We learned the news last week of the death of Rabbi Harold Schulweis, a noted Conservative Rabbi and teacher. I hope that you will take a moment to read any of the obituaries that were written about this man who was such an influential teacher and leader of the Jewish community. He impacted his community in Los Angeles and the Jewish community throughout the world in critical ways. His synagogue and the organizations he founded and participated in are examples of visionary leadership and courageous teaching.

On the second day of Rosh Hashana 2000, I spoke about a book that Rabbi Schulweis had written called: “For Those Who Can’t Believe”. It was then and remains one of the most inspiring books I have ever read on Jewish thought and I urge you all to get a copy and to read it. I certainly agree with the basic premises of the book, but, agree or disagree, I think you will find it thought provoking and worth serious consideration.

I am about to begin a three month “partial Sabbatical” during which I hope to conclude a writing project which I have been working on for years and begin some others (in addition to doing some other work as well). The first step towards these other writing projects involved gathering all of the sermons and articles I have written over the years and organizing them. I have accomplished much of that task over the past two weeks and have found, to my great regret, that some of my sermons are still missing due to my failure to file them properly. Included in the list of the missing is the second half of the sermon I gave on Rabbi Schulweis’ book.

I will continue to look for it but for now, I will share with you the first part of that sermon and hopefully it will encourage you to take a look at the book in question:

I picked up a book a few months ago. It had been recommended to me by a colleague. It is called: “For Those Who Can’t Believe”. This is one phenomenal book.

In it, the author, Rabbi Harold Schulweis presents a convincing, straightforward case for religious faith in light of doubters who claim that it is archaic, irrational, anti-intellectual and interferes with the ability to make the most of our life. He makes a passionate claim for a faith which is not full of the old simple answers to difficult questions but one which challenges, uplifts, comforts and, most importantly, which insures that our role as human beings is not undermined by too great a dependence on God.

For Those Who Can’t Believe is the title. I read it because I am one of those. I am one of those who can not believe.

Strange spot for a Rabbi to be in, being one who can’t believe.

Before you get the wrong idea, let me be a bit more specific.

It’s not that I can’t believe in God. I can and I do.

It’s not that I can’t believe in Jewish tradition and Jewish law’s authority in our lives. I can and I do.

It’s not that I can’t believe that my life is improved, its meaning deepened, its foundation strengthened by a belief in God. I can and I do.

My faith in God has changed over the years as has, or at least should, everyone’s, but it has remained the foundation of who I am and how I approach the world.

So, why then did I read a book called: “For Those Who Can’t Believe” and consider myself one of those addressed in the title?

Because I needed a reminder of what it is I believe and while no one can speak for my beliefs except myself, Rabbi Schulweis does come very close. He reminded me what it is that I believe.

I still can believe and what Rabbi Schulweis’ book did was made me see once again the beauty, the consistency and the meaning in an approach to Judaism similar to that framed by so many of my teachers who believed in a God who creates, who teaches, who cares for us, believes in us and fashioned a world in which we, under Divine influence, can transform this world into paradise.

So, why was I having a crisis of faith? I was having a crisis of faith because I see so many popular approaches to Judaism today going in directions that I can not personally endorse. It doesn’t mean they’re wrong. It doesn’t mean they’re not authentic. It just means that as a Rabbi, I can’t lie to people and tell them I believe what I don’t. And I needed to read a book which reminded me that the “old time Judaism” of the 70’s and 80’s which I had bought into and invested my life in still made sense to me. The Judaism of Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People, of Neil Gillman’s Sacred Fragments of a tradition inspired by people from all branches of Judaism: from those on the left to Yitz Greenberg and even Rabbi Soloveitchik, zichrono livracha, who saw Judaism as a rational, academically and intellectually defensible faith which sought to add an element of mystery and irrationality to our lives to help us deal with the world more meaningfully. That to me was spirituality.

