It’s been a while since I’ve published anything but I was asked to share this Shabbat’s sermon. So here it is and Happy Fourth of July!

I will grant him My pact of friendship—a covenant of shalom.  

Today’s Torah portion has much to say about counting and legacy. Here we have a census after the plague. Almost all of the Israelites who left Egypt have died. Just Caleb and Joshua and Moses are left. The intuitional memory of being a slave is gone. This is a new generation. And there they are…on the steppes of Moab, ready to go into the land of Israel, the land promised to their ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as part of the covenant, a land flowing with milk and honey–arrayed under their tribal flags to be counted. All the men, just the men, 20 years up, those of capable of military service. 

“Among these shall the land be apportioned as shares, according to the listed names.” This is about inheritance. Each tribe according to its size. But the women? Not so much. Until the daughters of Zelophehad: Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, who had no brothers, argued that their father’s name should not die out, that they too should inherit. They went to Moses, who went to G-d. And G-d agreed with the daughters. They inherited. And we stand on their shoulders. 

Perhaps it should say, I give THEM My pact of friendship—brit shalom, a covenant of peace. For all of us. Even now.  

I stand here this morning, Rabbi Margaret Joy Frisch Klein. I stand on the shoulders of the daughters of Zelophehad and the daughters of the American Revolution.  

It is no secret that the 4th of July is amongst my favorite holidays—and the time where we made a command performance back in Grand Rapids. After all my stepdaughter’s birthday is the 5th, my parents’ birthdays were the 6th and 7th. Those fireworks were for them, right?  It was one big weeklong celebration. A pilgrimage festival with its own traditional rhythm. Flag up at dawn. Blueberry raspberry lemon loaf in the oven. Decorating bikes for the parade.  I spent years decorating bikes for that parade,  Lots of cooking and eating. Menu etched in history. Deviled eggs, guacamole, that festive lemon cake, hot dogs, hamburgers, and something the neighbor always made: ham balls. (They work with ground turkey, too!) One big backyard barbecue. And then, of course, the fireworks. 

I am an American Studies major. I love reading history. But one of the things I the things learned at Tufts and we all need to do is to think critically about history.  

What do we do with our place as Jews in American History? As a student I thrilled to learn of William Bradford’s Hebrew manuscripts. He wrote his marginalia in Hebrew. This country was founded on the idea that a new light would shine over Israel—this was the new Israel and that all men were created equal.And yet, these same Puritans kicked Roger Williams out of Massachusetts because of his religious views.He wasn’t the right kind of Christian.  And yet, the first professor of Hebrew at Harvard College, Judah Monis, we know his name too,  from 1722 to 1760, had to convert to Christianity to keep his professorship. Hayyim Solomon helped bankroll the American Revolution. Jews fought and funded  both sides of the Civil War.  

And yet, In December 1862 Major General Ulysses S. Grant, angry at the illegal trade in smuggled cotton, issued General Order No. 11 expelling Jews from areas under his control in western Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. Jews appealed to President Abraham Lincoln, who immediately ordered General Grant to rescind the order. What do we do with this history? What do we do with current events where after unprecedented acceptance of Jews at all strata of American life, there is an unprecedented rise in anti-semitism, on the left and the right. Or that a rabbi in Boston, was stabbed 9 times getting into his vehicle on Thursday.  

I go back to one of the treasures of American history and American Jewish history in particular. The letter that George Washington wrote to the Hebrew congregation of Newport, RI in August of 1790. 

I read the whole thing here:
Gentlemen: 

While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens. 

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. 

If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people. 

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy—a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. 

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. 

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity. 

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. 

May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy. G. Washington

https://www.tourosynagogue.org/history-learning/gw-letter  

To bigotry no sanction—to persecution no assistance. The words that adorn the entrance to the US Holocaust Museum in Washington. The vision of Isaiah that we often sing here, everyone should sit under their vine and fig tree and none shall make them afraid. The words inscribed on the Liberty Bell—Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land. Freedom throughout the land. From the Book of Leviticus. These are the legacies we give to this great nation. 

Jews rose to be accepted, slowly over time, in every sector of American society.  There are still people who remember no swimming signs at the quarry, no membership at Elgin Country Club, quotas at major universities and bans on Jews in prestigious hospitals and law firms. Thankfully those battles to be won.  

So I ask again, what is our role in this great nation? 

I want to call to mind several verses: 

Put not your trust in the great, in mortal man who cannot save. Psalm 146:3 

Shemaiah and Abtallion received [the oral tradition] from them. Shemaiah used to say: love work, hate acting the superior, and do not attempt to draw near to the ruling authority.–Pirke Avot 1:10 

Be careful [in your dealings] with the ruling authorities for they do not befriend a person except for their own needs; they seem like friends when it is to their own interest, but they do not stand by a man in the hour of his distress. Pirke Avot 2:3 

Perhaps then, our job as Jews in this society is to hold America to a higher version of itself. To be constant reminders of Jewish values, to welcome the stranger, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d. To be prophets in our own community. To work for peace everywhere. Even Hillel and Shammai seemed to agree on this: 

Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah. Pirke Avot 1:12 

I cherish the 4th of July. My flag is already raised. It is one of the many legacies I pass to my daughter and one day to her daughters. But I do it with my eyes wide open. With an eye toward critical history and a responsibility to work for a better world, a vision I share from Isaiah and George Washington—a world where everyone—and all means all—can sit under their vine and fig tree and none—none shall make them afraid. Then we will all enjoy that covenant of peace promised in today’s portion. In Song of Songs it says, “The banner of love is spread over me.” That’s the flag I want. Love. Olam Chesed Yibeneh. We will build this world with love. And yet…one last quote from Pirke Avot—Ours is not to finish the task, neither are we free to ignore it.  

Hinini, here I am. Fully present. And yet, like Moses I have no words to share with you this morning. Where is Aaron, the peacemaker to speak for me? Pirke Avot teaches that we should be like the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursing peace. And yet, when Aaron’s own sons were killed, he remained silent. I cannot remain silent. May the words of my mouth (as imperfect as they are) and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You.

Many of us watched in horror as events unfolded in Washington on Wednesday. The Capitol, the hallowed grounds of our legislature, our very democracy, was breached. I have stood in that rotunda, awestruck. It is American holy ground, just as we read about Moses standing on holy ground in today’s portion. I cannot imagine being a civil servant, an elected official or even the esteemed Capitol Police and Secret Service. They must have been terrified. For their very lives.

Having lived in Israel, the images were too reminiscent of terror I had seen first hand, and second hand and I wanted to look away. I wanted to dive under the covers and not come up for air. I knew that was not an option. I knew that history was being made, for better or worse, and only history will be able to decide which. So, as painful as it was, I knew I must watch. This was a moment, like the assignation of Kennedy or 9/11 that cannot be ignored. And my cell phone was beginning to light up. Constantly. Text messages, emails, phone calls, everybody was watching. Some were angry. Some were fearful. And just wanted my comfort. Please tell me this is all going to be OK. That’s what leaders do. Offer comfort and reassurance. Sadly, I cannot do that. Some of that is for other leaders to do. However, what I can do is teach Torah. And so that is what we are going to do this morning.

Let’s look at this morning’s portion. It is one of the most important portions in the Torah. It begins by paralleling the beginning of Genesis in some important ways we looked at during Torah Study this week and it begins to birth a nation. I own a book called “The Birth of Nation”, by Arthur Schlesinger about the days before American Independence. I can tell you, as an American Studies major, there are many lenses to tell the story of the founding of the United States, just like there are many lenses through which to study Torah.

