Good hearts reconciled - March 30, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE "GREAT SABBATH"/SHABBAT HAGADOL BEFORE PASSOVER

Comments on Leviticus Chapter 6:1-6

[1] The Eternal One spoke to  Moses – [2] Command Aaron and his sons thus - This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it.

The path to peace is one that entails vigilance - the type of devotion that would entail being watchful every moment. all day and all night. Another understanding of “the fire on the altar is kept going on it” is “v’esh hamizbay-ach tukad bo” - the fire on the altar is kept going IN HIM - in the priest.  There must be some sense of the holy purpose on the outside that enters into the soul of the priest.  The same goes with peacemaking - forging a true agreement cannot be done on the surface - it must reach the depths of the soul.      

[3] The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.

The vestments worn by the priest signify the holy purpose related to each burnt offering and the disposal of the ashes, as if each task is done with an approach based in awe.  We should also consider peacemaking with that same sense of reverence, knowing that an end to conflict and the beginning of cooperation bring us closer to God and godliness.      

[4]He shall then take off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Perhaps the ashes can represent the disposal of old idea - and even old resentments - in the middle of peacemaking - such feelings should not be taken lightly - but given their place in history and then - let go to give way to fresh ideas and new attitudes.

[5] The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being.

Every morning, people who find themselves in the midst of conflict should take note of how their lives would be without that strife ruling their lives - they should focus their energies and channel their deep-seeded feelings of pain toward the alleviation of past hurts not through revenge but through reconciliation.  

[6] A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out. 

 The constancy of the fire sustained by human hands should help us realize that our hands can build a world of peace if we set them to peaceful tasks. 

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From the Haftarah/Prophets reading - Malachi 3:23-24 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the ETERNAL ONE to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and their hearts of children to their parents.

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The thoughts that I shared about the Torah reading focused on ending conflict by engendering peace and reconciliation within ourselves and within a community.  The desire for peace can and should be like a fire burning within us, leading us to foster unity and understanding that can bring peace.

   Last night, I participated in the New Mexico State University Interfaith Council annual Interfaith dialogue program.   The event began with participants rotating through tables which each had a representative of one religious group.   The two-minute speech about Judaism that I was supposed to give became five minutes, but I enjoyed this opportunity to try to crystallize Judaism down to its essence.  Taking from Jewish theologian Franz Rosensweig’s “Star of Redemption,” I spoke about the interrelationships of the Jewish themes and concepts of God, Creation, Humanity, Revelation (Torah and wisdom), the world where we apply the values we learn from study and ritual, and finally redemption, the ultimate goal of a time of peace and freedom for all people.  Peace, reconciliation and accepting all human beings as created in the divine image formed the essence of my presentation on Judaism.

    During the dialogue portion of the program, we discussed what we look for in another religion that gives it value.  One person suggested that she seeks to know if a particular faith leads a person to develop a good heart.   I didn’t get to share the quote, but one of my favorite sayings in the Wisdom of our Sages – PIRKEI AVOT – echoes her sentiment.  We read in Pirkei Avot Chapter 2 Mishnah 9:   The great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked his students, “What is a right path for one to take?”  Rabbi Eliezer said, “A good eye.” Rabbi Joshua said, “A good friend.”  Rabbi Yosay said, “A good neighbor.”  Rabbi Simeon said, “Foresight.”  Rabbi Elazar said, “A good heart.”   Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his students, “I prefer the words of Elazar, ‘a good heart,’ because his words include all of yours.”  

     So at the end of the Haftarah reading for this Great Sabbath/Shabbat Hagadol that precedes Passover, what did the prophet Malachi mean about the hearts of parents and children that would turn one to the other, uniting the generations?   I believe it meant that each generation would follow the path suggested by Rabbi Elazar – to seek to create a good heart within.   Having a good heart means showing consideration and respect and being attentive to and accepting of both similarities and differences.  So what would the prophet Malachi and Rabbi Elazar have told members of each generation, older and younger?  I think they would have said that “hearts of the parents turned to the children” means that the parents need to let go of the past enough for their children and grandchildren to grow and to create their own style of leadership and making an impact on society.   “The hearts of children turned towards their parents” means that children should try to be aware and respectful of the difficulty involved in the parental process of “letting go.”  The new generation can also come to value the wisdom of the past and use it as a foundation for the future, retaining the best of what came before and reshaping it in a way that can fit changing times.   That process of respect and reconciliation, of tribute and honor between the generations, can happen in the best way possible when people follow the words of Rabbi Elazar – act toward each other with a “good heart.”    

