Three things - Annual Message for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM- May 8, 2012

     In just about every service in which we read from the Torah, we sing the words of Shimon Hatzadik, Simeon the Righteous to a melody by Israeli composer Chaim Zur.  This saying is one of the many sets of “three” teachings contained in the Sayings of the Sages, Pirkei Avot.   We know this one well in English and in Hebrew: The world is sustained by  - or stands upon – three things – on Torah, on worship, and on loving deeds” - OR - Al sh’loshah d’varim  ha-olam omeid. Al hatorah, v’al ha-avodah, v’al g’milut chasadim. 

     This is more than an ancient teaching, and more than a mere “filler” that we sing as we are undressing the Torah after it has been carried around the sanctuary.   It expresses the very foundation of everything we do at Temple.  Imagine that you are an anthropologist or sociologist who is reporting on the life of a Jewish community, and all you have to go on is this saying from Pirkei Avot.   You are charged to observe Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces for a week.   What would you see?  You would see our Religious School begin each new week on Sundays with bright faces of children engaging with enthusisasm in TORAH – Jewish learning.  You would see the containers in the entry foyer for contributions to the Casa de Peregrinos food pantry and the El Cadito soup kitchen. The donations of food brought by congregants express the value of G’milut Chasadim,  performing loving deeds. You might see students bringing tzedakah to their classes to be given to a cause of their choice.   On Monday, you would see me and Paulette in the office,  getting everything set for the week as the Mah Jong group arrives. Currently on Monday nights, the Proverbs class focuses on a classic wisdom book from the Bible.  On Tuesday, the Knitting group would be in the library while the office bustles with activity.  On Wednesday, the breakfast group features speakers on a wide variety of topics, followed by the Torah study group. Both gatherings touch upon TORAH in its broadest sense.    Hebrew school in the afternoon and the Judaism: Roots and Rituals class in the evening round out TORAH on Wednesdays.   On Thursdays, Paulette and I might be finishing up the Adelante newsletter or preparing for an important program or for the monthly board meeting that evening. You might come upon the ways-and-means committee meeting that night in recent weeks. You would see Linda Kruger and others working in the Library during the week, further organizing our still-growing collection of books and resources.  There may be members coming in to set up the Social Hall just right for an upcoming event.  Then comes Friday, when we make final preparations for Shabbat.  On Friday evening, as Shabbat begins, we experience our main time of AVODAH, worship that gathers us together to pray, to sing, and to be a community in person.  On Shabbat morning, the Talmud study group engages in lively discussion as it has for years. The service that follows on Shabbat morning includes peer study of the PARASHAT HASHAVUA, the Torah portion for the week.    The handouts prepared for this meeting tell the rest of the story, including special programs and holiday celebrations.   The weekly eblast, the Temple website and the Temple facebook page keep members near and far current with what is happening here. For all that we do, the foundation is TORAH, AVODAH and G’MILUT CHASADIM – studying and discussing together to share our ideas and accumulated wisdom, praying and singing as a community to give voice to feelings deep within our souls about life and its value and meaning, and extending our hands to help each other and to improve the quality of life for our community and the world. 

     Pirkei Avot Chapter Two includes a series of “three teachings” from five students of first century rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai.  The “set of three” that resonated with me the most was by Rabbi Yosay Hakohein.  He taught: “Let your friend’s property or money be as dear to you as your own.  Discipline yourself to learn Torah, for it is not something you inherit. And let your every deed be for the sake of heaven.”     The first of those declarations directs us to think about our fellow community members as being in the same position as we are – having to use their resources and wherewithal for personal sustenance and well-being.  Temple’s involvement in CAFÉ – Communities in Action and Faith – bears out this teaching.  CAFÉ encourages us to engage in one-on-one or small group conversations about the values and causes in the greater community that matter to us as individuals and as a congregation.  Such discussions, along with our lively discourse in our study groups, have the potential to illustrate these words of Maya Angelou: “I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”  The Transition Committee, headed by Jim Rosenthal, has been greatly helpful for me and for Rhonda in this area.  It has enabled us to smoothly integrate into the congregation to foster a high level of mutual respect, understanding and kinship.  My installation in December marked an important point in that process.  The Transition committee has been and is essential for us to continue to understand each other and to keep us on the same page.

