Rabbi's Blog

Gun violence: Advocating for change

2013-04-19T14:54:00Z

After weeks of conversation and reflection about guns and violence following the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Congress is finally taking up the issue with debate in the Senate this week and next. This issue is of particular urgency for us in the metropolitan area of Philadelphia, where we see again and again the toll that gun violence takes on individuals and families. Although we may not all agree on every measure that needs to be taken, we can all agree that the status quo of children and adults dying in our streets is unacceptable. I urge you to be in touch with your senators and representatives in Washington to communicate to them your views. Polls show an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians support measures such as universal background checks, but Congress will not act if it does not hear that majority demanding action. Now is the time for us to raise our voices for change.

Hoshana Raba: Last stop on the road to change

2012-10-05T14:54:00Z

This Sunday we celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Hoshana Raba. Hoshana Raba is the seventh and last day of Sukkot, and the services that morning combine melodies and practices from weekdays, the High Holidays, and the Festivals. The climax of the Hoshana Raba service comes near the end, when we take up a bunch of willow branches and beat them on the floor of the synagogue so that the leaves separate from them and fall to the ground.

Why? Mystical tradition relates that while our fate in the coming year is written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur, it is on Hoshana Raba that God gives the decree to the angels to be delivered into the world. Before God hands over each decree, God checks to see if the person in question has perhaps, at the last moment, made a change for the good, so that the decree can also be changed if need be. Hoshana Raba represents our last chance to change our direction in the coming year, to add a note, an addendum, to the fate written for us. When we beat the willow branches, the leaves that fall off represent the old ways that we are leaving behind to allow us to move in new and better direction.

May we take this opportunity to check in with the changes to which we committed ourselves throughout the High Holidays and to recommit ourselves to change. Then we will have added a pitka tova - Aramaic for a “good note” - to the fate we have written for ourselves in the coming year.

Rosh Hashanah follow-up: What you can do

2012-09-21T14:54:00Z

On Rosh Hashanah I spoke of the mitzvah of protecting and even loving the stranger, and I urged us to reach out to those who are unlike ourselves, to see them not as “them” but as part of “us.” You can read my talk as well as other talks from the holiday on our website by clicking here.

Many of you have asked me what you can do, so as part of our preparation for Yom Kippur I wanted to give some ideas:

Interfaith Hospitality Network: For over 10 years GJC has been hosting homeless families in rotation with other faith communities through the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN), an agency directed by our own past president Rachel Falkove. This has proven to be a wonderful way for volunteers to connect with people in a difficult situation on a personal level. We are always looking for new volunteers to help! For more information or to volunteer, please contact GJC’s IHN coordinator Milt Cohen at (215) 247-6186 or cohen_milton@hotmail.com.

Food Stamps: The Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) has been encouraging more people to take the Food Stamp Challenge to gain a better understanding of the program and its impact on those benefiting from it. More recently, this effort has been headed by our own Rabbi Emeritus Leonard Gordon. For more information about the Food Stamp Challenge, click here. For more information on the issue of food stamps and hunger, a wonderful source is the Food Research Action Coalition (FRAC) website.

General Assistance: Ever since the state’s General Assistance program was cut out of the state budget, a coalition called PA Cares for All has been working to restore the program and advocate for those affected. You can find out more on their website by clicking here.

Voter ID: The Pennsylvania Voter ID Coalition, whose members include the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia among other community groups, has been working to educate the public about the Voter ID law and to help those who are most affected - particularly the elderly, the disabled, and the poor who are most likely to be missing the required ID and most likely to have trouble acquiring it. You can find out more information about the issue on the Committee of Seventy website. If you would like to volunteer to help, please call the Coalition at (215) 848-1283; the contact person is Carl Butler. In addition, our Social Action Committee has been working to identify and contact GJC members who may not have the required ID. If you would like to volunteer to help in that effort, please email Andrea Moselle at amoselle@comcast.net.

Facing the New Year: Reuniting the human and the divine

2012-09-14T14:54:00Z

The ancient rabbis taught that Rosh Hashanah was the day on which the world was created, the moment when all was pure potential and God and humanity were completely united. Of course, this perfect union did not last. Humans had their own ideas and plans, and God’s path was not always their first choice. Even when God tried to strike deals with humanity, as in the covenant God made with the Israelites, humans often strayed quite far from the unity we speak about in the Sh’ma. So on Rosh Hashanah, we have a chance to reunite with God. Like old friends who have not seen each other in a while, we acknowledge the distance between us and take steps to bridge the gap. We reiterate the value of our relationship, and we pledge to be closer in the coming year. In this way, we try to recapture the pure potential of the day of creation, when everything was new and anything was possible. May our time together, our prayers and singing, and the meditations of our hearts this Rosh Hashanah open up for us the potential of the New Year and all of the joy it can hold. L’shanah tovah!

Selichot: The beginning of forgiveness

2012-09-07T14:54:00Z

After Shabbat, we gather together for Selichot, the moment that marks our serious turn toward forgiveness as we approach the new year. On the High Holidays, we often speak of ourselves as the ones needing pardon and God as the one who forgives, but Selichot focuses us on the human world, where we are often the ones who need to forgive others, just as they forgive us. We all carry the pain of others’ deeds with us, and we know that those who may have hurt us may never ask us for forgiveness. Still, when we forgive, even unasked, we shed the chains that shackle us to the past and free ourselves to chart a new course for the future. On Selichot, we make havdalah, making a distinction between what has passed and the promise of what is to come. Then we sing and pray and meditate together, with beautiful music and calm silence, seeking the strength and the courage to open up the lines of communication, even in the privacy of our own hearts, and to begin the act of forgiving others and finding forgiveness for ourselves. May our turning together be blessed.

Labor Day: The holiness of work

2012-08-31T14:54:00Z

Shabbat, the cessation from labor and the pursuit of rest, peace, and enlightenment one day a week, is one of Judaism's great contributions to the world. Yet we should not underestimate the importance Jewish tradition ascribes to work. The Torah teaches: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work..." [Exodus 20:9], indicating that it is as much a commandment to work six days of the week as it is to rest on Shabbat.