Rabbi Schulweis wrote this book in 1993 to appeal to a generation which had strayed from God because they thought it was beneath them. But, I read the book seven years later in a different way. I read it as one who sees trends around the Jewish community which redefine spirituality and use different words and different goals to talk about what God is about in the Jewish faith. And, while I say kol hakavod to all who embrace them and hope deeply that nothing I say this morning will discourage them or make them feel excluded, I have to say in this public forum that I am not there.

While I don’t have the rest of the sermon in my file, I can tell you that it went on to express concern about certain approaches to Judaism. One of those approaches that I was concerned about is an approach which speaks of using prayer and observance of ritual to insure receiving a positive response from God to bring us a life of goodness and blessing. The other approach was that which concentrated on a personal, internal, spiritual relationship with God which distances oneself from responsibilities to community or to the world.

I find both of these approaches to be troubling and saw Schulweis’ book as a more meaningful and rational way of thinking about faith: a faith in God which encourages us to do Divine work on earth.It is a faith in God which emphasizes our responsibility as human beings and also emphasizes relationships as evidenced by this quote from the book: “Godliness, like love, is located not “in me” or “in you” but “between us”…In Judaism the importance of “betweeness” is expressed in the high value the tradition places on community…relationships serve as the spiritual material out of which the idea of God is formed.”

I will continue to search for the rest of the sermon and will share it with you if and when I find it. But, I wanted to post the incomplete version in tribute to my teacher, may his memory be for a blessing. I hope that you will be inspired to read this book and think about what it truly means to believe in God.

Once again, this nation faces the questions of justice and equality stemming from the killing of a young African American man by a law enforcement official. The tragic killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by Officer Darren Wilson was sadly a story so similar to those we have seen before.

I have to make my standard comment that “I wasn’t there” and I haven’t read or heard all of the evidence that the grand jury heard so I can’t make a judgment as to Officer Wilson’s guilt or innocence. But, I can say that there were many aspects of the grand jury procedure in this case which raise questions as to the objectivity of the entire endeavor and those should raise concerns for all of us.

There is no justification for violence, looting and damage to property. But, the anger that is felt after the grand jury decision needs to be recognized and confronted.

Regardless of what one feels about this legal proceeding and regardless of the great strides towards equality that have been made in this country, it remains true that African Americans, particularly young African American males are, in many situations, subject to profiling which leaves them vulnerable. That any citizen of this country should feel unsafe on the streets because of their race is unacceptable and must be addressed.

While we may not know what happened in Ferguson that night, we do know that this country must confront the reality of racism as it affects all of us. The question is bigger than just Ferguson. As President Obama said on Monday night: “We need to recognize that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges that we still face as a nation. The fact is in too many parts of this country a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color. Some of this is the result of the legacy of racial discrimination in this country. And this is tragic because nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates.”

We must continue to address the issue of racism in a pro-active way rather than just respond when a tragic event occurs. We must make progress in our goal to be a nation of equality and justice for all.

May the family of Michael Brown be comforted by real change in this country.

 

I have started to write this blog posting three times over the past week and each time, I found myself at a loss for what to say.

The horrific, brutal murder of 5 men in the Jerusalem synagogue terrorist attack of Monday is first and foremost a terrible human tragedy. My thoughts and prayers for comfort go to the families of those who were so ruthlessly killed and our hopes for a refuah shlayma, a complete recovery for those who were wounded. There are no sufficient words to describe the horror of this attack.

The context of this act of terror and random violence is also so very troubling. As I have written in this blog and said from the bima, the framing of the ongoing conflict in religious terms is so deeply, deeply worrisome. The focus of attention on the Temple Mount and the perception that Israel wishes to change the carefully crafted status quo has fostered additional anger among Palestinians. This status quo which is based on compromise and hopes for mutual respect must continue and Israeli officials must do all that they can to prevent even the smallest of provocative acts concerning the Temple Mount area and Palestinian leaders must try to restore calm and reject and prevent violence. The leaders must, at least in this one area, publicly work together to make it clear that this status quo will continue.

