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Beginning to Reflect as we approach Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is coming. I know you might not be thinking much about it, but I’ve been thinking about sermons for weeks. It’s just about time to put pen to paper – or fingers to computer actually.
At OurJewishCommunity.org (which video streams services from Congregation Beth Adam), services are pretty fabulous! And, of course, I say that with some amount of bias. Yet, the truth is that what I love about the services is our unique liturgy – for which I can take no credit. That liturgy has been written by a group of individuals over the years – and predates my time at Beth Adam and OurJewishCommunity.org.
One of the other aspects of our services that I love is that there is a great deal of learning. In addition to our sermons, we rabbis present original midrashim (Jewish legends) that we write to communicate some larger message. And we don’t just read Torah; we teach Torah. We pick a topic and flesh it out – bringing a greater context to the text.
A bit different is that we don’t read the assigned texts for the holidays. While many congregations read the Binding of Isaac on Rosh Hashanah morning and verses from Deuteronomy on Yom Kippur morning (in addition to Haftorah readings like Jonah on Yom Kippur), we read a different text each year.
In fact, while most congregations follow a cycle of Torah readings throughout the year, beginning the book of Genesis in the fall and progressing straight through to the end of Deuteronomy, we do not do that. Just like the rabbis pick the High Holiday Torah portions, our Bar/Bat Mitzvah students choose their own portions.
There are many advantages of this model. Allowing Bar/Bat Mitzvah students to choose (through a process with their rabbis and family) means that they ultimately pick a portion that is meaningful to them. Sure, they could attempt to make meaning out of any Torah portion, but why not let them make a proactive choice to select what they will read on their special occasion? That way they can fully explore a topic that is of inherent interest to them.
This year Rabbi Barr and I have decided to read the Torah portion called Balak for the High Holidays. Another blog will be about that choice – one that essentially involves reading a story about a talking ass!
So, as I prepare sermons, choose Torah verses, and think about the legends I want to share, it’s also time for all of us to start thinking about the holidays. Why do we observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Is our observance meaningful, or not? What are these holidays about? Will I reflect more during the holidays than I do the rest of the year?
Those are just a few questions to get the ball rolling. Feel free to answer in a comment here – or add more of your own questions.
Senator Kennedy and the High Holidays
I must admit this is a busy time of year for me. So, I haven’t exactly been sitting in front of the TV watching the news specials about Ted Kennedy, although part of me wishes I had been. Still, a few random reflections on Kennedy’s life and death.
On finding out… I suspect many of you heard the news of his passing like I did – on Facebook or Twitter. Each morning, one of the first things I do is check my email and Facebook news feed on my Blackberry. It is later in the morning that I turn on the news and/or read a newspaper. I know it’s not surprising, but I’m still intrigued by the fact that so many of us get our ‘news’ from our virtual friends.
On Kennedy’s legacy… Clearly Kennedy will be remembered for many of his accomplishments. While we may or may not agree with individual political decisions, he was clearly a strong voice in the Senate. Naturally, the timing with the Health Care Reform attempts is striking. I hope that there will be a speedy plan approved to improve our health care system – one that Senator Kennedy would have been proud of.
On Michael Jackson and Ted Kennedy… I’m glad that Kennedy is at least getting almost as much attention as MJ did!
On a touching story…. I am sure that there are many stories about the difference Kennedy has made in people’s lives. One story that I read on cnn.com struck me; you might want to take a look at it. It is the story of the “Littlest Refusenik” – a woman named Jessica Katz who was born in Moscow in 1977 with nutritional deficiencies. To make a long story short, Kennedy eventually got young Jessica and her family out of the Soviet Union, thereby saving her life.
On the ups and downs of life… Clearly, Ted Kennedy’s life was not all perfect. In addition to facing tragedies that were out of his control, he certainly made his share of mistakes. Some were major, like 40 years ago when he drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and Mary Jo Kopechne drowned. I obviously don’t know what went through Kennedy’s mind over the years, but I just heard a speech in which he said, “I have accepted full and complete responsibility for that. And I will live with that all my life.” The New York Times reports that in 1991 Kennedy said “I recognize my own shortcomings.”
Perhaps, as we enter the season of awe and repentance in the Jewish calendar, it is an early opportunity for us to recognize and accept our own shortcomings. Embracing personal responsibility is key to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Kennedy’s death provides a reminder of the importance of reflecting – not just about others – but about ourselves.
