From Where I Sit - Purim

From Where I Sit

My Dear Friends


Many may argue the facts behind the fable. Some will tell you that its origins are rooted within the mists of mythology; god and goddess. Marduk and Ishtar joining in ascendancy and certainly there are elements of that. Traditionalists will tell you that the story is exactly accurate as written. The story is the word of G in which we see the hidden hand of G. Historians will tell you that Ahshverosh (sounds like a sneeze) was really Xerxes and on and on.

But as for me, in reading Sacred scripture, I have the one and only definitive and absolutely correct answer to the fractured fracas of factuality of the chronicles.
(Drum roll please…)

The answer is: "I don't care!"

I do not go to my sacred guide to ferret out facts; I wander through TaNaCh (Bible) tracking truths, personal paths to probe.

When I read the text, I first peruse the Pshat, the simple contextual meaning. Pshat is the preface to the magical mystical tour of Torah learning. It is a step not to be skipped. But it is only the first step.

The next level requires the Sherlock Holmes in us. It is called Remez.

Remez are the hints that we use to discover the deep mysteries within the parable of Purim. Remez becomes questions.
Oh look here is one now>>>> “which forces are visible and which go on behind the curtain of this juicy holiday?”

To explore the answers we must delve deeper than Pshat. We wade into the waters of Kabbalah. Here, truly we find the magical mystical Mikvah and immerse ourselves freely, openly.

If we are going to play the Kabbalist Sherlock Holmes (KSH) we must be willing to descend deep into the waters, the source of life. To us, as KSH (Kabbalist Sherlock Holmes), it is evident that whatever we find in those sacred waters is, in reality deep within our own psyche, our spiritual DNA just waiting for us to open the treasure trove. In that treasure trove is the dangerous but delightful Drash lurking, waiting for us to feed upon it.

Drash is the personal interpretation that will be right to one person but meaningless to another. My Drash might be formidable fuel for my future and yet without meaning or merit to someone else. This is the unique power of Drash. When I use it to power my search for meaning, my Spirit Quest, it is very powerful search engine. If I use it to try to convince others of the rightness of my path, its dangerous sharp sharded sides reveal themselves.

In the Drash interpretation that we find when diving deep into the sacred waters of the story of Purim we must dare to open that hidden treasure trove. It has a power to replenish our soul's life force. That force will lead and guide us to direct and control our responses to all the future events in life. It might even hold the key to our personal power and the bounty that will abound through us in the Assiyah world where we all reside.

In the eyes of KSH, Megilat Esther speaks to the forces that unfold in the innermost parts of our five-fold soul. Forces that direct us, point out for us the riches of relationship with the Wholly One of Being. It becomes a guide to the life giving waters, a treasure map to the treasure trove. We discover through our exploration of Drash the names of these forces; they are called Mordechai, Esther, Haman, and Ahashverosh.

The story of Purim unfolds before the building of the second temple. At this stage, the people of Yisrael who represent the desire to begin the Spirit Quest live calmly and peacefully in the kingdom of Ahashverosh. One way of translating Yisrael is Yashar El. This represents the desire to go straight (Hebrew – Yashar) to (Hebrew – El -- G) the Source of Blessing and to learn from G the ways of the universe, the ways of life on this planet and beyond.

Mordechai, in this Drash/interpretation, represents the inner force that desires Devekut, that oneness with the Source of all. Yet in the story Mordechai seems to live in happy complacency in a peaceful kingdom. Where was the desire? The questions tantalize and tease us into delving deeper.

By careful examination, playful exploration we bring some golden coins from the treasure trove to the surface. From the very beginning, there are Remez - hints in the narrative that something is not quite right: "There is one nation that is scattered among the nations," says the text. Israel is that 'nation' and we are scattered, as opposed to being centered. Do you see how subtle the Remez are? We almost missed it. Yet our Remez map jumps out at us like a road sign to the discontent and disconnect on the human path. It is a sure sign that humanity has not yet found its soul path, its destiny, for only in the unity of difference can we find our goal, to live according to the ways of earth and heaven. In other words the only way to get it together is together.

The evil Haman represents the self centered ego in us, what Yisrael needs to avoid or, as in the story, defeat. Haman's goal is to exploit the situation for selfish gain. He is the one who despoils the earth, who blurs distinctions between peoples or foments hate for those differences. He eventually wants to overthrow the King. He is the descendent of Amalek the destroyer. He is the ancestor of Hitler (Yimach Shemo). He is all those who tell us that to be different is to be less, unequal. His lesson is that differences are to be used, misused and exploited. He is also the one who declares that all people are the same, and we should give up distinctions and differences, the very flavor, the spice of life. Our goal is to notice differences, accept differences, and revel in differences. That is the revelation of difference.

Haman sees and seizes opportunity in the idea that Israel is a 'scattered nation', calling it weakness, confusion and lack of faith. He finds the situation an excuse for eliminating, from the face of the earth, those who are different. They stand between him and his short sighted, selfish greed: exploiting Gaia earth spirit and the Creator of Gaia way and Halacha path, for his own gain.

What Haman fails to understand, however, is that Yisrael is dispersed only in spatial terms. Yes they disagree on the ways of Halacha. It is true that people disagree and argue and enter into disputation, yet that is the surface structure adjusting to time and space. Underneath, deep in the Neshamah soul of sacred connection there is a oneness that is firm and flowing.

That Neshamah soul level is the direct and open thread, the sacred connect with the Source of Being. It is a bond so deep that some don't even recognize it as they focus only on the surface paradigm shifts. And yet, in those quiet moments of spirit questing, something that we may not have noticed becomes apparent; the spider web connection glistens. Indeed we see the truth of it when, at the end of the story, all peoples re-form. That is, they form again, accepting the potent potential of Holiness, of wholeness for ourselves and our world. In this story, that awareness is called Yisrael.

The frightening danger is our delusion that the 5-fold soul is, like the body, limited. That limitation is what the evil of Haman wants to exploit. That is why we need to discover and confront the Haman within us. Our bodies have limits and those limits are teaching devices for the soul. But the soul is limitless and always learning, growing and, if we listen carefully, teaching.

The beginning of the story tells how Mordechai the Jew saved the king from the two assassins Bigtan and Teresh. Naturally, we would expect the King to reward him for his deed, perhaps an honor, or at least recognition.

But things aren't quite that simple, for Mordechai is the Israel in humanity, it wants nothing but to be in contact with the ineffable name. It wants no personal gain; therefore you cannot give it any gift, for it has no other desire than oneness.

Thus, to our surprise, we read that it isn't Mordechai who is honored. The one who craves surface honors, Haman, the ego, the needy, the whiner; it is Haman who the King appoints as head of all the ministers. Haman gets total domination of the Kingdom and all are ordered to bow before him. The ego has now risen to frightening proportions.

Of all the people, only Mordechai sees through the facade and refuses to bow before anyone but the King (G). Mordechai represents the spiritual in us all. As plants are heliotropic, they point towards the sun, the human soul is Theo tropic always point toward, seeking out G’s light. Mordechai is the only one in the story who still remembers this powerful pointer, when the whole town of Shushan is bewildered and bedeviled. Even when his life is threatened, the hidden power of Mordechai chooses loyalty to the King, the source of all, the Wholly One of being over all else.

It is only through magnifying Haman's ego to this out of proportion level that the people could see the danger, could realize how right and righteous was Mordechai's way.

The difference between the road Haman takes and that of Mordechai is the core around which the story revolves.

Haman wants to exploit the King and use the authority to take over the Kingdom. His ego epitomizes the most vile force on the planet, the desire to rule the world at all cost, even that of the world’s destruction, even his own destruction.

Mordechai's only goal, on the other hand, is to unveil a true path in this world, to learn from the Wholly One of Being how to conduct himself for the betterment of the world and all who dwell there. Therefore he cannot be bribed in any way. He can stand at the King's castle and guard the gate while everyone bows before Haman. There is no material pay for his loyalty. Mordecai follows the Talmudic advice to serve a master without seeking reward. He knows in his holy optimism that the day will come when light will shine and truth be revealed. He also understands that he cannot impose his will upon others. And this too is his power.

