Director's Cut: Fifty Years Since the March on Washington

I am writing one of my high holy day sermons about the fiftieth anniversary of March on Washington and lots of material won't make it into the sermon. Here's a nugget that would only make into the "director's cut" or bonus material.

"The March showed the power of diversity to push for political change." Volunteers and march attendees recall the surprisingly successful turnout of all types of people - parents, church ladies, college students, laborers, performers, couples, kids. One of the Freedom Riders recalls that they significance of the day was not in any speech but in the gathering itself, which was a reflection of the kind of pluralistic society that King's "Dream" described. Charlie Mann was a 13-year old from Chapel Hill, NC, who came to the March on one of the last buses. He still recalls the stunning display of diversity that he found at the March: "It felt like maybe things were changing in the country after all."

When comes to a movement and its ability to effect change, there is greater power in greater diversity.

Check out Time's online resource, http://www.time.com/time/onedream/, a great collection of photos, videos, testimonies and stories. I used it a lot to research the March.

Gone Are the Days: Talia Agler Girls' Shelter

Talia Agler, a teacher in our religious school and an active member of our community, died tragically in January 2012. She was 26 years old. We had the proper memorials and visitations and funds were set up in her memory. It was powerful and moving. And it continues as Talia's legacy continues in the most incredible ways. God forbid any of you reading this should suffer such tragedy. But whenever your time comes, will you be remembered like this? From the Talia Agler Girls Shelter in Nairobi, Kenya:



Talia's family went to Kenya this summer to visit the shelter and took this video as they met with the girls of the shelter. Talia's parents have written and posted many photos and videos from the trip. You can link to all of it from the blog of Rabbi Rich Agler (Talia's father): http://rabbiagler.net/talia-agler-zl/

Just Congregations @Sinai Makes a Difference

DC Council Members Evans, Bowser, Barry, Wells
and Mendelson at WIN Sinai action

On April 22nd, Temple Sinai hosted the first action the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) ever held in a synagogue. It was a significant night on many levels: a culmination of our efforts in the past two years to re-ignite Sinai's role as a center for social justice in DC; a clear demonstration of the breadth of WIN's coalition; a successful action that produced results within days and continues to resonate in the current DC budget mark-ups and hearings. Just days after the action, DC Council Member Evans proposed a Community Benefits Agreement just as he and the other council members promised on the bima of Temple Sinai.

The action at Sinai focused on job creation for district residents through DC Water, which has an embarrassingly low job hire rate in the district. Mike DeBonis picked up the story for the Post and describes the ongoing situation - including a mention of the action at Sinai. Barbara Kraft, Sinai member and volunteer leader on this issue, testified along with others from our WIN coalition on May 8th at the DC Water Board’s public hearing on the water bill rate increase. On June 3, there will be confirmation hearings for new Board members, at which point Council Members will stress jobs.

This is great example of why we joined WIN and how our commitment to social justice has become manifest.


WIN Action team prepares before the April 22nd action

Enter Shabbat With No Worries

This story is worth watching for a few minutes. It's got 4 million+ views on YouTube so maybe you've already seen it but it's worth entering Shabbat with one of the messages from Nick (featured in the video): Gratitude, Self-Acceptance, Positive Attitude, Self-Respect and Self-Love.

The Little Things Are Big: Rabbi Asch on Purim

Purim is a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, but that does not keep us from celebrating it in a major way. We know the story of Purim, how the wicked Haman was incensed that the Jewish Mordechai would not bow down to him. For this offence, Haman ordered all the Jews to be killed. Queen Esther chose to reveal her Jewishness to King Ahasuerus and plead for her people’s lives. Haman is killed and the Jews are victorious and celebrate their narrow escape.

Some traditional obligations (mitzvot) we observe on Purim are:

1.       Hearing the Megillah.

2.       Giving mishloach manot, literally, sending of portions. Each person is supposed to send a gift of at least two types of food to at least one other person.

3.       Giving money to the poor, in Hebrew matanot l’evyonim. Tzedakah is a part of this Jewish holiday as it is of Jewish life in general.

