Parshat Noach 2011

Parshat Noach 2011

Shabbat Morning

1. Shabbat Shalom

2. I mentioned last week that one of the problems with the stories of Genesis/Berayshit is that we see them as “merely” children's stories. We learned about Noah and the flood in elementary school. We may have decorated our own children's bedrooms with pictures of Noah and the ark or the ark and the rainbow. We make jokes about having all those animals in one place and having to feed and clean up after all of them. This does not seem to be, in our eyes, a serious story. After all, it is just a myth. There is no evidence that the flood really happened anyway.

3. I don't know if there was an historical flood or not. I don't know if the “whole world” was flooded or just all of Noah's world. I don't know if there really was an ark that someone can find buried in the mountains of Ararat or if there was any way all those animals could have fit into one really big ship. I don't know about any of this and I really don't care either. This story, like most of the stories of Genesis, are not meant to be historical narratives, but they are lessons in human morality.

4. As a morality story, there are some really big problems with the flood. My colleague Rabbi Brad Artson has written about the flood “There is still something disquieting about the whole episode. Even if every single human soul was wicked and cruel, why did God have to kill all those innocent animals? Why did fish survive the deluge just because they know how to swim? Couldn't some of the people have been given a good scare and then told to do better? Why did there have to be so much death?”

5. How do you think our children really feel about a God who gets angry with the world and destroys everything? Does this story teach them to love one another? Does it teach them God will always be there to protect them and comfort them? This is a really hard story for children. It is a hard story for us adults too. And while we can argue over why Noah was so good that he was worth saving, we have a much harder time wondering why some other people, who were good but maybe just not as good as Noah, were also not spared the flood.

6. The ancient commentators had a simple solution to the “angry” God. The commentators believed that just as a man who shoots an arrow, can't bring it back after it has been launched, so too, once God lets loose one of the “divine arrows”, God no longer has the power to alter its course. This means that once the destruction is let loose, it destroys everything, no matter if it is good or bad. If the Israelites in Egypt did not stay in the home protected by the blood of the lamb on their door, then the death that claimed the lives of the first born of Eygpt, would also be the vehicle of the Israelite's death as well. This means that it is a good thing that God is forgiving, because, when God gets angry, both the good and bad people in the world will feel the sting of God's wrath.

7. This kind of a explanation leaves us feeling bewildered. Is God not omnipotent? Can't God save the innocent people and animals from destruction? Human beings may not be able to stop the destroyer but we expect that God has the power to turn the destruction both on and off. The Torah, however, seems to be pretty consistent; when God punishes the world, both the good and the evil are swept away together. What moral lesson can we learn from this depressing lesson?

8. I hear from many people, online, in this community and in this congregation, a constant demand for biblical justice. We require an eye for an eye. If our enemies would hit us we will hit them back ten times/twenty times harder. Our enemies do not care about us so why should we care about them? They kill women and children and never regret their actions, why should we hesitate to kill their women and children? Let us take off the gloves, just kill them all and let God sort them out.

9. Biblical justice is what some people are always demanding. The families of someone murdered want to see the killer die in the electric chair. The killer should suffer just like the murdered suffered. Criminals should be thrown in jail and we should throw away the key. If the courts won't convict him, then we will take the law into our own hands. Terrorists have no right because they refuse to honor the rights of anyone else. If he destroys my eye, I will take his eye; if he destroys my tooth, then I will knock out his teeth. We don't believe in “turning the other cheek”; if my enemy hits me, I will hit him back so hard that he will never think about hitting me again. I am not a dyed in the wool pacifist, I know that there are some evil people who only understand violence, but I think it is important that we make sure that we never become one of them.

10. The lesson here is that once the destroyer is set loose, it is impossible for there to be a distinction between the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. Everyone is swept up in the destruction. Good people get arrested in crime sweeps through a neighborhood. Innocent people are sometimes used as human shields for terrorists to hide behind when they are attacked. History is filled with those innocent who died trying to save loved ones from unrestrained violence. War is filled with what we now call “collateral damage”, meaning innocent victims whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yes, there are grotesque examples of evil in this world. Only a ruthless dictator like Quadaffi could kill innocent hospital patients, and plant their bodies in the ruins of a recently bombed building and claim that NATO killed “innocent” people. And yet, in every war, there will be atrocities. That is the way of war. Some who died are innocent civilians who were killed by loyalist forces. The freedom fighters of Libya killed foreign mercenary soldiers as well as foreign guest workers just because they all have the same color skin. Once humans descend into the chaos of killing, the good gets swept away with the bad.

11. I know that there are many people who disagree with me on this but the flood story is telling us that violence only breeds more violence. Hitting someone back, capital punishment, war and retaliation only breed more hurt and more killing. Revenge sounds sweet but it never changes anything and it only causes a call for more revenge. If we want peace on the streets of our cities, if we want peace in Iraq and Afghanistan, if we want peace in Israel, we will have to find a way to stop the cycle of killing and make peace with our enemies.

12. Trading over a thousand killers for one lone Israeli soldier does sound like a really bad deal. Some of those terrorists were welcomed home as heroes and they called to their supporters for more killing and more terror. It violates our sense of justice and fair play to see these killers rewarded for the blood on their hands. But the Israeli government made a stronger point inside Israel and around the world. Bringing home a captured soldier is the most sacred vow a country can make to those who defend her from attack. It is not just Gilad Shalit who is grateful that Israel made this disgusting trade, but every soldier in Israel is happy that their country was prepared to do whatever was needed to bring a soldier home. Last week the world learned that a civilized nation sometimes does hold its collective nose in order to do what is right and just.

13. The reason there were a thousand prisoners to exchange for Shalit is because Israel does not have a death penalty. No matter how much blood is on the hands of the terrorists, they are not killed in retaliation by Israel. In spite of the talk of the nationalist parties that the only thing an Arab understands is the point of a gun and an iron fist, there are no shortage of others who are prepared to meet with Palestinian Arabs, learn from each other and who try and see an opposing point of view. It is not easy. It is not always fun. It means being open, candid, articulate and one has to be a really good listener. We all know how easy it is to resort to violence; This week's parsha is asking us if humanity can overcome its violent nature in order to cultivate understanding and peace? It is really easy to talk tough, but can we talk peace when we need to? It is possible to beat a person into submission. They may fear their attacker but they cannot be forced to love. Love comes with trust and understanding.