Haman gets control of the Kingdom, precisely for the purpose of increasing his desires. The egoism is revealed as are the destructive forces that dwell within him. Haman decides to utilize the authority he's been given in order to carry out his plan to destroy his primary enemy – the Israel within.

Haman is then asked – what is to be done with the man the King holds dear? His ego being certain that it is him the King holds dear, he suggests that he be seated on a horse (the elevation of the 5 fold soul path, that inner force of humanity) and it be publicly declared: "Thus will be done with the man the King holds dear". But it is not the ego of Haman that is held dear but the straight path of the G seeker, Mordechai that is held high. It is Mordechai that is elevated. And Haman’s ego blinds him to the lesson. He continues his plot of ego gratification and destruction of anything that challenges it.

Haman carefully plans his actions, prepares the hangman's tree and the rope, confident that in a few moments, the power standing between him and his dream, will have been eliminated.

At this point in our tale, the unity of Israel the Yashar El path is revealed. For Esther the quiet, seeks the power to stand up to strength, to ignore authority. The people of Israel, the Yashar El seekers, pray for her path. Their collective prayer for the success of Esther's mission, representing the force of faith, puts the lie to Haman's belief in the devaluation of difference. One of his ego flaws is that he sees difference as separation. He believes that people with different paths are not aiming for the same holy space. He believes that he can separate, suppress and destroy diversity.

Esther is the powerful mythical heroine who enlightens the power of diversity as a force for unity. That power and awareness is the courage that allows her to address the King directly, which is one of the miracles of Purim. Prior to that, no one could or would address the King that way. Only the united spiritual support of the people, in prayer, and her great courage give her the necessary armor to come out of hiding (Heb: hEster means hidden) and into the presence of the King. She reveals the King's panim/essence of flow – to bestow on all humanity the great awareness of our potential. She, in facing the King, challenges us to share differences in love and harmony with none to make us afraid.

Only then does Haman (the egotistical dark force within humanity) discover the flaw in his dastardly deeds, but it is too late for him. Too late, does he discover that the purpose and process of humanity is the revelation of the hidden light, the truth hidden within our inner selves to enlighten our outer shells. Unlike G, who is Ehad, one without parts, we are Yahad, one made up of differences, we are made up of parts and each part is precious. From the learning and the sharing of the parts, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

The climax of the story occurs when the destructive sentence which Haman himself had passed on others is turned back upon himself.

The great battle of Haman (the ego) to rule over the Kingdom versus Mordechai, the desire to live in harmony, is engaged.

In our story, Israel represents the deeper soul desires of humanity to discover the King's path of possibilities and the possibility of paths, ways to reach out and ways to reach in.

In our story, Israel represents the desire in humanity to be in perpetual Yihud, contact with the Source of reality.

In our story Israel represents us all when we accept the challenges of life with the inner certainty that those challenges only rise up to reveal our path to the palace of the King.

Israel is us, when we remember the Source of our lives and strive to utilize every opportunity explore the path and to fortify the bond with G.

Israel is us, when we do not give way to despair even when facing grave difficulties along the way.

We become Israel when we finally see beyond the surface and seek the inner light, when we learn acceptance and awareness of the oneness of the different paths of life.

We become Israel when we turn concealment into revelation and write with our deeds the story of Mordechai and Esther.

The path less travelled

My Dear Friends
It has been a custom in my family for over 60 years on the High Holydays to give a trilogy of sermons wrapped around a single theme. I am happy and honored to continue this tradition for these High and Holy Days in our new and renewed congregation, the Bleeker Street Synagogue. The theme this year to come is the Path Less travelled. It is taken from a Poem by Robert Frost that was one of my father's (זצ"ל) favorites and is called "The Road Not Taken, "

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem speaks of our people, speaks to our people, our tribe. For we have certainly taken the path less travelled. It started with a warrior path unlike any other. The Path became one of tests and lessons. And it has led us to a place, a time of challenge that I call Modernity and Mashiah. And that dear friends forms the titles of my 3 sermons: The Warrior Path, Tests and Lessons, and Modernity and Moshiah.

Tonight I speak of ancestors wandering the Warrior Path. Tomorrow I will speak of the tests and lessons that have confronted, confounded and coaxed our people into the 21st century. And on Yom Kippur we will face the future, the balancing of ancient and modern, the confluence of tradition, mysticism and modernity, which I call Modernity and Mashiah.

Tonight we start with a journey, a journey that begins in southern Iraq, in the city of Ur over 4000 years ago. A family follows the long and winding road alongside of the Tigris Euphrates up into Syria to a place called Haran.

And then a member of that family has a vision.
Most modern folk don't believe in visions, we have a healthy skepticism of them. But that is because we have a rather closed definition of what a vision is. Let me share a story to help illustrate. Many years ago I had the only Jewish congregation in a small town that claimed over 120 churches. Many of the Fundamentalist Christians would come to me seeking advice. They assumed that as a Rabbi, I was one step closer to their spiritual heritage and might have some arcane knowledge to share. One night, I was working late in my office when a fellow came to me. He told me that he had had a vision in which G told him to move to Oklahoma. He wanted my agreement and blessing and my understanding for his undertaking. I am a rational person and responded with a rational question: "How do you know that it was a vision from G and not the pepperoni pizza that you had for dinner." Well the man was not dissuaded and moved to Oklahoma.
That would be the end of the story except that I had a chance to mention it to my Rebbe. I was proud of my somewhat glib answer and shared it in a moment of jocularity with my Rebbe. He looked at me very seriously but with a twinkle in his eye and said: "What makes you think that G does not speak through pepperoni pizzas?"

My friends, visions and messages from G come in all shapes and sizes . We need not worry about the veracity of a vision but rather its intention and its interpretation. Avram (for that was his name) had a vision and moved south to a land that would become for all times the spiritual homeland of his tribe. Not surprisingly, Avram made war on his neighbors, bought land from his neighbors, and fought side by side with his neighbors. We should not be disconcerted when we read in Torah that our people acted much like their neighbors, that is to be expected in every age, in every culture, in every region of the world. What should stand out, are the differences. The magic of Torah, our guide to who we were , who we are and who we will become is not how we were similar to our neighbors but how we were different from them, how we took the path less travelled. Torah, in this way, offers a unique window into the soul-path of the Jew, and when we find something that stands out, stands apart, stands up from the text we must grab it and examine it and take it to heart. Avram, makes mistakes, missteps, has misadventures like all of us.
But Avram did something that seems to be unique to that time and that place and unique to our people. He stood up to G for justice. We all know the story of Sdom V'Amora. But our translators have softened the tale for us. Torah anthropomorphizes the story into G standing around with Avram informing him of the impending doom about to befall the evil twin cities. What is Avram's response? "חלילה לך" "G that would be a curse on you!" This is a first and I do not know of any other people who admonish their G quite like that. Quite a conundrum unless you know the secret rules to the game of Torah understanding, the first of which is that G knows what G is doing. G teaches us through the challenges that we face. G sometimes just wants us to stand up for justice no matter what. Again the lesson happens in the אקדה the story of the binding of Isaac. It was a custom of the people who inhabited Israel at that time to sacrifice their first born son. As children, this custom seemed to have held a deep fascination for my younger brother. But Rashi tells us that Avram misunderstood G's intentions when G told him to take his son up on a mountain for a sacrifice. Avram should have realized that the invitation was to teach his son the ways of service, not offer him up as a grisly ala carte. Avram learns and grows.

