Rabbi’s Grater’s Monthly Message

Shavuot, Graduation and Goodbyes

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 12:00:54 -0700

The Talmud recounts a famous story as a way of explaining the multitude of opinions allowed in interpreting Torah. Rabbi Eliezer is trying to convince his colleagues of his certitude in a matter of law regarding the kashrut of an oven, and when they don’t agree with him, he calls out to the heavens, “If the law is in accordance with me, let the carob tree prove it!” So a nearby carob tree suddenly becomes uprooted. The sages remain unconvinced. So he yells out again, “If the law is in accordance with me, let the House of Study prove it!” So the walls of the beit midrash begin to incline toward one another. Still, the sages are not convinced. Finally, after a few more miracle tries, a Heavenly Voice comes down and says, “Why don’t you follow Rabbi Eliezer, the law is in accordance with him!” Brazenly, the rabbis answer back, quoting the Torah itself, saying, “The Torah is not in heaven! The Torah has already been given on Mt. Sinai, we no longer listen to a heavenly voice.” In his new, and very thought-provoking book, Open Minded Torah: Of Irony, Fundamentalism and Love, Bar-Ilan professor William Kolbrener writes of this Talmudic story, “Not only does truth, after the giving of the Torah, ‘sprout from the earth,’ as the midrash affirms, but truth is also plural, a result of interpretation and disagreement.” As we approach Shavuot, which begins Tuesday night June 7, I am thinking about how we see Torah and how we involve ourselves in interpreting it in the 21st century and here at PJTC.

Kolbrener makes a point of reminding us that the Talmud instructs us that at Mt. Sinai, the tradition says the Torah was given “in 70 voices, or with 70 faces,” which has come to mean that there are many different interpretations of how to understand the revelation. We all heard it as we needed to hear it, the old heard it in their way, the young in theirs, men and women, all of us receiving Torah, which we celebrate on Shavuot, in our own way. Yet, Kolbrener writes, “There are 70 faces to the Torah is both inclusive and exclusive. Seventy may be many, but it is not an infinite number.” It is not “everything goes,” even as we have evolved, developed, expanded, contracted, added and subtracted; some moves, as the classic Reform movement experiment of the early 20th century illustrate, can go too far and will not hold. We can stretch the models of prayer, we can stretch the boundaries of kashrut, we can experiment with Shabbat observance, we can create new ways of reading Torah; yet, we must also remember that there are limits, that there are some basic groundings upon which we still stand, that we must compromise and be willing to participate in the paths of our tradition, sometimes not getting exactly what we want. Rules can bend, but if bent too far, they will break and we won’t have the container anymore with which to work. It is this kind of Judaism, one that seeks inclusivity within limits, that I am trying to bring to PJTC. And I am proud that we are creating a community with this mindset. The more of us involved in the conversation, the better off our congregation will be in the future.

It is precisely this kind of Judaism, and this kind of approach to interpreting life, that I have been teaching to my students. In addition to my 10th grade Tihon students, which Debby has highlighted, my students from two years ago are graduating from high school this year, and my students from six years ago are graduating from college this year! It is the greatest blessing in my work that I get to have, and maintain, these special relationships. I want to say mazel tov to those graduating college, and I want to wish all those graduating high school and going on to college a huge mazel tov and yasher koach. We will miss having you around, but know that PJTC is always your home. Take what you have learned here, all of the discussions about God, Torah, Israel, Jewish values, ethics and life with you on your path. We know you will all do great things! Chazak v’amatz, go forth with strength, courage and fortitude of character.

I want to end this column by saying thank you and shalom to Hazzan Judy Sofer as she ends her tenure here at PJTC. Hazzan Sofer has served our community for seventeen years, contributing her hard work and dedication in many areas of our synagogue. I want to thank her for the past eight years that we have gotten to work together, including our very special trips to Israel. I wish her, Shlomo, Leeav, Dean and Oren only the best in the future, and b’hatzlacha, good luck, with all her upcoming endeavors, some of which include continuing to serve in the greater San Gabriel Valley Jewish community. So, we say l’hitraot, so long, but not goodbye. May your path in life continue to bring you peace and blessing. Chag sameach to all of us, blessings for a wonderful Shavuot!

Chag sameach!

