Thanksgiving

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Parashat Vayetzei / פרשת ויצא

Congregation Agudas Israel

11/29/14

Parshat Vayetzei tells us much about the life of Jacob.  It opens with him leaving his home and heading to Lavan.  It includes Rachel and Leah, their challenges of love and fertility.  Broken promises from Lavan to Jacob are common and two decades pass by in just a couple chapters. Yet, his struggles and his blessings remind us of how much we take for granted and how much success and gratitude we must acknowledge.

By: Reb Mimi Feigelson, Masphiah Ruchanit and Lecturer of Rabbinic Studies at JTS’ sister school, the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies in LA wrote this week:

In a year when this Torah portion of Vayetze, is connected in such proximity to Thanksgiving day, here in the United States, I feel that we must also pause and return to the many moments and places and opportunities of gratitude that we may have passed by this year, as our Patriarch Ya'akov did, in his haste to get to Charan, as we may have done in our haste to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves.

It is in moments like these that I hear my dear and precious soul-brother, Rabbi David Zeller, of-blessed-memory, sing "I don't have time to hurry, I don't have time to pass things by..." quoting his first wife, Elana, while she battled cancer many years ago. What wisdom to know to pause in a time that you may feel that your time is running out! It is so counter intuitive to slow down when you feel you are being drawn into the "quicksand of time" passing through your fingers.

It is for this reason that I pray that we find the many ways to share moments of gratitude and appreciation in a week leading us to Thanksgiving and the shabbat of Ya'akov's journeying. I pray that we realize on the brink of "arriving," all those people and situations that carry blessings for us while we are on the road of our life; the locations of God's revelation, that beg of us to return to them in prayer and gratitude.

http://ziegler.aju.edu/default.aspx?id=3888

Before returning to our text, I wonder what you are thankful for this year?

After weeks of sinus trouble, I pray that our vacation next week will finally clear my head.  I am thankful that for me, these challenges are my biggest ones.  I am so grateful to all of you, to this community, to my wife and to my darling daughter for all this blessings we have here.

Attending the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, I was challenged by the sermon from Rev. Steve Ruelke of Ecclesia Ministries in Newburgh.  While he did not include a nechemta, a positive ending, he challenged us to look at the systemic evil in our world.  He preached of the challenges of poverty and a social service system that takes away all benefits when someone gets a job, keeping people in poverty, rather than helping them to work their way out.  He spoke of the challenges of homelessness and the prison cycle, where many ex-inmates return, since they have no opportunities to earn a living outside of prison.  Looking around our fair city, we see many people trapped in a broken system, yet even in our darkest days, when we wonder how we will pay some of our expenses, we are far richer than many of our neighbors.

When we hear words like those, it is easy to get discouraged.  We see that poverty and needs seem eternal.  Looking at our own Torah, knowing this year is a Sabbatical/Shmita year, we are reminded that poverty is not a new problem, yet we are commanded to fight against it, even if the battle is not winnable.  When we pay wages, we cannot hold them, but must pay them immediately.  When we take clothing as collateral, we must return it every night.  When we harvest our fields (or collect our salaries), we must remember to leave some for those in need.

How is it that we balance the desire to change the system with our inability to completely eradicate poverty?  The simple answer is that we must meet the needs we can and work towards a day when those needs will be fulfilled for all.

Ashrei teaches us that Gd provides for all.  In the Reconstructionist prayerbook, there is a note that teaches that on this planet, we HAVE enough for every person to have enough to eat, shelter to cover themselves, and clothing to keep them warm.  Gd has done Gd’s part--now ours is to work on the distribution.

As we just celebrated Thanksgiving, I think that recognizing our blessings, recognizing that we are fortunate, forces us to remember those who are less so.  In the weeks to come, as we celebrate Hanukkah, as the weather gets even chillier, let us work to help those in need get what they need AND change the system so that it works better for all!

Many people celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday then went shopping on Black Friday (or Gd-forbid) started shopping Thursday, AmEx promotes today as Small Business Saturday, and Monday has become CyberMonday.  Many non-profits and charities are encouraging GivingTuesday.  Locally the Jewish Family Service http://www.jfsorange.org/ is collecting gift cards for grocery stores on that day.  I made a donation already, if you would like to give more, make a donation to my discretionary fund with a note or send them a donation directly.  You can always support our holy work here by donating to the shul!

