Eleh devarim, these are the words… 

What are the words? Which words? Whose words? To whom? 

This is the very beginning of the Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy. It is Moses’s swan song, his summary of all of the ethics, the history, the rules, the mitzvot that the Israelites are to live by when they inherit the land that Moses himself won’t enter. It is addressed to ALL the Israelites, to ALL of us. Not just to the leaders or the priests, ALL.  

My friend Joanne Fink did a lovely piece of art for this week’s parsha. Eleh Devarim.  

What words would you pass down to your next generation? We’ll have this very opportunity to talk about this a little later as we begin our preparations for Rosh Hashanah in earnest.  

Elu v’elu, Divrey Elohim Chaim. These and these are the words of the living God.
These are the words that are on the ark at the Academy for Jewish Religion which teaches that there are 70 faces of Torah. 70 correct ways to interpret each and every word of Torah  

This is not a new concept in Judaism, taking all the way back to the Talmud and other rabbinic literature: 

“One thing God has spoken; two things have I heard (Ps. 62:12) and its gloss in the Talmud, “One biblical verse may convey several teachings . . . In R. Ishmael’s School it was taught: And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (Jer. 23:29), i.e., just as [the rock] is split into many splinters, so also may one biblical verse convey many teachings” (TB Sanhedrin 34a).” 

The earliest reference for the specific term Shivim Panim LaTorah is in an early medieval text, Midrash Bamidbar Rabba 13:15-16. The term was used both by the rationalist Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra (died 1167) in his introduction to his Torah commentary and, a century later by the mystic Rabbi Nachmanides (died 1270) in his Torah commentary on Genesis 8:4.  

That this concept was used both by rationalist and mystical Torah commentators indicates how fundamental it is to understanding the meaning of Divine revelation. In fact to where we are as a society today. The concept, though not the exact wording, also appears in a post Talmudic midrash, Otiot d’Rabbi Akiba, as “Torah nilm’dah b’shiv’im panim”- Torah is learned through 70 facets. 

So how do we know which interpretation is right?  

Let’s remember, the Puritans came to this land to escape religious persecution in Europe, to worship G-d in the manner they felt was right. To interpret scripture on their own and not have someone tell them what the implications are. 

 The early rabbinic writings are full of these examples: 

 From Berakhot 58a teaches: 

The Rabbis have taught : Who sees crowds of Israelites should say “Blessed… Who art wise in secrets,” because their minds differ and their faces differ. 

The midrash expands on that:   

Bemidbar Rabbah 21:2 

The law is: If one sees many thousands of people, one should say: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Wise One who knows secrets, just as their faces are different from one another’s, so too their understandings are different, for each one has a different understanding…and so too Moses requested from God, when he died. He said: Master of the Universe! Every person’s thoughts are known and revealed before you, and none of your children’s thoughts are similar to another’s. When I die, please appoint a leader who can sustain them all according to their own understanding…. 

The Talmud teaches us how to have these discussions, debates, arguments:

Eruvin 13b:10-11 

For three years, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai argued. One said, ‘The halakha is like us,’ and the other said, ‘The halakha is like us.’ A heavenly voice (a bat kol) spoke: “These and these are the words of the living God, and the halakha is like the House of Hillel.” A question was raised: Since the heavenly voice declared: “Both these and those are the words of the Living God,” why was the halacha established to follow the opinion of Hillel? It is because the students of Hillel were kind and gracious. They taught their own ideas as well as the ideas from the students of Shammai. Not only for this reason, but they went so far as to teach Shammai’s opinions first. 

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-By-Day Guide to Jewish Living, New York: Random House, 2000, pp. 186-7:  

Note the copyright. 2000.  These are not new problems. The answers are timeless.

 “Significantly, the heavenly voice ruled in favor of Hillel and his disciples, even in areas of ritual dispute, for moral reasons: he and his followers were “kindly and humble.”  

 The wording of the passage suggests that Shammai’s followers had grown somewhat arrogant. Certain that they possessed the truth, they no longer bothered to listen to, or discuss the arguments of, their opponents. Their overbearing self-confidence led them to become morally less impressive (the language of the Talmud suggests by implication that they were not “kindly and humble”) and probably led them to become intellectually less insightful (after all, how insightful can you be if you are studying only one side of the issue?) 

Because the School of Hillel studied their opponent’s arguments, when they issued a ruling, they were fully cognizant of all the arguments to be offered against their own position. Thus, their humility not only led to their being more pleasant people, but also likely caused them to have greater intellectual depth.  

We can all learn a lesson from the behavior of Hillel and his followers: Don’t read only books and publications that agree with and reinforce your point of view. If you do so, and many people do, you will never learn what those who disagree with you believe (at best, you will hear a caricature of their position, presented by people who, like you, disagree with it). It would be a good thing in Jewish life if Jews in the different denominations, or in different political camps, started reading newspapers and magazines of the groups with which they disagree, on a regular basis.  

If you seldom hear, read, or listen to views that oppose your own, and if almost everyone you talk to sees the world just as your do, your thinking will grow flabby and intolerant. That is often the case with ideologues on the right and left, both in religion and in politics. 

As this text teaches us, humble people are not only more pleasant human beings, but in the final analysis, they may well be the only ones who will have something eternally important to teach.” 

There is a story  often repeated that illustrates this and sometimes it even happens right here: You’ve probably heard one version or another!
A new rabbi became embroiled in a controversy. Every week, when the time came to chant the Shema, half the congregation would stand, the other half would sit. (In our congregation it is more likely to be over various Kaddish prayers.) Those who stood screamed at those who sat, “That’s not our tradition!” And those who sat screamed at those who stood, “That’s not our tradition!” This went on week after week. It was driving everyone crazy. Finally, the new rabbi had a great idea. She (Note, in this version it is a woman rabbi!) brought representatives from each group to visit the shul’s last remaining founding member. They gathered around his bed in the nursing home. First, those who stood for the Shema asked the old man: “Wasn’t it always the tradition in our synagogue to stand for the Shema?” “No,” the old man whispered. “That was definitely not the tradition.” The other delegation jumped up in triumph. “So, we’re right!” they said. “It’s always been our tradition to sit for the Shema!” The old man shook his head: “No,” he whispered. “That wasn’t the tradition either.” The annoyed rabbi screamed: “I can’t take this anymore! Do you know what goes on in shul every week — the people who are standing yell at the people who are sitting, the people who are sitting yell at the people who are standing—” Suddenly, the old man interrupted, almost jumping out of his bed. “Aha!” he said. “That was the tradition!” 

