Israel's New Government

As you may have read a new governing coalition has been created consisting of: Likud, Labor, Shas, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) and HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home). It appears that Netanyahu was unable to bring in United Torah Judaism because they were too steadfast in their demands to change the Law of Return (the question of who is a Jew). He had to bring in Jewish Home as a hedge against a Labor splinter group having the power to bring down the government. Barak’s decision to join the government was a controversial decision within Labor and could very well cause a split within the party, depending on the direction of the Netanyahu government. Here is an article from Yediot Ahronot about the new government which was sworn in on Tuesday. The joke in Israel is that Netanyahu had to give away so many cabinet positions that the ceremonial picture of the new government will have to be taken in Jerusalem's Teddy stadium. Let us hope and pray that Israel's new government will lead the country with courage and resoluteness. Chazak chazak v'nitchazek! And more on a recent post (Israel's Army, March 22)... If you want to read an important article regarding the controversy about Israeli soldiers' actions in Gaza read Leon Wieseltier's recent piece in TNR. Take note of these words: "In its sad way, the recent controversy about Israel's conduct in Gaza was a beautiful thing, because the truest test of the moral condition of a society is its willingness to examine its moral condition." To this I offer a heart wrenching "Amen."

Crosses at the Wall

There is yet another controversy brewing in the city and country seemingly filled with controversies. The pope is planning a visit to the State of Israel. The rabbi (Shmuel Rabinovitch) in charge of the Western Wall has ruled that Pope Benedict should not wear his cross when visiting this Jewish holy site. This is absurd. How is it that the pope's beliefs impinge on my beliefs or his practices on the sanctity of my holy place? Let the pope come to our Western Wall and offer a prayer. Let him pray to God as he as always done. Let him wear what he always wears. It does not lessen my faith. We will be doing more to honor the history of hatred and enmity between us by allowing him to be an authentic representative of his Christian faith than by asking him to hide his cross. I remember the previous Pope Paul's words at the Wall, said some nine years ago this month: "God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring Your name to the nations: we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of Yours to suffer and asking Your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant." I also remember Rabbi Melchior's words said to the visiting pope at that time: "For today we commit ourselves to end the manipulation of the sanctity of Jerusalem for political gain. Jerusalem must reject hatred, struggle, and bloodshed, and be again the 'City of Peace' and a source of holiness." Those were of course different days but I still say, even after 9-11 and the Second Intifada, Amen!

Headwinds and Tailwinds

I have been thinking about the economy and our current crisis. I have this sense that we will be writing history in 2009. Everything is going to be rewritten. How businesses are run and how their employees (and executives) are paid. How charities are supported. How synagogues function. Much has been said about the making of history. And now we are really in the thick of it. History is hanging over our heads. For this reason I am pulled to the first century. I know that how I practice my Judaism was written during those years. I understand that the rabbis then made historic choices. They chose the Torah over the Temple--after the catastrophe of 70 C.E. when the Temple was destroyed. They chose relevance over irrelevance. The rabbis seized history over the Sadducees and Zealots. I know I am simplifying their struggles but how many Sadducees are still quoted in Jewish circles? I can only imagine the fear that gripped our people during those days. I can only imagine how afraid they were of the future. Such is the mood today. But I will not be taken in by depression. I am already planning tomorrow. I take strength from my reading of history. I believe success is determined by turning and changing. Struggling to rebuild the past is impossible, pining after what we once had a distraction. Remember the past. Turn to the future. You may be surprised to know that I not only gain strength from our history and tradition, but also from of all places, my passion for bicycling. This is why. The wonderful thing about heading out on your bike into a headwind is that you know you are going to be coming home with a tailwind. The lesson in this is simple. Every headwind can be turned into a tailwind. You just have to figure out which way to turn. People think the secret is pedaling harder but the real secret to success is turning. Don't be afraid to turn. There are many blessings to be written in your turning.

