Sunday, June 28, 2009
Parshas Korach and Chukas / Balak
I am enjoying a visit with my family in Eretz Yisroel and attending the Fruchtman / Schroeder wedding. No drashas these two Shabasos.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Parshas Shelach
It has been nearly a year since the JCC opened its door on Shabbos. At the time we were opposed to the JCC taking a step further away from Judaism by disregarding the shabbos. Of course we all know the arguments pro and con and we all know the JCC was totally committed to opening on Shabbos which left very little for us shabbos observers to do but sit and watch. So where is the JCC a year later. I don't think it is in improved financial state and i don't believe it has more members. Of course this is speculation because JCC financials and membership figures are a closely held secret (until the numbers drastically improve at which time the numbers will become ubiquitous but I sadly don't expect this any time soon.) Opening on shabbos will not improve anything at the JCC because the Jews no longer needs the JCC. As a matter of fact Jews don't need anything that is not Jewish because they can get anything that is not Jewish from the non Jews. The only thing the Jewish community can provide Jews are things that are uniquely Jewish. These would have to do with the Jewish religion. Things such as G-d , Torah and Judaism. Sports, recreation, arts, finance, politics, social services even tikkun olam are all available in the olam (world). And this is not just the rantings of an orthodox rabbi who is mad that the JCC opened on shabbos. Joel Alperson thinks so also.
Op-Ed: Don’t fear ‘God,’ ‘Torah’ and ‘Judaism’
By Joel Alperson · June 15, 2009
OMAHA (JTA) -- “Fear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
No, it's not a typo. The Shema, which starts “Hear O Israel,” is the central credo of the Jewish people. It states that there is only one God -- and as a result, only one set of divinely authored ethics and imperatives.
According to the Torah, the Jews were given the daunting task of bringing God-based universal ethics to the world. However, given the number of Jews who are uncomfortable with such a mandate and with religious imperatives in general, I now worry that our prayer could read “Fear O Israel.”
I have this worry because a great number of non-Orthodox Jews -- I am not Orthodox -- are afraid to mention the core concepts of our remarkable religion. We fear that by talking too much or even about any Judaism, even among ourselves, we’ll sound too Christian, too much like our religious oppressors of centuries past, or like Orthodox Jews.
Examples?
I’ve collected the mission statements of the largest 17 Jewish federations in North America, and not one mentions “God,” “Torah” or “Judaism.” Nor do the mission statements of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, Hillel, the National Council of Jewish Women, The Wexner Heritage Foundation, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah and the Jewish National Fund. Of all the organizations I looked into, only United Jewish Communities mentions but one of the three words, Torah, in its mission statement.
Some surely will be quick to say that the above organizations were not created to convey religious concepts. That is precisely my point: How can we say these organizations are Jewish and at the same time don’t need to mention God, Torah or Judaism?
They are not afraid to use other religious terms -- many of them mention “tzedakah” (charity), “klal yisroel” (Jewish peoplehood) and “tikkun olam” (repair the world). Why are those words appropriate and not the others I’ve mentioned?
Many Jewish organizations apparently feel the need to embrace terms that are universal in nature and avoid terms that are more particularistic. Tzedakah, tikkun olam and klal yisroel are considered universal and inclusive terms.
But God? What about those Jews who don't believe in God, or have their doubts? Wouldn’t they be excluded when God is mentioned in a mission statement?
Torah? Authored by whom? God, man or a combination of the two? And what about those who don’t consider themselves to be Torah observant?
Judaism? Whose Judaism? Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Humanistic or something else?
The more our terms suggest that we’re not all the same, the more we shy away from using them. Yet the more we shy away from God, Torah and Judaism, the more we distance ourselves from the foundational elements of our religion and of our people. Consider, therefore, how much meaning we sacrifice to give the impression that we’re inclusive.
I realize that simply adding these words to rarely referenced mission statements is unlikely to significantly better the Jewish world all by itself. As they are currently used, the mission statements not only are guidelines for addressing our Jewish challenges. Perhaps more important, they offer insights into our collective Jewish psyches.
We must be the only people on the planet who believe we can transmit a message to future generations without saying specifically what that message is. Is it any wonder that most Jews cannot articulate Jewish purpose beyond some catch phrases or beyond merely expressing a desire that we survive as a people?
It cannot be coincidental that as generations of Jews become further and further removed from God-talk, they also give less and less tzedakah. We should no longer confuse generic feel-good terms with knowing specifically what the Torah, however we choose to interpret it, asks of us.
The great Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote that “Man is a messenger who forgot the message.” This particularly applies to we Jews: Too many have become messengers who fear their message. The sooner we overcome that fear, the sooner we can talk more about the brilliant and profound life Judaism offers us.