14. The flood story teaches us that even though God destroyed the world, it was not the end of violence and strife. The newly repopulated world soon was filled again with war and aggression. The flood story is followed by the story of the Tower of Babel, and the strife that project brought into the world. It will be another ten generations until Abraham comes to plead with God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Only then do we learn that there is another way to confront the wickedness of the world. If we wish to be among those who “seek peace and pursue it”, if we want to work to bring peace as hard as others work to bring war, then maybe, someday, perhaps not in our lifetime and perhaps not in the lifetime of our children, but someday there will be a world filled with kindness and peace. That is the messianic promise and that is the mission and goal of all life. It is all too easy to destroy life, but one who saves a life is considered as if he or she has saved the world.

15. This is the promise of the Noah and the rainbow. This is the lesson of the flood and the dove. God regrets destroying life, and we should regret it too. Let us do all we can do, this day and every day, in this country and abroad, in Israel and around the world, to let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Amen and Shabbat Shalom

Shemini Atzeret Yizkor

Shemini Atzeret Yizkor

Rabbi Randall J. Konigsburg

2011

1. Hag Sameach

2. Yizkor always comes at the end of major Jewish Holidays. If we pause to think about this, it is a rather surprising time for Yizkor. When we think of holidays we usually think of celebrations, festive meals, impressive synagogue services, and the scope of Jewish history. With all the joy of the holiday we might think that it would be out of place to dwell on those who have died. After all, the pain in our hearts never really goes away. We learn to live with the ache in our hearts and we try to move on. Why should we pause our holiday festivities to remember the dead?

3. But Judaism looks at our holidays differently. All through the year we can busy ourselves with our work, our family, a host of distractions, clubs and organizations so we don't have to dwell on the memories of those we have lost. But the hardest times of the year, when the memories can no longer be suppressed, is on holidays, when we gather together and there is an empty chair at the table. The family table now has one less setting. The friends gathering have one less companion to share the joy. The normal course of conversation will eventually include memories of holiday celebrations when our loved ones were still alive.

4. Yizkor gives us a time to pay attention to these memories. They cannot be the elephant in the room, filling the space but nobody is allowed to talk about it. There is no reason to tell someone “Don't think about who you have lost, it will dampen the mood of the holiday” because it will not help to deny the feelings. Jewish ritual has us confront our memories, we gather in synagogue and we recite the words of Yizkor to help sharpen what we desire to remember.

5. Judaism gives us this time, at the end of the holiday so we don't have to struggle to forget; we have this time aside to remember. The dead may not be able to be a part of our holiday, but their memory and the lessons they taught us are a priceless possession and these memories rightly belong in this small part of our holiday service we call Yizkor.

6. Psychologists tell us that repressing the memories does not make them go away, they always come back, sometimes when we least expect it and sometimes at inappropriate times. We all need a year or more, they tell us, to fully heal from the pain of loss. Long before psychology, however, Judaism understood that death is not an evil that has to be avoided as if it were a plague. It is a natural part of life and it is not to be feared. It just takes time to heal. No matter how calm or traumatic a death may be, Judaism teaches us that that we have duties to those who have died and we have duties to ourselves as we journey through the “valley of the shadow of death”. We cut short these rituals at our own peril, cutting us off from the source of our healing.

7. So many people think Shiva is a bother because it is so long; a whole week of sitting and mourning. At a time when we want to be far away from people, Judaism teaches us that we need to be with people. We need to hear the stories of our loved one told by others and they need to hear our stories too. It is not a time to go to work, or run around doing errands all over town. Shiva teaches us that we need to stop our life and first let the healing in. The healing that comes when our friends and family gather to support us in our hour of pain. Everyone I know who has sat Shiva for the whole seven days, is always glad that they made the decision to sit. There is no reason to rush. There is no reason to be somewhere else. We sometimes feel we want to hurry and remove all the memories of this painful death right away but Judaism has us wait, until our hearts have begun to heal before we begin to go through the possessions of the deceased. Jewish ritual gives us all the time we need to mourn our loss and slowly ease back into the routines of daily life. Shiva ends with a walk outside, symbolizing our re-entering the everyday world.

8. Sheloshim, the 30 day period that follows the funeral, is directed to our emotional state. We may be ready to get back into routines, but some aspects of life still feel strange when we have recently suffered a loss. Parties and music just feel wrong when we are mourners. How can we say Kaddish three times a day and then turn around and attend a concert or dance at a wedding? Sheloshim gives us extra time to stand apart until we are ready to rejoin the rest of society.

9. For an entire year, we are given the responsibility to pray on behalf of a parent or loved one. We still have to face a year's worth of celebrations; birthdays, anniversaries, favorite holidays, long weekends, all of these will give us reason to cry anew and Kaddish helps us travel a minefield of memories that sometimes can trip us at surprising moments. Finding a way to get to a minyan and say kaddish is an action we can do to honor the one who has died. Maybe it is impossible to say Kaddish every day, but in our quest to say Kaddish daily, we are not remembering the dead so much as we are remembering why they made such a difference in our lives. The Kaddish is not about death, it is about the glory of God, the God who sends us healing, the God who comforts us for our loss and the God who gives us the strength to go on.

10. What is surprising, however, in this comforting passage that we call Jewish mourning, is that there is no ritual for the end of the year. We say Kaddish for our 11 months, we observe the first Yahrtzeit but it will be just like every other Yahrtzeit; there is nothing to set apart the first one. One day we are still saying Kaddish, the next it is all over. Should there be a ritual for the end of Kaddish? Should there be a special ceremony for the first Yahrtzeit? We don't have one now but perhaps we can create one that will bring us the comfort we need at that crossroad from mourner to one who's sorrow has healed.

11. On the one hand, maybe there can be no such “end of Kaddish” ritual. We never really fully heal from our loss. Sometimes, we will find ourselves crying when we see an object that reminds us suddenly of the one who is gone. For the rest of our lives we will think of who we have lost and we may even catch ourselves wishing we could talk to them, get some more advice, share another secret with them just one more time. Maybe there can be no ritual because the pain never really ends, we just learn to live with our loss weighing heavily in our hearts.

12. And yet we understand that this is a moment that somehow needs to be marked by Jewish ritual. An important part of our life has come to an end, the active mourning of the death of a loved one, and a new part is just beginning, normal life infused with important memories. It seems as if we need to mark this transition. From this time on we will only have Yahrtzeit and Yizkor to get us through the year.

13. Maybe this is the time to start to write a personal memoir of the deceased. Maybe this is the time to begin to record the memories of our parents so that their grandchildren and great grandchildren will know something about the generation that is gone. It may be that a baby born soon after the death will be given the name of the one who has died. What a wonderful legacy our memories can be to the child who one day will grow up and come to know important lessons from the life of their namesake. Showing the child who carries the name pictures and lessons from the life that has gone, can inspire the children to carry on the lessons learned into the next generation.

