An Angel on the Ladder - D’var Torah - Parashat Va-yaytzay - November 16, 2018

I was an angel on the ladder in Jacob’s dream. 

Oh, you say that it wasn’t real?

That it was just in Jacob’s mind? 

Think again. 

God called all of us angels together 

as Jacob laid down to sleep,

Putting his head on a stone 

After leaving home, knowing he could not return soon. 

God said, “We have an opportunity 

To impress a notion upon Jacob

That will stay with him for the rest of his life. 

I can’t speak to him directly,

But whatever happens in this dream,

He will most definitely remember.

I need to reassure him that the promise made 

To Abraham and Isaac

Of many descendants 

And a land

Will rest upon him as well. 

What more should I say?” 

I said, “Be kind.”

Another angel suggested, “Be respectful.”

Yet another called out, “Be loving.”

A fourth said, “Show compassion.”

A fifth pleaded, “Listen to people’s stories.”

A sixth replied, “Be a unifier.”

God told us,

“Those are all great suggestions, 

But I don’t have a lot of time to speak to Jacob 

During a dream.  Who knows how long he will be asleep?”  

I thought for a moment,

And calmly said,

“Eternal One, now that I think about it, 

I believe that Jacob needs to learn through his own experiences

To be kind, respectful, loving, and compassionate. 

Maybe what he needs to do first is sense Your

Presence in everyone and everything. 

Once he feels that deep in his soul, 

Kindness, respect, compassion, deep listening, 

and working for unity will naturally follow.”

God thanked me profusely. 

“That is exactly what needs to happen.   

I won’t even have to tell him.

When he wakes up, the thought that

I was in that place where he slept for the night

Will overwhelm him.   

And he will name that place the House of God, Beth-El. 

And I hope he will realize that everywhere he goes,

And in eyes of everyone he meets,

I will be there.”

So Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to the heavens, 

With our team of angels going up and down on it. 

God promised Jacob a secure future. 

When Jacob was stirred from his sleep,

He said, “God was in this place, and I, I did not know it!”  

And when you - yes, you who are listening to my tale - 

dream at night, or even when you daydream, don’t be surprised

If we angels are there

To inspire you 

And

To guide you

To lead

To learn

To teach

And to be open

To finding God

In every person

And throughout creation. 

May the God who is in you and around you

Open your eyes and connect your hearts one to another.  

Amen. 

Invocation - Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM Board meeting - November 15, 2018

God of Jacob, 

Whose eyes were suddenly opened to Your presence

After dreaming of a ladder to heaven that was full of angels, 

God of Moses; 

Who turned aside to notice a bush that burned

And was not consumed

His first step in guiding a people to freedom; 

God of David,

Who helped a leader struggle through his inner conflicts 

To compose sweet songs to You and to honor the wonders of our world; 

God of Isaiah and Micah, 

Who inspired two men of vision 

To imagine a time when implements of war

Would be turned back into tools for human nurturing

Of the natural world. 

Be with us,

Open our eyes

Turn us in the right direction so that we can find You in every human being

Make our spirits sing in praise and thanks to You

And in our mutual affirmation of the great gifts each of us 

Can bring to our community that can draw us together 

Lead us to channel possible sources of division 

Into blessings of collaboration, understanding and even unity. 

May Jacob’s words ever be on our lips: 

“God was in this place and I, I did not know.” 

Help us to realize when You have been standing by our side

And urging us to move forward, together, into your light and truth. 

Amen.  

An open hand...waiting - Meditation - November 5, 2018

Opening Meditation for Writing Contemporary Liturgy Online class with Alden Solovy 

Gatherings

Assemblies

Congregations

Communities

Vigils

Remembrance

Understanding

Love

Resolve

Hope.

Did you see?

Were you there? 

Did you hear? 

People

From many backgrounds

Religions

Faiths

Beliefs

Spiritual orientations 

Perspectives

Came together

To mourn

To declare

To connect

Lifting eyes 

And hearts

To seek help. 

Do we still lift our eyes 

To the mountains? 

Will our help 

Come from the Eternal One? 

We learn

From Elie Wiesel, 

one who could have lost 

All hope

All belief

All resolve

That “life is not a fist

Life is an open hand 

Waiting for 

Some other hand 

To enter it.”

Perhaps

If we join hands

And lift our eyes

To the mountains

Together 

With hearts turned

One towards another

Our help from God

Will finally come. 

What do we do now? After the Tree of Life synagogue shooting

God of our lives,

Binder of our communities,

Consoler of the hurting and the bereaved

Be with us at this difficult time.

We know that, if we look for answers

to the question “why?”

We may not find them.

But we know

That the answers to the question “What do we do now?”

Come from You,

For you have put them within us.

What will we do?

We will write.

We will speak

We will comfort.

We will connect.

We will cry.

We will stand tall.

We will confidently declare our pride in who we are.

We will love. 

We will show compassion that might ultimately dispel hatred.

We will pray.

We will hope.

We will remember.

We will move forward.  

God of our lives,

Binder of our communities,

Consoler of the hurting and the bereaved,

We can feel You

As You can feel us

Close

And Present

In the Oneness

That is You. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I See Strangers Coming - Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18) - October 26, 2018

Eternal God, 

When I see strangers coming

Remind me that they are potential guests

Rather than probable enemies

When I see strangers coming

Help me to prepare to be a good host

To provide food, drink, warmth and a respite

For these travelers who might be weary 

When I see strangers coming

Enable me to see them as possessing wisdom

From which I may grow

And stories of their varied experiences

That might teach me lessons for my own life. 