One of my professors, Rabbi Dr. Nehemia Polen, likened the Book of Leviticus to a reset button. It is.a recipe of how to draw close to G-d. Any many of the same elements exist in the Book of Exodus as well. He would explain ritual this way. The Torah commands sacrifices, one in the morning and one in the evening as a way to draw close. He likens it to the prescription meds some of us take, one in the morning and one at night. He then would talk about one of the most important moments after 9/11. The Wall Street Journal managed to get out a morning edition. It was their ritual. When all the world was crumbling, it was their back to work. Not a whole lot different than what we saw Congress do on Wednesday night. Back to work. To do the people’s business in those hallowed halls.

We Jews are good at various lenses. The whole Talmud is a collection of different opinions about what the Torah says. The rabbis argue back and forth and that is encouraged. What isn’t encouraged is violence.

At the beginning of the parsha, a new pharaoh arose in Egypt who knew not Joseph. It had been some 400 years. Can we look at this portion through Pharaoh’s eyes? Perhaps. It seems he was afraid that the Israelites would outnumber the Egyptians, that they might unite with the Egyptian enemies to destroy Egypt, that there might not be enough food to go around. Pretty frightening. So he orders that all the baby boys be killed. Also pretty frightening. Imagine being a mother about to give birth! Shifrah and Puah, two midwives, stand up and prevent that from happening. They defied a direct order. Remember their names. Shifrah and Puah. They played what we might consider a bit part but they helped birth a nation. Shifrah and Puah.

These midwives are described in the Torah as yorah Elohim – women who fear god. The Torah tells us that people who fear God are those who uphold and take seriously ethical, moral behavior. According to the great Biblical scholar Dr. Nachum Sarna, “Their defiance of tyranny constitutes history’s first recorded act of civil disobedience in defense of a moral imperative.”

Henry David Thoreau argued passionately for civil disobedience in his essay by the same name. He felt that there were times that government did more harm than good, and that included democracies. His short essay is often published together with Dr. Martin Luther King’s essay, Letter from a Birmingham Jail. However, while civil disobedience may be called for, in both King’s case and Thoreau’s case, it involved non-violent protests. Things like not paying your taxes.

Rabbi Ari Hart, in one of the most masterful sermons I read this week, (and this week I read and heard lots and lots of sermons!) compares the actions of Shifrah and Puah to the actions of the senate aides who did not turn aside. They saw the ballot boxes holding the electoral college returns. They scooped up them up and calmly ushered them and themselves out the Senate chambers. I am not sure I would have had that much foresight or courage. Four congressional staff members saw the ballot boxes, and the keys to our democracy.

Later in the portion, Moses, himself looks aside:

“Some time after that, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. He turned this way and that and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”

Why does he choose to act then? When he knows no one is watching—or when he knows he is the only one present who can act? How we look at this story is about how we perceive truth.

There was another time I wanted to turn aside. When I was president of the Greater Lowell Leadership Alliance, I had to make a statement to the press about the movie, The Passion of the Christ, a very bloody, awful Mel Gibson movie with some anti-semetic tropes. My friend, the Rev Larry Zimmerman and I went together on tickets provided by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Afterwards, we sat in silence in his van for a long time. For like a half an hour. Imagine me quiet for a half an hour! Finally he broke the silence. “I understand the Holocaust. It was a mob mentality. Once the mob started it was impossible to stop. Sadly.” The people that watched Jesus and the thieves being taken to his death, not only looked aside, they joined in on egging it on. It was impossible to stop. The lies that the leaders had portrayed over and over again had contributed to what had happened. The Holocaust, as Rev Zimmerman had suggested, had similar roots. Lies, propaganda, fear all contributed to what became Kristalnacht and then even worse. I had a different take. It was the best argument against capital punishment I had ever seen. (But that is a sermon for another time!)

Still later, Moses sees a burning bush, a bush that is unconsumed. And he realizes that this is a special moment, a holy moment. This time, he turns aside to look. He doesn’t ignore it. The midrash tells us that other people walked by the bush and didn’t act. He takes off his shoes. He knows he is standing on holy ground. On Wednesday night, between congressional votes, a congressman was on his hands and knees cleaning the floor of the rotunda. Why? Because it is holy ground.

The midrash teaches: “Why did the Holy One see fit to speak to Moses from within a thorn-bush? If it had been a carob tree or a sycamore tree, would you not have asked the same question. However, to send you away you without any answer is not possible, [so] why from within a thorn-bush? To teach you that there is no empty place devoid of the Shechinah, not even a [lowly] thorn-bush.”

Moses is a reluctant leader. He doesn’t want to do this, go back to Egypt and speak truth to power. He needs reassurance that he is not alone. So, G-d provides him with Aaron to be his mouthpiece and assures him that G-d himself will go with him. G-d provides Moses with G-d’s own name. “Eyeh asher eyeh”—very difficult to translate, something like “I will be what I will be.” G-d is all encompassing and forward thinking. G-d is everything.

Moses is a humble leader. Like the lowly bush, we are told over and over again, he is humble.

The parsha demands an answer. G-d calls to Moses, “Moses, Moses” and he answers “Hineini, I am here.” What does it mean to answer Hineini, to be fully present. To be able to see the burning bush. To feel with such passion that you feel called to do something. Midrash actually draws a linguistic connection between the “flame (lavah) of fire” of the burning bush and a heart (lev) of fire. Being called to do something is to have passion about it. To know that you cannot turn aside. It is something you must do. You must have heart.

Frederick Buechner teaches that “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” The world needs much these days. What then, are you called on to do? Where does your deep gladness meet the world’s greatest needs? That then is how you answer Hineini with your lives. That’s where you will find meaning. Whether you are Shiprah and Puah or four congregational staffers or “just” you. Each of us has a unique role to fill. Each of us is called to do something.

Moses answers Hineini. I am here. He is humble. He is reluctant. He doesn’t go it alone. And he doesn’t do it with violence. Don’t turn aside. Look into the fire. Find the fire. We will continue to look at Moses’s leadership over the next few weeks as the story continues to unfold. Because after all at the end of Deuteronomy, just before Moses dies, we are told that never again did there arise a leader like Moses. But each of us is a little like Moses. If we would be silent long enough to listen.

Cleanse our hearts: A Poem Prayer
In the middle of the night
Between votes
A lone congressman
Was on his hand and knees
Cleaning the rotunda.

What can we clean?

Note: This is the sermon I gave this week. Before the election was called. Which happened during services this week. I chose not to announce it because it could wait. Nonetheless I will never forget the moment I heard.

Chesed of Abraham

This week is big. Not for those reasons. That’s a discussion for another time. We learn a lot about Abraham and our need to show to chesed to everyone. Imagine sitting in the heat of the day and you just had your brit milah—your circumcision. Which you did to yourself. You hurt. You are tired. And no less than G-d, the Healer, G-d your Friend, appears, shows up to comfort you in your pain. And then you raise your eyes and three anashim, men appear, Or maybe they are angels, or beings. You race to take care of them. Your tent is open to all four sides exactly so you can welcome guests from wherever they appear. Two big values, Jewish values—visiting the sick, bikkur holim and chanasat orchim, welcoming guests. Each made harder but not impossible by COVID-19. Nonetheless they are critically important to creating the kind of society we want to be a part of. Friday night we brainstormed ways to keep connected.

