Stand up and be counted

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Parshat Mishpatim/Shabbat Shekalim 2015

February 14, 2015

Congregation Agudas Israel

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I ask you what today is?

Shabbat?

Valentine’s Day?

Simchat Shabbat?

Day of Rest?

I think this week’s parsha and haftorah may actually connect all of those days.  I think it integrates the ideas of law, love, accountability and asks us all to stand up and be counted.  If you were following along as I read the Torah, you may be wondering exactly how these disparate ideas come together?

When we celebrated Shabbat dinner last week, I mentioned the Midrash from Genesis Rabbah.  Rabbi Noam Zion from the Hartman Institute helped me find the specific citation!

The Midrash Genesis Rabbah 11:8 attests to the love affair between Israel and the Sabbath by likening them to husband and wife. According to this Midrash, God paired all the days of the week: Sunday had Monday, Tuesday had Wednesday, Thursday had Friday. Only Shabbat was left alone. (p.102)

The Sabbath came before the Holy One and said: “Sovereign of the Universe. All the other days have a mate; am I to be without one?”

The Holy One said to it: “The Community of Israel shall be your mate.” As it is said, “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it le-qaddesho [here read]: to betroth it [as in kiddushin].” (Ex. 20:8)

What a beautiful image of Shabbat marrying the people Israel. The metaphor is expanded by a medieval Kabbalistic rabbi:

Rabbi Yisrael Elnekaveh quotes a Midrash that develops an extended marital analogy:

Just as the Kallah arrives before the Hatan, dressed beautifully, with jewelry and perfume,

So Shabbat arrives before Israel dressed beautifully with jewelry….

Just as the Hatan is dressed in magnificent attire, so a person should dress magnificently for Shabbat.

Just as the Hatan enjoys pleasures all seven days of the wedding,  so a person should indulge in pleasures on Shabbat.

Just as the Hatan takes off from work, so does person refrain for work for Shabbat….

One should not eat on Shabbat afternoon so as to enter Shabbat with an appetite,

just as the Hatan fasts from food and drink on the day of the wedding.

So a person should be very careful to sanctify Shabbat with wine,

Just as Hatan is careful to sanctify (kiddushin) his bride [with wine].

(Sefer HaPeliah I 36b)

http://hartman.org.il/Blogs_View.asp?Article_Id=1431&Cat_Id=275&Cat_Type=Blogs

In other texts, the image is expanded to say that it is not just Shabbat that the people Israel marry, but rather GD!  Innumerable texts compare the Torah to the ketubah and in many Sephardic communities, on the holiday of Shavuot, there is a special ketubah read celebrating the marriage of Israel to Gd.  This concept is reinforced on a daily basis through recitation of verses from Hosea 2:21-22 when we put on Tefillin.  The entire book of Hosea emphasizes this relationship, reminding the people Israel that there was no Get, that Gd did not divorce or abandon Israel, even as our ancestors strayed and worshiped idols.

(Photo from http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Shavuot/In_the_Community/Shavuot_Hymns/Sephardic_Ketubah.shtml)

In an image I have mentioned before, marriage is a contract between two people and the Holy One.  We promise to provide for the needs of one another, to treat each other with a certain level of care, and in a Jewish marriage, to acknowledge that these commitments are spoken before GD.  Strangely, in secular culture, these obligations are not always the priority.  Many in this country think that defending marriage is about preventing some loving couples from being married, rather than in recognizing the sacredness of their own relationships!  Some even neglect their own spouses while denying the marriages of others?  

Marriage is a covenant, with laws and obligations.  Whether those are around food, clothing, intimacy or putting the dishes away, the rules of marriage are many.  Yet these rules are an expression of love.  In the same way, the Torah is a gift BECAUSE of the laws, NOT DESPITE THEM!

