Toldot: Genesis 25:19-28:9 

Parsha Summary:
After the three deaths in last week’s portion, Sarah, Abraham and Ishmael, this is about the birth of Jacob and Esau.  Rebecca was barren and Isaac prayed to G-d.  The text tells us that Isaac was 40 when he married Rebecca and 60 when she finally gave birth. That is a long period of infertility, something women still struggle with today. What do we make of these fantastical numbers in the book of Genesis. Was Sarah really 90 when she gave birth? Isaac really 60? Does it matter? 

Her pregnancy is not easy and she wonders why she even exists. She goes to “inquire” of G-d what is going on. G-d responds  that there are two nations in her womb and the younger will serve the older foreshadowing much of what is to come. Esau is born first, hairy and red. Jacob, meaning heel comes out next, holding onto Esau. Isaac preferred Esau and Rebecca preferred Jacob. Esau trades his “first born” birthright for a pot of lentil stew.  

There is an interlude repeated almost verbatim the scene with Abraham and Sarah,  with Abimelech, Kind of the Philistines. Is Rebecca Isaac’s sister or his wife? Is this an early #MeToo Moment? Then more fighting over wells. Fighting over water rights continues to this day. One only needs to look to the Western United States and treaties over the use of the mighty Colorado River. These battles will continue to intensify as water sources continue to diminish.  

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, he called Esau to him to bless him. What made Isaac’s eyes dim? His experience on the mountain with Abraham and the tears he must have shed? Something more like cataracts or macular degeneration? Could modern medicine helped here?  

With Rebecca’s help, Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing reserved for the first born. Esau pleads with Isaac for some blessing which Isaac offers, sadly, differently. Esau threatens to kill Jacob. 

Table Topics: 

1. What do you think of the debate about nurture versus nature? Do you see examples of this question in this week’s portion? How does this play into sibling rivalry?
2. When Rebecca who was barren went to l’derosh G-d, to seek out G-d, how is she different, or alike women today who struggle with infertility and go to a fertility clinic. How could modern science have helped Isaac and Rebecca?
3. What legacy do we want to leave our children? What blessings do we want to give them?
4. How do we feel about Esau? About Jacob? Did the right person get the birthright? Was there a way to share? Did Jacob (and Rebecca have to trick Isaac? 

Labs at Home: 

Read this summary about nurture versus nature about whether grit is learned or genetic. It is about twins. https://characterlab.org/tips-of-the-week/nature-versus-nurture/  

The full, academic abstract from a Spanish genetics team is here: https://www.pnas.org/content/102/30/10604  

Songs::
He Aint Heavy, He’s My Brother 

We are Family—I’ve got all my sisters with me 

Acts of Kindness: 

Write an ethical will. This is most often a spiritual, emotional, values based letter to your descendants outlining your wishes and hopes and dreams for your children and grandchildren. It is not how to disperse property or the living will/durable power of attorney. There are plenty of examples here:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/writing-an-ethical-will-how-to-get-started/  

Alternatively, make a pot of lentil stew and share it with friends, family, neighbors. It is a good source of protein and it may even help with climate change—but that is a story for another day. Here is a recipe: 

Lentil Barley Soup 

2 cups red lentils
3/4 cup pearl barley
2 carrots, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
8 cups water or stock
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. salt 

Add all ingredients together in a soup pot, bring to boil and simmer one hour. Stir occasionally. The soup thickens as it cooks, so add water as needed to desired consistency. 

Very hearty, thick soup… and it freezes well!
From the More with Less Cookbook and Anne Schwartz
 

In Memory of Nelle Sicher Frisch 

Friday Night of Chayyei Sarah: 

There is a tradition of doing some teaching and learning on the yahrzeit of someone beloved. Earlier this week we marked the yahrzeit of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and I was so glad we participated by the Torah Study group listen to one of his d’var Torah on this week’s parsha. This week we also mark my mother’s yahrzeit, (or next week depending on which calendar and which day of death, really. So this teaching is in honor and memory of Nelle Sicher Frisch. 

Perhaps this will be a controversial, but I hope fun d’var Torah. They say that Halloween isn’t a Jewish holiday—it’s Christian. So there is no place for it here. I have friends who don’t celebrate Halloween because it is Christian. I have Christian friends who don’t celebrate it because it is pagan. For my mother—it was her favorite holiday. When Sarah was young, she thought my mother was a witch, and maybe she was. She had inscrutable evidence according to a book she read (circa age 4). THe witch next door lived in a black house; Granny lived in a black house. THe witch next door had a cat. Granny had a cat. The witch next door wore black clothes. Granny wore black clothes. The witch next door love Halloween. Granny’s favorite holiday. Plus she collected kitchen witches. Ergo, Granny was a witch. 

So let’s see about the interconnections. 

When I was a young Jewish educator, I worked with a rabbi, Rabbi Everett Gendler, who made this night fun. Everybody would bring their Ya’akov Lanterns, carved with Jewish symbols. Light chases away darkness and makes the scary, safer, even holy. That is part of why we kindle Shabbat candles, to make this time sacred time, to separate sacred from the profane. The organist would play the opening notes of Phantom of the Opera and would cackle that witchy laugh we would only hear once a year.  

Our sacred texts talk about all manner of spooky things. Goblins and Ghosts and Golems, oh my! Witches, and Dybbuks, even Satan—which is actually a Hebrew word, Satan. 

Let’s look at some of those texts.  

Perhaps my favorite story is about the Rabbi and the 29 Witches. It was made into a children’s story which I have told here.  The Rabbi and the 29 Witches 

But here is the Rashi on the Talmud text itself:  

“The student went and told Shimon ben Shetach. What did Shimon do? He gathered together 80 young and studious men on a day when it was raining, and they were each given a jar with a dry cloak/tallit in it. He instructed them to keep their cloaks/tallit dry and to ensure that they were not seen by the witches until the appointed signal. He left the young men outside the cave, and approached the witches’ residence. “Who are you,” they asked. Shimon answered, “I am a magician, and I came to see your magical works.” “What magic can you do,” the witches inquired.  “I can make 80 young men appear in dry cloaks, even though it is a rainy day.” “Show us!” The witches demanded. Shimon went outside and signaled to the young men to take out the cloaks and cover themselves in them, and they entered and lifted the witches off the ground (to prevent them from doing sorcery, which can only be done while on the ground) and they hung them all. (Rashi on Sanhedrin 44b) 

Were they hung, like the witches of Salem? Not so sure. Or did they melt like in Marilyn Hirsch’s story. If they melted, did the screen play author of the Wizard of Oz know that? Can’t you just hear the line, “I’m melting, I’m melting!” 

However, if you are still concerned but witches being Jewish, let’s go back to the Bible.  While it is clear that the Bible was not so fond of sorcery or witchcraft, remember the verse, “Suffer a witch not to live.” However, despite this verse, other famous verses like” Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth,: there is no evidence that a witch was actually killed.  By Talmudic times, witchcraft seemed to be more acceptable. ihink Rav Hisda’s Daughters by Maggie Anton. 

However, the threat of a witch may be deterred by reciting the following curse (Pesahim 110a): “May boiling excrement in a sieve be forced into your mouth, (you) witches! May your head go bald and carry off your crumbs; your spices be scattered, and the wind carry off the new saffron in your hands, witches!” 

