Archive for the '2 Yom Kippur' Category

Camp Transforms Me to We

Published September 25, 2012 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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During Yom Kippur we pray the “Al Chet” confession of sins ten times. We repeat again and again the phrase, “On the sin we have sinned…”.  While there is a lot to be said about the particular sins that we are trying to atone for with this prayer, it is notable that the prayer is not in the first person singular but in the voice of “we”.  While enforcing collective punishment can be unjust, taking collective responsibility is transformative. Before we can talk about repairing our own sins, we have to spend some time repairing our sense of being part of a collective. We might struggle to get into the rhythm and tunes of the High Holidays because we have spent the rest of the year listening to our own playlists. In many ways, we are all still bowling alone.  Judaism might have lost being sticky because society in general has lost its glue.

One of the amazing aspects of Jewish camp is that it is a special place where community really comes together. And this past summer, we saw examples of camps working together on new initiatives to further expand on that idea of community. First, URJ’s Henry S. Jacobs Camp (a Reform camp based in Mississippi) and Camp Darom (an Orthodox camp based in Memphis) came together to celebrate the 4th of July (see story). We also saw a joint Maccabiah games for teens from the leadership programs of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) and teens from BBYO (see story). An amazing Matisyahu concert at NJY camps (Camp Cedar Lake) gathered campers from URJ Kutz Camp, Habonim Dror Camp Na’aleh, and Camp Tel Yehudah (see story).  Through these camps, an amazing “we” is developing.

When I think about the “Al Chet”,it is easy to get stuck thinking about all the bad things that I did last year. However, when I look back on this summer, I am inspired. It is at camp that the kind of community that teaches us to speak in the first person plural is created. Camp is a place where all of the “me’s” can be transformed into a “we”. Together we can accomplish anything.

May we all have a very meaningful New Year.

- from FJC Blog

Sacrifices of Israel

Published September 25, 2012 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized 2 Comments
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Like most years as I am getting ready for Yom Kippur I try to think through and make sense of the liturgy. And as always, I get stuck at the Avodah, which retells the Temple Yom Kippur sacrifice. It is hard to imagine being into it even if I was actually at the service in the Temple. Thousands of years later and in a synagogue which does not resemble the Temple it is really hard to relate. It seems that I am just out of touch with the sacrifices.

This past Sunday I read in the New York Times of the passing of Haim Hefer.  He was one of the great song writers from the founding of  the State of Israel.  Curious to learn about the impact that he had on Israeli music I looked into some of his writings. I was amazed to see how many of the songs that I took for granted as always being there were actually penned by him. I believe the most famous of these was Hafinjan. Please feel free to watch this classic video:

I always thought it was simply a song about a coffee pot until I read the lyrics. There he wrote:

The cool wind blows,
we’ll add a chip to the campfire,
and thus in scarlet
it will rise in the flames like a sacrifice.
the fire flickers,
its song rises up
the coffee pot spins, spins around.

The fire will whisper to the chip,
our faces grow so red by the fire
if more fuel is prepared for us
from every broken branch stub in the garden,
every tree and log
will sing so softly
the coffee pot spins, spins around.

When looking at the lyrics we see that this song was not written as a simple song of the Founding Fathers of Israel to sing around the camp fire. In a profound way Hefer was evoking the Temple sacrifice. Over time the fire which was “like a sacrifice” made their faces grow “red by the fire”. Hefer was not just playing with the language of the Temple in the reestablishment of a Jewish State, he was pointing us to the huge sacrifice made by that generation.  We need to make sure that we do not take their sacrifices for granted. Unfortunately for many of us it is as hard to relate to the sacrifices of that generation as the sacrifices of the Temple.  This Yom Kippur I will try to rekindle my connection to all of the sacrifices of Israel.