Some Shabbat mornings we sing from Psalm 19:

תּוֹרַת יְהוָה תְּמִימָה, מְשִׁיבַת נָפֶשׁ;    עֵדוּת יְהוָה נֶאֱמָנָה, מַחְכִּימַת פֶּתִי.	8 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
ט  פִּקּוּדֵי יְהוָה יְשָׁרִים, מְשַׂמְּחֵי-לֵב;    מִצְוַת יְהוָה בָּרָה, מְאִירַת עֵינָיִם.	9 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2619.htm

These laws keep us accountable.  In our parsha this week, we follow the sacred moment of the Giving of the Torah, the Revelation, with all sorts of little details.  Yet it is in these details, that the most holy moments are found.  We are commanded to help the animals of our enemy.  If we live in a time when slavery is allowed, slaves must be treated with respect and not overburdened--they must even be paid.  Lex talionis--an eye for an eye is mentioned, yet the rabbis teach us that it was NEVER taken literally.  Instead financial compensation for compensatory AND punitive damages were required.  The laws teach us how to be holy people.  It is not just the words here, but how they have been applied from generation to generation.  The Torah is the start, but it is not the end.

The Torah is renewed in every generation.  We all stood at Sinai and we remain there today.  Just as we recently read about Gd freeing us from Egypt, on Pesach we will re enact it.  We must act as if we were there ourselves--because we were.  As such, this Shabbat is a special one.  Shabbat Shekalim tells us that Adar is soon, that it is almost time to rejoice with Purim, but it also tells us to stand up and be counted.  The special Maftir and the Haftorah tell of the half-shekel that served as the census of the Jewish people.  Counting Jews was not something Gd approved of directly.  Instead, we count through donations and math.  In this census, each individual (male Jew of military age) donated an equal amount.  Whether rich or poor, everyone contributed equally.  Elsewhere free will donations were accepted to the best of one’s ability, but for this, every single person gave the same.  Every single person’s contribution was as important as anyone else’s.

Today, as we stand on the threshold of our new addition, every person’s contributions are valued.  We have not asked for a standard contribution, but we have asked everyone to contribute something.  I would like to see a second thermometer outside, not with money, but with participation.  When every single person has given something, then this community will be a successful one. This is a twofold statement.  To support our community now means to support Kol Yisrael, to ensure this home is outfitted to our needs.  Yet it also means to support CAI, to ensure that we have the programs and the religious leaders that we want.  That is my soft sell campaign.  Traditionally, Shabbat Shekalim was a time when Jewish communities asked their members for support.  Last week I reminded you to stand up and participate, this week I ask you to stand up and contribute.

Without reading or seeing 50 Shades you should now understand, that love and law are the same and demand accountability--stand up and be counted.

Burned out? Talk to Moses!

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

2/7/14

Earlier this week, I spent a fair amount of time trying to find the answer to a simple question: How long does it take for a train to pass through a street crossing.  I emailed the NYPL “ask the librarian”, emailed the Library of Congress, called a half dozen people at the MTA and Metro North and could not get a straight answer.  Klaus did the simple math and came up with about 45 seconds.  Forty five seconds.  Before I continue, I want to ask us to take 45 seconds to mourn the loss of those killed in the tragic accident this week in Valhalla.

(wait 45 seconds)

Can we afford to wait 45 seconds?  Can we NOT afford to wait that time?  We live in a very impatient society.  Every moment of our lives we expect to DO something or BE somewhere.  We rarely just look out the window when we are passengers in a car or train, but rather work or play on our electronic devices.  Every moment is another opportunity and we do not want to miss anything!

Reading this week’s parsha, I think of the connection between Moses and his father-in-law, Yitro, for whom the parsha is named, and wonder if our desire for productivity is new.

13 Next day, Moses sat as magistrate among the people, while the people stood about Moses from morning until evening. 14 But when Moses' father-in-law saw how much he had to do for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you act alone, while all the people stand about you from morning until evening?"15 Moses replied to his father-in-law, "It is because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known the laws and teachings of God."

17 But Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing you are doing is not right; 18 you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You represent the people before God: you bring the disputes before God, 20 and enjoin upon them the laws and the teachings, and make known to them the way they are to go and the practices they are to follow. 21 You shall also seek out from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and 22 let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them share the burden with you. 23 If you do this — and God so commands you — you will be able to bear up; and all these people too will go home unwearied."

24 Moses heeded his father-in-law and did just as he had said. 25 Moses chose capable men out of all Israel, and appointed them heads over the people — chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens; 26 and they judged the people at all times: the difficult matters they would bring to Moses, and all the minor matters they would decide themselves. 27Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way to his own land. (NJPS from http://www.jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/yitro.shtml)

The most important part of that is as following.

