You can hear my thoughts on the situation in Israel on a special edition of my podcast, Wrestling and Dreaming

You can hear it by going to wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com

This is a summary of the most recent episode of my podcast, Wrestling and Dreaming, which can be heard at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com. : After the posting of this podcast, we heard the news of the terrible tragedy in Israel yesterday on Lag B’omer. May those who mourn be comforted and may those who were injured find healing and peace. May their families find comfort in in the prayers and expressions of sympathy from our people and people throughout the world. I will post further thoughts on this tragedy at a later time.

One of the most important principles of Jewish tradition is the inherent value of each human being. We are each created “in the image of God” and there are many Jewish texts which address the idea of the equality of each person.

The most classic expression of this idea is found in the section of Mishna Sanhedrin which discusses the warnings given to individuals who are about to testify in a capital case. Before the witnesses were allowed to give their testimony, the rabbis/judges challenged them with reminders that they could only speak about what they themselves had seen. Circumstantial evidence or assumptions were not to be considered.

Then, the judges would give several midrashic interpretations of a section in the Genesis creation story. Why is it, they would ask, that God created one human being in the beginning? Several answers were given.

First, they stressed that no one should ever be able to say: “My ancestor is greater than your ancestor”. Then, they would say this demonstrated God’s greatness and power in that we are all stamped with the same die, yet all look different. They would teach that each person should be able to say: “The world was created for my sake” which means each is an irreplaceable part of the universe. Finally, they would teach the famous expression: “One who saves a single life is considered as if one saved an entire world.”

It is a fundamental statement of Judaism that all human beings are equal.

If that is the case, can those who say: “I won’t say “Black Lives Matter” but rather will say: “All Lives Matter” ground that opinion in Jewish tradition?

Yes they can. But the answer is not sufficient.

I believe it is essential that we say these words: “Black Lives Matter” even given the principle of equality in Judaism.

Let me illustrate with a story.

Many years ago, a Christian minister made the national news when he said: “God Almighty does not hear the prayers of a Jew.”

Needless to say, this was a shocking, divisive, insulting statement.

Very soon after I read that story, I approached a Evangelical Christian minister at an interfaith meeting and asked him: “Do you think God hears the prayers of a Jew?”

His response was: “God hears all prayers.”

I was satisfied with that response, but only for a few minutes. When I thought about it, I realized that his answer was, in its own way, insulting. Even if, as I believe to be true, he intended to be inclusive and to say that God does hear the prayers of a Jew, he did not honor my question or the reason I asked it. I wanted to hear him say the words that would touch my heart. How much different it would have been if he had used my words and acknowledged them and honored them: “Yes, God hears the prayers of a Jew.”

There is no question that there is systemic racism in this nation- in housing, education, finance and in so many areas. We know there are serious questions about racial bias and discrimination in law enforcement, policing and the legal system. These problems will not be solved by words. Action is needed.

But words do inspire us to action and the words we say matter.

As I see it, Americans are being challenged, and appropriately so, by the black community to state clearly that Black Lives Matter. And even if we intend to be completely inclusive by saying; “All lives matter”, we are not answering the question that is being asked. We are not responding to the challenge with the respect and the dignified answer that is deserved.

So, even though our tradition would say that “all lives matter”, in this place and at this time, with the 400 year history of bigotry and persecution, with the horrendous history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation and all of the pain that people of color have suffered in this nation and do suffer to this day, it is not enough to fall back on the universal. We must be specific and respond to the black community with the words they are appropriately asking us to say, to believe and to act on: “Yes, Black Lives Matter”.

May we work towards the day when in fact everyone in this nation will take equality so much for granted that no one of any community will need to hear their own community singled out but will be able to take comfort in the universal foundational principle of our faith: each of us is equal and of infinite worth.

This piece is based on my podcast posting for the week of March 1. You can hear the podcast at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com

The story of the Golden Calf, which we read in this week’s Torah portion of Ki Tissa is a fascinating story. The easiest way to understand the story is that the Hebrew people ignored all the warnings against idolatry, expressed a lack of faith in and a lack of gratitude for God who had brought them out of Egypt and deserved to be punished severely for their actions.

