Rabbi P.

“Oseh Shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael – May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us and for all Israel.”

I have been thinking and singing these words from our prayers for the past few days. It has served as a kind of a meditation, a much needed meditation from the complex, informative, frustrating, sad, disturbing and otherwise enlightening conversations and information sessions I was privileged to participate in during the AIPAC/American Israel Education Foundation Rabbinic Mission 2015.

I need to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to AIPAC for including me in this first class experience of Israel. I have had the blessing of traveling to Israel before; this trip was a first for me in many ways and the staff and Mark Waldman, Director of the AIPAC Synagogue Initiative, in particular, were fantastic.

I know that it will take me many more hours, if not days and weeks to fully process the information we were given. The intensity of the meetings and the stakes in which Israel, the US and the world find themselves in are incredibly high and complex. What was so thrilling was to experience the diversity of perspectives, and some directly counter to those of AIPAC, which was even more impressive.

To describe the week as a rollercoaster is more than trite but right on target. The emotionality of every day was a combination of peaks and valleys, sometimes more valleys than peaks, but always worthwhile.

I always knew Israel was complex. I always sensed that the issues around peace and security, religion and state, secular and observant, among many other opposites, bubble nervously near the surface of Israeli society. But this past week, I saw them up close. A few examples…

I spent most of my 3 weeks in Jerusalem, Israel’s most populous city. The city is alive with activity; the cafes are bustling, the stores are full, people seem to be buying. But no one looks you in the eye on the street. No one smiles. No one shares a shekel with the numerous homeless people asking for help. It seems that there is life but a careful circle of who is engaged in dialogue. Maybe its a Texas thing, but a smile doesn’t cost anyone anything.

I loved my walks in Jerusalem, even though I complained at every hill. The flowers and vegetation is absolutely stunning. I always loved the hanging baskets, the purples and the reds of some variety or another. The Jerusalem stone buildings seemed a perfect match against the blue sky. But then there was the trash. Jerusalem streets and alleyways, parks and public spaces are strewn with trash. While there are large metal containers for trash, recycling and the like, it feels like no one really cares. And unfortunately, its not just in Jerusalem, it is all over Israel, in every town I visited, the reckless display of careless consideration for Israel’s natural beauty was heartbreaking.

And then there is the politics. Our group met with the chair of the United List, 4 Arab political parties who joined together to form an Arab coalition, so to speak, in the Knesset. He explained the difficulty of being a minority in a minority coalition, whose principle aims are to fight for the rights of Israeli Arabs and the fight against settlements. While he did mention some legislative victories around economic development for some Arab communities, its a tough fight every single day.

We met with Dr. Saeb Erekat, Chief Negotiator for the PLO and now on the Executive Committee, who explained his frustration and years of trying in the peace process. While his presentation was a skilled lesson in what to say and what not to say, I couldn’t get past the emotion he genuinely felt at the prospects of running out of time for peace.

There is the issue of security and crossing borders and who is allowed where at what time for what purpose with what vehicle. There is the issue of voting privileges. There is the issue of Palestinian self determination. There is the issue of borders. There is the issue of refugees. There is the issue of religious pluralism and the hijacking of access to religious holy sites, regional councils, funding for non-orthodox institutions, conversion laws, wedding officiation, and kashrut certification. Each of these demand a further explanation, but, you get the point.

Then of course, is the Iran issue. This will take more time to think through and while the Knesset seems to be in agreement that this is bad for Israel, and 47% of Israelis think a pre-emptive strike on Iran is necessary, not everyone is convinced the sky is falling. All this constant pulling and pushing and confrontation and opposites, leaves my head spinning. Solutions are aplenty…cooperation is minimal…success is incremental, and yet, hope still abounds.

I saw this in the multi-billion dollar private building enterprise of the town of Rawabi in the West Bank, a town built by Palestinians for Palestinians. To say it was spectacularly beautiful is an understatement. In a time when we see only Palestinian suffering, this place couldn’t be more opposite.

I saw this in the fight of leaders in the LGBT community who are fighting an incredible battle for all kinds of rights they re denied.

I saw this at the Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat, where the hospital has been treating Syrian casualties of many different kinds for a couple of years without formal policy to do so. The Israeli doctors and Army officials saw a need, saw human beings in need and acted righteously, never mind the cost; somewhere to the tune of 3 million dollars.

I saw this most profoundly in the Beit Elazraki Children’s home in Netanya, where a true tzaddik, Yehuda Cohen, saves Israeli children from the perils of abandonment, neglect and abuse. It was amazing.

