Tag: Tikkun Olam: Changing the World

Just Congregations: A New Old Way of Changing the World

I’m sitting in a session on Just Congregations, a social justice project that is focused around one on one conversations between individuals. When you and I begin to talk about what concerns us, what keeps us up at night, and then we talk to two others, and so on and so on, certain community-wide burning issues rise up. Soon, we begin to realize that a large group is ready to take action, to make a move that changes the community beyond Or Ami. Now imagine if you connected the one on one conversations of one congregation with those of another. All of a sudden, we realize that people of different faiths share concerns. Imagine how we might change the world. Susan Gould and I were transfixed by this process. Does this interest anyone? If so, let’s talk about helping make this happen. Email me.

Michael J. Fox on Parkinson’s, Stem Cell Research and His Reform Jewish Family

Michael J. Fox, upon receiving the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award, spoke about his own journey with Parkinson’s disease, about creating his foundation, and about how it is so difficult to move scientific research from an idea toward a cure.

Words of wisdom from Mr. Fox:

On Parkinson’s disease: It’s a gift. (On reflection he said) It’s a gift that keeps on taking.

If you contemplate the worst case scenario and it happens, you have lived it twice.

God gave us hands and feet and brains. We need to use them.

Some suggest that Stem Cell research must not occur because embryos are life. Jews think differently. We believe that life begins after the fetus leaves the body. According to Judaism, an embryo is not a fetus. It is not life. Judaism supports stem cell research. Jews believe that the government should not limit Stem Cell research, even on embryos.

Read more about Michael J. Fox’s life and work here.

Mervyn’s Child Spree: Spreading the Light to Foster Kids

It is wonderful to feel so proud of our Congregation Or Ami!

Deborah Echt-Moxness, Social Action Co-chair, explains:

When Or Ami’s President Sue Gould found out there was not going to be Mervyn’s-sponsored Holiday Shopping Child Spree this year, she immediately went to our generous and compassionate Rabbi Paul Kipnes, who instantly fronted tzedakah from his Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund for 23 foster children from the Department of Child and Family Services in Chatworth to go shopping at Mervyn’s in Canoga Park. When the foster children arrived at the store, they were greeted by 23 Temple congregants who escorted them individually and helped the children shop for things they needed and wanted. The smiles on everyone’s face speaks louder than words and attests to the fact that when you give, you get much more back in return: the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing you helped someone and made them feel special! Each foster child had $122.00 to shop for essentials and Christmas gifts.

For all the Temple members, this was a meaningful way to begin the week of Chanukah by spreading the Light into the hearts of foster kids! This event would never have taken place without the devotion and help of Lovette Panthier, who runs the Adopt a Child Abuse Case-worker Program.

View the Child Spree pictures.

Talking to Kids about Drugs & Alcohol, Part I

From the Or Ami Center for Jewish Parenting
The First in a Series
Adapted in part from Talking to Kids website

Talk with your kids (and grandkids) about drugs and alcohol. It is not easy. It is often uncomfortable. And one conversation is not enough. But our drug treatment centers are littered with lives ruined because parents did not talk enough about the dangers, or talked too much but did not listen enough, or were ignorant to the real dangers of drinking and using (“Hey, I smoked pot and I survived!” ) or made excuses for behaviors that turned out to be early drug use.

I know this firsthand because I saw it firsthand when I spent a week at the Hazelden Drug Treatment Center in Minnesota last winter for training in their addiction counseling and spiritual care program.

At Hazelden, I met nice people – nice Jewish kids too – who lost themselves amongst the heavy onslaught of mixed messages and parental leniency regarding drinking and drug use. Now they are trying (some for the second and third time) to kick their habit. I came away with a clear sense that we adults – parents, grandparents, siblings and friends – have an important responsibility to educate ourselves about the realities of drugs and alcohol use and abuse. We then need to talk with (not “at”) our young people, listen openly, and help them create strategies to deal with the pressures and enticements of alcohol and drugs.

Alcoholism and drug use is as old as the Bible, when the High Priest Aaron lost two sons to alcohol and when even Noah came off the ark, got drunk and cursed his sons (Gen. 9:20). There are no guarantees that our conversations will protect our kids. But there is plenty of evidence that, absent ongoing, serious conversations, our children are vulnerable to the neverending pull of the pot and pills.

Booze and Barbituates: Distinguishing Between Fact and Fiction

The issue of drugs can be very confusing to young children (and older ones too). If drugs are so dangerous, then why is the family medicine cabinet full of them? And why do TV, movies, music and advertising often make drug and alcohol use look so cool?

