This past Sunday we gathered as a synagogue family with children as young as 12 years old to raise our voices, share our feelings, and learn what meaningful action we can take to reduce gun violence in our community. This was a hard, heart-wrenching conversation. The feelings of fear, anger, and sadness expressed by our middle school and high school students cut to the very core our being. We reinforced the need to voice these feelings, and that as their rabbis and cantor, we will always be “safe adults” to whom they can turn. We know our Temple Emanu-El family does not stand alone in the need to give voice to these feelings or take action. The Atlanta Rabbinical Association (ARA) has organized around the cause of gun violence prevention, and Temple Emanu-El is working collaboratively with each synagogue in the Atlanta area on this issue. Just over four weeks since the shooting in Parkland, Florida and a movement of citizens fed up with unmitigated gun violence is beginning to … [Read more...]
It is the greatest story that ever has been told.
One that gave the pilgrims courage to leave the tyranny of King George, to chance the bitter wilderness of the Atlantic Ocean, hoping for the promised land that they would call America. One that provided a ray of light for the African-American slaves through the horrors of slavery, for, they thought, ‘if God was present for the Israelite slaves in the bible, God is there for us as well.’ It was this sliver of faith that kept hope alive. One that has been the cornerstone of faith for countless people who have struggled through depression, addiction, and abuse. It is the story that transcends entertainment into the profound, and into the sublime. And each year, we Jews begin telling our story with a brisket, some matza, and cheap red wine. Where else but around our dinner table (extended through the living room, with mismatched place settings) could we possibly extend memory from our parents and grandparents back to our exodus from Egypt, while at the same time creating … [Read more...]
“Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.”
John Lack spoke these words 12:01 August 1, 1981 upon the launch of MTV. The first music video shown was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star, followed by Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run.” The world of pop music would never be the same. Watching your favorite stars tell their stories, instead of just listening to their music changed the way the world experienced the sounds of secular music. The videos added a personal connection from artist to viewer and gave the audience a sense of theater, with choreography and dance elements. Additionally, music television helped to elevate burgeoning artists and new genres of popular music while keeping the world up to date with pressing news of the times. Ladies and gentlemen of Temple Emanu-El: let’s rock and roll with some new Jewish tunes! Today, March 15th, 2018, Jewish Music Television is born! JMtV is a video campaign that will showcase newer, and new (with a few “oldies” thrown in there too) synagogue music. Every Tuesday catch … [Read more...]
Who is like you, Adonai?
Michamocha Ba-elim Adonai? Mikamocha, ne-edar Bakodesh? Who is like You among the gods, Adonai? Who is like You, majestic in holiness? Midrash teaches us that Nachshon ben Aminadav cried out these words as he waded deeper and deeper into the Red sea. The Egyptians were coming up fast behind the Israelite people. They had two choices: walk into the sea, or turn back toward their slavemasters. Nachshon had an incredible amount of bitachon- trust. So much so that he waded into the water, crying out his affirmation of faith in God as the water rose to his chin, then as the water rose past his lips. Once the water rose past his lips, Michamocha sounded like MiKamocha. It was at that moment, when the water covered Nachshons airway’s that God split the sea. Nachshon, along with those who followed him into the water literally willed the sea to split. Their faith and trust was so powerful that the action of wading into the water literally created its explosion to either … [Read more...]
The Jewish Response to Hopelessness
For millennia Jews have been witness to acts of senseless violence, hatred, and inhumanity. In some cases, it was the Jewish community which suffered directly. In all cases the holiness of the human spirit was diminished. Even two thousand years ago our Torah recognized that the plight of the needy is as eternal as our covenant with God, “since there will never cease to be needy ones from amongst your land, therefore I [Adonai] command you to open your hands to your brethren, to the poor and indigent in your land.”1 Even though poverty and suffering are not something that we can permanently solve, our Torah compels us to act in the face of the seemingly impossible. To be a Jew means that we must look at the enormity of the task and take action. One of the ugliest ways poverty manifests itself is in hunger. Hunger is such a pernicious and existential threat that our great teacher Maimonides tells us that if a stranger asks us for food or water, we must provide it without question.2 … [Read more...]