The third mitzvah, and what sets Abraham apart from Noah, is he argues with G-d. Abraham was righteous, because he argued on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. If there were just 10 righteous people, Sodom and Gomorrah would not be destroyed. From this we learn that 10 people is the necessary number, the bare minimum to have a community. Last night we talked about why 10.

Today, I want to talk about what a community is. We know that we need a minyan to say Kaddish or Barechu or to read Torah. We know that the nature of community is changing. Look at your faces…we are gathered together electronically. We are a community. We count this as a minyan. Even a few years ago that might not have happened. So what is it that we want from a community. In starting a new Jewish community out on the prairie for example, you need three things: a cemetery, a school and a mikveh. You need to take care of the widow, the orphan, the sojourner. You need to teach. You need to come together to daven, to pray, to celebrate a marriage or a birth. You need to bury the dead and comfort the bereaved.

Let’s look at Abraham’s argument.

Abraham demands, calls upon G-d to be just. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (Gen.18:25) Doing justly is being righteous. It is an act of kindness, chesed. These are often linked in our tradition. G-d is both full of lovingkindness and just.

So this argument with G-d is set in that context. And it is why Abraham is called a righteous person contrasted with Noah who was a righteous person in his generation. Abraham dares to argue with G-d. Abraham dares to stand up. He is not a bystander. Last week we looked at another instance of Abraham not standing idly by. He rescued his nephew Lot. Here he is arguing not just for Lot but for the whole community. Later we are told in Leviticus, “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.” So part of being in community is standing up for one another—even if that means arguing with G-d.

As Von Rad said, “The issue here is not one of mere numbers, but as presented, it is a story about who God will be. This strikes the modern ear as presumptuous, but the text leads us in this direction. Many have seen in this text an important principle taking shape: will the righteous be able to act in behalf of the guilty? “Should not a small minority of guiltless men be so important before God that this minority should cause a reprieve for the whole community?” (http://www.crivoice.org/gen18and22.htm#-11-)

Did you know that G-d prays? What does G-d pray? That G-d compassion with overrule G-d’s justice. That G-d’s house will be a house of prayer for all people. Here is the story in the Talmud:

Yochanan says in the name of R. Yosi:
How do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, says prayers?
Because it says: ‘Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer’ (Isaiah 56:7).

It is not said, ‘their prayer’, but ‘My prayer’; hence we learn that the Holy Blessed One, says prayers.

What does G-d pray? R. Zutra b. Tobi said in the name of Rav:

‘May it be My will that My mercy, my compassion may suppress My anger, and that My mercy may prevail over My [other] attributes, so that I may deal with My children in the attribute of mercy and, on their behalf, stop short of the limit of strict justice.’ (Berachot 7a)

This phrase from Isaiah is over the doors of many synagogues, including the one that Simon grew up in, Chicago Sinai. May this house be a house of prayer for all peoples. May it be true of this house too. That too is an act of kindness.

Later in this parsha, it seems that Lot offers up his daughters, to spare the guests in his house. And Abraham, the righteous one, who just argued to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, offers up Sarah to Abimelech. This chapter maybe the original #MeToo Movement. But in fact, G-d rescues Lot’s daughters. G-d rescues Sarah. Let’s also not overlook Abimelech. Abimelech is outraged that Abraham has tricked him into “taking” Sarah. This is a great moment for the universalism that is Judaism. And the first mention of “to pray”, l’hitpaleil, a reflexive verb is Abraham praying for Abimelech. And Abimelech is healed, by G-d, the Healer. So our parsha has come full circle.

We know that to be a mensch, to exhibit acts of love and kindness, to do justly means to visit the sick, welcome guests, not stand idly by and yes, even argue with G-d. Those are the messages of kindness in this week’s parsha. May we have the courage to do them here today.

We have spoken about Aleinu calling for l’takein olam b’malchut shadai, a repair of the world. On that day, the Lord will be one and G-d’s name will be One. Here is Judy Chicago’s version in her The Merger Poem:

And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another’s will

And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life’s creatures

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again

Copyright Judy Chicago, 1979.

Here is my poem that I wrote to my congregation expressing a similar thing that I read before Kaddish:

Ours is not to finish the task
The election was never the task.

The task is to create a society
Where everyone is free
Where everyone is recognized
Created in the image of G-d
Where we love G-d
Where we support the widow
Take care of the orphan
Love the stranger

Where we love our neighbors as ourselves.
Where we take care of one another.

But this is hard.
People want to take care of themselves.
Their own family
Their own needs
The physical ones and the spiritual ones.

Abram went on a journey
He left his country
The land of his birth
His parents’ home
To a land that he didn’t know.
Full of uncertainty.
Taking care of his needs
Yet he raced to welcome guests.
He fed them.
He bathed them.
He refreshed their souls.

Mirroring Abram,
Our ancestors went on a journey
To a land, this land, that they didn’t know
Filled with uncertainty
To be.a light on the hill
To create a society
Where they were free
To love G-d
As they saw fit.
To escape persecution,
Whether the Puritans
Or those chased out
Of Eastern Europe, Western Europe
The Mediterranean Basin
The whole world
To come here.
To care for themselves
And for one another
Not one or the other.
Both.

Yet it turns out.
Caring is hard.
Kindness is hard.
Love is hard.

We forget
We revert to old patterns
We put our individualism
Ahead of the common good.

It is time to remember.
Love yourself.
Love your neighbor.
Love the widow, the orphan the stranger.
Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d.

Ours is not to finish the task
Neither are we free to ignore it.

My mother died on Election Day in 2008. It seems like it was a lifetime ago. The world seemed full of optimism and hope. Even her hospital room. Even in Grand Rapids, MI. That Grand Rapids, where the President ended his campaign last last night. That Grand Rapids, where President Ford was the sitting President when I took civics in High School and he was the hometown boy. Where my mother was actively involved, Girl Scout leader, PTO, League of Women Voters, Ladies Literary Club and so much more. So it seemed natural that I as a rabbi would teach for her yahrzeit. Here is what I taught:

Pre-Election Teaching in Memory of Nelle Frisch

Some people mark a yahrzeit with a candle. Some with saying Kaddish. Some by offering a teaching. As a rabbi, I teach.

We will look at

• Historical and Current Prayers for our Country
• Why Jews are proud to participate in democracy and citizenship
• Talk about the flag above prepared by the Bureau of Jewish Education several election cycles ago
• What the ancient Jewish sources have said about government

We will end with Kaddish.

Grant Us Peace

Grant us peace. Your most precious gift, O Eternal Source of Peace,
and give us the will to proclaim its message to all the peoples of the earth.
Bless our country, that it may always be a stronghold of peace,
and its advocate among the nations.
May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes.
Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands.
And may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart.
Blessed is the Eternal God, the source of Peace.
– From The Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayer Book,
by the Central Conferences of American Rabbis

In another era this was my mother’s confirmation speech at Shereth Emeth in Saint Louis in 1938 from the Union Prayer Book with all the thees and thous. She then read it at my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in 2003 at Temple Emanuel of the Merrimack Valley.

