Praised (for the approaching anniversary of my birth) - October 1, 2021

You are praised, Eternal One,

For blessing the singer and the song

For inspiring storyteller and dreamer 

For enabling poets and songwriters to find their voices 

For residing in hands that form notes and chords and clap in rhythm 

For enlightening thinkers and students of any age as they discover new wisdom

For lifting the spirits of travelers on difficult journeys 

For transforming new surroundings into familiar territory, and strangers into beloved neighbors 

For turning hearts of children to parents and parents to children. 

For bridging divides to bring peace ever closer 

For reminding us that anyone’s heart can be a wellspring of love. 

You are praised, Eternal One,

Who consistently fashions darkness into a new day

So that we will do the same.

Separately Together - Yom Kippur 5782 - September 16, 2021

The bimah is not imaginary

When I am not in the physical worship space

It is a stream

Live or recorded

Where the leaders seek to create 

More than a simulation 

But an experience 

To bring us into their space 

On the right day

At the right time 

As much as possible. 

Perhaps my own habits as a congregant

Sitting on my sofa at home

Are drastically different than if I were in a sanctuary

But I listen to the words, spoken and sung

And, once in a while, I am moved to sing or even harmonize

As I might have in years past. 

There were messages on this fast day 

That did penetrate into my mind and soul

My head and heart

Perhaps the most important message 

Is that not being present in person,

And not serving in the role I have assumed for 40 years

Did not stop me from feeling like a part of a community

Where the Shechinah could sense that our home was 

Truly a Mikdash M’at, a small sanctuary, 

Like it always has been.  

I pray that a time when a feeling of comfort

 to pray in indoor public spaces

Will descend on us soon. 

Gratitude goes to those whose expertise made possible

Participation in the rituals of this Sabbath of Sabbaths. 

Safety and healing will offer primary direction for the days to come

Along with the desire to pray, to connect, 

And to find inner tranquility and communal peace.

May we be sealed for a year of understanding and togetherness

That will lead us to back to each other’s side.

Enduring Lessons - from the Union Station Kansas City exhibit, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago…Not Far Away”

Rhonda and I visited the exhibition at Union Station Kansas City, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago….Not Far Away” on September 9, 2021. 

   I am still processing what I saw and read and heard on the commentary. 

   Some of the lessons I learned from the exhibit are starting to come to the surface.  

  *Eventual catastrophe can happen gradually, slowly, step by step, and you can’t see the progression towards the tragic conclusion until it is past.  At that point, the only thing you can do is keep your eyes and ears open to new events that happen in similar succession. 

*Beware of multitudes of people being taken in by a demagogue who claims to be a victim but, is, in reality, an aspiring perpetrator who wants to make hatreds harbored inside come to life.   If these people say they hate, they despise, they consider certain people not to be human or worthy of life, BELIEVE THEM.  STOP THEM.    If they try to undermine laws that accord people with respect, UNDERMINE THEM!  One photo of a large Nazi rally at which Hitler spewed forth his bigotry has had way too many echoes in recent years around the world, and in this country.   WATCH.  LOOK.  SPEAK OUT.  

*Jewish life in Europe was vibrant before the Nazis came to power, and Jews found ways to sustain their community life and learning even after the process of taking citizenship away from Jews began.  Jews in Auschwitz found ways to continue to sustain and observe their faith in their most dire of circumstances, because it gave them a sense of God’s enduring presence, a connection to their worldwide community, and, perhaps, some inner peace at a time of outward turmoil and, often, certain death.

*Seeing the detailed allied photos of Auschwitz-Birkenau taken from the air, which offered a possibility of destroying the railroad lines into the camp, was chilling.   What was happening there was KNOWN.  Something could have been done secretly.   It would have saved lives and frustrated the Nazis.  The Jews in the camps who resisted, on the other hand, showed courage that we should recognize.  

*The photos showing the Nazi officers and volunteers at the camp joining together some miles away to “live it up” a bit, posing in group shots and singing, illustrated how they had become totally desensitized to the fact that their tasks related to real human beings.  Of course, they didn’t believe that for a minute. 

*The lack of detailed reporting in the media after the liberation of the camp in late January, 1945 was inexcusable.  

*The charts showing the symbols that were put on the striped uniforms of different people who were targeted by the Nazis illustrated the Nazi fear of diversity and pluralism. 

*The survivors who shared their stories in the exhibit’s recordings were/are sources of inspiration and bravery.  They have now bequeathed their experiences to us to tell and retell.    This exhibit has come at an important time as we continue to battle against antisemitism and other hatreds in this world.

Remembrance - Union Station KC Auschwitz Exhibit High Holy Days ceremony- September 12, 2021

My remarks on remembrance at the special ceremony at Union Station Kansas City in conjunction with the High Holy Days and the exhibit, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago…Not Far Away.”

Remembrance at Auschwitz Exhibit - 9/12/2021

We remember.

We remember even when we may not want to recall 

events that cause anguish

Or bring to mind painful losses of the past. 

Still, we do remember.  

In this space, laid out for us, are exhibits

 that enable the remnants of dark days 

To teach us lessons of how to respond with resolve 

to past inhumanity and persistent hatred 

By engendering greater understanding, acceptance, respect and love. 

On Rosh Hashanah, Jews who gather for worship 

for the New Year hear the sound of the shofar, the ram’s horn.

The shofar calls out to offer a poignant reminder 

Of the divine presence that is with us, and does not leave us,

Urging us, even in a place where there is no decent human being, to continue to strive to be a decent human being. 

Through tragedy and times of sorrow,

And through moments of connection and triumph, 

we remember, and God remembers along with us, 

inspiring us to sustain a covenant of life in our world.  