Seven loops of knots (tied to the left side of the body) are also a good defense against illness caused by witchcraft (Shabbat 66b) 

Is witchcraft then just magic? When we look at the Salem Witch Trials maybe. The Witch Trials are complicated. They seem to be about land ownership, the haves and the have nots, some fear of the other and some hysteria—in the truest form—all mixed in to create a catastrophe. (I had a whole semester on the Witch Trials so I could go on and on but I won’t. However I have a full book shelf of real, hard copy books if anyone is interested)  

My professor, Dr. Rabbi Jill Hammer said this in a recent article picked up by AP News about Jewwitches:
“Often the way that it’s structured is, if you’re part of the hierarchy … it’s called ritual, it’s called prayer, it’s called ceremony. And if you are doing something outside of the hierarchy, that’s often called magic or sorcery or witchcraft,” Hammer explained. She continued, “Witchcraft is often associated with marginalized people, particularly women,” she said. “There’s a whole body of women’s ritual that tends to be called witchcraft simply because it is women’s ritual.” 

But what about these other things: Golems and Ghosts and Dybbuks, Oh my. 

Sh! Be very quiet. Do you hear anything? Does anyone think this building is haunted. I don’t, but many people do. Sometimes I get up from my desk when I think I hear someone. Thus far it has only been the heat! Has anyone else encountered the Ghost of 330 Division Street? 

Now a more formal answer:
“The Torah’s most well-known ghost story is that of Shaul HaMelech (King Saul) who, with the help of a witch, summoned the recently-deceased Shmuel HaNavi (Prophet Samuel) for help in defeating the Philistines, even though this was prohibited (I Samuel 28). Rabbi Shmuel Ben Chofni Gaon (d. 1034) explains that there was no ghost. Rather, the witch fooled Shaul into believing that she was conjuring the spirit of the deceased prophet. In contrast, Rabbi Sa’adia Gaon (d. 942) and Rabbi Hai Gaon (d. 1038) suggest that while normally the deceased do not appear in this world, Shaul experienced a unique miracle. All three agree that, absent a miracle, the dead remain among their fellow deceased, not roaming among the living as ghosts. Others, more mystically inclined, take this story as an example of interactions between the dead and the living, forbidden to us but technically possible. To them, ghosts can be real but we must avoid calling them.” https://www.ou.org/life/inspiration/jewish-view-ghosts/ 

This is all tied up with our views of the afterlife. Come back tomorrow for more on that.  

What about Golems. We know about the Golem of Prague. But it goes back much earlier: 

Let’s put it in a context. According to the midrash on Genesis, these other creatures exist because of Shabbat: 

Bereishit Rabbah 7:5 

“And God said: Let the earth bring forth the life (nefesh) of living creatures of all types, cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of all types. And it was so. And God made wild beasts of all types, cattle of all types, and creeping things of all types…” (Genesis 1:24-25) …R. Hama bar Hoshaya said: Souls are spoken of 4 times, but when they are created, it says, “made wild beasts of all types, cattle of all types, and creeping things of all types.” Why 3 here and 4 there? Rabbi says: These are the demons. God created their souls, but when He came to create their bodies, He sanctified Shabbat and did not create them. 

So out of that dust, the earth itself that G-d made man, we learn that some rabbis also tried to make man. Perhaps like Frankenstein or the Golem of Prague. But this is from the Talmud> 

Sanhedrin 65b:17 

Indeed, Rava created a man, a golem, using forces of sanctity. Rava sent his creation before Rabbi Zeira. Rabbi Zeira would speak to him but he would not reply. Rabbi Zeira said to him: You were created by one of the members of the group, one of the Sages. Return to your dust. 

One last text for tonight. This one is about demons. 

Chagigah 16a:5-7 

The Gemara returns to discussing the heavenly beings. The Sages taught: Six statements were said with regard to demons: In three ways they are like ministering angels, (note, those very ones we sing about in Shalom Aleichem. Those are the malachei hashareit)  and in three ways they are like humans. In three ways they are like ministering angels: They have wings like ministering angels; and they fly from one end of the world to the other like ministering angels; and they know what will be in the future like ministering angels. The Gemara is puzzled by this last statement: Should it enter your mind that they know this? Not even the angels are privy to the future. Rather, they hear from behind the curtain when God reveals something of the future, like ministering angels. And in three ways they are similar to humans: They eat and drink like humans; they multiply like humans; and they die like humans. 

And a last, funny story about my mom and me. When I was little and lived in New York City, we would take the Fifth Avenue bus. One day, when I was about 3, an older Jewish woman tried to sit next to me. I told her not to, because Dybbuk was sitting there. My mother thought I had said Debbie. Well, no one was visible and I repeated myself. The woman ran off the bus at the next stop. I had terrified her. 

But wait there’s more—and tonight is only a taste. Tomorrow we will explore some of the mourning customs since we are reading about the deaths of Abraham and Sarah and Ishmael. And we will look at how this connects, or doesn’t with the Day of the Dead. 

Saturday morning of Chayyeii Sarah: 

The years of the life of Sarah were 100 and 20 and 7 and Sarah died. 

1. Death one: Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. 

1. Death Two: And Abraham breathed his last, dying at a good ripe age, old and contented; and he was gathered to his kin. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled near Beer-lahai-roi. 

1. Death Three: These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kin.— 

This portion seems perfect for this weekend, where many are celebrating Halloween. Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, the day before All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead, in Spanish, dia de los Muertos 

We started this conversation last night. While Halloween isn’t a Jewish holiday per se, we learn lots about our own mourning customs right here. 

Sarah died. The rabbis teach us that there are no extra words in Torah so why the repetition of “and” and “years.” What about Sarah’s life was special? It reminds me of the poem the dash. https://thedashpoem.com/  The most important part of a gravestone is the dash between the date of birth and the date of death. It is what you do with your life. The rabbis teach us that Sarah who is considered one of the 7 women prophetesses was without sin at 100 like a 20 year old and as beautiful at 7 as at 20. Or, because it is Judaism perhaps it is the other way around. As beautiful at 20 as 7 and as sin-free at 100 as 20. I prefer the second version but most put it the first way.  

The tradition tells us that Abraham eulogized her—with the words of Eishet Chayil, A Woman of Valor in Proverbs. And since we can rad texts backwards and forwards we are not going to have the debate of how Abrahm knew the words penned years later. Or maybe Solomon looked at Sarah’s life as the model. My mother never liked this reading. For her it is not feminist enough. The full version might be. There are new modern versions. In any case, while we read this today at lots of women’s funerals, we most certainly did not at my mother’s.  

Abraham wailed and mourned. He bought a burial cave and wouldn’t accept it as a gift. (In the modern world, some have argued that this very text establishes the right of Israel to have Hebron, because the text tells us we bought it—but that is a sermon for another year.) 

And he gets up from his mourning. He sends Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac. He himself takes another wife and we assume that life goes on.  

Then, Abraham dies. And is gathered to his kin. And Isaac and Ishmael come to bury him—in the Cave of Machpeleh where Abraham buried Sarah. Together. Neither Isaac nor Ishmael were living near Abraham. It seems they were estranged from Abraham. Abraham died alone. Not with Isaac, not with Ishmael and seemingly not with that new wife and kids. I think it is fair to say that Abraham was not a perfect parent. Sending Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness to almost certain death and then believing that G-d wanted to sacrifice Isaac on that mountain. The stories wind up OK…but imagine the conversation between Isaac and Ishmael this day:  

Isaac—Well, we are here. Back together again after all those years. How are you? What have you been doing. Once I looked up to you, but my mother made me afraid of you. I just wanted to play with my big brother. 