Israel's Army

This morning's New York Times has an excellent, albeit unflattering, article about Israel and its army. My teacher Moshe Halbertal, with whom I study every summer at the Shalom Hartman Institute, is quoted at length. Moshe helped to rewrite the IDF's code of ethics and helps to teach in the Institute's officer training course. The goal of his teaching, as I see it, is to place modern, humanistic values within the language of Jewish tradition and texts. That of course is simplifying the enterprise for his project is no small job and no small matter for Israeli society. How can Israel remain a modern, democratic state, infused with Jewish language and discourse, while fighting enemies bent on its destruction? Do our enemies every forfeit their right to humanity? When does our love for the land of Israel become an intoxication that overshadows all other values and commitments? When does our love of the Bible and our enthrallment with its words overwhelm our devotion to democratic values? For me, living in the diaspora, the answers to these questions are merely theoretical. In Israel the answers are matters of life and death. There are some Israelis who take the easy way out and reject democracy--as antithetical to Judaism and others who reject Judaism--as antithetical to democracy. I am thankful to my teachers for their continuing efforts to wed the two--Judaism and democracy--in the modern State of Israel. Even though today's article might be unflattering on the surface, I remain deeply committed to the enterprise it brings to light, the painful and wrenching internal debates that are a part of the fabric of Israeli life. I pray these debates make Israel even stronger and better.

Madoff Again

Last week Bernie Madoff finally went to jail. But his punishment will never befit his crime. I remember reading that Elie Wiesel (who lost all of his personal money as well as his foundation's dollars) suggested that the only fitting punishment would be if in Madoff's cell there was a TV screen with a perpetual interview of his victims. 24 hours a day, every day of the year, Madoff would have to watch an endless loop of interviews. He would have to watch the tears of pain, the anger, the feelings of betrayal. That would be the only show he could ever watch, the only story he could ever read. To that end Vanity Fair's video produced by Stephen Wilkes is worth watching. The sad truth is that I doubt this would have any effect on Madoff's soul. He is no different from the pocket thief (except in terms of dollars) who hugs someone while reaching into his pocket to steal his wallet. He laughed and vacationed with people who called him friend and then stole from them. Madoff gave to tzedakah with stolen funds. He was praised for his generosity and piety--when in fact his virtue was at the expense of others. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Koidonover, a 17th century ethical master, leveled this charge against the Madoffs of his time: Our sages have written that one does not have to guard himself against a really bad man who expresses his evil openly, but one must be on guard against the person who acts as if he were righteous, who kisses the prayer book, recites psalms and prayers day and night, yet in money matters is a “crook.” There really is no punishment that would fit Madoff's crime, although I for one think that he should be made penniless. There should be no plea bargain deals until the last of his ill gotten gains are recovered and every co-conspirator is found. That would serve justice best. Punishments I leave in God's hands. And with that I leave you with this final word from Jimmy Kimmel and Sesame Street.

Happy Purim!

Happy Purim! For more pictures from JCB's Purim celebration follow the link in the sidebar under My Pictures. Chag Purim Samayach--may it be a Purim filled with fun, laughter and joy.

Purim Def Poem

In honor of the upcoming holiday of Purim (beginning Monday, March 9) which celebrates, among many of its themes, Esther's growing awareness of her Jewish identity, I recommend watching the following Jewish Def Poem with Vanessa Hidary: The Hebrew Mamita. Even though this performance was recorded some years ago it is still a wonderful statement about the awakening of Jewish pride and consciousness. On Purim we remind ourselves that our people's survival is dependent on standing with Esther and declaring, as she did in the megillah, that our personal survival is intertwined with our people's.

Car Memories

I have been thinking about the first car I drove--a Pontiac Safari station wagon with a 455 hp engine. Although it was a rather unattractive car for a teenager to drive, I still managed to find the positive and brag to my friends about its power. It did not matter then that the car got only eight miles per gallon--when not running the AC. After reading this week's papers I have been thinking about cars and my first memory. It is wrapped up in a car as well. I was three and a half years old. It was the evening my brother Michael was born. My dad came into my bedroom in the middle of that cold January night and wrapped me in my light blue blanket. He placed me on the back seat of our Pontiac Catalina--no car seats back then. I can still see that car. It was dark green with a black vinyl roof. He carried me into our friend's home and let me fall back to sleep. I was awakened to the news that I was a brother. A few years later, that green Pontiac Catalina was the same car my dad drove around the block searching for me to show me our new puppy. It is funny how one line in a paper can trigger a flood of memories. "GM also announced that it will stop making Pontiacs." I never really understood why old men collect old cars. Now I do. On days such as these we are only left with our memories.

