Dear Friends:                               

This past week during his radio program Rabbi Yitzchak Wyne of Young Israel Aish Ha Torah in Las Vegas stood idly by and laughed as the co-host of the show and past president of his congregation, Peter Dubowski, called the Conservative Movement a breeding ground for Jews for Jesus.  Rabbi Wyne sat in silence as Mr. Dubowski informed his radio audience that Conservative Jews are, by and large, ignorant and devoid of spirituality because they have removed God from their congregations.   (Please click here to access the audio clip.)  As Conservative Jews, and for the sake of Klal Yisrael, we cannot allow this type of divisive speech to flourish.  This is an example of baseless hatred disguised under the cloak of leadership in the Jewish community.  At a time when Israel is being attacked from all sides and when anti-Semitism is rampant in the world, these two individuals chose to attack other Jews with lies and misinformation in order to advance their own agenda.  Leadership in the Jewish community belongs to those capable of rising above differences in order to advance the ideals of God, Torah and Israel, which can make both our community and the world a better place.  At such a crucial time in the history of the Jewish People, Rabbi Wyne and Mr. Dubowski chose to devote their efforts to dividing our people instead of bringing us together.

It is time to speak out about what this type of irresponsible “leadership” can do to our community.  If we want to build a community where God will dwell among us there is no place for venomous and reckless speech. If you know anyone who is a member of Young Israel Aish Torah please ask them if they agree with their Rabbi.  While Rabbi Wyne did not speak these words himself the Talmud teaches us Shtikah K’hoda’ah Dami! – Silence is equal to agreement!

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The Law that is being put into place in The State of Arizona, where anyone who looks “different,” can be stopped and questioned about their “status” in our country when seemingly breaking the law, will affect anyone who does not look like he or she just stepped off The Mayflower. Remember, one can be stopped for jay walking, littering, not using a turn signal, etc. We as Jews should be especially concerned. This is not an issue that we should react to depending on our political views! Look at our history, look at the consequences of signaling out groups who do not look like “they belong here…”

Please read below, this is NOT a political statement — this is about human rights, this is about dignity, this is about history and our duty to bring the words of The Torah to light.

 The Torah Portion we read this week is Emor, not Kedoshim but I believe that even if we have to reflect on last week’s reading, this is very relevant to us today!

JTS Torah Commentary
May 2006

This week’s commentary was written by Rabbi Felipe Goodman, Rabbi, Temple Beth Sholom, Las Vegas, Nevada

One of the most beautiful yet most difficult to understand statements made by God in the entire Torah is contained in the opening verses of Parashat K’doshim: “K’doshim tihyu ki kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheihem [You shall be holy, for I, The Lord your God, am holy].” In a sense, this is one of the things that we as humans expect God to demand from us. To read the opening words of Parashat K’doshim produces no great shock or crisis in faith; on the contrary, it immediately makes us proud to know that God expects more from us than what we usually expect from ourselves.

What does it really mean to attain holiness? Beyond the clichés, beyond the obvious, what is it that God really expects from us? In trying to understand this verse, Nahmanides reacts to the detailed lists of forbidden actions that come right after the opening words of Parashat K’doshim , but comes to the conclusion that you can keep all the laws of kashrut and still be a glutton. You can drink only kosher wine and still be a drunkard. The term he uses to describe such a person is a naval bi-reshut ha-Torah, meaning, one who is self-indulgent but who justifies his or her conduct by claiming, perhaps sincerely, that he or she observes Jewish law as required with strict adherence.

Just like Nahmanides, Maimonides (Hilkhot De’ot, chapter 1) also believes that one can adhere to the letter of the law and still entirely miss what Judaism is all about. Maimonides reacted to the idea that one can be an observant Jew and at the same time be arrogant, insensitive, tactless or dishonest. Such a person clearly would have a profound lack of understanding of what God is asking of us in becoming holy. Holiness cannot be found in blind adherence to halakhah without compassion, justice or a deep understanding of God’s creation.

One of the most insightful midrashim ever enunciated by the Rabbis is found in the Talmud, where the question is asked: “What does it mean to follow The Lord your God?” The conclusion is that one can never possibly be able to follow God in the physical sense, but every single one of us must always strive to follow God’s attributes: “Ela la’aloch achar midotav shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu.” “Just like God clothes the naked so should you cloth the naked. Just like God visited the sick, so should you visit the sick. Just like God comforted those who mourned, so should you comfort the mourners. Just like God buried the dead so should you bury the dead” (Sotah 14a).