Ishmael—We are here. How are you? What have you been doing? Why are you living in Beer lechai  Roi? That’s where my mother met G-d. That’s where an angel of G-d, your G-d told my mother to go back to the harsh treatment of your mother. Why would G-d do that? 

Isaac—I don’t understand our father. I still don’t understand him.  I don’t understand this G-d. Why would G-d want our father to take me to that mountain? Why would our father listen to my mother and send you out into the wilderness. I was angry, sad, confused. Maybe, I was depressed. I couldn’t see very well. They said it made me go blind.  I left after we came down the mountain and went to try find your mother. Maybe she would bring me comfort. Or maybe I would have my own experience of G-d. Then Eliezer picked out a wife for me, even though I was a loner. I liked wandering in the fields trying to figure out how this had happened to me. I married Rebecca and I loved her and took her to my mother’s Sarah’s tent and was comforted after her death.  

Ishmael—What do we do now? 

Isaac—I don’t know. I guess we bury him. Then I think I’m going back to Beer lechai roi. Where are you going? Do you want to come with me. Then we could still be together.  

Ishmael—I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.  Some day. Maybe. Thanks for the offer.  

They part and go their separate ways.  

And after a brief interlude that gives us Ishmael’s family tree, Ishmael dies. And is gathered to his kin.  

Some people this weekend will be celebrating the Day of the Dead. One year for Selichot we watched Coco and compared it with Yahrzeit and Yizkor. It is the Disney version of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. . Perhaps that is cultural apropriation.  In Elgin, which is 47% Hispanic, we need to understand the Latino approach to mourning and afterlife. Dia de los Muertos is one way of how to keep the memory alive, through photos and stories and candles, and a bridge to the other side paved with marigold blossoms. If the memory is forgotten the person who has died is gone forever. Sound familiar? 

So, what do we learn from all of this? What you do with your lives matters. Make every day count. Remember the dash and the years of the life of Sarah.  We bury our dead and comfort our bereaved. We do it together—even when that is hard. We remember our dead and eulogize them and then at least every year we come back together to remember. We might say Kaddish four times a year as part of Yizkor. We might light a yarhzeit candle. We might remember through story telling. Or givng a D’var Torah like this. Remember also that the rabbis of the Talmud teach that we should repent one day before our death, but then they ask how will know the day of our death. The answer, we should repent every day. That way you wont’ be like Abraham and die alone.  

Chayyei Sarah: Genesis 23:1-25:18 

Parsha Summary: 

Our parsha begins this week with the death of Sarah. These are the years of Sarah’s life. Sarah was one hundred year and twenty years and seven years and Sarah died. In Kiryat Arba, now Hebron, a far distance from Beer Sheva where last we saw Abraham. How did she get there? Why? Abraham comes to Hebron, buys a cave to bury Sarah, mourns and wails for her and eulogizes her. Much of our Jewish mourning customs can be learned from this week’s parsha. 

Then Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant takes 10 camels and goes to the land of Abraham’s birth. Rebecca shows up at the well and offers to draw water for the servant and for the camels. That act of kindness, no small feat, earns her the right to be Isaac’s wife. The servant makes sure that Rebecca herself approves. She must consent herself to the engagement and marriage, After a lavish meal they set off for Abraham. 

The next part reads like a Hollywood script. Isaac is meditating (or something, meaning of Hebrew uncertain), in the field. He lifted his eyes. He spies Rebecca on a camel. Raising her eyes, Rebecca saw Isaac. She “alighted” from the camel.  

Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel . “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” The servant answered and she covered herseld and the servant told Isaac all the things he had done. So Isaac takes Rebecca to the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebecca as his wife. And he loved her. (First mention of love in the Bible) and he found comfort after his mother’s death.  

Shortly thereafter Abraham dies. Seemingly alone. And Isaac and Ishmael come back to bury him, together, in the Cave of Machpelah with Sarah.   This is the first time, and perhaps the only time, they are together after the trauma their own father causes for each of them. Shortly thereafter Ishmael dies and we are given his lineage.  

Table Topics 

1. Why is it important that Abraham buys the burial cave?
2. How much water would you need to fully water 10 camels?
3. Why is Isaac in Beer La Ha Roi—isn’t that where Hagar first encountered G-d? 
4. What comforts you after someone dies?  

Labs at Home: 

Design a math equation to figure out how much water those camels need, how much the water weighed and how long it would take for Rebecca to complete this task. Explain your work. How you decided how much a camel drinks. How much does a gallon of water weigh… You may have to do some internet research to figure out what the values would be.

For example:
x=number of camels
y=amount a camel drinks
z- weight of a gallon of water

Song: 

Eifo Hem Avoteinu 

https://www.letras.com/chava-alberstein/1528260/  

Act of Kindness: 

Offer to feed someone’s animals. Don’t forget the water. The Talmud teaches we should feed animals before we sit down to our own dinner. 

They say that laughter really is the best medicine. There is medical evidence to back that claim. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456 

 Last night we talked about breast cancer and once again, we thank the EPD for bringing the Breast Cancer Awareness Squad Car. It made us all smile.  

Breast cancer is a Jewish issue. Continuing with our science theme and our pekuach nefesh emphasis, the idea of saving a life, I want to remind you that getting your mammogram and being tested for BRCA is an important part of taking care of your health. https://www.juf.org/cjg/Get-Screened.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjwzt6LBhBeEiwAbPGOgT-W00ReY-kyQJn2Z5-VikLTX8Q652cRQ_qlhALXsK1LOtfuCDO5ThoC8hEQAvD_BwE  

As our president, Robin Coyne reminded you, early detection is key. She is a two time breast cancer survivor of different types. So go do it. Go get your mammogram!  

Earlier this year I talked about it being permissible, even encouraged to be angry with G-d. Perhaps we see hints of this with Abraham arguing with G-d to save Sodom and Gemorah.  Mayyim Hayyim, th communality mikveh and education center in Boston complied a great book for women with cancer: Blessings for the Journey: A Jewish Healing Guide for Women with Cancer. It has lots of helpful material and the best chapter I know anywhere for dealing with anger with G-d.  

Today, however, I want to talk about laughing with G-d.  

Our text tells us, “And Sarah laughed.” Why did she laugh? She was , go ahead, fill in the blank: surprised, delighted, shocked, that she heard she would have a baby. She even questioned it.  

And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” 

Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ (Notice the little white lie here. G-d doesn’t repeat that Abraham is so old.!) 

G-d continues to reassure Sarah, “Is anything too wondrous for the LORD? I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

In fact, G-d does pakad et Sarah, whatever that means, took note, remember, visited, and she does have a child. She names that child Isaac, meaning laughter.  

Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.  And Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh  withaLit. “for.” me.”  And she added,
“Who would have said to Abraham
That Sarah would suckle children!
Yet I have borne a son in his old age.” 

This is a bookend moment, echoing her early laughter. Are people laughing with her, at her, for her? Is it crazy to want a baby at 90?  Are you relieved that you don’t have to raise this child at 90? Are you happy for Sarah that she finally got the child of her heart’s desire? 

