Elul 2

Elul is the name of the last month of the Hebrew Calendar year.  The word Elul has no meaning in Hebrew other than being a proper noun, but the root aleph-lamed-lamed in Aramaic means “circle” or “seek out.”  As the last month of the year, it makes sense that it might be related to the word “circle,” pointing to the cyclical nature of the year.

There are many traditions associated with the month of Elul.  We blow the shofar every morning.  We recite S’lichot (forgiveness prayers), especially in the last week.  We send cards and letters to our loved ones, asking forgiveness for any offenses we may have committed throughout the year.  We spend much of our time focused on preparing for the upcoming High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  It is this preparation that might elude to the other Aramaic meaning of Elul.  We are seeking, within ourselves, a way to improve ourselves in the coming year.

As we “circle” around to the end of 5772, may we find all that we “seek” within ourselves.

Elul 1/Aug 19

The month of Elul precedes the High Holidays. Its 28 days are meant as a time for introspection, learning and growth. Judaism teaches that we don’t just walk into the Rosh Hashanah service, all ready to go. Elul is a ‘warm-up’ time, allowing us to spiritually stretch ourselves to prepare for the intensity (and joy) of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Starting on the first day of Elul and continuing through the end of the month, there will be a daily post here on this blog that is pertinent to this month of introspection. Each posting will have a brief thought on the topic of preparing for the High Holy Days, and each thought will be paired with a tweet using the hashtag #elul5772.

The postings this Elul represent the collaboration of Rabbi Bradley G. Levenberg of Temple Sinai in Atlanta, GA; Rabbi Eric Linder of Congregation Children of Israel in Athens, GA; Rabbi Jason Nevarez of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, NY; and Rabbi David N. Young of Temple Sinai in Miami, FL.  Together we hope to provide our respective congregations with 28 opportunities for growth during this introspective time.

Elul 1, 5772:

 We are used to judging by endings. We focus on a person's last days, or on the bad breakup, or the final inning that determines the game. But most of life is not the end and if there was joy in the journey, arias and intoxications, let us try to embrace that time. We are not defined by the last, but by all.

Let us consider the good that we have done prior to this year, how we have impacted those around us in positive ways.  Perhaps we introduced a couple, or mended broken fences, or inspired positive living in others.  Now may we seek to connect, over phone or email orFacebook or even in person with one of those people.

Benediction for the Human Trafficking School at St. Thomas U

The very first chapter of the Bible teaches about an intense week as well. God creates the entire world and everything in it. On the sixth day God fills the earth with animals, and finishes with human beings. Genesis 1:27 says: Vayiv’ra elohim et ha’adam b’tzal’mo, b’tzelem elohim bara oto. Zachar un’keivah bara otam. God created human in the Divine image. In the image of God humans were created. God created male and female. We learn from this that all human beings are created in the Divine Image and should be treated as godly. God’s week ended with a day of rest. Of course, God was not tired. God did not need to sit down for a day on the Lazy Boy in frnt of the TV. God wanted to create a day of rest for us. The Sabbath is a way for human beings to spend time in reflection of the holiness that we create over the course of a given week. My friends, you have created much holiness here this week, and there will not be much rest for you. There is much to be done with the tools you have acquired this week. You will be building upon the foundation of support and education that you have created. It is written in an ancient text, “Be among the disciples of Aaron—a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace.” The sages of antiquity knew very well how easy it is for people to pay lip service to justice, and to mouth platitudes of righteousness, virtue, and of loving kindness. They understood that to be an ahuv shalom, a lover of peace, was not really sufficient. One must also be a rodef shalom, a pursuer of peace. It is also written in that same text, “Students bring peace into the world.” May it be the will of the Divine that we will be the generation of students that puts our knowledge to its highest and most noble purposes. May we be the ones who become pursuers of peace, and to rid the world of violence, war, and atrocity. May we become disciples of Aaron—lovers of peace, and pursuers of peace, acknowledging the godliness that is implanted in every human being. Ribono shel olam, Master of the Universe, favor us with knowledge, understanding, and discernment. Give our hands the strength to fight evil, and the tenderness to care for its victims. Give our hearts compassion and fortitude, that we might take on our mission with steadfastness of purpose. Enable us to go from strength to strength on behalf of our people, our community, and our nation. Amen.