       The prophet Malachi was speaking about our ultimate redemption when he envisioned reconciliation between the generations,  between past, present and future.  The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah’s coming suggests that Elijah the prophet will return first before that day of the Messiah’s arrival which many Jews have hoped would come in their lifetime.  I explained at the interfaith program last night that I, as a Reform Jew, speak about a time of redemption or Messianic age brought about by humanity.  In that spirit, I believe that we could interpret the words of Malachi and Rabbi Elazar to mean that we gain a foretaste of redemption whenever we allow our hearts and our spirits to guide all that we do, when we bring peace and reconciliation into our lives and our community.  So from old to new, from past to future, from one generation to the next, may we follow the path of the “good heart” that can bring all people together in unity and in peace.   

No longer a stranger - March 27, 2012

       I was recently looking through some memorabilia from my Dad’s family, where I found some important documents that marked milestones for my grandparents, Mendel Karol and Anna (Wolf) Karol.  My bubby Anna/Nechame came to Kansas City to join other relatives there after arriving at Ellis Island on the S.S. Bremen (a German ship built in 1897) on May 17, 1904. My grandpa arrived within the next two years (he had family in Kansas City as well) after a decade-long sojourn in South Africa (he left Akmine, Lithuania most likely to avoid being drafted into the Russian army). They were married on March 17, 1907, in Kansas City, Kansas. What allowed both of my dad’s parents to enter the United States was the open immigration policy of the time.   As I understand the history, as long as there was someone in the United States to offer support, a new arrival was allowed to pass through the gates at their point of entry.      Mendel became an American citizen on April 28, 1924, and Anna was naturalized on September 22, 1941, a few weeks after my parents’ wedding. She was among the residents of the United States required to register in compliance with the Alien Registration Act of 1940. That act established a program to fingerprint and create a record of every non-citizen within the United States.    This legislation also explicitly declared, as one of its purposes, to prohibit “certain subversive activities.” It became known as the “Smith Act” because Virginia Representative Howard W. Smith authored the Act’s anti-Sedition section. So, my grandmother had to tell a local registration officer, sometime late in1940, not only that she had hazel eyes and gray hair and that she was from Nowogrodek, Russia in the district of Minsk, but also that she had not “been affiliated with or active in organizations, devoted in whole or in part to influencing or further the political activities, public relations, or public policy of a foreign government.” I admire the fact that my bubby became a naturalized citizen following that experience! After many years of operating a dry goods store (which closed on January 7, 1939), I am sure that she had nothing to hide!

     These documents reminded me that my grandparents were, at one time, strangers in this country, and that officially becoming an American was part of a long process of acculturation. They became citizens when quotas had been established that prevented the entry of many people who, if they had been given safe harbor here, would likely have added to quality and character of our nation.  Many controls on immigration still exist today that prevent the possibility of citizenship for some who might want to add the best of what they have to offer to the collective American personality. Quotas likely originated, at least in part, out of fear of the stranger or foreigner, which seems to persist even today, even when the diversity of our country should provide Americans from different national or cultural back- grounds with ample opportunities to get to know one another better.

     Attitudes based in fear and misunderstanding still continue to guide the words and actions of some political leaders as well as private individuals who feel they must take the law or their ideology into their own hands, here and in other places around the world.   The murders perpetrated by Muhammed Merah in Toulouse, France, and the case of George Zimmerman, who shot Travyon Martin when Zimmerman had been told by a police dispatcher not to pursue Martin, are two situations that illustrate what can happen when people act out of anger, hatred or personal assumptions that fail to view others as fellow human beings but through the lens of a label placed on those people.