You may have heard, even this morning, that there is an election coming. Our mothers had it right. “Think before you speak. If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” 

Another version of that, attributed to many authors from Socretes, to Bernard Meltzer to the Buddhists and available as cute memes and posters to hang in classrooms. Probably because it rings too true: Before you speak, think about whether 

• Is it true 

• Is it kind 

• Is it necessary 

If it is, then and only then should the words be uttered. Disagreeing is fine. Arguing is fine. However, be kind and generous in your speech.  

I want to leave you with this poem, as we continue to approach Tisha B’av. What a gift the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai has given us: 

The Place Where We Are Right 

From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.
But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood. 

When I lived in Israel and studied in an Orthodox yeshiva, yes an Orthodox yeshiva sponsored by NCSY, I learned that G-d lives in Israel too. You can find G-d in Jerusalem, at home with His bedroom slippers and His newspaper. It was a relaxed view of an approachable G-d. I liked the metaphor. We are closer to G-d in Jerusalem. Gg-d is family. 

At the Kotel, the Western Wall, there is an idea that the Shechinah, the Divine Presence of G-d hovers over the Kotel. The Divine Presence has never left Jerusalem. G-d is still at home in Jersualem. Closer, approachable. Even though we have other teachings that “G-d’s glory fills the whole world”. Even though we are also taught that the Shechinah, that Divine Presence accompanies Israel into exile, (Megilah 20) and returns with them. And it has never left the Western Wall (Rambam Beit HaBechira 6:16) . 

A symbol of that Divine Presence are the mourning doves that hover over the Kotel crying. 

This week I saw a lot of mourning doves. Right here in Elgin. Were they are a sign? Maybe. 

This coming week we will mark Rosh Hodesh Menachem Av. Nine days later we will observe Tisha B’av, a day which marks the destruction of both Holy Temples in Jerusalem. The formal name of the month is Rosh Hodesh Menachem Av. Menachem, meaning comfort. How do we find comfort on Tisha B’av? How do we find comfort today? Can we? 

This week’s portion fascinates me. It didn’t seem to fascinate the Torah Study group as much. That’s OK. On the cusp of entering the Land of Israel, two tribes didn’t want to cross over the Jordan and live in the historical boundaries of Israel. They wanted to live on the other side. Where there was plentiful grass for their cattle. Where their families would be safe. It seemed idyllic to me. And unlike my husband with a degree in dairy farming, I am not such a big cow fan. Maybe it was from that first trip to Israel when I worked in the dairy farm on Kibbutz Revivim. I much preferred picked pears. 

These tribes, the Gadites and the Reubanits negotiate with Moses and together they come to the decision that they will be the shock troops and go in the lead to capture the Land of Israel and then return to land they wanted to settle, with their cattle, wives and children.  

I didn’t remember the part about the shock troops. I don’t know that I would be willing to do that. I do remember the beginning of the war in Iraq. It began with “Shock and Awe”  Shock and awe is a developed military strategy based on the use of overwhelming military power and spectacular displays of force designed to paralyze the enemy’s perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. Who else was up watching what seemed like an amazing fireworks display on March 19, 1996? Yet, we knew that real people were dying on the other end of those fireworks. War is messy. Real people die and I have never been comfortable with phrase “collateral damage.” Shock and awe  wasn’t completely popular even within the Bush administration:  “Before its implementation, there was dissent within the Bush administration as to whether the shock and awe plan would work. According to a CBS News report, “One senior official called it a bunch of bull, but confirmed it is the concept on which the war plan is based.” CBS Correspondent David Martin noted that during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in the prior year, the U.S. forces were “badly surprised by the willingness of al Qaeda to fight to the death. If the Iraqis fight, the U.S. would have to throw in reinforcements and win the old fashioned way by crushing the Republican Guards, and that would mean more casualties on both sides.”[ 

We seem to be at another such moment. As the news continue to heat up in the Middle East, and the United States deploys as they say, “more assets” to the region, it seems that an escalating war is inevitable. I don’t want that. I don’t think anyone really does. I know that my friends that live in Israel are alarmed. Afraid. But in typical resilient Israeli spirit they debate things like whether they should drink whiskey or go to the disco or make plans for coffee on Tuesday.  

What I want is peace. What I want is like what the Rubenites and the Gadites wanted. To live in peace wherever they choose. Everyone. Those in Jerusalem, those in Beirut, those in Gaza and those in Tehran. Those in in the Ukraine. Those in Russia. Those in Darfur. The list could go on and on. 

And importantly, even those of us who have chosen to live here. In the United States, removed from the land of Israel, still, by choice in the Diaspora, Galut. 

What I want is the vision of Micah, where everyone can live under their vine and fig tree and none shall make them afraid. That vision was one that was especially meaningful to our first President, the father of our nation, George Washington. He used the phrase over 50 times in his writings, notably in his letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island. 50 times. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/vine-and-fig-tree   

He, like the Gaddites and the Ruebanites, were peasant farmers. His hope was that these new farmers would be independent and freed from military oppression.   

This vision was one that was shared in the iconic song Bashanah, First written in 1970 by Nurit Hirsch and Whud Manor, it is filled with that unique Israeli hope. One year we will sit on that porch. 

In the first year of the pandemic, the Maccabeat released this version. It was touching then and touching again this morning, “Soon the day will arrive when we will sing together and the distance will just disappear…wait and see what a world it will be.” And those children. Oh those children. They are our hope. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WsWouCsbaQ&t=4s 

 Next year we will sit on the porch
and count migrating birds.
Children on vacation will play catch
between the house and the fields.

You will yet see, you will yet see,
how good it will be next year. 

I don’t know what the new week will hold. I am not a military strategist. I worry about friends and relatives I have in Israel. I worry about the remaining hostages held now for 302 days. I worry about Gareth’s nephew, a professor in Beirut.  

I find comfort as we approach Menachem Av in the children. I find comforat in all of you, choosing to live authentically Jewish lives. Here. I find comfort in friends who are not Jewish who reach out to see how all of us are and what they can do to help. I find comfort in knowing that we can continue to do acts of lovingkindness to make the world a better place just as Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai told Rabbi Yehoshua when they saw the Holy Temple destroyed.  “Do not be afraid, we still have another way:   It is acts of lovingkindness, as it says: ‘For I desire lovingkindness and not sacrifices’ (Hosea 6:6)” (Avot de Rabbi Nathan, chapter. 4) 

We who continue to live in the Diaspora, by choice, are like the Gadites and the Rubenites. It is now that we need to continue to step up and support our brothers and sisters in the land of Israel, in the State of Israel, who may be on the front lines of whatever is coming next. Reach out to your friends. They are scared. Send money, places like JUF, JNF, Hadassah, New Israel Fund, Parents Circle, which ever organization makes sense to you, whichever one is most authentic to you. Stay informed, with a variety of news media. Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Ha’eretz, briefings from JUF. Write or call or even better both your elected officials.  Participate in our programming for Tisha B’av. Find one act of lovingkindness that you can commit to and do it. Stay engaged. Connected. 