Preparing a Clean Slate

Published September 7, 2012 2 Yom Kippur , 5.07 Ki Tavo Leave a Comment
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At the start of Ki Tavo, this week’s Torah portion, we read, “And it shall be, when you come in to the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and do possess it, and dwell therein” ( Deuteronomy 26:1)With these opening words we are reminded where we were in the bigger story. A generation of slaves had escaped Egypt and went on to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. Amidst their time in the desert they and their children are warned what they will need to do when they finally get into the Promised Land. While they were free in the desert, their ultimate autonomy will only be achieved when they are a free people in their own land (If you feel that you need to stop and sing Hatikvah I would not be upset). At this point in the story they are still in preparation. There we read:

1 And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying: ‘Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. 2 And it shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan into the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up great stones, and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write upon them all the words of this Torah, when you are passed over; that you may go in into the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you.(Deuteronomy 27:1-3)

Slaves do not own their own property, children, time,  or even their own narrative. It takes a certain power to be able to write your own history. In a profound way autonomy is bound up in the very idea of authorship. It seems fitting that these freed slaves write their narrative on these rocks when they enter the Promised Land. Not only is it empowering, it allows the People of the Book to frame the entire land of Israel in the context of their story.

Having their story be shared in public and in a permanent way is powerful, but  we could easily overlook the media for the message. The very process of preparing these large rocks is a critical part of the story. They were instructed to take rocks and establish them as monuments. They had to take these rocks that would have been otherwise overlooked and prop them up. After doing this they needed to prepare them to be written on and only  then could they write the Torah on them. This process seems to run paralleled to the very process of downtrodden slaves becoming free people. First they needed to be lifted up. Then they needed to be cleaned off and prepared to tell their own narrative. It is only after this process that they , the people  and the rocks, are prepared to share the story.

In our Torah portion we read about the people waiting for the time when they will prepare these rocks to tell their story.  In a deep way this also runs parallel to where we are now in the calendar. Elul represents a similar time when we need to pick ourselves up, start cleaning ourselves up in preparation for Tishrei. Yom Kippur, is the Day of Atonement during which we do Kaparah. Kaparah means to atone, but it also means to cover over. Similar to the large rocks that get a covering of plaster so we can write our collective story, Yom Kippur is a day on which we are freed from the slavery of our sins. It is on that day that our sins are covered over so we can write a new narrative for the coming year.

How are we preparing ourselves to have a clean slate? What story do we want to write this coming year?

We all have some work to do before we may be inscribed and sealed for a good year. Gmar Chatima Tova

The Subtle Sound of Purpose

Published October 7, 2011 1 Rosh HaShanah , 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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With Rosh Hashanah behind us and Yom Kippur right around the corner I am sure that I am not alone in trying to start this year in a meaningful way. It is hard to escape the haunting language of the un’taneh tokef. There is one line from that prayer that I just could not get out of my head. We read time and again, “uvashofar gadol yitaka, v’kol d’mama daka yishama – The great shofar will be sounded, and the still small voice will be heard.” To quote P.D. Eastman “Big dogs need big beds and little dogs need little beds.” I would have assumed that a big shofar would be used to make a big noise. What are we to make of this little sound that is coming out of this big shofar?

According to Jewish Law, every fifty years we celebrate the Jubilee in which we release all slaves, land, and debts. The sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah last week announced the jubilee year, and the sound of the shofar on Yom Kippur will proclaim the actual release of financial encumbrances. It would not be so bold to claim that this great Shofar sound itself was the freedom we experience on this Jubilee year spiritually and physically.

And this “still small voice: is an allusion to the revelation Elijah experienced at Sinai. After traveling for forty days and forty nights, Elijah is the first person after Moses to return to Sinai. When he got there he took shelter in a cave and God asked him what he is doing there. Elijah evaded the question. God asked Elijah to go outside the cave and “stand before the Lord.” A terrible wind passed, but God was not in the wind. A great earthquake shook the mountain, but God was not in the earthquake. Then a fire passed the mountain, but God was not in the fire. Then a “still small voice” comes to Elijah and asks again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:13)

In many ways the essence of these High Holy Days is our being able to answer Elijah’s question. Why are we here? Whether that is in synagogue, at a family gathering, or on this planet, all of us need to think about why we are here. Even if you do not have an answer to this question, can we imagine what it might feel like to have one? How liberating would that be? Living a life with purpose might not be flashy or make a huge noise, but it will surely free us from a meaningless existence.