Shabbat Shalom.

Patience and learning from our neighbors

At my ordination, the Biblical quote I used was from Psalms,

כד  זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה יְ-ה-וָ-ה;    נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ.

24 This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Many days it isn't so difficult to follow, but other days it is a heck of a lot more challenging.

Reading my neighbor across the bridge, Rabbi Brent Spodek's post, really got me thinking.
https://beaconhebrewalliance.org/content/day

Of course, at the moment, thinking itself is challenging.  For what seems like the 10th time this year, I find myself with a miserable head cold.  My ears hurt, my head hurts, my throat hurts and Shabbat is coming.  I am visiting my ENT's office for more visits than MVP probably would like.  Feeling sick makes me tired, and less likely to see the good in myself or others.

Rabbi Brent writes
"That is why we call it spiritual practice, not spiritual accomplishment. At every moment, we have the choice to celebrate what is or mourn what isn't. Discernment about what are the lacks, the inadequacies to mourn and change and what are the ones to accept and celebrate is the very goal of spiritual practice. "

This makes me think of one of my other favorite texts, from Pirkei Avot--Ben Zoma asks (and answers) Who is rich? One who is content with what he has.  (Pirkei Avot 4:1)

Even if this week isn't quite going as planned, a little rest never hurt anyone.  Tomorrow (Friday) is a great day.  Attempting an #asktherabbi at Barnes and Nobles in Newburgh--by the Starbucks 9:30-10:30.  From there I will go check out a gelato plant (with a mask) to see what would it take to make it kosher enough for our shul!  A little prep for Shabbat and then it will be time to come together in joy and prayer.  What more can we ask from life?

Additionally this week, I went to the Federation's General Assembly.  I was incredibly impressed at the breadth and depth of their holy work throughout the USA and beyond.  We have much to learn from our friends and neighbors, near and far.  As Rabbi Freedman and I discussed in the car ride home--when we weren't creating peace in the middle east--was that the enthusiasm we saw in DC was infectious.  Let's create an epidemic of enthusiasm, let's spread the good will, let's share the energy!  Shabbat is coming!  Today is the day Gd has made--ENJOY it!  And if you're a little under the weather, you are being forced to rest, appreciate that, too!

Yom Kippur Yizkor Broken and the Whole

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

October 4, 2014

Yom Kippur Yizkor

בְּראֹשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן מִי יִחְיֶה וּמִי יָמוּת.

On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Fast day, Yom Kippur, it is sealed, How many will pass on and how many will be born, who will die and who will live.

From the Unatanah Tokef, a focal point of the Musaf Amidah on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we offer this prayer.  We cry out to Gd, every one of us.  We look around the room.  We see those who are with us and those who are not.  We remember those we lost, the good times and the bad.  

Yet at the same time, we celebrate.  Yom Kippur is a day of deeply mixed emotion.  It is truly a roller coaster of a day.  At Kol Nidre, we ask Gd and each other to pray among sinners, knowing not only that all of us are imperfect, that all of us have sinned.  Whether the sins are large or small, hurting others, ourselves or Gd.  I read this week a brief, yet powerful piece reminding that we must remember not only to forgive others, but to forgive ourselves for the sin of not fulfilling our expectations.  Yom Kippur morning we beat our chests repeatedly.  We cry out to Gd to forgive our sins.  We do the Avodah service, remembering the powerful experience of the Temple, when the Cohen Gadol announced to the community that they were forgiven.  At that point, the modern and ancient versions of Yom Kippur split!  When our ancestors had the Temple in Jerusalem, the rest of Yom Kippur was a celebration.  Once the high priest completed the Avodah service, we knew we were forgiven!  Engagements were made, marriages announced.  The traditional Torah reading for Yom Kippur afternoon is all about relationships--who exactly are you allowed to marry and who can you not?

For us, we do not see the crimson thread turn white.  We do see the scapegoat tossed off a cliff.  We do not know if our sins have been forgiven.  We continue our service with the Eleh Ezkarah, remembering the martyrs of our tradition, Jews killed for teaching Judaism, for simply being Jews.  Originally written about Roman persecution, using stories from the Talmud, today we read about the martyrs of the Crusades, about the Inquisition, about the Shoah, the Holocaust.  We could add readings from Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, where Jews were sent from their homes, exiled and killed because of the blasphemy that there might be a Jewish state in the Middle East.  We could share stories today of Jews attacked around the world, simply for being Jews.  I could go on, but the day continues.

