Whenever I'm meeting a new group of native English speakers, aware that they will be thinking about my accent, I break the ice when I introduce myself and share that my accent is actually from the deep south. Usually I get some laughs, and then I tell them that it is true! I'm from the real deep south called Brazil.
I moved to Los Angeles more than 5 years ago. I had my first US presidential election experience right away. Since Bolsonaro, Brazil's current president, was not even thought of as a candidate, all the more so, president, watching Donald Trump becoming the nominee for the GOP sounded like a joke to me. I couldn't believe that it was happening and didn't think he had a chance.
While I love politics, I didn't know yet much about US politics. I come from a moral perspective. How could it be that someone with a serious lack of ethics and compassion be running for president in a major ticket?
I really meant it then. And I still do.
Years passed, I moved to the greater DC area over the summer. I can see the Capitol from my new balcony.
As a congregational rabbi, I cannot endorse any candidate, but I'm free to teach morals and values that will guide my congregants' behavior, not just when they vote, but in all aspects of life.
I would go beyond and say that I feel a commanded to actually do that. A religion that only practices rituals without any discussion or connection to the society we live in is doomed to become irrelevant.
I understand as beneficial, for Jews and for the broader society, to have a separation between institutionalized religion and institutionalized power or government structure. This separation granted many minorities the right to become equal citizens in western civilization since the European enlightenment. Although its ideals of equality and freedom are yet to be extended to all, we stand at a way better place than we were 300 years ago.
While I am a firm believer of the separation of religion and state, in the sense of not having an official religion that creates categories of citizens, I believe that politics is a modern tool to help individuals, religious or not, express themselves in the public arena. In that sense, religion is a core element of politics, teaching values and practices that shape human behavior.
In this process, certain areas that were limited to the religious realm, became elements of the civil society, such as business relationships, civil marriage, and even punishment for certain crimes. While a positive development for our society, we as Jews still have opinions regarding these topics and our voice needs to be part of the conversation, as members of our modern society. The transference of power from religious leaders and monarchs to a public office democratically elected makes our voice even more important in our society. Our responsibility for social justice as a religious duty makes Judaism and Politics inseparable.
How could I not speak up for freedom of religion? How could I remain silent regarding abortion, when there are times when my religion not only allows it, but requires it, to protect the mother's life?
No chance I will refrain from advocating against racism, anti-semitism, or any kind of discrimination.
I believe that all humans are created in the image of God and this belief creates in me a responsibility from a religious standpoint to speak up whenever someone is targeted for who they are.
As an immigrant, I don't vote (yet?) in the US. As a rabbi, I miss the ritual of voting, the action that transforms the value of democracy into action. Sometimes, it feels like I'm literally just watching the Capitol from my balcony. So close, and so far at the same time.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Z'L, famous immigrant Rabbi for his work on Jewish Law wrote: “It is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which affords us the freedom we enjoy.”
Religion has played many roles in our lives and the history of the world. Today, I believe that religion is a force in the world to inspire the potential for good that we all possess, creating communities, advocating and taking care of the most vulnerable among us.
So what's my role as an immigrant Rabbi? Preach. Teach. Take care of my congregants'spiritual needs during this moral crisis. It's my duty to inspire hope to a better future, while being vigilant of the paths that will take us there. It's my call to speak up against injustice and bigotry.
לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה.
It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
(Pirkei Avot 2:16)
These past few months were difficult. Watching American society more and more divisive every day, empowered by their president to be even more divisive, with a serious lack of moral behavior, spreading lies, targeting minorities and a dangerous disregard of science and reality.
Former political opponents have a tradition to come together after the election and bring the country together under the leadership of the president elect. It hurts to see a sitting president targeting democracy by questing the results of the elections without delivering any reasonable claim or proof.
As an immigrant Rabbi, I join my people and my neighbors in their revolt against the current administration. It's a moral religious duty to fight for citizens' and immigrants' rights to be upheld. Among those rights, it's the right of a free and fair election.
I hope that what I've experienced recently was just a sad and short chapter of American democracy.
I pray for the health of this country and its democracy.
May God be with us in the pursuit of Justice, liberty and equality.
Friday, November 13, 2020
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Being Yourself - Yom Kippur
It was told about Reb Zusha. When he was laying on his deathbed, surrounded by his disciples.
He was crying and no one could comfort him.
One student asked him: “Reb Zusha, "Why do you cry? You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham."
Reb Zusha answered, "When I pass from this world and appear before the Heavenly Court, they won't ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you as wise as Moses or as kind as Abraham,' rather, they will ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you Zusha?' Why didn't I fulfill my potential, why didn't I follow the path that could have been mine."
The question I ask myself every year during this season is: Natan, were you Natan this past year?
What does it mean for us to be ourselves?
Before I start planning ahead to the next year, I need to evaluate: Where am I right now? Who am I right now?
This past year was not easy. Doing this diligent process of self-evaluation over the past month was challenging. Each one of us is probably thinking about these significant moments we had lately. So many dreams and hopes unfulfilled. So many surprises – good and bad ones. Achievements that could not be properly celebrated and acknowledged. Goodbyes that we did not expect. Hugs that were not given.
As we were getting ready for the New Year, right before Rosh Hashana, Justice Ginsburg died at home after 87 years of being her best self.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. The second daughter of Nathan and Celia Bader, she grew up in a low-income, working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Graduated from Columbia Law School, going on to become a fierce advocate for the fair treatment of women and working with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 and appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She was easily confirmed by the Senate, 96 votes in favor. In 1999 she won the American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.
Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, Justice Ginsburg’s Rabbi, spoke at the Capitol building as the body of Supreme Court justice, arrived for the high honor of lying in state for two days. She spoke about a framed piece of art in Justice Ginsburg’s chambers that said tzedek, tzedek tirdof, “Justice, justice you must pursue.”
Rabbi Holtzblatt reminded us of Ibn Ezra’s commentary about this verse we read only a few weeks ago in the beginning of Parashat Shoftim:
“The rabbinic tradition assigns meaning to every single word in the Torah, so there must be a reason why tzedek, ‘justice,’ is written twice. The repetition here teaches that time and time again, all of the days of your life you must pursue justice.”
Justice Ginsburg understood this message very well. She is a role model for our generation, and many more to come, of someone who transformed Justice from a value into a behavior, into her own self.
Justice Ginsburg probably heard Reb Zusha’s story in her lifetime. She understood that her mission was to be Ruth, a role that no one else could have played but her.
Just like her biblical namesake, Ruth was committed, thoughtful, kind, balanced, and relentless.
Justice Ginsburg said: "I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."
So my question for you today is: Who are you? I mean the real you. The you that no one else can be.
Have you ever asked yourself this question?
How honest can we be with ourselves when trying to give some answers?
How many circumstances or people we blame for not being able to be our true self?
The key word for this season is Teshuva – Repentance, Return, Answer. Rambam writes about the nature of this process in the Mishne Torah (Chapter 2): “What is complete repentance? The one who once more had the opportunity to repeat a violation, and did not do it because of repentance.”
He continues: “What is repentance? One must stop making the same mistake and remove them from your thoughts, and wholeheartedly conclude not to revert back to it” The Rambam suggests that an essential part of this confession should be by saying it out loud and not holding back.
The Talmud (Nedarim 28a) teaches: דברים שבלב אינן דברים Unspoken matters that remain in the heart are not effective.
Justice Ginsburg was also a role model in making her voice heard. To herself and to those in dialogue with her. Her inner voice helped her continue her pursuit for justice and equality for all, in particular to help make space for voices that were not being heard in society. She also became famous for her powerful and short “I dissent”.
When evaluating and judging ourselves, we need to remind ourselves: we have the potential for good inside us. We were created in the divine image.
