So much going on, yet there is still so much hope!

In the last few weeks we have seen tremendous upheaval in so many aspects of our lives, yet it is the loss of Robin Williams that prompts me to write this post.

• Anti-semitic outbreaks world wide have threatened our sense of security as Jews.
• Blood libels have been repeated by leaders of Hamas.
• Hamas has sent rockets into Israel, starting a war that took many lives and is still unresolved.
• Within our own community there have been several deaths, losses, shivas in close proximity.
• Student loans and job security are a questions for many.
• Mental Health concerns are not dealt with well in this country and remain stigmatized.

Depression and other forms of mental illness are common in our world.  They can be aggravated by every one of the stressors mentioned above.  In our country, we have a problem of inadequate mental health care AND a stigma for using such care.  Mental illness is ILLNESS.  It is not a character flaw.  It does not make a person defective.  It means they have a challenge to overcome or to manage.  Through therapy, through medication, through proper treatment, the majority of people with mental health challenges lead productive, happy and successful lives.  

One way to reduce the stigma of mental health care is to acknowledge that it is also useful for people in difficult times of their lives.  When someone is grieving, dealing with a trauma, or having a career or life difficulty; therapy, counseling, talking to a clergy person can be very helpful.  Having a non-anxious, non-judgmental person help you talk through whatever challenge you are going through can be very helpful.

In my own life, like many caregivers, I have check-ins with a therapist/counselor.  By discussing the challenging cases I see, I get assistance reminding myself of the importance of taking care of myself.  By talking to someone else, I am better able to help my community, my family, my friends and myself.

The hardest part of depression is the that when someone is in the middle of a depressive episode, they simply cannot imagine getting out of it. It can feel isolating.  A person may feel trapped, alone, without any support--even when those around are trying to help.  Yet, with the proper support, great strides are possible.  As the Talmud says, "A prisoner cannot free himself from jail."  Someone who is depressed needs the help of others to break through--yet they need to recognize the possibility of improvement.  It is not easy, but it is possible.

It does get better, but it can seem impossible at the time.  Life is worth living.

I could now include many, many biblical and rabbinic sources on the wonder and meaning of life.  While those might be happy to some, the most important number is below.  As always, I am here for you, too.

For more information, see:

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7.

If you feel you are in a crisis, whether or not you are thinking about killing yourself, please call the Lifeline. People have called us for help with substance abuse, economic worries, relationship and family problems, sexual orientation, illness, getting over abuse, depression, mental and physical illness, and even loneliness.

Hugging our children close #EyalGiladNaftal #rememberourboys

For eighteen days, we waited.  We prayed.  We hoped.  We sent good vibes into the universe. Then the news came out.  They were gone, killed almost immediately after they had been kidnapped.  Eyal Yifrach (19), Gil-ad Shaar (16) and Naftali Fraenkel (16) were gone from this world far too quickly.  In the words of Israeli president Shimon Peres:

We prayed, each of us alone and all of us together, for a miracle. We prayed that that we will see them return in peace to the families, to their homes and to us all. Sadly we were hit by the tragedy of their murder and a deep grief enveloped our people.

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/01/full-transcript-president-peres-eulogy-at-the-funeral-for-eyal-yifrach-naftali-frankel-and-gilad-shaar/

Some see the tragedy as a failure of prayer.  Yet this is not the case.  Our prayers did great good for the world and for ourselves.  In the words of Rabbi Mark Greenspan:

I am reminded of the discussion in the Talmud. If one sees smoke arising from the vicinity of one's home, one should not prayer that one's house not be on fire. Similarly, if one is already pregnant, one should not pray that the child be one sex or the other. In both matters, one should not pray to change what has already taken place.

Still, I believe that our prayer made a difference. Our prayers did not save our boys but they brought us closer together.  Our prayers gave us strength in the face of despair and horror. Our prayers reminded us that we share a common destiny as a people. Even when we cannot change what has happened, our prayers remind us that we are not alone; God is with us.  Our prayers remind us of our own humanity. Rather than cursing the inhumanity and cruelty of the abductors, our heartfelt prayers reminded us to affirm our concern for life.

Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, secular, Haredi--Israelis and Jews across the world stood shoulder to shoulder and cried out to the Holy One.  Whether praying for Divine intervention or for the strength to hold ourselves up in the face of tragedy, we came together.  That spirit of unity is far too rare in the Jewish world.  Normally, our religious differences, our debates over kashrut or tefillah or nusach or the relative importance of work or study divide us.  Here, we were united.  Here, we stood together.  

