Spiritual Life

There is a dark joke in rabbinic circles called Death by Israel Sermon. The meaning is that the topic of Israel is so important and so fraught that any sermon you give could be the end of your career. I have found this to be sadly true. And so, we often avoid this most pressing topic.

We are in the season now which commemorates the historical nodes which gave rise to the “situation.” Israelis and Palestinians celebrate their respective achievements and martyrs. They and we memorialize our respective tragedies. If not now, when will we think together about the situation. If not now, when?

All Jews want peace. All Jews want fairness. All Jews want safety. And we all know that these three things are interrelated. What we disagree about – among each other – is how to get there. Palestinians want the same things. The definition of peace, fairness and safety – taken from the Palestinian point of view – brings in additional nuances and prerogatives.

Cessation of violence is one way to aim for peace, but this is called a cease-fire and it is not a lasting peace based on fairness and safety. Shalom, peace in Hebrew, has the sub meanings of wholeness and recompense. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a peace which is whole, inclusive of the basic human needs and perspectives of the Palestinian community and the Israeli community.

Both “sides” have a peace camp, centrists and hard-right nationalists. The Israeli and Palestinian peace camps have much in common with each other – and both are profoundly distrusted by their relative hard-liners. Bi-national groups include bereaved families, former combatants and small pockets of political leaders, activists, and educators.

Both sides have centrists – folks who might come to terms if things ever quieted down. These people are rational; they want to go to work and raise their kids. They want the opportunities that a peaceful society can offer. Both sides want to be affirmed in their rightful belonging in the country. Israelis want safety – which can only come from the Palestinian side. Palestinians want equity and dignity – which can only come from the Israeli side.

And then the hardliners. Many in both hardliner camps hold racists and hateful stereotypes – making inhuman boogey men of the “other.” The hardliners in both camps are sure that their group is the victim and there is no working with the other side. Often their intransigent views and actions provoke the very response they fear from the “other side.” When the centrists and peace camps make a little progress, you can count on a hardliner from one side or another to blow up a bus or shoot a prime minister – to prove their point that peace is impossible.

Jews, by and large, are not privy to the hopes and conversations going on in Palestinian homes. And similarly, Palestinians, outside of the peace camps, are not aware of the divergent points of views among Jews. One insane example of this is the experience of a family I met living in the West Bank. One group of Israelis came in and demolished their home. And another group of Israelis came in the aftermath to rebuild it. At this point the disunity within the respective communities is as damning as the intransigence of the hardliners. I know that many of you experience this in your own homes, where talk of Israel is simply not allowed as the conversation inevitably leads to a crummy seder. How sad that we cannot benefit from the rich perspectives of our own community. We all want peace, fairness and safety.

Add to this tension is the persistent and ugly threat of antisemitism at home and abroad. Some of my leftist friends are slow to recognize this undercurrent, but in the age of Trumpism (may his name be erased) we cannot be unaware. It is here and it is near.

Fear is a powerful motivator; it can be more powerful than hope. Fear, organically, leads us to black-white thinking. When you are running from a tiger, it is not the time to consider that the tiger has a legitimate need for a meal.

I do not have a solution. And in spite of the Israeli national anthem, HaTikvah, I do not have an abundance of hope. My position is simple: I refuse to demonize any party to the conflict. I will not succumb to racism or dehumanization. Each of us is working in our best lights to the actions which make the most sense to us. Peace means wholeness. Any lasting solution must include the legitimate needs of all. Pray for peace.

https://templeisraelgreenfield.org/9219-2/

Cholent (pronounced: cholnlnt) is a bean dish served Saturday after Shabbat services.  From the tradition of not cooking on Shabbat, a hearty baked bean dish was left to embers Friday nights. The recipe is called Hammeen by west Asian Jews, meaning hot.  The European etymology is possibly similar, from the French for hot, chaud. 

Cholent is really a whole megillah, if you know what I mean. Which is to say, it’s more of a lifestyle than a recipe.

Cholent: The Process

Wednesday: Invite friends for shabbat lunch. There are no small cholents.

Sometime Thursday, wash and soak a combination of hearty beans, at least 3 varieties (lima bean, red, pinto, aduki, navy, black) and a grain (barley is traditional; for GF diets, use rice) So roughly 3 parts beans to one part grain. 

Friday afternoon, layer a generous amount of the ingredients below, in order, in a slow cooker or heavy pot:

Olive Oil

Chunked large onions (3-4)

Chunked potatoes, sweet potatoes (some add: carrots, meat, eggs) 3~4 cups

Rinsed beans and grain. Even the surface. Tuck a few bay leaves around the sides of the pot.

You’re almost done.  Next add a huge astonishing enormous amount of: Salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Drizzle olive oil over the seasonings layer.

Next, pour water into the pot (along the side; do not disturb the seasoning layer*) just up to the surface of the beans. 

Boil medium hard for 2-4 hours, adding water, just up to the surface of the beans, as needed.