Seeing that this is the time of year that we are all doing our personal accounting, I have to ask myself why I work for the Foundation for Jewish Camp. This past summer I asked a camp director how we might measure success for his campers after spending the summer at his camp. He responded, “Well I am not sure this is what you are looking for, but many parents have reported that they are getting more hugs from their children.” As we get ready for Yom Kipper we are all thinking about being accountable. I think we should hear the sound of the great Shofar and listen up for the small stuff. For many campers, camp is the first time in their lives that they have the feeling of belonging. Camp is where they will discover their purpose. While it might seem subtle, as a parent I can tell you that knowing my children live with purpose is profound and resonating sound of freedom.

Gmar Chatima Tova – Have a good and significant ending.

-See Foundation for Jewish Camp Blog

Serious Man

Published September 17, 2010 1 Rosh HaShanah , 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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As we come to the close of the 10 days of Repentance and are gearing up for Yom Kippor it seems appropriate to share a reflection on the movie a Serious Man. When the film came out it was  lauded as the modern, or at least the 1950′s version, of the story of Job in the Bible. The comparison is obvious both Job and Larry Gopnik, the main character of the movie, seem to be punished despite not doing anything wrong. It clearly tests our notion of divine justice.

What is compelling about the film is the scene pictured above. Mr. Gopnik goes to his roof to fix the TV reception and ends up ogling his neighbor sunbathing. Mr. Gopnik does not cheat on his wife with this woman, in fact it is his wife who is cheating on him. It just seems to underscore the pathetic nature of his life. This image of him on the roof asks us to compare him to David for a moment. It was David who got into trouble when he went out onto his roof and saw Uriel’s wife Batsheva. David had an adulterous affair with Batsheva and is still remembered throughout history as the paradigmatic king and the for-bearer to the Messiah.  David is able to recover from doing sin because the sin itself becomes the platform for growth. Mr. Gopnik does nothing wrong, but he also seems to do nothing.

My grandfather used to say, “If you are afraid of making mistakes, stay in bed, then you have only made one mistake.” The shofar on Rosh HaShana was the wake up call to get us out of bed. Yom Kippur is our platform to repair ourselves and our relationships. We need to reconcile the fact that to act in the world means to make mistakes. We need to strive for excellence and repair those mistakes. We need to take our actions seriously, not ourselves. Gmar Chatima Tova

Loving Elul

Published August 18, 2010 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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With the advent of Elul, we start looking ahead toward the High Holidays or more specifically Yom Kippur. Recently I was struck  by the preponderance of people I know who are getting married this month. It is explained that the bride and broom are judged on their wedding day as if it were Yom Kippur. On the day of their wedding it is customary for them both to fast and for the man to wear a kitel under the huppah. This is the same garment that he wears on Yom Kippur. He dresses up as an angel, white and free from sin.

It seems to me that you could also see it the other way around. That the husband wears the kitel on Yom Kippur in that it reminds him of his wedding day. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel is reported to have said, ” On Tisha B’ Av- how could you eat? On Yom Kippur who needs to?”  Tisha B’Av is a day of national tragedy. Eating would separate you from the rest of your nation.  How could you eat? On Yom Kippur you are in love. It is like your wedding day. You are about to create a lasting bond with your life partner. You are so head over heals, how can you imagine eating? While few of us are blessed to be getting married in this season, we all are moving from Elul toward Yom Kippur.  I hope that we all find a way to connect to that love.

This message seems to be encoded in the very spelling of the month of Elul.  Elul is an acronym for the beginning of this quote from Song of Songs:

אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי, הָרעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים

Ani Ledodi V‘dodi Li- I am my beloved’s And my beloved is mine;       He browses among the lilies.(Song of Songs  6:3)

Yom Kippur is coming, but do not think of sin and guilt. Think of standing with your life partner. Love is in the air in Elul.

