The Rabbi on Mason

Dear Friends,

As we read this week’s Torah portion which deals with the Golden Calf, I believe that each of us should think about what is important to us and how we relate to G-d. I believe that our ancestors struggled with how to connect to G-d and when Moses didn’t come down from Mt. Sinai when they expected, they built the Golden Calf. Was the Calf an idol? Did they need to see G-d and therefore build a likeness of G-d? And…what does this mean to us in our world as we think about our own personal connection to the Divine and to our religious beliefs?

I recently asked members of our confirmation class at Congregation Adat Reyim whether they could root for a football team in the Super Bowl when there had been accusations that one of their star players may have been involved in an immoral sexual act and had been suspended for a number of games by the NFL. The consensus was that we root for the way our “heroes” play on the field and not what they do in their personal lives. I was troubled by their response because in my ideal world, it should matter what our”heroes” do both on and off the field. However, sometimes I believe that we put aside our moral and religious values because we want our team to win. I am personally as guilty of this as anyone since I hope that the teams I root for have the best players who can help them win. But…then I become concerned that perhaps I too am an idolater who worships winning over good sportsmanship and moral behavior.

As we think about our own careers and what is important to us, I wonder how many of us chase after the idols of money, fame, status, material possessions and other “idols” at the expense of devoting ourselves to helping others, spending time with our families, and making a difference in the lives of members of our community.

Finally, I wonder whether I would have patiently waited for Moses to return or whether I would have built an idol to personify G-d in my life. As members of the Jewish community, I believe that we should strive to pursue justice and to live by the selection from Pirke Avot (Teachings of the Sages) that reminds us that the world stands on three things, Torah (study), Avodah (worship), and g’milut hasadim (deeds of loving kindness). May we be inspired by the experience of our ancestors to study, find time for spirituality, and perform actions that will heal our world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

At the conclusion of the Amidah, we recite,”Guard My Tongue from Evil and My Lips from Telling Lies.” We know that we should avoid negative speech which we call “lashon hara.” In this week’s Torah portion, “Tetzaveh,” we notice that Moses’ name is not mentioned for the only time after we are introduced to Moses in Exodus, Chapter 2. In his commentary, “Living Each Week,” Rabbi Abraham J. Twersky suggests that “this omission is a consequence of Moses’ having said, when he pleaded for Divine forgiveness for the Israelites, that if they were not to be forgiven, ” Blot me out from Your Book”(Exod. 32:32).

In the end, God does forgive the Israelites, but Moses’ name, although not completely blotted out, is omitted from this portion. Why????

We must always remember that our words have consequences and that although sticks and stones can break our bones, words can break our hearts. When we say something with a mean tone, when we say things without thinking, when we speak angrily, these words have lasting impact. Moses made a statement and G-d took him seriously. G-d was trying to teach Moses and us that when we make a statement,, we need to take responsibility for it. How many of us continue to be overwhelmed by the power of negative rhetoric to create conflicts? Moses was angry with our people for building a golden calf and responded in an angry fashion.

I hope that we learn to temper our temper when engaging in difficult conversations and not make comments that are difficult to retract. May we remember that the lips that utter prayers, the tongue which says ” I love you,” and the mouth which utters many wonderful words, also have the potential to hurt and destroy.

What we say and how we say it is our choice…may we be kind and fulfill the words we pray…”guard our tongues from evil, and our lips from telling lies.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft.

Dear Friends,

On this Shabbat, we read from Parshat Terumah, the section that reminds us that each of us has a special offering which we bring to the world in which we live. Every person had a unique contribution to make to the building of the portable Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

One of the many rewards in the rabbinate is to hear about the good works with which members of our congregation are involved. Alex is another of our special college students who faced some health challenges which you can see from the site below. I believe that through Alex’s project, he is giving back an offering that is a response to his experiences. Often, people ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” They question where G-d is when faced with bad news. Alex’s response to his situation is evidence to me that “When bad things happen to good people”, G-d can appear in the ways in which we respond to our situations and the ways in which others reach out to us.

I hope you are inspired by his video. Please go to http://kck.st/katzco and watch the video

I also want to share with you a special offering that was given to me by my dad after a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In light of this being Super Bowl weekend, I hope you find these to be as inspiring as I have.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

It all happened so quickly. Within a few months, hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were rounded up and killed near the conclusion of WWII. By their own admission at the Budapest Holocaust Museum, this horrible action would not have been possible without the help and cooperation of many Hungarians. Having visited a number of Polish concentration camps over the years, it should not have been a surprise to me that people can do this to each other…and yet…once again it was a sobering reminder of the power that each of us has to make both a positive and a negative difference.