Streaming Shabbat #5 from the Virtual Synagogue
On Friday, August 28th we talked about God. We had a short service (with candles, wine, and challah) and a discussion. You can join the discussion with Twitter or by commenting on the website. The first few seconds of the service were cut off, but the rest is here.
And yes, Rabbi Baum swallowed a bug!
Streaming Shabbat Service #4 from our Online Synagogue
Rabbis Barr and Baum led this service Friday night at 6PM (August 21st). To view previous services, click here.
This week they talked about adultery. It wasn’t be a traditional Shabbat service. It’s short (under 20 minutes) and includes Shabbat rituals (candles, challah bread, and wine). The rabbis also read from the Shabbat liturgy and ledd a discussion.
You can comment below!
Do You Speak of God?
Here’s a conversation starter written by Peter Schogol. Please comment below.
I used to speak of God quite frequently. In Yiddish (and, as I’m learning, Ladino) it’s impossible to have even a rudimentary conversation without earthy references to God in the vernacular (Gott and Dio respectively) and the more pious HaShem. And there are so many set phrases in English which involve the word God that without it we’d be stuck with “gosh” and — south of the Ohio — “daggone.”
Erich Fromm, 20th-century humanistic psychologist, a nontheistic Jew raised Orthodox, spoke of God frequently. While not believing that “God” signified an independently existing reality, Fromm found that God is one way people speak of the epitome of their highest aspirations towards truth, justice and love. He wrote an entire book Ye Shall Be As Gods as a humanistic exegesis of the Tanakh.
Fromm did not find every word of the Bible holy, and he didn’t address the passages where Hebrews behave badly and God even worse. Fromm, like most humanists, was a picky reader. Fromm also did not refer to God as “Thou.” It’s safe to say that he spoke of but not to God (as opposed to Martin Buber).
I have no problem speaking of God but I do it less and less as it leads people to think that I’m a believer. My breakthrough — my moment of Zen, as Jon Stewart would put it — was realizing that while I was not an “observant” Jew, I was a “serious” Jew, and that is every bit as valid even without the God-talk.
So on any given day you will find me perusing siddurim (prayerbooks), pinching a passage here, a blessing there, for my own Handbook for Hebrew Heretics. I love good language, and in some prayer books like the Siddur Sha’ar Zahav from the GLBTQ synagogue of the same name in San Francisco the language is absolutely stunning. I love the poetry of blessing and prayer, but for me, when God and I pass we nod but don’t speak.
Streaming Shabbat Service 3 from our Online Synagogue
Rabbis Baum and Barr stream a Shabbat service every Friday night at 6PM EST. It’s fun and interactive. This one is from August 13, 2009.
Feel free to comment below!
Online Yom Kippur Memorial Service – Submit Your Photos
Are you looking for a way to honor deceased family members during the High Holidays? You can participate in our online memorial service.
Memory is a central part of the High Holidays. In particular, Yom Kippur afternoon provides an important time to remember those who are no longer living. This year, OurJewishCommunity.org is developing an online memorial service. The brief service will go online on Yom Kippur afternoon (September 28) and will be archived on our website for viewing after that date as well.
The online service will not only feature readings from our liturgy read by me and Rabbi Barr, but it will also include a slide show with the names and photographs of your deceased family members.
If there is someone special you would like to remember this Yom Kippur by including their photograph in our online memorial service, please submit a photo by email or by mail (10001 Loveland-Madeira Rd., Loveland, OH 45140). Photos need to be received by September 18.
Please send only one photo for each person you are remembering, and please include his or her name so that we can provide a text caption. All photos that are mailed to us will be returned if you include your return address.
If you have any questions about the online memorial service, please let me know. We hope you’ll join us by honoring family members on Yom Kippur afternoon. May their memories be for a blessing.
Offensive References to Nazism in the Health Care Debate
This health care debate thing is complicated. I am deeply concerned about the massive number of people who are without health care (or quality health care). However, this is not a political blog about the way to solve the health care crisis. At least not yet.
Rather, this is a blog about protesters who are making Nazi comparisons part of the health care debate. (ABC News article about it is here). I find this offensive and completely unnecessary. There are plenty of others ways to have this debate without comparing it to Nazism, which is an absurd stretch.
One loud group is “Patients First,” part of the conservative group “Americans for Prosperity.” (For the record, I have mixed feelings about even giving them publicity here). They make a comparison between the proposed end of life counseling sessions and Hitler’s Final Solution (and to Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, and Robert Mugabe’s end of life orders).