14. If our parents left for us documents about their lives and the meaning they found in their activities, I am sure that we will have read this ethical will soon after the death. But at the end of the year, maybe it is time to read it again. If they did not leave such a document, maybe it is time to write it on their behalf, to record the lessons they taught us when they were alive, a document we can then read to the next generation and maybe even read to ourselves on important dates in the future; for example, when a grandchild marries, or on the Yahrtzeit or each year on their birthday. The written document becomes a legacy of their life that we can share as we wish with others.

15. Maybe we need to recite a blessing when Shiva is over. Maybe the shehechiyanu should be recited when we light the Yahrtzeit candle for the very first Yahrtzeit; we've made it through a difficult year and are ready to begin a new phase in our life; or perhaps we should again intone “Baruch Dayan Emet” and affirm, a year later that God is a righteous judge. Another possibility is perhaps we should say a blessing over a new article of clothing, symbolic of the torn garment or ribbon that marked the beginning of our mourning. I know a man who had a jacket that he tore when his mother died. When the mourning was over, he sat down and sewed up the tear. The jacket was repaired but the scar was still visible, a reminder of the days of sorrow that had ended. Rabbi Naomi Levy noted that death makes us feel finite, but we are comforted when we realize we are part of something infinite. A person may die, but their memory lives on as long as there are those who remember.

16. So as we rise for Yizkor, let us contemplate what might make up for us, a ritual to mark that day when the tear in our heart was healed and we went on, scarred but still standing, emerging from the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” and back into the sunshine at the top of a new mountain. Maybe it is not too late, we can still write a memoir of our parents or loved ones, as a testament for our own children and grandchildren. Passing on the lessons we learned, is our connection to eternity. Yizkor is here to remind us of memories that have shaped our lives. Let us use those memories and weave them permanently into the tapestry of our family's memory.

May we always be blessed with good memories and may we do all we can to keep these memories alive as we say ...

Amen, and Hag Sameach

Let us rise at this time, for our Yizkor Service

Yom Kippur Yizkor 2011 – 5772

Yom Kippur Yizkor

2011 – 5772

Rabbi Randall J. Konigsburg

1. Shabbat Shalom and Gemar Tov

2. There was a Hasidic Rabbi who insisted that everything in the world had a lesson in it if we would only look closely and learn. His students were skeptical and put the Rabbi to the test: “What can we learn from the Telegraph?” they asked. The Rebbe replied, “Every word is counted and charged.” “What can we learn from a train?” asked the students? “One hot one can pull many cold ones.” was the Rebbe's answer. “What can we learn from a telephone?” asked the students. “What is said here is heard there.” replied the Rebbe. The Rebbe thus taught his students not that the world is as important as Torah, but that Torah incorporates the whole world.

3. This past year was the year that the terrorist Osama bin Laden finally met the justice he long deserved. He was killed in a United States commando operation, his body removed from his home, positively identified and then buried at sea lest later terrorists make his tomb a place of pilgrimage. The commandos who were chosen for this special raid in Pakistan were members of the elite Navy Seal Team Six. The commando team that trains to do operations that otherwise would be impossible. Not one of the team members was hurt or killed in the operation and they became instant heroes in our country, even though they are so undercover that we are not permitted even to know their names.

4. Rabbi Wayne Allen, my colleague in Toronto recently sent out a sermon where he does something similar to the Hasidic Rabbi in my story. He found some important lessons in the soldiers of Seal Team Six. Just about the same time as the raid in Pakistan, a former member of Seal Team Six, a man who retired from the unit before they were sent to kill bin Laden, wrote a book about the team and how they train to become the elite of the elite among our commando forces. Howard Wasdin was interviewed by Time Magazine about his book and in the answers he gave inspired Rabbi Allen, and frankly they should inspire us all.

5. The first thing Mr. Wasdin noted was that the Seals trained every day, carrying fifty pounds of equipment and firearms and told to run up and down stairs all day long, learning how to clear rooms of potential threats. They keep up this training day after day until they are summoned to go on a mission. Many people are surprised that what makes a commando better than any other soldier is that he trains daily over and over again. What makes Seal Team Six so special? It is not in the psychology of the men or in their hidden talents, but that they train relentlessly so that they are prepared for whatever may come. They don't have super-human traits, they don't have sharper reflexes or better skills than anyone else, they just never stop learning and practicing.

6. What should we learn from this constant training? We should understand that the soldiers don't consider this training boring, useless or monotonous. The members of the team understand that their training could be the difference between life and death as well as to the success or failure of their mission. By sharpening their skills, they know that they are ready for whatever they may encounter when called upon by their country. So Rabbi Allen notes that the first lesson we learn from Seal Team Six is that “Training, and practice and repetition do not make us bored they make us better.”

7. There is a story of two men with little education and culture who decided to visit Paris and the Louvre museum to see what all the fuss was about the art there. As the docent took their tour through the artwork, they were not very impressed with what they saw. Every painting evoked a comment like “my grandchildren can paint better than this” or “I've seen better colors at the paint store” on and on they “critiqued” the paintings until finally the docent could take it no more. “Gentlemen, let me tell you that every painting in this museum has been examined and critiqued by some of the greatest artists and critics in the history of the world. Each painting has passed their test and been chosen as one of arts greatest treasures. They are not here for you to judge them. Instead, they are here to judge how cultured you are.”

8. If you were to ask any of the thirty men and women who are the core of our “Minyanaires” why they come to minyan every day, day after day, in rain and heat and in spite of busy days, I think they would give you the same answer as the soldiers of Seal Team Six, the daily recitation of prayers, the study of Jewish texts and the practice of Jewish ritual every morning and every evening, does not make them bored, they will tell you that it makes them better. Their daily Jewish practice makes them better parents and grandparents. It makes them better Jews and human beings. It is not monotonous or repetitive; it is part of the essence of life and living. They don't look at the siddur and say “What kind of a silly prayer is this” or “I can't believe I am reading this stuff. They don't say, “I read this Parsha already” or “What has this lesson to do with my life?” They know that the siddur has passed the test of time. That centuries of scholars found meaning and important lessons in each page of the Mishna and Midrash. They understand that each ritual is designed to help someone rise spiritually higher and higher. Prayer, Study and Ritual help us to see the world from God's point of view. It is this kind of practice, if we make it a regular part of our life, that can help us deal with all the challenges that life throws at us. When we pray every day, when we learn Torah, when we take upon ourselves the regimen of the daily rituals that define a Jewish way of life, this is the kind of training that helps us to face tragedy and uncertainty, to confront our fears and to overcome disasters. It is the lifelong practice of Judaism that is always there for us to help us, throughout our life, move forward.