What the ancient Jewish sources have said about government:

“Be sure to place over yourselves the king that God elects for you” (Deut. 17:14–15). God chose the first king, Saul (1 Sam. 9:16–17), but God’s choice for the second king, David, was confirmed by “all of Israel’s elders” (2 Sam. 5:3). And the third king, Solomon, ruled in David’s bloodline but “all the people” together ratified his accession (1 Kings 1:39).

Rabbi Isaac said: One does not appoint a leader for a community without consulting the community, as it is written, “See, the Eternal has singled out by name Betzalel” (Exodus 35:30). The Holy One said to Moses, “Moses, is Bezalel worthy in your opinion to be a leader?” Moses answered to God, “Ruler of the Universe, if he is worthy before You, how could he possibly not be worthy before me?” God said to him, “Even so, go and ask them.” (Berachot 55a)

1. Be cautious with the government, for they only bring a person close to them for their own needs. They appear as friends when it benefits them, but they do not stand by a person in his time of difficulty. (Pirke Avot 2:3)
2. Rabbi Hanina, the vice-high priest said: pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive. (Pirke Avot 3:2)
3. Rabbeinu Yonah, 13^th-century Spanish rabbi, Talmudist, and ethicist, explained this passage in the following way to emphasize the importance of Jews praying for the welfare of all people: “Man would swallow his fellow alive: This matter is wanting to say that a person should pray for the peace of the whole world and be in pain about the pain of others. […] As a person should not make his supplications and his requests for his needs alone, but rather to pray for all people, that they be at peace. As with the welfare of the government, there is peace in the world.”

Judaism and Civic Engagement:

Questions:

• How do we continue to have civil discourse?
• How do we reconcile these values if we see something else happening?
• What is the difference between political and partisan?

“Judaism teaches us that voting is not just a civic duty. In fact, throughout Jewish history, many of our rabbis and sages have framed voting as a mitzvah, a Jewish imperative.

Our tradition views us as working in partnership with God to create a better world – as we pray in the Aleinu prayer, l’takein olam b’malchut Shaddai – and Torah calls on us to pursue justice, to care for the stranger, the widow, and the orphan, and to sustain our world.

We are further taught to “choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30). Choosing life is a positive action, reminding us that we have to make choices to create the world we want to live in. Voting, in a democratic society, is such an example of making a choice.

Rabbi Yitzhak taught that “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted” (Babylonian Talmud Berachot 55a), further explaining that in the Torah, Bezalel could be chosen to build the Tabernacle only with the community’s approval. This deeply embedded ethic of political participation has guided Jews to enthusiastically participate in the democratic process.” Rabbi Dara Lithwick

Chazon Ish (a Russian-born Orthodox rabbi who spent his later years in Palestine/Israel, 1878-1953) to explain that he didn’t have enough money to pay his taxes; therefore, he would not be allowed to vote in an upcoming election.

Hearing the man’s dilemma, the Chazon Ish responded: “You should sell your tefillin and pay the taxes… tefillin, you can borrow from another, but the right to vote you cannot get from someone else.” Rabbi David Russo

Historical and Current Prayers for our Country:

And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the LORD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper…For thus said the LORD: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you, and I will fulfill to you My promise of favor—to bring you back to this place. For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning you—declares the LORD—plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a hopeful future. When you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will give heed to you. You will search for Me and find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly. (Jeremiah 29:7, 10-13)

Yoḥanan said in the name of R. Yosi: From where [do we know] that the Holy Blessed One prays? As it is said, I will bring them to the mount of my sacredness, and let them rejoice in the house of my prayer (Isaiah 56:7) – ‘their prayer’ is not said, rather my prayer. From here [we know] that the Holy Blessed One prays. What does he pray? R. Zutra b. Tuviah said that Rav said: May it be my will that my compassion subdue my anger, and my compassion prevail over my [other] qualities, and I will behave with my children with my quality of compassion, and I will enter before them short of the line of the law. (Berachot 7a)

HaNoten Teshuah:
May the One who grants victory to kings and dominion to princes, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, who delivers His servant David from the evil sword1, who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, bless and protect, guard and help, exalt, magnify and uplift–
Our Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria and Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales and the entire Royal Family

May the supreme King of Kings in His mercy grant them life, and protect them, and save them from every trouble, woe and injury. May nations submit under their feet, may their enemies fall before them, and may they succeed in all their endeavors.

May the supreme King of Kings in His mercy put into their hearts and the hearts of all their counselors and officials, to deal kindly with us and all Israel. In their days and in ours, may Judah be saved and Israel live in safety, and may the Redeemer come to ZIon. May this be His will and let us say, Amen.

(Based on prayers of Sephardic Jews in the 16th century. It was already widespread by the 1660’s, including in England, where this version originates. (“Hanoten Teshua’ The Origin of the Traditional Jewish Prayer for the Government,” Barry Schwartz) Thanks to T’ruah for supplying this one. 

A prayer for the country written after the ratification of our Constitution in 1789 by a Jewish Congregation in Richmond, Virginia. It is displayed in Philadelphia at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Note: Washington spelled out as an acrostic.

Translation: We beseech thee, O Lord to have the President of the United States … and all U.S. Senators and Representatives … grant them such a share of knowledge that will tend to the happiness of the people … that they may wisely and successfully execute the trust committed to their care, that knowledge, religion, and piety, arts and sciences, may increase, and that agriculture and manufactures, trade and commerce, may flourish.

Our God and God of our ancestors: We ask Your blessings for our country – for its government, for its leaders and advisors, and for all who exercise just and rightful authority. Teach them insights of Your Torah, that they may administer all affairs of state fairly, that peace and security, happiness and prosperity, justice and freedom may forever abide in our midst.
Creator of all flesh, bless all the inhabitants of our country with Your spirit. May citizens of all races and creeds forge a common bond in true harmony, to banish hatred and bigotry, and to safeguard the ideals and free institutions that are the pride and glory of 6ur country.
May this land, under Your Providence, be an influence for good throughout the world, uniting all people in peace and freedom – and helping them to fulfill the vision of Your prophet: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they experience war any more.” And let us say: Amen. Siddur Sim Shalom

Grant us peace. Your most precious gift, O Eternal Source of Peace,
and give us the will to proclaim its message to all the peoples of the earth.
Bless our country, that it may always be a stronghold of peace,
and its advocate among the nations.
May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes.
Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands.
And may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart.
Blessed is the Eternal God, the source of Peace.
– From The Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayer Book,
by the Central Conferences of American Rabbis

And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another’s will

And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life’s creatures

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again

Copyright Judy Chicago, 1979.