There may be some truth to that. But, it is also possible to read the story differently by looking carefully at the words of the Torah.

The people approach Aaron with the concern that “this man Moses” has disappeared. The Torah says Moses was “delayed” in coming down the mountain and the people panic. They have lost the physical focus that proved to them that God is still with them. There was no thunder from Sinai and no Moses that could help them sense the presence of an unseen God. So, we perhaps can understand their panic.

So Aaron fashioned this calf from their gold jewelry.

Being satisfied with seeing the calf and believing that it represented the fact that God was still with them would have been wrong but could have been justified. But, they turned this symbol into an idol by dancing in front of it and celebrating it. That is what made Moses so angry that he slammed the Tablets of the law to the ground, shattering them. And that is what turned the calf into an idol.

There is a fine line between a symbol and an idol and it is a line that the Torah and even later Jewish tradition didn’t always appreciate when it lashed out against idol worship. But, when a symbol crosses that fine line and becomes an object of worship, it becomes a rejection of a belief in one unseen God.

Several years ago, I delivered a Rosh Hashana sermon about idolatry and raised several examples in Jewish life today of objects or ideals which were perilously close to become objects of our worship. The first object that I considered was the Torah scroll.

The Torah scroll is the most important symbol in the synagogue. Its words define our mission as a people and our responsibilities as human beings. And, that is precisely the point. The words of the Torah, not the scroll, are the essential.

So, while we should respect the Torah scroll and follow the guidelines of our tradition as to its proper use, we shouldn’t raise the Torah to the status of an object to be revered for its physical form.

And that brings up the issue of kissing the Torah when it is paraded around the Congregation. How close is this to “idolatry”?

I would argue that a simple show of respect for the Torah, standing as it is brought around the sanctuary is sufficient. But, for so many generations, our people have engaged in the tradition of kissing the Torah with the fringe of a Tallit or a siddur or, in some cases, physically kissing the scroll directly.

One could argue that kissing the Torah is not idol worship and in principle, I agree. But, watching people push other aside to rush to the aisle to kiss the Torah or seeing the disappointment and anger if the Torah hasn’t been brought close enough to them to kiss it has always been disturbing to me and I find myself thinking of the Golden Calf as people celebrated it not as a symbol but as an object of worship.

So, in that sermon on idolatry, while I didn’t urge people not to kiss the Torah, I asked to them to make it less critical: to kiss the Torah simply when it was easy to do so but to do so with care and to understand the ultimate importance of the words it contains. I chastised people for kissing the Torah and then ignoring the reading and for dancing with the Torah at Simchat Torah and then not showing up at the synagogue for Shavuot, the holiday dedicated to Torah study.

I minimized the importance of kissing the Torah.

I stand by those words.

But, speaking from the perspective of 2021, I think I overstated my case.

I have to admit it. I deeply miss kissing the Torah.

I love our services on “zoom” and am so grateful for the opportunity to pray with a community on Shabbat morning when it is not safe to gather together.

But, there are things that I miss.

I miss the handshakes and Shabbat hugs.

I miss kibitzing at the kiddush over special Shabbat treats.

I miss walking home from Shul (walking closely without masks).

And, I miss kissing the Torah.

I don’t feel abandoned like our ancestors did. I have plenty of proof of God’s presence in the world around me.

But, I do feel like I have lost one of the focus points of my faith. Seeing the Torah scroll and, more importantly for me, reading from the Torah scroll is a physical connection with Sinai that I miss terribly. I can not wait until it is safe to hold the yad, the Torah pointer, on the scroll during the symbolic recreation of the giving of the Torah that we engage in each Shabbat morning when we take the Torah from the Ark and read it publicly before the congregation.

I never thought I could miss such a simple (and borderline idolatrous) ritual as much as I do.

But, I miss that kiss.

                  

         In last week’s episode of my podcast Wrestling and Dreaming (wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com), I shared what I consider to be my favorite traditional Torah commentary. I find it to be astounding. 

