The Omer- Our chance to change the World

Shabbat Pesach Day 8

Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17, Numbers 28:25 

This Shabbat is the last day of Passover. We can put aside (or throw out) any remaining matzah and return to our everyday lives. But can we really? Is holiday truly finished? Yes and no. Yes, Passover is finished here in the diaspora after 8 days. But no, it actually isn’t finished because Passover is inextricably linked to our next big holiday, Shavuot, through the counting of the Omer.  We begin counting the Omer (originally sheaves of wheat from the beginning of the harvest, see Lev. 23:15) on the second night of Passover. We continue counting for a total of 49 days, until we reach Shavuot, the 50^th day. The Omer is a period of semi-mourning but it is also a period where we celebrate wonderful things such as the founding of the State of Israel. 

A pilgrimage to offer the first fruits to God in the Temple in Jerusalem distinguishes all three of the Pilgrimage Festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot). These holidays highlight Judaism’s big 3– Torah, God and Israel.  We remember that if were not for God we would still be slaves in Egypt, if it were not for God we would not have the holy words of Torah as an exemplar of life, and if it were not for God we would not have the land of Israel as our spiritual and physical homeland.  

Passover is unique of the three because we can all get behind it no matter where we land on the Jewish spectrum.  We are all enjoined to relive the story of our slavery as if we ourselves had been slaves and are now free. We can reenact the story for our children and/or we can dig deep inside and consider what it really means to be free and how we act out this message in our daily lives. Passover is a uniquely Jewish holiday. We Jews were enslaved and now we are free to live lives as part of a Jewish nation.  

Then comes the Omer on the second night of Passover. What are we counting? We are counting up to the intellectual, spiritual and ultimately action oriented places within ourselves to be the people who are continually receiving the Torah and then take its teachings to better ourselves and the world through our actions.  Fifty days to count, fifty days to contemplate, fifty days to formulate how we will actualize the godliness within ourselves to repair the world.

As Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan noted, we live in multiple civilizations. This teaches me that we cannot afford to stop at the pshat, the surface level of our holidays, observances and teaching.  We must take our particularist perspective and broaden it to the universal. We were strangers, we were slaves and now others are strangers, others are slaves. It’s our responsibility as both Jews and citizens of the World to make sure that no one must live in slavery, that everyone is free.  

When my children were young I used to sing them lullabies, usually old Hebrew songs and protest songs from the 60s. One of my favorites was Medgar Evers Lullaby by Judy Collins. It is about injustice and formatted as a message from the murdered Medgar Evers to his son. The final verse always hits home to me: 

“What will you do, son, when you are a man? Will you learn to live lonely and hate all you can? Will you try to be happy and try not to see, That all men are slaves 'til their brothers are free.”

May we see the day, speedily and in our time, that slavery is banished and that all people are free. 

Parshat Tzav: The Eternal Flame Within Us All

Parshat Tzav  

Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36

      A Jew walks into a synagogue and looks around. What can s/he expect to see? An area for prayer that includes an ark that contains at least one Torah; perhaps a table, a bima, in front of the ark as a focus area for the prayer service and the Torah reading; and finally, a light, either attached to the top of the ark in some way or hanging from the ceiling.

      The first two items are self-explanatory. We keep our holy Torahs in a tabernacle, an ark, just as was done in biblical times. The bima, a raised platform with a reading desk, provides a place on which to rest the Torah and from which to conduct the service. Lastly we come to the hanging light, called the Ner Tamid, the Eternal Flame. What is its purpose? It clearly does not give off enough light to be useful in any practical way, for example, it is not strong enough to read by.

      The rationale for the Ner Tamid is found in this week’s parsha, Tzav (Lev 6:6). “A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.” It is mentioned 3 times in this parsha that the fire is not to go out, a repetition that emphasizes the perpetual nature of this particular flame. Imagine the work that it took in biblical times to keep a fire burning 24 hours a day – making an altar, gathering wood, cleaning the ashes, the manpower to tend to it. It took effort to maintain this – a communal effort. This flame transitions into our ner tamid, eternal flame, that is a physical manifestation of what we should already know, that God’s presence is always among and within us, and we just have to be able to “see” it.

      We no longer have a Temple with its menorah and altars and ritual sacrifices. What we do have is community and prayer and places of worship that contain this eternal flame. And for those of us who do not belong to a synagogue or who belong to one that does not have the physical infrastructure to house an eternal flame? We find in Ezekiel (11:16), “I have become to them as a little sanctuary.” One meaning of this verse is that these little sanctuaries are physical structures such as the synagogues that were built in exile to represent the lost Temple.