Prayers for Voting:
Baruch Atah Adonai Elohaynu Melech Ha-olam
She-asani Ben/Bat Chorin –
Thank you, Power of all time and space, for making me a free person.
The morning blessings as recited by Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett, Nashua, NH

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam,
she–me׳tzapeh me’itanu l’asok b’avodat ezrachut ha’medina.
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe,
who expects us to engage as citizens in our country.
Rabbi Laura Novak Winer

A Blessing for Holy Act of Voting and America
HaMakom, holy space and energy, source of creation, wonder and kindness, the all-powerful, all-merciful, the one who breathed us into being…I have something to say to you.
I am furious.
I am terrified.
I am fragile and struggling.
I know I am not alone. We the people are struggling.
I am optimistic by nature but I feel like I am being tested, stretched to the edge of my soul’s spiritual boundary.
I know I am not alone. We the people are on edge.
I yearn to meet this moment with love, kindness, and humility – but I watch the violence of words and deeds, the degradation of your holiest creations. I watch our fellow citizens amplifying fear to cement their precarious grip on white dominance. I seek your strength to counter hate with love.
For those who seek to incite violence and preach hate, we call on you to soften their hearts and make heavy their lips.
We call on you to foil those who plot to toss out ballots like trash in the dead of night, to intimidate voters, to fray our democratic systems.
We call on you to let every vote, every voice count.
Guide us to be stonecatchers – to soften the blows of hatred – to absorb the rascally rhetoric of distrust and discord.
Stoke in our hearts the fires of freedom and nonviolent action, to rise to meet this moment, on the streets and in our communities.
Make each of us courageous citizens, elevate our voices, bodies, and spirits, so that in our own way, we collectively inch closer to making this a more perfect union.
Brighten the divine spark embedded in each of us so that we may brighten the days and years ahead of this great nation.
Make each of us like honey bees. May we collaborate to create divine nectar that sweetens life for all, reducing suffering for all, allowing us to reset, re-imagine, and re-encounter our brothers and sisters be they blue or red or purple.
Remind us, we too are divine.
Remind us, we too are loved and matter.
Remind us, November 3rd is just one more day in the lifetime of this nation.
Michebeirach avoteinu v’emoteinu – may the one who blessed our ancestors, force of love and compassion, hold us close as we venture forth – arm in arm – as we secure the blessings of liberty for all. Amen.
Rabbi Benjamin Ross

God Who commands us, “You shall not remain indifferent” (Deuteronomy 22:3); Whose Prophet taught us, “Seek the welfare of the community… and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jeremiah 29:7); I am about to cast my vote in America’s Presidential election. Be with me as I discharge this sacred duty… for, as President John F. Kennedy wrote:

“In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office;’ every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities.”

And as his vice president observed: “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice.”

Keep us mindful of the wisdom of Senator Margaret Chase Smith: “Freedom unexercised may become freedom forfeited” …and of Aeschylus: “In the lack of judgment great harm arises, but one vote cast can set right a house.”

May my vote help secure for all people the blessing invoked by our first President, welcoming the Jewish Community to the United States:

“May the Father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.”

AMEN.
Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the former National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.

Eternal God,
Compassionate Judge,
Concerned Creator,
Spirit of Oneness
Infused into our very existence,
As we exercise our responsibility
As citizens
To decide who will lead us
In the coming years,
Help us to emulate your essential attributes:
Mercy
Grace
Patience
Outrage that leads to productive action
A pursuit and sharing of the truth
Kindness
Forgiveness
and the awareness that what we do in any moment
Can have long lasting consequences.
May the gifts of insight and wisdom
Which you have made available to us
Enable us to combat, in all forms
Cruelty
Violence
Prejudice
Hatred
Discrimination
The misuse of systems of justice
The spreading of misinformation
Intimidation of opponents due to seeing them as less than human.
We know that You have provided us with the tools and the capacity
To love ourselves, our family, our friends, our neighbors,
and people whom we do not yet know.
When we see love, consideration, and decency disappearing
From our communities, our nation and our world,
May we find a way to take a stand
And to join with others
To preserve love – and peace – within our souls
Within our relationships
And within the unseen but powerful ties
That bind together all human beings with all of Your creation.
Rabbi Larry Karol, rabbi emeritus in Las Cruces, NM

May G-d grant me wisdom
Wisdom to choose carefully
Wisdom to hear all the sides
Wisdom to open my mouth with kindness
Wisdom to protect the widow, the orphan and the stranger
Wisdom to love my neighbor as myself
Wisdom to not stand idly by
Wisdom to allow my need for justice be overruled by compassion

May I know that with this vote
I choose
I choose to vote

I vote for hope
I vote for freedom
And peace
I vote for the earth
And the world
I vote for my neighbors
And the sojourners
I vote for my descendants
I vote with my community
And my nation
I vote for myself,
By myself
I vote.
Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein

For seven months we have been inside our bubbles, hoping to stem the tide of COVID-19. The last blog post I wrote was on handwashing. (Thanks Trisha Arlin!). So much has happened since then. Rarely did a week go by that I didn’t think about what I would blog. And then someone asked at the High Holy Days what happened to the Engergizer Rabbi. So it’s back. This year or at least through the Book of Genesis, we will look at the chesed, the lovingkindness or kindness that is in the text and how it applies to our own lives. So here we go. Perhaps it is a shehechianu moment. Now if only I knew how to update the home page to include some new things.

The Chesed of Beresit

“In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” Or if you prefer, “When G-d began to create.” Such familiar language. In six days G-d created heaven and earth and on the 7th day G-d rested. G-d shavat v’yinafash. G-d ceased and rested. Or maybe even better, G-d re-souled, since one meaning of nefesh is soul. In between, in today’s parsha, portion, we learn of two different ways of telling the creation story. Looking at it through the lens of chesed, kindness Is perhaps not obvious. Who illustrates kindness, chesed in this story>?

G-d, in the very act of creating the world and placing human beings in it shows lovingkindness. G-d ,for creating us in G-d’s image. G-d, in created a helpmate for Adam saying that it was not good for an individual to be alone.

There are a couple of midrashim that illustrate my point.

What does it mean that we are created b’tzelm elohim, in the image of G-d. First, we need to see that every person has a spark of the divine in each of us.

“Why was only a single person created first? Therefore the first human being, Adam, was created alone, to teach us that whoever destroys a single life, the Torah considers it as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a single life, the Torah considers it as if he saved an entire world.” (Sanhedrin 4:5)

The midrash continues, “Furthermore, so no race or class may claim a nobler ancestry, saying, ‘ Furthermore, only one person, Adam, was created for the sake of peace among people, so that no one should say: ‘My father was born first. My father was greater than yours…. and finally, to give testimony to the greatness of the Holy One, who caused the wonderful diversity of humanity from one type. For if people strike many coins from one mold, they all resemble one another, but the King of Kings, the Holy Blessed One, made each person in the image of Adam, and yet not one of them resembles another. And why was Adam created last of all beings? To teach him humility; for if he be overbearing, let him remember that the little fly preceded him in the order of creation.” (Sanhedrin 4:5)

Leo Baeck picks up this idea when he said: “Above all demarcations of races and nations, castes and classes, oppressors and servants, givers and recipients, above all delineations even of gifts and talents stands one certainty: Man. Whoever bears this image is created and called to be a revelation of human dignity.” (Leo Baeck, The Essence of Judaism, rev. ed. [New York: Schocken Books, 1948], p. 152) Abraham Joshua Heschel said similar things when he marched with King and when he participated in a conference in 1963 on Religion and Race. We echo these sentiments every week when we pray for the welfare of our country.

