I love Friday night!

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Parshat Bo
January 18, 2012

Good evening,
It is so nice to see you here on a Shabbat evening.  For me, Friday night is one of my favorite times.  While for me, the most stressful part of my week can be Shabbat, Friday night is a time when our gears shift.  We change from the hustle and bustle of the week to a different avir, a different atmosphere.  On Friday night, we come together as a family.  We light candles.  We drink wine.  We, hopefully, enjoy dinner together.  We bless our children and our spouses.  In creating this time together, we pause from our hectic lives to acknowledge our gratitude.  

No matter how stressful, no matter how sick we get, no matter what challenges we are dealing with on a regular basis, we are lucky.  We live, as Jews, in America, in the 21st century.  There is no time like the present.  We have more opportunities, benefits, mitzvot as American Jews or Jewish Americans than anywhere else.  While we haven’t seen a Jewish president, we have seen candidates for VP and many high offices, some of whom have also demonstrated that they could be observant of the Sabbath AND serve the country.

So this Shabbat and every Shabbat is a time for thanks.  It is a time to remember that even Gd, who can do anything at anytime, rested.  Did Gd rest because Gd needed rest, NO!?  Gd rested to demonstrate to us that we, human beings need a break now and then.  Gd rested to demonstrate to us that no matter our situation, we can and should take some time, to power down, see our family and enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Shabbat is also a time for education.  We can read Jewish texts or secular texts.  We can discuss issues of today or yesterday.  We can look at the world around us and consider the blessings of this world.  

In this week’s parsha, Bo, we read about the preparations for leaving Egypt.
Chapter 12
24 "You shall observe this as an institution for all time, for you and for your descendants. 25 And when you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this rite?' 27 you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.'"

From the very beginning of our traditions, education has been central.  Why do you think that Jews have been so successful in this world?  Given the opportunity, education, secular and religious has been a central value for most Jews.  We have said to our children, ask questions, think about the world around you.  Do not accept the status quo, but challenge it, change it, imagine what the world could look like with your stamp on it!  In our Torah, when talking about the rituals of Passover, the Torah says “When your children ask you. . .”  This is a big assumption.  While it seems that children naturally ask questions, this skill must be cultivated.  Children must be challenged, encouraged, excited to ask questions.  This takes parental interest and involvement.

This is what I pray I will be capable of with my daughter.  I pray that when she asks, I will say, “Let’s look it up together” rather than, “shush, I’m busy.”  I pray that I will investigate the world more through her eyes.  I pray that I will make Shabbat a special time for her, so that she always looks forward to it.

I pray the same for you.  Tonight was not exactly what we had planned.  Next month we will have dinner, but it is important for things not to work out sometimes.  We cannot appreciate what does work without the occasional reminder that not everything works.  Imperfection helps us appreciate when things do work out.  Tonight was a lovely evening.  It is nice to see you here and I pray we will have many, many more Friday nights together.  If you would like to do this more than once a month, please tell me, so we can make it happen!
Shabbat Shalom.

Not freedom FROM, but freedom TO

Parshat Vayera
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
January 12, 2013

This week’s parsha is famous for the plagues.  Whether on Pesach or year round, it makes for a great story.  Pharaoh is stubborn (whether with Gd’s help or independently), but through a series of miracles and punishments, Pharaoh decides to let our people go.  At least for a moment, then a plague ends and Pharaoh says, “No, wait, stay!”

Relating to Passover, this parsha is also famous as the source of the four cups of wine.  Each cup is seen to come from verses 6 and 7 of the 6th chapter of Shmot

ו  לָכֵן אֱמֹר לִבְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲנִי יְ-ה-וָ-ה, וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם, וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲבֹדָתָם; וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בִּזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה, וּבִשְׁפָטִים גְּדֹלִים.	6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments;
ז  וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם, וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵא--לֹהִים; וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם, מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם.	7 and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

These two verses from Sh’mot (Exodus) declare liberation 4 times:
1. I will take you out [והוצאתי] from the labors of the Egyptians
2. I will deliver you [והצלתי] from their slavery
3. I will redeem you [וגאלתי] with an outstretched arm and with great judgments
4. I will take you [ולקחתי] to be My people, and I will be your G-d.

Some, who say we are ready for the fifth cup of wine at Passover, also include

ח  וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂאתִי אֶת-יָדִי, לָתֵת אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב; וְנָתַתִּי אֹתָהּ לָכֶם מוֹרָשָׁה, אֲנִי יְהוָה.

8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.'

(The debate about that line is if Gd has given us Israel yet in all senses.  Some argue that the State of Israel is this embodiment, others say we must wait for Messiah.