That midrash exemplifies what holiness means – and it is the same midrash that Maimonides used to explain his view of “K’doshim tihyu ki kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheihem.” To us today, this midrash means that one should always strive to imitate God. It also means that we should never lose sight of what the past has been so that we know how to behave in the present and the future. During the past months our country has been involved in a very interesting debate about immigration. This very week we saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants take to the streets pleading that the importance of their contribution to the workforce, the economy and prosperity of our country not be trivialized. While the debate moves forward, I have watched with both attention and pain the silence of The Jewish community. Have we forgotten that we were once immigrants? Have we forgotten that God was the one who liberated us from slavery and oppression? For many of the immigrants in our country, oppression in their lands of birth comes in a variety of forms. For some it is hunger and social chaos, for others it is persecution for their political beliefs. Whatever shape or form oppression takes, we as Jews cannot turn a deaf ear to their plight.

God commands us not once but multiple times in the Torah to treat the stranger with dignity and compassion because we ourselves were strangers in a strange land. Remember the powerful words of this week’s sedra: “K’doshim tihyu ki kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheihem.” Becoming holy is not only about keeping kosher, observing Shabbat or giving tzedakah. Becoming holy is about never ignoring the context in which God expects us to act. Holiness is not just what we do, but also the kind of people we are.

Maimonides and Nahmanides each in their own way believed that there are matters of great religious significance that lie beyond the bounds of precise legislation. They cannot be enumerated in terms of exact, exhaustive rules, because life does not obey exact, exhaustive rules. Holiness is not about fixed rules; it is about action, it is about trying to act in a Godly way. While watching this great debate on immigration from the sidelines, we need to ask ourselves what would others do if it were us who were in need of refuge? We unfortunately already know the answer. History has illustrated that there is no disposition for helping those who are living in desperation. They are victims not only of the circumstances that oppress them, but also of those who turn a deaf ear. God heard our plight, God came to our rescue, God acted in holiness – and so should we.

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Dr. Zuhdi Jasser to speak at Temple Beth Sholom on Sunday Oct. 18, 2009.

I can still remember that day, I believe that most of us can remember exactly what we were doing or where we were when we heard the news.  For our generation, 9/11 had a very similar effect to that of President Kennedy’s assassination on the generation of  our parents and grandparents. 

Losing one’s innocence, understanding that the world can be a cruel desolate place devoid of morals or ethics is a horrible reality to wake up to.  Yet I am amazed!  As much as we say we remember what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, as much as we go through the motions of trying to understand and as much as we sometimes still break into tears, I believe most of us have truly forgotten why this happened. 

I refuse to admit that our country was not prepared, for how can we possibly defend and protect our country against a terrorist plot that seemed to spring to life from the pages of a Hollywood Blockbuster Movie script!  Who can think of such a way to murder people in cold blood?  The answer: Radical Islamist Fascists!

For those of us who have been to Israel, it is not hard to understand what the threat of Radical Islam is really like.  Israel is surrounded by enemies on all sides who espouse Radical, Fascist and murderous Islamic ideologies. Even those countries like Egypt and Jordan whom Israel has peace treaties with - struggle internally to contain the threat of being “eaten alive” by that ugly monster! 

I remember a cartoon that was published right after 9/11; it showed a calendar in Israel where all the days on it were marked as Sept. 11.  Yes, Israel is prepared and always alert, not because it wants to but because it needs to!  And still, sadly, as prepared as we can be, sometimes there is no way of anticipating what could happen next. 

When you travel through Israel, if you pay close attention, when you come upon a place where a terrorist attack once took place you can see a small plaque listing the names of our fallen brothers and sisters.  Instead of making grandiose monuments and pledging over and over again not to forget, Israel actually does something about it.  The most important step in doing something about terror is understanding who, what and how we are fighting.

Very often I watch in disbelief how we try to apologize for the world!  A few months ago, President Obama went to Cairo and delivered an embarrassing and short-sighted speech where he called on The Muslim World to join America in creating a better world. 

Did anyone try to remind the President that all of these “moderate muslims” he was trying to extend his hand to were absolutely SILENT after 9/11?  I vividly remember all media outlets interviewing muslims and asking them for their thoughts right after 9/11. The majority did not condemn the hijackers and their evil plot.  Most of them simply remained silent. 