This needs to be said out loud as well. Seriously. Say it. We can only do Teshuva – Repent, Return - if we believe that we are essentially good. We need positive affirmations to remind ourselves about who we are. “Yom Kippur is the time set aside for repentance for all, the individual as well as the many; for it is the goal of forgiveness in Israel.” said the Rambam.
I want to invite you to take it seriously this year. As the world surprised us with so many changes, we need to remind ourselves who we are at our core.
So today is a good day to start. As Justice Ginsburg said: "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
Who are you? I mean the real you. The you that no one else can be.
As we focus today on prayer and introspection, we give voice to our feelings and emotions. We listen to our dreams and needs. We stop. We evaluate. We recalibrate.
Today we refrain from eating and drinking, making space to digest our deepest feelings and struggles, transforming them in sincere words of love and selfcare.
Today we dress in white as a reminder that we can write, draw and paint our lives with our own words, shapes, and colors.
Some #hashtags went viral on social media: #BeLikeRBG and # WWRBGD — What would RBG do?
Prof. Corinna Lain responded: “What would RBG do? She would turn despair into determination. She would tell you to fight, to pick up the mantle and to finish the good work she had begun.”
We won’t let you down, Justice Ginsburg – We will be our best selves.
We will use whatever talent and skills we have to honor your legacy and keep fighting for Justice and Equality for all, starting with being honest and sincere with ourselves. One step at a time.
May Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memory be a blessing.
May we be inscribed and confirmed in the book of life, with honesty and selfcare.
#BeLikeRBG and #BeLikeRebZusha
The best way to be like them is to #BeYourself. Your best self.
Chatima Tova
He was crying and no one could comfort him.
One student asked him: “Reb Zusha, "Why do you cry? You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham."
Reb Zusha answered, "When I pass from this world and appear before the Heavenly Court, they won't ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you as wise as Moses or as kind as Abraham,' rather, they will ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you Zusha?' Why didn't I fulfill my potential, why didn't I follow the path that could have been mine."
The question I ask myself every year during this season is: Natan, were you Natan this past year?
What does it mean for us to be ourselves?
Before I start planning ahead to the next year, I need to evaluate: Where am I right now? Who am I right now?
This past year was not easy. Doing this diligent process of self-evaluation over the past month was challenging. Each one of us is probably thinking about these significant moments we had lately. So many dreams and hopes unfulfilled. So many surprises – good and bad ones. Achievements that could not be properly celebrated and acknowledged. Goodbyes that we did not expect. Hugs that were not given.
As we were getting ready for the New Year, right before Rosh Hashana, Justice Ginsburg died at home after 87 years of being her best self.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. The second daughter of Nathan and Celia Bader, she grew up in a low-income, working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn. Graduated from Columbia Law School, going on to become a fierce advocate for the fair treatment of women and working with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 and appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She was easily confirmed by the Senate, 96 votes in favor. In 1999 she won the American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.
Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, Justice Ginsburg’s Rabbi, spoke at the Capitol building as the body of Supreme Court justice, arrived for the high honor of lying in state for two days. She spoke about a framed piece of art in Justice Ginsburg’s chambers that said tzedek, tzedek tirdof, “Justice, justice you must pursue.”
Rabbi Holtzblatt reminded us of Ibn Ezra’s commentary about this verse we read only a few weeks ago in the beginning of Parashat Shoftim:
“The rabbinic tradition assigns meaning to every single word in the Torah, so there must be a reason why tzedek, ‘justice,’ is written twice. The repetition here teaches that time and time again, all of the days of your life you must pursue justice.”
Justice Ginsburg understood this message very well. She is a role model for our generation, and many more to come, of someone who transformed Justice from a value into a behavior, into her own self.
Justice Ginsburg probably heard Reb Zusha’s story in her lifetime. She understood that her mission was to be Ruth, a role that no one else could have played but her.
Just like her biblical namesake, Ruth was committed, thoughtful, kind, balanced, and relentless.
Justice Ginsburg said: "I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."
So my question for you today is: Who are you? I mean the real you. The you that no one else can be.
Have you ever asked yourself this question?
How honest can we be with ourselves when trying to give some answers?
How many circumstances or people we blame for not being able to be our true self?
The key word for this season is Teshuva – Repentance, Return, Answer. Rambam writes about the nature of this process in the Mishne Torah (Chapter 2): “What is complete repentance? The one who once more had the opportunity to repeat a violation, and did not do it because of repentance.”
He continues: “What is repentance? One must stop making the same mistake and remove them from your thoughts, and wholeheartedly conclude not to revert back to it” The Rambam suggests that an essential part of this confession should be by saying it out loud and not holding back.
The Talmud (Nedarim 28a) teaches: דברים שבלב אינן דברים Unspoken matters that remain in the heart are not effective.
Justice Ginsburg was also a role model in making her voice heard. To herself and to those in dialogue with her. Her inner voice helped her continue her pursuit for justice and equality for all, in particular to help make space for voices that were not being heard in society. She also became famous for her powerful and short “I dissent”.
When evaluating and judging ourselves, we need to remind ourselves: we have the potential for good inside us. We were created in the divine image.
This needs to be said out loud as well. Seriously. Say it. We can only do Teshuva – Repent, Return - if we believe that we are essentially good. We need positive affirmations to remind ourselves about who we are. “Yom Kippur is the time set aside for repentance for all, the individual as well as the many; for it is the goal of forgiveness in Israel.” said the Rambam.
I want to invite you to take it seriously this year. As the world surprised us with so many changes, we need to remind ourselves who we are at our core.
So today is a good day to start. As Justice Ginsburg said: "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
Who are you? I mean the real you. The you that no one else can be.
As we focus today on prayer and introspection, we give voice to our feelings and emotions. We listen to our dreams and needs. We stop. We evaluate. We recalibrate.
Today we refrain from eating and drinking, making space to digest our deepest feelings and struggles, transforming them in sincere words of love and selfcare.
Today we dress in white as a reminder that we can write, draw and paint our lives with our own words, shapes, and colors.
Some #hashtags went viral on social media: #BeLikeRBG and # WWRBGD — What would RBG do?
Prof. Corinna Lain responded: “What would RBG do? She would turn despair into determination. She would tell you to fight, to pick up the mantle and to finish the good work she had begun.”
We won’t let you down, Justice Ginsburg – We will be our best selves.
We will use whatever talent and skills we have to honor your legacy and keep fighting for Justice and Equality for all, starting with being honest and sincere with ourselves. One step at a time.
May Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memory be a blessing.
May we be inscribed and confirmed in the book of life, with honesty and selfcare.
#BeLikeRBG and #BeLikeRebZusha
The best way to be like them is to #BeYourself. Your best self.
Chatima Tova
BELIEVING - Rosh Hashana 3
On Friday night I shared with you some ideas about our community. I shared that during this Rosh Hashana, we celebrate the day that 5 families got together here in Arlington to start this community. Today, we celebrate that 80 years ago, 66 Jews from Arlington attended a High Holiday service.
Yesterday morning I shared with you that diversity is good and that Peace, Justice and Freedom are central Jewish values. We talked about the challenge to successfully translate our values into BEHAVIOR, as we make choices in all aspects of our lives.
Being Jewish is a way to be in this world. An integrated Jewish way of walking in the world is the merge of spirituality and holiness that feeds the soul, making this world more just and equal, taking care of our humanity, for we were all created in the divine image.
As we are exploring Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan’s three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
Today I want to share some ideas about our beliefs.
In Kaplan’s understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people. But his innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order. So let’s talk about God.
Do you know God? I mean, do you really know God?
I have been struggling with this question for a long time. How can I know God? How can I even be certain that God exists? I don’t know if God exists. If God exists, which I think God does, I don’t know exactly what God is. And this is not a problem for me.
Even though I am humble before our existence and all the mysteries that come with it, it is our role to play with these ideas in order to find meaning in life. I believe in God for I decided to have faith in the God-idea as a way to enrich my life with meaning, and structure.