Notice the mourning doves. Count those migrating birds. Here. Perhaps they come to remind us of Psalm 30 which we said earlier this morning.  “We may weep at nightfall but joy comes with the dawn… You turned my mourning into dancing, my sackcloth into joy.” 

 Together, we will get through this. Together. That’s what brings me comfort.  

This portion seems to come as an interlude. It seems a little crazy. A talking donkey. A king that hires someone to curse the Jews and only blessings comes out of his mouth. A one of the most famous pieces of Jewish liturgy. 

“Ma Tovu Ohelecha Ya’akov. Mishkenotecha Yisral.” How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your sanctuaries O Israel.”  

This is a blessing, not a curse, by the non-Jewish prophet. It opens every morning service when we enter the sanctuary.  

How good are your tents, your sanctuaries. How lovely are your dwelling places because most of us did not sleep in tents last night. How great are your sacred spaces. Not just the mishkan that the Israelites carried with them in the desert or the Holy Temple in Jerusalem or even this sanctuary. All of our sacred spaces. 

Friday night we talked about what makes sacred space lovely. 

We thought about what is lovely about our space is the connection between people, the community. I had anticipated answers like the stain glass window and in truth, they are lovely. 

In the prayer in our siddur, it goes on after quoting Balaam, to state that it is G-d’s great love that inspires us to enter G-d’s house, to worship in G-d’s holy sanctuary. We pray that this may be an auspicious time.  

And while our sanctuary is G-d’s house, the whole earth is filled with G-d’s glory. G-d dwells everywhere. We are taught that after the destruction of the Holy Temple, our homes became a mikdash ma’at, a small sanctuary, When we light candles, make kiddush and say motzi on Friday night, we are re-enacting the sacrifices in the Holy Temple. We are making our homes sacred spaces. 

Lovely according to the Oxford online dictionary is exquisitely beautiful. And it gives us the Hebrew of yafah, beautiful. However, its origin is from the Old English and love.  

Something truly lovely happened on Friday night. We were joined on Zoom by some friends in New York. Two of our members were at their high school reunion. They were Zooming in from the hospitality suite with some of their friends. One of the friends brought her own candles to light.  

Here’s the story that goes with it. Her rabbi, who had made aliyah, had told them in an email about lighting candles for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the remaining hostages in Gaza.  But we should do it in a slightly different way. Hersh’s parents had declared that this week should be a week of goodness. They themselves dedicated a Sefer Torah just this week in Jerusalem. https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/weekofgoodness  

So, it not quite being Shabbat yet, we set up our candles. We let those in New York light first. Their tapers were light blue, that might have been the new way of lighting for them. Then we lit ours. And our member Shira chanted her beautiful rendition of Achila, the prayer for the hostages.  

It was lovely, And poignant. And moving. And I had goosebumps. 

It is lovely when we come together as a community, as connected individuals, to celebrate. We had a baby naming and an aufruf this week. It is lovely when we come together and connect as we proclaim the names of those we are concerned about, those who need healing of mind, body or spirit. It is lovely when we sadly come together when we must mourn.  

The other message of this parsha is that our words matter. Balaam’s words. G-d’s words. Our words. Our words matter. Use them wisely and for good.  

At the end of Shabbat morning services, I asked people to look around. Ma Tovu is a blessing. The reason our dwelling places are lovely is the people. The people, connected. That is the blessing. Whether you are In Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, New York, Chicagoland, or Denver. The blessing is the people and caring for one another. 

I still have goosebumps.  

First a note on the current American political situation:

Violence is not OK. I have worked for better handling of guns since before the Million Mom March to Washington when Sarah was still in elementary school. As I said on Facebook last night. Pray. Work for peace. I will add, be careful of drawing too many conclusions too quickly. Do not buy into conspiracy theories on the left of the right. Be careful of your own rhetoric. Give law enforcement, the local, state, federal, Secret Service and the FBI time to do their jobs. Don’t watch the news 24×7. Turn off the TV. Take breaks and stay informed. Violence is not the answer.

Now back to sabbatical mode:
I had some pretty ambitious goals for a sabbatical. 18 days (or really 14). But really the idea is to unwind (national and Israeli news do not help with that!). By the third day in Charlevoix that was beginning to happen.

Here is the list:

• Finishing writing the book, Trip Notes–not done but working on it On page 50.

• Writing a piece for AJR on the Yamim Nora’im and October 7, one submitted and a second one almost done, due next week. You will have to wait and see if AJR takes them.

• Finishing my class on “G-d is Here”, have not really begun 

• Painting something for Fox Valley Hands of Hope, maybe and a collage of photos. Due tomorrow. I wound up spending two days painting in Charlevoix at a plein air event. I did three paintings as a series, Morning Mist, Midday Sparkle and Glitter Path Sunset. We also painted at Pinot’s Palette. Why is this a spiritual endeavor? It slows my down and forces me to look at light and color. I find it frustrating, because I can’t quite get the colors the way I see them. And I keep trying. I am good for about an hour and half before I lose all patience. And patience is a spiritual discipline so I will keep trying. 

• Restorative activities: 
  • Sleeping, some for sure , but my body just seems to wake up at 6:00 AM
  • Reading 
    • A novel,  Cherry Pies and Deadly Lies, done
    • Morning Noon and Night by Rabbi Evan Schultz, this book led to the title of the sunset painting.
    • Joan Nathan’s new cookbook, My life in recipes. This may be my favorite.
    • Judaism is about Love, LONG, not done
    • Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
    • The Outsidesr. After seeing the play I felt I needed to read the original book.
    • (A Movie) The Bucket List–might be a good selichot movie.
  • Finding Sunsets and Sunrises 
    • Lots of sunsets. Always inspiring
    • One sunrise
  • Hiking 
    • Daily miles.
  • Learning to dance 
    • That will have to wait
  •  Other:
    • Outdoor concert–this was wonderful
    • Celebrating 39 years of engagement with Simon, Tabor Hill, Burnt Toast our own list of magical moments.
    • Working on my own self care: skin, nails, calling dentist, eye doctor and mamogram. (Getting there)

Shavua tov! Hodesh Tov!
Yesterday I baked challah for Shabbat. That has become a very important part of my spirituality. I read Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs  sometime last year and it really resonated with me. It is a no fail simple recipe. Carving out the time to do it every week is still tough. It makes two loaves and really Simon and I only need one. So I try to deliver one loaf to a person who had a hard week that the loaf might cheer. This week’s loaf went to someone who was recently released from the hospital.

Part of making challah is kneading the dough. During that time you are taught to think about someone who needs care. For me that is meditative. Just 5 minutes. I can do that. Just 5 minutes. Or maybe 10. This week I thought about other rabbis who I know bake challah every week, a woman in the south of Israel I used to teach with, my neighbors, the Assyrian Christians, the Muslims and the Indians who have been so welcoming.