Yom Kippur mincha tells us the story of Jonah.  We remember NON-Jews being told to repent, the people of Nineveh.  Yet they do and they are saved.  On a holiday about our particular relationship with Gd, we share a universal reminder of the power of redemption.  

After mincha, we offer one last prayer service.  No other day of the year has FIVE different services, five different opportunities to beat our breast, to confess our sins.  Yet we come back, again and again, to some of the same words.  We cry out, again and again.  For some the repetition is boring.  They are ready to eat.  (One more thing to confess!)  Yet the repetition can bring us focus, can push us to greater heights.  Coming back this afternoon, this evening, we imagine the gate of forgiveness, the book of life, and we try to write ourselves into it.

If only we work harder. . .

If only we do what we are supposed to do. . .  

As I stand before you this morning, I am torn.  I am broken.  I am imperfect. I am a person who devotes his life to helping others, yet inevitably I fail.  I have spent weeks looking for the perfect words to inspire you, to help you find the strength to live another year.  I have looked for the perfect words, that will inspire you to see the world the way I do, to look at the spirals of the Jewish calendar, to let the rhythm of the calendar be the beat of your life.  And yet as I stand here, the words fall flat.  Not all of them will reach you.  They will drift in the ether, in the echo of this beautiful new room.  So I fall silent.

וּבְשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל יִתָּקַע. וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה יִשָּׁמַע.

THE GREAT SHOFAR will be sounded and the still small voice will be heard.

Yom Kippur is unlike any other day.  While we have other fasts, other days of prayer, this is a day of reflection like not other.  What are we trying to do?  Who are we trying to be?  How do our expectations help us succeed or fail?

Last night, I mentioned Rabbi Charles Sherman and his book, The Broken and the Whole: Discovering Joy after Heartbreak.  I want to share a couple excerpts to illustrate how we sometimes have to reconsider the paths we are on, be aware of the expectations we set for ourselves.

From the third page of his book, Rabbi Sherman sets the scene, it is 1985:

“Very few people get to live their dreams.  But there I was, forty-one years old, the rabbi of a major congregation in Syracuse, New York, and married to my summer camp sweetheart.  As a preacher, I was passionate, creative, confident, energetic, and well-known in the greater community.  I was on a career path. . .My children were growing up with a strong sense of identity and appreciation for Jewish values. .  .Not that every last detail was perfect.  I had more trouble than most balancing career and family. . .”

Two pages later he writes:

We cannot always identify the precise point in time when our lives are transformed.  For my family, it was 2AM on a frigid March night. . .when I awoke to a child’s whimper. . .

(After a brief debate over which parent would get him, the not-pregnant one did, Rabbi Sherman went to his son’s room):

I felt his forehead and found it very warm.  Not good, but not a disaster, either.  I would give him Tylenol and call our pediatrician in the morning.

“Eyal, let’s go to the bathroom.”

No response.

“Eyal, let me help you.  You’ll feel better.”. . .

Without my assistance, he would have crumpled to the floor.  I atrributed his fatigue to the late hour.  Then I noticed his pasty color, his jiggling legs, his incoherent speech.  His favorite yellow and red pajamas were drenched in body fluid and his eyes were distant and unaware.  At that moment, before I even called out to Leah for help, I knew: something was terribly wrong.”

From there, doctors were called, visited, hospital stays began.  They discovered a brain lesion and were told that their son had, at most, a few months to live.  Yet they weren’t ready to let go.  They fought and called doctors up and down the east coast.  They found a surgeon willing to operate and the surgery was successful.  They were jubilant!

If the story stopped there, I am not sure Rabbi Sherman would have written his book.  He would have had a brief detour on his career path, a couple months of extra time with his family and then gone back to his previous life.  Yet that is not the end of the story, it is only the beginning.  A few days after the surgery, Eyal had a brainstem stroke and was in a vegetative coma for months.  To hear more of the story, you will have to read his book.  Today Eyal is in his thirties.  He is dependent on a ventilator, cannot breathe, eat, or move independently.  Yet his mind is intact.  With the determination of his family, he had a Bar Mitzvah, attended school, graduated from college.  Putting a paint brush in his mouth, he has become an accomplished painter.  He has found success in his own way.  He has redefined expectations not only for himself, but for his entire family.