So I left Israel, loving her more deeply, appreciating much more than I ever have how difficult it is to move forward and to make progress on any number of fronts. I understand now more than ever how nuanced Israel really is; how many layers there are to each and every issue, how hungry all its citizens are for peace and quiet and for the dignity that comes in valuing each other as a gift from God. I left Israel knowing that every day there are good and decent people fighting for Israel to be the highest example of holiness and goodness in the world; for her to really be a light to the nations who refuse to give up hope even in the face of not just overwhelming odds, but odds that would crush the spirit of anyone else.

What I know now, more than ever, is that any solution to any one of the current difficulties will come, not by the sheer force or domination of one answer over another, but from the creativity that lies in the varied interplay of both sides somewhere in between. When she is ready for compromise and creativity, then amazing things will most definitely happen.

I for one, because of these 3 weeks am, and will always remain, optimistic and hopeful.

Oseh shalom bimromav….

In the great discussions and debates in the Talmud, the archetype argumentation is found on the pages where the great sages Hillel and his colleague Shammai work through the issues of the Law to the solutions for the people. Invariably, Hillel’s position is determined to be the law as his answers contain the truths found in both his reasonings and those of Shammai’s. Therefore the rabbis maintain that, “Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim chaim – These and these are the living words of God.” Amazing. It wasn’t that Hillel’s was MORE right than Shammai; it was that he was willing to hear, listen to and acknowledge the reasoning, the history, the narrative that Shammai was putting forth and without denigrating Shammai, allowed the rightness of his case to be made.
This thinking in the Talmud is so countercultural. In a society and time that seems to demand that there always be a winner and a loser, a right way and a wrong way, the words of “These and these are the words of the living God” seems almost too impossible to embrace. How can it be that they can both be the living words of God? Because they were both right; again Hillel was accepted because he was willing to hear the other side. This insight was the guiding image in my mind as I completed my first full (and it was very full) day of the AIPAC Rabbinic Mission.
We began the day with a presentation from Professor Sam Lehman-Wilzig of Bar Ilan University who is a professor of journalism and mass media. Dr. Lehman-Wilzig spoke about the Israeli election, Israeli politics and what 61 seat coalition government that is currently in place can and cannot accomplish. In a nutshell, Dr. Lehman-Wilzig presented a terribly complex scenario of compromise/blackmail, disproportionate political power in some of the political parties in the coalition and the chasm between the Israeli electorate and the elected officials. He described a scene so opposite to “These and These…” that it seems miraculous that any laws in the Knesset get passed at all.
We followed that with a trip to the Knesset where we had the opportunity to meet with three members of three different parties. The first meeting was with Dr. Ahmed Tibi, the leader off the newly formed Joint List – four Israeli Arab parties who joined together to make sure the Arab parties exceeded the percentile threshold of votes necessary to enter the Knesset which was raised to 3.25%. Dr. Tibi expressed his party’s line which is a party of economic and social equality for Israeli Arabs and opposition to the settlements. I have read about these positions many times, but hearing it in person, was a jarring reality that there are those in the Knesset, who are working to fundamentally undue the Knesset. How this tension is managed by the Israeli Arab parties remains a mystery to me. He and his comrades are working towards the creation of a 2 state solution. What remains to be seen is if it actually happens, would he remain in the Knesset or would he join the new country’s government?
We then heard from Dr. Roi Folkman from the Kulanu party, which is a center-left party, recently created and not sure where it is going or how much longer it can stay a political viability. It has been a long time since a center party won an election and only ha done so 1 time in the past 8 elections. They are the party of social change, equality, egalitarianism and of economic development.
We heard from Miki Zohar last, a member of the largest party in the coalition, Likud. Unfortunately, Mr. Zohar was unrefined, unsophisticated and frankly disappointing. He expressed the hard line, politically far right of center policies that we have heard recently from Jerusalem; 1 state solution, religious adherence to Jewish tradition, strong security and maintaining a strategic advantage over everyone in the region. After hearing from only 3 of the 9 political parties currently represented in the Knesset, I wondered as did all my colleagues, how can they get anything done? How can they fundamentally appreciate that “these and these are words of the living God?” It seems impossible.
We then traveled rom the Knesset to the Israel Democracy Institute, the largest and most prestigious Israeli think-tank and polling organizations where we heard from the President of the Institute, Yochanan Plesner who described what we heard from Dr. Lehman-Wilzig, of the growing difference between Israeli government institutions and the Israeli electorate. As if that wasn’t enough, we then heard from Mohammad Darwashe, an Arab activist, who is the Director of Planning, Equality and Shared Living of the Givat Havivah Educational Institute, the national education center of the Kibbutz Federation. Mr. Darwashe described his 30 year efforts and helping Arabs and Jews live and socialize together. It is a study in the frustration and incremental steps that are taken in a time and place where every step needs to be measured and carefully calculated.
After a much-needed break and a wonderful dinner, we concluded the day with a presentation from Dr. Einat Wilf of the Jewish People’s Policy Institute who made a fantastic case for the need to reinvigorate the Zionism and Feminism movements in Israel in order to create the Israel we desire. She made the case that the argument being put forth lately bout whether Israel can be a democracy and a Jewish state is inherently a flawed argument. Since we, as Jews and as Israelis have no choice but to debate and argue, that democracy is the only methodology for the Jewish state. The better question is whether or not Judaism and values of inclusivity, equality and egalitarianism are compatible. As far as the issues relative to the Palestinians, unless and until such time as the Palestinians acknowledge the reality of Israel’s right to exist and their narrative, there can be no peace. She was fantastic.
It left me spinning…”These and these are the words of the living God.” It seems monumentally difficult to achieve a balance when both sides refuse to believe in the validity of the other. In spite of the value of acknowledging the story of the other in our texts, it seems an elusive goal for some in Israel and impossible for the Palestinians. Currently there is no hope for Arab majority country embracing liberal values where a Jewish minority would be protected. Unless and until all sides hear the story of the other will peace really be achieved. As the speakers showed us today, steps in that direction are quite small, indeed, but are being made. Amazing…

