When my eldest son, Mac, was four years old, he was very into everything outer-space: rockets & planets, martians & the moon.  One night, as we were reading one of his space books, in mid-sentence he stopped me with some urgency. "Papa, outer space is above the sky?" "Yes," I told him. "But what is above 'outer space'?" "More space," I told him, "and stars, and suns and planets." "Yes," he said getting frustrated, "BUT what is beyond all of that?" What is beyond all of that...? I did not (and still don't) have an answer for him; but this week's parshah gives some insight as to why he felt the need to ask this type of question. It is a need that, some would argue, every person in the world who has ever lived desires to fulfill.  Some compare it to bird migration, or the compass needle seeking to find North, or even the ability to love.  Torah tells us (Gen 1:27) that man & woman were made B'zelem Elohim, in God's image.  Judaism tells us that this refers to our very … [Read more...]

This week's Torah portion is Va'etchanan from the book of Deuteronomy, in which Moses continues his 'swan-song' to the Israelites, his final address before he dies and they continue on with their journey. The idea of a swan-song, the final words one might say to an audience that would hear (and perhaps, listen) is both fascinating, and sobering. Not surprising, a good chunk of what Moses relays to our people is a rehash of their recent history; how we got from 'there' to 'here'.  Moses, as is typical with his personality and age, does not pull any proverbial punches.  He 'tells it like it is.'    Hearing this…truth…is not always easy.  There are mistakes that we as a Jewish civilization have made that are painful to recount.  Some of the mistakes were unintentional, and some were deliberate but misguided. But what Moses does so well, amid what we might hear as criticism, is to instill a sense of confidence and pride in our people.  Yes, there have been lows…but … [Read more...]

On Saturday night we recognize the destruction of the First and Second Temples, with the holiday of Tisha B'Av, literally the 9th of the month of Av. Often not celebrated by the Reform Movement in decades past, recognizing Tisha B'Av has come to mean that we mourn not only the loss of the unification of the Jewish people in Jerusalem, but also many other dates throughout history in which calamities to the Jewish people occurred: King Edward I's edict, sending the Jews out of England, Expulsion from Spain in 1492, and the start of WWI in 1914.   When Israel became a State in 1948, there was talk of stopping the recognition of this holiday, with some believing her statehood meant a restoration of our biblical Holy Land. However, this opinion was in the minority and commemorations continued.  On the saddest day of the year, we are called to abstain from activities that bring us joy as we mourn not only destructions of generations, past, but of the suffering that continues in the world … [Read more...]

Justice Louis Brandeis said in 1915, "Let no American imagine that Zionism is inconsistent with patriotism. Multiple loyalties are objectionable only if they are inconsistent." At the time, Brandeis was the head of the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs. He and Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah, established a Zionist movement suitable for American Jewry. Whereas European Zionism was all about escaping Europe for Palestine, American Jews saw no reason to abandon a comfortable life in the United States. Brandeis and Szold convinced a skeptical American Jewish community that it was possible to have many loyalties (we would say identities, today). Each of these loyalties makes us better American citizens. The movement of "Philanthropic Zionism" was born in this era of the early 20th century. American Jews did not feel the urgency to leave the States, so they reconciled their loyalty to world Jewry with financial support to reconstruct a Jewish state in our … [Read more...]

Holy One of Bright Colors, the red, the white, and the blue, may we be showered not only in light this 4th of July, but also with enlightenment.   May that enlightenment come in the form of seeking a collective betterment of our American society. On this holiday, though it is not a Holy Day, we celebrate the camaraderie of the delegates to the 13 original colonies. We pray that in modern times the power of these delegates to come together be reflected back to us.  Divine Creator, you taught us the holiness of words when you breathed the breath of life into the world. Today we long for words to be used for agreement, for the betterment of this world, for a common goal that benefits not only those with strength in step, but that serves the weak as well.  God of Song and Praise, we recall the writing of those longing words for America the Beautiful, "till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine."  An Alternative Prayer:  God of Celebration, may You protect all who engage in the … [Read more...]