Time and time again, the defense was used that as long as Israel existed, these things will continue to happen.  Time and time again, we heard then and we hear now that Zionism is the problem – according to President Obama, Israeli “Settlements” are the problem.  NO!  The problem is murderers running around without restraint as we try to appease them again and again.

If we want to remember the victims of 9/11, it is important to do it by understanding that as long as we don’t face the threat of Radical Fascist Islam with open eyes and stop lying to ourselves thinking these people can be appeased – if we go through life thinking that they can understand ethics, morality and love the same way we do, then 9/11 will happen again. 

In trying to understand the constant threat of Radical Fascist Islam, Temple Beth Sholom is bringing to Las Vegas an extraordinary speaker.

I would like you to mark your calendars with an important date.  On Sunday Oct. 18, 2009 at 4 PM, Temple Beth Sholom will be hosting Dr. Zuhdi Jasser who is the director of The American Islamic Forum for Democracy.  Dr. Jasser is perhaps one of the most outspoken critics of Radical Fascist Islam. Dr. Jasser is also a devout Muslim.  He is the voice and the vision behind the documentary: The Third Jihad.

I highly recommend that you watch The Third Jihad before coming to Dr. Jasser’s lecture.  Our congregation has arranged for a screening of The Third Jihad on Tuesday Oct. 13, 2009, at 7 PM  here at Temple Beth Sholom.  Please join us for both the screening of the documentary and for Dr. Jasser’s lecture the following Sunday Oct. 18, 2009 at 4 PM.

In closing, I would like to thank the Men’s Club of Temple Beth Sholom and the committee that oversees the Warsaw Ghetto Remembrance Garden for providing us with the necessary funds to make this program available.  Every contribution made to The Warsaw Ghetto Remembrance Garden project at TBS goes to a special fund that is used to promote a better understanding of how hate and racism can be dealt with and eventually eliminated from our world.

Bellow, I have included a couple of links to some of Dr. Jasser’s appearances on CNN, FOX and other TV Networks.

Hannity – The Third Jihad – Sharia Law In America

The Third Jihad: Abridged Version

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Before I begin to write the words that I really want to write, I want to take a trip down memory lane. Let me warn you though, these are not pleasant memories. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

I was a rabbinical student at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Shabbat Nov. 4, 1995 seemed to be just like any other Shabbat; it turned out to be a day that changed the fabric and soul of the Jewish People forever.

I will never forget that Saturday night. I remember turning on our TV just to find out that Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin had been assassinated. I also recall with absolute horror the first words I uttered after I heard the news. “I have this horrible feeling that it was a Jew who shot him!” When my wife heard the words come out of my mouth, she stood there in complete and absolute disbelief. After we learned what happened, we as a People also stood lonely and shaken, feeling betrayed and disgusted. That was just the beginning of something we had no idea had been set in motion.

Our Sages of blessed memory warn us constantly and profoundly in their writings about what happens when we turn on each other. We know for a fact that the destruction of The Holy Temple in Jerusalem was caused by the deep divisions and hate that separated The Jewish People at the time. One needs to look no further than the writings of Josephus to understand that the hate we held for one another was very real, intense and yes, it was deadly.

Very often I wonder how it is that we can’t learn from our own history. For centuries, we taught our children how to read and write even when other cultures wasted no time in what seemed to be a trivial matter. For centuries, we grappled with history knowing full well that Sinat Hinam, baseless hatred, spreads and kills more accurately than the most modern of weapons.

Hate triumphs because it is championed by fanatics, it triumphs because it preys on people’s ignorance. Back in 1995, the Rabin assassination was not an isolated act, it was the result of hundreds of hateful speeches. It was the result of careless and irresponsible behavior of many. It was the result of a perverted use of our Torah to justify murder and bloodshed. It happened then and it happened this past Shabbat, again.

Last Saturday night, a gunman made his way into the gay and lesbian youth center in Tel Aviv. He opened fire, killing two people and wounding many others. WHY? I think we all know the answer but refuse to understand it. Judaism is a tradition of light and life but just like any other religion, it can turn into a deadly weapon if perverted or misunderstood. It doesn’t matter who you are — liberal, conservative, orthodox, reform! It doesn’t matter what your political views are.

