Dvar Torah from "Welcome Runners Shabbat"

I hope that those of you who ran in Grandma's marathon (or in the half-marathon or 5k races that weekend) had a great time.  We put together a special Shabbat service on Friday evening June 17, the night before the big race.  Here is the dvar torah I presented on that occasion:

Thoughts on Shelakh Lekha

(Numbers 13:1 - 15:41)

It’s great seeing everyone here this evening as we welcome Shabbat together.  In particular, we welcome all of the runners, and friends and family of runners, and race volunteers who are taking part in this weekend of Grandma’s Marathon races and events.

I’ve been a runner since 11^th grade of high school when I had the great fortune of having a gym teacher, Mr. Toro was his name, who was also the track coach.  I’ve never been all that interested in following major league sports.  And my poor hand-eye coordination is such that I was never any good at sports involving a ball – participating in those sorts of activities was (and really still is) stressful and not all that fun for me.  But Mr. Toro told our gym class that anyone who wanted could be on the track team, no matter how good or mediocre your abilities.  He’d reserve the discretion to put the best runners on the team in more events at particular track meets, but everyone would get to train together and to participate in at least some events at meets.

I personally didn’t stay on track team for more than that spring season of 11^th grade.  And I didn’t even last out the whole season because I got injured part way through. And yet, it was a turning point in my life.  Once I started running, I realized that I really loved it.  At first I couldn’t go more than a mile, but before I knew it, after my running injury healed, I took it up again recreationally and started running 4 to 6 miles at a time alone or with friends just for fun.

And I’ve never stopped since.

I’m not running Grandma’s but I did run a marathon in Quebec City in 2002 just after turning 41.  Next month, just before I turn 50, I’ll be running my 2^nd marathon in Central Vermont.  Besides that I’ve run a dozen or so half marathons and shorter races.   The spiritual bliss and personal sense of well-being that running has given me all these years is well expressed by the special readings that we’ve been hearing during this evening’s service. 

(My friend Danny who has been providing guitar playing and vocals during tonight's Shabbat service has become one of my running buddies here in Duluth and I’m so grateful for the camaraderie and support.)

A marathon is such a huge crazy challenge.  For someone who hasn’t done it, and even for folks who have, it can look like an impossible task.

The Torah tells us that our ancestors were faced with a marathon-sized challenge of their own after the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.  In this week’s Torah portion, Shelakh Lekha, they send out 12 men, tribal big shots no less, to scout out the land of Canaan.  10 of them come back with a pessimistic report – The land is flowing with milk and honey, but it’s filled with powerful people in fortified towns who will decimate us if we try to go there.  Indeed ---  “eretz ochelet yosheveha hi”/ “a land that devours its settlers” (Num. 13:32).

This assessment by 10 of the scouts, described by the Torah as “dibat ha’aretz” (“calumnies" or "evil reports” about the land) (Num. 13:32) is enough to sway the population at large.  Later in the parasha, God complains to Moses – “How long shall this wicked community (Ad matay la'eydah hara’ah hazot”) keep muttering against me?” (Num. 14:27)

Jewish halacha derived from this verse that a minyan (quorum for public prayer) would consist of 10 adults -- because those 10 scouts were a large enough sample of the population to constitute a “community.” ("eydah")

Thankfully, those of us here forming our “eydah” – our minyan for prayer this Erev Shabbat -- are here to encourage each other with hope, joy and thanksgiving.  To lift up one another’s spirits – unlike the minyan of scouts in our Torah portion who bred despair and hopelessness among our ancestors.

Of course, when we read about the discouraging report of the 10 scouts, it’s clear that they weren’t trying to do evil.   We empathize with them.   They may have been notables in their respective tribes, but they were still afraid. 

How poignant their cry that in the face of the dwellers of Canaan–

; וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים, וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם.

("Vanehi ve'eyneynu kachagavim, vecheyn hayinu be'eyneyhem.")

(“We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”) (Num. 13:33).

But what’s wrong with that picture – “We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.” --- ?!

What kind of negative thinking is this?  Not only about self-image but also the assumptions of what others will think of you….

With that sort of mindset, you’re not going to reach the promised land. 

With that sort of mindset you’re not going to reach the 26^th mile of the marathon.