Waiting for Silence

On the 5^th of September, a little before 5am, 8 terrorists stormed the dorms of the Israeli athletes in Munich.  They took the Israeli Olympic team hostage, demanding the release of 234 prisoners being held in Israeli jails.  The kidnapping resulted in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.  It remains one of the lowest moments in modern Jewish history.

That was 40 years ago.  Next Friday evening the Games of the 30^th Olympiad will begin in London.  40 years and 10 Olympics after the Munich Massacre, and the International Olympic Committee refuses to observe a minute of silence in memory of the Israeli team of 1972.  They claim that the 21 Arab nations who participate in the games would refuse to participate if there was a memorial for Israelis.  So 40 years ago 8 terrorists held 11 people hostage.  Today, 21 nations are holding Israel hostage.  It is a shame and an embarrassment to the world that they are allowed such power.

According to the IOC’s web site, the very first listed responsibility of the IOC is: “To encourage and support the promotion of ethics in sport…and to dedicate its efforts to ensuring that, in sport, the spirit of fair play prevails and violence is banned.”

What greater ethics is there than to band together to decry the violence that they would ban from the Olympics?  Or do they limit their ethics and their view of violence to the sports field and not to the real world?

What makes this even more tragic is that the Olympics this year begins on the 9^th of Av, Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning and memory.  It is an opportune moment to show global solidarity and respect for human life.  So that is exactly what we will do at Temple Sinai.

Next Saturday morning at the end of Shabbat services we will hold a mini-Yizkor service in memory of the victims of the attack on the 1972 Olympics.  We will be more than just silent.  We will raise our voices in prayer and in memory.

Meanwhile, please take the time to sign thepetition to the IOC in hopes that they change their mind.

Why I Love Jewish Summer Camp

When I was in high school a lot of my friends spent time with their families over the summer. I went to camp. In college my friends took extra classes, went on long vacations, or got jobs over the summer. I went to camp. In graduate school my classmates got internships or researched their thesis material over the summer. I went to camp. Even now a lot of my colleagues go to Israel over the summer, while I am perfectly happy going to camp. I just got back from my 15th summer at camp. This year it was two weeks at URJ’s Camp Coleman in Cleveland, GA. It is a gorgeous camp situated in the rolling hills that further north and west develop into the Smoky Mountains. The surrounding area is dotted with small towns and other summer camps, and even a few vineyards. And yes, I brought back a bottle for the boss. The camp is built around a lake that they call Lake Shalom, and most of our days are spent walking from one side of the lake to the other just to get from activity to activity. This year there are, I believe 350 kids at Camp Coleman ranging in age from 7 to 17. There is activity going on from 6 in the morning to after midnight, and no shortage of incredible programming. It’s a great place to be a kid, either physically or mentally. On my drive home I was thinking about what makes camp so great. Kids can swim, play sports, hike, and eat terrible food at camp, but they don’t have to be at camp to do those things. Sure, it’s fun and beautiful, but so is the beach. It’s educational but so is school. It’s spiritual but so is the synagogue. And yet something about camp has staying power. The current camp director has been there for 20 years. There are staff members who have gone from youngest camper to veteran staff member, including a woman named Lauren for whom this is her 37th summer. And this year is only the camp’s 50th year! What makes camp special isn’t about the activities or the location. It has to do with the community. Camp Coleman has built up an amazing community of Jewish people mainly from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. They give the children an incredible sense of what I call guided independence. They have no parents but they are watched by counselors. They are children being watched by older children, essentially, who in turn are being counselored by their unit heads, who are usually in or just out of college. Every summer they build an incredible community of like-minded Jews who are there to have a good time together. They go back for the community. Camp Coleman, and every camp I have ever been to, is like a small town. The director is like the mayor, and the cabins are like the town homes. The camp has its set of rules and regulations, and each cabin has its set of rules as well that either reinforce or occasionally subvert the meta-rules of camp. It is a system that runs on little sleep and lots of coffee for 8 weeks a year. In Pirkei Avot, the rabbis teach us, al tifrosh min hatzibur, “Do not separate yourself from the community.” They knew how important it is to be a part of something bigger. A collective of people who stays close for safety, for comfort, and for support. The Jewish community is together when babies are born, when Bat Mitzvahs are called up to the bimah, when couples join in marriage, and when loved ones die. The Jewish community prays together every day, shares meals together, and even has its rules that are followed by the larger system and then interpreted in the particular homes or sub-communities. Being a community is such an important aspect of Jeiwsh life that we have a blessing that declares our communal responsibility to praise God as one. It even ends with the hope that we will come to a day when all people will be one and praise God as one--bayom hayu yiyeh Adonai echad.... That is the lesson we can take from camp. When we gather for a singular, peaceful purpose, we feel it. We know that we are one, holy community, and that we are agents of a higher purpose.