Yesterday we took a break from our studies and ventured into Israel on field trips to explore different aspects of Israel and Israeli society. After spending a week inside, I chose to explore Israel outside, on a day long hike through Mt. Gilboa.
Mt. Gilboa is located in the northern part of Israel, about an hour or so north of Jerusalem, southwest of the ancient and now modern city of Beit She’an. It is mentioned in the book of 1 Samuel 31 and the story of the death of King Saul and his sons. Starting at the top, Mt. Gilboa affords a vista of the Jordan valley to the east, and the Jezreel valley to the west; a glimpse of the vitality of the land in all directions. Its breathtaking views allows you to capture the growth of modernity as you peer into the haze of history – “Now the Philisitnes fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the philistines and fell down slain on Mt. Gilboa.” (1 Samuel 31:1) It was so moving to walk the steps of our ancestors. The hike down the mountain began with the images of the besieged Israel and the thoughts in my head of how something so beautiful could be one day redeemed.
I won’t kid you, it was hot, steep, jagged and you couldn’t buy a slice of shade for any amount of shekels. The 3 kilometer descent gave me the chance to consider the difficulties of building a nation, protecting the dreams of a people and what it might mean for this special place to experience the redemption it so desperately needs. When we got to the end of the trail and the air-conditioned bus was waiting for us to take us to lunch, I definitely thought the messiah had arrived via motorcoach. I was tired hot and dirty. Thank goodness for the next part of the hike – a water walk through a lazy river near a natural spring, called Gan Hashelosha. Awesome! After lunch in Beit She’an, a and a brief visit to an eduction partner of the Hartman Institute and the Ministry of Education, we drove back to Jerusalem where I was so glad to get back to my hotel. As I hung up my wet clothes in the bathroom to dry, that’s when Yehuda Amichai came for a visit…
Yehuda Amichai (1924 – 2000) was an Israeli poet, considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel’s greatest modern poet. He wrote one of my favorite poems entitled, “Tourists”.

Visits of condolence is all we get from them.
They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,
They put on grave faces at the Wailing Wall
And they laugh behind heavy curtains
In their hotels.
They have their pictures taken
Together with our famous dead
At Rachel’s Tomb and Herzl’s Tomb
And on Ammunition Hill.
They weep over our sweet boys
And lust after our tough girls
And hang up their underwear
To dry quickly
In cool, blue bathrooms.

Once I sat on the steps by agate at David’s Tower,
I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists
was standing around their guide and I became their target marker. “You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there’s an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head.” “But he’s moving, he’s moving!”

I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, “You see that arch from the Roman period? It’s not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who’s bought fruit and vegetables for his family.”

And then it hit me, again. Israel’s real moment of redemption will not come because of the volume of tourists who admire the ancient artifacts, walk the old city streets or climb ancient mountains. Redemption will come for Israel when, in spite of the antiquity and wonder of the artifacts, we choose instead to see the newness and the wonder of the people right in front of us and the efforts they go through to survive, day in, and day out. But this is not relegated only to Israel. The same holds true for us, wherever we are. When we finally decide that people and their stories are more important than the principled stands we feel we must make, and the buildings we must build, we will then move quickly to usher in the time of the Messiah. All we have to do is notice the more important sights. I wonder if we can do it.