We need to help our kids to distinguish fact from fiction. And it’s not too soon to begin. National studies show that the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, it’s 12. (Jewish studies show that most Jewish kids first try alcohol at Bar/Bat Mitzvah parties or at Passover.) Older kids raid their parents’ medicine cabinets for pills that will give them a high. (Click here to learn about these “Pharming Parties.”) And many kids start becoming curious about these substances even sooner. So let’s get started!

[Click here for real information about how drugs affect us]

Talk with Your Kids


Listen Carefully
Student surveys reveal that when parents listen to their children’s feelings and concerns, their kids feel comfortable talking with them and are more likely to stay drug-free.

Role Play How to Say “No”
Role play ways in which your child can refuse to go along with his friends without becoming a social outcast. Try something like this, “Let’s play a game. Suppose you and your friends are at Andy’s house after school and they find some beer in the refrigerator and ask you to join them in drinking it. The rule in our family is that children are not allowed to drink alcohol. So what could you say?” If your child comes up with a good response, praise him. If he doesn’t, offer a few suggestions like, “No, thanks. Let’s play with Sony PlayStation instead” or “No thanks. I don’t drink beer. I need to keep in shape for basketball.”

Code for Pick Up
Work out a code with your middle and high school student. Tell him that if he/she is in an uncomfortable situation at a party or friend’s house, he can text you an agreed upon message. When you receive it, you can call her immediately to play the “overbearing parent” who is coming NOW to pick her up. This little game ensures that he has an easy way out of difficult peer pressure. It allows her to save face even as she removes herself from the dangerous situation.

Encourage Choice
Allow your child plenty of opportunity to become a confident decision-maker. An 8-year-old is capable of deciding if she wants to invite lots of friends to her birthday party or just a close pal or two. A 12-year-old can choose whether she wants to go out for chorus or join the school band. As your child becomes more skilled at making all kinds of good choices, both you and she will feel more secure in her ability to make the right decision concerning alcohol and drugs if and when the time arrives.
Establish a Clear Family Position on Drugs and Alcohol

It’s okay to say, “We don’t allow any drug use and children in this family are not allowed to drink alcohol. The only time that you can take any drugs is when the doctor or Mom or Dad gives you medicine when you’re sick. We made this rule because we love you very much and we know that drugs can hurt your body and make you very sick; some may even kill you. Do you have any questions?”

Provide Age-Appropriate Information
Make sure the information that you offer fits the child’s age and stage. When your 6 or 7-year-old is brushing his teeth, you can say, “There are lots of things we do to keep our bodies healthy, like brushing our teeth. But there are also things we shouldn’t do because they hurt our bodies, like smoking or taking medicines when we are not sick.”

If you are watching TV with your 8 year-old and marijuana is mentioned on a program, you can say, “Do you know what marijuana is? It’s a bad drug that can hurt your body.” If your child has more questions, answer them. If not, let it go. Short, simple comments said and repeated often enough will get the message across.

You can offer your teen the same message, but add more ten what marijuana and crack look like, their street names and how they can affect his body. Or together read the youth-run drug facts website freevibe.com. The teen brain is a work in progress. Click here for more on how marijuana use affects the teen brain.

Be a Good Example
Children will do what you do much more readily than what you say. So try not to reach for a drink the minute you come home after a tough day; it sends the message that drinking is the best way to unwind. Offer dinner guests non-alcoholic drinks in addition to wine and spirits. And take care not to pop pills, even over-the-counter remedies, indiscriminately. Your behavior needs to reflect your beliefs.

[How Marijuana Use Affects the Teen Brain]

If You Suspect Your Kid is Using …

Even kids under age 12 can develop a substance problem. If your child becomes withdrawn, loses weight, starts doing poorly in school, turns extremely moody, has glassy eyes — or if the drugs in your medicine cabinet seem to be disappearing too quickly — talk with your child and reach out. If your teen is involved with alcohol or drugs, move ahead thoughtfully.

Begin by downloading this brochure: Suspect Your Teen is Using Drugs or Drinking.

Next, break the silence. Seek out help. Contact your rabbi who has experience with drug counseling. Contact Los Angeles’ Alcohol Drug Action Program of Jewish Family Service. Contact Beit Teshuva, a Los Angeles based recovery house. Get help to guide you through the darkness.

[If You Suspect Your Kid is Using]

Questions and Answers for your Kids

Why do People Take Bad or Illegal Drugs?
There are lots of reasons. Maybe they do not know how dangerous they are. Or maybe they feel bad about themselves or don’t know how to handle their problems. Or maybe they do not have parents they can talk to. Maybe they think it is cool. Why do you think they do it?

