tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62737394958982978952024-02-08T01:19:23.853-05:00Mizmor L'David - Songs Of The Heart from Rabbi David BaumMy sacred task as rabbi is to ignite the God-given hidden spark within each person, and connect this light to others through building spiritual community. The tool of ignition, inspiration, and agitation is our Torah, 70 Faces and all, and my task is make Torah come alive (through diverse venues) in the present so it will live in the future. I seek to be a madrich/guide and leader who can help others traverse through the windy pathways of life. David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-44954694458918245782022-08-25T17:24:00.006-04:002022-08-25T17:26:02.720-04:00Celebrating Our Birthdays Jewishly©<div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment="{"blocks":[{"key":"54oln","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"3luuu","text":"Our birthdays are special days for us, whether you are Jewish or not. Growing up, people celebrated their actual birthdays, but there’s a new practice of people celebrating birthday weeks! I don’t advocate for the practice of birthday weeks. Health writer Katie Heaney quipped: “You get one day. Every year, once a year, you may celebrate your birthday however annoyingly you want, but you must confine those celebrations to one day. If I hear one more person over the age of 17 refer to their “birthday week,” I’m going to throw up. That is not how this works.” ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[{"offset":242,"length":34,"key":0}],"data":{}},{"key":"794j2","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"6rqgc","text":"Judaism looks at our birthdays not as days of self-worship, but as days of reaching certain accomplishments and milestones. For example, in Pirkei Avot 5:21, we read about different ages and the milestones that we should strive for. Written over a thousand years ago, the mishnah states that 13 is the age of mitzvoth, 15 the study of Talmud, 18 for marriage, 20 for finding a career, 30 for power, 40 for understanding, 50 for giving advice, and the list goes on until 100. In other words, our birthdays are times for reflection to see what we have accomplished, and what we seek to attain in the coming year or decade. ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"d6att","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"f2n1g","text":"Interestingly enough, in Judaism, our birthdays are also tied to another day: the day we die. In the book of Ecclesiastes (7:1-2), we read the following:","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"e2io","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"46ett","text":"טוֹב שֵׁם מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב וְיוֹם הַמָּוֶת מִיּוֹם הִוָּלְדוֹ׃ ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{"textAlignment":"center"}},{"key":"6te0g","text":"A good name is better than fragrant oil, and the day of death than the day of birth.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{"textAlignment":"center"}},{"key":"9i25p","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{"textAlignment":"center"}},{"key":"bqcv0","text":"טוֹב לָלֶכֶת אֶל־בֵּית־אֵבֶל מִלֶּכֶת אֶל־בֵּית מִשְׁתֶּה בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא סוֹף כׇּל־הָאָדָם וְהַחַי יִתֵּן אֶל־לִבּוֹ׃ ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{"textAlignment":"center"}},{"key":"7hulk","text":"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting; for that is the end of every man, and a living one should take it to heart.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{"textAlignment":"center"}},{"key":"b2oso","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"bsna6","text":"How could this possibly be true? Rashi offers an interesting commentary:","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"4spvs","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"c8e6e","text":"“A fine reputation for a person is better than precious oil, and on the day of [his] death that reputation is better than [it was] on the day he was born. For this reason, a good name is compared to oil in preference to other liquids, for [if] you put water into oil, it rises and floats, and is distinguishable, but other liquids, [if] you put water into them, it becomes absorbed.”","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"8i15q","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"27upg","text":"This idea is built on another mishnah from Pirkei Avot (4:13) which states that there are three crowns, the crown of Torah, the crown of Priesthood and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name [כתר שם טוב], (good reputation), surpasses them all. In the age of the internet, our reputations are arguably our greatest attributes and assets. Having a good name has an effect beyond ourselves. A Jewish scholar from the late 1700’s, the Metsudat David, commenting on this line: “The fragrance of good oil dissipates but a good name grows constantly stronger.”","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"lipt","text":"","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}},{"key":"e8efv","text":"This is where I return to the day of our beginnings, and our endings, and how our endings can lead to new beginnings. ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}],"entityMap":{"0":{"type":"LINK","mutability":"MUTABLE","data":{"target":"_blank","rel":"","url":"https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/birth-weeks-are-not-a-thing.html"}}},"VERSION":"8.72.29"}"><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="flhdn-0-0"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="flhdn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="flhdn-0-0"><h2><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Celebrating Our Birthdays Jewishly©</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-riT_93kzJhJm_oEpWoftTe7Jq1Q0kv_-ErYtldaGWmmcKwDA00q_UjutmC54dK55AKDNh4bau70wLlLUrKKygSH1mTGMAJxlIzR7ZrzlmndslgbQxTpOcfV_191i5vXC0hyGTCorYL4ji1XEYG9YsjOYaggzGzxqgqV0QCJFHQQxZScHg0jTJ0fXg/s750/IMG_9297.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-riT_93kzJhJm_oEpWoftTe7Jq1Q0kv_-ErYtldaGWmmcKwDA00q_UjutmC54dK55AKDNh4bau70wLlLUrKKygSH1mTGMAJxlIzR7ZrzlmndslgbQxTpOcfV_191i5vXC0hyGTCorYL4ji1XEYG9YsjOYaggzGzxqgqV0QCJFHQQxZScHg0jTJ0fXg/w640-h426/IMG_9297.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><i>We have the sacred ability and responsibility to learn and grow from our birthdays, making a day when we usually focus on ourselves also about others and the impact that we can make on this world, even in the afterlife, when others will celebrate our birthdays. </i></h2><div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment="{"blocks":[{"key":"9jsuj","text":"We have the sacred ability and responsibility to learn and grow from our birthdays, making a day when we usually focus on ourselves also about others and the impact that we can make on this world, even in the afterlife, when others will celebrate our birthdays. ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[{"offset":0,"length":262,"style":"BOLD"}],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}],"entityMap":{},"VERSION":"8.72.29"}" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="2mrtg-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="2mrtg-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="2mrtg-0-0">Our birthdays are special days for us, whether you are Jewish or not. Growing up, people celebrated their actual birthdays, but there’s a new practice of people celebrating birthday weeks! I don’t advocate for the practice of birthday weeks. </span><a class="_3Bkfb _1lsz7" data-hook="linkViewer" href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/birth-weeks-are-not-a-thing.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span data-offset-key="2mrtg-1-0">Health writer Katie Heaney quipped</span></a><span data-offset-key="2mrtg-2-0">: “You get one day. Every year, once a year, you may celebrate your birthday however annoyingly you want, but you must confine those celebrations to one day. If I hear one more person over the age of 17 refer to their “birthday week,” I’m going to throw up. That is not how this works.” </span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="ftpqf-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="ftpqf-0-0"><span data-offset-key="ftpqf-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="fgebc-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fgebc-0-0"><span data-offset-key="fgebc-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Judaism looks at our birthdays not as days of self-worship, but as days of reaching certain accomplishments and milestones. For example, in Pirkei Avot 5:21, we read about different ages and the milestones that we should strive for. Written over a thousand years ago, the mishnah states that 13 is the age of mitzvoth, 15 the study of Talmud, 18 for marriage, 20 for finding a career, 30 for power, 40 for understanding, 50 for giving advice, and the list goes on until 100. In other words, our birthdays are times for reflection to see what we have accomplished, and what we seek to attain in the coming year or decade. </span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="9vs5l-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="9vs5l-0-0"><span data-offset-key="9vs5l-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="45b3q-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="45b3q-0-0"><span data-offset-key="45b3q-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Interestingly enough, in Judaism, our birthdays are also tied to another day: the day we die. In the book of Ecclesiastes (7:1-2), we read the following:</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="ekckq-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="ekckq-0-0"><span data-offset-key="ekckq-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J _3GFvb public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-rtl fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="bl3go-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-rtl" data-offset-key="bl3go-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="bl3go-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">טוֹב שֵׁם מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב וְיוֹם הַמָּוֶת מִיּוֹם הִוָּלְדוֹ׃ </span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J _3GFvb public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="609bg-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="609bg-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="609bg-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A good name is better than fragrant oil, and the day of death than the day of birth.</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J _3GFvb public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="aqiqv-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="aqiqv-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="aqiqv-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J _3GFvb public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-rtl fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="5pfiv-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-rtl" data-offset-key="5pfiv-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="5pfiv-0-0" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">טוֹב לָלֶכֶת אֶל־בֵּית־אֵבֶל מִלֶּכֶת אֶל־בֵּית מִשְׁתֶּה בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא סוֹף כׇּל־הָאָדָם וְהַחַי יִתֵּן אֶל־לִבּוֹ׃</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J _3GFvb public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="8r2nn-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8r2nn-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="8r2nn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting; for that is the end of every man, and a living one should take it to heart.</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="1j1ia-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="1j1ia-0-0"><span data-offset-key="1j1ia-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="fd9l6-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fd9l6-0-0"><span data-offset-key="fd9l6-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">How could this possibly be true? Rashi offers an interesting commentary:</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="c909-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="c909-0-0"><span data-offset-key="c909-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="a71e0-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="a71e0-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a71e0-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“A fine reputation for a person is better than precious oil, and on the day of [his] death that reputation is better than [it was] on the day he was born. For this reason, a good name is compared to oil in preference to other liquids, for [if] you put water into oil, it rises and floats, and is distinguishable, but other liquids, [if] you put water into them, it becomes absorbed.”</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="408vn-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="408vn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="408vn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="biol3-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="biol3-0-0"><span data-offset-key="biol3-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This idea is built on another mishnah from Pirkei Avot (4:13) which states that there are three crowns, the crown of Torah, the crown of Priesthood and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name [כתר שם טוב], (good reputation), surpasses them all. In the age of the internet, our reputations are arguably our greatest attributes and assets. Having a good name has an effect beyond ourselves. A Jewish scholar from the late 1700’s, the Metsudat David, commenting on this line: “The fragrance of good oil dissipates but a good name grows constantly stronger.”</span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="4sk5g-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="4sk5g-0-0"><span data-offset-key="4sk5g-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="_25Ehb _3qYRK Oh89J public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr fixed-tab-size rich_content_P" data-block="true" data-editor="editor" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><b>This is where I return to the day of our beginnings, and our endings, and how our endings can lead to new beginnings. </b></i></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKbghCrR5F9SvvDOs3SdpNRxz8fikWBFwbxNrAHxmAq7Y25sCAJD6mVJMi-O46ydtrCwxGf22_ns1JkSRaiZw-vtocKYqyl91PFZ1EOICcFcOyn2fI4d979C0W7N2I3W5o3pIyPmp28BOvaQQ6KRocTOVRY0fazpbpfvh71lUgZVMopR-K3bKblqbDw/s4032/IMG_4738.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKbghCrR5F9SvvDOs3SdpNRxz8fikWBFwbxNrAHxmAq7Y25sCAJD6mVJMi-O46ydtrCwxGf22_ns1JkSRaiZw-vtocKYqyl91PFZ1EOICcFcOyn2fI4d979C0W7N2I3W5o3pIyPmp28BOvaQQ6KRocTOVRY0fazpbpfvh71lUgZVMopR-K3bKblqbDw/w400-h300/IMG_4738.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This week, I had the honor of taking part in an annual event that is held on the birthday of Josef Pessah of blessed memory (or as we called him at Shaarei Kodesh, Yossi), the son of Amy and Aryeh, the brother of Eitan and Bat-Ella Pessah. Every year, on August 23, Yossi’s family and friends gather to engage in an act of Gemilut-Hasadim/loving-kindness, and collect tzedakah in his name for the Josef L. Pessah Tikkun Olam Fund. This year, we gathered to clean up the beach near one of Yossi’s favorite places to play with his band. Yossi, who grew up at Shaarei Kodesh, becoming a bar mitzvah in front of our community, tragically passed away after a courageous and difficult battle with brain cancer in February of 2019. He was a gifted musician (specifically guitar) who cared for many others during his impactful life. </span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment="{"blocks":[{"key":"85i09","text":"This Shabbat is Rosh Hodesh Elul, which is also Yossi’s Hebrew birthday, the formal beginning of the High Holiday season. On Rosh Hashanah, we recall the creation of the world by God, and God’s first creation was light. Jewish mystics believed that supernal light was placed inside each one of us, and it is never extinguished, even after we die. That light returns to God who gave it, but it also remains here in this world. Guitars are delicate – like a human being. A crack in a guitar may never be able to be fixed, and when it breaks, we may fall into a trap that the music it made is lost. This is where Tzedakah and acts of loving-kindness in the name of our loved ones who have passed plays a significant role. When we gather and act to help repair the world in their names, the ‘music’ that they made in their lives is never lost, but remains with us forever.","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}],"entityMap":{},"VERSION":"8.72.29"}"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This Shabbat is Rosh Hodesh Elul, which is also Yossi’s Hebrew birthday, the formal beginning of the High Holiday season. On Rosh Hashanah, we recall the creation of the world by God, and God’s first creation was light. Jewish mystics believed that supernal light was placed inside each one of us, and it is never extinguished, even after we die. That light returns to God who gave it, but it also remains here in this world. Guitars are delicate – like a human being. A crack in a guitar may never be able to be fixed, and when it breaks, we may fall into a trap that the music it made is lost. This is where Tzedakah and acts of loving-kindness in the name of our loved ones who have passed plays a significant role. When we gather and act to help repair the world in their names, the ‘music’ that they made in their lives is never lost, but remains with us forever.</span></div></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I mark my birthday today, I also mark my birthday without my grandfather Frank </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3MzrOTejI2un-XRbw3WicIzsBwtEOCRqbYfd_ztXHB1mndzHpBJfLqliI-yqk6bvrqF5VK4GYXVPN9XRCK7UjOD4AukUs87YmIY2HT1JvvD5J9x3SB-b6FgHHJy-_6QDnrw7MVxE0PDkpjZcT9PqjfOpPjeeNZF3uUjFNVBpuFLclsQ0a7pxn2DeUQ/s1536/IMG_8627.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3MzrOTejI2un-XRbw3WicIzsBwtEOCRqbYfd_ztXHB1mndzHpBJfLqliI-yqk6bvrqF5VK4GYXVPN9XRCK7UjOD4AukUs87YmIY2HT1JvvD5J9x3SB-b6FgHHJy-_6QDnrw7MVxE0PDkpjZcT9PqjfOpPjeeNZF3uUjFNVBpuFLclsQ0a7pxn2DeUQ/s320/IMG_8627.png" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">who was also born on this day. For the first time in memory, I will not be speaking to him on the phone as we wish each other a happy birthday, but I can still hear his voice, and feel his presence in my work as a rabbi, and as a husband and father. </span></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><div data-draftjs-conductor-fragment="{"blocks":[{"key":"6nh7l","text":"Rosh Hashanah is both a celebration of the possibilities of a new year, but also an acknowledgment of the past year. Rosh Hashanah is bittersweet, just like our birthdays. We look forward with hope, and we look back on our victories and regrets. Our challenge every year is to build on our ‘Keter Shem Tov’ our good reputations, not just for our own well-being and happiness, but for our futures where we may not be physically present, but spiritually in the lives of our family, friends, community, and people. ","type":"unstyled","depth":0,"inlineStyleRanges":[],"entityRanges":[],"data":{}}],"entityMap":{},"VERSION":"8.72.29"}"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rosh Hashanah is both a celebration of the possibilities of a new year, but also an acknowledgment of the past year. Rosh Hashanah is bittersweet, just like our birthdays. We look forward with hope, and we look back on our victories and regrets. Our challenge every year is to build on our ‘Keter Shem Tov’ our good reputations, not just for our own well-being and happiness, but for our futures where we may not be physically present, but spiritually in the lives of our family, friends, community, and people. </span></div></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6mmgn-0-0"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-34968406882675841962022-06-30T12:52:00.002-04:002022-06-30T13:09:30.897-04:00Response to the Supreme Court's Decision to Strike Down Roe V Wade<h1 style="text-align: center;"><b> Response to the Supreme Court's Decision to Strike Down Roe V Wade</b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRZv6kiDZ5ZqpT-B7ResuYLFqpiTr2T6TgXS0ZM1nmulnRXLi1OBIt1X2BGzNVuTl5ZTtu0hGT2DOdptmeCW4t0dcRFABx1gtNTvK4BaxYN3IwdDgDWdtoIGJpoMLRrfC4WDy8x-HbU9a30a__56vPFhL3vjI6_UtAOI_hGW6aQHFNYZDRPQNciSolA/s960/IMG_8139.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="960" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRZv6kiDZ5ZqpT-B7ResuYLFqpiTr2T6TgXS0ZM1nmulnRXLi1OBIt1X2BGzNVuTl5ZTtu0hGT2DOdptmeCW4t0dcRFABx1gtNTvK4BaxYN3IwdDgDWdtoIGJpoMLRrfC4WDy8x-HbU9a30a__56vPFhL3vjI6_UtAOI_hGW6aQHFNYZDRPQNciSolA/w640-h630/IMG_8139.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://rabbidavidbaum.blogspot.com/2022/05/judaism-and-abortion-sources.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO READ A SOURCE SHEET ON </a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://rabbidavidbaum.blogspot.com/2022/05/judaism-and-abortion-sources.html" target="_blank">The Role of Jews As Citizens In the Abortion Debate and Jewish Takes On Abortion</a></span></div><div><br /></div>When I saw this meme posted shortly after the Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe V Wade, I wish I could have posted it without any reservation, or as the meme says, full stop, no exceptions, but I can't. First, although the grammar is factually correct, no, I will not nor can I marry any of you, as I'm happily married to Alissa. <br /><br />But, moving on from that grammatically ambiguous statement, as a rabbi in the Conservative/Masorti movement of Judaism, I cannot officiate at every marriage. If someone comes to me for advice on reproductive issues, the answer isn't going to be an immediate 'yes' or 'no' until I understand the situation and look to Jewish law for the answer. But what I will do is stand with and help those who want or need access to reproductive care. I will stand with our households, especially those who identify as LGBTQIA+ as they navigate a fraught future where their rights may be taken away. I will also officiate at their marriages to bring them under the huppah.<br /><br />Our tradition has a rich history of sources and debate about abortion, fertility treatments, contraception, etc. that doesn't stop at 'life begins at conception and 'contraception is forbidden, period.' We come to conclusions based on source texts, realities on the ground, and rigorous debate. It is often times nuanced with a great deal of compromise; then again, so is life. But another point: we live in a country with the freedom to exercise our religion or no religion at all. Therefore, a total ban on abortion and/or extreme restrictions on abortion in this country would not allow my people to practice their faith, therefore, I have to do what I can to ensure that they can, but it's not just about us. I'm also an American citizen, an additional covenant that I'm a part of, and I have to think about those who do not conform to my religious view and act accordingly so they can live in freedom. I can't put my message into a meme, sorry, and I can't post this meme with no exceptions, even though I wish I could agree with it 100%, because I think words matter; they create realities. Life isn't as simple as a meme or one-sentence statement. It's nuanced, it's complicated, it's messy.</span>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-12230999415578757722022-06-10T17:11:00.003-04:002022-06-10T17:11:53.350-04:00Post-Shavuot Reflections - On Rainbows and Covenantal Communities<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzzcSUJufHruOrTuoyOHDX_OjqN1LAwtNFvWfT_GdQ3g1x-KzOGb7mFK2v7FFaWnQo2YQiG91eA03kzDfZSVIjmHjfTkY_xtU57IMS_55t0wgdmSN9WDL_u1saEbFFt-pp4M2t0bJ2XGe9M1K_e8nLV7bwgW82NQHYxQVO_eOFkl4uhflDvW1mby9gQ/s7604/jesse-gardner-gI8tlA6xLTE-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3370" data-original-width="7604" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzzcSUJufHruOrTuoyOHDX_OjqN1LAwtNFvWfT_GdQ3g1x-KzOGb7mFK2v7FFaWnQo2YQiG91eA03kzDfZSVIjmHjfTkY_xtU57IMS_55t0wgdmSN9WDL_u1saEbFFt-pp4M2t0bJ2XGe9M1K_e8nLV7bwgW82NQHYxQVO_eOFkl4uhflDvW1mby9gQ/w640-h284/jesse-gardner-gI8tlA6xLTE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@plasticmind?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jesse Gardner</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/double-rainbow?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I have to be honest, I was not hopeful that our in-person Shavuot night of learning, which we brought back after two years of the pandemic, would actually happen. Most of the Conservative synagogues canceled their programs due to the Tropical Storm, and I thought no one would be leaving their homes. On Shabbat morning, one of our congregants suggested we change the Torah reading from BaMidbar/Numbers to Parashat Noach because of the flooding! <br />I walked in on Shabbat morning and only four people were there! My worst fears were coming true. But about 30 minutes later, we had around 30 people, a shockingly high number considering the time of the year and the weather. Jackie Klein gave a powerful farewell Dvar Torah before she moves to Clearwater, Florida, to fulfill her dream to become a full-time Jewish educator. The rain kept coming, and I thought to myself, would people come back at 9 pm for Shavuot?!? Not a chance! But there was a sign that changed my mind. On Shabbat afternoon, the rain stopped, the wind calmed down, and a huge double rainbow appeared in the sky (FYI, this is not the double rainbow we saw but it was pretty close!). <br /><br />On Saturday evening, close to 50 of us came together as we learned about Holy Space in Jewish Thought, hearing from teachers Rabbi <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgLgo3YHMwcYc6AXBRGZWAaM6D_G3VdHN2jF5k5Jcr4R1DQELWGP0XXJpYVWeaC6j_joKPo2AlZikZoN2ET-PnJwZtvUVZissLSoAi-bqSpt_Mf9j7E54MAAzlOSAn-eiYJnqpbVEtqSQCi9A1Lkwy1ilbits5WdKAcv70wdH2SlYYFMWBCAldi299rfhFzdjbjvjUxmulH81AEVoV9mwywsL0P2sJHlPrTud9PvP9g5ADiJKqsNzHbaFwi5giSTjALVQLDXB5H6I24Wx3jXeavF-w-yWI2ZbaHQ_Wp4sr2htr9JV03-R-nO4Hj58U9PpOJM5XuHGpHCO4_Wl10Z8PRuTxxn35ziuVuIIPje63sRy0KdMKqTm-axcocGO3zbST5SypRdFmtQU=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Ed Bernstein</a> and <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgNgGui240OM7CAyny0gBphJWouU-yuxe6ny_rm4VXSXC8gtQKvLbLMuX7OhQ_eN2gQJ_eglEopICc_5zIMYq_Adn9ANijq2dvxE89TLZg91gYaJGr1CAa12L7z9jHHIh9s8aaKJaxln7uI17I-5xc5bK4MRui7P6xmMeOYgGvE9mEg_yWaxhtV5q4M-47XAo2sKnXBXQ5hp9oV0pCClte5CQDpTpIIkChO1rcrGsybFQkeXfBm-xVHqAR-ACPytrw2A7pjGjju6V_k2NJwHTW49kJCC-uV9ojZIX6r3Ei3TSPG6Lmq4xInAzvTOOm5n2lpWCTRDcvbk7-EJRK4gu9uP08B876XBm_iw0beSm9U_kNgG0_IpDFw61SgShsd4iuF5P0akER8dI=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Nachshon Carmi</a> and of course, <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgGnabOrRPOeenjJbra79KWCfeuFtAX4Ok8XQ708jr5RE5VNDqJ5PbpMffPQQ3BL30aIO7oP7bzBiGIEMJmztlLgTPiGbk7mltaCxD1dN_A_a9008fibLH_d6PJ_9gK33E3qtBdwxgx4_71GvwjwsM1vl7J4Z9xjqcwBS6CZFDMiGzQzWJiX48Ply7aKJZndhnwwdrGE8IVdP0dCJVvNvH3EyReqvFw9RCp5orgOHldM_gc98FyiPuPgD7RwJ-txw5zQLSp4CLPnxnyUELfhkIJWsX0T0rYDSdxImgn6YFXkXHUj1J5rMjTClafduPn9UxpWqbgWZPFFRbV3MDCMmXueEjvyaKeIiEq1TKJZnNjmoRkJw8SmEMRuAlhvOu5AmlEAmCh1cyUiE=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Karen Zampa Katz</a>, the co-chair of our Beautification and Sanctification Committee, who explained and unveiled the designs for our new Ark, Torah Table, and Torah holders. One of the things I am most proud of in our congregation is our all-night Tikkun Leil Shavuot. To my knowledge, we are the only non-Orthodox shul in South Florida that holds one. After two years, and despite a Tropical Storm and floods, we came back for our evening of learning. We made it until 4 am and then ended the evening, coming back at 9:30 am for our Shacharit service led by Cantor <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVglafxAmB3GKCtusZDfxQYD3tgw-e37EkdOqPV8q57G78_o9vnf4V-UrkywRUSgAb7cMHLDO-RQHHj-lqx0tZy7diYnW5DKWAXtpxhYyhlOP_PihKr7N0I4a2K2lO1_ZKR7c7axtnQf4IzDSubgFUV_NfywWTjHSIU1LwkNx7b1NaR9NGIns-A-O-nlf8D4MfdLI9wEWwx_a0jz7Fc9jZyjWYCdC-vPShHn9VaLjtHWeAxGwNqOtRAG9FBb_XgD-i_0qKapHKzDC2RepKTqDqff8aE9VvhjB4maRyfD4hDxtAa3a-Gzu37_00RxuKjdGPozRMCFUVStFiVUT9FgOUdFWYwq9bm7Vr99mI0NIyHS2qfPD6z-wBL_0WPXkM3quew0ORLvl0BggM=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Yakov Hadash</a> with a powerful Dvar Torah by <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgiNIdP8J34VdWeVeOi258i63SdmbaQoMlaTeZYJJmM_oEzVa3soMjJGR87SD4G9aQeI-Hbmy2DJcCzoFtT5-3mT1sHXv-HswbdoVhUMDQ4PGmnCZdTSVAZweZmiCWif-qD--pId1iEzsMXnqbyQTYV5ywY77VctMDj6SqDIsOMRPPEPjkzIoxwebMC8Q-ED5iMuLxgd7LMc4sSt7dFEvPl2Wk67dPdtDI694GAwQs-QbGh7_FqYjIRgin5gZd6zHWnKskVuuMteuMKyrbrd3JEw-pfUHT5I9R3U_Fn6M6uHX7BRJbZoesBVcdNuaO-TAie1xHl2WP-DTB7mibKiRe_qPB0yiTTh3yn8yFDKeFQYjMBprdfiEHOZywXFmme6BZVbzNtgFrEwc=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Steve Laskowitz</a> on the Ten Commandments and how it relates to the gun violence we're experiencing in this country. On Monday morning, we gathered for the 2nd day of Shavuot, with the reading of Megilat Ruth and Yizkor. And of course, delicious food all weekend thanks to Matt Weiss, <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgjL9GTFIfgweWMYGj2VMI6tIONy7CBXgeb-Jro7ivlj-2Bvh2NAxps4Yfq5kWZc3lyJunsGR06gfYLR85tvXTXVOO72sRX1nNZZTisZ25hc7oqeminCRexDzq0nSqA9ckJ8sgDS3z4pNpkk-mUrm5VzXA5e6D2D9lbqvJwQfasvFYypsTGglUKJv01-_EOjAXBmcuWn4H-GMR-hlIf6IhDbFuxFbttmSiFgGWyfKmfClZL3IIkq9l_EFKHKBaWUM0Kzw4l9fCdevnsj0ycTHKvl_UwLSauhs-7Ic3E4m6nuTmwQMdmnBPmcW9Dq-DbTdiQmCZQ4R8p1HhRUzD-qj__jr48lS-9xQcmLgqjwrdFxCC3dxEbwYLmTvqmiWrt4OLXc4j8htHXQc=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Kim Beame</a>, <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVg9nUR9TGLRWMGCucQlmAlf7VSg4Ha_M-8f_s7rc4NMrhtkBpF0VdWz67Fvo9ia_SOu3k0s2a9HjcQWmlPIZeHpxzN9aC_qnrrkKwq_F0jgszih_HedaxCmrisSuZhEZtKUpr-bHfFhAMAipAiIy1Ef7TfypwiX8wxMr9M5aTG2Cxv2MDiD2zJGIiX2Xhpz5uKtJZWCsQYTEpT8VvFwmu4yepoUwkcN1iIlI0hcmObRn2nMKvLx4e-MMKt2b0W5IfRoOhshSjWJlYgb-maRDlY0C6_qwDQtitXfUXEgHkPDtoUsuX_p__IWW-trZR5s-IuTqWoB4bYPZkqiKW5kZkgT8XvMyTSkYHAIuAA3jN9Qx6tv0UA1pQnXjpJoMe6ky-tSLKTHjyuUqY=&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Nan Berkowitz</a>, <a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001GFhc8U04glK1fZNepoq0qrZpaYh-xc4jEmobBGMdqfIoVYdPstIP0KMPf0ADBLVgjo2nwPnYVo1CNmsNMn97AmXlWxE95tLb2W0YzXEfNd7qNohwHIsQSkTE7Y_4K2X7mX1nw2P2kpsRP3Ne0amm5_zoHUDBU1z4rEw7jN2cYemeJw08UtZZWBAnvuxWiHAqTDjHJoASYxZji4_qr9L2kFgEAv2Klv4-wb4zzq1QIRaJ6n_dRS8Ozw-8Qq6Zy_xxM9R_pg0TZ2qM6E798grglzpRmL5Z9zSsCKJETGY4h-nuCSbB1-rNCb5QM7nRUxTYuVgw_XjsqkHERei225XElkbw_mNQWNcYdEuhT7tnAXGE-vKViio-B7_RK7GjJP8eu9GrftL1sY0VREWX9lgHbI6NVxbV10lcMedTYLWCDZcLz_FohsQrRLsvlK4Ru_94VepymA3asmbFomlhu6ebNw==&c=lHqedJIdXeu1UpE8FtcrcFmXIRrub7OVmQDTkvhtKiRhidkP9OVBwg==&ch=iaWo1O-BDuAnAMNxyfZi360qv5_LQgheuLxAMMtEK0fJ31q1bfySMg==">Judy Richman</a>, and others. Of course, we have to thank all of our Torah, Megillat Ruth, and Haftarah readers who transformed us all back to Sinai!<br /><br />I want to return to the rainbow we saw before Shavuot began. On Shabbat afternoon, our family went outside and recited the Bracha upon seeing a rainbow:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Baruch Atta Hashem Elokenu Melech HaOlam Zocher HaBrit, (Ve)Neeman Bivrito, VeKayam BeMaamaro</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Blessed are you, Hashem Our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, is loyal to the covenant, and fulfills God’s word.</b></div><br />The covenant that God made during the Noah story was with all humanity. The sign God used was a Keshet, or rainbow. <br /><br />The rainbow, according to the 19th Century German Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch “in the midst of overcast, threatening clouds announces the presence of light...a reminder that God’s preserving grace is still there.” Rabbi Hirsch correctly notes in his commentary to Genesis 9:17 that a rainbow is really one white light, or alternatively the entire spectrum of color contained in a pure white ray before being altered by water droplets. The covenant was made with the diversity of humanity, all humans. Shavuot is also about covenant, a covenant with the Jewish people connecting us to God and the Torah. The Midrash says that at Sinai, God spoke to each Jew individually. Here we see that although we are a people, each one of us is unique, just the colors of the rainbow. Together, we have the potential to bring beauty to this world, but we must be connected.<br /><br />I would like to end with the words from Jackie’s Dvar Torah last Shabbat which pays tribute to her experience as part of our congregation: <br /><i><br />Our sages ask about why G-d speaks to Moses in the wilderness. They teach that the Torah was only given through 3 things, fire, water, and wilderness. And why through these things? They answer: Just as they are free to all inhabitants of the world, so too are the words of Torah free to them. I'd like to juxtapose Rabbi Shefa Gold's explanation with this as I share with this community how much it has meant to be a chaver/member here at CSK. <br /><br />Fire Shecheyanu, Vitality</i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i><br />I came to CSK at a time when I was really floundering as an adult. I was just out of grad school with multiple Jewish studies degrees to my name and no full-time job in the Jewish world outside of teaching. I grew up in a wonderful community though it was also time for a change to a better fit for the Jew that I've become as an adult over the years. I was met with a life force and vitality. Shout out to Robert Murstein who suggested I come for Shabbat after spending time learning during Limmud Miami. Fire is meant to bring light to the world, and that is what so many of the chaverim here at CSK do, whether it's through providing support during minyanim, teaching as lay leaders, or making sure that no one eats.... (or drinks) alone at Kiddush. <br /><br />Water, Sustaining, Vikimanu,<br /><br />While fire brings light to the community, water helps to sustain a community. Just like the well of water followed Miriam where she went, so too there is always nourishment of all sorts here in this community. For me, that sense of sustainment came in two parts. As the years went on, I had a role as an education director in a different synagogue, and not once did I take that privilege for granted to have my own community separate from work. This has been such a privilege that few Jewish professionals get to have, and a privilege that I will miss in my new role and that I've never taken for granted.<br /><br />Sustaining goes both ways, and it was important to me to make sure I was helping to sustain this community whenever possible whether it was helping provide rides, or setting up kiddish and yes, also providing financial sustainment when I was able to do so. This is what it means to be an adult in a Jewish community or any community. I look forward to helping to continue sustaining in the future from afar and visiting. <br /><br />Lastly- In the wilderness, Awareness of one small person. <br /><br />One of the reasons why I have loved CSK so much is that there is such an emphasis on the relationships that are built between chaverim. Each relationship is important to build that fire and the water. A community is built upon many facets. Examples of these are shown from the moment anyone walks through these doors, though don't share too much of your knowledge, or you'll be asked to read torah the very next week! <br /><br />Truly though- Community is important, and making sure that all are welcomed and find their own space within CSK is crucial and I'm so glad to have been just one small drop in this larger Kehilah physically over the years. I look forward to my visits back, and L'hitraot! </i></span></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-15912103107570191352022-05-27T12:41:00.007-04:002022-05-27T12:50:35.165-04:00Response to the Horrific School Shooting in Uvalde Texas <h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Response to the Horrific School Shooting in Uvalde Texas</b></div> </b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Rabbi David Baum</b></div></b><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>May 27, 2022</b></div></b></span></h2><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">הָרוֹפֵא לִשְׁבֽוּרֵי לֵב וּמְחַבֵּשׁ לְעַצְּ֒בוֹתָם: מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכֻלָּם שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkpzdo-R2xEv-zhIYqh6drMB4bDxq1Tw_Lpgjba2RPNRXdX0sBwsynpMIyQ0RVdlRf9mg-30p4XZON8zIQqfxQ2CBmYJvpj6S5MvvYtHt_4wSQh6LQcxIQ2iVOn74k8f5hsT_B2jf1smLubjlzHUHsoFEyewjoeU53mTdTiWMMPib7V9Th2bSxuyzvA/s4016/jordan-whitt-KQCXf_zvdaU-unsplash%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="2681" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkpzdo-R2xEv-zhIYqh6drMB4bDxq1Tw_Lpgjba2RPNRXdX0sBwsynpMIyQ0RVdlRf9mg-30p4XZON8zIQqfxQ2CBmYJvpj6S5MvvYtHt_4wSQh6LQcxIQ2iVOn74k8f5hsT_B2jf1smLubjlzHUHsoFEyewjoeU53mTdTiWMMPib7V9Th2bSxuyzvA/w268-h400/jordan-whitt-KQCXf_zvdaU-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="268" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jwwhitt?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jordan Whitt</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/families-crying?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">God is the Healer of the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">God fixes the number of stars; God calls all of them by names.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Psalm 147</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>This pasuk, from the book of Psalms, is recited every morning during our morning prayers as part of Psukei D’Zimrah. It is reminiscent of the line from Psalms that President Biden quoted in his address “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18). They are seemingly identical lines, but the line from Psalm 147 gives us a context for our broken hearts. In Psalm 147, we are brokenhearted as a people after the destruction of the First Temple, and the exile of our people from Jerusalem. This Psalm in particular echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah who comforted the exiles in Babylonia with a promise of return. The Psalmist was speaking to those who were returning from exile to a Jerusalem they did not recognize. The Psalmist reminds the people: each one of you was named by God, whether you survived the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. In the face of the mass loss of life, your life matters.<br /><br />In a sense, those of us of a certain age are in exile. Mass shootings in schools were almost unheard of until recently. My first memory of a mass shooting in a school was the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 when two teens killed 13 people and injured 20. Since 2000, there have been<a href="#"> 14 mass shootings (where four or more people were murdered) in schools in the U.S. leading to 169 deaths</a> (not including the perpetrators).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>This is not the America that many of us recognize, but for those born after 2000, this is America they know. We are a country that has become numb and almost accepting of the murder of children in the places which should be their sanctuary of safety and learning: schools.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Our tradition is always hopeful, despite the horrors we have faced in our history. After the destruction of the second Temple and the genocide of our people perpetrated by the Roman Empire, there was little to be hopeful for, and yet, we held on to the hope of healing. This Sunday, we will celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, a modern Israeli holiday that marks the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967. It took over 1800 years, but our hope turned into reality when Jewish sovereignty was re-established, and a holy city reunited as one.<br /><br />Our prayers may have kept us hopeful, but prayer is just one part of the equation.<br />Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote about the efficacy of prayer, especially during difficult times:<br /><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>“Prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action. It is, rather, like a beam thrown from a flashlight before us into the darkness. It is in the light that we who grope, stumble, and climb, discover where we stand, what surrounds us, and the course which we should choose. Prayer makes visible the right and reveals what is hampering and false. It is radiance, we behold the worth of our efforts, the range of our hopes, and the meaning of our deeds. Envy and fear, despair and resentment, anguish and grief, which lie heavily upon the heart, are dispelled like shadows by its light. Sometimes prayer is more than a light before us; it is a light within us.”</i></div></blockquote><div><br />This week, we mourn as a country at the senseless slaughter of 19 children aged 8 - 10, and two teachers. We are broken as a country, and we shatter after every successive unnecessary and brutal murder of our children. We gather to pray, to be together as a community, but prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action.<br /><br />This Shabbat, I will speak about how gun violence has not only affected our children nationwide but also how it affects each one of us as members of our holy community of Shaarei Kodesh. We are no strangers to gun violence as we are just eight miles from Parkland, and our congregation was directly affected by that school shooting. <br /><br />Please join us this Shabbat (at around 11 am), in person or on Zoom, where I will address this issue and what we can do to help end our ‘exile’. <br /><br />For those families who are looking for ways to speak to their children about violence, please check out the following resource. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="#">Resources for families: Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers by the National Association of School Psychologists</a></div><br />May God bring comfort to the families whose children were taken from them by a murderous gunman, and may God give us the strength and purpose we need to come back from the exile of the innocence lost due to the pandemic of mass shootings in America. <br /><br />Rabbi David Baum<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-59929946172892110512022-05-05T13:33:00.005-04:002022-05-06T12:06:23.169-04:00The Role of Jews As Citizens In the Abortion Debate and Jewish Takes On Abortion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAApM72JmYRY0HVk5SlsyRPpUyUz1XkEoeRfWIqML-ATSNhEOpdUbKgd9lcZRSOhkHhq6jvPyWB6TdDcwkfSXrVmD2E5JCuprGfuUzwpz3SB4J9Sn2wvcs2Rtw3qFwbYJXsqRAya4Z7Nx7yoZvU2up0Bwhp10IVGXSi1iVR7FWo_46qyHLn7ySy9r_g/s5506/gayatri-malhotra-0XFPG5ntedo-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3671" data-original-width="5506" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAApM72JmYRY0HVk5SlsyRPpUyUz1XkEoeRfWIqML-ATSNhEOpdUbKgd9lcZRSOhkHhq6jvPyWB6TdDcwkfSXrVmD2E5JCuprGfuUzwpz3SB4J9Sn2wvcs2Rtw3qFwbYJXsqRAya4Z7Nx7yoZvU2up0Bwhp10IVGXSi1iVR7FWo_46qyHLn7ySy9r_g/w400-h266/gayatri-malhotra-0XFPG5ntedo-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVCMCUNrWOXKmEZZbhms9osW3Mgb6_JfcWAz5tuHqhMrQDuQGteLTpa-CZE-X7hrlBB_UBEZDmwEVX7GbDboUwH91j03kppkYKPFppAjoX59VhcA9sQrJbRBroN5GauPwHbALp0TiPhOAG6Xkmszw51LUDWu0LhQrPU-w3jznk3G7j-iyqhUnko4gPQ/s4288/maria-oswalt-g5ZI__7MwMw-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVCMCUNrWOXKmEZZbhms9osW3Mgb6_JfcWAz5tuHqhMrQDuQGteLTpa-CZE-X7hrlBB_UBEZDmwEVX7GbDboUwH91j03kppkYKPFppAjoX59VhcA9sQrJbRBroN5GauPwHbALp0TiPhOAG6Xkmszw51LUDWu0LhQrPU-w3jznk3G7j-iyqhUnko4gPQ/w400-h266/maria-oswalt-g5ZI__7MwMw-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/twbclb9po9nn9re/Kedoshim%20-%20abortion.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank"> Please download this source sheet if you will be joining us virtually on Shabbat/Saturday May 7, 2022 (Click Here)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Love Your Fellow As You Love Yourself - The Role of Jews As Citizens In the Abortion Debate</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Parashat Kedoshim 2022/5782</span></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Leviticus 10:16 - 18</span></b></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">לֹא־תֵלֵךְ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רָכִיל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּעַמֶּיךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֹא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַעֲמֹד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־דַּם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רֵעֶךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְי׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">לֹא־תִשְׂנָא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־אָחִיךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בִּלְבָבֶךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הוֹכֵחַ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תּוֹכִיחַ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־עֲמִיתֶךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְלֹא־תִשָּׂא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָלָיו<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חֵטְא׃<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">לֹא־תִקֹּם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְלֹא־תִטֹּר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־בְּנֵי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַמֶּךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְאָהַבְתָּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְרֵעֲךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כָּמוֹךָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְי׃<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.