But, that alone will not stop the cycle of violence.

I have never been as pessimistic about the possibility of a peaceful solution to the conflict as I am at this moment in time. Israel’s legitimate deep concern for its own survival and security and the Palestinians’ legitimate goal of self-determination and an end to the occupation seem now to be so at odds with each other that it is difficult to imagine any solution. The fear, the anger, the suspicion have never seemed so deeply entrenched.

But, Shabbat is a time for hope.We can not give up hope even if that hope is fading so dramatically.

May this Shabbat bring some small measure of quiet and calm in Jerusalem. May we see some small progress in cooperation and compassion. May people throughout Jerusalem and throughout the region recognize the humanity of the other and may the new week bring new hope.

May all who love Jerusalem pray for her peace on this Shabbat.

Blessed be are You O Lord Our God who spreads the Sukkah of peace over Jerusalem, the city of peace, the city of dreams, the city of reaching out to God. May all people find peace, wisdom and humanity coming from the holy city.

The horrendous terrorist attacks which have taken place in Jerusalem in recent days have caused such concern and sadness for all of us. My prayers and thoughts go out to the families of those who have been killed and to those who have been wounded. These horrendous acts deserve condemnation and it is once again shocking to read of those organizations and individuals, including Hamas officials, who praise and give honor to these acts of violence.

While these acts of violence and general tension would be sad in any situation, it is particularly sad that, at least to an extent, their source comes from religious disputes.

The compromises  regarding the Temple Mount and the Western Wall areas which have been worked out over the decades may be unsatisfying in many ways but they have helped to establish and retain a relatively quiet atmosphere. There have of course been flare-ups of violence and unrest but for the most part the area remained calm. But, now we are seeing a revival of the type of religious controversy which exacerbates an already tense situation.

Arab claims that there was never a Jewish Temple on the mount are horrendous and an insult to Jews and any student of history. But I also firmly believe that those Jews who dream of a third temple need to be stopped and prevented from doing anything  in small or big ways to lay the groundwork for such an idea to become reality or even give the appearance of a move in that direction.  The status quo, while it may not be ultimately satisfying for all needs to be embraced and endorsed and respect given to the holy places of all faiths. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement that he will continue to uphold the status quo is a hopeful sign that he recognizes the importance of this carefully crafted compromise regarding the holy sites and it is critical that Israel allow free access to the Temple Mount to Moslems for prayer.

The entire issue of the status of Jerusalem in any potential peace agreement is of course so difficult. I strongly believe that an agreement must honor the integrity of Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem and that is why  the eviction of Arab famlies from areas which are clearly Arab neighborhoods and the settling of Jews in those homes for the purpose of establishing a Jewish presence is a provocative and oppressive act and is wrong. Jews and Arabs should, of course, be able to live wherever they want to live and I understand the desire of Jews to see the city reflect the long tradition and love our people have shown for Jerusalem over the centuries. But, a love for Jerusalem should be reflected in bringing peace to the holy city and peace will not come unless residents are respected equally and both sides work, God willing, towards a fair and equitable long term solution.

In one sense,  building of new homes in Jewish neighborhoods over the “green line” should not be controversial  if it is evident that those neighborhoods would remain in Israel if a two state solution were ever reached. But, the timing of such building and the statements by Israeli government officials that such building is intended as retaliation for Palestinian political or terrorist actions is , I believe, very bad strategy and is offensive. This is not to deny or understate the evil of acts of  terrorism or threats of violence. These are intolerable and certainly are a tremendous obstacle towards peace. But, it does not help the situation in any short term or long term way for Israel to build right there and right now when every act becomes a further detriment to peace.

As I have written in this blog many times, I fell in love with the city of Jerusalem during my first days in Israel in 1979. As Jews, we should not apologize for the love affair we have had with Jerusalem for millennia. But, I believe our love should be expressed by helping Jerusalem to be the city it can be and by rejecting and condemning violence and any actions which stand in the way of a settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

May we see the peace of Jerusalem and all who love her.