Why are Some Drugs Good and Some Drugs Bad for You?
When you get sick, the drugs the doctor gives you will help you get better. But if you take these drugs when you’re healthy, they can make you sick. Also, there are some drugs, like marijuana or crack, that are never good for you. To be safe, never ever take any drugs unless Mom, Dad or the doctor says it is okay.

[Some More Answers for Your Questions]

Talkback

Through Or Ami’s Center for Jewish Parenting, we are committed to providing parents (grandparents and all adults) with information, ideas and strategies for raising healthy children with good Jewish values. Why? Shmirat haGuf, taking good care of our bodies, and acknowledging their sacredness, is inherently a Jewish value.

Our Center for Jewish Parenting now asks for your help. Help us help you (and others):

* What are your concerns about talking to kids about drugs and alcohol?
* What strategies have you found successful in helping young people face these temptations?
* What information would be helpful to you as you try to guide your children?

We are all in this together, striving to raise healthy kids with good Jewish values. So share your answers. Help Or Ami illumine the path ahead for all of us.

[Need a confidential conversation with Rabbi Kipnes? Click here to email me!]

Kindle the Lights of Peace: A Rabbinic Call to the American Jewish Community

Peace… Always something we as Jews must be willing to vigorously pursue. I just signed onto this Rabbinic letter organized by Brit Tzedek v’Shalom:

As we approach the festival of Chanukah, we American rabbis and cantors call on the American Jewish community to rekindle our commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace. When we light candles at this darkest time of the year, may we nurture hope for a lasting peace settlement after too many years of violence and despair. If we learn anything from the story of Chanukah, it is that even when circumstances appear grim – perhaps especially then – hope and courage are vital.

At the upcoming Annapolis peace conference, the parties to the conflict will have their first substantive face-to-face meeting in nearly seven years to launch final-status negotiations. For many of us, the heady optimism and promise we felt while witnessing the Clinton peace talks seem like distant dreams. Yet, we must remain alert to the real opportunities emerging right now that need our support.

We urge the American Jewish community to stand behind the conference as it attempts to launch a negotiation process with the goal of a viable Palestinian state, living side-by side and in peace with a secure Israel. We cannot emphasize strongly enough that Israel’s long-term peace and security require that this conference be a true starting point for a real, sustained peace process, one characterized by consistent U.S. diplomatic engagement and tangible improvements in living conditions and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

The next American president will play a critical role in determining whether the results of steps initiated at Annapolis lay the foundation for a final status peace agreement. A large measure of our hopes for peace will be entrusted to whoever wins the 2008 election, and as such, it is crucial that we communicate to all the candidates that a truly pro-Israel president will, with the support of the vast majority of American Jews, do everything in his or her power to bring about a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

May the spirit of peace and the light of justice illumine the vision of our leadership for the benefit of our people and our world this Chanukah.

To view a list of current signers, click here.
To read more about this letter, click here.

Did We Do That? Thinking about Climate Change

Did We Do That? By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN (October 28, 2007): We may have introduced enough CO2 emissions into Mother Nature’s operating system that we cannot determine anymore where she stopped and we started.

On target yet again, Friedman writes:

One should never extrapolate about climate change from any single weather event or season, but it does seem that we keep having more and more weather events and seasons that are modified with the words “since records have been kept” — as in the Los Angeles Times fire report on Monday, which noted that forecasters from the National Weather Service “couldn’t recall such intense winds in Southern California,” a region that meteorologists said was “already dealing with the driest year on record.”So a question has started gnawing at us as we observe events like Katrina and the California wildfires. I asked my friend Nate Lewis, an energy chemist at the California Institute of Technology, what is that question? He thought for a moment and answered: “Did we do that?”

Can We Pray That the Red Sox Win The World Series?

A young student stopped me at services to ask if we could pray to God that the Yankees would win the World Series. Clearly this was a ridiculous question from an unschooled, theologically naïve youngster. I had to keep from laughing at him. Of course, had he phrased his question differently, say, “Could we pray to God that the Red Sox would win the World Series?”, now that would be a serious inquiry worthy of our time, attention, and theological consideration.

As my daughter would type JKJK (just kidding). Yet as I sat in front of the television watching game 2 of the ALCS as the Cleveland Indians trounced the Red Sox in an 11 inning game, I caught my heart veering into a prayerful place. Can we pray to God that our favorite professional sports team will win? I turned to some rabbinic colleagues for their answers. Read on…

Rabbi #1: Yes, But…: Dr. Jerome Groopman, in Anatomy of Hope, said it’s good to hope for a miracle but not to count on it. To me, prayer is often a way to bolster our inner strength, and to set eyes on the ideal moral behavior. When it comes to baseball or serious illness, prayer seems to be a way to help us keep going in the face of sometimes insurmountable difficulties.

