When I was in college out in Los Angeles, I didn't have the ability to come home to Kansas City for the High Holy Days. Thankfully, the Jewish community of Los Angeles took me in as one of their own. My friend and I even received an invitation to a Second-Day Rosh HaShanah seder from a rabbinical student that we didn't even know that well, but who wanted to extend his family's kindness and welcome us to the table. Now, what makes this story worth telling (besides the obvious lesson of the impact one can have on inviting an acquaintance to a holiday meal) is that I, in my blindness to anything but Ashkenazi Judaism, had missed the fact that I was walking into a Persian home. Among many obvious factors that could have clued me in, the top one should have been that I was invited to a Rosh HaShanah seder and not a Rosh HaShanah dinner. I was very much surprised, but quickly delighted to see the spread: pumpkin seeds, scallions, string beans, black eyed peas, dates, pomegranates, … [Read more...]
Walking the Walk
The news from Haiti is bleak. The images that we see are of regular people, families, desperately trying to put their lives together after a major earthquake and tropical storms. Our hearts go out to them. They ache to 'do something' to assuage their pain, and such a tragic situation. Temple Emanu-El has a partnership with IsraAid, a group of Israeli first responders who go to places like Haiti on the heels of natural disasters to help. They often are literally the first 'boots on the ground', and have become experts on how to set up medical tents, do mass food and water distribution, bring in engineers along with search and rescue teams, and provide the baseline counseling amidst the trauma. Our people's mission, since time began, is to engage the world at its most broken parts, to mend and heal it as best as we can. I don't want to romanticize the situation, for that would cheapen the harsh reality that the Haitians are facing; but I am so proud that IsraAid is there, and I am so … [Read more...]
Justice For All
Tzedek, tzedek tirdof, these are the words at the beginning of our Torah portion this week, Shoftim. There are more than a few opinions on how to translate those words, but the core meaning is: justice is very important, and as a Jew, you ought to pursue it. The bookend to this parasha are the laws concerning vengeance-the short-term, emotion-filled side of finding wholeness. On the one hand we begin with the dispassionate value of justice for all and on the other hand we end with the fiery emotion to mete vengeance on those who have done wrong-two sides of what makes a society fair. On the side of vengeance is the feeling that there must be punishment against the wicked, and on the side of justice: wholeness for the afflicted. My favorite medieval Jewish commentator, Avraham Ibn Ezra, says that the meaning of the command to seek justice is to pursue it whether it will end up good or bad for you. Today, we might call Ibn Ezra's definition for justice the same as the definition for … [Read more...]
Judaism’s Cornerstone
There is a significant school of thought among rabbis and scholars that the 'synagogue', the word that encompasses the place where Jews worship, study and gather, has literally been vital to Jewish civilization for (at least) 2,000 years. Even before the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 A.D., there is significant evidence that many Jewish communities created a special place to gather in order to communicate ideals, distribute charity, study, and commune with the Divine. In theory any of this can be done anywhere. But the reality is that a designated place is necessary for this type of aspirational discourse to actually happen. Thus, the synagogue (or Shul, or Temple) exists to help us live our ideals. The theology behind the Judaism housed in the synagogue is that we have partnered with God to heal our sick world, to take it from where it is, to where it needs to be. Tikkun Olom. This is the mission of every individual Jew, of every Jewish generation, and of the Jewish people … [Read more...]
Our Spiritual ‘Instinct’
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...]
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