This led my to think more about my own spirituality. (Hey, that’s part of what I am supposed to be doing on sabbatical, right?) Everybody seems to have an idea of what spirituality is, what rest is and what sabbatical is.

Here are my thoughts for ME. For others it could be radically different.

I am not a sit around all day and meditate. That might work for you. That’s great.

I am not especially physically tired. I wake up every morning around dawn, enthusiastic and ready to greet the day. I wind up singing “Modah Ani, I thank You”…or an old Girl Scout grace, “G-d has created a new day, silver and green and gold. Live that the sunset may find me, worthy G-d’s gifts to hold.” For me, that’s spirituality.

For me food is spiritual. I am enjoying reading My Life in Recipes, Food Family and Memories by Joan Nathan. I’ve cooked a lot more recently since Simon came home for the hospital. The meals have been mostly healthy and often beautifully presented. For me, that’s spirituality.

For me, entertaining is spiritual. Opening our doors like Abraham and Sarah’s tent were open on all four sides, serving interesting and pretty food, making people feel welcome and engaging in meaningful conversations, those are moments I enjoy. I miss being able to have long, relaxed Shabbat dinners with friends. For me, that’s spirituality.

For me, walking is spiritual. At WW, they often talk about an awe walk. You may find me outside with my cell phone camera taking pictures of something that is beautifull or awe-inspiring. It might be the prairie clouds, a special flower, the changing light in the late afternoon. Something that makes me pause and say, “Wow,” It might be in my neighborhood, or at the Morton Arboretum, Jelke Creek or Hansen Woods. It might be a mountain top, an ocean or a lake. It might be early in the morning, late afternoon or watching the stars and the moon. (And let’s hear it for the Northern Lights that I was able to see earlier this year. Wow! Just wow!) There is something about being out in nature that gives me an opportunity to meditate, to see that there is something beyond myself, even to pray. One of my favorite verses from our liturgy is “V’tahar libeinu ‘avdecha be’emet. Cleanse our heaths so we may serve You in truth.”  For me, that’s spirituality.

For me, running or walking a labyrinth or sitting on the rocks on the coast of Maine or some parts of Lake Michigan are spiritual. Nothing else make me quite know that I am alive. Nothing else quite allows me to make important life decisions.

For me, reading and writing are spiritual. Not every book but many. Not everything I jot down but often. Music, photography and painting can also do that. Sometimes writing can help clarify. And sometimes the words just seem to come out of nowhere. There is a form called “automatic writing,” that has its roots in Eastern spirituality (At some point it was called “Fuji”) that might explain the poem I created yesterday or even my decision to become a rabbi after an intense mikveh experience. For me, that’s spiritual.

For me, mikveh is spiritual. There are three mitzvot, commandments that especially “given” to women. (How appropriate to write about this on Rosh Hodesh, the new month, a half holiday given to women). Challah, Candles for Shabbat and Mikveh. They have often felt like the booby prize (pun intended) when there are 613 commandments. Men are obligated to all of the positive time-bound mitzvot. Women, only to those three. I want to scream. It’s not fair. It’s wrong. But these three, challah, candles and mikveh really resonate. I could go on and on about mikveh. Traditionally, men and women both immersed but after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE it was required for only 3 reasons: bride, women after their menstrual cycels and people becoming Jewish. Today mikveh can used for many reasons. Having done so myself, having writing creative mikveh ceremonies for myself and others, having seen the range of reasons that people choose to immerse, I can tell you how meaningful it is. There is a sense of being reborn, of being embraced, of being held. For me, that’s spiritual.

For me, engaging in tikkun olam and gemilut chasadim are spiritual. Judaism places a high value on improving the world or making the world a better place. Part of my initial attaction to my husband was he shared our commitment, our passion to social justice and tikkun olam. There are so many aspects of our world that need repair that it almost doesn’t matter what part we pick to work on. Just do it, the old Nike commercial says. Or as I once said in a sermon years ago, “Do the right thing.” One of the benefits or engaging in tikkun olam is building relationships between people. In making connections. For me, that’s spiritual

For me, then, spirituality is::

• Challah
• Candles
• Mikvah
• Food
• Hospitality
• Nature
• Reading, Writing, Music Photography, Painting
• Tikkun Olam

Peretz, a member of blessed memory, used to say that we have one job here, to praise G-d. He would cite the last line of the book of Psalms, “Let every breath of life praise G-d. Hallleluyah!. (Psalm 150), It is life giving. The trick is how to incorporate more of this into my daily life and into the lives of the people I lead. For me, that too is spiritual.

I am sitting here on my sabbatical thinking about this great nation we live in. And truly it is great. The average American only gets to 8 states. I have hiked in 37 with Simon (a few more without him) and have visited 10 other countries and lived in 2 of those.countries.

I am sitting here in an old T-shirt that I bought when my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop was marching in the Memorial Day parade. Keep America Beautiful,Plant a tree, Be Kind to Nature. Conserve energy. Volunteer. It must have been when the kids were in 5th grade.

Fourth of July has always been an important holiday for me. No one ever asked if I would be home for Rosh Hashanah. The big holiday was July 4th. Partly because my mother’s birthday was the 6th. And my father’s was the 7th. She would have been 100 on Saturday. It was one giant party. It started with hanging the flag on the front porch. Decorating bikes. John Phillips Sousa blaring. A parade with the bikes and lots of politicians that went right by our friend, the judge’s house. Everyone stopped to shake John’s hand! Lots of candy thrown for the kids. A very set menu…deviled eggs, blueberry raspberry lemon loaf, ham balls (I make mine with turkey) and lots of guacamole. Later there would be a dip in the community pool that I used to lifeguard. A kickass croquet game an then a drip downtown to the Public Museum for the fireworks. (My mom as a board member and a docent had her own parking place.) And then a trip for Mexican food a a midnight run to Meijers. Don’t ask, but it was a tradition. It all was.

Small town America. Or the Boston Pops on the Esplanade. The 1812 Overture coordinated to church betts and fireworks. Then the rousing encore of the Stars and Stripes Forever. Could not be beat. Simon and I almost got engaged that night.

What is it we cherish about America? That is really the important question. Especially this year. Recently a member of the congregation when I was talking about Biblical translations and Louisiana (We can now add Oklahoma to that list) said we live in a Christian nation, what can we expect. I expect more.

I believe the words that George Washington wrote to the “Hebrew” congregation of Newport, RI. I think I quote it every year but it bears repeating every year. “For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…”

The full letter is masterful:

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135

I believe that Judaism, in the story of the Exodus from Egypt has a lot to teach about freedom. Recently a colleague of mine pointed out something I hadn’t seen before. That the children of Israel started kvetching, complaining, even before they got to the Sea of Reeds. It is a sign of being free that you can kvetch. Slaves can’t kvetch.