We just returned from visiting our daughter in Budapest and I had the opportunity to teach at one of three Jewish schools there. I taught approximately 40 ninth and tenth graders and we discussed the text from Rabbi Hillel where he says, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me; If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?” We talked about how challenging issues often present us with dilemmas as to whether to look out for ourselves or others. I cannot tell you what I would have done if I were alive during the Nazi period, but I can tell you that each time I see how willing others were to help the Nazis kill the Jews, I am frightened.

Someone raised the question as to how one can help instill the type of values that would encourage us to want to help others, even at personal risk. I wish I knew the answer to that question….if any of you reading this, have any ideas, please write me at rabbibruce@gmail.com and mark the subject, “Helping Others.”. Each time I visit Eastern Europe, I am haunted by the thought that I could have been a collaborator and I am ashamed by these thoughts. I hope I would have taken risks to save others, but…

We also had the opportunity to visit a number of synagogues, many of which stand empty today. It is so difficult to hear about Jewish life that “used to be…” When I was younger, my dad told me that the saddest words he ever heard from old baseball players who were trying to hang on, were, ” I used to be a good player…” Although apparently there are still 100,000 Jewish people in Hungary, most of whom live in Budapest, it is so sad to see just remnants of what used to be a vibrant Jewish life. There was a kosher shop, a couple of kosher restaurants, and a number of smaller synagogues, but Judaism is clearly not what it was….When one sees Judaism on exhibit in a museum, it tears me up and pushes me to be more passionate and about trying to make Judaism more meaningful for others.

Finally, what do I learn? I learn how important it is for us to treasure the opportunities we have to practice our faith in America today, I also am inspired to seek innovative and meaningful ways in which to express our Jewish identities in a world in which I believe that Judaism has much to offer that will help us create a value system that will help us make good choices when it comes to trying to save and enhance the lives of those who are at risk due to persecution, poverty, and other difficult conditions.

I look forward to continuing this discussion in a variety of settings. Please respond electronically of contact me by phone so we can help each other….

Moses Maimonides, a famous Medieval Jewish philosopher who is called Rambam wrote,
“The purpose of the laws of the Torah is…to promote compassion, loving-kindness, and peace in the world.”

As you read my initial recollections from our trip to Hungary, may we find meaning in Rambam’s message and find ways to be more compassionate, do deeds of lovingkindness, and promote peace in our world.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

If I could send her Christina Taylor Green this letter I would….I may or may not send it to her family, but wanted you to know my thoughts…

Dear Christina,

I had the pleasure to meet your grandfather when he was the manager of the Chicago Cubs many years ago. He was a very fine baseball man who accomplished many significant things as a baseball manager. It is not surprising to me that you were a young person who loved baseball and also wanted to become more aware of how to become an involved citizen.

I wish I had answers for the questions which your death raises. I am a rabbi who unfortunately has to grapple with many challenging questions about why bad things happen to good people. I have no explanation for your death but hope that through thinking about your life, I can find meaning in the lessons that your short life has taught me.

First of all, you were born on a day, Sept. 11, 2001, when our world was torn apart by the horrors of terrorism. Your birth and the birth of all those who were born on that day, inspired so many of us to have hope in a world that seemed hopeless. On this Shabbat,(Sabbath), in the Jewish religion, we are celebrating the Sabbath of Song, which commemorates the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea in Biblical days.Our tradition teaches that one of the reasons the miracle occurred was because an individual named Nachshon was willing to take a chance and step into the Red Sea. While others cried out, rushed into the Sea and drowned and some returned to slavery, Nachshon took the first step into the Sea with the hope that his act might lead to a miracle. His courage led to the freedom of the Israelite people who evolved into the Jewish people that we know today.

Your first step into the adult world to meet a Congress Person was a miracle, Christina. In a world torn by skepticism and cynicism, you taught us the miracle of believing that we can make a difference. Although you won’t be in this world to see it, the world will be a better place because people will learn from the tragedy that led to your death. They will learn that we must not say gnasty things to each other in a way which causes anger and hatred. They will learn, as the President of the United States, Barach Obama, said that we should use our words to heal and not to wound. They will learn that children still believe in the power of each of us to make a difference.

