Everyone's Dreams - D'var Torah for Parashat Va-era - January 16, 2015

What kind of hopes do we hold from one week to the next?

Sometimes we just want to get through the next week by fulfilling all of our usual responsibilities, maintaining as much of a positive attitude as possible, navigating through the small and major challenges that may come our way, and retaining a glimmer of optimism that the coming days may bring some unexpected gift or a welcome opportunity for growth or a new source of satisfaction and even joy.  

   These thoughts and considerations may represent our dreams for the steps immediately ahead of us on our life’s journey. 

In the Torah reading for this week, Moses brought the Israelites notions that were well beyond their expectations and dreams.   

Their bondage in Egypt was the same, week after week.  

It was all about survival from one moment to the next, and not provoking the cruelty of a nearby Egyptian taskmaster. There was little hope for change.   

To those people who were engaged in hard labor, Moses brought a set of promises, dreams of freedom directly from God:

•  I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians
•   I will deliver you from their bondage.
•  I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements.
•   I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God
•   I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I the Eternal One.

Moses likely expected to see wonder and hope in the eyes of the people after they heard him speak, but the Torah recorded their response in the next verse:  “But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.”

Whenever we begin the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday observance weekend, “having a dream” is very much on my mind, based on the declarations from Dr. King’s speech at the March on Washington in 1963. 

To reexamine that dream, I went to see the film “Selma” last night on Dr. King’s actual birthday.   Much has been made about portrayals of President Lyndon Johnson and the involvement of the Jewish community not being quite accurate.  Even if that is the case, “Selma” effectively  zoomed in on the hard work it took to make known the seriousness of the plight of blacks who were denied the right to vote. People around the country accused participants in this movement of provoking the violence of law enforcement officials and others by their public demonstrations.  Dr. King and his partners knew that they couldn’t stop, for if they did, they would never reach their goal.  Instead, they focused “their eyes on the prize” and continued to keep the issue uppermost in the minds of as many Americans as possible.  After the attempts to march in Selma had met with resistance, one change, according to this film, turned the situation around.   THIS IS A SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT!!!   President Johnson told Governor George Wallace that he didn’t want to be seen as supporting a leader who refused to guarantee all of the citizens in his state the possibility of full communal participation.  It was then that Johnson began to openly support the Voting Rights Act, which, in recorded history, was drafted at the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center in Washington,  DC.  That exchange reminded me of a scene in the movie 42 which depicted a conversation between Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey and the uncooperative Philadelphia Phillies owner Herb Pennock who had said that his Phillies would refuse to play against the Dodgers if Jackie Robinson made the trip with his team (some of the language has been updated just a bit):

Branch Rickey: You think God likes baseball, Herb?

Herb Pennock: What is that supposed to mean?

Branch Rickey: It means someday you're gonna meet God, and when God inquires as to why you didn't take the field against Robinson in Philadelphia, and you answer that it's because he was Black, it may not be a sufficient reply!

   42 and Selma tell a similar story of a movement that began with the courage of one person or a group of people to bring about change that made society more welcoming and inclusive and tried to truly promote “liberty and justice for all.”

So what about our dreams and hopes?  

What aspirations do we share with people of all races, ethnicities, faiths, nationalities and backgrounds?

Or do people even get to the level of aspirations when their basic needs aren’t met, often due to no fault of their own when they are working hard to provide for themselves and their families?

In the spirit of the 5 promises that Moses proclaimed to the Israelites, I would offer these updated promises that can apply to all of us as we move forward in our lives:

I will free you from the burdens that hold you back from developing your own potential for strength, wisdom, and generosity. 

I will deliver you from people and circumstances that prevent you from realizing at least some of your cherished dreams.

 I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and a helping hand through the support and love that will come to you both from caring strangers and from the most treasured people around you.  

I will take you and link you to other people with whom you can join hands, hearts and minds to work for freedom, justice, equality, and understanding for all.

I will bring you to a land, a place, without hatred, violence and prejudice, a place where all shall sit under their vines and under their fig trees and none shall make them afraid.  I, the Eternal One.