נָבֹל תִּבֹּל--גַּם-אַתָּה, גַּם-הָעָם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר עִמָּךְ:  כִּי-כָבֵד מִמְּךָ הַדָּבָר, לֹא-תוּכַל עֲשֹׂהוּ לְבַדֶּךָ.

18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

Yitro recognizes that if Moses tries to do everything alone he cannot succeed.  Recently I have had discussions with people about my vision of leadership for this community and in general.  For us all to succeed, we need cooperation.  We need people to step up and do their parts.  It not effective if I or the executive board does everything.  We will get tired; we will irritate our families; we will burn out.  Rather, if we work together, we can create truly historical accomplishments.  Our community has a storied history, and we have much growth and potential ahead of us.

While I was in Israel, one of the topics of the conference I attended was about the importance of self-care, of taking care of oneself.  We have all seen what happens when one person in a couple gets ill.  If the partner focuses ALL of their energy on the other, they too quickly succumb to illness.  When they can find other resources, help for themselves, time to recuperate, they are able to support their loved one AND themselves.  When they do not, the consequences can be tragic.  On a personal level, no matter how many reminders I gave myself, I overdid it on my last day.  I took too long a hike with too heavy a backpack and did not drink enough.  Not long after I found myself dehydrated!  Instead of a seeing the Chagall windows at Hadassah hospital after my tour of the amazing new Wolfson Tower, I saw the inside of the ER while I had tests done and got some IV fluids.  While it was fascinating to see how differently medicine works in Israel, that is not the way I wanted to find out about Israeli medicine!  Strangest part of the experience was when the doctor offered me a painkiller available in Israel and Europe and then decided it wasn’t a great idea, since it is more effective than tylenol, but very rarely can shut down your immune system and kill you.  That’s an interesting metaphor on choice--something that can make your life better or kill you!  I chose life (and tylenol!)

Returning to my opening, I do not know what happened to the driver who found her car on the tracks in Valhalla.  Whatever happened it is a tragic loss to all involved.  On a side note, be careful.  Do not drive on the tracks until you have a clear path off of them.  If the bars ever start coming down while you are on the tracks, floor it off the track--either direction.  The bars are made to break.  Your car is little more than the equivalent of a soda can to a locomotive going 60mph!  

Yet it is not just the train tracks that are the dangers in our lives.  Work, school, family, even synagogue life can all bring us great joy and also much stress.  As we look to the years to come, as we continue the construction of this building and of our souls, may we work smarter and not harder.  May we bring our whole selves to our endeavors, but not in a way that harms our health.  May we remember to eat right, exercise and take care of the bodies that allow our souls to flourish.  Shabbat Shalom.

Who hardened whose heart? And how do we soften our own?

Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel

1/17/2015

Exodus Chapter 7 (NJPS via jtsa.edu)

1 The Lord replied to Moses, "See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet. 2 You shall repeat all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites depart from his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt. 4 When Pharaoh does not heed you, I will lay My hand upon Egypt and deliver My ranks, My people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with extraordinary chastisements. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst." 6 This Moses and Aaron did; as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they made their demand on Pharaoh.

This week we read of blood, of frogs, of insects, but to me the most fascinating part of the parsha is not the miracles, but the inner struggle.

וַאֲנִי אַקְשֶׁה, אֶת-לֵב פַּרְעֹה And I will harden Pharaoh's heart      ,

What is the psychological challenge of Pharaoh?  Did Gd harden Pharaoh’s heart or did Gd reinforce the decision that Pharaoh had already made?  Several times in the book of Exodus, it says that Moses or Gd hardened Pharaoh’s heart, yet in the book of Samuel, we read:

וְלָמָּה תְכַבְּדוּ אֶת-לְבַבְכֶם, כַּאֲשֶׁר כִּבְּדוּ מִצְרַיִם וּפַרְעֹה אֶת-לִבָּם:  הֲלוֹא כַּאֲשֶׁר הִתְעַלֵּל בָּהֶם, וַיְשַׁלְּחוּם וַיֵּלֵכוּ.

