Monday, September 30, 2013

The Holiday Hangover

Life in the Present Tense: In November 2007, Ben Yehuda Press of Teaneck, New Jersey, published Life in the Present Tense, a collection of 64 essays written by Rifka Rosenwein, of blessed memory, for "Home Front," her monthly column in The New York Jewish Week.


Robert Goldblum, Managing Editor of The Jewish Week, wrote in his Introduction to this collection:
For reader of The New York Jewish Week, the country's largest Jewish newspaper and what the Village Voice called "the paper of record in the Jewish community," columnist Rifka Rosenwein was a singer of ballads who occupied a sacred spot in many hearts. She wrote the "Home Front" column in the paper for seven years, from 1996 until her death from cancer in the fall of 2003. She was 42.
In addition to being an excellent writer, Rifka was a beloved wife and mother - and she was also the sister and sister-in-law of two of Mr & Mrs Abq Jew's dearest friends. Rifka's 10th yahrzeit is approaching, and Abq Jew will write more about her as the date (October 27) gets closer.

As we U.S. Jews start to get back to "real life" after a month of holidays, Abq Jew offers for your reading pleasure and spiritual enlightenment one very appropriate essay from Rifka's collection. From October 2002:


The Holiday Hangover
By the time Simchat Torah rolled around last week, most everyone I know was suffering from what I might call Yontif fatigue. This syndrome is characterized, especially among women, by: a) an overwhelming aversion to the kitchen and all things having to do with food; b) a sense that, while God is great, ritualized prayer can be excessive; c) and a renewed understanding of why you can no longer live year-round with your parents and siblings.
If I were on rabbinic Judaism's ritual committee, I would not have clustered together four major holidays within four weeks, but then again, nobody asked me. 
I suppose maybe if I were a farmer, I'd get into the whole Harvest Festival thing, but as it stands now, there's this great buildup to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, leaving Sukkot and Simchat Torah a also-rans. Instead of looking forward to the revelry and joy of Simchat Torah, we often end up feeling put upon - another long morning of shul, another meal to cook. Most years, reactions to the holidays range from "I lost the month of September" to "I basically told my boss I'd see her in about a month" to "When do I get my Sundays back?"
When the holiday season comes to a close, as it did this week, a collective sigh of relief can be heard from most Jewish households. Finally, we can get back to work. Finally, the kids are back in school. Finally, the kitchen is closed and will not reopen until maybe Thanksgiving. There's a sense of getting back to things, of the year finally being underway, instead of coming along in bits and pieces, only to be interrupted by a different holiday each week. You can finally get things DONE - be it at work, around the house, or with the kids.
But let's face it. There is also a bit of a let-down. Maybe it's because most of the holidays this year were on weekends, or maybe I'm imagining a mood swing this year because of all my health problems, but I sensed among people a bit more of a reluctance to let go of the holidays this year. 
"It's a nice time of year," a friend said simply. 
For all the griping, it is a time of year where the emphasis is on faith, family, and community. We are almost forced, by the strictures of the holidays, to spend time contemplating our deeds and hanging out with friends and family. The weather this year was for the most part glorious, and the simple act of walking over to a friend's house and lingering there for the afternoon constituted almost an act of rebellion against our otherwise insanely busy lives. How indolent, how unproductive, how absolutely refreshing.
Don't get me wrong. I am, by nature, a creature of habit. I crave routine; it is, in fact, one of the things I miss most since having my life turned upside down by cancer. I've written complete odes to the mundane. I'd like nothing more than the satisfaction of a productive day at the office and an evening of homework, piano lessons, and soccer.  
One busy but ordinary day followed reliably by the next. I could wish for nothing more.
But sometimes, maybe, I might have missed the back-story. Are days like Shabbat and holidays a distraction from real life - or are they, on some level, the point? Don't we work hard and try to provide the best for our children at least in part so that we can enjoy those quiet moments, those get-togethers with friends and family, those days of communion with a Higher Authority?
Think of the language of the day-to-day. Now that the holidays are over, we get to return to our commitments, our projects, our schedules. Somehow these words do not convey life. They convey a means to an end. They convey a constant clambering up, trying to reach some kind of plateau, some sense of accomplishment. Maybe on the holidays, which take us out of our normal existence, we get a taste of what that plateau might feel like. It's the same feeling we can get on Shabbat, but it permeates for a month, instead of a day.
And so, as we re-enter our real lives, and get caught up in our daily routines, maybe we can take a piece of the holiday spirit with us - the spirit of quiet reflection, and connectedness with family and community. 
Maybe we can pause to make sure that our busyness does not get in the way of our priorities, that our schedules do not obscure real meaning, that our commitments do not prevent us from spending time with those people and ideals to which we are truly committed. 
And just remember - Chanukah comes early this year ....

May the memory of Rifka Rosenwein
be forever a blessing
 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

A New Milestone: 120,920 Page Views

To Life! To Life! L'Chaim!  On September 29, 2013, at 3:57 pm New Mexico (Mountain) Time, this Abq Jew Blog achieved 120,920 All Time Page Views.


We achieved 111,111 All Time Page Views
on August 28 - just over 4 weeks ago.
That's about 300 Page Views per Day.
Thank you!

The Abq Jew Blog achieved 120,000 All Time Page Views sometime in the wee hours of September 27 - Simchat Torah! - the very day we were blessed to read:

And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died:
his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
- Deuteronomy 34:7

It is, of course, from this verse that we derive the ideal number
of years for life - and the expressions

עד מאה ועשׂרים
בּיז הונדרט און צװאַנציק
Till 120!

But for the Abq Jew Blog - let's בס״ד keep going!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Launched! The Abq Jew App!