His wife Sarai gives part of her name to him and he becomes Avraham "The Father of His People" and a tribe is born. They have a son named Yitzhak who we might call the peacemaker. Again a uniqueness jumps from the black fire on white fire that is Torah. Yitzhak digs a well and finds water, no small task in the Negev, the desert of Yisrael. But jealous neighbors, like neighborhood bullies decide that they own it. This occurs 5 more times and each time Yitzhak's men are eager to fight. In each case Yitzhak demonstrates courage, perseverance, pacifism and faith in G. The 7th well puts an end to the bullying when the neighbors with their slow learning curve, realize that a person who can dig 7 wells and hit water each time is a person to have on their side. That 7th well still stands to this day and a city has been built up around it with a university and hospital that serves all people in the Negev, Jews and Christians, Muslims and Beduoin. The city is named is named after that well, באר שבע.
Yitzhak's wife, Rivkah has a power to see beyond the physical reality of this realm. She sees deeper than her husband. When she first sees him, the aura that he wears but of which he is unaware strikes her so hard it knocks her off her camel. And this sight will do her well when her husband's sight fails him.
Yitzhak's second son is a quite mamma's boy. Quiet, clean, a good cook, stays around the house. He seems studious. His brother by comparison is a man's man, a hunter, sometimes a bully. He is brusque, brash and brave. But he is not much of a thinker of any depth and Rivkah sees no good aura around him. Rivkah too has a vision, a message from G and makes sure that Yaakov, the follower son, is to be the leader. And it is a good choice for we are all named for him. His chosen name, the name he wins in battle, in bravery with wisdom is Yisrael. And we are the children of Israel. Yisrael is the tribe builder, 13 sons twelve ancient and one modern tribe descend from this man, his two wives and his two assistant wives. And here the Amazing story of our ancestors ends and the story of our tribe begins.

For Yosef , the son of Yaakov leads us into Egypt, where we prosper as a warrior tribe. We were probably a mercenary army for the Egyptians when we became עצום ורב, powerful and with the beginnings of wisdom. But our power caused jealousy and fear and we were enslaved and belittled. The disparaging term that they used to degrade us was probably a variant of Hapiru which means 'those who cross over.' Hapiru transliterates as Hebrews. We were the Hebrews, the ones who crossed over, the foreigners not to be trusted.

After centuries of oppression and harsh treatment we escaped to the purity of the wilderness. We toughened our hides under the hot sun of Sinai and we opened our souls becoming a loose federation of twelve tribes on the spirit path. That path less travelled led back to our homeland and it led up to a higher level of soul consciousness, not as individuals but in tribal sensibilities. We lighted the Menorah of the mind and felt the radiance of the sun in our soul. But we never forgot that we were עברים, the ones who cross over, the stranger. Like others before us, we fought wars across the Sinai, sacrificed animals, and set up a code of law for the tribe. And yet again there are differences that light up our text and our time. Our sacrifices were not to appease angry and hungry gods, they were sacred Bar B Ques, the soulful gatherings of the tribes. They were representations and symbolic actions for our benefit. In Psalms (50: 10-13) the song is sung of sacrifices as an expression of faith not fear, of a loving connection not a luring conjecture.

Our prophets teach us the truth of animal sacrifice. "What need do I have of all your sacrifices?" says G in Isaiah . G follows that statement with the admonishment to defend the poor, the homeless, the needy for Justice is what is required of us (Isaiah 1:11-13). Torah, our sacred guide cries out: "Justice Justice, you shall pursue!" (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) Throughout TaNaCh, our Bible, G states clearly that our path, the path less travelled is to become אור לגוים a light to the nations. We set for ourselves unique laws and light the lamp of equality always set to the refrain: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt!" We were to treat the stranger as equals with the home born. For we knew what it meant to be a stranger in a strange land.

Wandering gave us a sense of wonder, Sinai toughened the skin and sensitized the soul. We became warriors again and our pilot light kindled the flame of faith and fairness. Yes, we fought Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Canaanites, Amorites, Moabites and every other 'ites' that stood between us and G's promise of the land of Israel. That is to be expected of a people in that place and that time. What is less expected is to hear the words that enlighten our text and our lives. "I am the HaShem your G who brought you out of Egypt out of the house of bondage" invariably preceding the challenge to take special care of the widow and orphan, the needy and the stranger in our midst.

Imbuing and imbedding such ideals is not an overnight activity. 40 years, which just means a very long time, passes before the lessons are hammered out on the anvil of the Sinai desert floor.

And then we came over Jordan. The עברים, the Hebrews, the ones who cross over crossed over Jordan from East to West and came home. We built from the 12 tribes of Jacob, the nation of Israel. In that nation building we created the 8th wonder of the physical world, the Temple of Solomon and the first wonder of the ancient world an ethical code of equality. It is a code that is the basis for the religions of Christianity and Islam and can be found in the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. It was and is a song of salvation and it ends with the refrain; "Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt!" The key word here is remember, for the word Ivrim, that condescending term for outsider, also carries with it the consciousness of our past. The word 'Ivri' comes from 'Over' which means 'coming out of the past.' We, the Ivrim are the ones who crossed over Jordan remembering our past. Re-membering, as my belovedest , my partner and friend has been trying to teach me, is bringing something in so deeply that it is part and parcel of who we are. It comes naturally because it is so deeply held in our soul memory.

And so our life in our Sacred Homeland followed a course similar to the other nations. We conquered and were conquered. Just like the other nations who rose and fell with the tide of fate. But our path less travelled stands out from the text, stands apart from the rest. We do not fade into the night of exile and assimilation. When Nebuchadnetzer and then Titus destroy our 2 Temples, one in 586 BCE and the other in 70 CE, we carry that sacred sanctuary in our hearts. We adopt and adapt and survive and thrive even in the dark night of expulsion . Temple sacrifice no longer possible morphs into synagogue service. שחרית, מנחה, מעריב punctuate our days and enlightens our nights. But what never changes is our unique faith in our One G, source of love, source of life source of mystery. Our warrior path survives exile and return, war and wandering. For though we are tossed on the winds of fate we carry the G field in our souls and we carry our corpus of conduct and spirit wisdom in our hands and in our hearts. We physically survive and spiritually thrive not because of our numbers, but because of our indomitable faith in G and the transcendent teachings of our Torah.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and we --
we took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

an end to strife regarding gender and sexual orientation in our society.

I just attended an extraordinary event. Rocky Mountain Hai had a booth at Pride Fest in Denver. The event was quite exciting and illuminating. I have always thought of myself as an informed and open minded person. But I must tell you that Pride Fest was an eye-opening experience for me. As I watched the thousands of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender individuals pass by our booth and stop to chat at our booth, I noticed that they were just like everyone else. There were tall ones and short ones thin ones and thick ones, black ones and white ones. I am confused by all the fuss in this country about gay folk. Of course some were people dressed in strange and wondrous costumes (but then people have commented on my style of dress as well) but most of the participants in Pride Fest were dressed just like everyone else.

It made me stop and think. If these people dress like everyone else and speak like everyone else and hold jobs like everyone else and act like everyone else, what is all the fuss about. Why are they not part of ‘everyone else?’ Granted, their choice of loving partners is different than mine, but is that any reason for us to make such a fuss. Because you have chosen a different loving partner than I, you can’t join the military (or must keep your feelings a secret). Because you have chosen a different loving partner, you cannot be married (in most states). Because you have chosen a different loving partner, you do not have the rights and benefits that are guaranteed to other loving partners. Maybe I am slow, but I do not understand.

Democrats seem to be in favor of changing laws moving towards equality for this group of people. But though they have a winning majority in the House and in the Senate as well as a Democrat in the White House, nothing has changed. Men and women are still being thrown out of the military because of their choice of loving partners. Men and women are still being turned away from receiving licenses to marry because they are different. Why hasn’t the democratically elected Democrats ended this terrible inequality?

Republicans speak of the lofty value of individual rights, such as the right to own a hand gun, the right for government not to interfere in their businesses, the right for the wealthy to pay fewer taxes. Yet these same Republicans wish to create and enforce their personal definition of love as a matter of national law. They seek even to amend our constitution in order to interfere with the choice that a person has regarding whom s/he is allowed to love. Why do the Republican guardians of the republic wish to add another interference from our government?

Leaders of many religious groups have made decisions for their members regarding who they are allowed to love. Ok, I guess I understand that. If one joins a private organization that organization can make whatever rules it wants. One has the right to obey those rules, change the rules or leave the organization. Orthodox Jews separate men and women when praying, Catholics do not allow women to become Priests, and most Muslims require a belief in Allah and respect for the prophet Muhamed and his teachings. I get it. If I wish to be a member of any of those groups, I can either accept the rules or try to change them through peaceful means. But I shouldn’t flaunt my disagreement in their faces, in their establishments. It is just tacky. On the other hand, if I am not a member of that group, do they have a right to embarrass me, forbid me or harm me for living by my values and not theirs?