Every aspect of their lives had to change.  Every priority had to be reconsidered.  Eyal has had extended stays in the hospital many times in his life.  The Sherman’s home had to be adapted.  Rabbi Sherman even had to reconsider what a Bar Mitzvah would look like--Eyal learned the Torah reading, but could not make it audible--so for that Shabbat, he put in cameras and huge screens so that the congregation could SEE Eyal’s lip read the Torah--with proper trope!

Yizkor for me, is a time of remembrance.  I think of those who I have lost, my grandfathers Artie and Benjamin, my grandma Doris, and those who are still with us, yet sometimes feel lost, my Grandma Alice post-stroke.  I think of those we have lost this year, parents of some of you in this room, people I have known and cared about.  In every family, we have a story of suffering, of illness, of challenge.  Whether it is cancer or heart disease, Ebola, AIDS or tragic accidents, we ourselves or people we know are personally afflicted and affected by challenges.

As the great shofar is sounded, as we imagine writing ourselves in the Book of Life for the next year, I wonder about how we react to all these challenges.  What holds us up when times are tough?  How do we keep our strength when we feel like we will crumble?  What do we have in our toolbox to help us manage our expectations?

At the end of the day, Gd, faith, love, one another, therapy, community are all tools to get us through our difficult times, to help us find ways to celebrate again after and even DURING times of tragedy.  One Yizkor I shared with you the power of AND, that we can be both happy AND sad, jubilant AND disappointed, sweet AND bitter.  Sadness and joy are not mutually exclusive possibilities.

As much as we like, we cannot control every aspects of our lives, every little or big thing that happens to us.  What we can control is our reaction.  How do we deal with the challenges of life?  Choosing to respond positively, with hope, with a new plan for action, that we can do.  As I said on Rosh Hashanah, today is the day Gd has made, rejoice in it.

As we prepare for Yizkor, as we think of those who we have loved and lost, let us think of the decisions they made.  Did they react well to stress and change?  How can we emulate them when they did?  If they did not, how can we use their example to react with love and hope!

Next year, when we return to our regular sanctuary, we will ask ourselves again, for whom has the shofar tolled--and how did we react?

The most powerful line of the Unetanek Tokef tells us that T’shuvah, T’fillah and Tz’dakah have the power to transform the harshness of our destiny.  Renewing ourselves/repenting, prayer/yearning and charity/deeds of righteousness do not miraculously defeat cancer or solve all our problems.  Rather, they change our attitudes; they help us gain the tools to thrive in any situation.

G’mar tov!

Kol Nidre 2014 5775

Rabbi Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

Kol Nidre 5775

October 3, 2014

Erev Tov, good evening,  I want to start tonight by telling you a little joke.  Since I believe that sharing credit helps bring the world to come, Alan Seidman sent it to me.

Moishe Goldberg was heading out of the Synagogue one day, and as always Rabbi  Mendel was standing at the door, shaking hands as the Congregation departed. The rabbi grabbed Moishe by the hand, pulled him aside and whispered these words at him: "You need to join the Army of God!"

Moishe replied: "I'm already in the Army of God, Rabbi."

The rabbi questioned: "Then how come I don't see you except for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?" Moishe whispered back: "I'm in the secret service."

Like most jokes, it is funny because it has a little truth to it.  We laugh at jokes, because they allow us to laugh at ourselves.  In this room, there are some for whom synagogue is a regular part of their lives and some for whom it is not.  Some of you here light Shabbat candles every week and others might not know a Shabbat candle from a Hanukkah candle.  That is simply the reality of living in 21st century America.  Some of you are happy EXACTLY as you are.  Life is good.  Others are more dissatisfied.  The American Dream is looking a little tarnished, yet even when life is great, sometimes we feel something missing.  The answer to what is missing is right here.  

We are the answer to each other’s problems.  Right here, right now, you can find Gd.  Coming into this room on a regular basis will help make your life more fulfilled.  It will make you feel happier, healthier, and more alive.  (While I cannot claim that it will physically change your health, I believe that spiritually healthy people do feel better than those not in their peak condition.  Atlantic Magazine even had an article just last week about how people’s health declines when they drop their religious affiliations.)  Your doctors tell you to exercise your body.  I am your soul’s doctor and I say you also need to exercise your soul.  Regular spiritual exercise connects you to Gd, connects you to yourself and connects you to one another.