We were tasked by God with being Or L’Goyim, a light unto the nations. Is that the way in which we are behaving? Just like Rabin’s assassination was not an isolated act that happened in a vacuum, this shooting won’t be either. One needs not to dig too deep into the recent past and listen to the speeches or read the writings of many of Israel’s leading Ultra Orthodox Rabbis. When speaking about homosexuality, they all have a common thread running through them, an unbelievable hateful and primitive understanding of homosexuality. They seem to ignore, time and time again, that all of us are created in the image of God.

So what happens now? Something like this shooting is not only barbaric but has no place in an enlightened society like Israel. What happens when wolfs in sheep’s clothing use The Torah to hide their ignorance and turn it on its head to justify hate?

No one knows what happens next, but I sure hope that we don’t turn the other way. It is unbelievable that having been the subject of hatred, torture and so many false and calamitous accusations through time we allow this to happen again. I hope the criminal who perpetrated this cruel act will be brought to justice and locked up in the deepest of pits that exist in the Israeli Judicial System! I hope that we understand that hateful speech in Israel needs to be stopped! I hope that all of us understand that Rabbinic Ordination is not a license to use your tongue for evil! I hope we understand that unless we STAND UP to this type of hate, it will not be stopped by anyone.

I read a beautiful prayer by Bradley Burston who writes for The Haaretz newspaper. I will include it here because it is a beautiful way of understanding how we all should be feeling after this horrible tragedy.

_____________________

For Liz Trobishi, 17, and Nir Katz, 26, of blessed memory, and for the recovery of the 15 young people wounded late Saturday by a gunman in a Tel Aviv club for gay teens.

_____________________

Lord, teach me to stand naked before you
And, in so doing, learn the meaning of modesty.

Let me stand naked, which is to say, stripped to my humanity,
And mourn these young people shot
For having chosen to practice
Their own humanity.

Cause me, Lord, to shed this defective armor,
Which we call clothing, respectability, convention,
The mask which we mistake for loyalty to tribe.
The mask which keeps me from seeing the face behind the mask of the tribe we have come to call enemy.

At the close of this dark anniversary, this time when tradition tells us, the worst of calamities were wrought by sinat hinam, hatred unbound, hatred for its own sake, teach me what I need to know about my true enemy.

Force me to see that what I am so certain that I hate, the clear, familiar targets of my fury, are already inside me.

Help me heal of this contagion, this cruel disease which scars and hardens the soul, which cores and blackens and blinds the heart, this affliction which feeds on self-righteousness and the conviction that God plays favorites, that the person whose behavior and appearance, and ways of speaking and dancing and loving are foreign to me, has less right to a true self than I.

Rock me awake, O Lord who invented the mosaic, the patchwork, the universe.
Force me to see the miracle of every life on the threshold
Of what we have come to know as
Real life.

Let me know that in the beginning, real life is created through ahavat hinam, love unbound, love unfiltered, love unselfish, love shorn of armor and unkindness and judgment and ancient rage.

Lord, whose business it is to give life, shock us, cajole us, manipulate us, bring us to heel, force us in this terrible moment to know the enormity and the necessity of chesed, lovingkindness.

Lord, whose great gift and whose most murderous creation was the human being, help us find the human in the Other, hated from habit and from afar. Help us up, the mourning, the remnant, those whom tragedy has in cruelty and in lovingkindness left alive. Teach us to honor the slain by honoring the living, their own behavior and appearance and speech, the dancing and the loving of those doing nothing more banal and nothing more extraordinary, than living a genuinely real life.

© Rabbi Felipe Goodman

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This evening we will begin the observance of The Holy Day of Shavuot. As we do every year, we will prepare ourselves to spiritually re-enact the moment in which God gave us The Torah.  It is ironic that  is one of the least widely observed Jewish Holy Days in our calendar because it is of tremendous importance. Of the three festivals of pilgrimage mentioned in The Torah (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), Shavuot is the only one that is apparently simple in observance.  There are no days of Hol Hamoed, there is no Lulav and Etrog, no Matzah! Shavuot, however, is the most spiritually and theologically charged of all the festivals. What does it really mean to receive The Torah, why do we have to consider ourselves as if every single one of us was standing at Sinai?

