This may very well be one of the biggest memes of the Jewish world: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? — Pirkei Avot 1:14 (You can even find this teaching in the entrance hall to Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium!) If you’ve been on social media even a little bit throughout this pandemic, you’ve become well versed in the less holy category of internet “memes” that cover a variety of topics: from making light of a hard situation, to offering inspiration, critique, and sometimes just something completely random to get our minds off of everything else going on in the world. Memes have been floating around the internet well before the pandemic, but I feel like I see them more and more in my newsfeeds. But I’d like to draw our attention to a Jewish text that I’ve always thought had a slight parallel to “meme” culture (but obviously far more holy). The parallel is that the text offers tangible, relatable, and quick teachings for … [Read more...]
Reaching Higher in these Corona Days
For better or worse, there is a certain amount of social (and personal) pressure to better ourselves in these Corona Days, to use the unexpected time to make ourselves better. For some of us, this means learning to play the piano. For others, it means spending quality time with our family. Some of us seek to get in shape, or finally get to those photo albums, or rekindle old friendships. There are many ways to better ourselves, and certainly, the time seems to be conspicuously present, like an unopened gift, waiting for us. One of the ways that we can better ourselves is to make ourselves ethically and morally, even spiritually…more. It is harder to qualify this, but it is possible. The second half of this week’s double Torah portion, Kiddushim, begins with the words: “God spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I am holy, YHVH your God.”(Lev 19:1-2) The Torah portion then goes on giving us a (seemingly) … [Read more...]
Am Yisrael Chai—Celebrating Independence Under Quarantine
On the surface, celebrating independence under quarantine seems just as ironic as gathering for a Pesach Seder when we are forced inside during a plague. Our experiences under COVID-19 challenge our very notions of community, peoplehood, and independence—these being what we celebrate most in Jewish life. Am Yisrael Chai Over the past six weeks (has it only been six weeks?!?!), we have proven that it is possible to maintain, and even grow, our Jewish community in the most dire circumstances. Of course, this isn’t the first time that the Jewish people have been faced with existential danger. When trouble looms, our community rallies in support of one another. From Pharaoh to the Third Reich to 1967 and beyond, the Jewish people do what it takes to survive. Am Yisrael Chai In the coming days, we will honor the fallen heroes of the State of Israel and make the stark transition from memorializing the deceased to celebrating independence. Though traveling to Israel seems a far off dream at … [Read more...]
Joy and Sorrow in the Same Hand
The wailing siren signals the city to a halt. People step out of their cars on the highway, pause in their steps on the way to whatever is most important and pressing. This is the call of memory. The call of battles lost and won. The song of the voices of those who are no longer with us. This is Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s day of remembrance. We are low as we move through the day in sorrow and solemnity. We remember the fallen who lost their lives defending our Jewish home with memorial services; weaving text and poetry and song and silence. And then, as the last mournful melodies fade into the ether, Israel bursts into fanfare and color and light. Spectacular dancing and jumping and celebration abounds. In true Sabra fashion, our tears of sorrow instantly become tears and shouts of joy upon our Independence. The ability to hold both deep sorrow and exuberant joy in the same vessel is extraordinary. Israel’s example of being able to do so sets an example for us Diaspora Jews. Israel is a … [Read more...]
Corona, Pesach Journey, and You
Whether you completed Passover last night (as Reform and Jews in Israel did), or are ready to complete it at sundown tonight (as the rest of the Jews in the diaspora will), the memories of this year’s seder are still fresh. The Passover story is the central story of our people, who after years leave the land of Egypt, and their narrow options, with a new leader towards a new land, a new time, and a new state of mind. To get there, to Canaan, they had to traverse through the desert wilderness, B’midbar, a place of uncertainty…but also of opportunity. They would face new challenges, but they would also find new strengths in themselves, through one another, their faith in Judaism, and their evolving relationship with God. Those weeks upon weeks in the Wilderness were hard. There were shortages, and sometimes questions about which direction they should go, but their newfound strength as a community, a kehillah, proved to be their salvation. On the day that we left Egypt, … [Read more...]
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