OWS: How dare you?

It is a question that often comes up after High Holy Day sermons: How dare you?

How dare you...

• ask for money from the bima?
• say I'm not a good person unless I come to temple more?
• take a position on the war/budget/environment/president/congress/supreme court case/anything?
• not take a position on the war/budget/environment/president/congress/supreme court case/anything?

And this year, how dare you speak in support of Occupy Wall Street (DC, etc.) and attach Judaism or the temple's name to it?

I have the chutzpah to believe that I'm right (and have the right) about the things I say from the bima.  I also have the chutzpah to believe that anyone who listens has the right - and is right - to ask for more explanation, even if it comes in the form, "How dare you..."

OWS - Occupy Wall Street - is a fitting and appropriate object for Jewish and Temple Sinai support for many reasons.

First, the outrage against economic injustice is classically prophetic.  Just look at the Yom Kippur haftarah reading (Isaiah 58) or Micah or Jeremiah or any other biblical prophet.  They all rail against economic injustice, fraud and abuses of power (and none of them had specific policy proposals, just outrage and critique).  Also, protesting the gap between rich and poor is officially a Refom Jewish position.  Just look at the current Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism: "We are obligated to pursue tzedek, justice and righteousness, and to narrow the gap between the affluent and the poor ... and to redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual bondage.  In so doing, we reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus of traditional Reform Jewish belief and practice."  Obligated.  One could argue (incorrectly) that OWS is not really about economic injustice or - as one critic directly tried to tell me, "has nothing to do with the gap between affluent and poor."  But you can not honestly claim that we've gone off the deep end in seeing OWS as an expression of those feelings. Friedman's article is only one of the dozens that describes reasonable cause for outrage. "It  doesn’t get any more immoral than this [Citibank's fraudulent trades in subprime mortgage backed CDOs]....  Our Congress today is a forum for legalized bribery."  Even Citibank's CEO and other finance executives admit some legitimacy to the protests. If Vikram Pandit can say it, so can we.

Second, supporting the overtly Jewish rituals and study sessions at the Occupy locations is what we are supposed to do.  Our basic purpose is to support the study of Torah and observance of Jewish traditions. I mean that literally, our mission says: "Temple Sinai is a center for those who seek to develop and enhance their Jewish identity through worship of God, ritual life, education, social action, concern for the State of Israel, and communal involvement, with an emphasis on the enduring Jewish values expressed by the Reform Movement."  You might judge the participants in OWS negatively, but you can not claim that a few hundred people showing up for Kol Nidre services and building a sukkah with daily Torah study in McPherson Square is not worship of God, ritual life, education, social action... (read a Forward editorial about Occupy Judaism.)

Finally, this is what our congregation has asked of us.  We are following the guidance of our massive long range planning effort, Sinai at Sixty.  Among the directions to emerge from that effort is a desire to re-energize social action and to be a national leader.  Of the six priorities in the study, one clearly states that we will, "Strive to be a National Leader.... This theme reflects our desire to build on the talents of our members, many of whom are leaders in Washington, and on our history as a congregation, to be recognized nationally as a place for Jewish thought, social action, inspired teaching, creative worship and a bonded community."  How, you might ask, is participation in OWS, helping with this goal?  Again, I turned to the long range plan, which identified three core values, one of which was "Tikkun Olam – by linking Jewish spirituality and ethics to action through promoting social justice and – taking advantage of our location in the nation’s capital – having a positive impact on our community and the world in which we live."  Our location in DC, the guidance to be involved with current events ("the world in which we live") and instruction to link tikkun olam with spirituality are among the principles that lead us to OWS.

On the ark of the Bet Am is a quote from Pirke Avot, "By three things the world is sustained - justice, truth and peace."  We do not condone violence, law breaking, antisemitism, or hatred.  We just want to strengthen the three pillars of the world.  What's more appropriate for Yom Kippur than that?

Chaplains' Memorial Dedicated

Yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery, a memorial was dedicated to the Jewish chaplains who have died while in service to our country over the decades.  The memorial stands on "Chaplains' Hill" next to the memorials for Protestant and Catholic chaplains.  Rabbi Fred Reiner, Sinai's emeritus rabbi, will speak this Friday at services in memory of his rabbinical school roommate, who died in Vietnam while serving as a chaplain.

Click to see the Washington Post's photo gallery from the dedication.

The Jewish chaplains memorialized are:
Rabbi Alexander Goode, 32, of Washington, D.C., who died when the USS Dorchester sank off the coast of Greenland in a Nazi torpedo attack.  Goode and three Christian chaplains died after they gave up their life vests for other soldiers. Nachman S. Arnoff, in an Army truck accident in 1946 at Camp Kilmer, N.J.; Meir Engel, of heart disease in 1964 in a Saigon hospital; Frank Goldberg, in a Jeep accident in 1946 in Austria; Henry Goody, after being hit by a streetcar at 14th and Upshur streets NW in 1943; Joseph I. Hoenig, of cerebral hemorrhage in 1966; Samuel Hurwitz, in 1943 in a military hospital in Temple, Tex.; Herman L. Rosen, who drowned just before reporting to chaplain school; Samuel Rosen, in a plane crash in 1955; Solomon Rosen, in 1948 after his plane exploded over Oklahoma; Morton Singer, in a plane crash in 1968; David Sobel, in an accident in Thailand in 1974; Irving Tepper, in action in France in 1945; and Louis Werfel, in 1943 after his plane crashed in the North Algerian mountains.