The ancient rabbis saw work - and they had in mind mostly manual labor - as a complement to Torah study, thinking that each activity should inform the other and that neither should exist on its own. They were worried that the realm of earning a living and the realm of considering what makes for a moral and holy life would be separated, the first confined to the six days of the week and the second confined to Shabbat. Instead, they taught us to take as much care about the morality and holiness of our work days as we do with our rest day. This idea that work itself can be holy carried over to the kibbutz movement in Israel, as shown by this picture of workers on Kibbutz Givat Hashloshah in the 1930's.

As we in the U.S. enjoy a long weekend of vacation in the name of labor, we should also take time to think about the morality and holiness of work in our own lives and in the lives the people who surround us. Are our work lives fair and just? Are those we work for and with adequately compensated for their efforts? Are we concerned not just with the "bottom line" of our businesses but also with their capacity for doing good in the world in ways not captured in dollars and cents?

Even the ancient rabbis knew that work would occupy far more hours of our lives than rest and contemplation ever would. So we are even more obligated to find the capacity for holiness that those long hours of work hold for each of us and for those with whom and for whom we work.

Teshuvah: Re-orientation

2012-08-24T14:54:00Z

Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav taught:

Teshuvah has three aspects: seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears, and understanding in the heart [based on Isaiah 6:10]. People who seek repentance must use their eyes to look towards the ultimate goal and purpose of this world. They must concentrate on this goal with all their heart, resolving to travel there and nowhere else. And they must use their ears to listen carefully to everything that our holy sages said. Then they will be able to return to God. [Likutei Moharan I:6]

In Rebbe Nahman's perhaps radical view, teshuvah is not about bemoaning our sins, feeling shame at our guilt, or filling ourselves with regret. Instead, it is about using all of the abilities of our bodies, minds, and hearts to re-orient ourselves and recalibrate our lives for the coming New Year. Just as on Shabbat we re-focus on the ultimate meaning of our lives that may have become hidden to us during the work week, so too as the High Holidays approach we can re-focus ourselves on a larger scale, breaking through the haze of daily activities that may have obscured for us what our lives are really about. We can resolve to keep our focus in the coming year, and we can use the abilities and resources within ourselves and within the teachings of Jewish tradition to re-set the trajectory of our lives. May Rebbe Nahman's teaching inspire us to move beyond guilt, shame, and regret toward true change this High Holiday season.

L’shanah tovah tikateivu?? Already??

2012-08-17T14:54:00Z

It is only the month of Elul, and here I am already saying “May you be inscribed for a good year,” the greeting we normally associate with Rosh Hashanah. Aren’t the High Holidays a month away? Well, yes, but there is a tradition that from the first day of Elul one signs letters and ends conversations with this phrase. We all need to be reminded that the work of preparing for the New Year - especially the inner work of introspection and setting the course for change - takes time. Yom Kippur is not the beginning of the season of repentance but its culmination. The real work begins now. And that work starts with the recognition that (as Rabbi Alan Lew z”l taught) we are not prepared. We thought we would have progressed more in our relationships, we imagined that we would have struggled more successfully with our failings, and we hoped that when we looked back on this year, we would not be as troubled by what we see. And yet, the time has come, again, for us to take an honest look at ourselves so that we can see where we are and where we need to go. Turning is hard work. We are like huge ships thundering through the sea. Once we get off course, it is a great effort to break the momentum and turn back. Yet the earlier we start to turn, the easier it is to correct our course and find a new way. May we all support each other in beginning the turning.

Voter ID

2012-08-10T14:54:00Z

Over 50 years ago, many Jews - including members of GJC - were heavily involved in the civil rights movement that culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In fact, both of these acts were physically drafted at the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center in Washington, DC. That was because the Jewish tradition of justice and equality before the law pushed us to stand with those whose basic rights - including the right to vote - were being denied to them unjustly, just as such rights had been denied to Jews in many lands in the past. With the passage of laws protecting the right to vote, we thought the battle had been won. So it is particularly hard to believe that the most basic of rights in a democracy, the right to vote, is now being attacked again.

The Voter ID law passed by the Pennsylvania legislature and signed by the governor places unreasonable obstacles in the way of those who are trying to exercise this right. Despite claims that this law is intended to prevent voter fraud, the state admits that it cannot point to even one case of in-person voter fraud that would necessitate such a law. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania citizens, registered voters who lack the kind of ID required by the law, will be prevented from voting. And research has shown that the law has a disproportional impact on minority neighborhoods, the elderly, and the poor, who are the citizens least likely to have the required ID.

A court case challenging the constitutionality of this unjust law is in progress, and plans to urge the legislature to repeal the law may be next. But in the meantime, we must act to try to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to vote. Rev. Kevin Johnson, the Pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church, at 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue in North Philadelphia, has called on clergy and congregations of all faiths to join him and his congregation at a rally at his church this Sunday, August 12, at 6:00 PM. Rabbi Lewis and I will be attending this rally and exploring together with other clergy how we can be effective in making sure that justice is served and that our democracy truly represents the voices of all of its citizens. This is not a partisan issue but an issue of basic equality and fairness. So no matter what your political preferences, I hope you will join Rabbi Lewis and myself at the rally on Sunday. Please feel free to be in touch with me to talk about this issue - it is one that should concern us all.

Aufruf season!