Receiving The Torah means not only to treasure it and study it. Receiving The Torah means not only to accept its wisdom and live by its principles! Receiving The Torah means that we acquire a tremendous responsibility as Jews. Contrary to what many people believe, Judaism is something that needs to be practiced and lived in order to be relevant. The mere fact that we consider ourselves Jewish today does not mean we will be Jewish some generations down the line if we don’t actively pursue, augment and nourish our Jewish Identity. Judaism can’t exist on good will, nice intentions and Bagels and Lox. In order for us to survive as a people we need to understand what it means to stand at Sinai year after year, we need to renew our commitment to God and God’s commandments year after year. 

Wait a second, does this mean that what I am asking of you is to dress in black and grow peyes? Not at all. What I am asking of all of us is to take our commitment to our traditions seriously. What I am asking of us all is that we look at the world through The Perspective of The Torah! What I am asking is that we make Judaism the driving force in our lives because if we don’t do it, then who will?

Conservative Judaism through its vision of tradition and change provides us with an incredible kaleidoscope through which to look at The Torah. Modernity and observance are not mutually exclusive!  hey are, as a matter of fact, two very powerful forces that when harnessed spiritually and correctly can make our lives even more beautiful.

I have a friend who I fight with constantly. He keeps telling me that there are certain things he won’t do because this or that “is too Jewish,” as if the mere fact of being who we are is cause for concern or embarrassment. I grew up in a Jewish Community with an over abundance of “Secular Jewish Day schools,” where learning with other Jews was okay but there was absolutely no praying or learning of sacred texts! Why do we believe that we will continue to survive as a people without investing our spirit and our energy in the full enterprise of our heritage and traditions. On Shavuot, we read the Ten Commandments from The Torah in the synagogue ritual. The reading of the Ten Commandments is not only a statement of the importance of revelation but also of the importance of everything we have given the world, including justice and ethics!

One of the most important things to remember is that we as a people have been a determining factor in the way in which the moral fabric of the world has developed. We can’t resign our obligation to be Or L’Goyim  (a light unto the nations of the world). 

Shavuot is an ever present reminder of the tremendous power the wisdom of our Torah has had in shaping everything around us. We shouldn’t be the first people in line to relinquish our obligation to carry on the important responsibility of everything we believe in and everything we stand for. We should never mind being “too Jewish” if that means we will continue to serve not only as a moral compass for the world but also as witnesses of God’s awesome power in this world.

Every Shavuot I think of our grandparents and their grandparents. For many of the people that came before us it would have been impossible to study The Torah and live Jewish lives openly, in public and without any possible fear of retribution. What are we doing ourselves now that we have the privilege of freedom and tolerance? Let us not forsake the heritage, the lives and the spirit of past generations. Let us make The Torah our own and stand at Sinai once again, together, proud and absolutely Jewish

Hag Sameach

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When summer arrives, I go through an almost indescribable feeling of redemption. I can only imagine what the experience of The Wilderness was like for The Children of Israel. Yes, I know that they complained constantly for having left Egypt. Yes, we all know that during some very difficult times of the 40-year journey, slavery seemed like a better option that facing the uncertainty of the never ending apparent desolation of the territory they covered in their journey through The Midbar.

One of the most important questions to ask ourselves year after year as we study this part of The Torah is –why would God reveal himself to his people in The Wilderness? When you think of all the places God could have chosen to give us The Torah, it is really kind of dramatic that God chose the desolation of The Midbar, The Wilderness. The traditional explanation found in The Midrash Rabbah tells us that God chose The Wilderness precisely because he wanted people to not have any distractions when they were invested in the spiritual exercise not only of receiving The Torah but also in understanding what that moment meant!

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Have you ever thought about what our life would be like without trivial distractions? When I was a child, I was able to sit down and do my homework and the only distraction my parents feared were the four different TV stations that we had at the time, beyond that and my regularly scheduled sport activities the distractions were not what they are today. Think about our children. We demand so much of them, we ask them to compartmentalize themselves in such a way that they often have no time to just perceive reality in a simple and open wilderness type of way. Think about what happens every afternoon in many of our homes. Hours of homework combined with the most technologically advanced and sophisticated distractions modernity can buy. Did I mention 500 TV channels, the web and online games?

Sometimes in life we have to willingly place ourselves in The Wilderness. I know, it sounds crazy! But it’s not so crazy. The other day I was having a conversation with a friend, we were talking about different types of medication that children with “ADD” take so that they are better able to focus in school or in their daily activities. I couldn’t believe it but I found out that many adults try to take this medication because it allows them to focus better in work and be more productive. I also learned that in many college dorms there is a new drug problem which extends itself beyond the drugs we already know about and into medications that help you stay awake and write a better paper in less time.

