Dvar Torah Mishpatim: Laws for Life, 2015/5775

Mishpatim:  2015/5775

Law for Life

Try to picture ourselves as ranchers, owners of cattle herds.  One day, we allow our cattle to wander into a neighbor’s field and the livestock graze the land until it is bare.

We see a pack animal fall to the ground under its burden and wonder what we will do – stop? Keep going by?

Or we are farmers, and our lands have been producing amazing yields for six years straight.  Now we must stop planting our most productive field, and let it lie fallow.

As it happens, these situations, these realities, were as unknown to the Israelites when God spoke to Moses and Moses shared them with the people.  Still standing at Sinai, we all hear these laws, laws that will govern how we live in the Promised Land, many laws that have very little to say about life out in the wilderness.

For our ancestors, they are laws for the future.  For us, they sound like laws of the past.

How might we re-read and recreate these ancient teachings for today?

Instead of cattle wandering into another field, maybe the situation is that we send an email with a virus that infects other computers.

Instead of a pack animal that falls under its burden, we notice someone whose car has broken down on the road, or someone who’s groceries are dropping to the ground while they try to get kids in the car.

Instead of a field that needs to lie fallow, we think of the ways that we overwork and overextend ourselves, do we need to unplug, disconnect from the net, exercise and revive our bodies and spirits.

To understand the remainder of the Torah, especially the generation of slaves who have just left Egypt, it is crucial for us to remember that they have just come from living under another nation’s laws.  They’ve not been responsible for their own governance, and now they are.  Rashi emphasizes the way God sets up the laws for them but does not train them and drill them in remembering and applying the laws at this moment.  They first need to get used to the idea of being responsible for their own actions and willing to submit to the way another fellow Israelite will serve as judge and administer justice.  For a former slave, this change in circumstances could not be more radical or potentially unsettling.

Rabbi Alexander Zusia Friedman, the Avney Ezel, reminds us that our parsha, the laws for the people comes right after material about sacrifices at the end of the last parsha.  For the Jewish people, this juxtaposition shows how both our religious and civil laws are holy.  They both are based in faith.  Civil laws are as much mitzvoth as holidays, Torah study, and lighting Shabbat candles.

Our ancestors know Rabbi Friedman’s teaching.  Pharaoh was the law in Egypt, and Pharaoh was thought to be a god.  The law came from a so-called divine source in Egypt.

The difference here is that our God is invisible, eternal, and expects partnership.  We fulfill our end of the covenant and God fulfills God’s end.  There is mutual responsibility.  The people are not expendable resources.  On the contrary, each of us is of extreme and inestimable value.

When we study the laws this week, laws of property and how to make fair judgments, laws of sensitivity to those who are weak and alienated in society, it is up to us, when we notice that the laws as written no longer apply exactly to our lives as they did to the lives of our ancestors, that we recast the laws into our own terms. 

By doing so, we fulfill the same promise our ancestors fulfilled for their offspring who would one day enter the Holy Land.  They, and we, create, and then hand down, a world infused with the spirit of thoughtfulness and intentionality, a world of striving for truth and fairness, a world of yearning for connection with the Source of Creation, a world that challenges us to both remember when we were slaves and to keep shaping the freedom that God gifted to us so long ago.

Shabbat Shalom.

Dvar Torah - Yitro: The 10 Commandments - Which is the toughest commandment?

Parshat Yitro:  The Most Challenging of the 10 Commandments

Which is the most challenging of the 10 commandments?  Which one is the most difficult for us to do, or to refrain from doing? 

In the 1930 film version of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic book ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, a story of World War 1, the conflict that started just over 100 years ago, the main character Paul Baumer the German soldier speaks to the lifeless form of his enemy whom he has shot down, “Oh, God! why did they do this to us? We only wanted to live, you and I. Why should they send us out to fight each other? If they threw away these rifles and these uniforms, you could be my brother, just like Kat and Albert.”

This sad, reflective statement about loss asks a compelling question, ‘Why were we sent to do a given task?’ 

We need not focus here on the fact that it is war and that officers command soldiers to act. 

Two issues here come forward:  First, why is it that we most often question what others instruct us to do when we must do things that are difficult or challenging? 

Second, by what authority does the commander send us into action, whatever the task may be?

These two questions help identify the most challenging of the 10 Commandments.  I believe it is the first commandment, the statement, “I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…”

It is a statement, an implied command, that according to Maimonides means that ‘We must believe in God’s existence, that there is a cause and a motivating force behind all that exists.’

Let’s examine the first commandment with the 2^nd question.

By what authority does God command, send us into action?  God explains that God brought us out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, here, in the words of the first commandment, God expects our loyalty in return for the gift of freedom.  We accept God’s authority as a way of showing our gratitude, as a way of showing that our faith in the One who liberated us that one time, will keep us free, will guide us, and help give our lives meaning as free people.

It is fortunate and welcome that God here does not prohibit us from asking questions, doubting, wondering about who God is and how God operates.  As long as we do not worship other gods, we are still the people of Ado-onai.