6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when He had wrought among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

Which is it?  Can it be both?  Can Gd have simply reinforced the decision of Pharaoh?  On a light-hearted note, I think of the kid’s song, “Little bunny foo foo”, who the fairy gave three chances to improve himself, yet he continued to make the same poor decisions!  Perhaps Gd worked in the same way, giving Pharaoh TEN opportunities to change his ways, yet each time, he did let our people go!

Pharaoh’s sin was not simply refusing GD or Moses.  His sin was in thinking that his hold on power was permanent.  His sin was in imaginging that there was no other way but the choices he had already made.  He could not imagine changing his mind.  The end of the Purim story has always surprised me.  The King does not rescind his order to kill the Jews.  Instead he orders the Jews be armed, that they may protect themselves from the evil onslaught.  His failure to rescind his order causes the needless suffering of many of his people.  And this sin remains today.

Many of us are unwilling to admit we are wrong.  We are unwilling to accept that we can change.  We have hardened our hearts with the wrong idea that the way it is today is the way it will be tomorrow.

As this week celebrates the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr, I think about the ways that people in this country had hardened hearts.  For those of us who grew up in the South, we were sometimes taught that the Civil War was the end of racism, yet it does not take much to show that it did not end there. Nor did it end with MLK and the passage of the Civil Rights Act or Voting Rights Act.  Rather racism changed form and went underground.  While it is not socially acceptable to openly speak racist thoughts, Avenue Q taught us that “we’re all a little bit racist”, that many people harbor prejudice.  Recently books have come out talking about the “new Jim Crow”, how our justice and prison systems unfairly target those of color.  The “drug war” criminalizes “black” and “white” drugs in different ways, so that if I were to smoke something I shouldn’t (which I wouldn’t since I’m allergic to everything!), I would likely not be arrested or my charges would be dropped, yet if someone of color made the same choice, he or she might find him/herself locked in the prison system.  

Our country has hardened its heart against those that look different.  Yet the demographics of our country are changing.  It is less white than it has ever been.  And somewhere along the way, we Jews became white!  On a side note, as our brothers and sisters in France have discovered, that is not a universal statement!  There is closeted (and not so closeted) anti-semitism even here!  

One lesson of the plagues is that if we get uncomfortable enough, even the most hardened hearts can change.  Even Pharaoh, when the stakes were high enough let our people go.  What does it take for change in this country?  What would it look like to have a just society?

We do not understand the dangers that police navigate every single day.  Every day is another opportunity to protect and serve, but is another opportunity to be placed in a dangerous situation that is not always survivable.  When I can walk to and from synagogue to my home, I am appreciative of those who protect this community and make that walk safe.  Unfortunately, the laws that are enforced are not always just.  We must continue to work with our legislators, with our Congress, to ensure that ALL have opportunity in this country, that laws that unfairly target some are written out of the law books.  That is one way we soften our hearts.

We soften our hearts through suffering, through empathy, through seeing the challenges in our lives and those in our neighbors.  We soften our hearts through respect of those who protect us.  We soften our hearts through demanding equal rights for all.  Did you know that the Equal Rights Amendment has been brought to every  single Congress since 1982 and yet still has not become a constitutional amendment?!

Many times I have heard that if we could all unload our burdens, our challenges and place them on this bimah, given the opportunity to trade them, we would all take back our own challenges.  Our challenges are familiar, yet hopefully we use them to soften our hearts and not harden them.  I pray that we use our challenges to look around the room, to look around the world and find it in our hearts to simply be kind.  I pray that we find it in our hearts to be kind AND to do something.  Let us continue to work for a just world.  It does not happen overnight, but if we imagine the world as immutable, we make the same mistake that Pharaoh did.  We all have the capability to improve this world.  What are we doing?  Shabbat Shalom.

And the bush was not consumed. . .

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

January 10, 2015

Parshat Shemot

I think of the names that open this week’s parsha, this week’s book of the Torah, Shemot (in English Exodus), 1 “Jacob, each coming with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 The total number of persons that were of Jacob's issue came to seventy, Joseph being already in Egypt. “ Yet I also think of the names of those who were/are? hostages yesterday in Paris-- Shmuel Yitzchok Ben Sara, Zerya Bas Susan, Andra Bas Jusian and Mordechai Ben Maya. A six-month-old baby is in the store.  I think about the life of traditional Jews, of which I count myself.  Once the Shabbat candles are lit, there is no going to the store for a forgotten item.  If we need something Friday afternoon, there is a mad dash to the store, with an eye on the watch or the phone to ensure we get back in time.  With no kosher supermarket in Newburgh, my mad dash is to Pricechopper, which while owned by Jews and sells kosher food, is a giant supermarket.  The customers on a Friday afternoon could be absolutely anyone!  In Paris, at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket, that is likely not the case.  The customers are far more likely to be Jewish.  Earlier this week they came for the cartoonists (of which one of them was Jewish) and now they again came for the Jews.