Rabbi Joshua

Seder Discussions

Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:00:08 -0700

As I write this, I am watching the horrible images coming out of Japan after the 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami which killed so many people and destroyed so much property and life. How do we comprehend the devastation? Where do we turn for support, strength, courage and hope? These images from Japan will now push the images from Libya to the back burner, ones which have already pushed the heroics of Egypt off of our radar. I can only imagine what we will talking about, reading about, and thinking about by the time you read these words in April. Certainly the lives of those human beings directly affected by all these momentous events, be it by tragedy or gaining their freedom, will not be the same, will not yet be figured out, the loss of life barely processed, the horrendous damage barely cleaned, the imprint of the massive changes that took place just barely being understood. Most of us here in Pasadena, will probably have moved on. Yet with the arrival of Pesach this month, we have an opportunity to return to these events and bring them to our sederim for discussion, pondering, reflection and action.

Pesach, our annual festival of freedom, has so many different components for us to gain meaning from, and the seder sits at the heart of our experience. I encourage you to spend some time preparing your seder, looking at the Haggadah, perhaps choosing a new Haggadah for this year to supplement what you normally use. There now are literally hundreds to choose from, each offering a different slant or interpretation to our national story of liberation from Egypt. In the preparation, I invite you to find ways to incorporate the stories of today, the stories of modern Egypt and the people’s uprising for freedom. How does it relate to our story? What can we learn from other people’s struggle for freedom and liberation in relation to our own struggle? What does all this mean for Israel? What about the severe weather we are facing, with earthquakes, floods, droughts, tsunamis, melting ice caps, food shortage—talk about what this means for the human race and planet, for this is a huge part of the “freedom” we enjoy, to act or not act as we choose. What about the news from Wisconsin and other states, where labor unions are fighting for rights? Relate this to slavery, workers’ rights, power and wealth. In a broader context, the issue of “event overload”—the rapid pace at which we get information, have to process it, digest it, have it affect us emotionally before we get bombarded with the next round of new information or events in the world—is something that would be a wonderful topic of conversation for your seder. The seder is the exact opposite experience, or should be, from our Twitter, Facebook, texting world, in that we are meant to sit for hours in conversation, discussion, debate, eating and talking about the deepest and most profound issues of life. The Haggadah is the springboard for these conversations, but don’t leave it there. Remember the story of the five rabbis of B’nei B’rack, who sat in deep, rich conversation until their students had to come and tell them, “Masters, it is time for the morning Shema.” Put some time and effort in the seder planning and reap the great rewards!

I look forward to celebrating Pesach together as a community, from our services at the beginning and end of the festival, the second night communal seder to the moments of sharing in between. I hope to see many of you in shul, and wish you all, from our family to yours, a zissen pesach, a sweet and meaningful Passover: may we all find freedom from our own personal, internal slavery, that which keeps us from reaching our full potential, leaving our personal Egypt. May those struggling for their physical freedom, all around the Middle East and the world, find success and in some small way, may our story of liberation, thousands of years ago, be an inspiration to peoples everywhere.

Chag sameach!

Rabbi Joshua

Seeing our Joy

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 12:00:45 -0800

When one enters Adar, joy increases! (Talmud, Ta’anit 29a) Because we are in a leap year, Purim occurs this month, in Adar 2, so even though we have just lived through a whole month of Adar 1, now the fun really begins. Purim, with all its complexities and nuances, with the shadows and the darkness, is ultimately about light, “La’yehudim haitah orah v’simcha v’sason v’kar, to the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor.” (Esther 8:16), is a line that we sing now each week during Havdalah, the beautiful service to end Shabbat. It is precisely the joy, the positive, that I want to use as a springboard to talk briefly about our own community and where we find ourselves right now.

We have been going through a challenging period during the past few months here at PJTC, and I am grateful for the dozens of one-to-one conversations I have had with so many of you, sharing your feelings, asking questions, clearing up misperceptions and moving toward healing as we embark on the journey of finding a new cantor. I honor and respect everyone’s feelings, and know that with our large congregation, not everyone feels the same about what is happening. Yet, in this time of Purim, I want to heed the Talmud’s call and focus on what is positive and joyous and honorable about what we are doing here at PJTC. For our reality is quite good, quite stable, quite strong.