“Their noblewomen would come and kiss the ground at Sarah’s feet, and they said to her: “Do a good deed and nurse our children.” Abraham told Sarah: “Sarah, this is not the time for modesty. Sanctify God’s name. Sit down in the marketplace and nurse their children” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana loc. cit.).” Sarah stood and revealed herself, and her two breasts spouted milk like two spouts of water. The nations of the world brought their children to Sarah for her to nurse. (Pesikta Rabbati [ed. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], para. 43) 

Breasts are important in Judaism. G-d is actually referred to as a nursing mother.  

The Hebrew word “shad‘ means “breast.” (Or mountain—think the Bubbles in Acadia or the Tetons!) “Shaddai” (the name of God written on mezuzot on tefillin, and in many Jewish texts) evokes the image of God with breasts or God nursing, and is literally translatable not as “Lord, Our God,” or “God, My Salvation,” but “God of Breasts” or “God Who Nurses.” 

In Isaiah we learn, God: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”  

“Be Joyful with .Jerusalem, all you who love her all you who mourn over her that you may nurse and he satisfied with her comforting breasts, that you may suck deeply and he delighted with her bountiful breast! For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold. I extend peace to her like a river; and the glory of nations like an overflowing stream. You will be suckled and carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.’” (Isaiah 66:10-13) 

Throughout the book of Genesis, the name Shaddai is also connected with blessings of fertility. When Jacob blesses his son Joseph, for example (Genesis 49:25), he says. “Shaddai will bless you with blessings of the heavens above, of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.” [Genesis 49:25.] 

When we talk about Gomel Hasadim Tovim, that G-d bestows lovingkindness on us, that G-d, like a camel, a gamal, fills us up and sustains us, that is like a nursing mother.  

So if you are a breast cancer survivor, and have survived this life threatning disease stand with me and recite this prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude:
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, ha-gomel l’chayavim tovot she-g’malani kol tov. 

Blessed are You, Lord our God,Rruler of the world, who fills and bestows goodness on the undeserving t, and who has rewarded me with goodness. 

After the recitation of this blessing, the congregation responds: 

Mi she-g’malcha kol tov, hu yi-g’malcha kol tov selah. 

May G-d who rewarded you with all goodness reward you with all goodness for ever. Selah. 

You may be seated. 

According to the Talmud, when Hannah prays to G-d it includes this: 
Ruler of the World, among the things that you created in women, you have not made one without a purpose: eyes to see, ears to hear a mouth to speak, legs to walk with. These breasts that you put on my heart, are they not for nursing? Give me a son. then, so that I can use them! [Berakhot 3IB] 

Back to our story…
It seems, according to the midrash, that Sarah nursed Isaac. And lots of other children.  

The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 

Next week we will read Chayeii Sarah, the Life of Sarah. Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years. 127 years. And then Sarah died. It is said that Abraham came to Kiryat Shmona, Hebron and eulogized her. Using words that are from Eishet Chayyil, a Woman of Valor. 

One of the things Eishet Chayil says is “and she laughs at the time to come.” We are back to laughter.  

It is said that “Man plans and G-d laughs.” We have certainly seen that in discussing the pandemic.  As one example: 

“Soon enough we will be back to planning. Attempting to do so in this moment is an illusion – an attempt to assuage our anxiety. Let’s focus on addressing critical needs in our communities, making sure we take care of the ill and unemployed, and protecting those who are healthy. Let’s take walks, plant flowers, embrace our homes, our neighborhoods, our families and take time to just be – and count each day to again receive the Torah.”  https://jewishatlanta.org/man-plans-g-d-laughs/  

Laughter is desired. Laughter heals.  

Psalms 126:2 states, “Then our mouths will fill with laughter (s’chok).” The same word that is used to describe Isaac.  

Psalm 30: “Weeping may linger for the night but joy comes in the mourning. but at dawn there are shouts of joy. Are those shouts of joy really laughter? Have you ever laughed so hard you’ve cried? Dare I say it, peed your pants? That’s healing. Really.  

Even teachers are advised to start a lesson with humor as part of their induction set. 

In the midst of a conversation about whether or not one should approach Torah study from a place of joy, the Talmud relates the practice of the sage Rabbah, who before beginning to teach matters of Jewish law, “would say something humorous so that the Sages might be cheered” before beginning the daunting and awe-some task before him. (BT Shabbat 30b) Incredibly, Rabbah determines that the best way to prepare his students for complex Torah study is to tell a joke. 

By inviting them to laugh together, their nerves are put at ease, and their hearts and minds are opened to possibility. They embark on their journey having felt the power of sharing a moment of joy. As such, laughter becomes part of the sacred act, a prerequisite for engaging collectively with that which is deep and profound. 

“Numerous commentaries and midrashim tell of Isaac’s birth sparking a wave of babies born to previously barren women, illnesses healed, and goodness restored, so that others could share in the joy and laughter of this moment. Yet there seems to be another message here as well, if we understand Sarah’s two encounters with laughter to be part of the same story: laughter is a communal connective tissue. It is an act of faith, rather than doubt, an act of defiance and triumph rather than acquiescence. While Sarah might not have been able to control her reaction before, now her laughter is deliberate, and forever bound up in the name of her child.” https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/the-gravity-of-laughter/  

Sometimes we approach Judaism as an obligation—something we have to do. It isn’t much fun. It is something to just be gotten through. Now I am telling you, it is something to have fun with, to laugh about. To savor. To enjoy. Come laugh with me. The best is yet to be.  

What is your favorite Jewish joke? Clean and appropriate please. 

Vayera: Genesis 18:1-22:24 

Parsha Summary: 

Like much of the Book of Genesis, this portion covers lots of famous stories. After the circumcision, Abraham is sitting at the entrance to his tent. He sees three visitors approaching and warmly welcomes them. Here is the root of hospitality in Judaism. But what is it he sees? Is this just a mirage?  

Later in the story, Hagar runs away from her mistress and she hears an angel telling her to go back to the harsh treatment of her mistress Sarah. What does she hear?  

Sarah is told that she will have a child and she laughs. What did she really hear? Then she Is not happy with how Isaac and Ishmael are “playing” so Abraham kicks out Hagar and Ishmael. Out of food and water, Hagar puts her child under a bush and begs that she not look on while the lad dies.  The text tells us that G-d heard the cries of the lad. But wait, wasn’t it Hagar who was speaking? 

Still later Abraham hears G-d say to take his son, his only son, the one he loves, to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. Again, what did he hear? Who is speaking? G-d or an angel? 

Recently I had the experience of thinking I looked fat on a Zoom call when, in fact, I am at my lowest weight since ordination. What’s happening here? How does perception play a role in reality? There has been lots of scientific research on this topic with colleges running labs called Perception Labs. Here is what they are doing at Yale. http://perception.yale.edu/  There is lots of material here to whet your appetite. Including, almost a footnote of praising Jonathan Kominsky for opening his own perception lab. Jonathan is a research scientist active in this field and the son of Rabbi Neil Kominsky and Dr. Deborah Frank. A quick search yields that Carleton College, University of Iowa and others also have perception labs.  

How our brains see or hear is a whole field of science. It is also art when you think about MC Ecsher’s art that is full of optical illusion. https://mcescher.com/ For instance, in his famous lithograph are those stairs ascending or descending? 

Table Topics 

1. How do we see? 
2. How do we hear? 
3. Is there a difference between perception and reality? 
4. What role does G-d play in any of this? 

