Filling each moment with our light - Daily Minyan reading - December 21, 2023

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The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

December 21, 2023

Eternal One, 

Guide and Teacher, 

Creator and Sustainer, 

As the turning of the seasons

Alters the daily cycle of light yielding to darkness,

May we fill each moment with the brightness

Of our optimism

Our confidence

Our courage

Our wisdom

Our caring

Our spirit

And our love. 

And when the new day arrives, 

May we be ready to share our gifts with others 

So that blessings will flow between us

And a sense of oneness will abide

Through our space and time. 

We praise You, source of light, love and life.  

Dreams and Hopes - Daily Minyan Reading - December 18, 2023

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The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

December 18, 2023

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer of us all,

As night falls,

We turn our thoughts towards the days to come

And consider how we can bring to fruition 

our dreams and hopes

For ourselves and this world. 

By showing kindness and caring, 

We will be able to offer support to people in need of our help. 

By being responsible and honorable, 

We will teach others how to live with integrity. 

By being brave and confident, 

We will encourage the people we know 

 to find strength within themselves

That they didn’t know they had. 

By being patient and empathetic, 

We will engender mutual respect and partnership. 

Help us to be a light to ourselves 

Through offering our light to others

So that our enduring potential to reflect Your Oneness

Will shine through. 

Guide us to discover the light - Daily Minyan reading - December 4, 2023

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The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

December 4, 2023

Source of life, 

As the days grow shorter, 

Guide us to discover the light 

That can still illuminate the darkness

Whether in nature 

Or in the human community. 

We have it within our power 

To overcome conflict with cooperation

To end poverty and hardship with generosity and support

To combat hatred by engendering deeper understanding

To preserve the well-being of our world with wisdom and foresight

To resolve divisions among us with productive conversation and honest dialogue

And to choose love and peace 

To reflect Your Oneness that encompasses us and all creation. 

Be with us as we kindle light in the coming days 

And as we increase that glow with kindness and goodness

every day, and every year. 

Small Steps forward - November 28, 2023

The diplomacy that has not only arranged for but also extended the humanitarian pause has brought together unlikely partners in negotiations.  Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Israel and Hamas working together…at the cost of so many lives lost in a war that might have been avoided, for so many reasons. But a CIA official and Mossad director working with Qatari officials in Doha? And Qatari jets landing in Israel in the absence of diplomatic relations?  Such progress came at too high a cost of lives and well-being.  But it came.  

    And the agreed-upon releases of hostages by Hamas and releases of Palestinian Arabs from Israeli jails/prisons continue. 

    However, people in the United States are seemingly trying to fight this war through extreme protests, the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington (VT) (after a murder of a child in Chicago), a high school teacher in Queens  forced by tens (hundreds?) of students to seek shelter in a locked room when a photo of her at a pro-Israel rally was circulated, and other demonstrations of hatred.  

    Our country should be a place where we can talk to each other, or even shout, about our disagreements without having to fear for our personal safety due to vandalism or violence.  Of course, there are current examples, in other arenas of life and politics, where people are choosing extreme methods of expression.  That may be contributing to what’s happening. 

    For now, prayers for the healing of the students shot in Burlington.  Prayers for the hostages to return home. Prayers for ongoing diplomacy to yield positive results. Prayers for those who are grieving.   Prayers for the flourishing of productive dialogue and more true listening.  Prayers for peace.

Even in the deepest darkness - Daily Minyan reading - November 27, 2023

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The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

November 27, 2023

Merciful One,

Creator and Sustainer of us all,

Share Your light with us 

So that, even in the deepest darkness,

Those who are lost will be found; 

Those who have been held captive

Will come home;

Those who harbor only hatred in their hearts

Will turn towards acceptance;

Those who seek to sow chaos and

Who thrive on conflict 

Will open their eyes to the miraculous peace 

Embedded in ongoing cooperation;

And those who extend their consideration and respect

Only to some people

Will begin to feel empathy 

To all who are hurting and in need of support.   

Your insights have come down to us 

Through the guidance

Of our ancestors and teachers

Who knew that “love your neighbor as yourself” 

Is a phrase infused with meaning,

Intended to remind us 

That, in Your Oneness, 

All people on this earth 

Are our neighbors.  

Blessed are You, Eternal One, 

Whose image, imprinted on our souls,

Unites us in ways 

That we will, one day, understand. 

Reunion - November 24, 2023

There is so much to fix in the Middle East, and specifically, in the Arab-Israeli conflict.  There are attitudes that need to change.  There are policies that need to be refined to recognize everyone’s dignity and humanity through encouraging respect and proper education that promotes equality and cooperation. 

  I have seen the term “Parochial empathy” being raised lately, where one can feel the pain of only some people in a situation due to a personal perspective. Yes, it’s there, and it’s something to strive not to adopt for oneself, no matter what.  

  For now, my focus is on the hostages being released slowly but surely, with, perhaps, more rounds of releases with accompanying truces.   The hostages should not have been taken in the first place, but it appears that Hamas had been planning their October 7 attack for over a year, and maybe even for years, much to the disbelief of some in the Israeli leadership, but foreseen by Israeli army spotters who had been watching the movements of Hamas in Gaza for months.  

  With so much loss of human life as a result of this situation, and the approach of Shabbat, I am praying for eventual peace, and, also, the reunion of hostages and family members soon.   

   For those who have yet to even mention one iota of concern for the hostages, read more about groups that bring Arabs and Jews together, like the Parents Circle (I have a connection with one of the board members).  

   Focus on those efforts that can truly to lead people on both sides listening to each other.

We will all see - November 16, 2023

My own photo of an inscription on the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, found in the excavations.   It is from Isaiah Chapter 66, verse 14, possibly etched into the stone by a Jew in Jerusalem when the Roman Emperor Julian offered to the Jews of the region the possibility of rebuilding the Temple during his reign of 361-363 CE.   Julian died in 363 CE.  See the photo and explanation below.  The other possibility, noted below, was that the inscription was carved into the stone in 900 CE.  

I look at this as part of my heritage, not just my religious heritage, but part of my actual familial heritage, even if my ancestors had already left the Middle East and migrated to Europe.   Jews around the world back then were very much like an extended family. 

And this is one of the aspects of history that makes the current situation even more complex, but such complexities, that include every group and people that has a heritage in that land, need to be acknowledged by those who live there and those who are watching current events unfold from afar.     

   Maybe, one day, we will all see and our hearts will rejoice.