Oh Christina, a child of hope on Sept. 11…it is not fair that you should have to die in order for us to remember that basic human decency necessitates that we should be civil with each other. I wish that people would learn to use their words as sources of hope, rather than as weapons. I wish that people would be more sensitive to those who show signs of mental illness and reach out and help them. I wish that people would not use weapons which can kill, in order to hurt nine year old girls and others.

But…Christina, we live in a world that needs to be repaired. In the Jewish tradition we call this repair, tikkun. May your memory inspire each of us to find an area of our world to fix and devote ourselves to the best for which you hoped…that we can make a difference.

May your family be comforted during this tragic time and may your innocence and idealism find you a place as G-d’s right hand person, helping to inspire each of us to make our world a better place to live.

We miss you, but will never forget the hope you have given all of us.

B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

I wanted to share this statement issued by the Religious Action Center about the terrible shooting in Arizona.
B’Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

These words from David Saperstein:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a remarkable public servant shot while meeting with constituents today. Rep. Giffords is a member of Reform Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, and our entire community shares her family’s concern and pain.

We send our condolences to the families of those killed in this horrible act of violence, including U.S. District Judge John Roll, and pray for those who were wounded. As dark a day as this is for our nation, we know that it is immeasurably more painful for those whose family members were killed or injured.

We have had a close and fruitful relationship with Rep. Giffords and her staff throughout her time in Congress. She is a leading advocate for sensible immigration reform, a strong and thoughtful voice on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is willing to cast difficult votes on issues she believes in, including health care reform. (It was her support for health care reform, which led to an earlier attack on her office in Tucson.)

We do not yet know the specific motive behind this despicable act. But there can be no ignoring the increasing culture of violence in our nation and particularly in our political discourse. Dehumanizing language and images of violence are regularly used to express differences of opinion on political issues. Such language is too often heard by others, including those who may be mentally ill or ideologically extreme, to justify the actual use of violence. It continues to be far too easy to acquire guns, including the weapon used in today’s shootings. Americans must be able to have robust and healthy differences of opinion while respecting the humanity and patriotism of those with whom they disagree.

We, together with so many others, have supported and developed programs to address the disintegration of our political culture. As we can see from today’s bloodshed, to call for “civility,” only begins to scratch the surface of what is needed. We are committed to working with America’s religious leaders of all faiths, and others, to elevate aggressively the state of our political discourse.

But today, of course, we stand stunned and deeply saddened. And we pray that Rep. Giffords’ husband Mark and her entire family find support comfort and strength among their friends and family, as we join them in praying for her full recovery.

Dear Members of the George Mason Community,

The Jewish community has suffered a great loss. Please keep her in your prayers so her memory will be for a blessing.

Beloved US Jewish songwriter, Debbie Friedman, dies

B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

I had a wonderful opportunity to attend a retreat this week for those involved in religious activities. The theme was justice and we were involved in a day of study, prayer, and meditation that dealt with this important concept.

I was very moved by our discussions, particularly as they related to two very different areas in which justice can be integrated into our lives. One of the areas dealt with responding justly to people who live in places where there is great need. We studied an essay written by Jill Ramaker Hendricks who is the founder/director of Wyoming Haiti Relief. She wrote: (this is a paraphrase)

“Haiti…

It’s painful, overwhelming, confusing. It’s warm, as in friendly, and hot as in nothing you have ever experienced…It’s delicate and graceful as a tall beautiful young mother who balances a fifty pound basket of Mangoes on her head as she reaches down to hold her small child’s hand…It’s edgy with the UN occupation in place and the growing national police presence.It’s desperate as men climbing high on tumbled buildings to scavenge building materials. It’s long-suffering…grueling…grimy, and…It’s crying out for justice…”

I hope that as each of us responds to someone in need, that we will remember that as a people, we are commanded in the Torah to pursue justice. We have known for years that Haiti had great need and yet we did not pursue justice as fervently as we might have…rather we waited for the disastrous earthquake and then the world responded with great effort and energy Each of us should find ways in which we can actively pursue a just cause.