The challenge will be the next weeks and months.  How do we respond?  Do we let this hateful act create further division in the middle east or can it somehow be leveraged for a new peace effort?  Does the hateful acts of a few stop the olive branch of others?  Are the terrorists who captured and killed these boys representatives of Hamas or radicals?  Can there truly be peace with a PA government that shares power with Hamas?  Will Hamas TRULY work towards peace or continue its charter’s preamble: ″Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it″ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas_Covenant)

Yet there are some who react horribly.  If it is true that a Palestinian boy was kidnapped and killed in response, I join the Fraenkel family in saying that is disgusting and NOT done in our name, not done with Jewish values.  Vigilantism and revenge are not Jewish values. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Fraenkel-family-on-Arab-youth-found-dead-No-difference-between-blood-and-blood-361246

I do not have answers to those questions.  I wish I did.  I might wish that my ordination as a rabbi granted me a spirit of navua, of prophecy, that would allow me to answer these questions.  So far, that has not happened--maybe that comes after a few more years!  Yet, as we see in the actual prophets, that responsibility is great and terrible--so much so that virtually all of the real prophets as Gd not to give them that responsibility.  

I wish that I could wave a magic wand and help Palestinians and Arabs realize that the only way for peace is for us to co-exist.  I wish I could stop Jews and Israelis who cultivate violence.  I wish there was no truth in articles like these http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/palestine-hamas-summer-camps-ideology.html that Hamas’ summer camps train the next generation of children to hate.  I thought camp was supposed to be about teaching religious values, of love, of support, of respect.  ie

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/176066/summer-camp-jewish-friendship Of creating menschligkeit http://www.kveller.com/preschooler/behavior-and-discipline/Raising_a_Mentsch.shtml

From Rabbi Charles Sherman of Syracuse:

A LESSON TO THE WORLD

I remember when Elie Wiesel, who certainly knows something about the consequences of evil, visited my synagogue, just hours after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize., June 14, 1987. In his talk, he used an image that has stayed with me all these years. He said that Jews are the "canaries of the world." His illusion was that of miners from long ago, who, legend has it, would descend into the cold, damp, dark, dangerous mine, bringing with them a caged canary. The tiny birds are sensitive to toxic fumes. As long as the bird kept singing, the miners were safe. When the canary stopped singing, it was time to ascend. The miners had limited education. But they understood this important truth. What happened to those sweet, innocent birds, was a harbinger of what would happen to them. The fate of the birds was their very own fate. There are different ways to think about the heinous killing of those three young teenagers, Naftali Frankel, Gilad Sha'ar, Eyal Yifrach. We think about what these young men might have become, had they been able to live out their lives. We think about the pain that their parents, grandparents, siblings are experiencing, and will experience for the rest of their lives. And for those of us who are Jews, it is very personal. Because these young men were killed for no other reason than the fact they were Jews. Early morning, as usual, I sat at the kitchen table with our newspaper, and had to turn quite a few pages before I found an article about the slain boys. It didn't seem important enough to our newspaper. And I have to believe it does not seem important enough to a lot of the world, that three Jewish kids were gunned down in cold blood. If there is one lesson, Jews have taught the world, it is this: When it becomes open season to hunt down Jews all good people are in danger. How many more wake up calls does Western Civilization require? Most national anthems are rooted in brashness, battles and victory; bombs bursting in air. I have always been impressed by the National Anthem of the Jewish People, Hatikva, "The Hope." We know this truth, "they who plant in sorrow, will surely one day reap in joy."

So where do we go from here!?  How do we pray?  How do we love?  How do we hope for peace?

The answer is normalcy.  Like after every loss in the Jewish world, after the loss of a family member, we sit shiva.  We take time to reflect.  After a few days, we get up from our mourning and begin our lives.  We say kaddish regularly.  We give tzedekah in their memory.  We live our lives.

The last couple days I have spent more time in study, more time sharing on facebook and lots more time with my wife and daughter.  We went out for ice cream.  We went swimming together.  A summer afternoon out of the office is not a loss for the shul.  Meeting congregants on the street, in their backyard pools is a blessing for me, for my family and a reminder of the Jewish values we try to live.  At the end of the day, Gd, Torah and Israel remind us that the family unit is the core.  It is the basis for all we do.  Shabbat, Festivals, life have components at shul, but they also have component at home.  We must hug our children tighter.  We must spend time with them.  We must live our lives.  That is how we build a future.  