Our parasha opens with the mention of those names and how quickly their achievements are forgotten by those in power.  Joseph’s ingenuity saved the Egyptian people and cemented Pharaoh’s hold on power, yet a generation or two later and this is no longer part of the Egyptian story.  Sometimes even the greatest achievement is not eternally remembered!  While this may sound tragic, it is only the beginning.  Pharaoh and his advisors turn the Israelites into slaves and eventually work towards genocidal plans.  By the time we get to our reading, two chapters later, Moses, saved by Pharaoh’s daughter (irony much?), is a shepherd outside the land. What we read today is inscribed on the building where I studied for so many years,

ב  וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְ-ה אֵלָיו, בְּלַבַּת-אֵשׁ--מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה; וַיַּרְא, וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ, וְהַסְּנֶה, אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל.

2 And the angel of the L-ORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

That phrase has been an inspiration to many.  It has been a light in dark times, a beacon of hope. As I heard that the hostages in Paris were freed, that some of those innocent shoppers were safe, I thought of this verse.

וְהַסְּנֶה, אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל

What does it mean to burn yet not be consumed?  WE burn with the fire of outrage at those who think violence is the solution to all their problems.  We burn with the fire of hope that one day we will truly see peace.  We burn with the light of Torah, that leads us to holier, more meaningful lives. We may even burn with passion towards those we love or even for issues we care about--yet we must be careful not to be consumed and negate our selves.

For those who use terror, they are bushes who HAVE been consumed.  They have sacrificed self in their quest for a world where all look like themselves.  In response, many in history have been consumed with revenge.

So how do we live with fire, live with passion, live with energy, yet prevent ourselves from being totally consumed by these energies?

Even as we saw those who saw themselves as faithful commit acts of horrendous violence, in many cases, faith can keep us from making poor or evil choices.  Faith reminds us of the humanity of one another.  Our Torah teaches that ALL were created in the Divine image.

We can all see examples of those whose quest for mitzvot leaves them abandoning some of their love for others, but are Torah teaches also of the important of mitzvot ben adam l’havero, between one person and another.  The first question asked in heaven is “Were we honest in business?”--do we treat people fairly, honestly, appropriately? In this way, we see that passion for business is great, but the passion must be applied carefully, that we know when our efforts are legal and when they are not.

I need not give examples from personal relationships, but we can all think of personal experiences or ones whom we love who had passionate relationships that completely flamed out.  They lost their sense of self and were left brokenhearted.  Fire is great, but it must be carefully tended to burn for the long term.

The same is true in our daily lives.  We have to ensure that the work we do is sustainable, that we make ourselves sustainable.  If our focus is so singular, so particular, we may lose ourselves.  Passion, fire, is key, but it cannot be the only metric by which we live our lives.  If so, we may find ourselves burned out, lost, overwhelmed.

A life of passion can be a powerful one, yet we must guard ourselves from putting out the fire or pouring lighter fluid on it!

After shul today we will discuss matters of life and death, issues that oertain to us all. At this moment, I want to ask us all to say “Baruch Atah Adoshem Elokeinu Melech Haolam, Matir Asurim” Praise are you, Holy One, ruler of space and time who frees the captive.  May those who survived their captivity fight PTSD, discover reserves of strength and live full lives.  May those who did not survive see their souls rise to heaven, may their memory be a blessing.  Shabbat Shalom.

Tsurris and joy

Looking at the world today can give you a heart attack.  A close friend is in Paris, where Muslim terrorists massacred a dozen reporters and writers for a satirical newspaper.  Here in Newburgh, we celebrate a year with only one murder--but almost 50 people shot. In west Africa, Ebola still rages, yet it is no longer daily news.  In the Middle East, Palestinian leader Abbas seems to be joining the ICC, in hopes of causing turmoil within Israeli leadership, but not sure how that will lead to any semblance of peace.  Saudi Arabian airlines announces gender separation options, to ensure that no man has to sit next to another man’s wife.  A transgender teen committed suicide when her family did not accept her.