         The text is found in the commentary entitled the “Kli Yakar”, a work by Rabbi Shlomo Luntschitz from the end of the sixteenth century. He comments on a series of verses in Parashat Yitro in which God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel that God “brought them from Egypt on eagles wings and brought them to Me”. God then says that if the people observe the commandments and listen to God’s voice, the people of Israel would be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. 

         Rabbi Luntschitz writes that these verses show a progression of the relationship between the people of God. Interpreting the phrase: “a kingdom of priests”, he concludes by saying that God is telling the people that they would eventually be, as it were, “kings over Me”.  

         I find that commentary so powerful and shared my thoughts on what it could possibly mean in the podcast. In brief, I think that it means that human beings determine the extent of God’s involvement in the day-to-day world. It is our responsibility to bring the values that we identify with God into the life of our world. In that way, we have the ultimate power to determine God’s presence in the world. I hope you will listen to the more complete version of my thoughts podcast and I would love to hear your reaction.

         This week’s podcast will be posted on Thursday and in it, I discuss another of my favorite texts.

         This text, a legal discussion from the Talmud, is not as challenging as the comment from the Kli Yakar but it is one of my favorites because I think it subtly raises and issue which all of struggle with in our daily lives. 

         One of my goals in the podcast is to show meaningful traditional Jewish texts can be and these two completely different types of texts are examples of the challenge these texts can provide for us as we seek to live more meaningful lives. 

         I hope you will listen to the podcast and I would love to hear your thoughts. 

I hope that most of you who read this page are aware of my podcast entitled: Wrestling and Dreaming. You can hear it at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com or other sources for podcasts. 

Occasionally, I will post to this page a brief summary of the content of the podcast. I hope you will listen to the podcasts to hear my thoughts in their entirety.

This week, my topic was unity: a word very much in the news in our nation.

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Beshalach, we read that God did not lead the people along the way of the Philistines because God was afraid that the people would encounter a war and desire to return to Egypt. 

I gave a midrashic interpretation to one of the phrases in that passage which I felt could be read to emphasize God’s concern that the people might abandon any unity which they felt upon leaving Egypt if they faced a crisis. 

I then discussed the fact that this is, in a sense, counterintuitive to what would be ideal behavior. It should be at times of crisis that we pull together, that unity is strengthened to face the crisis and shared some thoughts on our nation’s situation with COVID.

I hope you will listen to the podcast and wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom. 

I have posted several Facebook postings concerning the events of January 6, 2021 and I wanted to share them here for those not on Facebook. They are presented here in chronological order as I posted them.

1/6

And now President Trump says: “No violence” The utter chutzpah of this man to spend four years trashing our most sacred institutions, and then refusing to concede the election and encouraging people to fight against the legitimate election results by spreading phony conspiracy theories and then trying to take the moral high road. This is all on him. It is an inevitable result of the obscenities of the past four years. It is the saddest day I have seen in this country in my entire life and who knows where it goes from here.

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Thank you President elect Biden. This is what we needed to hear and how it needed to be said. Thank you for giving us another glimpse of the sanity, clear thinking and courage that you will bring to the office of the Presidency. May you have the strength to hold onto this vision for years to come.

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1/7

In this week’s episode of my podcast, I discuss a phrase in this week’s Torah portion which has always fascinated me. Before Moses kills the Egyptian who is striking a Hebrew, the Torah says that “Moses looked here and there and saw that there was no eesh, no person.” This phrase can be understood in different ways leading to different lessons.

I recorded and uploaded this podcast last weekend. But, some of the points I raised should be considered in light of yesterday’s events. Among them is the idea reflected in Pirke Avot: “In a place where there are no mentsches, no human beings, strive to be a human being.” While the images and echoes of yesterday’s horrific attack on our country and the chaos of the past four years are still very much in our minds, we should also take time to recognize those who have stood up for justice, for compassion and for the true ideals upon which this nation has been built. There have been heroes who have spoken the truth and acted honorably during these chaotic times.

