http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/05/25/2515577/the-boy-scouts-should-be-open.html

I wrote this newspaper column regarding the boy scouts before the vote was taken. My friends and former congregants from Sacramento may remember the events surrounding the formation of the Scouting Sabbath program and decision by the leadership to cancel it once the Union of Reform Judaism issued a statement condemning the Boy Scouts for their policy.
Thanks for taking the time read the piece and as always your opinions are always welcome.
shalom,
Brad

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/05/12/2500452/when-sorry-isnt-enough-public.html


Are public officials of all kinds including clergy, teachers, professionals, elected officials getting off too easy when they say they are sorry for committing acts of moral turpitude? Here is my most recent newspaper column on the subject. What is your view? Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Hag Sameach for Shavuaot.
Brad

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/04/26/2480040/boston-marathon-bombings-shouldnt.html#storylink=misearch

This article is from my most recent newspaper column. Thanks for taking the time to read it and offer any comments.I appreciate your interest and your thoughts whether you agree or not with my ideas.
Brad

Thoughts for Israel Independence Day - 65th Birthday

In tribute to Chaim Weizman

Sunday we will celebrate Israel’s 65^th birthday. Beth Yam will conduct its now annual celebration and we will enjoy the sounds of children and our choir singing Israeli songs. We will pray for the future of the State as we shall respectfully remember her fallen soldiers who gave their lives in the defense of the nation. We shall read letters from the children of our own congregants who currently live in Israel explaining why they love Israel so much. I hope we will all participate.

On this Shabbat it is also a fitting moment to go back in modern Jewish history and remember in honor of Israel’s anniversary an important speech delivered by its first President Chaim Weizman. It was a speech that revealed a great deal about how Israel became a state, about the meaning of Jewish National existence and also about where Israel is today. And for all these reasons please allow me to give us a taste of this speech and engage us in considering whether or not we are contending with the same issues today when it comes to the meaning of Zionism and Jewish identity as Weizman and the generation of Israelis faced some 77 years ago.

It was November 25, 1936 and Chaim Weizman was known at that time as the greatest ambassador and spokesperson on behalf of the Jewish people in Palestine. Israel, then under the control of the British, was a long way off towards becoming a state and who could possibly foresee in the next six years the ravages of Nazism and Fascism’s decimation of European Jewry and the onslaught of World War Two. Still Dr. Weizman came to London to address the Peel Commission set up by the English Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to address the issues of the Arabs and Jews after a series of Arab attacks against Jews. Weizman believed that this commission would open up a new and decisive phase in the diplomatic process for determining political boundaries of the burgeoning Jewish state which was then referred to as Palestine.

Right before the he addressed the Commission his associates new the importance of his testimony and whispered “hashem yatzliach darko” (May God cause his way to be successful). Weizman himself later wrote of the speech. “I felt that I would be speaking for generations long since dead for those who lay buried on Mount Scopus and those whose last resting places were scattered all over the world. I knew that any misstep of mine, any error, however involuntary, would be not mine alone but would redound to the discredit of my people.  I was aware of a crushing sense of responsibility.”

In trying to explain the dilemma for Jews in the Diaspora and why they needed their own land Weizman writes, “In all countries we try to do our best, but somehow in many countries we are not entirely accepted as an integral part of the communities with which we belong. This feeling is one of the causes which have prompted Jews throughout the ages, and particularly in the last hundred years, to try to make a contribution towards the solution of the problem and to normalize –to some extent to normalize- the position of the Jews in the world.”

Yet, Weizman goes on to say, “There should be one place in the world, in God’s wide world, where we could live and express ourselves in accordance with our character, and make our contribution towards the civilized world, in our own way and through our own channels.”

And I think this next part of his speech is very telling for Israel today when Weizman finishes the thought by saying, “Perhaps if we had, we would be better understood in ourselves, and our relation to other races and nations would become more normal.  We would not have to be always on the defensive or, on the contrary, become too aggressive, as always happened with a minority forced to be constantly on the defensive.”

“What has produced this particular mentality of the Jews which makes me describe the Jewish race as a sort of disembodied ghost-an entity in accordance with the usual standards which are applied to define an entity? I believe the main cause which has produced the particular state of Jewry in the world is its attachment to Palestine. We are a stiff-necked people and a people of long memory.  We never forget.  Whether it is our misfortune or whether it is our good fortune, we have never forgotten Palestine, and this steadfastness, which has preserved the Jews throughout the ages and throughout a career that is almost one in the long chain of inhuman suffering, is primarily due to some physiological or psychological attachment to Palestine. We have never forgotten it nor given it up.”