There is a message in this week’s Torah Portion. Simplicity works. The Midbar can be a place of desolation or a place where someone who is searching can focus and find what he or she has been looking for. This week’s Torah Portion begs us to return to things that are not complicated, to empty our lives of distractions that cause us to lose focus and lose sight of the important things in life.

Our Sages taught that we always have to follow in the footsteps of God. Our tradition is shaped in many ways by our persistence in trying to imitate Godliness. This is one of the most important messages to understand and then use for our own existence. Make yourself open like the wilderness, eliminate from your life that which separates you from whom you truly are and just like we received The Torah our most precious heritage and possession in the middle of The Midbar, may we be always blessed to understand the meaning of the blessings that are given to us by others without distractions or conditions.

Shabbat Shalom

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It is an ironic comparison because just like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah feels he/she has worked so hard in preparing to be able to chant The Haftarah or to read from The Torah, I also feel that these first 13 years since I became a Rabbi have been nothing more than intense preparation for what is yet to come.

Today I find myself reflecting on this because I just officiated over a very special wedding in Providence, RI. When I was a student at The Seminary, I moonlighted as The Youth Director and Hebrew High school teacher at The Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. I worked there for five years and during that period of time, I met many wonderful and, at the same time, very interesting people. Sixteen years have passed since I first started working there, and I still keep in touch with some of my students.

This past Saturday night I had the privilege of standing under The Huppah with one of them and his bride. By now I have been present at hundreds of weddings. Every wedding is beautiful and wonderful in its own right, but last night was tremendously special for me. I had never officiated at a wedding of one of my students and for a brief instant I felt that I played an important part in his life, in making sure that he made it to The Huppah and married a Jewish woman.

When I recite Birkat Eirusin (the first of the blessings under The Huppah), I always feel a tremendous sense of joy for the bride and groom but this time I had tears in my eyes. Thirteen years ago when I set out on this incredible journey of The Rabbinate, I had many questions; one of those questions was without a doubt if I would ever be able to impact someone’s life in a beautiful way. Last night that question was indeed answered for me.

Before my very eyes the boy who took my Talmud class, the boy whom I helped so many times deliver food to the homeless at The Port Authority in New York City, the boy who shared stories of his growing up with me — that boy became a man! At the same time, the dream of him one day becoming the future of our people had materialized into a reality. His parents jubilant, his in-laws joyous and his wife with love, trust and kindness — they all embraced this moment not only as a gift from God but also the promise of the new dreams that are yet to come.

I learned something tremendously important; never underestimate the positive influence you can have in other people’s lives. Never take for granted the moments of learning, growth and amazement! When your journey seems to have taken a detour to the world of trivial issues, disappointment and despair — look back at the things, the moments and the blessings that you have shared with others because those moments will bring you back to the center of the trail that you were supposed to follow. In this case my Rabbinate, which has been an unbelievable experience until now, just became an even more awe inspiring journey.

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Rabbi Akiva, for example, believed that every word, every letter, every space in The Torah serves a specific purpose and has a specific meaning.

Rabbi Ishmael, on the other hand, was the one who taught us that The Torah speaks the language of human beings. Truth be told, whichever our approach to understanding our sacred literature, one thing is certain — somehow we can always see our own reality reflected in its powerful words.

The Torah Portion which we read this week is no exception. Parashat Lech Lecha tells the story of our father Abraham. It tells the story of a man that dared to change the world in an age when everything seemed to be engulfed by darkness.

Abraham had the courage, both moral and spiritual, to start anew and go on a journey that would not only change his life but the life of all those around him. Today our country starts a similar journey.

I understand that for many of us the past few months have been charged with tremendous anxiety. Some of us feel elated and some of us perhaps devastated — but the truth is that whatever the outcome was, we are all together on this journey.  If you had the opportunity to listen to the words spoken by President Elect Barak Obama last night, I am sure that you were as moved as I was. I believe the words of Senator McCain were also powerful and inspiring. As a new American Citizen, it is hard for me to put into words what it feels like to be part of a nation where corruption, violence and anarchy are not what we live by but rather truth, freedom and hope.