When I see strangers coming

Do not allow me to automatically cower in fear 

And put up impenetrable defenses

But give me the patience 

To speak directly with them

To gain an understanding of who they are

And what they might need

In order to continue on their journey. 

Or, if they want to remain among us,

May I be free with suggestions and assistance

That will facilitate their transition to a new home

And a new life. 

When I see strangers coming

Who approach without hostility

Whose hearts are open

And whose hands may be empty 

Due to oppression in the land they have left behind

Open my heart and guide my hands to reach out to them

To lift them up in their time of need

For they are not an emergency to be met with force

But, instead, bearers of a chance

For me to show 

That my people’s  history 

As strangers 

Will lead me to be

Warm and welcoming 

And to give them what my ancestors would have wanted

Upon their arrival to this new land:  

Care, hospitality, love, and hope.  

Blessed are You, Eternal One,  who gives me the opportunity

To extend my hand to the stranger 

Who, like me, is created in the image of God.  

To Step into Future Times - Invocation for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Board Meeting - October 18, 2018

Invocation - Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Board meeting 

October 18, 2018

Eternal God, 

The Voice who calls us to traverse a new path;

The Guide who shines a light on the road ahead;

As we continue along our journey,

Be with us as we walk in the footsteps of Abraham and Sarah,

Who left their parents’ homes to blaze a trail for their many descendants

Ever mindful that You accompanied them with every step they took. 

Stand by our side as we lay down to sleep each night

Stirring us, when we rise, to share Jacob’s realization

That our highest aspirations are always within our reach

With You as our strength to muster the confidence and courage

To ascend the ladder towards our dreams and hopes. 

When we find ourselves in deep despair, 

With few reasons to look at life with optimism, 

Grant us the insight of Joseph to ultimately recognize our own significance 

So that we will step forward with resolve, sharing and applying our abilities and our wisdom. 

And when we are faced with challenges to our well-being,

And to our very lives, 

Make us like Moses, a shepherd of a flock who became a leader of a people,

Taking them from slavery to freedom 

Like Aaron, who articulated with powerful words a belief in the self-worth and  right to life and liberty of  every human being; 

And like Miriam, who shaped words and melody into an expression of individual and collective spirit that ever connects us back to You. 

May we, in our own time, 

continue along this path begun by Abram and Sarai, 

Adding to their story

Our own experiences, our own memories, our own family histories, 

And our own legacies

As we leave the comfort of this moment

To step into future times and unknown places of growth and promise

That patiently await our arrival and our enriching presence. 

Amen. 

The Bible directs us to a life of justice and fairness - Las Cruces Bulletin - October 5, 2018

    On Sunday, October 7, the NMSU Theater Department will present “Memories: A Temple in Las Cruces,” based on oral history interviews conducted with congregants of Temple Beth-El of Las Cruces.   This program will chronicle the development of the congregation and the participation of the Jewish community in Las Cruces life. 

    The presentation makes clear that ritual, study and prayer are central to living Jewishly.  

     We just completed the observance of the High Holy Days, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and, ten days later, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. 

     One of the readings in our new prayerbook for the holidays, Mishkan Hanefesh (a Tabernacle of the Soul), caught my eye this year.  The meditation that precedes prayers of confession on Yom Kippur in our previous prayerbook, Gates of Repentance, made this declaration: “Our God...grant that our prayers may reach You.  Do not be deaf to our pleas, for we are NOT so arrogant and stiff-necked as to say before you...that we are perfect and have not sinned; rather do we confess: we have gone astray.”  

    The statement in the new prayerbook is more direct, and eliminates the word “not.”  It now declares,  “We are arrogant and stubborn, claiming to be blameless and free of sin, but in truth we have stumbled and strayed.”  It is a stark admission. 

      We are, at times, reluctant to confess to ourselves when we have done something wrong in order to avoid confronting our own failures.  We may be afraid to apologize for an action which we know we committed and for which we know we have let ourselves down, not to mention adversely affecting someone else’s life.   

      Fairness, and justice, however, dictate that we step forward and take responsibility for our actions. 

     At a recent session with our middle school/high school class at Temple, we explored passages from the Bible about justice and fairness.   I first had the students identify actions that they see people commit which they believe to be wrong.  They listed stealing, hurting, lying, cheating and bullying. 

     We then reviewed rules in the Bible that list actions that we should do as well as those we should avoid. Chapter 23 of the book of Exodus directs us not to spread false rumors, not to support those who are guilty by lying in order to frame someone who is innocent, to approach people with fairness whether they are rich or poor, and to avoid offering or taking bribes that can undermine justice at its foundation. 

    Chapter 19 of the book of Leviticus directs people not to steal or be deceitful with each other. Business should be conducted based on honesty.  Decisions between people involved in disputes should be made wisely and fairly. We should not bear grudges or take vengeance, but we should love other people as we love ourselves, and extend that love to strangers.  

    Congregants who work in the court and legal system will be coming to speak to the students about how biblical values might relate to real-life cases they face on a regular basis. 

     So are we so arrogant to say that we never do wrong? Or do we realize that we might make mistakes from time to time?  Through study and through prayers that address how we can strive for perfection, we will reach our best potential to be responsible human beings who will make a positive difference in the world. 

    

     

    

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