Labs at Home: 

Sent in by Dr. Jonathan Kominsky, Perception Scientist.
Try drawing a Necker Cube. All it takes is paper and a ruler. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necker_cube 

Or for a little more complexity, try this one about cardboard arrows:
http://illusionoftheyear.com/2019/12/ambiguous-cardboard-arrows/  

Song: 

Esai Enai…I lift up my eyes… 

Esa Einai 

Esa Eina by Neshama Carlebach at March of the Living Tribute to Ronald Lauder 

Acts of Kindness: 

Abraham and Sarah’s tent were open to all four sides so they could welcome the stranger. Three strangers, messengers, angels, came and Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw. Figure out one way to engage in “hachnasat orchim,” welcoming guests. How would you make people feel welcome in your home, especially during this time of COVID? What other ways could you extend the mitzvah without welcoming them to your home? What about outside dining? Taking a walk? Making a phone call?

This is a tale of two sermons. Last night, because the EPD Squad car was here in the interest of time, I didn’t get to finish and I had a really important message.  

Last night we observed Domestic Violence Awareness Month and our own Maureen. We support her and the very important work that the Community Crisis Center does in the Elgin area. Hereoes work there. They are truly on the frontlines and are integral in keeping the fabric of our community. We thank the Elgin Police Department for bringing the DV Squad car and partnering with us.  And we hope you enjoyed the purple goodie bags, the color of DV awareness, in honor of this. 

Yeterday, as part of the Crisis Center’s observance of DV Awareness they hosted their annual Partner in Peace breakfast. I was honored to do the innocation, where once again I taught everyone my favorite line of liturgy, “Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha, Spread over us the shelter, the fragile sukkah of Your peace.” Peace is fragile and Judaism places shalom bayit, peace of the house as a high value.  

Sadly, domestic violence and intimate partner violence exists in every community, social economic group, 1 in 4 women will experience violence in their lifetime. This includes the Jewish community. Every October, I spend some time talking about this topic. This year is no exception.  We are in the beginning of Genesis still and domestic violence and sexual assault is clearly spoken about in our texts. Today’s parsha talks about an angel of the Lord sending Hagar back to Sarah to submit to Sarah’s harsh treatment. Lot was willing to give up his daughters to a raging mob. Later Dinah will be raped.  These are not OK. Full stop. It is why we have and need agencies like the Community Crisis Center. It is why I was trained as a domestic violence and rape counselor and volunteered for years in Boston on a rape hotline. It is why my door is always open to have this conversation. No one has the right to hit you. Period. Full stop.  

And sadly, and this is very important. While we are all aware of big coverups like the priest scandal or the Boy Scouts, Penn State, Michigan State and now Simon’s beloved University of Michigan, the Jewish community is not without its own coverups. Recently USJC and specifically USY had to confront a decades old story about a rabbi at camp just as the statue of limitations was running out. https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/conservative-movement-to-launch-investigation-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-at-youth-program  

Even more recently I received the Reform Movement’s letter which I will read here and send to the whole congregation. https://urj.org/blog/important-update-our-community This one has a real deadline. IF you were abused by staff in the Reform Movement, you have until Nov. 15th to write to the independent investigators. I urge you to do so and I will walk that path with you.  

Abram, not yet Abraham went on a journey  in this week. To a land that G-d would show him. He left his land, the place of his birth and his father’s house. 

Lech lecha—Go forth, Go to yourself.  What does it mean to go forth? How do we find ourselves? To be authentic? We know the story of Reb Zuzia, when he was dying, his students were surprised that he was crying. Why? He was worried that when he got to the gates of heaven he wouldn’t be asked by was he not Moes, but why he was not Zusia.  

Our congregation has a vision statement that includes the plank, meaningful observance. What does it mean to find meaning? Meaning can be as varied as the stars in the sky, just like the stars in the promise to Abram. Last night we had a very meaningful service, filled with lovely music and lots of singing. For some, including me, that provides a spiritual lift and lots of meaning. For others, not as much. For some, keeping kosher provides meaning. For others, they see it as an outmoded form of Judaism. 

This week we read about Abram after his name is changed to Abraham circumcising himself and the males in his family. I kicked off a firestorm of discussion in two rabbinic groups around circumcision. Seems that not all American Jews are circumcising their newborn boys. There is even now a group called Bruchim, Welcome, promoting this idea. https://www.jta.org/2021/10/07/culture/these-jews-want-to-normalize-not-circumcising-and-they-want-synagogues-to-help?fbclid=IwAR189nrVzTERQEa6LVVz3ilFwEyh3QWc3ZbQlKqqjhgO37tcs4LQNxh8q4A  

The reasons for this is varied. A The responses to my questions about it were also varied and fascinating. It is something we could and probably should discuss at some point as part of our ongoing study of “A Time for Everything” this year. 

We are at a shift in the American Jewish people. This is not new. COVID-19 has uncovered some of the inherent underlying issues in the American Jewish Community. However, we have actually seen some of the trends for decades. All the way back in my lifecycle classes in rabbinical school I would say that I never saw a lifecycle event that comes out of a box. They are not just cookie cutter events—and they shouldn’t be in my opinion. They should incorporate elements that are meaningful to the people marking time, welcoming a new child, male or female into the covenant, starting the beginning of school, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah—some are now calling this B-Mitzvah, Confirmaiton, graduation, marriage, retirement, or a funeral. All of those can be individualized.   

Each individual must find their own meaning, their own way on their journey, just like Abram and Sarai. Just like our own Avot prayer that highlights that each of our patriarchs, Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob and each of the matriarchs, Sarah, and Rebecca, and Leah, and Rachel each had their own understanding of G-d. It is my job to accompany people on those journeys—whether it is a baby naming, a wedding or a funeral. When I sit with someone at the hospital. When I call to see how you are doing. When I provide a book suggestion just for you.  

Later this month I will participate in the read out of the Metropolitan Chicago Jewish Population Study. When I first arrived 10 years ago, JUF told me that there were 6000 unaffiliated Jews in the Fox River Valley. There may still be. How we define Jew. How we define affiliated are important survey construction constraints. And we may learn, yet again, that synagogue membership may not be meaningful to many. We at CKI are lucky. We have held our own despite the trends and despite the pandemic. 

Recently there have been some articles that have appeared as we are coming out, hopefully, G-d willing from this pandemic.  

https://ministryarchitects.com/theyre-not-coming-back/?fbclid=IwAR2zZ6FdQ_vXjqAQa607Jr9-MuiuYQLjM3jAhmkpKI8mNh1BPWAjmv04AiY  

Rabbis and priests and ministers are actively planning exit strategies. NOT ME! 

Overwhelmed: Not a problem to be solved: 

https://www.congregationalconsulting.org/overwhelm-not-a-problem-to-be-solved/?fbclid=IwAR1B0ZjUj1nsdE9KZKVd-lAZFCEyyDkNrijgCteF9Jq4suZ4F7zC7Yw 

Perhaps instead this is an opportunity, to build the world, or at least our corner of it, the way that is most meaningful, most authentic.  