To send a message to the families of those who were killed:

https://secure-fedweb.jewishfederations.org/page/signup/remember-our-boys/

This is not my normal style of writing.  Normally I like to edit, to be more concise.  Today I am filled with a shefa, an overflowing fountain, of grief, of love, of words.  Maybe these words will help someone besides me.

Chukat--a celebration of Miryam and the influence of women in Judaism

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

June 28, 2014--Parshat Chukat

This week’s parsha is jam-packed with action.  It is one of those weeks when I am grateful for the triennial cycle.  By limiting our discussion to one section, I am not forced to decide between the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, between Moses striking the rock and Gd’s response, between the rituals surrounding death and words of war.  Do not even get me started on the fact that today is Rosh Hodesh, the celebration of the new month, and a monthly holiday traditionally associated with women!

Today we have gathered to celebrate Shabbat, but we have also gathered to celebrate three woman.  Not long after I began at CAI, I started a crash course in Hebrew reading.  Since then, I have run that course a couple times, some more successfully than others!  This particular groups grew and shrunk over the last three years, but it never stopped learning.  Carol, Shirley and Phyllis have devoted a tremendous amount of time to learning and growing in their Jewish lives.  Coming from different, yet similar backgrounds, they ran with this opportunity.  Practicing multiple times a week, they began to recognize the letters, vowels, words and trope of Hebrew.  We practiced melodies and songs, prayers and learned from the Torah itself.  Even more impressive is that starting in August, we will be continuing our studies--focusing on navigating the prayer book, the Siddur--discovering the meanings beneath the prayers--as well as how to lead them!

Over these last few years, we have journeyed together through good times and more challenging ones, which makes this parsha even more appropriate.  While it is not a parsha of celebration, the loss of Miriam resonates through the parsha.  When Miriam dies, there is no more water.  The people are angry, which upsets Moses.  He reacts angrily in getting them water from the rock, forgetting to praise Gd, forgetting to take a breath, forgetting to pause, forgetting to regain his composure.  He gets them water from the rock, but he does it all wrong!  Without Miriam’s influence, he is not at his best.

In different Jewish communities, the influence of women is seen in different ways.  In some communities, like ours, women are on the bimah.  They teach, give sermons, read Torah, lead services and bring the breadth and depth of their knowledge into the public sphere.  In other Jewish communities, women do not sing in public, their influence is still great, teaching their children, learning certain aspects of Torah and overseeing homes and family life.  At the same time, I am proud to be in a community like ours.  Giving men and women equal opportunities allows for the greatest understanding of Torah.  We were all standing at Mount Sinai.  We all heard the revelation from the Holy One.  I want to hear Torah from every person standing there, not just half of the Jewish world!  

The absence of Miriam, the loss of life-giving and life-sustaining water (which in tractate Ta’anit is compared to Torah), shows how essential Miriam was to the journey in the wilderness.  Without her prophecy, without her song, without her water and Torah, the people Israel were lost.  Her brothers, Moses and Aaron were lost.  Moses did not know how to react to the mourning people and not long thereafter, Aaron dies, too!

In these last few years, we have seen how Torah is to life as water is.  It is essential.  Studying our holy traditions connects us with our souls, brings meaning to our life and helps us weather the storms and challenges of life.  

I look forward to continuing my studies with Carol, Phyllis and Shirley.  In recent weeks we have seen others read Torah or give Divrei Torah on the anniversaries of their B’nai Mitzvah.  I hope this trend will continue.  If you want to re-learn your parsha, I am always glad to help.  If you never had the chance, I am glad to start another cohort!  

There is so much blessing from our Torah, from hearing the stories of our heritage and the stories of your lives.  Please share them with us.  Shabbat Shalom!

ps Yes, I could have spoken about the history of women's scholarship and teaching.  This was a personal anecdote, not a scholarly paper.

Behalotecha 2014

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

June 7, 2014

Ploni’s Bar Mitzvah/Parshat Behalotecha

Today is a beautiful day.  Thankfully the weather seems to agree, but today is not beautiful because of the sunshine.  Today is beautiful because of the people in this room, because of the words that have been said, the words that will be said and the Torah that we read.