There is no doubt, if you actually read the House bill, that the “advance care planning consultations” include a variety of topics including, for example, living wills and durable powers of attorney. Those are all responsible things to consider, and in no way suggest to me that anyone is trying to kill the elderly.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has called the protestors “Astro-Turf,” claiming that their campaign is not actually grassroots; it’s a well-funded fancy attempt to protest (and to give the appearance of a grassroots effort).
Whether it’s grassroot or Astro-Turf, there is no question in my mind that it is inappropriate, irresponsible, offensive, and untrue to compare Obama to Hitler.
The Holocaust killed millions of people. We vowed to never let that happen again. Now we need to vow not to listen to these offensive comparisons being made.
Always Early or Late… The Jewish Holidays
Have you ever noticed that the Jewish holidays are always “late” or “early” – we never say they come just at the right time. This year, Rosh HaShanah starts September 18. That might seem like a really long time away for you… but it feels really soon to me. It’s busy season for rabbis. As a big college basketball fan (go Xavier!), I like to say that my March Madness comes in September.
I haven’t gotten around to writing any sermons yet, although I am thinking about them. We have been working hard setting up our video-streaming for our High Holiday services this year. We also video-streamed our High Holiday services last year, but this year we’ll have much better quality.
Speaking of which, we just sent out a press release about our High Tech Holidays. Please share it with any reporters you know. Please don’t make us beg. (But, we will if we have to.)
While Rosh HaShanah won’t arrive for about 6 weeks (but who is counting?), Shabbat comes every week. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that last week Rabbi Barr and I did our first Twitcam Shabbat. It was a lot of fun – and we’re learning a lot. We appreciate the feedback and will be responding to some of your suggestions – so keep ‘em coming.
One thing that we’re committed to is keeping it a liberal service. It will include readings from Beth Adam’s Shabbat liturgy and some rituals (candles, wine, challah). There will be some informal aspects – like Rabbi Barr and I having a conversation with each other (and with you via Twitter) about something related to the Jewish experience.
This week we’ll be discussing what it means to be Jewish. If you’re on Twitter, you should tweet in during the service (using the hashtag #Shabbat) about what being Jewish means to you. We’ll explain it during the service.
Speaking of Twitter, one of my tweeps just wrote a book review of The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. Timely – since it’s about forgivess and those High Holidays are coming soon. Check it out.
See you tomorrow (Friday) at 6 PM EST for our Twitcam streaming Shabbat. Link will be posted on the homepage and here.
Book Review of The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal
A review of The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
Review by Gavriel Elijah
After you read this, please login and comment to share your thoughts.
On a recent Saturday evening I found myself at a bookstore, after Shabbat of course. While perusing the bookshelves like a fat kid in a candy store (I can lose a few pounds myself so I can say that) I came across a book titled The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. My first thought was why Simon Wiesenthal would write a book on a flower. I then decided I had to get it along with another book or two.
I should start with the premise of the book. The Sunflower is the true account of famed Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal and a certain experience he has while a prisoner in a concentration camp. Mr. Wiesenthal tells us his account of a dying SS soldier asking for forgiveness for the horrible atrocities that he had committed, especially one act in particular.
After we learn of Mr. Wiesenthal’s actions towards the SS soldier, 53 men and women from around the world, all important in their own right, give their thoughts on Mr. Wiesenthal’s actions, how they feel, and how they hope they would have reacted in his place. These great men and women include Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (whose books on Ethics I am currently reading), and Tenzin Gyatso (The Dalai Lama). All three are men whom I love to read and whose books make up a good portion of my library. As a reader you find yourself not only asking if you could forgive someone for such horrible acts, but if you even have the right to forgive such acts. This book will make you think in ways I doubt most books ever will. I know the book left me spending hours pondering when we have the right to forgive and the reasons we should forgive.
In closing I cannot recommend this book enough. I even emailed my High School Honors Literature teacher to recommend it to her as well. I recently added a hard cover of this book on my list of must haves. This book is not only a must read for Jews, but for people anywhere. Only with books like this can we hope to achieve an understanding that humanity as a whole needs to reach.
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- — Watch Video-Streamed Holocaust Panel about bystanders
- — Our Holocaust page is up - including an online panel discussion event on January 27th
- — Baum's Blog on Lisa's Adoption of Judaism
- — Baum's Blog on Coco the Clown, Conversion, and Online Community
- — Barr's Banter on Hypocrisy
- — Join us for streaming Shabbat every Friday at 6 PM Eastern Time