Rabbi #2: Why Waste Your Prayers?: My stock answer to such questions is, “If prayers work, which I hope they do, I wouldn’t waste them on weather or sporting events.”

Rabbi #3: That’s Not Why Jews Pray: [This question points to] what is the purpose and function of prayer in Judaism. My answer is that Judaism is far more of an Eastern religion than a Western religion, which is why they call it the Middle East, and not the Middle West. Eastern prayer utilizes prayer as Mantra, as a means to change the one who prays, not to change the mind and actions of G-d. Prayer is used to focus, so that we can transcend that moment and that place. Jewish prayer is sing-song and lends itself to movement and davening (moving back and forth while praying). Jewish prayer is meditative in order to transcend. The only line in the siddur (prayerbook) that one is supposed to actually think about as one says it is the shema. All else is rote, and therefore lends itself to being meditation that transcends. But that is, IMHO (in my humble opinion), the purpose and function of prayer in Judaism. Western (read Christian) prayer is “gimme-gimme-gimme-now-now-now,” the expression of what we want, need, as if G-d cannot know without our asking. Magic is defined as when something is recited, like an incantation, like a magic word like Ev-ra-K’adabrah (I will create as I will speak), which becomes abracadabra, and which forces the gods, or G-d, to act according to our will, my will, and thus changes G-d, rather than changing my will. Prayers like the Mi Shehbayrach, are meant, again IMHO, to express a hope, to state something out loud and thereby gain strength from it, inspiration from it, and not to force the hand of G-d to do my will. Can G-d respond to my prayer by changing G-d’s will, and do what I ask? Of course, that is up to G-d. But that is not, IMHO, why we Jews pray.

Rabbi #4: Does God Sit in Front of the TV on Sunday Afternoon, Remote Control in One Hand, Beer in the Other? Adapted from Rabbi Andy Vogel, Praying for the Ball to Go Through the Uprights: [From a football metaphor] …Does God really sit in front of the TV set on a Sunday afternoon, remote control in one hand, beer in the other, wearing His team’s colors, hoping, praying to… Himself (!) for a first down on the next play? If enough people pray, will God push the ball through the uprights, regardless of the skill of the placekicker? Or, to put it another way: Does God hear and answer our prayers in such simplistic terms? What is the point of thanking God after we get what we have prayed for? What can we expect from God? …

I’ve watched enough last-minute kicks to know that God does not always answer our prayers. God does not do what we want simply because we pray for it. That is what a child wants to believe. We do not get everything we ask for, like mailing in our wish list to Santa Claus at the North Pole. God is not mechanistic. God has God’s own plan, and that we may never know what it is…

The Jewish tradition depicts God as knowing everything. God knows all that we pray for, all that we want, all our desires. Why do we pray, then, if we know that God knows? Perhaps it is that we hope that someone, maybe God, is really out there listening. Perhaps it is that we feel the need to give concrete expression to what is deep inside our hearts. But as Rabbi David Wolpe has taught, God doesn’t need our prayers, but instead, “they are for us, so that we might connect to each other, to ourselves and to God.” [“Musings,” in the New York Jewish Week.] God knows what we want, but we need to voice it anyway – even if we think we don’t. But this question misses the (extra) point. The purpose of prayer is not necessarily “to get what we want.” To think so is to misunderstand the purpose of petitionary prayer, those prayers we say when we ask God for stuff…

The purpose of prayer is to take the opportunity to meet God, to unite our hopes with God’s plans. As Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Rabbi Nechemiah Polen have taught: Prayer can be a time for us to say, “in effect, I now want what God wants… We don’t nullify our will, our desires, but we seek to unite them with God’s… The innermost desire of the worshiper is… to be with God, just as the innermost desire of God is to be with us.” [In The Amidah, p. 160.] That might mean, having the courage to accept when God’s will isn’t identical with our own. [Read Rabbi Vogel’s Complete Article]

Rabbi #5: Maybe, But God May Answer “No”: … the theological answer may be simply to pray to God that each baseball player play to the fullest of his potential; that he treat the game and his opponents with dignity and respect; that nobody gets injured in the course of the game; that the umpires have vision to call plays correctly; that the players have strength to hit the balls well; that the players are filled with the spirit of determination to do the best they can. And, if in the end, your team loses, it isn’t because God cursed them, or because life is unfair, but simply because the other team played better that game, and reached its potential better that series. (Although, perhaps God does hate the Yankees these days. . .) In general, when people ask if God hears prayers, I sometimes give the answer that I think [Rabbi] Harold Kushner [author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People] has shared: “God hears our prayers; God just doesn’t always say yes.” This may be effective for someone who has a deep and abiding faith in general, and is going through tough times. I don’t use this theology on those whose faith and belief are shaky to begin with, especially with matters of life and death, which baseball, of course, is not.