</span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">JPS Commentary - Baruch A. Levine</span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">16. <i>Do not deal basely with your countrymen-</i> Rather, "Do not act as a merchant toward your own kinsmen." This dictum remains ambiguous. Hebrew rakhil has usually been related to rokhel, “merchant.» The idiom lo' telekh rakhil has been interpreted to mean that one should not move about in the manner of a merchant, who is presumed to be privy to secret dealings and gossip. This is how the sense of talebearing developed in post-biblical Hebrew. In Jeremiah 6:28 and Ezekiel 22:9, rakhil is equated with acts of corruption and betrayal, even with murder.16 As a consequence, many traditional commentators, among them In Ezra, Ramban, Rashbam, and Rashi, relate the verbal root r-kh-l to r-g-l, "to spy." The Sifra preserves the following interpretation: "That you not act as a merchant who merely loads up his horse and departs.” Now, Hebrew be-'ammekha means "among, with your kinsmen." Perhaps the sense is that in dealing with one's own kinsmen one should not be "all business," interested solely in profit, but, rather, considerate and friendly. Merchants were often foreigners who felt no close ties to those with whom they did business. The passage, nevertheless, remains problematic.</span></p><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Do not profit by the blood of your fellow</i>- This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret because of the problems in ascertaining the sense of the Hebrew idiom <i>lo' ta amod al</i>, literally “do not stand over, by, near." There have been three principal suggestions. The first, "to stand aside, to stand by," has the sense that one ought not to stand by inactively when one's neighbor's life is in danger. This is the interpretation of the Sifra, followed by Rashi and others. Targum Yerushalmi understands this statement in a similar way: "Do not be silent concerning the blood' of your comrade when you know the truth in a legal case." The second suggestion takes the Hebrew to mean "to conspire against, act against." Thus, Targum Onkelos reads: «Do not rise up against the life of your comrade" (Aram. la tehum al dama' de-havrakh). This is similar to the interpretation of Ibn Ezra: "One ought not to join forces with murderers.» "To stand over" has this sense in several biblical passages. The third explanation of the Hebrew is "to survive by means of, subsist, rely on." Ehrlich compares Ezekiel 33:26: 'amadta 'al harbekha, «You have relied upon your sword for survival,» with Genesis 27:40: “al barbekha tibych, "Yet by your sword shall you live. "18 This last interpretation is the one expressed in the translation, and it best fits the immediate context. One ought not pursue one's own livelihood in a manner that endangers another or at the expense of another's well-being.</span></p><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">17. <i>You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart-</i> Verses 17-18 constitute a unit. The context suggests the interpretation that an individual should not allow ill feelings to fester; rather, he should confront his kinsman and admonish him directly, in this way avoiding grudges and vengeance that breed hatred. Moreover, a proper attitude promotes love for one's neighbor. The opening statement (v. 17) contrasts with the conclusion (v. I8) as hate contrasts with love. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him Rather, "Reprove your neighbor so that you will not incur guilt on his account." As the sages put it: «Woe unto the wicked person, and woe unto his neighbor!" One may eventually suffer by being closely involved with wrongdoers, and it becomes necessary to protect oneself when close associates go astray.<span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"> There is also the suggestion that, beyond self-interest, civic responsibility requires a person to admonish others out of concern for others and for the community as a whole.</span></span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a</span></b></p><p class="p11" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">שׁוּב<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מַעֲשֶׂה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּגוֹי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶחָד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֶׁבָּא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִפְנֵי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שַׁמַּאי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>אָמַר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>גַּיְּירֵנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מְנָת<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֶׁתְּלַמְּדֵנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כּ<span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>ׇל</i></span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַתּוֹרָה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כּוּלָּהּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּשֶׁאֲנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עוֹמֵד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רֶגֶל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אַחַת<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">! </span>דְּחָפוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּאַמַּת<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַבִּנְיָן<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֶׁבְּיָדוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>בָּא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִפְנֵי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הִלֵּל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>גַּיְירֵיהּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>אָמַר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>דַּעֲלָךְ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>סְנֵי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְחַבְרָךְ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לָא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּעֲבֵיד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> — </span>זוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הִיא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כּ<span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>ׇל</i></span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַתּוֹרָה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כּוּלָּהּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>וְאִידַּךְ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פֵּירוּשַׁהּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הוּא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>זִיל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>גְּמוֹר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai and said to Shammai: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. This was a common measuring stick and Shammai was a builder by trade. The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study.</span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Ethics of Our Fathers 1:14</span></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="t1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr><td class="td1" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 119px; padding: 4px; width: 225px;" valign="top"><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He [Rabbi Hillel] used to say:</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1) If I am not for myself, who will be for me?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2) And if I am only for myself, what am I?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3) And if not now, when?</span></p></td><td class="td1" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 119px; padding: 4px; width: 225px;" valign="top"><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">משנה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אבות<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>א׳<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span>י״ד</span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">(</span>יד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>הוּא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הָיָה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אוֹמֵר</span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">אִם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֵין<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>מִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְעַצְמִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>מָה<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנִי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וְאִם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֹא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַכְשָׁיו<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>אֵימָתַי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p><p class="p11" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p12" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“What Jewish law really says about abortion” - op-ed in JTA<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“In Georgia and Alabama, even if a Jewish woman’s obstetrician and psychiatrist encouraged her to terminate a pregnancy due to her psychiatric state or the health status of the fetus, and even if her rabbi told her that Jewish law fully allows her to terminate, she would be forced by law to carry the baby. It would not matter what that means for her safety or the status of the fetus – nor that it violates her religious beliefs.</span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Strict abortion laws impinge on the religious freedom of observant Jews.</span></b></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The laws that multiple states are now passing, or attempting to pass, make clear that a physician who participates in an abortion will be vigorously prosecuted. In Georgia, it also criminalizes traveling outside of the state to have an abortion.</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Abortions, especially later in pregnancy when many of the dangers that necessitate one become apparent, require expertise and practice to perform safely. It is no exaggeration to say that this law will make even legal abortions for clear maternal physical danger much more difficult to access in these states, as research shows that laws passed to limit abortion correlate with decreases in the number of facilities providing them.</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Also, what physician wants to learn how to do a procedure that could land them in prison for decades if a court finds retroactively that the mother was not in enough danger to necessitate it? Or that the danger was not imminent enough?</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A reasonable Jewish observer might worry that the loosening of laws that regulate abortion would lead to an increase in abortions for halachically unjustifiable scenarios. A woman who decides that she would rather be pregnant during fall instead of summer, or after a given life event or financial achievement, would not find rabbinic support for such an abortion. Perhaps, the observer wonders, it is better to have strict laws to prevent such abortions.</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But as I have expanded upon above, it is nearly impossible to create a law that limits abortion and does not put a secular legal ban on some halachically permissible abortions.</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What Jewish community would want to continue to live in a place where they are potentially barred from following halacha? Is a community even allowed by halacha to continue living in such a place, if they have the option of leaving?</span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It appears to me that the Jewish community cannot justify staying on the sidelines of this national American issue. We need to take the side of allowing for safe, legal, available abortions. Jewish law does not align with the Christian right on this issue, and neither should Orthodox Jews.</span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ephraim Sherman, DNP, RN, AGPCNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner and healthcare researcher, focused on the intersection of culture and healthcare.</span></b></p><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Conflicts between Civil Law and Halakhah - The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews</span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What happens when civil law and halakhah are in conflict? What ought one do when one finds oneself in opposition to a policy of the ruling authorities, on religious grounds? Are there times when the priorities of religious tradition are more important than the concept of dina d’malkhuta dina? Should one be able to voice one’s personal objection to a civil law on a religious basis, or must one join with others as part of a unified communal stance? There is a long history of Jews standing up to ruling powers. From Moses to Jeremiah to Isaiah to the Maccabees, Jews have stood up to ruling authorities—whether those authorities have been of their own people or of other nations. Time and time again, the prophets demanded that ruling authorities abide by the highest standards of justice, ethics, and morality and not simply ignore laws they found personally inconvenient. In addition, civil disobedience in the pursuit of a higher moral, ethical, and just law has always been considered wholly appropriate behavior. Indeed, civil disobedience has a long and honorable tradition in the halakhah. And while Jewish law believes that value of human life is all-important, it dictates that people must choose to defy the authorities, even at the cost of their own lives, rather than obey a law or decree that would otherwise require them to commit murder, to engage in immoral sexual relations, or to worship idols (BT Sanhedrin 74a). The principle is simply that one remains responsible for one’s actions at all times. Jewish law does not sanction the excuse that one was simply following orders to justify the performance of immoral or illegal acts. (This concept is discussed as well by Rabbi Michael Graetz in his chapter on the halakhah of military service.) Following these religious dictates, some American Jews were supportive of civil disobedience in defense of civil rights during the 1960s, while others felt justified in participating in similar protests during the Vietnam War. Others, however, felt that there are ways to protest governmental policies without breaking any current laws. These are very complex issues with no simple answers. But Jewish law is clear that morality and justice are the standards by which civil law and human actions are measured. Sometimes it is with respect to the nuances of those definitions that the most interesting and passionate debates take place. In areas where Jewish law and civil legislation collide, there are also no simple answers. When religious dictates require that an individual follow personal religious laws that oppose civil statutes, decisions can become quite complex. For example, civil laws concerning abortion in some jurisdictions may not be in total consonance with normative Jewish law. Inheritance laws as promulgated by civil authorities may conflict with the laws of the Torah. Military dress codes may require an uncovered head during military service. It would be easy to cite many other issues with the potential to create conflict between the law of the land and Jewish religious dictates. How does one decide which legal system to follow? In some cases, dina d’malkhuta dina applies, and in such cases we must follow the law of the civil courts. In other cases, mostly in the realm of personal religious conviction, Jewish law is supreme and we are required to follow it even if it means coming into conflict with civil regulations. Obviously, it is essential when navigating these waters to have a clear understanding of what is actually required by Jewish law and what is mere custom. Judaism considers the welfare of the community to be an important value for each individual. Thus, being a citizen of a country entails obligations, responsibilities, and adherence to the rule of law. When these laws are in opposition to halakhah, rabbinic authorities must decide which law to follow. It is important to realize that instances of civil law being in total conflict with the laws of the Torah are extremely rare and that, therefore, Jews in the Diaspora are generally required to obey the law of the land. Whether in Israel or in the Diaspora, the halakhah dictates that Jews be loyal citizens of the country in which they live. Good citizenship is seen as an important value in Jewish life, and working to enhance the welfare of society is deemed not only an appropriate exercise, but a religious requirement as well. The very fact that almost all congregations include a prayer for the welfare of the worshipers’ country in their Sabbath prayers should be seen as a liturgical extension of this same principle. These and other issues relating to citizenship are discussed elsewhere in this volume in greater detail by Rabbi Jane Kanarek in her chapter on that specific topic. In the Talmud, at BT Z’vaḥim 102a, Rabbi Yannai is quoted as saying: “Let the awe of kingship always be upon you.” He used Moses’s behavior in Pharaoh’s court as his example, but his advice is clearly applicable to all forms of government, not just ruling royalty. Even though he disagreed with Pharaoh, Moses had to be respectful of Pharaoh’s position. And, Rabbi Yannai teaches, so must we all! In that same passage, however, we learn that Rabbi Yoḥanan inferred the same principle from the story of the prophet Elijah and the wicked King Ahab, as told in 1 Kings 18, in which Elijah is depicted as showing Ahab the respect due a king in spite of the strong opposition he always displayed toward Ahab’s reprehensible behavior. Thus, Jewish tradition understands that respect for governmental authorities is always appropriate, and that this is the case even when one disagrees strongly with some specific policy. At the same time, the system presumes that these authorities are sufficiently imbued with respect for justice and morality for the Jewish community to feel comfortable following their lead. If not, then opposition may and must be voiced. In most Western countries in which Jews currently live, differences of opinion are more about nuance and detail than about major legal principles. But debate is healthy and there will always be controversy concerning issues that relate to citizenship and morality. These debates are healthy for all societies, however, and should not be shunned or downplayed. The strength of any society rests in no small part on its willingness to engage in passionate debate about the principles that guide it forward and the rules it establishes as the norms of accepted or desired behavior. To squelch debate, therefore, is to deprive society of one of its most potent sources of creative energy and to open the way to despotism.</span></p><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jewish Takes On Abortion</span></b></p><p class="p14" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="t1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Lost In Translation – the source of the controversy</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td3" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 90px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">שמות<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>כב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> – </span>כה</span></p><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">כב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>וְכִי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִנָּצוּ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנָשִׁים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָגְפוּ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אִשָּׁה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הָרָה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְיָצְאוּ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְלָדֶיהָ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְלֹא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִהְיֶה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><b>אָסוֹן</b><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָנוֹשׁ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יֵעָנֵשׁ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כַּאֲשֶׁר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יָשִׁית<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָלָיו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַּעַל</span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">הָאִשָּׁה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָתַן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בִּפְלִלִים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">(</span>כג<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>וְאִם<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><b>אָסוֹן</b><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִהְיֶה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָתַתָּה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נֶפֶשׁ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נָפֶשׁ<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">(</span>כד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>עַיִן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַיִן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֵׁן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֵׁן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יָד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יָד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רֶגֶל<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רָגֶל<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">(</span>כה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>כְּוִיָּה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּוִיָּה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פֶּצַע<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פָּצַע<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חַבּוּרָה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּחַת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חַבּוּרָה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td4" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 173px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Exodus 21:22 - 23</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Christian Bible based on the Septuagint (Greek translation in 250 BCE)</span></i></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">22. When men fight and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and she miscarries an</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">imperfectly formed child, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman’s</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">husband may exact from him, the payment as the judges determine.</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>23. </b><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>But if it is perfectly formed,</b></span><b> the penalty shall be life for life…</b></span></p></td><td class="td5" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 173px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Exodus 21:22-25</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s6" style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"><i>NJPS Translation</i></span></p><p class="p17" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s7" style="color: #3f6d3b; letter-spacing: 1.5px;">22</span><span class="s6" style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;">When men fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined according as the woman’s husband may exact from him, the payment to be based on reckoning. </span></span></p><p class="p17" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s7" style="color: #3f6d3b; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"><b>23</b></span><span class="s8" style="letter-spacing: 1.5px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>But if other damage ensues,</b></span><span class="s6" style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"><b> the penalty shall be life for life,</b> </span></span></p><p class="p17" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s7" style="color: #3f6d3b; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"><b>24</b></span><span class="s6" style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;">eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, </span></span></p><p class="p17" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s7" style="color: #3f6d3b; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"><b>25</b></span>burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.</span></p><p class="p18" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td6" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 27px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><ul class="ul1"><li class="li9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What is the significance of translating “perfectly formed” versus “but if other damage ensues”?</span></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="td7" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 107px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p19" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However, an alleged biblical source for a prohibition of abortion has been derived from this same passage, on the basis of an enigmatic and an almost certainly erroneous translation <span class="s9" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">of </span>the Hebrew text in the Septuagint. This ancient Greek version renders the Hebrew word <i>ason </i>(harm, injury) inexplicably as "form, shape," a meaning for which scholars are unable to offer a warrant or even a credible explanation.<span class="s10" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The passage then emerges as "But <span class="s9" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">if </span>it (the embryo) be perfectly formed, you shall give a life for a life."<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This dubious rendering has been used in the Christian Church as a biblical support for treating abortion as murder.</span></p><p class="p19" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">-From “Abortion Major Wrong or Basic Right?” by Rabbi Robert Gordis, <span class="s11" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>Proceedings </i></span><span class="s9" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>of </i></span><span class="s11" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards I 1980 </i>- <i>1985</i></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">When does life begin?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The Jewish and Christian View</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td8" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 204px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Genesis Rabbah 34:10</span></p><p class="p20" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">..From when is the soul endowed in human beings, from the time he leaves his mother’s</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">womb or from before that time? Rabbi Yehudah the Patriarch said, “From the time he</span></p><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">leaves his mother’s womb…”</span></b></p></td><td class="td9" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 204px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>בראשית</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>רבא</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>לד</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>:</b></span><b>י</b></span></p><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>ועוד</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>שאל</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>אנטונינוס</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>את</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>רבינו</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>א</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>"</b></span><b>ל</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>מאימתי</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>נשמה</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>ניתנה</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>באדם</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>משיצא</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>ממעי</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>אמו</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>או</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>עד</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>שלא</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>יצא</b></span></p><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ממעי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אמו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>א<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">"</span>ל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>משיצא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ממעי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אמו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>א<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">"</span>ל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לאו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>משל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תניח<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בשר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ג<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">' </span>ימים<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בלא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מלח<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מיד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הוא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מסריח</span></p><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">והודה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">' </span>שהשוה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>דעתו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לדעת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>המקרא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שנאמר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> (</span>איוב<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>י<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>חיים<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וחסד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עשית<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עמדי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ופקדתך<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שמרה</span></p><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>רוחי</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>, </b></span><b>מאימתי</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>נתת</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>בי</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>את</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>הנשמה</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><b>משהפקדתני</b><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> .</b></span><b>רוחי</b></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td10" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 181px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mishnah Niddah 3:7</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One who has a miscarriage within 40 days need not worry that an embryo had formed</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">[thus making her impure according to the laws of Lev 12:2-5. Naturally, a woman who</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">gives birth becomes impure. the Mishnah rules that if she has a miscarriage before the</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">40th day, she is exempt from this impurity because there was no chance a fetus had</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">formed. This implies that until the 40th day of pregnancy, the fetus does not even have the</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">status of a fetus].</span></p></td><td class="td11" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 181px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">משנה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נדה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ג<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span>ז</span></p><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">המפלת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ליום<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אינה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חוששת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לולד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ליום<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תשב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לזכר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולנקבה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולנדה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">' </span>ישמעאל</span></p><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">אומר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יום<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תשב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לזכר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולנדה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יום<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שמונים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תשב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לזכר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולנקבה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולנדה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהזכר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נגמר</span></p><p class="p15" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">לארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>והנקבה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לשמונים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וחכמים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אומרים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בריית<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הזכר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בריית<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הנקבה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זה</span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וזה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואחד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td12" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 58px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Talmud, Yevamot 69b</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">...Until 40 days [after conception, the fetus] is mere water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p></td><td class="td13" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 58px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p22" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">יבומות<span class="s9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>סט<span class="s9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span>ב</span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">אמר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חסדא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> : </span>טובלת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואוכלת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ארבעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>דאי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מיעברא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span>הא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מיעברא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>ואי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מיעברא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>עד</b></span></span></p><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>ארבעים</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>מיא</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>בעלמא</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>היא</b></span><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td14" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 251px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Christian View</span></b></p><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Catholicism has been confronted by some special theological problems. For many centuries, Catholic theologians have debated the casuistic question of "ensoulment," i.e., just when the soul enters the fetus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The consensus among Catholic theologians, at least up to the present, has been that the soul enters the fetus at the moment of conception, so that the destruction of the embryo is tantamount to murder. Moreover, since Augustine, the Church has taught that an embryo must be baptized if it is not to suffer eternal damnation. These theological attitudes explain the passion with which the Catholic clergy and many of the laity react against abortion.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In view of the heat with which the issue is argued today, it is of interest to note that Catholic teaching on the subject has fluctuated through time. In the fourth century, St. Basil condemned abortion at any stage, but the Code of Justinian in the sixth-century exempted from penalty abortions during the first forty days. This position was reaffirmed repeatedly by Papal decree for nearly ten centuries. In 1588, Pope Sistus V declared all abortions to be murder, but less than three years later, Gregory XIV rescinded his decree. Not until 1869 was the prohibition reinstituted by Pope Pius IX.1<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is this position that is now official Catholic doctrine.</span></p><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">-From “Abortion Major Wrong or Basic Right?” by Rabbi Robert Gordis, <i>Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards I 1980 </i>- <i>1985</i></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td15" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 137px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p24" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jewish View</span></b></p><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Jewish sources random speculations as to when life begins are to be encountered, but they play no significant role in connection with abortion. In fact, Jewish law has a variety of time periods applicable to different issues as to when a newborn child is <i>bar kayyama </i>(independent and viable). To cite one familiar example, the <i>pidyon haben </i>(the redemption of the first-born) does not take place until the thirty-first day of the baby's life. What is fundamental is that halakhah explicitly recognizes that the fetus is not a viable being while it is in its mother's womb, since its life cannot be sustained outside its natural shelter there.</span></p><p class="p13" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">-From “Abortion Major Wrong or Basic Right?” by Rabbi Robert Gordis, <i>Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards I 1980 –</i> <i>1985</i></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Life of the mother or the child?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Complications at birth</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td16" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 139px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mishnah Ohalot 7:6</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">[A] If a woman is having difficulty in giving birth (so that her life is in danger), one cuts up the fetus insider her and takes it out limb by limb because her life takes precedence over its life.</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-size: medium; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>[B] Once a greater part (or, its head) has come out, it must not be touched, for we do not set aside one life for another.</b></span></p></td><td class="td17" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 139px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">משנה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אהלות<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ז<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span>ו</span></p><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">האשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהיא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מקשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לילד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מחתכין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>את<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הולד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>במעיה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ומוציאין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אותו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אברים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אברים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מפני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שחייה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> [A]</span></span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">קודמין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לחייו</span></p><p class="p15" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>יצא</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>רובו</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>אין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נוגעין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>בו</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>שאין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>דוחין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נפש</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>מפני</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נפש</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>: [B]</b></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td16" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 139px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 72a</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">R. Huna said: A minor in pursuit may be slain to save the pursued. Thus he maintains that a pursuer, whether an adult or a minor, need not be formally warned. R. Hisda asked Rav Huna: we learnt: Once his head has come forth, he may not be harmed, because one life may not be taken to save another. But why so? Is he not a pursuer? — There it is</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">different, for she is pursued by heaven.</span></p></td><td class="td17" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 139px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">סנהדרין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">אמר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הונא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>קטן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הרודף<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ניתן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>להצילו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בנפשו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>קסבר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>רודף<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אינו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>צריך<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>התראה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>לא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שנא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>גדול<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולא</span></p><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">שנא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>קטן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>איתיביה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חסדא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לרב<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הונא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>יצא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ראשו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span>אין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נוגעין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>לפי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שאין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>דוחין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מפני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></p><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ואמאי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">? </span>רודף<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הוא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">! - </span>שאני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>התם<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>דמשמיא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>קא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רדפי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td18" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 134px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rashi on Sanhedrin 72b</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As long as the fetus has not exited to the outside air it is not a person and one may kill it to save the mother.