May we make these dreams, these promises real for ourselves and for our fellow human beings through dedication and commitment to heal and help every soul and the entire world. 

Hearing Voices of Hope - D'var Torah for Parashat Sh'mot - January 9, 2015

As I have been watching the news over the last few days, and reading columns in the local newspaper, I have been thinking about a summary of the basic teachings of Judaism that comes from rabbinic tradition.  It is contained in the Mishkan T’filah Weekday and Festival Prayerbook, and you have it on your handout.

Our rabbis taught: Six hundred and thirteen commandments were given to Moses. Micah reduced them to three: “Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.’’

Isaiah based all the mitzvot upon two of them: “Keep justice and righteousness.”

Amos saw one guiding principle upon which all the six hundred and thirteen are founded: “Seek Me and live.”

Habakkuk expounded the Torah on the basis of a single thought: “The righteous shall live by their faith.”

Akiba taught:  The great principle of the Torah is expressed in the Mitzvah: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

But Ben Azzai found a principle even more fundamental: “This is the story of humanity: when God created us, God made us in the divine image.”

And Hillel summed up the Torah in this maxim: What is hateful to you, do not do to others.  That is the whole Torah - the rest is commentary: you must go and study it.

Why was there an attempt to create such a concise list of basic Jewish values?  I believe that it was an exercise in prioritizing what is essential to Jewish life.   Note that the statements that the rabbis cited are about ethics more than about ritual, although many Jewish observances do express and illustrate our values.

   So Judaism believes in practicing justice, mercy, humility, mutual respect and consideration, righteousness, and seeing and seeking the divine in each other. Those values, taken together, require us to look at all people as part of one human family.   They challenge us to break down barriers and build bridges.  They direct us to open up channels of dialogue when possible.  They lead to the rabbinic declaration that, “When you save one soul, it is as if you have saved the whole world; and when you destroy one soul, it is as if you have destroyed the whole world.”

   The Torah portion for this week finds the Israelites mired in their predicament of bondage in Egypt, working hard under harsh treatment from their Egyptian taskmasters.   They had places to live, they received food to eat, but their lives and the conditions in which they lived and under which they worked were not ideal.  It was so difficult for them that when Moses offered them hope, they couldn’t believe his promises of liberation.  Their notions of the possibility of freedom, equality, engaging in personal decision making, and following their own faith were all but gone.   The opening chapters of Exodus, alongside a portrayal of the power of God, demonstrated how oppression and subjugation of some people under others who possessed temporary power violated basic human decency.  This tale of slavery led to the far-reaching acceptance of all fellow human beings in Exodus 23 as expressed in this verse: “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.”    The historicity of this experience is not as important as the impression it has left on anyone who sees this passage as sacred scripture.   We are commanded to be open and welcoming, and to overcome the fear of people who are different by creating opportunities for the so-called “stranger” to become a valued partner in community life.

    In the last few days, it is not just the tragic events in and around Paris that have demonstrated a lack of respect for other human beings, where power and ideology trumped basic human decency and mutual consideration.   The recent bombing at the NAACP offices in Colorado Springs didn’t injure anyone, but it was a violation of communal peace that reminded citizens of all backgrounds that respect for property and for the ideas of freedom and equality are fundamental to a civil society.  Our hearts go out to the NAACP and to the citizens of Colorado Springs in the hope that they will understand the need to be partners and neighbors rather than strangers.

And I have that hope as well for citizens of Paris and all around France.   For me, it’s not just about the freedom of speech issue, which is important.  It is about how to respond to those with whom we may vehemently disagree. People who see each other as partners use their words to challenge each other.  For example, as much as I was angry about a notorious family and church of picketers in Topeka, Kansas focusing on me and others with untrue accusations, ridicule and hatred, I always answered them indirectly with words that reflected the values embodied in the reading we shared earlier.  I tried not to make any such accusations in return, but, rather, to state positively what I believe.      

