Sometimes the "news of the day" infuriates me.  Today, this is true.  However, what infuriates me even more is that there are people who defend the treatment of human beings as animals.  We can disagree about policy and political party.  We can disagree about laws and political practices.  We cannot and must not disagree when it comes to the way people are treated.  When we begin to treat other humans like they are animals, we are no better than animals.

Let's just say that you believe someone who illegally enters the United States has broken a law.  Ok - I will give you that.  However, have you considered the reasons why they are running away from their own countries?  Sure, there may be some (a VERY small percentage) who come to the United States with the wrong intentions or reasons.  This is a small percentage.  The overwhelming majority of people who come to the United States (legally or illegally) are coming because they seek to live better lives for their families...and more often than not it is for their children.

Would you disagree with that desire?  

Imagine for a moment you were born in a different country and you did not have the same opportunities you have today.  I know that some will say - I came from nothing and I worked hard, very hard to become the successful person I am today.  True - but if you were born in the United States, you already were born with more privileges and opportunities than those that seek to move here.

Would you want people who live in the United States to turn you down and force you back to the "hell" you came from?  Would it be ok if your children were taken from you and placed in cages like animals?  

I am not one to invoke the memory of the Holocaust.  This catastrophic episode in human history is in a "category of its own."  However, there are some scary similarities to pre-Holocaust Germany and the United States of 2018. 

Human beings - no matter where they are from - should be treated as human beings.  Period.

It does not matter if you are a democrat, republican, libertarian or not affiliated with any party. It does not matter if you are black, white, Hispanic, Asian or anything else. It does not matter if you are a man, woman, trans man, trans woman or if you do not identify with a gender. It does not matter if you are young, old or young at heart.
What does matter is that human beings are being treated like animals. Children are being treated like animals. Legal or not legal - these are human beings being treated like dogs/beasts. No prophet or religious leader - not Moses, Jesus, Muhammad or any other would approve or agree that their words justify this kind of disgusting action.
What does matter is that as human beings (not as Americans) we recognize and understand that every other human being on earth deserves to be treated as a human being.
There is no justification or reasoning that validates this behavior. Period.

I looked up to the sky and asked, “Do you see color?”
I did not receive a response…at least I thought so at first.
The sun was shining bright and it began to drizzle.
Right in front of me was God’s answer – a Rainbow.
 
I looked up to the sky once again and said, “Thank you God, I understand.”
As I continued to walk along in the drizzle, I began to smile.
I didn’t smile because I was satisfied or happy.
No, I smiled because I knew God was listening, watching, aware.
 
Dear God – help us today to help the children.
Dear God – help us today to set aside our differences in opinion or thought.
Dear God – help us today to learn, really learn from our history.
Dear God – help us today to never forget – and more importantly to remember those words and what they mean.
 
 My heart is in pain, my head hurts and I want to know why.
Why are our children – humanity’s children – suffering?
More importantly, why are they suffering due to our actions?
You see – even if you are not directly acting, but standing idle, you are acting.
Picture a child in a cage – crying, scared, terrified, wanting Mom and Dad, sister, brother…
 
God – help me to turn my rage into hope; no, turn my rage into direct action.
Guide me in Your ways – in the ways of tolerance, kindness and love.
Send a reminder to those who have forgotten what is right in Your eyes.
All of the prophets – Moses, Jesus, Muhammad – all of them are crying.
Why?  Because people are performing such horrible acts in their Good Names.
Let us return – to God – to humanity – to love – to kindness – to being Human.

ברוך אתה אלוהים שמגן על ילדינו ומלמד אותנו חסד
 
Blessed are you God who protects our children and teaches us kindness.

When my family moved into our new home in Knoxville, one of our Executive Board members gave us a bird feeder.  Carlie was extremely excited to put it up...and eventually I got around to hanging it up.  It seems that since that moment, our front yard has become one of the neighborhood aviaries.  

About a month after we put the bird feeder out, during the summer of 2017, I noticed a bird's nest being built in the corner of our front porch.  It was awesome to see the little heads of the baby birds popping up when they wanted to be fed.   Now that winter has finally passed, and summer is quickly coming upon us, we now see 2 different birds' nests on our front porch - two very different birds.

