LIGHT AND SHADOW

It can be said about almost everything that occurs in this world or any action that we may perform: “There’s a bracha for that”. “There’s a blessing for that”.  Jews have a blessing for almost everything in our world.

         So, naturally, many people have asked me recently: “Is there a blessing for a solar eclipse?”

         The answer is, traditionally, no.

But I disagree.

         I have been eagerly anticipating this coming Monday for a year or so. Under different circumstances, I would be getting in my car and driving to Southern Illinois to experience the total eclipse. I can’t. So I’ll have to be satisfied, weather permitting, with the 70% or so we’ll see here.

         And, I can’t wait.

         I am fascinated by all things astronomical and see in them both the creative powers of God and the wisdom of human beings which allows us to explain and predict the orbits and movements of the heavenly lights.

         I read something the other day regarding solar eclipses that I had never read before.

         Apparently, the only reason that we can experience a total solar eclipse with the brilliant ring that shows around the sun at totality is because even though the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, the moon is 400 times closer to the earth. That enables the moon to cover the disc of the sun perfectly from our perspective. If the sun was bigger or the moon further away, there would be no total eclipse as we know it.

         What a coincidence.

         Or is it?

         I don’t claim that God created the sun and the moon of a particular size just to delight us every few years. Our world could exist very well without this experience.

         But, I do believe in a world which has been created with a certain symmetry, balance and intricate structure which enables it to continue to exist in a largely predictable way. And, as you have heard me say many times, while I believe completely and with perfect faith in the idea of the big bang theory and the scientific realities of the world as it is, I also believe that the hand of God, at the very least, started this process going. I do not want to look at anything in the natural world and say, for example: “What a lucky break that human beings can think and feel and dream of great things”. The further I look into the scientific realities of life, the more I am inclined to see a God who dreamed of a world in which thinking, feeling human beings could function.

         So, I will celebrate the eclipse with a bracha: Oseh Ma’asei Beraysheet: acknowledging God who fashions the work of creation. I urge you to consider taking a moment during the eclipse to do the same and recognize the truly wondrous world in which we live.

         But, as I said before, traditionally, a bracha is not said over an eclipse. This is because it was considered a bad omen for the world to see the sun darkened.

         I don’t consider it a bad omen. I know it will only last for a few minutes and we’ll go back to sunlight so I will say a bracha.

         But, I do think that during the eclipse we should consider what it means when a light falls into shadow.

         There is a beautiful legend about the sun and the moon which teaches that when they were created, they were created to be equal size and each with a light of its own. But, the moon complained to God that there couldn’t be two equal size rulers, one had to be superior. So, God took the moon at its word and lessened it because it rejected equality. The sun, which was satisfied in sharing glory, was given superiority.

         We have another bracha in our tradition, said when one sees a human being of notable physical stature or unique appearance. We acknowledge that God is mishaneh habriyot: varies the creations.

         While different in appearance, each of us is created with an equal piece of the image of God. We are instructed by our tradition to acknowledge and celebrate the distinctiveness of human beings.

         But, some people can’t accept this.

         Some say we can’t all be equal. Like the moon, some say, a choice should be made.

         And when people say this, they disgrace our creator. They sow seeds of hatred and eclipse any potential light that their society and community could offer.

         And that brings us to this moment in our nation’s history.

It must be said clearly by every American of good will and with any moral compass, from the very top of the power structure to each and every one of us here. The threat posed by White Supremacists, those racists who feed on Nazi rhetoric and actions and who terrorize and threaten people whom they deem to be different, including you and me, must be called out and opposed in the strongest possible terms. There can be no equivocation and no attempt at moral equivalency when those with such hatred are involved.

         Our nation has seen a rise in rhetoric and actions, notably in Charlottesville, but other places as well, which are drawn from the most despicable, hate-filled ideology. This hatred has always been present in America, usually somewhat under the surface. But, it has been brought into the open by many factors notably the many expressions of divisiveness and code words of hatred which were spoken or tolerated by candidate then President Trump.

These can not be what America is about.

         The people who claim that there isn’t room in this country for equality must be rejected and ostracized and can not be given even the slightest hint that there is any tolerance for what they believe or what they seek to do.

         It is absolutely true that there in intolerance on all sides of the political spectrum. I’ve personally encountered it. But, here and now, this is the battle that is raging and this horrendous viewpoint must be answered with unified voices of rejection without any hesitation or mincing of words.

         Our nation can be a light unto the world. But, that light is eclipsed when those who believe in this poisonous ideology, a way of “thinking” that has led to persecution of so many in this country and resulted in the murder of six million of our people and millions of others in Europe, are allowed even for a moment to think that it has a place in this nation.

         I have heard thousands of statements by presidents in my lifetime. Some I have agreed with. Some I have disagreed with. Some have angered me. Some have served as an inspiration to me throughout my life. But, President Trump’s assertion that there were “very fine people” among those who stood with those who held Nazi flags, shouting anti-Semitic and racist chants is the most offensive and despicable statement I have ever heard from a President of the United States. How dare anyone call someone showing any support or tolerance for such an agenda a fine person?  Unbelievable and completely unacceptable.

         Every day, we must live out our responsibility never to let the light of freedom and equality that our patriots, our soldiers and our citizens, fought for and died for be darkened by hatred and bigotry.

         And, we must demand that our elected officials take responsible action to see that we, and all communities threatened by hatred, will be safe in this great country.

         Let me close with words of hope and comfort, especially to the young people here.

         I believe deeply in the goodness of the majority of people of this nation in which we are blessed to live. I believe, and I have received many calls and emails over the past few days to demonstrate this, that there are people of good will all around this nation ready to stand with us, just as we must be ready to stand with others who are threatened.