Everyone seems to have a grandparent who would bemoan the ” good old days” when hard work and effort were a daily exhibit of the virtues of well lived life; when technology meant doing things by hand, like changing the channel on the tv and when walking to school meant walking uphill in both directions. I know we may roll our eyes at the quaintness of the sentiments, but I couldn’t help myself from laughing as I reflect on this past week in Jerusalem.
I began my week studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute, a non-demoninational, high level Beit Midrash, a place of serious Jewish learning, in a program specifically for rabbis. I joined colleagues from all over the world, about 150 or so, for 10 days of study around the topic of justice and personal and national identity. My first day I walked from hotel near the corner of Ben Yehuda street and King George street to Hartman, which is located just south west of the Jerusalem theater. What I didn’t realize, was that walk is literally uphill in both directions. And a gradual incline it is not. What I would discover both in the classroom and on my daily walks is that uphill in both directions is really one of many metaphors for Jerusalem, it’s people, and in many respects, the state of Israel and the Jewish people.
The week began, (after getting lost twice) with Rabbi Donniel Hartman teaching and by examining the idea of justice and righteousness and the difficulty in determining a precise translation and definition. The exploration of Jewish sources was, predictably, vague. Struggling to understand what our tradition is trying to say to us as a people and as individuals when it comes to acting with justice and righteousness was nothing if not an uphill battle. The day concluded with the first of three sessions with Tal Becker, an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dealing with the U.S. – Israel relationship, another point of walking uphill, at least lately. The following days, former Member of the Knesset Ruth Calderon taught about personal righteousness in interpersonal relationships, Melillah Hellner, a Professor at Hebrew University taught about the all consuming nature of doing justice and righteousness, Dr. Moshe Halbertal spoke about concepts of tikkun olam, and Dr. Rachel Korazim taught about 3 trails that shaped the state of Israel. What a week of learning!
On the long walks back to my hotel (uphill), I was able to ponder the learning and try to frame it in some meaningful way. I realized that justice and righteousness are terms with fluid definitions, often in the hands of the beholder. I realized that Judaism is so deeply concerned with doing justice and righteousness, but never seems to be made manifest in a linear, clear or decisive manner. I realized that the State of Israel struggles with its own definition of justice and righteousness, often at odds with itself, with Jewish tradition, with its neighbors and with history. Is it enough to struggle? I wonder. Can we be righteous and not do justice? I don’t know. Can we execute justice without being righteous? Definitely. What do we need more of? If we are broken, personally in our configurations of justice and righteousness, can we possibly make it happen for others?
As the days went on, and my average number of daily steps nearing 17,000, the weight of the uphill battle seemed heavier. What a responsibility we have as Jews, commanded to do justice and righteousness. How poorly we seem to be doing, and yet how incredible we seem to be doing as well. Uphill in both directions. So much work to do. So much wrong to right. So much pain to salve. And then, it was Shabbat….not a day off, but a day up; a day to renew and refresh and then right back to the work!
I look forward to this week and the uphill walks I will encounter.

I am writing this en route to Israel where I will be studying and traveling for the next few weeks. While I am excited for this learning opportunity, I miss my Temple Shalom family.

As I make my way to Israel, I am reminded of the scene from our recent Torah portion where Moses, sends out the scouts to check out the Land. As the familiar story reminds us, the 12 scouts spend 40 days and 40 nights examining the land and bring back 2 reports. 10 scouts report that the Land is scary, filled with giant looking creatures, harsh landscapes and unfriendly territory and inhabitants. 2 of the scouts, Joshua and Caleb, agree to that assessment, but are undeterred in their excitement and readiness to pursue the Land anyway. The naysayers have their way, and the Israelites are condemned to wander for an additional 38 years. I wonder, why did Moses send the scouts in the first place? If the Holy Land was where we were commanded to go, why did it matter what the Land looked like and what the odds were that we were up against?

While traditional commentaries focus on the outlooks between those who are afraid and those who are courageous (the outlooks between the 10 scouts vs. Joshua and Caleb), I think the effort of the scouts is really about whether or not we are ready to receive the inheritance of shalom and holiness, or whether we are still shouldering the burdens of fear and small thinking. The promise of Israel is the promise of hope and possibility in spite of the darkness and limiting places we find our selves spiritually, emotionally, or intellectually.

In this past week we have seen glimpses of this hope and possibility in the wake of the Supreme Court rulings and the debate about flags and the manner in which many in our country honor the triumph of love over hate. Anytime there is the victory of Betzelem Elohim – the recognition of the divine presence in the face of our brothers and sisters, anytime we are willing to embrace hope and courage and possibility and deny the anger of hate, of alienation, of name calling and of fear – we come closer to truly inheriting the gift of Israel and all she stands for. I have always believed that there is no cost to honoring the holiness of another; that there is no effort in seeing the Godliness of another and there is no need for a cost-benefit analysis in recognizing the dignity of another. If you believe, as I believe that God’s love is the most powerful tool for a peaceful world, then seeing that Godly love in another doesn’t take a lot of work….it just is. That’s what I saw that happened for a brief moment this past week. I hope you did too.