The Power and Place of Prayer, Revisited

Prayer can be an indicator, like a barometer of sorts.  Just look at the Senate chaplain.  Washington Post's 2chambers blog traces the increasing anxiety of his prayers over the past few days as failure and default came ever closer.

A longtime Navy chaplain and Seventh-Day Adventist minister, retired Admiral Barry C. Black opens Senate sessions with a brief prayer. Over the last few days--as the Senate has slid closer to a national default--those prayers seem to have revealed Black as one of the most worried people in the chamber.

Black's prayers have moved from "hopeful generalities" to warnings to "a prayer that might have fit the crew of a sinking ship." Read the whole article here.

(the painting is "Ship of Fools" by John Alexander)

The Power and the Place of Prayer

When noon came, Elijah mocked them, saying, "Shout louder! After all, he is a god. But he may be in conversation, he may be detained, or he may be on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and will wake up." So they shouted louder...  (1 Kings 18:27-28)

Outside the House chamber, Boehner summoned members of the holdout GOP South Carolina delegation to his second-floor office just off the Capitol Rotunda. But appeared to make little headway and, within minutes, freshman Reps. Mick Mulvaney and Jeff Duncan left the meeting, saying they were heading to a nearby chapel to pray for their leaders.  Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) later joined them....
("Boehner Calls of Debt-Limit Vote," The Washington Post, Today's paper, by Lori Montgomery & Paul Kane)

Eleven faith leaders from a range of denominations were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda Thursday as they staged a protest urging Congress to pass a budget agreement. Led by former Rep. Bob Edgar, D-Penn, and current president of Common Cause, the faith leaders kneeled on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda while praying and singing gospel hymns... (see more here)

Meat, Money, Mercedes, and MachneYuda: A story of change in Israel

I have been to Israel six times: 1986, 1990, 1997 (when I lived here for a whole year), 2007, 2008, and right now. The changes that we can see in Israel are immediately evident in the food and the restaurants and the cultural feel here. This goes beyond the shift away from the kibbutz dining room. Once upon a time you couldn’t get a decent burger anywhere although you could find a bad one in a few spots. Today, it seems, meat is everywhere and it’s good. Entrecote, filet mignon, medallions, and yes, good burgers abound (okay, I’m limited to tourist and wealthier areas, I’m not sure how much meat ‘abounds’ in Dimona or Lod).

Most of this new feeling was evident at MachneYuda, a new, popular restaurant in the neighborhood of Jerusalem’s shuk, Machane Yehuda. The place was packed and it was tough to get a reservation for six. MachneYuda is a shining example of the shift (is “gentrification” too loaded?) in this old neighborhood. It’s a story like New York’s Lower East Side or Meat Packing District before they become so hip, expensive and interesting. The shuk and its surrounding streets ran with the detritus of butcher shops and smelled of rotten fruit. At night, the place was dead. The notable cuisine of the area was Jerusalem mixed grill, a seasoned mix of organ meat cooked over fire that you bought for a few shekels and ate in a pita or on a plastic plate. Today, Hashpudia, the once revered master of the mixed grill, is closed. Just a block away is MachneYuda. The dinner there is delicious, good service (yes, there is real attention to service! That alone is a small revolution). The fact that it costs a small fortune for dinner is only interesting inasmuch as it is not a tourist restaurant. Israelis are willing and interested to pay these prices and have this kind of restaurant experience. Beyond the food, MachneYuda pulsed with energy: Beni Bashan and upbeat, Israeli party music filled the room and the staff dance - not a choreographed, planned routine like you might see at Johnny Rockets but spontaneous, joyful dancing. The chefs and kitchen staff yell, throw back shots, bang out a dance rhythm on the huge hanging pots and pans and life just feels good.



You can also see the change on the roads. Once upon a time, Mercedes were everywhere because almost every taxi was a Mercedes. They were the nicest cars in the country and if people owned a car at all it was not usually a luxury model. On this trip we’ve seen Porsches, Audis, Minis, Cadillacs, Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, big Ford F350s and Explorers.

The rise of money in Israel is not just about wealth, consumption and the Start up Nation phenomenon. There is a religious aspect to it. It had appeared from America that religious extremism was increasingly dominating the country. Anat Hoffman’s arrest and the Conversion Bill drama of the past year are not, however, the only stories to tell about the role of religion and the tension between national observance and pluralistic, cosmopolitan impulses. Once upon a time, for example, the Israel Museum was one of the best destinations for non-religious tourists (and lots of Israelis on Shabbat). But, because of the Sabbath prohibitions, you had to buy tickets from a little kiosk across from the museum. It was a legal loophole that allowed the State to operate the museum without violating Shabbes. Today, the Museum front desk is open and accepts cash all Shabbat long and while the café is closed, the Museum shop does a brisk business as well. Once upon a time you could not find a market open on Shabbat in Jerusalem. Today, most of them are closed but you don’t have to walk far to find an open mini market on Saturday. Once upon a time, cabs were rare (though available) on Friday night and we always walked from the German Colony to Shabbat dinners in the center of town. Today, it’s no problem to find a cab right outside Kol Haneshama (not to mention the open gas station, the markets, the restaurants….)

Whether or not this is progress is subjective and personal. I think it is and I like it. However, not everyone agrees and I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself. Of course that means you’ll need to come here to experience it.