Whether you were in this room or any synagogue anywhere in the world, someone would be reading from the Torah.  They would not be reading from any random spot, but rather starding their reading from chapter 8 of the book of Bamidbar, the book of Numbers.  Can you imagine, that at the same time as Ploni was reading from this Torah, Jewish men and women, girls and boys were taking a yad, a pointer, and reading the same words, with the same melodies all around the world.  When Ploni picked up that pointer today, he took hold of his and our Jewish tradition.  He bound himself to a chain stretching back to Moses, stretching back to Abraham, stretching back to Adam and Havvah, to Adam and Eve.

In our reading this morning, I started with one the classic lines of the Torah.  Gd spoke to Moses saying.  It continues with the description of the Menorah in the Temple.

א  וַיְדַבֵּר יְ-ה-וָ-ה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.	1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
ב  דַּבֵּר, אֶל-אַהֲרֹן, וְאָמַרְתָּ, אֵלָיו:  בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ, אֶת-הַנֵּרֹת, אֶל-מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה, יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת.	2 'Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him: When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick.'
ג  וַיַּעַשׂ כֵּן, אַהֲרֹן--אֶל-מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה, הֶעֱלָה נֵרֹתֶיהָ:  כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְ-ה-וָ-ה, אֶת-מֹשֶׁה.	3 And Aaron did so: he lighted the lamps thereof so as to give light in front of the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.
ד  וְזֶה מַעֲשֵׂה הַמְּנֹרָה מִקְשָׁה זָהָב, עַד-יְרֵכָהּ עַד-פִּרְחָהּ מִקְשָׁה הִוא:  כַּמַּרְאֶה, אֲשֶׁר הֶרְאָה יְ-ה-וָ-ה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה--כֵּן עָשָׂה, אֶת-הַמְּנֹרָה.  {פ}	4 And this was the work of the candlestick, beaten work of gold; unto the base thereof, and unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work; according unto the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the candlestick. {P}

Now, if I were you, I might here Menorah and think Chanukkah, but in fact, the Menorah originally was simply a light in the Temple.  It was the eternal flame--like the light hanging above me.  Continually re-filled, it shared the light of the Holy One, of Gd, with every person who walked through the doors of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  Having not been able to worship in the Temple for almost 2000 years, every synagogue has an eternal light, a lamp constantly lit to remind us of that holy place and of our mission as Jews.

Mentioned in the book of Isaiah, Jews are commanded to be ,לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם, a light unto the nations.  It is not an easy task, so we have many commandments and traditions to help us follow in Gd’s metaphorical footsteps.  Whether in how we eat, or how we talk to others, how we are to treat all with respect, how we are to be honest in our business dealings, we have commandments for everything.  Now if only all Jews would follow them!

Elsewhere in our Torah, in Exodus 25:11, we have a description of the Ark that was in the Temple.  Just like the Menorah it was pure gold, inside and out.

יא  וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר, מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ תְּצַפֶּנּוּ; וְעָשִׂיתָ עָלָיו זֵר זָהָב, סָבִיב.

11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

In the Talmud, a collections of Jewish wisdom and law, Rava says: Any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside (who is not as righteous as he or she appears to be) is not a true Torah scholar.  

What does this mean?  It tells us that to truly be an ideal person, we have to work to make sure that our insides match our outsides and vice versa.  To me, adolescence is beginning this project of making our outsides and insides match.  Going through middle school, high school and even college, we may try on different personalities, cliques, clubs.  Hopefully by the time we are adults, we know who we are and where we are going.  In this way, the Torah can be light for us.  Knowing what our values are, knowing where we stand, can smooth the challenges of adolescence, the challenges of life.  If we know that we are living a life of honor, of character, of a commanded life, we gain the confidence and the wisdom of thousands of years of learning and tradition.

Ploni, stand up.  Today we celebrate your Bar Mitzvah, but what we are really celebrating is that you ARE a Bar Mitzvah, a son of the commandments.  We celebrate you taking hold of your traditions, making them your own.  In your haftorah this morning, you read:

ו  וַיַּעַן וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי, לֵאמֹר, זֶה דְּבַר-יְ-ה-וָ-ה, אֶל-זְרֻבָּבֶל לֵאמֹר:  לֹא בְחַיִל, וְלֹא בְכֹחַ--כִּי אִם-בְּרוּחִי, אָמַר יְ-ה-וָ-ה צְבָאוֹת.