As we talk about, teach and increasingly live that life, more of the Jews we wish would join us will actually do so. They, too, have a need. They want purpose in their lives that money alone cannot fulfill. They want a sense of community that country club memberships won’t satisfy. In short, they want richness in their lives that Judaism and Jewish community can provide in endless amounts.
But make no mistake. We cannot effectively distinguish ourselves from all the other enticing options from which Jews can choose unless we speak to our discomfort-inducing distinctions. As we do this, our communities will become more compelling and more meaningful to more Jews. Ironically, rather than divisive, it is this approach that will make us more inclusive.
(Joel Alperson is a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities. He lives in Omaha, Neb. His views do not necessarily represent those of the UJC.)
Now what does this have to do with us. Firstly we need a gut check. How comfortable are we in Cong. Ariel advertising G-d Torah and Judaism. Secondly what can we do to bring those things back to institutions like the JCC. The time is ripe because having jettisoned the shabbos and gotten nothing for it they may be open to trying something new.
Op-Ed: Don’t fear ‘God,’ ‘Torah’ and ‘Judaism’
By Joel Alperson · June 15, 2009
OMAHA (JTA) -- “Fear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
No, it's not a typo. The Shema, which starts “Hear O Israel,” is the central credo of the Jewish people. It states that there is only one God -- and as a result, only one set of divinely authored ethics and imperatives.
According to the Torah, the Jews were given the daunting task of bringing God-based universal ethics to the world. However, given the number of Jews who are uncomfortable with such a mandate and with religious imperatives in general, I now worry that our prayer could read “Fear O Israel.”
I have this worry because a great number of non-Orthodox Jews -- I am not Orthodox -- are afraid to mention the core concepts of our remarkable religion. We fear that by talking too much or even about any Judaism, even among ourselves, we’ll sound too Christian, too much like our religious oppressors of centuries past, or like Orthodox Jews.
Examples?
I’ve collected the mission statements of the largest 17 Jewish federations in North America, and not one mentions “God,” “Torah” or “Judaism.” Nor do the mission statements of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, Hillel, the National Council of Jewish Women, The Wexner Heritage Foundation, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah and the Jewish National Fund. Of all the organizations I looked into, only United Jewish Communities mentions but one of the three words, Torah, in its mission statement.
Some surely will be quick to say that the above organizations were not created to convey religious concepts. That is precisely my point: How can we say these organizations are Jewish and at the same time don’t need to mention God, Torah or Judaism?
They are not afraid to use other religious terms -- many of them mention “tzedakah” (charity), “klal yisroel” (Jewish peoplehood) and “tikkun olam” (repair the world). Why are those words appropriate and not the others I’ve mentioned?
Many Jewish organizations apparently feel the need to embrace terms that are universal in nature and avoid terms that are more particularistic. Tzedakah, tikkun olam and klal yisroel are considered universal and inclusive terms.
But God? What about those Jews who don't believe in God, or have their doubts? Wouldn’t they be excluded when God is mentioned in a mission statement?
Torah? Authored by whom? God, man or a combination of the two? And what about those who don’t consider themselves to be Torah observant?
Judaism? Whose Judaism? Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Humanistic or something else?
The more our terms suggest that we’re not all the same, the more we shy away from using them. Yet the more we shy away from God, Torah and Judaism, the more we distance ourselves from the foundational elements of our religion and of our people. Consider, therefore, how much meaning we sacrifice to give the impression that we’re inclusive.
I realize that simply adding these words to rarely referenced mission statements is unlikely to significantly better the Jewish world all by itself. As they are currently used, the mission statements not only are guidelines for addressing our Jewish challenges. Perhaps more important, they offer insights into our collective Jewish psyches.
We must be the only people on the planet who believe we can transmit a message to future generations without saying specifically what that message is. Is it any wonder that most Jews cannot articulate Jewish purpose beyond some catch phrases or beyond merely expressing a desire that we survive as a people?
It cannot be coincidental that as generations of Jews become further and further removed from God-talk, they also give less and less tzedakah. We should no longer confuse generic feel-good terms with knowing specifically what the Torah, however we choose to interpret it, asks of us.
The great Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote that “Man is a messenger who forgot the message.” This particularly applies to we Jews: Too many have become messengers who fear their message. The sooner we overcome that fear, the sooner we can talk more about the brilliant and profound life Judaism offers us.
As we talk about, teach and increasingly live that life, more of the Jews we wish would join us will actually do so. They, too, have a need. They want purpose in their lives that money alone cannot fulfill. They want a sense of community that country club memberships won’t satisfy. In short, they want richness in their lives that Judaism and Jewish community can provide in endless amounts.