   Rabbi Yosay’s counsel to “discipline yourself to learn Torah” reminds us that, no matter what our background, we need to create our own foundation of knowledge and experience.  My 30 years in the rabbinate prior to coming to Las Cruces prepared me well to be your rabbi.  Serving as your spiritual leader means understanding how you see yourselves as individuals within this Temple and as members of this Jewish community.  I am not the same rabbi that I was a year ago, and that is a good thing, because it means that you have changed and challenged me.  Partnership in worship and study is, for me, at an all-time high in my rabbinate here at Temple Beth-El.   There is even more that we can do to energize committees that deal with education, membership, fundraising and special programs.  The new Temple Board and I will be reviewing the valuable ideas contained in the Temple Beth-El future planning document created two years ago.  We will also continue conversations with congregants in informal settings to help us set our course for the coming years.  “Discipline yourself for Torah” also means that our partnership in applying Jewish tradition to our lives needs to be based on regard for each other and for the teachings of our heritage.  I try to be flexible with certain rituals and standards when I believe that principles like “love your neighbor as yourself,” “we are all created in the divine image,” and “do not separate yourself from the community” might override other considerations.  I also want you to know that I may not readily answer emails on Shabbat because Shabbat, in certain respects, is important in our life and home. It can be important as well in the life of any congregation.   For most Reform congregations, some degree of Shabbat practice and worship has always been axiomatic and essential.  Find out what Reform Jewish camps do on Shabbat and you will see what I mean. 

    Finally, Rabbi Yosay said, “let all your deeds be done for the sake of heaven.”  Judaism teaches us to strive for goodness at all times and to recognize that everything that we do has a higher purpose.  David Katowitz, a consultant with the Synagogue Strategies group, advises congregations mostly on financial issues.  Yet, the questions he first asks Temple leaders are about something very different. Here are the questions that he believes every Temple member should consider:

What does Temple mean to you?  How has Temple impacted your life?  What is your vision of Temple in five years?   How can we strengthen Temple to be an even more vibrant sacred community?”  The deepest and most significant questions about a congregation are in the realm of the sacred.  Once a Temple creates a holy community, a KAHAL KADOSH, then everything that the congregation does, by definition, can be for the sake of heaven, reflecting the highest values of Jewish life.   That is a charge that all of us can fulfill together.

    In so many ways, the pictures that I shared on the handouts for the meeting reflect the many dimensions of our KAHAL KADOSH, our holy community at Temple Beth-El.  Those photos show that every face, every person is important to Temple life.   This congregation, from the start, had an immediate impact on Rhonda and me as we began to set down and deepen our roots in southern New Mexico.  That process continues with each new day.   Paulette has been a great support in the office. Mark Steinborn has been a generous breakfast partner and a concerned and committed comrade in leadership.  Those who serve on the Temple Board and committees; our Religious School faculty and students and parents; study group participants; Sisterhood, Mensch club, and Beth-El Temple Youth leaders and members;  the Temple choir; and everyone who has attended worship and Temple programs have enriched my life greatly over these last 11 months.  As I told the Religious School families and teachers on Sunday, Rhonda is the one faculty member who has followed me wherever I have served as rabbi.  I am fortunate to have her by my side with her wisdom about life and her passion for Judaism.  You should know that when our son Adam left here in December following my installation, he said, “I am glad I came, because now I know for sure that you are in a good place.”  I promise to continue to give of my energy and talents to you and I trust that you will offer your best in return as we join together to sustain and enhance this sacred community.

     There is one more “teaching of three things” that I want to share tonight.   Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel said, “The world sustains itself by three things: by justice, by truth and by peace.”  In that spirit, let us always strive for respectful decision making, fairness, honesty and openness. All of those approaches and qualities combined will lead us to peace and completeness at Temple Beth-El that will continue into the future.  So may we do – and let us say Amen.      