There are a lot of important issues to write about this morning: the mid-term elections, the situation in Jerusalem and other critical issues which should be on all of our minds. But, in the eclectic spirit of this blog, I want to write about someone who performed a very important function for many of us. He made us laugh and maybe taught us something about our cars in the process.

Tom Magliozzi died yesterday at the age of 77. He was one of the “Tapett” brothers, who brought the show Car Talk to people across the country and around the world each week on NPR. I have to admit that I had never listened to the show until about a year ago. I’m not that interested in cars and even knowing they were from Boston, didn’t make me want to listen to two guys named Click and Clack talk about automobiles. But, a year or so ago, I turned to one of the NPR stations on Satellite Radio which was airing an old episode of Car Talk and I realized what I had been missing all of these years.

Yes, they were talking about cars and I actually learned a little from their conversations. But, what I particularly found endearing was their way of talking with callers. I love to observe how different people in various areas of broadcasting interact with the public and they had a knack for laughing with people, pushing their jokes just far enough to stop short of insulting the caller, chit-chatting with them while they were trying to figure out a good answer to their problem and generally made them feel good about calling the show. That is one of the two things about their show that I particular liked as both Tom and Ray (and don’t ask me which was which, I’m still not sure) made their callers and their listeners laugh.

But, for me, the highlight of the show came at the end of each hour and with Satellite radio playing three hour long episodes each afternoon, we got to hear this three times each day. They would always end by reading the “credits’, the names of fictitious individuals who contributed to their show and they were the most marvelous puns I have ever heard and that is not an exaggeration. I don’t know who wrote them but they were fantastic.

Among the best: the Russian chauffeur Picov Andropov, the airplane seat tester: Wilma Buttfit, the head of the working mother’s division: Erasmus B Dragon and my particular favorite, the videographer from the Tel Aviv office: Shlomo Replay. If any of these escape you, stick with it, you’ll figure it out and then just type in Car Talk Credits on an internet search engine and you’ll get the entire list.

Thanks Tom for all the laughs. Some things live on after our death and good humor and good memories certainly do.

This weekend, Beth Israel will host two events as part of a community wide Yiddish festival. The festival’s activities will include lectures, films, music and a general celebration of Yiddish language and culture.

I don’t speak Yiddish. I understand some words and phrases but like many my age, my association with Yiddish is largely nostalgic and is focused mainly around what I remember from my childhood.

My maternal grandmother spoke Yiddish quite often and usually spoke it in conversation with my father. My grandmother was born in Russia and Yiddish was her first language and the language spoken at home when she was a child. My father was born here but his father spoke Yiddish at home. He was a non-religious Jew who was completely absorbed in Jewish culture and Yiddish was naturally the focus of much of my grandfather’s identity as a Jew.

My mother understood some of her mother’s Yiddish but never spoke the language so my experience with the language was listening to my grandmother and my father try to speak with each other. I say “try to” because while they both spoke Yiddish, there was obviously a great difference in the language they had each learned based on the fact that their families had come from different places in Europe. I remember finding it very funny to hear them try to understand each other, most often succeeding, but only after critical English words had been thrown in to the conversation.

After all these years, the clearest memories I have of Yiddish in our home was of my Grandmother’s and father’s frequently used phrases. I’m going to try to recreate some of them here but keep in mind that transliteration is always a problem and their brands of Yiddish came from particular places and times so the phrases which might sound a bit off to anyone exposed to a different form of the language.

Some of my favorites were her response to a simple Gut Shabbas. She would say: Gut Shabbas, Gut Yor, a Gezunt Yor, a Leibidike Yor “You should have a good year, a healthy year, a year of life”… I think there were more good wishes but I don’t remember them.

Then, if we were to pass a car on the side of the road which had been in an accident or some other kind of trouble, she would always say: nidugadacht. which I take to mean: “it shouldn’t happen”.