The ones who made it to the promised land, of course, were those that went against the grain – the ones who had hope and confidence and faith.  The ones who gave the minority report.  Those other two scouts, Joshua and Caleb  --  it is they who represent the spirit exemplified by those who are running your  own races this weekend –

It’s the spirit that leads us to say along with Caleb –

עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ--כִּי-יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ

"Aloh na'aleh veyarashnu otah -- ki yachol nuchal lah."

("Let us by all means go up, and we shall inherit it, for we shall overcome it.) (Num. 14:30)

May each of us overcome the challenges before us, whether on the race course or in life and, by all means, "Aloh na’aleh!" – Let us ascend in all the worthy aspirations of our hearts and souls.

B’hatzlachah laratzim/ Good luck runners  --  And, to all of us, Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi David Steinberg

(c) 2011/ 5771

Happy Shavuot

http://jrf.org/showrt&rid=519

Check this out!

(A fun way to engage with the mitzvah of sefirat ha'omer/counting of the omer)

http://homercalendar.net/ 

Meanwhile, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Pesach.

Moa'dim l'simcha*,

Rabbi David

*Literal translation: "times for rejoicing" (traditional greeting for the intermediate days of Passover [also for the intermediate days of Sukkot in the fall.])

The Object of My Affection

(Dvar Torah for Shabbat Metzora, delivered at Temple Israel on Friday evening 4/8/11) 

This Shabbat the parshat hashavua or weekly Torah portion is the second of two in a row that deal with “nega tzara’at”, translated variously in our Plaut Torah commentary as “scaly affection” or “eruptive affection” or “leprous affection.”  In last week’s Torah portion, Tazria,  the rule was stated that a person having such symptoms should be examined by a kohen (i.e., a priest descended from Moshe’s brother Aaron).  The kohen is then supposed to determine whether the person being examined does in fact have nega tzara’at.  If so, the affected person, after an initial period of being quarantined in his or her own dwelling, is then forced to dwell outside the camp for a period of time.  During both stages of this process, he or she must not enter the sanctuary or come into contact with any of the holy objects associated with the sanctuary.

This week’s Torah portion is called Metzora.  “Metzora” is the Hebrew term designating a person who has the affliction or “nega” of “tzara’at.”  In this week’s portion, the Torah sets out the procedure by which the metzora (ie., the person having nega tzara’at) is permitted to return to society following  his or her recovery.  And just as the kohen had been the person who performed the initial examinations that confirmed the presence of nega tzara’at – now the kohen is also the person who performs the procedures that allow the person to return to the camp.  This involves body shaving, animal sacrifices, and the smearing of blood and oil on the person who is being readmitted into the camp.

It’s all very strange, very mysterious, and very puzzling.

For centuries, Jewish commentators have puzzled over whether tzara’at is to be understood as a medical condition or a spiritual condition or both.  Are these scabs and scales signs of physical illness or moral distress?

To the extent this is about medicine, with the kohen being seen as some sort of primitive physician, a very important theme is present in the Torah.  On several different occasions, the Torah specifies less expensive sacrificial animals if a person is poor and cannot afford the standard prescribed animals.  And so we might see in these details a call to all of us to make sure that health care in contemporary society is adequately available to the poor.  And we would want to be sure that our elected representatives at both the state and national levels understand this.  Even as we gather here tonight, this battle wages on in the Minnesota legislature and in the United States Congress over what sort of a society we will be – and over how we will bring our religious values to bear in the formation of public budgetary priorities.

From a more spiritual perspective, a number of the commentators see nega tzara’at not as (or not only as) a physical malady but as a spiritual one.  A classic formulation of this teaching is found in Tractate Arachin of the Talmud:

אמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב (ויקרא יד) זאת תהיה תורת המצורע זאת תהיה תורתו של מוציא שם רע

“Resh Lakish said:  What is the meaning of the verse: “This shall be the ritual concerning the metzora”.   (Lev. 14:2) It means “this shall be the ritual concerning “motzi shem ra” (one who speaks calumny)” (Arachin 15b)

In other words -- one who speaks ill of another, one who engages in lashon hara/ evil speech.

This connection between “motzi shem ra” (“slander”) and metzora (“skin affliction”) is also seen by our commentators in the story of Miriam becoming afflicted with tzara’at in Numbers chapter 12 after she and Aaron express indignation at Moses marrying a Cushite or Ethiopian woman.  As it says: 

י  וְהֶעָנָן, סָר מֵעַל הָאֹהֶל, וְהִנֵּה מִרְיָם, מְצֹרַעַת כַּשָּׁלֶג; וַיִּפֶן אַהֲרֹן אֶל-מִרְיָם, וְהִנֵּה מְצֹרָעַת.

