They are always here, and we may hardly notice them.
Or maybe we
do.
One reminds us
of where we live.
One reminds us
of who we are.
One more
symbol, not always visible, but always present, reminds us of what we believe, who
we have been, and who we can be.
One of this
trio has a long history of being on a bimah in a Jewish sanctuary.
The other two,
not so much. In many synagogues, they have taken their
place on either side of the other one.
The first of
these three is to my right, your left.
It’s right where it belongs, according to the rules established for
public spaces.
Its presence
here follows a long tradition of Jews expressing gratitude for their government
and praying for the well-being of their
earthly rulers and leaders.
The American
flag likely found its way onto the bimah in many synagogues when congregants
were fighting in World War I and World War II.
The flag is a
visible illustration of the prayer for our country, which has been included in,
in some form, in Jewish prayerbooks for several hundred years.
One of the
newest versions of this meditation is on Page 272 of MISHKAN HANEFESH.
Please turn to
page 272 and join me in reading.
“God of holiness, we
hear Your message: Justice, justice, you shall pursue. God of freedom, we hear Your charge: Proclaim
liberty throughout the land. Inspire
us through Your teachings and commandments to love and uphold our precious
democracy. Let every citizen take
responsibility for the rights and freedoms we cherish. Let each of us be an advocate for justice, an
activist for liberty, a defender of dignity.
And let us champion the values that make our nation a haven for the
persecuted, a beacon of hope among the nations.
May our actions reflect compassion for all
people, within our borders and abroad.
May our leaders and officials embody the vision of our founders: To
form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.
We pray for courage and
conscience as we aim to support our country’s highest values and aspirations:
the hard-won rights that define us as a people, the responsibilities they
entail.
We pray for all who serve our country with
selfless devotion—in peace and in war, from fields of battle to clinics and
classrooms, from government to the grassroots: all those whose noble deeds and
sacrifice benefit our nation and our world.
We are grateful for the rights of Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness that our founders ascribed to You, our
Creator. We pray for their wisdom and
moral strength, that we may be guardians of these rights for ourselves and for
the sake of all people, now and forever.”
I was thinking
recently about a moment when I had an opportunity to pay my respects, in
person, to one American leader for his contributions to our nation’s history.
I was home from
college in Kansas City when President Harry S. Truman died in December of
1972. When it was announced that his
body would lie in state at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in nearby
Independence, two of my friends from my Temple and I made our way to the Library
to honor President Truman, who had made an impact on our hometown and our
national community.
We arrived at the
Library at midnight, standing outside in line in 15 degree weather. We entered the lobby of the Library at 2:45
am and saw the casket covered with an American flag. A guard at the entrance immediately requested
that I remove my winter cap, which I did quickly. We passed by in silence, taking a moment to
reflect on the unique character of this leader and the decisions that President
Truman made in the midst of the political whirlwinds of the mid-20th
Century.
Truman was
famous for the sign on his desk, which read, “The Buck Stops Here.” He had definite ideas about policy, but he
was also able to grow and change.
It was told in
Jon Meacham’s boo, THE SOUL OF AMERICA, that after hearing about African
American World War II veterans being lynched upon their return home to
their communities in the south,
President Truman was appalled. He noted
that, while he was descended from supporters of the Confederacy, he was
determined to fight to end such evils in his time. In his February 1948 message on civil rights,
President Truman declared that all people are created equal, that all Americans
have a right to equal justice under the law and equal opportunity for jobs,
homes, good health, and education. He
reiterated the rights of Americans to freedom of thought and expression and to
worship the way they please. And, finally, he added, “We believe that all [men]
should have a voice in their government and that government should protect, not
usurp, the rights of the people.”
Equality, freedom,
compassion for people facing oppression and discrimination, and protecting
everyone’s rights: those are fundamental American values. These principles can and should guide us as
we live as loyal and active residents and citizens of the United States.
Now, we need
to look to the other side of the bimah to another flag that has taken its place
in that spot in many synagogues.