App Launched On Simchat Torah!  It is with great pleasure that Abq Jew announces the exciting development you've all been waiting for:

The Abq Jew App
Take Abq Jew with you - wherever you go!

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Jewish Life in Albuquerque and Beyond?
There’s an app for that!

Abq Jew, the website (AbqJew.com) and blog (AbqJew.net) that have provided “a guide to Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond” for almost three years, is launching a new way to bring the Jewish community together – the Abq Jew App.

The Abq Jew App is available – for free download – from Google Play (for Android phones and devices) and from Apple iTunes (for iPhones and iPads).


Rabbi Arthur Flicker of Albuquerque’s Congregation B’nai Israel says
The Abq Jew App  What a wonderful addition to my iPhone! Abq Jew always keeps me up to date with happenings in our Jewish community. Now I have all of that information right on my phone. Thank you, Abq Jew!
Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld of Albuquerque's Congregation Albert says
I love the Abq Jew App! It makes accessing the Albuquerque Jewish community so much easier. Keep up the good work!
The Abq Jew App enables users to
  • Connect directly to the Abq Jew website and the Abq Jew blog, as well as to
    the Abq Jewish Events Calendar – the most complete in the Land of Enchantment.
  • Click on and view the videos that are regularly featured in the Abq Jew blog. 
  • Directly access the Abq Jew Twitter and Facebook feeds. 
  • Shop for arts, professional services, books, and – of course! – Abq Jew gear.
  • Interact with each other, sharing photos and information on the Abq Jew Fan Wall.
And Abq Jew's founder says
The Abq Jew App is pretty unique. Websites? Blogs? Sure, everyone’s got them. 
And the Abq Jew website and blog will always be great ways to find out what’s happening in the Jewish community of Albuquerque and beyond. 
But the Abq Jew App really takes it to the next level. This is cool.
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Why An Abq Jew App?

To make it as easy and convenient as possible
to access complete and accurate information
on Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond.


Click here to read Abq Jew website launches app in Albuquerque Business First.
Note: Abq Jew arrived in Albuquerque in 2010, not - as the article claims - in 2001.


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How Can I Get The App?
Easy! Click here!


Click here to try out the Abq Jew App and see how it works.

When you're ready -
click here for the Google / Android version,
or click here for the Apple / iPhone version.

     


Shabbat Shalom, Albuquerque!
Good Shabbos, New Mexico!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Holy Frappe! The Abq Jew App!

App Launching On Simchat Torah!  It is with great pleasure that Abq Jew announces the exciting development you've all been waiting for:

The Abq Jew App
Take Abq Jew with you - wherever you go!

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Jewish Life in Albuquerque and Beyond?
There’s an app for that!

Abq Jew, the website (AbqJew.com) and blog (AbqJew.net) that have provided “a guide to Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond” for almost three years, is launching a new way to bring the Jewish community together – the Abq Jew App.

The Abq Jew App is available – for free download – from Google Play (for Android phones and devices) and from Apple iTunes (for iPhones and iPads).


Rabbi Arthur Flicker of Albuquerque’s Congregation B’nai Israel says
The Abq Jew App  What a wonderful addition to my iPhone! Abq Jew always keeps me up to date with happenings in our Jewish community. Now I have all of that information right on my phone. Thank you, Abq Jew!
Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld of Albuquerque's Congregation Albert says
I love the Abq Jew App! It makes accessing the Albuquerque Jewish community so much easier. Keep up the good work!
The Abq Jew App enables users to
  • Connect directly to the Abq Jew website and the Abq Jew blog, as well as to
    the Abq Jewish Events Calendar – the most complete in the Land of Enchantment.
  • Click on and view the videos that are regularly featured in the Abq Jew blog. 
  • Directly access the Abq Jew Twitter and Facebook feeds. 
  • Shop for arts, professional services, books, and – of course! – Abq Jew gear.
  • Interact with each other, sharing photos and information on the Abq Jew Fan Wall.
And Abq Jew's founder says
The Abq Jew App is pretty unique. Websites? Blogs? Sure, everyone’s got them. 
And the Abq Jew website and blog will always be great ways to find out what’s happening in the Jewish community of Albuquerque and beyond. 
But the Abq Jew App really takes it to the next level. This is cool.
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Why An Abq Jew App?

To make it as easy and convenient as possible
to access complete and accurate information
on Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond.


Click here to read Abq Jew website launches app in Albuquerque Business First.
Note: Abq Jew arrived in Albuquerque in 2010, not - as the article claims - in 2001.


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How Can I Get The App?
Easy! Click here!


Click here to try out the Abq Jew App and see how it works.

When you're ready -
click here for the Google / Android version,
or click here for the Apple / iPhone version.

     


Hag Sameach, Albuquerque!
Good Yontif, New Mexico!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Rejoice! It's The Abq Jew App!

App Launching On Simchat Torah!  It is with great pleasure that Abq Jew announces the exciting development you've all been waiting for:

The Abq Jew App
Take Abq Jew with you - wherever you go!

abqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjew

Jewish Life in Albuquerque and Beyond?
There’s an app for that!

Abq Jew, the website (AbqJew.com) and blog (AbqJew.net) that have provided “a guide to Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond” for almost three years, is launching a new way to bring the Jewish community together – the Abq Jew App.

The Abq Jew App is available – for free download – from Google Play (for Android phones and devices) and from Apple iTunes (for iPhones and iPads).