I know there is still a lot of work to be done to bring more of God’s love to the world, to our state, to our community and to our families. I know there are people in our midst filled to brim with hate and fear and hopelessness. And here, the traditional commentaries are helpful; I for one am in the Joshua and Caleb camp. I will not allow the voices of the fearful and angry drown out the possibility of love and hope and courage. If we truly are Yisrael – the ones who struggle with God – then let that struggle inspire us to bring God’s love and presence to those in need, to situations in need and to places in need. Israel is that promise, for me, for you, for everyone.

As I get closer to the Land of Israel -the Israel of space – with every passing minute, I can’t help but to feel, we are all getting closer to Israel – the Israel of time. And it is very exciting! I hope you will follow my journey at rabbip.com. May God bless you and yours with love and with peace…

It hasn’t even really been a week – just five days. Five days of my 63 days of sabbatical – a time of educational, spiritual, physical and emotional recharging. I have been thinking about this time for a long while now and I chuckle to myself about being careful what you wish for. My real refreshing will come when I travel to Israel later in the month for about 3 weeks where I will be studying, relaxing and touring around the country. It’s the meantime that makes me chuckle and where I have been thinking about the balance between serving our calling and serving ourselves; between a work ethic and an ethic of self. I have been wondering out loud what kind of balance I have struck through more than 20 years of “work” in the service of God. I love working. I have been working in some form or another since I was 8 or 9, whether it was the form of raking leaves or shoveling snow up and down our street, to day camp counselor, to sealcoating driveways, to construction, to painting, to property management, back to camp and finally to the rabbinate. 40 years of working and, for the most part, loving every minute of it. I worked hard and long hours, as those in my family and in my community did. I felt proud at my efforts, liked the money I was receiving and felt it mattered in the long run. All of my work prior to the rabbinate were part time. I worked in between my schooling and only in college did I work while i was in school to pay for college. Vacations were few and far between. My family rarely took winter vacations or spring breaks; summer was an opportunity for more work. It never dawned on me to ask why we didn’t take more time to refresh ourselves. I knew we couldn’t really afford vacations and spiritual talk wasn’t a part of the fabric of our family discussions. How did my father maintain an active dental practice for almost 50 years where I never heard him complain about it and where he went to work nearly every day? No idea. Did my dad long for a sabbatical to refresh himself. No idea. While the rabbinate and dentistry are not the same kind of work – my dad did not have nightly commitments, board meetings and federation dinners to attend – everyone needs some kind of lift of the spirit to keep ones’ passions afire. After 5 days I am itching to get back to work. I like the work. I miss the work. I know my heart and soul are not yet refreshed and that I have to train my spirit to think about what it needs as I attend to the needs of others. It’s not boredom I feel, it’s not knowing how to help my heart and soul get back to that original state in order to help the body and mind do its Read the rest of this entry →

Jews and Judaism are known for being the people of The Book. And as such, we take the words of The Book seriously, to the extent that we sometimes argue over the meaning and substance of sentences and more often than not, single words. For Jews and Rabbis, semantics is an art form to be embraced. As this is true for clergy and those studying sacred text, so is it true for diplomats and negotiators and policy analysts trying to figure out the worlds issues.

The issue of semantics could not be any more important and dramatic than with the issue related to Iran and its nuclear program and the very real existential threat it poses for Israel. Perhaps some of you have been following the nuances closely and have noted the dicotomy between the American and Israeli positions. According to Defense Secretary Panetta, “The U.S. will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. That is a red light for us.” Sounds good. Sounds strong. Sounds clear. Except, upon analysis, we have to ask how one might know when that happens and what to do next? The Israeli position is even more complicated. They assert that Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear capability. From that vantage point, even before t=Iran can build a weapon, they must be prevented from getting the information. The problem with that position is that they already have the information. You cannot obliterate human knowledge acquisition. So we are embroiled in a nuclear capability acquisition vs. a nuclear weapons acquisition debate. How should we proceed? What should we do?

In a recent article, Dr. Joseph Blady, former program officer for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and senior analyst for the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence wrote, “Closing the barn door after the horse has escaped may be futile, but burning down the barn in a fit of pique might be considered an act of lunacy, especially when there is the potential for the horse to come back and bite you in the butt in retribution.

Iran has possessed the technology for separating uranium isotopes for at least six years, and bomb-making can be learned on the Internet. No matter what Israel and the United States do, that bell cannot be unrung. Virusing Iranian centrifuges, murdering Iran’s nuclear scientists, and bombing installations will unquestionably slow Iran’s nuclear program. But if Iran is hell bent on enriching uranium, even on continuing to the development of a bomb, the outcome is inevitable without regime change. We arranged such a change in Iran in 1954. It left a bad smell then, and can only make a bad U.S. image problem in the region worse than it already is. Thus, such a solution could be a serious mistake if the Iranians themselves aren’t leading the effort.