Health Care Reform

In Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol,” the third book in the trilogy that also includes “Angels and Demons” and “The DaVinci Code,” protagonist Robert Langdon quips that he is on his way to take part in a blood-drinking ritual while kneeling at the foot of an ancient torture device.  He refers to his weekly communion.

Symbols fascinate me.  I am often entertained to learn the origins of a society’s symbol or the meaning behind symbols I thought I understood.  One of the more common symbols of modern medicine actually is derived from this week’s Torah portion.  We read in Numbers 21:5-9:

The people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why did you make us leave Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread and no water, and we have come to loathe this miserable food."  ⁶ Adonai sent venomous serpents against the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died.  ⁷ The people came to Moses and said; "We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Intercede with Adonai to take away the serpents from us!" And Moses interceded for the people.  ⁸ Then Adonai said to Moses, "Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard. And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover."  ⁹ Moses made a copper serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the copper serpent and recover.

The serpent has long served as a symbol of healing.  It is thought that the serpent-pole described in our parashah influenced the Rod of Asclepius, held by the Greek deity associated with healing and medicine.  Perhaps this is because many antidotes for snakebites are made with a small amount of the venom from said snake.  A lesson from nature that the very same medicine that can hurt can also heal.

We are hearing a great deal about the Supreme Court decision to uphold most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare (which I can't decide if it is a pejorative or a compliment).  Allow me a brief summary:

This act, signed into law in March 2010, provides a great deal of support to lower income families and individuals who are seeking and using health insurance.  Some highlights:

·         Insurance companies are now required to offer the same premium to all applicants of the same age and geographical location without regard to most pre-existing conditions

·         An individual mandate has been established, requiring everyone to be a part of an insurance program, choose a program, or pay a penalty.  

·         Medicaid eligibility has been expanded.

·         Insurance exchanges will be established, and individuals purchasing insurance at these exchanges will receive federal subsidies.

·         Minimum standards for health insurance policies will be established and coverage caps will be banned.

·         Firms employing 50 or more people but not offering health insurance will pay if the government has had to subsidize an employee's health care.

·         Co-payments, co-insurance, and deductibles will be eliminated for preventative care.

·         Chain restaurants with 20 or more stores will be required to post calories, fat content, and other health information on their menus.

But how do we fund such wide-spread generosity of our government?  Well, a series of taxes are also written into the bill.  High income taxpayers have a larger Medicare rate.  There is an annual fee for health insurance providers.  People with excessively high health insurance policies will pay extra taxes on the higher coverage.  There are also fees and tax increases on other entities such as drug manufacturers and medical device producers, as well as a raised floor on medical expenses deductions.  (**This is why we have been hearing anti-PPACA commercials that claim the law will raise taxes.  They will, but not on most people, and certainly not on much of the middle class.)

So there are good things on the bill and bad things on the bill.  Money that people don’t want to pay and health care that people previously couldn’t pay for.  It makes sense that the way we have chosen to symbolize health care is with the serpent.  That which can heal can also harm, apparently.