And, while being a president requires more than just compassion and vision, they are irreplaceable parts of what it means to be a true leader. In that spirit, President elect Biden showed once again yesterday how deeply he understands the need for turning down the volume, speaking quietly but firmly and always keeping the values of this nation paramount in what he says and does. None of us knows what the Biden/Harris administration will accomplish but we are about to enter a new day in this nation and I believe the president-elect will set the tone for a renewal of what our country should stand for. I pray for calm today and everyday and words and actions which can help the United States regain its place as a nation committed to the goal of justice and respect for all and a better and more secure world. You can hear my podcast at wrestlinganddreaming.podbean.com

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1/7

It is definitely my inclination (and I think it is a good idea in general) to react to an event like yesterday’s with relief that it is over and to find a glimpse of hope for the future. But, then after that deep breath, it is essential to look more critically at some of the issues that we must confront in looking ahead.

First, I agree with all of those who say that while President Trump and some of his closest advisors and supporters are to blame for inciting the protestors yesterday, the ideas and the attitudes that were reflected in the protests began before this administration and will remain long after Jan 20. President Trump gave them legitimacy in a more blatant way than previous presidents did but he is not the first to use language and take actions which inspire hate filled individuals to feel empowered. Still, from the very beginning of his candidacy, his continued statements which fueled actions of this kind were clear and unmistakeable. But, those attitudes are still going to remain.

One of the best statements I heard yesterday was from a commentator quoting Winston Churchill: “Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry”. This administration will come to an end on Jan 20, if not sooner, but the ideologies of hatred and bigotry and radical nationalism will still be there and will have to be confronted. This movement is fueled by President Trump but it has enough fuel without him at the head.

Secondly, the reality which so many have raised and occurred to so many of us yesterday must be addressed clearly. Why were these individuals able to get access to the capitol building? Why did we see pictures of police and guards stepping aside or smiling with the protestors (even taking pictures with them). Why were there so few arrests? The contrast between the peaceful black lives matter protest in June outside the White House which was broken up with tear gas and this atrocity yesterday could not be more clear and speaks again to the issues of racial inequality and injustice in this country. How could a black lives matter flag be deemed offensive and “anti-American” while those carrying confederate flags were told by the president; “We love you”?

These issues will not go away now that the horror of yesterday has passed. I’m glad we can breathe a sigh of relief but once we do that, we have to confront these issues which are not going to disappear with the end of this administration.

            As I am writing this, the sun is just coming up. There is a faint light in the Eastern Sky with a bank of clouds silhouetted right near the horizon. It is going to be a beautiful sunrise.

            I love watching the sky during the day and especially at night. I consider myself a serious “armchair astronomer”. I can recognize a few of the notable stars and constellations but despite the fact that I have an app on my tablet that tells me what I am looking at, I am usually at a loss to use it properly and prefer just looking at the vastness of the nighttime sky and marveling at the stars as a whole.

            I find looking at the nighttime sky to be the best way I can imagine to combine my fascination with science with my spiritual yearnings. I’ve written extensively on this over the years and I continue to be inspired by the beauty of the heavens.

            As do many, I follow with great interest and anticipation the news of upcoming astronomical events and prepare myself to witness them in person if at all possible.

            But the fact is, as I lamented to a friend last evening, I have a less than positive track record when it comes to actually seeing the “big events”.

            Some of this has to do with where I live. Michigan is notorious for cloudy nights and I can’t tell you how many great moments we’ve missed because of clouds. And even when the weather seems like it is going to cooperate, something else might come up: fog, for example. 

            Back in the 1997, I woke up our four-year-old son in the middle of the night to go to see Comet Haley-Bopp at a special program set up by the University of Michigan astronomy department. It was a beautifully clear night. But shortly after we got into the car, a fog bank rolled in and I couldn’t even see well enough to drive to the site of the program, let alone see the comet. I remember that my comment at the time was: “They saw it from the rooftops of Manhattan, for God’s sake, and we couldn’t see it out here”.

            But I can’t blame the weather every time. Sometimes, I go out at the wrong time, look in the wrong place, decide it isn’t worth driving into the countryside where it is really dark or just don’t have the patience to search for what it is that I am supposed to be seeing. I often walk away disappointed.

            That brings us to this week. 

            I know many of you saw the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter and many of you saw it here in Michigan. 

I didn’t. 

            On Sunday evening, I noticed a slight break in the clouds, but it didn’t seem sufficient to see the conjunction. So, I stayed home only to find out later that many did see it.