Rabbi Arthur Flicker of Albuquerque’s Congregation B’nai Israel says
The Abq Jew App  What a wonderful addition to my iPhone! Abq Jew always keeps me up to date with happenings in our Jewish community. Now I have all of that information right on my phone. Thank you, Abq Jew!
Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld of Albuquerque's Congregation Albert says
I love the Abq Jew App! It makes accessing the Albuquerque Jewish community so much easier. Keep up the good work!
The Abq Jew App enables users to
  • Connect directly to the Abq Jew website and the Abq Jew blog, as well as to
    the Abq Jewish Events Calendar – the most complete in the Land of Enchantment.
  • Click on and view the videos that are regularly featured in the Abq Jew blog. 
  • Directly access the Abq Jew Twitter and Facebook feeds. 
  • Shop for arts, professional services, books, and – of course! – Abq Jew gear.
  • Interact with each other, sharing photos and information on the Abq Jew Fan Wall.
And Abq Jew's founder says
The Abq Jew App is pretty unique. Websites? Blogs? Sure, everyone’s got them. 
And the Abq Jew website and blog will always be great ways to find out what’s happening in the Jewish community of Albuquerque and beyond. 
But the Abq Jew App really takes it to the next level. This is cool.
abqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjew

Why An Abq Jew App?

To make it as easy and convenient as possible
to access complete and accurate information
on Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond.


Click here to read Abq Jew website launches app in Albuquerque Business First.
Note: Abq Jew arrived in Albuquerque in 2010, not - as the article claims - in 2001.


abqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjewabqjew

How Can I Get The App?
Easy! Click here!


Click here to try out the Abq Jew App and see how it works.

When you're ready -
click here for the Google / Android version,
or click here for the Apple / iPhone version.

     


Hag Sameach, Albuquerque!
Good Yontif, New Mexico!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

92nd Street Y Comes to Albuquerque!

92Y Live via Satellite: The Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque and Congregation Albert invite you to participate - in person and by satellite - in the first of an exciting series of live offerings by New York's 92nd Street Y.


Malcolm Gladwell
When Underdogs Break the Rules
Albuquerque JCC
Tuesday October 1, 2013 ~ 6:00 pm
Registration: $5 Advance; $8 Door. Click here to register.


Why are we so often surprised when underdogs win? Do Goliaths make mistakes in spite of their strength — or because of it? Why are the childhoods of people at the top of so many professions marked by deprivation?

Malcolm Gladwell uncovers the hidden rules that shape the balance between the weak and the mighty.

Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine since 1996.

He is the author of several books including, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, (2000), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), and Outliers: The Story of  Success (2008).

His new book is David and Goliath.

Remember Rabbi David Wolpe (see David Wolpe Takes A Stand)? Rabbi Wolpe says (in Tablet Magazine) that


Who is right? 
Come to the 'J' and find out!
and/or see
Alan Dershowitz & Jeffrey Toobin
Ari Shavit & David Remnick
in November!


A New Milestone: 1,000 Facebook Likes

To Life! To Life! L'Chaim!  On September 24, 2013, the Abq Jew Facebook Page achieved 1,000 Likes.


So, Abq Jew knows you business owners and organization leaders are asking

How does Abq Jew (an entirely online venture)
serve the Jewish community of Albuquerque and beyond
and fit into my marketing plan?

Here's a breakdown of the latest numbers for AbqJew.com (the website):

  • The Abq Jew Web gets more than 2,800 pageviews per month
  • Abq Jew has an email list of 260+; plus 1,000 Facebook page likes; 200+ Twitter followers; and 230+ LinkedIn connections
  • The AbqJew.com Alexa Traffic Rank is less than 500,000 - very competitive for the Albuquerque market
  • Google’s #1 search engine consistently produces AbqJew.com high up on page 1

And here's a breakdown of the latest numbers for AbqJew.net (the blog):

  • The Abq Jew Blog gets more than 7,000 pageviews per month; more than 250 per day; more than 115,000 all-time
  • Each Abq Jew Blog post is syndicated to FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedIn, and Duke City Fix 
  • The AbqJew.net Alexa Traffic Rank is less than 450,000 - very competitive for the Albuquerque market
  • Google’s #1 search engine consistently produces AbqJew.net high up on page 1

Here is a more complete discussion of

Why You Should Advertise With Abq Jew


There's more Abq Jew news coming!
Here's a preview!


Advertisers! Give Abq Jew a call!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Drasha Diamond Number 4

Yom Kippur 2013: Earlier this month (see Drasha Diamond Number 3 and Drasha Diamond Number 2) and back in April (see Drasha Diamond Number 1), Abq Jew highlighted three exceptional drashot that he felt deserved to be brought to the attention of a wider audience.

And Abq Jew invited any and all of the reported 24 ordained rabbis who currently reside in the Land of Enchantment to join in the fun.

This time, Rabbi Larry Karol of Temple Beth El, Las Cruces rose to the challenge and offered his High Holiday drashot - those written and unwritten, delivered and not yet delivered. You can read them all on the Rabbi Larry Karol blog, and they're all good.

So how, Abq Jew hears you ask, did he choose which drasha to feature here? Well ...


On Sukkot - at the same time that our House of Representatives was voting to
  • severely cut the SNAP (food stamp) program that is the last safety net
    keeping millions of Americans above the poverty line; and
  • deny health care to millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans
we twice(!) read (Leviticus 23:22) in synagogue:

וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶתעקְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם, לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ בְּקֻצְרֶךָ
 וְלֶקֶט  קְצִירְךָ, לֹא תְלַקֵּט; לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם, אֲנִי ה׳ אלקיכם
When you reap the harvest of your land,
you shall not reap to the very corners of your field
nor gather the gleaning of your harvest;
you are to leave them for the needy and the alien;
I am the LORD your God

This drasha - another jewel - touches on similar themes of ethics and social justice. It is reprinted here by permission. Rabbi Karol's got the copyright; all rights reserved.