“The Future is Starting Now” is a new show from Rabbi David, your Torah Tech Guy. “Starting Now” is an opportunity to hear from and interact with those Jewish leaders who are imagining and creating the future of the Jewish community, its structures, institutions, values, and systems – now. Cherie Koller-Fox, Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Ron Wolfson Ron Wolfson Rabbi Dan Judson  

But meaning is not just about religious observance. It is more than that. It is about finding your authentic self and living into it. Recently, just a week ago, I went on a journey.  Running is part of my authentic self. It helps keep me grounded. It gives me an opportunity to meditate and davven. It is a place where in the early morning light I can meet G-d and my inner mot feelings. It is part of who I am. I find meaning in running. Perhaps instead of the Energizer Rabbi I should be the Running Rabbi. 

Let’s go on this journey together and find meaning together.  I’m not sure where we are going but together we will get there. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot.  

PS: While written for churches, it works for synagogues too:

Stop Leading the Church You Lost & Start Leading the Church You Have.  

Clarence E Stowers: 

The culture has changed.  

Habits have changed.  

Your church has changed. 

Stadiums are Full, but Sanctuaries are Half Empty 

The stadium was packed as I watched the Chicago Bears’ exciting win against the Raiders on Sunday. 

Where are the people? 

Many became comfortable with online worship. They don’t have to get their family dressed, fed, and out the door on Sunday morning anymore. They can sip their coffee in their jammies while their children play or sleep in.  

While online faithfulness has certainly lessened over time, some of your people are still there. They are giving. They are on your side. They’re just staying home. 

God has uniquely positioned you and your church to serve a changing culture if you are willing to let go of what you used to do. 

Remember this: Stop Leading the Church You Lost & Start Leading the Church You Have.  

Did you catch that? 

Get it? 

Got it? 

Good! 

*Inspired by Allen White 

Parsha Summary: 

God said to Abram, “Go forth, go to yourself, out of your land, the place of your birth, your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” And there, once Abram figures out where there is, God will make him a blessing.  So Abram left.  

But soon there was famine in the land and Abram and Sarai went down to Egypt. Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister to spare his own life. When they returned from Egypt, Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s quarreled with each other over resources. They agree to separate. Lot chose the plain of Jordan. Abram chose the land of Canaan.  

Sarai was barren. She decided to give her handmaiden, Hagar, to Abram to be a surrogate mother. This doesn’t go especially well and Hagar runs away. Hagar is told by an angel to return to Sarai and submit to Sarai’s harsh treatment.  She is the first person to name G-d,  

G-d appears to Abram and tells him that he will make a covenant with him. And that Sarai will in fact bear a son, Isaac. As a sign of that covenant, Abram agrees to circumcise himself. As an old man, this would have been quite painful. There has been much written again about circumcision in the modern Jewish world, new organizations like Bruchim. Yet the text says that those who are not circumcised are cut off from their kin and this covenant. How do we balance these opposing views? 

Table Topics: 

1. What does it mean to go forth or to go to yourself?
2. How can science help us protect natural resources, water, food, and prevent quarraling, famine and refugee crises?  
3. Infertility is still a problem today. Is there any circumstance where you think a surrogate would work? How has the science of infertility helped women today? 
4. What are your opinions on circumcision? What does the Academy of American Pediatrics say? How does medical science inform your opinion? 

Labs at Home: 

Water Dowsing Experiment. Can you find water using a stick? Why or why not? Read this two articles and decide. OR come up with your own experiment to prove.  

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a3199/1281661/  

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-dowsing?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects  

Song:
Debbie Friedman – L’chi Lach 

Act of Kindness: 

Help someone make a party after the birth of child, to welcome them into the covenant. It could be for a girl child or a boy child. Offer to help the new mother. 
 

Noach: Genesis 6:9-11:32 

What a great time we had at the zoo today. And despite some raindrops we didn’t find any rainbows. Thanks to the Scientists in the Synagogue grant we were able to learn lots of things about animals. 

Parsha Summary:
This is the story of Noah who G-d commanded to build an ark out of wood to rescue the animals. 7 pairs of the 7 clean/pure/able to be eaten animals, a pair of each of the other animals. Noah was a righteous man in his generation. He did exactly what G-d commanded. Noah walked with G-d. After building the ark and loading all the animals. It rained for 40 days and nights. How long did Noah, his family and all those animals stay on the ark? Like much in Judaism, we argue about that from the text. Most agree given the timeline in the text it was 365 days, a full solar year. Where was all the food? How did they keep the animals from fighting with each other? Think of the noise! Think of the stench!  

Eventually, the rain stopped. After 150 days, the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, wherever that is. After another 40 days, Noah opened the covering of the ark. He sent out a raven and a dove to see if the earth had dried out. The dove could not find dry land. So Noah waiting another 7 days. This time the dove brought back an olive leaf in its bill. Then he waited another seven days, sent the dove out again and it did not come back. G-d told Noah to bring everything out of the ark. Imagine what that would be like! (Some have said that it would be similar to all of us who spent more than a year in our houses, isolated during the pandemic. Are there parallels here?) 

Paralleling the beginning of Genesis, G-d tells Noah to “be fruitful and multiple and fill the earth,” but this time G-d makes a covenant. A covenant with Noah and for all times. I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” The sign of the covenant is the rainbow. God further said, “This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you, and every living creature with you, for all ages to come. I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” 

Have you ever chased a rainbow? I’ve come to the conclusion that if you go looking for one you will not find it. You need to be surprised by one. It requires the perfect balance between sun and rain.  

The science of rainbows is important. It is what give us the color spectrum. Sometimes people talk about G-d’s paint brush.  While I enjoy some black and white photography I am grateful for the full spectrum of colors. 

Ultimately, a rainbow is a multicolored arc made by light striking water droplets. (Or light through a prism, which is what a raindrop is). In fact, a rainbow is an optical illusion. It depends on where you’re standing and where the sun is shining. It has to be a precise angle, 42 degrees, which is why I said it take the perfect balance between sun, rain and angle.    

According to National Geographic, “Rainbows are the result of the refraction and reflection of light. Both refraction and reflection are phenomena that involve a change in a wave’s direction. A refracted wave may appear “bent”, while a reflected wave might seem to “bounce back” from a surface or other wavefront. Light entering a water droplet is refracted. It is then reflected by the back of the droplet. As this reflected light leaves the droplet, it is refracted again, at multiple angles.” 

If this is a covenant, what then is our responsibility? One of my Bar Mitzvah students who had this portion pointed out that the whole earth is our ark and that we must take care of it.  

At the end of the portion, after a very long genealogy with names we seem to never use anymore, with ages that don’t seem to fit our rational minds or lives, we come to the story of the Tower of Babel.  G-d again seems to be annoyed with the people on earth who are building a tower to reach to the heavens. What is G-d afraid of? That they will reach G-d? Is it some kind of Wizard of Oz moment where G-d doesn’t want to us to see the workings behind the curtain? In any case, G-d decides to “confound” their language, thus ending the budling project and the cooperation between people.  

Table Topics: 

1. What is a cubit? How big was this boat? 

1. Some people think they know where Noah’s Ark landed. Perhaps in Turkey. Does it matter to you? Why or why not? Bruce Feiler in his book, Walking the Bible discusses going to visit one site. Here is a very recent article. https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/10/04/archaeologists-claim-to-have-found-true-location-of-noahs-ark/#:~:text=The%20discovery%20was%20made%20in,in%20the%20Book%20of%20Genesis. 