The Peel Report recommended partition into separate Arab and Jews states. This was viewed as a drastic solution that was rejected by the Arabs and many Zionist leaders but was eventually accepted by Weizman.  It was never implemented by the British government. World War Two eventually came and it was only after the war when the United Nations attempted to revive the idea which Israel again agreed and  again the Arabs countries rejected the proposal  which then  launched the War for Independence.

If we read the Jerusalem Post or other news articles about Israel today we will see that these tensions that Weizman identified seventy five years ago are still present. Israel so dearly wants to belong to the world and be a normal nation in the family of nations. They want to use their talents and make a difference for their own citizens as well for the people of this planet. The truth is that they have done so. They have succeeded at bringing Jews from the most remote parts of the world to Israel. Even the new Miss Israel is Ethiopian Jewish. We cannot begin to list all the technological achievements of the State of Israel. Think about the arts and Israel’s military prowess and the result is that  Zionism has been a successful movement.

At the same time Israel still contends with the same pressures that seek to isolate her that Jews faced in the days when Weizman spoke. In that regard the names have changed and the entities have changed but the mysterious resentment and ongoing hatred that Israel’s adversaries have towards her continues. And still Israel must face the indignities of being portrayed not so much as the victim but today as the oppressor. Either way it is about adversaries using multiple narratives and fomenting propaganda that either the Jew is subhuman or a conspirator or a brutal oppressor. Still Israel finds herself struggling alone in the world of public opinion to the point that the President,  on his recent trip to Israel, says “Atem lo lavad, You are not alone.” That one reassuring statement captured more truth about Israel’s place in the world than I wanted to think about.

So on this Israel independence day I advise that we not despair or let the continuing political chatter dominate our ability to see the big picture that the overwhelming mission of Zionism to resettle the land and to rebirth a national homeland has been achieved. Like all nations it is an ongoing effort to rebuild a nation that requires each generation to redefine what Zionism means and to reinvent it and to redefine how Judaism fits for a largely secular state that needs to express itself with Judaism as a religious system  although not necessarily within the traditional Orthodox ways of practicing Judaism.

Yes, our memories are long and we carry Israel in our hearts wherever we live. And yes Weizman’s lesson to the Peel commission was worth taking note for today. We never forgot Palestine. We never have forgotten and have never given it up.” May I add nor shall we ever again put ourselves in a position to lose it for Israel may stumble may struggle but it shall shine through the darkness and rise above the rivalries and hatred of other nations. Let us not lose our own faith and hope tikvah in Israel’s future as we have kept faith with her past which ultimately is our past as well.

Even our Patriarch Jacob could see the future in the land of Israel and not get sidetracked by short term distractions when according to the Midrash he returned with his large family and flock to Canaan and met up again with his brother Esau. He sold all his flocks and set up the proceeds in piles of gold.  He said to Esau, “You own equal shares with me in the area of the Cave of Machpelah (the burial place of the ancestors of Israel near Hebron) which do you prefer—to take these piles of gold or share Machpelah with me?”  Esau said to himself:  “What do I have to do with this cave?  I‘ll take the gold.” (Midrash Tanhuma Parashat Vayishlach) Even then Jacob knew that by keeping faith with the past he would secure the future. So to it is with Israel today.

Shabbat Shalom

Does the IRS have a Soul?

I will let you be the judge of that question. Take a look and tell me if you think that there is a real connection between paying taxes, religion, spirituality and public service to the community.
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/04/14/2462530/faith-in-action-parsonage-tax.html#storylink=misearch

Do we still need a God who can send forth bolts of lightning? Torah Portion Leviticus 9-10 Sh'mini

Parashat Sh’mini

Parashat Sh’mini is known most notably for the tragic and dramatic moment when Aaron’s sons Nadav and Abihu take it upon themselves to offer sacrifices contrary to the proper procedure that God sets forth in this week’s Torah portion. Taking the risk of doing so ultimately led them to suffer the most serious of consequences when God sends a fire from heaven to kill them. The text of the Torah leaves us stunned at such a harsh decree. Their father, the high priest Aaron, is speechless. “Vayidom Aharon and Aaron was silent.”