Drasha Diamond Number 4
Yom Kippur Morning 2013

Rabbi Larry Karol
Temple Beth El
Las Cruces

Listening
to the Cries and Calls of Humanity
We cannot merely pray to You, O God,
to banish war,
for You have filled the world
with paths to peace
if only we would take them.
We cannot merely pray
for prejudice to cease
for we might see the good in all
that lies before our eyes,
if only we would use them.
We cannot merely pray to You
to end starvation:
for there is enough food for all,
if only we would share it.
We cannot merely pray to You:
“Cast out despair,”
for the spark of hope
already waits within the human heart,
for us to fan it into a flame.
We must not ask of You, O God,
to take the task that You have given us.
We cannot shirk,
we cannot flee away,
avoiding obligation for ever.
Therefore we pray, O God,
for wisdom and will, for courage
to do and to become,
not only to gaze
with helpless yearning
as though we had no strength.
So that our world may be safe,
and our lives may be blessed. 
[From Mishkan  T’filah, World Union Edition, as adapted from Siddur Lev Chadash, as adapted from a prayer by Jack Riemer, in New Prayers for the High Holy Days, Prayer Book Press of Media Judaica, Inc., 1971 – from Rosh Hashanah Morning Service draft, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2011]
This reading - written by Rabbi Jack Riemer over forty years ago - calls on us to respond through word and deed to the specter of war, to the persistence of hunger in our world, and to people who are overcome by disease, inequality, violence and discrimination.


The first step in taking action is hearing the cries of those who are in despair, who need our support to live in safety and freedom. Those calls for assistance often come first to the faith community, which is seen as a source of comfort and an agent of compassion and change.

In the past year, I have joined other religious leaders in meetings devoted to hearing those cries for help clearly and distinctly. We have tried to determine in those gatherings how clergy and congregants can effectively step forward to offer the appropriate answer to people in need.


In those meetings, I personally have heard about the plight of farm workers in New Mexico who are ill-treated and underpaid for their back-breaking work.


I have witnessed people lose their fight to keep their homes, where the bank chose foreclosure over the homeowners’ honest attempt to modify their loans.


I have spoken with members of communities where government officials had chosen to invest in jails rather than in schools.

Some of you have spoken with residents of Camp Hope who have a place to stay due to the good graces of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope as they wait for the possibility of being matched with a new place to live to call their own.

Donations flow from your hands to the Casa de Peregrinos food bank and El Caldito Soup kitchen every month, offering a gift of nutrition and warmth to local residents who depend on our generosity.

I have been in the presence of aspiring citizens seeking to be full-fledged Americans someday.

I attended a hearing at the immigration court in El Paso for a woman facing deportation who would have been separated from her children born on American soil. Due to a flood of calls from people in our area and around the country, and the wisdom of the court, her case was closed and she can remain as a member of the local community.

Susan Fitzgerald and I had the opportunity to meet some of the participants in a 285 mile walk for citizenship in California from Sacramento to Bakersfield. That walk ended by reaching its objective: a meeting with Congressman Kevin McCarthy. Even with major disagreements during their conversation, the congressman indicated his intention to continue open dialogue with the group
.
Some members of Congress continue to be focused on the “rule of law” in the current debate on immigration reform.


We, of all people, should remember that it was the “rule of law” that kept thousands of Jews from finding a haven in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Due to the immigration quotas established in 1921 and 1924, the waiting list was years long for Jews who sought visas to gain refuge in America. Some of them survived throughout World War II, but others perished in the Holocaust.

In this day and age, it is hard not to hear the cries and calls of humanity for genuine concern, for an outstretched hand that can offer support and hope.

The question is, what do we want them to hear from us? What should be the response of religious congregations? And how does Judaism shape our approach to the needs of society and the world?

One of my colleagues, Rabbi Dennis Ross, is a national advocate for reproductive choice.

In his book All Politics Is Religious,  Rabbi Ross characterized the voice of the faith community that he believes people would hope to hear. Before laying out those principles, he described the type of statements from religious leaders that too easily find their way into the headlines.  

Too often, he said, people link religion to the claims of certain clergy that a particular disaster, such as 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, happened because it was God’s punishment for a community’s moral failures.

We readily hear about religious groups insisting that state or national laws or the curriculum in our nation’s schools should match their own strict interpretations of biblical or religious law and values. Rabbi Ross suggested an alternative religious message that can bring about positive change based not in strict judgment but in loving and open concern for all people.

He proposed these principles that could guide congregations in their work in the community:
  • caring for the powerless;
  • softening harsh justice with compassion;
  • affirming a positive vision for the future;
  • upholding our right to make our own moral decisions, without the interference of strict secular laws;
  • and strengthening the separation between religion and government, while encouraging a variety of faiths to contribute their views, but in an atmosphere of mutual respect. 
Another leader in the American faith community supports Rabbi Ross’ idea of providing a new vision for positive change.

Rev. Jim Wallis is an evangelical Christian who attended a church in Detroit when he was growing up. His church focused on personal atonement for each member of the congregation.

The inaction of his congregation in reaching out to help struggling neighborhoods across town led him to see the necessity of working for social justice and equality if he hoped to make real the message of the prophets in the Bible.

In his book On God’S Side, Rev. Jim Wallis asserted, like Rabbi Ross, that religion has an important role to play in public life. Wallis explained that religion uses politics all too often to enforce its own viewpoint and its own interests, or tries to make its own beliefs and standards the law of the land.

Wallis asserted that religion is at its best when it leads and proactively sets the agenda for community action based in genuine concern for the welfare of all people.

