Honoring Our Share in the Defense of Our Liberties -- Memorial Day 2018

Honoring Our Share in the Defense of Our Liberties --Memorial Day 2018  Over a century ago, in  1904, the Kishinev Pogrom shook the world. It shook us as Jews especially and shaped  the image we had of ourselves and the image the world had of us. It was epitomized by the great Hebrew poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik in Ir Ha Haregah-The City of Slaughter, here excerpted in translation:Come, now, and I will bring thee to their lairs  The privies, jakes and pigpens where the heirs  Of Hasmoneans lay, with trembling knees,  Concealed and cowering,—the sons of the Maccabees!  The seed of saints, the scions of the lions!  Who, crammed by scores in all the sanctuaries of their shame,  So sanctified My name!  It was the flight of mice they fled,  The scurrying of roaches was their flight;  They died like dogs, and they were dead!
We Jews died like dogs.This painful jab at our collective ego, together with the myth promulgated forty years later that, during the Shoah, we went as sheep to the slaughter, gave rise, in reaction, to the Shomer, the Haganah and Palmach, Etzl and Stern, and finally, the Israel Defense Forces.(Certainly, with the rise of the State of Israel, no one doubts the courage of the Jews of Israel. On the contrary, in an instance of “ You can’t win”, they are libeled with the accusation of baby killers, on a par with the accusation of “ Christ-killer”. Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate leader of the Palestinian Authority made a point of posing with a cartoon that made just that accusation).What created that image, that attitude, the we Jews, as a people, cowered in the corners?It is true that we Jews have been a generally peaceful, even pacific, as opposed to pacifistic, people. That is, that in the history of the last 1900 or so years, from the time of Bar Kochba, we have generally not focused on defense of our own self-interests through military force, not set out on territorial conquests for ourselves, nor have we adulated military might.However, this fact gave birth to the image, as I have heard it from Jews who have served in the armed forces of the US, that “Jews serve in the PX( the base exchange) ”. Or, as  my ex-Soviet friends told me, in WWII, it was commonly believed that” Jews served in Tashkent ( running away from the front, that is) .“ Considering, that especially in World War II, Jews served in numbers far beyond our share of the general population, this a very debasing attitude.It is true that we did not, as a collective whole, for many centuries, rise in our own defense. However, instead, we rose in defense of whatever country or ruler gave us shelter or protection.When faced with a great rebellion in Judea, the Roman Emperor Vespasian picked the best man qualified to put down the rebellion --an Alexandrian Jew (and nephew of the first great Jewish philosopher, Philo) Tiberius Julius Alexander-- to spearhead the Roman offensive in its effort to thwart the Jewish uprising.  Yes, even in hated Rome, Jews served in major military units and fielded their own Jewish divisions in different parts of the empire, up until after the rise of Christianity. It was only much later that the Emperor Justinian officially closed military service for all Jews in the mid sixth century when he imposed major oppressive laws in general against Jews, laws that continued in effect in Christian Europe till the start of the modern era.The Berbers of North Africa were led by a Queen, Damiya al Kahina, who held off the onslaught of Islam and the Arabs across North Africa. These were Jewish Berbers led by a Jewish queen- that was the claim made by Arab historians of the time.In Moslem Spain, in the 11^th century. the king of Granada made Samuel Hanagid( The Prince) ibn Nagrilah his vizier and general of his armies. That a Jew or dhimmi, could hold such a high public office was rare.
Jewish memory recoils at the accounts of the Chmielnicki uprising of Cossacks against their Polish Overlords, which resulted in the extensive massacre of Jews. What has been forgotten is the account of the Jewish forces  that fought to defend their Polish neighbors at that same time.Indeed, when we speak of Polish Jews, we have the image of the Jew as a poor, pitiable, and hapless “nebich”.What, then, shall we make of Dov Baer (Berek) Joselewicz of Kowno, who initially served in the Polish militia to fight the Russian annexation of Poland and then received permission from the Polish hero of liberty, Kościuszko, to form an all-Jewish unit. (Kościuszko himself was a colonel in America’s Continental Army against the British.)  