I spoke first about your problems, now I want to talk about our problems.  Like many Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish congregations across the country, we are faced with a challenge.  Life is too good in America.  I see you looking at me like I have three heads.  Too good, you ask?  You might be thinking: “I just spent tens of thousands of dollars on my child’s college education and they cannot find a job!” or “My pension is nonexistent and my IRA will cover three years of retirement.  I worry about expenses, about bills, about what might happen if something happens and my deductible has not yet been met for my insurance.”  Maybe you lost your own job or had a period of unemployment.  These are all problems, yet amidst that tsurris MOST all of us in this room have food on our tables.  We have roofs over our heads.  There are (generally) not tanks on our streets.  Police are not breaking down our doors with “no-knock” warrants looking for drugs.  But at the end of the day, life is still too good.  Many people feel that they do not need religion or Gd anymore.  They think they can travel life alone, without the guidance of a spiritual community, without a spiritual/personal network, without clergy or spiritual leadership.  With recent winters, some of you have moved to warmer climes or to be closer to children or grandchildren.  We bring in new members, but we still have the challenge that some are no longer part of THIS holy community.

Right now, right here, I have a solution to both of our problems.  You are all already a part of the Army of Gd and I WANT YOU in the reserves.  Just like the US military reserves, I want to see you once a month and two weeks a year.  If you are currently in the Secret Service, you are already coming the two weeks a year (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), so you are halfway there.   To participate in this commitment, you simply need to pick one Shabbat services a month and start coming. The Daughters are helping to make this proposition even more enticing.  Once a month will be Simcha Shabbat.  On that Shabbat, we will have a special kiddush lunch.  If you have a birthday, anniversary, special event, we will ask you to make a small donation to assist.  When your donation is combined with those of others, we can make a pretty spiffy lunch!  The leftover funds will ensure that our kiddushes the rest of the year are tasty, too!  Whether you choose to come on Simcha Shabbat or any other week, your presence not only ensures a minyan, but allows us the opportunity to be a stronger community.  We will continue our tradition of monthly Shabbat dinners--which will hopefully allow opportunities to invite the JCC and TBJ, too!  Additionally, we will have a second Friday night service every month in our brand new small sanctuary--which will hopefully be completed soon!  Many people love the intimacy, the melodies of Friday night.  If you are one of those people, come join us.  If you have not yet discovered the blessing of welcoming Shabbat Friday night, join us, too!  Coming together to sing, to talk, to dance, to celebrate we build a holy community.

Every book/blog/article about synagogues right now talks about community and relationships.  While buildings and programs are important, and we want lots of activities to get you in our beautiful new space, what gets you to stay are the connections you make.  When you talk to me; when you talk to your friends (old and new); when you realize the good you can do for others and the good they can do for you, this TRULY becomes a kehilla kedosha, a holy community.  We want CAI and Kol Yisrael to be here in another hundred years, but whatever we call it, we want a strong Jewish community.  

In joining the reserves, I want you to continue to nourish your soul by taking or teaching classes with me.  I want you to help me imagine a learning community.  Whether it means we build a Beit Midrash, a living library, or we set aside more time for Torah study, I want Jewish learning to be more central to our community.  Prayer is when we talk to Gd, but study is where Gd talks to us.  When you look at a Jewish text, you find generations speaking to one another.  The Talmud is Jews from the 2nd century discussing Sinai more than a thousand years before, flanked by conversations about those conversations four hundred years later, edited by rabbis two hundred years later and with commentaries available for the next thousand plus years to the present.  When we talk about Jewish texts, we write our own commentaries--whether in our souls or upon a page--or thoughts are helpful for imagining what our traditions will look like in another thousand years.  Judaism is a do-it-yourself religion, that thrives with community and continuity.  We pray, we study together, because alone we miss the dialogue.  Jews are not monks who read alone.  We argue; we shout; we consider every possibility before coming to a conclusion.  The argument that was rejected a thousand years before is written down, because it might just be relevant to us today!

Returning to my metaphor, I am not asking you to re-up full time.  I am not asking you to come to minyan every single day.  (Although it we wanted to start a once a week minyan, I would be excited!)  I am asking for four hours a month.  I am asking for two to three hours in shul, including schmoozing at kiddush and one to two hours attending a class, stuffing envelopes, dreaming of new activities with me or others.  Tomorrow we will ask for your financial support, but tonight I want you to consider your emotional/ spiritual/temporal support.