But it is not always easy to be loyal to an invisible commander.  It is not always logical how God functions in the world since many who follow God’s words suffer equally with those who are clearly and chronically wicked.

And now to the first question, one that applies in the realm of faith as much as in other human situations.  The mitzvot, the commandments, that are pleasing, that are understandable, that are fun – we tend not to challenge God on these.  When it comes to more challenging mitzvoth, mitzvoth without natural or logical explanation, mitzvoth that require huge amounts of energy and time, we take deep breaths, we sigh, we wonder if our strongest striving will enable us to see these through.

I am proposing an experiment for this Shabbat, for this coming week.  Let’s each choose one easier, more convenient or pleasant, mitzvah and one that is more challenging or time consuming.  Let’s try fulfilling the more challenging one without a second thought, with complete enthusiasm and no looking back, with no second guessing or questions.  And then let’s take the easier one and let’s pull it apart into all its philosophical and theological pieces, let’s challenge why we do it, and how we do it. 

The 10 Commandments are a gift that, as a whole, are not the core of our beliefs, they are a starting point, a beginning, an invitation into a relationship with God.  This week, let’s try the experiment in order to freshen up that relationship, to take a look at what we do as Jews in a way that goes against our instincts. 

In this way, we will re-enter that amazing moment when God speaks to all of us at once, and all of us individually, welcoming us into a journey through peace, and war, through love and conflict, through pain and prosperity, into the living and breathing present.

Shabbat Shalom.

Dvar Torah: Beshalach - Shabbat Shira, Shabbat of Song

Dvar Torah Beshalach:  What do we need more of?

When we read about the military attack, Pharaoh’s chariots and officers charging against the Israelites.  When we picture God as cloud and fire, the images are images of war.  As Moses tells sthe people, “God will fight for you.”  Or in the Song of the Sea, the song that celebrates crossing the sea to safety, “Ado-nai ish milchamah,” “Ado-nai is a God of war.”

All these clues might make us wonder why is this Shabbat called “Shabbat Shirah”, the Shabbat of Song?  Is it enough that we read the song of the sea?  With all the plagues and destruction associated with the Exodus, maybe we don’t feel like singing at all?

But isn’t there singing even at moments of conflict?  During war, soldiers sing.  I think about my favorite film of all time, Casablanca; German soldiers at Rick’s start singing Die Wacht am Rhein, a German patriotic song, and then Victor Laszlo, leader of the underground, starts the band to playing the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, and they sing at each other, with the allied voices eventually drowning out the voices of the enemy.

The singing that happens this Shabbat is about triumph, celebration, thankfulness.  And we need much more singing.  Every Shabbat evening and every Shabbat morning, every holiday, at ceremonies celebrating birth, marriage, there is singing, even mournful songs at funerals and shivah.

Even God wants more singing from us, as the Rabbis explain, “From the day the world was created until the Israelites stood at the Sea, we did not find those who sang to God except Israel.  God created the first human being, and he did not sing a song.  God saved Abraham from the fiery furnace and from the kings and he did not sing a song, and the same with Isaac, who was saved from the knife (at the Akedah) and did not sing a song…the same with Jacob…(but) when the Israelites came to the Sea and it was split for them, immediately they sang a song…”

And here is where we see what God was thinking all along…

The Rabbis tell us that God then said, “It was for them (for this nation of Israelites) that I was waiting.”

God was waiting for us to sing as a group, as a people.

Why do we often not sing as much as we could?

We worry about the sound of our voice.  Gevalt, what has American Idol done to us?!  We feel self-conscious with our sound, wondering when the man with the British accent will reduce us to a weeping lump of tears at our lack of talent.

We do not know the words.

Here in our synagogue we’ve produced booklets to help everyone be able to join in with the Hebrew prayers.  And we recognize at the same time the power of singing without words.  Jewish tradition raised the art of singing melodies without words to a high art form.  The Niggun, the wordless melody is an extraordinary way into our own hearts and into God’s heart.  Whether it’s a soft hum, singing on Lai Dai Dai, or a personal favorite, Oy, yo yoy yoy yoy, being part of the group singing whether with words or without words means that we are praying with our voices, contributing our sound to the group sound and affirming our place in the community, affirming the meaning of the prayer, of the song in a way that is meaningful for us.

On this Shabbat Shirah, the Shabbat of song, let us recommit to filling our lives with music.  Instead of watching TV, put music on, sing and dance.  At family meals, the Seder, Thanksgiving, Shabbat, any other time, make a song sheet and sing together.

Unlike Simon Cowell, God does not critique the quality of our sound or our performance. 

God wants us to open up and sing, Az Yashi Moshe uv’nei Yisrael, Az, they just opened up in song at that moment, filled with joy, bursting to express that joy and out came an amazing song. 

Let’s join our ancestors and sing with them.

Shabbat Shalom.

Dvar Torah: Parshat Bo - Who's speaking?

You might remember the classic Abbot and Costello routine “Who’s on first?”  It’s timeless.