4.       Having a Purim Seduah, a festive Purim meal.

5.       Becoming so drunk we do not know the difference between the evil Haman and the Wicked Mordechai.

Of all these obligations, mishloach manot is the easiest and most fun for me. I love baking hamentaschen, helping my kids package them, and delivering them to friends and neighbors, many of whom are not Jewish. When I was in Mississippi, I delivered these gifts to my fellow teachers, many of whom had never spoken with a Jew.

The ability to reach out to non-Jews on a “minor” holiday is important. We often discuss our Judaism most often at Chanukkah or Passover, which coincide with the important Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter. But, as we know Judaism has a full calendar of holidays some of which can pass without much notice. It is wonderful when we can take the opportunity to celebrate Purim and to let others know about this fun holiday. There are still a group of teachers in Mississippi talking about the Jewish holiday where we eat the triangle cookies!  

Of the five mitzvot of Purim, which one is the most meaningful to you?

Our Work Must Expand: Backpacks For Wheatley

One of our Just Congregations partners, Wheatley Education Campus, needs help beyond its classrooms. Every week two temple members volunteer as teachers’ aides in the classrooms and another member collaborates with Wheatley’s principal and staff on other ways the temple community can help the Wheatley community. One of the school’s teachers suggested a weekend food backpack program to help feed the students. Nearly 100% of Wheatley’s students received free and reduced lunches and breakfasts five days a week. They are hungry and their families struggle to put food on the table. The teacher identified a need: when there’s no school there may not be full meals for these kids. She suggested a “back pack” filled with food for the student to take home on Friday in order to have enough to eat over the weekend.

The volunteer team did not want to wait. They adopted a successful model from another school district, went to Costco to purchase enough food for 50 kids for this weekend, got reusable bags donated by Chevy Chase Supermarket and Whole Foods and had our Noar students fill the bags on Tuesday night. Barbara, the Wheatley teacher who suggested the program, took the bags with her and they will be distributed this Friday. This is just a first step. More than 50 kids need food but there are challenges with storage space, transportation, distribution, food purchasing and more. Our volunteer team already knew that they didn’t need to “reinvent the wheel.” So…

On Monday, I joined the three Wheatley volunteers (Joan Goldwasser, Darren Gersh and Elizabeth Roos) at the Capital Area Food Bank to learn about the Food Bank and its Partnership Program. The Food Bank runs its own backpack food program and serves 2,000 students across Washington, D.C. already. The Food Bank also creates partnerships with agencies like us. They provide the food at low cost and we provide the distribution program and services. The Food Bank is an incredible place and its new facility in Northeast D.C. is impressive. Most impressive, however, is the need to alleviate hunger in D.C. and the steps the Food Bank is taking to address that rising need. They currently have 700 partners who distribute food around the area. They want to double that number. We are completing our application to make the Wheatley Back Pack Food program the newest Food Bank partner. But we need help. Our current volunteers are already tasked with full teaching assistant days at Wheatley. What would it take for you to put this on YOUR calendar? Contact me, Rabbi Oleon or Darren Gersh (Darrengersh@gmail.com) if you will help.

The Characteristics of a Team

Cantor Robins on this week's Torah portion....

It’s a particularly good week in the reading cycle, jam-packed with drama, music (well, the blasts of the shofar!), weather (mainly thunder and lightning, but also smoke and fire), and the watershed moment of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.  For purposes of the blogosphere, I can’t think of a portion that provides more content to discuss – especially for a blog called Lifting Sinai!
In hopes that Shavuot (when we read the 10 commandments again) will bring an important and exciting blog post about this awesome and critical moment for Moses and bnei Yisrael, I think its worth exploring the moment before Moses goes up to Sinai.  So, to recap – here’s the situation:

            Moses and his people have just made their way out of Egypt and across the sea on dry land.  The journey wasn’t glamorous, and not always easy.  Upon arriving on ‘the other side,’ Moses is summoned by his father-in-law, Jethro.  (Lets remember – they have a pretty good relationship.)  Jethro has been kind and wise in his communication with Moses.  At this moment, he invites him over.  Moses and Jethro greet one another warmly, and Jethro brings Moses into his tent, whereupon Moses tells Jethro the whole story.  (By the whole story, I am reading into the text that Moses shares all the gory details…all the miracles and all the stress of going from slavery to freedom.)  Jethro is impressed and amazed, and taken by the power of YHVH.  He blesses God, praises God, and offers a burnt-offering (sacrifice) to God.

