Anyway

Thinking about things that are going on in my life made me change my Facebook profile picture to this:

An old friend responded by pointing me here.  Turns out that Mother Theresa did not compose the famous list of "do it anyway"s which is attributed to her.  It was composed by Kent Keith, a 19-year-old student activist at Harvard in 1968, as part of a pamphlet he wrote for aspiring student leaders.   His story is quite amazing.  Please set aside some time to read http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/ in its entirety.  You will not regret it.

The "Mother Teresa" version is actually somewhat modified from the original.  Here is the original version:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

The "Mother Teresa" version left out the last two, and substituted the following:

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;It was never between you and them anyway.

When Mr. Keith became aware of this version, he wrote:

The last two lines in this "final analysis" version trouble me, because they can be read in a way that is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus, the life of Mother Teresa, and the message of the Paradoxical Commandments themselves. The statement that "it was never between you and them anyway" seems to justify giving up on, or ignoring, or discounting other people.
That is what Jesus told us we should not do. Jesus said that there are two great commandments-to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. So in the final analysis, it is between you and God, but it is also between you and "them."

Of course, these 2 great commandments originated in Judaism and predated Jesus.  In fact, Keith's interpretation is very much rooted in the Jewish understanding of morality.  Morality in Judaism is always a balance between what we owe G*d and what we owe each other.  We serve G*d by acts of lovingkindness towards others, and we are commanded to love each other by seeing the image of the divine in every individual.

As we approach the High Holidays, we are reminded of this as we seek to atone for our sins.  If we have transgressed against a ritual law (desecrating the Sabbath, or eating non-kosher foods), then that is between ourselves and G*d.  We can beg forgiveness and move on, resolving to do better.  Sins against others (anything from gossip or envy to serious crimes) cannot be atoned for until the victim him/herself has forgiven the offense.  As Keith said, it is between you and G*d, but it is also between you and them.

Have a Happy New Year.... anyway!

Haftorah Beam - Ha'azinu (Shabat Shuva)

As this Parsha is read during the 10 Days of Awe (between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur), the usual Haftorah is replaced with the Shabat Shuva reading.

This collection of verses from several prophetic writings examines the concept of repentance, both human and divine.

Hosea 14

² Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,For you have fallen because of your sin.

as well as

⁵ I will heal their affliction,Generously will I take them back in love;For My anger has turned away from them.

How do we atone for our wrongdoings, and how do we rediscover the true path?  This passage from Joel echoes the High Holiday rituals:

Joel 2

¹⁵ Blow a horn in Zion,
Solemnize a fast,
Proclaim an assembly!
¹⁶ Gather the people,
Bid the congregation purify themselves.
Bring together the old,
Gather the babes
And the sucklings at the breast;
Let the bridegroom come out of his chamber,
The bride from her canopied couch.

Through repentance and community, relationship with the divine is restored.

Happy New Year 5775!

Just a few weeks left to finish Haftorah Beam!

Torah Connection - Ha'azinu (Shabbat Shuvah)

We are now full-swing in the Days of Awe -- the 10 days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur.  The sabbath which falls during this period is called "Shabbat Shuvah" -- the sabbath of return, which is also a play on the word "teshuvah" meaning repentance.

The reading -- parshat Ha'azinu -- is mostly a long poem recited by Moshe to the people of Israel. The title האזינו means "listen", but more specifically, "give your ear" ("ear" = אֹזֶן).  The central proclamation in Judaism - the Shema - commands us to "hear".  Interestingly enough, it is not the people who are commanded to "give ear" in this parsha:

¹ Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
² May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.
³ For the name of the Lord I proclaim;
Give glory to our God!

And yet, of course it is people to whom this oracle is directed. At the end of the parsha, he says,

⁴⁵ And when Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them: Take to heart all the words with which I have warned you this day. Enjoin them upon your children, that they may observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching. ⁴⁷ For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure on the land that you are to possess upon crossing the Jordan.

This week and a half is our time to focus on our very life.  It is not a "trifling thing".  It is not just an elaborate ritual and a tedious synagogue service.  It is our very life.

G'mar khatimah tovah!

Shana Tova!

Happy Jewish New Year!