Wallis focused on a set of central religious teachings that can direct our work for social justice, including:
  • caring most about what happens to the poor and vulnerable;
  • protecting human life and dignity;
  • promoting the actual health and well-being of families.
  • lifting up the people who have no political influence, including immigrants who remain undocumented, low-income families and children, and the poorest of the poor globally. 
From his unique position, Rev. Wallis is able to see the value in both conservative and liberal perspectives on how people can improve their lives. Wallis explained,
“I believe the best idea of the conservative political philosophy is the call to personal responsibility: choices and decisions about individual moral behavior, personal relationships, fiscal integrity, service, compassion, and security. And the best idea of the liberal philosophy is the call to social responsibility: the commitment to our neighbor, economic fairness, racial and gender equality, the just nature of society, needed social safety nets, public accountability for business, and the importance of cooperative international relationships.”  
To work for the ultimate goal, which Wallis calls the “common good,”  we need to be personally responsible and socially just.  Everyone needs to work together to combine the strengths of these philosophies in order to improve the quality of life for everyone.

Both Rabbi Ross and Rev. Wallis outlined values that resonate with people of many faiths as they seek to put their beliefs into practice in the greater community. The Torah and Haftarah readings in our services this morning and this afternoon echo many of those very principles that can lead us to work for positive change.

The Torah reading for this morning from Deuteronomy Chapters 29 and 30 envisions all of the community standing together,  people from all walks of life, all levels of status and importance, in a moment of equality.  They were all commanded to choose “life and good.” Today, we can choose to seek and work for “life and good” in our diverse community, focusing on human concerns for the common good that unite us.


In the Haftarah, the prophet Isaiah declared to his people that the fast that God wanted from them was not one where they meticulously fulfilled their ritual obligations and then oppressed their workers and sowed conflict among their neighbors. Isaiah assured his people that their light would shine in the darkness, their night would be bright as noon “if they removed the menacing hand, unlocked the shackles of injustice and bondage, made sacrifices for the hungry and satisfied the needs of the afflicted.”

In the Torah reading for this afternoon from Leviticus Chapter 19, we are commanded to be holy as God is holy through our actions that can further the common good.

This biblical “holiness code” directs us to honor our parents, share our food with the poor and stranger, judge our neighbor fairly, refrain from gossip, treat people of all ages with respect, practice honesty in business and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Verses 33 and 34 of Leviticus Chapter 19 proposed a universal version of the “golden rule”:
When strangers live with you in your land, you must not oppress them. The strangers who live with you shall be to you like citizens, and you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
This broadly based standard equated citizens and strangers in the context of a caring and welcoming community. I would imagine that my grandparents hoped for such a welcome when they immigrated to the United States. That principle from Leviticus can guide our approach to aspiring citizens who are now living among us.


The Haftarah reading for this afternoon further advocates for the values of openness and acceptance not only within a nation but also between nations and peoples. The prophet Jonah refused to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh to repent and change their lives because they weren’t Hebrews like he was.  He learned the hard way, after spending three days in the belly of a Dag Gadol, a big fish, that God’s love and compassion extended to everyone, no matter who they were or from whence they came.

The central values of today’s biblical readings form the core of our message to the world, creating a society based on honesty, equality, concern for all people, a willingness to listen and respond, and a sense that faith must lead us to extend a helping hand to offer timely comfort and action that can bring about positive change.
We do have our work cut out for us.

But I know that there are Temple members who are already involved in ongoing efforts to strengthen our communal safety net, to further equality, to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to assure that our city, county, state and country are welcoming enough to offer current citizens and aspiring citizens a sense of security and hope.


I believe that my role in the community, and the role of our congregation, is to apply the moral principles of the Torah and the ethical proclamations of the prophets to assure that our light will have a fighting chance to shine in the darkness, and our night will be bright as noon, because of the work we do for the common good of our fellow community members and of all humankind.

The words we recite today from the Tanakh can lead us to a place of light, hope, balance and mutual respect if we continue to open our ears to truly listen to each other and to hear the cries of people who need our help and support.

The prayers of Yom Kippur continue to call on us to consider how we will be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life in the coming year. We have it within each of us to share the light inside our souls that will provide warmth to our community and to a world that needs our open hands and open hearts.

Please join with me in a reading by James Conlon that calls on us to provide the world with healing and hope:
I know
that poverty must cease.
I know this through the brokenness
and conflict in my heart.
I know
that protest is my most prophetic act
and that the world is longing
for a new soul, a new healing moment.
I know
that when we awaken to our origins
and become truly human
we bring hope to the children
and to the earth.
I feel called today
to bring the people together to break the bread
and tell the story.
I feel called today
to be a mystic in action,
aligned to the dynamics of the universe.
I feel called today
to give my gift,
to listen to the heartbeat of the broken world;
to heal the fragmentation of people and planet.
I feel called today
to celebrate the wonder of creation
and respond to sacredness and the
challenges of life.
I feel called today
to participate in the work of my time,
to fall in love,
to feel at home.
I feel called today
to be inflamed with enduring hope,
to be at one with the universe,
to be touched by God.
I feel called today
To compose a new paragraph for life. 
[James Conlon, From the Stars to the Street, Novalis, 2007 – in Rosh Hashanah Morning Service draft, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2011]
May the paragraphs we write in our Book of Life lead us to infuse the world and our souls with goodness, holiness, blessing and peace.

=========================

Rabbi Karol joined Temple Beth-El on July 1, 2011 to serve as spiritual leader of the congregation.

He has extensive experience in Jewish education and communal activities, innovative worship services, Jewish musical creativity and interreligious and multicultural programs.