It is true that a society has to have rules by which to live. But those rules have to do with the health and safety of the people in that society. It does not have the right to dictate the personal moral beliefs of anyone or any group. It is against the law to murder, steal, lie in court or do anything to others without their consent. And, of course we must protect those who do not have, what society feels is, the ability to consent, such as minors. But that does not mean that society has the right to decide who I am allowed to love.

So, since there seems to be so much confusion, I would like to offer a solution. I have a compromise. Compromise is the art of either making everyone happy or at least comforting them with the fact that everyone else is as miserable with the solution as they are.

Here it is, my solution (trumpets please)!

The government of the United States of America and of Texas (if they have seceded by the time this is published) will cease and desist from performing or sanctioning marriage. Marriage will become the sole province of private organizations such as religions and such groups formed that are Atheist (though I do not, myself believe in Atheists since there is no empirical evidence of their existence. All evidence of their existence is anecdotal. But I digress).

The government of the United State will be authorized to issue commitment contracts. Any number of consenting adults of the same species may apply and will receive such a contract. That contract will give them all of the secular, legal rights that are afforded now to people holding a license to marry. The contract can be cancelled by agreement of the parties as provided within the contract according to contract law.

It is simple really, we turn the secular marriage into what it is, a contract between individuals. The details of such a contract can be worked out by the parties, mediators and lawyers. We can even have a waiting period as we do with licenses to own guns (oh, wait we don’t have that, sorry, never mind).

But what, I hear you ask, about the sanctity of marriage. The answer is quite obvious. We take that out of the hands of government, because our government is not in the sanctity business. We put the sanctity of marriage in the hands of the religious groups. Muslims may sanctify marriage for Muslims, Christians for Christians, Jews for Jews; well you get what I mean. Atheists will be able create a marriage with some anti-sanctity ceremony. I will leave them to work that out. Interfaith marriages can be worked out by the faiths involved. Some Buddhist and Hindu clergy will perform ceremonies between Buddhists and Hindus and some won’t. People will just have to look for the right clergy person or persons for their personal needs..

The government will do what it does best; make secular laws protecting the welfare of the people without infringing on their personal manifestations. Religion will speak to the spiritual aspirations and religious beliefs of their particular groups. Problem solved. Gay people, straight people, people of more color, people of less color, left handed and right handed, people who talk funny, people who talk like me, all will be equal under the law, at least when it comes to marriage.

Problem solved. Next, the Middle East…

Shabbat of ‘Word/things and visions/divisions'

Shabbat Hazon is the Shabbat of ‘Word/things and visions/divisions.’ I take the name from the title of the Torah portion, D’varim and the Haftarah, Hazon. In the Torah Moshe uses words to remind us of what was. In the Haftarah Yishiyahu paints a vision with words of what will be. It is a fitting theme for the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av.

This year Tisha B’Av falls Motzei Shabbat (Saturday night) and Shabbat Hazon is tonight. Tisha B’Av is the time when we look at all the troubles and travails of our times and our times of yore. We weep for the loss of the 2 Temples and for countless millions murdered in pogroms, inquisitions and holocausts. It is the low point of loss for the Jewish people. We close our eyes and see the visions of destruction and despoliation. We speak the words of woe.

And yet we do not curse our enemies, we do not rant for revenge. Instead we look within. In D’varim, the passage called ‘Word/things’, Moshe is preparing us for the next chapter in our evolution revolution. He prepares us by reviewing. We re-view, we look back again. We study our history in the spiritual hope that when we retrace our mis-steps we will not mis-step again. But Moshe does more than restate. He hints at our root sin of complacency, where we assimilate, where ritual becomes meaningless. In D’varim 4:25 Moshe warns of turning formed things into gods. Woe unto us lest we turn to expensive cars and clothes and neglect the needy. For when our own ‘things’ become more important than our fellow earthlings, we become idol worshippers, worshippers of ‘I-dolls”. There it is in that one sentence, the Remez, the Key/clue to our self-destruction as a people, indeed all people. The prophecy of destruction has been out there for a long time. Whether we are abusing our planet or our civil rights, we are turning to false gods. When we threaten others for not accepting our religious beliefs or our political beliefs, we have turned to false gods.

But, where our Torah portion points with one verse, our Haftarah hammers us with the hard lessons. Paying lip service to our ideals but not paying living service to them is the accusation. Talking our walk but not walking our talk is the accusation in Yishiyahu 1:1-27. That we parade out our rituals with pomp and hypocrisy is the accusation. For what do we need sacred places if we do not make them of our homes and hearts? I go to the church, I go to the synagogue, I go to the mosque, I go to the temple yet I ravage my neighbors’ rights, I belittle his beliefs, I fight his faith. Yishiyahu cries out to us: “Your hands are covered in blood!” To whom does the prophet speak, but to us all. Islamic fundamentalist terror, American callousness, Jewish insensitivity, Christian self-righteousness, is there a people who is blameless?

Our world is the Temple to which Yishiyahu and Moshe refer and its destruction is upon us. These word/things carry power. These visions of division point to our self-destruction. My Rebbe once told me that he thought that when we entered outer-space and looked back on earth all war would end for we would see the oneness of our planet. Moshe tried to direct us to look back to see the oneness of our spirit. We all have a vision of what might be. That vision is a di-vision, two visions. One vision is of the world that could be if we were to work for oneness and one if we continue to look upon divisions with derision.

The Shabbat after Tisha B’Av is called Shabbat Nahamu, the Shabbat of comfort. We have had the Shabbat of the two visions, the di-vision. Then comes the warning of Tisha B’Av the re-view of the sad state to which this world has been brought. And finally we enter with great need the Shabbat of comfort, a Shabbat that challenges us for comfort requires us to ‘come-forth’. For that is the only answer. We need to come forth. We need to come to the fore with answers that build, with answers that accept, nay revel in the differences that make us one. I have heard this country called a melting pot. What a ghastly metaphor. One pours different materials into a melting pot, melt them down and those that remain different are called slag and discarded. No, dear friends we are not a melting pot G forbid. We need to become a stew. In a stew each ingredient adds to the whole, each ingredient has its own unique taste and contributes to the stew in its own way. And let this not be the metaphor for a country, a religion, a race. Let it be the calling card of our planet. We are a stew simmering with differences that make us one. We each add to the flavor of whole, we do not detract, deride nor destroy. Rather we bring to this world a “ray’ach Nicho’ah” a pleasant aroma of a world self-sustainable a world blessed with peace.

May that be the lesson Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat of vision of the past and of a brighter future.

Waking, Awakening

Waking, Awakening

I open my eyes and stretch feeling the warm comfort of my bed and body. Then I slide deeper as I say: "I am thankful to be before you my life council, that my Neshamah my Soul Connection to you G, has returned with compassion renewed, in your abundance and faith." I look around at the limited and limitless world of my bedroom. The greater feelings that I pray will govern my day flow out of my mouth. "The first ness that is wisdom begins with the Awe of G. Good smarts to all doers. G's praise stands on. May I be immersed in the name of weighty honor through G's eternal good council." I rise and let my night soil evacuate my body and am thankful that my body process, the orifices and organs work in daily mundane miracles. Then I wash my body reminding myself, with the blessing words, of the sacred connection that elevates these mundane morning moments.

I pull out the garments of the day, and cover my body as my body covers and carries my souls. My garments remind me that my body too is a garment, dressing and teaching my soul, the ways of life and limits. My reminder garment, my tzitzit is checked and donned with blessing and reminder of my sacred connection to the Wholly One of Being. I notice that the action of donning tzitzit puts me in touch with all sacred connections, which we call Mitzvot.

