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.