Favorite Proverbs - April 30, 2012 (from the Temple Beth-El Adelante for May 2012)

Favorite Proverbs – gems from the focus-text of one of our TBE study groups and why they apply to us today!

Proverbs 3:27-28 - Don’t hold back bounty from one who earned it when it’s within your hand’s power to perform. When you have something that can be helpful, don’t say to your friend at the moment you are asked,―Go and come back, and tomorrow I’ll give.  How many times have we seen someone withhold their support when they have the ability and wherewithal to be helpful in a cause through their energy or generosity? There may be reasons that a person can’t give at a particular moment, but this saying seems to refer to individuals who would like to make it appear that they are giving, but that, when an urgent need arises, they are unwilling to come forward. The values of tzedakah, righteous giving, and g’milut chasadim, performing acts of lovingkindness, require us to follow the words of the sage Hillel, “If not now, when?”

6:20-21- Keep your father’s command and do not abandon your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart at all times, garland them around your neck. What are some of the lessons you learned from your parents that remain with you? I learned from my father the importance of patiently paying attention to detail in creating something, and from my mother, perseverance and commitment. What did you learn from your parents?

9:10 - The beginning of wisdom is reverence of the Eternal One and knowing the Holy One is discernment.  This is a statement about God, but it is, even more, a statement about us as human beings. This is a way of saying, “Be humbled by the wide-ranging and diverse world that you live in, and the many types of knowledge that you don’t yet know.” Having discernment and wisdom does not only mean knowing what you know – it is also knowing what you don’t know.

11:1- Cheating scales are God’s loathing; a true weight-stone is God’s pleasure.    Honesty in weights is mentioned in the book of Leviticus as well. This reference to honesty in ancient commerce still applies today. It calls for us to be truthful in all types of business, contracts, and negotiations. No one should misrepresent their own abilities and past employment or the value of something they are going to sell (a modern version of NOT turning an odometer to a lower total on a used car – or portraying a forged document or artifact as authentic).

12:19-True speech stands firm always, but a lying tongue for a mere moment.   In this day of the primacy and longevity of both true and false statements on the internet, how does this statement apply to our lives today? Even without the internet, a lie repeated in communal conversation, on television news or in a newspaper can easily persist as a seeming truth. We have to be careful and discerning regarding the statements we hear. It may not only be true speech, but true action, that can dispel a rumor or a falsehood, so that a lie’s “life of its own” remains as short as possible.

17:1 - Better a dry crust with tranquility than a house filled with feasting and quarrel.      What is more important – possessions or peace?   This verse sees having a modest but tranquil household, where everyone gets along with each other, as preferable to one that is abundant in possessions and parties but also teeming with strife, disrespect and conflict. Peace prevails over possession in this proverb.

20:28- Let a ruler keep faithful trust that the seat of leadership be upheld in faithfulness. We need only look at the headlines in our area to see how some leaders breached the trust of their constituents. In any election year, we look for candidates who, we believe, will make sound decisions on our behalf, who will stay true to their views and explain any changes in their perspective, and who will remember that he or she is always in a relationship with us. Some people may see positions of leadership as being defined by the power they offer a person when, in fact, what is even more important, is the set of responsibilities that come with being a leader, including preserving the public trust. Being a leader means being wise, humble, hopeful, and being able to inspire, teach and unify a community.

Serving royalty every day - April 24, 2012

Proverbs 22:29: Do you see people who are skilled in their work? They will serve before royalty; they will not serve before obscure people.

      When we came upon this verse in our congregational Proverbs study group, I was taken aback for more than a moment.   There is something in this verse that points to greatness, but it seems to do so with a tinge of elitism.   One could interpret this verse to mean that people who do their work well only if they end up serving the most important leaders in society, who have greater value than the "common people."  