The rules of
the display of flags in public places require that the American flag should be
on your left and any other flag should be on your right.
Of course,
the flag of the State of Israel, which began as a symbol of the Zionist
movement, is not just any other flag.
The Jewish
People’s Council of the British Mandate of Palestine was poised to declare the
establishment of the State of Israel as soon as the British Mandate ended on
May 14, 1948.
Before that
declaration, there were negotiations and discussions happening behind the
scenes.
One of the
central figures in these conversations was President Harry S. Truman.
The officials
of the soon-to-be-declared Jewish State sent an urgent request to the United
States seeking immediate recognition of their government.
President Truman
and his advisors engaged in contentious discussions in the 48 hours before the
declaration of the state.
President Truman’s
former business partner in Kansas City, Eddie Jacobson, had met with his
friend, the President, to urge him to meet with Jewish leader Chaim Weizmann to
try to assure that the United States would be open to recognizing a Jewish
state. It may be that Truman had already been in
favor of taking such a step.
On May 14,
1948, the White House issued a press
release, signed by President Truman, recognizing the provisional government of
the State of Israel.
71 years later,
here we are.
Some of us have
visited and lived in Israel. We may have
relatives there. Some of us may have
been, or still are, Israeli citizens.
If anyone were to
ask me why the Israeli flag is on the bimah, I would say that it is about our
deep connection to the Jewish people as an extended family. The two flags on our pulpit also represent
the two largest Jewish communities in the world. And one of them is the flag of a nation on
whose land many of the events about which we read in the Tanakh, the Hebrew
Bible, took place.
I participated with my rabbinic school class
in an archaeological dig near Beersheba in April 1977. Among our finds were two small pieces of
pottery with Hebrew writing on them that dated to about 600 BCE. The first Temple in Jerusalem was still
standing then. Those finds were physical,
visible pieces of Jewish history in the land of Israel.
Israel is a
place where, at least twice, I have had the opportunity to engage in an extensive
political discussion in fluent Hebrew with an Israeli Jew I had just met.
And it is a
country where many aspects of Judaism easily come to life. In his book, Monday the Rabbi Took Off, author
Harry Kemelman described the experiences of his favorite rabbi and sometimes
detective, David Small, during his sabbatical year spent in Israel. Rabbi Small commented to visitors from his
congregation back home that the moments he spent touring historic sites there
and walking the streets of Jerusalem were as spiritual to him as Jewish
worship.
Many of us are
well aware of the challenges faced in and around the State of Israel. We read about politics, strife between Jews
and Jews, between Jews and Arabs, and between Arabs and Arabs. We are saddened
by unfortunate violence and acts of terror that have taken the lives of too
many victims all too soon. And we know
that there are nations that still begrudge Israel its very existence.
Even through all
that, there are many examples of cooperation between Jews and Arabs within
Israel, in the realms of religion, culture and even politics. These bright spots have a way of
demonstrating that hatred and division can be overcome.
Among us, we hold
diverse opinions about Israeli politics and policy. No matter what our views may be, we regularly
recite during our worship a prayer for the state of Israel. We do this as caring members of a diaspora
Jewish community expressing our hopes for a country that has a unique
opportunity to bring Jewish values to life.
Please join me in reciting this prayer in Mishkan Hanefesh on page 274.
Avinu—You who are high
above all nation-states and peoples—Rock of Israel, the One who has saved us
and preserved us in life, bless the State of Israel, first flowering of our
redemption. Be her loving shield, a
shelter of lasting peace. Guide her leaders and advisors by Your light of
truth; instruct them with Your good counsel.
Strengthen the hands of those who build and protect our Holy Land. Deliver them from danger; crown their efforts
with success. Grant peace to the land,
lasting joy to all of her people. And
together we say: Amen.
The two flags on
the bimah elicit in us ties to our nation that provide us with freedom, on the
one hand, and bonds with the Jewish people and its history, on the other.