Next day.  Moses is doing his Moses-thing, settling disputes amongst the people.  Jethro takes a look at this, and asks Moses what he’s up to.  Moses is working impossibly hard to take care of all the conflict resolution work that God has entrusted (and commanded) him to do.  Jethro is worried – he’s convinced that Moses working from morning until evening is not a good call; that he will wear himself out.  So, Jethro (being the wise Kohen from Midian that he is) directs Moses to find some people to whom he can delegate some of this work; saving the biggest (read:  most significant to the community or most complicated to answer) for Moses himself.   And so, Jethro advises Moses on the qualities of the people whom he should appoint to build this new legal system in the desert.

21 You shall also seek out from among all the people capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and ²² let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them share the burden with you. ²³ If you do this — and God so commands you — you will be able to bear up; and all these people too will go home unwearied." (Translation from JPS)

            In the advice Jethro gives to Moses, he lists four qualities that the folks Moses appoints should have:  1) capable, 2) God-fearing, 3) trustworthy and 4) spurn ill-gotten gain.  Let’s reinterpret it for our day.

1)  Capable, skilled:  We want to expand the network of people who help us do our work (professional or personal) with people who are skilled and capable at the task we need them to help us complete.

2) I read God-fearing here as ‘on the same page as us’  - after all, Moses was God-fearing and working for God.  He’d want to surround himself with people ‘sharing the vision.’

 3)  Trustworthy.  Is this one self-explanatory?  (Remember, we know that the people surrounding Moses are a few steps away from committing a HUGE sin that will prove them both a little un-trustworthy and a little not God-fearing)

4)  I read this as in it for the mission (the passion), not the compensation or the fame.

            And so, the question for us as we read Parashat Yitro this week is:  Are the qualities Jethro tells Moses to look for the same qualities we look for in our teams, staffs, etc?  And if not, what would we change and/ or add to the list?

Vote!

Rabbi Portnoy came into the office beaming with pride today. She had just seen a photograph of her son voting in today's Israeli elections. After all these years of listening to American Jews opine on Israeli politics, she felt a deep, even if vicarious, sense of involvement and "naches." Her son had told her not to be overly swayed by all the pre-election coverage that augured a strong rightward shift in the Israeli electorate. Watch the votes for Yeish Atid (headed by Yair Lapid) and Yisrael Beiteinu (headed by Avigdor Lieberman). Their split will be the most telling.

Well the polls have closed in Israel and Lapid's party is the big, surprise winner between the two. Netanyahu and Likud have been re-elected to the Prime Minister's office but the rightward lurch has not materialized. Among the breaking stories by Haaretz is this one about Lieberman's conspicuous absence from public view and this one about Lapid's success.

Retelling our Personal Stories - Ellen Agler on Parshat Bo

I am struck in this week’s Torah portion, Bo, by the power of story-telling in our Jewish tradition.  We are reminded that Moses was commanded by God to perpetuate the memory of the exodus from Egypt by retelling the story of the Jews’ successful flight from oppression under Pharoh.  During Passover we put ourselves in the shoes of those who came before us; have a modern day taste of the bitterness of slavery our ancestors endured and celebrate.  Though observance of retelling this ancient Jewish story has changed somewhat over time, we still tell it each year as Moses was commanded.

What is the role of story-telling in modern Jewish temple life?  As the administrator of a large urban congregation I hear many stories from our congregants.  Their stories come from deep places rich with old memories and from more recent experiences.  Listening to stories is profoundly affecting, and these conversations drive decisions that fundamentally affect how we “do business.”