I grab my Tallit, the wings of Shechinah and before I wrap myself in it/them I repeat my need/desire. "I do this act to bring Heaven to earth and earth to Heaven unifying in my heart and life the Kadosh Barchu, the Wholly One of Blessing and the Shechinah, my recognition of G in my daily life." I know deep behind my mind's soul, my Neshamah B'Ohr, that if we could all work together for that unification, Mashiah would be here. Then I hold those wings of my Tallit looking at the fringes, those strings around my finger reminding me of the 613 sacred connections that are the joining of body and soul, called the 248 organs and the 365 sinews of which the great teachers taught. I see the enlightened light of which Tzitzit are spiritual memory pegs. Just as I wrap myself physically here and now, may I also wrap myself in the 7 Mitzvot, sacred connections taught by the great teachers as I reach for the world to come, the beauty and peace of the Spiritual Womb, the Garden of Eden. I find liberation for my 3 fold soul, the body soul, the wind soul and the breath soul from the forces external to my soul camp. My hungry 3 fold soul is carried high under the spreading wings of my Tallit to my soul rest, as an eagle, alighting lightly in his nest full of hungry eaglets. May the importance to You Oh Wholly One of Being, of this sacred connection, fill me with the power of all of your sacred connections in all their personal and delicate intentions.

I wrap myself with blessing in my Tallit feeling those sacred wings and I call out in joy: "How precious is compassion, that we earthlings seek refuge in the shadow of the wings of Your compassion. May we find the satisfaction of coming home. May our thirsts be quenched from the waters of delight. Oh Source of life, from your light, we see the light."

And then I turn to my Tfilin, the praying device made of, leather straps and leather boxes containing the spirit words of oneness and commitment. Again I put out the sacred desire that this Sacred Connection, this Mitzvah will unify the upper and lower worlds.

I recognize that by wrapping Tfilin I continue the connecting in sanctity with my Source of Being from which all Sacred Connections stem as it is written in my Sacred Guide (Torah): "Make the connection on your arm as a sacred symbol, and may they be the jewels between your eyes." Four times it is mentioned the Sacred Guide (Torah) reminding us to focus, and listen deeply, to find holiness and wonder in order to leave the narrow minded places. From these four passages a unity bubbles to the surface, an awareness of our oneness with the Wholly One of Being in this world. The Tfilin is a reminder of wonder and miracles, of leaving the place of narrowness. This is the power of G's sacred parables taken from on high Heaven, and from below, here on earth, to teach us the desire for righteousness.

G's Sacred Connection to rest Tfilin on the arm is a reminder of the outstretched arm. It is near the heart that we may sight our hearts on sacred service. I put the Tfilin on my head in front of my mind, connecting my Soul Mind that will focus all my senses in the potential of sacred service, and so immerse myself in the Sacred Name which is Eternality.

May the Shefa, the sacred emanation from G flow through me and may these Tfilin, praying devices sensitize me to the awareness of that sacred flow. May it lengthen my life, and may that which flows from me contain holiness, holy thoughts, without the interference of mis-steps and mis-takes or hurtful errors. May this wrapping remind me not to be seduced into using my creative will for evil. May I find comfort in this heartful, sacred service.

I pray that the action of wrapping Tfilin put me in the powerful place of connecting every jot and tittle of all of Your sacred connections, which we call Mitzvot.

I recite my blessings as I wrap and adjust the heart sight Tfilin and my headlamp Tfilin. Then, before I begin my davenin, I offer this meditation. "From your Sefirah of Wisdom (Hochamah) on high, let me feel your emanations. From your Sefirah of Understanding (Binah) help me understand. From your Sefirah of unconditional love and kindness (Hesed) increase my capacity for love. From your Sefirah of Power (Gevurah) cut down my enemies and rebels (whether they are on the outside or within me). Pour Your good oil emanations onto the arms of Your Menorah, the lower 7 Sefirot. Cause Your goodness to flow for all of Your creation. Open your arms and let satisfaction flow to every living thing.

Now with Tallit and Tfilin, my wings, guiding light and sights set, I am ready to begin my davenin day.

Finding meaning in Finding Hametz

Outside of the High HolyDays Pesah must be the most widely celebrated Jewish holiday in America. I think that it has something to do with the pageantry, the rituals, food, the fun and, of course, the learning. Pesah is a learning holiday. Every aspect of the holiday teaches us a lesson. The Seder is a series of teaching devices to explain the story of Pesah to Jews of all ages. Indeed the word for the book that we use at the Seder, Haggadah, comes from the word, L'Haggid which means to tell.

But the Seder is not the only teaching device in Pesah. There are many others. For example, Hametz. Hametz is leavening and, we are supposed to avoid it on Pesah. The rituals surrounding the ridding of our homes of Hametz can be used as a string of educational toys for us and our neighbors.

There are three rituals that have to do with the ridding of our homes (and maybe our hearts) of Hametz. They are; 1) M'hirat Hametz, 2) B'dihat Hametz and 3) Bi'yur Hametz. Let's take a look at these rituals and how they can be used by us as a "string around the finger" a reminder of the higher self that is in each one of us.

1) M'hirat Hametz means the sale of Hametz. Before the beginning of Pesah, we do a spring cleaning. After the cleaning process, we make a ritual sale of whatever Hametz is left. Here is how it works. We put all of our cereals and grains etc. in a closet and tape the doors shut. Then we ritually "sell" the Hametz to those for whom there is no injunction against Hametz.

Next comes 2) B'dikat Hametz, the search for Hametz. The night before Pesah, we make a ritual search for the last crumbs of Hametz in the house. Traditionally, this is done with a feather, a wooden spoon, and a candle if you are Ashkenazi. Sefardim use a knife and a candle.

Lastly, comes 3) Bi'yur Hametz. The morning before the first Seder the Hametz that has been collected is burned with appropriate prayers. Now we are ritually ready for Pesah.

But what can these rituals teach us? What is the "right" that go along with these rites. How can we use these rituals to make ourselves better people, to open our eyes to our inner selves?

Let's take a look at them again.

1) M'hirat Hamatz, the sale of Hametz is a public statement. It is a way of sharing with our neighbors who we are and the righteousness for which we strive. Let's try it, let's go to our non-Jewish neighbors and discuss the meaning of Pesah. Let us begin the process of sharing our different customs as well as our similar ideals. Our neighbors will learn about us and, indeed, we may learn about them as well. It is a fun way of building bridges. We aren't looking to end differences, just begin to understand and accept them.

2) B'dihat Hametz, let us search our hearts for Hametz, for that which is not fit for the celebration of Pesah. Let us examine our own prejudices, whether they be based on the differences of religion, race or origin. Have we been guilty of treating the stranger differently than the home born? Have we judged others on the basis of their looks or heritage? If so, (and who of us hasn't) then it is time for the next step.

3) Bi'yur Hametz is the burning of the Hametz. Let us begin the process of purging not only our homes but our hearts of Hametz, the Hametz of hatred and racism. For isn't that the true meaning of Pesah? Aren't we commanded to remember that we were slaves in Egypt in order not to enslave others? Aren't we required to remember that we were "strangers in a strange land" in order that we would treat others better than we have treated so often in so many lands? The lessons of Pesah are not so far away from our daily lives.

But sometimes we need a little reminder or two or three.

Soul Progression

This week’s Torah Portion is called Aharei Mot. The words mean “After death!” One does not have to read the portion to be struck by the question. It is a question asked out loud or in the deepest recesses of our hearts. Is there anything after death? What is the trail of the soul when the garment that we call body has been returned to replenish the earth? The Jewish path speaks of 5 levels of soul. Each is a pointer towards a different way of looking at life and our soul connection to G, to each other, to the earth and to ourselves. Together they offer us a way to explore our own feelings regarding the infinite that is hidden just below the surface of our finite lives.

NeFeSh is the physical soul that returns to the earth with the body. It becomes one with the spirit of the earth as our body becomes one with the matter of the earth. Some might refer to this as becoming one with the ‘Gaia spirit’.

