Shabbat Shalom!
(Commentary on Numbers 11:24-29)
Two young men spoke
as if a special spirit had touched them
in the same way that their leader
Moses
hoped that a godly wisdom
would rest upon the “elders”
enabling them to take on
responsibilities
tasks
and authority
while Moses would watch them lead
with trust and pride.
70 of those “leaders” joined
with Moses
at their center of community
the Tent of Meeting
waiting for the confidence
that would inspire them
to great heights.
But the two young men
Eldad and Medad
Were not elders at the Tent.
They were among the people
And still, a spirit had come upon them
A still small voice that had come alive
In a public way.
Moses’ deputy…intern….assistant
A leader-in-training, Joshua,
cried out, “Moses, restrain them!”
But Moses knew
That it would not take only the elders
To lead with wisdom
but, also, individuals among the people
Who would reflect
a divine and godly spirit
by exhibiting in their behavior
trust
respect
creativity
ingenuity
kindness
a soft voice
matched with a clarity and unity of purpose
that they hoped to share with the whole community.
It was not rebellion
That these two men “prophesying in the camp”
represented
but, rather, hope and partnership,
not meaning in any way to undermine
but, merely, to complement their leaders’ effforts
leaving their egos behind
and joining their souls
with the collective communal spirit.
So Moses welcomed their sudden inspiration
That, he knew, was not unauthorized.
He realized that
it had to have originated with an eternal Source.
So he said,
“Would that all of the people of the Eternal were prophets,
and that the Eternal would put a godly spirit upon them!”
May we
Find and reflect a positive and productive spirit
In our efforts and our work as a community
That demonstrates the best we have to offer
As we move forward
As partners and companions
Towards a common goal.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Moments of blessing - May 21, 2010
Shabbat Shalom!
One of the greatest privileges I have as a rabbi is to offer the priestly blessing - “May God bless you and keep you” - at a special event in the community. This excerpt from this week’s Torah portion remains as a marker of special memories and milestones. Some of you may have received this blessing at Consecration, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, a Wedding or a Conversion ceremony. And, you may not even remember being blessed with these words at a birth ceremony! In the last month, I have blessed a member at a conversion and pronounced these ancient phrases at two weddings. I will recite the priestly blessing at a b’rit milah later today (May 21) and at B’nei Mitzvah services on four of the next five weeks. I interpreted these words in my prayer that began a recent congregational meeting (see below). This past Wednesday, during our Religious School Shavuot service, we celebrated the Consecration of nine of our first and second graders. Go to the Temple facebook page by clicking on the link on the home page (you do not have to be a member of facebook to go to the Temple page) and click on the “photos” tab to see photographs from our May 19 service, including Consecration. There is one of me on my knees in front of the Consecrants, who are standing under my tallit which was held by our Madrichim (Religious School aides). Rather than bending over the children, I decided to get on my knees to be at their level and look into their eyes. The words YAEIR ADONAI PANAV EILECHA VIY’CHUNEKA – “May the light of the Eternal One’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you” – implied for me the necessity that the children should see faces shining upon them with pride and blessing, and not only that of their rabbi, but also their parents and the Temple community.
That vision of a special moment in the present holds a special promise for the future. May the spirit and vitality of our students, teachers, peers and fellow members lead us to greater closeness and accomplishment as we continue to work together to build our Temple community.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
Prayer at a Congregational Meeting, May 16, 2010 – Rabbi Larry Karol
Eternal One, sometimes we may feel like we, ourselves, are the Israelites journeying on the Exodus from Egypt, winding our way to the Promised Land, facing difficulties with each passing day. Yet, even in the desert, we move forward, at first, with hesitation, and then, with optimism.
We read in the Torah that, in the desert, the Israelites took a census of their community, realizing that every person counted and could make a positive difference and assure a secure future. It was, in fact, in the desert, a place of challenge, that they became a community. In the same way, we, in crucial moments of discussion and decision, can grow ever closer as a community.
This week, we will read from the Torah familiar words of blessing –and as we hear them now, let us consider how we can bless each other….
May God bless us and keep us – and may we bless and keep each other through respect, cooperation, commitment and sincere concern.
May God look kindly upon us and be gracious to us – and may we look upon each other with kindness and a generosity of spirit, enabling us to find the spark of God in every person.
May God bestow favor upon us and grant us peace – and may we favor one another with the best of who we are – with integrity, with honesty and with purpose – to create among us today, and at all times, a sense of completeness and hope, unity and peace.
And let us say Amen.
One of the greatest privileges I have as a rabbi is to offer the priestly blessing - “May God bless you and keep you” - at a special event in the community. This excerpt from this week’s Torah portion remains as a marker of special memories and milestones. Some of you may have received this blessing at Consecration, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, a Wedding or a Conversion ceremony. And, you may not even remember being blessed with these words at a birth ceremony! In the last month, I have blessed a member at a conversion and pronounced these ancient phrases at two weddings. I will recite the priestly blessing at a b’rit milah later today (May 21) and at B’nei Mitzvah services on four of the next five weeks. I interpreted these words in my prayer that began a recent congregational meeting (see below). This past Wednesday, during our Religious School Shavuot service, we celebrated the Consecration of nine of our first and second graders. Go to the Temple facebook page by clicking on the link on the home page (you do not have to be a member of facebook to go to the Temple page) and click on the “photos” tab to see photographs from our May 19 service, including Consecration. There is one of me on my knees in front of the Consecrants, who are standing under my tallit which was held by our Madrichim (Religious School aides). Rather than bending over the children, I decided to get on my knees to be at their level and look into their eyes. The words YAEIR ADONAI PANAV EILECHA VIY’CHUNEKA – “May the light of the Eternal One’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you” – implied for me the necessity that the children should see faces shining upon them with pride and blessing, and not only that of their rabbi, but also their parents and the Temple community.