Five hundred men were eventually accepted and formed  a cavalry regiment and were allowed to keep their religious customs, including eating kosher food, abstaining from combat on Shabbat when possible, and keeping their beards. Joselewicz's unit was popularly known as "the Beardlings.” He was followed in this path for Polish liberty by his son, Josef. He was honored by a postage stamp as a "A Jewish Fighter for Polish Freedom", issued jointly by Polish and Israeli postal services.In the farthest regions of the Arabian peninsula, in Hadramaut ( Death Valley) there was a group of Jews, Habanni,  who went about fully armed and untouched by their Muslim neighbors. This was as different as day and night from the humiliation with which the Jews of Yemen were treated. When King Adbullah , the first King of Jordan, wanted  personal bodyguards, he counted on a family of Habbani Jews, not on  his fellow Hashemite Bedouin, for his personal security.Those of you who have family members who served in WWII in the Soviet armed forces are familiar with the array of medals that are proudly displayed on Victory Day to mark the collapse of Nazi Germany. The numbers of those who served and who were injured or killed far outweighed their proportion of the population .Some 500,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the Red Army during World War II. Some 120,000 were killed in combat and in the line of duty; the Germans murdered 80,000 as prisoners of war. More than 160,000, at all levels of command, earned citations, with over 150 designated as “Heroes of the Soviet Union”,the highest honor awarded to soldiers in the Red Army.
In all, about 1.5 million Jews fought in Allied armies, including 500,000 in the Red Army, 550,000 in the American army, 100,000 in the Polish army and 30,000 in the British army. That amounted to one out of every 10 Jews at that time, or almost the entire population of Jews of fighting age. ( Information culled from multiple sources and  Yad Vashem)Now, for our service to America.In colonial times, the Jewish population numbered some 2,500 and was scattered throughout the country. Yet in the Revolutionary War, many Jews were in General George Washington’s Continental Army.
Lt. Col. Solomon Bush, who was decorated for bravery in battle, was the highest ranking Jewish officer, his brother, Captain Lewis Bush was mortally wounded, and he himself received a near-fatal wound.  Francis Salvador was nicknamed the “Paul Revere of the South” because on July 1, 1776, he mounted his horse and rode 30 miles to warn the settlers that the Cherokee Indians, incited by the British, were attacking the frontier.Mordecai Sheftall acquired the reputation as the “great rebel” in fighting the British in the South.In the War of 1812, Jews were involved on land and sea in fighting the British. Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy served as a sailing master who directed the line of fire during battle. Levy is credited with bringing about the abolition of corporal punishment or flogging in the Navy. During his service in the Navy, he was court-marshaled and found guilty six times by anti-Semitic naval officers and, each time the verdict was overturned. He was finally promoted to the rank of commodore.  During the Civil War, six Jews  were recipients of the prestigious Medal of HonorIn World War I, there were more than 250,000 Jews who answered America’s call to action: over 3,500 were killed; over 12,000 were wounded; and they received over 1,100 decorations for bravery. The finest tribute paid to the Jewish fighting men in World War I was given by General John J. Pershing: “When the time came to serve their country under arms, no class of people served with more patriotism or with higher motives than the young Jews who volunteered or were drafted and went overseas with our other young Americans to fight the enemy.”During World War II, over 550,000 Jewish men and women responded to America’s call.  About 11,000 were killed; over 40,000 were wounded.  (Source: Seymour “Sy” Brody, of Delray Beach, FL,  author of “Jewish Heroes of America” )It continues to this day.Thousands have fought in the 16-year-long war that began with the 9/11 attacks, and currently, there are 15,000 American Jews serving on active duty and an additional 5,000 serving in the Guard and the Reserves. 56 Fallen Jewish heroes gave their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (  as noted in “Yes, American Jews Do Serve” by Anna Selman, November 28, 2017  https://www.momentmag.com/yes-american-jews-serve).I want to conclude with a word from my father, who wrote of Jewish courage in the aftermath of the Holocaust:“We consider a hero not to be the one who defeats the enemy, but the one who defeats himself. (Pirke Avot IV) . . .. We cannot allow ourselves, especially after these years, to define our values by those of the other nations. Nothing is as dangerous to a nation as to have its values dictated by its enemies. ... That which has come to us from Prussian Germany is neither good nor new. It is as ancient as Hellas.“. . .We cannot allow ourselves to adopt this way of thinking. We cannot allow ourselves to be overrun by murderous impulses. When it comes to our rights, our freedom, our life, we can take up arms as cannot other people.  But the anti-militarism is so deeply ingrained in the Jew, that even when he is in uniform, he is civilized, while the German, in uniform, was not civilized. Our inner drive is towards peace, and our dream is a very different dream than that of the Teutonic Knights.The greatest of all is Peace, and the Torah was given in order to promote peace in the world, as it says, “Derachecha darchei noam vchol neitivoteha shalom.” Her paths are pleasant and all her ways, Peace.”( Rabbi Dr William Weinberg, published essay 1947, Austria)We pray that we will see a world in which no one sends his babies and infants into live fire to provide dead bodies for the media, in which no one sacrifices his people’s food and medicine in order to build weapons of mass destruction. We also know that this will not happen by mere platitudes and  songs of ” Give Peace a chance” but only by the courage of the kinds of men and women whose memory we honor this weekend.Amen