Perhaps our personal relationship to these flags could be characterized by the
word “loyalty,” but with different levels of meaning.
The dictionary
definition of loyalty is “a strong feeling of support or allegiance.” Many
situations arise in our lives in which we must weigh one type of loyalty in
relation to another. There are times,
though, when loyalty to a leader and commitment to the values which the leader has
sworn to uphold must find a balance.
One of the best
biblical illustrations of this dilemma can be found in the story of King
David. The woman Bathsheba had caught David’s
eye, and an affair ensued. In order to cover up the fact that she was carrying
the King’s child, David brought Bathsheba’s husband Uriah home from the battle
front with the intention that he could make it appear that Uriah was the father
of the soon-to-be-born child. When
Uriah refused to sleep in his own house, showing solidarity with his fellow
soldiers far away, David sent him back to the front with orders to assure that
Uriah would die in battle. Perhaps some
people around the palace knew what was happening, and just didn’t say
anything. Except for one. The prophet
Nathan was watching all along. He appeared before David and told him a story
which would enable the King to realize his guilt. David expressed to Nathan his remorse with a
tearful and heartfelt apology, knowing that the moral challenge presented by
the prophet had ultimately come from God.
The prophet
Nathan spoke to King David not out of anger or hatred, but based on loyalty to
his people and to his king. That
loyalty was proven just before David’s death.
At that time, Nathan appeared before Bathsheba after he saw David’s son
Adonijah declaring himself to be the successor to his father. It was, however, well known that David had
designated Solomon to become the new king.
It was the prophet Nathan’s intervention, due to his loyalty to David,
that assured that Solomon would ascend to the throne as the next ruler of the
Kingdom of Israel.
The prophet
Nathan demonstrated an unwavering dedication to his King and the Israelite
people. His story exemplifies how people
can be loyal to their leader while maintaining
allegiance to the principles that guide their community and nation. I believe
that Nathan knew that David would realize his transgression when it was pointed
out to him. For Nathan, being supportive
and loyal to his king required that he keep him on the straight, narrow and
godly path.
There is one
more symbol on the bimah, right in the middle, between those two flags on
either side. Its teachings formed the basis on which the prophet Nathan held
fast to his belief in God and in urging his leader and his people to act with goodness
and integrity. That symbol is the
Torah, our source for values, history and wisdom. It was likely no coincidence that Israel’s
first president, Chaim Weizmann, presented President Harry Truman with a Torah
scroll that would eventually be on display in the Truman Library. Perhaps that gift was Weizmann’s way of
affirming that carefully chosen principles should be at the foundation of the crucial
decisions we make every day.
The word “loyalty” is prominent in a prayer,
grounded in the heritage of Torah, that expresses our hope for the unity of
humankind. In the paragraph that precedes
our singing of “Bayom Hahu” - on that
day God will be one and God’s name will be one,” is this declaration:
“We therefore hope,
Adonai our God, may we soon behold the glory of Your might…that all humanity
invoke Your name, turning all the wicked of the earth toward You. Let all who
dwell on earth acknowledge that unto You every knee must bend and every tongue swear
loyalty.”
That prayer
doesn’t ask that everyone be Jewish. It
seeks to move people of every faith and those who claim no faith to live a life
filled with goodness, kindness, compassion, and consideration and respect for
all people.
Nearly 230 years
ago, one of our national leaders understood that respect for people of various
faiths and backgrounds and an acknowledgment of the fundamental values that
guided them was essential to the success of our national experiment. In his letter to the Jewish community of
Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790, President George Washington established what
was expected of any American: “[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....May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in
this land, 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.”
Guided by
those words of our nation’s first President, and inspired by the symbols before us on the bimah, may we not be afraid
to pursue our own goals, to express our own views, and to find ways to discuss
and share our diverse perspectives in a spirit of mutual acceptance of the
rightful place that all of us have in this world as human beings, people who
will continue to hope, this year and every year, for more understanding, more
wisdom, more justice, and more peace.
And let us say amen.
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