To My Grandchildren and Their Peers - November 2019

TO MY GRANDCHILDREN AND THEIR PEERS

How can I save the world for you? 

I know I can’t save it by myself. 

I wonder, sometimes, if the values I have taught and tried to put into practice are still guiding my brothers and sisters in the human family. 

I have seen bullying, but never thought it would be admired and supported. 

I have witnessed, and been the target of, ridicule, but I never imagined that people would so readily join in demeaning and denigrating others. 

I have seen the environment exploited without limits, without a concern for the future, and I thought that decades-long efforts to diminish that lack of care for the world would succeed.  They have, but only up to a point. 

I have seen people harbor hatred for others and participate in dehumanization and discrimination.  I thought that more members of the communities in which I have lived were opening their hearts to others in a way that would end.   And they were, but it seems that others are not ready to do the same.   

So how can I save the world for you? 

There are answers in prayers of the tradition which you are inheriting from your family and which, I know, you will willingly share.  

If God creates and re-creates the universe every day, we can find ways in which we can be God’s partners in preserving the earth to ensure its future. 

When we praise God, we are expressing wonder at the world and also showing that we are humble, acknowledging we are but a part of creation but always beloved in God’s eyes. 

When we voice our love for God through our words and actions, divine love will guide our hands, eyes, and hearts so that we will all be closer to one another.  

When we give thanks, we admit that we don’t expect to receive anything.  Simple appreciation for all that is ours in our lives can inspire us to be generous and giving to others. 

When we praise God who makes peace, we commit ourselves to suffusing the world with God’s blessings: goodness, kindness, grace, compassion, mercy, light, righteousness, and a zest for life.  

When we offer our support and assistance to people in need, we demonstrate that the teachings of our heritage are not just words.  They chart a course for our personal journey. 

So what can I do to save the world for you? 

I will do my best to treat people with decency and respect, and to hold up every person as valued and precious.  

I will perform the small acts that can preserve the world in which we live.  

I will speak in ways that will enable people to hear and consider my words and the values I espouse.   

I will answer hatred with consideration and with understanding, within and between faith communities and among people of all backgrounds.   

And I will pass these tasks to you when your time comes, for I know that you will stand for love, generosity, compassion and hope.

Welcome! Judaism on Hospitality - delivered at an Interfaith Program at Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, NM on November 24, 2019

How do we extend a welcome? 

How do we like to receive a welcome? 

At the beginning of Genesis Chapter 18, Abraham saw three guests approaching. 

Those guests did turn out to be messengers from God who were bringing news that Sarah would finally bear a son. 

At first, though, Abraham and Sarah had no idea of that impending outcome, nor any clue as to the identity of these travelers. 

So, once these men arrived at his tent, Abraham bowed low to the ground in a gesture of sincere hospitality to these three men.

The narrative, which I read when I became Bar Mitzvah 52 years ago last Monday, continued: 

"My lords, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought; then wash your feet and recline under a tree, and let me bring a bit of bread and you can restore yourselves. Then you can go on—now that you have come across your servant." And they responded: "Very well, do as you propose!”Abraham then hurried toward the tent, to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, knead three measures of wheat flour and bake some [bread-]cakes!" Abraham then ran to the herd and took a young calf, tender and sound, and gave it to the servant lad, who quickly prepared it. He took sour milk and [sweet] milk and the calf he had prepared and set [it all] before them; and as he stood over them under the tree, they ate.”

   What better primer for being welcoming could we have?  Be humble. Be enthusiastic. Prepare with sincerity, with speed, with an eye for presentation, and with a desire to make guests, whether expected or unexpected, feel totally comfortable and at home.  

  In the portion of the Torah read in synagogues around the world yesterday,  in Genesis Chapter 24, Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham’s kin.  Jewish tradition doesn’t always associate the value of hospitality with this passage, but there is a good reason to make that connection.   It is likely that Eliezer knew that the woman whom he would choose to be Isaac’s wife would need to be hospitable, strong and welcoming like Sarah.    Eliezer took ten of Abraham’s camels on his journey, and other men with him. He arrived at his destination at the time when the young women were drawing water at a spring near their homes.   The narrative in Genesis Chapter 24 tells what happened next: 