9. The second thing we can learn from the Navy Seals is that their training is designed so that they can learn to react instantly and reflexively. The term that former Seal Wasdin used is “muscle memory” that if we practice some activity enough, our muscles will eventually respond with the speed of our reflexes. Wasdin noted in the interview that even ten years after he retired from the Navy Seals, his muscle memory was so good that at a shooting range he still could group all his shots within a quarters diameter of the bull's-eye. Athletes also use this kind of muscle memory to improve their performance and reactions in their competitions.

10. Clearly Judaism is not about “muscle” memory, but Rabbi Allen notes that our religion is instead about “goodness” memory – that is repeating acts of nobility, kindness and compassion so that they become second nature to us.” The Rabbis of the Talmud did not live in a fantasy world. They knew from personal experience that the world can be a hard place and that people will do what is in their own best interest and trample underfoot whoever might get in their way. If humanity was created with two inclinations, a good inclination and an evil inclination, a yetzer tov and a yetzer ra, the sages understood that the inclination to do evil, the yetzer ra was by far, the strongest of the two. If human beings were to want to be good, we would need to find a way to nurture and support our yetzer tov, our good inclination.

11. That is the role of Torah, the role of Jewish law. When we know what God wants of us we can use that instruction, that call from God to be better, to overcome our evil nature. We want to take our better nature and we want to be able to activate it reflexively. We have to not only know that we are to treat our neighbor as we would treat ourselves, but we need to practice the acts of kindness called for until those actions become instinctive. We need to notice when a friend is missing from services, we need to immediately call them to find out if they are OK. We need to offer them what they might need in order to quickly come back and take their seat. They may need someone to take them to the doctor, someone to pick up something from the pharmacy, someone who can help them get to a beauty parlor or to the supermarket. Maybe they need a ride to shul or maybe they just need a friend to sit with them at the kiddush and listen to what went on in their world this week. I know that sometimes we all are there when we are needed but if we are to learn the lesson from Seal Team Six, we will need to respond with our own “goodness memory” acting instinctively and reflexively to provide for others all that they need.

12. The third lesson from the Seals is the lesson of teamwork. There is no one person in the world that can do these missions by themselves. Each member of the team not only has his own role to play on a mission, but he must know many other roles he might have to perform should the mission have unexpected problems. The missions are too complex and demanding for one man alone. There was only one soldier who shot and killed Osama bin Laden, but it was the members of his team that made that shot possible. Judaism is all about the obligations we have to each other. The Talmud teaches, “All Jews are responsible for each other” and our entire faith is built around those responsibilities.

13. At a recent program, my friend and colleague Rabbi Irwin Kula noted that the Kol Nidre service that we attended last night is a service to release us from our obligations. At Kol Nidre we solemnly release the entire congregation from the vows and promises that were made in the past year. Rabbis like to teach that this release is only for vows and promises made to God, and that the vows between us and our fellow human beings are not annulled on Kol Nidre. But Rabbi Kula took this lesson a bit further. He asked us to think about all our obligations and what it would mean to be released from them. What would it mean if Kol Nidre was saying to us “I release you from your obligations as a parent. I release you from your obligations as a spouse. I release you from your obligation as a brother or sister. I release you from your obligations as a friend. I release you from all your obligations from your organizations. I release you from all your obligations from life.

14. How does it feel to be released from all our obligations, from all our vows and promises? Maybe for just a moment there is a feeling of release, but it doesn't last long. The only people who have no obligations are the dead. We the living are defined by our obligations. So let us reaffirm our obligations, but let us reaffirm them one by one. Are there obligations that we gladly reaffirm? Are there some obligations we would prefer to leave behind? When we reaffirm an obligation we suddenly realize how important it is to us and we can no longer take it for granted. Do we take our obligations as a spouse, a parent, a friend or as a Jew seriously enough? What can we do in the new year to show how important these vows are in our lives? It is important to show how much we appreciate the vows we have taken.

15. The final lesson from Seal Team Six is that without the ability to plan and anticipate we are all doomed. It is not enough to know where we are and what we can do. We have to be prepared for whatever might come. When the Seal Team attacked the compound in Abbottabad, one of the two helicopters had an engine failure and crash landed. The Navy Seals had anticipated all the things that could go wrong so they were able to complete the mission using just the second helicopter. How does the nursery rhyme go... for want of a nail the Kingdom was lost? Seal Team Six had a backup for every nail.

16. Jewish wisdom literature tells us that wisdom is the ability to foresee the outcome of an event. The patriarch Jacob, on his deathbed tells his sons, “come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in the days to come” Rashi, the great Torah commentator notes that “He desired to reveal Israel's future but the Divine Presence withdrew from him”, in other words, Jacob wanted to tell about the future but all he could speak about was the present. Judaism does not believe that the future can be seen by human beings; astrology, Tarot Cards, tea leaves and other ways to see into the future just don't work. The reason they don't work is because the future does not exist until we make the decisions that give it existence. The future is just the consequences of our present.

17. There is a story about a man named Sam who was going to work one morning when he saw his neighbor dressed up and walking down the street. “Good morning, where are you going all dressed up today?” he asked. The neighbor looked at the man with a puzzled look, “ I am going to shul, it is Shavuot today, did you forget that today is a Jewish Holiday”. Sam was stunned. He HAD forgotten the holiday. If he would not have met his neighbor he would have gone to work and violated an important holiday, one that celebrates the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Sam was very upset. He went to daven in shul but his mind was elsewhere. He just could not believe that he could have forgotten a major Jewish holiday. When the holiday was over he went to see his Rabbi and told him what had happened and asked to be forgiven. The Rabbi looked at Sam and said, “You made an honest mistake and for that you don't need to be forgiven. But I sense that there is more to this story than just being forgetful.” Sam sighed and said, “I just can't believe that I could forget such an important thing. How could I be so distracted that I almost forgot a major Jewish Holiday?” The Rabbi put his hand on Sam's shoulder, “When something is important to us, we always find a way to remember. If this is so important, than you will find a way to make sure you never miss a holiday again.” Sam realized the Rabbi was right and finally figured out a way to make sure he never missed a Jewish holiday again. He quit his job and took the position of gabbai at the synagogue. Working in the shul, he never again had to worry about forgetting Shavuot or any other holy day.