         There will be some battles ahead. I pray that these battles will only be battles of words, God forbid we see more violence. But, we must be ready to stand alongside other people of good will to insure our and others’ safety. We will have plenty of allies. There is good all around us.

Our parasha begins: See I set before you blessing and curse, life and death. Choose life. It is a clear choice but a choice which must be made.

Choose life, not death.

Choose equality, not hatred.

Choose light, not darkness.                  

Choose light and choose it loudly and clearly.

 

 

Our journey through the year can be defined by the holidays which we observe and Parashat Emor includes one of the lists of the cycle of those holidays. Shabbat and the festivals are described in great detail as are the days which we have come to know as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, the High Holy Days.

Regarding those days, the Torah’s description of Yom Kippur resonates with us in its commandments regarding self-denial and the promise of atonement. But the holiday described just before it is not as familiar. There is no mention of t’shuva, repentance. There is no mention of turning the page on the calendar to a New Year. There is no mention of apples and honey and not even a reference to the name Rosh Hashana as that is a term applied to this day much later in our history. So, what is mentioned? That day is called Yom Zichron Teruah, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a horn.

Of course our Rosh Hashana wouldn’t be the same without the blowing of the Shofar but the development over history has taken the holiday far beyond whatever its original meaning was. The Torah is not clear as to exactly what the blast from the horn was supposed to mean. But, for two thousand years now, the blast has meant the call to action, the awakening of the conscience, the determination to build a better life and a better world.

And, while the Torah uses the word T’ruah to refer to all the sounds that are blown from the Shofar, one of the series of three sounds that we blow is known specifically as T’ruah:  9 staccato notes which in the mystical tradition convey the sense of brokenness, the sense of a world desperately in need of repair. T’ruah also conveys the sense of urgency as it sounds like an unrelenting alarm clock which will not give us rest until it is heeded.

For many in the Jewish community, the word T’ruah now symbolizes something else as well. It symbolizes rabbis, cantors, rabbinical and cantorial students and laypeople from all the movements within Judaism who have come together determined to work for human rights here in the United States, in Israel and in the territories. T’ruah was the name taken by the organization that was once called Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. While continuing to hold great respect for the Israeli organization of Rabbis for Human Rights, the North American organization ended its formal relationship with the Israeli group several years ago in order to focus on human rights issues here at home in addition to those in Israel. A new name was chosen: T’ruah: the Rabbinical Call for Human Rights.

I had been a member of the board of RHR-North America for a few years when I was asked to serve as national co-chair of this new organization with a new name, an expanded vision and a new executive director, Rabbi Jill Jacobs.

I served in the role of co-chair for two years and since my term ended, I have served on the board. It has been an honor and a privilege to have done so and while my term on the board will be complete as of June and I will be stepping down I do so with only the greatest respect and admiration for Rabbi Jacobs, the T’ruah staff, for the organization and for the work that T’ruah continues to accomplish.
Among other efforts, T’ruah has taken American Jews physically and spiritually to the tomato fields of Florida to support the work of the Coalition for Immokalee Workers who have had great success in righting some of the terrible wrongs that had literally enslaved farm workers in the tomato industry.

T’ruah has awakened American Jews to wrestle with the complicated, delicate and critical issue of policing and to strongly oppose the disgraceful expansion of solitary confinement.

T’ruah has successfully brought to light the use of funds by charitable organizations to support efforts that evict Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem from their homes in deference to Jewish settlers.

But, most importantly T’ruah has reminded us that human rights has to be high on the agenda of the Jewish community. As we face issues of immigration and refugee status and sanctuary here at home and as Israel faces the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War which brought such tremendously positive results in terms of security and the return to the kotel and the Old City of Jerusalem but which has carried with it for the Palestinian people ramifications  which can not be ignored or minimized, the questions of human rights become even more critical.

I am proud to have been part of the leadership of T’ruah: and I will continue to support and encourage your support for this vital, sacred work.

The foundation of our commitment to human rights as Jews is found throughout our tradition. It is found in Beraysheet which reminds us that we are created equally in the image of God.  It is found in Leviticus which as we read last week we are called on to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is found in the Mishna which commands that the honor of another be as dear to us as our own. It can even be inferred from our counting of the omer which urges us to see freedom as carrying with it obligations responsibilities as we move towards the mountain top.

As a people, we can not ignore the commitment to human rights.

And, what applies for us as Jews applies for all people.

I will close therefore with the eloquent and courageous words of Senator John McCain who, in a recent essay, criticized Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who had claimed that conditioning our foreign policy too heavily on values creates obstacles to advance our national interest.

In response, Senator McCain, no stranger to the horrendous effects of human rights abuses, wrote: “I consider myself a realist. I have certainly seen my share of the world as it really is and not how I wish it would be. What I’ve learned is that it is foolish to view realism and idealism as incompatible or to consider our power and wealth as encumbered by the demands of justice, morality and conscience. In the real world, as lived and experienced by real people, the demand for human rights and dignity, the longing for liberty and justice and opportunity, the hatred of oppression and corruption and cruelty is reality. By denying this experience, we deny the aspirations of billions of people.”

Thank you Senator McCain for those brave, inspiring words and thank you for reminding us that human rights is not a partisan issue. We can disagree on specifics but we can not ignore our responsibilities as human beings.

And thank you to T’ruah for what you have taught me and what you continue to teach all of us: that, as Jews,  must always be committed to principles of human rights.

Each day must be a Yom T’ruah, each day we must listen to the sound of a world desperately in need of repair and we must listen to the cries of those who depend upon us to insure their rights as human beings.

It is a call we must heed every day as we continue our journey through the years.