6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: 'This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

For the last few months you have worked very hard.  We have studied together on good days and more challenging ones.  I have seen you grow right before my eyes.  In our time together I have seen you triumph in the Science Fair and moments of struggle.  Yet through it all, we kept working.  We kept going and going and going until today, when every word was correct, when every syllable and note was just right. I said to your mom yesterday, that there is a miracle that happens at (almost) every Bar Mitzvah, somehow, it all comes together--not by might, not by power, but with the help of Gd (and Jewish mothers everywhere).

You spoke of your work at the Soup Kitchen and your holy work of Bikkur Holim, of visiting those who are not at the peak of health.  In both those cases, and many others, you demonstrate the good heart that you have.  You show that you are living your Jewish values, looking out for those that need a little more help.

As we look to the future, I know those values will remain with you.  I hope that we will continue to find time to study together, to look at Jewish texts together and to help you live a Jewish life.  In Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Ancestors, in the fifth chapter, is one of my favorite lines of our tradition--partly because the guy has one of the best names in our tradition!

כב בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפָךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפָךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ. ובָהּ תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בַהּ, וּמִנַּהּ לָא תְזוּעַ, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ מִדָּה טוֹבָה הֵימֶנָּה:

The son of Bag Bag (ben Bag Bag said); Delve and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do not budge from it, for there is nothing better.

That text is immediately followed by:

כג בֶּן הֵא הֵא אוֹמֵר, לְפוּם צַעֲרָא אַגְרָא:

Ben Hei Hei said, “The reward is commensurate with the effort.”

You have put in a lot of work.  The lunch your mom arranged seems like a pretty great reward--but in truth, the reward is that you will continue to live a Jewish life.  Today is not the end of your Jewish education or life, it is the beginning.  You have the tools, the direction, the opportunities.  Now the choices are yours.  To help you on the right path, you are all invited back for Shabbat Hanukkah.  On December 20, Ploni will be standing with me again, as he chants the Haftorah he so beautifully read this morning!  I am so proud of you today, Ploni, and I am sure that every person in this room is, too!  Mazal tov!

What is Torah? Shavuot Yizkor 2014

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

Torah of Law, Narrative or Memory?

What do you think of when I say Torah?

Do you think of the scrolls we read from this morning?

Or lists of do’s and don’ts?

How about love, of lovingkindness?

In our holy Talmud, in Tractate Sukkah 49B, there are two very powerful paragraphs about the nature of Torah.  The first we study many Shabbat mornings on  p. 69 of our Siddur.  From the translation there:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת סוכה דף מט עמוד ב

ואמר רבי אלעזר: כל העושה צדקה ומשפט - כאילו מילא כל העולם כולו חסד, שנאמר +תהלים לג+ אוהב צדקה ומשפט חסד ה' מלאה הארץ.

Rabbi Elazar said: whoever does deeds of charity and justice is considered as having filled the world with lovingkindness, as it is written “God loves charity and justice; the earth is filled with Adonai’s lovingkindness” (Ps. 33:5)

תלמוד בבלי מסכת סוכה דף מט עמוד ב

ואמר רבי אלעזר: מאי דכתיב +משלי לא+ פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורת חסד על לשונה וכי יש תורה של חסד ויש תורה שאינה של חסד? אלא: תורה לשמה - זו היא תורה של חסד, שלא לשמה - זו היא תורה שאינה של חסד. איכא דאמרי: תורה ללמדה - זו היא תורה של חסד, שלא ללמדה - זו היא תורה שאינה של חסד.

Rabbi Elazar quoted this verse: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the Torah of lovingkindness is on her tongue” (proverbs 31:26). What is the intent of this verse? Is there one Torah of lovingkindness and another which is not of lovingkindness? Torah studied for its own merit is a Torah of lovingkindness, whereas Torah studied for an ulterior motive is not.  And some say that Torah studied in order to teach is a Torah of lovingkindness, whereas Torah not studied in order to teach is not a Torah of lovingkindness. (Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, p.69)

Our sages, our sage, Rabbi Elazar, is discussing how great a mitzvah, how great a command it is to be a good person, to treat others with respect, and to make sure that people have their basic needs met.  These needs are not only physical, but spiritual.  As Jews, we are commanded to study Torah, to teach Torah, to live Torah.  When we do mitzvot and when we do acts of lovingkindness (gemilut hasadim), we are bringing Gdliness into the world.  