Pirke Avot teaches us: Beloved are humans for we were created in the image of God. Still greater was God’s love in that God gave to us the knowledge of our having been so created. (Pirkei Avot 3:14)

In Psalms we learn: What is humankind, that You are mindful, / human beings, that you pay attention to them? / You have made them little lower than divine. (Psalm 8:5-6)

So how do we act when we know we are created in the image of G-d? How do we protect life itself? We act like G-d. We emulate G-d’s own acts of lovingkindness with our own. Sotah teaches us, using part of our very text this morning:

And Rabbi Chama the son of Rabbi Chanina said, “What is the meaning of the verse, ‘You should walk after the Lord your G-d. (Deuteronomy 13:5)’? Is it possible for a person to walk after the divine presence? And isn’t it already stated, ‘For the Lord your G-d is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24)’? Rather, To follow the character traits of G-d. “Just as G-d clothes the naked, as it is written, ‘And the Lord G-d made for Adam and his wife cloaks of leather, and G-d clothed them (Genesis 3:21);’ so too you shall clothe the naked. The Holy Blessed One, visited the sick, as it is written, ‘And G-d appeared in Ailonei Mamrei [while Abram was in pain] (Genesis 18:1);’ so too you shall visit the sick. The Holy Blessed One, comforted mourners, as it is written, ‘And it was, after the death of Abraham, and G-d blessed his son Isaac (Genesis 25:11);’ so too you shall comfort mourners. The Holy Blessed One, buried the dead, as it is written, ‘And G-d buried him in the valley (Deuteronomy 34:6);’ so too, you shall bury the dead.”

But it is more than being kind to each other because we are created b’tzelem elohim—although that is good and can be a starting point. We also need to be kind to ourselves. That’s what G-d illustrates by resting on Shabbat. G-d takes that breath, Shabbat, the pause that refreshes. The Sabbath is a gift, a sign of the covenant, that is in the category in modern language of “self-care”. Ahad Ha’am taught that just as Israel has kept the Sabbath, so has the Sabbath kept Israel. Taking time for self-care recognizes that we are each an individual created b’tzelem elohim. Therefore, each of us individually is worthy of being treated with respect and care…and with chesed, love.

That chesed is illustrated by another story from the ancient rabbis:

And all your actions should be for the sake of Heaven, like Hillel. When Hillel left for a place, they would ask him, “where are you going?”
– “I am going to do a mitzvah.”
– “What is the mitzvah?”
– “I am going to the bathroom.”
– “And is this a mitzvah?”
– “Yes, so that the body is not damaged.”

Or:

– “I am going to the bathhouse.”
“And is this a mitzvah?”
– “Yes, in order to clean the body. Know that if someone is appointed to polish and clean the statues of kings they are paid every year, and also respected among the great kings. So we, who are created in the image of God, how much more so?״ (Avot D’ Rabbi Natan 2:30)

So taking the time for self-care—for cleaning ourselves, for exercising, for eating healthy food, for resting and celebrating Shabbat are commanded because we are ourselves, each of us were created b’tzelem elohim and that very behavior is an act of kindness.

Ultimately, we derive three teachings from our verse Genesis. All life is sacred and must be protected, no human is inherently more important than another, and though we may look different from one another, the infinite nature of the Divine means that we are all equally created in the image of God.

There is a poem I want to leave you with from the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichi:

Tourists:
Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David’s Tower,
I placed my two heavy baskets at my side.
A group of tourists was standing around their guide and
I became their target marker.
“You see that man with the baskets?
Just right of his head there’s an arch from the Roman period.
Just right of his head.”
“But he’s moving, he’s moving!”
I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them,
“You see that arch from the Roman period?
It’s not important: but next to it,
left and down a bit, there sits a man who’s bought fruit and vegetables for his family.”

Yehuda Amichai from the poem Tourist

Remember that we are all created b’tzelem elohim. The person who cleans the stones of the palace or the school or the synagogue, the person who brings vegetables to his family, the person who teaches. And yes, even you, yourself. Remember to be kind. To everyone. Because everyone is created with that divine spark inside.

LORD PREPARE ME  TO BE YOUR SANCTUARY
PURE AND HOLY TRIED AND TRUE
IN THANKSGIVING I’LL BE YOUR LIVING SANCTUARY  FOR YOU

V’ah-soo lee mik-dash v’sha-hantee b’to-ham…
Va-anakhnu n’varaykh Yah may-atah v’ahd olam.

That line v’ah-soo lee mik-dash, v’sha-hantee b’to-ham, is from today’s Torah portion. Make for Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you. (Exodus 25:8)

Today’s Torah portion is about preparing. It is about preparing for sacred service. It is about building sacred space. It is about brining G-d gifts, terumah, We bring G-d the offerings of our heart. Everyone that so moves him…or her. The text later is actually clear later that the gifts come from both men and women.

We are told to bring gold, silver, copper, blue, red, purple yarn of linen and goat’s hair, tanned ram skins, dolphin skins and acacia wood.

With those gifts, we are ready to start building. What we are building is a sacred space, a safe place where we can meet each other and meet G-d. In the words of our song, becoming a living sanctuary for G-d. A place to meet G-d, to become aware of the presence of the Divine, to become mindful.

How do we prepare for sacred service today? People answered that we open our hearts. We bring our whole being. We open our minds and listen, to the words on the page, to the music, to each other, to the rabbi. We prepare the building. We make sure that there is heat and light and warmth, snow shoveling, food for Kiddush, programs, people who are ready to lead portions of the service

The Israelites built that mishkan that sacred place where they placed the Tablets of the Law, the 10 Commandments, the broken shards of the first set that Moses smashed. Eventually, the Israelites built a more permanent home for those Tablets, that included the Holy of Holies, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. That too was destroyed. Then it was rebuilt again. The Second Holy Temple.

And yet, Judaism has not died out. We still prepare ourselves for sacred service. We do this in a number of ways. One way, is by building our own homes as mikdash me’at, a little sanctuary. That is the basis of the Friday night home table service—candle lighting, Kiddush, motzi, which we looked at last night. We actually do that every time we eat, by saying blessings.

Many of you know I’ve been teaching a daily online Talmud class called Daf Yomi. Never has Talmud seemed so relevant.

As the Talmud teaches, Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Elazar both say: As long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel’s transgressions. Now that it is destroyed, a person’s table atones for his transgressions.

Part of that table service, in fact every time we eat bread we are commanded to wash our hands. Now that hand washing seems very current. The rabbis of the Talmud knew what our mothers knew and what the CDC is now commanding. Wash Your Hands. Every single time. They even tell us that you shouldn’t shake hands with someone who hasn’t washed their hands. They were so concerned with this basic ritual that they discuss it 345 times in the Talmud. Let that sink in 345 times the rabbis teach us about hand washing.

Bread needed to be eaten in a state of ritual purity, or as Anita Diamant, author of the Red Tent and founder of Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh and Education Center, ritual readiness. Because this hand washing is not about cleanliness necessarily—although that is important too. It is about elevating the mundane into something sacred. It is about mindfulness. It is about preparing to enter into a sacred relationship with G-d and with each other. As Chabad explained it, “We are cleansing ourselves of any sense of entitlement, arrogance or complacency. We have bread on the table, but it is G-d’s blessing that brought it to us. We should be humbled and grateful for the dough He provides.” That is part of why when you wash your hands in this ritual you don’t interrupt between washing and reciting motzi, the blessing for bread.

Judaism mandates hand washing before bread. That’s why we are most familiar with hand washing in the Passover seder. In a seder there are actually two hand washings, one towards the beginning without a blessing and one just before eating the matzah. The other times are waking in the morning with the same blessing for washing before bread. Some have the tradition of washing as part of Bikat HaMazon, the grace after meals. In congregations that do the full Birkat Hakohanim, the full priestly benediction, the kohahim doing the blessings wash first. There is no blessing for that. Lastly, we wash our hands after returning from a cemetery.