When today’s American Jews who affiliated with well-established temples tell their stories, it has a significant influence on the temple. For example:

·        Individual stories of financial challenges drive temple practices around dues;

·        Meaningful family traditions around b’nai mitzvah impact selection of a date and ritual elements of the ceremony;

·        Volunteers are highlighted as we honor them in the temple publications;

·        Members’ personal stories drive the Just Congregations model for tikkun olam and guide the social justice initiatives our community pursues, and;

·        What is meaningful to members about their affiliation guides the temple’s strategic plan.

 

Personal stories shared by our members are of central importance and, as they are retold, become a part of the fabric of how organizational aspects of temple life are “observed” today.

Yes, the temple business must run smoothly.  There are budgets to meet and staff to supervise. Members expect there to be air conditioning when it is hot outside and heat when it is cold.  Lights should come on when it is dark and the sound system in the sanctuary project words and music from the bimah clearly and with lovely tones.  When all of that is in place and working well, we are happy.  But, a well-run building and balanced budget alone do not sustain a temple community.

This week’s Parasha leads us to ponder the central role story-telling plays in Jewish life. Moses carried forward the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt for succeeding generations. It remains as a fundamental Jewish observance even today.  It reminds me that we are doing our jobs as temple leaders best when we respond to the modern day needs of our members as they are communicated through the stories they tell.

Ellen Agler is the Executive Director of Temple Sinai, Washington, DC

What's In a Name? (by Cantor Robins)

What's in a Name?

Parashat Vaera by Cantor Rebecca Robins, Director of Congregational Learning

“Everyone calls me Mr. Goldberg, but you can call me Robert.”

Most of us have had an experience like this at some point in our lives.  Whether the speaker or hearer of the message, whether we found ourselves being called something other than usual by our intent or by the evolution of a relationship, whether we called someone the right name (or the wrong one), this experience can resonate with each of us.

Perhaps you have experienced the sheer joy that comes from someone giving you an affectionate nickname, or the comfort that comes from addressing someone less formally or more formally than you had anticipated.  William Shakespeare may have asked “what’s in a name,” but in this week’s Torah portion we get a bit of insight into the answer.

In the opening line of this parasha, the second in Sefer Shmot, the Book of Exodus, we read “² God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name YHVH. ^4””  (Translation from JPS)  YHVH is the acronym for the Hebrew letters Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay, which we read as Adonai.  My goodness!  At the very outset of their relationship, before God is about to set Moses and Aaron up to approach Pharaoh and ask him to “let my people go,” before God (in this same portion!) starts sending plagues upon the Egyptian people to force Pharoah’s hand, God reveals God’s name to Moses.

Not unlike the opening quote of this blog entry, we can interpret, from a few lines of Torah, that this is a serious and powerful moment.  This moment is a declaration of relationship, not unlike when your best friend gives you a nick name or your sweetheart calls you honey – but of the significant change in the real-life relationship between the Patriarchs and God and Moses and God.  (Of course, stay tuned to the Torah to see that relationship develop…)  On one foot, perhaps the greatest change is that while God will remain a commander to Moses as he was to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses will be discharged with doing God’s work in the world.

How might Moses have felt when God made this statement to him?  In the act of revealing God’s name to Moses, God also acts on the relationship – and from that we can ask ourselves, where have we seen ourselves operate in this way, and where can we use our name, or the name we call others to help us redefine relationships?

Again, with the Bnei Mitzvah...

posted by Rabbi Jonathan Roos

Winds of change are blowing through the bar and bat mitzvah landscape. A few months ago, the URJ launched a program called “The B'nai Mitzvah Revolution.” A few days ago, Kveller posted an article titled, “Ban the Bar Mitzah.” Despite its title, the writer ultimately concludes (spoiler alert), “I don’t think we should ban the bnei mitzvah.” The writer proposes a “family bnei mitzvah” designed to develop home based Jewish observance and encourage parents to be the primary teachers and exemplars. Good ideas. Good article. I hope you'll read it and react.

The Kveller article offers four points of critique:

1. Bnei Mitzvah don’t accomplish much.
2. They aren’t part of Jewish continuity, but evolution.
3. Your money is a synagogue welfare check.
4. It makes adults look like hypocrites.

