La Shana Tova. This is happy new year. Honey is a metaphor for the sweetness that should fill our lives.There was an announcement made today in temple by our former rabbi, Jerry Weider. Apparently, the Council of Reform Rabbis has unanimously come out against the language of hate in our current administration. By putting the blame on both sides, by not denouncing Nazis and Confederates, Trump has placed our country in very dangerous waters. In addition, by creating challenges for the LGBTQ community, by banning Transgenders in the military, by introducing a healthcare bill-yet again-that few have read, that a budget council has not had time to assess, that leaves policy up to the states, again there is a show of unprecedented inhumanity-that is the expression used.
I am a proud Jew, but an occasional Jew, in that I rarely go to temple and do not even celebrate all the holidays, but this announcement has made me feel jubilant about the world of our forefathers. I would like to believe that when my grandfather came here from Russia-to come to a better world-his vision as an immigrant is that America would come to signify hope, a hope that has been crushed by our current morally reprehensible administration.
Yet now, Reform Rabbis coast to coast are saying, we-as a people-are not about this language of exclusion; we are about inclusion; the health and welfare of our fellow human beings. And this statement makes me feel the "honey" of this new year, even when there is other personal grief. I care about the state of my world; I am a humanist, and apparently, so, too, are rabbis who today stand at the pulpit and say (as my rabbi did) "We celebrate love and diversity. Not hate." Bravo!
Thursday, September 21, 2017
La Shana Tova. This is the Jewish New Year and honey is the metaphor for the sweetness that should enter our lives. Today in temple our former Rabbi, Jerome Weider, made an announcement that the Reform Rabbis of America-coat to coast-have come out unanimously against the language of hate that has been generated by this current administration. By selecting to denounce "Both sides" Donald Trump, by not saying Neo-Nazis and Confederates are to blame, has placed us in ugly and dangerous waters. Additionally, by using hateful language against women, by making fun of the disabled, by putting our healthcare at risk(a bill that few have read and the Budget Office has not assessed), by banning the transgender population from the military, by posturing that "might is right", the office of the presidency has entered into rhetoric and policy that is morally reprehensible-something "good" Jews do not stand for.
And though I am not religious and do not even celebrate all the holidays, today I felt proud of my Jewish heritage. I can only imagine, my grandfather and his siblings who came here as immigrants who faced political persecution, how they would be appalled by what he is doing with the young DACA hard-working immigrants, all in the name of a very immoral "America first."
This is not my America; I live in a Democracy, not a dictatorship, and like the Board of American Rabbis, I applaud in the rights, dignity and diversity that is America. Today is a sweet day-maybe not in the world-but in my temple, among my people I know there is justice and goodness.And this is America, which includes all the non-Jews who have also taken an active stand against hate and injustice.
And though I am not religious and do not even celebrate all the holidays, today I felt proud of my Jewish heritage. I can only imagine, my grandfather and his siblings who came here as immigrants who faced political persecution, how they would be appalled by what he is doing with the young DACA hard-working immigrants, all in the name of a very immoral "America first."
This is not my America; I live in a Democracy, not a dictatorship, and like the Board of American Rabbis, I applaud in the rights, dignity and diversity that is America. Today is a sweet day-maybe not in the world-but in my temple, among my people I know there is justice and goodness.And this is America, which includes all the non-Jews who have also taken an active stand against hate and injustice.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Do the Right Thing
What is the right thing? There is no objective way to define this; it is always what is right for you. But I have been thinking about this a lot lately in my observation of people. Everyone is quite at ease when things are simple. If you are fine, it is quite easy to ask "How are you?"But what about when you are not fine? What about if there is a terrible loss in your life. Isn't it more important-at this point-to ask? in my mind it is is more important. It is about common decency. And I am going to take a leap-there is something WRONG if you do not ask. I am going to take a bigger leap-it is quite indecent not to hold out a generous hand in a time of loss and grief.
I speak from experience. When I lost my Dad, when my friends knew I had a terrible fight with my Dad and how bereft I was when he had a heart-attack, there were friends right at my side. Yet, there were others, particularly when I went back to school(I was 16) who never asked, and pretended I was the same person; I wasn't. I was morbid, filled with grief, bereft. This did not mean I did not want to talk about it. In fact, talking helped ease the pain-just a tad.
I grew up motherless, in many ways; I mothered myself. And in this unusual state of being, I always knew how to help people, how to reach out, how to discuss emotional pain, how to be a friend and a good family member. And frankly, if you do not know how to do that as an adult, shame on you! There is a right and a wrong, and I will always choose to align myself with people who know how to do the right thing. And the older I get, the more I discover so many people just do not know how to be thoughtful and sensitive; in other words, a mensch! And that is something they will have to live with, but I do not need to accept.
What is the right thing? There is no objective way to define this; it is always what is right for you. But I have been thinking about this a lot lately in my observation of people. Everyone is quite at ease when things are simple. If you are fine, it is quite easy to ask "How are you?"But what about when you are not fine? What about if there is a terrible loss in your life. Isn't it more important-at this point-to ask? in my mind it is is more important. It is about common decency. And I am going to take a leap-there is something WRONG if you do not ask. I am going to take a bigger leap-it is quite indecent not to hold out a generous hand in a time of loss and grief.
I speak from experience. When I lost my Dad, when my friends knew I had a terrible fight with my Dad and how bereft I was when he had a heart-attack, there were friends right at my side. Yet, there were others, particularly when I went back to school(I was 16) who never asked, and pretended I was the same person; I wasn't. I was morbid, filled with grief, bereft. This did not mean I did not want to talk about it. In fact, talking helped ease the pain-just a tad.
I grew up motherless, in many ways; I mothered myself. And in this unusual state of being, I always knew how to help people, how to reach out, how to discuss emotional pain, how to be a friend and a good family member. And frankly, if you do not know how to do that as an adult, shame on you! There is a right and a wrong, and I will always choose to align myself with people who know how to do the right thing. And the older I get, the more I discover so many people just do not know how to be thoughtful and sensitive; in other words, a mensch! And that is something they will have to live with, but I do not need to accept.
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