Perhaps one of the readings I like best is from the haggadah that my husband complied from a number of sources.

“Tonight, we participate as members of multiple communities. As Jews, the Exodus is our heritage, and equality, justice and peace are our dreams… 

Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppresion
Freedom from hunger and freedom from want
Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear
Freedom to think and freedom to speak
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn
Freedom to love and freedom to share
Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice.” 

The language for me soars. It is aspirational and it offers hope. Our nation is not perfect. Far from it. We have a responsibility, as did the Children of Israel once they crossed the Sea of Reeds, to make it the best possible place it can be. That is the value and the purpose of Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World.

We talk about the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly, freedom to bear arms.

This year I would add the freedom to vote. This year I would like freedom to include freedom from medical bills and student loans. Not just for the Kleins. This year I would add the freedom to read what I want and when. This year I would add the freedom to gather, at a parade, at a concert, at a school, at a synagogue. We need to work for these freedoms and these rights.

Last night we attended a lovely concert of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, outdoors in a park in a neighboring town. The Armed Forces Medley made me tear up. These are what these older gentleman (they all seemed to be men) who rose to thunderous applause had been fighting for. At some point I looked around. There didn’t seem to be any visible security. How refreshing and how scary that I would even think about it.

The concert was wonderful, the balm I needed for my soul. Outdoor air, setting sun, great music and a picnic dinner. Like being at Tanglewoord or the Esplanade or Ravinia and NO TRAFFIC!

How will I spend the 4th? Running a race. Eating some of that yummy 4th food. Watching 1776 and Hamilton (Did you know that Hamilton may have been Jewish?) And maybe writing letters to elected officials or helping to register new voters.

At the end of George Washington’s letter he ends with a prayer: “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 figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. 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.”. May it continue to be so. Happy 4th. Celebrate. And roll up your sleeves and make this a great nation. The one that Washington and Hamilton and our ancestors who arrived on these shores as immigrants dreamed of.

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Many of you read much of what I write. You may read my weekly emails, or my monthly HaKol newsletter article. You may read my blog, which I am planning to update. 

Today is July 1, 2024. It is the first day of my new contract and the first day of the new fiscal year. I have served as rabbi and spiritual leader for 12 years at Congregation Kneseth Israel and together we have continued to maintain and build a congregation. A fiercely independent Jewish congregation. One that has bult connections throughout the Fox River Valley, Chicagoland and the wider world. And while I love, absolutely love what I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I am grateful to be serving. 

However, it hasn’t always been easy. Like Jews everywhere we argue, we kvetch, we lose sight over what might be really important. This past year we even argued over the use of the world argue. Is debate a better word? 

This new contract grants a month’s sabbatical. So today, this July 1, I am starting something I have never done before. Here is what I wrote to the congregation, expanded just slightly: 

Happy Summer. It has certainly been hot. Happy 4th of July. I look forward to celebrating it every year. It was the holiday of importance in my home growing up, partly because my mother’s birthday was the 6th (It would have been 100 years this year) and my father’s was the 7th. It involved parades, fireworks, food, flags, jazz music and up North Lake Michigan sunsets. The year I lived in Israel I will never forget on a kibbutz a Scottish volunteer playing America the Beautiful on the bagpipes for the American volunteers.  

This year July will look a little different at CKI. I will be on the first part of my sabbatical from July1 until July 18. What is a sabbatical, you might ask? It is time given to a clergy person or an academic often after 7 years for rest, renewal and spiritual growth. It is a concept that is Biblically mandated as the sh’mita year. Every seven years the land was to lie fallow and rest.  

It is part of the natural cycle and rhythm. Six days we work and the seventh is the Sabbath to be refreshed, v’yinafash, re-souled if you will. Even G-d need to v’yinafash according to Exodus and the song we sing on Shabbat, “V’shamru” Shabbat is a sign of the covenant for all times, from generation to generation. Six years we work the land and let it rest in the seventh. After the 49th year, seven times seven the 50th year is proclaimed as a Jubilee year, where all the those enslaved were set free. “Proclaim liberty throughout the land” which we just read Memorial Day Weekend from Leviticus is on the liberty bell.  

In the Shmita year, debts are to be forgiven, agricultural lands to lie fallow, private land holdings to become open to the commons, and staples such as food storage and perennial harvests to be freely redistributed and accessible to all. It is a pretty radical way to organize society. We’ve done a lot of studying of these texts particularly in the last shmita year in Israel. Hazon used to have a great source book for this. It is now available here: https://adamah.org/resource/updated-shmita-sourcebook/  

A sabbatical today looks a little different. It is not a vacation, although there are elements that overlap. What I want to do in this first part is:  

• Finishing writing the book, Trip Notes 
• Writing a piece for AJR on the Yamim Nora’im and October 7 
• Finishing my class on “G-d is Here” 
• Painting something for Fox Valley Hands of Hope 
• Restorative activities: 
  • Reconnecting with Simon 
  • Sleeping 
  • Reading 
  • Finding Sunsets and Sunrises 
  • Hiking 
  • Learning to dance 

But part of the beauty of a sabbatical is not having any plans on any specific day. So, while I tried to plan, the specific plans are not entirely clear, although I will keep Josh apprised. 

Why now? Because it has been 12 years since we began our relationship together. This is the beginning of my 5th contract at CKI. During this time, together, we have weathered a global pandemic, the ongoing tragedy and aftermath of October 7th, and a couple of serious health challenges, both for Simon and me. Having this brief respite should help set up the fall, Torah School and all the High Holy Days well. 

There are seven kinds of rest.
1. Physical rest
2. Mental rest
3. Emotional rest
4. Sensory rest
5. Creative rest
6. Social rest
7. Spiritual rest 

People actually need all seven to feel fully renewed and rejuvenated. I actually do pretty well on the physical rest. I woke up really early, even for me. I think I am excited to try something new. I get up without an alarm. My body, despite the health challenges, seems to do what I need it to do.  

So yes, I caught that first sunrise. On my brief walk to see the sunrise, I found myself singing Modah Ani, “I thank you G-d”, that would be the spiritual piece. There are other spiritual disciplines I want to explore this month. The class on G-d is Here and more challah baking fit that bucket. The book, Morning, Noon and Night, Poetry in the Language of Jewish Time will help me reclaim mincha. Some of the other categories will be harder. How chained to email and social media will I be? Time will tell. But I am excited! 

“But Moses said to יהוה, “When the Egyptians, from whose midst You brought up this people in Your might, hear the news,  

they will tell it to the inhabitants of that land. Now they have heard that You, יהוה, are in the midst of this people; that You, יהוה, appear in plain sight when Your cloud rests over them and when You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.  