2012-08-03T14:54:00Z

Tu B’Av is described as a day of love, and it also marks the end of the summer season in which marriages traditionally do not take place. So it’s perhaps not a surprise that we are looking forward to many aufrufs and marriages in our community, and I wanted to take a moment to offer mazal tov to the couples and their families celebrating aufrufs in the next few weeks. The wonder of two people finding love with each other and committing to create a household and a life together gives us hope for redemption in this often very broken world. This Shabbat, Dorshei Derekh is celebrating the aufruf of Gabe Tabak and Ruthie Brown, and we wish mazal tov to them and to Rabbi Bob Tabak and Ruth Lowe. Next week, Minyan Masorti is celebrating the aufruf of Aaron Rock and Cara Singer, and we wish mazal tov to them and to Ed and Andrea Rock. And on August 18, Minyan Masorti is celebrating the aufruf of Uri Weingarten and Gali Porat, and we wish mazal tov to them and to Wendy Weingarten and Jerry Kutnick. May the joy of these couples and families spread to us all. Mazal tov!

Tish’a B’Av

2012-07-27T14:54:00Z

On Tish’a B’Av we recall the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, tragedy that befell the Jewish people in a particular time and place. But even in the Mishna the ancient rabbis acknowledge that in many ways, the observance of Tish’a B’Av transcends place and time. From the destruction of the Temples, we turn our thoughts back to the decree that the Israelites would have to wander 40 years in the wilderness and forward to the suffering of the rabbinic martyrs, the horrors of the Crusades, the trials of the Inquisition, and the unimaginable losses of the 19th century pogroms and the Holocaust. With each memory comes sadness and even despair as we encounter the depths of the darkest times in Jewish history. But we are also mindful of the ancient teaching that the Messiah, sign of redemption, will be born on Tish’a B’Av. In entering into the memories of the darkness, we find a hint of light and hope. We are still here, we still have the capacity and the obligation to try to transform the world from a place full of atrocities to a place of peace, to move from sinat hinam, baseless or unmotivated hatred, to ahavat hinam, baseless or unmotivated love. May our observance of Tish’a B’Av this year fill us with motivation to come together as a community to do that work.

Bein Ha-Meitzarim: Between the Narrow Places

2012-07-27T14:54:00Z

Today we enter the month of Av, a period when we sit with broken hearts for the string of traumas the Jewish people have faced across generations. We grieve for the excess of sinat chinam in the world, the hatred unleashed that tears apart lives and communities. We have been shaken this week by news of terror and violence in Burgas, Bulgaria and in Aurora, Colorado. We mourn for all those who were murdered. We pray for healing for those who were wounded and for the families who have lost loved ones. We pray that the Holy One will help us to know peace in Israel, in this country and in the world.

Getting to Know You . . .

2012-07-13T14:54:00Z

Thank you for your warm welcome to Philadelphia. It has been warm, indeed, but I am enjoying the gorgeous greenery all around and I am grateful for your support as Yosef and I adjust to life in a new city. It has been wonderful meeting you at GJC and around the neighborhood, and I look forward to getting to know more members of this vibrant and diverse community over the coming weeks and months. I am eager to hear about your experiences as well as your hopes for the community. Feel to be in touch if you would like to set up a time to meet. In the meantime, I hope to see you at Shabbat services or at tomorrow morning's Torah study. Wishing you a restful and meaningful Shabbat.

Welcome Rabbi Annie Lewis!

2012-07-06T14:54:00Z

Rabbi Annie Lewis has now joined us as our new Assistant Rabbi, so please take the opportunity to introduce yourself to her when you can. She is eager to get to know the community she has joined! Rabbi Lewis will be at weekday minyan services this week, and she will be leading the Friday night service and the Charry Service this Shabbat. She will also be joining our other prayer services and minyanim in weeks to come, so you’ll have plenty of chances to meet her. I am excited about praying and learning with her, and I’m sure you will be too. She and her husband Yosef are a wonderful addition to our community.

Respect for Justice and the Rule of Law

2012-07-02T14:54:00Z

Yesterday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court finding the Affordable Care Act to be constitutional was historic and far-reaching. The decision was hailed by many who have long supported health care reform, including the Rabbinical Assembly in a statement you can read here. There is also an excellent summary of what the decision means for all of us as health care consumers that you can read here (it just happens to have been written by my wife, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole).

But perhaps even more important than the ruling itself is the way it was decided. In our Torah portion this week, Moses and Aaron are punished for striking a rock to obtain water for the people. Why? The midrash suggests that their sin as leaders in that moment was forcing the people to respect them rather than to respect the transcendent power of God. While people take on leadership roles in doing divine work, it must always be in the service of bringing respect for transcendent values like justice into the world.

In recent years, the Supreme Court, the highest court of justice in our country, has sometimes been seen and described as a partisan body that mirrors the state of the U.S. by pitting liberals against conservatives to score political points. The Court’s important decision in this case restores our faith that the justices of the court can come together across ideological lines in the service of the transcendent values that are the basis of our system of government. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote, it is not the job of the Court to decide the merits of the law - that is up to the people. Whatever our political positions, we should be grateful for that.

The Story of Tammuz

2012-06-22T14:54:00Z

This week we began the Jewish month of Tammuz, named after the Babylonian god of agriculture and harvest. After the summer solstice, people in the ancient Near East would mourn the death of the god Tammuz as they saw the land drying up and plants dying in the hot, rainless summer months. It was told that the goddess Ishtar journeyed to the underworld to rescue her consort, Tammuz, but she was only able to work out a deal: Tammuz would live six months of the year in the world of men and then would die and spend six months in the underworld before returning to life again. So Tammuz’s death as the summer began was a time of mourning, but it was also a time of looking forward to redemption to come. This ancient story gives us the context for the Jewish calendar, which is also full of mourning in the summer months - mourning for the destruction of the Temples and for all of the other losses of the Jewish people over the ages. And like in ancient times, in the summer we also look forward to the redemptive power of the High Holidays that come at summer’s end. So as we now switch to our summer activities and schedules, may we keep in mind both the losses that we remember at this time of year and the potential for redemption that loss contains. As we say in the evening prayer, “God rolls back light in the face of darkness and darkness in the face of light.”