So how do we wash? The CDC says with soap and water for 20 seconds. There are videos on Youtube if you need a refresher course. Some say that 20 seconds is as long as it takes to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (or the ABCs)

For this ritual washing of hands, there are many traditions. My method is to take off my rings—like going to the mikveh there should be nothing between me, the water and G-d. Then I lift the cup and sprinkle three handfuls first on my left and then on my right. The blessing, like all blessings begins, Baruch Atah Adonai, Blessed are You, Lord, Eloheinu Melech Ha’olam, Our G-d, Ruler of the Universe, and since this is something we are commanded, asher kiddishanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu, who has sanctified us with commandments and commanded us, al nitilat yadaim, on the elevating, raising, washing hands.

Because with this little bit of ritual, of mindfulness, we have elevated the mundane to something special, something holy. We have prepared ourselves for sacred service.

Wash your hands.

Talmud. I hate it. OK, that may be a little strong. I wrestle with it. I struggle with it. I even flunked one semester of Advanced Talmud. It’s archaic. Perhaps misogynistic. But hineini, here I am, studying, even teaching Talmud again.

Why? Partly because as my ritual chair told me, I like to stretch myself. Partly because I was curious again. Partly because at the beginning of January a new cycle of Daf Yomi, page of the day started again. It is a seven and a half year cycle. Partly as a discipline. Partly to test the limits of Facebook. Partly to see what I could get out of it as a woman. Partly because it is what rabbis do; we teach. Partly as a joke—would anyone really want to study Talmud with me? No way!

So here I am, hineini, almost 4 weeks in. One the 4^th chapter and the 27^th page, enjoying Talmud. Probably for the first time. Waxing lyrical about it. The pressure is off. No one is grading this. No comp to pass. No one to impress. Study for study’s own sake, “Torah Lishma.” And surprise, some 38 people on Facebook are studying right along with me.

Here’s where it is good. Facebook has enabled us all to “meet”. This is a very diverse group of people. Some Jewish. Some not. Some rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators. Some lay people. A variety of careers. Some based in Elgin. Some spread all over the country. Some men. Some women.

And it seems to me, it is very rabbinic. The rabbis of the Talmud had “conversations” through the centuries. We are having “conversations” across all those groupings. And it is very rich. We are also finding ways to make it relevant to 2020. Recently on page 19a we were in a heating discussion (because that’s what the rabbis do, heatedly discuss, even argue) about whether you can say ill of the dead. Some said yes, if carefully crafted. Others said no, G-d would not want us to say anything bad about someone who died. Then Kobe Bryant was killed in the helicopter crash and there was a lot of discussion about his “complicated legacy” as one article put it. Wow! There seemed to be a national debate of just what we were studying.

Earlier we debated whether it mattered if we said the right blessing over beer or wine, as I was sipping a Riesling. Can we pray in a porta-potty at a race? Can we interrupt our prayers to greet someone who comes to the synagogue late? Does it matter their status or what part of the service you are in.

I don’t know if this can last for seven and a half years. I don’t even know if Facebook will be around that long or we’ll have to use a new technology. But for now, I am enjoying it. 38 other people know more about Talmud then they did when we all started. Including me. You can too. It is not too late to join us. You don’t need Hebrew or Aramaic or any other prerequisite. We are doing it in English through sefaria.org. Go to Facebook. Search for Rabbi Margaret’s Talmud Daf Yomi Group. I’ll be there.

This is Martin Luther King, jr Weekend and it is also what has become the annual Women’s March. It is also the 24^th yahrzeit of my father, Donald Frisch. This is going to be a hard sermon. One that actually made me cry as I was writing it. Not because of the yahrzeit, but maybe.

Let’s go on a walk. I want to show you some photos. Including two of my rabbi, Rabbi Everett Gendler. Jews were at the forefront, literally the front lines of the Civil Rights movement. Because Jews understood that if there is persecution of one group, there could be persecution of any group, including Jews. We knew this all too well. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a professor at Jewish Theological Seminary said about marching with King that he felt his feet were praying.

Simon is not here this morning because he is “praying” the prayer for peace at Elgin’s annual Martin Luther King, jr Prayer Breakfast. That same prayer he leads us in responsively, that ends with the famous quote from Isaiah, that I hear in Martin Luther King’s voice. “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” What you may not know, that translation is Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s translation.

It was also Heschel who said at a conference on race and religion who said, “At the first conference on religion and race, the main participants were Pharaoh and Moses. Moses’ words were: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me.” While Pharaoh retorted: “Who is the Lord, that I should heed this voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go. The outcome of that summit meeting has not come to an end. Pharaoh is not ready to capitulate. The exodus began, but is far from having been completed. In fact, it was easier for the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea than for a Negro to cross certain university campuses.” https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/heschel-religion-and-race-speech-text/

Folks, we are STILL NOT THERE YET. There is still not justice. Not equality. Not voting rights–which is the theme of this year’s breakfast. But there is not memory either. Those very pictures we went to see. Not part of the movie Selma.

I want to talk about just one phrase in this week’s parsha, portion. “There arose in Egypt a ruler who knew not Joseph.” And because he didn’t know Joseph and Joseph’s contributions, he enslaved the Israelites, fearing that this people who had grown mighty in number might make war on the Egyptians.

He knew not Joseph. Much of my adult life, much of my rabbinate can be described as building bridges between peoples who don’t know one another well or at all. Whether it was a class I taught at Tufts on Jewish-Christian Relations or the undergraduate internship I had with American Jewish Committee or the founding of The Merrimack Valley Project or other social justice activities, it has been about making sure that others knew Jews and that we were working for a world that supported the widow, the orphan, the stranger. There is a long history of working for systemic change, of finding my voice and speaking out.

Now my father, he loved the ethics and the history of Judaism. We spent many weekends working on civil rights and attending rallies in Evanston and living out his Jewish values. Not so much the theology. That is a sermon for another time. But having been born in 1933, the same year that Hitler came to power, he was very afraid of being visible as Jews. He was a bundle of contradictions, since he never denied being Jewish and we always had students for the Jewish holidays who had no place else to go. However, he was never happy with my decision to be a rabbi. Too public. Too visible. I would just be the first target.

I had another approach. Even before becoming a rabbi. I have spoken out, spoken up, engaged, build bridges. We wouldn’t fall into the trap of “a new ruler arose who knew not Joseph.” It turns out that there is an actual psychological term for this. “Interpersonal Contact Theory.” In rabbinical school, I had a whole class on Israeli-Palestinian Relations, taught by a Muslim and an Israeli. Much of the reading was on this theory. The academic research was disappointing, I felt. It wasn’t clear whether it works. But many organizations try it, including Seeds of Peace which brings Israeli and Palestinian youth to a summer camp in Maine. It has been featured in many articles and one of the organizations that I have given some tzedakah to.