Shavuot- Celebrate the Gift of Torah at Hollywood Temple Beth El

Envisioning Sinai Sunday Evening-May 20- 2nd Night of Shavuot, 7:30 PM Join with noted lecturer and author, Gilla Nissan, for a guided meditation on the Revelation of the Torah. Tradition has it that the Torah was revealed at Sinai on the night of Shavuot. The custom was to recreate the sensation by studying Torah and envisioning the opening of the Heavens at the moment God uttered “ I am”. Gilla Nissan, author of The Hebrew Alphabet: A Universal Guide with Signs and Wonders, brings the techniques of Gurdjieff together with the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man, to led us to a higher plane with meditation, visualization and guided imagery. Together, we will  feel“ We were there” on the first Shavuot, whisked away, back in time, to the foot of Mt Sinai some 3300 years ago. A reservation and  donation of $10, sent in advance, through https://www.eventbrite.com/e/envisioning-sinai-celebrate-shavuot-tickets-46049437106 or directly to our office, is requested to help make this evening a possibility.   A Tribute to our Czech Holocaust Memorial Torah Scroll Shavuot -May 21, 2018  2nd Day- Yizkor Services.9:45 AM Shacharit Begins Our Service this Second Day of Shavuot will center on the Czech Torah Scroll that was entrusted to Hollywood Temple Beth El 1,564 Torah scrolls in Czechoslovakia were spared destruction by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Years later, they were safely shipped to London, where the Memorial Scrolls Trust was established. These scrolls have been loaned out to synagogues around the world, and  scroll number #MST 249 was entrusted to our synagogue in 1989. In the intervening years, the scroll had been repaired and the original identification plaque was lost. However, two different soferim ( scribes) helped us identify the scroll for us. This Shavuot, we will dedicate our memorial to the brave Jews who saved these scrolls through the darkness of the Holocaust.The Czech scrolls are unusual because they were written in what is called “ Kabbalistic style”, using a mix of Sefardic and Ashkenazic script. It is customary to make donations in memory of our loved ones.

The Word Chesed

The Word  Chesed

Last weekend, Hollywood Temple Beth El was home to a beautiful and moving workshop on
Jewish meditation and music, The Tree of Life, led by Gilla Nissan and Yuval Ron. One of the
themes was that of “ Chesed”, which appears as an attribute of the Holy One in Kabbalistic lore.
As with so many Jewish terms, it is a word difficult to translate.  Gertrude Stein understood the
problem of definitions, when she stated” A rose is a rose is a rose. This gave rise to a
Jewish version, “A shofar—is a shofar.”  
What could be so difficult about Chesed, which we translate as “ Lovingkindness.”
In Jewish parlance we use this for  Gemilut Chasadim,acts of lovingkindness, Chasid,
a person imbued with a  sense of piety, or, in the case of a bride, always, kalah naah vechasudah
, a bride who is beautiful and graceful.”
Going back to last weeks workshop, the group chanted the song ( from a phrase in Psalms 89:3)
, “Olam Chesed Yibaneh”. The world will be  built through Chesed, which is the word for word
translation. However, the Biblical connotation is “ Chesed will be everlasting”. In it’s full context.
It means is that God’s “Chesed” to his people is eternal.
So here is this word Chesed, which we translate as “ Lovingkindness” . But what is that
So , what does it mean?
Loving-Kindness.
If you study the history of the English language, you discover that there is no such authentic
Anglo-Saxon, old or middle English term.
There was no such word in English until Miles Coverdale in the 1500’s translated the Bible
into English, and found no English word to match Chesed. He had to invent a compound word
to convey what he understood from the Hebrew. It  was intended to refers to God's unending
love for his people Israel.