Obama's Rousing Words

Yesterday I was only allowing myself to hope. Today I am filled with hope. My faith in our country is restored. To witness a Black man with a Middle Eastern name become president is remarkable. You do not need to be schooled in history to appreciate this moment's significance. Given how unlikely this moment was--even one year ago--gives me renewed hope that anything is possible. I was especially stirred by Obama's words as he hearkened to the cadence of the Bible and called us to take responsibility for our future. This country, like our Jewish tradition, was once built on responsibility and action. It will be rebuilt on these ancient truths. "In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never given. It must be earned." Amen! I especially applaud our president's warning to our enemies. "And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, 'Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.'" Even more important than this warning to others were the numerous calls for our country to return to its ideals. Fear has eroded our values. Terrorism succeeds when we allow it to destroy our greatest treasures--the values on which our nation was founded. "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." Amen v'Amen! I sense our country is once again ready to rekindle its spirit and work to a better future. Today I believe Maya Angelou's assessment in Sunday's Washington Post may be correct. Our new president is the "real deal." He is a man of great intelligence, ability, depth of character and devotion. I am inspired by his words. "Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism--these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility..." Kein y'hi ratzon--may it be so!

Inauguration

Tomorrow Barack Hussein Obama will become our president. And I am going to allow myself to hope. I have spent the last days watching the festivities, reading about the final weeks of his transition and of course listening to Obama's words. There are two notes in particular that give me hope. Obama more than any of his predecessors appears to listen to his ideological opponents. He has for instance sought out the counsel of John McCain. He has listened to the thoughts of leading conservatives. He is not blinded by ideology. He is comfortable with debate and dialogue. Maureen Dowd took note of this character trait in yesterday's Times, while also cautioning that this can turn into a tragic flaw. Obama is "...a complex, polysyllabic professor sort who will make a decision only after he has held it up to the light and examined it from all sides." Most important of all Obama possesses a remarkable ability to be honest and forthright about our struggles while still sounding a note of hope. His hope is not pollyannish. Our country does indeed face many challenges. Yet despite this, and perhaps because of our new leader's words, I am once again hopeful about the future and the great potential of our country. Until tomorrow I conclude with Obama's words from yesterday's ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial: "...Despite all of this -- despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead -- I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time.... There is no doubt that our road will be long, that our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today." I am going to allow myself to hope. I am also going to answer the call to strengthen our nation's character.

Hamas Again

Bret Stephens writing in Tuesday's Journal offers a telling reminder of the nature of Israel's struggle against Hamas. He reminds us of Hamas's slogan: "God is [Hamas's] target, the Prophet is its model, the Quran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of God is the loftiest of its wishes." How can one emerge victorious fighting against someone who sees death as a victory? How can one compromise--the very essence of cease fires and peace agreements--with someone who would prefer death over life? In past wars military victories were quantifiable. One destroys 60% of their tanks and the remaining 40% limp back to within their state's borders. Victory in conventional terms is an illusion. Peace is therefore also an illusion. Such is the nature of Israel's present struggle. Israel can best hope to minimize rocket attacks on its South and prevent the smuggling of more advanced weapons into Gaza. Perhaps Israel can push the Palestinian people into rejecting Hamas and the cult of death it offers. Then again if it pushes too hard the people may choose death by their own hands and in keeping with Hamas's jihadist theology rather than at the hands of Israel's soldiers. I support Israel's right to defend itself and protect its citizens. I pray that Palestinians will see living alongside Israelis and the Jewish state as the best hope for life. I pray that Palestinians will see compromise as the road to eternal life. In the meantime I pray that Israel's soldiers will succeed in bringing some measure of shalom--quiet and calm--to its borders.
Watch Rabbi Donniel Hartman to hear an excellent analysis of the moral questions Israel faces in waging war against Hamas.

Helping Israel's Soldiers

If you would like to support Israel's soldiers directly I recommend these three organizations:
Package from Home delivers cares packages to combat soldiers. This is my favorite. I have packed many care packages for soldiers through this organization. Even more than the food, your personal letters are most appreciated by the soldiers. Since the start of the war this organization has delivered more than 4,300 packages.
IDF Pizza delivers pizza to soldiers. Its promotional video offers a touch of humor to the current situation.
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces is the well-known American charity that raises funds to support Israel's military. Take particular note of the ways to help injured soldiers.
Don't underestimate the good will generated by sending a pizza to tired and hungry soldiers.

Qassam Rockets

Qassam rockets piled up at the Sederot police station. This picture was taken when I traveled to Israel on a UJC Rabbinic Mission in October 2006, only a year after Israel's disengagement from Gaza. I wonder how large the pile is today. Enough said! Well I wish that was all I needed to say to offer moral clarity to the current situation of why Israel sent its troops into Gaza! Pray for Israel's soldiers who are struggling to ensure that no more rockets are ever added to such piles and that Israel's citizens can live in peace.
Watch this video of a Sederot playground to get a better feel for the situation.

