Leil Rosh HaShanah 5770 (2009)

This past Sunday, with chuppah and ketubah and solemn vows, we celebrated the joyous joining together of two communities. Now it is time to look forward to a wonderful new family, referred to in Hebrew as a bayit neeman b’yisrael, literally a faithful house of Israel. How will we, Beth Sholom B’nai Israel, fulfill that sacred mandate?

The small city of Missoula, Montana provides us with a mind-opening model of what a community can do when it comes together for a purpose.

Missoula has a lot going for it, as Lisa and I found out when we spent a few days there this past July. The walk along the Clark Fork River is beautiful. The funky shops on Higgins Street reminded me of Northhampton, MA. And there is a microbrewery in town famous for a beer called Moose Drool, which I highly recommend – despite its name. But by far, the most interesting site to visit in Missoula is the carousel.

In 1991, Chuck Kaparich, a woodcarver by trade, made a proposal to the Missoula City council. “If you will give it a home and promise no one will ever take it apart, I will build a Carousel for Missoula.” The council agreed and so began a remarkable project that led to what is now officially called “A Carousel for Missoula.” As the plaque at the site notes:

“By opening day, May 27, 1995, over 100,000 hours of volunteer time had gone into the construction of thirty-eight permanent ponies, two chariots, fourteen gargoyles, and more…Community members donated time, services, materials and encouragement. …The story of the Carousel includes wood and metal, concrete and colored glass, hearts and hands and countless hours of loving labor. If magic can happen anywhere, it can happen in Missoula, where dreams are followed and promises are kept, and where people believe in making a life as well as making a living.”

It is that cooperative, hands-on, everybody gets involved spirit that makes a Carousel for Missoula so special. It is why I see it as a symbol that can inspire us in the sacred work ahead. This Rosh Hashanah we mark the beginning of our story of coming together; of two holy congregations merged into one to carve out a place in our East of the River community in which we can live a fulling and vibrant Jewish life.

The prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to a glorious future, said these words:

Bayamim ha-hayma, yalchu bet Yehuda al bet Yisrael. "In those days Bet Yehudah, the house of Judah, shall walk with the House of Israel, and they shall come together in one community."  We have tweaked that verse just a little bit, "In those days Beth Sholom, the house of peace, shall walk with B’nai Yisrael, the people of Israel, and they shall come together in one community."

We have not yet brought the Messiah to Manchester, but we have begun the journey. With willing hands and hearts, and with God’s help, we can make the prophet’s glorious vision of the future a reality. Our goal is evident in the name we have taken.

Synagogue names often tell interesting stories. When a synagogue has a name like “Ahavas Achim”, Brotherly Love, or “B’nai Shalom,” People of Peace, there is a good chance that synagogue was a break off from another, older, congregation in the same community. In Norwich the two synagogues are called “Beth Jacob,” The Household of Jacob, and “Brothers of Joseph.” My guess is that some years ago Norwich had but one congregation.

In contrast to these break-off congregations, it is very easy to identity synagogues that are the result of a merger. In my early years in the rabbinate, in New Jersey, I sometimes attended meetings at Congregation A.A.B.J. & D. That was how we referred to Congregation Ahavas Achim, Bnai Jacob and David. I always thought that had to be the longest possible synagogue name. Then I learned that in Montreal there is a synagogue called “Congregation Shomrim Laboker, Beth Yehuda, Shaare Tefillah, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Tifereth Israel.” The first page of their bulletin is the synagogue name.Some synagogues have names that are very appropriate. In Fairbanks, Alaska, there is Congregation Or HaTzafon, Light of the North. It claims to be the furthest northern synagogue in the world. In Fort Lauderdale, the Reform synagogue is called Bat HaYam, Daughter of the Sea. Certainly fitting!

Now, to this list of appropriate synagogue names we can add one more: Beth Sholom B’nai Israel – A house of peace for the people of Israel. And that is our prayer: that this synagogue, a significant joining together of two congregations with proud histories, will provide spiritual peace to all those who enter our doors.On behalf of the members of the former Temple Beth Sholom, I welcome our new family, the alumni of Congregation B’nai Israel. With anticipation of great things ahead, we say Bruchim HaBaim – may we all be blessed by the merit of our holy union. For the members of the former Congregation B’nai Israel, this is a moment that is both bitter and sweet. You have a glorious history of many years in that majestic mansion on the hill, and many of you not only prayed there, but also celebrated and mourned within those walls. Be assured that your glorious history continues as you join your skills, strengths and talents with ours. Our physical space is complete, but we look forward to working together to evolve our new spiritual home.King Solomon, known as the wisest of sages, said in Ecclesiastes words that appear to have been written for just this day: Tovim haShanayim min haEchad. “Two are better than one,” asher esh lahem shchar-tov ba-amalam. “for they get a better reward for their labor.” Now, what had been two wonderful congregations becomes one even better congregation, and we indeed expect an excellent reward for our labors.

But this leads to an important question: for what do we labor? What is it that we want to accomplish? I think the answer is spelled out very clearly in the mission statement that appears on our website homepage:Beth Sholom B’nai Israel is a traditional egalitarian Conservative synagogue. As a congregation, we seek to provide a welcoming Jewish home-away-from-home for our diverse synagogue family. Our synagogue is a place where one may reach out to both God and community; a place in which all may learn Torah and Hebrew, celebrate or mourn, observe holy times and rejoice in the beauty of the Jewish heritage. Beth Sholom B'nai Israel fosters programming that enriches Jewish life, values and education so that our members, of every age and marital status, may enhance

(their)   - observance of the mitzvot, both ritual and ethical,

(their)      - involvement in Tikun Olam (the repair of the world),

 (their)     - connection to the State of Israel and the welfare of Jews everywhere,

- and (their) pride in being Jewish.