Finally, she would often say when something bad happened: “Oy a klox a mir” which I think meant: “Oy, there is a curse on me” but I’d love to hear a better translation.

My father’s favorites included this line which we often heard while watching football games; “vikeyn gihaged dorten”, “you could get killed there”.

He would always talk about “a taite bunker” at the end of a long phrase meaning: “It would help as much as a dead leech”.

But, there were other much more common phrases as well and other longer, more explicit and more emotional expressions which I won’t go into.

I know there is so much more to Yiddish language and culture than the few odd phrases I still remember from my childhood. I regret not learning the language and being able to read Yiddish stories or poetry in the original. But, I am truly appreciative of those who aim to keep the language and the culture alive. It is a critical part of our tradition as Jews and the revival in different places of Yiddish helps us continue the chain of Jewish culture and tradition to generations to come. It also helps many of us hold onto some distant childhood memories.

I hope those of you in Ann Arbor will take advantage of the opportunity offered by this very special week of programming to celebrate Yiddish. Even if your familiarity with the language is weak as mine is, we can all rejoice in this important part of our tradition and our culture.

This morning, I did it again. I stood out in the chilly pre-dawn air. This time I had to stand in the middle of the street but I was able to do that rather comfortably. I know some people in neighboring homes were looking at me trying to figure out what I was doing. But, it’s no secret and it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I was looking at the total lunar eclipse. It was a beautifully clear morning and once I was able to get to a point where the trees weren’t in the way, it was a beautiful sight.

I have written in this blog and in other places about my fascination with astronomy and with various celestial phenomena. In many ways, the lunar eclipse is among the less spectacular of these to the layperson. There is, really, not much to see except a progressively smaller and then progressively bigger moon. But, still, I am fascinated and wouldn’t miss it when it is visible, especially since Michigan weather rarely seems to cooperate.

I think that for me the most fascinating aspect of the lunar eclipse is the most easily explained by those more skilled in science than myself. But, I still can not quite understand how these events can be predicted so accurately. I know it is simply a matter of mathematics, physics, astronomy etc. which scientists find easy to calculate using their knowledge and computer technology. But, I see in this predictability the hand of the Creator whose universe follows such strict, predictable rules that such calculations can be made in the first place. This eclipse, like all of the others, was right on time.

But, this lunar eclipse was special in another way. A lunar eclipse, by definition, can only take place at the time of a full moon. But, this full moon is special in that it is the full moon heralding the beginning of the holiday of Sukkot this evening. Biblical holidays were calculated according to the lunar month and the time for Sukkot, the harvest holiday, was established at the full moon. Whether there was a philosophical reason for this date or whether it was simply the brightest night of the month which would make a celebration more meaningful or more convenient, it seems so appropriate that the holiday be tied to the full moon.

What particular moves me about this though is that, 6 months ago, on the other side of the calendar, we looked at the same full moon as we sat down at the Pesach seder. Passover was also timed to come at the time of the full moon allowing us to imagine the Exodus from Egypt taking place on that brightest night of the month with the light reflecting from the full moon symbolizing the light of freedom.

Not every full moon produces a lunar eclipse of course. But, I am grateful for the opportunity this year, as we approach the holiday of Sukkot to have had a good reason to go out and stare at the moon. Doing so reminds us not only of the grandeur of the universe but of the passage of time as we move from celebration to celebration, from festival to festival, from freedom to Thanksgiving.

Hag Sameach!

Our Rabbis teach us that there are 613 commandments, mitzvot, in the Torah. There are many ways to divide these commandments: positive (You must…) vs negative (You must not…), ritual vs ethical, etc. But by studying this past week’s Torah portion of Ki Tetze, we can see another way to divide the commandments.

While there are some commandments we must perform, some we only perform if the opportunity arises: such as returning a lost object or sending away the mother bird before taking from the nest. We can’t plan to observe these mitzvot, we can only observe them if given the opportunity.

But, there is in addition to these, one mitzvah which falls into neither category.

There is a mitzvah which we can only observe unintentionally.