Next Aaron turns to his next two sons Itamar and Elazar to take on the role as heir apparent to Aaron. We learn how important it is to follow the rules that God sets down in this priestly ritual and that deviating from the proscribed procedures will bring the ultimate consequences. The rest of the story portrays Moses irritated with Aaron for the next set of sons who do not follow the rules of eating the sacrifices inside the Holy Tabernacle. Apparently the two youth took the food outside and ate when they should have waited and consumed their assigned portion of the sacrificial offerings in the presence of the Holy One.

This time Aaron is not silent and he appeals to Moses knowing full well of what could happen to them. He even pleads with Moses basically saying, ‘Give me a break.’  He convinces Moses that they really did not break the rules and ultimately Moses concedes and saying that he himself was incorrect in his interpretation of the new laws. In other words Moses admits he made a mistake this time.

 From the lens of modern times it may be difficult to find relevant meaning. But the truth is that there is always a lesson for us in Torah if we dig deep enough through the ancient texts. The problem begins with us imagining a God who uses power in such a violent way towards his own clergy ordained to serve the Eternal. How can we reconcile that kind of God like behavior with what we imagine God-like behavior today? And finally is there something inside us, deeply imbedded within us that is part of our human DNA that still needs to have a notion of a God that judges us and has power over us in our most vulnerable moments?

Let’s not forget that Reform Judaism abandoned any interest in or affiliation with the priestly hierarchy. We distanced ourselves a century ago from the institution of the priesthood and the Temple cult in Jerusalem. Yet if we step back we might be able to draw an analogy today and better understand the world that created this kind of mindset that would enable God to bring forth such punishments and in the same story show Moses reversing himself from his initial judgment of his nephews.

In our world today we want to encourage everyone to participate in the liturgy and in the rituals of our tradition. We do not have a priestly hierarchy anymore. We are all on the same equal playing field before God. We treat our rituals and ritual objects with reverence but we do not threaten punishments for infractions as to how we handle ritual acts in case we make a mistake in the middle of a worship service.

There is no doubt that we are much more casual today in how we understand our relationship to worship and to God as well. We don’t usually think of God as willing or capable of striking us with a bolt of lightning for incorrectly reciting a prayer or saying something in a sermon that might sound somewhat irreverent or humorous. Our atmosphere in public worship is about creating warmth and engagement as compared to the traditional feeling of awe and fear that surrounded the synagogue ritual for centuries let alone the sacrificial rituals in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. And yet despite all of our modern thinking is there a nerve inside us that harbors that instinctual fear of God or a need to fear God at moments that can only be described as events hinging on moments of life transition?

I have told this story before but it bears telling again when I once officiated at a Bat Mitzvah and the family opened the ark. Suddenly there was huge gasp that went throughout the congregation when the mother and the daughter both reached for the Torah and accidentally dropped it. Trust me when I say this that the entire congregation was stunned into silence. I could see the fear in people’s eyes and in the eyes of the humiliated and mortified Bat Mitzvah and her family.  They knew that this was a serious situation beyond the embarrassment that both mother and daughter were experiencing.  This was the closest I ever came to the feeling of God striking us all in that selfsame moment.

And so I explained to the congregation what Jewish law proscribed for this kind of an unintentional act. The Halachah states that the entire congregation must fast for thirty days from morning to evening. The other option to exempt us from that harsh decree was to read from the Mishnah a tractate. When I explained the teaching, the mother motioned to me and said, “Rabbi, please read from the Mishnah. Pleased read it.” In fact everyone else was said the same thing so I went to my study, retrieved a copy of the Mishnah and read a portion which took about fifteen minutes. I pronounced a blessing and said a special kaddish d’rabbanan to conclude this ritual and we went on with the service. We finished a bit late but it was fine given the situation. I saw in the experience that despite our modern sensibilities there was a vestige of something of the old time fear and reverence for the Torah and for God and maybe a bit of hedging our bets too by reading from the Mishnah as if we were expiating our communal sin.

We think of ourselves as modern and rational people. Intellectually we enjoy deconstructing God and religion in general. Yet there are moments, I discovered, where we still have deep inside us that ancient feeling of the same emotion of fear that stems from the power of the Eternal One- the one we call the Almighty. It is certainly not the notion of God we chose to emphasize today. But it still exists. I saw that primal emotion in the eyes of the parents that day on the bimah. I have seen it in the eyes of mourners. I have sensed it in the hearts of a parent praying to God over their child in a hospital bed. Yes, there are certain moments we all hope to avoid where we pray to God hoping that God will intervene on our side just because the circumstances are matters of life and death. Intellectual ideas of God melt away and we are left with a raw theology that takes over.