      I choose to focus on a different meaning, one that is not a physical structure but a spiritual state. We as individuals become the little sanctuaries that carry God’s presence around. There is godliness within all of us, a fact that many of forget on a regular basis. Being human, we need reminders of things spiritual, physical reminders. We circle back to the ner tamid, the eternal flame. Just as our ancestors were able to see the flames and smoke coming from the Temple at all hours, so to can we see the eternal flame when we walk into a synagogue, no matter the day or time. Even today it takes a community willing to raise money and tend to its infrastructure in order to keep that flame burning. Outside the synagogue it takes other types of communities, like minyanim and kehilot, to provide nurturing environments to tend to the flame, the spirituality, the little sanctuaries that burn within each of us. Once our lives revolved around the Temple. 

     Today our spirituality, our souls, live and die together based on the communities that we form and on the caring that we give to one another.

A Shabbat Message - Parashat Vayakhel and the message of Community

This week's Torah portion, Vayakhel (Exodus 35:1-38:20). As all Torah portions it contains several different plot lines. This one talks about the many aspects of building the mishkan (portable tabernacle that housed the 10 Commandment and was carried around in the desert with them), particularly that all the people donated materials to be used in the building itself. It's primary message, and the message of all the portions surrounding this one, is about community. 

To be a community means we do things together, we take care of each other, we contribute. To emulate this, I will soon be sending out an email regarding the start of a new volunteer committee at OK, a Chesed Committee whose goal will be helping out members when they are in need - during an illness, birth of a child, death of a family member etc. 

But, as we know, our obligations towards helping others does not stop at the "borders" of our OK community. We are part of a larger community of Jews, of non-Jews, of those who live in our neighborhoods and in our country. We are reminded quite poignantly of this in this time of presidential politics. Quite a few people are vying to become the president of this great nation. Two things really stick out to me (among many). First, the people running are male and female, Caucasian and Hispanic, Christian and Jewish. This is the most diverse national race that I can recall. Second, no matter how diverse the playing field is, race and ethnicity have become a part of patter. This is unacceptable for a nation founded by immigrants and given the make up and sophistication of people today. 

You will find that I rarely use my rabbinic platform to discuss politics. But the racism that has seeped in to this election cycle is not just a political issue; it is a human rights issue. So please be aware, listen and learn and pay attention to what is being said during this political cycle. And, if you can, try to counteract the hateful words. No effort will be too small. 

Here is a link to a short, pithy article from Jewniverse called "Albert Einstein's Little-Known Civil Rights Activism." As we know, racism has been around for a long time. It's time to eradicate it. 

http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=ba13d322ff1efbe114aeb6779&id=c606f4f1d4&e=646f6451e3

Shabbat Shalom and blessings of peace and love to all, 

Rabbah Arlene

A white Shabbos, Blessings and our Obligation to Share - Parshot Vaera through Beshallach

I’m dreaming of a white Shabbos......

I have to admit, I love snowstorms and especially love blizzards – but only when everyone I know is safe and warm at home and the electricity doesn’t go out! It’s a time to catch up on some sleep, play board games with family, watch movies, and for me – continue in the ongoing process of organizing my house. Said project began at Sinai, the same time we received the Torah, so I figure it’s okay for it to be never ending:)

At January’s Shabbat services at the Olney Kehila I gave everyone there a charge, which was to read [skim] that week’s parsha Vaera (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35) and envision themselves as Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Israelites and even God, as Moses asked Pharaoh to let our people go.  How did each character feel during this challenging and frightening time.  I likened the time to Halloween – where children go around shouting  “Trick or Treat!” The children expect candy and  don't really have the intention to pull a trick on anyone – at least not these days. I see Moses going to Pharaoh and saying “Trick or Treat!” – the treat being the exodus, the trick being the 10 plagues. Huge consequences. How much did Moses even know of the plagues were coming and the extent of the devastation?

In this week’s Torah portion, Beshallach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) we read the conclusion to the Trick or Treat tale started in Vaera. Pharaoh has finally had enough and the Israelites leave Egypt. Almost immediately, Pharaoh changes his mind and the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Sea of Reeds. We know how it ends – the sea splits, the Israelites get through safely, and the Egyptians are vanquished as the sea closes in on them.  How did each of the characters feel at this moment – Moses as a new leader wondering how to save his people (before the sea opens), the Israelites feeling like they went from the frying pan into the fire, the sea anticipating God’s miracle, Pharaoh’s soldiers flying toward them on their horses,  Pharaoh himself in a rage after having lost his son in the 10^th plague and now his slaves.... So much going on.