He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1981, and has served congregations in Dayton, Ohio for three years as assistant rabbi; 22 years as rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kansas; and five years as rabbi of Temple Israel in Dover, New Hampshire.

Rabbi Karol's work in schools, on community boards, on state commissions and as a major leader in local interfaith organizations have been the hallmarks of his service to the community. He received awards in Topeka from the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity and Research and the Living the Dream organization for his commitment to creating understanding in the community. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire presented him with the annual Spiritual Care Award in 2010.

In the past eight years, Rabbi Karol has become known for his musical contributions to Jewish life, both as a songwriter and performer. Many of his tunes have emerged from Scripture and have found an audience in Jewish and interfaith settings. He has released two compact disc recordings of original Jewish music, "Two are Better Than One" in 2003 and "A New Beginning" in 2005, and a songbook, "One Light Above: The Larry Karol songbook" in 2007. He has written many more songs that will, hopefully, find their way onto a new studio recording.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Margot's in New Mexico!

Las Cruces Wins! If you ask Abq Jew, this is the best New Mexico klezmer (and bluegrass!) news in years. And the news has arrived just in time for the Festival of Sukkot - the Season of Our Rejoicing!

Yes, it's true!
Margot Leverett is now in New Mexico!


Margot Leverett is one of the foremost clarinetists of the klezmer revival. Classically trained at Indiana University School of Music, she was a founding member of the Klezmatics in 1985 before moving on to establish a solo career.

Margot, "a klezmer clarinet virtuoso," was a staff instructor at KlezKamp for over 10 years, and has also taught at KlezKanada, Klezkamp West, KlezmerQuerque, and at colleges, music festivals, and Jewish organizations across the country and Europe.


Margot currently teaches clarinet at White's Music Box in Las Cruces, and is available in New Mexico (and anywhere in the world) for gigs, concerts, and workshops - solo, or with her group, the illustrious Klezmer Mountain Boys.

With whom - let's swing into Yontif!

.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Drasha Diamond Number 3

Rosh Hashanah 2013: Earlier this month (see Drasha Diamond Number 2) and back in April (see Drasha Diamond Number 1), Abq Jew highlighted two exceptional drashot that he felt deserved to be brought to the attention of a wider audience.

And Abq Jew invited any and all of the reported 24 ordained rabbis who currently reside in the Land of Enchantment to join in the fun. And here we go!

This drasha - by Rabbi Deborah J Brin of Congregation Nahalat Shalom, Albuquerque - is truly a jewel. It appears on the Rabbi's Reflections page of the beautiful, new Nahalat Shalom website, and is reprinted here by permission. Rabbi Brin's got the copyright; all rights reserved; may be used with attribution.


Drasha Diamond Number 3
Rosh Hashanah Morning 2013
Rabbi Deborah J Brin
Congregation Nahalat Shalom
Albuquerque

What Do We Stand For?

It has been eight years since I moved back to Albuquerque from Iowa.  In that time, I have found myself standing at Civic Plaza twice: both times were last month.  The most recent one was on Tuesday, August 27th.  It was the day that Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the Bernalillo County Clerk, began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

I was in the Court House that morning watching and cheering as couple after couple emerged with a license.  And I was thrilled to offer a blessing during the mass wedding at noon in Civic Plaza.  The excitement and the deep joy are still reverberating.



A week earlier I stood at Civic Plaza, too.  It was August 20th and I stood with about 300 other people, some of you were there, too. We had gathered to stand for protecting the rights of women to make decisions about their reproductive health and to rally against Operation Rescue’s presence in Albuquerque.


While in Albuquerque, they had assembled outside the Holocaust Museum, where they outrageously appropriated and twisted the use of the word ‘holocaust’ for their own insensitive and hateful propaganda.  They consider that anyone born after 1973, after the Roe v. Wade decision, is a survivor of what they call the ‘American abortion holocaust’.


While here, they also mobbed a birthing center while a woman inside was in the process of giving birth.  And they carried on outside a physician’s home for several hours, yelling that he should stop providing abortions, and that he should convert to Christianity.

=========================

This is a departure from my usual style of sermon for the High Holy Days.  I tend to avoid speaking of political issues from the pulpit, mindful that we have a multiplicity of views, opinions, positions and stances on the issues that affect us whether they are close by or far afield.  We do not all agree about the conglomerate of issues surrounding women’s reproductive health, birth control and abortion.


 With Operation Rescue targeting our city I cannot be silent.  My purpose in speaking today is three-fold: to teach about these concerns from a liberal Jewish perspective; to urge each one of us to think about where we stand on these issues; and to urge us to take action.

Another personal story: One of the things that you may not know about me is that when I was born, I was three months premature.  I weighed 2 pounds 5 ounces.  The year was 1953.  They didn’t even have incubators yet, so they put me in something called an isolette.

One of the doctors gave my mother devastating advice: he told her to go home and play with her other children because it wasn’t a viable birth.  A few days later, the head nurse, a woman, told my mother that I was a fighter and I was going to survive.  I grew up hearing stories about my birth, my fragile hold on life, and my fight to stay alive.


Interestingly, from the perspective of Jewish law, my precarious birth story is illustrative.  What is ‘viability’ when dealing with pregnancies and babies?  And when is a person considered to be a person?  In order to answer those questions, I’m going to introduce you to some key legal concepts in our Jewish tradition.