What would make you want to come through these doors more often?  What would it take to light the fire in YOUR soul?  Is it music? Is it Torah?  Is it art? Is it literature? Is it yoga, meditation? Social action? For some of these things, we already have great activities.  For others, we will need your help!  

Every month, I have two different book clubs.  One is in my home, where we discuss fiction or nonfiction that has either a Jewish author or Jewish theme.  Suggestions are always welcome.  If you love a book, are passionate about it, share it with us.  If you love it and can articulate why, you can help lead a fascinating conversation.  On that note, Rabbi Charles Sherman of Syracuse, has written a powerful book, The Broken and the Whole: Discovering Joy after Heartbreak speaking about the challenges of expectations and living joyfully with the difficulties and heartbreak of his son’s illnesses.  We will be reading it soon and I hope to invite him to our congregation to share his story!

My other book club is discussing the Rabbinical Assembly’s The Observant Life, The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews.  Each month we discuss a topic from what makes food kosher, to what makes sex kosher, to what does it mean to pray as Jews.  We have discussed business ethics and the roles of parents and grandparents.  Each month is a new opportunity to join, think and discuss.  While some of us have been meeting regularly, others drop in when the topic is interesting to them.   This is your formal invitation to come back if you have missed a few sessions or join us if you have never come before!

Some of these activities will stimulate your soul.  Some will help us work more efficiently.  Yet, together, they create a sense of holy purpose.  The create a holy community, a kehillah kedoshah.  

Tonight we come together to acknowledge our shortcomings, to confess our sins and to make plans for a better year.  We are all imperfect.  We all make mistakes.  Yet when we support one another, we find ways to restore our souls.  Joining our holy community, offering our prayers, our regrets and our hopes, is truly life changing.  As you beat your chest today, feel the weight of guilt left.  Last year at this time, I spoke about how we change our habits permanently.  I mentioned that the best way to stop a bad habit was to replace it with a good one.   Let this community be the good habit.

As we continue our service, I offer my thanks to all of you.  You have taken the first and most important step of Jewish life--YOU ARE HERE.  That is a tremendous step, a huge blessing and I commend you for it.  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, to continuing our conversations about the Jewish future.

G’mar hatimah tovah, may you be SEALED in the book of life.

Rosh Hashanah day 2 5775, a concise philosophy of Conservative Judaism

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

September 26, 2014

Rosh Hashanah Day 2

Lo alecha ham'lacha ligmor,

Lo alecha ligmor.

V'lo ata ben chorim l'hibatil mimena,

V'lo ata ben chorin

In Pirkei Avot, a collection of Jewish wisdom in the Mishnah, Rabbi Tarfon teaches “ He used to say: It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task. Yet, you are not free to desist from it. If you have studied much in the Torah much reward will be given you, for faithful is your employer who shall pay you the reward of your labor. And know that the reward for the righteous shall be in the time to come.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . .in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”   With those words, Dickens began a novel that I have never read.  His Tale of Two Cities, writes of the trauma of the French Revolution, a chaotic, violence-filled time.  Written in 1859, war had only recently been concluded in Crimea.  Darwin’s Origin of the Species was about to be published.  Turkish troops bombarded Aleppo after a pogrom against Christians. In the United States, we were on the eve of the Civil War, with slave states and free states competing in Congress.  Just three years before, a Senator from South Carolina beat a Senator from Massachusetts on the Senate floor. The world was in turmoil.  

One hundred and forty years later, Billy Joel sang:

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom

Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen

Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning

Since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No we didn't light it

But we tried to fight it

In recent years, we have seen violence around the world.  From September 11 to the present, we have seen violence on a terrible scale.  Terrorists of all stripes have gathered together under flags of religion and attacked those who did not worship or believe as they did.  The rights of women have been under attack worldwide and even in our own country, women’s access to healthcare has been under siege.  For the first time since the Shoah, we saw widespread anti-Semitism--not just anti-Israel behavior but true anti-Semitism.  We saw Jews attacked in Paris, throughout Europe and even in Boston, LA and the Upper East Side.  While we feel safe here, we have more security for these services than in other years.  