The belief I have in this God-idea implies many things about what God is and mostly, what God isn’t for me. God is neither human nor physical. Does not have supernatural powers. God cannot change the course of nature. God cannot be seen but - can be experienced.
For God is the potential power of creation that is manifested through all the natural rules that were initially created with the world. Creation is a continuous process, it happens every day, every moment and everywhere.
The partnership on creation and development of the world between humans and God is holy and precious. This partnership creates a sense of responsibility for every action. Every human action impact nature, every human action is a partnership between human and divine.
To experience God’s presence is a choice as I walk in this world. To experience God, I need to be aware of God. In that sense, God is a continuous process that happens, with or without human awareness. Although without awareness, what is divine will be seen as mundane, ordinary, and God will cease to exist in human experience. God does not need human acknowledgement to exist in Godself, but God needs human awareness to be in relationship with humanity and achieve the potential that exists in this partnership.
Although we cannot know God in a complete way, we can know God through God’s attributes. We can see what is Godly in the world. For when we understand ourselves as being created in God’s image, we see ourselves with the potential to be Godly, to behave according to God’s attributes, incorporating them into our practices. In that sense, God is also the source of justice and love. To be created in God’s image means to be created with the sense of justice and the power to love. Humans can approach God through justice and love. Humans are able to feel and understand God when they act with justice in the world and when they love other humans as themselves and as being created in the image of God.
Since God is also justice and love, God’s manifestation occurs also through humans, loving and doing justice in the world. As Rabbi Louis Finkelstein taught: “When I pray, I speak to God; When I study Torah, God speaks to Me”. I believe in each word of this phrase. God doesn’t speak with humans through words. Prophecy for me, is a revelation of a new understanding that can happen through a mystical experience or not, but always associated with learning and understanding the ways of the world. When the Talmud states that “Talmud Torah keneged kulam” (Shabbat 127a) – Studying Torah is equal to all the other commandments together - I understand that Torah learning makes ourselves wise and it leads us to understanding God’s attributes and God’s will; the result of it is to be holy.
But not everything is necessarily in the Torah. All sciences are also a key skill to understand God. Understand science means understand the rules of nature and how to relate with them. This understanding is part of our development as partners in the creation. Once science doesn’t explain all phenomena in the world yet, and maybe never will, part of our understanding of God’s creation comes through religion and philosophy, through personal experiences that create meaning in our lives.
Being aware of God is my way to develop meaning in my life. The way I practice being aware of God is through Judaism. God did not create religion, but the elements and processes in the world that allowed humans to develop religions, is divine. Religion is a methodology for creating awareness and knowledge of God.
In leaving a religious life, I am offered the opportunity of meaning making as constant process of being. The structure given by a religious practice, the conception of being constantly in a covenant, and the acceptance of a halachic system that has rights and obligation is the structure that helps me develop my awareness of God.
My personal experience comes to ground me in my reality and to make it part of my being in an authentic way. Without relating my beliefs to my personal experiences those beliefs would be just fantasies that would not necessarily have any connection with my life.
I don’t want to assume only my understanding of God as true or valid for the idea we are exploring today together. I want to share with you exactly the opposite. Knowing God is a never-ending effort of the Jewish People and no theory can be offered exclusively.
This claim is not new in our tradition. We have a longstanding tradition of Rabbis questioning all the truths they know regarding God, for is impossible to us, humans, grasp any God-idea in its fullness only from our own perspective.
Here is my favorite example of a rabbinic discussion, trying to understand God (Sotah 14a): Rabbi Chama, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: What is the meaning of the verse: “After Adonai your God shall you walk” (Deuteronomy 13:5)? Isn’t it impossible for a person to walk after the Divine Presence? For the Torah also says: “Adonai your God is a devouring fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24), and one cannot approach fire! Rather, the meaning of walking after the Divine Presence is that one should follow God’s attributes. Just as God clothes the naked, referring to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as God visits the sick, referring to God visiting Abraham following his circumcision (Genesis 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as God consoles mourners, referring to God’s blessing to Itzhak, after Avraham’s death (Genesis 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as God buried the dead, referring to Moshe (Deuteronomy 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead.
Just like Rabbi Chama bar Chanina, I invite you today to open our holy texts and look for God’s attributes in them.
Our liturgy is filled with God attributes. We refer to God as ‘rofeh cholim’ – the one who heals the sick; ‘ohev tzadikim’ – the one who loves the righteous; ‘chonen hada’at’ – the one who bestows (gives) knowledge. Torah study roots me in Jewish tradition and heritage, contemplating its wisdom and guidance, I can align my beliefs, with my thoughts and actions.
I see my life enriched in seeing life potential in God. God as the source of all creation and as the power that enables a continuous infinite creation. The realm of possibilities becomes richer in partnering with God, widening our potential to succeed in life.
I think that is important to start talking about a relational God that is ever present waiting for our awareness in order to be in relationship with us. Avraham is not the first human being with whom Adonai, our God, spoke to, but the first one who developed this awareness and understanding of God that allowed him to be in relationship.
God is always present, it is our task to experience God’s presence, enriching our life with meaning and structure.
May we find the divine paths to walk with God, as we enter in this relationship with the unknown.
May we be blessed in this New Year with opportunities to see the different aspects and attributes of the Divine Presence.
May we merit to increase God’s presence in the world through the divine attributes we manifest.
Shana Tova uMetuka
Yesterday morning I shared with you that diversity is good and that Peace, Justice and Freedom are central Jewish values. We talked about the challenge to successfully translate our values into BEHAVIOR, as we make choices in all aspects of our lives.
Being Jewish is a way to be in this world. An integrated Jewish way of walking in the world is the merge of spirituality and holiness that feeds the soul, making this world more just and equal, taking care of our humanity, for we were all created in the divine image.
As we are exploring Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan’s three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
Today I want to share some ideas about our beliefs.
In Kaplan’s understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people. But his innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order. So let’s talk about God.
Do you know God? I mean, do you really know God?
I have been struggling with this question for a long time. How can I know God? How can I even be certain that God exists? I don’t know if God exists. If God exists, which I think God does, I don’t know exactly what God is. And this is not a problem for me.
Even though I am humble before our existence and all the mysteries that come with it, it is our role to play with these ideas in order to find meaning in life. I believe in God for I decided to have faith in the God-idea as a way to enrich my life with meaning, and structure.
The belief I have in this God-idea implies many things about what God is and mostly, what God isn’t for me. God is neither human nor physical. Does not have supernatural powers. God cannot change the course of nature. God cannot be seen but - can be experienced.
For God is the potential power of creation that is manifested through all the natural rules that were initially created with the world. Creation is a continuous process, it happens every day, every moment and everywhere.
The partnership on creation and development of the world between humans and God is holy and precious. This partnership creates a sense of responsibility for every action. Every human action impact nature, every human action is a partnership between human and divine.
To experience God’s presence is a choice as I walk in this world. To experience God, I need to be aware of God. In that sense, God is a continuous process that happens, with or without human awareness. Although without awareness, what is divine will be seen as mundane, ordinary, and God will cease to exist in human experience. God does not need human acknowledgement to exist in Godself, but God needs human awareness to be in relationship with humanity and achieve the potential that exists in this partnership.
Although we cannot know God in a complete way, we can know God through God’s attributes. We can see what is Godly in the world. For when we understand ourselves as being created in God’s image, we see ourselves with the potential to be Godly, to behave according to God’s attributes, incorporating them into our practices. In that sense, God is also the source of justice and love. To be created in God’s image means to be created with the sense of justice and the power to love. Humans can approach God through justice and love. Humans are able to feel and understand God when they act with justice in the world and when they love other humans as themselves and as being created in the image of God.