If then You slay this people wholesale, the nations who have heard Your fame will say,  

‘It must be because יהוה was powerless to bring that people into the land promised them on oath that [that god] slaughtered them in the wilderness.’  

Therefore, I pray, let my Lord’s forbearance be great, as You have declared, saying,  

‘יהוה ! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression; yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of parents upon children, upon the third and fourth generations.’ (Numbers 14:11-20) 

Today’s Torah portion teaches us a lot about anger and forgiveness. It would seem that G-d is really, really angry again. You don’t want to mess with Him! He has the power to wipe out entire nations, the whole world even. Just look at the story of Noah. This time, He asks, “How long will this people spurn Me?” 

And Moses, I dare say being brave, deigns to answer Him, even negotiate with Him, beg Him. His first argument is to give the argument what I call, “the what will the neighbors think.” If G-d wipes out the people in the midst of the desert after rescuing the from Egypt, the Egyptians and all the other nations will think this G-d is powerless, and therefore return to worshipping their gods, many gods. Not a good look.  

Moses’s second argument is one we know. It is what Moses has been taught by G-d himself when Moses is hidden in the cleft of the Rock. G-d is slow to anger, patient, full of lovingkindness and one who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. It is that G-d who brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outsteched arm. It is reminder for G-d to return to G-d’s essential core. Being patient and full of lovingkindness, G-d needs to forgive the people their ongoing kvetching.  

And miraculously, G-d answers Moses by saying, “I have forgiven according to your word.” We know this language. “Vayomer Adonai Selachti kidvarecha.”  The very words we sing right after Kol Nidre. This exchange is a central part of our High Holy Day liturgy. We begin with the 13 Attributes on Rosh Hodesh Elul, they intensify at Selichot and continue all the way through all of Yom Kippur.  

Anger is a powerful emotion. And often underlying anger is fear and anxiety. What is G-d angry about? What is G-d afraid of?  Perhaps, if Psychology Today is correct and there really are only 5 fears: extinction, mutilation, loss of autonomy, separation, and ego death,  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainsnacks/201203/the-only-5-fears-we-all-share  then G-d is afraid that the people won’t acknowledge Him, won’t recognize Him. The hint is in His own question, How long will they spurn me. He doesn’t want to be rejected. That is true for all of us. We don’t want to be rejected.  

In turn, we don’t want to be wiped out.  

Some argue that we shouldn’t be angry at all. We are often taught that anger is a bad emotion. I would disagree. It is a necessary human emotion. It helps keep us safe. 

There are positive aspects to anger: 

1. Anger protects us.  
2. Anger empowers us.  
3. Anger’s discharge is calming.  
4. Anger indicates injustice.  
5. Anger drives us to meet our goals.  
6. Anger safeguards our values.  
7. Anger instils optimism.  
8. Anger leads to self-improvement.  
9. Feeling anger enhances emotional agility.  
10. Anger covers painful feelings.  
11. Anger motivates us to find a deeper self.  

For the full description according to this article, see the end of this post.  

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-wisdom-of-anger/202306/11-good-reasons-to-get-angry  

 Our tradition teaches that we should be like G-d, Usually I teach the midrash from Sotah 14ab. Just as G-d clothed the naked, we should clothe the naked. Just as G-d provided hospitality and visited the sick, we should visit the sick. Just as G-d buried the dead we should bury the dead. The text roles it back up to the 13 Attributes. Because G-d is full of lovingkindness.  

A careful reading of our text tells us that G-d is erech apayim, slow to anger or patient. My colleague, Rabbi Danny Price wrote his thesis on this very topic. G-d does get angry, really angry, but the anger seems to pass quickly. If we are to be like G-d, I am not telling you that you cannot be angry, but that you need to be slow to anger.   

These days, I’ll admit it. I’m angry. I am angry about rising anti-semitism. I am angry that the hostages have been held for 266 days. I can’t even imagine the pain they are undergoing. And the pain of their families. I am angry that we have had to sacrifice more Israeli soldiers to protect Israeli lives. If I am really honest, I am still angry that my first finance was killed disarming a terrorist bomb in Lebanon, 45 years ago. I am angry that so many Gazans have been killed in an attempt to wipe out Hamas, which may never be fully possible, and something may rise up even worse. Look at those photos of those children, how can you not weep? How can you not be angry. Golda Meir once famously said, “When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”  And I am angry that for decades nothing has worked. No one has been able to find a lasting solution. It should be simple. Just stop.  

Yet, G-d orders the Israelites to destroy the Amalekites. Every last one of them. Wipe them out. King Saul didn’t completely follow G-d’s instructions and spared the King of the Amalekites. For this he was punished and lost his kingship. In every generation someone rises up to destroy us. Haman was an Amalekite. Hitler is often described as an Amalekite,   

And yet, people are afraid, on both sides. Oh, how I hate that phrase now and yet it is true. It is impossible to make peace when you are afraid. You need to feel safe,. You need to be safe. That was the core finding of my thesis. You need to be safe in order to have the sins of the fathers (and mothers) not impact the next generation. This war is a generational trauma with sadly more generations to come now.  

Many are angry, including me, about more than geo-political issues. You may be angry because of life circumstances. Maybe you have health challenges. Maybe you didn’t get the job you wanted. Maybe you had a car accident. Maybe the dishwasher broke. Maybe you are confronting your own mortality or that of a beloved family member and you are afraid.  

It is OK to be angry. It is even OK to be angry with G-d. It is what we do with that feeling once we can identify it.  

The best chapter I have ever read on anger and G-d is in Blessings for the Journey, compiled by Mayyim Hayyim. I currently have two copies. I’ll leave one here on the bimah. They always disappear and don’t come back. https://www.mayyimhayyim.org/product/blessings-for-the-journey/  

There was a meme that appeared recently on Facebook.  

It actually is what sparked this d’var Torah: 

“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world. Angry people cannot create a peaceful planet.” 

I am not sure that I agree fully with this analysis. You can only forgive when you feel safe. But maybe when we do eventually feel safe, we hope, just like G-d in this passage, we learn  to forgive. 

Forgiveness isn’t easy. It takes work. It doesn’t happen overnight. It cannot happen unless you feel safe. After studying the 13 Attributes deeply, that was the finding of my thesis. The fact that G-d gets angry and then forgives. That Moses can convince G-d to forgive, this is what gives me hope. As we move into the month of Tamuz and then into Av, may we all learn to be like G-d. And angry or not, may we all continue to work for peace. Amen. 