   This bothered me, partially because I have served for most of my rabbinate in small congregations.  There may tend to be a lingering sense in American life that "large" means great.  Some people still may believe that larger synagogues in larger metropolitan areas are necessarily great due to their size and location.  They may very well be great, but greatness is not tied only to the size of a community.    My years spent serving congregations of 100-150 families have taught me, over and over, the positive impact that a few people, or even one person, can have on the lives of others, or on my life.  Over the years, there have been many fulfilling and spiritual moments in prayer and song and "aha" insights that emerged from "small but mighty" study groups.   While I have officiated at the same number of Bar/Bat Mitzvah services over 28 years as some large congregations have in the course of two years, working with every student has been a joy.  Small congregations and communities offer the possibility of minimal distance between clergy and congregant.   While no city where I have served has had a population greater than 200,000 people, I have had a chance to meet Senators, congressional representatives, governors, members of the President's cabinet, one future president, mayors, and individuals who made significant contributions to American life.  

    However, none of those encounters with public officials are the essence of my rabbinate.  If I and other rabbis serving small congregations and communities are doing our tasks well and with skill, then, in light of the Proverbs verse, we must be serving royalty.  We can take this verse to mean that every one of our members has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the well-being of a congregation and to our lives.  I would like to think that no one is obscure - and that serving with skill means finding a way to be sure that no one FEELS obscure or insignificant.   

     In recent days, magazines and websites are compiling lists of America's "top rabbis."  I see these efforts of "ranking rabbis" as productive when those lists include some of the very rabbis who have taught me some of the most valuable lessons I have learned.

    Still, I find myself trying to reconcile the "top rabbis" list with Proverbs 22:29.  When I do, it takes the verse to a place where I don't really want it to go in creating a narrow measure of success.   Then I turn to Rami Shapiro's translation of Proverbs 22:29, which can be helpful to all of us in defining our own greatness: "A hard worker can stand tall before kings; there is no greater  honor than honest labor."

     And, finally, there is this Talmudic saying that puts us all on the same level:

“I am a creature of God and my neighbor is also a creature of God.
I work in the city and my neighbor lives in the country.
I rise early for my work and my neighbor rises early for work.
Just as my neighbor cannot excel in my work,
I cannot excel in my neighbor's work.
Will you say that I do great things and my neighbor does small things?
We have learned that it does not matter whether a person does
much or little as long as one directs one's heart to Heaven.”

    So, every day, may we see the royalty and greatness in those we serve and within ourselves as we continue to do our work with dedication, enthusiasm and sincerity. 

No one superior - April 20, 2012

     Seven candles were lit on the candle table on our bimah this past Wednesday night.   Yesterday was Yom Hashoah, our day of Holocaust Remembrance for victims and heroes of that challenging and tragic time in human history.  At our program on Wednesday evening, we watched a short film about rescuers of Jews who had no question in their mind that any action they took to save Jews from the Nazis was the right choice.   The rescuers saw in those they sought to save fellow human beings who had been denied their humanity by a diabolical evil.  These CHASIDEI UMOT HAOLAM, RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS, courageously opposed that evil and its associated acts of cruelty with no fear for their own safety.  Those who were hidden and protected likely saw in the eyes and sensed in the hearts of their helpers that there was still a spark of human decency left in the world.  Perhaps they felt that even a spark was enough to thwart any plans for the total elimination of Jews and the continued murder of other targeted groups of people designated for death because of who they were or what they believed.

    In his address on Yom Hashoah on Wednesday, Israeli president Shimon Peres offered these sobering thoughts about the past and the present:

“I am proud to be an arch enemy to the Nazi evil. I am proud of our ancestors' legacy being absolutely opposed to racism.  I am proud of our belief that there is no one human being superior to another.  There is no superior race, only deep roots.  I am certain that this is how our children and grandchildren will be brought up; as the Kaddish is on their lips, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is in their hearts.  My friends, a million and a half Israeli citizens are not Jewish. We are obligated to make sure that none of them are ever discriminated because of their nationality or religion. This is the essence of the existence of the State of Israel. Israel is a defense shield, a safe haven and a great spirit. Had the State of Israel existed during those days, I am convinced that things would have been different. We have paid a high price but we have not lost faith.  We have gathered unusual capacities which emerged from the depths of the Holocaust and from the peaks of our legacy. We have a commitment towards the betterment of the world and respect for humanity.”