10 And when the cloud was removed from over the Tent, behold, Miriam was leprous (Hebrew: “metzora’at”), as white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam; and, behold, she was leprous. (Hebrew: “metzora’at”)

And, indeed, it’s a well-worn trope for rabbis on the Shabbatot of Tazria and Metzora to preach about the evils of lashon hara and of the importance of ethical speech and the avoidance of gossip and slander. 

What actually is lashon hara?  One definition I encountered that spoke to me is that lashon hara is when you talk ABOUT a person rather than TO that person. 

And I know that every single one of us is guilty of doing this, as often as we might try to avoid it.  So, it’s an ongoing challenge.

This year when studying the parasha, I’ve found myself most interested in the relationship between the metzora(‘at) and the kohen – between the person who gets the skin affliction and the priest who comes to bring him or her back to society at the end of his or her time of isolation.

A contemporary commentator, Rabbi Eli Mansour, suggests that Torah assigns the task of the metzora’s purification specifically to the kohen because the metzora had been spreading gossip and slander ABOUT the kohen.  

As I see it, the Torah forces the slanderer to work together with the person he or she slandered.  The Torah seems to want to find a way for each of us to encounter the other in their full humanity. 

And how does this happen?  In what is for me the most striking detail of the parasha – the kohen symbolically makes the metzora into a fellow kohen:

In Leviticus chapter 8 when Aaron and his sons were invested as priests the Torah says that Moses took the blood of ram of the ordination offering and “Moses took some of its blood and put it on the ridge of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot” (Lev. 8:23).  Now in Parshat Metzora it says that, in this ritual of returning the healed metzora to society, the kohen “shall take some of the blood of the reparation offering, and the kohen shall put it on the ridge of the right ear of the one who is being purified, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.”  (Lev. 14: 14) 

And after that the kohen sprinkles oil just like had been done at his own ordination, and even puts some oil on the head of the person being purified as if the latter were being anointed as a kohen too.

This healing, this purification, this reintegration seems very personal indeed.  The Torah seems to be telling us that whenever we have a gripe with a neighbor, a colleague, a loved one – we need to remember how we are connected to one another.  We need to struggle against the impulse to bad mouth one another, to objectify one another, to distance ourselves from one another.  True, distance may be called for at first – a time out, a time to reflect, a time to repent.

But then we have to come together again and come back into the camp.

We need to anoint one another, to see one another as fellow servants of God.

Shabbat shalom.

© Rabbi David Steinberg 5771/2011

AUTHORIZATION FOR SALE OF CHAMETZ

DISPOSAL/SALE OF CHAMETZ

(Mechirat Chametz) 

The disposal of leaven (chametz) before the start of the Passover holiday traditionally requires not only the removal or storing of all chametz, but also its dispossession.  Actually, traditional Jewish law states that we are not allowed to own any chametz during the entire Passover holiday.

Therefore, in order to enable us to fulfill these traditional requirements, Jewish law provides for a technical procedure whereby we are able to sell all chametz in our possession for the duration of the holiday.  This is known as “mechirat chametz” (“sale of chametz”).

Rabbi Steinberg will be happy to assist you with the sale of chametz, thus enabling you to have a kosher home for Pesach.  If you wish to take part in this tradition, please complete and mail (or bring in) the form below to Temple Israel, 1602 E. 2^nd Street, Duluth, MN 55804 (attention: Rabbi David Steinberg) so that Rabbi Steinberg receives it by April 15, 2011.

It is traditional to make a special tzedakah donation called “ma’ot chittim” (“wheat money”) when selling one’s chametz.  Therefore, please consider making a donation to MAZON: A JEWISH RESPONSE TO HUNGER when submitting the authorization form below.  Rabbi Steinberg will be happy to forward your donation to that worthy organization.  Alternatively, you can make your contribution to Mazon directly by visiting their website www.mazon.org . 

Also, you may wish to donate some or all of your unopened, non-perishable chametz items to the CHUM Food Shelf by placing these items in the shopping carts located on the lower level of the Temple (but no later than two days before the start of Passover please.)