This is the mitzvah of the forgotten sheaf. According to the Torah, if after harvesting one’s field, one realizes that one has forgotten to take in a sheaf of wheat from the field, one is forbidden to return to claim the sheaf. We must leave it for the needy.

This mitzvah can only be observed unintentionally. One can certainly pro-actively leave a sheaf in the field for the poor- in fact the mitzvah of peah, leaving the corners of the field unharvested for the poor to take is a reflection of this. But, one can not claim to have forgotten a sheaf if that was done on purpose. The mitzvah can only be fulfilled if, in fact, the sheaf was actually forgotten. Thus, only by the unplanned act of forgetting the sheaf can this mitzvah be fulfilled.

So, what does this have to say to those of us who are not farmers?

Perhaps the message here is that sometimes we do good things for people without intending it or even without realizing that we have, in fact, done so. Sometimes, we perform acts which have unintended and unidentified positive effects.

As we approach the High Holy Days, we consider our lives and consider the good and the bad that we have done. It is human nature that we might have performed acts which were harmful to others without realizing it and so we have to atone for sins we know of and those we might not be aware of.

But, we should also take comfort in the possibility that something we did benefitted someone else without our knowing it. We should take some measure of solace in believing that, in fact, we might have metaphorically speaking forgotten a sheaf in the field which ended up benefitting a fellow human being.

This year is the 47th anniversary of a baseball season I will never forget and I know I share that with every New Englander above the age of 55. It was the year of the Impossible Dream, the year the Boston Red Sox shocked the baseball world by winning the American League Pennant after so many years of frustration and embarrassing play. What a season it was.

There were many fantastic moments in that season: Billy Rohr almost pitching a no-hitter in his first major league start, going 8 and 2/3 innings before giving up a base hit with the first out of the 9th coming on a tremendous catch by Carl Yastrzemski; the Sox coming back from an 8-0 deficit to beat the Angels 9-8; Jose Tartabull throwing Ken Berry of the White Sox out at home plate to end a 2-1 victory and two wins against the Twins in the last two games to secure the pennant.

But, there was one night at Fenway Park that was excruciatingly sad- and I was there, 47 years ago last night.

The Red Sox were playing the Angels and in the lead when Tony Conigliaro came up to bat in the 5th inning. Tony C was one of the most popular Sox players, especially among the younger fans. Handsome, muscular, young and quite the “man about town”, he was the epitome of the young sports idol. He even had recorded a 45 rpm rock and roll record as a singer (one side was called “Playing the Field”). He was a power hitter who had reached 100 home runs at an earlier age than any other player in American League history. He had it all.

We were sitting in the bleachers that night and I distinctly remember looking down at my scorecard as Jack Hamilton of the Angels threw the ball to the plate. I remember hearing an odd noise and looking up saw Tony Conigliaro lying on the ground motionless. The ballpark was silent. All of the excitement of the pennant race and all of the fun of the game was gone in that one horrible moment. I remember people who saw Tony get hit in the face saying that they thought he had been killed. Apparently, many of his teammates feared so as well.

He was lifted carefully onto a stretcher and carried off. He survived with damage to his vision and the Sox went on to win the pennant but the memory of that night stayed with the team and its fans.

Tony Conigliaro actually made a comeback two years later and played rather well for the Sox but his eyesight worsened again. He even came back once again briefly in 1975, ironically the next Red Sox pennant year but he only played a few games.

He died in 1990 after suffering a heart attack and a stroke 8 years before.

Some say he would have been one of the greatest hitters of all time. But, we’ll never know.

So, what is the point of this posting? Just another Red Sox memory?

Maybe.

But, maybe there is something more. Maybe it’s just another reminder to cherish each day, to make the most of our skills and talents while we can and to realize that no one is invincible.

I will never forget that night. I remember sitting in the back seat on the way home trying to make sense of it all.

I couldn’t figure it out that night and still haven’t and never will.

May he rest in peace and may we all cherish every day.