(See President Shimon Peres' full speech on April 18, 2012)

    President Peres echoed the ideals of Israel’s Declaration of independence in his address.  There was no threat, no demonization, only a call for human decency that Israeli leaders and citizens can and should realize in their legislation and in their actions towards each other.

     And we can do the same here.  In an election year, levels of demonization tend to run high.   One religious leader in Peoria, Illinois compared the president to Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.  Comments have focused on the religious beliefs of the president and the apparent nominee of the republican party.  There is no doubt that the demonization will, unfortunately, continue in some corners of our nation, but let us pledge not to add to it.  Let us promise ourselves that we will seek to engage in calm discussion with people who both agree and disagree with us.   Let us remember to be guided in what we say and do by statements like “love your neighbor as yourself” and “we are all created in the divine image” or just “be kind and good human beings.”

Touro Synagogue - Newport, Rhode Island

    And let us recall how the first President of our nation, George Washington, responded to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island in 1790, setting a foundation for how diversity and respect can work in the United States of America: “All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” Washington concluded his letter by wishing that all Americans would “continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig‑tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

(See the full text of George Washington's letter)

   The first President of our nation and the current president of Israel share a vision – most certainly an ideal that is not always realized, but one that can continue to serve as a goal and a beacon if we truly desire to live in freedom.   May we know, soon in our day, mutual respect, understanding, and peace.  

Good hearts reconciled - March 30, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE "GREAT SABBATH"/SHABBAT HAGADOL BEFORE PASSOVER

Comments on Leviticus Chapter 6:1-6

[1] The Eternal One spoke to  Moses – [2] Command Aaron and his sons thus - This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it.

The path to peace is one that entails vigilance - the type of devotion that would entail being watchful every moment. all day and all night. Another understanding of “the fire on the altar is kept going on it” is “v’esh hamizbay-ach tukad bo” - the fire on the altar is kept going IN HIM - in the priest.  There must be some sense of the holy purpose on the outside that enters into the soul of the priest.  The same goes with peacemaking - forging a true agreement cannot be done on the surface - it must reach the depths of the soul.      

[3] The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.

The vestments worn by the priest signify the holy purpose related to each burnt offering and the disposal of the ashes, as if each task is done with an approach based in awe.  We should also consider peacemaking with that same sense of reverence, knowing that an end to conflict and the beginning of cooperation bring us closer to God and godliness.      

[4]He shall then take off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Perhaps the ashes can represent the disposal of old idea - and even old resentments - in the middle of peacemaking - such feelings should not be taken lightly - but given their place in history and then - let go to give way to fresh ideas and new attitudes.

[5] The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being.

Every morning, people who find themselves in the midst of conflict should take note of how their lives would be without that strife ruling their lives - they should focus their energies and channel their deep-seeded feelings of pain toward the alleviation of past hurts not through revenge but through reconciliation.  

[6] A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out. 

 The constancy of the fire sustained by human hands should help us realize that our hands can build a world of peace if we set them to peaceful tasks. 

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From the Haftarah/Prophets reading - Malachi 3:23-24 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the ETERNAL ONE to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and their hearts of children to their parents.

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The thoughts that I shared about the Torah reading focused on ending conflict by engendering peace and reconciliation within ourselves and within a community.  The desire for peace can and should be like a fire burning within us, leading us to foster unity and understanding that can bring peace.