18. Wisdom is not knowing the future, it is creating a future that we can be proud of. It means, like Jacob and his sons, knowing who we are and what are our strengths and weaknesses so we can prepare for whatever the future may hold. If we are forgetful, we can plan to have reminders of the things we wish to remember. If we are shy we can learn from others to be more outgoing. If we are afraid of public speaking we can join a club like Toastmasters to learn the art of making speeches. If we never had the chance to go to Religious School we can sign up for Adult Education. If we never learned to daven, we can find a teacher to train us. If we always wanted to read a haftarah, then there is always a way to acquire the skill. We can compensate for all our deficiencies if we take the time to plan for the future. If we can envision what can go wrong, we can also envision how to make it right.

19. If we are serious about having a good new year, we could learn a lot from the lessons of the Navy's Seal Team Six. Faithful practice of Judaism, with daily prayer, study and the practice of Jewish rituals. Reflexively acting for the good of the world. Seeing our obligations and vows as our commitment to the “team” of the Jewish people and looking ahead to make our faith stronger and safe. This works not just on a personal level, it will also work to make the Jewish People better as well. Just as the soldiers of Seal Team Six not only make up a successful anti-terrorist squadron, but they make our country stronger, so too if we do our part for our people and our faith, then Judaism will be the stronger for our efforts.

20. Thirty-five years ago, in 1976 we took pride in Israeli Commandos who rescued 102 hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Then as now, the lessons of practice, sharp reflexes, teamwork and planning made that rescue mission one that is still remembered as the most effective counter-terrorism raid in modern history. Perhaps we also remember with pride and honor the commandos of the Palmach that made possible the modern state of Israel thirty years earlier. At the beginning of the twentieth century all Jews looked with pride to the early Zionists who were the first Jews to settle in what was then Palestine. In every generation the lessons of practice, trained reflexes, teamwork and looking to the future made modern Judaism possible. If we wish to secure the blessings of our faith to future generations, we need only follow the lessons of our ancestors, the lessons of the modern Seal Team Six. If we can make these lessons part of the core of our religious life, we will create a strong, vibrant faith to pass on to the generations yet to come.

May the lessons of faith, mitzvot, peoplehood and preparation serve us this year and every year as we say … Amen and Gemar Tov

21. Jews do not set foot in the future without acknowledging the past. We cannot enter the new year without remembering the lives that have past, the lives of those we loved, the lives of our parents, loved ones, mentors and heroes who shaped our lives as much as we have shaped the lives of those who will follow us. On every major Jewish holiday, we cannot end our celebration until we have remembered the empty seats at our table, the empty chairs in our synagogue and empty places in our hearts.

22. Before we turn our gaze to fully embrace 5772, let us take this time of Yizkor, this time of memory, to call to mind those who made our lives possible and our faith strong. Perhaps there are still lessons as we remember their lives that can help us as we enter a new year.

Please rise as we prepare for the prayers of Yizkor

Kon Nidre Sermon 2011 – 5772

Kon Nidre Sermon

2011 – 5772

1. Gemar Hatima Tova – May we be sealed for a good year.

2. In the Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a, there is recorded a dispute among the sages. Rabbi Eliezer was a lone vote against all of his other colleagues. On that day Rabbi Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument but they did not accept them. Said Rabbi Eliezer, “If the law agrees with me let this carob tree prove it.” Immediately the carob tree was torn 100 cubits out of its place … “No proof can be brought from a carob tree” the sages replied. Said Rabbi Eliezer, “if the law agrees with me let this stream of water prove it.” Immediately the stream of water began to flow backwards. “No proof can be brought from a stream of water.” the other Sages responded. Said Rabbi Eliezer, “If the law agrees with me let the walls of this study hall prove it.” Immediately the walls began to lean. Rabbi Joshua rebuked them, “When the scholars are engaged in a dispute, what right do you walls have to interfere?” So they did not fall in deference to Rabbi Joshua but they did not stand straight in deference to Rabbi Eliezer. Said Rabbi Eliezer, “If the law agrees with me let there be a sign from heaven.” Immediately a divine voice was heard saying, “Why do you argue with Rabbi Eliezer since in matters of the law he is always right?” Rabbi Joshua arose and quoted the Torah saying, “Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.” (meaning that the Torah had already been given at Mt. Sinai so we no longer pay any attention to a voice from heaven and we follow instead the Torah Law, to follow the majority.) … Rabbi Natan later asked Elijah the prophet what did God do when Rabbi Joshua rebuked him? Elijah replied, “God clapped the divine hands in joy and shouted, 'My children have defeated me, My children have defeated me!'

3. Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven. The law is not in heaven. It is here on earth. It is here where human beings can see it, read it, contemplate it, discuss it, argue it and confront it. It is not in heaven. We look at the scrolls of Torah and we see a holy book. We see a sacred text. We see words given to us by God that are eternal and unbreakable. On Yom Kippur we examine our lives against what the Torah demands of us and we pray that our violations of the law, our sins of the past year, be forgiven by a compassionate and understanding God. But the Law is not in heaven. It is here. The Torah, in Parshat Nitzavim that we read just last week, reminds us that it is not far away so that anyone would have to go and bring it back. It is not in heaven that someone has to go up and bring it down. It is right here, near at hand. Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

4. The Torah is here for us to consider and to interpret. There is no law that is unchangeable over time. Life is full of transitions and variations. People find new ways to live, die, entertain and do business. The law must keep up with the changes. Traffic laws for the horse and buggy era cannot be used in the age of automobiles. Shabbat laws about fire may or may not apply to electricity and electric appliances. Jewish Law is not in heaven. It is right here with us and as Rabbi Eliezer discovered, that the Sages can make it mean what they want it to mean if there is a good reason for Torah to change.

5. Who has the right to interpret Jewish law? Is it a duty only for pious Jews, learned Jews, observant Jews? Perhaps we can learn Jewish Law from any Jew who has something to teach us. Nathan Cardozo, in his blog reprinted in the Jerusalem Post wrote: “ For Jews to bring their fellow men back to Judaism there is a need to celebrate the mitzvot that the “secular” Jew has been observing all or part of his life, not condemn his failure to observe some others. … The foundation should be humility, not arrogance...There is little doubt that “secular” Jews, consciously or unconsciously, keep a large number of commandments. Many of them may not be in the field of rituals, but there is massive evidence that interpersonal mitzvot enjoy a major commitment by “secular” Jews. Beneath the divisiveness of traditional commitment lie underpinnings of religion such as compassion, humility, awe and even faith. Different are the pledges, but equal are the devotions. It may well be that the meeting of minds is lacking between the religious and non- religious Jews but their spirits touch. Who will deny that “secular” Jews have a sense of mystery, forgiveness, beauty and gentleness? … Each of these is the deepest of religious values.”