When the Israelites get to the other side of the Sea of Reeds they sing and rejoice in their safety and freedom.  They sang words familiar to us today – the prayer Mi Chamocha:

“Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord? Who is like You, powerful in the holy place? Too awesome for praises, performing wonders!”

Outside our windows we see the snow coming down, quite steadily, eventually it will come down relentlessly. It reminds us of the hazards of nature (God’s creation) but also of how much we have to be thankful for (God’s gifts) – shelter, food, heat, family.

We must also, always, remember that there are those among us who do not share in our blessings. Those who are homeless or who live in substandard environments. If you are so moved, donate to Stepping Stones Shelter, the Red Cross and other organizations that help those less fortunate. And if you see anyone out in the cold with no place to go, call 240-777-4448 (Montgomery County).

If the Torah teaches us anything, it’s to be aware of our blessings and to share them when we can.

Stay safe and warm,

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbah Arlene

Remembering and knowing

This week’s Torah portion is Sh’mot, Exodus 1:1 – 6:1.

How do we grant eternal life to people in Judaism?

We do it by keeping our loved ones alive through memory, stories, actions and saying Kaddish.

In my family, we tell stories of those who have passed away so often it’s as if they are still alive.

My children have never met their great-great-grandparents on my side, but Bubbe and Zeyde are alive to them because of all the stories I tell. It’s important because these stories are their spiritual and ethical inheritance. We remember them.

So what happened with Joseph? We read in Exodus 1:8: “A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Why didn’t this new ruler remember him? Didn’t Joseph do enough for Egypt during his 80 years in government to deserve to be remembered? He saved the Egyptians from the famine and acted as a negotiator between Pharaoh and farmer/tenants.

The scholar Rashi, interprets this verse to mean that that Pharaoh acted as if he did not know about Joseph. Pharaoh conveniently pretended that he didn’t know or remember Joseph and therefore would not have to be beholden to his descendants, to his people.

The commentator Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno presents a different interpretation. He felt that Pharaoh really did remember a Joseph from the history books. However, he said that “… it did not occur to anyone to associate the Hebrews of his time with the family of Joseph who had been so highly esteemed.” So Joseph was remembered but his family affiliations were not. And even if they had been remembered, Sforno continues that “… the idea that the present day Hebrews deserved special consideration on account of their illustrious forbearers did not occur to anyone observing the way these Hebrews behaved at that time.” This last statement posits that even if Joseph had been remembered, no one would connect him with current day Hebrews because his people were not living up to his legacy.

What follows, then, is that Joseph may indeed have been remembered but he was not known.

What is the difference? To remember someone means to “to have or keep an image or idea in your mind of (something or someone from the past).” (Miriam-Webster). The Hebrew word for this type of remembering is zachor. The Hebrew word used in this verse is yada, to know. In certain situations, we can interpret yada to mean remember, as some will do in this verse.

But yada means so much more. It means to know someone intimately, as in a lover, or to know all the intimate relevant details about someone. Pharaoh and his court may have known of Joseph, may even have remembered him — but either as Rashi claimed, pretended that they didn’t know him, or as in the Sforno interpretation, didn’t know the intimate details of Joseph’s life. They didn’t know that he had been a Hebrew.

Joseph may not have been properly known to Pharaoh all those years later, but he was known to his people. He is still known to us today.

Perhaps one message from this verse is that not only must we continue to remember those who have gone before, but also we must do them the honor of continuing to live up to the standards that were set by them and by living a life worth being remembered and known for eternity.

Questions for discussion:

Can you think of anyone else in the Tanach who we learn just enough about to remember him or her, but whom we do not feel that we have enough information to truly know who he or she was?

What do you want people to remember and know you for after you are gone?

This appeared in Washington Jewish Week. 

Belated Posts of Chanukah Musings from Las Vegas

Shabbat Chanukah Greetings

The weekend is here and with it the chance to sit back, reflect, and spend some family time (and I hope that includes time that does not involve chauffeuring younger family members!). I'm in Las Vegas this Shabbat - a strange place to be for Shabbos I know. But I've found a lovely Reconstructionist service to go to tonight and a Torah study for tomorrow morning. That should keep me out of trouble.

Being here in Las Vegas is surreal - the lights, the noise, the casinos, the over-the-topness of it all. It feels like an alternate reality to the reality of life before I got here last night. A reality of more mass shootings in the US, more people killed and wounded in Israel, more people saying things publicly that you hope they really don't mean.