More on the positive aspects of anger: 

1. Anger protects us. Anger is designed to protect ourselves from an enemy or danger. Anger motivates people to become attentive to threats and sharpens our focus. When we are threatened or attacked, anger is activated and drives us to fight back and act swiftly and forcefully to defend ourselves. 
2. Anger empowers us. Opposite to fear driven by helplessness, anger makes us feel in charge and gives us a sense of control. People who experience and display their anger in a proportional and balanced way are better positioned to fulfill their unmet needs and control their destinies than those who suppress their anger. 
3. Anger’s discharge is calming. When you experience physical and emotional distress, anger strongly motivates you to do something about it. As such, anger helps you cope with stress by discharging the tension in your body. The result of your action calms your “nerves.” 
4. Anger indicates injustice. Anger emerges when we are denied rights or faced with insults, disrespect, manipulation, exploitation, or injustice. Anger indicates that something is not quite right and that someone has been treated unfairly. 
5. Anger drives us to meet our goals. Anger motivates us to pursue our desired goals and rewards. When we don’t get what we want, anger is triggered, indicating we have moved away from our objectives. It energizes and pushes us to act to achieve our goals. 
6. Anger safeguards our values. Anger serves as a value indicator and regulator. Anger is activated when our values are not in harmony with our situation. It makes us aware of what we stand for and motivates us to take action to change the situation and realign it with our values. 
7. Anger instils optimism. Astonishingly, anger can bring optimism. It encourages us to focus on what we hope to achieve rather than focusing on the hurt, abuse, or victimization. The anger mechanism is geared toward what is attainable, not the impossible. As such, we feel positive about our ability to change the situation. 
8. Anger leads to self-improvement. Anger can make us better. It provides insight into our faults and shortcomings. If looked at constructively, it can lead to self-improvement. If we know what makes us angry, we can work on these triggers to improve our response. 
9. Feeling anger enhances emotional agility. Emotionally intelligent individuals do not resist anger. Instead, they utilize the wisdom of anger to enhance their well-being. As a result, these individuals have greater emotional flexibility and agility, and their response is more adaptive. 
10. Anger covers painful feelings. In its raw state, anger prevents (defends/blocks) you from feeling even more painful emotions. Once you allow yourself to feel anger constructively, you can dig deeper to process your painful feelings better. 
11. Anger motivates us to find a deeper self. Anger provides insight into ourselves. It is the top layer of much deeper and hidden parts of the self. This is why it is important to trace the trail of anger and dig down to find and address its source. We can only free ourselves from the suffering it sometimes induces after addressing the blockage that leads to anger. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-wisdom-of-anger/202306/11-good-reasons-to-get-angry 

Our Torah portion, the full cycle begins with a unique phrase. Beha’alotecha, translated here in Sefaria, the JPS 2006a edition as: 

Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.” (Numbers 8:2) 

But the root of beha’alotecha is the same as aliyah, when you go up, when you raise. When the menorah is lit it is s spiritual going up, just like having an aliyah here or making aliyah in Israel. Aaron raised the lights. The lights went up, they made an aliyah.  

It becomes everyone’s job to make sure that the light stays lit. The whole community, especially the Levites who as tasked with the Lord’s service, at least from age 25-50. After 50 the text tells us Levites can stand guard but are essentially retired. (That would be an interesting sermon for another time.)  

Our whole community as an act of spiritual discipline and meaning has to make sure that the light, this light stays lit. It is a sacred responsibility. 

 In the middle of our portion, as the Israelites are wandering, plodding, they are guided by a cloud that settles over the Holy of Holies. It seems like a Divine game of red light, green light. This cloud, however, is a measure of the Divine Presence, the Shechinah and it offers G-d’s protection and guidance on the journey. Listen carefully to the language. We use the same language today when we wish someone a “Nisiyah Tovah”, a good journey, especially if they are traveling to Israel. We want G-d to protect us, to guard us, to keep us safe. It was embedded in last week’s parsha as well. “Yiverechecha v’yishmarecha” May G-d bless you and keep you, watch over you, guard you, protect you. We want G-d to go with us. My friend and colleague, Pastor Dave Daubert from Zion Lutheran Church ends meetings with “Go with G-d and may G-d go with you.”   

At the very end of our parsha today we hear a line that is very familiar to us. Kuma Adonai… 

Arise Adonai.  

וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ׀ יְהֹוָ֗ה וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ 

 מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃  

When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say:
Advance, O יהוה !
May Your enemies be scattered,
And may Your foes flee before You! 

This translation has Advance. Most seem to use Arise. There is another place where we see Kum—Tzur Yisrael Kuma b’ezrat Yisrael…Rock of Isarael, Arise and come to Israel’s help. It is at that point that we all stand up for the amidah, the standing portion, the central portion of our service. But these two instances while they act as stage directions are mucch more than that. 

In Psalms it says, Kuma Adonai, hosheini elohai, l’adonai hayeshua, al amcha birchatecha… (“Arise, oh Lord! Save me, oh my God!  Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessings are upon Your people” (Psalm 3:7-8) There are beautiful musical settings for this but I don’t know of an instance where we use Psalm 3 in our liturgy. 

 What we see here is an evolution of how the text is used. First, we see it in the Book of Numbers. Then we see it in our liturgy. Finally, we then see it in modern day leaders who use this line begging G-d to take care of G-d enemies. David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister famously said that in order to be a realist in Israel you have to believe in miracles. 

Will G-d really come to Israel’s aid? Is G-d really on our side? Or as others have said does G-d help them who help themselves. What do those two truths mean? Is it ours to wrestle with? Set public policy by?  

I have never been completely comfortable with the theology that says G-d is on our side. I don’t like it especially in the Song at the Sea where the Israelites sing that G-d is a man of war. Perhaps this week’s reading is saved by the haftarah. It is clear that the connection between the haftarah and the Torah is the menorah itself. However, maybe the haftarah also acts as a foil. The haftarah ends with the vision, “Not by might and not by power but by My spirit alone shall we all live in peace.” That’s the world I am working toward. I have sung it at Chanukah in the Debbie Friedman rendition. I have sung it after acts of senseless violence like Sandy Hook. And I will continue to do so.   

It is said that a book, a movie, a play of historical nature says more about the time it is written about than the history it portrays. Using our verse from Numbers in our weekly Torah portion was designed to do precisely that.  

 While it is true that the service for removing the Torah from the ark, parading it around the congregation, reading it, and then returning it became an opportunity to symbolically reenact the history of Israel, from the giving of the Torah at Sinai to the worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Our verse, Kuma, was not added in the service until the middle of the 13th century in France and not made universal in Ashkenazi tradition until the middle of the 16th. 