</span></p></td><td class="td19" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 134px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p25" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rashi, ad loc.</span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">יצא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ראשו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span>באשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>המקשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לילד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ומסוכנת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>וקתני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רישא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span>החיה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פושטת<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ידה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וחותכתו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ומוציאתו</span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">לאברים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>דכל<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זמן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שלא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יצא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לאויר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>העולם<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לאו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הוא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וניתן<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>להורגו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ולהציל<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>את<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אמו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>אבל<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יצא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ראשו</span></p><p class="p23" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">- </span>אין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נוגעים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>להורגו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">, </span>דהוה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ליה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כילוד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ואין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>דוחין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מפני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש</span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td10" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 181px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murder 1:9</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is a negative commandment not to spare the life of a pursuer. Therefore the Sages ruled that when a woman has difficulty giving birth, one dismembers the child in her womb -either by drugs or surgery – because he is like a pursuer seeking to kill her. Once his head</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>has emerged, he many not be touched, for we do not set aside one life for another. </b></span>This is the natural course of the world.</span></p></td><td class="td11" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 181px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">הרי<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מצות<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תעשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שלא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לחוס<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>על<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נפש<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הרודף<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>לפיכך<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הורו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חכמים<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהעוברה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהיא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מקשה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לילד</span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">מותר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לחתוך<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>העובר<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>במיעיה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בסם<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בין<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ביד<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מפני<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהוא<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כרודף<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אחריה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>להורגה<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">,<b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>ואם</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>משהוציא</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>ראשו</b></span></span></p><p class="p23" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>אין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נוגעין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>בו</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>שאין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>דוחין</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נפש</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>מפני</b></span><span class="s12" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-decoration-line: underline;"><b> </b></span><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>נפש</b></span><span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וזהו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>טבעו<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>של<span class="s5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עולם</span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td20" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 331px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Maimonides, who summarizes this provision of the Mishnah in his code, adds an explanation which has had the practical effect of limiting the permissibility of abortion among some later authorities. He explains that the permission to destroy the embryo set forth in the Mishnah is due to the fact that the embryo is "like a pursuer seeking to kill the mother."6<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This explanation would seem to permit abortion only when and if the mother's life is in danger. This interpretation of Maimonides, which Feldman rightly calls "a surprising position,"7 is clearly more restrictive than the talmudic provision.</span></p><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I would suggest that the reason that Maimonides and other medieval codifiers diverge from the Mishnah may inhere in the same conditions that led them to disregard the clear talmudic warrants for birth control. They were leaders of a community perpetually engaged in a desperate struggle for survival against disease, expulsion and massacre. They felt keenly the necessity for bringing many children into the world and thus preserving the Jewish people against extinction. Since group survival took precedence over individual well-being, they sought to limit such practices as abortion and birth control, or to forbid them altogether, in spite of the clear provisions in the Mishnah and the Talmud.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Many later authorities attempted to explain away Maimonides' limitation and to harmonize it with the broader principle laid down in the Mishnah, a discussion that has continued to the present.8 While some would restrict the provision permitting abortion only to cases when the mother's life is in danger, the majority of decisions recognize that physical injury to the mother, even if death is not involved, should also be a legitimate ground for abortion.</span></p><p class="p10" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p19" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">-From “Abortion Major Wrong or Basic Right?” by Rabbi Robert Gordis, <span class="s11" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>Proceedings </i></span><span class="s9" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>of </i></span><span class="s11" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards I 1980 </i>- <i>1985</i></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Capital punishment for pregnant women, another view</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td21" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 97px; padding: 4px; width: 240px;" valign="top"><p class="p16" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mishnah Arakhin 1:4</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the case of a woman [convicted of a capital crime] who goes forth to be executed [and</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">who after he verdict was returned is found to be pregnant] we do not wait for her to give</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">birth. If she already sat at the birthing chair, then we wait until she gives birth.</span></p></td><td class="td22" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 97px; padding: 4px; width: 239px;" valign="top"><p class="p26" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p21" dir="rtl" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">האשה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שהיא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יוצאה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ליהרג<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אין<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ממתינין<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שתלד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ישבה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>על<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>המשבר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>ממתינין<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שתלד</span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Under what circumstances?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Abortion in the case of Tay Sachs</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td14" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 251px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (1915-2006), Tsits Eliezer 13:102</span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With regard to an abortion because of the Tay-Sachs disease…in this case in which the</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">consequences are so grave if the pregnancy and childbirth are allowed to continue, it is</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">permissible to terminate the pregnancy until seven months have elapsed, and in a way in</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">which no danger will befall the mother. Beyond seven month the issue is more serious</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">since at the end of the seven months the fetus if often fully developed…</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is clear that capital punishment is not prescribed for abortion…but the opinion of most</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">rabbis is that the prohibition is only of Rabbinic origin and therefore, Maharit, in his</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">responsa, permitted abortion for a Jewish woman whenever the matter was necessary for</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">her health even when her life was not at stake…</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Therefore ask yourself is there a need greater than the </b><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><b>pain and suffering</b></span><b> that the woman in our case which will be inflicted upon her if she gives birth so such a creation whose very being is one of pain and suffering and his death is certain within a few years…and added to that is the pain and suffering of the infant…this would seem to be the classic case in which abortion may be permitted, and it does not matter what type of pain and suffering is endured, physical or emotional, as emotional pain and suffering is to a large extent much greater than physical pain and suffering.</b></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td23" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 153px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), Iggrot Moshe, Hoshen Mishpat, 2:49</span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Maimonides it is even more explicit that killing a fetus is actual murder…I have</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">written all this because of the great calamity in the world that many governments have</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">allowed the killing of fetuses, among them political leaders of the State of Israel, and</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">countless fetuses have already been killed. I was appalled by the responsa of a learned</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">man in Israel…who permits the abortion of a Tay-Sachs fetus even beyond three months,</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">it is clear and simple as I wrote, the law which is made clear by the early Rabbis and the</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">arbiters of Jewish law, that abortion is prohibited as it is considered actual murder,</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">whether the fetus is pure or illegitimate, regular fetuses or those which are suffering from</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tay-Sachs, that is is strictly prohibited, and do not err and rely on the responsa of that</span></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">learned man.</span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td2" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 13px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">What are some other cases? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td24" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 55px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel (Orthodox), Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel (1939-1953)</span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is clear that abortion is not permitted without reason. But for a reason, even if it is a slim reason, <b>such as to prevent the pregnant woman's disgrace</b>, then we have precedent and authority to permit it.</span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td25" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 14px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Mental Illness and Anguish</span></b></p></td></tr><tr><td class="td26" colspan="2" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; height: 223px; padding: 4px; width: 488px;" valign="top"><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi David Feldman (Conservative), <i>Marital Relations, Birth Control, and Abortion in Jewish Law</i></span></b></p><p class="p9" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In broadening his interpretation of life-threatening situations, Rabbi Unterman (Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, 1950's-60's) does include extreme mental anguish as well. Suicidal tendencies are a threat to her life and, as such, also constitute adequate warrant. ... Insanity alone is not a life-threatening situation, he writes, for the insane are protected by the same instinct for self-preservation as the rest of us. Insanity, however, that carries with it suicidal tendencies or attacks of hysteria does constitute a life-and-death matter, because a person so afflicted can do physical harm to self or others, and so on…If a possibility or probability exists that a child may be born defective and the mother would seek an abortion on grounds of pity for the child whose life will be less than normal, the Rabbi would decline permission. Since we don't know for sure that he will be born defective, and since we don't know how bad that defective life will be, and since no permission exists in Jewish law to kill born defectives, permission on those grounds would be denied. If, however, an abortion for that same potentially deformed child were sought on the grounds that the possibility is causing severe anguish to the mother, permission would be granted.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-6231286355567202592022-05-05T11:18:00.002-04:002022-05-05T11:18:46.666-04:00We Are All Survivors - The New Israeli High Holidays and Jewish America©<h2 style="text-align: center;">We Are All Suvivors - The New Israeli High Holidays and Jewish America©</h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-SYz-oDPvl2mK1ty51tUVCpwfWcF8XBpTXnwABzPTSWUMW9AsxmAr8cHCjeHPzDzVaC8xX40xtwWl0wMACXrcEepWNx3ZiWwsFOFO4A4_jA588a2kfwFR1jogG-izKUbWr87_UJqtLJ_yj6irdkYxxF4aZZOSLrtUA7fInKEokamycNg1sCEHesfZQ/s919/charka-nine-days%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="919" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-SYz-oDPvl2mK1ty51tUVCpwfWcF8XBpTXnwABzPTSWUMW9AsxmAr8cHCjeHPzDzVaC8xX40xtwWl0wMACXrcEepWNx3ZiWwsFOFO4A4_jA588a2kfwFR1jogG-izKUbWr87_UJqtLJ_yj6irdkYxxF4aZZOSLrtUA7fInKEokamycNg1sCEHesfZQ/w400-h360/charka-nine-days%20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the ways I observe Yom HaShoah is not just through ritual, as we did on Wednesday evening, but also by watching films about the Holocaust. My Holocaust movie this year is called, “The Survivor.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EKFrNT6bWzwkehovcIuAG4_mZLtU8BWh5_c9swPaLyfgTB1bklajXKxLUuTG5QlWwmnm-NrmH1Su6rnAogZlYV_68MGoNf_55seesYQP9Gh1QwNN6cv6hb9AlDq_2K3XrsSPmw1vG2DEA-rT5E6Em3QkyBRnSjszdwCauTRSxSt6HzckExAul9L5Zw/s768/The%20Survivor%20Pic.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EKFrNT6bWzwkehovcIuAG4_mZLtU8BWh5_c9swPaLyfgTB1bklajXKxLUuTG5QlWwmnm-NrmH1Su6rnAogZlYV_68MGoNf_55seesYQP9Gh1QwNN6cv6hb9AlDq_2K3XrsSPmw1vG2DEA-rT5E6Em3QkyBRnSjszdwCauTRSxSt6HzckExAul9L5Zw/w320-h213/The%20Survivor%20Pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Survivor tells the story of Harry Haft who was a boxer in post-WWII America. The highlight of his career was when he went into the ring with a rising star in boxing, Rocky Marciano, and lasted three rounds before he was knocked out. His boxing ‘shtick’ was that he was the Survivor of Auschwitz, and he fought with a Magen David on his purple boxing trunks.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Around the time of his fight, a journalist interviewed him and shared his story of survival from Auschwitz which he never told anyone. In Auschwitz, he was forced to fight other emaciated Jewish inmates to the death to entertain German SS officers who would bet on each prisoner. Rocky Marciano was the only professional boxer to retire undefeated; Harry was also undefeated in the camps, he went 75-0, for were he to lose, he would not have survived.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This was the cruelty of the Shoah that we often times ignore; the life and death choices that Jews had to make on a daily basis.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the movie, Harry tells a story to the journalist who interviewed him, who questioned his method of survival. He said, “every day, there is roll call in camp. If you weren’t outside, with your hat on, you were taken out of the line and shot. One day, a prisoner lost his hat; he went into the barrack and found someone else’s hat. So, he asked the journalist, do you pick up the hat, or not? The prisoner did, and then, five minutes after the roll call, he heard a gun shot. So tell me, what would you do?”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After the story was published, Harry was a pariah in the Jewish community because his method of survival was revealed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This week’s parashah, Acharei Mot, is often times paired with next week’s parashah, Kedoshim. Read together, it means, “After Death…Holiness.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a catch phrase that explains how we look at those who have passed:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After their deaths, they are holy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>One of the definitions of Kadosh is to be separate. In other words, after death, it is as if they were perfect, that they weren’t fallible human beings in their life time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a danger to this idea. When we canonize people, when we ignore the pain and yes, their faults, we make them two dimensional characters, and we actually endanger their legacy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In our parashah, Acharei Mot, we read about the two goats, the goat for Azazel, and the goat that is sacrificed in the camp. We see the story of these two goats, which we read on Yom Kippur, in Leviticus 16.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The people would put all their sins on one goat and send it away, which is where we get the term scapegoat. The High Priest would lay his hands on the goat and confess the sins of the entire people, not his own sins or the sins of just the priests, and then, he would send the goat away into the wilderness, and the goat would never return.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I wanted to focus on one line, 16:22</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וְסָמַךְ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אַהֲרֹן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־שְׁתֵּי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יָדָו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רֹאשׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַשָּׂעִיר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַחַי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְהִתְוַדָּה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָלָיו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־כּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>ׇל־עֲוֺנֹת</b></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּנֵי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִשְׂרָאֵל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְאֶת־כּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>ׇל־פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם</b></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְכ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>ׇל־חַטֹּאתָם</b></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָתַן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֹתָם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־רֹאשׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַשָּׂעִיר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְשִׁלַּח<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּיַד־אִישׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עִתִּי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַמִּדְבָּרָה׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The word <i>Hitvadah</i>, which means to confess, means to ‘reveal oneself’, the opposite of hiding something. The JPS commentary notes, “Originally, the confessional enumerated the various sins in order to expose them. Once isolated in this way - identified by name - the sins could be exorcised. Ancient people believed that sinfulness, like impurity, was an external force that had clung to them; it was necessary therefore to ‘drive out’ or detach, sins.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our national regrets were aired publicly, and then, after they were revealed, they were symbolically sent away. The idea likely was, if we send them away, then we are committing ourselves to not falling into the same trap.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I bring this idea up because we see that our people did something that was pretty remarkable - they aired their dirty laundry for all to see, dealt with their shortcomings, and then, were able to move on to hopefully become better.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The goat was never just one, it was all of us as a people.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I want to now transition to what comes after, Acharei Mot. In Israel, Yom HaShoah is part of the Israeli High Holidays. Rabbi Doniel Hartman from the Hartman Institute explains this idea:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vis-a-vis Yom Hashoah, in the early Zionist narrative there was a deep rejection of the passivity and the powerlessness of European Jewry and an implied criticism of them in their complicity in their own deaths. For the Zionist, Israel was the antidote to the Holocaust, the land of the new Jew who did not go like sheep to slaughter, but who rather trained in the art of warfare and was capable of defending himself in times of danger. The move from Yom Hashoah to Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut was a transition from the past which in many ways we remembered in order to forget, to the new Jewish reality which is Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In other words, Yom HaShoah was a cautionary tale for Israelis - if we want to survive, we have to leave the old Jew behind. There was a tremendous cost to this idea - the survivors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Yitz Greenberg wrote in his book on Jewish Holidays,<span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"> The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays: </span>“The innocent victims, abandoned and betrayed during the Shoah, were blamed afterwards for not being heroic fighters.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The survivors who were living martyrs should have been gathered up lovingly and nursed back into life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Instead they were kept at arms’ length surrounded by silence, judged out of context, and made to feel guilty.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We must come to terms with our complicated past so we can evolve. As I mentioned, the sending away of the goat was not a hiding of the past, but a metaphor that despite our shortcomings, we can move forward into the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think Jewish America needs to hear this message regarding Israel. There was a recent news story about a synagogue in Chicago that voted to become an anti-Zionist. This is a big departure from being non-Zionist, ambivalent to the state of Israel. To them, Israel was a colonialist mistake, and the only solution is to dismantle the state of Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But these anti-Zionist Jews have a huge blindspot in history. When you leave Ben Gurion airport, there is a mural with a quote from Theodore Herzl:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I once called Zionism an infinite ideal...as it will not cease to be an ideal even after we attain our land, the Land of Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>For Zionism...encompasses not only the hope of a legally secured homeland for our people...but also the aspiration to reach moral and spiritual perfection.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Zionism is aspirational, it was meant to create a perfect Jewish society, but Herzl makes sure to include that is a legally secured homeland for our people. Before one can aspire for moral and spiritual perfection, one first needs a home where you can live without the daily fear that you will be kicked out or annihilated.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It seems anti-Zionists Jews forgot that on a very base level, Israel is a safe haven for the Jewish people. Because of the modern state of Israel, no Jew will ever be forced to be homeless.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is one of the many ideals that Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, which will be celebrated next week, represents. Avram Infeld, a Jewish scholar and former head of Hillel International, taught that the word Jew used to be synonymous with refugee, but because of Israel, for the first time in 2,000 years, this is not the case. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We can look at the current war in Ukraine now and the refugee crisis with millions of Ukrainians looking for safe haven. For the first time perhaps ever, it is popular to be a Jewish Ukrainian, because at least one country will give you a safe haven, Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The scapegoat teaches us that we must come to terms with our past, but we never forget our past. Our past is complicated; as we know, Zionists were not pure angels, they made mistakes especially regarding the Arab population of Israel and the disputed territories, and yes, continue to. We cannot ignore our sins, rather, we come to terms with them as a people. But, to those Jews who say that Israel is an unforgivable entity and must be dismantled, I say, but where will you go? Do we not deserve a place in our ancestral homeland, just like all other peoples? Do you forget the sins of every other nation on earth regarding the Jewish people? When they do this, they send away all of our ancestors, and yes, future Jews who will need a home when their countries fall apart or turn on them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And we have to remember that even if you are a Jew surrounded by the comforts of the modern world, all of us are survivors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Hartman writes, “All Jews are survivors - This is the real meaning of Yom Haatzmaut following both Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron. It reshapes and redefines Israel as a family that mourns together, and through the memory of the price we have paid to be free Jews, it redefines the meaning of Israel. Israel must be that which remembers, and through that memory constantly commands itself to be worthy of the price we paid. It is a memory that commands us to embrace life and challenges us to live it to the fullest, to build lives individually and collectively of greatness. That is the task of Israel; that is the legacy of our past and the challenge of our future.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Wishing you an early Hag Sameach as we celebrate 74 years of Israel.</p></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-33376623198696511582022-04-15T12:08:00.003-04:002022-04-15T12:09:47.724-04:00 The Holiness of Preparing for Passover - Serving Our Future Selves©<h1 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Holiness of Preparing for Passover - Serving Our Future Selves©</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rabbi David Baum</div></h1><br /><a href="#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66dWg6Q5LETlSNgPlwYW4GhKjUrUOmSwd69Bh652Dru6VpweLZOMyE39p9fzRILcMjsRhgB0armY9NTNAFD3wrrO4azBFHvQ-VRGbb2AMDD8GzBSu8uXXFIrO19TxWDzu0AIICIjy9JOOn3Oa4_NYYn1WvJJaJiGfAhn1cFjZXtZZFY5H3k9NlYKrcA/w640-h426/catt-liu-hQOHDAibf6A-unsplash%20(1).jpg" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="#">Catt Liu</a> on <a href="#">Unsplash</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Think back to the holy days you have experienced. Did they happen by accident, or did you prepare for them in some way?<br /><br />When I was in rabbinical school, we once went around and shared holy moments we experience on holy days, mainly Shabbat. One of my classmates did not describe the day itself, but the afternoon leading up to it. He said, “I always shave on Friday afternoons (Erev Shabbat), but during the week, I only shave in the morning. I do it because when Shabbat comes, I’m different than I was before: I feel ready.” Until that moment, I had never thought that shaving could be a holy act. Although not exactly a holy act, it leads us to set the stage for holiness to occur. <br /><br />I am sure that many of you who stayed in town might still be making last-minute trips to the kosher grocery stores for your last-minute Pesach items. Maybe you are reading this as you are checking out of some kosher food market on your smartphone, or maybe you are taking a break from sweating in your hot kitchen, or doing last-minute cleaning. The chances are, you are all probably thinking, I wish I had more time! Thankfully, you are supposed to feel this way. It is not easy to clean, kasher, and cook, and yet we do it every year in the same way. We always say, next year, we will leave enough time, but as Passover approaches, you always feel the same way: rushed. In our seders, we will be reciting the famous words, <i>“B'chol dor vador, chayav adam lir'ot et atzmo keilu hu yatza mimitzraim.” </i>“In every generation, each person is obligated to look at themselves as if they themselves had left Egypt.” Just as the Israelites rushed to leave Egypt, so too must you rush to bring on this holiday. <br /><br />As I was reflecting on Passover, I realized that it is all about time. The first mitzvah we received as a people was to observe Rosh Hodesh and thereby create a Jewish calendar. We received this mitzvah as slaves in Egypt, and it was our first great step into freedom. Finally, we, in partnership with God, would be in control of our time, not our cruel taskmasters. Passover is dominated by time, and it all begins with Matzah. Matzah, unleavened bread, must be made in less than 18 minutes. It gives us a message: we have to rush to freedom. But what do we do when we get there? I believe that our seders are when we bask in our freedom. We recline like free men, we have others pour our wine glasses for us, and, more than anything, we take our time. On Shabbat, we have one glass of wine, but on Passover, we have four. These required glasses of wine give us time to reflect, talk, delve into our tradition, communicate with family or friends, and turn any strangers that you invited to your Seders into brothers and sisters. In order to do that, you need time. <br /><br />My blessings to you this Passover, after a difficult two years of restriction (and constriction) due to the pandemic, are that you take the time during the holiday to reflect on the gifts you have in life, and to realize that there is so much more that needs to be done to bring about the ultimate redemption, to bring about ultimate freedom. May you rush to get to the freedom of your seder, but when you get there, may you take your time, and bask in the glory of God and Israel. <br /><br />When we cook our food that we will eat the next day, when we clean our kitchens days before the holiday begins, we are allowing our future selves to experience true freedom. In this way our past selves are serving our future selves, just as our ancestors sacrificed for us. That is the holiness of preparing and the holiness of these days leading up to Pesach.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Rabbi David Baum</span>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-58943658769945224652022-04-13T17:08:00.006-04:002022-04-13T17:08:48.783-04:00Shabbat HaGadol - The Story of a Great Jewish-American©<p></p><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shabbat HaGadol - The Story of a Great Jewish-American©</span></h1><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>2022/5782</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Rabbi David Baum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></div></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc2NxMkkSDypGlbNiTkHrqD4MAbXJlCV7kRghp-hbVohMWqZIV0IqMu88oLrkydY_gVUOqXn-TtX9s8-KZO2s1CSgVGIg8wKOtkwsePf10Sppvxgi3KLhtNMM2VLiJowCCiJx1HOOeyeVz09VqmCcyihqcnIHGGGzlGfwtEmr16p-1Syw77WgKRknWQ/s4592/tierra-mallorca-rgJ1J8SDEAY-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3448" data-original-width="4592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc2NxMkkSDypGlbNiTkHrqD4MAbXJlCV7kRghp-hbVohMWqZIV0IqMu88oLrkydY_gVUOqXn-TtX9s8-KZO2s1CSgVGIg8wKOtkwsePf10Sppvxgi3KLhtNMM2VLiJowCCiJx1HOOeyeVz09VqmCcyihqcnIHGGGzlGfwtEmr16p-1Syw77WgKRknWQ/w640-h480/tierra-mallorca-rgJ1J8SDEAY-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@tierramallorca?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Tierra Mallorca</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/house-for-sale?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you bought your house before the pandemic, consider yourselves very fortunate. There were unwritten rules that people did before buying a house: getting pre-approved for a mortgage, don’t make an offer based on your heart, send in a lower bid and meet in the middle, and always, always do a full home inspection.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These rules no longer apply, but there’s one, in particular, that seems like such a departure from the past, seemingly terrible advice: do not get an inspection because while you’re waiting for the inspection, someone will buy the house with no questions asked.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Florida, buying a house without an inspection is a risky proposition because you don’t know what’s in the walls. Every Florida homeowner’s worst nightmare is the M word - Mold.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What would the Torah advise you to do? Inspect the walls, not just for mold though. Let me explain:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We read the following in our parashah this week, in Leviticus 14:33-57. Here’s the introduction to the subject (Leviticus 14:33-35).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וַיְדַבֵּר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְהֹוָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶל־מֹשֶׁה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֵאמֹר׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">כִּי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תָבֹאוּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶל־אֶרֶץ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּנַעַן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲנִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נֹתֵן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לָכֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַאֲחֻזָּה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָתַתִּי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נֶגַע<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>צָרַעַת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּבֵית<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶרֶץ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I inflict an eruptive plague upon a house in the land you possess,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וּבָא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַבַּיִת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְהִגִּיד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַכֹּהֵן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֵאמֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּנֶגַע<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נִרְאָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַּבָּיִת׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, “Something like a plague has appeared upon my house.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We heard about Tza’arat in last week’s parashah, a skin affliction, but this week, we learn that this infection can spread to a house. No surprisingly, our Sages wrote a lot about this subject because it is a strange situation. In the Tosefta, the rabbis wrote, that this leaper's house never existed, and will never exist, but it was included in the Torah in order for us to debate, learn, and grow from the teaching. In Midrash Vayikra Rabbah, there is a well-known teaching that the Tza’arat in the walls was actually a sign of good news for Bnai Israel who were settling into the homes of the previous tenants, the Canaanites. When they inspected the walls, they discovered hidden money in the walls.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As an aside, if you’re buying a home and don’t have enough for the down payment, I wouldn’t count on finding gold in the walls in South Florida.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here the rabbis are focusing on the physical aspect of the issue, but many rabbis looked a little bit deeper into what the Tza’arat in the house could be, connecting it to the case of the person with the skin affliction, the Metzorah. The Rabbis took the word Metzorah and said it actually means, Motzi Shem Rah - loosely translated as a person who has an evil tongue, in other words, someone who gossips. In the case of the home, there is some moral failing by its inhabitants, and the tza’arat is a punishment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One commentator, the Kli Yakar, says that the moral failing was stinginess. Inheriting this home was actually a test for its Israelite inhabitants - would they share their bounty with the poor among them, or would they keep everything for themselves.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Etz Chaim takes it a step further even. “A home is a family’s private refuge. Thus a home afflicted by plague represents the breakdown of the social values that kept a family safe and united. It was a cause for concern if the problems of society at large had come to infect the home.” The selfishness was a symptom of a greater moral failing - a blindness to the needs of others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will take it a step further though - perhaps it can lead to an even more severe moral failing - looking at another human being as if they are not human at all, as if they were animals that could be slaughtered.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is another interesting aspect to these laws - a homeowner could not diagnose his own house, he needed the Kohen to do this. We need people who have a greater sense of the world to help us look at the moral afflictions in our houses.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Thursday, I had the honor of attending an event where a 103-year-old Jewish man received <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ben-ferencz-last-surviving-nuremberg-trials-prosecutor-receives-governor-e2-80-99s-medal-of-freedom/ar-AAVZ64b" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Florida’s highest honor: the Governor’s Medal of Freedom.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ben Ferencz was born in Transylvania in 1920, but his family emigrated to America</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMJHRPF2SkmqMdT3A3auZOBEgJkFv2RWxg9z8r8AgI-DisuITMXPstcW3ctNqpZ5tXykbZD1f6enQ6dMf9LpgdwfCcLnGyTcRzta5FIpeXmNV62KZZCIgqOhez_FOacuu8KO39mjZ8fYcSHbYxBjk8O_v4mycAt1xUNnnOErtJDV6wTwMdDWRL2sXuw/s1240/ben-1946-pg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1240" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMJHRPF2SkmqMdT3A3auZOBEgJkFv2RWxg9z8r8AgI-DisuITMXPstcW3ctNqpZ5tXykbZD1f6enQ6dMf9LpgdwfCcLnGyTcRzta5FIpeXmNV62KZZCIgqOhez_FOacuu8KO39mjZ8fYcSHbYxBjk8O_v4mycAt1xUNnnOErtJDV6wTwMdDWRL2sXuw/s320/ben-1946-pg.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">when he was less than a year old to avoid persecution by the Romanians. He grew up in Hell’s Kitchen in poverty and received a college education and attended Harvard Law School. Ben enlisted in the military to fight in World War II, but, he was barely 5 feet tall. They wouldn't put him in combat, so he became a typist, but he eventually made it to the battlefield and fought in most of the major battles in Europe including the Battle of the Bulge where he received a medal. He also liberated several concentration camps.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ben is one of my heroes, and I think he’s one of the greatest heroes in American history, but not because of his courage in battle. He’s a hero because of what happened after the war.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVLB0Ynbdj0He6_ffN04Vy3eeuGQuaByNH-FmVhB3D_FQhs8781iZ0Qin2NsC6421_Rwvay4bnEgfL759VOIEdz84guK60s_QWw7J5105FTU4QPvgAgL89GsQmqzdDpbFEe8YWmF6j2Zpv33vWfmjhAUoFL7vOUjLtzp1QxiAEGef_xqTHIAQGi_OPA/s1240/nuremberg-preview.