Here are examples from the Bible.
This is the verse that is said when binding the tefillin around the fingers:
21 וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִ֖י לְעוֹלָ֑ם וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִי֙ בְּצֶ֣דֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּ֔ט וּבְחֶ֖סֶד וּֽבְרַחֲמִֽים׃
22 וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִ֖י בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃
I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.(Hosea 2:21)
It is a pillar of the 3rd of the 10 Commandments, describing God as “Show Chesed
to thousands (generations)to those who love me and keep my commands”
וְעֹ֥֤שֶׂה חֶ֖֙סֶד֙ לַאֲלָפִ֑֔ים לְאֹהֲבַ֖י וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֺתָֽי׃ Ex 20
and it is key to the answer to Moses request to know God (Ex 33m at the incident of
the Golden Calf)
Merciful and forgiving, full of Chesed and truth, keeping his Chesed to the thousands
( generations) וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יְהוָ֥ה׀ עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יְהוָ֣ה׀ יְהוָ֔ה אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת׃
נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֙סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙
(The Rabbis edited it for us, by eliminating the last part- “Lo Yenakeh”  will not
acquit those who willfully disobey.)
The upshot- God is God of justice, but his justice is far outweighed by his Chesed.
It’s used  in other locations”-‘mercy,' 'goodness,' and 'great kindness' 'favour' and 'kindness' .
Christian texts used “caris”, or “ grace”, from which, Charity. The Greek term is Agape,
which Dr. King used in his thesis and his preachings).
It is not used of kindness in general, haphazard, kindly deeds.
The theological importance of the word Chesed is that it stands more than any othe
r word for the attitude which both parties to a covenant ought to maintain towards each other.
God's loving-kindness is that sure love which will not let Israel go. God will not let go
even of a marriage that has gone sour.
For example, on Rosh Hashanah, we have verses of Zichronot-“Remembrances” of
God’s care for Israel. One of the verses is a quote Jeremiah- I remember the Chesed
of your youth, the love of our nuptials, when you went after me in the wilderness.
הָלֹ֡ךְ וְקָֽרָאתָ֩ בְאָזְנֵ֨י
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה זָכַ֤רְתִּי לָךְ֙ חֶ֣סֶד נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ אַהֲבַ֖ת כְּלוּלֹתָ֑יִךְ לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ אַחֲרַי֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ לֹ֥א זְרוּעָֽה׃-
Jeremiah 2:2
( ideas influenced by Norman H. Snaith,  A Theological Word Book of the Bible
http://www.bible-researcher.com/chesed.html)
What about Chesed for our Sages?
In Rabbinic use, it is used in pairing with gomel-gemilut chasadim.
Gomel. If I can’t translate “Chesed” I also can’t translate” gomel:
The root גמל has three meanings. 1) a camel - 2)  "to wean" or "to ripen" –
3) "to pay, reward, recompense".(  The prayer of thanks for recovery from illness or danger,
"HaGomel" - הגומל לחייבים טובות - God rewards the guilty with favors) There is the connotation
of “ Completion”, also of “ carrying a load” as a camel carries burdens for us.
From this we get gemilut chasadim גמילות חסדים –
(http://www.balashon.com/2006/06/gimmel.html)

