City of Peace, World of Peace - B’nai Jehudah Daily minyan original reading - May 29, 2022

Daily Minyan Prayer

May 29, 2022

Jerusalem Day

Memorial Day 

We praise You, 

Our Creator, 

For the light that bathes the world with warmth and clarity

We thank You, 

Our teacher and guide, 

For the heritage that has come down to us 

Through the generations

Leading us to work through conflict 

So that the thirst for power will succumb to 

The human need for connection and compassion,

So that strife will ultimately give way to peace.

We think of those whose lives inspire us 

To preserve tranquility in our world.

We recall the place we call the City of Peace,

Jerusalem,

Whose reunification 55 years ago 

Gave people of all faiths 

An opportunity to visit, live, and pray. 

And while we acknowledge that disagreements

And struggle continue among those who believe

That their only their approach to sacred sites there 

Should be accepted, 

We still know, that in that place where a holy Temple once stood,

Seen by our tradition as a focal point of the world, 

Moments of calm and stillness can provide us with hope

That unity will one day prevail 

Not only in that place,

But throughout the world

So that, in the words of the prophets,

Nation will not lift up sword against nation

Nor will they ever again train for war. 

The Right Direction - Prayer for the Daily Minyan of the Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Overland Park, KS - May 23, 2022

Daily Minyan Prayer 

May 23, 2022

Creator of Light, 

Our Protector at Night, 

Our Companion at dawn,

As the dark descends,

Provide us with rest that will allow our minds time to consider:

What have we done today to bring peace and healing
For ourselves, our family, and our world? 

What will we do tomorrow to brighten a soul in need of support? 

What lessons of the Torah will find their way into our actions? 

We praise You for fashioning existence 

So that we can be Your partners. 

We thank You for Your loving guidance 

That reaches out to us 

From the words inscribed on a Torah scroll, 

And from the prayers that pass our lips 

Whether they come from the pages of a prayerbook 

Or from the depths of our hearts. 

Bless us with sincerity and point us in the right direction 

So that Your Oneness will lead us upon a path to true peace. 

D’var Torah - May 19, 2022 - meeting of Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City

    After perusing my Facebook newsfeed since Sunday night and Monday morning, I know that I wasn’t the only local rabbi or regional clergy person following the lunar eclipse on Sunday night.   I quickly realized that my iPhone 13’s camera wouldn’t capture a sharp image that would fully reflect the wonder of the moment.  Nevertheless, the blood moon, with its orange-red hue, from the illumination of light reflected off of our planet, was fully visible, even in my own photos.  

   Watching the eclipse was peaceful, and, with so many people simultaneously focusing on the show in the sky, it may have been an unwitting and welcome moment of peace between people.  I did  tell Rhonda that I wasn’t going sleep until I saw a sliver of light from the sun shining on the moon again - and I didn’t.  I guess I wanted the visual reassurance that we were going back “to normal,”    The eclipse offered two-to-three hours of time-out-of-time at a time when we needed it. 

    And we needed it because of what had happened the previous night at the Tops Friendly Market store in Buffalo, New York, when an 18 year old male chose to violently act upon the hatred in his heart.  He was driven by white supremacist, racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories with which we have, sadly, had to familiarize ourselves.   The motivation was similar to other attacks in recent years that have taken too many innocent lives. We deserve a break from people expressing their twisted, bigoted views in this way.    We have no certain answer for how to train and retrain our fellow citizens of all ages to use their words instead of their weapons so that we might have even an outside chance to turn their hearts in a different direction. Yet, we know that we always have to try. 

    This past Tuesday was the 68th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court Brown v. Board school desegregation decision, a milestone which I marked for a number of years in Topeka with the local community  and members of the Brown family.  That landmark judgment by the highest court in the land began a process that echoed aspects of the Jubilee year noted in the beginning of this week’s Parashah, BEHAR.  The restitution and restoration represented by the D’ROR - whether that word means RELEASE or, as it reads on a certain ringing icon enshrined in Philadelphia, LIBERTY- that was to be proclaimed in the Jubilee year was intended as a reset that would reestablish a measure of socioeconomic balance to society.    Just the mention and suggestion that land should be given back to its original owners every 50 years, whether or not the practice persisted over time, offers us a foundation for equalization that our society sorely needs on so many levels.    

     I recently attended, via Zoom, a study group at Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces with my successor, now a newly-ordained Reform rabbi and her husband, who was ordained as a Conservative rabbi last year.  To mark the approach of Lag Ba-omer, which we observe today, they shared the story of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, hiding in a cave for twelve years so that the Roman authorities could not carry out the death sentence against them.  The Talmud related that they survived while being nourished by a carob tree and a spring of water that had miraculously appeared in the cave.  When Elijah the prophet appeared to tell them that it was safe for them to leave, their first reaction, upon seeing people plowing and sowing, was to assume that Torah study had ceased.  Everywhere the two of them set their gaze, the place was immediately burned. Consequently, a Divine voice instructed them to return to the cave, where they sat for another twelve months.  When they emerged again, at the command of the Divine voice, the eyes of Rabbi Elazar would still strike as before, but the eyes of Rabbi Shimon would restore and heal.  Rabbi Shimon tried to calm and reassure his son that their dedication to study would suffice for the world and, perhaps, bring others along for a renewed commitment to learning. 