Israel’s nervousness is understandable. Iran blusters too much, and if it only means half of what it says, Israel should fear for its safety. However, much mitigates against military action, either by Israel alone, or in consort with the United States.

First, there is Iran’s size and population. It has three times as many people as Iraq, and we know what a mess that was. In addition, there is reason to believe that Iranians would coalesce around the government in a time of national peril rather than push for the ouster of the current leaders.

Next, there is the nuclear program itself. It is much more diversified than the Syrian and Iraqi efforts that Israel put out of commission. There is reason to believe that the Iranian government has had North Korean help with tunneling techniques in order to hide installations. The North Koreans are masters of the art of concealment, and need the money.

There is Iran’s wealth. The sanctions may be hurting, but there is cheating going on, and we’ve caught the Iraqis, not very staunch allies after all, as one of the culprits. It appears there are others. This means that Iran is likely to continue having the capital to rebuild anything we blow up.

As for nuclear enrichment, Iran is actually as entitled as is any other nation to pursue the technology, even under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It is Iran’s repetitively slimy behavior that has caused much of the rest of the world to oppose and mistrust Iran in the arena of nuclear enrichment. In a strict sense vis-a-vis the NPT, Israel and the United States probably don’t have a leg to stand on.

In the wings are China and Russia. While changeable in their pronouncements, they are not going to help for numerous reasons. This means that the United Nations will be impotent in this issue. Finally, trouble in the Persian Gulf could lead to disruption of a third of the world’s oil supply. The price of crude would head toward $150-200 a barrel. That is no way to run an economic recovery.

The simplest, and probably most potent, approach would be a policy pronouncement by the United States extending its nuclear umbrella. It should be made unequivocal that we would retaliate decisively (yes, that means even the Big One, if necessary) should Iran or its surrogates use Iranian nuclear material in an attack against another party. No excuse by Iran about stolen or misplaced material would be acceptable, since they were warned not to go there in the first place. This is the “If you play, you pay” rule. We would rely on our increasing skill in fingerprinting nuclear material to discover its origin. Iran would know that it faced becoming a porcelain hole in the ground the day after an event. Its neighbors could take refuge in the American pledge, thus foregoing the need to field their own nukes.

The key to this policy working is the continuing relevance of deterrence. It worked through the Cold War, and it continues to work today. And don’t kid yourself; the Iranians aren’t crazy. They do not consider Israel’s destruction worth their own disappearance. Diplomacy should continue to be the favored path. But the right stick might make the carrot taste a lot better.”

I remember Sunday morning’s in my house growing up. My father would sit at the dining room table with the local Sunday newspaper and the Sunday New York Times and sit, quietly and reflectively pouring over the pages, going through each page until both papers were an untidy mess. While he started with the comics, he nonetheless got through it all. I suppose there was something meditative about it, feeling, at least on one day during the week, that you were up to date on the goings on in the world. Once the news was fully digested, he would then settle in for a prolonged attempt at the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.

I like to do the same. There is something old school about reading an actual newspaper that just feels right. (I must admit I do get the daily New York Times on my iPad as well!) Nevertheless, it is a daunting, time consuming task to read the voluminous words of every story in the Times, especially when the stories are so incredibly depressing and sometimes, downright scary. It seems as if we are surrounded by news stories of crushing cynicism and of never-ending dread and fear. Can reading a newspaper today really be otherwise?
It reminds me of that famous joke of three elderly Jewish men sitting in a café in pre-war Germany. Two are reading the newspaper of the International Herald Tribune and bemoaning the approaching doom and gloom of world war. The third is sitting smiling as he reads his paper, Der Sturmer – The Storm, the weekly Nazi newspaper of the time. His friends ask him, “How could you be reading that paper and be smiling?” He answers, “While you are reading about the doom and despair of the world, I am reading about how powerful the Jewish community is. Did you know we own all the banks and control the entire world?” Where one sees despair and falsehoods and lies, another sees optimism and possibility. While the joke speaks to Jewish hope in the future, it got me wondering about how we have become so instinctively cynical.

Cynicism is defined as believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity or doubtful as to whether something will happen or is worthwhile. How did we get this way? To be sure we have been jaded by painful personal experiences. We have lived through the trauma of national and international crises – economic, political or military, and we read about terrible troubling events in our newspapers every day. The scars of events of the past continue to haunt us, so we cut ourselves a little cynical slack. However, Judaism calls upon us to remember that the hallmark of our Jewish sensibilities is to believe in the power of hope and return of the joyous in every moment of every encounter of every day. This is best encapsulated by the idea found in Pirke Avot , “Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend and give the other person the benefit of the doubt – Dan L’chaf zechut.”