That vision of a special moment in the present holds a special promise for the future. May the spirit and vitality of our students, teachers, peers and fellow members lead us to greater closeness and accomplishment as we continue to work together to build our Temple community.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
Prayer at a Congregational Meeting, May 16, 2010 – Rabbi Larry Karol
Eternal One, sometimes we may feel like we, ourselves, are the Israelites journeying on the Exodus from Egypt, winding our way to the Promised Land, facing difficulties with each passing day. Yet, even in the desert, we move forward, at first, with hesitation, and then, with optimism.
We read in the Torah that, in the desert, the Israelites took a census of their community, realizing that every person counted and could make a positive difference and assure a secure future. It was, in fact, in the desert, a place of challenge, that they became a community. In the same way, we, in crucial moments of discussion and decision, can grow ever closer as a community.
This week, we will read from the Torah familiar words of blessing –and as we hear them now, let us consider how we can bless each other….
May God bless us and keep us – and may we bless and keep each other through respect, cooperation, commitment and sincere concern.
May God look kindly upon us and be gracious to us – and may we look upon each other with kindness and a generosity of spirit, enabling us to find the spark of God in every person.
May God bestow favor upon us and grant us peace – and may we favor one another with the best of who we are – with integrity, with honesty and with purpose – to create among us today, and at all times, a sense of completeness and hope, unity and peace.
And let us say Amen.
Counting Everyone! May 14, 2010
Shabbat Shalom!
The nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court brings with it the story of a young girl who was a trailblazer at her congregation, Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York City.
This tale was recounted in The New York Jewish Week: “I remember she was very definite,” recalled Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the congregation’s spiritual leader. “She came to me and very much wanted it; she was very strong about it. She wanted to recite a Haftorah like the boys, and she wanted her bat mitzvah on a Saturday morning.” Never having officiated at a bat mitzvah before, Rabbi Riskin said he had to “figure out what to do for a bat mitzvah. ... I was playing it by ear.” He said he “could not give her everything” she wanted. For instance, Rabbi Riskin said she could have her bat mitzvah on a Friday night, not a Saturday morning. And instead of reciting a Haftorah, she chanted, in Hebrew, selections from the Book of Ruth. “I was very proud of her,” he said. “She did very well. After that, we did bat mitzvahs all the time. ... She was part of my education. This was for us a watershed moment.”
Elena Kagan’s Bat Mitzvah experience reflects a modern interpretation on this week’s and last week’s Torah readings which would teach these principles:
1) There is an equality among all people that must be maintained (Leviticus 25 and following: a quick end to slavery; forgiving debts; noting that the earth belongs to God and we are caretakers, so that, in the Jubilee Year every 50 years, land could revert to previous owners, at least in theory.
2) Every person who positively takes his or her place in the community counts! (While it was only the men who were counted at the beginning of the book of Numbers, it is significant that Elena Kagan’s rabbi, Shlomo Riskin, was prepared to learn that SHE should be counted in the same way!).
In any congregation and community, every person has a role and the possibility of making a difference and a positive contribution. May we continue to find new ways to lead each other and to make every person – and every act – count!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
The nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court brings with it the story of a young girl who was a trailblazer at her congregation, Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York City.
This tale was recounted in The New York Jewish Week: “I remember she was very definite,” recalled Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the congregation’s spiritual leader. “She came to me and very much wanted it; she was very strong about it. She wanted to recite a Haftorah like the boys, and she wanted her bat mitzvah on a Saturday morning.” Never having officiated at a bat mitzvah before, Rabbi Riskin said he had to “figure out what to do for a bat mitzvah. ... I was playing it by ear.” He said he “could not give her everything” she wanted. For instance, Rabbi Riskin said she could have her bat mitzvah on a Friday night, not a Saturday morning. And instead of reciting a Haftorah, she chanted, in Hebrew, selections from the Book of Ruth. “I was very proud of her,” he said. “She did very well. After that, we did bat mitzvahs all the time. ... She was part of my education. This was for us a watershed moment.”
Elena Kagan’s Bat Mitzvah experience reflects a modern interpretation on this week’s and last week’s Torah readings which would teach these principles:
1) There is an equality among all people that must be maintained (Leviticus 25 and following: a quick end to slavery; forgiving debts; noting that the earth belongs to God and we are caretakers, so that, in the Jubilee Year every 50 years, land could revert to previous owners, at least in theory.
2) Every person who positively takes his or her place in the community counts! (While it was only the men who were counted at the beginning of the book of Numbers, it is significant that Elena Kagan’s rabbi, Shlomo Riskin, was prepared to learn that SHE should be counted in the same way!).
In any congregation and community, every person has a role and the possibility of making a difference and a positive contribution. May we continue to find new ways to lead each other and to make every person – and every act – count!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
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