   Last night, I participated in the New Mexico State University Interfaith Council annual Interfaith dialogue program.   The event began with participants rotating through tables which each had a representative of one religious group.   The two-minute speech about Judaism that I was supposed to give became five minutes, but I enjoyed this opportunity to try to crystallize Judaism down to its essence.  Taking from Jewish theologian Franz Rosensweig’s “Star of Redemption,” I spoke about the interrelationships of the Jewish themes and concepts of God, Creation, Humanity, Revelation (Torah and wisdom), the world where we apply the values we learn from study and ritual, and finally redemption, the ultimate goal of a time of peace and freedom for all people.  Peace, reconciliation and accepting all human beings as created in the divine image formed the essence of my presentation on Judaism.

    During the dialogue portion of the program, we discussed what we look for in another religion that gives it value.  One person suggested that she seeks to know if a particular faith leads a person to develop a good heart.   I didn’t get to share the quote, but one of my favorite sayings in the Wisdom of our Sages – PIRKEI AVOT – echoes her sentiment.  We read in Pirkei Avot Chapter 2 Mishnah 9:   The great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked his students, “What is a right path for one to take?”  Rabbi Eliezer said, “A good eye.” Rabbi Joshua said, “A good friend.”  Rabbi Yosay said, “A good neighbor.”  Rabbi Simeon said, “Foresight.”  Rabbi Elazar said, “A good heart.”   Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his students, “I prefer the words of Elazar, ‘a good heart,’ because his words include all of yours.”  

     So at the end of the Haftarah reading for this Great Sabbath/Shabbat Hagadol that precedes Passover, what did the prophet Malachi mean about the hearts of parents and children that would turn one to the other, uniting the generations?   I believe it meant that each generation would follow the path suggested by Rabbi Elazar – to seek to create a good heart within.   Having a good heart means showing consideration and respect and being attentive to and accepting of both similarities and differences.  So what would the prophet Malachi and Rabbi Elazar have told members of each generation, older and younger?  I think they would have said that “hearts of the parents turned to the children” means that the parents need to let go of the past enough for their children and grandchildren to grow and to create their own style of leadership and making an impact on society.   “The hearts of children turned towards their parents” means that children should try to be aware and respectful of the difficulty involved in the parental process of “letting go.”  The new generation can also come to value the wisdom of the past and use it as a foundation for the future, retaining the best of what came before and reshaping it in a way that can fit changing times.   That process of respect and reconciliation, of tribute and honor between the generations, can happen in the best way possible when people follow the words of Rabbi Elazar – act toward each other with a “good heart.”    

       The prophet Malachi was speaking about our ultimate redemption when he envisioned reconciliation between the generations,  between past, present and future.  The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah’s coming suggests that Elijah the prophet will return first before that day of the Messiah’s arrival which many Jews have hoped would come in their lifetime.  I explained at the interfaith program last night that I, as a Reform Jew, speak about a time of redemption or Messianic age brought about by humanity.  In that spirit, I believe that we could interpret the words of Malachi and Rabbi Elazar to mean that we gain a foretaste of redemption whenever we allow our hearts and our spirits to guide all that we do, when we bring peace and reconciliation into our lives and our community.  So from old to new, from past to future, from one generation to the next, may we follow the path of the “good heart” that can bring all people together in unity and in peace.   

No longer a stranger - March 27, 2012

       I was recently looking through some memorabilia from my Dad’s family, where I found some important documents that marked milestones for my grandparents, Mendel Karol and Anna (Wolf) Karol.  My bubby Anna/Nechame came to Kansas City to join other relatives there after arriving at Ellis Island on the S.S. Bremen (a German ship built in 1897) on May 17, 1904. My grandpa arrived within the next two years (he had family in Kansas City as well) after a decade-long sojourn in South Africa (he left Akmine, Lithuania most likely to avoid being drafted into the Russian army). They were married on March 17, 1907, in Kansas City, Kansas. What allowed both of my dad’s parents to enter the United States was the open immigration policy of the time.   As I understand the history, as long as there was someone in the United States to offer support, a new arrival was allowed to pass through the gates at their point of entry.      Mendel became an American citizen on April 28, 1924, and Anna was naturalized on September 22, 1941, a few weeks after my parents’ wedding. She was among the residents of the United States required to register in compliance with the Alien Registration Act of 1940. That act established a program to fingerprint and create a record of every non-citizen within the United States.    This legislation also explicitly declared, as one of its purposes, to prohibit “certain subversive activities.” It became known as the “Smith Act” because Virginia Representative Howard W. Smith authored the Act’s anti-Sedition section. So, my grandmother had to tell a local registration officer, sometime late in1940, not only that she had hazel eyes and gray hair and that she was from Nowogrodek, Russia in the district of Minsk, but also that she had not “been affiliated with or active in organizations, devoted in whole or in part to influencing or further the political activities, public relations, or public policy of a foreign government.” I admire the fact that my bubby became a naturalized citizen following that experience! After many years of operating a dry goods store (which closed on January 7, 1939), I am sure that she had nothing to hide!