The next level is RUaH, the wind spirit aspect of our soul. My father (zt’l) would speak of anonymous immortality. Imagine that you share some important life lesson with a friend. That friend is moved by your teaching. S/he shares it with others in your name. They share it with others and so on. But during the passing of the teaching, your name disappears from the story. The story lives on and in this way you live on in the realm of RUaH but your name does not; anonymous immortality. The stories and lessons that we share regarding our parents, our teachers, our ancestors keep their RUaH, their wind spirit alive in our realm. This is why tribal folk keep an oral history. The tribe lives on in the oral history and in the actions based on that history. When I tell stories of my parents and grandparents, or when we tell the stories of Sarah and Avraham, Moshe and Miriam, Ester and Mordecai, their RUaH feeds us, feeds the tribal RUaH.

The third level is NeShaMaH, which is the breath of our soul. I envision a tiny, invisible silver thread connection to the Wholly One of Being. Since all humans have this connection, the picture is of a spider web of inter-connection between us all and with G. Our joys and sorrows strengthen the web connection of NeShaMaH. Each of us from the greatest Tzadik (righteous one) to the most mean spirited Rasha (evil one) is part of the web. On our computers we see WWW/World Wide Web but that is a pale shadow of the greater WWW that connects us to the Wholly One of Being. Ignore it if we will, it is always there. I remember a story of a Bar/t Mitzvah who said: “I don’t believe in G!” The Rabbi’s response was: “Don’t worry about it. G believes in you!” The World Wide Wholly One of Being Web (WWWOBW) is always connected and no virus can create a disconnect.

The fourth level is HaYah, which can be translated as life and sometimes as a hungry wild beast. But here it refers to longing. We may long for more money, more stature but this is a deeper form of longing. This is a longing to elevate ourselves into a oneness with the Wholly One of Being. “Oh G, how I long to be with you, to feel you in my life!” HaYah is the holy longing. “Oh G, I am hungry for your presence!” In prayer we are in Hayah. We are, as Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel might say, in longing to be part of that which is greater than the self. We are in preparation and in longing for the final level of soul, of soulfulness.

That level is YeHIDaH. YeHIDaH refers to being in total oneness. In Hebrew there are 3 words having to do with ‘One’. There is YaHaD in which I am one with… My belovedest and I are one. We are one made of parts. Indeed everything that is of matter is one, made of parts. All matter can be broken down into smaller parts. The next level is EHaD as we find in the Shema. EHaD is one without parts, impossible to dissect into aspects. Maimonides speaks of G in this way. G has no parts, G cannot be separated, broken down into components. G is the Wholly one; G is the Wholly One of Being. And the third level of ‘one’ is YeHIDaH. Not only is it one without parts, it is one alone. There is nothing else. There is not even a ‘nothing else’. The image is of G before creation. YeHIDaH is the oneness without parts and without ‘the other’. My mind has trouble wrapping itself around the concept. And yet that part of our soul is us yet not us it is a part of the One Who has no parts. On this level of soul, we do not exist as other than G.

So what happens Aharei Mot, after the passing of our physical? According to this paradigm, our NeFeSh returns to Gaia spirit. Our RUaH lives on in the souls touched by us in our journeys in this realm. Our NeShaMaH is wound back to G; our HaYaH disappears completely. For there is no longer longing as we become YeHIDaH, enfolded into the total oneness of the Wholly One of Being.

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I sometimes capitalize the transliteration of the Hebrew letters and keep the vowels (which were added later to the language) in small letters. This accentuates the root of the word.

The Menorah and the Hanukiah: a children's tale for adults

The Menorah and the Hanukiah

They sat side by side, almost twins. But their emotions were as dissimilar as their shape was similar.

“I am so excited!” chortled the Hanukiah. “It is almost that time of year. Soon the house will be filled with the smell of Latkes and the warmth of my favorite holiday.”

“I wonder what that could be!?!?” grumbled the Menorah, standing tarnished and forlorn by her younger sacred symbol.

“Why are you upset, you sound jealous?” replied the Hanukiah with a hurt tone of voice.

“What if I am,” the Menorah responded angrily.

“Why are you jealous? Hanukah comes but once a year. Ok, so I get lit for 8 days in a row!” (He positively shivered with delight). “But you are the most important symbol of the Jewish people. For one night every single week, you are brought out and lit! Songs are sung and prayers are said wonderful food is eaten. I envy you!!!!”

“But that is just it, I am not brought out once a week, or once a month or even once a year. I am forgotten, a meaningless relic, a useless ornament in the breakfront.”

The Hanukiah felt bad. “I…I didn’t know,” he said quietly.

“Well I am not putting up with this neglect, this abuse. I am leaving!!!” And with that the Menorah pushed with one of her 7 branches against the glass of the breakfront.

Don’t do that,” cried the Hanukiah, “the glass will...” and with that there was a crash and a thud as the Menorah broke the glass and fell to the floor. “I told you,” called the Hanukiah.

“Well, I don’t care, I am leaving!” cried the Menorah, tears running down her branches, as she brushed herself off and began to make her way through the living room towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Cried the Hanukiah.

“Home!” Shouted the Menorah and then again, more quietly, “Home!”

“And where is home?” called out the Hanukiah.

For a moment, there was no response, then the faint sound of brass against brass as the Menorah strived and succeeded with a grunt to open the door. Then as the door swung wide, the Hanukiah heard the answer. “I am headed to Israel. That is where all of this started and that is where I intend to find out where I come from and why I have been so forgotten.

For years The Menorah struggled in its travel. It found its way onto buses and trains, into the trunks of cars until finally it found its way into the suitcase of an Orthodox Jew on his way to Israel. When the Menorah arrived, it climbed out of the suitcase and waddled its way onto a bus heading for the Negev, the desert of wandering. It felt as if it was drawn by an irresistible force to the ancient desert dwelling of our ancestors. Somewhere near Ein Gedi, that ancient oasis in the desert, it threw itself from the bus and struggled through the passes and wadis until, exhausted, it collapsed against a strange looking plant a sweet smelling plant, a sage plant.

As it rested, dully gleaming in the sun, the plant called to it. “Welcome home my child.”

The menorah was shocked. “How can a plant speak it wondered aloud.”

“In the same way that a Menorah can waddle,” the plant laughed, “Ask the author. Clearly, you are here for a reason. You have returned to your source.”

“Yes, I have come to Eretz Yisrael, my source, where it all began. Maybe I will learn why I am so forgotten, so useless?”

“Yes yes, Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, but more importantly, you have returned to me. For I am your source, you were patterned after me. Thousands of years ago, when the people called, Ivrim, Bnai Yisrael, Yehudim, created your ancestor, the Menorah in the Holy Temple, they designed it, and therefore you, to look like me. I am the plant Moriah. Do you know what my name means?”

“No, I don’t.” exclaimed the Menorah in wonder, beginning to examine this strange plant more closely.

“It means the teaching of G. You were meant to remind all Jews of their relationship to G, the source of all, the source of life, the source of holiness. You were meant to be a pointer to the great lessons of life. Shabbat, which you also represent is a time to reflect on life, and love and oneness, indeed all the great gifts that humans take for granted.”

The Menorah laughed bitterly. “Yet I am forgotten. The Hanukiah is shined and used and the children sing songs and play games around it and I am left in the cupboard, forgotten and alone.”
“But don’t you know that the Hanukiah is your spiritual child. It was created to look like you, to remind, as you remind.”

“But that is just it, the Hanukiah reminds the children and their parents of the glory and the power and the spirit that was long ago. But I do nothing, I am nothing, I am only a relic.” And the Menorah wept, droplets of oil rolling down its branches, as it was held by the Moriah in the wilderness of loss.

Meanwhile, there was one in the Menorah’s former home who did notice that the Menorah was missing. Her name was Rinah Tal. She was the youngest daughter of the family who had purchased and then ignored the Menorah for so long. She was 12 and there was excitement in the house as everyone was preparing for their trip to Israel. This was to be her Bat Mitzvah present. Her family was going to travel to Israel and celebrate her Bat Mitzvah at the Dead Sea, near an ancient oasis called the well of the goats, Ein Gedi.

Rinah had always liked the Menorah, been somehow drawn to it, touched by it. She enjoyed looking at it in the breakfront and wondered why it was never used. She had read the stories of the Temple of long ago and the Menorah, the Ner Tamid, that seven branched candelabra that had been lit daily there.