Since God is also justice and love, God’s manifestation occurs also through humans, loving and doing justice in the world. As Rabbi Louis Finkelstein taught: “When I pray, I speak to God; When I study Torah, God speaks to Me”. I believe in each word of this phrase. God doesn’t speak with humans through words. Prophecy for me, is a revelation of a new understanding that can happen through a mystical experience or not, but always associated with learning and understanding the ways of the world. When the Talmud states that “Talmud Torah keneged kulam” (Shabbat 127a) – Studying Torah is equal to all the other commandments together - I understand that Torah learning makes ourselves wise and it leads us to understanding God’s attributes and God’s will; the result of it is to be holy.
But not everything is necessarily in the Torah. All sciences are also a key skill to understand God. Understand science means understand the rules of nature and how to relate with them. This understanding is part of our development as partners in the creation. Once science doesn’t explain all phenomena in the world yet, and maybe never will, part of our understanding of God’s creation comes through religion and philosophy, through personal experiences that create meaning in our lives.
Being aware of God is my way to develop meaning in my life. The way I practice being aware of God is through Judaism. God did not create religion, but the elements and processes in the world that allowed humans to develop religions, is divine. Religion is a methodology for creating awareness and knowledge of God.
In leaving a religious life, I am offered the opportunity of meaning making as constant process of being. The structure given by a religious practice, the conception of being constantly in a covenant, and the acceptance of a halachic system that has rights and obligation is the structure that helps me develop my awareness of God.
My personal experience comes to ground me in my reality and to make it part of my being in an authentic way. Without relating my beliefs to my personal experiences those beliefs would be just fantasies that would not necessarily have any connection with my life.
I don’t want to assume only my understanding of God as true or valid for the idea we are exploring today together. I want to share with you exactly the opposite. Knowing God is a never-ending effort of the Jewish People and no theory can be offered exclusively.
This claim is not new in our tradition. We have a longstanding tradition of Rabbis questioning all the truths they know regarding God, for is impossible to us, humans, grasp any God-idea in its fullness only from our own perspective.
Here is my favorite example of a rabbinic discussion, trying to understand God (Sotah 14a): Rabbi Chama, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: What is the meaning of the verse: “After Adonai your God shall you walk” (Deuteronomy 13:5)? Isn’t it impossible for a person to walk after the Divine Presence? For the Torah also says: “Adonai your God is a devouring fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24), and one cannot approach fire! Rather, the meaning of walking after the Divine Presence is that one should follow God’s attributes. Just as God clothes the naked, referring to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as God visits the sick, referring to God visiting Abraham following his circumcision (Genesis 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as God consoles mourners, referring to God’s blessing to Itzhak, after Avraham’s death (Genesis 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as God buried the dead, referring to Moshe (Deuteronomy 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead.
Just like Rabbi Chama bar Chanina, I invite you today to open our holy texts and look for God’s attributes in them.
Our liturgy is filled with God attributes. We refer to God as ‘rofeh cholim’ – the one who heals the sick; ‘ohev tzadikim’ – the one who loves the righteous; ‘chonen hada’at’ – the one who bestows (gives) knowledge. Torah study roots me in Jewish tradition and heritage, contemplating its wisdom and guidance, I can align my beliefs, with my thoughts and actions.
I see my life enriched in seeing life potential in God. God as the source of all creation and as the power that enables a continuous infinite creation. The realm of possibilities becomes richer in partnering with God, widening our potential to succeed in life.
I think that is important to start talking about a relational God that is ever present waiting for our awareness in order to be in relationship with us. Avraham is not the first human being with whom Adonai, our God, spoke to, but the first one who developed this awareness and understanding of God that allowed him to be in relationship.
God is always present, it is our task to experience God’s presence, enriching our life with meaning and structure.
May we find the divine paths to walk with God, as we enter in this relationship with the unknown.
May we be blessed in this New Year with opportunities to see the different aspects and attributes of the Divine Presence.
May we merit to increase God’s presence in the world through the divine attributes we manifest.
Shana Tova uMetuka
BEHAVING - Rosh Hashana 2
Yesterday night I shared with you some ideas about our community. I shared that today, we celebrate the day that 5 families got together here in Arlington to start this community. Today, we celebrate that 80 years ago, 66 Jews from Arlington attended a High Holiday service.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, one of my favorite authors of the last century and a strong believer in the power of community, talks about the changes from what he saw as traditional religion to a new model that he was describing. In his understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people.
Kaplan talks about the three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
In his idea of the traditional religion, we would start from believing in something. A divine call. A metaphysical event that will change someone’s understanding of how the world works. This person would feel compelled to share it with others, as this is a divine message.
This divine message requires a certain BEHAVIOR to be followed. Whether the behavior is social, ritual, or theological, one needs to do something about it. One person starts behaving according to this divine message. Sharing the message with others who begin to BEHAVE in the same way and keep sharing the message.
A BELIEF led into a specific BEHAVIOR of individual people. There was no meeting, protocols, committees, bylaws. Nothing. Just a divine message, a BELIEF, transformed into BEHAVIOR.
After you have a group of people who BELIEVE in the same thing and BEHAVES in the same way, they will form a community. A community is a group of people who feel that they BELONG together.
Kaplan’s innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order.
Following Kaplan’s 3 B’s, I want to share some ideas today about the second one – BEHAVIOR.
I consider myself an observant Jew.
I struggle every day with my religious duties, whether spiritual or practical. I aim to practice and inspire the integrated Judaism model, understanding the importance of rituals as educational tools that model are character as Jews, teaching us values and practices through ritualization and controlled behavior.
At the same time, if we are only focused on this side, we are missing the point of translating it into reality.
As I learned from my childhood Rabbi, Henry Sobel z’l, "The purpose of Judaism is not to make a human being more Jewish but to make a Jewish human being more human". When we were together at camp, I remember seeing him pointing to the wall made of windows on both side of the Aron haKodesh and teaching us about the importance of praying is as important as what happens outside.
The Talmud teaches it in a similar way: Rabbi Chiya bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: One may only pray in a house with windows. (Brachot 34b)
Windows are important to a house of prayer for the world is greater than that house. As much as I pray inwards, focusing on my behavior, I need a reminder that this is not the end. I like to imagine these spaces of prayer as a laboratory for the real world out there. Whether one prays regularly in a synagogue, a beit midrash, or, specially right now, in our own home, the window remains the link between the two words. Seeing the elements of creation that are outside waiting to be in relationship with my being is an opportunity to reflect on how this relationship will look like and what I have to do in order to be my best self out there.
These two worlds are actually just one. We cannot dissociate one from another but understand it as part of a larger system. It doesn’t mean that there is no merit in working towards a more just world outside a Jewish framework. My claim to you today is that in understanding these two elements of Judaism as part of a whole, we give meaning and purpose to it, elevating it to a level of holiness and divine BEHAVIOR.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs coined the term “integrated Judaism”. Her approach to engagement in justice work is to reclaim that this is a core element of our tradition, just as our spiritual development we practice inside our synagogues. The life inside and outside our communities should be integrated. It is our moral and religious obligation as Jews to incorporate justice work into our ritual practices. There cannot be a soul in this world without a body. While the ritualistic aspects of our tradition enrich our soul, the justice work we do is what constitutes our body as a people.
In the 70’s, a group of Jews called ‘Jews for Urban Justice’ wrote in their manifesto and declared: “The Jewish people is not political, or religious, or cultural, or economic, or familial. It is political-religious-cultural-economic-familial. What characterized its peoplehood best, at its best moments, was the principle of halakhah: the Way, the Path; a wholeness and fusion of body, mind, and spirit; of action and ideology; of person and community.”
Our sages never understood the political-religious-cultural-economic-familial aspect of Judaism to be outside of the Jewish way of behaving in the world. A significant amount of our halachic body is concerned with the numerous ways we relate to each other, from marriage and divorce to business transactions. We have a religious responsibility to return lost objects that we find.
One of the major challenges when talking about Jewish behavior is that we are all different.