Today, while I was attending/watching Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken's funeral online, I was not surprised to hear the tributes to our beloved Teacher.  Rabbi Panken was a true mensch and one who had a beautiful soul.  I really did not have the chance to get to know him until the last few years as I was one of the last classes ordained by his predecessor, Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson.  However, over the past couple of years, I had some very deep and wonderful conversations with Rabbi Panken...and I learned so much from him during those talks.

When Cantors Abramson and Kleinman started to sing Uf Guzal, I could not contain my tears.  I began to think about all of us who have been taught by Rabbi Panken.  We have been the chicks, the fledglings that left the nest.  Rabbi Panken's influence has been great and many young rabbis have been influenced by him to be great rabbis and people.  Now, the reverse is true - we, the fledglings have to wave goodbye and hope we can continue the great work.  

During the funeral, a very important idea was mentioned.  We are challenged now to continue the work Rabbi Panken is no longer able to complete.  We must take his vision, his "menschiness," his teaching and spread it to others.  Together, perhaps we will be able to do the work...each of us putting in our share to bring Rabbi Panken's vision to fruition.

In Memory and in Honor of Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken, I write this prayer (with quotes from Uf Guzal by Arik Einstein):

Today was not an easy day; tears filled my eyes and frustration clouded my thoughts.
We said goodbye to a great man who touched the lives of so many.
Tamid yadati sheyavo hayom shebo tzarich lehipared.
Why today, why must today be the day we say farewell, so long?
After all, there is so much more to do - so much more to accomplish.

Many of us feel a deep sense of loss; what about the family?
Where do we turn and what do we do with our deep emotions?
Aval achshav ze ba li kacha pit'om az ma hapele she'ani ktzat do'eg.
Of course I am worried.  I am full of emotions - anger, frustration and fear.
Rabbi - you would want us to keep going...keep our heads up and eyes forward.

We are still here - now a Jewish community united to finish what you started.
It is imperative that we get back to work; you would for sure encourage that.
Achshav nisharnu levadenu baken aval anachnu beyachad.
That's right - we are still here, together as we always will be.
The tears will continue to come; we will be strong for each other and keep going.

As we say goodbye dear friend, teacher and mensch, we will never forget what you taught us.
You taught us Torah, Talmud and how to live a life dedicated to each other and our community.
Uf Guzal chatoch et hashamayim tus le'an sheba lecha...
Fly away, Rabbi, cut through the sky.  Fly wherever your heart takes you.
Remember us as we will remember you.

Let the light that our beloved Rabbi leaves us help lead us forward and may all of those who are in pain today be comforted with the knowledge that we do this together.  We will stand by each other, one day at a time, for as long as needed....

​We are reminded time and time again of our redemption in Egypt…
How we traveled together through the desert to the Promised Land…
How Your might and strength kept us together during the journey…
We still find ourselves, though, on this journey.
 
Lord, help us to find our own strength, our own might.
God, stay with us as we strive together for redemption every day.
יהוה, we need the reminder even when we do not realize.
Adonai, the journey seems to never end.
 
Redemption – freeing from shackles of slavery of all kinds,
Redemption – realizing our freedom, perhaps for the very first time,
Redemption – our time to remember all You have done for us,
Redemption – will we truly remember this year?
 
We celebrate Passover together as family to ensure we are not alone.
We open our door, not only for Elijah, but for anyone who needs to enter.
While we remember our freedom, do we recognize those who are still in need?
While we think about our redemption, do we understand those who are not redeemed?
 
Passover is a time for celebration; we should not forget.
Passover is a time for realization; we should not overlook.
Pesach is a time for family; we should not forget the orphan or the widow.
Pesach is a time for sacrifice; we should not overlook those who have nothing.
 
Blessed are You, Adonai, who has redeemed us, time and time again in our history.  May we, together, not forget this, and may we always strive to take care of the widow, the orphan and anyone in need.

​One of the most important aspects of my rabbinate is continuing education.  I firmly believe that in order for me to be able to teach and serve as rabbi to my congregants, I must first model the behavior.  While I do try very hard to read and study as often as possible, I am so delighted and blessed to be able to spend these precious days together with my friends and colleagues from around the world.  I attend the CCAR Convention to learn, pray and reconnect (or in some cases connect for the first time) with friends and colleagues.
 