In my more recent Talmud study, I have been studying Tractate Rosh Hashanah.  Within that study, there has been a discussion about life after death, about what happens to us next.  One of the conversations says that after death, we are in a type of purgatory for a year.  After 12 months, we either make our way to heaven, to the world to come, or become ashes.  From a Jewish perspective, this is one of the reasons we say Kaddish or do mitzvot or study in the name of ones we have lost.  By doing good things in their name, we help to bring them into the world to come.  This brings me to my next text, also from Sukkah 49B

תלמוד בבלי, סוכה מט:

Original Text:

תנו רבנן: בשלשה דברים גדולה גמילות חסדים יותר מן הצדקה, צדקה - בממונו, גמילות חסדים - בין בגופו בין בממונו. צדקה - לעניים, גמילות חסדים - בין לעניים בין לעשירים. צדקה - לחיים, גמילות חסדים - בין לחיים בין למתים.

Here my translation is from on1foot.org

Our Sages taught: Gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) is greater than tzedakah in three ways: Acts of tzedakah involve only one’s money – gemilut chasadim can involve both money or one’s personal service. Tzedakah can be given only to the poor – gemilut chasadim can be done both for the rich and for the poor. Tzedakah can be given only to the living – gemilut chasadim can be done both for the living and the dead.

http://www.on1foot.org/text/babyloniantalmud-sukkah-49b

If you have been to a funeral with me, you may have heard me speak about what a holy opportunity it is to physically help bury someone, that the act of shoveling dirt onto a friend, loved one, or even any person’s grave, is tremendously holy.  I speak about how this is a great mitzvah because it has no expectation of reciprocity.  This is an example of how we can do mitzvot for those who are no longer with us.

To me, our holy Torah, our holy traditions can be boiled down to love.  We are commanded to love our neighbors.  Hillel taught that the essence of Torah is not to do what is hateful to us, to others.  Love is the start of ALL of our commandments.  Whether it is love of others or love of God, every command, even the ones that do not seem so are related to our love of God and God’s love for us.

When we think of our loved ones, we think not only of their love, but the ways that we showed love.  Whether it was making our beds because our spouse liked the bed made or making a special dinner or seeing a show or travelling because our parents or friends or children loved to do those things.  When we do those things without them, we are happy for the memories, but also a little sad that they are not with us.  

The same is true of Torah, of the mitzvot.  For some of us, we live Jewish lives because of our love for God.  Some observant Jews might not really care about the laws of kashrut, but they do them because they love God.  I don’t really care about making my bed, but I know that Rebecca is happier if I do!

The Torah teaches that when we show our love for others, when we help others, when we care for others, we are living the values taught by God.  We are emulating God.  What better way to show respect and love for someone but to follow their examples.

Many children follow their parents in the same way.  They become accountants or doctors to follow in their parents footsteps.  They make the same foods on holidays and special occasions, because Shabbat or Rosh Hashanah is not the same without Bubbe’s matzo ball soup.  By living our lives in the footsteps of the ones we love, in the footsteps of God, we can find great depth, great meaning in our lives.  By passing our traditions to our children, we can extend the memory of those that are no longer with us.

Today we stand together to remember, to say Yizkor, to say words that remind us of the ones that we have lost.  We remember those who have touched our lives, given birth to us or the ones we love.  They have been our partners and friends.  They have been our children and our relatives.  We are bereft without them, yet we know that by following in their footsteps we can make our lives better.  The magic of Yizkor, the magic of Jewish tradition is also the belief that we can better their existence through our actions.  By making good choices, doing good deeds, we may believe that we are not only bringing ourselves closer to God, but also the ones whom we have lost.  Now that is a powerful thought.  In the traditional prayers for Yizkor, there is a line about donating charity in their memory.  Through these donations, through good deeds, we continue to uplift their spirits AND our own.  Please open your Yizkor booklets or turn to the Siddur at this time.

Walking with You, Walking with Hashem

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

CAI

5/17/2014

PLEASE NOTE--ITALICS are from Rabbi Daniel Nevins, http://learn.jtsa.edu/content/commentary/behukkotai/5774/walking-together-god

This week I read a very interesting D’var Torah from Rabbi Daniel Nevins, the Dean of the Rabbinical School at JTS.  He opened with a story:

I saw a strange thing on my walk to minyan the other morning. At a quiet side street with no cross-traffic in sight, a woman stood still, waiting for the walk sign. All around her people bustled by, peeking quickly to make sure no truck was barreling down the street before crossing, but she patiently waited for the light to indicate that it was her turn to walk. She wasn’t setting an example for a toddler, and she didn’t look like a tourist. This woman was content to obey a sign that others, myself included, blithely ignored.