Respecting the Other

2012-06-15T14:54:00Z

This week’s haftarah reading, like many of these prophetic readings, constitutes a kind of commentary on the Torah reading. In each, we have spies who encounter the “other” in the land of Canaan, but their reactions are quite different and, so are the consequences that ensue for the Israelites. You can read my thoughts on this issue in this week’s Jewish Exponent by clicking here. You won’t be surprised to learn that I argue that entering into that encounter and filling it with respect are key.

We have been working over the past several years to expand our connections to those unlike ourselves in our neighborhood and in our city, and those efforts will continue in the upcoming year as well. Because we are a congregation built on respect for diversity and partnerships across difference, we have a special obligation to bring that model out into our larger community. I invite you to share with me your thoughts about how we can accomplish this goal together.

Protect funds for feeding the hungry!

2012-06-08T14:54:00Z

The U.S. Senate has begun debate on the Farm Bill, a large piece of legislation which includes nutrition and anti-hunger programs, among other things. The proposed legislation includes a $4.5 billion reduction in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps). If this cut goes into effect, 500,000 low-income households will lose an average of $90 in monthly food stamp benefits, leaving already hungry families with even less support. You can learn more about this issue by clicking here.

An amendment has been introduced in the Senate that would restore funding to this important program, which is the backbone of our country’s efforts to feed the hungry. I join with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Food Research & Action Center, and other advocacy groups to urge all of us to contact our senators and ask them to co-sponsor this amendment. Our voices can make a difference to hungry families here in Philadelphia and throughout the country. You can take action by clicking here.

African refugees in Israel discussed this past Sunday at GJC

2012-06-05T14:54:00Z

Those of us who have been following the news from Israel recently know that African refugees in the Jewish state have become a very hot topic, with politicians speaking out and even riots erupting over the issue. American Jewish organizations including the JCPA, the ADL, the Jewish Federations of North America have condemned the violence (you can read more here), and the Masorti movement in Israel has come out strongly in support of the refugees (see their statement here). But this remains a vexing problem in Israel, just as the issue of immigrants has often become a hot topic in the U.S.

This past Sunday at GJC, we had an amazing opportunity to learn about this issue from a member of our community,Emma Giloth (daughter of Anne Shlay), who co-led a group of students on a trip to Israel this spring focused on learning more about the situation of African refugees. Emma and her group spoke with government officials, aid workers, and the refugees themselves, and presented a short video of their trip as well as the insights they gained. I urge you to follow this important issue - ripped from the headlines!

Standing Together at Sinai

2012-05-25T14:54:00Z

As we prepare for Shavuot, the moment of receiving the Torah, it’s good to remember that the ancient rabbis taught that everyone stood together at Mt. Sinai: young and old, men and women, rich and poor, ignorant and learned - all were included. Not only that, all people who were ever to live - including us! - were present at Sinai. And not only that: the midrash teaches that each person understood Torah according his or her own particular capacity, so each heard the divine word slightly differently (Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 12:25). In our own time, we acknowledge that we need to learn from all of those different understandings of Torah. We can’t afford to miss out on any of the Torah that any of us has to offer, no matter who we are.

Rabbi Annie Lewis, our new Assistant Rabbi, touched on this in an exchange with Chancellor Arnie Eisen of JTS in a blog posting, and I encourage you to read what she has to teach about the blessings of inclusivity in Torah learning (scroll down; her words are the second response). In Pirkei Avot, the ancient rabbis ask, “Who is wise?” And they answer, “The one who learns from everyone.” May we all have the wisdom to recognize the learning we need to hear from those around us as we receive Torah together this year at Shavuot.

Mazal tov to Rabbi Annie Lewis!

2012-05-18T14:54:00Z

Yesterday I had the privilege of being present at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York for the ordination of our new Assistant Rabbi, Rabbi Annie Lewis. It was a beautiful and inspiring day, including wonderful words of Torah and gorgeous music. Rabbi Lewis led the mincha service before her ordination, and her lovely voice and heartfelt davening showed the depth of feeling that this moment held for her and for her classmates, 26 new rabbis and 5 new cantors going out into the world to serve the Jewish people. I had the chance to meet Rabbi Lewis’s family, and I was once again struck with how fortunate we are to have this passionate and knowledgeable new Jewish leader joining us at Germantown Jewish Centre in July. Mazal tov to Rabbi Lewis and to her family - and to all of us!

Marriage equality: The time is now

2012-05-11T14:54:00Z

This week’s celebration of Lag Ba’Omer brought marriage into the spring air, as it is a traditional date in the Jewish calendar for weddings. So it was somehow fitting to see the news that President Obama has endorsed marriage equality for same-sex couples. As welcome as this public, highly symbolic announcement may be, we know that we still have much work to do before we rest. GJC has long been a leader in welcoming the full participation of LGBTQ Jews in synagogue life, but we also must recognized that we live in a state whose laws are at odds with our values on this issue. Marriage equality in Pennsylvania seems a distant dream when it still perfectly legal in this state to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Torah teaches us that God created human beings in the divine image - no exceptions. Our respect for our common humanity and inherent worth as divine creations demands that we do more to advocate for equality for all, no matter whom they love. As Martin Luther King famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” May the President’s announcement motivate us to raise our voices to help that arc start to bend.

Installation reflections

2012-05-04T14:54:00Z

As many of you know, my family and I came to Mt. Airy and to GJC 13 years ago in search of a Jewish community we could call our own. We found so much more - friends and teachers, colleagues and mentors, people to play frisbee with and to pray with, to study and argue with, to celebrate and mourn with. Never could I have imagined all of those years ago that I would end up as the rabbi of this incredibly special community that means so much to us. My path to this point has been a unique one, and I am so grateful to all of you who have helped me, taught me, challenged me, and supported me along the way. Thank you for all that we have gone through together and for all that we will experience together in the future that is rising up to meet us. May we always have the strength, the vision, and the trust in each other that we will need for the journey.

