Clergy Prayer Service Will Be Coming to GCC Members Via Video
Instead of the live virtual event that had been scheduled for tonight at 7pm, our GCC member clergy are producing a prayer service video that will be able to be shared within GCC congregations at a time best suited for each congregation.
Our clergy members have grappled with how to respond to recent events in a manner that honors our anger and grief, but at the same time recognizes that organizing to be a powerful voice for change is a complex political process that must sustain us through and after the current protests.
Thank you for your patience as GCC continues to work to create justice and opportunity for our community with campaigns like our just announced Color of Health Initiative that is providing COVID-19 testing at 18 congregations, along with our ongoing work in the criminal justice arena.
So while there will be no event this evening, there will be a clergy-created video forthcoming, as we continue our work to make change in our community.
Ours is a double-portion this week – Chukkat/Balak – Num.19:1-22:1/22:2-25:9… and these comments will focus on Balak, which begins as Balak, the Moabite king, afraid of the advancing – and very numerous – Israelites, hires the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelite people. Balaam grudgingly accepts, but knows that the words that will come from his mouth will be the words of God. (It is helpful to know here that Balaam is not a Jewish prophet, but recognizes God’s Presence.) Balaam comes before Balak, who immediately take him to one mountain top overlooking the Israelites’ encampment, and expects the curse to come from Balaam’s lips. It does not; it is a blessing. Balaam is taken to another mountaintop and Balak expects another course, but the words of God come from the mouth of Balaam — and they are a blessing. One final mountaintop… and Balak is very upset … and expects there to be a curse this last time. “And Balaam lifted his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. … ‘How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel.” (Num. 24:2;5) “Dwelling tribe by tribe.” Balaam notes how the encampemt is spearated by tribe, and, as the renown Torah commentator, Rashi, comments, Balaam saw that their tents were situated so that the privacy of each family was preserved. This is not a bad thing. Balaam is taken by how the encampment of the Israelites values both the differences of the people and the importance of dignity. No curse here; when difference is celebrated and preserved, and when the personal needs of the individual are important, it would be hard to overcome a people such as this. Balaam’s words “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel” open our Morning Service – Mah tovu ohalecha, Ya’akov, mishkanotecha, Yisrael.” As we celebrate our nation’s birthday this Shabbat and open our Shabbat Morning Service, perhaps these words can serve to remind us how the values of diversity and dignity are crucial to the strength and survival of all people.
Our Torah portion this week is Shelach Lecha – Num. 13:1-15:41. Moses sends a group of leaders – one from each of the 12 tribes, to scout the Land of Israel; their mission is to bring back their impressions and report them to their fellow Israelites. They return with a mixed report. On the one hand, the land is perfect for growing its crops – the fruits are beyond belief… it takes two men to carry back a cluster of grapes! The land is flowing with milk and honey… This is a vision sure to bring comfort and hope. But… the report does not end there. The leaders report that the cities are fortified. Ten say it will be impossible to conquer the land and its people… its giant people! “We saw the Nephilim there… and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them!” (13:33) The people hear the report and weep. Joshua and Caleb, who went as part of the scouting team, tell the people that they can do it! The dream is within our reach! So, who is right? Is this a case of fake news? Have rumors been started and run amuk? The spies weren’t lying! They gave a true description of the Land. Archeologists have indeed found that the cities were heavily fortified, the people were well-armed, and they had mighty armies! However… sometimes we think of ourselves as weaker than we really are. Others see us stronger. Bible scholar, Dr. Erica Brown, teaches that “Perception and reality tell a mixed truth.” And she suggests: “In the universe of perceptions, why not go with our strengths?” True, there are challenges that are difficult. And indeed, if we maintain that we are “just one person”… or “we do not have the capacity… the ability… or the courage” to do something… or to make something happen… chances are it won’t. It is up to us – each of us – to step up and face our challenges, to overcome our fear and attain our dreams and our hopes. This applies to each of us… as individuals… and as a community. Hopefully, we won’t have to wander around for forty years to find this out.
Join the Reform Movement’s civic engagement campaign
… Indeed, this is the time for us to rise up. To break the silence and step up to light the call for change. You’re not properly climbing if you’re not lifting as you climb!
Join the Reform Movement’s civic engagement campaign
Our tradition teaches, “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted” (Talmud Brakhot 55). Yet underrepresented communities continue the fight for equal access to the ballot, as voter suppression plagues the U.S. election system and particularly impacts communities of color. Every Voice, Every Vote is the Reform Jewish Movement’s 2020 civic engagement campaign, a nonpartisan effort to strengthen our democracy by encouraging everyone to participate in the U.S. election and ensuring that Reform Jewish values are represented in the public square. A key tenet of the campaign is working to combat voter suppression. Decisions that impact racial justice are made at the national, state, and local levels. Educate yourself about the candidates for office up and down the ballot, to ensure that they reflect your views and values. Visit rac.org/cec to learn more and get involved.