            Monday evening, the “big night” for the conjunction, was miserably cloudy. The pictures online were extraordinary and better than I would have seen without a telescope of course, but they were still just pictures.

            And then last night, after an overcast day, the sky started to clear and I tried again but couldn’t find a good spot to see the Southwestern horizon and then noticed the clouds coming back and I gave up. An hour later, I got a text from a friend: “Did you see it? Wasn’t it beautiful?” 

            I went back outside but it was too late.

            So, I missed the once in a lifetime (actually once in many lifetimes) conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Just like I’ve missed many in the past. 

            Each time this happens, waver between being angry at myself and finding comfort in the fact that there will be another chance to see something remarkable sometime in the future and I will just try harder.

            But I am also comforted by remembering that I have seen many remarkable celestial events: my first view of Saturn through a telescope, the closest passage of Mars to the Earth, Venus’ transit of the sun in 2012, the Perseid meteor shower from one of the “Dark Sky Parks” in Northern Michigan and the solar eclipse of 2017. 

            With that final one, I managed to get a great picture by holding my phone up to the sky while looking down at the ground. I’ve included it here to show I have had some successes.

            But the “ones that got away” continue to frustrate me. Maybe there is a lesson in that for me: that some of the miracles of our universe should be just beyond our reach.

            Meanwhile, the sunrise continues and the sky is a beautiful pink. I made sure to notice it. 

Partial Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017

Ann Arbor, MI

In Jewish tradition, one is taught to pray 3 times a day: evening, morning and afternoon. Of course, one can pray anytime but on a weekday, there are 3 set prayer services, each built around the amida, the silent standing prayer called Hatefilla, the prayer, in Jewish tradition. 

How did our tradition arrive at 3 services: evening, morning and afternoon? Where did the tradition come from?  

I want to share with you three answers to that question from the traditional literature. Each is interesting in its own way and the three, taken together, lead to an elucidating point. 

In the Talmud, we read a statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that the three services are meant to correspond to the three sacrifices made during the day at the Temple.

The Rabbis of the Talmud would have had ample reason to connect prayer to sacrifice. They saw the tradition of prayer as the natural replacement for sacrifice with the destruction of the Temple, if not before, and they wanted to see that prayer carried with it the same sense of obligation and commandment as did sacrifice and that God favored prayer as God had previously favored sacrifice. One support for the idea of the correlation of the frequency of standardized prayer and the sacrificial tradition is the fact that on Shabbat and on holidays, we add a fourth service, the Musaf, Additional service, meant to correspond to the additional sacrifice made at the Temple on those days.

But, that is only one idea. Here is another idea from the same section of the Talmud: Rabbi Yose ben Hanina teaches that the services were instituted by the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Three patriarchs, three services.

The text teaches that Abraham instituted the shaharit, morning service, and the proof is that the Torah says that Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place in which he had stood before God.

Isaac, says the text, was out in the field as evening was approaching lasuach, which is explained as meaning: to meditate. Isaac meditated in the field near evening and that is the source for mincha, the afternoon service. 

And regarding Jacob, the Torah says: vayifga bimakom, he reached a particular place as the sun had set and he had a confrontation with the place, or a confrontation with God. That confrontation resulted in the dream of the ladder and, since it took place at night, it proves Jacob instituted ma’ariv, the evening service. 

In addition to wanting to show that prayer is a matter of tradition from the very beginnings of our people, this text does something else as well. It is not a coincidence perhaps that Abraham institutes the morning service. After all, Abraham is the one who was said to have brought light to a darkened world. It is not a coincidence that Jacob institutes the evening service since the two serious spiritual confrontations in his life; the ladder dream and the wrestling match with the angel both happen at night. Thus, the times for the services reflect the individuals who are, in this legend, said to have created them. 

Finally, let me share one last tradition. Maybe the origin of the 3 prayers is not to be found in the sacrifices or in stories about the patriarchs. Some sources teach that the services were designed to respond to our needs. We say ma’ariv to pray that we get through the night. We say shaharit to thank God for getting us through the night and we say mincha to say to God that while we are happy that the last night has passed, we are anxious about the night to come even during the course of the day.