At the same time, we have seen survey after survey lamenting the lack of Jewish participation in communities, further assimilation, and many questions about the future of the Conservative Movement.  Yet amidst all of this tsurris, I have been watching these walls go up.  I have seen the Jewish community unite in ways that could not have been imagined even a few years ago.  Within our own shul, we have seen huge increases in participation, connection and community.  Our numbers may be limited, but our impact is tremendous.

This morning, I want to share a little bit of my own vision, my own beliefs and my own dreams for what is possible here and in the Jewish world.  In these words, I hope to inspire you.  I hope to dream with you.  I hope to help you hope.

At the core of my being, I believe in Gd, Torah and Israel.  While those beliefs can not easily be summarized without us remaining here for a semester, I believe that Jews have a Brit, a covenant with the Divine.  As such, we have special rights and special responsibilities.  When we live our lives in accordance with this covenant, we find ourselves happier, healthier, and more whole.  In my understanding, this brit is part of the purpose of the entire world.  By fulfilling the mitzvot, by observing the commandments, we are truly helping to improve the world on a cosmic level.  Now, whether or not you believe in the Gd-shaped hole I spoke about last year, or see your life as having such cosmic significance, most people find greater satisfaction in their lives when they see themselves as part of mission.  The unification of Gd, Torah and Israel bring us to a realization of the covenant and to our greater purposes as Jews.  I understand that not all of us understand Gd, Torah and Israel in exactly the same way.  That is OK.  Learning and living together, we bring a deeper wisdom and a deeper connection to Gd.

I believe that Gd limits Gd’s own power, giving us free will.  This means we have the responsibility to make good choices--just like a responsible parents teaches their child about right and wrong, and then gives them the freedom to make good choices (at developmentally appropriate ages).  Yet, sometimes everything works out perfectly, whether we call it karma or Divine Providence, in my kishkes, I know there is more to it!

Torah was a gift through revelation at Sinai, yet as Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, Torah was our first Midrash.  The Holy Scroll we read from was touched by human hands, by scribes and scholars who tried to turn what they heard into a document we read today. Through our oral tradition, through our commentaries, through our conversations, the text and the law changes to reflect our own situation, the revelation continues to THIS VERY DAY.  Gd might have known that one day teenagers would have iPhones, but the Talmud did not.  We have to figure out what use of them is kosher!  As Jews, we must continue to adapt to the world, but help the world adapt to us--bringing our Jewish values to every aspect of our lives, to everything we do.

Israel is a gift.  It is a land, a people, a nation, a modern country.  It was given to Abraham by Gd and through the miracle of the United Nations, Jewish dreamers, and the Israel Defense Forces, it came from practically nothing into a great nation.  Today it is a vibrant country.  While not without its challenges and its numerous detractors, Israel is our home, our refuge.  If life changes here or for our brethren around the world, we are safer when we have a place where we can escape, as needed.  The very existence of this state is a miracle.

With every fiber of my being, I believe that the Brit, the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, is expressed authentically and powerfully through Conservative Judaism.  In our movement, we see that when we open our doors to all Jews (and those with Jewish souls who have not yet discovered their Judaism), we can understand Gd, Torah and Israel more fully and fruitfully.  By acknowledging that women are human beings with Jewish obligations, counting them in a minyan, accepting their right to stand on and teach from the bimah, we see our tradition more powerfully.  Different people have different strengths, keeping an entire group of people out of leadership roles deprives the Jewish people and community of essential leadership.  Sexuality is an important expression of our family values, yet our understanding of family is changing.  Some families have a father and a mother, others have two moms, or two dads.  That is not a threat to our faith or our society, but an opportunity to bring holiness into the world.  

Jewish law, halacha, is neither static nor unchanging.  It reflects the context and the culture of the time--as well as the Divine Will.  In a Jewish book store, I once saw a yiddish book about Passover.  In it, Jews wearing streimels (fur hats) and black coats crossed the sea--with no women in sight.  Within 100% certainty, I can tell you that the Israelites did not wear fur hats.  They wore what their Egyptian neighbors wore.  This is an important reminder that modesty, appropriate clothing for shul and work, all change depending on the context, yet is an important Jewish value.  I am not about to wear a bathing suit to shul, but if I was in a swim meet, it would not be appropriate for me to wear a kittel either!  