ME to WE

Published September 25, 2009 2 Yom Kippur , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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me > we

me > we

During Yom Kippur we pray the “Al Chet” confession of sins ten times. ” On the sin we have sinned…” We repeat again and again.  While there is a lot to be said about the particular sins that we are trying to atone for with this prayer, it is notable that the prayer is not in the voice of me but in the voice of we.  Enforcing collective punishment is unjust, but taking collective responsibility is transformative. Before we can talk about repairing our sins, we have to spend some time repairing our sense of being part of a collective. We might struggle to get into the rhythm and tunes of the High Holidays because we have spent the rest of the year listening to our own play lists. In many ways we are all still bowling alone. Judaism might have lost being sticky because society in general has lost its glue. While we are struggling to attain capital to work our way out of the economic crisis, we also need to figure out a stimulus package for social capital.

I was recently looking online for some teachings from the Rebbe of social capital, Robert Putnam.  When I saw his list of 150 things you can do to increase social capital, I thought that this might be a good supplement to our “Al Chet” prayer. We need to learn to walk before we can run. I personally found it very meaningful and relevant.  Instead of just thinking about all the bad things that I did last year, we can together plan out what we hope to do together this coming year.  May we all have a very meaningful Yom Kippur.

So please think of printing this out and reading it ( not 10 times) on Yom Kippur.

Falling into Success

Published September 23, 2009 2 Yom Kippur , 5.09 Ha'azinu 1 Comment
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Blog Imagine of Lincoln

Lost job in 1832.
Defeated for state legislature in 1832.
Failed in business in 1833.
Elected to state legislature in 1834.
Sweetheart died in 1835.
Had nervous breakdown in 1836.
Defeated for Speaker in 1838.
Defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843.
Elected to Congress in 1846.
Lost renomination in 1848.
Rejected for land officer in 1849.
Defeated for U.S. Senate in 1854.
Defeated for nomination for Vice President in 1856.
Again defeated for U.S. Senate in 1858.
Elected President in 1860.

-         Abraham Lincoln

The difference between failing and falling is getting back up. It is clear that Lincoln had many set backs, but that did not dissuade him from seeking the highest position of power. Despite all of these failures, he is seen by most as a tremendous success.

This seems to be in counter distinction to the person of Moses. He successfully liberated his people from slavery in Egypt, received the Torah at Sinai, and led his people on a 40-year journey through the desert. Yet, despite his impressive resume it seems that Moses failed to accomplish his ultimate mission of bringing the people into the Promised Land. As we read in this week’s portion, HaAzinu, Moses will not get to lead the people into the land of Israel, because he trespassed against God among the Children of Israel at the waters of Meribat-Kadesh( Deuteronomy 32:51).

If I were Lincoln, I cannot imagine not having grown averse to taking risks after having failed so many times. So too, amidst all the success of Moses, he could have stopped and become complacent and declared himself a success long before he would have been confronted by failure. While both of them were very accomplished, looking at Lincoln and Moses side by side I have to ask are we more afraid of failing or of actually succeeding?

On Yom Kippur we will spend a lot of time thinking about our failures, but I think we should allow ourselves to be challenged by Moses’s drive to success after succeeding.  I think this challenge is captured in the poem by Marianne Williamson, “Our Greatest Fear”:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Both Lincoln and Moses liberated us from slavery. While some of us need to learn from Lincoln how to recover from failure, it would serve us all well to emulate Moses and push ourselves even higher. Yes continuing to push ourselves to the limit will necessarily mean ultimately falling short, but that is hardly failure.  As we start this New Year, it is important to not just focus on our failures. We should all take a moment and set a mission for the coming year.  Having a clear vision of what success looks like makes all of the challenges and distractions along the way seem less relevant. I am sure that we will not succeed at everything, but with some determination we might just fall into success.

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