Chametz form: click here

We, The Workers

[The following is the text of the dvar torah that I delivered last Friday evening, Feb. 25th, for Shabbat Vayakhel, the weekly Torah portion found at Exodus 35:1 - 38:20]

The Torah goes to enormous lengths to describe the building process of the portable structure sometimes called  mishkan /dwelling place/tabernacle, and sometimes called  mikdash/sanctuary, and sometimes called ohel mo’ed/tent of meeting.  In fact the details about the mishkan dominate much of the second half of the Book of Exodus. 

The subject is introduced in Parshat Terumah, beginning at Exodus 25.  That Torah portion includes God’s instructions to Moses.  Now, in this week’s portion, Vayakhel, there is a detailed repetition of this material as Moses relays the instructions to the people.  Then another repetition in this week’s portion, as the various components and furnishings of the structure are fabricated.  And, finally, in next week’s concluding portion of the Book of Exodus, Parshat Pekudey, we have yet another repetition of all of these details as the Mishkan is finally erected and its furnishings are put in place.

Why so much space devoted to such seemingly tedious and mind-numbing details?

Some, like the 15^th century Spanish  Jewish commentator Isaac Abravanel, hold that many of the construction details contain a symbolic or allegorical meaning.  

For example  --- The images of two cherubs are to be made at the top of the ark.  But the Torah says  "ufeneyhem ish el achiv" /"Their faces should be directed towards each other"  (Ex. 37:9).   From this detail comes the teaching that we should never turn away from our fellow human beings – that we are to serve God by striving not to be indifferent to the human needs of others.  And that we should strive to communicate with one another directly, forthrightly and honestly.

I think another theme we can derive from this excess of detail about the mishkan is the theme of the dignity and importance of work.  The Torah often uses the word “melacha” (מְלָאכָה)  to designate creative work.  This appears to be a subset of “avodah,”, which is the more generic Hebrew term for work.

In the book of Genesis, Torah teachs  --

 וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה; וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל-מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה.   וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת-יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ:  כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל-מְלַאכְתּוֹ, אֲשֶׁר-בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת. 

On the seventh day, God finished “melachto” [His “work”] that God had been doing, and ceased mikawl melachto [from all His melacha]  that  God had done.  And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased mikawl melachto [from all His melacha] of creation that God had done. (Gen. 2: 2-3)

And here in our Torah portion Vayakhel, just before enumerating all the melacha/ all the work undertaken by the Israelites in building the mishkan, Torah reminds us

 שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִהְיֶה לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן, לַיהוָה

On six days melacha/work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to Adonai…  (Ex. 35:2a).

Jewish Bible commentators over the centuries have noted that the “work” or “melacha” involved in the people’s construction of the mishkan at the end of the book of Exodus is a human counterpart to God’s “melacha” in creating the world at the beginning of the book of Genesis.  And the traditional 39 Avot Melachot (i.e., the 39 major categories of work traditionally forbidden on Shabbat) are based on the activities that the Torah says the Israelites did in constructing the mishkan. 

In the Talmud, we learn --- גדולה מלאכה שמכבדת את בעליה – “Gedolah melacha shemechabedet et be'aleyha"/ "Great is melacha for it gives honor to those who do it”. (Nedarim 49b)

These Jewish teachings about the dignity of work and of the worker seem all the more important this week as the events in Madison, Wisconsin continue to agitate, inspire or aggravate us, depending on where we might place ourselves on the political spectrum.

Many of us find ourselves furious at Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his allies in the Wisconsin legislature over their efforts to crush the public service workers unions there.  They argue that it’s all about balancing the budget.  Yet, that argument appears hollow when they insist on stripping the unions of most collective bargaining rights even after the unions have agreed to the financial concessions called for in the pending legislation there.

For example, just today the national organization “Jewish Funds for Justice” issued a press release that reads in part as follows:

The right to dignified working conditions, the opportunity to earn a decent wage for a day’s work, and the power of workers to negotiate fairly with employers -- these are basic Jewish values. Jewish Funds for Justice supports the public employees in Wisconsin and other states who are struggling today to defend these hard-earned rights, and we urge other Jews and Jewish organizations to stand with the public servants of our nation.