Eliezer prayed: "Eternal One, God of my master Abraham, please bring me luck today, and do a kindness for my master Abraham. Here I am standing at the water-fount, and the daughters of the townspeople are going forth to draw water; the girl to whom I say, ‘Tip your pitcher and let me drink,' and who replies, 'Drink; and let me give water to your camels, too'—let her be the one You have designated for Your servant Isaac; that is how I shall know that You, O God, have done a kindness for my master."  Before he was done praying, Rebekah, who had been born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, was going forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She was an exceedingly beautiful girl, of marriageable age, whom no man had yet known. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and went up.   The slave ran toward her and said, "Let me sip a little water from your pitcher." And she replied, "Drink, sir!" Quickly she lowered her pitcher on her hand and let him drink. The drinking done, she said, "I will draw some water for your camels, too, till they are done drinking." Quickly she emptied her pitcher in the trough and she again ran to the well to draw water, drawing water for all his camels.”   Once Rebekah told him who she was,  Eliezer again prayed to God, expressing gratitude for being led not only to the right place, but to the right person. 

   Rebekah totally fulfilled Eliezer’s expectations.  It was meant to be.  As he had prayed, she offered him water and gave water to his camels without having to be asked. Rebekah didn’t even ask who this stranger was, and she was still willing to fulfill his request.  Her hospitality was quick and unconditional.  She requested nothing in return.   She was kind to Eliezer and also kind to his camels.   She was generous and selfless.   Who could ask for more from a future wife for Isaac?   

   I found online the statement of a restaurant owner from Denver named Bryan Dayton that outlined his rules for hospitality in his business.   He cited five central guidelines for how to treat customers, standards that can apply to communities as well: 

1) MIND YOUR MANNERS.

2) TURN UP THE EMPATHY AND SELF-AWARENESS.

3) SHIFT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE GUEST. 

4) TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK. 

5) FINISH STRONG.  

In each of the biblical stories, the strong finish came not only from the one who was showing hospitality but also from the guests.  Sarah and Abraham were promised a child by their three visitors.   Because of Eliezer’s somewhat-chance meeting with Rebekah, she gained a husband and a position as the wife and mother of a spiritual patriarch. 

   Both of these stories demonstrate that because we can’t always know the significance of those who might come into our presence or walk through our door, we should always be hospitable and open. 

We read in the book of Psalms:

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of God. 

We bless you from the House of God. 

May we be blessed as hosts, and as guests, who exude warmth, care, and gratitude that can bring us ever closer together. 

List: https://denver.eater.com/2016/6/14/11929738/hospitality-rules-best-practices-mistakes-bryan-dayton

Blessed with Pride and Persistence - Kristallnacht, Anti-Semitism and our “Lech L’cha” Today - November 8, 2019

Thinking about Kristallnacht and Walking in the footsteps of Abram, Sarai, and our ancestors....

You don’t know me. 

But you think you do. 

You told my grandfather that he killed your father.   

You meant your Heavenly Father, but not God. 

You meant, in your view, a Jewish teacher who lived in the First Century

Who became something much greater

When his followers saw him as much more than human. 

So your accusation leveled against my grandfather 

For causing a death 2000 years ago 

Likely rang hollow for him. 

But it stung.   No doubt that it stung, because, otherwise, he wouldn’t have told his sons the story that happened in South Africa in the late 19th Century. 

My grandfather left Lithuania so that he would not be swept up in the Russian Army for so many years, that he would never be able to join his family in freedom. 

He made it, eventually.  

Did some of his family witness the worst of the evil perpetrated against Jews in Europe? 

Perhaps.  We aren’t sure, but we know that some distant relatives made their way to Israel in the early 1990s, once the doors opened and the walls had come down. 

But the walls are being built up again, emulating the Reich that destroyed synagogues and arrested Jews without cause 81 years ago this week. 

Today, misguided, hateful people attack, or plan to attack, synagogues because they see Jews as different, Christ-killers, former refugees who would help newcomers whom these violent individuals believe would destroy our country.  

They attack churches that open their doors to asylum seekers, people with brown skin, like the man who was attacked with Acid last week for walking while Latino. 

They accost and assault Jews on the streets of New York.  

They dress in stereotypical Jewish garb and hand out flyers that claim that six million Jews could not have been murdered in the Shoah. 

They walk into a Walmart to kill Mexicans who would dare to cross the border to shop.  