It seems to me that these three traditions are not mutually exclusive but can stand together and point to three major reasons for formalized, standardized prayer. Some look at prayer as an obligation, a mitzva, similar to the sacrifices. Some look at prayer as a tradition, passed down from generation to generation and reflecting who we are as Jews. Some look at prayer as the natural language and longing of the human being. 

While it is easy to say that one of these reasons supercedes the others, different individuals may choose a different reason as paramount. The fact is, however, that each of us needs to find each element in prayer at one time or another.

If prayer were not seen as an obligation, we would only pray when we felt like it.

If prayer were not seen as tradition, we wouldn’t be able to find common ground with other Jews throughout the world.

If prayer were not seen as the reflection of the yearnings of our soul, we would give up on it entirely. 

Thus, we have to try to balance all three, and perhaps other reasons as well, for engaging in this practice which can lead us to live more sanctified lives and keep ourselves moving in the right direction in life. 

We should be open to finding different reasons to pray throughout our life or even through the same day. Perhaps that is why it is not just a coincidence that there are three reasons and three services, one reason for each service. Life usually doesn’t work out that neatly but I think our tradition is sending us a subtle message; we can always find reasons to pray. 

I have been a fan of TV game shows ever since I was a little kid. They obviously made a great early impression on me as some of the shows I distinctly remember watching were only on TV for a few months back in 1960 or 1961 when I was 5 or 6 years old. But, pictures and stories on the Internet have confirmed my vague memories of what the sets looked like and how the games were played.

On one of our trips to New York to visit cousins in the mid ’60s, our family went to watch 3 game shows in the studio. We watched Say When with Art James, The (original) Price is Right with Bill Cullen and a show called Who Do You Trust, starring Johnny Carson. Seeing the shows was much more interesting to me than visiting the Empire State Building.

I’ve had my favorites over the years. I loved (and still love) the ’70s version of The Match Game. I love the reruns of old episodes of To Tell the Truth and What’s My Line.

And, of course, there’s Jeopardy.

I am not one of those who watch Jeopardy every night. 7:30 is not always the best time for me to sit and watch TV but I watch it whenever I can and I often regret not watching it more often or setting the DVR to record it.

But, every morning, I check out the Jeopardy Clue of the Day in the New York Times (most often that evening’s Final Jeopardy) and am always thinking about the time I almost got on Jeopardy.

Actually, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I was in California in 1987 and decided to try out for the show. I was staying with a friend in San Diego so I took the train to LA and found my way to the studio just in time to take the written test with a group of 99 other people.

I thought the test was relatively easy but I had no idea how I stacked up against the others as only 10 people would be chosen to continue to the “next round”. Sure enough, I was one of the 10 and was invited to play sample games in a round robin style with the other 9.

I failed miserably.

Whether it was nerves or not being able to figure out the timing of the buzzer, I was the first one invited to leave and try another time. I must admit that I was relieved. I realized that deep down, I really didn’t want to be on the show, I just wanted to say I tried out and made it that far.

The bottom line is I’d rather watch the show at home and dazzle anyone who’s around with how many questions I can come up with. But I know full well that if the spotlights were on, I would either freeze up or have to confront categories like Opera, British Royalty or 21st century music, any of which would doom me to failure.

All of these thoughts are, of course, in memory of Alex Trebek who was just so perfect as the host of the show. At times he could seem a bit patronizing especially if people didn’t know answers to “easy” questions but the vast majority of the time, he presented a steady and quiet personality that didn’t detract from the real “stars” of the show: the contestants.

I am certainly going to make sure to watch Jeopardy over the next few weeks to see his final taped episodes. His courage in fighting Pancreatic Cancer with such grace and such determination is an inspiration to all and he deserves all the accolades he is receiving.

I can’t end this piece without posting a few Jeopardy Answers in the style of Final Jeopardy. One was actually used, the others are ones I would love to see if I ever do get on the show (highly unlikely) as I’m ready with the answers. You’ll have to scroll down to get the questions.

Here’s my all time favorite Final Jeopardy answer. I thought it was incredibly creative and while I did figure it out, it took me more than 30 seconds. None of the contestants got it right that night.