This week’s Torah portion is B’ha’alotecha – Num. 8:1-12:16, and begins with God instructing Moses what to tell Aaron about how to light the lights of the menorah (the seven-branched candelabra which stood in the Mishkan outside the Holy of Holies). Medieval commentator Rashi points out that the word B’ha’alotecha is used for two reasons: 1) “…when you kindle – literally ‘raise,’ because the flame rises, as one must kindle – hold the fire to the wick – until the flame rises by itself… 2) ‘When you raise’ is meant to teach us that there was a stair in front of the Menorah upon which the Kohen would stand and prepare the lamps.” In other words, the Kohen must rise up to prepare the lamps, and as the fire is held to the wick, the flame of the wick itself must rise up on its own. Wednesday night I had the opportunity to hear Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, Senior Rabbi at The Temple -Tifereth Israel, and the Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. (theologian, pastor, and civic leader) speak to the theme of “Rise Up,” hosted by the Maltz Museum. Rabbi Cohen shared that to rise up implies movement – changing hearts and minds. “God spoke to Abraham and said, ‘Rise up and be a blessing’… Elijah was told to ‘Rise up and go to Sidon to save the life of a young boy’… Jonah was told to ‘Rise up and go to Ninevah.” Rise up, in order to go forth and bring about change. Rev. Moss began his comments with asking for a moment of memory – “for those whose lives have been lost through executions without guilt, who have been imprisoned without due justice, who have suffered only because of the color of their skin, the country from which they came, the religion they practiced… because they were different.” He charged us with becoming “transformational idealists and creative realists who love God with all our heart and our soul and our strength and who love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” Rev. Moss spoke of the hierarchy that leads to hate: suspicion… that leads to fear… that leads to resentment… that leads to hatred. What steps can we take to unlock love of God and our neighbor? Intentionally get to know your neighbor and hear each other… Listen to each other… Respect each other… Learn from each other… Create community with each other. The evening ended with Rabbi Cohen reminding Rev. Moss of Rabbi Joachim Prinz’s famous speech during the 1963 March on Washington; he spoke right before Rev. Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream…” speech. Rev. Moss was standing right behind him on the stage that day, and recalled: Rabbi Prinz said, “…in the face of discrimination, the most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence… The silence of good people, who stand by when a word can be spoken and action must be taken.” This is the time for us to rise up. To break the silence and step up to light the call for change. You’re not properly climbing if you’re not lifting as you climb!
Zoom in for…Beth Israel – The West Temple’sCongregational Meeting DATE: SUNDAY, June 14, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. Join BI-TWT’s Congregational Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/92336979240?pwd=cnVoYTBham1GZG4xZ1ZxOGNacElpUT09 Meeting ID: 923 3697 9240Password: 046270 Dial in — 646-876-9923 Meeting ID: 923 3697 9240Password: 046270 AGENDAD’Var Torah – Rabbi Lader Election of new Executive Committee Member:Judy Wright – Recording Secretary Election of President of the Board of Trustees:Peter A. Sackett COMMITTEE REPORT Robin Kaufman, Treasurer (Presented by Peter Sackett) SPECIAL REPORT Luis Fernandez – 21st Century: Kitchen Upgrade REPORTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS/COMMITTEE CHAIRS Building & Grounds – Rick KellerRitual – Luis FernandezCongregational Educator – Debbie ChessinMembership – Sandy PankiwLifelong Learning – Julian RossSocial Action – Barbara Feldmar (newly appointed) President’s Report All other matters brought to the attention of the Board Motion to Adjourn
Our Torah portion this week is Naso – Num. 4:21-7:89, and contains the laws of the Nazarite. A Nazarite was a person (man or woman) who took it upon him/herself, usually for a limited amount of time, to observe special rules of holiness and abstinence: not to drink wine or other intoxicants (including anything made from grapes), not to cut his/her hair, and not to defile themselves by contact with the dead. On the one had, those who take this vow are called by Torah “holy to God” (Num. 6:8) and on the other hand, when the Nazarite’s vow comes to an end, he/she is to bring a sin offering… as if they had done something wrong. Is the sin offering presented as a result of leaving a life of holiness… or as a result of sequestering oneself from the pleasures of life itself? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks comments on this (in Essays on Ethics – Naso) as he points out that “…these are two ways of understanding the moral life itself. Is the aim for the moral life to achieve personal perfection? Or is it to create a decent, just, and compassionate society?… You cannot have both…” One can adopt a life of personal perfection… or realize that there are other people at stake… As Rabbi Sacks writes: “There are members of one’s own family and others within one’s own community. There is a country to defend and an economy to sustain… We are called on by God to live in the world, not to escape from it…” (Essays, p. 225) Today… at this moment… we are called upon to live and care about and for our family, our community, our country, and our world. And… my heart is crying out… It has been almost two weeks of flashbacks to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s… Civil Rights have moved forward bit by bit… but there have been too many flash-points along the way as the decades have gone by. What CAN we do? Solutions will not arise overnight. When more and more of us can become better advocates for anti-racism… When it can reach a tipping point… and stay there… we can make and build on systemic change. It takes effort. It takes courage. It takes open hearts and open minds and open hands. And it takes learning from and listening to each other. I sit on the Community Relations Committee of Cleveland’s Jewish Community Federation, and this past early winter I had the opportunity to take the 21-day Challenge to learn more about racial equity. It’s not a 1-day challenge. Change does not happen in one day. Nor after 21 days; but 21 days are a start. Please take a look at the following sites and consider taking the challenge yourself, or together with a group… or just making your way through some of these amazing resources… [Please let me know if I can be helpful in any way.]
https://www.ywcaofcleveland.org/21-day-race-equity-challenge/ It is an enormous task, to create a decent, just, and compassionate society… but that does not mean we should not do our part to help be and make the change we want to see. * “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatmas Ghandi^ “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Pirke Avot 2:21
event that had been scheduled for tonight at 7pm, our GCC member clergy are producing a prayer service video that will be able to be shared within GCC congregations at a time best suited for each congregation. 
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