If you don’t live in New York City, perhaps you won’t find my story strange, but let me assure you, one doesn’t see this every day. Yet with pedestrian casualties a stubbornly persistent statistic in our city, perhaps more of us should heed her example. I am often alarmed by people staring intently into their phone screens as they cross busy Broadway. We could all stand to pay more attention to how and when we walk.

In our Torah reading this morning, walking is a key metaphor.  In just the first few verses, we see that verb three times.

If you walk in God’s statutes, then many blessings will follow, culminating in Godwalking in your midst and causing you to walk upright. In the next, darker section, God predicts that the people will walk stubbornly... and in response, God too will walk stubbornly with them. What is it with all this walking?

Rabbi Nevins find that the Torah is filled with references to walking as a spiritual practice. Enoch is a saintly figure who “walked with God and then he was no more, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24). Noah is praised for walking with God (6:9). Abraham is the biggest walker of them all, covering many hundreds of kilometers in his dusty sandals. God commands him to “get up, walk around the land” (13:17), and “walk before me and be blameless” (17:1). In Exodus, God walks before Israel in a pillar of cloud, and in Deuteronomy, Moses promises that “God walks before you; he will not release you nor will he abandon you.” Prophets such as Jeremiah are told to walk on God’s command, and the Psalmist pleads with God, “show me your paths, that I might walk in your truth” (86:11). The people of Israel are expected to walk to Jerusalem on pilgrimages three times annually, and Moses famously teaches them to speak of their love for God “when you sit in your homes and when you walk on the way.” Furthermore, the prophet Micah sums up the religion of Israel as “walking humbly with your God.”

Is it any wonder that Judaism came to associate its method of religious practice with walking? The Rabbis created a normative world known as halakhah (“the walk”), and the Sage Ulla claimed that since the Temple was destroyed, the Holy One has no place in the world except for the four cubits of halakhah (BT Berakhot 8a). This could sound claustrophobic, but unlike the Temple, the halakhah is not enclosed on four sides. It has boundaries, but its origins stretch back to the mythical beginning of time, and its destination remains beyond our imagination. What matters about the Jewish walkway is not endlessly broad, but rather has defined edges that lend it coherence.

I like to think of the four cubits of halakhah as the width of the path. A cubit is said to be somewhere between 18 and 24 inches long, so a four-cubit path is six to eight feet wide. It is broader than a trail, but narrower than a proper road. It is just right for two people to walk side by side, engaged in an animated conversation as they cross the countryside.

This metaphor of walking and talking is a beautiful way to think of Jewish life. Our religion has seldom emphasized solitary meditation. The image of a monk in a cell staring at a candle and breathing deeply is not immediately recognizable as a Jewish ideal, though there is certainly room for such spiritual practices in our religion. Walking on a path together is a social, dynamic metaphor. And if you imagine, as our portion does, that God is available to join you for a walk, then religious life becomes an adventure.

As a chaplain, as a congregational rabbi, I think that walking is a beautiful metaphor for life and relationships.  I was asked recently if I thought my style of leadership was walking behind, walking with or walking in front of.  I thought about Biblical generals who led from the front of their armies and modern generals who frequently sit in headquarters.  I answered emphatically that to me, leadership is about walking with people.  It is not saying that I have all the answers, nor is it saying that I believe that you have the solutions to every life or halachic debate.  Rather, it is the philosophy that together, we can derive solutions to any situation.  Together, we can cry or celebrate.  Together, we can live deeply spiritual lives.

Our teachers, the rabbis, used the metaphor of walking because walking is life.  Whether we are trying to improve our health or just get around, we have to get off our tushes and move.  By saying that halacha is walking, the rabbis were saying that Judaism encompasses every aspect of life.  From how to eat, how to thank, how to walk, how to talk, how to relate to others, our traditions have ideas, answers and more questions.

This is what a community like CAI is all about.  Together we journey.  Together we walk. Together we find the presence of Gd and each other.  May we continue to walk together, not in front, not behind, but together.

As the camp version of the supposedly Camus line goes:

Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow.

Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.

Just walk beside me and be my friend

And together we will walk in the ways of Hashem.