For twenty-five years, Jewish Funds for Justice has been committed to advancing the rights of workers in our country and striving to ensure a fair and decent wage for all workers. For more than a century the American Jewish community has proudly supported the organized labor movement as a vehicle for achieving the promise and opportunity of America. As the protests in Madison approach the two-week mark, and as Governor Walker and leaders in other states utilize budget crises to disguise attacks on collective bargaining, the Jewish community has a responsibility to once again answer the call of our rich heritage and stand with the labor movement and for hard-working men and women across the nation.

http://www.jewishjustice.org/story/2011-02-25/jfsj-supports-protesters-wisconsin-and-other-states

An important counterargument advanced by supporters of Gov. Walker is that public service workers are in a different situation than employees of private companies.   For in the case of civil servants, the employer is the State itself.  And they quote no less a storied political liberal than President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who in 1937 wrote the following on the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of the National Federation of Federal Employees.

FDR wrote:

The desire of Government employees for fair and adequate pay, reasonable hours of work, safe and suitable working conditions, development of opportunities for advancement, facilities for fair and impartial consideration and review of grievances, and other objectives of a proper employee relations policy, is basically no different from that of employees in private industry. Organization on their part to present their views on such matters is both natural and logical, but meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government.

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15445

There is merit in both of these philosophical approaches.  However, as I see it, the fact of the matter is that the Wisconsin governor didn’t campaign on any sort of promise to decimate the public service unions’ ability to function.

When he and his supporters simply argue that “we’re broke” and refuse to negotiate, even when the unions are saying they’d agree to the particular wage and benefits concessions demanded of them ---- this doesn’t seem like the kind of honest and open communication evoked by our Torah portion’s description of the cherubim over the ark "ufeneyhem ish el achiv" -- who encountered one another face to face.

גדולה מלאכה שמכבדת את בעליה /  “Gedolah melacha shemechabedet et be'aleyha"/ "Great is work for it gives honor to those who do it”.

On this Shabbat, as we pause from the work of the week, we give thanks for the blessings we enjoy from God’s work of creation and from the work that our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, and we ourselves – contribute to the functioning of society.   And we pray that those who exercise economic and political power will use it justly; that political controversies will be waged “leshem shamayim” (“for the sake of heaven”); and that every worker in this society – whether in the private or public spheres – will be guaranteed dignity and fair treatment. 

And creating and sustaining such  a society is the melacha/  the work of us all.

Lo alekha hamelachah ligmor, vlo atah ben chorin lehibatel mimena (Pirke Avot 2:16).  We may not be able to finish this work, but neither can we absent ourselves from the endeavor.

Shabbat shalom.

(C) Rabbi David Steinberg 5771/2011

Photo exhibition for Jewish Disability Awareness Month

February has been designated as "Jewish Disability Awareness Month."  We haven't scheduled any particular programs here at Temple Israel this month on that theme.  However, I wanted to share with you a link to an interesting photo exhibit on the topic, which is on display in St. Louis Park through February 28th.  At the JRLC Day on the Hill program in St. Paul yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Strauss, the photographer who created the exhibit.  You can view it at the Sabes JCC in St. Louis Park or here on line by visiting the following link:  http://www.slideshare.net/JaneStrauss/slideshow-a-part-or-apart-6600695 

And, if you happen to be in the Twin Cities next weekend, you might want to check out a free screening at the Sabes JCC of a new film called "Wretches and Jabberers" which portrays the true story of two Jewish men with autism who embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence.  The screening takes place on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m.  Further details, including how to reserve a free seat to the screening, can be found at the following link: http://sabesjcc.org/calendar.htm#jdam 

Mitzrayim Transformed

These past couple of weeks my thoughts have often been veering to the momentous news of the dawn of freedom in Egypt. 

In Hebrew, Egypt is known as “Mitzrayim” (מצרים).  Our liturgy and our historical memory associates Mitzrayim with slavery and bondage.  We sing “Mi Chamocha” every evening and morning service to remind us of the exodus from Egypt – and invoke yetziat mitzrayim at the end of the Shema as well.  

And some see the word Mitzrayim as being related to the word “Mitzarim” – narrow places, as in Megillat Eicha/ The Book of Lamentations (1:3), which describes the ancient siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians with the words:  

כָּל-רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ, בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים

"all her pursuers overtook her in the narrow places"

------------

But that’s not the Mitzrayim we see being streamed live on the internet around the world today – We see Egypt today as a place where non-violent resistance fueled by new social media tools has unseated a modern-day Pharaoh by means of tweets and facebook pages rather than plagues.