1. How did Noah keep the birds on the ark? Wouldn’t they fly away? 

1. Do other traditions like the Epic of Gilgamesh help us understand the story of the flood? What are the major differences between the two? 

Bonus Question: This parsha also tells us the story of the Tower of Babel. Linguistics is a science. How do you understand the “confounding of language” as described by the Tower of Babel. What do you think of G-d’s role in this.  

Labs at Home: How to make a rainbow 

https://www.childrensmuseum.org/blog/saturday-science-make-a-rainbow 
 

Songs: 

The Rainbow Blessing 

Other honorable mentions: “Rise and Shine”, a good old-fashinoned camp song and “Green Alligators”. 

Act of Kindness:
The Talmud tells us that we should feed our animals before we sit down to eat. How can you help people take care of their animals? Can you volunteer to walk a dog? Pet sit? Provide pet food to a food pantry? 

Yesterday I spent the day chasing rainbows and unicorns. And succeeded. Allie Mikyska and I actually saw two rainbows over Busse Woods and just as Ellen suggested then the glorious sun came out. We had lots of opportunity to talk will we were walking. We talked a lot about Noah. Why was he righteous. The text doesn’t really tell us. Perhaps because he obeyed G-d and bult the ark. Why do some people, many Evangelical Christians have problems now with rainbows and unicorns?  Perhaps because the gay community has taken both on as symbols to show the diversity of humanity.  

Rainbows have often fascinated me. Not growing up in a particularly religious household. You’ve heard the story about how when we joined the temple in Grand Rapids and were asked to light the candles for New Member Shabbat I told the rabbi, “But Al, Jews don’t believe in G-d, only Christians do.” I was afraid he might use that line at my ordination. 

Fast forward to Tufts where I became very active in Hillel. My sophomore year I was walking by the Chapel on the weekend of Shabbat Noach and there was a maple tree that was ablaze with fire. I had just left my Pashrat Hashavua class, not unlike our weekly Torah Study here and we had been studying rainbows. I came to the conclusion that rainbows are the proof that G-d exists. Why? Because they are a perfect balance between sun and rain. Too much sun, no rainbow. Too much rain, no rainbow. It has to be just right. Sort of like Goldilocks or even better the poem by Joyce Kilmer that includes the line that “only G-d can make a tree.” I actually wrote a poem about the Chapel Tree. 

I like the Noach story for other reasons. We know that this week that Noach is a righteous man in his generation. (Although we don’t really get a definition of righteous). That unquestioningly he builds a ark and rescues his family and all those animals. Next week we will see that Abraham is considered righteous precisely because he does question G-d.  

But what is with all this destruction? Why does G-d want to destroy the world that G-d had just created? I’ll dare to ask that question. Some may see the very question as heresy. I do not. Our task is to question G-d and to wrestle with G-d. It doesn’t really help that the midrash teaches that G-d made 974 worlds or maybe 1000 before this one.  

Rabbi Judah b. R. Simon said: “Let there be evening” is not written here, but “And there was evening”; hence we know that a time-order existed before this. Rabbi Abahu said: “This proves that the Holy One, blessed be He, went on creating worlds and destroying them until He created this one, and declared, ‘This one pleases Me; those did not please Me.’” (Midrash Rabbah – Genesis III:7) 

“In Genesis Rabbah, Rabbi Abahu characterizes the creation as an act of creative destruction, a way to dispose of the remnants of the prior worlds whose “formlessness and void” nature, tohu u bohu, is the place where evil can prosper. Whether filled with evil or not, these past worlds turn our universe into a haunting palimpsest.” 

Later in the parsha, G-d gives us the rainbow as the sign of the covenant. And promises to never destroy the world again. “Never again will I doom the earth because of humanity, since the devising of their minds are evil from their youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done.” 

Some have argued that G-d meant destruction by water. There is an Negro Spiritual, “Mary Don’t You Weep.” The line goes, “God gave Noah the rainbow sign / No more water, the fire next time.” James Baldwin wrote a book using that phrase “The Fire Next TIme” as the title to describe the emerging civil rights movement.  

But a covenant is a two-way street. If G-d promises to not destroy the world and the rainbow is the sign of that covenant, what do we need to promise in exchange. Some talk about the seven Noahide laws: 

Seven commandments were commanded of the sons of Noah: 

1. Not to  worship idols.
2. Not to curse or blaspheme G-d.
3. Not to commit murder.
4. Not to commit  adultery or other sexual immorality. 
5. Not to steal.
6. Not to  eat flesh from a living animal.
7. To establish courts of justice. 

I have looked and looked and am never clear on how these are derived from the simple level of the text. Perhaps some comes from the Talmud. Perhaps it is codified in Tosefta. These “commandments” have been promoted especially by the Chabad movement and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson as an alternative to fully converting to Judaism.  Just become a Noahide.  

Others have seen this story as the birth of our being caretakers with G-d in creation. G-d is not going to destroy the world but we then have an obligation to not destroy it either. 

And then, coming out of nowhere, we have the story of the Tower of Babel. Again G-d is not satisfied. These people are making bricks. Trying to build the tallest tower, reaching to the heavens. Perhaps trying to reach G-d! Horrors. ““If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.” Thus the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.” 

Say what? I thought that we are supposed to learn how to cooperate. How to work in teams. How to build bridges between people. I am not comfortable with this story. It seems the antithesis of other verses like “Love your neighbor as yourself” and the root of some of the real problems in this world. Why would G-d do this? Was G-d feeling threatened? Does G-d have a short fuse? How do we justify both these stories, the destruction of the world and the confounding of speech with G-d is slow to anger and full of lovingkindness?  

Every so often someone sits in my office and says they don’t believe in G-d. I assure them that my father described himself as a Jewish atheist and that it is OK not to believe in G-d. Many Jews do not, not just my father. But then I ask them to describe the G-d they don’t believe in. Often it is a destructive G-d, or the G-d that sits on a throne making some kind of capricious decisions about who shall live and who shall die Sometimes it is the vindictive G-d who wipes out whole peoples, like the Canaanites so that the Israelites can possess the land. How can we understand the destruction of the Holocaust. Why did G-d not stop it if G-d is all powerful  all knowing and all good? I struggle with those notions of G-d too.  It is not the G-d I believe in. Many questions this morning. Not so many answers. We will have to wrestle them out together.  

Yesterday we talked about prayers of healing. And why prayer and mediation helps with healing. Today we read the very beginning of the book of Genesis. Bereshit. So let’s start at the very beginning. 

Except in our congregation, we don’t read the whole cycle. We are on the triennial cycle. This year we are on the third year. So while I would love to start with the sweeping languge of Bereshit Bara Elohim, that’s not exactly where we pick up the story. We start with Chapter 5.  

Yet, there are echoes of the Creation story and one line we are going to explore in depth. 

Enoch walked with G-d. What does it mean to walk with G-d? Is that too anthropomorphic for us today?  

Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav (1772-1810) would walk outdoors in nature, in creation every day. Here is his prayer:  

“Master ofthe universe, grant me the ability to be alone. May it be my custom to go outdoors each day Among the trees and grass, among all growing things. And there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, To talk with the One to whom I belong. May I express there everything in my heart, And may all the foliage of the field – All grasses, trees and plants – awake at my coming, To send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer So that my prayer and speech are made whole Through the life and the spirit of all growing things, Which are made as one by their transcendent source. May I then pour out the words of my heart Before your Presence like water, O Lord, And lift up my hands to you in worship, On my behalf, and that of my children! “ 

Even before then, walking with G-d is a thing. Isaiah taught us, “You shall run and not be weary you shall walk and not faint.” That seems to be every runner’s prayer. And for me, running and walking is a spiritual discipline. Recently at a WW meeting we were encouraged to take an Awe Walk. That would be me every day! For many experiencing creation and that sense of awe is their first entry point into experiencing the Divine. That’s why the first paragraph after the Barchu, the formal call to worship is about Creation.  