They see Jews as the root of all evil in the world, espousing contradictory views.  They say: 

Jews are Socialists and Communists.   Jews are using their power to dominate the world. 

Jews are rich.  Jews are poor.  

Jews are too open.  Jews are too klannish. 

Jews are evil, outcasts, pariahs, insidious, disloyal, spies, and traitors. 

Jews are the cause of all of our problems, so we must get rid of them, deport them, imprison them, eliminate them. 

We read in the Passover Haggadah: “For more than one enemy has risen up against us, to destroy us.  In every generation, in every age, some rise up to plot our annihilation. But a divine power sustains and delivers us.” 

 We cannot define ourselves by the negative lens through which the haters see us. 

How should we see ourselves?

We are persistent and resourceful. 

We are dedicated and faithful to our heritage. 

We are supportive and caring. 

We are compassionate and giving.

We are strong and peaceful. 

We are realistic and hopeful. 

We are loving towards God and to our fellow human beings. 

We realize that there is a spark of God even within those who hate and despise us. 

Is it our mission to unleash that spark deep inside of even those people driven by bigotry and violence? 

Yes.   

But is it also our mission to join with others who believe in preserving human dignity and in declaring holy spaces as off limits to the point of a knife and to the barrel of a gun? 

The divine power that can sustain and deliver us resides inside of each of us, and within our community, but it can also be found when we make common cause with people whose hearts and minds are truly open to the notion that all people are created in the image of God.   

Eternal One, help us find those who honor your divine spark that dwells inside of each of us, so that we can discover and declare Your ongoing and holy presence that will protect our holy spaces and preserve our very lives.   

  On this Shabbat, we remember Abram and Sarai, whom You, Eternal One, commanded to leave their native land and their ancestral home, in order to journey to a place that you would show them.   We pray that You will now stay by our side and walk with us on our journey, leading us to create a community founded upon safety, understanding, love and hope.    

   Oh, and you...not You, God....no, I am talking to you people who assert that you cannot give up your hatred of Jews and others who are different from you...you should know...you will never find God until you do.

Pearls from the Apartment: Keep on Growing - Column for the November 1, 2019 Las Cruces Bulletin

    My mom had just died in the first week of May in 2004.  We were going through the apartment to decide what to keep and what to discard.   Among the items we found was a small note pad on which she had written a number of quotations about leadership.  We believed that my mom had used those statements when she led meetings as president of her Temple’s women’s group between 1997 and 2001.  

    I was really taken by these pearls of wisdom.  My wife Rhonda and I shared several of those quotations during a sermon we delivered on Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement morning at Temple Beth-El on October 9: 

•   Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.  (Ann Landers)

•   No matter what happens, keep on beginning and failing.  Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you find that you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you will be glad to remember.    (Anne Sullivan)

•    I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.   (Jonas Salk)

•    You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you do not try.    (Beverly Sills)

•   The worst part of success is finding someone who is happy for you. (Bette Midler)

•   The only way to have a friend is to be one. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)  

•    What grows never grows old. (Jewish author Noah benShea)

     Even though my mom didn’t write these statements, we know that they had meaning for her as a volunteer, as a leader, and as a mother and grandmother.  

      There was one principle all her own that she stated more than once:  “Don’t give up!” She strongly believed in perseverance due to her dedication to the organizations in which she served. 

      In that sermon, Rhonda and I shared some of the central principles that have guided us in community work.  These statements constitute our combined legacy, with my mom’s commitment to service always on our minds: 

• Try to treat every person, from birth through the most veteran members of a community, as significant and as a precious human resource who has something to add and teach.

•   Rabbi Chanina said, “I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned most of all.”  We are grateful for the lessons that our students of all ages have taught us with wit, with emotion, and with their own special insight.

• When I was a fifth grade student in my Temple Religious School, my teacher led us in exploring a statement by the rabbinic sage Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  If I am only for myself, what am I?  And if not now, when?”  In a book that Rhonda received upon completing her formal Religious School education was this explanation of Hillel’s declaration: “These precious gems of Hillel remind us of the duties of self-preservation, self-cultivation and [they] warn us against being self-centered and selfish, [cautioning us] against procrastination.”  

•     Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.  It’s not about forgetting, but rather, it’s about reaching out with gusto to take hold of new experiences and possibilities. 