Remembering the Holocaust

2012-04-20T14:54:00Z

This week we marked Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah, the day designated for remembering both the tragedy and the heroism of the Holocaust. On Sunday morning we will have our own GJC Yom HaShoah commemoration in front of the Holocaust Scroll in the Charry Lobby, beginning at 9:00 AM with services and continuing at 10:00 AM with a brief ritual and then a presentation by Cherie Goren about her and her family’s experiences. We are lucky to have members of our community who can share their personal experiences with us, allowing us to build up our memory banks and learn their stories as our own. As the years pass and the generation that lived through the Holocaust ages, we have a greater responsibility to remember these stories and to pass them on within and outside our community. May the memories of the Jewish communities that were destroyed and our brothers and sisters who perished be an everlasting blessing and inspiration to us all.

“Let All Who are Hungry Come and Eat”

2012-03-30T14:54:00Z

At our Pesach seders, we symbolically invite all who are hungry to come share the Passover meal with us, but this should not be just an empty gesture. Unless we are actively working to make sure the hungry are being provided with food, we are not truly fulfilling our obligation as a people who have been slaves, who know what it means to go without. I would suggest two ways to put the symbolism of the seder into action this year. First, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia are co-sponsoring a Food Stamp Challenge April 23-29. As you know, my family and I took the Food Stamp Challenge this winter, living on the average daily food stamp benefit for a week, and we found that it opened our eyes to the struggles that many in our city go through just to have enough to eat each day. You can find more information about the Food Stamp Challenge by clicking here. Second, what would it mean if every time we ate, we put a small amount of money toward tzedakah specifically targeted toward programs that feed the hungry, such as Mazon orPhilabundance? Over the year, it could make a significant impact, not only on others but on ourselves. Please consider these and other ways to make our Pesach observance not just an exercise in historical memory but also a way to transform our world in the present. And happy cleaning!

National Day of Unplugging - this Shabbat!

2012-03-21T14:54:00Z

Most of us spend our days connected to a wide variety of machines and devices. From computers to smart phones to iPads, these devices have much to offer us, but they can often overwhelm our ability to quiet ourselves and find peace. Partly for that reason, we have a policy at GJC that such devices may not be used in the building on Shabbat. What if we expanded that to go through all of Shabbat, 25 hours, without being connected electronically? How could that help us reconnect with the people around us? How could it give us a sense of calm and peace? This year we are partnering with Reboot to publicize the National Day of Unplugging this Shabbat, encouraging everyone to refrain from using electronic devices of any kind from sundown to sundown. Please give it a try - and let me know how it goes!

Preparing for Pesach

2012-03-16T14:54:00Z

This week we read the special maftir Torah reading for Shabbat Parah, a passage that reminds us of the need to purify our hearts and our homes in preparation for Pesach. Now is the time to think about cleaning our kitchens, planning our Pesach seders, and getting ready for liberation. Please feel free to be in touch if you would like guidance on choosing haggadot, need advice on issues of cleaning or kashrut for Pesach, or for any other reason. Although this is a busy time of year, we wish each other a “zissen Pesach” - a sweet Passover filled with the blessings of family and freedom.

Purim Torah!

2012-03-09T14:54:00Z

In honor of Shushan Purim, I wanted to share this bit of Purim Torah (parody of traditional text learning) from the Harvonah Memorial Lecture that is delivered each year at GJC on Purim morning. Harvonah, as everyone should know, was one of the eunuchs who serve the King in the megillah, but there is a tradition that Harvonah iszachur latov - “remembered for good.” Why should this be the case? Glad you asked! The Harvonah Memorial Foundation has found the original manuscripts of the relevant (yet unfortunately non-existent) tractate of the Talmud, Masechet Masechot, and the lecture this year covered several passages from page 23b and their commentaries, only an excerpt of which follows:

“Rabbi Rishon said: How do we know that Harvonah was greater than King Ahashverosh himself? As it is written: Harvonah ehad min hasarisim lifnei ha-melech - Harvonah was first among the eunuchs, achieving a rank even before that of the King.”

Rashi points out that min here means “type” - Harvonah was a unique type of eunuch, different from all of the others. In Old French, “tipus” (some manuscripts read “typhus” and recommend quarantine, but these are largely discredited).
Tosafot, the great medieval commentators, take this statement in the Talmud one step further and argue that “king” here refers not to Ahashverosh but to the King of Kings, the Holy Blessed One. Harvonah thus had the same status as Abraham, to whom the Holy Blessed One says, “Walk before Me and be perfect” (Genesis 17:1). Harvonah, they note, was different from Abraham in two crucial ways: 1) he complained less; and 2) he was not, technically speaking, perfect.
Modern commentators speculate that the verse and its interpretation might be implying that King Ahashverosh was in fact also a eunuch, which could actually explain a lot…

Hope you had a happy Purim!

“When Adar begins, we double our happiness”

2012-02-24T14:54:00Z

Today begins the new month of Adar, the month of Purim, and the Mishna teaches that this is a time of simcha - “happiness.” Of course, if we look around at the world, or just at our own community, we can find plenty of reasons that we might not feel happy. Tragedy and despair seem closer than ever. But I think the message of the Mishna goes deeper than our feelings at any particular moment. Just as the beginning of the month of Av is devoted to getting in touch with the sadness of the Temple’s destruction and other low moments in Jewish history, the beginning of the month of Adar is devoted to getting in touch with joy, even in the midst of dark times. The world around us might not change during Adar, but our way of moving through that world can change, and we can seek out reasons to be happy, even if just for a moment, no matter what is going on around us. That is the challenge and the blessing of the month of Adar. Let’s embrace it! Hodesh tov - a good month to us all!