Our reality includes new members joining us every week, pushing us squarely above 500 families; our reality includes over 50 members of PJTC working to revitalize our social justice committee under the leadership of longtime member Yudie Fishman and relatively new member Maya Golden-Krasner; our reality includes a rapidly growing USY, a youth group under the awesome direction of Aaren Weisz, with new kids joining and participating every week; our reality includes our amazing LBSRS and the incredible leadership of Debby Singer (need I say more?); our reality includes two campuses and an active partnership with our Jewish Federation, now housed on our CST campus; our reality includes our Sisterhood and Men’s Club, bringing us programs, retreats, ball games, speakers, new and exciting Judaica for our gift shop, and monetary support for our synagogue and youth programs; our reality includes an Israel Committee that is stimulating thought, support and love for Israel through programs, speakers, ideas, discussion, not to mention having 30 congregants visit Israel this winter; our reality includes 30 people in my weekly class on prayer, learning about and experimenting with a deeper connection to God and tefillah, in addition to people learning Talmud, Bible, Hebrew, reading books, and coming to meditate and study Torah weekly; our reality includes many of you participating in the Chai campaign, helping to support our financial reality, which is strong and solid, and we hope by the end of the year, all of you will have signed on for this campaign; and our reality includes many, many more happenings and committees led by our awesome lay leaders and supported by our talented and dedicated staff, under the direction of Eitan Trabin, our wonderful Executive Director.

Kohellet, Ecclesiastes, teaches that there is a time for everything under the sun, a time to be sad and a time to be happy, a time to mourn and a time to dance. We at PJTC are experiencing the full range of Kohellet’s vision, but as we enter the time of Purim, let us come together to rejoice in the fullness of our reality. So send mishloach manot to friends and family through Sisterhood’s program, give matanot l’evyonim, tzedakkah, come hear the Megillah and party together on March 19 for our Purim Bash, bring the kids for Purim and the carnival on March 20, and give thanks to God for the gifts and bounty we share.

Chag Purim Sameach!

Confusion Breeding Inclusion

Tue, 1 Feb 2011 12:00:34 -0800

Let’s hope that I can explain what I mean with this title! At PJTC, I think that there are some areas that fall into this category. I want to address one of them in this short column: kashrut.

Keeping kosher at PJTC has been a lively issue for many years. For decades, he Ritual Committee has worked very hard to establish and uphold a policy that works for our community. The committee has recently produced a very readable summary of our policy that they will be sending to each of you as a resource and reference.

Eating is what we do to physically survive, but eating is also emotional, with family recipes and long-standing traditions; eating is relational, as we get together to eat and share time socially, bonding and sustaining relationships over food; and eating also involves discipline and awareness if we are to have healthy eating habits. At PJTC, we are trying to honor many different aspects of people’s relationship to food, including those who desire the more traditional rules and regulations of keeping kosher, and in the process, we are confusing many of you, and to be honest, I am confused sometimes too! The Ritual Committee and I are trying to maintain a sense of traditional kashrut, and to balance that with PJTC’s long-standing tradition of home-baked goods for our simchas. We have bent the stringencies of kashrut for the sake of our community’s tradition and for the sake of people wanting to contribute out of love. We are trying to maintain the tradition of kashrut, with its rules that are straightforward and nonnegotiable. But we also want to have home-baked goods, we want to prepare our own meat meals (which are the most complex of our kashrut issues), we want to make a kiddush in Wohlmann, which has a different set of rules than the main kitchen because it is a dairy-only kitchen, we want potluck dinners but want to use the kitchens for drinks and utensils, we want pizzas in the youth lounge, kosher meat tacos outside and bagels and cream cheese inside the building—we want to just eat what we want. We can’t have all of this without compromise. We have a mix of traditions that we are continually wrestling with, as some folks want a stricter interpretation of kashrut, but most folks want more inclusion. Hence, inclusion is breeding confusion.

This is compounded by the fact that I believe in a kashrut that is more lenient than many of my Conservative rabbi colleagues, because I believe in a kashrut that is based more on what we put in our mouths, and not the dishes we eat on or the hechshers on packages. I believe eating is holy, so I say blessings before I eat and I restrict what I eat. I also eat vegetarian and fish dishes in any restaurant, and will eat vegetarian and fish in anyone’s home. I have lived keeping “strictly” or traditionally kosher, and I understand it, so I am comfortable now with alternative interpretations of the rules. I recognize, however, that in our community, leniency contributes to our confusion.

