Prayer for Educaton

Governor Martin O’Malley recently asked me to participate in the “National Day of Prayer.” I was asked to write a prayer for education. Here is the prayer I wrote and delivered on May 7, 2009.

We gather together today to pray for our nation and our community, for the well-being of the citizens and people of this great state.

We pray for guidance.
We ask that You accompany us and walk with us on our quest to find solutions to that which ails our society.

Help us find the answers to overcome the afflictions and challenges we face and to dispel the darkness of ignorance that can so easily engulf and overwhelm us.

Strengthen the will and resolve of those who teach.
Make them worthy instruments, conveyors and conduits of Your wisdom --

Help us to appreciate the generosity of their spirit and the importance of their work.
May we see and recognize the long hours and effort they expend to disseminate knowledge and how they thereby uplift and enrich and improve the lot of all.

Grant blessing to the students and disciples, as well:
to all who study, to all who engage in research and the pursuit of knowledge.

For Education is the key to unlocking the potential inside each and every one of God’s creatures.

Education is the key to enlightenment, to ameliorating suffering and to eradicating poverty, ignorance and prejudice.
Education opens new vistas, expands our horizons and gives birth to new worlds and endless possibilities and opportunities.

The Talmud asks: Who is wise?
And then answers its own question: One who learns from every human being.

So we pray:
May we be wise.
May we wise enough to learn from anyone and from everyone.

May the words of wisdom be sweet in our mouths and in the mouths of all your children so that all who engage in study shall find grace and fulfillment.

In the words of the ancient, yet contemporary Amidah prayer recited three times every day by Jews around the world:

Atah honen leadam da’at, You graciously endow mortals with intelligence, wisdom and understanding. Grant us knowledge, insights and discernment.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Praised are You, Lord, honen haDa’at, who graciously grants the gift of intelligence, knowledge and wisdom to all.

Letter to Director of Theater J

Dear Mr. Roth,

I have been reading about the controversy over the production, “Seven Jewish Children.” I find it most disturbing that our local JCC would want to put on a play with such negative portrayals of Israelis and Jews and such harsh judgment. Why not just put on a dramatization of “Protocols of the Elders of Zion?” There are more than enough people who hate Jews. We do not need to aid their causing by giving them extra ammunition. This play, which originally premiered in England, was deemed anti-Semitic by a theater in Ireland. It is beyond me why our own JCC would put on a production that is considered too toxic and anti-Semitic for a European venue. The fact that the author wanted all contributions to go to a fund for Palestinian children says a great deal about the orientation of the author and the intent of the play.

I would hope that more careful consideration is given to the impact of staging anti-Semitic plays.

Attack in Venezuela

After the recent attack and ransacking of a synagogue in Caracas, Venezuela, I went with another rabbi to the Venezuelan Embassy to meet with representatives of the government. We met with the Charge D’Affaires since there is currently no Venezuelan Ambassador here in Washington, as he was expelled sometime last year.

The attack was not the first time that the Jews in Chavez’s Venezuela have felt the brunt of anti-Semitism and been subjected to violent attacks. Chavez has issued highly inflammatory statements critical of Israel and has embraced, both literally and figuratively, Iran’s Jew hating president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We stated our belief that there is a connection between the highly inflammatory anti-Semitic rhetoric of Chavez and the atmosphere created by him.

I opened the meeting by telling the diplomats, “A midrash (a commentary on the Bible) likens the Jewish people to a lamb. It tells us that the lamb is a very delicate animal and that whenever any one part of the lamb is hurting, the entire lamb feels the pain. I then went on to say, “This is why we are here. We are here to express our concern for the plight of our fellow Jews. We are here to protest the way they are being treated. We are here because we feel their pain.”

To me, one of the unique aspects of being a Jew is to understand our responsibility to care for our fellow Jews, especially those who live in repressive countries. In this way, they are never alone, and we are truly a people.

Perhaps that is why it is no wonder that the representative said to us that immediately after the incident occurred, he told his staff to be prepared to hear from representatives of the American Jewish community.

Perhaps he also was aware of the midrash about the lamb.

Israel Ambassador Sallai Meridor

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States recently attended Shabbat services at our synagogue, Congregation B'nai Tzedek. He clearly is comfortable in a synagogue – something that unfortunately cannot be said for all Israeli diplomats.

It was truly an honor for us to have him at our services. His message was very a very simple and profound one. Ambassador Meridor told a story about Prime Minister Golda Meir who spoke to a group of American Jewish leaders during the height of the Yom Kippur war. Those of us who remember that time recall that it was a very dark period in Israel’s history, as Israeli troops were caught by surprise and the outcome was not yet definite. Golda told the delegation of American Jewish leaders that the best thing they could do would be, “Keep your children Jewish.”

That message is as true today as it was then. Hearing these words from the soft spoken Ambassador of Israel, especially in the context of a service when we celebrated the bar and bat mitzvah of two children, was especially poignant.

Weather & Elections in Israel

I recently returned from being in Israel. I was there when elections were held, the first elections which followed the recent campaign Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

The weather on Election Day was a strong downpour. And then, the morning after the elections a heavy fog covered much of the country. I couldn’t help but think the fog was a perfect metaphor – for the meaning and outcome of the elections was like the fog, also not clear.

A journalist friend of mine told me that the day before the election, a friend of his went into the hospital for hear surgery. Right before the operation, the surgeon asked the patient who he was going to vote for. The man, lying on the table, looked up at the doctor and said, “Whoever you are going to vote for.”

Nothing like democracy, even when the outcome is foggy.

Visiting Shuls While on Vacation

Many people tell me they like to visit synagogues when they are out of town or on vacation. I encourage you to do so. It is a great way to meet people and to see how much Jews have in common with each other, regardless of where we live.

While on vacation in Puerto Rico, I attended Friday night services at the Chabad synagogue and at the Conservative shul on Saturday morning. After Friday night services, we had a Shabbat dinner at the shul catered by the Rabbi’s wife. It gave us the chance to meet people from the Island and to enjoy the conversation afterwards. At the Kiddush after Saturday morning services, I met and schmoozed with and many nice people.

The Jewish journey is such that it has carried us through many lands throughout many ages. Some of the people I met told me that they had immigrated to Puerto Rico from Cuba in the 1960’s. Their families had originally come to Cuba as refugees from Turkey, and the Turkish migration was prompted by the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. It is amazing how Jews manage to preserve our identity despite all our travels and travails.

Not only did I enjoy services, have a couple of good meals, learn some history and meet some interesting people, but there was another benefit as well. That night my wife and I went to a local restaurant for dinner. As we were sitting there, in walked some of the folks I had met earlier in the day in shul. They warmly greeted us like old friends. Suddenly, because of going to Shabbat services while on vacation, I no longer felt as if I was a stranger who knew no one in a strange city. I felt connected to both some specific people and to being a part of the Jewish people.

The question, though, is if someone from out of town came and visited our synagogue, would they find you among the “locals” they would meet?

While Having Lunch with my Son

Sitting in a restaurant having lunch with my son recently, near a Metro stop, I noticed that most people walked by and ignored the Green Peace activists who were attempting to hand out their literature. I told my son that after we finished eating lunch, I was going to go and speak with them since it seemed that no one was giving them the time of day.

He told me that I shouldn’t waste my time on this, but instead could use my time better by studying Torah.

I explained that just that morning I had taught in our Wednesday morning Pirke Avot class the verse which says, “Always greet your fellow human beings with a friendly countenance.” By speaking to them, I was going to fulfill the mitzvah I had just taught earlier in the day.