    “Do not oppress the stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” “In every generation, we should see ourselves as if we went free from Egypt.”  I am glad that my grandparents had the courage to make a change in their lives and come to the United States.   What I hope is that the land that they envisioned – a land of freedom, in a world of freedom – is still within our reach. Let us do what we can to create freedom, peace and understanding in our corner of the world.

Photo 

Wedding of Joseph and Ruth Karol, August 31, 1941, Kansas City, Missouri

Top Row - Joseph Karol and Ruth (Glazer) Karol, my parents

Bottom Row - Anna Karol, Mendel Karol, and Pearl Glazer (my Mom's mother) 

For Oneness, For Hope, For Peace – March 22, 2012

Eternal One,

In whose image we are all created,

You have taught us to see Your face

And sense your presence in all of Your children.

There are times when conflict that divides people

Ideological and geographically

Prevents us from truly seeing those who may seem to oppose us

As our brothers and sisters.

Nevertheless, help us to remember that we are brothers and sisters, even when we disagree,

Or when we find ourselves on opposite sides of a dispute or a war.

From recent events in Florida, in France, and in other places around the world,

We know that one individual’s idea of how to live out an ideology

Or how to provide proper neighborhood protection

Can shatter the peace that we strive so hard to preserve. 

It is fear of the unknown, of difference, of the stranger, that leads human beings to commit acts of violence that often cannot be taken back.

Teach us to apply the lessons of the Exodus experience every day, to remember the feelings of the stranger because we were strangers in Egypt. 

Enable us to reach out to would-be foes, as did one Israeli couple who successfully reached over the wall between Israel and Iran to share thoughts on politics, on personal connection, and on peace that could exist if only the proper context could be created.

  Where there is not yet peace, be with the families of those who have died, and strengthen our ability to offer them comfort that will lead to a determination to step across lines that divide.

   Where there is or can be peace, grant us the wisdom to replace fear with understanding, hatred with love and concern, strict justice with tender mercy, oppression with freedom, and closed eyes with a vision of the unity that rests within your Oneness, which touches us all.

Amen.

(Delivered at Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, NM Board meeting on 3/22/2012)

The Journey of Change - February 28, 2012 (Published in the Temple Beth-El Las Cruces Adelante Newsletter for March 2012)

Adam Karol, Rob Tananbaum, Samantha Tananbaum
and Larry Karol
at Congregation Beth Torah
in Overland Park, Kansas on February 18

  In the second week of February, our Wednesday Torah study session and our weekly Torah reading focused on an almost identical passage without being in the same book of the Bible!   The Ten Commandments appear in both Exodus (our Shabbat reading on February 11) and Deuteronomy (which we reached on February 9).  There is a difference in “pace” between our encounters with this central text of our tradition based on our concurrent cycles of reading and study. The weekly Torah readings have a set schedule that takes us through the Torah in a year (some congregations read a third of the portion each week and spread it out over three years).   The Torah study group approaches each chapter on its own time, without a need to quickly move on. We take more time on a particular set of verses when we feel they need more in-depth and extensive discussion.   Either path or pace enables us to fulfill the purpose of  Talmud Torah—learning and/or discovering the insights of our tradition.