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1240" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVLB0Ynbdj0He6_ffN04Vy3eeuGQuaByNH-FmVhB3D_FQhs8781iZ0Qin2NsC6421_Rwvay4bnEgfL759VOIEdz84guK60s_QWw7J5105FTU4QPvgAgL89GsQmqzdDpbFEe8YWmF6j2Zpv33vWfmjhAUoFL7vOUjLtzp1QxiAEGef_xqTHIAQGi_OPA/s320/nuremberg-preview.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Ferencz wrote: “Indelibly seared into my memory are the scenes I witnessed while liberating these centers of death and destruction. Camps like Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau are vividly imprinted in my mind's eye. Even today, when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget-the crematoria aglow with the fire of burning flesh, the mounds of emaciated corpses stacked like cordwood waiting to be burned.... I had peered into Hell.”</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But he also saw other things - American soldiers executive SS officers on sight due to what they saw in the camps, and newly freed prisoners throwing their former captors into crematoriums alive. I will shed no tears over their deaths, but I think what Ben learned was that a summary execution would bring revenge but not bring true justice. What good are we Americans if we give in to our rage without a just trial?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the Americans liberated the camps, Ben searched for documents from the Nazis. He knew that there had to be a trial, and he was preparing for that day even in the heat of battle.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Through his search for evidence, he learned about the Einsatzgruppen, the SS unit that killed an estimated 1.5 million Jews in Ukraine in 1941. He came to his supervisor with the evidence in Nuremberg and demanded that these men be put on trial. They said, we don’t have the resources to do it, but he wouldn’t give up. Finally, they relented - if you can put together a trial and do your other work, then you can do it. He was 27 years old, he had yet to prosecute a case, and here he was, the Chief prosecutor at the largest murder trial in human history.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I advise you all to watch the movies made about him, and his books to learn his full story. Twenty-two defendants were put on trial for the murder of a million people, all were convicted, and thirteen were given the death penalty.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Without Ben’s courageous actions of uncovering the truth and insisting on a fair trial, we may have never known about the murder of millions of Jews, nor who perpetrated them. But Ben’s heroics continued; he had a long game in mind.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ferencz’s primary objective had been to establish a legal precedent that would encourage a more humane and secure world in the future. World War II changed his view of the world; the war to end all wars showed him the darkness of humanity.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Thursday, he shared his reflections on those pivotal days, and what he asked of the court: “We ask this court to affirm man’s right to live in peace and dignity, regardless of his race or creed.” He then spoke about the killing of civilians and introduced a new term that had never been used in an opening statement: Genocide. This trial was about ending genocide, and the eventual end of war.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is why he is one of the greatest American heroes; he opened our eyes to the moral failings of humanity; mainly, our blindness to each other. Ben saw that Hitler and the Nazi’s ideology infected an entire nation, and it wasn’t because they were unintelligent. He tried officers who had two doctorates, they were brilliant people, but morally inept. The Tza’arat infected an entire nation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The term Never Again came into our lexicon after World War II. Never again would the world accept genocide, and yet, it has happened over and over, and it is happening now. But we cannot only blame only the leaders of these countries; the Tza’arat spreads, and it infects others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I recently saw interviews with Russians who spoke about the war in Ukraine. They used language like, they need to be cleaned out, men women, and children. In other words, genocide. But, he went further - the very act of using violence against humans should be eliminated.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Thursday, he said, “My hope was that we could create a more humane and peaceful world where no one would be killed or persecuted because of his race or religion or political belief,” he said. “We see it still happening today, people running with their infant children, hospitals being bombed, and we have not yet learned the lesson from Nuremberg despite the fact that we laid it out clear.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You might think this is a pipe dream, but his aspiration for the perfection of humanity is deeply Jewish.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In our Haftarah for today, Shabbat HaGadol, we about Elijah the prophet who will come to the world on an awesome day, when the prophet will reconcile parents with children, and children with their parents, but the literal translation is to restore their hearts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Parents and children live in the same home, just like the home we spoke about in this week’s parashah. The prophet Malachi is teaching us that we must examine our moral failings, repair them, and then, heal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ben Ferencz broke the cycle is murder by restoring justice. But if he were here today, his Shabbat HaGadol sermon would be a lot shorter than mine. He lives by six words which I will leave you with today:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Law, not war<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Never Give Up</b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And at 103, Ben Ferencz still has not given up on his dream of creating a world where world peace and protecting the dignity of every human is a reality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-1467601635320350052022-03-24T16:39:00.007-04:002022-03-24T16:39:53.748-04:00The Dignity of Masking and Unmasking© - Purim and Florida House Bill 1557<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Dignity of Masking and Unmasking©</h1><h1 style="text-align: center;">Purim and Florida House Bill 1557</h1><div style="text-align: center;"><b>(Parashat Tzav and post-Purim 5782/2022)</b></div><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa4OuCJ-ZmifDJ-go8DxJfzmxPe0oiuZ1IT-7pKfC1rM5NQQzZZ_5wlLlRPrI0DkT7PzTu50HLmPgRi5HvY1-O_ARzC5eXevKNxAZI5lj-3uQzFG4Yq5DlFWUKe8jxNb_phhqysAlH8c8QnxUIMMfvsRLPQw4cahDu8sMC7TuoZur8owIVbYhTHTC2g/s6000/cory-woodward-1Pra1fHfFfw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa4OuCJ-ZmifDJ-go8DxJfzmxPe0oiuZ1IT-7pKfC1rM5NQQzZZ_5wlLlRPrI0DkT7PzTu50HLmPgRi5HvY1-O_ARzC5eXevKNxAZI5lj-3uQzFG4Yq5DlFWUKe8jxNb_phhqysAlH8c8QnxUIMMfvsRLPQw4cahDu8sMC7TuoZur8owIVbYhTHTC2g/w640-h426/cory-woodward-1Pra1fHfFfw-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lil_bear_photo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Cory Woodward</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/rainbow-mask?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In February of 2021, just weeks before the country shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our congregation held our first ever Keshet Shabbat sponsored by Keshet, an organization that works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life through strengthening Jewish communities and equipping Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge to build LGBTQ-affirming communities.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was an incredible Shabbat that featured a <a href="https://rabbidavidbaum.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-evolution-of-law.html" target="_blank">dvar torah from one of our congregants, Louis Rosner, who identifies as gay</a>, and a panel discussion with some of our LGTQI congregants and allies, mainly, relatives of LGBTQI individuals.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Prior to this moment, a couple of our congregants spoke to me about issues related to their trans relatives, but it was secretive. As their rabbi, I was one of the few people they told. But one of our congregants, who is now our president, Nancy Spivack, shared the story of her trans grandson with our congregation for the first time. As I reflected on this special Shabbat from two years ago, I could not help but see it in the context of the holiday of Purim, which we just celebrated a couple of days ago.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the most joyous aspects of Purim are putting on our costumes. In essence, Purim is about masking and unmasking. There are several reasons given for this practice, such as acting like Mordechai who also played dress up in the story, or Esther who dressed like a princess and hid her Jewish identity, but there was another reason I found that was really interesting:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We dress differently on Purim to minimize the embarrassment of the poor who go around collecting charity on this day—a day when we give charity to everyone who outstretches their hand <i>(Minhagei Kol Yaakov)</i>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Purim, we play around with the idea of playing with different identities. For a day, we get to walk in someone’s else’s clothes. This last reason adds a different element - we dress up so those who are on the outs of society can feel a bit more included and so they can have just as much dignity as we have. Here we see the values of <i>Kevod HaBriyot </i>- providing dignity for God’s creations, human beings, and <i>Betzelem Elohim</i>, treating each person as if they are a reflection of the divine image, no matter how they look on the outside.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I bring this up because of the recent legislation in our state of Florida, amongst many other states.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before I talk about this legislation, I wanted to share that I’m trying to move away from knee jerk reactions to news stories and legislation. I am trying to resist the urge to comment based on emotion, which, I have to say was very difficult after reading about Florida House Bill 1557. Depending on where you stand politically, it is called both the Parental Rights Bill or the Don’t Say Gay Bill. Instead of choosing one of these names, I’m going to use the title of the bill - HB1557.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have to be honest, I am still having trouble understanding this bill, but, the impetus seems to be about a school in Tallahassee that is being sued by parents for calling their child by the child’s preferred pronouns, and the question of whether or not a school can share information about their child’s gender identity or sexuality with the parents. The school board gave the following reason for why they can’t divulge this information to parents: Outing a student, especially to parents, can be very dangerous to the students [sic] health and well-being. Some students are not able to be out at home because their parents are unaccepting of LGBTQ+ people out. As many as 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ+, many of whom have been rejected by their families for being LGBTQ+. <a href=" https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2021/11/16/leon-county-schools-sued-over-lgbtq-guide-transgender-lgbtq-guide/6342695001/" target="_blank">Outing students to their parents can literally make them homeless.”</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it’s not just about homelessness; it’s about their very lives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href=" https://www.hrc.org/news/new-study-reveals-shocking-rates-of-attempted-suicide-among-trans-adolescen" target="_blank">The American Academy of Pediatrics revealed alarming levels of attempted suicide among transgender youth -- with the highest rates among transgender boys and non-binary youth.</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime, while 29.9 percent of transgender female teens said they attempted suicide. Among non-binary youth, 41.8 percent of respondents stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many transgender young people experience family rejection, bullying and harassment, or feel unsafe for simply being who they are - all of which can be added risk factors for suicide. </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Supporters of the bill say that these new rules only apply from K - 3rd grade; it involves only instruction, but not discussion, but that is not so clear from the language.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, let’s take a step back: the Florida legislature is basing a law because of one actual case, but, it is laws like these that bring attention from all of us. It galvanizes people to vote and to be active in politics, whether you are for or against.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But to me, laws like these are using our children as pawns in our game of politics.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As we all know, our tradition demands that we teach our children Torah, that we teach them how to swim, teach them a profession - teaching our children is one of the most important values that we stress.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, in my eyes, this bill is more about parents than it is about children. I often tell expectant parents that parenthood is much less like buying a CD and more like buying a stock - there are no guaranteed returns on investment. Sometimes, we can control the path our children take, but more often than not, we are out of control, despite our best efforts. Sometimes, the picture we have of our children’s path in life when they are born turns out to be much different when they reach adulthood.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In this week’s parashah, Tzav, we read about Aaron and his sons and how they come the priests, through a ceremony called Melueem - <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">מִּלֻּאִים</span> found in Leviticus 8:31 - 36. In this passage, Aaron and his sons had to remain in the Tent of Meeting for 7 days. After that period, they would be ‘filled up’, from the word Maleh, with their new identities, and emerge as if they are new people.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is a ceremony that marks changing status which is a big part of Judaism today. Think about the bnai mitzvah, when we mark when a child becomes an adult member of the Jewish community. These rituals help us appreciate the growth of individuals, marking the end of one version, and the start of a new one.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But these rituals also do something that’s even more important - <b>they teach the individual that they are embraced by their family, friends, and community</b>. <b>In short, they learn that they are not alone.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The fear I have is that some of our children will be stigmatized due to this law.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Honestly, I do not know the answer as to exactly how gender identity works, but I know people, and children, and I know that this bill has the potential to alienate children who may be different, who are wearing a costume where they look just like everyone else, but deep down, they know they can’t honestly show how they feel inside. Bills like these have the potential to alienate children of same sex couples. I imagine that this book: the Purim Superhero would be banned from schools.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr027AV6ymndiA_6gRApD9JXkLJNdFD5UMzNNp_T0fe2IHVxXZkdbJhwPTEOc043Umv-tDxOIBfsu9A4LmCopLUapc--ei2vqZR7FyNV22Vg3cgGIlEolaNfJcSDQBYmTgigPWKZF4xBU6eIGCgbArfhyKGrhQJ77S9mwlBj1mdvDnYwEf04XsERVyA/s2560/Purim%20Superhero.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2190" data-original-width="2560" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr027AV6ymndiA_6gRApD9JXkLJNdFD5UMzNNp_T0fe2IHVxXZkdbJhwPTEOc043Umv-tDxOIBfsu9A4LmCopLUapc--ei2vqZR7FyNV22Vg3cgGIlEolaNfJcSDQBYmTgigPWKZF4xBU6eIGCgbArfhyKGrhQJ77S9mwlBj1mdvDnYwEf04XsERVyA/w400-h343/Purim%20Superhero.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s a description of the book:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nate loves aliens and he really wants to wear an alien costume for Purim, but his friends are all dressing as superheroes and he wants to fit in. What will he do? With the help of his two dads he makes a surprising decision.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ll read you a review of the book:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"People forget that Superman is an alien. This book is a reminder that that's the source of his strength.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's a secret that isn't taught in school: Everyone has a superpower. It might be drawing monsters or kindness to strangers or the ability to read an unusual number of books. Nate's power is that he feels like an alien. He's the only boy in his class with two fathers, Daddy and Abba. All the boys in Nate's Hebrew school class are dressing up as superheroes for Purim, but Nate really wants a green costume with antennae."</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'Sometimes showing who you really are makes you stronger, ' Abba says, 'even if you're different from other people.' Nate's secret power gives him unusual creativity, and his solution wins him an award for most original costume. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The review of the PJ Library book ends with the following:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A generation from now, this book may feel hopelessly outdated: A moral about tolerance and being yourself may seem painfully obvious. Many will view this as a sign of progress. If that happens, it will be because of the work of heroes like Nate. For now, this book is both timely and entirely satisfying.(Kirkus Reviews)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Purim, we are reminded of the power of masking and unmasking, but one of the most powerful messages of Purim comes from Mordechai and Esther who stand up for the Jews who were characterized by Haman as being a dangerous minority that is seeking to take down an empire, when in reality, they were an oppressed group just to live their lives like everyone else. On Purim, we dress up so no one can tell the difference between who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ - for one day, every person can be treated with the dignity and respect that God granted them when they were born.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">___________________________________________________________</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Read more about laws that target LGBTQI individuals from Idit Klein, CEO of Keshet, and Is Perlman, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">a Jewish non-binary first-year student at Columbia University, a Keshet youth leader, and a native Floridian.</span></i></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.jta.org/2022/03/14/opinion/bills-attacking-lgbtq-rights-are-an-assault-on-jewish-values-and-jewish-teens" target="_blank">Bills attacking LGBTQ rights are an assault on Jewish values — and Jewish teens</a></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-69580013705276522842022-03-17T10:12:00.002-04:002022-03-17T10:29:04.703-04:00Be An Esther 4:14 Jew - Do Not Be Silent<div style="text-align: left;"><h1 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Be An Esther 4:14 Jew - Do Not Be Silent</div><div style="text-align: center;">Parashat Vayikra/Shabbat Zachor 5782/2022</div></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipwZyFy5t2gswYfl5UV8zaE8jI3MuywIjW7l_Fi8LS-12rfNrXWh1tafjCh8FCYBYnNVvmgWCeJt3CCUX_C6wf603C1jo9QChnmbSlzK-hUvumHNJ-nG5EAjIiasnsVC6ODL3IUwUJ2sLOMjt9wfYXTX0NdV7Yo-sDVVTHEgYgGQeywKJ2ZNz9ab4rXg=s5062" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3375" data-original-width="5062" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipwZyFy5t2gswYfl5UV8zaE8jI3MuywIjW7l_Fi8LS-12rfNrXWh1tafjCh8FCYBYnNVvmgWCeJt3CCUX_C6wf603C1jo9QChnmbSlzK-hUvumHNJ-nG5EAjIiasnsVC6ODL3IUwUJ2sLOMjt9wfYXTX0NdV7Yo-sDVVTHEgYgGQeywKJ2ZNz9ab4rXg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@theeastlondonphotographer?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/zelenskyy?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>When we think of superpowers, few of us think about a photographic memory as one, but, there are a select group of people who have this gift, or some might say, curse. These people have a documented condition called <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/hyperthymesia" target="_blank">hyperthymesia</a>, in which a person is incapable of forgetting any detail of anything that has ever happened to them.</div><div><br /></div><div>People with hyperthymesia can remember the events of any given calendar date, usually back to puberty, with stunning and accurate detail. Superior Autobiographical Memory makes it possible for individuals to use their minds like databases, remembering unusual details such as the clothes they wore, whom they may have met that day, what the weather was like on any day, and even what they ate for lunch, decades after the original event.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUpEKdbqdUUjgrdgifDFG1llIkA3ba0fzF_GUxzGPjU5QS38uCjx5GBgeuVIs-61ke_HStERGLhw_8Oc_6pN0cJVeRYg9AVjL8zO_b9V6yr3SMvB60KrjyaUuOOvFOY26lGXwND6Fg1qJuUGMnvHhgWkaVpmUypPB6GVxCWPcfndmZcrmAWbRC9kxQ8g=s630" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="630" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUpEKdbqdUUjgrdgifDFG1llIkA3ba0fzF_GUxzGPjU5QS38uCjx5GBgeuVIs-61ke_HStERGLhw_8Oc_6pN0cJVeRYg9AVjL8zO_b9V6yr3SMvB60KrjyaUuOOvFOY26lGXwND6Fg1qJuUGMnvHhgWkaVpmUypPB6GVxCWPcfndmZcrmAWbRC9kxQ8g=s320" width="320" /></a></div>There are only twelve people in the world who live with this power, but Alissa will be the first to tell you that I’m not one of them. My family even bought me this shirt to prove it! 👉<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Imagine if you remembered everything, not just the good, but also the pain, as vivid as when it happened; every scrape and bruise, every insult, every scar, just as vividly as it happened even decades ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of those with hyperthymesia share that they are incapable of shutting off their minds. One patient described this process as “nonstop, uncontrollable and totally exhausting.” She described it as “a great burden.” She said that it made it difficult for her to attend to present-day reality.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now imagine this on a national level. We are commanded to remember, to remember what it felt like to leave Egypt, which inevitably includes what it felt like to be enslaved and traumatized. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is the challenge of Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat that immediately precedes Purim. Today, we read Deuteronomy 25:17-19 to mark this occasion: </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם׃ </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt— </i></div><div style="text-align: right;">אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כל־הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחֲרֶיךָ וְאַתָּה עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱ–לֹהִים׃</div><div><br /></div><div><i>how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. </i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">וְהָיָה בְּהָנִיחַ יְי אֱ–לֹהֶיךָ לְךָ מִכל־אֹיְבֶיךָ מִסָּבִיב בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְי־אֱ–לֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ תִּמְחֶה אֶת־זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח׃ {פ}</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><i>Therefore, when the LORD your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!</i></div><div><br /></div><div>On a surface level, it seems that we are commanded to remember the trauma of being attacked by Amalek, but remembering trauma isn’t such a good thing for us. There’s a reason why women can’t remember the pain of childbirth all too well, because if they did, likely none of us would be here today. Memory research shows that PTSD is a result of the human brain malfunctioning. We are supposed to forget trauma. </div><div><br /></div><div>In our case, remembering Amalek isn’t about reliving the trauma, but reliving how it changed us.</div><div><br /></div><div>In verse 18, the Torah says, “אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ” - the translation is how he encountered you on the way, but the Midrash (Tanchuma Ki Teitze, Siman 9) sees the word Kar as related to cold. When we left Egypt, we were hot, in other words, filled up with confidence because of the miracles that God did on our behalf. We felt we were invincible, but then came Amalek who attacked us when few would. Amalek cooled us down; made us feel powerless and weak. The Etz Chaim offers another explanation: the real sin of Amalek was that he robbed Bnai Israel of their idealism, teaching them that the world could be an unreliable and dangerous place. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are hints of how Amalek changes the way we think about ourselves. Some commentators say that the line that Amalek did not fear God was actually directed to Bnai Israel; when we lose faith in God, in a world where we have compassion and empathy for the powerless, then we make ourselves vulnerable to Amalek and their worldview. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Midrash picks up on the unique language here - it's not in plural, Amalek isn’t a collection of people, but one person, perhaps to teach us that one evil person can change the mindset of many others, bring them along with his distorted world view.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Amaleks of this world share one thing: they think the world is inherently evil, that humans are incapable of freedom, and that they thrive under control and oppression. They also share another trait: hubris, excessive pride that leads to arrogance. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the Purim story, we see this with Haman. In chapter 6:6, we read: Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for a man whom the king desires to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” He lays out a plan on how to honor himself. If you compare his plan to how people were honored in the Bible and Greek sources, we learn that Haman goes far beyond the normal gifts, as the JPS commentary in Esther says, “Haman can never get enough honor.” Of course, Haman is shocked when he learns that the person who is being honored is Mordechai. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately, it is their arrogance that leads to their downfall. Unfortunately, this usually happens after their reign of terror and destruction; after millions of people are killed and/or injured, and countries are devastated. </div><div><br /></div><div>Think about the infamous dictators in recent history; they hide what they think are their weaknesses; they make up ridiculous stories of their strength, and if no one speaks out against them, they not only gain power, they change the way we think about the world. </div><div><br /></div><div>Putin is part of a long line of megalomaniacs and dictators. At the same time as he claims he is fighting against Nazism and Hitler, he’s using the same playbook. <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/these-are-the-american-right-wingers-covering-for-putin-as-russia-invades-ukraine-1311965/" target="_blank">For years, people in our country have made excuses for him; he’s actually not that bad they say, or he’s doing the right thing, he sees the world for what it is.</a></div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgycAiao7SwyGAurErkZDkXeIB9LL6dsSxfU5BH9esN8IvBLDGXjvCYFGh__Ru7SSiF7GbjARPvM6fNofjZKCzwG8gi00UegLUMHdxkIP6o_pL4zb8vXEkebvAdvEuPsRmPqcdlE57Of8tV4ZVFX1vgtnUy0jgPGWNq6NJNb-CKsoiiL4MfphYrhJujHA=s2100" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="2100" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgycAiao7SwyGAurErkZDkXeIB9LL6dsSxfU5BH9esN8IvBLDGXjvCYFGh__Ru7SSiF7GbjARPvM6fNofjZKCzwG8gi00UegLUMHdxkIP6o_pL4zb8vXEkebvAdvEuPsRmPqcdlE57Of8tV4ZVFX1vgtnUy0jgPGWNq6NJNb-CKsoiiL4MfphYrhJujHA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Picture from Meron Golan into Syria)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div>In 2018, I saw with my own eyes what Putin did, and how the world was basically silent. As I stood at the border between Syria and Israel, I saw, with my own eyes, Russian fighter jets bombing entire cities; plumes of smoke coming up. How many innocent men, women and children were wiped out while the world stayed silent? </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>To counteract Haman, we need more Mordechais, and I think we found one in Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. He made a personal appeal to the Jewish people after Babi Yar was damaged in a Russian bombing attack. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Don’t you see why this happening? That is why it is very important that millions of Jews around the world do not remain silent right now. Nazism is born in silence…So shout about the killings of civilians. Shout about the killings of Ukrainians.”</div><div><br /></div><div>He spoke about Babi Yar as sacred ground. During the Soviet era, Babi Yar’s memory was erased; no mention of Jews being murdered was mentioned. When Ukraine became an independent nation, they created a monument that honored the Jewish victims. I saw the huge Menorah with my own eyes, and there were plans to create a Holocaust museum on that site to tell the history of the Nazis and the Ukrainians who took part in the genocide. </div><div><br /></div><div>Zelensky is an Esther 4:14 Jew, like Mordechai who said to Esther in 4:14: </div><div><br /></div><div>“If you are silent and you do nothing at this time, help will come to the Jewish people from another quarter... And who knows whether it was not for such a time as this that you came into royalty?” </div><div><br /></div><div>Being a 4:14 Jew means following in the footsteps of Esther and Mordechai. It means doing something and being willing to give up something, and yes, that might mean very high gas prices. Compared to what Ukrainians are going through, it’s a small price to pay. </div><div><br /></div><div>Being a 4:14 Jew means taking a stand for what is right, even at great personal risk. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://unpacked.education/blog/who-zelensky-wants-the-jewish-people-and-all-of-us-to-be/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=weekly-22-03-08&utm_campaign=ued-reengagement" target="_blank">To read more about the 4:14 Jew, check out Noam Weisman's article, "Who Zelensky wants the Jewish people (and all of us) to be"</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Speak out in support of Ukraine and against the invasion, and donate to help Ukraine relief efforts. This is, after all, the mitzvah of Purim, to give gifts to the poor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Resist the notion that your actions don’t really matter. Remember, this is what Amalek wants - to make us feel small, powerless, and weak, when in fact, it is them who are truly weak; their power is a mirage. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Jewish story is a story of God and humanity partnering, where God’s face might be hidden, but God’s influence in felt through our actions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Shabbat Zachor is our yearly reminder to remember not just what Amalek did, but how they tried to change us, to take away our faith in God, humanity, and the world. In less than a week, we will once again remind the world what happens to the ‘Hamans’ of the world, if we speak up and pull back the curtain to who they really are. They thrive in fear and darkness, but Jews have a different legacy:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר׃ </div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor. (Esther 8:16)</div><div><br /></div><div>So may it be for us. </div><div><br /></div><div>Shabbat Shalom</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-8299853050384350152022-03-03T13:57:00.003-05:002022-03-03T14:00:18.554-05:00The Half Shekel - Jewish Americans and Ukraine<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">The Half Shekel: Jewish Americans and Ukraine</span></u></span></h1><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVLLiSaUNW_aOgfyftr3CgM2W6N-bQUsaGXe56kiJzAdDqWPBDDo5dEVfgVLkD4OU-3gZch-VChHhNV_kOSnNgLWhbDVDXwxro3L_y86XJ6ikFHeq909m7KhJG2t4rP9HgHI20s3RqcHb2bNTYqTp-x11gf_RcHYk6kar7HKIwlOxeV8Ycfpna_5ie9g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVLLiSaUNW_aOgfyftr3CgM2W6N-bQUsaGXe56kiJzAdDqWPBDDo5dEVfgVLkD4OU-3gZch-VChHhNV_kOSnNgLWhbDVDXwxro3L_y86XJ6ikFHeq909m7KhJG2t4rP9HgHI20s3RqcHb2bNTYqTp-x11gf_RcHYk6kar7HKIwlOxeV8Ycfpna_5ie9g=w355-h355" width="355" /><br /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Shabbat Vayakhel/Shekalim 2022/5782</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the summer of 2008, when I was the rabbinic intern for the University of Florida Hillel, I was asked to lead an Alternative Spring Break trip to Ukraine to visit the Jewish communities there under the auspices of the Joint Distribution Committee, a leading global Jewish Humanitarian Organization. Going to Ukraine, I did not know what to expect, and it turned out to be one of the most incredible trips I had taken.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJQnrh5Gzzl3Fg3wTOcZh5FAzgTfK_-1Yops06TlKjS8oBHfyizq18N112LFMTnaMxkAVLN2CWIFEU_xrOX1tiu7sQNeJWbWMrk5uXO_XQDey1Q9U033aEkKvBtAyuEVgppKYN0l7_vSyO5owbEEcHn_JIWNxyUw_5mbucpIL2fwXXqEFCLP15sfdhuQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="3072" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJQnrh5Gzzl3Fg3wTOcZh5FAzgTfK_-1Yops06TlKjS8oBHfyizq18N112LFMTnaMxkAVLN2CWIFEU_xrOX1tiu7sQNeJWbWMrk5uXO_XQDey1Q9U033aEkKvBtAyuEVgppKYN0l7_vSyO5owbEEcHn_JIWNxyUw_5mbucpIL2fwXXqEFCLP15sfdhuQ" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Honestly, I did not know there were Jews still left in Ukraine, as so many left after the fall of Communism. I thought the only Jews that would be left would be Jewish seniors, who perhaps did not have family living in Israel or the U.S. to join, but I was mistaken. Our students interacted with their Ukrainian Jewish students who were involved with their Hillel. Together, we helped Jews who were food insecure, and we even helped clean up and performed minor renovations on people's homes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC06fz_QAze34BvLwHqz2IEn8u5u3YKfo_f5fUmBvM_ovN2KiMw1xL1MVR6VtLcI36IFDFfCCl-ZzA1wvt8aq1scySoImWDqRF6gc8QKkJvoj9YqcHdRQ0Woq6wS_D8S5lQgggIO5s9lUT3nqjf8K3YdXm5PQyzsZ2ZtzU0N51I88rekbPXnQxijIgIQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC06fz_QAze34BvLwHqz2IEn8u5u3YKfo_f5fUmBvM_ovN2KiMw1xL1MVR6VtLcI36IFDFfCCl-ZzA1wvt8aq1scySoImWDqRF6gc8QKkJvoj9YqcHdRQ0Woq6wS_D8S5lQgggIO5s9lUT3nqjf8K3YdXm5PQyzsZ2ZtzU0N51I88rekbPXnQxijIgIQ" width="160" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfJpDshJQSY3JoIIllBaU11xb4WVriWYPihpIzUE2ktpn0CSPWTwzLWJdqoDkkwMXzKjbbknxeaH4Qa0WFu9h_Ug-aZQLDN2jv3MEwawNA7XeU4filz7S5bA97P37n71pd6xOVjmUlINB8ti3732PwzpeM-TR028jZjoZiqkCfodMXKWIJNY8-5hBzuw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="3072" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfJpDshJQSY3JoIIllBaU11xb4WVriWYPihpIzUE2ktpn0CSPWTwzLWJdqoDkkwMXzKjbbknxeaH4Qa0WFu9h_Ug-aZQLDN2jv3MEwawNA7XeU4filz7S5bA97P37n71pd6xOVjmUlINB8ti3732PwzpeM-TR028jZjoZiqkCfodMXKWIJNY8-5hBzuw" width="320" /></a></div></span><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was an interesting experience to see the interplay of an older generation of Jews who lived in poverty, but were Yiddish speakers, knew that they were Jewish, and lived under the shadow of Russia for their entire lives, and the younger generation, a few who spoke Hebrew, were proudly Ukrainian, and didn’t know much about their Jewish background at all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was one young woman in particular that I remember. She was the president of the Hillel group. She said her father was Jewish, her mother not, but she chose to be Jewish because she just felt it in her heart.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I couldn’t help but be reminded of our parashah this week, and the words that Moshe gives to the people:</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וַיָּבֹאוּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הָאֲנָשִׁים<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־הַנָּשִׁים<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כֹּל<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נְדִיב<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֵב<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הֵבִיאוּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חָח<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וָנֶזֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְטַבַּעַת<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְכוּמָז<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> כּ</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><i>ל־כְּלִי</i></b></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זָהָב<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְכּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><i>ל־אִישׁ</i></b></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁר<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הֵנִיף<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּנוּפַת<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זָהָב<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַיהֹוָה׃</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would make an elevation offering of gold to the LORD came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants, gold objects of all kinds…” (Exodus 35:22)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These young people may have been much better off not being Jewish, and they had the freedom to leave it all behind, but they kept Judaism alive.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a complicated trip, but so is the relationship between Ukraine and the Jewish people. It was the country where our people were massacred from 1648-1658 where 100,000 Jews and 300 Jewish communities were destroyed, and of course, the Holocaust where an estimated 1.5 million Jewish Ukrainians were murdered.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, it was also the cradle of the Hassidic movement. The Hasidic masters shared their names with the cities they lived in, like Reb Levy of Berdichev, the Chernobyl and Mezeritch Rebbes, and it is where Rav Nachman of Bretslov is buried, in Uman.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, there’s another side:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Jeff Salkin wrote this week:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, then again, let us bring even more nuance into the story. Many Ukrainians risked their lives to save Jewish lives.</span></p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Hoszcza, a Ukrainian farmer, Fiodor Kalenczuk, hid a Jewish grain merchant, Pessah Kranzberg, along with his wife, their 10-year-old daughter and their daughter’s young friend, for 17 months. During the last week of September 1942, 500 Jews in Hoszcza were slaughtered. Because of Fiodor, the Kranzbergs were not among them.</span></li><li class="li4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Kiev, a Russian Orthodox priest, Aleksey Glagolyev, hid five Jews in his home.</span></li><li class="li4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A farmer near Trembowla allowed 13-year-old Arieh Czeret to stay in his barn.</span></li><li class="li4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Budzanow, a Roman Catholic priest, Father Ufryjewicz, saved a Jewish family by baptizing them and falsifying baptismal certificates. He forged his parish register so as to give them an entire Christian ancestry.</span></li><li class="li4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Turka, Sister Jadwiga, who was also the head nurse at the local hospital, hid 12-year-old Lidia Kleiman in a cubicle in the men’s bathroom, which was used as a broom closet.</span></li></ul><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, the relationship between the Jews and Ukraine has been complex, and even delicate at times.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let us, therefore, remember that the current president of Ukraine is Volodymyr Zelenskyy.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He is a Jewish comedian.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For a while, the prime minister of Ukraine was Volodymyr Groysman.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He is also Jewish.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, ask yourselves the following questions.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How many countries have had Jewish presidents and Jewish prime ministers — simultaneously? (That would be Israel.)</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Could the United States ever elect a Jewish comedian as president?”</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our trip went between Babi Yar, the site where 34,000 Jews were shot in two days, and learning and working with this vibrant Jewish population.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those young adults are now likely parents of small children, hiding in their homes as their country is being attacked by Russia. As the crisis continues, I know that the Jewish community in Ukraine will need our help.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Today is a special Shabbat, Shabbat Shekalim, the first of four special Sabbaths, which are also called Arba Parashiyyot, and which occur in spring. Shabbat Shekalim is observed on the Shabbat immediately preceding the month of Adar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We are about to read Exodus 30:11-16, where our ancestors gave a half-shekel toward the upkeep of the Temple. This half-shekel offering gave the people a sense of equality, no matter how poor or rich you were, you gave the same amount to the center of the community. For the wealthy, it was likely a humbling experience, for the poor, an uplifting experience.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We, the Jews of America, are the wealthy in the sense that although we have experienced antisemitism in recent years, we are in a stable country with true freedom. The Jews of Ukraine are now the other side of the coin.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Half Shekel is an interesting image - with the flip of a coin, we could be them, or they can be us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Half Shekel unifies us as Jews, but I also as beneficiaries of living in western-style democracies. As we have learned, the liberal democracies that have led to our flourishing can be tenuous, even here in America.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Half Shekel gets us to practice giving, tzedakah, to help our ‘center’. Back then, it was the Mishkan, but at the center of the Mishkan were those willing hearts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And their hearts are breaking today, and so too should ours.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To take it a step further, as Jews, we have entered into a new era where we stand shoulder to shoulder with other liberal democracies against autocrats and dictators. Israel stands with other liberal democracies, and the world is watching.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not the time to only look at our side of the shekel, to be isolationist, both as Jews and Americans. It is time to see ourselves as being the other half of the coin to others who share our values.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-79564868841264358012022-02-17T14:09:00.001-05:002022-02-17T16:26:26.154-05:00Ignite the Light of Torah, and Let It Spread©<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY-yHMmJcJkIghgR_0njloRh6x0tnPXR2kEOKokXVNes3GbTMZ9U1lwAbM6irWC25nQQysfy6DavJw6s-loy7pvE35knmpadGwnL2ttGhdZsmNgo-eCeDZyUCrmKriipf22Pa7YsR6eDRCifBV8OGfN8KCsej5yKtP1KTWPXDIlio4xRJao3j1hM33Ug=s3840" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY-yHMmJcJkIghgR_0njloRh6x0tnPXR2kEOKokXVNes3GbTMZ9U1lwAbM6irWC25nQQysfy6DavJw6s-loy7pvE35knmpadGwnL2ttGhdZsmNgo-eCeDZyUCrmKriipf22Pa7YsR6eDRCifBV8OGfN8KCsej5yKtP1KTWPXDIlio4xRJao3j1hM33Ug=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Ignite the Light of Torah, and Let It Spread©</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Parashat Tetzaveh 2022/5782</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who in your life lit the flame of Torah for you? Who was it that inspired you to live a Jewish life?