We also talked in small groups about establishing just relationships with the people with whom we have contact. I couldn’t help but think of how many of us establish relationships with people based upon hearsay and perceptions. I was inspired to be sure that the relationships that are most important to me be based upon truth and honest communication. I hope that as we pursue justice in our own personal, family, college, student, professional, and friendship relationships, we will be just and really try to put ourselves in the place of others before making making judgments about them. Martin Buber talks about establishing meaningful relationships and characterizes these as I Thou….honestly getting in touch with others and who they really are…I hope we will make the time to do this with the people who are important to us, whether they are parents, children, siblings, friends, professors, students, or acquaintances.

For those who are traveling over the Holiday break, be safe. Enjoy a wonderful Holiday season and a healthy, safe 2011.

B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

As the end of the semester approaches, I hope that everyone is dealing with the stress of finals and final assignments. I remember that when I was in college my parents would tell me to “learn something.” During this time of the year it was hard to remember that this is the ultimate goal of a college education with the strain of trying to get everything done. Good luck to all who are reading this and I hope you all enjoy a safe Holiday season and a fulfilling, healthy 2011.

We have just completed Chanukah where we are reminded of the impact that a few can have in response to an overwhelming majority. I hope that the idealism which is so much a part of the story of the Maccabees will inspire us to keep our dreams alive. As we become overwhelmed by the assignments and tests we are completing, please try to remember that each of us can make a difference in our chosen careers and that is very exciting.

When school begins again in January, we will be celebrating Martin Luther King’s birthday and I want to share a few thoughts that I shared with my congregation.

“I think about MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech often and wonder whether we continue to make significant progress in making his dream come true. Do we live in a world where brothers and sisters truly can come together in freedom? I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but as I meet with our teenagers and hear the language that some of them use, I am concerned. Although we live during a time when there is greater openness to various individuals, I “hear” in the language that is used, that there are still strong feelings toward others that don’t necessarily support the more liberal views that we espouse. Specifically, often I hear students suggest that something is so “gay” and I wonder if this is just part of their vernacular or it suggests some less than positive feelings toward gay people. I recently led services at a nursing home and a woman was very vocal about the importance of maintaining the traditional “nuclear” family and that gay relationships are contrary to a healthy life style. I hear idle comments being made about women, Jews, people of color, and ethnic groups that make me wonder whether Dr. King would feel we have made as much progress in maintaining civil rights as he would have dreamt. I hear individuals continue to use the word “retarded” to describe the behavior or comments of others. One of our members, was recently quoted in a front page article in the Boston Globe that dealt with bullying. Certainly, we have come a long way from 1963, but we have miles and miles to go before we can sleep comfortably.

We remember the Joseph story from our Biblical heritage and know that brothers in our religious tradition have not always gotten along so well. I hope that through participating in community service and in being careful in the language we use, we will do a little bit to advance the great goals which Dr. King suggested in 1963.”

With the beginning of a new year, I hope we can do our share in keeping the dream alive. Be safe over the Winter Break and enjoy well deserved time to relax and renew.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

During Chanukah, when we play with the dreydel, we remember that there are four Hebrew letters on our spinning top. We played dreydel to give the appearance of playing a game, when in fact, we were studying Hebrew. This occurred during an era in which the Jewish people did not have the freedom which we enjoy today. The letters are Nun, Gimel, Hay, and Shin, which stand for Nes Gadol Haya Sham, a great miracle happened there. The dreydel reminds us of the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees overcame the Syrian Greeks to restore the Temple in Jerusalem. Enough oil was found to keep the Menorah(lamp) burning for eight days and eight nights which is why Chanukah lasts for eight days and eight nights.

In Israel the Shin is a Pey, which means here, since the miracle happened in Israel . This has always inspired me to believe that we can make great miracles happen here, wherever we are. However, it is up to us to perform the miracles by the caring ways in which we live our lives. At this Holiday time of year, when we reach out to the homeless, help the poor, provide toys for tots, bring a gift to someone in need or so many other things that we can do to brighten a life…then we are making miracles happen here.

May each of us be inspired to make miracles happen here, there, and everywhere we go….

As we begin to light the Chanukiah (Chanukah menorah) tonight, please remember to put the candles in from right to left since we read Hebrew from right to left and to light them from left to right, so that each candle gets its day to be the first candle which is lit.(and if we care that much about candles each having their day to be number one, then how much more should we care about people feeling that they have the chance to have a day in which they are special).

Chappy Chanukah.

Rabbi Bruce Aft