At Rose Hill Cemetery

     On the third weekend in February, I joined our son Adam and our niece Samantha (daughter of Rabbi Steve Karol and Mary Karol) and Samantha’s husband, Rob Tananbaum, at the bat mitzvah of a cousin in Overland Park, Kansas.   Among our goals was to take Rob on the “family roots tour” for my family.    Adam and I spent a night in Topeka before the weekend, visiting with friends and treading many of the paths we had taken during our 22 years there.  Much of the city and the people were the same, except for the young people for whom Adam had served as a babysitter who are now as tall as he is!   The theater in which Adam had performed in many musical productions looked the same, but its brand new office looked totally impressive (it was now under the auspices of the county instead of the city, which likely influenced the upgrade).  Once back in the Kansas City area, we noted the growth of our youngest cousins and the growth of the city itself: continued expansion of many neighborhoods, the completion of an impressive performing arts center near the revitalized downtown, and a remodeled Kauffman stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.  Many of the places may have been new, but the routes on which I drove us on our “roots tour” were the same ones I had taken for years.  We passed by two homes where my parents lived and the apartment complex which was their last place of residence; the elementary school and high school that my brother and I attended; and the cemetery where my parents are buried, where we paid our respects for a few quiet moments. After the Saturday Bat Mitzvah party, Adam, Samantha and Rob went to meet some of Samantha’s blogging friends near downtown, so I was on my own in driving back to the hotel.  I could have taken any route I wanted, including a quick ride on I-35.  I chose to leisurely drive along the roads by which the public bus took me home from my summer job at City Hall back to my neighborhood in the southern part of Kansas City, and then I drove past the shopping center near my old house (it has a Trader Joe’s!) and another shopping center where I had bowled in a league during elementary school.  Then I made my way back to the hotel.  I had selected the path that enabled me to revisit many memories from my past, but I readily recognized the changes that had occurred throughout the years.

         Change does happen, and we move forward, at whatever pace seems best for us.  We look behind us mainly to see what can help and support us on the road ahead.   Congregations also undergo changes as they grow from their original purposes for joining together to an ever-expanding vision that fits the new realities of the membership at any given time.  In Judaism, it is often the journey, not the destination, that is most important, including how we get there, what questions we ask, and the recognition that reaching any stop along the way is only temporary, because the cycles of our faith and our lives beckon us towards greater achievement and progress.  As a reading in Mishkan T’filah states, “there is no way to get from here to there except by joining hands, marching  together.”  May our journey take us through a process that will continue to help us grow together as one community!

Neighbors - Prayer delivered at a gathering calling for fair/equal treatment for all citizens by Dona Ana County NM law enforcement officers

 Eternal God,

We learn from holy words, from commandments

That are part of our heritage

That we should love our neighbors as ourselves -

Where neighbor can mean people in our neighborhood or

Our city or our county or our state or our country or our region which may include yet another country – OR our entire planet

Which inhabits this miniscule neighborhood of a vast universe.

We also learn that we should love not only our neighbor

But also the stranger – one who may come from another place -  because we ourselves – if we go back far enough in the histories of our own families – came from another place.  So we should know that we must not oppress the stranger and close our hearts. 

If we are to follow the teachings of God and sages and prophets, we must offer our welcome and open our hands and our hearts.

How is it that we have lost the ability to see all people who reside right next to us as neighbors and as fellow human beings?

How is it that we have forgotten, amid the laws and principles that rule our lives, that there is one basic principle that underlies our relationships, a belief restated by the Jewish sage, Rabbi Akiba 1900 years ago -  – CHAVIV ADAM SHENIVRA B’TZELEM ELOHIM -  Beloved is humankind which is created in the image of God.    That image is the spirit of God that lives inside each of us – that image is where we are all the same.  That image is what unites us and reminds us that we all have feelings, hopes, dreams.  If we see ourselves – all of us -  as reflecting God’s image, there are no borders, there are no rules to keep people out. There are only connections that draw us together, a circle that brings us all into one family.  

So let us pray for the Sheriff, law enforcement officials, the leaders of our county – as well as our city, state and nation – let them show in the way they interpret and enforce laws that we are part of one family – that we are created in God’s image – that each of us deserves respect as a child of our parents, as a member of a family and as fellow children of God.   And may we remember that this applies to  our leaders so that we can help them fulfill their tasks with compassion and wisdom.   

Giving and Giving Even More - February 24, 2012 - Based on Genesis 25:1-9

God spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts;

There are gifts that we give that are tangible.  We may send contributions to local,  national and international causes, agencies and institutions.  We might save clothing, books, toys, and other items to be donated to local agencies that will then resell those items or give them to people in need.  Other gifts are intangible.  We may volunteer for local organizations that offer support for children or senior citizens or for people of all ages.  Our assistance may take the form of just being present and by showing support and kindness. Or, we may be called upon to be an advocate, to enable others to clearly see that person’s needs. 