Gaza and Hamas

I just returned from a vacation in Israel. It was as always a wonderful trip. We live in a remarkable age. There in Israel my son Ari can read Torah on the very rubble the Romans pushed down from the Temple Mount 2,000 years ago. There in the holiest of places--a place centuries of rulers attempted to destroy--my son can affirm his Jewish heritage. Despite the efforts of countless enemies the Jewish people lives. Nothing can keep us from our most treasured city, Jerusalem. I returned from Israel with a renewed conviction that just as we overcame centuries of enemies we will overcome their modern day inheritors. Today it is Hamas. Two years ago it was Hezbollah. One day it will be Iran. This past week the IDF attacked its avowed enemy, Hamas. Yet, we only read of Israel's disproportionate response. There seems to be some confusion about the moral calculus. Let me clarify. Hamas' stated objective is the destruction of the Jewish state. Hamas purposely targets civilians. Hamas leaders train their own sons to be suicide (nay, homicide) bombers. In short, Hamas loves death more than life. Israel is willing to make peace--even with its enemies. Even during the past six month so called tahadiya (calm), when Israel exercised remarkable restraint, Hamas continued to fire rockets at Israel's southern towns and cities. Israel goes to great lengths to avoid civilian deaths--even dropping leaflets warning of impending attacks. Israel prays that its soldiers might live--and mourns the loss of all life. After Ari finished the Torah reading we prayed for Israel's soldiers, and in particular the sons of our friends gathered there at the Wall to celebrate with us. Their teenage boys were waiting on Gaza's borders. I pray for them. I pray for peace. But as God commanded Joshua, we must be strong and resolute before our enemies.
Watch Mayor Bloomberg to hear an excellent defense of Israel's right to self defense and the question of proportionality.

Hanukkah and the iMenorah

If you go to the iTunes App Store you will find an application for your iPhone or iTouch for Hanukkah. It will guide you through a digital lighting of the Hanukkah menorah. Light the candles and watch them burn as the blessings play. So here is the question: is this same as lighting the menorah? There is nothing quite like watching the candles burn. Nothing can replace the flickering of real candles. Will there soon be an app for yahrtzeit candles? There is of course something lost in the digital revolution. I have found an endless amount of information and reading on the internet. I can search through every Jewish book ever written with one stroke of my laptop's keypad. It is not the same as holding a sefer--a book--in my hand. Yet there is also something gained. One of the mitzvot of Hanukkah is to proclaim the miracle. I can light my menorah in my home and be enthralled by the burning of the candles or I can walk around with my iTouch blaring Maoz Tzur. More people can learn and read about Judaism than the rabbis of old ever imagined possible. Now you can light the menorah in the most public place of all--the iTunes store. That is really proclaiming the miracle of Hanukkah!

Electric Cars

I read Tom Friedman's column in this morning's New York Times with great interest. You can read the column here. He discusses an Israeli inventor, Shai Agassi, who may very well change the way we drive around our suburbs. You can read Agassi's blog here. I am unsure what I think about Agassi's idea—although it stirs my Jewish kishkes that he is Israeli. I have been driving a car and filling a car with gas for nearly thirty years. It is hard to imagine breaking such habits. I am unsure if the idea can even work. Yet his idea gives me hope. It says: there are people who are trying to change the way we get to and from places so that we can alter our dependence on oil. There are people who understand that we must change course. It saddens me that the American auto industry fails to grasp how much it must turn, that the world needs it to change. This industry should be leading us. I should be reading about their inventions instead of their need for billions of dollars. Detroit helped to build this country. Henry Ford revolutionized the industrial world. Yes I am aware and it is impossible to forget that he used his profits for evil ends when he distributed the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. But in the ark of a Detroit synagogue—hmm could that be my brother's synagogue?—there rests a Torah donated by Henry Ford's great grandson. In that Torah are to be found the teachings of hope and our capacity to change. We can change. We must change. Whether or not it will be Agassi's idea or another's, Hummers should no longer dot our suburban landscape. I hope GM, Chrysler and Ford can recover the leadership they once offered this country and lead us through the next revolution in driving. I hope my grandchildren have to ask me, "Grandpa, what is a gas station?" I hope they don't have to ask me "What is a Ford?"