<br />As I thought about this idea of making a spark, I could not help but think about the Olympic torch.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Have you ever wondered why the Olympics begin with the lighting of the torch?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLr1f0YK1glQUxNuW1uIL5sRrVX7kJJdeML5GBHwt5nQ-wp0snUhimHNtlHll9jChLrDW_9t4urpo3znynCODvQV4c3FGsnB2_1-phHeD6bCKxJoYKH9_QylboqJZ5TfzyHjiUMEpVRwucjsfObEUoejTNDfPie8oOI9HK76tG8caxAKuTSWicT-_U1g=s760" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="760" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLr1f0YK1glQUxNuW1uIL5sRrVX7kJJdeML5GBHwt5nQ-wp0snUhimHNtlHll9jChLrDW_9t4urpo3znynCODvQV4c3FGsnB2_1-phHeD6bCKxJoYKH9_QylboqJZ5TfzyHjiUMEpVRwucjsfObEUoejTNDfPie8oOI9HK76tG8caxAKuTSWicT-_U1g=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I know, it's a simple question, and maybe something we really think of when we watch the Olympics, but I learned that the Olympic torch relay has a surprising and interesting story.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fire was considered holy to many ancient civilizations, so it is no surprise that the Olympics, which began in ancient Greece, used fire to kick off their games. In the case of ancient Greece, the fire was supposed to represent the fire that the Greek god Prometheus stole from Zeus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To celebrate this passing of fire from Prometheus to human, the Greeks would hold relay races, where athletes would pass a torch lit with fire to one another until the winner reached the finish line.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Olympic Games, first held in 776 B.C. by the Greeks, were held every 4 years honoring Zeus and other Greek gods. The games were a way to unify the people and promote peace. The lighting of the flame was also the starting point of a sacred truce from all wars that would last throughout the games. The flame represented purity, reason, and peace.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The use of the Olympic torch as we know it today, the fire beginning in Olympia and then being passed from athlete to athlete around the world is actually a modern invention.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The origin story of fire according to the Greeks was of fire as a gift that the gods wanted to hide from humanity until a rogue god shared this secret with humanity.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Judaism has its own origin story for divine fire, and we find it in this week’s parashah, Tetzaveh:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">שמות<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כ״ז<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">:</span>כ׳<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">-</span>כ״א</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">(</span>כ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>וְאַתָּ֞ה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּצַוֶּ֣ה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>׀<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְיִקְח֨וּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֵלֶ֜יךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֶׁ֣מֶן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זַ֥יִת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זָ֛ךְ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כָּתִ֖ית<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַמָּא֑וֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נֵ֖ר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תָּמִֽיד׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> (</span>כא<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">) </span>בְּאֹ֣הֶל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מוֹעֵד֩<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִח֨וּץ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַפָּרֹ֜כֶת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁ֣ר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־הָעֵדֻ֗ת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יַעֲרֹךְ֩<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֹת֨וֹ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אַהֲרֹ֧ן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וּבָנָ֛יו<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מֵעֶ֥רֶב<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַד־בֹּ֖קֶר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִפְנֵ֣י<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְהוָ֑ה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חֻקַּ֤ת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עוֹלָם֙<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְדֹ֣רֹתָ֔ם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מֵאֵ֖ת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּנֵ֥י<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> (</span>ס<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Exodus 27:20-21</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(20) You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. (21) Aaron and his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over [the Ark of] the Pact, [to burn] from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all time, throughout the ages.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The flame of the Mishkan seems so similar to the Olympic flame, and yet, it teaches a much different lesson.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The flame that Aaron and the priests have to kindle isn’t a flame that begins and ends like the Olympic games.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl71ivQb2Zi12KbPDSYAqMQoydPDFiYpyCnuEi6cvwClRAsaqEF38-OwD92u9Z_MRWu3jey-xKM6sIlmmDrCHXhhXLLLQLQNSPyaG4Gd4dv--R7wXL3RYWNEciUOlXI4WU3fWJHjnA6oLV0rpov8q-sjm3HrrmJM99zfAdB45IlrQV1MuWOEpK43_BFg=s500" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl71ivQb2Zi12KbPDSYAqMQoydPDFiYpyCnuEi6cvwClRAsaqEF38-OwD92u9Z_MRWu3jey-xKM6sIlmmDrCHXhhXLLLQLQNSPyaG4Gd4dv--R7wXL3RYWNEciUOlXI4WU3fWJHjnA6oLV0rpov8q-sjm3HrrmJM99zfAdB45IlrQV1MuWOEpK43_BFg=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The light of the Menorah was not stolen from God, nor was it created by God alone; it was a human and divine partnership, and, it was a daily ritual. Rashi points out that someone had to fill the cup with oil every night, and someone would light it every morning. Maimonides took it a stop further claiming that the light of the Menorah never went out and it had to remain lit at all times.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The flame of the Menorah is the model for the Ner Tamid, the eternal light.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our view of the Menorah and who could kindle it evolved over time. At first, it was literally a flame that existed in one place, but when that place was destroyed, that flame spread throughout the world in our Mikdashei Me’at, our small, holy places of gathering - our Batei Knesset. The responsibility of keeping the flame alive went to all the people, not just the priests, as we were reminded by Moshe that we are a Mamlechet Cohanim, a nation of priests.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The flame also became a metaphor for Torah. Proverbs teach, “A mitzvah is a candle, and the Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23) </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As Jews, we are obsessed with keeping the flame alive</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How can you keep the flame going, and how do we pass it on to the next generation?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, as Jews, we have been obsessed with Jewish continuity. We want our children to bring our flame to their hearts, and then pass on that exact same flame.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This brings me to one of my favorite teachings of how we teach Torah.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the Talmud, we read a story about two rabbis who are asked to engage in an intellectual exercise: If the Torah was forgotten by our people, how would you bring it back? Rabbi Hanina said, “I would bring it back with my argumentative powers!” Rabbi Hiyya gave a different answer:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“To which Rabbi Hiyya rejoined: ‘Would you dispute with me, who achieved that the Torah should not be forgotten in Israel? What did I do? I went and sowed flax, made nets [from the flax cords], trapped deer, whose flesh I gave to orphans, and prepared scrolls [from their skins], upon which I wrote the five books [of Moses]. Then I went to a town [which contained no teachers] and taught the five books to five children, and the six orders [of the Mishnah] to six children And I said to them: "Until I return, teach each other the Torah (five books of Moses) and the Mishnah;" and that is how I preserved the Torah from being forgotten in Israel’.” (BT Bava Metzia 85b)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Hanina’s approach is so much easier - all you need is one person, but Rabbi Hiyya’s approach is radically different. His answer involves giving his students ownership over the Torah, both written and oral, and they shift between being students to teachers, and back and forth. Rabbi Hiyya was interested not just in bringing Torah back to life, but also spreading it to others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Hanina only needed one voice; Rabbi Hiyya needs the voice of many others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the end, Rabbi Hiyya’s approach was judged as greater than Hanina.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I believe that to this day, Rabbi Hiyya’s approach is the best one to spread Torah throughout the world, and our community.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is how we light the flame - Jewish continuity is not a single person relay, it’s a team sport.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So here’s where you all come in - we can’t keep this flame going alone, we need your help not just to start the fire, but to spread it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s why I’m creating a new challenge -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The Spreading Torah Challenge.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You will learn what Torah is, and isn’t, and how to read and even teach Torah!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And, or, you can join me on the 929 Challenge to finish the entire Tanach in three years, all 929 chapters. All it takes is five minutes a day! Click here for more information.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You might say, but how can I do this? Just like the priests did, all it takes is a little bit of time each day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The beauty of Hiyya’s approach to spreading Torah is that he eventually leaves. Interestingly enough, there is one person missing in this parashah that talks about the light of Torah: Moshe. It is the only parashah in the Torah after he is born where he is not mentioned. The rabbis said this was intentional to model tzimtzum, withdrawing in order to make space for others. But this idea is also baked into the commandment. The light was set up “mihutz laparochet,” outside the sanctuary’s curtain. We light the flame of Torah in our children and others, but we take a step back so they realize that the light is theirs, they own it, they are a part of it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is my blessing for you - that your inner spark is kindled again, that you give yourself some room to let it grown, and spread it to others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-78026928188881750212022-02-10T16:28:00.001-05:002022-02-10T16:33:46.012-05:00Weekly Message - Tetzaveh and the Beijing Olympics<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd024z_68fZRkJWzZLC0kMVJ5qs6ctS5Iylrgr33lbkBFiLuekqEoySkYlYkaZyhLeyMazmbIQrWXDbZPQWR_wDy8CbVc-bIg4hG4_QdchDDsf0afvEdeX49Bls7YYeuJvcgzAHNCJ-JItLUOopnh1iyka8w0T8JCHIUfO0GfpAlYYIPvwlPUpbphYog" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="520" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd024z_68fZRkJWzZLC0kMVJ5qs6ctS5Iylrgr33lbkBFiLuekqEoySkYlYkaZyhLeyMazmbIQrWXDbZPQWR_wDy8CbVc-bIg4hG4_QdchDDsf0afvEdeX49Bls7YYeuJvcgzAHNCJ-JItLUOopnh1iyka8w0T8JCHIUfO0GfpAlYYIPvwlPUpbphYog=w400-h376" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Last Shabbat, I addressed the issue of Amnesty International’s false claims on Israel being an apartheid state, but I also spoke about another issue: the Olympics in China and the silence of humanitarian organizations regarding China’s treatment of the Uyghurs. <a href="http://rabbidavidbaum.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-inside-should-match-outside-for.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO READ</a> Here’s an excerpt:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>This week, the 2022 Olympic Winter Games kicked off in China this week. From the looks of it, you may have thought that China was a leader in human rights. For those who don’t know, the Chinese government is accused of a genocide against the Uyghur people, a Turkic Muslim minority with a presence in the country’s western Xinjiang region. “Experts say that at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in the region and held in extra-judicial camps or sent to prisons. Former detainees and residents of Xinjiang have made allegations of torture, forced sterilization and sexual abuse.”</i></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>But, you wouldn’t know that by watching the opening ceremonies. At one point, they trotted out a Uyghur cross-country skier named Dinigeer Yilamujiang to be one of two Chinese athletes to light the Olympic caldron. A journalist quipped: “China must have thought it was so smart: That’ll show the West we don’t kill and torture the Uyghurs, we love them so much we’ll let one of them light the caldron.”</i></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>But this week, Amnesty UK decided to give China a pass on their human rights abuses. It’s not just them, but most of the world, including athletes, music and movie stars.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></p></blockquote><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In this week’s parashah, Tetzaveh, we learn about the Menorah, the seven-branch candelabra in the Mishkan/Tabernacle which was also part of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There is an interesting Midrash that speaks about the windows in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Midrash, the windows were created to let light out, which is the opposite function of all other windows. The light of the menorah was so powerful that it brought light to the entire world. As Jews, we are called an Or Lagoyim, a light unto the nations. Each one of us carries the light of the Menorah, and it is our choice to show that light to the world.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With that in mind, I wanted to invite you all to the RAC (Religious Action Center) and Uyghur American Association’s event “If Not Now, When? Uplifting Uyghur Voices” on Monday, February 14 at 6 pm ET on Zoom. Various Jewish organizations and the Uyghur American Association are combining their efforts to raise awareness of the plight of the Uyghurs during the Beijing Olympics.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here’s an excerpt from the organization: “Since 2017, the Chinese government has perpetrated countless atrocities against the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang in order to forcibly assimilate the Uyghurs into the culture of the ethnic Han Chinese majority. These crimes include surveillance, infringement of Uyghur religious freedom, forced sterilization, and internment in forced labor camps. As the world celebrates the Beijing Olympics, we cannot ignore the peril inflicted on the Uyghurs by the Chinese government.”</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Please join the RAC and the Uyghur American Association for “If Not Now, When? Uplifting Uyghur Voices” on February 14 at 6 pm ET on Zoom. Listen to a survivor’s testimony and learn more about what’s happening to the Uyghurs and what you can do to help.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Register at <a href="http://www.rac.org/uyghur">www.rac.org/uyghur</a>.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxbUIxvD5Mj7F7BX7fpOhsdCyTV6F5lE136elr1_3x-B-XpozDnCBAh-Wu6iNJ3OllSGq2tke7Xx5tJ6pUaZsGelssez1R9zb1VUenDju8N9bFLVLITTfQXK4aMxnzqZNIiwO-Ho8xPKfgfOMdRuaJk_1rDBz4ee9vevUkSM62AsCzbk01sRqNbqr4eQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxbUIxvD5Mj7F7BX7fpOhsdCyTV6F5lE136elr1_3x-B-XpozDnCBAh-Wu6iNJ3OllSGq2tke7Xx5tJ6pUaZsGelssez1R9zb1VUenDju8N9bFLVLITTfQXK4aMxnzqZNIiwO-Ho8xPKfgfOMdRuaJk_1rDBz4ee9vevUkSM62AsCzbk01sRqNbqr4eQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and thank you for sharing the light of God with the world.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi David Baum</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-90875818671119417292022-02-08T16:01:00.002-05:002022-02-10T14:26:01.292-05:00 The Inside Should Match the Outside, For People and Nations© Parashat Terumah 2022/5782<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">The Inside Should Match the Outside, For People and Nations©<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></h2><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i>Topics include: Amnesty UK’s statement on Israel and Apartheid and the 2022 Winter Olympics and Chinese treatment of the Uyghurs</i></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Rabbi David Baum</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Parashat Terumah 2022/5782</b></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicabLGm2jILIl6zZQrQb9ZjK8McAFY5QMNPhDViIZL0flaZ_BG3298ztDzSTE_qh8CKuuqBTZfHFW3zMti_XaO7eT2NnnWUDC5Pb0WgzLE-gvKVOJpKt1zYH3htDe38j7A1za4mXJI_hCp1Li88cEaJ-jkUYDmBVqR7XDwzmfRr_XJvLvg3jAAatcGxw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="1140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicabLGm2jILIl6zZQrQb9ZjK8McAFY5QMNPhDViIZL0flaZ_BG3298ztDzSTE_qh8CKuuqBTZfHFW3zMti_XaO7eT2NnnWUDC5Pb0WgzLE-gvKVOJpKt1zYH3htDe38j7A1za4mXJI_hCp1Li88cEaJ-jkUYDmBVqR7XDwzmfRr_XJvLvg3jAAatcGxw=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I read an interesting story this past week about the newest and hottest celebrity in New York over the past couple of weeks. This new celebrity is so wealthy, that the clothing they wore for a stroll in Central Park is estimated to be worth $11.7 million dollars. Their outfit was so expensive that they had their own security detail surrounding them in the park.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This celebrity doesn’t have a name though, and I don’t mean that their name is a symbol like late musical artist Prince did when he changed his name to a symbol.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This celebrity isn’t actually a person, rather, it is a 24 karat solid gold cube. This week, in New York City, German artist Niclas Castello brought his latest creation, a 410-pound glimmering work of art to Central Park. But Central Park was just the cube’s first outing because later that evening, the Cube went to an exclusive downtown dinner where numerous celebrities could dine with the newest and hottest influencer of New York.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not the introduction to some elaborate and terrible joke; this actually happened this week. The gold cube, or block, was a promotion for the <a href="https://castellocoin.com/"><span class="s1" style="color: #0c61ab;">artists’s upcoming crypto currency project</span></a>. He said, “it will be the first Coin in history to achieve its level of recognition through a unique, physical artwork,” bringing the worlds of crypto and traditional art together. Of course, the artist is also advertising a new NFT, non-fungible token, which will be sold later this month on auction.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The reaction to the newest and hottest celebrity in New York was as cold as the weather this week up north, especially when people learned that this so called solid gold cube was actually hollow on the inside. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, the cube being hollow on the inside wasn’t what people were upset about. Some said it was a metaphor for crypto currency, a technology that promises to change the world but doesn’t actually deliver anything. Others pointed out that there were 125 unhoused people living in Central Park, and four days prior to the cube taking its place in Central Park, a person was found dead just a half mile away.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I bring this up because this week’s parashah has a similar story: a piece of gold is placed in the middle of the camp, the center of the community. In our case, it is the Mishkan, but more specifically, the Ark of the Covenant. Here is how it is described:</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וְצִפִּיתָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֹתוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זָהָב<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>טָהוֹר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִבַּיִת<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וּמִחוּץ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּצַפֶּנּוּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְעָשִׂיתָ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָלָיו<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זֵר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זָהָב<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>סָבִיב׃</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Overlay it with pure gold—overlay it inside and out—and make upon it a gold molding round about. (Exodus 25:11)</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The commentators ask an interesting question that many asked about the cube: why would they have made it gold on the inside if only one person, the High Priest, would actually see it?</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We find an answer to this question in the Talmud.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">״מִבַּיִת<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וּמִחוּץ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּצַפֶּנּוּ״<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span>אָמַר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רָבָא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">: </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>כׇּל</i></span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּלְמִיד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חָכָם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֶׁאֵין<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תּוֹכוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּבָרוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> — </span>אֵינוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תַּלְמִיד<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חָכָם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The verse states concerning the Ark: “From within and from without you shall cover it” (Exodus 25:11). Rava said: This alludes to the idea that any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside, <i>i.e., whose outward expression of righteousness is insincere,</i> is not to be considered a Torah scholar.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those words, <i>Tocho K’Baro</i>, the inside should match the outside, is the lesson that was sent to Bnai Israel on that day until today.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a teaching that might be more relevant today than it was even when it was taught. If you have a social media outlet, you have a choice on what you show to the world. We all curate a certain image online, whereas the truth of what happens inside might be far different. Sometimes, what we show to the world are performative acts, but in secret, we act contrary. For example, Boris Johnson is now in hot water because while he outlawed public gatherings for Covid, he threw secret elaborate parties in the Prime Minister’s residences.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each one of us struggles with authenticity, what we show to the world and how we internalize it in our lives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But this timeless lesson, tocho k’baro, the inside should match the outside, can also be applied to nations.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This week, Amnesty UK, a wing of Amnesty International, released a report charging Israel, both in Israel proper and the disputed territories, of apartheid. The report is titled: “ISRAEL'S APARTHEID AGAINST PALESTINIANS: A LOOK INTO DECADES OF OPPRESSION AND DOMINATION”</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before we go on, I think it's important to define the term apartheid. I’ll use Amnesty’s definition:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The term “apartheid” was originally used to refer to a political system in South Africa which explicitly enforced racial segregation, and the domination and oppression of one racial group by another. Apartheid can best be understood as a system of prolonged and cruel discriminatory treatment by one racial group of members of another with the intention to control the second racial group.”</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The problem is, this conflict isn’t about race. As we Whoopi Goldberg still hasn’t learned, Jews aren’t a race, and neither are Palestinians.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have sent everyone the Conservative movement’s statement against this report, and have printed copies here, I advise you all read it, but here’s the first paragraph:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We reject Amnesty International's outrageously dishonest claims and are deeply disturbed by the lies, obvious biases, and use of material from anti-Israel organizations to prepare its unfair report on Israel, which at the same time erroneously disregards and downplays the oppression and suffering of minority communities under the apartheid system in South Africa,” say leaders of the RA and USCJ speaking together.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The letter goes on to talk about Arab involvement in the state, comparing it to the South African regime that enforced segregation, and the dehumanization of citizens in law and practice. The letter states:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“It’s one thing to criticize Israel but it's quite another to attempt to knowingly mislead the world with defamatory, antisemitic language, which implicitly calls Israel a racist state and puts lives at risk. Let us not conflate the two.”</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The letter points out the double standard that the only Jewish state in the world is held to, and the dangers that this double standard will have for Jews around the world, not just in Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What I found interesting was, where’s the report on China?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_Muysns_M5SVeiSb7HM-bI6k61vRxsSg-4H6B2ikv14iSazjRwiWpWySgn4sKCWT6lSFz0OhXZ1i891ZSzIkTijjnQsvaCtNI1aevwaSg8AH6LsyGJ9PiFdgWbiB09-BY1I4hS4OSHxMNUrxmVBz16U1vKMF8CsGX-cdZS5UJXo0F3m_623TnG3bdRw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4795" data-original-width="7192" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_Muysns_M5SVeiSb7HM-bI6k61vRxsSg-4H6B2ikv14iSazjRwiWpWySgn4sKCWT6lSFz0OhXZ1i891ZSzIkTijjnQsvaCtNI1aevwaSg8AH6LsyGJ9PiFdgWbiB09-BY1I4hS4OSHxMNUrxmVBz16U1vKMF8CsGX-cdZS5UJXo0F3m_623TnG3bdRw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@vytautas_dranginis_vee?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Vytautas Dranginis</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/olympics?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">This week, the 2022 Olympic Winter Games kicked off in China this week. From the looks of it, you may have thought that China was a leader in human rights. For those who don’t know, the Chinese government is accused of a genocide against the Uyghur people, a Turkic Muslim minority with a presence in the country’s western Xinjiang region. “Experts say that at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in the region and held in extra-judicial camps or sent to prisons. Former detainees and residents of Xinjiang have made allegations of torture, forced sterilization and sexual abuse.”</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But, you wouldn’t know that by watching the opening ceremonies. At one point, they trotted out a Uyghur cross-country skier named Dinigeer Yilamujiang to be one of two Chinese athletes to light the Olympic caldron. <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2022/02/04/beijing-olympics-opening-ceremony-china-political-charade/6665744001/?gnt-cfr=1" target="_blank">A journalist quipped</a>: “China must have thought it was so smart: That’ll show the West we don’t kill and torture the Uyghurs, we love them so much we’ll let one of them light the caldron.”</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But this week, Amnesty UK decided to give China a pass on their human rights abuses. It’s not just them, but most of the world, including athletes, music and movie stars.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I couldn’t help but recall the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. In August 1936, the Nazi regime tried to camouflage its violent racist policies while it hosted the Summer Olympics. Most anti-Jewish signs were temporarily removed and newspapers toned down their harsh rhetoric, in line with directives from the Propaganda Ministry, headed by Joseph Goebbels. Thus, the regime exploited the Olympic Games to present foreign spectators and journalists with a false image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As a token gesture to placate international opinion, German authorities allowed the star fencer Helene Mayer to represent Germany at the Olympic Games in Berlin. Mayer was viewed as a “non-Aryan” because her father was Jewish. She won a silver medal in women's individual fencing and, like all other medalists for Germany, gave the Nazi salute on the podium. No other Jewish athlete competed for Germany in the Summer Games.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The U.S. Holocaust Memorial website comments:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With the conclusion of the Games, Germany's expansionist policies and the persecution of Jews and other "enemies of the state" accelerated, culminating in the Holocaust.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Authoritarian governments are like the golden cube in Central Park. They promise most of you a perfect world where you will all be rich, but don’t look inside! Pay no attention to the people who are starving and freezing, just look at the gold.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As Jews, we know better than this. As Rava taught us, Tocho K’Baro - the inside should match the outside.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Israel has a lot of work to do in human rights, so does America for that matter, but it pales in comparison to China and other authoritarian regimes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The problem is, the world is silent when it comes to China, but quite the opposite when it comes to Israel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So what can we do?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">First, we cannot reflexively deny humans rights abuses by Israel or America. Liberal democracies not only encourage, but demand that our governments are held to a high standard. However, have to learn the nuances of these incidences, and give our <i>tochecha</i>, our criticisms, with love.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the cases where Israel is unfairly targeted, we must stand up and make our voice heard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can sign a letter calling on the UN Secretary-General to end the biased targeting of Israel<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s4" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://form.jotform.com/220324936989973"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://form.jotform.com/220324936989973</span></a></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can also make the plight of the Ugyihur people known to the world, especially during the Winter Olympics. Imagine if the world stood up for the Jews during the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Please join the RAC and the Uyghur American Association for “If Not Now, When? Uplifting Uyghur Voices” on February 14 at 6 pm on Zoom. Listen to a survivor’s testimony and learn more about what’s happening to the Uyghurs and what you can do to help.</span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWXpQsYAjh5zC1EaNJDdRqajkX-XDZKuc9qCpuexdlTmLrpQJIK5okYODFHzdaAwexvcX1MysUYi8uCIIiKct-6El1f8s-DzS_OWAyDl2E9PnuBisKT3mlXKSKxNgE0lgAR4Ex66J8KGBDS85iYacI2qU7kg2W32JdzXkfubSDbOh6Qu_KfI3Cz5tvOg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWXpQsYAjh5zC1EaNJDdRqajkX-XDZKuc9qCpuexdlTmLrpQJIK5okYODFHzdaAwexvcX1MysUYi8uCIIiKct-6El1f8s-DzS_OWAyDl2E9PnuBisKT3mlXKSKxNgE0lgAR4Ex66J8KGBDS85iYacI2qU7kg2W32JdzXkfubSDbOh6Qu_KfI3Cz5tvOg=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-41377517831368016952022-02-03T15:26:00.005-05:002022-02-03T15:26:38.154-05:00Memory Loss Is Not Good For the Jews©<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">Memory Loss Is Not Good For the Jews©</span></span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSjYKeF7U1xg_ucTWU8rC_eDd_QYS0BHy7KdLmSO1HCdZRVJ9o2SugqoOaae8o1cflNxaUfJtTl0MagBvFC6o9ovi7Uu5juKwhmnUls8Ato2W1D7bggSfsiHH9hVMsXG6-4FWg4uTIMRsmMTUlS2TSHXkltFCm2vwvKsKmb0mRZUs5HRa4OjrZIt9iRQ=s5110" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5110" data-original-width="3444" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSjYKeF7U1xg_ucTWU8rC_eDd_QYS0BHy7KdLmSO1HCdZRVJ9o2SugqoOaae8o1cflNxaUfJtTl0MagBvFC6o9ovi7Uu5juKwhmnUls8Ato2W1D7bggSfsiHH9hVMsXG6-4FWg4uTIMRsmMTUlS2TSHXkltFCm2vwvKsKmb0mRZUs5HRa4OjrZIt9iRQ=w270-h400" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@kellysikkema?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Kelly Sikkema</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/memory?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Parashat Mishapatim 2022/5782</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Rabbi David Baum</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Before cell phones, even as a child, I had at least ten phone numbers memorized. Today? Maybe one or two. We have outsourced a lot of our memory skills to our smart phones, and, consequently, our ability to memorize numbers and names has diminished. It seems like a silly issue to write about, but it has deep implications because, a world with no memory is not a good for the Jews.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">History is fact - you can’t change history, but we can change how we ‘remember’ history.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I bring this up because of a news story this week that coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Just days before this day, a Tennessee school board voted unanimously to remove “Maus,” Art Spiegelman’s graphic memoir about his father’s Holocaust experience, from its curriculum. Although unrelated, but somewhat related, we had yet another famous person, in this case, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said those who refuse vaccinations against Covid-19 are actually worse off than Anne Frank who hid in an attic and was murdered by the Nazis.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Just 70 years after the Holocaust, we are seeing the history and memory of the event being challenged. According to a <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/international-holocaust-remembrance-day-remember-030023132.html"><span class="s1">2020 Claims Conference survey</span></a>, 63 percent of Millennial and Gen Z participants did not know that six million Jews had been killed in the Holocaust, 11 percent thought that Jews caused the Holocaust and a surprising 48 percent could not name even one concentration camp, including Auschwitz.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">History doesn’t change, but memory can.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I believe this week’s parashah, Misphatim, speaks to this juxtaposition of laws and memory.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Our parashah this week contains an enormous amount of laws, more so than any parashah that preceded it, even last week’s parahsha when we received the Ten Commandments.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It contains civil and criminal law, laws of how we treat the less fortunate in Israelite society, and much more. There’s even a law that warns against sorcerers. This parashah is an attorney’s or judges dream; for everyone else…it can be a little dry. </p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The question is, why do we have this dumping of so much law that is seemingly out of context? The answer is - it is in context, but we have to look backward.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I want to share one example:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;">וְגֵר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֹא<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תִלְחָץ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְאַתֶּם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְדַעְתֶּם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־נֶפֶשׁ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַגֵּר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כִּי־גֵרִים<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הֱיִיתֶם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּאֶרֶץ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִצְרָיִם׃<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It seems pretty straightforward - don’t oppress the stranger, but the Torah includes the reason as to why you should not: because you too felt what it was like to be powerless, vulnerable, and exploited.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It isn’t an argument based on reason, even though good and practical reasons could be found; the prohibition is based on memory and experience. We too were strangers once, we were persecuted, humiliated; we know what it feels like, so let’s make sure no one in our society, be they Israelites or not, feel that again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I think we take this for granted.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Shai Held, in his article, “Turning Memory Into Empathy: The Torah’s Ethical Charge”, points out how the law could have been written: “The Torah could have responded quite differently to the experience of oppression in Egypt. It could have said, Since you were tyrannized and exploited and no one did anything to help you, you don’t owe anything to anyone; how dare anyone ask anything of you? But it chooses the opposite path: since you were exploited and oppressed, you must never be among the exploiters and degraders. You must remember what it feels like to be a stranger. Empathy must animate and intensify your commitment to the dignity and well-being of the weak and vulnerable. And God holds you accountable to this obligation.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What is interesting to me is how people look at the Torah. Because the only time we are forced to learn the Torah is when we are children, most people think the Torah is a story for children. But read through the Exodus narrative and you tell me if it's rated G. We read about infanticide, torture, plagues, war, and bloodshed. The Torah and Midrash do not shield us from the brutality of slavery, quite the contrary, it is visceral, because if it sugarcoated our shared experience, then we would not truly understand why we shouldn’t oppress the stranger.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Leviticus and Deuteronomy take the care for the stranger a step further. Not only are we not allowed to oppress them, but we must love them, because, you too were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:17-19)</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Held wrote:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“Literature scholar Elaine Scarry hauntingly asserts that “the human capacity to injure other people is very great precisely because our capacity to imagine other people is very small.” By reminding us again and again of our vulnerability in Egypt, the Torah works to help us learn to imagine others more so that we allow ourselves to hurt them less.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And so I return to the story in Tennessee and other places, and the politicians, the leaders in our country, and their followers, our fellow citizens, who wear yellow stars with the word Jude in the center.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I wonder what they learned about the Holocaust in school. Were they taught the opposing views of the Holocaust as a Texas school board official suggested we must teach? Or were they presented with an ‘impartial’ view about Nazis as Indiana State Senator Scott Baldwin suggested when he presented his Education Matters bill which would ban divisive concepts in school classroom, stating that lessons about fascism and Nazism should be taught impartially. Or here in the city of Boca Raton, when a principal of a local high school would not confirm that the Holocaust was a factual event, and stuck to his opinion despite the push back he received.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Or when Congressman Warren Davidson wrote the following to a link about how the unvaccinated are treated:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“Let’s recall that the Nazis dehumanized Jewish people before segregating them, segregated them before imprisoning them, imprisoned them before enslaving them, and enslaved them before massacring them.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I read through the entire minutes of the school board meeting in Tennessee. I tried to do what Rabbi Hillel taught us in the Talmud - learn about the other side so well that you could teach it. As I read the comments, I need to report that they didn’t want to ignore the Holocaust, but they said that Maus was inappropriate for 8th graders. They said there was nudity in it, but keep in mind, it is a graphic novel and the characters are mice and cats. They said there were curse words in it and they might repeat those words.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As a parent, I get where they are coming from. They want to protect their children from trauma; they can learn about it when they are adults, but not now.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The problem is, later never comes. So they learn a sanitized version of the most horrific genocide in history; and then, well, it's the same other things that we feel objectionable.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Judaism teaches something different. When we enter into physical maturity, even if we seem like we are just children, we are part of the community. We cannot sugarcoat the past, because if we do, we will not perform the mitzvoth needed to create a just and righteous society.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When we sugarcoat history, we lose the power of memory and what it spurs us to do in this world.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Memory powerfully shapes our identity, our behavior, and how we grow and change.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But we cannot have memory, if we do not have history…all of it. This is the battle that is raging all over this country in school board meetings, but it will not end there. I will never forget when I was in college and my friend, a southerner with a thick accent once quipped to me, “you know, slavery wasn’t all that bad. Black people had three meals a day, jobs, and a roof over their heads. I think they might have been better off.” And as I listened to him with my mouth agape, and thought, imagine if he said that about my ancestors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In the Spring of 1945, Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and George Patton toured the Ohrdruf concentration camp, the first camp liberated by Americans.