They are all valid and Sinai’s clergy, senior staff and members have been working on issues related to all four. It’s good to have bloggers like this who can succinctly state the points and foster a viral discussion on the issue. The blogger, however, could use more real experience and relies mainly on things he or she has heard from academic presenters at conferences or seen in print.  It’s been over ten years since my ordination and I’ve served full time in three congregations in three different states. I’ve worked with hundreds of bnai mitzvah families. The bar/bat mitzvah needs to evolve but it is not so broken as you might think from the blog title.

I’ll offer four quick responses:

1. They accomplish much more than the blogger thinks. Many comments on Kveller have already pointed this out: the ceremony itself is only a small piece of the larger puzzle.  The months (and even years) of relationships built through the training, planning and lead-up to bar/bat mitzvah is quite an accomplishment in many cases. The students and parents also take a tremendous amount of pride in their accomplishment after the fact (and they use that term, “accomplishment”). I know this from families speaking years after their children’s bnei mitzvah.
2. They actually ARE part of Jewish continuity. They may not be required elements of Jewish tradition but the bar/bat mitzvah does help solidify a family’s sense of Jewish continuity. You need to talk with grandparents and great-grandparents of bnei mitzvah students to understand that but they will tell you as much. This is also evident in the feelings and statements of adults who did not “have a bar/bat mitzvah” as a child. They often feel inadequately Jewish or lacking something important.
3. The welfare check analogy is a poorly chosen metaphor (as is the crack dealer one he/she uses). For starters, I doubt the rabbinic student believes that actual welfare “checks” supporting the poor are such a terrible thing (at least I hope not). The whole point is based on the assumption that poor people and synagogues are bad and unworthy of financial support from the larger community. Synagogues, like schools, hospitals, governments, businesses, and rabbinic students, can always be better and must strive to meet the needs of the Jewish community today. But starting from the presumption that synagogues do not merit financial and other support from their members doesn’t do anything constructive for anyone – unless you really do believe that Jews and the world in general would be better off without synagogues at all.
4. “Hypocrites” is an empty slur that should never be the basis of educational or developmental decisions. Education always requires students to learn material that their parents don’t use or know. We require our children to study geometry even when we ourselves can not complete the proofs and constructions on their tests. We require them to read books we disliked or never read ourselves. We require them to take biology, chemistry, or physics even after they have told us that they have no interest in a future career that needs such sciences. Many will tell their teens not to text or talk while driving even while the parents do it themselves. And if you haven’t reached the joys of parenting teens, you’ve probably told your small child to eat everything on their plate even though you yourself wouldn’t force down a meal you find distasteful or after you feel full. Only requiring of students those things that their parents regularly perform and understand is a formula for limitation and a bad pedagogical plan.

All that said, bar/bat mitzvah needs to evolve. The first thing we should acknowledge is that one size does not fit all. This, perhaps, is where synagogues and educators should start. The synagogue tendency toward rules and standardized requirements and services needs to change. It takes more work and it opens the door to inconsistency and loss of clergy control over the services and training, but our students and their families are interested in accomplishing something through bar/bat mitzvah. That accomplishment happens best when it fits them best.

Robyn Helzner on the New Book

Last Shabbat, we finished reading the book of Genesis or B’reishit.  When we complete the reading of a book of Torah, we recite the traditional phrase, “chazak, chazak v’nitchazeik, be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen one another.”  As we start a new year and a new book of the Torah, Exodus or Sh’mot, we begin to act on that charge. 

The narrative of Sh’mot is a transcendent chapter in the life of the Jewish people telling of our descent into slavery, liberation, receiving the Ten Commandments and our transformation into a nation.

We continually return to the stories of our ancestors to mine the ancient wisdom that we trust will bring an added dimension to our modern lives. May the themes present in this second book of Torah, including the fight for justice, the balance of freedom and responsibility, the power of the individual, and the challenge of building a relationship with God, inspire us to bring strength into our own lives, into the lives of those in our community, and to our world.

Robyn Helzner

Cantorial Soloist