6. All Jews have something to teach us and we have things to teach them. We can learn from every human being on how to bring values and ethics into our study of Torah. We have to find the teachers and we have to identify the lessons. It does not matter if the person is Jew or non-Jew, learned or unschooled, smart or clever; we all have something we need to teach each other about Torah. It is neither for God to teach us or for us to follow what is in the past. Lo Bashamiyim Hi – The Torah is not in heaven

7. We think of the Torah as the great unifier of Jews, that all Jews follow the Torah. It is the common denominator that unites us. But how we interpret Torah is very different across the denominations. Why do we have different kinds of Jews? What possible use could there be for the different communities of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanist, secular, Sephardic, and the Jews who opt out of our religion? Dr. Arnold Eisen, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary recently wrote in his blog, “Why do we need denominations? Because substantial differences among Jews, for all the hurt and damage they engender, are not only inevitable but, on balance, essential to the survival of our tradition. The Torah opens opportunities to Jews and makes demands upon Jews that shape the ways we think, eat, celebrate, mourn, raise our kids, treat our spouses, do business, stand before God and work to repair the world. It matters greatly how these gifts and responsibilities are pursued. Will women be fully a part of Jewish learning, practice and leadership? Will Hebrew, Shabbat and kashrut be central pillars? Will Jews stand simultaneously apart from and as an integral part of the larger society and culture? Will we take on the discipline of ritual practice – and insist that it remains inseparable from an ethical practice of individual virtue and social justice? These and other dividing lines among our movements are not trivial; compromise concerning them is not always possible. One cannot be all things to all people if one wants to be a Jew.”

8. It is precisely our commitment to Torah that makes denominations possible and healthy. It opens conversations and debate; it gives us many different interpretations so we can contemplate for ourselves how we will interpret the law. Many people find this strange. Why should we struggle to make moral and ethical sense of the law? If we don't engage in this struggle with Torah, others who see themselves as “most pious” will come and wrest control of Jewish law claiming to speak in God's name so that no change will ever be possible. It is not for God to tell us anymore what is right and what is wrong in Jewish law, Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

9. In a recent commercial for spaghetti sauce, a woman, taking a blind taste test, picks out a different sauce than her usual choice. It makes her wonder about all her other choices. When the world changes, when life calls, we too are called to make difficult choices between what is familiar and traditional and what is clearly the right thing to do. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner served for many years in Sudbury, Massachusetts until his recent retirement. In his new book, “I'm God, You're Not: Observations on Organized Religion and Other Disguises of the Ego” he writes about how he came to decide an important point of Jewish Law. He writes, “A decade before my decision, I had got myself into an argument with an Orthodox friend. To tell the truth, I have forgotten most of the details. It had something to do with how to treat someone. I explained my position; he explained his. His position struck both of us as, at best, ethically tenuous. “How can you say such a thing?” I asked. “I have no choice,” he replied, “It's the halacha – Jewish Law.” Not wishing to be disrespectful, I allowed him to have the last word. But later, alone in the car, I found myself continuing the argument: “Oh, and because you claim you have no choice, that's the end of it? You are off the hook? I'm supposed to cave in, back away in shame before the tradition? No (I wished I would have said), you choose to believe what you want and you choose to do what you do. First comes life, then comes law. You are still responsible. … the test of my resolve came a few years later when two members of my congregation asked me if I would help them consecrate their – what shall I call it? Union? Commitment? - gimme a break, it was a marriage. What could I say? “I'm not permitted?” “I'm sorry the tradition doesn't allow it?” “My hands are tied?” “Excuse me while I hide in a book?” Of course the tradition is sacred; of course it has more to do with God than any of us can imagine; but it can never be an excuse for not looking another human being in the eyes or oneself in the mirror. … I guess I believe, in retrospect, that it was commanded of me.”

10. What does it mean to be commanded? Are the commandments a path from which we must not stray or do they teach us lessons in right and wrong that we can translate into modern life? When life changes, the law too has to change. And while Moses did bring the tablets down from Mt. Sinai, the law is not written in stone. It is written in our words and deeds and how we translate the Torah into our personal lives. In the end, we once again see, when it comes to Torah, Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

11. The list of elements of Jewish Law definable as morally questionable grows longer all the time. What should be the role of women in Jewish ritual? Should Jewish marriage expand to include gay couples? Can a modern Kohen marry a convert? Should women be permitted as a witness on Jewish documents? Is it enough to say that a Jew is anyone born to a Jewish mother or does Judaism today require a greater commitment of learning and piety? Should women be rabbis and cantors and torah readers and Shalichot Tzibor, prayer leaders for the congregation? What happens when ancient venerated Jewish law demands of us to act in ways that violate our basic feelings of humanity? Rabbi David Hartman, ordained as an Orthodox Rabbi at Yeshiva University, struggles with these two poles in Jewish life as he tries to find the right and ethical way to live. In his book “The God Who Hates Lies; Confronting and Rethinking Jewish Tradition” Rabbi Hartman writes, “I felt while in yeshiva that I was always on the right path, a true authentic historical path that nurtured the Jewish people and gave meaning to their everyday life. I never confronted with any depth, the idea of God or how one comes to accept a life devoted to the service of God. … For example, we never asked second-order questions: [such as]… What part of the tradition should be ascribed to revelation, what part to human creativity and what might be the implications of how this question is answered for the development of communal religious practice? … In response, I developed a theology, based on the concept of covenant, that understands the relationship between God and the Jewish People as one of intimacy and partnership. This covenantal model … describes a religious anthropology characterized not by slavishness and a howling sense of inadequacy in the face of an infinite commanding God. Instead it resurrects the vital and precocious religious spirit of the Talmudic Rabbis, who understood that the implementation of God's will amid the complex considerations of human society and the psyche requires, at times, the full and fearless assertion of our intellectual independence. … The new stage of covenant would bring forms of personal and collective religious dignity yet unknown in Jewish history. Not only was the Torah no longer in heaven, as the Talmudic Rabbis declared, having been given over to human hands at Sinai; so too , the covenantal understanding of [the State of] Israel's rebirth taught us that the direction of history was now included within the scope of human responsibility.”