In reading through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it is really difficult for me to understand what the problem is with this bill.  Perhaps that is because I read it from a Jewish perspective.  According to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, health care is first on his list of the ten most important communal services that a city should offer its residents.  According to Joseph Caro, the writer of the Shulchan Orech, a health care provider who withholds services should be perceived as shedding blood.  And in the Talmud, six of the ten things listed as necessary for a town to provide its residents have to do with health care.  To the Jewish people, providing health care to the community is of primary concern, and is the responsibility of the entire community.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie wrote in the Huffington Post, “We are seeing the end of a pitifully inadequate health insurance system that caused horrors every day so tragic that they could rip the heart out of a stone. The American people no longer need to fear that every one of us could lose our health insurance at any time.”  With Rabbi Yoffie, I say, thank God for the wisdom of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  Thank God for their echoing of Jewish values and American ideals.

May we be able to hold back the serpents who will bite at the heels of this law in the coming months and years.

Plea for the Removal of Strange Fire

There once was a small town near a fast-flowing river.  Just beyond the town the river ended in a huge waterfall.  The townspeople knew to stay away from the river, because anyone caught in the current would surely end up over the edge of the waterfall, and there was no way to survive such a fall.   One day, the townspeople heard shouts coming from the river.  They ran and saw someone caught in the current, heading toward the dangerous falls.  Working together, they were able to throw him a rope and save his life.  A few days later it happened again.  Someone was caught in the current, and they rushed to save him.  They decided to keep the rope tied to a tree by the river for the next time.  Sure enough, it happened again.  And again, and soon multiple people were falling in the river and the whole town set up a watch to fish people out of the dangerous waters, and they had an alarm system installed to bring people to help if necessary.

Then once day they had an idea.  They built a net across the river, so that anyone who fell in would be caught by the net and easily saved by a few people monitoring their net.  Sure enough, it worked, and only rarely did people slip through the net and need extra help.  Everyone in the town was so proud of their solution that they never thought to go upstream and discover why people were falling in the river in the first place.

This week’s Parashah contains one of the strangest bits of text we encounter.  Parashat Shemini begins with the first sacrifice following the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests, with Aaron as high priest.  Aaron offers the sacrifice and fire comes down from God to consume it.  Then Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Abihu, try to do the same thing.  It happens in two verses:

Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before Adonai alien fire, which God had not enjoined upon them.  ² And fire came forth from Adonai and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of Adonai (Lev. 10:1-2).

Aaron’s sons, trying to do what they had seen their father do, ended up dying at God’s hand.  The same fire that came down moments earlier to accept Aaron’s sacrifices comes down again with tragic results.  One moment the Israelites shout and cheer as they revel in God’s acceptance of their sacrifice, and the next there is deafening silence.

Fire from God is an incredibly powerful force, and when summoned with the correct intent it brings expiation and elation.  When summoned falsely or by the wrong person, at the wrong time, or with the wrong intent, the consequences are deadly.

In the Bible we can give a little leeway to this disturbing story.  We can explain it with midrashim that suggest God knew Nadav and Abihu had malicious intent and were therefore punished.  We can read it as a warning, over the top for the modern reader but perhaps on track for the Bible, to not act without proper instructions, especially when dealing with the Divine elements that require a particular understanding.  We can assume that there is some sort of lesson to be learned from this terrible story, but all we can do is speculate as to the original writers’ intent.  Nadav and Abihu took their father’s ritual equipment, used it improperly, and it resulted in their death.  They were victims of their father’s strange fire.

Today’s’ modern parallel would be a child stealing their parent’s gun.  We read it all the time, when children want to be cool and show a friend what was under daddy’s bed or in mommy’s purse.  When they use what they don’t understand in an improper way.  It never ends well.

Perhaps it could be argued that guns are helpful.  I don’t personally agree.  I think they only harm.  But let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that someone could convince me that for some reason it is necessary to have a weapon in the home.  When they are not stored properly, used properly, locked away out of reach of anyone who could misuse them, they can only become the same strange fire that Nadav and Abihu toyed with.  Usually when a child takes a handgun that is not properly locked away, the results are the same for them as for the sons of Aaron.