     Those who combine faith with a desire for power and revenge for what they perceive others have said about them or done to them and use violence rather than words in response often twist their own beliefs well beyond their original intention.  When that occurs, potential partners and neighbors become strangers who become enemies who need not be seen as human beings any longer.   This has happened all too many times in human history, and it saddens me that it still happens today, not just in France, or Colorado Springs, but in our own community from time to time. 

    And I have to add, after the murder of hostages in a kosher supermarket in Paris today by an associate of the perpetrators of the original attack, we now know the nature of their hatred was as we suspected.  It was focused on all of the people they considered to be their enemies:  some, because of what they did, and others, specifically, Jews, simply because of who they are.  Our hearts go out to the French Jewish community in particular and to the country of France with prayer for some semblance of calm and eventual harmony that can overshadow and dispel hatred.   

   Such actions across the globe and in our own country may make us feel that we have no choice but to despair of the possibility of a human community based on justice, fairness, equality, freedom, fellowship and peace.   We could become like the Israelite slaves, who couldn’t hear, at first, a voice offering them a feeling of hope.    However, we need not be like them, because Judaism teaches us to be optimistic.  It is not that we should wait for a leader like Moses to come, but that we should be leaders ourselves like Moses, who believe in those values that the rabbis cited so long ago as central to making our lives meaningful and complete.     So may we always be open to hearing those voices of hope inside of us, which can guide us to work for cooperation, partnership, and peace.

Prayer for NM CAFe Press Conference on 1/5/2015 for the New Minimum Wage - and for the many communities in the United States that have raised their minimum wage as well

Eternal Creator and Sustainer of us all,
We come to you today in gratitude
For the creativity, for the determination, and for the vision that have led us to this time.
We are grateful for those who arrived at a place of insight over the past year
That enabled them to see that economic issues have a human foundation….
That once voices of people in need are heard,
They should not be ignored or marginalized.
We have heard many voices express concern and fear, as well as hope and respect. 
You are the Oneness that unites and us all, and we call upon Your oneness to bring us together
to overcome conflict
and to engage partnership and cooperation that will engender respect among community members and city leaders, business owners and hard-working employees, all who have a desire for security and a measure of comfort in their lives. 
We thank you for the opportunity not only to feel dignity inside ourselves as we engage in our chosen work,
But to accord dignity to others as a gift, especially those who work with us and for us, to create a fellowship that bears the mark of a sacred covenant.
You are with us, Eternal Spirit of the Universe, as we tread this new path – walk by our side and teach us to continue along this journey with each other to bring joy and satisfaction to all of our citizens who seek only to live and provide for themselves and their families.    
Even in our struggles and disagreements, may we bring blessing to one another – help us make those blessings real in the days and years to come.

Breaking down barriers - message for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Adelante Newsletter - January 1, 2015

In recent weeks, Hamas leaders in Gaza prevented a group of 12-15 year-olds from taking a trip into Israel and into areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.  The reasoning for canceling the journey was to “protect the culture of our children and our people,” meaning that Hamas did not want these children of Gaza to take part in discussions that might give them a more positive view of Israel.  Each child had lost one parent in Operation Protective Edge during the summer. Yoel Marshak from the Kibbutz Movement, who led the initiative, noted, “These children will one day be the leaders of Gaza and they would have remembered this trip and known that we can live in peace, side by side. The trip was meant to be a big hug for them.”

   When I was exploring the story of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers in Genesis Chapters 44 and 45,  I realized that two words were at the center of the narrative.  One was VAYIGASH, which means “and he approached.” In that case, it was Joseph’s brother Judah, who recounted all that he and his brothers had done to follow the requests of this Egyptian leader that they didn’t know was actually their long-lost brother.  Once Judah got close to his brother, both in physical proximity and on a deeper emotional level, he made it possible for Joseph to see that it would be both safe and wise to restore his ties to his family.  Closeness did not mean perfection, but it did lead to a recognition of bonds of kinship that would not again be broken.