Let’s start with the Book of Genesis.  We have two creation stories for human beings.
  • In the first one, on the sixth day of creation, God makes human beings in God’s image; they were male and female.   [Gn.1:27].  
  • In the second story, [Gn.2:7 – 25] God decides to make a human being and forms a human body from the dust of the earth.  The Hebrew word for earth is “adamah” and the word for this first earthling is “adam”.  The text says that: “God formed man [sic] from the dust of the earth. [God] blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”
This idea, that God blew the breath of life into that primordial human creature is critical, as is the idea that it was the breath of life that made it a living being.


The Hebrew is “nefesh chaya”, a living being.  “Nefesh” is also one of the Hebrew words for soul.  In Jewish thought, a fetus becomes a person, is a ‘nefesh’ at birth.

To be specific, once the baby’s head has emerged from the birth canal, or if it is a breach birth and a majority of its body has emerged, it is then considered to be a separate person, a nefesh, with its own legal status.  Prior to that moment, it is considered to be a part of its mother’s body and has no legal status. [B. Talmud Hulin 58a; Gittin 23b].

Christian theologians are very concerned with the idea of ‘ensoulment’, the question of when does human genetic material begin to have a soul?  By and large, the ones that are fighting to have their beliefs codified into our legal system within the United States are those who affirm that conception, the moment when the egg and the sperm unite, is also the moment when the soul is united with the physical aspect.

This is quite a different principle than the Jewish one - that the baby receives its soul when the head completely emerges from the birth canal and breathes.

A story is told in the Talmud [Niddah 30b] about how we got the indentation [philtrum] between our mouth and our nose. It is said that while we are in the womb, an angel comes and teaches us all of Torah.  As our head is emerging from the birth canal, that same angel places its finger in that spot and causes us to forget all the Torah we learned in utero. Some say that that is why we are so hungry to learn, because we are left with an imprint and a yearning for what we once knew.  A lot happens when we emerge from the womb!

The Talmud and subsequent law codes and legal authorities express a variety of legal opinions about abortion.  Even so, it is a unanimous principle that if the mother’s life is in danger, abortion is not only permitted, but it is required.

Why? Because of the legal principle that

existing life takes precedence over possible life; 

that is, the life of the mother takes precedence over the life of the unborn fetus.

This is a quote from the Mishnah:
“If a woman [has life-threatening] difficulty in childbirth, one [aborts]   . . . [the fetus] within her . . . because her life takes precedence over its life . . . “[Mishnah Ohalot 7:6].
In the passage just quoted from the Mishnah, the time of danger for the woman comes during the childbirth process itself.  In these situations, when the pregnancy or delivery is dangerous to the mother, the fetus is considered to be a ‘pursuer’.

The Hebrew is ‘rodef’, and in most, but not all cases in the Torah, it means someone who is pursuing another person in order to kill them.

Maimonides, referred to in our tradition by the acronym “Rambam” was an extremely influential Sephardic rabbi. Born in Cordoba, he also lived in Morocco and Egypt.

Rambam stands for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, Rabbi Moses, the son of a man named Maimon.

He was a teacher, an astronomer and a court physician who lived during the 12th century. The Rambam’s legal opinions are still quoted today as the basis for current decisions.

The Rambam said:
“It is known to be a negative precept in the Torah not to take pity on the life of a rodef [a pursuer seeking to kill someone].  
Therefore, the Sages ruled that when a fetus is causing great travail to a woman in childbirth it may be removed from her womb, either through drugs or by [surgery], for the fetus is like a rodef, a pursuer trying to kill her.  
However, once its head has emerged, the fetus may not be harmed, for one does not reject one life for another.” [Yad, Hilkhot Rozeah U’Sh’mirat Nefesh, I, 9.]
Many legal authorities since the time of the Talmud have understood that the danger a woman faces from the fetal ‘rodef’ could be at anytime during the pregnancy up to labor and the beginning of delivery - - up until the moment when the baby’s head emerges from the birth canal.

Legal questions arise: how dangerous is dangerous? 
When is a woman’s life considered to be at risk?
Are there other valid reasons for aborting a pregnancy?

There are many different legal opinions about what amount of maternal distress is considered dangerous and whether the danger referred to is only physical, or if mental, emotional and sociological stresses can be considered valid as well.


Because the legal system of the modern State of Israel is based on traditional Jewish law, recent legal decisions can be very informative.  In 1955, Rabbi Unterman, who was then the Chief Rabbi of Israel, broadened his interpretation of what a life-threatening situation might be for a pregnant woman.  In addition to physical danger to her life, he included “extreme mental anguish” as well.  [Marital Relations, Birth Control and Abortion in Jewish Law David M. Feldman, p. 284 ff].

Modern Israel has a socialized medicine system.  Since the Talmud permits abortions, they must be available in Israel.  In 1977, laws about the termination of pregnancy were passed.  They outlined the legal criteria for when the State would provide a low-cost or free abortion and when the woman or her family would have to pay for it. [Evolving Halakhah Rabbi Dr. Moshe Zemer, p.335ff]

Two of those criteria for a free abortion were:
  • if she could show that continuing the pregnancy would damage her physical or emotional health; and,
  • if she was living in economic hardship.
Due to pressure from ultra-religious parties, three years later, in 1980, economic hardship was removed from the law as a valid reason to be provided with a free abortion.  It was not eliminated as a valid reason to abort a pregnancy, only that the State would not pay for it. [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Health/abort1.html].

It is interesting to note that these legal changes in Israel were in process shortly after the United States Supreme Court made its decision in the Roe v Wade case.

Here, In the United States, in the 60’s and 70’s, the debates swirled around whether a woman could make choices about her own body and its reproductive capacities, or whether women should be required by law to carry a pregnancy to full-term.


Remember, a critical difference between Catholic and Jewish views are that Catholics believe that the fertilized egg is a person and Jews believe that the fetus becomes a person at birth.