Ah yes…easier said than done. A naïve outlook on the world. Experience forces you to think otherwise. All cynical responses. Note the progression: from teacher to friend to everyone. Judging people favorably is the seed of positive relationships with people. This is in line with the Jewish approach that sees a pure, good soul at the core of each person. One of my teachers, Dr. Sarah Lee used to say, “Never attribute to malevolence what you can attribute to ignorance.” Dan lechaf Zechut, like so many concepts in Jewish life may seem counter-intuitive, yet we can see that like so many things in Jewish life, it is so right and so true. We know how many times we have been hurt by others. We are suspect of our dearest friends, our co-workers, our closest family relations – our spouses, our children. They are hurting us on purpose. They don’t care enough to call us back. They didn’t invite us to that wedding on purpose. They are driving recklessly for no reason. Money is missing from my wallet. I wonder if he took it. He is yelling for no reason. She ignored me when she could have said hello. They cut in line when I have been waiting longer. They sold us a piece of junk and they knew it. They are purposefully withholding their love and affection from us. And on and on and on. The best way to be convinced of the importance of judging favorably is to be the one suspected. Being in a position where onlookers assume we are doing one thing, while we know we are doing something quite different, teaches us how easy it is to draw wrong conclusions. When we are misjudged, that’s when we begin to really appreciate the value of judging others favorably.

Dan Lechaf Zechut, giving the other person the benefit of the doubt, as a middah tovah, a positive personal quality of character, reflects a general outlook on life. If we are really serious about creating the kind of compassionate, responsible, loving community toward which we strive, then in our interactions with others, giving the benefit of the doubt is an absolute must. In the end it will make our community whole and our community holy. I know it’s hard work, but it is our sacred and critically important duty.

I don’t know how many of you have a hobby, or a particular activity that you like to do regularly. For some, the really dedicated, the word so often associated with high levels of commitment to an activity, is “religiously” as in, “I work out at the gym religiously” or “painting is my religion”. What a curious way to describe a commitment to an activity. If working out, painting, playing music, or sports, working at our vocations or anything but formal religious observance can be described as “religious” what could one activity be that would be described as normative activities for religion? Clearly, one of them is praying. Prayer is so universally understood to be an activity of the religiously observant, regardless of how broadly defined the religion may be, or how broadly defined the observance levels may be. As a Rabbi, I think that’s a good thing.

So I am particularly puzzled and challenged each year, when confronted with the first Thursday in May, this year it falls on May 2nd, which is designated by Congress as the National Day of Prayer. What is the National Day of Prayer and when did it start?

In 1952, evangelist Billy Graham led a six week religious campaign in Washington, D.C., holding events in the National Guard Armory and on the Capitol steps. The campaign culminated in a speech in which Graham called for a national day of prayer. He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, our Nation was founded upon God, religion and the church . . . .What a thrilling, glorious thing it would be to see the leaders of our country today kneeling before Almighty God in prayer. What a thrill would sweep this country. What renewed hope and courage would grip the Americans at this hour of peril.. .We have dropped our pilot, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are sailing blindly on without divine chart or compass, hoping somehow to find our desired haven. We have certain leaders who are rank materialists; they do not recognize God nor care for Him; they spend their time in one round of parties after another. The Capital City of our Nation can have a great spiritual awakening; thousands coming to Jesus Christ, but certain leaders have not lifted an eyebrow, nor raised a finger, nor showed the slightest bit of concern. Ladies and gentlemen, I warn you, if this state of affairs continues, the end of the course is national shipwreck and ruin.”

After Graham’s speech, Representative Percy Priest introduced a bill to establish a National Day of Prayer. In addressing the House of Representatives, he noted that the country had been “challenged yesterday by the suggestion made on the east steps of the Capitol by Billy Graham that the Congress call on the President for the proclamation of a day of prayer.” In support of the bill, Representative Brooks stated that “the national interest would be much better served if we turn aside for a full day of prayer for spiritual help and guidance from the Almighty during these troublous times. I hope that all denominations, Catholics, Jewish and Protestants, will join us in this day of prayer.” On April 17, 1952, Congress passed Public Law 82- 324 which states: “The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

On May 5, 1988, Congress approved Public Law 100-307, “setting aside the first Thursday in May as the date on which the National Day of Prayer is celebrated.” On May 9, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law. The current version of the statute reads, “The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.
Presidents since Eisenhower have declared a day as National Prayer Day. President Reagan declared the first Thursday in May as National Prayer Day and President Obama declared May 7th as National Prayer Day. Interestingly, last year, President Obama did not host any event on that day, although he did make a formal proclamation, ostensibly concerned that our leader, in declaring such a day, might be construed as preferring one religion over the other. As Rabbi Bard Hirschfield notes, “On the other hand, it’s a shame that we are so polarized on this issue that the President cannot host an event which is entirely consistent with both his personal practice and that of the vast majority of our nation’s citizens. Not to mention that prayer, if not religion, is vital to the long-term health of any community.