The joke about two Jews having three opinions, or Jews always having two synagogues, one that they go to and another one that they would never go to, isn’t just folklore, but the classic Jewish humor making fun of our own reality.
In my opinion, diversity is good. It inspires creativity, and it helps serving more people with different needs and tastes. At the same time that our tradition welcomes diversity, we struggle in defining where we draw the line. It is like the line between the sea and the sand. They are clearly separate domains, one is water, one is sand, but it is impossible to determine precisely where the division is.
Our tradition is and has always been a living system that changes the boundaries of its own system. Halacha, the language we give to the standard of Jewish practices is tied to the verb “to walk”, creating a Jewish way of life that isn’t stuck in time or space.
It is important to keep a communal language of practices that dialogue with each other in their differences. Moving away from our ritual tradition impoverishes our communal relationships and it is our challenge to keep these ideals in a healthy balance.
More than ever, Jews today are not a homogeneous group who believes in the same ideals or share the same values. I don’t think that we were ever a homogenous group.
Constructive disagreement has always been a core part of our identity and it has helped us evolve as a people. I’m not claiming that we should all agree about everything. There is an inherit level of subjectivity in every claim we can make about our values, but I want to separate what we call values and the methods we might use to transform them into practice. Peace, Justice and Freedom are Jewish values. Whomever disagrees with that is deviant from our core identity as a people. We can constructively disagree for generations how to make them a reality in our society, but no one can claim that we stand for violence, injustice and oppression as Jews.
Regarding ritual practice, our differences become even more evident. I have lived in three different countries. I have visited many others. The way of being Jewish is different in each one of them. At the same time, I was able to situate myself as part of that chain of tradition as well, for the similarities we still have create a sense of community that I could feel at home while miles away from my own house.
Being engaged in this conversation is fundamental in order to add our voices to our communal understanding of the applicability of these values and practices in our society. Just as we need community, our community needs us.
Our communal actions are the sum of our individual actions.
Our tradition is a treasure that belongs to each and everyone of us, no one has a higher claim to it than others. However you find yourself part of this community, this is your home. You belong here. We will keep you safe. We will take care of you. We will learn together and amidst our differences, strive to find our common grounds to transform our values in action. We are neighbors, we are family, we are before anything else, Am Israel, the people of Israel.
May this new year remind us that diversity is good and that Peace, Justice and Freedom are central Jewish values.
May we successfully translate our values into BEHAVIOR, as we make choices in all aspects of our lives.
May we all continue to follow the integrated Jewish way of walking in the world. A way of spirituality and holiness that feeds the soul and a way of making this world more just and equal, taking care of our humanity, for we were all created in the divine image.
Shana Tova uMetuka.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, one of my favorite authors of the last century and a strong believer in the power of community, talks about the changes from what he saw as traditional religion to a new model that he was describing. In his understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people.
Kaplan talks about the three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
In his idea of the traditional religion, we would start from believing in something. A divine call. A metaphysical event that will change someone’s understanding of how the world works. This person would feel compelled to share it with others, as this is a divine message.
This divine message requires a certain BEHAVIOR to be followed. Whether the behavior is social, ritual, or theological, one needs to do something about it. One person starts behaving according to this divine message. Sharing the message with others who begin to BEHAVE in the same way and keep sharing the message.
A BELIEF led into a specific BEHAVIOR of individual people. There was no meeting, protocols, committees, bylaws. Nothing. Just a divine message, a BELIEF, transformed into BEHAVIOR.
After you have a group of people who BELIEVE in the same thing and BEHAVES in the same way, they will form a community. A community is a group of people who feel that they BELONG together.
Kaplan’s innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order.
Following Kaplan’s 3 B’s, I want to share some ideas today about the second one – BEHAVIOR.
I consider myself an observant Jew.
I struggle every day with my religious duties, whether spiritual or practical. I aim to practice and inspire the integrated Judaism model, understanding the importance of rituals as educational tools that model are character as Jews, teaching us values and practices through ritualization and controlled behavior.
At the same time, if we are only focused on this side, we are missing the point of translating it into reality.
As I learned from my childhood Rabbi, Henry Sobel z’l, "The purpose of Judaism is not to make a human being more Jewish but to make a Jewish human being more human". When we were together at camp, I remember seeing him pointing to the wall made of windows on both side of the Aron haKodesh and teaching us about the importance of praying is as important as what happens outside.
The Talmud teaches it in a similar way: Rabbi Chiya bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: One may only pray in a house with windows. (Brachot 34b)
Windows are important to a house of prayer for the world is greater than that house. As much as I pray inwards, focusing on my behavior, I need a reminder that this is not the end. I like to imagine these spaces of prayer as a laboratory for the real world out there. Whether one prays regularly in a synagogue, a beit midrash, or, specially right now, in our own home, the window remains the link between the two words. Seeing the elements of creation that are outside waiting to be in relationship with my being is an opportunity to reflect on how this relationship will look like and what I have to do in order to be my best self out there.
These two worlds are actually just one. We cannot dissociate one from another but understand it as part of a larger system. It doesn’t mean that there is no merit in working towards a more just world outside a Jewish framework. My claim to you today is that in understanding these two elements of Judaism as part of a whole, we give meaning and purpose to it, elevating it to a level of holiness and divine BEHAVIOR.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs coined the term “integrated Judaism”. Her approach to engagement in justice work is to reclaim that this is a core element of our tradition, just as our spiritual development we practice inside our synagogues. The life inside and outside our communities should be integrated. It is our moral and religious obligation as Jews to incorporate justice work into our ritual practices. There cannot be a soul in this world without a body. While the ritualistic aspects of our tradition enrich our soul, the justice work we do is what constitutes our body as a people.
In the 70’s, a group of Jews called ‘Jews for Urban Justice’ wrote in their manifesto and declared: “The Jewish people is not political, or religious, or cultural, or economic, or familial. It is political-religious-cultural-economic-familial. What characterized its peoplehood best, at its best moments, was the principle of halakhah: the Way, the Path; a wholeness and fusion of body, mind, and spirit; of action and ideology; of person and community.”
Our sages never understood the political-religious-cultural-economic-familial aspect of Judaism to be outside of the Jewish way of behaving in the world. A significant amount of our halachic body is concerned with the numerous ways we relate to each other, from marriage and divorce to business transactions. We have a religious responsibility to return lost objects that we find.
One of the major challenges when talking about Jewish behavior is that we are all different.
The joke about two Jews having three opinions, or Jews always having two synagogues, one that they go to and another one that they would never go to, isn’t just folklore, but the classic Jewish humor making fun of our own reality.
In my opinion, diversity is good. It inspires creativity, and it helps serving more people with different needs and tastes. At the same time that our tradition welcomes diversity, we struggle in defining where we draw the line. It is like the line between the sea and the sand. They are clearly separate domains, one is water, one is sand, but it is impossible to determine precisely where the division is.
Our tradition is and has always been a living system that changes the boundaries of its own system. Halacha, the language we give to the standard of Jewish practices is tied to the verb “to walk”, creating a Jewish way of life that isn’t stuck in time or space.
It is important to keep a communal language of practices that dialogue with each other in their differences. Moving away from our ritual tradition impoverishes our communal relationships and it is our challenge to keep these ideals in a healthy balance.
More than ever, Jews today are not a homogeneous group who believes in the same ideals or share the same values. I don’t think that we were ever a homogenous group.
Constructive disagreement has always been a core part of our identity and it has helped us evolve as a people. I’m not claiming that we should all agree about everything. There is an inherit level of subjectivity in every claim we can make about our values, but I want to separate what we call values and the methods we might use to transform them into practice. Peace, Justice and Freedom are Jewish values. Whomever disagrees with that is deviant from our core identity as a people. We can constructively disagree for generations how to make them a reality in our society, but no one can claim that we stand for violence, injustice and oppression as Jews.