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonment, Jews around the world engage in a solemn time of fasting and introspection

And recite prayers to address their grief. 

During a section of the Yom Kippur service called Yizkor, remembrance, 

we remember loved ones, friends, community members, 

And even people we don’t know

But whom we are committed to honor for lives well lived.  

Our time in the world is limited, but our days offer us the possibility of touching the hearts of others,

Hoping that the contributions

Which we leave upon the human family 

Will be enriching and enduring.  

So when we pray to the God of Compassion 

to bind in the bond of Eternal life

The souls of loved ones who have died, 

We remember 

That we should never see ourselves as divided or distant from one another. 

Even now, we can all find peace and protection 

Under the wings of the shining presence of the Eternal One. 

May a comforting and enduring spirit unite us 

As we join together to remember  

Here

Today

Tomorrow

And in the time to come.

A Prayer for the Sabbath of Return/Shabbat Shuvah 5782 - September 10, 2021

Blessed are You, Eternal One, our God,

Protector

Traveling companion

Palpable spiritual presence

Walking beside me

Invisible as You stand next to my aisle seat at 30,000 feet

Directing me to where I need to go 

Lifting me from sadness and despair

Wellspring of encouragement in moments when I need reassurance

Force for inspiration when my words, my melodies and my thoughts are spent

Powerful connector when circumstances suggest the wisdom of physical separation 

Persistent source of vision when division, hatred, and cruelty would lead me to look away from realities around us that seem unredeemable 

Hope of my life and the lives of many that any action that would bring repair and change in this world would make a significant and lasting impact. 

Lift me up 

Lift us up

Every morning

Every night

Every moment

So that we will ever be

Your messengers 

Of peace, 

Of love,

Of life.

Blessed are You, Maker of Peace. 

Dear 5782- An Urgent Letter to the New Year - September 8, 2021

Dear 5782, 

       Welcome!    Or, perhaps it is YOU welcoming US. 

       Your older sibling 5781 tried hard to make a difference.  Perhaps the greatest effect of 5781 was revealing how YOU can help us now. 

       Please remind us that we are all in this together, and that we survive and thrive best when we act with responsibility towards our fellow human beings and the world,  rather than focusing on personal rights that might cause harm to someone else. 

        Teach us that the Creator fashioned us so that we could solve our own problems, preserve our health, prescribe measures and medications that can save lives, and gain new knowledge, based on the potential for ingenuity embedded in us, through scientific research and not through online rumor and heresay. 

        Penetrate into the souls of leaders who believe that their only lot in life is only to impose their ideology, beliefs and power upon others, not in the realm of preserving health and life, but for the purpose of self-perpetuation of their status and position as overlords, accomplished by force and violence. 

       Guide us towards love and tenderness towards the oppressed, the downtrodden, people in need of support and assistance, those who are grieving the loss of loved ones, and those who crave the connection that has eluded us over 20 months facing a silent enemy.   

        Do call out those who say that our Maker cannot see us through the masks we wear to keep ourselves safe.   You certainly know that the Eternal One can see into us even deeper than that. 

       Lead us to some semblance of peaceful coexistence that will make the divisions that have estranged us for too long seem like a distant memory. 

      We are counting on you, 5782.  

      I suppose, you are counting on us, too. 

      I, for one, am ready.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Larry K. 

Blessings - Parashat Ki Tavo - D’var Torah for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM - August 27, 2021

When choosing the section of the Torah to read tomorrow morning during the Bat Mitzvah service, I gravitated towards the beginning of the portion assigned for this week.   What follows that  passage is a section of blessings that the Israelites would enjoy if they followed God’s commandments, and the many curses that would befall them if they failed God, and, more importantly, failed themselves. 

     The beginning of the blessings passage is actually one of my favorite sets of verses of the Torah.  It is lyrical in it wording, creating images in our minds of a people that would know blessing in a variety of ways.   Here is that first section of chapter 28 in the book of  Deuteronomy:

“Now, if you obey the Eternal your God, to observe faithfully all the divine commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, the Eternal your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2] All these blessings shall come upon you and take effect, if you will but heed the word of the Eternal your God: 3] Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the country.  4] Blessed shall be your issue from the womb, your produce from the soil, and your offspring from the cattle, your calving from the herd and your lambing from the flock. 5] Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6] Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessed shall you be in your goings.

What strikes me now, perhaps more than ever before, is that the blessings are not about just one moment frozen in time.  

First there is the blessing for people wherever they may live, city or country, urban or rural.  

Then there is the promise of offspring for the people themselves, for their crops, and for the animals they own.  Growth will happen if people live up to the best in themselves.  

The  third blessing is one of knowledge and skill, noting the human ability to utilize the gifts of creation — in this case, grain gathered in a basket from the harvest — for baking bread and other products.  That verse reflects the partnership that we celebrate whenever we say the MOTZI:  “Blessed are You, Eternal One, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” 

And finally, there is a blessing for our comings and goings.   If we have learned anything about growth over the last 18 months, it is that we can grow personally, professionally and spiritually wherever we are.  Even if we stay in one place physically, we find blessing when we discover ways of gaining new skills.  Comings and goings of any type assure that we can maintain a youthful exuberance at any age.   The owner of the music shop from where I rented a guitar for my time here told me that his guitar sales - and repairs - increased beginning March 2020.   People used their unplanned extra time at home to pursue their interest in music.   

     So what are the blessings that can rest upon us tonight, and accompany us along our way?

I would say: 

Community

Family

Creativity

Ingenuity

Perseverance 

Love

Support 

Encouragement of and opportunities for healing

Commitment

Learning 

Flexibility

Courage 

Connection

And 

Hope. 

May all of these blessings ultimately lead us to peace and unity, here, and for the entire human family.   And let us say Amen.