I'm incredibly moved and inspired by what's going on in right now in Egypt and I'm hoping that the (mostly) peaceful revolution taking place there before our eyes will lead to a new era of human rights and freedom there.   And that the "new Egypt" will be a positive force towards bringing peace to Israel and the Palestinians living in dignity side-by-side right next door.

We in the Jewish world have a right to feel a bit anxious.   Israel has had peace at its western border for three decades because it made a deal with a tyrant.  Now that the tyrant is out of office, we may worry – what will become of the peace treaty.

But so far we have reason to be hopeful – The military in Egypt is now in power for a transitional period.  They are admired by the population at large and they are filled with leaders who have close ties to the United States and who have supported the peace treaty with Israel.   And the military council has publicly announced that Egypt will continue to abide by all its international treaty obligations – which would include the peace treaty with Israel. 

The values of dignity and freedom that have prompted the Egyptian uprising are the same as those we in the Jewish world have long invoked in our remembrance of our own liberation from Egyptian repression.  But now the very mention of “Mitzrayim”  in our Jewish liturgy has been transformed. 

Perhaps some day soon Egyptians will be remembering Tahrir Square and the events of February 11^th with seders of their own.

To Arms?

Here's my dvar torah from last Friday night 1/14/11 (Shabbat Beshallach/ Shabbat Shirah)

Thoughts on Beshallach (2011/5711)

(Ex. 13:7 – 17:16)

“The ways of the Torah are pleasant, and all her paths are peace.  Temple Israel bans guns on these premises.”

That’s what it says on the sign by the door of this building. 

Shocking, when you think of it.  The fact that we need to specify that we don’t want guns in this House of Prayer.  That, otherwise, there are those who might think it’s fine to carry a gun in our midst.

But that’s apparently the nature of the State we live in.  And the nature of many other states in the U.S.

I first saw signs like this when I went to Arizona for the first and thus far only time in March 2007, the year the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association had its annual meeting in Phoenix.    I would pass various shops and businesses with signs like this and think, what sort of bizarre place is this where gun carrying is the norm.   

Shabbat is meant to be a day of peace.  “Shabbat Shalom”/ “Sabbath Peace”  -- That’s how we greet each other on this day that our tradition teaches is a “taste of the world to come” – a day when we acquire “neshama yeteyra”/ “an additional soul” – and when the “malachei hasharet”/ “the ministering angels” accompany us in our Temples and in the “mikadashim me’atim”/ the “miniature Temples” that are our homes.

How sad and tragic and gut-wrenching is it that last week – on Shabbat of all days – our nation experienced such horrific violence, with the killing of six people and the wounding of 13 more?

From what has been reported, it seems pretty clear that Jared Loughner was dealing with his own paranoid delusions.  I can’t help but believe that stricter gun control laws might have kept him from carrying out his violent acts.  There needed to be better background checks so that his history of threatening behavior could have prevented him from purchasing the weapon he used to kill and wound his victims.  Moreover, the type of weapon and ammunition that he used was legally banned in the United States from 1994 to 2004 until Congress debased itself before the NRA to let the assault weapons ban expire.

The prevalent attitude of our society towards the proliferation of guns is a sick abomination.  And if such language lacks “civility” – so be it – at least I’m not threatening to “reload” or employ “second amendment solutions” against those whose views on this topic I despise.

And yet, here’s what Arizona congressman Trent Franks said this week, as quoted in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal:

 “I wish there had been one more gun there that day, in the hands of a responsible person.” [“House Pays Tribute to Attack Victims,” Wall Street Journal, 1/13/11, p. A5]

I dunno --- I’m not a marksman, I don’t hunt for sport (which is counter to Jewish tradition anyway), and I’m not a police officer or soldier on active duty.   All of those uses of guns I can see my way to understanding. 

But to me it’s just a shanda/ a shame, a travesty that our society is so filled with guns.  Congressman Franks says he wishes there had been one more gun.  As for me, I wish there had been one less…

Thinking about the events of this past week, I found myself paying particular attention to a verse near the start of this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Beshallach.  At Exodus 13:18, the Torah says “…vachamushim alu veney yisra’el mey’eretz mitzraim” --- “The Israelites went up ARMED from the Land of Egypt.”

The word “chamushim” (חמשים) is actually an obscure term which, at first glance, appears to have something to do with the number five – which in Hebrew is “chameysh” (חמש).