No society has cultivated long-term success without nurturing in its members the ability to reflect and meditate on the most important issues of the day. And no society has maintained its strength without cultivating its citizens’ capacity for gratitude. Those two issues are what prayer is all about. And God need not be a part of that for all Americans, even if it is for most of us. Perhaps the anxiety around this issue tells us more about who we are as a nation than it does about prayer.

In Hebrew, the word for praying is a reflexive verb. It defines an internal conversation that one has with one’s self. To be sure, God has been a part of that conversation for most of those who pray. But the word itself proves that need not always be so. Perhaps the wisdom of this ancient tradition could serve as a model for our nation as well. It would assure the freedom of conscience to which we are all entitled while cultivating the kind of heightened awareness from which we all could benefit.”

I for one make every day a prayer day and do not feel the need for a national call for such an endeavor. Perhaps this is a religious activity, in which we could partake as much as we do working out, playing sports or watching t.v. Imagine the possibilities…

In 2005, the U.N. declared that January 27th of every year would be recognized as an International Day to Remember the Victims of the Holocaust. January 27th was chosen because it was the day that Auschwitz-Birkinau was liberated by the Soviet Union in 1945. 69 years from the end of the war and the world Jewish community is facing a new challenge; sooner than we would want, there will be no more Survivors.

The truth is that all of the Holocaust survivors are old. Many survivors are dependent on Jewish and social welfare. They are not living as well as they deserve to live. One day, not long from now, there will be no more Holocaust survivors left.

In a recent article, writer Matthew Fishbane notes that, “… one of the greatest risks of Jewish life today is the smothering sentimentalization of our memory of the Shoah. Frances’ closing chapter offers no “meretricious uplift.” The fact that she survived Auschwitz only to suffer at the end of her life is appalling and embarrassing. These are painful things to think about, let alone say. And part of the uneasiness comes from the way wealthy and comfortable American Jews have used “remembering the Holocaust” as the touchstone of their communal existence.
When a recent, highly publicized and debated Pew study asked, “What does being Jewish mean in America today?” an astonishing 73 percent of U.S. Jews replied that “remembering the Holocaust” was “essential to their sense of Jewishness.” Another 69 percent also cited “leading an ethical life.” More than half (56 percent) said that “working for justice and equality is essential to what being Jewish means to them.” To U.S. Jews, more important than any other identifying factor was this bizarre enshrinement of memory.
He goes on to remind us that World War II ended nearly 70 years ago. Even accounting for those who lived through the war as opposed to having directly suffered its most terrible expressions, the number of survivors still alive today across the world is probably in the low hundreds of thousands, and dwindling. Earlier this month, after an initiative announced by Vice President Joe Biden, the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging noted in a hearing on Holocaust survivors that one fourth of the roughly 140,000 survivors in America live at or below the poverty line. Some other estimates put more than half of the survivors living in the United States below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, meaning they earn less than $21,660 annually. The problem is serious enough that last week, the Obama Administration named the first Special Envoy for U.S. Holocaust Survivor Services, charged with caring for this population. “Living in poverty, plagued by immeasurable loss, they are at risk of falling into isolation and despair,” Lee Sherman, the president of the Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies, told the Senate. According to Elihu Kover of Nazi Victim Services for Selfhelp Community Services, more than half of the thousands of survivors who live in New York City can be classified as “very poor” or “near poor” under federal guidelines.

At the Senate hearing, Kover put it even more starkly: Holocaust survivors are growing older and frailer. The twenty-year-old who survived Auschwitz is now eighty-eight. She may be coping with the loss of her spouse and have no family to speak of. In addition to the myriad problems associated with so-called “normal aging,” many survivors have numerous physical and psychological problems directly attributable to their experiences during the Holocaust. Prolonged periods of starvation, exposure to severe weather conditions with inadequate clothing, and experiencing and witnessing unspeakable atrocities take a severe toll on body and mind. And many of these problems only surface in old age, having been hidden during their working years when the survivors struggled and made a new life for themselves as productive citizens of this country.
The problems the survivors face are real and daunting. Our challenge is even more serious; will we do whatever we can to preserve their memory and in doing so preserve their dignity, their lives and their history? I pray we do, for we can do no less.