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">General Eisenhower later wrote, “I have never felt able to describe my emotional reactions when I first came face to face with indisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and ruthless disregard of every shred of decency. Up to that time I had known about it only generally or through secondary sources. I am certain, however, that I have never at any other time experienced an equal sense of shock…I visited every nook and cranny of the camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position from then on to testify at first hand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief or the assumption that “the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda.” . . . I not only did so but as soon as I returned to . . . headquarters that evening, I sent communications to both Washington and London, urging the two governments to send instantly to Germany a random group of newspaper editors and representative groups from the national legislatures. I felt that the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British publics in a fashion to leave no room for cynical doubt.” Eisenhower famously brought the German inhabitants of the city nearest Buchenwald to see with their own eyes the horrors that were committed in their name.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Imagine if he didn’t share this horror with the world; imagine where we would be today.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is why we say Never Forget, because without Never Forget, we cannot say, Never Again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-5970322354161154542022-01-14T10:00:00.007-05:002022-01-14T10:00:58.154-05:00Avoiding the Herd Mentality- 1st Anniversary of January 6th<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Avoiding the Herd Mentality- 1st Anniversary of January 6th</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Parashat Bo 2022/5782</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi David Baum</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNS2AeRsmBsbXH0NgT0Do9fghxpzCnqkJGenZajeL3-1jvyrLo3tVKue5XFRx_fz07eY-ee9207M91TxL369uDUTTYPdI3UJw1frZpRtvRNtbR9G_WXFGDoz-kzh-WkeN6vlrT06KwcDMxDHkGszC19xfC_kkwwAbU0yPdupAxouP9SqUOPCL2g-v8yQ=s5476" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3352" data-original-width="5476" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNS2AeRsmBsbXH0NgT0Do9fghxpzCnqkJGenZajeL3-1jvyrLo3tVKue5XFRx_fz07eY-ee9207M91TxL369uDUTTYPdI3UJw1frZpRtvRNtbR9G_WXFGDoz-kzh-WkeN6vlrT06KwcDMxDHkGszC19xfC_kkwwAbU0yPdupAxouP9SqUOPCL2g-v8yQ=w640-h392" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@r3dmax?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jonatan Pie</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/buffalo-herd?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What was your favorite part of the Seder growing up, with the exception of the meal?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For most, it is the ritual of counting the Ten Plagues. We’ve created many party favors for this part of the service - kids throw plastic frogs at each other, or put on silly masks. It’s kind of weird and morbid right?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the one plague that is genuinely problematic for all is the killing of the first born Egyptian males.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is how the Torah describes it:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וַיְהִי <span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַּחֲצִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַלַּיְלָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וַיי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הִכָּה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> כ</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>ל־בְּכוֹר</i></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּאֶרֶץ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִצְרַיִם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִבְּכֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פַּרְעֹה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַיֹּשֵׁב<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־כִּסְאוֹ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּכוֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַשְּׁבִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּבֵית<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַבּוֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְכֹל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּכוֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּהֵמָה׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the middle of the night the LORD struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle. (Exodus 12:29)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Torah is very intentional with its words here when they mention not just the killing of Pharaoh’s first born, but even the captive in the dungeon, literally the lowest person in Egyptian society who wasn’t a slave, and even the cattle. Anyone else think that this is cruel?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The killing of Pharaoh’s first born, even though seemingly cruel in our modern eyes, was necessary. For the first time, Pharaoh is confronted with true loss. No amount of servants, sorcerers, or soldiers could save him from this plague. But why all the other Egyptians? Even the ones who didn’t own slaves?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Tanchuma/Midrash offers an explanation:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Because they rejoiced at the misfortune of the Israelites” (Midrash Tanchuma, Bo 7)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I think about this scene, I cannot help but recall an interview I heard with one of the men who was arrested after he stormed the Capitol on January 6. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/podcasts/the-daily/january-6-capitol-riots-anniversary.html"><span class="s3">The New York Times created a three part podcast on the January 6 Insurrection</span></a>. They wanted to find out who exactly joined the mob? In the podcast titled, herd mentality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who exactly joined the mob that, almost a year ago, on Jan. 6, breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of President Biden’s election victory?</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Members of far-right extremist groups were present but so too were doctors, lawyers, substitute teachers, church deacons and business owners, many of whom had previously been considered non-political.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The question of why these people were at the Capitol that day is hard to answer, but the some of the most useful clues come from three F.B.I. interviews that have been released to the public.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The most revealing interview according to the podcast was with a man named Robert Reeder, who was facing four misdemeanor charges for entering the Capitol. Mr. Reeder is from suburban Maryland, single and a father, and at the time of the riots he was a driver for FedEx.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He claims he joined the rally on a whim, although he was very active online leading up to the rally with Stop the Steal memes and posts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During his interview, he said the following:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“After it was all over, people were all saying that everyone was headed to the Capitol. So that’s where everybody was going. So stupid me, I followed the herd.” When he got into the Capitol, he said, “I was just with the herd, pushing towards — not pushing, just kind of followed them up onto one of the bandstands.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He had moments where he could have left, but he stayed inside the Capitol. Over and over he excuses his behavior by saying he was part of the herd, that it was a herd mentality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">His last line was perhaps the most interesting:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I jumped on the metro train. It only took like 40, 45 minutes to get back home. I got in the house and turned on the TV. And they were showing pictures of what was happening at the Capitol. It made me sick. I mean, whatever you want to call it. But I felt sick. And I’m like, I hope the police get those guys and arrest them. And I realized, wait a second, I was there an hour ago.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those moments have changed his life forever - he lost his job, his reputation in his community, and even custody of his son, and, finally, his freedom as he was sentenced to three months in jail.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although he said it was his fault, he blamed everything else - the herd as he called it, or the police who he said should have told him they couldn’t come into the Capitol.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was thinking, what would the captive in the dungeon had said as he held his dying child on the night of the 10th plague? Perhaps when he saw the first born cattle dying, he realized that he was part of the herd, and even though he was swept up in it, even though Pharaoh created the unjust society that he benefited from, he also had to pay for his mistakes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In our morning prayers, there is an interesting paragraph that we read. We ask God to help us overcome the Yetzer haRah, the evil inclination within us, but we also ask God to keep us far from wicked people and corrupt friends, in Hebrew, “<span class="s4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">הַרְחִיקֵנוּ</span> <span class="s4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">מֵאָדָם</span> <span class="s4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">רָע</span> <span class="s4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">וּמֵחָבֵר</span> <span class="s4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">רָע</span>.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why say wicked people and wicked friends? Because free people don’t make excuses for our actions, and Jews must also see that our friends and fellow Jews can sometimes lead us down dark paths. We saw this on January 6 most infamously with Aaron Mostofsky, who, <a href="https://forward.com/news/480425/jan-6-anniversary-jewish-antisemitism-raskin/"><span class="s3">according to the Forward</span></a>, identifies as an Orthodox Jew, who was arrested for his involvement on January 6. He is he son of Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Steven Mostofsky.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let us return to our parashah and how Bnai Israel handled the death of the first born. This plague was different than all the other plagues. We see at Exodus 12:13:</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">וְהָיָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַדָּם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לָכֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְאֹת<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַבָּתִּים<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֲשֶׁר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אַתֶּם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שָׁם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְרָאִיתִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶת־הַדָּם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וּפָסַחְתִּי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עֲלֵכֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בָכֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נֶגֶף<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לְמַשְׁחִית<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּהַכֹּתִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּאֶרֶץ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִצְרָיִם׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will passover you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rabbi Arnold Goodman wrote the following:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The Midrash contends that God did not need the blood on the doorpost to identify Israelite homes. Obviously, God was quite capable of distinguishing, without any outer sign, between Israelites and Egyptians. The painted blood was to testify that the people had fulfilled the first command given to them as a community: to sacrifice the Passover lamb. This suggests that prior to the tenth and final plague, the Israelites were to perform an act that demonstrated their faith in God, and with this first mitzvah, our ancestors entered into a new relationship with God. They were no longer automatically protected by the kindness and concern of a beneficent Deity; rather they had to demonstrate that as a maturing community, they had made the choice to serve God. From the moment they were instructed to take and sacrifice the Passover lamb, they were accountable for their actions. The “free ride” was now a thing of the past.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The development to being a free people began with the commandment to keep a calendar - the first step to freedom is being free to spend your own time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The next step is responsibility - want to be protected? You have to smear the blood on the door. If you didn’t, you weren’t saved.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think we saw Jewish responsibility after January 6 with the actions of two visibly Jewish men, Aron Weider and Alexander Rapaport, two Hasidic friends from New York. Here is a report of how they took responsibility after January 6 from journalist Arno Rosenfeld:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Disgusted and saddened by the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, Aron Weider and Alexander Rapaport – two Hasidic friends from New York – felt helpless from 200 miles away. But the bravery of the Capitol Police and the National Guard that day inspired them to make the trip to D.C. two weeks later – for the inauguration of President Biden.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Few tourists or well-wishers were allowed inside a vast security zone surrounding the Capitol for the inauguration, but that wasn’t where Weider, the founder of a Borough Park soup kitchen, and Rapaport, a Rockland County legislator, were headed. With a van packed with $10,000 worth of toiletries, energy drinks, energy bars and chocolates – paid for by a D.C. security firm – the two drove around the perimeter of the secured area, handing out goodies to members of the National Guard, who were pulling 12-hour shifts in cold weather and taking their breaks in parking garages.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">‘We brought you some love from Brooklyn,’” Rapaport told the troops, who often asked for selfies with these unexpected gift-bearers.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wieder’s four grandparents were rescued by the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during the liberation of the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in 1945. “I will never miss an opportunity to say thank you to you guys and what you are standing for,” he said. Rapaport said that as shaken as he was on Jan. 6, he felt more hopeful with the transition of power on Inauguration Day. He returned to D.C. days later after restocking the van in New York.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Both he and Wieder said that they hoped that their obviously Jewish appearance sent a message to all who saw them in Washington, that “the Jewish people support our servicemen and women and value the stability of our nation.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the step after that is accountability - saying that I am ultimately responsible for my actions, but also knowing that you have an effect on someone else - you might be the <i>chaver rah</i>, the evil friend, but you can be the good influence if you choose it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remember when your father and mother said, if your friends jumped off a bridge, would jump with them?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have to be careful not to let the Pharaohs of this world lead us to evil, and they must be held accountable, but we must also exercise our freedom with responsibility and accountability.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope and pray that we start looking at ourselves as people, not cattle, as a united people walking together toward a brighter future where we stop following the voices who tell us to trample over each other, and instead, pick each other up so all of us can be free.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-62693902737291347102021-12-09T11:39:00.006-05:002021-12-09T11:39:38.677-05:00Do You Believe In Miracles? Hanukkah 2021<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W5GX6en1MLesOMsrnFFZSxTAWlDPLPMk48e7NB0RQGYmFbCMxCkOzr6Og5jfWsbWkrxdh18yR2fzS205WTSdEvh3yXWSS0oBy-fsF4wQhcFkqWbzn5wjrJE8FQoYCfQxLX4bLWisAG8h/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="850" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W5GX6en1MLesOMsrnFFZSxTAWlDPLPMk48e7NB0RQGYmFbCMxCkOzr6Og5jfWsbWkrxdh18yR2fzS205WTSdEvh3yXWSS0oBy-fsF4wQhcFkqWbzn5wjrJE8FQoYCfQxLX4bLWisAG8h/w640-h302/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(the following Dvar Torah was sent out to the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County as part of their "Weekly Wisdom from our Local Rabbis" initiative where rabbis from the various denominations publish a dvar torah for the larger community - Dvar Torah for Hanukkah, December 3, 20</i><i>21)</i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_2602472733303876974mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_2602472733303876974mcnTextContent" style="color: #757575; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #003366;"><strong>Do You Believe In Miracles?</strong></span></h1><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #003366;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #003366;"><strong><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_fpB8A9T2JDt4e3idDwFwleLwuS4pjOmF6dpY2dD8jJWENWhTDS2j8nWMeor2JH3Da1omeadjpOAoQJOV9i18ZYJ0xGAT-5__Y9ShvakOYFZvNLGCZDrQuH6LEd_gIP6wfeFS68Z-mBz/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="403" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_fpB8A9T2JDt4e3idDwFwleLwuS4pjOmF6dpY2dD8jJWENWhTDS2j8nWMeor2JH3Da1omeadjpOAoQJOV9i18ZYJ0xGAT-5__Y9ShvakOYFZvNLGCZDrQuH6LEd_gIP6wfeFS68Z-mBz/w400-h400/miracles.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></strong></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_2602472733303876974mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_2602472733303876974mcnTextContent" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">“Do you believe in miracles?!?” These iconic words were uttered live on February 22, 1980, by broadcaster Al Michaels at the end of the now-famous USA vs USSR Olympics Hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics.<br /><br />At the time, the Russians had the greatest hockey team in the world, while the United States team was made up of amateur hockey players who were mostly college-aged athletes. In that game, dubbed the Miracle on Ice, the U.S. team pulled off one of the major upsets in sports history. But it was larger than sports - it was a battle on the ice between two world superpowers, freedom versus oppression, good versus evil.<br /> <br />We are in the season of miracles, the holiday of Hanukkah, when we celebrate our own national miracle. The question is, what miracle are we celebrating?<br /><br />The miracle which prompted the holiday was a military victory of the Hasmoneans, a small group of Jews, who fought and defeated the Seleucid empire (we call them Greeks for short, but it’s a little more complicated). It was unheard of for a small nation to overthrow the strength of an empire, but the Maccabees pulled off this miraculous feat!<br /><br />However, if you ask the average Jewish person on the street what the story of Hanukkah is and why we kindle lights each night, they will almost always tell you about the miracle of the Hasmoneans finding the almost everlasting oil jug in the Beit HaMikdash/Holy Temple. You may be surprised to learn that the miracle of the oil is only told in the Talmud, and not in the Book of the Maccabees or in other historical documents from the time. It doesn’t mean that the miracle of the oil isn’t ‘real’, but I believe the rabbis focused on this miracle for a reason. If the holiday was only about the miracle of the military victory, and if we were in a similar situation as a people in the future and we were defeated, would this negate the idea of miracles in our midst? Are real miracles just for the past?<br /> <br />The Hanukkah lights and their origins are a reminder of the power of miracles not just back then, but in our own days.<br /><br />One of the prayers we recite upon lighting the Hanukkah candles states: <em>Barukh atah hashem, </em><em>Elo</em><em>kheinu melekh ha-olam, she-asah nisim la-avoteinu, ba-yamim ha-heim <strong><u>U</u>-va-</strong>z’</em><em>man ha-zeh</em>, Praised are you Hashem our G-d, who rules the universe, accomplishing miracles for our ancestors from ancient days until our time. As you can see, I have underlined one letter <em>‘U'</em> (the vav) in <em>U-va-z’man hazeh</em>. In the Conservative movement siddur, the letter ‘<em>u</em>’ (in Hebrew, the <em>vav</em>) was added. One letter can make a big difference. Without the <em>vav</em>, the translation would read, “we thank G-d for the miracles ‘in those days (the time of the Maccabees at this season (of the year).” Read in this way, we imply that we remember the miracles of the past, but perhaps we may not experience miracles today, in our time. I am a firm believer that miracles continue to happen in every generation and even every day.<br /><br />It is important that we keep our ‘eyes’ open for miracles in our days, wherever we are.<br /><br />Hanukkah is a time for us to take a step back and bask in the light of the miracles of our lives. We have experienced the miracle of the re-establishment of the state of Israel, the miracle of living free lives as Jews in America, and the miracle of community.<br /><br />Our tradition teaches us to acknowledge the miracles that sustain us every day, but how do we experience miracles every day? Judaism holds an expansive view on the concept of miracles. They are not just instances like great victories of the small and weak over the large and mighty, but the aspects of this world that sustain us every day even though we may take them for granted.<br /><br />As I reflect upon where we were last year, as to where we are now, we cannot overlook the miracle of our beautiful Jewish community in South Palm Beach County. I have always stood in awe of the daily work of our Federation that often times goes unnoticed, but the miracle of community was seen by all during the darkness of the pandemic. Together, our synagogues and agencies rallied to help those in their time of need. Like the Hanukkah story, miracles are a combination of the Divine and humanity coming together to shine light unto the world through our acts of love, kindness, and justice.<br /><br />Thankfully, we can experience miracles away from the battlefield, and in our homes every year through the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.<br /><br />As we light each candle, we take an active role in ensuring that miracles still occur and we can play a part in making them happen. One little letter, one little light, or one little action can create a miracle down the road, and each one of us can play a role. I believe that this is one of the great messages of Hanukkah that we experience every night as we add new lights to the Hanukkiah.<br /><br />Do you believe in miracles?!?<br /><br />What miracles in your lives, small or big, are you grateful for? What miracles have gone unnoticed but now you can see with a clearer vision?<br /><br />Let us reflect upon the miracles of our lives, not just during Hanukkah, but every day, especially the miracle of our Jewish community.<br /><br /><strong>Rabbi David Baum</strong><br /><strong>Congregation Shaarei Kodesh</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_2602472733303876974mcnDividerBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; min-width: 100%; padding: 18px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-top: 2px none rgb(234, 234, 234); min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 9px; text-align: center;" valign="top"><img align="center" alt="" class="m_2602472733303876974mcnImage CToWUd a6T" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiIn9IhNXa6VqPeGCbM_KlWI0JbUKngaTpQLgbCFD_hj77flntTswrT4fFpmPPi1cH9iBaycbV_epJUgxD_NURBxyiPP8q0_wEs-ujCVw69I1eAjGztYOWBBqPxy7b4e2aRwMvq1UO-dZRrdSxnJ6asSmvvXWdNQz8XdAWXlqgL2Z3FHLXzPJB_SWABHCt_Kp2zvmZpoNI3cPUDJhyphenhyphen0zIaCwfFz=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; height: auto; max-width: 850px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" tabindex="0" width="564" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-19845097760752181932021-12-02T10:16:00.003-05:002021-12-02T10:16:24.856-05:00Coming to Term with Sacred Myths - A Thanksgiving and Hanukkah Dvar Torah<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Coming to Term with Sacred Myths </b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>A Thanksgiving and Hanukkah Dvar Torah<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-converted-space">Rabbi David Baum, November 2021</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kf0Og8rTHz3V9tYw6401bs0FOkwpVMXDc-KQytoYbvYu-iBJYBAQR2ZkOkcVqPHpbaNzA-un88AaIYaE4f3NGtGDej9L9VVJFwpfszaDrnPfJkeg0F1lkTNwqA11adu-X4eZlggR0h-K/s2048/robert-zunikoff-q8gPhy6JcSQ-unsplash+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kf0Og8rTHz3V9tYw6401bs0FOkwpVMXDc-KQytoYbvYu-iBJYBAQR2ZkOkcVqPHpbaNzA-un88AaIYaE4f3NGtGDej9L9VVJFwpfszaDrnPfJkeg0F1lkTNwqA11adu-X4eZlggR0h-K/w400-h266/robert-zunikoff-q8gPhy6JcSQ-unsplash+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@rzunikoff?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Robert Zunikoff</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/hanukkah?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As we approach the holiday of Hanukkah, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the story as to why the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was chosen as the site of the Holy Temple. There were many strategic and logical reasons that this mountain was chosen, but there is a story told in Jewish folklore that you may not be aware of. </p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Once there were two brothers who inherited a farm and worked together for years in brotherly love.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After a time, one of them found a wife, so the brothers divided up the farm. The married one built a new house and lived with his wife, while the single brother lived by himself in the old house. The brothers' farms flourished and became wealthy</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The one who had a wife eventually had a large family, ten children, but the other brother was still looking for a wife; he was alone.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One day, the unmarried brother thought to himself: "I've got this whole farm and all this money, but I only have myself to take care of. My brother has the same amount as me, but he has twelve mouths to feed." So in the middle of the night he took some bundles of wheat, climbed up the hill that separated the two farms, then over into his brother's farm - putting the wheat in his brother's silo.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One night the married brother was thinking to himself, "You know, I've got ten kids, I've got a wife. My world is rich. But my brother, he's all alone. What does he have? All he has is wheat." So, in the middle of the night, he took a bundle of wheat, climbed the hill, and carried it over to his brother's silo.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Back and forth each of the brothers went. Every night each one would climb the hill, pass over to the other side and put wheat in the other's silo. And the next morning each one always wondered, how come I have the same amount of wheat?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One night, while they were passing over to bring the other their bundles of wheat, the two brothers met at the top of the hill. And immediately they understood what had been happening. They fell into each other's arms, hugging and kissing.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It is on this site that the Almighty chose to build the Holy Temple. </p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We know through the books of Samuel and Kings how the Beit HaMikdash came to be, but this story is also told. The story is what we would call a sacred myth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I learned this concept from theologian and rabbi, Neil Gilman ,who coined the term from two non-Jewish theologians, Paul Tillich and Paul Ricoeur, but he made sure to teach us that myth did not mean that the story isn’t true. In his seminal book, Sacred Fragments, he writes, “Myths are “sublime metaphors, poetic constructs that capture dimensions of reality beyond normal experience.” They “inspire us to act in certain ways and strive for certain goals, and most important, lend infinite meaning to our lives in the here and now.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The idea that the Torah was given at Sinai, he asserted, is a myth that helps us conceptualize our lives as Jews; thinking about our sacred scriptures as all having originated in a certain place at a certain time lends coherence to our religious lives and creates an important sense of unity and order—a sacred framework—through which we can understand our voluminously diverse inherited traditions and our confusing, chaotic world.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I bring this up because of the sacred myth for the holiday that our country observed, Thanksgiving. The story we learned in grade school was of Pilgrims coming to a new land in search of religious freedom and being welcomed by the local Native American tribes, the Wampanoag tribe in particular.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Thanksgiving meal they shared together, the Natives saving the Pilgrims from death by starvation, is the sacred myth of Thanksgiving. But that myth is more complicated. The sacred myth that the Wampanoag tribe holds is much different. In 1970, the tribe said that Thanksgiving is to be a day of mourning and remembrance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One of the organizers of the event, Kisha James, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag and Oglala Lakota tribes, said, “We Native people have no reason to celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims. We want to educate people so that they understand the stories we all learned in school about the first Thanksgiving are nothing but lies. Wampanoag and other Indigenous people have certainly not lived happily ever after since the arrival of the Pilgrims. To us, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning, because we remember the millions of our ancestors who were murdered by uninvited European colonists such as the Pilgrims. Today, we and many Indigenous people around the country say, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/11/25/1059212893/native-american-tribes-are-gathering-in-plymouth-to-mourn-on-thanksgiving"><span class="s1" style="color: #073a6c;">'No Thanks, No Giving.'”</span></a></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It is harsh to read, and whenever we challenge our sacred myths, we have a visceral reaction. There are some who say that revisiting these nuanced tellings is yet another example of cancel culture. I think the real issue is about losing the sacred myth - what do we do when the story we hold turns out not to be the story that actually happened?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let’s apply this to the next holiday we will observe - Hanukkah.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Take a moment and tell yourself the story of Hanukkah and why we kindle the lights. Undoubtedly, you likely told the story of the miracle of the oil that was found in the Holy Temple. I will explain why this is problematic in a minute, but first, we must delve deeper into how the rabbis dealt with this holiday and problematic narratives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Rabbis of the Talmud barely mention the holiday of Hanukkah, but it comes up in a discussion of holiday candles.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But the Rabbi’s introduce it in an interesting way (BT Talmud Shabbat 21b) - they ask the question: What is Hanukkah? Mai Hanukkah? On a surface level, they are asking the question, why do we kindle lights on Hanukkah. The Gemara explains, and they tell the story of the Hasmonean victory over the Assyrians and the purification of the Temple. So far, this is a heavily redacted version of the book of the Maccabees, but they add something else - the miracle of the oil.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here’s the interesting thing - if I ask you what the miracle of Hanukkah is, you will say, without hesitation, the miracle of the oil, but the Gemara tells the story of the victory as well, which was the miracle for the Jews living after the Hanukkah story.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But the real story of Hanukkah is one of civil war - of Jewish brothers, traditionalists on one side and Jewish Hellenists on the other side, battling each other until the Jewish Hellenists brought the Assyrians in to fight the traditionalists. The Maccabees, against all odds, win their independence and the battle for Israel’s soul, but that dream turned into a nightmare. After they seized power, the Hasmoneans who fought against Hellenism, eventually became influenced by Hellenism. They slid into civil war again, and the beginning of the end came when one of the descendants of the Hasmoneans brought Rome in to protect them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And while the revolt worked for the Hasmoneans against the Assyrians, the revolt that happened hundreds of years later against the Romans ended in the destruction of the Temple, the murder of 2/3 of the Jewish people, and the beginning of the exile.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The rabbis knew this and they knew the dangers of fomenting future revolt; they didn’t erase the story, rather, they added a different element - the miracle of the oil and the introduction of Hanukkah as the festival of lights.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The focus became based on light and miracles which are both deeply Jewish ideas grounded in our texts. Out of all the miracles that are in the Tanach, a miracle of everlasting oil doesn’t seem to be even in the top 10, but this secondary sacred myth, even if it was factually true, was necessary for our people at the time, and today.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The story of the oil gave us the strength and faith that the Jewish people could keep the flame of the Beit HaMikdash alive wherever we lived in the world, especially in our homes which became the centerpiece of the holiday, and in the heart of every Jew who lived in exile. That flame kindled every year brought us back to our land where, once again, we are under our own rule.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As I reflect on the sacred myth of Thanksgiving, I actually think we should add another story to it - the story of how Thanksgiving actually began as a national holiday in 1863. It was the height of the Civil War, and although President Abraham Lincoln knew there was more bloodshed to come, he knew that the north would be victorious and the country would be physically reunited. But how would they spiritually reunite?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In a proclamation, Lincoln asked all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Personally, I find this story more inspiring as the basis for this wonderful American holiday. Lincoln needed a story to help people understand what it would mean for two bitter enemies to lay down their arms and come together in Thanksgiving. The Civil War was the beginning of the acknowledgment that different peoples, especially slaves who came here and were freed, had an equal stake in this land. It was this country that reunified that brought millions of Jewish refugees in, and yet, we must also hold the sacred myth of other peoples who were not welcomed but oppressed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce nation, who lived from 1840 - 1904, once said, “if the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace…treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On this Thanksgiving weekend, I am grateful for the gifts granted to us, grateful for the complicated stories that inspire us because of their complexities and hope, and grateful that we have work to do as a country to ensure that we hear all stories, especially the painful ones because they help us become a perfect union.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-41660223423843786912021-10-15T11:14:00.008-04:002021-10-21T10:21:38.569-04:00Truth and Lies - The Holocaust<h1 style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Truth and Lies - The Holocaust </span></b></h1><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">A response to a recent incident where a top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southlake-texas-holocaust-books-schools-rcna2965?fbclid=IwAR1gYWlCVXNCCFwxg90xHPTyPpGzjV9uQ-pdXbaYzPu_-NC7-EUVSrM2SXE" target="_blank">You can read more about the story on NBC News. </a></span></i></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gina Peddy, the Carroll school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, was caught on audio saying, "Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,” Peddy said in the recording, referring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust,” Peddy continued, “that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”<br />“How do you oppose the Holocaust?” one teacher said in response. “Believe me,” Peddy said. “That’s come up.”<br />What was her motivation here? Was it about House Bill 3979 and fear from the Texas legislature/governor? Was it about entertaining conspiracy theorists who demand that there be room for their 'alternative facts' (that's code for lies) in the curriculum? Is she hiding behind 'that's come up' to hide her own doubts about the Holocaust? Or is Holocaust education so bad in the U.S. that she had no idea what it was?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlLKPxipOEsMB-dnT54vhqnRl_yhlSXJ4DUaG_lykDkoBgv28eMsysLyZmO_DrvgXNcWCdLzqaLkC4WrZbK8snNcgYHtJsRala2wwZxNdz9ABeIXMKtbwCzinN6Zyuol-FKLmZxzYPQCq/s1920/Ben+Frances.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlLKPxipOEsMB-dnT54vhqnRl_yhlSXJ4DUaG_lykDkoBgv28eMsysLyZmO_DrvgXNcWCdLzqaLkC4WrZbK8snNcgYHtJsRala2wwZxNdz9ABeIXMKtbwCzinN6Zyuol-FKLmZxzYPQCq/s320/Ben+Frances.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">We take the truth about the Holocaust for granted. Ben Ferencz, who came to be known as the prosecutor of Nuremberg, was instrumental (arguably singularly) in bringing many of the horrors of the Holocaust to light. He prosecuted numerous Nazis and exposed their lies. There was one part of the movie, Prosecuting Evil Movie, that relates to this issue. There was one German officer that Ferencz had a little bit of pity for. The officer was sentenced to death, and Ferencz visited him in his cell to ask if he wanted him to deliver a message to his wife and children before his execution. Instead of giving him a message to give to his family, he told him the same thing he had been telling the courts: Hitler told us that the Jews were a fifth column to be used by the Communists who were plotting to take over, that they would kill us all if they won, so, you seen, we had to murder 6 million Jews! Ferencz shook his head in disgust and left the room. The Nazi was executed, death by hanging, shortly after. Think about this - the man could have said goodbye to his children, and instead, he chose to perpetuate a lie…sorry, I meant, ‘the other side’.</div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, a rabbinic work, we read the following about truth and lies. The text takes the Hebrew words for truth, emet, and lie, sheker, and looks at them alphabetically. Emet contains the letters Alef (the first letter) Mem (a letter roughly in the middle) and Taf (the last letter) but Sheker (Shin Kuf Reish) are all bunched together in the middle. Truth has three legs to stand on, but lies only have one. When you put a lie to the test, it falls pretty quickly. The midrash says that same thing about truthful actions: they stand firm, while actions based on lies fall.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />We need to have a serious conversation about Emet, Truth, and we have to be careful about saying, “well, that’s my truth” for everything. The lies that permeated Nazi Germany and the world led to the murder of my great-grandparents, my great-aunts and uncles and cousins, along with six million Jews. The lies have led to the persecution of Jews throughout time. Lies are seductive - they tell us what we want to hear; truth is a bit harsher but necessary - truth tells us what we need to hear.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />I hope and pray that Gina Peddy is reprimanded for her actions, but that it will solve the age-old problem of the lies that perpetuate society. We must be truth-tellers, we must hold people accountable even when it is inconvenient, like Ben Ferencz who should be viewed as one of the greatest Jewish and non-Jewish heroes of all time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />I would love to hear your open and honest words. Opinions are welcome, but lies are not. The Holocaust happened, and if you’re looking for the ‘opposing view’, it could be found on the hangman’s noose in Nuremberg.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-64576229868317645342021-10-13T14:11:00.001-04:002021-10-13T14:18:09.808-04:00 The Power of the Tower: How Facebook Became Our New Tower of Babel©<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">The Power of the Tower: How Facebook Became Our New Tower of Babel©</b></span></h1><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Rabbi David Baum</b></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TWwo-OvXSvXmVLsl88kFMyQqxvC3cEr0wqlK3xUsAUbfFP71GjhX78WB44hfPyKf06NE50hmy1-5zxbok8WuQh3REcRyT93mIeeIXQfgcolNE3M9g3ebJjEgo74HPMC_Hg5iRJYG_hJt/s2048/ben-vaughn-2V_MFVKGpik-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1497" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TWwo-OvXSvXmVLsl88kFMyQqxvC3cEr0wqlK3xUsAUbfFP71GjhX78WB44hfPyKf06NE50hmy1-5zxbok8WuQh3REcRyT93mIeeIXQfgcolNE3M9g3ebJjEgo74HPMC_Hg5iRJYG_hJt/w293-h400/ben-vaughn-2V_MFVKGpik-unsplash.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ben_vaughn_189?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ben Vaughn</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/cell-phone-tower?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The direction of humanity changed forever on a day that few of us realize.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On July 16, 1945, a team of scientists and engineers watched the first successful atomic bomb explosion at the Trinity test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The team, dubbed “The Manhattan Project,” had been secretly developing the weapon at the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.history.com/news/father-of-the-atomic-bomb-was-blacklisted-for-opposing-h-bomb" target="_blank">Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer,</a> the director of the laboratory and so-called “father of the atomic bomb,” watched from afar that morning as the bomb released a mushroom cloud 40,000 feet high. His description of that moment has since become famous:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">He quoted the Bhagavad-Gita, Hindu scripture: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only time nuclear bombs were used in war as a weapon, Oppenheimer, who was instrumental in creating this new weapon, many of the scientists who were part of the Manhattan Project, began to question what they had done. Oppenheimer realized that this new technology, needed to stop Hitler who really could have taken over the world, could lead to the future destruction of humanity. Following the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer openly opposed the creation of the Hydrogen Bomb, an even more powerful and deadlier bomb, and began working with U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to control the use of nuclear weapons. His opposition to the H bomb cost him his livelihood, as he was blacklisted during the McCarthy error.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sYB9_kExFEw" width="320" youtube-src-id="sYB9_kExFEw"></iframe></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nuclear power is neither inherently good or evil; it is a tool. It has the potential to create clean energy for all, but also to destroy humanity.