   The second word that was central to this passage was “L’HITAPEIK,” “to restrain himself.”  The verse that begins chapter 45 declared that “Joseph was no longer able to restrain himself.”  He had been trying to hold back his conflicted feelings, which included the need he saw to test his brothers to see if they had changed, as well as his desire to re-enter his family circle.  It was only when he allowed his emotions to flow more freely that Joseph was able to complete the process of reconciliation and reunion.

   Joseph can be a role model for us as members of a community and an exemplar for anyone who would seek to build peace among people.   Peace cannot be made from a great emotional distance.  Approaching each other, getting close in some way, is what can build and sustain bridges that can link us together in common cause and shared goals and hopes.  There are times when we may restrain ourselves because we are afraid to reveal too much about ourselves due to a fear of vulnerability.  Those fears can melt away when family and community members reach out to us in a way that engenders honesty, mutual respect and trust.    

   Like his father and uncle before him, Joseph embraced his brothers after years of separation.  May all that we do bring us together as a warm, caring and peaceful community!

Dreaming again... and making dreams real - D'var Torah - Parashat Vayeishev (Genesis 37) - December 12, 2014

 Arriving somewhere late

Missing a sock or a shoe – or both – when I really need them

Being unable to get out of a building

Jamming with Paul McCartney

Getting along with people I don’t usually get along with

These are some of the impressions that I carry around

From my dreams

Some of us remember dreams frequently and vividly

Some can recall dreams just every so often

And maybe there are those of us

who never can describe a dream in any sort of detail.

We often hear that dreams speak to us

About who we are

About the order or chaos in our lives

Even though the dreams seem to portray

Events in a state of disarray.

While we sleep, dreams likely help us

shape the seemingly random aspects of the world

Into categories that will make better sense to us

While we are awake.

Of course, we also use the word “dream” to refer

To aspirations, hopes, and visions of improving our society

Or of creating something new. 

One of the greatest speeches of the 20^th Century

bore the refrain “I Have a Dream.”

The common translation of Theodor Herzl’s fundamental

Declaration, IM TIRTZU, EIN ZO AGADAH, is not

“If you want it, it is no legend,”

but, “If you will it, it is no dream.” 

Perhaps the dreams that come to us while we sleep

Enable us to further develop our plans and thoughts

For the future so that they will come to fruition. 

The ladder at Beth-El came to Jacob in a dream

After he had fled his home due to the fear

That his brother might take revenge on him immediately

For replacing him as the blessed first-born son.  

The dream of God and a ladder to heaven

elevated a supplanter and deceiver

To a higher level of understanding about his life.  

Jacob finally realized that God was with him,

and that God’s presence mattered

giving him, perhaps, at least a small dose of humility.

And then there was his son Joseph.  Jacob’s favorite.

The one to whom he gave an ornamented tunic,

a KTONET PASIM, which was worn by special young women,

and, perhaps, special young men of his time.  

But there was more to Joseph that no one recognized as unique.

Dreams.  

Joseph was truly Jacob’s son, a dreamer,

but Jacob couldn’t even see it as he tried to keep peace in his family.  

Jacob saw only his immediate problem:

he didn’t need this precocious,

narcissistic young man bringing “evil reports,”

gossip, about his brothers,

creating yet another generation of pointed sibling rivalry.

But the dreams – no one, not even Joseph could see

that they were pointing to crucial future events

Which would lead to their survival.  

What caused Joseph to tell his brothers these dreams

that had such potential to inflame their jealousy?

Jewish commentators noted that Joseph was

Too young and naïve to realize the consequences

Of his dream-sharing. 

Perhaps he thought they would respect him more

If he revealed that he was the one to whom others would bow.

Or, was it that he realized that he had been given a message from God

that he had to share? 

Or, in Aviva Gottleib Zornberg’s words, was this just

Joseph the teenager behaving with

“a dangerous unawareness of the feelings of others”? 

In the stories of Joseph, one dream points to a possibility,

and two dreams predict that something will truly come to pass. 

Joseph was right, but he didn’t know

how he was right. 