Rashi’s commentary (France, 11^th century) understands “chamushim” to mean “armed” –  and that seems to be the interpretation favored by most of the traditional sources and contemporary Jewish translations.  Ibn Ezra (Spain, 12^th century) says that some say “chamushim” means “armed”, because it refers to the “fifth rib” opposite which a sword is worn.

But the 12^th century French commentator Bekhor Shor says “chamushim” means “well stocked with food.”  He bases this interpretation on the use of the verb “lechamesh” in Gen 41:34.  That passage concerns an earlier era when Joseph advised the Pharaoh of his time ”ve-chimeysh et eretz mitzrayim besheva shney ha sova. – that he should  “take one fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty.“  Bekhor Shor notes that the manna didn’t start coming down until a month after the Exodus.  So it would make sense to understand the adjective “chamushim” to mean “well stocked with food,” just as the Egyptian storehouses had been thanks to Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

I guess I like that interpretation better.  On this Shabbat when we want to put the violence of Tucson behind us and envision a world of peace and justice, it’s comforting to think of our ancestors loading themselves down with food rather than arms.

I know.  It seems like wishful thinking. 

And yet, maybe on this Shabbat we can imagine a world where what is most abundant is לחם/ lechem (“bread”) rather than מלחמה/ milchamah (“war”). 

As it says in Psalm 34 – “Ta’amu u’re’u ki tov Adonai – Ashrei ha gever yecheseh bo/  “Taste and see how good is the Eternal;  Happy is the one who takes refuge therein.”

Shabbat shalom.

© Rabbi David Steinberg (5771/2011)

Thanksgiving Sermon

Chanukah begins at sundown tonight.  One of the liturgical changes associated with Chanukah is that we add the prayer "Al Hanisim" ("for the miracles") to the Birkat Hoda'ah (Thanksgiving blessing) of the Amidah.  (We also add "Al Hanisim" to the "Birkat Hamazon" [Grace after meals]).  Last week, when I delivered the following dvar torah at the Central Duluth Interfaith Thanksgiving service, I emphasized how in the Jewish religion it's "Thanksgiving Day" every day.  If we think about how the liturgy inserts the Chanukah miracles into the daily Thanksgiving blessing, we come to the conclusion that, in our lives as Jews, every day is Thanksgiving, and Chanukah even more so...

Chag Urim Sameach/ Happy Chanukah!

Entering into God’s Presence with Thanksgiving

(Dvar Torah for  Central Duluth Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, November 2010)

Good evening.

I feel honored and delighted to have been invited to share some thoughts with you tonight on the meaning of Thanksgiving.  However, before I plunge ahead with that endeavor, I just want to say how thankful I am to live in a community where such wonderful relationships exist across the lines of religious and cultural differences.   Our service tonight is a prime illustration of this:  We gather tonight in the beautiful sanctuary of Pilgirm Congregational Church with a noble agenda: To share with one another, freely and respectfully, some of our deepest values – recognizing that we need not be uniform in order to be united;  recognizing that in religious diversity there is spiritual strength.  

The American holiday of Thanksgiving certainly lends itself to this kind of shared celebration.  For the basic principle of the importance of giving thanks for our blessings is a principle shared by all of our communities of faith.

In my own Jewish tradition, Thanksgiving is traditionally evoked three times a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year  in the prayer known as the “Birkat Hoda’ah” or “Thanksgiving Blessing”.  This “Thanksgiving Blessing” constitutes an integral part of the central Jewish prayer known as the Amidah or standing prayer.  Here’s an English translation of it:

"We gratefully acknowledge You, that You are our Eternal God and God of our ancestors.  You are the Rock of our life, the Power that shields us in every age.  We thank You and sing Your praises:  for our lives which are in Your hand, for our souls which are in Your keeping, for the signs of Your Presence we encounter every day, and for Your wondrous gifts at all times, morning, noon and night.  You are Goodness:  Your mercies never end. You are Compassion: Your love will never fail.  You have always been our hope.  For all these things, O Sovereign God, let your Name be forever praised and blessed.  O God, our Redeemer and Helper, let all who live affirm You and praise Your Name in truth.  Barukh atah Adonai, Hatov shimkha ulekha na’eh l’hodot/ Blessed are You, Eternal One, Your Name is goodness, and to you it is fitting to give thanks.