Perhaps there should be a balance between the acknowledging the basic instincts of human kind some of which are suppressed by the confidence we have by living in a basically secular world and the enlightened spirit we cherish that raises us to more loving and less fearful relationship with God and with ritual as well. Do we need both to enable religion to reach the core of our being which means affirming our self esteem and our revealing our most sensitive vulnerabilities too?

The story of Nadav and Abihu focuses on the underlying role of God as power. It is not about God’s power in nature but about God’s power to judge humankind and intervene in the moral affairs of Israel.  It appears that today we are looking for a God who appears more like a muse and a counselor who comforts us and guides us gently and compassionately rather than the old time version of a God who exercises unrestrained will upon human beings regardless of the consequences based upon their actions. At the same time it is my contention that deeply hidden inside people in general and Jews in particular we see inside ourselves that despite our rational thinking and our modern sensibilities that there is still a part of our beliefs maybe it’s in our subconscious that we do possess an instinct to fear god when we are standing between life and death.

Paradoxically, we may want to give up those traditional hierarchical notions of a God of Power because they don’t fit into our vision of the world and how God today is defined. And yet a spark of awe and fear never really leaves our inner core especially in those critical moments of a lifetime. I wonder if the committee fashioning the forthcoming Reform High Holy Day Mahzor will accept that nuance about how Jewish theology really works. The effectiveness of the future High Holy Day Prayerbook project may depend upon it.

Passover Message

I am writing to you with a few hours to go before we begin this year’s Passover. I want to say that this is a truly communal experience on many levels. Think about all the families who are hosting Passover Seders and have been preparing for them for weeks. I especially wan to express my appreciation this congregation’s Sisterhood for organizing the community Seder tomorrow evening. God bless them for their devotion and their efforts. Then there are those of us who have contributed to these individual Seder meals and are invited guests. They all help to create the proper festive mood for Pesach.

Of course we have done our best to clean our houses of hametz. The test is not to eat matzah for eight days. Remember the mitzvah is to eat matzah on the first night of Passover. The real mitzvah is to abstain from eating any hametz or leavened products for eight days. The idea behind this is that we are supposed to cleanse ourselves of the spiritual leaven that impedes our ability to rise to the best of ourselves in life.  In addition the tradition tries to help us enter the time machine to feel and imagine that we too were slaves in Egypt. Some of us who came from lands less hospitable to Jews have experienced that condition before we immigrated to America. Yet most of us have never experienced living in a country where being a Jew was a liability, a danger to life and limb. So we must find other ways of identifying with our ancestors. Servitude to the Pharaoh is likened to slavery to the things that too often seem to define our lives. What this year’s Passover could be about for us is to take a good look at what we need versus what we want in life. The choice is up to us to reevaluate the hametz or the leaven inside ourselves of what is fluff versus what is truly essential to our meaningful existence.

There is also another aspect of Passover I want to emphasize to you in this message which is to remember that this holy day does define us as a people and it also highlights our values as a people  whose ethics do not abandon our obligation to others not of our faith. The Torah tells us that along with Israel an “erev rav” a mixed multitude came up with us out of Egypt. I would like to believe that we were hospitable to the strangers and took them in as if they were our own.  How often did that value resonate through Jewish history that we would take in the stranger even when in too many episodes in Jewish history others cast us out into the darkness? It is our highest moment to welcome the stranger in our midst at our Seder tables and to practice what we preach that we are a welcoming and compassionate people.

Finally, let’s talk about what the phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem” means?  The haggadah narrative starts with “Avadim Hayinu” We were slaves in Egypt and it concludes with L’shana HaBaah Byerushalayim. We begin with the degradation of slavery and complete the Seder singing for the hope of the redemption of the Jewish people. It is God that guides our steps and it is the belief in God who has sustained our memory and our passion to remember the journey that we the Jewish people still travel after all these years.

I know that we will delight in the Passover culinary delights and the discussion of the recipes that made for the most delicious Seder meals. May I respectfully suggest that we reserve some segment of our Seder experience to discuss the timely and timeless matters of the soul and the moral conscience that each of us as individuals and that we as a Temple community are bound to as we embark upon this Passover journey.
I hope to see you at morning services Tuesday at 10am and on April 1^st at 10 am for Yizkor.

On behalf of Linda, Leah and myself, I wish you a Zisen Pesach, a joyful and insightful experience.

Rabbi Brad Bloom