As part of her research for a PhD in psychology at the Univeristy of Chicago, Juliana Schoeder studied Seeds of Peace. As she reported:

At the beginning and end of camp, the campers reported their feelings toward the other group, as well as some of their political attitudes and attitudes toward the peace process, rating their opinions on a scale of one to seven. From pre-camp to post-camp, we found that Israeli and Palestinian teenagers alike reported feeling more positive toward, close with, similar to and trusting of the other side. On average, for all of these questions, the teenagers moved up almost a full point on the scale from where they started, a statistically significant change. They also reported feeling more optimistic about the likelihood of peace and more committed to working for peace, and they expressed a greater intention to participate in other peace intervention programs. Four different sets of campers have consistently shown the same pattern of outcomes. Critics of such programs suggest that there is a “re-entry problem”: that any positive effect of the encounter will vanish when participants return to normal life. We therefore sent campers a follow-up survey one year after they returned home, asking them again about their attitudes. We found the participants’ attitudes did regress over time, but not enough to eliminate a positive effect. Even a year after the camp had ended, the Israelis and Palestinians who were surveyed still felt more positive about the other group than they did before the camp. https://www.seedsofpeace.org/peace-through-friendship-new-york-times/

There is no question in my mind that we are better together. That building bridges works. We are a small congregation. We can collect canned goods, help at occasional soup kettles, show up at a vigil, host national night out. But if we really want to make a difference. To really love our neighbors as ourselves, to take care of the widow, the orphan and the stranger, which our tradition demands, we need to work for systemic change. That’s hard. And we can’t do it alone. We need to build those bridges. Perhaps one of the hardest things I have ever done is my work with the Elgin Police Department around racism. Begun before Ferguson, it is difficult, often heart-wrenching work that I feel I need to be involved in for the long haul.

This weekend also marks the fourth year of the Women’s March. There is not one in Elgin today. I was a proud organizer of the first two Elgin Standing Together. We started that first one at a Women on the Brink meeting and I was a behind the scenes organizer. It was fabulous. And today’s portion was the same one that cold, blustery day. Today’s portion also talks about Shifra and Puah. They have a bit part in Torah. They were the midwives that defied Pharaoh’s order. It was an act of civil disobedience. When asked why the baby boys still lived, they said that the Israelite women were so vigorous, they gave birth before the midwives could even arrive.

So that cold afternoon—because Elgin Standing Together was an afternoon event to accommodate my Shabbat observance. I was not scheduled to speak, but was so taken with Shifrah and Puah that morning, I took the mike out of the mayor’s hand and did a very short d’var Torah. It was powerful. It felt like I was living out Psalm 30, a Psalm for the Dedication of the Temple:

What profit if I am silenced. What benefit if I go to my grave in the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth and faithfulness?

Last year we decided not to do another Elgin Standing Together. The principle organizers were tired. The event would conflict with Martin Luther King, jr Weekend. And there were increasing charges of anti-semitism at the highest ranks of the Women’s March. Too much for me to take the full lead. This year, no one in Elgin even asked, although there is one today in Geneva and in Woodstock as well as Chicago. The underlying issues are still very real. There are still systemic changes that need to happen. As a woman, as a rabbi and especially as a women’s rabbi, I continue to speak out about women’s health care, women’s pay, domestic violence and rape, just not with the Women’s March.

There is another term that is important in the discussion. Intersectionality. Coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw to explain the discrimination of African-American women. Based on a case in 1976 between Emma DeGraffenreid and several other black women and General Motors, “arguing that the company segregated its workforce by race and gender: Blacks did one set of jobs and whites did another. According to the plaintiffs’ experiences, women were welcome to apply for some jobs, while only men were suitable for others. This was of course a problem in and of itself, but for black women the consequences were compounded. You see, the black jobs were men’s jobs, and the women’s jobs were only for whites. Thus, while a black applicant might get hired to work on the floor of the factory if he were male; if she were a black female she would not be considered. Similarly, a woman might be hired as a secretary if she were white, but wouldn’t have a chance at that job if she were black. Neither the black jobs nor the women’s jobs were appropriate for black women, since they were neither male nor white.  Wasn’t this clearly discrimination, even if some blacks and some women were hired?”Sadly, the court dismissed the DeGraffenreid’s claims, asserting that black women are unable to combine their race and gender claims into one.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/emiliearies/2017/08/30/the-imperative-of-intersectional-feminism/#661ed2271914

We see the difficulties of intersectionality play out today. With the Women’s March. With the Dyke March in Chicago when the Jewish group carrying a rainbow flag with a Star of David were asked to leave because that flag, similar to an Israeli flag might be triggering to Palestinians. In policing where multi-racial Jews are afraid of police brutality and yet synagogues are hiring more and more police officers.

My approach remains the same. We see others returning to it. When we see booths set up in New York by the Orthodox community, “Meet a Jew, Make a Friend” in neighborhoods like East Harlem.” I believe that we are safer here in Elgin because we have been visible. Because people have met other Jews. I believe we will not return to a time where “a ruler arose who knew not Joseph.” I believe we need to continue to speak out, just like Shifrah and Puah. Then as King and Heschel taught, “Justice will roll down like water, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

Update:
Sunday was Torah School, just like always. We are in the middle of a kindness campaign. After making havdalah with the kids, I asked what they knew about Martin Luther King. I took them to see the pictures on the bulletin board of the rabbis, including Heschel and Gendler who marched with King. Then we made posters with verses from Torah about lovingkindness and we had our own indoor march so we could pray with our feet. It was one of the most meaningful King celebrations I have ever participated in.

It is January 6. I am sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops. It has been declared #JewishAndProud Day by American Jewish Committee.

So many thoughts as I sit here studying Talmud, wearing my Guatemalan kippah that I bought right here in Elgin. It was part of what solidified my coming to Elgin. They had fair trade Guatemalan kippot in the gift shop. I broke my own rules and bought one.

It is true that I have a kippah to match almost every outfit. And many times, as a woman rabbi many times people don’t even realize I am wearing a kippah. They just think it is some fancy headpiece.

Why is this important. Because I can. Because after the mass shootings in Pittsburgh, members of my own congregation got nervous about me wearing a kippah in public. I might put all of us in danger. But I met with each of my coffee shops. Diane and Brian at Arabica, Kathleen and Chris at Blue Box and Gregg at Starbucks. Each of them said, some variation on “Yes, please wear your kippah. You are safe here.” Well, one thought the Energizer Rabbi peace one with the sparkly studs might be a bit flashy.

Now we all know there is no guarantee of safety anywhere. It only takes one crazy person to interrupt the calm. But as I sit here in the first of many locations, not a nasty word has been said to me.

It hasn’t always been so. Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years. Sometimes even forced to wear a head covering to identify them. In World War II, Jews had to wear a yellow star with the word Jude, Jew written in the center. Their passports were stamped and their legal names were changed to include Sara for women and Israel for men.

My own Sarah, whose birthday is today, once had an issue in public school in the 90s. A girls told her that if Sarah were Jewish she couldn’t be her friend. We were a little stunned. Later that year, Sarah chose to read the Diary of Anne Frank for Biography Day. It was right around Halloween and it was how some of the older grades got around celebrating without celebrating. Each kid had to dress as their character. Oh why couldn’t my kid have picked Michelle Kwan like every other girl in class? We wrestled with how Sarah would dress. Would she wear a yellow star and sit at her desk all day like that?

We talked to her principal who didn’t think there would be any issues. We talked to a good friend who was a Holocaust survivor who figured out a way to do it. Anne Frank didn’t have to wear a star when she was in school. That law hadn’t been enacted before the Jewish kids were expelled from school. Why not, in order to make the point, make a star out of felt and pin it on. If she felt uncomfortable at all she could just unpin it.

In fact that is just what she did. Without any problems.May that always be so!

I sit here with my kippah on proudly. In the large picture window, without any fear or remorse. Proudly, wonderfully Jewish. And yet, I have the ability to take off my kippah if I were to so choose. Today I choose to sit here and wear it. Proudly, wonderfully Jewish.