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In 2021, the threat of nuclear destruction is much less on our minds than in the 1950’s, when children would practice hiding under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack on the U.S., but we are grappling with another invention that has the same potential to destroy or create: the internet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There is no Trinity test moment for us when someone we acknowledged when the internet era began, but I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg had the foresight of Oppenheimer when he created Facebook. When it was created 2004, in a college dorm room at Harvard, it was a tool to check out other students and rate their looks, which is sort of an Ivy League tradition when they sent out an annual book of everyone’s picture. But it quickly grew to serve another purpose. Zuckerberg said, “Yeah, well, I never started this to build a company. Ten years ago, you know, I was just trying to help connect people at colleges and a few schools. That was a basic need, where I looked around at the Internet and there were services for a lot of things that you wanted.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It was meant to connect people, but as we learned this week in hearings on Capitol Hill by a whistle-blower from the company, Facebook makes more money when people disconnect from each other, and when the user can potentially harm themselves. The more hate speech, divisive content, and disinformation, the more time we spend on Facebook.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I will never forget attending a seminar on 21st-century communication. The presenter began her presentation with the following: “Facebook is not the product, you are.” What she meant was, you think you are using Facebook, but really, Facebook is using you. Instagram, a picture-based social network owned by Facebook, knowingly tailored their platform to get more teenage girls to join, and they did this by developing features that caused them to develop negative feelings about their bodies. There is evidence that this led to the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/04/tech/instagram-facebook-eating-disorders/index.html">proliferation of eating disorders amongst this population</a>.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It is time for us to acknowledge the importance of this moment, to have Oppenheimer’s eye for the future, and the foresight to fight for a brighter future.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In this week’s parashah, we read the short story that is known throughout the world: the story of the Tower of Babel, which we read today. There’s an interesting connection to the first part of the parashah, the story of Noah and the destruction of most of humanity, and the tower of Babel. In Hebrew, the deluge that destroys humanity is called the Mabul <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">מבּול</span> and the word, <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">בבל</span>. God destroys the world during the Mabul, but promises that God will never again destroy humanity. God, however, does not promise that no one will destroy humanity. In this respect, God gives us the power over our species fate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Tower of Babel story begins like the story of Oppenheimer and Zuckerberg. In Genesis 11:4, we read the Tower’s purpose:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;">וַיֹּאמְרוּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הָבָה <span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נִבְנֶה־לָּנוּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עִיר<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וּמִגְדָּל<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְרֹאשׁוֹ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַשָּׁמַיִם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנַעֲשֶׂה־לָּנוּ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שֵׁם<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>פֶּן־נָפוּץ<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עַל־פְּנֵי<span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כ<span class="s3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><i>ׇל־הָאָרֶץ׃</i></b></span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Radak, Rabbi David Kimchi (1160–1235 - France) says that the purpose was to build a home for weary Nomads. The height of the tower would enable shepherds to keep track of their flocks and would serve as a beacon for other shepherds to join them. Kimchi explains that the desire to make ‘a name for ourselves’ was a way to perpetuate the city lifestyle over the Nomadic nature of humanity at the time. It was meant to change humanity for the better.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is the world of John Lennon’s Imagine: a world without division, where everyone is the same, where we speak the same language, worship the same God, or no God at all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This idea of uniformity in all things is actually the motivation for many of the most horrific dictators and emperors in time. Even Hitler did not look at his acts as evil; they were necessary steps that needed to be taken in order to bring world peace, and unity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Tower of Babel had its own human creator, an Emperor named Nimrod. Nimrod, the grandson of Noah, is introduced as the first man of might (a <i>gibor</i> or hero) on earth. According to the Midrash, he was a mighty hunter, he was gifted the clothes that Adam and Eve wore in the garden of Eden, and he developed a following.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With the tool of intelligence which led to new technology, Nimrod changes the intention of the tower. The rabbis say that Nimrod did this all to promote idolatry, the worship of other gods, but there are no other gods mentioned in this story. I propose that the gods are actually us, human beings, and he was at the center of us all. He was meant to be the god.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">During the construction of the Tower, Nimrod perpetuated the idea that bricks were more important than people. The Midrash (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 24) teaches that when a man fell down and died, no one really paid attention, but if one brick fell down, they would sit and weep and say:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Oy to us, when will another one be hauled up to take its place.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Bricks over people was arguably his greatest sin.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">It is interesting to note that Zuckerberg used to end his meetings with his staff with the words: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/is-facebook-putting-company-over-country-new-book-explores-its-role-in-misinformation" target="_blank">Company over country.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Facebook’s greatest sin is profits over people.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Whether we acknowledge it or not, we have built a new Tower of Babel. The internet spawned Facebook and social media. This week, we learned that Facebook is not inherently neutral; the company is in control of how it can be used. For years, we thought we as the users of Facebook were to blame; but the architects and the Nimrods who own created them have more power than we had possibly imagined. In recent years, we have learned that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html" target="_blank">Facebook has led to the perpetuation of the genocide of the Rohingya people in Burma</a>, it has led to tearing our Democracy apart, and damaging relationships between families and friends. It has siloed us, leading us to only want to hear the speech or viewpoints on the world that we want to hear, the views that support our own preconceived notions of the world. Through its attempt to bring the world together, the platform has torn us apart.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This time, God isn’t here to tear the tower down. It is up to us, to our leaders in government, but also to each one of us. We must recognize the power of the internet and social media. We have a choice to use this new tool for good or evil, for-profit or for the betterment of humanity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I will end with another vision for the future. It is from a group called the Internet Society. Their vision: the internet is for everyone. They say that the Internet is a place of possibility and opportunity. It is where we collaborate and innovate for a better world. Where we share our hopes and strengthen our bonds. It is where we work, learn, and make progress.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Their goal is to empower people to keep the Internet a force for good: open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is our challenge. The sin wasn’t building the tower; the sin was how we used the tower.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We must keep this in mind as we have almost unimaginable power in our hands, as Oppenheimer realized on July 16, 1945. We can follow God’s path of creation, not destruction, of unity without uniformity, and where the dignity of human life is more precious than any brick, algorithm or dollar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-53034072085582252662021-09-17T11:25:00.003-04:002021-09-17T11:33:06.948-04:00 Tell Me About the God You Don’t Believe In© - Yom Kippur 2021/5782<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">Tell Me About the God You Don’t Believe In©</b></span></h1><div><b style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> Rabbi David Baum - Yom Kippur 2021/5782</b></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rYxI0xwkrdxjSOvOinYZHKls1NX4-LOoVfIYP8JgFXxawZFMnAjfXdgWi3UNr1nKsSqUP1GHNcB9hSYuAZhZW7ngDhcb_WIWIl3wyJMGWbmKIyFzNscZInHja3a6sMEvM-tkKrKkWoZM/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1843" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rYxI0xwkrdxjSOvOinYZHKls1NX4-LOoVfIYP8JgFXxawZFMnAjfXdgWi3UNr1nKsSqUP1GHNcB9hSYuAZhZW7ngDhcb_WIWIl3wyJMGWbmKIyFzNscZInHja3a6sMEvM-tkKrKkWoZM/w640-h200/calvin-craig-y8b001e2bs0-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@_calvincraig?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Calvin Craig</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/michelangelo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/607504456" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Click Here for the Video of the Sermon </span></a></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This year marks my 13th year as rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Kodesh. Sometimes, it seems like ages ago, sometimes, just like yesterday. There are some moments I’ve experienced here that stick with me though; some rebbes in our congregation that continue to teach me even though you spoke these words long ago.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Today, I recall one situation, the first Shiva I led at Shaarei Kodesh. One of our families lost a sibling; a relatively young woman who left three young children behind. On the last day of Shiva, as we stepped out of the home to begin our walk around the block, the walk that mourner’s take at the end of Shiva, the woman’s sibling said, “Rabbi, how could God have allowed this to happen?” I blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “I don’t know.” She answered, “Rabbi, I know it’s your first shiva, but you really should have a better answer.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Honestly, I am glad I didn’t have the answer. Shiva houses are not the place to opine on the nature of God. The most important thing you can do at a shiva is to be a comforting presence for others, to be silent and listen rather than fill the air with the events of the day or theological diatribes. But shiva eventually ends, and we must walk back into the world. Eventually, we have to search for answers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When I am asked that question, especially after a great tragedy, I answer the question with a question: can tell me about the God you don’t believe in? I cannot take credit for this witty response. It came from one of the greatest teachers of Jewish theology in recent memory: Rabbi Neil Gilman of blessed memory. He began our theology class with the question, can you tell me about the God you don’t believe in?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I bring this up today for several reasons. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, but it is also a day when we ponder life’s most challenging mysteries. On Yom Kippur, we experience our death day. Like the person on their death bed, we say the Vidui/confessional prayer. When we confront our deaths, we also confront our view of God, but the God that we think we believe in, the God of our childhood, doesn’t really work for us now. The all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing God - it’s a God that we want so desperately to believe in because it helps us make sense of the chaos of the world. But that God doesn’t really work for some of the experiences we have.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Think back to the first thing you question you others when you hear someone was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer: “Were they a smoker? They must have been, only way it makes sense.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When you hear someone got Covid: "Were they careful?”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When someone died of Covid: “Were the elderly? Did they have pre-existing conditions?”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">All of these questions we ask ourselves are ways of coping with these age-old questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does one person die while another lives? What control do I have in this world?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And if I can find those answers, then maybe I’ll be protected.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is the Unetaneh Tokef prayer in a nutshell; trying to understand the unfathomable. Are our fates sealed, or can we change them?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">An all-powerful, all -nowing and all-good God would not give a person who never smoked in their lives, who took care of their bodies, get cancer. A just and good God would not let righteous people suffer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And we think that Judaism requires us to believe in that God, and if we don’t, well, we just aren’t believers. For those of us who experienced these tragedies, as all of us will in our lives, we cope in different ways. We either change our worldview to fit into the box we think Judaism has for these answers. God is in full control; everything happens for a reason.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Or we reject God and Judaism altogether.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Or we just say, now’s not the right time, which might be true, and we file it away for a time when we are ready…but we are never ready, are we?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We want answers, and when they don’t come easily, we think that there are no answers. So we distract ourselves with everything we can. And here’s the thing - we can still be good Jews that pass on Judaism to the next generation. We might even go to shul every Shabbat, but we come to speak to Goldstein, not God. The modern state of Israel owes its existence to young Jews who rejected God, not the Ultra-Orthodox who kept the view of the unchanging God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I will never forget the first grade I received in my theology class in rabbinical school. Rabbi Gillman asked us to explain how God could allow the Tsunami in 2005 which killed over 200,000 people in Indonesia. I wrote a beautiful paper on how humans were to blame, not God. Had Indonesia had a better system to address income inequality, 200,000 people would not be living in shacks so close to the beach. I thought it was brilliant. When I got the paper back, he gave me a big F with a comment, “You let God off the hook. Do it over.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I really let myself off the hook by avoiding an uncomfortable and inconvenient truth: my view of God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Yom Kippur asks us to dig deeper. As we are all, in a sense, on a different spiritual level, we don’t need the distractions of this world today, we can ponder life’s mysteries.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We are not the first generation to experience the heartbreak of the world, and ask, where is God?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There was once a rabbi in the Talmud, he was one of the smartest rabbis of the second Temple period, the rabbis who literally wrote the Mishnah and the Talmud. Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya was one of Rabbi Akiva’s star pupils, but the Talmud (Masechet Hagigah) tells a story of when his life changed and his name. Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya was a rarity in those days - he was both a Torah scholar and a scholar of Greek philosophy and logic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Milton Steinberg of blessed memory, a Conservative rabbi who led Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, wrote about this rabbi and the other rabbis of the Talmud in his book, <span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">As A Driven Leaf</span>, a must-read for everyone. In the book, he re-tells a story of when Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya lost his faith, and gained another name, Acher, the other. The story is about the little-known mitzvah of Shiluach HaKein, the sending away of the mother bird in order to get her eggs. This mitzvah has a distinction that only one other mitzvah has - if you do this, you will live a long life on the land that God promised you.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The rabbis are learning Torah in the field, debating about this obscure mitzvah and its reward. Suddenly, they notice a man say to a boy, “get all the eggs, my son, but be careful to send the mother bird away.” The boy follows his father's instructions and climbs the tree.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One of the rabbis says, “That boy will love long - he’s observing two mitzvoth at once, honor your father and mother, and sending the mother bird away, and they both have the same reward, a long life!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A few moments they hear the fluttering of the wings of the bird, and then a scream so loud it shook the world. The rabbis rush to the scene, and they see the father holding his lifeless son. The father looks at them in utter shock: “Rabbis, is my son alive.” One of the rabbis checks, and says, “Baruch Dayan HaEmet - Blessed by the Righteous Judge,” the words of blessing we say after a death.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Eventually, the rabbis leave the father as he takes his now lifeless son home. The rabbis start their debate again, but Rabbi Elisha cannot continue.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One of the rabbis exclaims, “He will have his length of days in the world to come. God is just. It is hard to understand but let us remember that there is a better world, in which it is all day, a day that stretches for eternity.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But something changed in Elisha - the last bit of belief in God that he had ebbed away. As the rabbis droned on and on, he silenced them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With a terrible quiet in his voice he said, “It is all a lie. There is no reward. There is no judge. There is no judgment. For there is no God.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya left the Jewish world at that moment. He was given the name Acher, the other. To me, Rabbi Elisha’s sin was not questioning God, but walking away from God altogether.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The rabbis blamed Acher for leading others astray, but, perhaps the rabbis also have some share of the blame. They let him walk away; they did not help him struggle with the nature of God. They did not allow him to return.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor who shared the horrors of Auschwitz with his beautiful prose, wrote about an experience he had with his fellow prisoners. From this experience, he wrote a play called the Trial of God. They set up a Beit Din, three prisoners who served as the judges. Night after night, they called up witnesses for the prosecution of God, and defense of God. Finally, the Beit Din gave their verdict: God is guilty as charged.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And then, there was a silence. The head of the Beit Din in the barrack rose and said, “and now, let us pray Maariv, the evening service.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Wiesel taught us all that there is no sin in question God, in struggling with God and the world God created; no sin in doubting God. The sin is walking away from God and community.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Today, on Yom Kippur, we think that we are on trial, but God is also on trial.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev used to say that the most meaningful prayer and dialogue with God he ever heard was when he heard a poor, simple tailor in his town say the following words in front of the Holy Ark before Yom Kippur . . . "Dear God, I know that I have sinned in the past year. There were times when I spoke badly of others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>There were times when I did not fix and mend a suit or dress as well as I could have.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>There were times I may have even shortchanged a customer . . . I have sinned.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But look at what you have done in the past year, dear Lord.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>You have caused such grief. You have made so many sick.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So many became widows and widowers because of you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So many suffered sleepless nights because of your actions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So, I’ll make a deal with you, God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>You forgive me, and I'll forgive you!" <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Today is about doubt and fear, but it is also about turning back to God and struggling with God. Today, we begin our journey toward God by challenging God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This year, I will be teaching a theology class called, Tell Me About The God You Don’t Believe In. During our class, we will struggle with these issues - If God is all good, why does God allow evil to occur? How can we reconcile the Big Bang and the creation story in the Bible? But I also want to hear your questions, and together, we will try and find some answers. Together, we will struggle, and together, we will find the balance between faith and reason.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">At the end of the book, Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya is walking with his former student, Rabbi Meir, who tragically lost all of his children to plague, on Yom Kippur. They were riding horses, and Elisha notices that are coming to the city limit. From that point on, if Rabbi Meir kept riding his horse, he would be in violation of Jewish law. Elisha had no such qualms, but he warned his former student and friend, “Here is the Sabbath limit you must not go farther. It is time for you to turn back.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Meir, longing to bring his teacher back, seizes upon his words: “Master, you, too. Even as it is written, ‘Turn back, turn back, my wayward children.’”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Acher looks back at him and says, “It is too late, how could I live where I am so hated? I am shut off from returning as though a voice from heaven has proclaimed, “All may repent, except for Elisha Ben Abuya. No, I cannot return.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But Acher was wrong. We can always turn back, we can always return.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To Rabbi Steinberg, Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya was a stand-in for all of his congregants who were hurt by the God they thought they believed in. They were hurt much that they wrote that God out of their story.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Communities like Congregation Shaarei Kodesh are not for the staunch believers who are so sure of the nature of God that they have no questions or doubts. Together, we can fill the room with our questions, our doubts, our hopes and our dreams. Together, we can feel the presence of God as we comfort mourners, as we celebrate simchas, and we can feel the presence of God when we challenge God together.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This last year and a half has been like none other during my 13 years. We had no choice but to turn people away from physically entering our sanctuary, and now, we cannot all physically be together. But we have an obligation to return, BECAUSE of these once in a generation experiences.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Our community plays a vital role; we welcome everyone in, especially the doubters, especially those who are angry and hurt by God. We must listen, study, and struggle together.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Some of us think we are the only ones stuck in a dark room with no way out. We are scared to talk about our doubts lest we lose our place. But our tradition teaches otherwise. All of us doubt, all of us struggle, it is inevitable, but loneliness is a choice.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now is the time to return from exile.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To struggle, to doubt, to learn, and to heal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We can always turn back, we can always return.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-1463062224812977162021-09-17T11:12:00.006-04:002021-09-17T11:31:39.926-04:00The Evening of Second Chances© - Kol Nidre 2021/5782<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Evening of Second Chances© <br />Kol Nidre 2021/5782</h1><p style="text-align: center;">Rabbi David Baum</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI-DuAwtjNiAGeAjEwdZnUFCn2e9uHJnuB398pM3qbhej47iNoecwapAOt9zKRgs39ooTXj5x9nsbcLo4luKB6DEvX7xxjhN1LAJ_PWMJjUpe3D63bkvHuTJPORW-6Y6GrSX_DqiCi0yh/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI-DuAwtjNiAGeAjEwdZnUFCn2e9uHJnuB398pM3qbhej47iNoecwapAOt9zKRgs39ooTXj5x9nsbcLo4luKB6DEvX7xxjhN1LAJ_PWMJjUpe3D63bkvHuTJPORW-6Y6GrSX_DqiCi0yh/w640-h426/jason-rosewell-ASKeuOZqhYU-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jasonrosewell?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jason Rosewell</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sing?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/607497547" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Click here for the Video of the Sermon</span></a></div><p></p><p>When I was 12 years old, my parents signed me up for our synagogue’s first ever children’s choir. I’ll never forget being with my peers on the bimah with our Hazan, the huge empty sanctuary in front of us. We went through some songs, and the Cantor felt something wasn’t right. </p><p>Everyone’s voice was really high, as they should have been at that age, but there was one really deep voice that threw everyone off. That deep voice was mine, because, I had this voice when I was 12 years old. </p><p>When salesmen would call the house, I would say, let me get my dad, and they would always say, aren’t you the man of the house? Unfortunately, my voice was too deep for a children’s choir. The Cantor pulled me aside at the end of the session and said, “I’m sorry David, I just don’t know what to do with you; your voice is just too deep,” and with that, he sent me home. </p><p>I walked into my house that evening with a big smile on my face. My parents asked, “how was your first day of choir?” I proudly answered, “It was great, the Cantor kicked me out! So I guess that’s the end of my music career. No more choirs for me.” </p><p>I hit the end of the road for my singing career, or so I thought at the time. </p><p>That all changed this summer. During my mini-sabbatical, I spent a month at Camp Ramah Darom, and another Cantor approached me, “Rabbi, want to join our staff choir?” I told her about my short choir career, and she looked at me in shock: “how could your Cantor have kicked out a bass?!? We need you!” </p><p>I do need to say one thing though: Cantor Hadash, do not worry, I learned that my voice isn’t the voice of an angel, and I’m not going to Cantorial school. </p><p>But my second chance with Jewish singing, something I left behind so many years ago, reminded me of this evening - Kol Nidre, but not just because of the beautiful and haunting tune that we cannot help but sing with the Cantor every year.</p><p>On Kol Nidre, we struggle with the promises we make. This service was meant to forgive ourselves for the promises we made but couldn’t keep. But the rabbis didn’t really like this idea, so they changed it to the promises we will make in the coming year.</p><p>Kol Nidre is our statement - we believe in second chances, especially for ourselves. </p><p>Last week, during the Torah service, I spoke about giving others a second chance - I used Hagar and Abraham’s relationship as an example. Mishnah Yoma teaches us, the sins between God and human are forgiven on Yom Kippur, but the sins between each other are not forgiven until we seek our fellow human out and make amends. That was the work of the last week, Teshuvah, repentance, and we should continue that work every day of the year. </p><p>But on Yom Kippur, I want us to focus on something we don’t talk about enough - our relationship with God and our tradition, and the times we swore off parts of our Jewish soul because of a bad experience, or because Judaism can be seemingly daunting and complicated. </p><p>This evening can teach us about second chances, especially after this year and a half when we put off so many things for later, or simply gave up on them. </p><p>But it hasn’t been just this year. It seems like more and more people tell me, I want to read Torah one day, I want to start coming to shul on Shabbat, but I just don’t know enough. It’s too late for me - you should talk to someone else. My answer to them - I cannot accept the answer that the door is shut forever, but can you at least say, not yet? </p><p>I had a profound ‘not yet’ moment years ago when I was a rabbinical student interning at the University of Florida Hillel. The director asked me to sit on a panel of campus religious leaders - a pastor, a rabbinical student, and a rather charismatic atheist.</p><p>A young man came up to me afterward. He told me why he was there - his roommate asked him to come to listen to one of his teachers who happened to be the Pastor. The young man was Jewish, but he didn’t really know anything about being Jewish. He told me that he grew up in a completely secular household. He had no memories of Shabbat and holiday dinners or going to synagogue. </p><p>When he came to college, his roommate invited him on the first day they met to join him on Friday night at the student union. At the Union, he was surrounded by kids his age, and free pizza! They even went bowling, and then, after that, they sat in a circle and read the Bible. What he didn’t know until a couple of Friday nights of hanging out with his roomate was that his roomate was a very active member of the Campus Crusade for Christ. After a couple of weeks, he was confused - who am I? </p><p>After the panel, I thought I failed miserably. There were some answers I just didn’t have, and the other panelists were just so confidant in their answers. I was ready to head back to Hillel, kippah in hand, to tell my new supervisor that I let him down. </p><p>But the young man felt otherwise. He thanked me for reminding him of his identity, but he was still confused - where do I belong? That’s when I invited him to Hillel on Friday night. I told him, “I don’t have all the answers to life’s deepest questions; I’m just a rabbinical student, but I do have a place at our table. Do you want to join us?” </p><p>He answered, “I don’t know - I’m just so ashamed I know so little about Judaism. I think it's too late for me.” So I told him the following story:</p><p>There was a guy around your age who was brought up in a home just like yours. Growing up, he didn’t have Shabbat dinners, keep kosher, or really do anything that one would think a Jewish family would do. He was Jewish, but he barely knew it. </p><p>As a young man, he told his parents: “We are Christians in all things, we live in a Christian state, go to Christian schools, read Christian books, our whole culture is based on a Christian foundation.”</p><p>He knew something was missing in his life, but he just couldn’t figure it out.</p><p>Then he went to University, just like you. At the University, he became friends with people who were so sure they had the answers that he was seeking. His own cousins converted to Christianity and they persuaded him that he would be able to find the peace, purpose and faith he was looking for in Christianity. He was so convinced by the arguments, he announced to his parents that he intended to convert, but before taking this final step, he decided to visit a synagogue on Yom Kippur, and give Judaism one last chance.</p><p>In 1913, this young man visited a shul/synagogue in Berlin, Germany on the holiest night of the year, Kol Nidre. As he walked in, he heard familiar tunes from his childhood. The words, the tune, the Jews he was surrounded by who welcomed him in - everything came together for him. He had no idea what was happening to him - suddenly, his heart was opening, and something, or maybe someone, was filling it up. </p><p>It was at that moment that he realized that he had to give Judaism a second chance. </p><p>He was so sure of his future before that evening. He had an appointment at the local church for a baptism, but he broke that promise.</p><p>A few days later, he wrote a letter to his cousin who was to sponsor his baptism: “I am sorry to disappoint you, dear cousin, but I am remaining a Jew.”</p><p>I told this young man, “95 years ago, a young man named Franz Rosenzweig walked in your shoes. After that evening, he began a journey that led to him becoming one of the most celebrated Jewish religious thinkers of the 20th century. he published several important books on major aspects of Jewish thought and together with Martin Buber, he translated the Bible in modern German. He changed thousands of lives of young people who were searching for something, just like him, when he created The Free Jewish House of Jewish Teaching, which became a model for reaching out to young Jews like him who lost their way.” </p><p>I warned him though, it didn’t happen overnight. During that period of rediscovery of his roots, Rosenzweig realized he had a lot to learn. As he began his Jewish journey, a friend asked him if he was praying with tefillin every morning during those early days. </p><p>He answered immediately: “Not yet.”</p><p>It wasn't a smart aleck answer. He wasn’t avoiding the question either.</p><p>He felt that he was not yet ready to take upon himself the Mitzvah of putting on Tefilin, but he did not rule out the possibility of arriving at that point one day. </p><p>So I said to this young man, “you’re not alone - you are a part of a wonderful tradition of young Jews who are searching for something outside, who are intimated by our many books and mitzvoth, but if you can just give our people another chance, if you can give the God of Israel a second chance, if you can give your Jewish soul a second chance, if you can say, ‘not yet’ when someone asks if you can do this, who knows what the future holds not just for you, but for our people.”</p><p>Honestly, I don’t know where that young man is today, but I know this - he came to Hillel that Friday night for services and Shabbat dinner. </p><p>Judaism can be daunting, but if we can just give Judaism another chance, if we can just say ‘not yet’, then maybe we can change ourselves, and the world.</p><p>As we all contemplate the things we swore we would never do again because of a bad experience we had, especially the Jewish experiences, let’s also remember that tonight is about second chances. </p><p>And when the task is too daunting, we can say, not yet, but one day. </p><p>On this day, I want each of us to think about our Jewish bucket list - the Jewish things we want to accomplish this year, and together, we will help each other with our second chances. </p><p>This year, I’ll be starting a new program called Spreading Torah, the Rabbi Hiyya Challenge. The challenge is named after a famous Talmudic rabbi who, when faced with the end of Torah on earth, brought it back by teaching Torah to Jews who knew nothing about Judaism. Not only did they learn Torah, but they also learned how to teach Torah to other children. And that is how they saved Judaism from disappearing. </p><p>For those who were told by their Cantors growing up, they just can’t carry a tune, or told by their rabbi that giving a dvar torah just isn’t in the cards for you, this challenge is for you. </p><p>I hope you consider being part of this new challenge and giving yourself a second chance.</p><p>There is another essential element needed to give others a second chance that I haven’t made explicitly clear. </p><p>What would have happened to Rosenzweig had there not been a shul singing Kol Nidre? </p><p>That’s why we need you, each and every one of you. Judaism is the only faith that requires a quorum, in other words, a community for the full expression of our prayers.</p><p>If we are not here singing together, learning together, living Jewish life together, there is no chance for the Franz Rosenzweig of 2021 to find their second chance. </p><p>So, you’re probably waiting for me to serenade you all in a moving Cantorial piece. Unfortunately, I have to say, not yet. But it’s not because I’m not ready, but it’s because, right now, communal singing isn't the safest thing to do because of Covid. But I hope in a year from tonight, we have a singing team, not a choir, at Shaarei Kodesh. I hope that this new singing team, with people who never thought they'd be a part, will lift all of our voices. </p><p>I never thought I’d be on that singing team, but after this summer, I realized I can have a second chance. </p><p>I’m not the only rabbi who had a secret desire to sing my heart out. We call our greatest prophet Moshe Rabbenu, but on the last day of his life, in his Moses 120th year, Moses wasn't a rabbi - he was a Cantor. The last time he sang was right after his people crossed the Sea of Reeds 40 years earlier. You can hear that song, Moses’s final words, this Shabbat at Shaarei Kodesh when we read parashat Haazinu. </p><p style="text-align: center;">הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וַאֲדַבֵּרָה {ס} וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִי׃ </p><p style="text-align: center;">Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;</p><p style="text-align: center;">Let the earth hear the words I utter!</p><p style="text-align: center;">Imagine how many songs are out there waiting to be heard, how many Jews waiting to be listened to here in South Florida?</p><p>May this evening, Kol Nidre, remind us of our second chances. When we think about the daunting future, let us listen to the words of Franz Rosenzweig who said, “not yet, but one day.” And let us all remember our covenant, because we are a community carrying on our tradition, singing, prayer, and living out a vibrant Jewish life, and because of us, there can be second chances for all. </p><p><br /></p><p>Gmar Chatimah Tovah</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-14290489104264324812021-09-09T13:54:00.004-04:002021-09-09T15:52:30.609-04:00Rosh Hashanah Day 2 - We Can Be Heroes Like Them©<p><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">We Can Be Heroes Like Them©</span></b></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rosh Hashanah Day 2 - 5781/2021</span></b></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHPdOVB2vwOU-HCdy3JEOOs4XbRycwtrsz8UkYy3D2r1qHBO9eWm1wJ-ZOuHfiJCiAEuhVBvWw2U5DHJ9cnmqniyq4Z_L5F-YuRjDLJ3woS2_D974h1JIA1zlYvgogbEwHqOUDFN3_L5t/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="942" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHPdOVB2vwOU-HCdy3JEOOs4XbRycwtrsz8UkYy3D2r1qHBO9eWm1wJ-ZOuHfiJCiAEuhVBvWw2U5DHJ9cnmqniyq4Z_L5F-YuRjDLJ3woS2_D974h1JIA1zlYvgogbEwHqOUDFN3_L5t/w640-h394/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(image found on the internet - artist unknown)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></b><p></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Imagine if people you led, the people who supposedly looked up to you, described you in this way:</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“He or she is a tyrant, a dictator, a sadist. He was Attila the Hun with headphones, Gen. George Patton on the sidelines.”</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The person to whom I am referring to is ex-NFL football coach <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-era-of-inspiration_b_183681" target="_blank">Tom Coughlin</a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Coughlin is a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the New York Giants, and build the Jacksonville Jaguars football franchise. A consummate winner, his teams almost always made the playoffs.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After a 12 win season, his players gave him a kinder description: he’s an <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">“</span>autocratic tyrant” and a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">“</span>distant, dictatorial figure.”</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">If you were to ask athletes to describe the perfect coach in the 1980’s they would likely say: winner, tough, dictator, and distant from their players.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ultimately, his leadership style may have led to Superbowls, but it didn’t lead to longevity on the field.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Tom Coughlin’s role has changed since he’s left the football gridiron. He wrote the following:</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“As so many of you are gearing up for another N.F.L. season, I will be sitting far from the sidelines, at the bedside and holding the hand of my biggest supporter, my beloved wife, the mother of our children and a grandmother to our grandchildren…Admittedly, transitioning from being with an N.F.L. franchise to full-time caregiver wasn<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>t easy. It<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>s still not easy. The playbook is either changing by the minute or so numbingly repetitious, you lose track of time and self.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">His wife Judy is suffering from a brain disorder that erodes an individual<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>s ability to walk, speak, think and control body movements. It steals memories and the ability to express emotions and, sadly, is incurable. Coach Coughlin wrote, “I<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>ve spent my entire life preparing for some of the biggest games a person could play, but nothing can prepare you to be a caregiver who has to watch a loved one slip away.”</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Coughlin isn’t the dictator with a whistle anymore, now, he’s a caregiver.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Which Coughlin do you want to lead you? What kind of hero do you want?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">If I was looking to hire a coach, and I had the two Coughlins in front of me, Coughlin 1, Attila the Hun with headphones screaming at me, or Coughlin 2, the coach who will hold my hand through my most difficult moments, I would choose number two.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I believe that we can be heroes and also compassionate, but we have to redefine what it means to be a hero.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We love the people who fight for life, liberty, justice and the American way. </b></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We love the people who take action without a moments thought to the repercussions<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We love the people who fill up space with their presences and words</b></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But think back to who has been our greatest heroes over the last year and a half, the people to whom we looked to at our most desperate hour.