      We don’t have to have all the answers ourselves. Partnership, openness and cooperation can lead not only to success, but also to the wisdom that can enable any community to endure.

The Dove and the Olive Tree (For Parashat Noach 5780)

  It was a long journey.    

It seemed like it anyway.  

  I guess I was luckier than some of the other animals.  Oh, and the people,  the family members of our master Noah, our ship’s captain. 

  All of the birds on the ark took to circling above the ark on deck.   We agreed to follow Noah’s instructions not to fly too far away when we were stretching our wings.   Captain Noah said he needs us. 

  There used to be land.  Everywhere. Trees for our nests.  Plants.  And sunshine. 

   Then there was rain.  And more rain.   And even more rain!  

   Would it ever stop?     We hated flying in the rain. 

   Then, one day, it did stop.   Noah sent out my raven friend to see if the waters were still covering everything.   She came back and told me that there was no land.  There were no trees.  

    Then Noah called to me, “My dear dove, please fly as far as you can and see if there is dry land.”   On flight number one, I saw nothing but water, except for the tops of the highest mountains.   There was a great view up there, but there was nowhere to set down.   No trees in which to build a nest.  

      So I returned to the ark, landing on Captain Noah’s waiting outstretched hand. 

       It wasn’t long before he said, “Dear dove, please go out again.   Fly further, and see what you can find.”  

      It seemed like I was flying forever, but, finally, I saw them.   

      Olive trees.  It was amazing.  They had survived all that water.   They had lived for hundreds of years and would last even longer.  And they looked familiar.  These were the same trees where my dove ancestors had built their nests long ago.  

      I knew I had to take something back to Noah.  So I went to the tallest, oldest olive tree in the bunch on the land that was no longer covered with water. 

     I called out: “Olive tree, it’s good to see you again!   I used to live in your branches!  All of my family did. “

      The olive tree was excited, “Yes, I remember.  I am so glad to see you are still alive.”   

      The dove asked, “The only people who survived this great flood are on our boat, the Ark built by our Captain Noah.   He asked me to bring back something to show that the waters have receded and land has begun to appear.  What can I do?”

     The olive tree lifted his highest branch, as a gust of wind blew.   The tree showed the dove a small branch full of leaves.  “Take this,” he said.  “I am presenting you with this branch because of the great joy that your family gave me for all those years, one generation after another.” 

     So the dove thanked the olive tree, and gently took the branch in her beak and flew back to the ark.   She presented the branch to Captain Noah. 

    He was ecstatic.  “An olive tree branch!   The waters are going back to where they belong.  It won’t be long until we can go home!”   

     I stayed on the boat, back with my family.  Then, some time later, Noah came back to me. “Dear dove - I need your services one last time.   Please fly as far as you can.  And if you don’t return in seven days, I will know that the waters have totally receded and we can make our way back home.”

     So, this time, I was prepared for a long trip.  I went back to the olive tree, and saw that there was ground all around.   Some of my dove cousins, who had found their own way to survive the flood, came back, too.  We were a big family again.  

   And then, we saw something incredible.  

   There was a bow in the clouds.   It had many colors.  It was bright and beautiful.   The olive tree said he could see in it the colors of his trunk and branches and leaves.  And he said, “Dear dove, I can see in the rainbow the color of your eyes.”  

    And then a voice spoke to both of us, “Dear olive tree and dove, I brought you together a long time ago so that you could teach the humans an important lesson.  Dove, on your flight from the ark, you found the same Olive tree that had given your family a home. Olive tree, you let the dove take one of your branches back to the ark. You are different from each other, but you always found a way to live together in harmony.   I told Captain Noah that the rainbow was a sign that I would not destroy the earth again with the waters of a flood.    Dear dove, people many, many years from now will read about you carrying the olive branch and giving it to Captain Noah. They will see it as a symbol of peace and cooperation.  And that is true, because you and the olive tree have trusted and cared about each other.   The rainbow’s many colors will remind the descendants of Noah and his family that people may be different from each other, but they can always find ways to live together in harmony and peace.   Thank you, because that is a lesson I learned from the two of you.” 

     The olive tree and I gazed at the rainbow.  Then we looked one to the other.  I could feel his branches full of leaves embrace me. And he said, “Dear dove....welcome home.”