The day finally came, the family had traveled by taxi and bus and plane and private car to the beautiful resort at the Dead Sea. She had done her Bat Mitzvah by the waters of Ein Gedi and everyone had been proud of her and awed by the stark beauty of the place. She had been showered with praise and gifts, yet for her, something was missing. The day after her Bat Mitzvah, she snuck out of the hotel early and caught a bus, by herself up to Ein Gedi, the sight of “her day”. She wandered in and out of the groves that grew along the water. She felt elated and yet…

Then she saw it. Tangled in a sweet smelling plant hidden from view was… a menorah. No, not a menorah, THE MENORAH it was the one she had loved, the one she had longed for, the one she had missed. She tried to pull it free and as she did some of the plant came away with it. She was ecstatic. She was so happy she wanted to sing and dance. But then she felt a powerful sadness, loneliness. She felt, almost heard the feeling coming from the plant wrapped Menorah, the need to be used, to be lit, to be a symbol once again of the ancient ways that were as new as the new day dawning. She said out loud, not at all embarrassed to be addressing the plant encrusted Menorah:
“My beloved Menorah, you are my Bat Mitzvah gift, my heritage gift, my sacred connection. I will light you every Shabbat as a reminder that I am Bat Mitzvah; I am part of the sacred history and spirit of my people. You are a symbol of my connection to G and to my people and to my soul,” She shouted in joy.

She ran back to the bus and took it to the hotel where her parents were up and worried about her. When she showed them the Menorah they were in shock. They tried to explain away its presence, not willing to accept that this was a place of signs and wonders. But Rinah Tal would have none of it. She insisted that this was her Menorah from back home. She insisted that from that time on it would be lit every Shabbat, SHE WOULD LIGHT IT EVERY SHABBAT. She quietly muttered; “This is my Bat Mitzvah present, this is the meaning of my trip to Israel, this is who I am.” And her soul was filled with the light of an inner Menorah, a Ner Tamid that would never be extinguished. And she insisted that the sprigs of the plant that had attached itself to the Menorah NOT be removed, ever.

Standing in the breakfront, next to the Hanukiah, the Menorah smiled with a dull shine of pride and awareness. Candle droppings covered it as a Talit of Rainbow colors. It was home and it was fulfilled.

Shabbos is for lovers

The Spiritual Romance of Shabbos

A couple approached me to perform their marriage ceremony. When we interviewed each other, they told me that they did not want a 'religious' ceremony. "Then why come to a Rabbi," I asked. "Because our parents want a Rabbi to do the ceremony," they replied. Well, it is nice that we do things for our parents. I agreed to marry them but I did not agree to a secular ceremony .

We began our meetings. Every time different spiritual aspects of Judaism were brought up, they were met with displeasure. They just were not interested. One day I decided to come at the challenge from a different angle and that, dear friends is the story I wish to share.

They both worked very hard. I suggested that they find a time to be together without the baggage of the workweek. They agreed that such an idea was important and I went on. "This should be a space without time," I suggested. "Watches and clocks become unimportant in this space. Imagine a whole day where you concentrate on each other, not on the telephone or email or business of any kind, which includes worrying about the bills, or who said what at work. This is a time for the two of you!" They were warming to the idea.

Next I suggested that they should start this 24-hour weekly vacation, not in the morning, but at night. In this way they could divest themselves of the workaday and invest in the holiday before going to bed. They agreed that this idea made sense.

I then recommended that this space without time should have the theme of romance. They really liked that concept. "So let's discuss what makes the beginning of this space romantic. Mood is important." I suggested. The woman came up with the idea of candles as a 'mood-modifier'. "What a good idea," I agreed. "And what about a 'mood-enhancer' after a long week of work and separation? How about a little wine? This too was met with enthusiasm."Great, we have candles to soften the edges of a hard week and wine to enhance the mood. Now, how about something simple to eat, to begin your romantic meal." I proposed that they buy what is often called 'egg bread' from a bakery and just before the meal, heat it up in the oven. The aroma would be heartening and the warm soft bread would make a sweet beginning to the romantic time together.

I pushed the idea that this was a romantic getaway from time by putting forth the idea that they should, in the morning read to each other and take a walk together and maybe even a picnic. Their enthusiasm was growing.

"But how do we end this wonderful romantic day," I asked. I answered my own question with the idea of creating memory pegs so that they could carry a sense of the romantic space into the next week. "First, light a candle together as the stars twinkle. Then drink a little wine together, maybe even from the same cup. Next, find some sweet smelling spices. After all our olfactory system is deeply connected to memory. Lastly, put the candle out in the wine. With no lights on, the room will be plunged into darkness as the candle sizzles out in the wine. The taste of the wine, the smell of the spices and even the light of the candle will linger in your minds." They were quite taken with the idea, so much so that they began that week.

Of course I suggested that they try to do it on Friday night, the traditional end of the workweek in Judaism. And during the next several months, they perfected their romantic ritual. They even began to invite some friends over to share in the romantic dinner ritual on Friday night.
All was going well until they invited another Jewish couple over who asked why they did not say the Shabbos blessings as they began their Shabbos rituals. They were flabbergasted and even a tad miffed with me. When they came for their next session they said: "You tricked us!" Then they explained how their other Jewish friends blew the scam.

I asked them if, up to that point, they had enjoyed and found a beauty in the idea of celebrating a romantic time called Shabbos. They admitted that they had. "What is in a name...," I quoted. Then I urged them to continue, saying that I might be able to help them enjoy it even more. I asked for their patience and began to teach them the blessings for the rituals that they were doing.

I explained that the blessing said for lighting candles was a statement of awe for the sacred connection of light.

The blessings for wine and Hallah (egg bread) were statements of awareness that these items come from the earth not simply from the supermarket; that we are connected to the earth from which comes the food we eat and the wine we drink.

Then I went one step further. When we become aware, when we bring awe into our relationship with each other, we are elevating our relationship by acknowledging that we have another relationship of importance. Some call it 'G'; some call it a 'greater power'. I call it, 'The Wholly One of Being' (pun intended).

A few weeks later, the couple celebrated their wedding embraced in a religious ceremony. Though over the years I have lost touch with this couple, I like to think that they have continued to celebrate Shabbos and that they have expanded on their romantic adventure into a realm of spirituality.

Shabbos is for everyone and we all need a Shabbos.

Responding to a Student on the Truth of Torah and other weighty matters

My dear Friend;

You ask the tough questions. That is good but it is not easy. So let us begin with PaRDeS, the four levels of understanding. I do this because there is no one simple answer to any question other than: Does G exist. To that the answer is an unequivocal, resounding, full-faithed YES!!! But that is because G is unique. To all other questions there are parts and nuances and areas open for discussion and question. And so let me explain my interpretation of that amazing spiritual orchard, PaRDeS. P=Pshat is the simple contextual meaning of things. Rashi is considered the greatest Pshat commentator. And yet there is a yang to the yin of Pshat. That is what I call the Modern Critical Approach or MCA. MCA demands provable facts and using commonly accepted logic in approaching theories.

You asked, on an objective level what is my “take on Torah coming from G.” I interpret that question to fall within the level of MCA. I would send you to look at some of the Reform Jewish works on the origin of the Torah. They will tell you that it developed over hundreds if not thousands of years. There are stories that were told around the campfire that were blended with other stories and became our diary. Diaries are not meant to be read by others they are meant to be read and reviewed by the author as a means of growing and learning and delving into the self. They are not books of fact, they are books of personal truths. They contain lessons for life, the life of the person who wrote it and any who would be open to the teachings within. But the reader must always use his/her own life as a flint to the diary’s steel. One strikes one against the other to create the sparks of light that enlighten our path. There were laws that were developed by a wandering people, adapted to an agrarian society, hammered out in the time of kings and kingdoms and finally forged in the furnace of destruction and exile. MCA demands that we view Torah in light of all that was going on in the world around us. We look at the facts. As detective Joe Friday would put it: “The facts ma’am, just the facts!”

But if we leave it there, Torah is relegated to the shelf of wonderful books of stories and tales and history and laws of an ancient people. It is the book of struggle and growth of a people who have miraculously survived intact in a world that would have quickly drowned this unique people in assimilation, slaughter or xenophobia.