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They certainly haven’t been football coaches. Most of our tough-talking politicians on both sides of the aisle have turned out to be dangerous leaders; almost all of them have gone from heroes to zeroes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Like Hagar who had a well right in front of her that would quench their thirst; or Abraham who missed the ram that could have taken his son’s Isaac’s place, our heroes have been in front of us the whole time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br />I will never forget the videos from the early days of the pandemic in New York City which became the epicenter of the pandemic. They left their homes in the early mornings in darkness, and they returned home at night in darkness. When they returned home though, they were created by cheers and the banging of pots and pans. We put up banners at hospitals saying, “Heroes work here!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrwPCHIF3BkoWuOFAU3g9ahFvtSpqqDmulqliYOZeBKv5gqtpWaOcakbc7YJpXbbLnceyGpMZ-VbKh2UQT70KK5GSeAcsnRs_Qhje7xPd7O07n8HsmMDPnk2G65jr0yKlUFvtfgI0TBCs/s2048/tom-barrett-U9ViHc21c5I-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrwPCHIF3BkoWuOFAU3g9ahFvtSpqqDmulqliYOZeBKv5gqtpWaOcakbc7YJpXbbLnceyGpMZ-VbKh2UQT70KK5GSeAcsnRs_Qhje7xPd7O07n8HsmMDPnk2G65jr0yKlUFvtfgI0TBCs/s320/tom-barrett-U9ViHc21c5I-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Georgia; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@wistomsin?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Tom Barrett</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/pandemic-heroes?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We thanked the people who worked in the stores, who we may have even finally called by their names even though they’ve been wearing name tags for years. But as the pandemic wore on, essential workers were lucky if we made eye contact with them; the banners are gone, and the cheers that were reserved for our health care providers are now heard back in the stadiums that were previously empty, the hospitals are full, and the caregivers walk home in silence.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My sister in law, Tara Shearin, an ICU nurse who served here in Florida during this pandemic, told me: “I never thought I would reconsider my career path, but after this last year and a half, I don’t know if I’m cut out for nursing anymore. I don’t think people really know how much we as healthcare workers have been carrying on our shoulders and minds during all of this. And to now be back at square one, in even worse shape than at the worst time last year, I have a feeling many of my colleagues could agree.”</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There isn’t much I want to bring with me from this pandemic, but if I were to take anything with us from the pandemic, it is the way that these beautiful souls changed how we view a hero.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They are the caregivers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The doctors, nurses, and janitors in our hospitals</li><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The cashiers and shelf stockers who went from menial laborers to essential workers</li></ul><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On Rosh Hashanah, we recall our greatest hero, the one who started it all: Adam, the first human.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Today, Rosh Hashanah, is called Yom Harat HaOlam - the day the world was created. We don<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>t read the creation story today, but it is a part of our liturgy and an integral part of this holiday. The creation story is the oldest story in the book - I<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>m sure most, if not all of you, can tell the story by heart, but if you re-read the story, you will find that there are actually two creation stories, Genesis 1 and 2, and, two Adam and Eves, two lessons to learn how to be human.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the 20th Century Modern Orthodox philosopher, introduced the idea of the two Adams in his book, <u>The Lonely Man of Faith</u>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In chapter 1, Adam and Eve are created together and charged with filling the world, and conquering the earth. In chapter 2, Adam is created first from dust, then his partner Eve, but only after God acknowledges that it is not good for man to be alone. The second Adam and Eve are given a different charge - <span class="s2" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">לְע</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>ׇבְדָהּ</i></span> <span class="s2" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">וּלְשׁ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><i>ׇמְרָהּ</i></span>- protect and serve the garden.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The second Adam’s greatest quality was <i>anavut</i>, humility, and also the quality that led to God creating the world. The Zohar teaches us that the only way for God to create the world was to withdraw from it, in Hebrew, Tzimtzum. God let others fill up the space.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Want to be a hero for someone this year? When they are down, when they need help, don<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>t fill them up with inspirational quotes, make room for them by sitting with them and listening.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">That<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>s the mitzvah of today, the mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah; not to sound the shofar, but to listen to the sound of the shofar. The sound of the shofar is a wail, a cry. It is the cry of a family member who just learned that their loved one passed away: a series of short cries which leads to a deep sobbing cry after the full realization of loss sets in.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And our nurses and doctors listened to our cries this year. They held phones up to patients so they could have a connection to their loved ones before they died.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They listened to the cries of those who gasped for breath, trying to give them some hope.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When the chaplain could not visit, they prayed with our loved ones.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When we couldn’t be there, they were the last people to hold their hands.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We can be heroes like them - all it takes is a listening ear, an open hand, and space to give to another who is suffering.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>We can be heroes like Abraham, but also like Isaac.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Abraham was a born leader who left the old country behind, bringing his family and many others with him to a new country. In Canaan, Abraham takes action: he leads an army to rescue his nephew Lot. Yes, you heard that correctly, Abraham was a general! He has the chutzpah to argue with God to save two cities. He listens to God when God tells him to sacrifice his son Isaac, and Isaac is only saved at the last minute.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Abraham is a man of action; he walked and people followed.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But Abraham is one side of what we think a hero is; the other side is Isaac.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Isaac, like many who survived being bound to a bed, survived, and his survival changes his outlook on life. What happens to someone who stares death in the face and lives to tell about it?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In Isaac’s case, he redefines what it means to be a hero.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After the Akedah, Isaac starts praying. After the Akeidah, we read the following (Genesis 24:63)</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">…</span>וַיֵּצֵא<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִצְחָק<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לָשׂוּחַ<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַּשָּׂדֶה<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לִפְנוֹת<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָרֶב<span class="s4" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening…</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Torah says that he was L’asuach Ba’sadeh, which Rashi translates as meditating. Rather than try to conquer the outside world, he becomes more attuned and connected to his inside world. His journey isn’t like his father’s, it is his own, and because of his journey, he knows himself better than any of our forefathers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Isaac digs three wells which are contested by Philistine chieftains, so what does Isaac do?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">He doesn’t conquer like this father, he makes peace.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rabbi Bradly Shavit Artson writes the following about the choice that Isaac makes not to fight:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">“Isaac did not measure wealth by the number of wells one possessed, or even how much money one has stockpiled. His life, his family, the safety of his own followers was worth more than a few wells of water. Having himself been offered on an altar, Isaac was not going to sacrifice young lives for material wealth. Isaac was a man who knew the profound value of peace, a commitment that was well-rewarded. Three times he permitted the Philistines to claim his wells. God blessed him and made him prosper. The Philistines were taught a lesson in human kindness and priorities by Isaac’s behavior. Impressed by his grandeur and magnanimity, they sought Isaac and exchanged oaths of friendship. In converting the Philistines into allies and friends, Isaac demonstrated that special wisdom.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">(Rabbi Artson - <u>The Bedside Torah : Wisdom, Visions, and Dreams</u>)</span></p></blockquote><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Many of us spend our time on the internet going to battle for what we believe in; we get a dose of adrenaline when we intellectually vanquish our enemies but is that really who we want to be?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I learned something a long time ago at overnight Jewish summer camp. How do you get a room of Jewish teenagers to be silent? The answer isn’t to scream at them, to be the loudest voice; on the contrary, it is to be the quietest voice. You whisper, "if you can hear me clap once, twice, three times." Eventually, it always works, the room quiets down.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Believe it or not, people want to follow someone who listens to them; someone who wants to work with them, rather than fight against them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">God is described in our tradition as <i>Ish Milchamah</i>, a warrior, but also <i>Rofeh Israel</i>, healer of Israel; today, during Musaf on Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate God’s Sovereignty during <i>Malchuyot</i>, but also God’s compassion in mercy when God hears our cries during the <i>Zichronot</i> service.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Shofar is the sound of God’s voice, but the pauses in between the shofar blasts - that’s God too.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life is a struggle between the two voices, the loud one, and the quiet one; the conquering voice and the listening ear. Like God, we also hold those two identities. We’ve done a great job of conquering the world, but now we need to follow the heroes who have helped us most during this pandemic - to listen more, to give others space, to hold hands rather than clench our fists, to seek peace, not war.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Heroes know when to step up, and when to step back<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Heroes know when to speak up, and when to stay silent<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Coach Coughlin ended his words by answering a question he’s been asked for all those wondering how they can help, it<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>s simple: "Don<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">’</span>t forget about the caregivers.”</p><p class="p8" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To the caregivers in our community, the doctors, nurses, therapists, and essential workers of all kinds who risked and sacrificed everything - thank you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let us give thanks to those holy people who did not take up space, but made space for others, the Adam and Eves and the Isaacs - the caregivers, the doctors and nurses, the essential workers who kept us going.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My sister-in-law’s words resonate with me, “I never thought I would reconsider my career path, but after this last year and a half, I don’t know if I’m cut out for nursing anymore.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We cannot afford to lose our heroes, we must join with them in the sacred obligation to bring comfort and hope to the suffering. We must listen to them and continue to support them.</p><p class="p8" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After this holiday, we should continue to send those special people, those who never worked from home, thank you letters, and food, and anything else that can keep them going, but the real mitzvah of this year is emulating the qualities of those special souls: to be caregivers for our loved ones, our community, and our country. Perhaps that is the greatest gift we can give them.</p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We can listen more, and speak less.</b></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We can make space for others, rather than fill it.</b></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We can open our hand, instead of making a fist.</b></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We can be heroes just like them: the second Adam and Eve, like Isaac, like Tara, my sister-in-law, an ICU nurse, who, like millions of others, is saving the world one life at a time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In the coming year, we can be heroes just like them, if we choose it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Shannah Tovah U’Metukah, and let us all choose life in the year ahead.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-27124765569990512852021-09-09T13:38:00.003-04:002021-09-09T15:39:43.347-04:00Rosh Hashanah Day 1 - Choosing To Remember the Oys and Joys©<h1 style="text-align: center;"></h1><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><h1 style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Choosing To Remember the Oys and Joys©</span></b></h1></blockquote></blockquote><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rosh Hashanah Day 1 - 5782-2021</span></h2><p><b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzUaIA0oDm2KYrxJPgQWYM7sZS8BGmPoE7LR_ztDnHk2Dmz9bIf4FoZ5ZlgaRyPN8gffb1DlRAE9CBnS3hD91tsf5iIAKjnmqoWYhKdFckBSL6G0D9dai8EGckiYGHpQPtzBH-KzT6_I8/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzUaIA0oDm2KYrxJPgQWYM7sZS8BGmPoE7LR_ztDnHk2Dmz9bIf4FoZ5ZlgaRyPN8gffb1DlRAE9CBnS3hD91tsf5iIAKjnmqoWYhKdFckBSL6G0D9dai8EGckiYGHpQPtzBH-KzT6_I8/w400-h266/towfiqu-barbhuiya-uM5mnbNm8eA-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@towfiqu999999?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Towfiqu barbhuiya</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/pill?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">If I offered you a pill that would erase the memories of the last year and a half, would you take it?</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></span></b></div></b><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It’s a serious question, and I know you think this is an impossible scenario, but I imagine it might be possible in years to come. In 2004, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dealt with this very scenario. The main character, Joel (played by Jim Carrey) learned that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine (played by Kate Winslet), had all the memories of him erased by a company called Lacuna.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Joel is angry and hurt, and he decides to get back at her by doing the same thing, but, as part of the process, he is forced to re-experience all the memories he shared with his ex-girlfriend Clementine. I don’t want to spoil the plot too much, but you can imagine what may have happened. It was easy to erase the hurtful memories, but what happened when he got to the good memories? Would he erase them?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let me say, when I started writing the sermon I was supposed to give today, I attempted to erase the bad memories of the past year and a half. Another pandemic sermon, are you kidding me?!? At the beginning of the summer, erasing the pandemic from the High Holy Days looked like a possibility.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We were ready to sing, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, yesterday’s gone,” but the Delta variant waved its hand and said, ‘You may want to forget about yesterday, but I’m still here!’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I was tempted to call that fictional company, or to ask if Pfizer if they were working on a memory loss pill to forget those days.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As much as we all want to move on without looking back, to forget the past year and a half, I want us to resist that temptation.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Today, Rosh Hashanah, is called Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance. We often think of Yom Kippur as being that day, mainly because of Yizkor. Yom Kippur is a heavy day - some might say somber.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rosh Hashanah is the happy day; the services might be long, but at least you get rewarded with a big family meal, the sound of the shofar, apples and honey, exotic fruits, and more!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But this day is actually a bit heavier because remembering can be painful. Today is called Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We read this in the book of Leviticus 23:24:</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;">דַּבֵּר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֶל־בְּנֵי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִשְׂרָאֵל<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לֵאמֹר<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בַּחֹדֶשׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הַשְּׁבִיעִי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּאֶחָד<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לַחֹדֶשׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יִהְיֶה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>לָכֶם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שַׁבָּתוֹן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>זִכְרוֹן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּרוּעָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִקְרָא־קֹדֶשׁ׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Rashi, the famous medieval Biblical commentator, says that the memory that we are reminded of is the binding of Isaac, and the ram that was offered in Isaac’s place. It worked out for Abraham and Isaac in the end, but that moment was painful. Abraham and Isaac never speak after the Akeidah, and, according to the midrash, Sarah dies of a broken heart thinking that her only son was sacrificed.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Imagine if Abraham and Isaac took that memory loss pill?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They could leave behind all the pain of their past, and move on, unencumbered into the future, but something far more important would be lost - the lessons learned.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">If I took this memory loss pill, I would forget the losses, but I would also forget the lessons I learned, lessons of hope and renewal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I officiated at many sparsely attended funerals; offered the Vidui, the deathbed confessional over the phone; ran many Zoom shivas; but if I forgot those moments, I would also forget the other moments, like the Simchas: the baby namings, the britei milah, the Simchat Bats, the Bnai Mitzvah, and the weddings, and how I found God in these moments.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I want to focus on the weddings. When the pandemic began, some of the weddings I had been asked to perform were postponed indefinitely, and I don’t blame them! We will celebrate after the pandemic they said, but after the pandemic never came, so some of the couples said, what are we waiting for?</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now, for those who are married in the room, if I told you, you can only have 20 guests, there will be no band, no DJs, much fewer flowers, would you choose this for your wedding?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In this case, these couples chose the present moment over the unknown future. They were some of my greatest teachers of the pandemic. They taught me to choose love over fear, to choose partnership over solitude, with all the messiness it entails. Couples who sacrificed their dream weddings for intimate and safe ceremonies.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Reflecting on the last year, I realized that I officiated at more weddings last year than I did during any previous year, and some of the couples are here today, including our Cantor and his wife Caissa!</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There was one wedding in particular that I wanted to share. I received a call, “Rabbi, we were going to have our wedding after the pandemic, but after the pandemic isn’t happening. We want to have a small, safe, and intimate wedding, and we want to do it in two months, can you perform it?”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In addition to the wedding being so close, it was also a Sephardi wedding, which I had never performed before.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I’ve performed some destination weddings over the years, but no location was as exotic as this wedding: the groom’s parent’s backyard. We set up a chuppah under a tree, and twenty masked guests.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnHPVeMZI3d056F9yd3aAWgezQGEOePCDXaF8kwq5ZeEUwuEAG1_YIYowprddnGErYQtC8IlQoQjOslkfke742CPnPU0r2aojcup2hWdh7rS1moCP6aTRtXiyc_nPPGyFuoEjH4gaAbfx/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnHPVeMZI3d056F9yd3aAWgezQGEOePCDXaF8kwq5ZeEUwuEAG1_YIYowprddnGErYQtC8IlQoQjOslkfke742CPnPU0r2aojcup2hWdh7rS1moCP6aTRtXiyc_nPPGyFuoEjH4gaAbfx/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@srosinger3997?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Samantha Gades</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/jewish-wedding?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">When I spoke to the couple about the Bedeken, the veiling of the bride, they looked at me and said, “What’s that?” When I told them about the circling of the bride they said, “Huh? What’s that?” Then they asked me about what they should use for the B’samim, the smelling spices, and I said, “Huh? What’s that?!?”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />I quickly realized I had a lot to learn, because Sephardi weddings are different - no veiling of the bride, no circles to walk. The father of the bride, whose family came from Baghdad, gave me his father’s wedding spice box. When the couple is under the chuppah, they begin the ceremony by blessing the spices, just like we do at Havdallah. The spices are a holy version of smelling salts. Smelling salts wake us up abruptly so we can forget the past a little bit to start the new week.<br />The purpose of the B’samim at the wedding ceremony is different though. According to Jewish mystic teachings, we are not only body, but also soul. The wine that couples share at a wedding are for the body, but the spices they smell are for the soul.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8_QtQ_1d2ERkUjkRIDnXxVmCb22QFB8sTtY2Us7B8br3t6G5VQieqVQhid5sIyPXgZcmp_YKX5akg0fMdCCpsl3Bkme1xfo4N0kevFVpJZMCxhqz12Qxd9qrOTYlPZZ2vY8RPKoHWsLw/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8_QtQ_1d2ERkUjkRIDnXxVmCb22QFB8sTtY2Us7B8br3t6G5VQieqVQhid5sIyPXgZcmp_YKX5akg0fMdCCpsl3Bkme1xfo4N0kevFVpJZMCxhqz12Qxd9qrOTYlPZZ2vY8RPKoHWsLw/" width="240" /></a></div><p></p>The holy smelling salts wake us up to where we are right now. These couples weren’t thinking about the future, they were thinking about now, this moment, because now they are alive and well, and so were their relatives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This couple had it right - they were in the moment, one of the most important moments of their lives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>This is one of the lessons of Rosh Hashanah - we must live by appreciating every moment, by learning from them, whether they are joyous or sad.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This year of weddings led me to fall in love with the Jewish wedding ceremony once again.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jewish weddings are not all about Simcha. In fact, it is the ceremony that is most similar to these holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There are many different customs surrounding weddings, but one of them is that we fast, and some couples say a <i>vidui</i>, the confessional prayer, before the ceremony. Both the bride and groom wear white symbolizing a fresh start, a new life together.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">At the end of the ceremony, the groom broke the glass. The custom of breaking the glass at a wedding comes from the Talmud (Berachot 31a). In the story, the rabbi breaks the glass at the end of his son’s wedding to sober people up.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>They taught - in times of unbridled joy, one must also experience a small degree of sadness and trembling.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Perhaps I could add my own teaching to this - even in times of sadness and trembling, there should be some joy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As I thought about the weddings I performed, and the funerals, I realized how similar they actually were.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A midrash says, why do we mourn for seven days? It is compared to the seven days of festivity after a wedding. What they have in common is that they are deeply emotional and intense days. This is the beauty of Jewish ritual - it helps us cope with moments, especially life-changing and intense moments. During both experiences, you are surrounded by a community of people who love and care about you, and yes, a lot of food.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And they have something else in common - they are both an ending and a beginning. Before marriage and before a funeral, we lose something - at marriage, we lose complete individuality; at a funeral, especially of a spouse, we lose partnership. At the end of both rituals, we take our next steps into the unknown that is the future - the couple walks down the aisle with their friends and family cheering. At the end of a funeral, the mourner walks down another aisle, sometimes alone. This time, their friends and family are comforting them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Our endings are new beginnings; that is what Rosh Hashanah, this day, is all about.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>אֵלֶיךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנָשׁוּבָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>חַדֵּשׁ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יָמֵינוּ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּקֶדֶם׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Take us back, God, to You,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And let us come back; Renew our days as of old! (Lamentations 5:21)</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Kedem comes from the word Kodem, which means, to move forward.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>We cannot change the past, but we can choose how we remember it so we can take even holier steps into the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I left the couple in their parent’s backyard and went home. Six months later, I received the following letter:</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“Dear Rabbi Baum,</p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It has been six months since you have helped make one of our dreams come true: a beautiful wedding ceremony surrounded by our family and closest friends in the backyard of the home we hope to raise our family in.</p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As we reflect on the last six months, we want to thank you for the time you put into meeting with us for online sessions before the ceremony, the guidance you provided us, and the beautifully delivered speeches during the ceremony. You truly helped make our wedding all the more unique and special. </p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Bradley Hand"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The last six months have been a glorious whirlwind with my partner moving in and beginning our lives together. We learn something new about each other each day.”</p></blockquote><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now, imagine if they put that Simcha off for the perfect moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We need to stop waiting for perfect moments, and try and make the moments we have, no matter happy or sad, as perfect as we can.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We are in this moment where all of us want to forget this past year and a half. We distract ourselves with anything we can to forget; we had Zoom happy hours, maybe too many; we watched every movie we could on Netflix; we planned exotic vacations in our heads, many that will never happen.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We cannot change the past, but we can help find the joy that we may have experienced despite the heartbreak, and use it as fuel to power us into this next year.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">That’s what today is about, Rosh Hashanah, going back so we can move forward, Kadima.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">During the wedding ceremony, we read seven blessings that seal the couple as one, and we evoke Adam and Eve’s name:</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>שַׂמֵּֽחַ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>תְּשַׂמַּח<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>רֵעִים<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>הָאֲהוּבִים<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>כְּשַׂמֵּחֲךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְצִירְךָ<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בְּגַן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עֵֽדֶן<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>מִקֶּֽדֶם</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let these loving friends taste of the bliss you gave to the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden in our earliest memory, MiKedem.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But, if we read the creation story, we know it wasn’t all bliss. There was shame, loss, conflict, and pain also.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Adam and Eve showed their heroism by taking that journey forward out of Eden, with the baggage of heartbreak, and the taste of bliss, to the unknown future, together.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">If you said to me, rabbi, I have the ability to go back in time and end this pandemic before it began, I would say, yes, absolutely, without hesitation - do it. But that isn’t possible. But if you offered me the pill to forget the last year, I would say, no thank you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to help us remember, but also to spur us on into the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now, it is time for us to move forward, Kadima.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Kadima </b>- let us gather up sad moments, but also the holy sparks of joy that helped us persevere, to gather up the strength it will take to move into the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Kadima </b>- we cannot return to the past or change it, but we can move forward with hope. Let’s start creating together this year at Shaarei Kodesh. Over these high holy days, I will share some ideas of ways we are going to innovate while at the same time, bring our past with us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Kadima </b>- we’ve made it here, whether we are on person or on Zoom, we are here, today, at this moment. We are bound together right now, and we have the choice if we want to relive these moments by coming back to each other day after day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p7" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">זֶה־הַיּוֹם<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>עָשָׂה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>יְי<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>נָגִילָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>וְנִשְׂמְחָה<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>בוֹ׃<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">This is the day that the LORD has made—</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">let us exult and rejoice on it. (Psalm 118:24)</p><p class="p8" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And let’s try and treat every day, whether sorrowful or joyous, as a gift.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Shanah Tovah U’Metukah</p>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273739495898297895.post-21522540615114749982021-08-20T16:45:00.003-04:002021-08-20T16:46:25.239-04:00Be A Prophet - Preach to the Unvaccinated©<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidu0HJuTOJ71ZyP6IJc9SVwwZq9uj2DmWSZg9kyL5ECfnSsoe3aO6bFvFUrN0oPUHM4nNPKi0nVAG5KgUV2EJyUb2yHxFJajD1hEPGlx6PHC05kRjzQYS5rFLO2NSHf4bCAjXkCAUKxqho/s2048/nick-fewings-MnUWS2aHNWU-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidu0HJuTOJ71ZyP6IJc9SVwwZq9uj2DmWSZg9kyL5ECfnSsoe3aO6bFvFUrN0oPUHM4nNPKi0nVAG5KgUV2EJyUb2yHxFJajD1hEPGlx6PHC05kRjzQYS5rFLO2NSHf4bCAjXkCAUKxqho/w426-h640/nick-fewings-MnUWS2aHNWU-unsplash.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jannerboy62?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Nick Fewings</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/psychic?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h1 style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Shoftim: </b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Be A Prophet - Preach to the Unvaccinated©</span></h1><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s wonderful to be back after 4 weeks, mainly stayed away from social media, only posted some pics, stayed away from the issues of the day, barely read articles.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />As I ventured back to the news cycle, I was a bit puzzled to read the Ice Cream Wars of 2021; I don’t think ice cream has been this controversial since someone substituted pistachio for chocolate on Shavuot.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />But, the news that I was following was the outbreak of Covid-19 infections in Florida. I left Florida on a real high note: the masks were coming off, stores were opening, restaurants started packing, people were coming back to shul, things seemed to be coming back closer to normal. With so many people rushing to get the vaccine in our area, and Jews leading the way nationally with 85% receiving the vaccine, I thought, this is it, we’re back! What could possibly go wrong? That’s when the Delta Variant said, ‘not so fast’. It seems like I know more people with Covid today than I knew during the height of the pandemic. The unvaccinated people are suffering the most, and now there are many more children infected who require hospitalization, but even vaccinated adults are feeling the effects of Covid-19 in the form of breakthrough infections.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Many of us have returned back to our pandemic lives which can lead to us thinking about ourselves above all, but this week’s parashah gives us a different perspective.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Shoftim is a journey from me to we. The parashah begins with Moshe telling the people to set up a system of justice:</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. (Deuteronomy 21:10)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />It is seemingly a commandment for the community, but it is written in the singular. You, each person, should appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes. The Shnei Luchot HaBrit, a Hassidic commentator, says that the gates are our bodies and souls. We must guard our mouths, lest we lie or speak gossip, our ears, that we not be eager to hear malicious gossip, and our eyes, that we not form the habit of seeing the worst in others. But it’s not enough to work on ourselves alone. There’s a story I heard from the Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (z’l) about the late Rabbi, Menachaem Mendle Schneerson.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />A man had written to the Rebbe the following: “I am lonely. I feel that life is meaningless. I try to pray, but when I do, the words do not come. I carefully follow the Torah but I find no peace of mind. Please, Rebbe, I need help."<br />The Rebbe sent a reply without writing a single word.<br />The Rebbe simply sent the letter back. He had circled the word "I" in every sentence.<br />"If I am not for myself, who will be for me.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But if I am only for myself, what am I?.."-Hillel (H/T Rabbi Victor Urecki)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />What does this have to do with me? When I got vaccinated, I urged all of you to get vaccinated, but when people fought me on it, I said to myself, “I’m protected, so are the adults in my life. So if they don’t want to get the vaccine, it’s their problem.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />But, as we learned, it wasn’t ‘their’ problem, it was our problem. The Delta variant took over and spread amongst the unvaccinated, and now, it’s our problem.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />It reminded me of the well-known story from Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 4:6):<br />A group of people were traveling in a boat. One of them took a drill and began to drill a hole beneath himself.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />His companions said to him: "Why are you doing this?" Replied the man: "What concern is it of yours? Am I not drilling under my own place?"<br />They said to him: "But you will flood the boat for us all!”<br />In America, we pride ourselves on liberty and rugged individualism, but viruses don’t care about our freedoms; in fact, they have used our individualism against us. The decision of the individual had an affect on everyone. Some decided not to get vaccinated, and I decided to stop pushing vaccines because I didn’t want to fight. My unvaccinated family and friends who were adults were not invited to our gatherings, and in my eyes, rightfully so. But did I need to cut off all contact? Should I have given up on the ‘we’?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Our parashah quickly brings us from me to we.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />In chapter 18, we read an interesting passage about soothsayers, diviners, and sorcerers. Why spend time talking about wizards and witches? Because they stand in contrast to God and our prophets. They offer a false narrative; they give the hopeless false hope based on lies and mistruths so they can line their pockets. When our voices stopped, other voices filled the air. The voices of talk show hosts and TV personalities who parade themselves as sources of news. When some of them got the vaccine, they hid it from their followers, but they knew that questioning the vaccine would bring them attention and money. One AM Talk Show host here in Florida pushed the narrative to his followers; he died last week and his last wish was to tell his followers to get vaccinated. Alas, the damage is done, and I for one can’t stand by and let them fill the air. In verse 15 of chapter 18, we read the alternative to these magicians: follow the prophet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Prophets aren’t the easiest people to get along with. The prophets of our people, beginning with Moses, tell it like it is, and they tend to be too harsh in their criticisms, often times distancing themselves from their people. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s first major work was called The Prophets.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />“What manner of man is the prophet?” He beautifully and harshly describes what a prophet must be. They aren’t concerned with philosophy, they aren’t monks to sit on a mountain top to find God, rather, they are amongst the people, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Heschel writes, “Instead of dealing with the timeless issues of being and becoming, of matter and form, of definitions and demonstrations, he is thrown into orations about widows and orphans, about the corruption of judges and affairs of the market place. Instead of showing us a way through the elegant mansions of the mind, the prophets take us to the slums. The world is a proud place, full of beauty, but the prophets are scandalized, and rave as if the whole world were a slum.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Prophets can’t let their people sink, even though they may feel tempted to do so.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />Heschel writes, “Their breathless impatience with injustice may strike us as hysteria. We ourselves witness continually acts of injustice, manifestations of hypocrisy, falsehood, outrage. misery, but we rarely grow indignant or overly excited. To the prophets even a minor injustice assumes cosmic proportions.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Heschel goes on to say that the prophet's duty is to speak to the people, "whether they hear or refuse to hear." A grave responsibility, he writes, rests upon the prophet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />The Etz Chaim Chumash quotes Heschel further, “A prophet is someone who tells the truth. The prophet does not tell us what we want to know bur rather tells us what God wants us to know, reminding us of our covenantal obligations. “The prophet is a person who sees the world with the eyes of God, who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />I’m not a prophet, nor are any of you, but we can bring a part of the prophets to our family and friends who are being led astray by the soothsayers, diviners, and sorcerers of our time who fill them with lies, and who are leading them, and all of us, to a dark future. We can’t call them stupid and denigrate them; we must consider them as if they were under the influence of these false prophets whose only interest is to line their own pockets.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />As the Rebbe told the man who questioned him about himself alone, “"If I am not for myself, who will be for me.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But if I am only for myself, what am I?.”<br />On our doors, we have placed the following words, “Achreiyut Zeh Al Zeh B’Kehilah - we are each responsible to one another in the community. Whether we like it or not, we must all be prophets, for who else will look out for our children and those who cannot get vaccinated, or for those with poor immune systems who are vaccinated but can still get very ill from this unrelenting virus? But we must also care for the misguided, those who are hurting themselves because we are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />As Heschel wrote in his book the Prophets, “Above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people: Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”<br />Achreiyut Zeh Al Zeh B’Kehilah - we are each responsible to one another in the community - don’t give up on anyone; preach like your like depends on it, because it may, but preach because their lives depend upon it. We are all in the same boat, and our destiny is in our hands. It’s time to ride the wave to a brighter future, let’s sail off together.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Shabbat Shalom</span></div></div><p></p><div id="fpCE_version" style="display: none;">10.2.2</div><div id="gtx-trans" style="left: 243px; position: absolute; top: 690px;"><div class="gtx-trans-icon"></div></div>David Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927393773287610869noreply@blogger.com0