Parashat Lech Lecha introduces a unique way to start chapters within a particular story. It uses a phrase that is used on and off throughout the first part of The Book of Genesis; “Vayehi Ahar Ha Devarim Ha Ele…” which according to The Midrash Rabbah may be translated as, “And it came to pass after all these words were spoken…” and the text uses that sentence structure to fast forward to the future and jump from scene to scene and from story to story.

I feel as if this morning we woke up to a whole new reality in our world we ourselves could use those words; “And it came to pass after all these words were spoken…” Truth be told, the historical events that are unfolding before our eyes belong not to one candidate or one person or one political party — they belong to the entire American People. This is our journey — some of us willingly and many a bit reluctantly but we are all together in our nations own Lech Lecha.

Look at our Torah; it contains eternal truth, its words are not only wise and meaningful but also powerful and relevant. When Abraham smashed the idols in his father’s shop, he did not know what would happen next. He set off on his journey and after listening to God’s voice and to the voice of his own heart, Abraham becomes the father of a great nation.

Change is one of the most difficult things in life to understand because it challenges us to see reality in a different way. Change can be difficult and many times it signals abrupt changes in culture and in conduct but when change comes and when it is needed, it is impossible to stop.

Abraham was a revolutionary figure. He changed the world not because he could but because he had to.  Abraham’s journey was not easy, it was filled with trials, tears and fear but it was rewarded with life, hope and accomplishment! The Jewish People have looked at Abraham’s journey for centuries and through it we have found renewed strength and an everlasting impetus that has caused us to walk through time and never give up no matter how difficult the road ahead may seem.

It is my prayer that starting today we understand the true essence of a life-changing journey. We are the people who gave the world the concept of change! Before Abraham, everything was always the same, through our narrative we gave all humanity the opportunity to be inspired and to understand that journeys begin with one individual but are completed by all of us together.

No matter who you are and what political beliefs you hold, you must agree last night was a tremendously moving night — both Barak Obama’s words and John McCain’s words have the power to change the course of history. For the first time in my life, I recited Shecheyanu after witnessing a political event. I prayed to God and recited a blessing for having granted me the opportunity to witness such an important moment in the life of our nation. Like in our own story, it all started with a dream, with a call that developed into a vision that set us on a journey. May this journey bring change for good and for blessing and may it take us from strength to strength.

© Rabbi Felipe Goodman

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While growing up year after year, I saw all around me the reminders of what paganism really is! So, Halloween doesn’t really scare me but I am not fully comfortable with it either. Maybe, understanding the true pagan roots of this holiday and knowing how horribly incompatible it is with Judaism is what makes me so uncomfortable. Yes, my children dress up and go around the neighborhood! I fought it for many, many years but I just gave up two or three years ago.

Tonight is different! I believe that especially on Shabbat, on a Friday night we have to make an effort to remind our children of whom they truly are! So if trick or treat they must, then please bring them to the Synagogue afterwards. Give your children a chance to be reminded that our traditions are more important than the pop culture that surrounds us. If you don’t often prepare a Shabbat meal or regularly attend services, then this is a very good time to do it. I have learned not because I am a Rabbi, but because I am a father that both worlds can co-exist without colliding.

I must confess that it feels pretty awkward to plead for understanding. I must however remind you, now is the time to impress upon our children the importance of their identity, not 10 or 15 years later when there is little we can do, when we have wasted a lifetime of Jewish opportunities. There is no reason for us to think about “The Hanukkah Dilemma,” or about “Halloween when it falls on Shabbat.”  If our Jewish identity is strong, then we will stand the test of time and the test of assimilation. If our identity is not strong, then messages like the one I have just written will mean absolutely nothing to future generations.

When I speak about external influences, the overwhelming embrace of the culture around us or things that are so pagan and unusual in nature, let us make sure that for our children, the understanding and observance of Shabbat doesn’t become one of those those weird, foreign and unusual pagan practices! I know, this sounds funny and obviously sarcastic but It’s not a joke; it is simply a reflection of a reality that we many times try hard not to notice.

© Rabbi Felipe Goodman

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To listen to the interview click here.

I think the interview went pretty well except for the fact that Temple Beth Sholom was identified by the reporter as a Reform Congregation which is NOT the case.  Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas has been a Conservative Congregation for the past 63+ years.

In the interview, you can also listen to Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and one of the past presidents of Temple Beth Sholom, Sandy Mallin.

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