 Using the idea that it tells us more about what was happening at the time it was comiled, let’s ask that question. What was happening in those time periods? In France in the early 13th century Jews were expelled. The history channel teaches: 

“As with most European nations, France had been home to Jews since antiquity. Also as in the rest of Europe, the Jews of France faced frequent discrimination and persecution. French Jews had already suffered through burnings of their religious texts, discriminatory taxes and other fiscal policies targeted at Jews, being scapegoated for the Black Plague, and multiple prior attempts to expel them from France. Various cities in France independently expelled their Jews throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. They were formally expelled from the country 1306 and had their lands confiscated by the government, only to be recalled in 1315 and made to pay for the privilege of returning. Under the rules set in 1315, Jews were ordered not to discuss their religion publicly, made to wear a badge identifying themselves, and cautioned against committing usury, an accusation often leveled at Jews based on racist stereotypes.” 

 It would make sense then, fearing reprisals from the French government to beg G-d to scatter G-d’s enemies. A close reading of the text (thank you, Brad!) shows that these are G-d’s enemies, not our enemies.  

 13th century France, Nazi Germany, or today’s rising anti-semitism, or the continuing war in the Israel after October 7th.  The fear is real. Begging G-d to scatter G-d’s enemies is a natural response. Yet some of it is up to us.  

 We have examined three words that mean to arise, to go up, to stand, aliyah, kum, and amidah. I think what it is telling us is that we need to go up, as a spiritual arising, to stand up and to be counted. Only then can we demand that G-d also arise!  

We began this discussion last night. We looked at our reading for today in the back of Siddur Sim Shalom, in the table service for Shabbat evening. Candles. Kiddush. Motzi. Eishet Chayil and a newer reading for men, in this case Psalm 112, in other places Psalm 1 and the priestly benediction. I remember fondly when Sarah was little we would go to Simon’s cousins’ home in Albany, NY and the father of the house would bless Sarah with those very words.  

Nowadays there are more modern readings for a Woman of Valor that accommodate our more complex understandings of family, but the emphasis is the same. The people who dwell together are a blessing. The house is a mikdash me’at, a little sanctuary so as such it makes sense to recite the Birkat Hacohanim, the priestly benediction.  

This is Father’s Day Weekend. This past week we just read the Ten Commandments as part of Shavuot. One commandment is to Honor your father and your mother. Note that it doesn’t say love. It says honor, which the kids teach us means to respect. In Leviticus as part of the Holiness Code, it teaches us, it commands us to “Fear your mother and your father.” Fathers are seen as a blessing. In the yizkor service the meditation on remembering a father begins, “May G-d remember the soul of my father, my teacher.” Fathers were seen as teachers.  

One of my former students, Rob Kaplowitz, has been a great teacher to me. He was a sound designer, including on Broadway where he won a Tony. After a very successful theater career, he is now training to be a lawyer. Yet, despite that very busy first year of law school he is heavily involved and invested in an organization in Philadelphia, weembracefatherhood.org. He is teaching people how to be fathers and he is learning together with them along the way. 

Happy Father’s Day. May it be a blessing. May it be filled with golf, or barbecues, or exactly what you want. For some Father’s Day is complicated. You may be missing a child. You may be missing your own father. You may be an unacknowledged step-parent, foster parent. Someone who for whatever reason never had children. You may be single parenting. I hope you can see the blessing you are. 

I just finished reading Kristen Hannah’s The Women, about combat nurses during Vietnam. I found it to be a very powerful book. The main character, Frankie, had a very complicated relationship with her father. Spoiler alert, after many, many years she discovers that her father is a blessing. 

Rabbi Harold Kushner talks about this in his book, How Good Do We Have to Be. He chapter Fathers and Sons, Mothers and Daughters, I find I need to reread over and over again. But even while my father had very high expectations and we never agreed on the G-d thing, on days like this, actually on most days I miss him. He taught me much. He was a blessing. To me and to the world. 

How do we get here? What is a blessing? The first use of b-r-ch is in Genesis where G-d blesses Abram:  “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you (ואברכך), and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (ברכה). I will bless (ואברכה) those who bless you (מברכיך), and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (ונברכו).“ 

Our portion today includes one of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture. Called thre Birkat haCohanim, the Priestly benediction, it was a blessing the priests offered all the people. Today we use it on Friday nights to bless our children. We use it at B-Mitzvah celebrations and weddings. It is part of the musaf service. Soon we will use it at a baby naming and at an aufruf,  when we shower a wedding couple with blessings and candy, so that their marriage will be sweet and filled with blessings!  Often it as used as the final benediction in Christian worship services and many old school or classical Reform services. We hold these texts sacred together. 

We want to be blessed, to feel blessed. I have a number of friends who end phone calls and conversations with the phrase “Be blessed.” Or have a blessed day. It used to make me somewhat uncomfortable. It seemed well maybe too Christian.  

In fact, that is exactly what we do when we bless our children on Friday night. Even more importantly perhaps, it offers hope.  

Many of our prayers begin, as you all know, Baruch Atah Adonai. Blessed are You G-d. Does G-d need our blessing? Maybe. It is a way of saying thank you and reminding ourselves that we are blessed. It offers gratitude 

And when we bless one another, it offers connection and community. 

Each of you is a blessing. You are a gift. To me and to the wider world. Each of you helps make this world a better place and you have a unique role in this place. I am grateful. I am blessed. 

The first line of this blessing that G-d taught to Aaron and his sons is Yiverecha v’yishmarecha. May the Lord bless and keep you, guard you and protect you. We all want to be safe and protected, to feel that like the song, somone will watch over me. All of us. Those in the camp and out of the camp. To use a line from the U-46 Mission Statement, where I once spoke about transgender issues, “All means all.”   

There are many translations for this tri-fold blessing: 

Yiverechecha v’yishmaecha
Ya’er adonai panav elecha v’chuneka
Yisa adonai panav elecha v’yisa lecha shalom. 

Please rise for a special birkat hacohanim:  

“May God bless you and protect you, guard you and watch over you.!  
May light of G-d God shine upon you and be gracious to you!  
May God lift up God’s face to you and grant you peace!” Num. 6:22-27  

May we find a way to live out this blessing. Sharing G-d’s light and love. Finding wholeness and completeness, shalom. And making our lives, all of our lives count.  You matter. You are loved. You are a gift. You are a blessing. Period. 

One more blessing. Because it is summer and a number of people are traveling. Tefilat haderech, known as the travelers prayer is found in the section of Talmud called Berachot. It appears in the fuller version of Siddur Sim Shalom and Debbie Friedman set a version to music: 

Lyrics:
CHORUS
May we be blessed as we go on our way
May we be guided in peace
May we be blessed with health and joy
May this our blessing, amen.
May we be sheltered by the wings of peace
May we be kept in safety and in love
May grace and compassion find their
way to every soul
May this be our blessing, amen.
Amen, may this be our blessing, amen. 

As we leave here today, may you be blessed as you go on your way.