12. Why should we be called to give up our critical faculties just because we want to be good Jews? Past generations of rabbis not only studied ancient texts but also brought to bear on Judaism the modern issues that they confronted. If our Judaism forces us to live one life when we are in synagogue and to have another life when we are at home or on the job, that will not be a meaningful version of our faith. We need to practice our religion with an open mind and not with a closed book. Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

13. Judaism is not just an intellectual faith. It is a faith that demands us to worship with every part of our body. The sages ask the deeper questions about what is a human being and for what purpose were we created. Jewish mystics see our lives as an important part of repairing our world and making it a better place. Rabbi Arthur Green, in his book “Ehyeh; A Kabbalah For Tomorrow” writes on the importance of humanity to the mystical structure of the world. He says, “Neshama is … breath. It is the place of connection between God and person, or between the small self of individual identity and the great Self of being. It is the aspect of us that never separated from our Source, that did not let go of its divine root in the course of that long process of individuation and alienation that we call human life. … The “journey” to God is nothing other than a return to our deepest self. The task is to seek out that innermost reality, to find it and to reshape the rest of our lives around that return. … How do we learn to forgive ourselves? And how do we use religion as a tool for greater self-acceptance rather than self-torment and guilt? Out of the mystical tradition, I believe, the Ba'al Shem Tov learned and taught that you should always keep your eyes on the big picture. We should not let ourselves get too caught up in the details nor let the means become ends in themselves. Despite what is often taught (and misunderstood), Judaism is not all about the details. It's about loving God, sharing that love with God's creatures, making the universe one and doing it through joy and celebration of life. That's a pretty tall order. So we had better get to it and not let ourselves get distracted on the way. When religion gets in the way of those essential values, instead of being a vehicle to share and express them, it is time to reexamine where we stand.”

14. When it comes to sorting out the mitzvot and trying to put some kind of order into how they should fit in our lives, Rabbi Green is telling us that loving God is paramount, the rest is only details. There are many Jews who seek to find God in the religious minutia of Jewish Law. That somehow if one seeks perfection in practice, it will bring us closer to heaven. Rabbi Green teaches, however, that religion must not get in the way of true, essential values. When it does, then it is the religion which must give way. Life is not a text; Life is the way we choose to live the values we cherish. Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

15. The essential commandment of the Torah is “You shall be holy for I, the Lord your God am holy.” We are not God, we don't create our own reality. We have to live in the reality of this world, a place of confusion, chaos and complexity. How can we be holy? How can our faith call us to action when the actions themselves sometimes seem so divorced of holiness? How are we to know what we are supposed to do? Rabbi Irwin Kula, the president of CLAL, the Center for Leadership and Learning, in his book “Yearnings; Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” has written, “The sages taught that holiness is available to us in every moment, in every place. We often miss these moments because they can be subtle and get lost in the routine of life, or we may repress them because holy encounters sometimes can be unsettling, at times terrifying. Majestic and awesome one day, ordinary and sweet on another, only to be messy complex even chaotic on yet another. Holiness isn't a state to be reached: it's an ongoing act of creativity like the origins of the universe. … And the messes are the point. Joy and sorrow, good and evil, greatness and triviality, hope and anxiety, the ideal and the actual: the ability to live with these seeming contradictions and the ambivalence and tension they create is what gives rise to wisdom. Our most chaotic periods can be catalysts for understanding. Even our daily frustrations and desire, when we bring them to the surface and wrestle with them, can imbue our lives with meaning. And our moments of wonder and awe, of sheer delight can be so much greater when we've celebrated the multiplicity of life.”

16. Holiness finds its source in Torah. Torah is based on life. Life is messy. Holiness too, then is messy and the easy answers are not found in the text, but in how we struggle with all that life throws our way. When we have to choose between two difficult choices what will be the determining factor of which is right and which is wrong? Sometimes we have to choose between two rights and sometimes we have to choose between two wrongs. We choose, we evaluate the decision and we try to choose better tomorrow. That is the path we travel to bring ourselves closer to holiness and to God. The true path of holiness is not found only in the pages of the Torah, it is also found in how we handle the messiness of life. Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

17. Judaism is not a prison. Almost everywhere we turn, we are told by rabbis and sages that the fundamentals of our faith are not to be found in legal tomes and commentaries. These ancient texts are the guides left for us by our ancestors as they struggled to find meaning in every day and age. But their work is not designed to be the final word on how Jews worship God. We are commanded to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our might.” That command cannot be reduced to measuring the volume of wine we have to drink at Kiddush and the true text of a service in a prayer book. Just because we have a set of instructions does not mean that it will fit every moment in life. Life changes and so must Jewish Law lest it become fossilized and useless.

18. When we talk about change in Judaism, we can see the dynamic of what is happening. It is not that the fundamentals of Torah have changed. We need to keep Torah in balance with our values. When we see women who are accomplished in their professional lives reduced to second class citizens in the synagogue, we know that something must change. When we come to understand that sexual orientation has no bearing on a persons ability in the workplace, in the marketplace, in the synagogue and in family life, then we know that something must change. When we work to create a Jewish State in Israel, based on the values of pluralism, democracy and capitalism and we only have rules for an agricultural monarchy, we know that something must change. In a world where Jews live Jewish lives based on different understandings of Jewish law, why must we insist that there be only one kind of a Jew who is a “real” Jew? When we are the ones written out of our faith as apostates, we know that something must change. If Torah does not change, how will we answer the most difficult questions of values that modern life throws at us?

19. What is Torah? If it is not in heaven, what is the essence of this central, sacred text of our people? Our Torah is Democratic, Pluralistic, Open, Diverse, Meaningful, Flexible, Loving and Messy. It is just like our lives are supposed to be. Should we really find this surprising? The Midrash teaches us that Moses took the Torah from heaven because it was directed to human beings and not the angels. Angels don't eat so they don't need to keep kosher. Angels don't work so they don't need rules of business and interest. Angels don't get married and they don't have children. The Torah is not meant to be in heaven, it is meant to be right here, guiding us on a path that will lead us to holiness. The Torah is all that we are and all that we aspire to be. It is not fixed, static, unchangeable or unchallengeable – it is Lo Bashamyim Hi -It is not in heaven.

May we challenge Torah this year and may we be challenged by Torah this year and may we be stronger and wiser from our struggles as we say … Amen and Gemar Tov.

Parshat Haazinu Sermon Saturday Morning Shabbat Shuva 2011

1. Shabbat Shalom

2. I try to keep my Shabbat sermons to just one topic. After all, I have 52 Shabbatot a year to cover most of what is going on in the world. It is enough to focus on one topic a week. But this week, partly because it is Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of repentance, and partly because of a discussion I was a part of, I have two related topics I would like to cover.