Rabbi #6: If You Pray That No One Is Injured: One night at services, the senior rabbi of my shul prayed for the Lakers to win. [A teenager] was so offended that he scheduled an appointment to speak to the rabbi. The God that he didn’t believe in, the teenager was sure, would not choose sides in a human endeavor of no moral import, and it trivialized the idea of God to ask God to do so. He would be OK with a prayer that no one be injured in the game and that both sides play their best, however. I think the original prayer had been somewhat jokingly offered, which more or less illustrates [the] point that it trivializes both the idea of God and the idea of prayer – no matter what team is involved!

Rabbi #7: Prayer Is Not Magic! [Adapted from Rabbi Harold Schulweis on Is Prayer Magic?: …To convince people about prayer, show that it’s a winner. Blaise Pascal the 17th century philosopher understood the bettor’s mentality. He devised a wager that contended that it is smarter to pray than not to pray: If there is a God and you pray to Him [sic], you’re going to get something. If there is a God and you don’t pray to Him, you’re going to lose something. If there is no God and you pray to Him, what have you got to lose? And that’s not a bad argument for religious gamblers. It may explain why in certain circumstances people still do pray. Who knows what people on the death bed may calculate that after all to pray now, who knows, there really may be a God and if not, what have they got to lose? But when we are healthy and normal and things are going all right prayer seems to be a waste of time and energy….

…We want prayer to work. In fact, for most people prayer is closest to magic. Magic is practical. You want certain results and you want to be able to get it. To get results there are certain formulas, certain chants, certain incantations and that magic is going to be a shortcut to your desire. In magic you have to use certain words. You have to say open sesame and only then will the cave open. If you forget the right word and use another word the cave will not open. There is a formula to magic, a name to magic – abbr cadabbra is a word that has a magic of its own. According to some scholars abbr cadabbra can be traced to a form of gnosticism and the word abbr cadabbra is made up of three words. The first word is “aba” which means father, the second is “bar” which means son and the third is “ruach” for the holy spirit. This word was written over and over again on a parchment in various geometric forms and folded into a cross. Abbr cadabbra is a talisman hung on a string around the neck of an afflicted person. Magic is formulaic, it is a shortcut and it has power. The magician has power and he has the wisdom to know the secret word that will give him that power. Significantly in Judaism God is nameless. God has no name. The name of God is ineffable. One cannot pronounce His name (4 consonants – tetra grammatic). The reason for that is that if you know the name of God, you think you can control God, you can manipulate God, you can use the formula of His name for any purpose that you want. But the namelessness of God, the fact that throughout the Bible Moses tries to find out what God’s real name is and God avoids telling him what it is. He gives him an enigmatic answer like “I am that I am”.

That illustrated the opposition, of Judaism to magic, sorcery, witchcraft, shortcuts to God. What has this digression to do with prayer? Everything. Magic is not prayer and prayer is not magic. In magic you are concerned with getting the end and you don’t care about the meaning or character of the means. Magic is impersonal. In prayer you have to be concerned with the means to achieve that end and those means that achieve the end invariably depend upon you, your attitude, your mind, heart and soul.

Let me give you an illustration. A child asks “Can I pray for an ‘A’?” That child is interested in the end and she expects that in prayer she can touch some secret occult power that will give her the result that she wants. So the proper answer to the question “can I pray for an ‘A’?” is “no”. You can pray properly for the means for getting that A. You have to pray to pray to that within you that can achieve that A. This is the beautiful prayer that we recite in the morning. “Imbue us with the will to understand, to discern, to hearken, to learn, to teach and to obey. To practice and to fulfill all the teachings of Thy Torah.” The child must be taught that prayer must be worthy. The worthy end is not getting the A. The important thing is the growth and learning for which you may receive a sign of accomplishment. Just get an A, just to get on the Dean’s list without any effort, without any growth, without any maturity, without any knowledge, is to miss the whole point of life and education. … [Such] prayers are not “worthship,” the original spelling and meaning of “worship.” …

You can’t pray for anything that you want. You can’t, for example, pray that this amputated limb should suddenly spring to life. You can pray for courage. You can pray for the acquisition of prosthetics. You can’t pray for things which violate the laws of logic or the laws of nature. You have to respect nature and nature’s laws.