To have a community of inclusion but also one of spiritual discipline, we have to respect one another’s views and know that we can’t all have exactly what we want. I have full confidence that we are doing our best to keep a realistic, modern, progressive interpretation of kashrut at PJTC. In order for that to work, though, you all have to work with the Ritual Committee and me, and commit to the standards we are setting and not consistently fight them. I want to teach you about all of this, and I hope you want to learn. It is a part of being Jewish.

I will be hosting a Seminar on Kashrut at PJTC soon to try to explain it all, answer questions and get us all comfortable with cooking, baking and making wonderful meals at PJTC. No recipes however; they’re not my strong suit! I hope you’ll join me in learning more about how what we eat affects our Jewish lives, as individuals and as a community.

A Night to Remember

Sat, 1 Jan 2011 12:00:09 -0800

We had been anticipating the White House Hanukkah party for weeks, wondering what it would be like, what would happen, how we might feel, who we might see. After five checkpoints between the street and the building, we entered the White House, were told to relax and enjoy ourselves, and promptly given the entire run of the East Wing, including the East Room, the Blue, Red and Green Rooms, the White House library, the State Dining Room, the China Room, and other anterooms, eating, drinking, partying as guests of President and First Lady Obama. It was my first visit to the White House and it was truly a wonderfully amazing night. From the briefing earlier in the day, with key officials, including Dennis Ross, Austan Goolsbee and Sam Kass, to standing shoulder to shoulder with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we awaited the President and First Lady, I was deeply humbled and honored to be invited to participate in this special night. The glatt kosher food included platters of sushi, latkes, rack of lamb (for the non-vegetarians) and yummy desserts. It was all plentiful and delicious. We were able to sit on the furniture, schmooze wherever we felt like, and the butlers, dress Marines and all the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. My family and friends were kvelling, as we say in Yiddish!

I felt especially moved, as the President acknowledged Israeli Ambassador Oren and had a moment of compassion and comfort for the victims of the recent horrible forest fire in the Carmel Valley in the north of Israel. The President then spoke about Hanukkah, telling the story, acknowledging overcoming oppression and how he related to that. He ended by quoting the Talmud, reminding us, “Where there is life, there is faith.” A world leader quoting the Talmud, the leader of my country acknowledging my heritage and traditions, now, that is a special and holy feeling, a true wonder of America! The hanukiah (shown below in photo) was brought from Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans, a synagogue destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, now rebuilt, as a symbol of rededication, the central theme of Hanukkah. The family that lit the hanukiah included Susan Retik, who lost her husband on 9/11 and turned her grief into new life by founding Beyond the 11th, an organization dedicated to supporting Afghan widows of the war. New life from the ashes, rededication to the values of compassion, hope, peace and human connection. It was a remarkable moment, followed by all of us saying the blessings together and singing Maoz Tzur, (Rock of Ages), accompanied by the awesome saxophone of Joshua Redman.

Following the lighting, Franci and I went downstairs to wait in line for our official photograph with the President and First Lady. Like a snaking line in Disneyland, we waited and slowly crawled through different rooms of the lower level, including the China Room, which featured all the china from every Administration
(Reagan and Clinton china were set on the table), until we got to a room that held our names on a place card. Taking the card, we continued on in, knowing that we were approaching our moment to meet the Obamas. As we approached, a dress Marine took our card, asked us how to pronounce our names correctly, and then formally introduced us to the President and First Lady. We shook hands, exchanged short greetings of thanks, and then began to pose for the picture. As I crossed in front of the President, I looked at him and, mustering my courage, I reminded him about Sadat going to Jerusalem, and how that transformed the final Israeli-Egyptian peace accords. I encouraged him to be our Sadat to Jerusalem, to travel to Israel and to help bring about peace. It was about 4 seconds in all. He looked at me and responded, “I’m trying.” We took our picture and we walked away. It all seems like a blur now, even though I prepared for the moment for weeks, practiced what I might say, tried to call forth all of my centering and meditation techniques for being in the moment. In the end, it was still pretty overwhelming and flustering to be face to face!

We spent the rest of the time wandering around the rooms, talking with some of the people that we knew, taking it all in. As we were walking out, after four incredible hours, taking one last picture in front of the door we exited, we certainly felt like Cinderella leaving the ball. The clock struck midnight as we walked out the final gate, leaving us in the cold Washington night as regular Jewish Americans again. Yet, we will cherish this experience for a lifetime. Franci and I were proud and honored to represent our families, Pasadena and our congregation in the people’s House. Happy 2011!