3. A week ago Friday, I had the privilege, and it was a privilege, to be part of a Rabbinic delegation meeting with Vice President Biden when he was in Boca Raton for a fundraiser. He talked to us about the Obama administration and Israel and we had a chance to ask him some questions. He said something in reply to a question that has troubled me all week. The Vice President made a statement that, in his opinion, convicted spy Johnathan Pollard had committed an act of treason and should never be freed from prison. He added that he would never be in favor of letting him go because of the nature of his crime against his country. Only if something as big as Arab/Jewish peace were on the line would he even consider a pardon for Pollard.

4. He left no room for reply so we went on to other topics but I was unhappy with his statement. I can think of a half dozen reasons that Pollard has served enough time in jail for his crime. I fully understand the nature of Pollard's crime and why he was given such a hard sentence. Johnathan Pollard endangered not only national security, but he revealed the names of others and placed their lives in jeopardy as well. I have no quarrel with the trial and the sentencing. I just feel that after all these years, what is the point of keeping him in jail?

5. It seems to me that the only reason left is the anger that those in government still have for him. And that anger serves our country no further purpose. There can be no national security issue that could be endangered since he has been in prison over 25 years. It is time to let the anger go and allow Pollard his teshuva. The government could still revoke his citizenship. They could still deport him; they could declare that he is not welcome in this country anymore. But keeping him in prison is just a waste of time and money. It hurt me to see the Vice President still angry over what was done so long ago, and still so vindictive. There has to be a better way to punish this man than to leave him to rot in jail. Other spies long ago were pardoned. Even if Pollard did twice the damage they did, there is no further purpose to keeping him in prison. I disagree with the Vice President. Let Johnathan Pollard go.

6. I also think that there is a larger issue here than just an American spy and the punishment for his treason. There is a great deal of anger these days in this country. People are either right or wrong, on my side or on the OTHER side, perfectly good or completely evil. This is a way of looking at the world that is very easy, very common and very wrong.

7. How did we get to this situation? First of all, we are now living in world that never forgets. There was a time when people no longer remembered things that people did wrong. It could take three to five years, but eventually we no longer cared what was in someone's past. We felt that what he or she was doing now was more important than what they had done years before, during the time they were novices in their professions. There was a time we agreed that criminals who had served their time deserved a second chance at life; that politicians, who had lost their office over a scandal, were entitled to reform their lives and move on. Even if a businessman had a bankruptcy in his past, he could still start over and make something of himself. Today, who we are and what we have done seems to have eternal life on the internet. Even the foolish things that teenagers do and say can haunt them ten, twenty even thirty years into the future. So if anyone asks, yes, things were easier in the past when we were all young. There was no “permanent record” that could someday come back and bite us. Today there is such a record and everyone in the world has access to it.

8. We are also living in a world that never forgives. It might not be so bad that our deeds are inscribed forever if we could still count on forgiveness. In the movie “Sweet Charity” one of the last lines spoken is “I can change the way I dress and I can change the way I talk but don't ask me to change my past because that cannot be changed.” Today, our unchangeable past is more indelible then ever. Candidates during debates, bring up decisions made by their opponents that are 20 years old. These decisions are held up as if this is what a candidate might do today. Employers look at the internet presence of prospective employees and see if there are any reasons in the past why they might not want this person to work for them, even if that incident was long ago resolved. Any blemish on our record is never forgotten and never forgiven. It is a terrible way to have to go through life, having always to be perfect.

9. Some of the greatest inventors and innovators in this country's history have long records of failure. Abraham Lincoln, if he ran today, would be unelectable with his long record of failure. Thomas Edison was a genius but his failures far exceeded his successes. The famous writer JK Rowlings once had to live out of her car and in a homeless shelter because she could not take care of her family. The greatest thinkers in our country are those who are not afraid to take a chance. In the book, “Start Up Nation”, Israel's economic miracle is said to be based on a culture where failure is not considered a fault, as long as we learn from our failures. A failure gives us important information we can use to work for even greater success.

10. The essence of this season in Judaism is that everyone is entitled to a chance to start over. These Days of Awe are designed with the idea that God does not hold us accountable for every sin. Only God is perfect. The rest of us are all flawed. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner has written that we are all put in this life with some blessings and some disabilities. The main point of life and the main point of this season of the year is to be grateful for what we have and to work hard to turn our disabilities into blessings.

11. Football legend Mercury Morris was arrested and convicted of cocaine use and dealing drugs. He was sentenced to prison and by the time he got out, there was no longer a possibility of playing football anymore. But Mercury Morris was no longer interested in football. He was interested in programs that would keep young people out of trouble and away from drugs. He became a well respected advocate for teaching teens about the dangers of drug use and counseled them on how to beat their addictions. Eventually he won a pardon from the Governor of Florida so that he could get the certification he needed to establish a program of his own. He literally worked his way back to acceptance because he learned from his mistake and showed that he could be better.

12. I am not saying that every criminal should have the benefit of “forgive and forget”. This should be reserved for those who admit their errors and work their way back into honest society. I do believe, however, that everyone deserves the chance to start over. I am also not implying that we should make it easy, but we do have an obligation to treat others as we would want to be treated if we were in the same situation. If we want God to forgive us as the New Year begins, we must be prepared to forgive others. No matter how angry they may make us, we must forgive even if we can't forget. There but for the grace of God go I.

13. I believe that Vice President Biden is entitled to his opinion of Johnathan Pollard. He has every right to be appalled and angry. But the Vice President should be forgiving anyway. Pollard should have a chance to get on with his life and perhaps show some repentance for what he has done. I doubt that anyone will accept him as a conquering hero. That is the way it is with spies; the country you commit treason against, never accepts you back and the one you gave the secrets to, they also feel you can't be trusted. Once we damage our reputation, it remains very hard to rebuild it.

14. On this Shabbat Shuva, we understand that we are not like Pollard; there is still hope that we can return to a happy, healthy and prosperous life. But we will need to make the changes necessary for that to happen. Nobody will do it for us. We have to seek out those who we have offended and get forgiveness from them and from ourselves. I would not set up the Vice President as a role model in this area. We need to let go of our anger and find our way back to trust in those we have betrayed. We can work to free Johnathan Pollard from the Federal Penitentiary, but from the prison he created for himself with his treason, he will have to liberate himself. Keeping Pollard in jail and keeping ourselves imprisoned in our guilt will not help us grow and change for the better. Now is the time for us to make our apologies. We need to find the freedom that comes with repentance and return.

May God help us return to our family, our friends and our faith at this important time of the year as we say … Amen and Shabbat Shalom