     We know that we are living in a time of change where many desire only to tear down and assume control, while others still seek diverse partners to build up.  We also know, that, even with the challenges we face, it is always within our power to bring release and healing to our communities.  May our teaching and our contributions at this time to our neighborhoods, our nation and to this world, cast a colorful tapestry of insight and mutual understanding. And may the unity that so many experience separately and together while witnessing the wonders of nature serve as the basis of our ongoing work with people across the ideological spectrum in preserving a secure and promising future for our planet and for the human family. 

A Prayer to the Giver of LIght and Blessing - May 17, 2022

Daily Minyan Prayer for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

(On the 68th anniversary of the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision for school desegregation, and after the tragic shootings in Buffalo, NY). 

May 17, 2022

Eternal God, 

Giver of light that provides us with clarity

For our eyes and for our minds and souls, 

You have created us with the ability 

To understand the meaning of creation. 

The world and the universe 

provide for us a constant model 

of diversity, growth, expansion, and symmetry 

That can we can, if we choose, reflect in how we act towards

Our fellow human beings. 

There are those individuals who recognize 

how all people are intricately connected 

And how our ongoing cooperation 

And our unending quest for mutual understanding and peace 

Emulate Your blessings for us all. 

There are others who, sadly, create barriers among

The inhabitants of our world,  

Who believe that they can dictate which people truly deserve 

Kindness, decency and compassion. 

Teach us, Source of Wisdom and hope, 

That Your Oneness encompasses us all

And that, to be like You,   

It is Your Torah, Your instruction, founded upon love

That can guide us.  

May that light of Torah seep into the depths of every human soul. 

For our mothers - for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Overland Park, Kansas, May 8, 2022

Daily Minyan Reading

Mother’s Day 

May 8, 2022

Eternal Creator, 

Who gives us the brightness of the day 

And the shining light of Torah, 

We thank you for your partnership with parents 

And, on this day, specifically, we express our gratitude

For the role of mothers 

In giving us our very lives 

In nurturing our bodies and souls 

In guiding us with their special and unique wisdom 

In demonstrating confidence, courage, and persistence 

In modeling the many significant ways 

through which we can contribute to community life 

In passing down to us the heritage of family members 

that preceded them

And in reaching down two, possibly three generations, 

And sometimes even four 

To illustrate the value of accumulated experience 

And to serve as an exemplar of optimism and hope

So that we will teach future generations 

About the meaning of their presence 

and their legacy

In our lives. 

God, bless our mothers who are among us now, 

And those who came before 

Who have led us to discover new ways 

To understand the essence of our existence

Which is embodied in Your enduring Oneness

And embedded in Your daily renewal of creation. 

A place to meet - Original Reading for the Facebook Live Daily Minyan for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Overland Park, KS on May 2, 2022

Daily Minyan reading 

May 2, 2022

Creator of day and night, 

Teacher of our path towards holiness, 

Guide us to apply the insights we gain 

in the light of communal closeness and joy

Into moments of darkness and challenge

So that they will be beacon for us

Of trust, understanding, confidence and hope. 

Enable us to discover the shining essence of Your presence 

In the souls of our fellow human beings

And may they recognize that Your spirit resides in us 

Providing us with a place to meet, 

To bond 

And to love. 

May we share in the glow of Your Oneness

Day and night 

And year after year. 

Concluding Remarks - Kansas City Holocaust Commemoration - May 1, 2022

Yit’gadal V’Yitkadash - May the great name of the Eternal One be exalted and sanctified.   

 These words begin the Mourner’s Kaddish, the Kaddish Yatom.  

As we know, this prayer affirms life and God’s continuing presence with us, sustaining us in times of sorrow and challenge.  It expresses the hope that God will bestow upon us the gift of peace from the heights of heaven.

   Our gathering today reminds us that there are times when peace cannot overcome hatred in the human heart. 

   Yet we come together to proclaim that we will not give up on peace, on kindness, on compassion, on cooperation.   

     This coming Shabbat, synagogues outside Israel will read from Parashat Kedoshim.   It begins in Leviticus Chapter 19 with a passage that offers a message of how we can sanctify God’s name and our own lives through our actions.  It commands us to be holy, as God is holy, and it offers specific direction for how we can infuse holiness into community life:  

• Be generous with people in need. 
• Do not steal or deal deceitfully with one another.  
• Be honest in your work. 
• Practice justice.  Be careful with the words you speak. 
• Do not stand idly by if you witness injustice or the heartless taking of human life. 
• Do not hate another person in your heart, or bear an incurable grudge.  If a constructive comment might change unacceptable behavior, offer it with respect. 
• Revere your parents, and respect the most senior members of your community. 
• Love your neighbor as yourself, and, moreover, love the stranger among you as yourself, for you know the feelings of the stranger. 

    I have never understood why it is so difficult for so many people in the past and present to put into practice these  precepts from the Torah. 

    I do, however, realize that there are many people who  have demonstrated that understanding.  It is why the 27th of Nisan was designated as Yom Hashoah V’Hag’vurah, a Day for remembering the victims of the Shoah and the heroism of those who opposed the diabolical evil of their time.   Every person whom we remember today had some measure of bravery inside of them, and we may never know how many acted out of courage derived from the values of their heritage. 

   As we recite the Kaddish today, we remember. 

    We resolve to continue to offer a loving tribute to those whose lives we recall, to tell their stories, and to teach the lessons of the Shoah so that we will, in the future, act in a way that will bring holiness not only to the name of the Eternal One but also to the human family and to our lives together as one community.

Please rise as we join in reciting the kaddish.