So he may have shared his dreams

Asking for an answer.  

He received an answer in the form of an envy so deeply held

that his brothers sold him to go to Egypt

And told their father that Joseph was dead

So they would be rid of their annoying, self-centered, bothersome brother. 

What the brothers didn’t realize

is that they were doing exactly

what needed to be done,

which Joseph only would comprehend

once he became the overseer

managing the famine in Egypt

who would witness his brothers bow down before him

just like in the dreams of his youth.

Had the brothers not acted out of their anger and hurt,

Joseph wouldn’t have ended up where he needed to be

to save the life of his entire family. 

How ironic it was that Joseph’s apparent dreams of grandeur

pointed not so much to him having

a position of power

but one of responsibility.  

He eventually understood

exactly why he was where he was by the end.

It is the same with us.

 Our actual paths in life

sometimes look more like disorderly dreams,

even when our aspirations for something great

are based in real talents that we have demonstrated

over and over again. 

Every act and every decision has a consequence,

and the results that we see at first

may not appear to lead  to where we hope to go.  

It may be only when we near our final destination

that the meaning of dreams, visions, and aspirations

that first occurred to us will come clear.  

It is important to express those hopes

at the beginning  with humility, for sure,

but it is even more important to understand

the higher purpose they may represent.  

So may we keep our eyes, ears, minds and hearts

open to those dreams that can drive us to greatness

and fill our lives with meaning.  

Kindling the ongoing lights of faith - article for the Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Adelante Newsletter for December 2014

     At this writing, I am about to lead the Shabbat service that features the Torah reading VAYEITZEI, which opens with the patriarch Jacob’s dream at Beth-El. This passage is often on our minds and right before our eyes when we attend services. The Neir Tamid in our Sanctuary places the ladder/stairway in front of us every week, uniting the symbolism of light with a connection between heaven and earth.

     The rabbis imagined Jacob to be somewhat hesitant to step onto the ladder because of the risk of failing to rise to the top. In one midrash, God showed Jacob how the great powers of the world (represented by the angels going up and down the ladder) would rise and fall, while the children of Jacob would not suffer the same fate. In those rabbinic interpretations, we never see Jacob taking the step onto the ladder, at least not at that point. In Genesis Chapter 28, Jacob essentially declared that if God took care of all of his needs and saw him through his coming challenges and ad

ventures, then Jacob would fully believe in God. Such a conditional approach has bothered some commentators, but it demonstrates Jacob’s humanity. Even making such a pledge was still a commitment to a future relationship, which only would be fulfilled if Jacob continued on his journey to find a wife and to create and raise a family. We know, from the end of the story, that Jacob did act out of his own initiative without waiting for God to do everything for him.

     Worship in most any context is a lot like Jacob’s relationship with God. The words, the melodies, and the possibility of community are always there, waiting for us to take an active participatory step to make prayers and expressions of belief, commitment, joy, and hope come alive. The generations before us provided us rituals, symbols and an order of a service that reminds us of the wonder of creation, the gift of wisdom, and the trust that can lead us to a sense of security and optimism as members of the Jewish community and of the family of humanity. The Siddur/prayerbook expresses gratitude to our ancestors for establishing a foundation for our community and to God for sharing with us the strength to reach out to others to provide them with freedom, care and support. We focus on aspects of life that are holy and unique that we might consider to be miracles even when we have created them with our own knowledge and insight. We say “thank you” for everything we have and we pray that peace will finally come to our world and encompass all of humanity and all of creation.

     The ways in which we express ourselves vary from week to week on Friday night and Saturday morning. On the first Friday of the month, our 6:00 pm Family Service features the central prayers of our liturgy in a relaxed family setting that is open to members of all ages. A potluck Shabbat dinner follows that brings the generations together in Shabbat joy. The second service on the first Friday is an equally relaxed service that gives congregants a chance to take part in a discussion on an aspect of the weekly Torah portion with the goal of finding lessons for modern life. The “middle Fridays” of the month usually feature a Torah reading with a brief D’var Torah that expresses my current thoughts on the meaning we can derive from the ancient text. On the last Shabbat of the month, the “Shabbat Service for Renewal of Spirit” brings readings and music together to create a context that gives us a sense of peace and healing that can continue to guide us in the coming days. This service will again be preceded by a time for meditation each month.