On a lighter note, also in the Middle East, snow paralyzes parts of Israel. Weather that in the Hudson Valley would keep a few people home, keeps many more home. Stores ran out of produce, milk and bread in Jerusalem!  In Las Vegas, the International Consumer Electronics Show demonstrates thousands of products to connect us in more ways to the internet.  Not sure if that is good or bad, but we saw in the last few weeks that anything with an internet connection can be hacked--so hopefully they add some security to these products.

Here at home, we had dinner last night with lovely congregants.  Showing that kosher means delicious, we had an amazing meal and “a show” led by my daughter.  Sitting with them was a joy and a reminder of the holy work that we do together.  Tonight we will meet again to discuss membership in our community.

That last topic is a sensitive one for rabbis.  For many years, the measure of a rabbi, was the size of his congregation.  Success or failure was entirely dependent on the numbers.  While numbers are important--as anyone balancing a budget knows, numbers do not tell the whole picture.  Synagogues are about community.  They are about love.  They are about sanctity.  We can reach people’s souls even when we do not reach their wallets!

We live in a time of declining affiliation everywhere.  As one of my businessman/teacher/member reminded me, the only business that you have responsibility for is your own!  The future of our community is dependent on its members valuing it and supporting it.  Like every organization, we must continue to fund-raise--but also work to soul-raise.  We must continue to offer services and programs and opportunities that fulfill our mission of being a caring, sacred community. We must continue to work on emphasizing why what we do is important--the what will follow.

I am a member of CAI because of the personal connections, the sacred connections and the joy I have found here. What would bring you here?

With the internet, rabbis reach people and connect them to communities regardless of location.  Yet, the majority of work is local and organic.  Helping one family discover the blessings of kashrut.  Showing two members their commonality.  Energizing people in their observance of mitzvot and most powerfully living prayer--showing that we can change our hearts and our souls when we work together and reach out to the Divine.

For the first time that I can remember, we did not have a minyan last Shabbat--yet we still had a joyful experience.  Together we spoke of topics sacred and more ordinary, offered the words of our heart to the Holy One and found the blessings in our daily lives.  This week we have a minyan in the evening and the morning.  We will sing, we will celebrate.  The warmth of our hearts and souls will counter the frigid air outside.

Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor...we are not obligated to finish the task, but we MUST work on it nonetheless.  We must remind people that without a spiritual home, there is a hole in their hearts and souls.  We must remind people that without a community, they are missing the holy task of connection.  Our very relationships and family structures depend on it.  Our partners may complete us, but they cannot fulfill our every need, for that, we need a community!

Tsurris (problems) and joy are not independent but interdependent. We cannot fully celebrate without having overcome tragedy. We cannot fully mourn without knowing, as the psalmist says that "Joy comes in the morning", that another day can bring blessing.

We cannot solve every problem in the world, but when we see the joy a small child can bring, we recognize that we must try.  If we want our children to live in a better, more peaceful world, we have a lot of work to do--at home, in our communities and around the world.  What will you do?

The Talmud teaches that to save one life is to save an entire world!  Let’s get started.

January bulletin

Dear CAI,

December at CAI was pretty amazing.  Taking Hanukkah on the road, I saw some of our friends in Florida-thanks to my wonderful in-laws, Paul and Barbara Schwartz for hosting in DelRay Beach!  I took the giant Hanukkiah to “the Heights”, Balmville, CAI, Fishkill, New Windsor and Cornwall.  All along the way I saw the smiles and sang with friends old and new.  I have deep appreciation to Jack Dabrusin for the use of his truck and Klaus Solomon, Jack Dabrusin and Frank Wolf for their expert plans and execution turning a giant stationary menorah into a portable one!

As I spoke on Hanukkah--and at our very successful Hanukkah Shabbat dinner--what we think about Hanukkah depends on our perspectives.  To me, Hanukkah is about bringing OUR holy light into the world.  It is about bringing our unique Jewish spirit, into our homes, into our hearts, and even into the public square.  As Jews, we have something special to offer the world.  We cannot forget that.