This week's Torah portion, Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23) also reminds us that life holds these contradictions and sometimes, to learn important values, we must view things in a mixed-up sort of way - Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery, Tamar disguising herself as a prostitute in order to fulfill a family commitment from her father-in-law Judah and Potiphar's wife trying to seduce Joseph and getting him thrown in jail after accusing him of attempted rape. These stories are all rather strange but at core they touch on fundamental human values - family, honour, promise keeping, loyalty.

This note to you is my transition into Shabbat. My time to reflect about what is important in life: family, community, love, peace. May we all take into account what our important values are and try to uphold them as best we can. May we pray this Shabbat for peace for all peoples and strengthen this prayer by doing acts of loving kindness.

Oseh Shalom bimromav, Hu ya'a'seh shalom aleinu, v'al kol Israel, v'al kol yoshvei tevel. V'imru Amen.

May the Awesome One who brings peace upon us, bring peace upon all of the people Israel and upon all those who reside on this planet. And let us say, Amen.

Shabbat Las Vegas Musing

It's strange celebrating Shabbat in a casino resort, a place that has no havdil/differentiation between day and night, light and dark. It's as if the Awesome One skipped this place during the first day of creation. I need to think on this a bit. 

Went to a lively Kabbalat Shabbat service at Pnai Tikvah Reconstructionist shul with Rabbi Yocheved Mintz and some very enthusiastic younger people. Really needed that to help usher in the existence of Shabbat.

Shabbat Blessings.....

May the light of Shabbat, along with the last lingering tendrils of light from the Chanukah candles, brighten this Shabbat with love, peace and tolerance. May our eyes be opened and our hearts accepting of all who come to us in friendship.
Shabbat Shalom u'M'vorach (Shabbat blessings of Peace)

Vayechi: A [Grand] Parent’s Blessing as Protection in the face of Assimilation

Parshat Vayechi is the last Parasha in the book of Genesis. In this parsha we find Jacob on his deathbed and desirous of blessing his sons. This is the first instance in the Torah of someone getting sick and knowing that their death is approaching. Prior to this point in the Torah, when someone’s death is mentioned, it says “and so-and-so was old, and died.” The commentaries say that Jacob requested of G-d that he become sick before he die, thereby giving him warning that his end was approaching and giving him time to to bless his sons before he died.

In verse 48:1 Joseph found out that Jacob was sick. Joseph then "took his two sons with him." (presumably to bring them to Jacob, although it doesn't say that anywhere). When Joseph and his sons got there, Jacob sat up in bed, and told Joseph that his two sons would now be considered like Jacob's children, and will get a portion in the land just like the rest of the brothers. 

Interestingly, the Torah doesn't say that Joseph brought his sons to Jacob, but that Joseph took his sons with him. What it could mean is that not only did Joseph bring his sons physically to Jacob, but also that Joseph kept them close to himself, so that they wouldn't be spiritually influenced by their non-Jewish surroundings. Jacob recognized this, which is why he felt strengthened when Joseph came to him with his sons.

With the act of Jacob claiming his grandsons as his own, he made sure to stress that it was those two sons that were born in Egypt (48:5). Their greatness and Joseph's greatness was that they identified as and lived as Jews despite living in Egypt. And finally, although his hands were on the two grandsons, Jacob's blessing was that Joseph's children, and anyone who has to live in a non-Jewish world, should be protected throughout history so that we can all be proudly called the children of Avraham and Yitzchak (and Jacob).  The blessing that is given is:  Y’simcha Elohim k’Efraim v’Menasseh”   “So he blessed them that day, saving, "By you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh."

This is the same blessing that parents all over the Jewish world give their children on Friday nights. What is special about Efraim and Manasseh? They didn’t assimilate. They were the sons of an important man in Egypt, living for much of their lives apart from any kind Jewish community, yet they kept to their heritage. This is a blessing to forestall assimilation. This is a blessing that says you can be successful and fulfilled regardless of where you live and what’s going on around you – and still remain Jewish.

Perhaps this message is why we read this Parasha so soon after Chanukah, a holiday about Jewish identity. With all that is going on in the world today regarding religion and tolerance, the message of this parsha should be taken to heart. Even in a place as hostile to Jews as Egypt was, there was a way to live there and continue to have a positive Jewish identity. My prayer is that in our world today, all people can find a way to live through these hostile times and still maintain their own positive religious identities and at the same time, allow others to as well, whatever religion they may belong to.

Food for Thought: 
~If you were to compose a blessing to give to your children each Friday night, what would it be?
~Jacob blessed his grandchildren, Efraim and Manasseh, before his eldest child Reuben. Why would he do that? Note: consider the biblical motif of the younger son inheriting before the elder. How does that fit in here?

This dvar originally appeared in the Washington Jewish Week.