But make no mistake. We cannot effectively distinguish ourselves from all the other enticing options from which Jews can choose unless we speak to our discomfort-inducing distinctions. As we do this, our communities will become more compelling and more meaningful to more Jews. Ironically, rather than divisive, it is this approach that will make us more inclusive.
(Joel Alperson is a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities. He lives in Omaha, Neb. His views do not necessarily represent those of the UJC.)
Now what does this have to do with us. Firstly we need a gut check. How comfortable are we in Cong. Ariel advertising G-d Torah and Judaism. Secondly what can we do to bring those things back to institutions like the JCC. The time is ripe because having jettisoned the shabbos and gotten nothing for it they may be open to trying something new.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Parshas B'haaloscha
This week Congregation Ariel hosted the Koidenover Rebbe from Tel Aviv. The Rebbe delivered the drasha.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Parshas Naso
In a small town in Europe there was an alcoholic. His addiction created many problems for his family. He didn't support his family, he was abusive and in general a disgrace. One day in that same time town another man passed out drunk in the street. A crowd gathered and was laughing at the sight of the man passed out drunk. The family of the alcoholic brought him out to see the spectacle. "Do you realize this is what you look like?' they asked their father. "yes I see this is very bad" The alcoholic then bent down and whispered to the drunk "Where did you find such good vodka?" Our experiences have consequences but often they are of the unintended nature. This is illustrated in our Parsha but first we need some background.
In this weeks Parsha we are presented with the curious case of the Sotah. A women has been witnessed in seclusion with a man that she has been warned to stay away from. No crime has been witnessed and she protests her innocence. What should the husband do? If he divorces her she might be telling the truth and a marriage has been destroyed for no reason. To just accept her claims might be to hard for him. Somewhere down the line recriminations and suppressed pain or rage are bound to surface. The Torah invokes divine intervention to save the marriage. The woman goes to the Temple where the Kohanim have her drink a special water. If she was lying she will suffer a gruesome death as will her paramour regardless of whether or not he drank the water. If however she is innocent the fact that nothing happens to her will be a sign to her husband to believe her and soon they will be blessed with a child.
The Torah goes on to introduce to us the concept of Nazarite vows. A person may accept upon himself vows of abstinence which commonly include no imbibing grape or alcohol products, avoiding ritual defilement and no hair cutting. These self denials were invoked by people who felt they needed to distance themselves from the world around them.
The famous question is , why did the Torah juxtapose these two situations?
The Talmuds answer is cited by Rashi. Anyone who witnesses the degradation of the Sotah should swear off drinking wine for he will say look what happens when one has an inappropriate drink. Inhibition fall away and sins bearing these horrible consequences are in their wake.
Rabbi Arye Carmel was a student of the famous Rabbi Dessler. he currently lives in Jerusalem. He asks Why should the one who witnesses the Sotah swear off wine. What they have seen before their very eyes should act as motivation enough not to sin. Perhaps others who did not witness the Sotah need to swear off the strong drink but the audience at the Sotah is the last group that should need to take vows?
He answers by sharing a powerful insight of Rabbi Dessler. Knowledge impacts us. It might be a good impact or it might be a bad impact but impact there will be. Witnessing an event is the knowledge of awareness. Awareness is a responsibility. We cannot integrate new knowledge even good knowledge without reacting. If we don't react positively we will react negatively as our consciousness attempts to deal with the information. In our example when one witnesses the Sotah in her disgrace we are actually more prone to adultery than we would have been otherwise unless some positive steps are taken. hence the Nazatite vows. This thought can explain many phenomena. I would like to apply it to three.
1. For many years it has been the trend to educate children about activities that are considered to be adult activities and even vices. Studies show over and over that our children are engaging in these behaviours even more than they used to . it seems that all of the education complete with illustration of the ills involved such as unwanted pregnancy or drug abuse has not had the desired impact. Why? Because the children don't know what to do with the information. they are never told positive actions to enhance their lives while avoiding inappropriate activities.
2. People often remark at the extreme measures that have become De rigour in the orthodox world Vi's a Vi's modesty and separation of the sexes. "My grandparents were orthodox and they never heard of such things " is the common refrain. it seems obvious to me that when we live in a culture that does not allow us to drive one block down the street without confronting us with life size images suggesting immoral behavior that we must take some positive steps to counter act or we will be destroyed. The orthodox world is taking action to turn the awareness into something positive.