On the other side of our Yin Yang is the Pshat of tradition. Torah is exactly true, the word of G that cannot be changed. G handed it down to us and that is that. I have a secret for you. I do not know of a single person on the planet who acts on that belief. If you look through the Stone Humash or any other Orthodox copy or Torah, you will notice that they ‘translate’ certain things in a way inconsistent with the simple translation. They interpret as they translate. I do not mean this as a criticism. Quite the contrary, it is crucial to keeping Torah a living document. I only disagree when it comes to the belief that only one group can interpret Torah. This is a dangerous two-sided coin. If only one group is allowed to interpret it leads to tyranny. But the question arises how wide can our interpretation go and still be within the box of Judaism. I admit, my friend that I have my arbitrary answer to that but I am not totally satisfied with it. I am not satisfied with any one answer and this goes to the crux of your question and it has no definitive answer. So let us continue and see where this path will lead us.

We are now ready to confront the next level of the Orchard. R=Remez. Remez means hint. I think that this is a key element. If you believe that G wrote Torah and handed it down to us, then G put Remez hints in Torah for us to examine and for us to use in our growth. Why did G create Hava from Adam’s rib, in Braeshit 2? The commentators tell us that it was to prove that woman should be close to the heart of man. That is a classical Remez. Not so classical is why is there 2 creation stories in Braeshit 1 and 2. There is a different order to creation. Traditionalists have their answer. My own is that it is a reminder that Torah is not meant to be a book of facts and figures and we should not be viewing it that way. Torah does not come to teach us science or math or history or literature. It is there for us to use in our struggle to come to our own truth. Again this concept is fraught with challenges. Some have used Torah to be a proof text for abhorrent purposes. There were Rabbis in the south, before the Civil War, who pointed to Torah to justify slavery. And yet, the misuse Torah does not negate its power. It is simply that power can be used for good or for evil.

The next level in our sacred Orchard is D=Drash. Drash literally means to expound. To me this is the use of the tools. I use Pshat/MCA as my starting tool. Then I hold up my Remez tool as I gently, lovingly explore Torah more deeply. Sitting back with the ideas that flow from the process I discover my drash, my personal point of view. I try it on and live it and play with it in different situations, argue it with my friends and loved ones, all to discover the fit.

Finally I discard some Drash and accept others into my core. And this is the final part of that mystical, marvelous, meaningful Orchard; S=Sod. Sod means secret and mystery. For me Sod is all that which becomes part of my core, my deepest level of living. They become my life path. Some are simple; “Love your neighbor as your self!” Some require more effort. I look at the Ohel Mo’ed as a model for my soul as I wrote in the Torah Tune-Up for Terumah. But they have become part of the essence of who I am and who I am striving to become. Sometimes that is difficult. But I am comforted by the fact that this very challenge is found in the name that G tells Moshe to use to introduce G to the people of Israel on the advent of their great journey of discovery into Sinai. Some translate it as “I am what I am” but more accurately it is “I will be what I will be!”

With that long-winded introduction let me try answering your questions. ‘Objectively’ does Torah come from G.? My answer is yes but not as a Microsoft word document. G inspires and influences but does not direct and command. Therefore Torah comes from G but it is not the literal word of G. That would be my ‘objective’ answer. It does not lessen my faith in G or in the power and beauty and truth of Torah. It does give me permission to be involved in the translation, interpretation and understanding of Torah.

You stated that you found “…probably more truth then from any one place or source…” and I commend you on that. No one place has the market cornered on truth. Never stop looking and exploring. Are there caveats to that statement too? Of course there are. People are always saying think outside the box. That is nonsense. No one thinks outside the box. It is just that some people have a bigger box. Fundamentalists of all stripes have a small box. That is good for them. It is a snug and comfortable fit. As long as they do not try to force others into their box all is good. The Amish are proud keepers of their tradition as are Orthodox Jews and Fundamentalist Muslims, Christians etc. My only problem with small boxes is when they are places from which bomb are thrown or laws are made for those not in that particular box.

Others have larger boxes. They are a loose fit and comfortable for many types of people. We meet each other there with little or no discomfort. Disputation and discussion are encouraged and growth and diversity are fostered. And if they accept that within these larger boxes are going to be people who insist on building smaller boxes for their own comfort, all is well in the neighborhood.

Lastly we have those who are always building bigger and bigger boxes. They are the inventors of things and thoughts. They are never satisfied with the size of their box. They expand their minds and our universe. And we get to go along for the ride. Their boxes are sometimes uncomfortable for some of us because they are too large, they seem to lack safety and security. Things explode in them when ideas and inventions go awry. And yet if they are open to different size boxes dwelling within their huge box, then we, who need somewhat smaller boxes, feel warm and comfortable. And we are even are willing to expand our own boxes within theirs.

Yet we all think within the box. I do not for one moment believe that there are many gods. Nor for one moment do I consider the possibility that there is no god. Those ideas I have examined and discarded. They are outside box.

You then asked about some of the rituals of Judaism. And I can only suggest that you learn the ‘Pshat/MCA’ understanding of them while finding your own ‘Drash’ meaning for yourself. Then if it sinks into your soul it becoming part of your Sod it will be yours forever. For me the Mikvah is a place to release my spiritual baggage. After a week of the grind, as it were, it is a joy to go and study with my Rebbe and join him in the Mikvah. I feel that the baggage that I have been carrying, drop away from me. Arguments, and disappointments lose their meaning. All the times that I ‘should on myself’ during the week are allowed to float away. I emerge purified, meaning I have let go, and I am more prepared for that Shabbos space without time.

My approach allows and even demands my active involvement. In this way I am not attacked with the all or nothing view of the small boxed folk. For them if one thing is not exactly the way they believe then nothing is. That is fine for them, but not for me. In Jewish tradition we are taught that there are many meanings, many ways of looking at Torah. I believe that we all have a right to translate Torah into our lives.

As an aside you make a wonderfully Maimonidean comment. “Now I know that there is a level of law in place for the common folk in order to maintain an order and common balance for everyone…” Maimonides said that many of the 613 are for the masses to keep the people in balance and on the right path, and we happy band of philosophers keep them as an example for them. (Please take that as a ‘tongue in cheeky’ type of comment).

Again you ask the tough direct question. How can I accept Shabbos and still drive? My answer is that I would prefer not to drive, but I am not fiscally or physically able to go to the extremes that it would entail for me. Instead I look all the way back through Halacha, from Shulchan Aurech through the Tur, Mishnah Torah, Gemara, Mishnah and Torah. I look for the hints, the reasons for the laws, and the purpose behind them. I don’t believe that Shabbos is one of those laws that are there for us to obey without thought. There are a few (read about the red heifer) but Hilchot Shabbos is not one of them. The purpose of laws of Shabbos is to keep that day different and special and sacred. Therefore I will not involve myself in labor (that is work for pay or pay for work) I will not involve myself in things which have goals that are not holy (taking a walk through a mall though not buying or reading a secular newspaper). But I will drive to Daven and I will drive to be with family and friends for the purpose ‘LiChvod Shabbos’ to honor Shabbat. Now this is definitely NOT the understanding of the Orthodox. If you wish to be Orthodox, then you must consult and Orthodox Rabbi on the laws or consult me with that understanding. I know the Halacha according to the Orthodox, but I am not one of them. I am not part of any movement. Halacha means path and my path is not to be part of a movement. As I am overly fond of saying: “Movements are oxymorons! Once you join a movement, you stop moving!”

You next ask how does one carry his beliefs into the real world. That is a great question because it shows that you realize that you are in a safe space for living an Orthodox life. That is the small box in which you currently reside. If you wish to keep living in that kind of box, there are many communities around the world where you could live comfortably and completely as an Orthodox Jew. But if you wish to live in a bigger box then you have to put some effort into discovering what is your path in that bigger box. It involves study and practice and questions and the ability to look within and make some hard choices. Then you must review those choices and be able to admit that you were wrong about one right about the other and adjust.

But the most important thing that I can tell you is that it is a path without point of conclusion. This path is truly the never-ending story.