Shared Blogroll

There is so much information to be found on the internet. Some of it is excellent. Some of it should never be published. So I have added a new feature to my blog. On the right sidebar you will find the Shared Blogroll. It lists worthy articles from the many blogs I now read. You can view the complete list of shared articles by clicking on "Read more…" Lately, I have found the most interesting articles on The Jerusalem Post and Jewcy. There is a wide variety of opinions out there and I try to read those that I agree with and especially those that I disagree with. The danger of the internet is that you can surround yourself with agreement. You can find thousands and thousands of people who share your opinions. You can find a web page devoted to whatever esoteric interest (or obsession) you might have. And if not, you can write a blog and then your opinion and your interest seem to magically gain legitimacy, authority and approval. (Hmm...) But countless internet pages do not make an idea true. The task is to find ideas that challenge your notions, to build your opinions on new and different ideas. I want to be shaped by ideas, not shape my ideas around like minded opinions. My soul is nourished by machloket l'shem shamayim—arguments for the sake of heaven.

My Son's Bar Mitzvah

This past weekend we celebrated my son becoming a bar mitzvah. What follows is part of what I said to him... While it is true that Shira made me a father, you Ari made me a man. I know this might sound strange and that most people think that you become a man on your bar mitzvah or better when you get married or perhaps when you get your first job, but for me becoming a man is realized when there is another young man watching you and following you. It is one thing to have a father looking over your shoulder and saying, “Did you remember to do your homework?” Or, a grandfather who might say, “Give your grandmother a kiss.” It is quite another matter when it is a son looking over your shoulder. My son watches me like the king in the Torah portion Toldot. You watch me and I feel your perceptive stare and I feel your mind thinking, how do I speak to my Susie, how do I talk to my parents, how do I comfort my congregants, how do I treat strangers? Ari, having you as my son makes me a better man. Every day I thank God for my family. On this day I especially thank God that you are my son. I have a son who is a lot like me and a little not like me. I have a son who is loving and caring, honest and forthright, a son unafraid to challenge me and perceptive beyond his years. Ari you are a blessing. And I thank God for bringing you into our lives. Ari, I love you.

Riches by the Pocketful

Hadassah Magazine November 2008

Like my grandfather, I am a proud Jew and a proud American, but there is something else in my pocket that defines who I am. Though I am a rabbi of a congregation, I don't carry the keys to a synagogue in my pocket. Instead, I carry the keys to a church--the Brookville Reformed Church on the North of Long Island, founded over 270 years ago. For over 10 years Reverend Allan Ramirez and his congregation have allowed my community to meet there for Shabbat and holidays. I doubt the original founders of this church could have imagined that one day a rabbi would lead a Jewish congregation in song and prayer, that the Hebrew words of the Jewish tradition and the melodies of my grandfather's past would fill the church sanctuary. This, too, is what is good and noble about this country. Here in the United States, a church can help sustain a synagogue. Christians can say to Jews, "Come, fill our home with your melodies." Some days I look out of the window of my study and I see my son, Ari, and his best friend, Hugh O'Connor, sitting on the curb talking. Ari tells me that they are talking about religion. I suspect they are talking about girls and sports. As I watch them, I reach into my pocket and finger the church keys. They are a reminder that in the United States it is natural and normal that a Jew and a Christian are best friends. One day soon, my synagogue will have its own building. Still, I hope Reverend Ramirez will let me to keep the church keys so that they might forever remain in my pocket and forever remind me of what I love about this country to which my grandparents brought my family.

The complete article can be found by following the link on the Blog's sidebar.

Trying to be Honest

Recently I backed out of my driveway to discover only Newsday and the Wall Street Journal. "No New York Times," I screamed to myself. So I put the car in park and called the Times to report a missed delivery. Later I continued backing the car out of the driveway. There was the Times. It was under my car! I stopped the car again to call the Times and cancel the credit for the missed delivery. No option existed for cancelling a credit so I pressed "0" to speak to a service representative. After waiting some five minutes I finally reached a live person. I explained to him the situation and my mistake. I offered an apology. He explained that the computer would not allow him to reverse the credit. There was nothing he could do. I would have to accept the credit for the missed delivery. "But I made a mistake!" He thanked me for my call. I resolved that for my next vacation I would donate the vacation suspension to schools. I often wonder why it is so difficult to be honest. Why does it require so much effort? Why can't we make it easier for people to be honest? Why can't computers be programmed for honesty as well as dishonesty? Is this experience evidence that so few people take the time to place such a call? The Rabbis teach: "Let truth rise from the earth." I will continue to make such calls. But I will also wait to make such calls until after checking under my car!