Seasons and cycles - Daily Minyan reading - January 31, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading 

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 31, 2024

God of night and day, 

Creator of the cycles of our world

And the seasons of our lives, 

Help us to make each day a new chapter 

Of our individual story

In which we find ways to incorporate 

The challenges and triumphs of the past

As we further weave our personal tapestry 

Into a garment of promise and hope. 

May its threads come in many colors

That reflect the best of our wisdom

That represent our wide range of experiences and abilities

And that cast the warm light of our developing legacy 

upon our own souls

And upon the people whose lives we touch. 

May You, Eternal One, guide our hands and hearts

To connect our presence with Yours

So that, within the fabric of this wide universe,

We will all be One. 

 

Invocation - Clay County Missouri Commission Meeting - January 25, 2024

Invocation

Clay County Commission Business session

January 25, 2024

Rabbi Larry Karol 

(For the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City) 

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer, 

Inspiration and Guide, 

Be with those here and in this County

who join together 

To lead and to serve

To build and to renew

To preserve and to care

To uphold laws and standards

And to support each other

In a spirit of respect and cooperation. 

Grant wisdom for the creation of new ideas and perspectives.

Provide confidence in moments of decision. 

Offer insight to all who manage policies and people. 

Enable officials at all levels to persevere in their tasks

So that they will see their hard work come to fruition

And benefit citizens in ways expected and, as yet, unimagined. 

God of this world, Source of unity,  

be a constant presence and companion 

so that no one here will feel alone 

in their efforts to enhance the lives 

of all members of this community. 

We thank you for opportunities 

to continue to reach out to one another  

To help and to hope.  

Amen.

Shiva Minyan Readings - Barechu to Shema and Mi Chamocha - for Rabbi Phil Berkowitz z”l - January 24, 2024

Original Readings for a Shivah minyan tonight for our friend and colleague, Rabbi Philip Berkowitz.

May his memory be for blessing. 

Barechu to Shema 

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer of us all,

You have made us in the divine image

So that we can find Your light and Your truth

In each other. 

Bless all those who have brought

And continue to bring

A brilliance and presence of healing and hope

As we walk through dark valleys

So that we may emerge from the shadows 

with a renewed strength of spirit. 

Grant perseverance to those who teach, 

Who offer support and comfort,

And who guide their friends, family and community

With quiet wisdom and timeless insight. 

As we move through the separate paths of our lives, 

We thank You for the people among us 

Who recognize the invisible connections 

That bind humanity together

And enable us to understand

That Your Oneness envelops us 

every day and night

Through friendship, through remembrance, 

And through love. 

Mi Chamocha

As we remember the miracle of redemption at the sea, 

We recall how it was those

 who took the first steps

Into the water 

That made freedom possible. 

May we be among those who set out 

on that path of deliverance

Through honesty, faith, confidence, and trust 

And through the courage to treat one another

As neighbors, and as equal partners, 

Treading together towards the other side

So that we finally stand, side by side, 

And sing a song of rejoicing

Striving for oneness - Daily minyan reading - January 18, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 18, 2024

Eternal Source of wisdom,

Silent companion, 

Wellspring of hope, 

In times when the storms of life overtake us, 

Grant us the strength to endure

whatever may cause our steps to falter. 

In times of darkness that overcomes our hearts, 

Lead us to find light inside ourselves 

And within those who are close to us

So that we can turn gloom into brilliance, 

Night into noon. 

In times when unity escapes us, 

Turn us back towards each other

So that we will listen and learn 

And recreate commonality 

That will uphold truth, understanding, 

And partnership. 

In times when hatred descends like a black cloud, 

Help us to engender love and friendship 

So that we will recognize that the presence of every person

Is essential to the completeness of the universe, 

Of our world, and of our lives. 

May we strive for a oneness that will bind us together

Through any challenge we may encounter.

Inheritance- January 20, 2024

“Poisoning the blood.”  

That’s quite a phrase.  

Getting a blood test is one method to see if a person has blood poisoning, known by its medical term of “sepsis.”  It is a very serious condition, and it’s not a phrase to be used lightly. 

Recent usage of the above phrase seems to indicate that people from other countries, who aspire to be American citizens, can infuse a type of non-medical “sepsis” into American culture that will dilute what some people believe to be, in their minds, a specific national identity. 

This is not new.

Non-medical sepsis could likely be redefined from a vantage point of the people making the so-called “diagnosis.”  

I believe the term most applicable would be “xenophobia,” fear of strangers or outsiders. 

Sadly, xenophobia has been a continuing tradition in American history, where people who did not fit into a particular paradigm of skin color and religion were accused of doing what is noted in the phrase that begins this post, which I do not want to repeat.  