Regarding ritual practice, our differences become even more evident. I have lived in three different countries. I have visited many others. The way of being Jewish is different in each one of them. At the same time, I was able to situate myself as part of that chain of tradition as well, for the similarities we still have create a sense of community that I could feel at home while miles away from my own house.
Being engaged in this conversation is fundamental in order to add our voices to our communal understanding of the applicability of these values and practices in our society. Just as we need community, our community needs us.
Our communal actions are the sum of our individual actions.
Our tradition is a treasure that belongs to each and everyone of us, no one has a higher claim to it than others. However you find yourself part of this community, this is your home. You belong here. We will keep you safe. We will take care of you. We will learn together and amidst our differences, strive to find our common grounds to transform our values in action. We are neighbors, we are family, we are before anything else, Am Israel, the people of Israel.
May this new year remind us that diversity is good and that Peace, Justice and Freedom are central Jewish values.
May we successfully translate our values into BEHAVIOR, as we make choices in all aspects of our lives.
May we all continue to follow the integrated Jewish way of walking in the world. A way of spirituality and holiness that feeds the soul and a way of making this world more just and equal, taking care of our humanity, for we were all created in the divine image.
Shana Tova uMetuka.
BELONGING - Rosh Hashana 1
“In the late Summer of 1940. the exact date in not known, five men from Arlington held a meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Friedman to organize a congregation for the High Holidays. Herman Schwarzman was elected president and Samuel Friedman, Treasurer. The other charter member were: Harry Austin, Michael Honick and Frank Kahn.
The first High Holiday services were held that year in the Aston Heights Women’s Club building. Rabbi Goldman of Washington conducted the services at which 66 Jews from Arlington attended.” These are the opening lines of a document given to me telling the history of this Congregation.
It is my honor to start my first official Dvar Torah celebrating our 80th birthday as a community. While I have just arrived a couple months ago, it feels like I already BELONG to this very special group of people. And this is how it started. A group of people.
Interestingly, in the English language, people is also the word to represent a specific collective, like the Jewish People. My one-word-blessing for tonight is BELONG. The blessing of belonging to the Jewish People and to this amazing community.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, one of my favorite authors of the last century, talks about the changes from what he saw as traditional religion to a new model that he was describing. In his understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people. Kaplan talks about the three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
In his idea of the traditional religion, we would start from believing in something. A divine call. A metaphysical event that will change someone’s understanding of how the world works. This person would feel compelled to share it with others, as this is a divine message.
This divine message requires a certain BEHAVIOR to be followed. Whether the behavior is social, ritual, or theological, one needs to do something about it. One person starts behaving according to this divine message. Sharing the message with others who begin to BEHAVE in the same way and keep sharing the message.
A BELIEF led into a specific BEHAVIOR of individual people. There was no meeting, protocols, committees, bylaws. Nothing. Just a divine message, a BELIEF, transformed into BEHAVIOR. After you have a group of people who BELIEVE in the same thing and BEHAVES in the same way, they will form a community. A community is a group of people who feel that they BELONG together. Kaplan’s innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order.
For Kaplan the key element of the Jewish Community is BELONGING. First, we BELONG. Then, we will learn shared BEHAVIORS, practices, customs, and, of course, traditions. Our engagement with our community begins from a communal sense of BELONGING and moves into being part of a group where I can practice OUR traditions. I didn’t sign a contract that requires me to believe in anything.
I’m just a part of this community for who I AM, and now, also for what I DO.
Let me share a story with you.
A few months ago, I was teaching a group of kids about the beginnings of Judaism. I asked the group: “Who was the first Jew?”. A young girl said: “Adam!”. Surprised with the answer, I said: “I don’t think Adam had any religion. Judaism started a little bit later.” Even more surprised than I was, she looked at me and said: “If Adam had no religion, who would take care of him? Where would he go to?” Religion isn’t the only way to create a welcoming community that cares for each other deeply. But Judaism did not start as a religion, but a group of people who got together to pursue a common goal. Before being a religion, Judaism is the result of a collective of individuals who care deeply for each other.
What I want to tell you today is very simple. We live in community and it is good to stay together. We should strengthen our relationships, help to ensure that we are all safe, nourish our communal care for each other, and share common values and practices.
We are living in times where people are desperate for belonging, either we are aware of it or not. This is not something to be taken lightly, but a serious issue that invites us to rethink the way we relate to each other and how we should create our communities.
Jews have stayed together as a community for thousands of years because we know, that life is better if we are not alone. Over the past 6 months, we felt the real need for community like never before. The need to isolate ourselves in order to take care of each other is a new a very strange concept to many of us. The challenge we faced then and still face now is how to remain connected, how to create community, how to feel that we BELONG somewhere, when we have been isolated from each other. As Jews, we are not protected from this challenge. Still, I want to invite you to face it and find ways to overcome it in the light of our tradition.
Today, we celebrate the day that 5 families got together here in Arlington to start this community. Today, we celebrate that 80 years ago, 66 Jews from Arlington attended a High Holiday service. The Pirkei Avot (5:21) teaches: “Eighty is the age of Gevurah, Strength”. There is no best word to describe our mission for this year. We are stronger when we are together.
When the Torah tells the story of Adam, the first human being, it teaches that it is not good for us to be alone, thus, Eve joins Adam in this world. We have rituals that celebrate every stage of our lives, from sharing our children’s names at a communal celebration, to celebrating our commitment with our people’s tradition in a public ceremony, by taking on the responsibilities of adulthood. We celebrate love and friendship, as well as we support each other in the hardest times of our lives, mourning and being present with each other. This is not accidental, nor frivolous. It is part of our communal DNA. Just like a family, whether we always get along or not, we stay together.
Today we celebrate the birth of humanity. Today we celebrate that is not good to be alone. Today we celebrate our community, in whatever shape or form it takes as we struggle to find ways to stay connected, to tell each other: you and I BELONG here. So my blessing to you today, on this Rosh Hashana, as we celebrate that hundreds of Jew gathered virtually to take care of each other for the new year of 5781 is: BELONG - be part of this amazing Community. Nothing can be done without you. You are the most important asset we have as a community because without you we have no community.
May it be God’s will that we overcome the challenges ahead of us, staying together, taking care of each other.
May this year be a year of blessings for this incredible community and for each one of its members.
Shabbat Shalom
Shana Tova uMetuka
The first High Holiday services were held that year in the Aston Heights Women’s Club building. Rabbi Goldman of Washington conducted the services at which 66 Jews from Arlington attended.” These are the opening lines of a document given to me telling the history of this Congregation.
It is my honor to start my first official Dvar Torah celebrating our 80th birthday as a community. While I have just arrived a couple months ago, it feels like I already BELONG to this very special group of people. And this is how it started. A group of people.
Interestingly, in the English language, people is also the word to represent a specific collective, like the Jewish People. My one-word-blessing for tonight is BELONG. The blessing of belonging to the Jewish People and to this amazing community.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, one of my favorite authors of the last century, talks about the changes from what he saw as traditional religion to a new model that he was describing. In his understanding, traditional religion starts from a place of BELIEVING and goes to a place of BEHAVING until one can actually BELONG to that community, to that people. Kaplan talks about the three B’s: BELIEVING - BEHAVING - BELONGING.
In his idea of the traditional religion, we would start from believing in something. A divine call. A metaphysical event that will change someone’s understanding of how the world works. This person would feel compelled to share it with others, as this is a divine message.
This divine message requires a certain BEHAVIOR to be followed. Whether the behavior is social, ritual, or theological, one needs to do something about it. One person starts behaving according to this divine message. Sharing the message with others who begin to BEHAVE in the same way and keep sharing the message.
A BELIEF led into a specific BEHAVIOR of individual people. There was no meeting, protocols, committees, bylaws. Nothing. Just a divine message, a BELIEF, transformed into BEHAVIOR. After you have a group of people who BELIEVE in the same thing and BEHAVES in the same way, they will form a community. A community is a group of people who feel that they BELONG together. Kaplan’s innovation is to understand that, at least for modern Jews, this process actually works in the reverse order.