You shall accept gifts for Me from all those whose hearts so moves them.

The gifts were not to be brought reluctantly or begrudgingly.  Each person bringing something for the creation of the Tabernacle, the worship space for the Israelites, was called upon to offer something willingly and sincerely.  In the same way, our gifts from the creativity of our minds and the work of our hands need to come from the heart. 

And these are the gifts that you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and copper;

The closer the object was to the innermost part of Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, the more valuable the metal that was used.  In fact, all of these metals were valuable, and the one missing from the list is iron.  Iron was used more for weapons, making it incompatible with the spiritual ends the sanctuary was intended to serve.

Blue, purple and crimson yarns, and fine linen, goat’s hair, tanned ram skins, dolphin skins.

The yarns and linen described were made using rare and expense dyes.  Some may object to the widespread use of animal skins in the ancient world.  What is important is that all of the furnishings of the Tabernacle, regardless of their source, we made with extensive labor and great care. 

Acacia wood; oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense.

These gifts signify the light that would burn in the Tabernacle to signify faith, and the spices that would create the aromas that would be associated with this holy space.  These items would establish the sanctity of the Tabernacle, as every kind act that we do is sacred in its own way.

Stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 

Some of the stones were to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.  The stones had different colors, but all together they signified the entire people.  The types of gifts that we give our community may be different, but it takes all of our abilities, strengths, talents and contributions to enrich our community. 

And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. 

The passage does not say that God would dwell “in it,” in the Tabernacle, but “among them” – with the people.  The word that means “dwell” in this verse does not have the meaning of God dwelling permanently in the sanctuary, because God cannot be found only in one place.  It means that the Tabernacle and its rituals would make God’s presence seem real to the people, so that they would think about God in their hearts and minds after the rituals were over.

Exactly as I show you – the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings – so shall you make it.

Today, the pattern of a Jewish sanctuary takes on many different forms.  No two sanctuaries look exactly alike.  Yet, each one has an eternal light, an ark, windows, a menorah and other symbols of our tradition and faith.  The gifts that we give may look different on the surface, but they are essentially the same, because they all offer support, substance and enrichment to our community. 

Praised are You, Eternal God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes us holy with commandments and commands us to occupy ourselves with the needs of the community. 

Personal Conscience and Religious Freedom - as related to recent national events - February 20, 2012

1) Judaism defines personhood as the moment when the head of a fetus/baby emerges from the womb. Some might define personhood as "viability" - when a child can survive on its own with minimal assistance outside the womb. What begins at conception is potential human life, not full human life. Throughout a pregnancy, the mother's life takes precedence. 2) Judaism has sometimes mandated abortion based on a woman's health - mental or physical. One scholar in this field has stated that "pain" or "shame" can be a reason for abortion. This would likely include rape or incest. 3) Even some Orthodox authorities have approved of stem cells taken from a frozen embryo because if that embryo is not implanted in a mother's womb, it is not potential human life. 4) Reform Judaism and even Catholicism allows for members to exercise informed conscience, coming to a decision on one's own after appropriate consideration and personal contemplation. 5) Government policy should allow for religious people and institutions to have freedom to follow their beliefs in what they do offer but should not be restrictive of all citizens because of the views of one particular group. 6) I would consider any public policy that would define personhood beginning at conception, and that would restrict all uses of contraception, as being against Jewish law. People of all religions should be able to follow their conscience. 7) A compromise that connects each person to a health insurance provider directly speaks to the informed conscience of each individual. This offers freedom from religious coercion and promotes the principle of informed conscience. 8) Any congressional laws that would allow an employer to restrict contraception for any reason could, if the laws are influenced by a particular religious viewpoint, violate the establishment of religion clause of the constitution. 9) No religion should rely on government to enforce its own stands among its members, or claim that a law or rule would discourage its members from following their faith. That relationship should be based on the moral force of a religious group among its members.