This accusatory and prejudicial perspective led to immigration being increasingly narrowed until 1924, when the Immigration act of that year imposed strict quotas on certain people.  That followed decades which saw waves of legislation that limited the numbers of Asian Americans (especially the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and successive acts) and certainly led to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.  

It may very well be that my grandparents, who came to this country in 1891 (maternal) and 1904 and 1906 (paternal) would have been accused of the doing what the phrase that begins this post indicates. 

   Of course, there are others who have been welcoming and supportive towards fellow citizens and newcomers alike.  That is also part of American history, an approach of many that has been in a constant struggle over against the narrow-mindedness of others.  Some who remember their immigrant past are ready to open minds and hearts to those who seek to join us in this ongoing enterprise of creating a vibrant society. 

I am just wondering what makes the “blood” of citizens in a country comprised of people who represent native populations and the descendants of people who were forced to come to this land and others who chose to immigrate over the course of nearly 400 years.   

According to the Collins Language Dictionary on line, “in your blood” means 

“something that is a very important part of you and seems natural to you, for example because it is traditional in your family or culture.”  

One example it uses is “music is in his/her blood,” meaning someone being born into a family of musicians.   It’s about inheritance.

  It makes me wonder what we, as fellow national community members, want to have in our “blood.”   It’s not literal.  It’s about inheritance.  

Do we want hatred and division?   Do we want cooperation and fellowship?  Do we want conflict and chaos?   Do we want partnership and respect? 

The choice is ours.   It’s a choice made not only at the ballot box, but also in our daily lives.  

If people truly believe in the phrase “love your neighbor/love the stranger as yourself” (Leviticus 19), they will know in which direction they should go.

Open - Daily Minyan Reading - January 11, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 11, 2024

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer,

Helper and Teacher, 

Open our eyes to the world around us

So that we will recognize the intricacies

Of all that exists. 

Open our ears to the voices around us

Calling out of loneliness and need 

For companionship and assistance. 

Open our hearts to the emotions

That flow throughout the human family

As people seek resolution from conflict 

And new paths toward 

Completeness and peace. 

Open our minds to the truth that rises above disagreements

So that we can work as partners 

Based on shared knowledge and insight. 

Lead us away from the hatreds that divide us

So that we will become a part of the Oneness in this Universe

That can hold us together. 

A year-end reflection and plea- December 31, 2023

Moving into a new Gregorian year, I am grateful for the people (family and friends, especially) we have seen in our travels; people who are part of our expanding circle of community here and in other places; opportunities to teach, study, share music, and pray; and relationships and discussions that have helped me grow in various ways. 

     I have had moments in the last 80-plus days when I thought that all of my interfaith work in the communities where I served has been for naught, but I choose not to believe that.  

    I am hoping for the Israeli hostages to come home in the approaching days; for friends and family in Israel to soon be presented with reasons for optimism; for people who disagree to truly listen to each other and to begin to come to an understanding, based on mutual respect; for those trying to rewrite the history of America and the Middle East to expect that their efforts will be countered at every turn; for anyone who might tell me, as an American Jew, to “go back where I came from” to realize that I am quite where I belong; for leaders who believe they are more important than the people whom they serve, wherever they may be, to be held accountable for their misguided approach, whether it includes the pursuit of war or imposing their own perspectives that have no basis in truth;  and for the desire to work for peace to unite people who don’t yet believe they are on the same side, even while they are seeking the same eventual outcome.  

    In my song “Rav Shalom,” I wrote this English version of Isaiah 54:13-14:

    Can you hear the sound, the sound of justice

Driving out the hatred, calling off the warning

No need to fear the peace that will surround you 

  Which reads like this in the original: 

You shall be established through righteousness/justice, 

You shall be safe from oppression and shall have no fear

From ruin, and it shall not come near you…

All your children will be taught the highest values (taught of the Eternal One), 

And great shall be the peace/well-being of your children.

  Something to reach for in 2024.  

Happy New Year, everyone!

Be with us - Daily Minyan Reading - January 4, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 4, 2024

Merciful One, 

Creator and Sustainer of us all, 

Be with us as a source of wisdom 

When we face difficult decisions. 

Be with us as a beacon of light 

When we feel darkness around us. 

Be with us as a guide towards reconciliation

When conflict separates us from people 

With whom we could partner for peace. 

Be with us as a wellspring of love

When hatred could overtake us and gain control. 

Be with us as a force for goodness and kindness

When some people have succumbed to impulses 

That lead towards cruelty and oppression. 

Be with us as an inspiration for understanding 

So that unity and oneness among us 

Will still be a possibility 

And so that we will more easily recognize

The Oneness that fills the universe.