Shabbat morning services are our most informal, with an opportunity for those present to share “miracles” in our lives, to engage in an in-depth discussion of the Torah portion for the week, and to sing and read prayers that we might not hear on Friday evening. When we reach our minyan of 10, we read Torah and still engage in a lively conversation about the text that has been handed down to us over the centuries.

     We are now looking forward to our celebration of Chanukah, which begins on Tuesday, December 16. We know well that the Chanukiah/Menorah does not light itself. It needs us to put in the candles and kindle each light so that the glow will inspire us to new acts of preserving freedom and justice for all people. Think of our Shabbat worship like a Chanukiah. When we are here, together, the light from our souls will shine brightly and there will be a special spirit emanating from our Sanctuary, creating a stair-way/ladder to lofty places. Each of us can be like Jacob, making it possible to see that “God was in this place, and I, I did not know it.”

    Best wishes for a happy Chanukah, with a hope that we will all find the light that is at the core of our lives and our souls.

Family Legacies (Looking at - not past - each other) -D'var Torah for Toldot - November 21, 2014

“Two peoples are in your belly, 

two nations shall branch off from each other

[as they emerge] from your womb. 

One people shall prevail over the other; 

the elder shall serve the younger.”

Such was the message Rebekah received directly from God 

as she asked why these twins-to-be

were struggling inside of her with such intensity. 

The message was clear to her: 

The elder, Esau, would serve the younger, Jacob.

Her interpretation set in motion 

all that would transpire afterwards 

as she paved the way for the younger child

to receive the older child's blessing

as Isaac's primary heir. 

So would follow the accusations of deceit

down through the ages of biblical commentary

Or, a strong defense of Rebekah's actions

because of her special insight

into the need for Jacob to be the fulcrum

of the future for the children of Abraham and Isaac. 

Some say that Rebekah did understand correctly

one part of the message,

while failing to grasp the other possible meaning.  

As with ancient oracular proclamations 

that could be taken in more ways than one,

Rebekah may have missed this possible understanding:

RAV YAAVOD TZAIR

The older one the younger one will serve.

So did Rebekah do wrong in setting up Jacob 

as the primary son 

who would succeed Isaac in most every way? 

Perhaps not. 

Perhaps the statement with a dual meaning

Was intended to foretell what would actually happen.

In some ways, 

the younger son would serve the older

in having to leave his home because of his brother's anger, 

in a moment of trepidation before meeting up with him again,

years later

and in two peoples, Israel and Edom,

living in close proximity to each other

whether in calm or in conflict. 

There is here a family legacy

One not of competition 

but of the necessity of mutual recognition.  

In the end, the sons of Isaac and Rebekah had to learn

that even though they might not end up living together,

they couldn't look past each other

pretending that the other did not exist.  

They had to meet each other, eventually, 

at heart of their humanity

in a place where a divine perspective would bring them together

looking into one another's eyes

as if each was seeing the face of God  in the other.

Their legacy bears lessons for the human family throughout the ages.  

Too many times,

In too many places

People look past one another

Seeing those who are different 

those whose background they do not share

as strangers

as the enemy

as objects of scorn

disdain

prejudice

and hatred.

Two men attack people praying in a house of worship.

Young women attack a cab driver with tear gas. 

In the name of security, law enforcement officers or soldiers

think the worst about the people demonstrating in front of them Protesters fail to see the human beings opposite them 

hoping to preserve calm.  

Motives of others are questioned based on rumor

Rather than being understood based on fact.  

Ultimately,  The struggle between these boys

Teaches us not to see others only as we see them

But to see and understand them  

As they see and understand themselves.  

When we reach that goal,

Perhaps our service to one another

Will be for good, for cooperation

And for peace.