For Kaplan the key element of the Jewish Community is BELONGING. First, we BELONG. Then, we will learn shared BEHAVIORS, practices, customs, and, of course, traditions. Our engagement with our community begins from a communal sense of BELONGING and moves into being part of a group where I can practice OUR traditions. I didn’t sign a contract that requires me to believe in anything.
I’m just a part of this community for who I AM, and now, also for what I DO.
Let me share a story with you.
A few months ago, I was teaching a group of kids about the beginnings of Judaism. I asked the group: “Who was the first Jew?”. A young girl said: “Adam!”. Surprised with the answer, I said: “I don’t think Adam had any religion. Judaism started a little bit later.” Even more surprised than I was, she looked at me and said: “If Adam had no religion, who would take care of him? Where would he go to?” Religion isn’t the only way to create a welcoming community that cares for each other deeply. But Judaism did not start as a religion, but a group of people who got together to pursue a common goal. Before being a religion, Judaism is the result of a collective of individuals who care deeply for each other.
What I want to tell you today is very simple. We live in community and it is good to stay together. We should strengthen our relationships, help to ensure that we are all safe, nourish our communal care for each other, and share common values and practices.
We are living in times where people are desperate for belonging, either we are aware of it or not. This is not something to be taken lightly, but a serious issue that invites us to rethink the way we relate to each other and how we should create our communities.
Jews have stayed together as a community for thousands of years because we know, that life is better if we are not alone. Over the past 6 months, we felt the real need for community like never before. The need to isolate ourselves in order to take care of each other is a new a very strange concept to many of us. The challenge we faced then and still face now is how to remain connected, how to create community, how to feel that we BELONG somewhere, when we have been isolated from each other. As Jews, we are not protected from this challenge. Still, I want to invite you to face it and find ways to overcome it in the light of our tradition.
Today, we celebrate the day that 5 families got together here in Arlington to start this community. Today, we celebrate that 80 years ago, 66 Jews from Arlington attended a High Holiday service. The Pirkei Avot (5:21) teaches: “Eighty is the age of Gevurah, Strength”. There is no best word to describe our mission for this year. We are stronger when we are together.
When the Torah tells the story of Adam, the first human being, it teaches that it is not good for us to be alone, thus, Eve joins Adam in this world. We have rituals that celebrate every stage of our lives, from sharing our children’s names at a communal celebration, to celebrating our commitment with our people’s tradition in a public ceremony, by taking on the responsibilities of adulthood. We celebrate love and friendship, as well as we support each other in the hardest times of our lives, mourning and being present with each other. This is not accidental, nor frivolous. It is part of our communal DNA. Just like a family, whether we always get along or not, we stay together.
Today we celebrate the birth of humanity. Today we celebrate that is not good to be alone. Today we celebrate our community, in whatever shape or form it takes as we struggle to find ways to stay connected, to tell each other: you and I BELONG here. So my blessing to you today, on this Rosh Hashana, as we celebrate that hundreds of Jew gathered virtually to take care of each other for the new year of 5781 is: BELONG - be part of this amazing Community. Nothing can be done without you. You are the most important asset we have as a community because without you we have no community.
May it be God’s will that we overcome the challenges ahead of us, staying together, taking care of each other.
May this year be a year of blessings for this incredible community and for each one of its members.
Shabbat Shalom
Shana Tova uMetuka
Monday, August 24, 2020
#somos70porcento
É uma honra participar desse vídeo junto com demais líderes religiosos compartilhando os valores essenciais que nos unem.
Juntos por um Brasil mais democrático, sem racismo ou qualquer outra forma de preconceito e discriminação.
Que sejamos capazes de continuar construindo uma sociedade mais justa para todxs.
#somos70porcento
Juntos por um Brasil mais democrático, sem racismo ou qualquer outra forma de preconceito e discriminação.
Que sejamos capazes de continuar construindo uma sociedade mais justa para todxs.
#somos70porcento
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Perseguindo a justiça com justiça
“Você deve nomear magistrados e oficiais para suas tribos, em todos os assentamentos que Adonai seu Deus está dando a você, e eles devem governar o povo com a devida justiça. Você não deve julgar injustamente: você deve mostrar nenhuma parcialidade; não aceitareis subornos, pois os subornos cegam os olhos dos mais perspicazes e perturbam o apelo dos justos. Justiça, justiça você deve perseguir, para que você possa prosperar e ocupar a terra que Adonai, seu Deus, está lhe dando.” (Devarim 16: 18-20)
É difícil ler a parasha desta semana e não relacioná-la aos eventos atuais aqui, em Israel e ao redor do mundo. Pensei em algumas meta-questões sobre este texto, não exatamente sobre o conteúdo dele, mas sobre sua concepção, ajudando-nos a nos afastarmos de uma leitura literal: Qual era seu contexto político e social? Qual era o papel da religião em sua sociedade?
Afirmamos que a Torá é eterna e sua sabedoria ainda é relevante para nossos dias. Para sustentar essa afirmação, é importante compreender os desafios dessas meta-questões e estar ciente dos problemas que enfrentamos ao ler a Torá à luz dos eventos atuais. Uma leitura literal, sem colocá-la em perspectiva e realidade, pode levar ao fanatismo religioso. Uma leitura relativista plena, pode levar ao niilismo, à rejeição de todos os princípios religiosos e morais, por serem desatualizados ou simplesmente irrelevantes.
É um movimento de contra-cultura buscar sabedoria em nossa tradição, em livros antigos e ao mesmo tempo não lutar por uma verdade de supremacia religiosa. Ou mais! Lutar exatamente pelo oposto. Este é o empreendimento rabínico através dos tempos: por meio do estudo e da devoção, encontre maneiras significativas de conectar nossa sabedoria ancestral com nossas vidas. Do Talmud, lidando com o exílio em massa e deslocamento de um povo inteiro, lamentando a destruição da casa e ansiando pela hora de voltar, os sábios foram encarregados desta missão. Nos tempos modernos, reforma, conservador, sionismo, hassidismo, todos são formas de manter viva esta missão, esse pacto.
Felizmente, não vivemos em uma sociedade governada por uma religião, mas ao contrário - a liberdade religiosa é um elemento-chave da civilização ocidental desde o iluminismo. Todo indivíduo tem o direito de acreditar e praticar - ou não acreditar e praticar de forma alguma - sua religião de acordo com sua vontade. Como judeus modernos, apoiamos este modelo que nos salvou da perseguição e nos concedeu liberdades e direitos. Ao mesmo tempo, precisamos estar engajados na arena cívica, trazendo nossas vozes como cidadãos legítimos para fazer parte dessas conversas, carregando conosco nossos valores como judeus. Precisamos separar a religião institucionalizada das instituições políticas, mas não podemos separar nossos deveres morais religiosos do trabalho que devemos fazer como membros de nossa sociedade, quer o façamos dentro da esfera política ou não.