In parshat Bo, when God teaches the people how to remember the Exodus from Egypt into the future, God tells Moses and Aaron, speak to all the community of Israel – but who will actually do the talking?

Moses or Aaron? 

They each speak to Pharaoh at different moments.

The Rabbis teach us a lesson in building a leadership team in the way they answer this question.

Moses and Aaron decide to share the honor of speaking to the people.  Each says to the other “Teach me”, Lamdeni, and with this openness to learning from one another and working together, the Rabbis say a miracle happens and the word of God comes from the space between them, as though they were both speaking.

Building an effective leadership team in synagogue, in any organization, is about openness to learning and listening, from a willingness to think creatively and to put the good of the community first -- to trust that with this spirit, we will create a holy space where we will hear God’s voice speaking through us.

Invocation offered at the January 28, 2015 Bergen County Board of Freeholders public meeting

Good evening.

As this public meeting begins tonight, we seek inspiration for the work of decision making.  We seek help to focus on what is most important as we ask for the strength and clarity of mind to help and guide the residents of Bergen County.

The Rabbis teach us that the world stands on three things, Torah – study, Avodah – service, and gemilut hasadim – acts of lovingkindness.

Through study we seek to discern the truth as we adjust our perspective to see through the eyes of others.

Through service, we remember that we are responsible for this amazing and often confusing world, that as difficult as it is to chart a path through uncertainty, we still must confront our challenges so that we might remove obstacles for others.

Through acts of lovingkindness, we affirm that people are more important than things, and reaffirm the teaching from Jewish tradition that giving is what makes us wealthy.

May these three core values and objectives inform, support, and create a path for tonight’s meeting as the Jewish community of Bergen County prepares to celebrate next week the Tu Bishevat holiday, the New Year for the trees, the trees which, like the leaders of our communities, watch over us, provide us support, help shade us in times of trouble, and encourage us to build stronger communities by rooting our highest values deep in the rich earth on which we live.

Amen.

Dvar Torah: Va'era - "Let My People God", Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Parshat Va’era

5775/2015

In 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr. said

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

Meet physical force with soul force.

Meet the sword with the pen.

Meet the police baton with courage, the water hoses with silent and impassive presence.

It is just this approach that God takes through Moses when Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh for the first time.

Martin Luther King and civil rights leaders confronted public officials who did not recognize their authority nor did they wish to make changes in laws pertaining to segregation. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others sought to establish themselves as spokespeople for civil rights in the same way that God seeks to give Moses and Aaron authority in the face of Pharaoh.

Seforno explains that the first sign, changing the stick into a snake, is a wonder that is designed to show the stature of God’s servant Moses, that it would be wise for Pharaoh to listen to him.  This and the other signs and wonders also convinced the Israelites of Moses’ power to represent God.  Pharaoh claims he does not know of the God of Israel, and so he questions not only the servant but also the God who sent him.

While the Egyptian magicians are able to replicate the first two plagues, blood and frogs, they cannot produce the third plague of lice. 

Pharaoh’s heart grows tougher and colder.  He fears the loss of his precious Israelite slaves.

The hearts of the authorities and police in Selma also grew tougher and colder.  50 years ago, March 7, 1965, a day called Bloody Sunday, was the first Selma to Montgomery march, a day the police clubbed and beat the marches, and that evening a white group beat and murdered Minister James Reeb, a clergyman from Boston who had come for the second planned march.

And still they marched on.

And still the segregationists held fast.

We know that in the end the soul force was successful.  It sent a message as strong as the plagues that humble the mighty Egyptian empire.  It sent a message that there can be dignity in conflict, that violence in the end is self-destructive – it turns around and hits the perpetrators back, and it helps convince those on the sidelines of the grace and truth of the message. 

What then do we do in the face of rampant violence in the Middle East, a place where people who do humanitarian work, who use soul force, often end up victims of violence?

We lament that it took the death of 14 to bring people out to the streets in Paris in protests against terrorism, and those who attack the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Is it possible to hold onto a forceful deterrent while trying our best to offer peaceful protests, as Theodore Roosevelt said, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.”?

We need to build strength from within.  Only well trained young people were able to conduct sit ins during the civil rights movement, people who role played what it would be like to have people push and browbeat them. 

We also need to first feel bothered by inequality and injustice.  We need to feel angry at those who take away freedom from others.

Soul force is only successful when we prepare the soul to meet the opposition.  As much as Shabbat is a time of rest, it is also a time to build up reserves of strength, time to consider both the beauty of creation and the places within creation that are painful and broken.  It’s a time to gird ourselves for being agents of justice in the world.

Join us for the annual march in Van Neste Square on Monday, it’s one way to practice, to show that despite the cold, despite the fact that it’s a small group of marchers with a much larger group of onlookers and others who continue with business as usual, that on this one day we stop traffic not for a musical parade and for cheering, but for sending a message that we are ready to take on the challenges to justice that we still face here in this country, 52 years after I have a dream, 50 years after Selma, 50 years after the voting rights act, at a time when relationships between police forces and minority groups are tense, there is still work to do to make Dr. King’s dream a reality.