We also traditionally give thanks in Judaism by saying a blessing before we eat and saying the Birkat Hamazon or grace after meals after we eat.  As a proof text for the practice of saying a blessing before we eat, our ancient sages cite the verse from Psalm 24 – “L’adonai ha’aretz u’mloah.” /“The earth and all its fullness belongs to God.” And as a proof text for the practice of saying grace after the meal, they cite the verse from Deuteronomy 8 – “V’achalta, v’savata uveyrachta et adonai elohekha al ha’aretz hatovah asher natan lakh”/ “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall praise the Eternal your God for the good land that God has given you.”

And every Friday evening, the traditional Kabbalat Shabbat service which welcomes the Jewish Sabbath opens with the words of Psalm 95 --- -- Lechu Neranena Ladonai, Naria L’tzur yisheynu,  Nekadma fanav b’todah bizmirot nariah lo/  “Come, let us sing joyfully to the Eternal One, let us shout for joy to our Rock of deliverance, Let us enter God’s presence with Thanksgiving”

And so, every day of the year we do well to keep God’s blessing in the forefront of our conscience --- and especially so on this American Holiday that we can all share with one another.

******************************************************

On the other hand… there is a danger in focusing totally on expressions of thanksgiving and praise.  Gratitude can easily evolve into complacence.   We should not lull ourselves into any smug assurance that, as in the sarcastic view expressed in Leonard Bernstein’s opera “Candide”  ---  “All’s for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”

That is clearly not the case.  Millions around the world go hungry every day.  Millions around the world live in poverty.  And those of us who DO have food to eat and a roof over our heads – must not be satisfied with simply thanking God for our blessings.

Psalm 37:25, a verse which is part of the traditional Jewish grace after meals does seem to make the Panglossian claim – “All’s for the Best in this Best of All Possible Worlds.”  The psalmist asserts:   Na’ar hayiti v’gam zakanti velo ra’iti tzadik ne’ezav, vzar’o mevakesh lachem/ “I have been young, and now I am old;  Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”  

Yes – you will find this verse in the Bible --  but that doesn’t mean it’s true.

Rather, our task is to make it true.

And so we should understand the words of Psalm 37 not as a pious platitude but rather as a moral challenge: 

“I have been young, and now I am old;  Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”

The challenge confronts us: 

In our imperfect world there are  righteous people who have been forsaken and there are  children begging for bread.

And our faith in God must be an impetus to action and not an excuse for inertia.

The 18^th century chasidic Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sassov put this idea in even more audacious terms.  He used to tell his followers:  There are times when we must actually believe that there is no God!  For example, when someone who is needy comes to ask you for bread, you must not send him away with such comforting words as, ‘God will provide,' nor may you use God as an excuse by saying, ‘If God wanted you to have my money, then you would have it.'  At that moment, you must act as if there is no God, and you are the only one who can help!"

In the Hebrew language, the infinitive “lehitpalel” --- meaning “to pray” is actually a reflexive verb that can be translated as “to judge oneself.”  Thus, from this perspective, every prayer contains within it an element of challenge.  Yes, God’s blessings surround us each moment.  But no, we have not yet completed the task of “Tikkun Olam” of repairing the world.  We have not yet prepared the way for Messianic days.  We have not yet fashioned a world in which every man, woman and child is truly treated as being created “btzelem elohim”/”in the image of God.”

Each of us looks (or at least ought to be looking) for that delicate balance between faithful gratitude and holy dissatisfaction.   We seek to combine our sense of Thanksgiving for our blessings with our sense of indignation at the hunger and poverty that remain as a blight upon the world.

In the classical rabbinic text “Pirke Avot” there is a famous aphorism – “Lo alekha hamlakha ligmor v’lo atah ben chorin lehibatel mimenah.” – which, roughly translated, means “You are not required to finish the work but neither are you free to absent yourself from it.” 

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, may each of us be fully present, and not absent.  May we be present to God and to our neighbor.   Thanking the Eternal for our Blessings.  Determined to partner with God to repair the world through acts of generosity, caring and loving kindness.   

I’d like to conclude with the words of the poet Judy Chicago.  May these words be a vision for us of what, with God’s help, we can together bring to pass.  Her poem is entitled “Merger: A Vision of the Future”:

And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded with power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another’s will

And then all will be rich and free and varied

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the earth’s abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young

And then all will cherish life’s creatures

And then all will live in harmony with each other and the earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

          Thank you very much.  And  Happy Thanksgiving.

© Rabbi David Steinberg, 5771/2010