Yet even with these famous ideas, within one of these verses, I see a reminder of a verse from last week
Chapter 5:1

א  וְאַחַר, בָּאוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אֶל-פַּרְעֹה:  כֹּה-אָמַר יְ-ה-וָ-ה, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, שַׁלַּח אֶת-עַמִּי, וְיָחֹגּוּ לִי בַּמִּדְבָּר.

1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.'

Last week we saw that Moses asked Pharaoh for freedom FROM Pharaoh so that we might have freedom TO worship Gd.  This week we see see that Gd will redeem us and then take us as Gd’s people.  

While I was in Israel, I studied with Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, a JTS rabbi and educator in Israel.  This week he shared a comment of Joseph B’khor Shor, a 12th century French rabbi, who wrote a commentary on the Torah.

Joseph B’khor Shor shares an essential interpretation of Israelite redemption: far from becoming “free agents,” the Israelites transition from the authority of one master to that of another. According to our exegete, when God declares “and I will take you as My People,” God’s message is to say that God will be a more benevolent master than Pharaoh. God is on one hand “lowering” the Divine Self to become the master of these former slaves; and, on the other hand, the Israelites choose to raise themselves by serving a higher authority.

On some profound level, B’khor Shor inverts our common understanding of yetziat Mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt) and redemption. Though associations with liberation from bondage conjure images of shackles breaking, the Israelites are far from unfettered. They now become the servants of God. And it is through the structure of covenant, law, and relationship that they become free to live meaningful, purposeful, and holy lives. Eschewing freedom that leads to chaos and idolatry, God and the Israelites choose a different path—one that will lead to a prophetic and divine vision of a world repaired. http://learn.jtsa.edu/content/commentary/va-era/5773/slaves-pharaoh-servants-god

It is said that every rabbi/teacher/preacher/minister has only a few sermons, but they share them over and over again in different ways.  For me, one of my key messages is that in Egypt we were not freed FROM Pharaoh, but freed TO serve Gd.  Thus our lives are not just a gift but an obligation.  We have responsibilities as human beings, as Jews.  As human beings we have responsbilities to the planet, to each other, to humanity.  As Jews, we have the Mitzvot, we have the commandments, which help us to fulfill those Gd-given responsibilities.  We are not free to live our lives and do whatever we wish, but are here to serve Gd.  Repeatedly in the book of Judges, it says that “they had no King, every man did what was good in his eyes.”  This was not a compliment but a failing.  Sometimes we do what we think is right, but find it is not so.  This is not the most popular message, but it is an important one.  Our tradition, our heritage, our inheritance, our Judaism, offers us with a guide to life.  It is all of these things, but only if we take it, only if we accept it, only if we live it.  Shabbat Shalom.

An Invitation and a couple thoughts

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
January 5, 2013
Parshat Shmot

The Mayors Against Gun Violence have asked clergy across the country to name this Shabbat the Sabbath Against Gun Violence.  They ask clergy to discuss facts like 34 Americans are killed every single day by guns.  The American Academy of Pediatrics, while arguing that they are not anti-gun, has advocated regularly for stricter gun controls, noting that the very presence of a gun in a home is dangerous, as children and adolescents are curious, allowing for deadly consequences to innocent investigations into improperly secured weapons. While I support the Sabbath Against Gun Violence, I invite you to our memorial/healing service for the victims of Sandy Hook, right here on January 14 at 7PM.  I am inviting local clergy and politicians to discuss violence and the tragedy of Sandy Hook, as well as how we might prevent future violence in this community.

Gun control conversations:
http://faithsagainstgunviolence.org/
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-ideas/source-sheets/gun-control-source-sheet.pdf
http://511441582932298592.weebly.com/sermon-resources.html

Synagogues and Churches have declared this weekend to be the 'Sabbath to stop gun violence' by an organization of which the Rabbinical Assembly is a member: Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence. Joining with 800 mayors and almost a million Americans, they are asking us to sign on to a petition calling on the President and the Congress, to promote three simple and modest changes in our legislation to address gun violence. They are:

1. Require a criminal background check for every gun sold in America
2. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines
3. Make gun trafficking a federal crime, with real penalties.

In Newburgh, I will then transition
On a different note, I want to discuss what I did on my summer vacation, err, winter camp.  As many of you know, I was not here last Shabbat, but was instead in sunny south Florida.  There I learned several interesting points that I would like to share with you today.
1) You can make friends anywhere and discuss Torah in any context.
2) The Christian Bible is a fascinating historical document/library.
3) People are members of our community (and Jewish communities) for very varied and interesting reasons.
4) Newburgh is a very special place.
5) Family is very important.
6) Times can change very rapidly.