Yet there is more about walking with G-d. We are told by the prophet Micah that there are just three things that G-d requires, “To do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d.” 

How can we walk with G-d? Sifre Eikev teaches us “To walk in God’s ways” (Deuteronomy 11:22). These are the ways of the Holy One: “gracious and compassionate, patient, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, assuring love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and granting pardon.” (Exodus 34:6). All who are called in God’s name will survive.(Joel 3:5) How is it possible for a person to be called by God’s name? Rather, God is called “merciful”—so too, you should be merciful. God is called “gracious” as it says, “God, merciful and gracious” (Psalms 145:8)—so too, you should be gracious and give gifts for nothing. God is called “just” as it says, “For God is righteous and loves righteousness” (Psalms 11:7)—so too, you should be just.” God is called “merciful”: “For I am merciful, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 3:12) so too you be merciful. That is why it is said, “And it shall come to pass that all who are called in God’s name will survive.” This means that just as God is gracious, compassionate, and forgiving, you too must be gracious, compassionate, and forgiving. [Translation by Rabbi Jill Jacobs]” 

It is not so much that we are walking in G-d’s ways, it is that we are imitating G-d. How do we imitate G-d? The Talmud in Sotah 14a asks this very question, “What is the meaning of the verse, “You shall walk after the Lord your G-d?” Is it, then, possible for a human being to walk after the Divine, which is described as a “devouring fire”? But the meaning is to follow the attributes of the Holy One. G-d clothes the naked, as it is written: “And G-d made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21); so should you, too, clothe the naked. G-d visits the sick, as it is written: “And G-d appeared to him by the Oaks of Mamre”; so should you, too, visit the sick. G-d comforts mourners, as it is written: “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that G-d blessed Isaac his son” (Genesis 25:11); so should you, too, comfort mourners. G-d buries the dead, as it is written: “And He buried him in the valley” (Deuteronomy 34:6); so should you, too, bury the dead.” 

Rabbi Susan Freeman developed a meditation about walking with G-d for the Jewish Healing Center, taking us through the various stages of life. Noah walked with G-d, blameless in his generation. (Genesis 6:9). Abraham walked before G-d and was blameless. (Genesis 17:1). Malachai wonders what is the point. What have we gained by keeping God’s charge, and walking in mourning, before the Lord of Hosts?” (Malachi 3:14). But we are not to fear because we remember the purpose of our journey. As we age, however, the journey and the walking get harder. However, we are comforted by the verse from Ecclesiastes, “Ki holech adam el olamo: For [we set out], we walked to [our] eternal abode.” (Ecclesiastes 12:5). She explains that there is a calm stillness when we stop walking. God is with us, right behind us, as always. Gam ki-elech b’gey tzalmavet lo-ira ra ki-atah imadi: Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23-4) 

I have used this meditation before with various types of groups. It is particularly effective at assistant living programs. For a while I lost the words, although I am not sure there is any magic in them. However, I was delighted to find them again. (They are attached at the end.) 

Other ways to walk with G-d include using a labyrinth. There are labyrinths in the Elgin area at the Unitarian Universalist church out on Highland, at St. Joe’s and St, Alexius and I think the maze out at the Moron Arboretum is also similar to walking a labyrinth. The idea, like Rebbe Nachman, is to be outside and to pour out your soul to the divine. And to listen. Really, really listen. Sometimes answers to your most pressing questions bubble up. Like Elijah I call that the still small voice.  

Let’s experience walking with G-d, just like Enoch, just like Noah, just like Abraham.  

Rabbi Susan Freeman’s full meditation:
To prepare for this meditation, try to re-experience feelings of physical strength and weakness in your body. In your mind liken the “journey of life” to a very long walk from infancy on. Sense the presence of God as you re-experience different stages, both of strength and weakness, in your life. Imagine yourself as an infant, not quite ready to walk. You are in a place which feels very secure. See yourself trying to stand or to move in some tentative, exploratory way. You have no sense of yourself as a separate being, apart from what surrounds you. You are walking — no boundaries between yourself and the environment around you. No boundaries, walking with God, blameless. This is your earliest memory, when you were like Noah: “blameless in his generation… Noah walked with God: Et ha Elohim hithalech Noah.” (Genesis 6:9) 

Walking in wholeness, fully present, nothing separating you from anything. Walking with God. As you picture yourself in your secure environment, notice a door in the distance. You feel compelled to go towards the door. “Lech lechah: Go forth.” Walk toward the door. With each step closer to the door, you sense your life — without boundaries fading. As you touch the door handle, the feeling of fading boundaries is replaced with a growing sense of strength, sturdiness, independence. Open the door and step out. You walk forward in confidence and with a strong sense of self. You are no longer walking with God but walking before God. The memory of when you were like Abram: “Hithalech lefanai, veheyeh tamim: Walk before me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1) Continue walking. You are walking along a path that seems to stretch forever into the distance. Walking…walking…walking… Many years of sturdy walking before God, trusting your body to take you through life in strength. Your eyes focused on the future — the memory, the turning back and looking back on the time of blameless wholeness with God has faded, is so vague. You have been walking a long time now. Though your body continues to move forward, very gradually you are becoming weary, tired… No longer master of strength, sturdiness, optimism. Feel the weariness. “What’s the point of this long journey?” you ask yourself. At times you feel resigned, other times angry. Lately, it’s protest. Why this body… only to betray me? A body I don’t recognize. Where can I be if I am not with God, nor am I with myself as I have known myself for so many years? “U-mah betzah ki shamarnu mishmarto v’chi halachnu k’doranit: What have we gained by keeping God’s charge, and walking in mourning, before the Lord of Hosts?” (Malachi 3:14) So much darkness, the heaviness of mourning for what you have lost makes it harder to continue on. Each step slower now, and often painful as if you’re leaving behind the body you once knew and are entering a valley of darkness. But strangely, you are not frightened; you are calm. You remember the purpose of your journey. The place from which you have come is the place to which you are going, a safe place. “Ki holech adam el olamo: For [we set out], we walked to [our] eternal abode.” (Ecclesiastes 12:5) When the dust of this journey settles, you realize your lifebreath will return to God. “V’yashov he-afar al-ha’aretz keshe-hayah v’ha-ruach tashuv el-ha Elohim asher netara: And the dust returns to the ground as it was, and the lifebreath returns to God who bestowed it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7) Notice the calm stillness as you stop walking. Look around, see that though you are no longer walking, God is there with you, right behind you, as always. God has been as constant as your most constant companion. “Gam ki-elech b’gey tzalmavet lo-ira ra ki-atah imadi: Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23-4) You have been in God’s presence always. You do not have far to turn to return to the breath of all life. Return to God and God will return to you. “Shuvu elai v’ashuvah aleichem: Return to Me and I will return to you. Shuvu elai v’ashuvah aleichem.” (Malachi 3:7)