The category is Number 1 songs.

A U.S. No. 1 in 1977, it was performed the night before Carl XVI Gustaf’s 1976 wedding to Silvia Sommerlath.

Then, here’s one that’s too easy especially if you’re from Michigan.

The category is Famous Names

This ship sank in a gale in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975

Finally, one last one:

The category is US States

This is the only state never to record a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

ANSWERS DIRECTLY BELOW

Answers;

What is Dancing Queen?

What is the Edmund Fitzgerald?

What is Hawaii?

I could share many more but these will suffice. May the memory of Alex Trebek be for a blessing. May we remember his grace, his courage and his constant presence in our lives, whether we watched each night or not.

I have a special relationship with today’s Torah portion, Parashat Noach.

I delivered my senior sermon at the Jewish Theological Seminary on Parashat Noach, 39 years ago this Shabbat. 

So I have read this parasha many, many times. But, this year, as I was reading through the parasha, I saw something that I had never seen before. That’s not surprising as the experience of finding something in a Torah portion that you didn’t see before makes Torah study a constant source of inspiration. 

In the part of the story describing Noah’s sending out of the dover to see if the waters had abated, we read (Genesis 8:9): But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark.

One aspect of this verse stunned me.

Compare it to two other verses in the story.

When Noah’s family enters the ark, we read: “Vayavo-oo el hatayva”, “they came to the ark”. When the animals arrive, we read “ba-oo el Noach”, they came to Noah.

But here, Noah reaches out and brings the dove in to the ark.

I am amazed by this verse. I am amazed because this act could be read as a gesture of compassion. Noah reaches out his hand and tenderly brings the dove back into the ark to him.

 Why would this be so remarkable? It is remarkable because Noah shows absolutely no compassion or kindness anywhere else in the story. For many of the rabbis, this was the basis for significant criticism of Noah. How could Noah merely accept God’s decision to destroy the world? Where was his compassion for his fellow human beings? Why didn’t he take up their case? Why didn’t he pray to God to show compassion?

The 16^th century commentator, Rav Moshe Alshich gives a commentary which I have loved since I read it in preparation for that senior sermon. The Alshich says that when the Torah describes Noah by saying: et haElohim hithalech Noach, “Noah walked with God”, it should be read as a criticism meaning that Noah only walked with God. He didn’t walk with people. All of his attention and all of his focus was on God. The Alshich imagines that after the flood, Noah complained to God about God’s lack of compassion and God says simply: “Where were you when I threatened to destroy the world? You only thought of yourself”. 

And truly, throughout the story, Noah seems devoid of feeling, showing no emotional connection with his family or the animals. 

Except, as I read it, this one time. 

But maybe it isn’t really there this time either. 

Perhaps I read compassion into the verse because I find it so hard to believe that a human being, especially one in a position of vital importance, could possibly show no compassion, no empathy and no emotional connection. It’s so hard for me to believe that that would be the case. Perhaps I wanted desperately to find a glimmer of human sensitivity. 

But the truth is that even if this is an act of compassion, it’s not enough. We shouldn’t have to look so hard to find compassion in another human being. 

If compassion is important, then it should be evident clearly and continuously. One should regularly see acts and hear words of compassion. There are other qualities that are important in human beings but none more important than compassion. 

So, you might ask as some have: why would God choose Noah to do this job? Maybe some would say that God chose Noah because compassion would have gotten in the way of the important work he had to do. I considered that answer but, in the end, I don’t buy it. I’m going to side with the Alshich. I acknowledge that there are certain specific situations where misplaced or excessive compassion can be harmful. But compassion must be considered as a significant factor in every decision we make.   

Or, maybe God chose Noah hoping beyond hope he would show compassion when put to the test. If so, Noah failed because bringing in the dove, even if it was an act of compassion was far too little and far too late. 

So, in the end I can’t answer that question as to why God chose Noah for this role. I can’t speak for God. 

But I can speak as a human being and say that while there are many qualities in a human being that are important, in the end, the ability to act with compassion and live a life of empathy is absolutely essential in order to do our part in protecting our world from chaos and destruction.