Budgets & values

2012-02-17T14:54:00Z

Our city, state, and nation are still in the grip of recession, requiring difficult decisions about planning and budgeting in the face of reduced revenues. As I am often reminded when we do our budgeting at GJC, budgets are value statements - by choosing to fund particular programs and activities, we are saying that we are committed to the values those represent. In the case of governmental budgets, our Jewish obligations to house the homeless, feed the hungry, and lift up the poor are at least partly fulfilled through the large-scale activities that our government funds on our behalf to achieve those goals. On our own, we could never approach the scale of assistance that government programs provide. Yet we have seen this week a proposed state budget that deals with reduced revenues largely by eliminating or deeply reducing programs that serve the poor in the face of rising need. The laws of the Torah and the teachings of our tradition impel us to raise our voices in support of these programs and in support of a state budget that reflects our values. If a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members, we have a long way to go until we are ready to withstand that judgment.

Thinking About the Unthinkable: Planning for the End of Life

2012-02-10T14:54:00Z

Over 130 of us gathered together last Sunday for a program on planning for the end of life, and I want to thank all of the co-sponsors of that program and all who participated for creating a valuable conversation on this very important topic. For those who were not able to attend, I wanted to provide two resources. First, my keynote address discussing some Jewish attitudes toward the end of life is now available on our website; you can access it by going to the Rabbi’s Page and clicking on “End of Life Planning.” Second, the “living will” document created by the state of Pennsylvania that we discussed at the program is available here. We will be working to continue this conversation and involve us all in thinking further about how to face and plan for difficult eventualities. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me if you’d like to discuss this further with me individually or if I can help point you to other resources within and outside our community.

Torah all around us

2012-02-03T14:54:00Z

We are lucky enough in our community to have many opportunities to learn Torah from each other. Each Shabbat, we can choose from the different approaches to Torah learning offered by our multiple prayer services. Our Beit Midrash program continues to offer learning to everyone before services in January & February, this year focused on the Jewish movements. And in response to many requests, in March we will be beginning a weekly Parashat HaShavua Torah study at 9:00 AM each Shabbat morning, featuring multiple different teachers from our community and outside it - stay tuned for more details about this new program. In the wider world, some of you may have noticed that I have begun writing the Torah commentary in the Jewish Exponent once a month; you can read my thoughts on this week’s parasha by clickinghere. And of course we all know that there is a wealth of Torah available online. (Just as an example, there are links to a wide-ranging array of divrei Torah at My Jewish Learning.) I encourage you to take advantage of this wealth of Torah around us - there is so much we all can learn, and if not now, when?

Support food stamps (SNAP) & oppose the asset test!

2012-01-27T14:54:00Z

During the past 9 months, I have often been writing and teaching about the Jewish obligation to feed the hungry, and as you may know, my family took the “Food Stamp Challenge” earlier this year, living for a week on the average food stamp benefit of $31.50 per person. With this increased understanding of the importance of the food stamp program for families in need, I was appalled at the news that the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare is planning to impose an “asset test” to deny food stamp benefits to families and individuals with the barest of savings.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish Social Policy Action Network, and many other Jewish organizations and advocates for the poor have joined together to urge Governor Corbett to reconsider this ill-conceived plan that will hurt vulnerable seniors and others without saving the state a dime (the federal government funds the food stamp program). Jewish tradition teaches us that we are required to help create a just society by banding together to help those in need, and the food stamp program is one of the largest and most successful programs for keeping people from falling into poverty, serving over 45 million Americans.

I urge you to join with me in asking Governor Corbett to stop the asset test for food stamps. The AARP has set up a toll free number that will connect you to the Governor’s office at 1-800-515-8134. Please raise your voice in support of this very modest program that is so crucial for those in need.

Women in public life in Israel

2012-01-20T14:54:00Z

In my “Tough Social Issues in Israel” class this fall, one week focused on the status of women and all of the ways in which women in Israel struggle - economically, socially, and religiously - for equality. This issue has now become front and center in the news, as horrific incidents involving ultra-orthodox moves against women’s rights in Israel have made the front page of mainstream newspapers in the U.S., as in this article from the New York Times. Forced separation of women from men on buses and at public ceremonies, harassment of young girls at an Orthodox school for their supposedly insufficiently modest dress, and calls for removal of billboards showing women — all of these incidents have shocked the largely secular Israeli public as much as they have us here. Reactions have been swift, and it has been heartening to see condemnation come not only from secular Israelis and the Masorti & Reform movements in Israel but also from the Chief Rabbi and other Orthodox and even Haredi (ultra-orthodox) leaders. The supposed Jewish legal justification for these moves is slight; it stems from the traditional separation of men and women in prayer and the dictates of tzniut or modesty, but it takes them to ridiculous extremes in situations they were never intended to cover. In fact, even some Haredi rabbis argue that these moves actually violate Jewish law rather than upholding it (for an interesting discussion of this view, see thisOp/Ed from the Jerusalem Post). As we follow this story ourselves, we pray that the values of tolerance and mutual respect can be restored to the relationship between all Jews, even in our immense diversity, just as we pray for those values to be spread to all who dwell on Earth.

Granger Shabbat: Engaging with each other in all our diversity

2012-01-13T14:54:00Z

A turning point in this week’s Torah reading comes when Moses, raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s palace, goes out and “sees” the Israelites’ suffering (Exodus 2:11). Could he really never have seen the slavery and oppression of the Israelites in Egypt before? Rashi explains, “He opened his eyes and his heart to be distressed over them.” Moses connects with the Israelites across all of the differences that separate them, and this moment of identification changes his life and the course of Jewish history. Our Granger Shabbat program this year asks us to think about the many ways that difference divides us both within our GJC community and in our neighborhood and city, and it pushes us to think about how we, like Moses, can connect with each other across all of those dimensions of difference. This is what Ralph Granger did in his life, and it is why we continue to honor him and remember his name as part of us these many years after his death. We are privileged to have with us Reverend Nancy Muth and Reverend Kevin Porter from the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown to share with us the ways in which their community, whose history is in many ways so parallel to our own, has made connecting across diversity a key part of their mission; please do watch the video on their website that explains some of how that has happened. I encourage everyone to come and learn together about both the challenge and the promise of opening our eyes and our hearts to those who may seem different from us.