…In prayer you pray to move God. But the way you move God is through moving the divine in yourself. If you divide God from the image of the divinity within you, if you separate the two, then you speak about moving God without it affecting you at all. You ask “can I move God”? without asking whether you can move yourself. You ask “does God listen to prayer?” instead of asking “am I listening to my prayer?”. All your questions are directed toward somebody totally other than yourself. But the purpose of prayer is to activate the godly in and between ourselves. To put it more bluntly, we cannot pray for anything that doesn’t call on us to do something whether it’s in terms of our attitude, our will, our energy or our intelligence. You can’t pray for health however earnestly by expecting God to say yes or no. To pray for health means that you take seriously the means and meaning of health. You can’t properly pray to God for health with a cigarette in your mouth or a hot pastrami sandwich in your hand. You can’t pray to God for peace with folded arms, crossed legs, and unopened hands. As Rav puts it in the Talmud “man’s prayer is not accepted unless he puts his heart in his hands” (Taanit 8a). Prayer is meant to move you, otherwise you depend upon magical thinking. You cannot pray for peace and do nothing about it. You cannot pray that God should love the Jewish people without expressing your love for the Jewish people, nor pray for the rebuilding of Israel without personal involvement.

Does prayer work? Only if you do. If you expect magical results it’s foolish to pray. Prayer works only if you are willing to work with it. It is dangerous to confuse prayer and magic. So when the child or yourself asks can I pray for anything, the answer really has to be thought out very carefully.[Read Rabbi Schulweis’ Complete Sermon]

Talk Back: What do you think?
  • Do you think it is appropriate to pray to God that your favorite sports team will win?

  • What do your husband/wife/partner, friend, parents, kids think?
Share your thoughts with me and with others. Log your thoughts on my blog by clicking below:

When It Comes to Genocide, You Can’t Split Hairs

When it comes to genocide, you can’t split hairs. Historically, we Jews have watched as others let their own self-interest take precedence over our safety. Now, as the tables are turned, as we face the opportunity of naming as genocide the 1915-1916 massacres by Ottoman forces against Armenians, we must speak truth to power. When it comes to genocide, you can’t split hairs…

Thankfully, the Jews are helping lead the way…
JTA reports today, In close vote on Armenian genocide, Jewish members deliver anguished “yeas” (10/12/2007 ).

Members of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs ignored party lines this week in a close vote Wednesday approving a resolution recognizing the massacres carried out in 1915 and 1916 by Ottoman forces against Armenians as a genocide. But the tally among Jewish members on the committee — all of them Democrats — was overwhelming: 7-1 in favor. Overall, the motion passed the committee in a 27-21 vote — 19 Democratic and 8 Republican in favor, 8 Democrats and 13 Republicans opposed — despite last-minute warnings from President Bush and his top aides that the resolution could harm U.S. relations with Turkey.

Lawmakers from both parties openly anguished, with some appearing to make up their minds only at the last minute. And, despite the overwhelming support of Jewish committee members for the resolution, nowhere was the anguish more palpable than in the comments of some of these lawmakers, as they struggled to balance their Holocaust-related sensitivity to the issue of recognizing genocide and concern for maintaining strong ties with Turkey, a friendly pro-American pro-Israeli Muslim beacon in a hostile neighborhood.

The Insanity of Energy Efficiency Politics

Thomas Friedman, of the New York Times, points out the insanity of Energy Efficiency politics. He writes:

What is it about Michigan that seems to encourage assisted suicide? That is all I can think watching Michigan congressmen and senators, led by Representative John Dingell, doing their best imitations of Jack Kevorkian and once again trying to water down efforts by Congress to legislate improved mileage standards for Detroit in the latest draft energy bill….What I don’t get is empty-barrel politics — Michigan lawmakers year after year shielding Detroit from pressure to innovate on higher mileage standards, even though Detroit’s failure to sell more energy-efficient vehicles has clearly contributed to its brush with bankruptcy, its loss of market share to Toyota and Honda — whose fleets beat all U.S. automakers in fuel economy in 2007 — and its loss of jobs. G.M. today has 73,000 working U.A.W. members, compared with 225,000 a decade ago. Last year, Toyota overtook G.M. as the world’s biggest automaker.Thank you, Michigan delegation! The people of Japan thank you as well.But assisting Detroit’s suicide seems to be contagious. Everyone wants to get in on it, including Toyota. Toyota, which pioneered the industry-leading, 50-miles-per-gallon Prius hybrid, has joined with the Big Three U.S. automakers in lobbying against the tougher mileage standards in the Senate version of the draft energy bill.Now why would Toyota, which has used the Prius to brand itself as the greenest car company, pull such a stunt? Is it because Toyota wants to slow down innovation in Detroit on more energy efficient vehicles, which Toyota already dominates, while also keeping mileage room to build giant pickup trucks, like the Toyota Tundra, at the gas-guzzler end of the U.S. market? “Toyota wants to keep its green halo and beat G.M. in the big trucks, too,” said Deron Lovaas, vehicles expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “As the world’s largest automaker and inventor of the best-selling hybrid car, Toyota has a responsibility to lead, follow or get out of the way as Congress debates the first substantial fuel-economy boost in decades. Shamefully, Toyota has joined forces with older automakers that are getting their lunch handed to them in the marketplace, in part because they’ve consistently shunned fuel efficiency.”