According to the Jewish calendar, this is the year 5774.  This, however, does NOT represent the age of the Universe, as is asserted by "young earth Creationists".  The six days of creation are a different -- G*d's eye view -- time scale.  It represents the time from when Adam and Eve ate the apple and left the Garden of Eden -- when people formed civilizations.  When instead of living "in harmony with nature" we began shaping nature to our needs and desires.  When we began to think about the afterlife and create organized religions. As the Torah readily documents, this has not been an easy history. In many ways, "primitive tribes" who still live as prehistoric people did have a less complex life.  Not necessarily happier, but simpler (until, of course, we "discover" them.....) Seen that way, 5774 is definitely the right order of magnitude.

How appropriate to observe this anniversary with the solemn Days of Awe, when we reflect on where we have been and where we are going.  5774 years of struggling with ethics, both intrapersonal and interpersonal.

L'Shana Tova Tikhatemu
May you be inscribed for a good year.

Torah Connection - Nitzavim/Vayeilech

A few exceptional verses from this double parsha:

First, the opener:

ט  אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:  רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם, זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם, כֹּל, אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל.	9 Ye are standing this day all of you before the LORD your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
י  טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם--וְגֵרְךָ, אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ:  מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ, עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ.	10 your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp, from the woodchopper to the waterdrawer.

"From the woodchopper to the waterdrawer"??? What kind of an occupational spectrum is that? Two physical laborers, what gamut do they span? Many theories have been proposed. I like the one that looks at the two occupations in the way that they interact with the earth.  The woodchopper destroys nature, while the waterdrawer is in harmony with it.

ד  אִם-יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ, בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם--מִשָּׁם, יְקַבֶּצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וּמִשָּׁם, יִקָּחֶךָ.

4 If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee.

"Uttermost parts of heaven"???  Many translations ignore this strange wording and substitute the more intuitive "ends of the earth".  And yet, the original clearly says "heavens".  This suggests, that if we lose our way in our spiritual quests, that G*d will nonetheless seek us out to bring us back to the correct path.  As we approach the Days of Awe, this is an empowering sentiment.

Speaking of which, Rosh Hashana starts tomorrow night!  I think I will make this, as recommended by my friend Miriam....

A good person

Ableism.... We value abilities. In ourselves, in our children, in our civilization.  We take pride in accomplishment, in reaching new heights.

As I have discussed last week, this is true even for people with disabilities. Parents of developmentally delayed children gush about how much more intensely milestones are celebrated in proportion to the struggle to achieve them. We hail the trailblazers who accomplish great things in spite of disabilities and hardships.

But at some point in raising our children, usually when they are one-upping each other, we take them aside and tell them that it is more important to be good than smart/strong/first/etc.  It is more important to show each other grace, compassion and kindness than to "win" this or that contest.

Do we really mean that?

How often are people truly able to value the good person over the successful person?  As a spouse?  As a friend?

How often do we, by our very attitude, undermine that sentiment to our own children, when we emphasize measurable accomplishments while taking good behavior for granted or handing out only muted praise?  How often do we ourselves model grace and compassion to our children?

Do we really mean that?

Next week is Rosh Hashanah.  The ten Days of Awe will culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is traditionally a time of soul searching, seeking to repair our relationships both with G*d and with our fellow man. Let us examine what we truly value, both in others and in ourselves.

Let us recalibrate our yardstick by which we measure personal worth.

(Almost) A New Year

This morning I prayed the Amidah, and an incredible feeling came over me.

I got to the Blessing of the Year:


Bless for us, L-rd our G‑d, this year and all the varieties of its produce for good; and bestow (During the summer season say:) blessing (During the winter season say: dew and rain for blessing) upon the face of the earth. Satisfy us from Your bounty and bless our year like other good years, for blessing; for You are a generous G‑d who bestows goodness and blesses the years. Blessed are You L-rd, who blesses the years.


You see, the Jewish year 5772 ends today at sundown, when the shofar sounds during the evening Rosh Hashanah service that the Gates of Heaven open up for the High Holy Days.  Only a few hours left of "this year".  And yet, let us bless this year -- even now -- let us welcome the bounty and blessing that can come even in these next few hours.  Even as this year fades, let us be open to all the varieties of its produce as they are bestowed upon us by our generous G*d.

Shanah Tovah!