Beit Midrash Study: Engaging with the Jewish Movements

2012-01-06T14:54:00Z

As someone who grew up in the Reform Movement, flirted with Orthodoxy in college, went to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and is now a Conservative rabbi, I have developed an abiding interest in the different Jewish movements and what each can teach us about Jewish life and thought. This year our Beit Midrash Shabbat morning study in January and February will focus on these movements and how they have grappled with some of the big issues in modern Jewish life - Torah, halachah, gender, sexuality, and so on. Please join us to learn more about how each movement may contribute something important to our understanding of Jewish life. We will meet at 9:30 AM in the Magil Chapel; all are welcome! (Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012)

One “new year” among many

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

The ancient rabbis taught in the Mishna that there were 4 separate “new years” known to them, marking different parts of the cycle of the year for different purposes. So while we know that the advent of 2012 is a milestone on a calendar that has its roots in Christian tradition, is based on the solar year rather than the Jewish lunar year, and has no analog in the Jewish accounting of time, the idea that we might take note of this milestone for the purposes of reflection and contemplation is not so foreign to Jewish tradition. Having just celebrated the holiday of light on Hanukah, it is worthwhile for us to think about what light we can bring into the world around us during the coming months of winter, cold, and darkness. The fact that this particular new year is celebrated by many people around the world, people of widely varying traditions and cultures, should prompt us to think about our connections with the other human beings who share our planet and our obligations to them as well as to our local communities. May this new year mark a turning of our world toward healing, wholeness, and peace. (Posted: Friday, December 30, 2011)

Hanukah at Christmas: Light & Hope

2011-12-23T14:54:00Z

On a year like this one, when Christmas falls during Hanukah, it’s easy for Jews to feel overwhelmed. We are assailed by the sights, sounds, and business of Christmas, and we tire of explaining that no, Hanukah is not the Jewish equivalent. But we should remember that it is no accident that the two holidays come at the same time of year. Although they have little in common historically or theologically, both holidays speak to our human desire to bring light into the darkness of winter, the time when our natural world provides the least light. And both holidays bring with them hope for peace in the world and a renewed consciousness of its preciousness. So although we are celebrating very different occasions in very different ways, we can appreciate the common values of light and hope that we share at this time with those around us. May that light and that hope for peace spread over all people in the year to come. (Posted Friday, December 23, 2011)

Islamophobia & Hanukah: The struggle for religious freedom

2011-12-16T14:54:00Z

You may have seen the Philadelphia Inquirer story yesterday about a bill introduced in the Pennsylvania House seeking to ban any “foreign legal code or system” from being considered by judges in state courts. The language of the bill seems innocuous, but its sponsor has made clear that it is intended to target shaariah, the Muslim legal system (depending on its interpretation, it could ban the Jewish legal system, halacha, as well). Many such misguided efforts to outlaw both shaariah and halacha have taken place in states around the country. This is precisely what prompted me to organize the course I am teaching this year on “Halacha, Shaariah, and the State: The Relationship Between Religious and ‘Secular’ Law” with Professor Khalid Blankinship of Temple University, who is quoted in the article, to attempt to educate the community about the nature of these religious legal traditions.

One of the key messages of the upcoming holiday of Hanukah is the importance of religious freedom. The Maccabbees were inspired to take up arms against the Syrian Greek empire largely because Jewish religious practices were banned and the empire demanded that its subjects adopt Greek religion instead. Throughout the centuries, Jews have never insisted that others follow our religious path; instead, we have advocated for everyone’s right to follow his or her own tradition without interference, including religious law.

In the case of the Islamophobia that is still running rampant in our country, and particularly the attack on Muslim legal traditions, it is clearer than ever that anti-Muslim sentiment and anti-Jewish sentiment often run hand in hand. The struggle to reject anti-Muslim bias is our Jewish struggle as well, which is why organizations like the Anti-Defamation League have come out against attempts to outlaw shaariah as well as opposing efforts to prevent the construction of mosques and to prevent Muslims from practicing their religion.

Hanukah’s message of religious freedom is universal; it cannot apply only to ourselves. When we light the candles of Hanukah, we must also embrace the struggle to bring the light of religious freedom to all people in our state, in our country, and throughout the world. (Posted Friday, December 16, 2011)

Report from the Food Stamp Challenge

2011-12-09T14:54:00Z

This week, I and my family have been taking the “Food Stamp Challenge,” trying to subsist on the average food stamp benefit of $31.50 per person, or $157.50 for our family of 5 for the week. I wanted to share a blog post about this experience from my wife, Cheryl:

“We’re in our second full day of the challenge and I’m surprised by how much I hear the kids talking about it. They ask before they eat anything, to make sure we don’t need it, and seem to be thinking a lot about what it would mean to live like this all the time. I’ve tried hard to make it work without the boys being hungry — baked both whole wheat bread and peanut butter cookies — but they still seem very worried.

“Grocery shopping was a revelation. Whole wheat flour cost us $2.50 more than white. We simply couldn’t afford enough fruit for even one piece a day for each of us, despite looking for sales and shopping where fruit is pretty cheap. The biggest difference though is time. Because I wanted to avoid junk food, I need to make anything we eat from scratch, everything from bread to anything we want to munch, otherwise we would have been over budget.

“I think the biggest impression on all of us so far, though, is the knowledge that we’ve used our food budget and can’t go back to the store until the week is up. It affects every bite we eat and every meal we plan. I’m a family doctor at an inner-city clinic where many of my patients rely on SNAP (the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or food stamps) to feed their families not for a week but for months or years. I can’t imagine what they will do and how they will manage to feed their hungry children the nutritious food they need if this program is cut even a fraction.” (Posted Friday, December 09, 2011)

Take the Food Stamp Challenge!