Então, o que a Torá está tentando nos dizer sobre nosso compromisso com a justiça e como podemos alcançá-lo em termos práticos? Quero compartilhar com vocês duas respostas diferentes que nossa tradição tem oferecido, como formas de cumprir o mandamento de “justiça, justiça que você deve perseguir” fora do contexto original da Torá, com foco no assentamento de Bnei Israel na terra de Canaan milênios atrás. Em busca do significado da repetição da palavra Justiça, o Talmud oferece alguma sabedoria: “Rav Ashi diz: Um (menção de Justiça) é afirmado com relação ao julgamento, no qual o tribunal deve buscar justiça extensivamente, e um (menção de Justiça) é declarada em relação a – pshará – concessão de ambas as partes para atingir uma situação mais justa para todos.” (Sanhedrin 32b)
O Talmud prossegue com exemplos práticos de pshará (concessão, acordo mútuo) que eram aplicáveis ao seu público: “Onde há dois barcos viajando no rio e eles se encontram, se os dois tentarem passar, ambos afundam, pois o rio não é largo o suficiente para ambos passarem. Se eles passam um após o outro, ambos passam. E da mesma forma, onde há dois camelos que estavam subindo a subida de Beit Horon, onde há um caminho estreito e íngreme, e eles se encontram, se ambos tentarem subir, ambos caem. Se eles sobem um após o outro, ambos sobem.” (Sanhedrin 32b)
Pshará é a chave para combater o fanatismo. Uma sociedade que almeja alcançar capacidade de se colocar no lugar do outro e fazer as devidas concessões em virtude dessa perspectiva, está em vias de encontrar compreensão mútua benéfica para uma sociedade mais justa. Justiça não é um jogo para ganhar ou perder, a justiça é um ideal que nos ajudará a criar uma sociedade melhor para todos.
Definitivamente, existem momentos em que não devemos comprometer nossa integridade. Isso não significa que precisamos desistir de nossas causas quando fomos injustiçados. Ao contrário, precisamos lutar ainda mais por justiça nesses casos. Estou tentando chamar a atenção para a forma como nos engajamos na busca pela justiça, visando entender que talvez mais de um lado foi injustiçado e também mereça ser ouvido. E, neste processo, precisamos ser humildes e fazer o trabalho diligente para verificar a nós mesmos, por qualquer possível erro que tenhamos cometido também. Como o mestre hassídico, Rabi Simcha Bunim de Peshischa ensinou: “Justiça, justiça você deve perseguir: com justiça, você deve buscar a justiça. Mesmo a busca da justiça deve empregar apenas meios justos, e não falsidade.”
Ao tornar a Torá significativa para seus dias, o mestre hassídico tornou a sabedoria da Torá também eterna. É nossa tarefa encontrar nela a sabedoria atemporal e não a usar apenas por causa de nossas próprias verdades ou objetivos pessoais. Não se trata apenas de Justiça, mas mais do que isso, de como a alcançamos.
Que todos possamos encontrar caminhos de Justiça durante o mês de Elul, enquanto nos preparamos para nos julgarmos ao encontrarmos a Justiça Divina nas Grandes Festas.
Chodesh Tov
Rav Natan Freller
É difícil ler a parasha desta semana e não relacioná-la aos eventos atuais aqui, em Israel e ao redor do mundo. Pensei em algumas meta-questões sobre este texto, não exatamente sobre o conteúdo dele, mas sobre sua concepção, ajudando-nos a nos afastarmos de uma leitura literal: Qual era seu contexto político e social? Qual era o papel da religião em sua sociedade?
Afirmamos que a Torá é eterna e sua sabedoria ainda é relevante para nossos dias. Para sustentar essa afirmação, é importante compreender os desafios dessas meta-questões e estar ciente dos problemas que enfrentamos ao ler a Torá à luz dos eventos atuais. Uma leitura literal, sem colocá-la em perspectiva e realidade, pode levar ao fanatismo religioso. Uma leitura relativista plena, pode levar ao niilismo, à rejeição de todos os princípios religiosos e morais, por serem desatualizados ou simplesmente irrelevantes.
É um movimento de contra-cultura buscar sabedoria em nossa tradição, em livros antigos e ao mesmo tempo não lutar por uma verdade de supremacia religiosa. Ou mais! Lutar exatamente pelo oposto. Este é o empreendimento rabínico através dos tempos: por meio do estudo e da devoção, encontre maneiras significativas de conectar nossa sabedoria ancestral com nossas vidas. Do Talmud, lidando com o exílio em massa e deslocamento de um povo inteiro, lamentando a destruição da casa e ansiando pela hora de voltar, os sábios foram encarregados desta missão. Nos tempos modernos, reforma, conservador, sionismo, hassidismo, todos são formas de manter viva esta missão, esse pacto.
Felizmente, não vivemos em uma sociedade governada por uma religião, mas ao contrário - a liberdade religiosa é um elemento-chave da civilização ocidental desde o iluminismo. Todo indivíduo tem o direito de acreditar e praticar - ou não acreditar e praticar de forma alguma - sua religião de acordo com sua vontade. Como judeus modernos, apoiamos este modelo que nos salvou da perseguição e nos concedeu liberdades e direitos. Ao mesmo tempo, precisamos estar engajados na arena cívica, trazendo nossas vozes como cidadãos legítimos para fazer parte dessas conversas, carregando conosco nossos valores como judeus. Precisamos separar a religião institucionalizada das instituições políticas, mas não podemos separar nossos deveres morais religiosos do trabalho que devemos fazer como membros de nossa sociedade, quer o façamos dentro da esfera política ou não.
Então, o que a Torá está tentando nos dizer sobre nosso compromisso com a justiça e como podemos alcançá-lo em termos práticos? Quero compartilhar com vocês duas respostas diferentes que nossa tradição tem oferecido, como formas de cumprir o mandamento de “justiça, justiça que você deve perseguir” fora do contexto original da Torá, com foco no assentamento de Bnei Israel na terra de Canaan milênios atrás. Em busca do significado da repetição da palavra Justiça, o Talmud oferece alguma sabedoria: “Rav Ashi diz: Um (menção de Justiça) é afirmado com relação ao julgamento, no qual o tribunal deve buscar justiça extensivamente, e um (menção de Justiça) é declarada em relação a – pshará – concessão de ambas as partes para atingir uma situação mais justa para todos.” (Sanhedrin 32b)
O Talmud prossegue com exemplos práticos de pshará (concessão, acordo mútuo) que eram aplicáveis ao seu público: “Onde há dois barcos viajando no rio e eles se encontram, se os dois tentarem passar, ambos afundam, pois o rio não é largo o suficiente para ambos passarem. Se eles passam um após o outro, ambos passam. E da mesma forma, onde há dois camelos que estavam subindo a subida de Beit Horon, onde há um caminho estreito e íngreme, e eles se encontram, se ambos tentarem subir, ambos caem. Se eles sobem um após o outro, ambos sobem.” (Sanhedrin 32b)
Pshará é a chave para combater o fanatismo. Uma sociedade que almeja alcançar capacidade de se colocar no lugar do outro e fazer as devidas concessões em virtude dessa perspectiva, está em vias de encontrar compreensão mútua benéfica para uma sociedade mais justa. Justiça não é um jogo para ganhar ou perder, a justiça é um ideal que nos ajudará a criar uma sociedade melhor para todos.
Definitivamente, existem momentos em que não devemos comprometer nossa integridade. Isso não significa que precisamos desistir de nossas causas quando fomos injustiçados. Ao contrário, precisamos lutar ainda mais por justiça nesses casos. Estou tentando chamar a atenção para a forma como nos engajamos na busca pela justiça, visando entender que talvez mais de um lado foi injustiçado e também mereça ser ouvido. E, neste processo, precisamos ser humildes e fazer o trabalho diligente para verificar a nós mesmos, por qualquer possível erro que tenhamos cometido também. Como o mestre hassídico, Rabi Simcha Bunim de Peshischa ensinou: “Justiça, justiça você deve perseguir: com justiça, você deve buscar a justiça. Mesmo a busca da justiça deve empregar apenas meios justos, e não falsidade.”
Ao tornar a Torá significativa para seus dias, o mestre hassídico tornou a sabedoria da Torá também eterna. É nossa tarefa encontrar nela a sabedoria atemporal e não a usar apenas por causa de nossas próprias verdades ou objetivos pessoais. Não se trata apenas de Justiça, mas mais do que isso, de como a alcançamos.
Que todos possamos encontrar caminhos de Justiça durante o mês de Elul, enquanto nos preparamos para nos julgarmos ao encontrarmos a Justiça Divina nas Grandes Festas.
Chodesh Tov
Rav Natan Freller
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