When I eat, I make choices about the food that enters my body.  As part of that sacred covenant, I keep kosher.  In my own home, every processed food item has a hechsher, a mark showing that it is kosher.  Yet, I also believe in the Jewish values of k’vod habriut, of respect for others.  I know of the importance of hachnasat orchim, of welcoming guests.  If you do not YET have a kosher home, I will still come visit, if invited.  I will even have a cup of coffee, something to drink or something kosher in your house.  My relationship with YOU is just as important as my relationship with Gd.  I see within each one of you the Divine spark, the reminder that you were created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of GD.

Conservative Judaism has a tremendous future ahead of it.  As the vital center of American (and worldwide) Judaism, it teaches that we can and must be a part of the world around us.  We were not meant to hide behind ghetto walls, but must be demonstrating to the world the values that we live by.  We must teach those around us that to be good Jew is to be a good person, that responsible business ethics, medical ethics, mentschligkeit, are the core of Jewish values.  While neither Orthodoxy or Reform are monolithic, while each has strengths and weaknesses, I believe that Conservative Judaism is STILL the future of American Judaism.  We can be authentic, knowledgeable in our own traditions, while living fully as Americans.  We can recognize the wisdom in our greater society, while rejecting the materialism and violence that seems to be a part of that society.  In this country, we are blessed with a Constitution.  While some of its rights are regularly debated, we live here in safety, security and with great opportunity.  In America, we can live freely as Jews, can promote our viewpoints without threat and thrive.  As Conservative Jews, it may be time for us to be more vocal about our views.  We are the founders and supporters of virtually every Jewish communal organization in the country.  Around the country, Conservative Jews are the biggest donors to both Federation and Chabads--that is a good thing--unless you are donating to Chabad because you think they are more Jewish than we are--THEN it is a BIG problem.  As the bridge between Reform and Orthodox, Conservative Jews are uniters.  While we can suffer from middle child syndrome, we must speak up, teach our children and demonstrate that we are living examples of our tradition.  We are essential parts of the Jewish chain of tradition.  We need to shout that from the rooftops.  To a certain level, we need to evangelize within and without.  We need to teach others that they can find more holiness in their lives by observing Jewish tradition and if they are not yet Jewish, we need to welcome them in and help them find their Jewish neshamas.

My message this morning is that we should not despair, but hope.  My classmate, Rabbi Joshua Rabin, wrote similarly in this quarter’s Kolot: Voices of Conservative Judaism.  Read it and be inspired!

Recently, I spoke with a member of the community.  In no uncertain terms, he told me that he was glad he was older, that he had lived a wonderful life and was not sure that was going to be possible for the next generation.  This person had lived through World War Two, the Shoah, the Korean War, Vietnam, race riots in this country, the Civil Rights Movement and so much more.  My response was that I could not imagine being born in any other time, that I am happy now and see that there is so much hope for the future.  Don’t listen to those screaming the end is near.  The future is bright, IF we work to make it so.

Wednesday night, I began with a story of hope.  Yesterday and on Yom Kippur, I am continuing this message.  Yes, there is systematic change needed for our country to thrive.  We need to make sure that poor people get a real chance at the American Dream, that education is affordable, that public schools are excellent, that an education brings opportunities for good jobs here and not just in China or India.  We have to make sure that a Jewish life is affordable, that kosher food does not break the bank.  We have to make sure that our institutions do not just survive but thrive, that they teach moral character, Jewish values, and inspire their members to live better, more whole, more fruitful lives.  Even with President Obama, race remains a complicated and fraught issue in this country.  There is much work to be done.

In a complex world, it is easy to despair.  We can say that hope is lost, that nothing can change, that WE cannot change.  Yet time and again, we discover that with a little bit of elbow grease, much can be accomplished.  Martin Luther King, Junior spoke powerfully, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

As Jews, we have a responsibility to be an Ohr LaGoyim, a light unto the nations.  To be that light, we need hope.  We need the confidence that we are working on a great task, working on a great partnership, working with Gd.  Looking around this room, I know that we are going in the right direction.  We are working on a Holy Mission.  As, Andy Grammar has been singing,

I know it's hard, know its hard,

To remember sometimes,

But you gotta keep your head up, oh,

And you can let your hair down, eh.

CAI is a place where you can let your hair down, and together we can lift our heads and hearts up.  At the end of the day, there is no place I would rather be than right here, with you, right now.  Today is the day the Lrd has made, rejoice in it!

L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu, May you be written for a good year.

ps All song lyrics are the property of their copyright holders.