“The world rests upon three things, Torah, avodah, and gemilut hasadim.” Pirkei Avot 1:2
Torah-God’s teachings and study, Avodah, worship of God ( sacrifice, prayer), and “Gemilut
Chasadim”.
The Talmud dedicates an entire Sugya(discourse) to the theme of Chsed and Gemilut Chesed
In  Talmud Sukkah 49b . Below are some of the original in Talmudic Hebrew and translation.
At the end, I have appended a text on what it means to be Godlike, from Talmud Sotah,14a,
on the burial of Moses.
It references  Micah’s- 3 pillars: (6:5)- Justice, Chesed , and Humility- What does God want:
Create justice, do gemilut chasadim, and be modest , don’t boast, about piety.
והיינו דא"ר אלעזר מאי דכתיב (מיכה ו, ח) הגיד לך
אדם מה טוב ומה ה' דורש ממך כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת  חסד והצנע לכת עם אלהיך עשות משפט זה הדין ו
אהבת חסד זו גמילות חסדים והצנע לכת עם אלהיך זו הוצאת המת והכנסת כלה לחופה והלא דברים ק"ו ומה
דברים שדרכן לעשותן בפרהסיא אמרה תורה הצנע לכת דברים שדרכן לעשותן בצנעא על אחת כמה וכמה
Zedakah greater than sacrifice. Gemilut Chasadim-greater than Zedakah
א"ר אלעזר גדול העושה צדקה יותר מכל הקרבנות שנאמר
(משלי כא, ג) עשה צדקה ומשפט נבחר לה' מזבח וא"ר אלעזר גדולה גמילות חסדים יותר מן הצדקה שנאמר
(הושע י, יב) זרעו לכם לצדקה וקצרו לפי חסד אם אדם זורע ספק אוכל ספק אינו אוכל אדם קוצר ודאי אוכל
Finally, Zedakah is rewarded only on virtue of the “ Chesed” that is behind it
א"ר אלעזר אין צדקה משתלמת אלא לפי חסד שבה שנאמר זרעו לכם לצדקה וקצרו לפי חסד
3 merits of Gemilut Chasadim above Tsedakah- a) involves effort, given to all, rich or poor,
and to all, living and dead.
ת"ר בשלשה דברים גדולה גמילות חסדים יותר מן הצדקה צדקה בממונו גמילות חסדים בין בגופו בין בממונו
צדקה לעניים גמילות חסדים בין לעניים בין לעשירים צדקה לחיים גמילות חסדים בין לחיים בין למתים
Zedakah and Justuce bring Chesed to the world
וא"ר אלעזר כל העושה צדקה ומשפט כאילו מילא כל העולם כולו חסד שנאמר (תהלים לג, ה) אוהב צדקה
ומשפט חסד ה' מלאה הארץ שמא תאמר כל הבא לקפוץ קופץ ת"ל (תהלים לו, ח) מה יקר חסדך אלהים
(חסד ה' מלאה הארץ) וגו' יכול אף ירא שמים כן ת"ל (תהלים קג, יז) וחסד ה' מעולם ועד עולם על יראיו
There is a Torah with Chesed and a Torah without Chesed
א"ר חמא בר פפא כל אדם שיש עליו חן בידוע שהוא ירא שמים שנא' חסד ה'
מעולם ועד עולם על יראיו וא"ר אלעזר מאי דכתיב (משלי לא, כו) פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורת חסד על לשונה וכי
יש תורה של חסד יש תורה שאינה של חסד אלא תורה לשמה זו היא תורה של חסד שלא לשמה זו היא תורה
שאינה של חסד איכא דאמרי תורה ללמדה זו היא תורה של חסד שלא ללמדה זו היא תורה שאינה של חסד:




