can to promote clean air and clear water, and, at a time like this, we promote health and well-being for everyone.  God granted us the ability to do all of these things by giving us wisdom compassion so that we will, without hesitation, help our neighbors in need.  

    Judaism and Islam share common teachings, including the one that notes that if we preserve even one soul, it is as if we have saved an entire world.    May we continue to work together to sustain this world in which we live, a world that we all share as partners, as companions, as friends, and as brothers and sisters in faith and hope.   Blessings to you all.

Progress being made, but more work to be done to combat hate - Column for Las Cruces Bulletin - May 7, 2021

  In my months of retirement, I have been reviewing files that I accumulated during my rabbinate.  I am keeping special mementos of important events in which I participated. 

   One item which I retained was from the local newspaper in Topeka, Kansas. It was a full page ad responding to a planned Neo-Nazi rally on the steps of the Kansas State Capitol on August 24, 2002.   On one side was a colorful poster that read, “Hate is not a Topeka value.”  

     In a statement on the opposite side, two city council members called on local citizens to support a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance which would extend legal protections to members of the LGBTQ community.  They explained, “We sent a million of our finest sons and daughters in harm’s way in Europe and Asia to combat the evil of hate because of one’s appearance, religion, or personal beliefs.”  They urged local leaders to take a stand for equality for all. 

    My congregation held a service for the greater community to communicate a message of mutual respect and understanding on August 23, 2002.   Two weeks later, at the September 10 city council meeting, I spoke in favor of the ordinance (which passed to some extent). 

      Nineteen years later, I can say that communities in our country have made some progress towards combating prejudice and promoting equality. 

      However, it is clear that we have much work to do.    Hatred persists.  The Anti-Defamation League recently held a press conference to release its report on the many incidents of antisemitism in 2020.  Presenters lamented recent attacks on members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community and examples of racist behavior against people of color in our society. 

     Concerned members of the Las Cruces community have joined together to combat prejudice and discrimination.  During my decade here, people gathered to stand up for DACA recipients and to call for immigration reform.   Memorials were held after the violent attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016, the shootings at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, and the attack at the El Paso Walmart in 2019. Religious leaders and community members came together in 2017 to oppose proposed immigration standards that targeted members of the Muslim community. 

    We know, deep down, that it is always time to come forward in order to pursue equality and justice, and to act with fairness and compassion. 

    In April, I attended Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations, held virtually, in nearby states.   In Kansas, this year’s event featured, as speakers, Megan Felt and Norm Conard of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes in Fort Scott, Kansas.   

    While she was a student in high school in Uniontown, Kansas, Megan and two of her classmates created a history day project that highlighted the courageous acts of Irena Sendler, who saved over 2500 Jewish children from certain death in Warsaw, Poland, during World War II.          

      The project participants had several opportunities to meet with Irena Sendler in person in Poland.   She told the students: “You honor me because I am one of the few remaining to bear witness. But I tell you, I only did what any decent person would do in such horrible times.  I do not consider myself a hero. A hero is someone doing extraordinary things. What I did was not extraordinary. It was a normal thing to do. I was just being decent.” 

     So may we have the courage to be decent, which is, truly, extraordinary and heroic. 

           

   

A Prayer for Healing - May 1, 2021

What is the healing that we want

As we move towards greater restoration

Of our opportunities

To be present for one another 

In the same space? 

Ears that can listen better

To calls for assistance from people in need

Eyes that can more clearly see 

The necessity of empathy 

In aiding the human struggle for equality and equity

Hands that can reach with increased strength and distance

To lift the spirits of people touched by loss and grief

And to guide our communities along the path 

Of wise choices that will lead to widespread and safe reunion

Minds that will be more readily open to new ideas

And that will more completely distinguish between 

Fact and falsehood. 

Hearts that will more completely feel 

The pain

And the joy

Of all humanity 

So that we will ultimately come together 

As one world

Emerging from this passage

With closer ties 

Mutual respect

Growing trust 

Deeper wisdom

And persistent hope.