As this was the first full day of the CCAR Convention 2018, I knew it would be a very full and fulfilling day.  Shacharit services this morning were inspirational and spiritual.  Being present while we recognized and honored our 50 year colleagues was awesome.  Seeing a full Bimah of colleagues attending this convention for the first time was definitely exciting.  And of course, listening to the rousing and stirring words of President Stern opened our eyes to the possibilities and wonder of the coming year.
 
This year, the CCAR Convention intended to focus our efforts on being engaged in our communities throughout the world in renewing our dedication to the rights of all – whether they be civil, religious, political, etc.  As such, the opening session entitled “Rabbis and Civic Engagement” was intriguing and challenging at the same time.  California Comptroller Betty T. Yee and Mayors Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles and Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento taught us about some of the challenges and successes facing California.  I believe that the challenges facing California are not a California problem.  These challenges are facing many if not all of our communities. 
 
Civil discourse in the United States – and abroad – is vital.  We cannot turn our backs or close our eyes to the problems that so many of our congregants, friends and neighbors are facing.  As we are constantly reminded in our Liturgy, we must remember we were strangers in a strange land and God took care of us.  We have a tremendous obligation to face these problems with our neighbors head on. 
 
I had the opportunity in the afternoon to attend two truly educational sessions.  The first session was “Freehof Institute: The Jewish-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Sharp Divisions.”  Rabbis Mark Washofsky and Denise Eger taught us of their own experiences with the Halacha regarding the Jewish-Christian Dialogue.  Rabbi Eger explained that the process of Halacha is a process of arguing and discussing legal/ethical issues for understanding and to continue the living tradition of Halacha.  Rabbi Washofsky helped us to understand the necessity of translating Halachic sources to make sense for our time, as our rabbis have been doing for centuries.
 
The second session was “Problematic Texts and the Religious Other in Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue.”  In this session, we studied some of the texts from the Torah, the New Testament and the Koran.  For me, the tremendous take away was that while it is absolutely possible to misinterpret or misread our sacred texts, the more challenging option (and perhaps the one that is most often not attempted) is to read, reread and then reread again our texts with the sincere attempt at understanding.  If we are unable to understand the “true meanings” of our texts, then it is incumbent for us to know that we have not tried hard enough to understand.  We should open our eyes to the “other” in attempting to understand our own sacred texts.
 
Dinner out with our colleagues was a great way to wrap up a very full day.  It was nice to kick back and enjoy good food and great company.  I am sure that the next days of our convention will bring many more occasions for spirituality, study and fun!

Shalom my friends!

Today I have been trying to focus on the Book of Leviticus, or Vayikra in Hebrew.  After all, we begin the Book of Leviticus this Shabbat.  My sermon is written and I am trying to figure out what part of the Torah I would like to read to the congregation during our service on Friday.  Although, as usual, it seems I am distracted by so many things.  News articles that speak of laws to protect our pets...people arguing over "Walk Out" or "Walk Up...."the NCAA tournament beginning. 

The truth is this - our children are the absolute most important.  Protecting our children should be our #1 priority.  I am not trying to take a side on the whole "gun-control" debate.  What I am hoping is to bring the focus to our children.  Everyone loves our children; there should never be any doubt about that.  Sure - we may have very different ideas on how to accomplish this.  But, if someone suggests that our children aren't being loved - I just can't agree.  I refuse to believe that people do not love our children.  Surely people know that without our children, we have no future...

Last night, I had the honor and privilege to teach/speak about Judaism at the 2nd Presbyterian Church.  One of the ministers had her baby in the session.  At one point, the baby became a little restless and started to cry oh so quietly.  The minister took her son out of the room.  When she returned, I told her she was not to leave the room again with her son.  Her son is the future of their Church and he should always feel welcome...if he cries a little, so be it.  We need to hear the sounds of our children, no matter how loud or "annoying" we may think they are.  I love the cries of a child - it helps me to focus on what is really important.

During Golda Meir's leadership, she made a very important statement regarding peace between Israel and her neighbors, "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us..."  There is so much truth in what she said.  

When we are truly able to look across "the aisle" and see the humanity and the wonder in everyone, even those we disagree with, we can begin to discuss.  I am not suggesting that the answers to all of our questions/quandaries/disagreements will end quickly.  What I am saying is that we can never reach agreements or solutions until we come together and recognize each other as equals - and that we really do have the same goals.

We all need to recognize our love for our children - and that should be our starting point.