Here is a straight translation, courtesy of Sefardic.org
Text of Sukkah 49 b
1)And this is what Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written
: “It has been told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord does require of you;
only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)? “
To do justly”; this is justice. “To love mercy”; this is acts of kindness. “To walk humbly
with your God”; this is referring to taking the indigent dead out for burial and accompanying
a poor bride to her wedding canopy, both of which must be performed without fanfare.
The Gemara summarizes: And are these matters not inferred a fortiori? If, with regard
to matters that tend to be conducted in public, as the multitudes participate in funerals and
weddings, the Torah says: Walk humbly, then in matters that tend to be conducted in private
,e.g., giving charity and studying Torah, all the more so should they be conducted privately.
2) Rabbi Elazar said: One who performs acts of charity is greater than one who sacrifices
all types of offerings, as it is stated: “To perform charity and justice is more acceptable to
the Lord than an offering” (Proverbs 21:3), including all types of offerings. And Rabbi
Elazar said: Acts of kindness, assisting someone in need, are greater than charity,
as it is stated: “Sow to yourselves according to charity, and reap according to kindness”
(Hosea 10:12). This means: If a person sows, it is uncertain whether he will eat or whether
he will not eat, since much can go wrong before the seed becomes food. However, if a
person reaps, he certainly eats. In this verse, charity is likened to sowing, while acts of
kindness are likened to reaping.
3) And Rabbi Elazar said: The reward for charity is paid from Heaven only in accordance
with the kindness and generosity included therein and in accordance with the effort and the
consideration that went into the giving. It is not merely in accordance with the sum of money,
as it is stated: “Sow to yourselves according to charity, and reap according to kindness.”
4) The Sages taught that acts of kindness are superior to charity in three respects: Charity
can be performed only with one’s money, while acts of kindness can be performed both with
his person and with his money. Charity is given to the poor, while acts of kindness are
performed both for the poor and for the rich. Charity is given to the living, while acts of
kindness are performed both for the living and for the dead.
5) And Rabbi Elazar said: Anyone who performs charity and justice is considered as
though he filled the whole world in its entirety with kindness, as it is stated: “He loves
charity and justice; the earth is full of the kindness of the Lord” (Psalms 33:5). Lest you
say that anyone who comes to leap and perform an act of kindness may simply leap
and do so without scrutiny, the verse states: “How precious is your kindness, O God”
(Psalms 36:8). It is a precious and rare occurrence to perform an act of kindness properly. . .
6) Rabbi Ḥama bar Pappa said: With regard to any person who has grace about him,
it is certain that he is God-fearing, as it is stated: “But the kindness of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him.” When one sees that a certain individua
l is endowed with grace and kindness, one can be certain that he is a God-fearing person.
And Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “She opens her mouth
with wisdom, and a Torah of kindness is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26)? The Gemara asks:
Is there, then, a Torah of kindness and a Torah that is not of kindness? Rather, it is Torah studied
for its own sake that is a Torah of kindness, as one studies it wholeheartedly; and it is Torah
studied not for its own sake but for some ulterior motive that is a Torah that is not of kindness.
Some say that it is Torah studied in order to teach it to others that is a Torah of kindness;
it is Torah studied with the intent of not teaching it to others that is a Torah that is not of kindness.


Finally,how do we become Godlike..?(   Sotah 14a on the death of Moses)
And Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written:
“After the Lord your God shall you walk, and Him shall you fear, and His commandments
shall you keep, and unto His voice shall you hearken, and Him shall you serve, and unto
Him shall you cleave” (Deuteronomy 13:5)? But is it actually possible for a person to follow
the Divine Presence? But hasn’t it already been stated: “For the Lord your God is a devouring fire
, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24), and one cannot approach fire.
He explains: Rather,the meaning is that one should follow the attributes of the Holy One,
Blessed be He. He provides several examples. Just as He clothes the naked, “The Lord
God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21),
so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, visits the sick,
as it is written about Abraham following his circumcision: “And the Lord appeared unto him
by the terebinths of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy
One, Blessed be He, consoles mourners,  “ after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
his son” (Genesis 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be
He, buried the dead, as it is written: “And he ( Moses) was buried in the valley in the land of Moab”
(Deuteronomy 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead.
On this, the Rabbi Simlai taught The Torah opens with an act of  Chesed, and concludes with an
act of Chesed!
“

“

Israeli Folk Dancing at Congregation Beth Yeshurun

Peace and harmony through dance.
I was recently in Houston for the Bar Mitzvah of my nephew’s son.
While there, I went to see our dear friends, Rachel and Eddie Weisblatt, at the weekly Israeli folk dance session.
44 years ago, I opened this dance program with Rachel and it has been going strong ever since, through oil industry recessions and terrible floods, through thick and thin.
We held a regional dance seminar with Israeli choreographer , Moshiko, and participants came from all over Texas and Louisiana.
The dance group held its first public performance with  two male and two female lead dancers for Jerusalem,a decade after the Six Day War.
Right after the performance, someone in the audience  came up to and said, Rabbi ,that was a wonderful performance, but how come the lead male made a sign of the cross just as he started.
“No surprise, he’s a Catholic. The other fellow didn’t, because he ‘s a Moslem from
 Turkey “ !

If we could get Jew, Christian and Moslem together then through dance,maybe it will happen again, not just for a quartet, but for the whole world.