Read on…

Haunting, Horrific, Uncomfortable: Why this Sculpture Sits Outside My Office

“Rabbi, this scuplture is so haunting! It is a downer – definately NOT Or Ami.” Many have commented on how uncomfortable the “Sudanese Mother and Child” sculpture makes them feel. That’s exactly why it sits in our foyer, outside the Rabbi’s office.

The horrors of the Darfurian genocide should make us all uncomfortable. We, who grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust, should be reminded daily of our responsibility to help victims and to push for an end to this conflict.

Sculptor John McManus has done two tours in Vietnam, coming home with a Purple Heart. He found inspiration for his work from starving black children in Biafra, from his personal experiences in Vietnam, and from his six year old little Jewish charge who died of lupus. As a catalyst for freedom from memories of the painful emotions he carries, his gifted hands spell out the haunting expression of war and suffering, culminating in “gentleness and love.”

This sculpture adorns the Jewish World Watch tzedakah can, our websites, and has been present at every Jewish World Watch lecture. It serves as a constant reminder of the work that we need to do. To find out how you can help, contact our Jewish World Watch liaison Laurie Tragen-Boykoff or visit the Jewish World Watch website.

Insuring Uninsured Children

With the High Holy Days coming, I am doubly concerned about doing the right thing, about taking care of those unable to care for themselves. That’s why I signed onto a clergy letter to our President Bush about insuring uninsured children.

Dear Mr. President:

As faith communities spanning the major American religious traditions, we are dismayed and deeply disappointed that you have threatened to veto legislation designed to improve the health our nation’s children. With children headed back to school and SCHIP set to expire on September 30, people in congregations across the country are asking why the President would go out of his way to block an effort to cover uninsured children.

As a person of faith, you know that we are judged by how we care for the least among us. Our shared faith traditions teach us that children are a precious gift from God. As adults we have a sacred obligation to protect our nation’s young people. That is why an overwhelming number of Americans support strengthening existing federal child health programs to reach all uninsured children. It is also why our states, led by Republican and Democratic Governors alike, are moving aggressively to cover uninsured children. Read more.

Reform Jews Move to Impact Israeli Society

The Jerusalem Post offers this on new Reform Movement focii in Israel:

“Part of our Zionist agenda is not only to connect Reform Jews and Israel, but to impact Israeli society,” said [ARZA’s Rabbi Andrew] Davids. “Our commitment to religious justice issues, to democracy, to pluralism, are tremendously important values that need to be strengthened and supported more in Israeli society. Our aliya efforts are designed to put more troops on the ground to strengthen Israel in these ways.”

This is great news! Focusing the connection to Israel on more than just the older brother taking care of the poor little sister. Israel can be the center stage where the struggle to assert the primacy of Jewish values can play out dramatically. Let’s work diligently to encourage more of our young people – and our less young families – to move to the center, our spiritual center, Israel. The Association for Reform Zionists of America and the Jewish Agency are onto something here! Read on.

Walking for Darfur: Or Ami Steps Forward to Stop Genocide

Over forty Or Ami members joined together with others from across the San Fernando Valley to walk for Darfur, decrying the genocide that continues to plague that part of the Sudan. Teen Osher Shefer shared these reflections on the Walk for Darfur:

“Come on, Get up!” Waking up early to drive 20 miles east wasn’t my idea of a lazy Sunday morning. As we got into the car, I briefly thought about Darfur. With my iPod on, it wasn’t truly on my mind. Arriving at Jewish World Watch (WWW) rally at the Milken Jewish Community Campus in West Hills, I realized how many people actually got up like me and spent part of their Sunday for this wonderful cause: ending the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. We got our picket signs up and our big banner and we started walking. The walk was fantastic. Every time somebody honked at our work, we all cheered in joy and felt appreciated. The line of walkers continued past the corners of every block. It was good to know you weren’t alone. As we came back to Milken Jewish Community Campus, we felt like we had accomplished something great. At the Jewish Center, there were little tents set up for us inside the pavilion. Within each of them was a little memorial to honor the hundreds of thousands who died in the genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, the Holocaust, and Darfur. Looking through these was heartbreaking. To think that all these hundreds of thousands of people died because of racism. This thought brought me to tears. As I walked into each tent, I realized that this had happened during the Holocaust and it shouldn’t happen again. We are always talking about how history repeats itself and we should learn from it, and here was our chance. When I finally came out of the last tent, I looked down at my neck card. Around each person’s neck was card with one paragraph describing someone’s terrible story of their experience in Darfur. I read mine, and then my mother’s and my father’s. I read my friends’ as well. These cards and this experience made me realize how unfortunate and how terrible their lives are. We need to help them…they need us. We Jews regularly remember the Holocaust and decry the world’s inaction. May this Walk for Darfur raise additional awareness and lead others to work toward the end of modern genocidal regimes.
To learn more about how to help stop the genocide in Darfur, go to Jewish World Watch.