2011-11-17T14:54:00Z

Our Charry Weekend Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) encouraged all of us to take the “Food Stamp Challenge” - to attempt to live for a week on the average food stamp benefit of $31.50 per adult. Going through this experience allows us to identify with the experience of those struggling with hunger. It also has the potential to strengthen our advocacy for these federal hunger programs that support 45.7 million Americans at the edges of poverty. This is particularly important for us in Philadelphia.

This coming week, I and my family are taking the “Food Stamp Challenge,” and I encourage all of us to consider doing so as well, either this coming week or in a future week. You can find more info and sign up by clicking here.

To paraphrase the words of the haggadah we read at Passover, may all who are hungry have the opportunity to come and eat, and may we be part of bringing food to those who lack it. (Posted Friday, December 02, 2011)

Welcoming people into our tent

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

In the Torah we read about our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, welcoming strangers into their tent, and the midrash teaches that their tent was open on all sides in order to receive visitors from all directions. This teaching prompts us to reflect on how we are welcoming new members, guests, and strangers into our community. Are we following the model of Abraham and Sarah, reaching out to those whom we don’t know and drawing them into the web of connections that makes GJC a valuable community to us? Or are we dwelling in the security of those we already know, effectively closing the tent flap to newcomers? The ways we welcome those new us matter deeply and affect their ability to find their place in the community and to bring their energy and vitality to enrich us all. May the examples of Abraham and Sarah inspire to extend ourselves to those who come to us from every direction and welcoming them into our tent. (Posted: Friday, October 14, 2011)

Hunger around us and what we can do

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

The American Jewish World Service (AJWS) has designated this week as Global Hunger Shabbat, and it is a good time for us to think about what we can do to address the problem of hunger both locally and globally. We know that hunger is a huge problem right here in Philadelphia, where part of our city has one of the highest rates of hunger, particularly of children, in the country. And we know that hunger confronts us around the world, particularly the current famine in East Africa. But what can we do? Here are some suggestions:

AJWS has launched a “Reverse Hunger” campaign that seeks to reform U.S. food policy to allow the federal government to respond more quickly and easily to food shortages around the world. You can find more information and an opportunity to sign a petition by clicking here.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is encouraging people to sign up for the “Food Stamp Challenge” - attempting to live on the average food stamp benefit for one week - to raise consciousness about the challenges facing the hungry in our country. You can find more info and sign up by clicking here.

Mazon is joining with the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) to urge advocacy to members of Congress on behalf of the SNAP (Food Stamp) program. More info is available here. (Posted: Friday, October 07, 2011)

Tough Social Issues in Israel

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

This week at GJC we begin our class on Tough Social Issues in Israel, looking at the difficult problems of Israeli society that don’t often make the headlines in the U.S. We begin by looking at the protest movement in Israel that began this summer - its roots, causes, and implications for Israeli society. The Israeli protesters were reacting against increasing economic and social inequality in Israel; the signs in the picture at left read “The people demand social justice!” Looking at the Israeli protests may give us some insight into the Occupy movement that we have seen growing in the last few months in many places in the U.S., including in Philadelphia. How are these movements alike and how are they different? What values underly them, and what is the Jewish take on the issues of social justice that both protests raise? Please come join the discussion! The class will continue for the next 4 weeks. (Posted:Friday, September 30, 2011)

Turning Toward the New Year Together

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

We hosted an extraordinary Selichot program and service this year to prepare us for the New Year. Christians, Jews, and Muslims came together to speak about the concept of a Woman of Valor in the three religions, to hear a beautiful new piece of music that gives voice to six women from Biblical tradition, and to worship together in an interfaith Selichot service. This special program reminded us of one of the central purposes of the High Holidays: to bring us together. When we stand in front of God, examine our past actions, and pledge to transform our lives in the new year, we take down the barriers that often separate us from each other. We acknowledge that none of us is perfect, that we are all in need of introspection and change, and that we are deeply tied to each other. To do this with a group of people from different faith traditions is to send a powerful message about our intentions in the coming year, and an important signal to a world beset by bitter divisions between people of faith. May this New Year bring us increasing understanding both of ourselves and of those different from ourselves, and may we embrace a renewed commitment to bridging the gaps that keep all human beings from seeing each other as brothers and sisters. L’shanah tovah! (Posted: Friday, September 23, 2011)

Reponsibility for others

2011-12-30T14:54:00Z

As we move toward the New Year, we are also in the midst of a national debate about the degree of responsibility we have for each other, especially for the poor and the sick. Congressional debates about the national debt have revealed troubling trends in political discourse, as some suggest that the American people - through the medium of the federal budget - have no role to play in helping those in difficult circumstances. This is all the more troubling when it has been reported this week that poverty in the U.S. has reached its highest recorded level ever, and the report indicates that even more people - especially children - would be living in poverty were it not for the very programs like SNAP (Food Stamps) at which budget cutters have taken aim. We know that responsibility for the welfare of others is at the heart of Jewish tradition, as the laws of tzedakah(righteous giving) and g’milut hasadim (acts of love) make clear. We need to think seriously over the High Holidays about how we - individually and as a group - can bring these Jewish values into civic discourse to counter the shameful notion that what happens to our fellow human beings is of no concern to us. (Posted Friday, September 16, 2011)

After Yom Kippur: Staying the course

2012-09-28T14:54:00Z

On Yom Kippur, we look deeply into our lives and try to set a new direction for the year to come. But the most important part of that direction-setting comes not on Yom Kippur itself but in the days that follow, when we try to stay true to the intentions we had when we sat together in prayer and meditation for all of those hours. To recapture that feeling, it may be helpful to review some of the words spoken in our community over the holidays. My talks and those by Rabbi Lewis are now available on our website (click here), and other talks will become available in coming days.

At the end of Yom Kippur, we speak of the closing of the gates, the sealing of the Book of Life for the year. But many teach that the sealing is still not final. Up through Hoshana Raba at the end of Sukkot we have a chance to add an addendum to what has been written. So our actions and intentions during these days are particularly important. Let us support each other in the changes we seek in ourselves and in our world as we move through the rest of the holidays together.