3. Lastly people observe inappropriate or illegal activity coming from a learned Jew. The automatic reaction is "How could someone who knows so much Torah act like that?" The answer would be that the person acquired Torah knowledge but never concretized it with positive deeds. the Torah knowledge then worked negatively upon the student and the illegal activity is the result.
So it is with each and every one of us. We gain an insight in the Torah from a lecture or our own study or we learn something from a life experience what will happen to us now. We have a choice. Either do something with it or wait and see what it does with us.
Something just happened that you feel good about go over to the tzedakah box (Cong. Ariel of course) and put something in.
In light of what I know I am going to say a bracha, boreh minay mezonos before I eat the grain products at kiddush. I am going to approach someone I don't know and welcome them to the shul or ask them to welcome me to the shul. This afternoon I will retain the spirit of shabbos a little longer by not changing into casual clothes as soon as I get home.
Now you know what are you going to do about it?
In this weeks Parsha we are presented with the curious case of the Sotah. A women has been witnessed in seclusion with a man that she has been warned to stay away from. No crime has been witnessed and she protests her innocence. What should the husband do? If he divorces her she might be telling the truth and a marriage has been destroyed for no reason. To just accept her claims might be to hard for him. Somewhere down the line recriminations and suppressed pain or rage are bound to surface. The Torah invokes divine intervention to save the marriage. The woman goes to the Temple where the Kohanim have her drink a special water. If she was lying she will suffer a gruesome death as will her paramour regardless of whether or not he drank the water. If however she is innocent the fact that nothing happens to her will be a sign to her husband to believe her and soon they will be blessed with a child.
The Torah goes on to introduce to us the concept of Nazarite vows. A person may accept upon himself vows of abstinence which commonly include no imbibing grape or alcohol products, avoiding ritual defilement and no hair cutting. These self denials were invoked by people who felt they needed to distance themselves from the world around them.
The famous question is , why did the Torah juxtapose these two situations?
The Talmuds answer is cited by Rashi. Anyone who witnesses the degradation of the Sotah should swear off drinking wine for he will say look what happens when one has an inappropriate drink. Inhibition fall away and sins bearing these horrible consequences are in their wake.
Rabbi Arye Carmel was a student of the famous Rabbi Dessler. he currently lives in Jerusalem. He asks Why should the one who witnesses the Sotah swear off wine. What they have seen before their very eyes should act as motivation enough not to sin. Perhaps others who did not witness the Sotah need to swear off the strong drink but the audience at the Sotah is the last group that should need to take vows?
He answers by sharing a powerful insight of Rabbi Dessler. Knowledge impacts us. It might be a good impact or it might be a bad impact but impact there will be. Witnessing an event is the knowledge of awareness. Awareness is a responsibility. We cannot integrate new knowledge even good knowledge without reacting. If we don't react positively we will react negatively as our consciousness attempts to deal with the information. In our example when one witnesses the Sotah in her disgrace we are actually more prone to adultery than we would have been otherwise unless some positive steps are taken. hence the Nazatite vows. This thought can explain many phenomena. I would like to apply it to three.
1. For many years it has been the trend to educate children about activities that are considered to be adult activities and even vices. Studies show over and over that our children are engaging in these behaviours even more than they used to . it seems that all of the education complete with illustration of the ills involved such as unwanted pregnancy or drug abuse has not had the desired impact. Why? Because the children don't know what to do with the information. they are never told positive actions to enhance their lives while avoiding inappropriate activities.
2. People often remark at the extreme measures that have become De rigour in the orthodox world Vi's a Vi's modesty and separation of the sexes. "My grandparents were orthodox and they never heard of such things " is the common refrain. it seems obvious to me that when we live in a culture that does not allow us to drive one block down the street without confronting us with life size images suggesting immoral behavior that we must take some positive steps to counter act or we will be destroyed. The orthodox world is taking action to turn the awareness into something positive.
3. Lastly people observe inappropriate or illegal activity coming from a learned Jew. The automatic reaction is "How could someone who knows so much Torah act like that?" The answer would be that the person acquired Torah knowledge but never concretized it with positive deeds. the Torah knowledge then worked negatively upon the student and the illegal activity is the result.
So it is with each and every one of us. We gain an insight in the Torah from a lecture or our own study or we learn something from a life experience what will happen to us now. We have a choice. Either do something with it or wait and see what it does with us.
Something just happened that you feel good about go over to the tzedakah box (Cong. Ariel of course) and put something in.
In light of what I know I am going to say a bracha, boreh minay mezonos before I eat the grain products at kiddush. I am going to approach someone I don't know and welcome them to the shul or ask them to welcome me to the shul. This afternoon I will retain the spirit of shabbos a little longer by not changing into casual clothes as soon as I get home.
Now you know what are you going to do about it?
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