     These documents reminded me that my grandparents were, at one time, strangers in this country, and that officially becoming an American was part of a long process of acculturation. They became citizens when quotas had been established that prevented the entry of many people who, if they had been given safe harbor here, would likely have added to quality and character of our nation.  Many controls on immigration still exist today that prevent the possibility of citizenship for some who might want to add the best of what they have to offer to the collective American personality. Quotas likely originated, at least in part, out of fear of the stranger or foreigner, which seems to persist even today, even when the diversity of our country should provide Americans from different national or cultural back- grounds with ample opportunities to get to know one another better.

     Attitudes based in fear and misunderstanding still continue to guide the words and actions of some political leaders as well as private individuals who feel they must take the law or their ideology into their own hands, here and in other places around the world.   The murders perpetrated by Muhammed Merah in Toulouse, France, and the case of George Zimmerman, who shot Travyon Martin when Zimmerman had been told by a police dispatcher not to pursue Martin, are two situations that illustrate what can happen when people act out of anger, hatred or personal assumptions that fail to view others as fellow human beings but through the lens of a label placed on those people.

    “Do not oppress the stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” “In every generation, we should see ourselves as if we went free from Egypt.”  I am glad that my grandparents had the courage to make a change in their lives and come to the United States.   What I hope is that the land that they envisioned – a land of freedom, in a world of freedom – is still within our reach. Let us do what we can to create freedom, peace and understanding in our corner of the world.

Photo 

Wedding of Joseph and Ruth Karol, August 31, 1941, Kansas City, Missouri

Top Row - Joseph Karol and Ruth (Glazer) Karol, my parents

Bottom Row - Anna Karol, Mendel Karol, and Pearl Glazer (my Mom's mother) 

For Oneness, For Hope, For Peace – March 22, 2012

Eternal One,

In whose image we are all created,

You have taught us to see Your face

And sense your presence in all of Your children.

There are times when conflict that divides people

Ideological and geographically

Prevents us from truly seeing those who may seem to oppose us

As our brothers and sisters.

Nevertheless, help us to remember that we are brothers and sisters, even when we disagree,

Or when we find ourselves on opposite sides of a dispute or a war.

From recent events in Florida, in France, and in other places around the world,

We know that one individual’s idea of how to live out an ideology

Or how to provide proper neighborhood protection

Can shatter the peace that we strive so hard to preserve. 

It is fear of the unknown, of difference, of the stranger, that leads human beings to commit acts of violence that often cannot be taken back.

Teach us to apply the lessons of the Exodus experience every day, to remember the feelings of the stranger because we were strangers in Egypt. 

Enable us to reach out to would-be foes, as did one Israeli couple who successfully reached over the wall between Israel and Iran to share thoughts on politics, on personal connection, and on peace that could exist if only the proper context could be created.

  Where there is not yet peace, be with the families of those who have died, and strengthen our ability to offer them comfort that will lead to a determination to step across lines that divide.

   Where there is or can be peace, grant us the wisdom to replace fear with understanding, hatred with love and concern, strict justice with tender mercy, oppression with freedom, and closed eyes with a vision of the unity that rests within your Oneness, which touches us all.

Amen.

(Delivered at Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, NM Board meeting on 3/22/2012)