Elul 4

Ben Azzai used to say: Do not despise any person and do not consider anything impossible; for there is no one who does not have his hour and there is nothing that does not have its place. [Pirkei Avot 4:2]

Living in the moment is one of the most challenging things in life to actualize. And sometimes, we get in our own way. In this passage, Ben Azzai focuses on the potential of humanity – not knowing what life will bring, we all have the potential, the capacity to live in the moment. One of my favorite pieces of writing comes from an anonymous author:

Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.

One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Live life so completely that when death comes to you like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal.

What are those moments in your life that take your breath away?

Elul 3

The shofar is a powerful symbol.

The shofar may be likened to a spiritual alarm clock. It wakes us up from the slumber of our lives. We remember that our time is brief; tomorrow is a maybe, but the possibilities of today are right here.  There’s a midrash that teaches us that God created the very ram that Abraham would later sacrifice (the shofar is a ram’s horn) before God even created the world!

The shofar is an important instrument (pun intended) indeed.

On the High Holidays, we listen to 100 blasts of the shofar. There are four different ‘kinds’ of blasts. I want to briefly discuss two:

The Sh’varim blast comes right before we listen to the final, loud (deep breath!) blast of T’kiyah G’dolah. The first is a series of short, staccato notes. The word sh’varim means ‘broken;’ we listen to several broken sounds. The final blast, as we know, is one long sound.

These sounds are a metaphor for the High Holiday experience. We are meant to take our broken lives (akin to the separate sounds of the Sh’varim) and transform them into the wholeness of theT’kiyah G’dolah." This month of Elul provides that opportunity.

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.