When talking about the legal debate in the United States around the issues of contraception, the morning after pill, access to abortion providers, and the health care concerns of women of reproductive age, this difference is critical.
  • Whose theology is going to be embedded in the US legal system? 
  • Should the dogmatic Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants be allowed to dictate to all women, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof?  
  • Should their theology be allowed to trump the health care decisions of doctors, midwives and nurses?  
  • What about our principle in the United States of separating Church and State?
I know that not everyone here agrees about abortion. I also know that whether it is one’s own choice or whether one is called upon to give advice and support to a family member or friend, when faced with the reality and immediacy of the need to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to full term or to terminate it, we would not all agree and we would not make the same decision or advise others in the same way.


These are horribly difficult and challenging decisions to make, and no matter what the outcome of the decision, no one I have ever spoken with has taken it lightly.

What I hope we can all agree on is the need to shore up and strengthen the civility, respect and tolerance in our religiously diverse State of New Mexico. 

I hope that we can all agree that we need to participate in our legal process; to vote in elections large or small, and if moved to do so, to help others register to vote and get to the polling stations. I hope that we can all agree that the strategies and tactics of Operation Rescue are odious and abhorrent.

What are the strategies and tactics that Operation Rescue employs? They target a city and systematically harass, intimidate and terrorize the medical providers, the staff and those who seek care from places like Planned Parenthood and other clinics that focus on women’s reproductive health concerns.

I hope that we can all agree that we will stand together to stop Operation Rescue if they come back to New Mexico.

========================= 

Why, on Rosh HaShannah, would I be advocating that we stand together against Operation Rescue? Because one of the prayers that is traditionally a part of the Rosh HaShannah service became so popular that it was incorporated in every prayer service that we have.


Which prayer?  The Aleinu prayer. It is customary for those who are physically able to stand, to do so for this prayer.

We stand for other prayers, too:  The Borechu, the call to worship; the Shema – the declaration that All is One; the Amidah - - the prayer whose name means ‘the standing prayer’, and the Mourner’s prayer, the Mourner’s Kaddish.

Why do we stand? We stand out of respect. We stand to acknowledge our smallness over against the vastness and Oneness of the Cosmos. When we stand up, we change our posture from sitting to standing in order to concentrate our physical and mental energies on what we are doing; on the words we are saying and the ideas contained in them.

The first word of the Aleinu prayer is, ‘aleinu’. What does that mean? It means, ‘it is upon us’.

Unlike English, Hebrew is a very compact and efficient language. It takes the preposition “upon” and adds to it a plural ending. “Al” in Hebrew, means on or upon or up, and the ending, ‘nu’ means us.

So that one word, aleinu, means: it is upon us, or it is up to us. What is upon us? What is up to us?

 It is up to us to praise God, the Sovereign of All, the Life of All the Worlds, the Light of the Universe, our Higher Power.

This Rosh HaShannah, we are called upon to reflect on who we are and what we stand for. Think about when in your own lifetime, you have stood up for something. Stood up to someone, perhaps an overbearing adult or a bully.

What difficulties have you had to withstand? When do you find yourself thinking “I can’t  stand this”? When and where did you put your own body on the line? Under what circumstances might you be called to do so again?

These are not just theoretical questions. It gets pretty personal.

Operation Rescue aroused the ire of the Jewish community by picketing outside and leafleting inside the Holocaust and Intolerance Museum. The birthing center they targeted is just up the street from our synagogue, the Dar a Luz birth and health center on 4th street in Los Ranchos.


The home of the physician that they targeted was the home of our congregants and their three sons. He is a family medicine doc and she is a nurse and midwife. They both focus on helping pregnant women and newborns. He is a researcher and teaches medical students at UNM. He specializes in how to deal with complicated pregnancies and newborn care as the primary focus of his practice. And, yes, occasionally he is called upon to perform abortions.

Aleinu – it is up to us.  

This Rosh HaShannah we are called upon to take a stand: to change our posture: to concentrate our physical, emotional and mental energies, to take a stance.

Aleinu - It is up to us:
  • To stand for the memories of our martyrs
  • To stand against the misuse and misappropriation of the Holocaust
Aleinu - It is up to us:
  • To stand for the preciousness of life and the amazing ability to create new life
  • To stand for the protection, nourishment, education and support of the children who are already here
  • To stand against the reduction of complex theological and political issues to the positions held by those who terrorize and intimidate
Aleinu - It is up to us:
  • To stand for women having access to the information and health care they need and are legally entitled to receive
  • To stand for peaceful neighborhoods and being safe in the privacy of our own homes
It is up to us to take stands again and again.  And if Operation Rescue or its offshoot organization comes back here, I will stand against them at gatherings of like-minded people.


I hope we will be standing together.

=========================

Rabbi Deborah J Brin lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she is the spiritual leader of Congregation Nahalat Shalom.

It is a wonderful shidduch, and both she and the congregation are thriving. Rabbi Brin has had a rich and varied career within the rabbinate, she has served as: a geriatric chaplain, hospice chaplain, college chaplain and pulpit rabbi.

Her career has taken her to Philadelphia, Toronto, Grinnell and Albuquerque. Wherever she has gone, she has helped to create vibrant Jewish life by connecting people to each other and our shared traditions, teaching, counseling, creating new rituals for celebration and healing, empowering others to lead, and encouraging laughter and fun.

She is known for finding ways to bridge differences, increase inclusiveness and diversity and mitigate turf issues. While in Toronto she helped establish a community mikveh, and in Albuquerque she started a Hevra Kaddisha Society and is the founding president of the Rabbinical and Cantorial Association of Albuquerque [RACA].