Leaning Right and Leaning Left: Jewish Bifurcation on How to Best Support Israel

I’m a card carrying member of AIPAC because no one mobilizes the support of Congress and the Administration in support of Israel like AIPAC does. I believe Israel needs to have friends on both sides of the political aisle, and AIPAC does just that. I will always be a supporter of AIPAC for just that reason.

But in my bifurcated Jewish existence, simultaneously, I am a supporter of Rabbis for Human Rights and other pro-Israel left leaning groups, because I worry that sometimes (often?) AIPAC leans too far to the right. I want a strong Israel, but I want an Israel that is encouraged and supported as it continually seeks out partners in conversation about peace. Sometimes, I worry as to whether some organizations can really do that.

So I was encouraged to read in the Jewish Forward that “Dovish Groups Mull Mega-Merger In Bid To Build Peace Powerhouse.” It seems that leaders of Americans for Peace Now, the Israel Policy Forum and Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, three leading dovish Israel advocacy groups, are in discussions that proponents hope will produce a new mega-organization with greater political clout and more money to push for a two-state solution. This too is good.

Why? According to the Forward, the issue of serving as a dovish balance to Aipac is discussed frequently. One activist involved in the initiative spoke of the need to send Congress a message that “there are other voices in the community” and that lawmakers “don’t have to automatically support unnecessary resolutions” about Israel. Another activist said that many in the Jewish community “are dying” to present an alternative to Aipac on issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. At the same time, all those involved stressed their strong appreciation for Aipac’s role in supporting and strengthening Israel. They made clear that the new group — if and when created — would not aim to challenge or replace Aipac as the leading pro-Israel lobby.

Many will decry the prospects of splitting a clear voice and hard line on Israel. Always a proponent for diversity, I welcome this bifurcation. Let a multiplicity of good voices be heard; let dissent be considered seriously. Eilu v’eilu divray Elohim chayim – both this and that are the words of the Living God!

Prom Prep 101: Helping Foster Kids Experience the Joy of Being a Teen

Or Ami member Michelle Feinstein and her daughter Carly helped raise up a spark of holiness this month at Prom Prep 101. Michelle writes:

“We were like fairy godmothers getting Cinderella ready for the ball,” said Carly Feinstein (age 7 ½) of her experience in participating in the Prom – Prep Mitzvah. About 50 young foster girls ages 15-18 came from the Department of Children and Family Services to take part in making the Prom a beautiful memory. Most of these girls are able to go to their proms because of Prom Prep – 100. It was as magical an experience for them as it was for the over 75 volunteers who gave their time to assist in the process. We arrived at Bethel Lutheran Church in Encino to find that the classrooms had been transformed into Glamour stations for the girls to visit. Each volunteer was assigned a girl to spend the day with, and escort her through the process of selecting a beautiful gown to wear, choosing accessories to complete the ensemble from shoes, handbags and jewelry. We then continued with hair styling and makeovers by professional stylists, including manicures! Photographers were on hand to capture the before and after shots of the girls – they were lovely!!! The afternoon was culminated by a runway presentation, an inspiring speaker and a luncheon. “I was so proud to be a part of making the day so nice for someone who truly needed it. It was a great opportunity for my daughter and I to do this together – we will certainly do it again next year!”

Joanna Gould, who attended the event this year and last year and whose mother Susan Gould helped organize Or Ami’s participation in the event, spoke in her Bat Mitzvah d’var Torah (speech) about the longer lasting relationships that develop from these mitzvah opportunities:

I also volunteered at an event called “Prom Prep 101” where teenage girls in foster care attend a special event to select a dress and accessories to wear to their prom. I met this amazing girl named Kaylee there and we have kept in touch ever since. My family is mentoring her. In addition, I have been sponsoring a little girl named Andrea who was severely burned in an accident. We helped make her life easier by getting an air conditioner for her so that she would not be so miserable in her compression garment. I also was able to take her shopping for items at the Mervyns’ Holiday Child-Spree event last month.