Here in Florida we have extremely lax gun laws.  My brother-in-law, visiting our family here two weeks ago, greeted me with, “So happy to be in Florida where murder is legal."  I responded, "Welcome to the Gunshine State!"  We have laws that allow someone with arrests for assaulting a police officer and domestic battery to carry a concealed weapon.  We have laws that allow someone to use deadly force against another human being just because they feel scared.  We have laws that allow police officers to free a suspect because it looked like he was “standing his ground.”

It is absolutely tragic what happened to Treyvon Martin about six weeks ago.  It is disgusting that it took so long to bring charges against George Zimmerman.  There does need to be justice, and hopefully this will come to some sort of resolution soon.   Zimmerman may have shot Martin in self defense, and Martin may have attacked Zimmerman in self-defense.    But if we focus on George Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin, tragic as the story may be, we are just fishing people out of the river. 

The problem we have is not that one guy who has police officer pals displayed terrible judgment and went unpunished for too long.  The problem we have is Florida’s gun laws.  Martin was a victim of Florida’s Strange Fire.  Zimmerman should not have been allowed to own a weapon, much less serve as his community’s neighborhood watch.

I heard a story on NPR recently about a military battalion coming home from Iraq.  They got through Iraqi airport security without a hitch and flew home, landing here in Florida.  20 or so men and women, finally home from a tour of duty, were detained for two hours by security in America.  One soldier had a nail clipper confiscated, but he was allowed to keep the gun strapped to his chest.  All of the soldiers were allowed to keep their guns and rifles, though several of them had lotions and razors taken away from them by TSA.

In late August, Tampa will be hosting the Republican Party’s National Convention.  They are trying to create a “Clean Zone,” that will help control protesters outside of the convention.  There is a list of items that cannot be brought into this area, including clubs, knives, chains and pepper spray.  But because of Florida’s gun laws, they cannot ban guns in that area!  According to the Hillsborough County Public Defender, “If you’re walking in the convention area, you can’t have a water pistol, but if you’re licensed properly to carry a concealed firearm you can.”[1]

My friends, I know that there are people in this sanctuary who have concealed weapons licenses.  With close to a million people carrying them in Florida, that should be no surprise.  I pray that you don’t have them with you in this holy space, but I acknowledge that it is possible.  I know that those of you who carry weapons do so “for your own safety,” or because you live alone or don’t believe the police would get to you on time.  I know that as a rabbi I am supposed to be nice.  I am supposed to give way in the name of the Talmudic dictate, dina malchuta dina, “the law of the law is legally binding.”  When a congregant tells me about the weapons in their home I typically smile and nod and change the subject.  Every time I do that, I am guilty of putting a net across the river.  So I will do this no more.

It’s time to stop fishing people out of the river, time to stop casting nets to prevent people from more harm than they already have gotten into.  It’s time to go upstream.  This is not about the Treyvon Martins of the world.  This is about laws in the Gunshine State.  This is about political control the NRA has in our country.  This is even about misrepresentation of the 2^nd Amendment of our Constitution.

Owning firearms is wrong.

If you defend our country or cities by serving as a military or police officer, I commend you.  Your weapons should be kept in some sort of protective custody when you are not using them for your job.  If you are not employed as such, get rid of your weapons.  They cannot do any good in your home.  In all likelihood if they are ever used they will only harm you or someone you love.  If you are a hunter, try bow and arrow.  A bow cannot accidentally go off in your hand.  It takes much more skill and would not only prevent accidental shootings (ahem, Mr. ex-Vice President), it would prevent the thinning of animal population that is regularly threatening our ecosystem.

Until we get rid of the weapons, please—please lock them up.  Lock them tight with keys and combination locks and anything that keeps them out of the hands of people who don’t know how to use them.  Help prevent our children from toying with strange fire and suffering such a terrible fate.

---

[1] According to Reuters, “Trayvon Martin killing puts spotlight on ‘Gunshine’ state” by David Adams and Kevin Gray