After this step, the beans will be soft and we just want to slow cook it overnight. Set the crock pot to 200 degrees, or a very low flame if you are using a heavy pot. You do not want to boil it anymore, and we are not going to stir this at all. 

If you did this right, in the morning (around 3AM), the top layer will be a little dark and crunchy. Keep warm in your crock pot until serving. 

PS: I sneak some for breakfast! You can flatten out the crusty bits and just take a nice spoonful from a corner. Yummy.

PPS: Causes flatulence

PPPS: Arrange for an afternoon nap, if possible.

*If you stir or disturb the layers, the Cholent Fairies do not come

ON ZOOM: Please register here
Let’s come together as our region’s Jewish community to:

• Advocate for social justice with our state senators and representatives
• Meet in small groups with our legislators to ask questions and learn their priorities
• Urge our legislators to co-sponsor and lead on critical bills impacting climate change,
  economic and food justice, racial equity, and more
  The greater our numbers, the greater our impact as a united Jewish voice calling for justice.
  We look forward to seeing you there!
  INCLUDING OUR
  SPECIAL GUESTS:
  Senator Jo Comerford
  Senator Paul Mark
  Senator Jake Oliveira
  Senator John Velis
  Rep. Natalie Blais
  Rep. Dan Carey
  Rep. Mindy Domb
  Rep. Patricia Duffy
  Rep. Aaron Saunders
  Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa
  Rep. Susannah Whipps

This is my last year here at Temple Israel. I want to make sure you are aware of the benefits of membership which accrue to members – some of which involve me. I’d love to serve you in these ways in my last months here.

Everyone gets 6 hours of rabbinic consultation: That can take the form of planning a life cycle ritual together, finding a Hebrew name, and simple good listening, in the form of pastoral care. I have recently been asked to read palms, which also can be part of your 6 hour of personal access to your rabbi.

Also for members, I offer a discounted “family rate” at my home, which has a lovely, roomy second floor with 3 bedrooms, a full (private) bathroom and a kitchenette. Ideal for family members visiting you for short or longer term stays.

Members are also offered discounts for private rentals of the temple facility and many classes and events.

Warm regards to all and a very happy Hanukkah to all

🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯

Rabbi Andrea

There are several denominations of Judaism, as you know, Reform, Orthodox and so on. But many of the people in my congregation belong to a new branch called: “I Just Try to be a Good Person.”

People who belong to this denomination often express ambivalence or a generally spiritual orientation to the question of God. Many of these Jews also call themselves “cultural” or secular Jews. Many of these congregants mention to me, their rabbi, that they are bad Jews.

I beg to differ.

The path of Judaism addresses practice and belief as well as actions, values and emotional well-being. Jewish guidance on many practical and important problems is usually wise and useful.

Jewish laws around speech, for example, overlaps with good mental health advise. There are rules about lies, gossip, nicknames and confrontation. When you use your words to reconcile and to speak truly and fairly, you are practicing a high degree of Jewish observance.

There are rules about creating safety in your built environment. When you shovel your walk, or tighten your hand-rail, you are being a good Jew! When you reuse and recycle, you are observing a Torah commandment from the book of Deuteronomy.

There are practices in our arsenal that teach us how to cultivate appreciation, patience, equanimity and so on.

What my Good Person congregants might mean is something closer to “I don’t do the big identity markers that make us different. I don’t go to services. I don’t keep kosher,” stuff like that. But the laws and rules and values that we share with other religions and other schools of thought (public health, environmental policy, mental health, education) are part of our path too, our Jewish “tool kit” as my Teacher Reb Zalman, OBM used to say.

The Hebrew root for the word “Hebrew” is Gratefulness and the root of “Yisrael” means Seeker or Noble Struggle.

Are you cultivating Gratefulness? Are you a Seeker? Welcome to the club

Love

Rabbi Andrea

During this glorious summer of sunny days, we perceive again the glory and the complexity and the illumination of our life on this planet. And during the too sunny days, days on end without the blessing of “rain in its season” (Lev 26:4 and others) we are aware of the imbalances we humans are foisting upon creation.  The water cycle is a sign of the connection between heaven and earth as evaporation and rain. The bible remarks on the differences between Egypt which is irrigated by simple foot operated levers which feed irrigation channels and the climate of Israel, where the farmer must raise their eyes to the heavens and constantly seek the right balance of self-concerns and generosity. The implication is that when we are in a generous flow, receiving freely and passing on the gifts we accumulate, heaven and earth are in that same flow – rain falls down and our seeds are blessed.

The theme of our fall holidays include this self-evaluation: How are we expending our blessings? And the theme of interdependence: We are reliant on forces beyond our control. And the theme of vulnerability: The fragile, temporary sukkah is like us – fragile and temporary.

It is not easy to live at the edge of these truths. But when we know them, when we realize them, we evaluate ourselves in a truer light. We measure what is important. We feel a better relationship between our “heaven and earth;” our aspirations and our common, mundane needs.

I wish for you and me and all of us the blessings of interdependence and vulnerability.  

L’shana tova

Love

Rabbi Andrea