To help us better understand our future, sometimes we have to look into the past.  At the end of this month, we will begin a series of evenings discussing Jewish history.  By looking at some of the major texts of our history, we can better plan for our next 5000 years!

As always, peace in our world seems precarious.  Yet, here at CAI, in Newburgh, we find a little oasis.  In all that I do, I try to help us spread that oasis, expand our circles of peace into the world around us.  We begin by working towards peace in our homes and relationships, spread outside our families into our friends and broader Jewish Communities.  From there we can work with our city, county, state, country and beyond.  The lesson of Hanukkah is that one little light can illuminate not just the darkness, but the world.  What are you doing to spread the light?  Come visit us and find out!

As I said in December: Whatever you are doing this month, keep CAI in mind.  We always have you in our hearts!  Wishing you a warm heart--even if the outside may be a little chilly!  Join me for coffee and let’s dream together.  Our new building demonstrates what Herzl said about the nation of Israel, “If you will it, it is no dream!”

This is Where I Leave You--Parshat Vayechi 2015

Rabbi Philip Weintraub

Congregation Agudas Israel

1/3/2015

Parshat Vayechi

The first significant word of our parsha is “Vayechi” and he live, “Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob's life came to one hundred and forty-seven years.”  He asks his sons to affirm that he will be buried in his native land--a promise which means that Joseph will temporarily leave his high position in Egypt to go home to Israel and bury his father!  Once they swear this to him, he takes to his bed and his sons come to him for individual blessings.  Unlike his father’s before him, he does not restrict his blessings to a single son, rather, each one gets an individual blessing, one that speaks to his needs, his talents, his abilities, his future.

Some of the blessings are quite positive, like Judah’s and Naftali’s.  Others are more nuanced, while some, like Reuven’s do not seem like blessings at all!  Before the blessings even began, we first had instruction, teaching, a demand that his burial should be traditional, and this promise returns at the end of the blessing.  

In some ways, this blessing might be seen as an ethical will.  As much as it divides the sons, it offers a vision for a unifying future.  All of them will have a role as leaders of tribes; all of these tribes will be essential to the future of Israel and Judaism.

Do we talk about our families in the same way?  Do we talk about our desires the same way?

Rebecca and I just watched This is Where I Leave You, a movie based on the book by Jonathan Tropper.  In it, many famous actors and actresses portray the four siblings and assorted spouses/significant others who come together to observe the last wish of their father, to sit shiva together, in one house, under one roof, for the entire week.  The antics, language and sex (they must have missed that memo) aside, the relationships were fascinating.  While making our ancestors in Genesis seem polite, the dynamics were very powerful.  How do our relationships with our siblings change over the years?  Do we ever grow up when we return to our parents’ homes?  What happens when our parents’ die?

Without giving away the movie, it made for an interesting conversation in our house!

Returning to our parsha, I think about the lives we lead today?  How do we talk to the members of our family?  Do our children know how we feel about Jewish values? About end of life care?

Spending time in the hospital, I meet people with all different types of backgrounds, yet the big problem in many situations is communication.  We are afraid of big questions!  We are afraid to talk about death.  We are afraid to talk about how we want our lives to end?  

What is a good death?  Is that dying in our sleep at home?  Is it sudden?  Is it slow?  Do we want to know about it in advance and give a blessing to each of our children?

One lesson of Jacob is that we can never truly know the moment of our death.  Blessing his sons, he believes he will die and he does, but what if he didn’t have that premonition? Would he have been able to give them those wise words?

All of this seems particularly appropriate this week.  Closing the book of Genesis, closing and beginning a new year, we reflect on what has been and what will be.  As we look to the new year, I hope that we can continue to talk about the big issues.  What drives us? How is Gd a part of our lives?  How do we live ethical, meaningful, Jewish lives?  At the end of the day, conversation, communication is the center to these issues.  We just have to talk more--with ourselves, with our loved ones and with our community here.  Let’s continue the conversation at Kiddush--and next week over Shabbat dinner AND over cake when we have a mini-death cafe!

Shabbat Shalom!

Links:
http://thisiswhereileaveyou.com/

http://deathcafe.com/