Friends, this is a tall order. Are we up to this holy task? I believe we are, and now, with the increased pool of talent, ideas, and resources, and with God’s help, like the people of Missoula who came together to build a carousel, we can surely succeed.

As I thought about appropriate sources for this message tonight, one verse from Psalms continuously came mind. Hinay mah tov u’mah naim, shevet achim gam yachad – How wonderful it is for all of us to be sitting together. Please join me in celebrating that beautiful idea in song.

Sing together several times.

(Conclude) V’nomar AMEN

Rosh HaShanah Day One   “Dayenu”   2009

Our nation is in profound distress. Surveys indicate that most people feel certain that their children’s lives will be less secure than their own. As we gather on these holidays to pray for the coming year, which prayer should we recite most fervently?

I want to speak about a prayer this morning that you won’t find in our Machzor, but perhaps it would have been a good idea to have it there. The prayer I have in mind is very well known, but our tradition has us recite it only twice a year, and not for another six months. Maybe we should say it sooner. I am referring to Dayenu. When you tell your friends or relatives that your rabbi spoke about Dayenu on Rosh HaShanah, they may shake their heads in disbelief, but see if you don’t agree with me that the message of this prayer is one we need to hear over and over again.

Remember what it says:

Elu hotzi hotzi anu, hotzi anu m’mitzrayim,

If God had only brought us out of Egypt, and done nothing more. Dayenu! It would have been sufficient.

If God had only given us the Shabbat, and nothing more, Dayenu! It would have been sufficient.If God had only brought us to our homeland, and left us there on our own – Dayenu! It would have been sufficient.

And on it goes. I love this prayer because it brings back beautiful memories of childhood Sedarim with people I loved who are no longer here. But more importantly, I love it because its message is so contrary to our contemporary culture - a culture that is so lacking in appreciation for the blessings we do have.

Our nation is in profound distress and we are all acutely aware of it. A recent op-ed piece by Bob Herbert in the NYTimes was titled “A World of Hurt,” and that really says it all. Just a year ago our economy took a slide the likes of which most of us had never seen. Huge corporations that we thought were the backbone of our economy were suddenly gone, and others were saved only by the grace of huge government bailouts. Just about everyone felt the ripple effect. Jobs were lost, retirement savings shrank, people who were used to living very comfortably suddenly feared for their future. New purchases were put on hold, vacations plans were scrapped, and some people who had hoped to soon retire were glad to still be employed. Many others were not so lucky. Quite a few people have told me about their children who thought they would be well set when they finished college, who now have advanced degrees but nowhere to earn a living.

Herbert described “the recession’s seismic impact.” Using the word ‘seismic’ is very telling. This recession has hit us like an earthquake. The very ground under our feet has suddenly and unexpectedly shifted and we all feel the tremor.

Too often in our culture, and especially now in this time of crisis for so many, we view our lives and our resources in terms of scarcity, as if there is not enough to go around: not enough time, not enough money, not enough possessions, not enough affection – never enough.

For men and women of any age, scarcity speaks in the language of fear, envy, and dissatisfaction. The language of scarcity convinces us that "more is always better," that there is never truly enough. In contrast, a Dayenu philosophy of sufficiency speaks in terms of gratitude, fulfillment, and confidence, and it can lead us to generosity and joy.

Now please do not misunderstand me: sufficiency is not about minimalism or simplicity. It does not mean we should not strive or aspire or continue to achieve. In fact, the attitude of sufficiency has nothing really to do with the amount of money we may have. No - it is about the relationship we have with our resources, helping us appreciate what is already there. Sufficiency can be about growth, but not growth in terms of accumulating more money or new things. It is about growth as learning to appreciate what we already have.

Dayenu sings of sufficiency, and that leads directly to gratitude, and that, psychologists tell us, is the ultimate key to happiness. Perhaps this explains why it is that here in the wealthiest country on the planet, surveys show the most feelings of sadness and dissatisfaction in comparison with the feelings of citizens of every other nation in the world. How can it be that for the Ukraine, land of Chernobyl, or Lebanon, with its suffering brought on by HezboIah's terror, or Colombia with its death squads and drug cartels, or even Mexico where some 50 million citizens live below the poverty level, each one reports less than half the proportion of depressed spirits as here in the U.S.A?

A recent study in behavioral economics demonstrates that once basic needs have been met, the well-off are not much happier than others; as income rises, so does tension and anger. People with above-average incomes generally do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities. This is true and we have all seen it: those who obsessively chase after a maximum degree of material possessions, believing that "more is always better," give up something more precious and fleeting; they sacrifice time to acquire something that cannot make them happy, more money.

Ironically, abundance can stand in the way of happiness because it creates a never-ending progression of new things to want. With so much merchandise entering the market each year, no one living from a perspective of "more is better" could possibly keep up - even if money were no object. Just look at the program guide on your cable TV. There are multiple channels that do nothing but sell stuff. They don’t even interrupt the commercials with programming.

It is very important to recognize the difference between needs and wants. Needs can be satisfied. A person needs food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, and transportation; and once attained, these needs are fulfilled. Wants can never be satisfied. The more you want, the more likely you are to feel disgruntled; the more you acquire, the more likely you are to feel controlled by your own possessions. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "The victor belongs to the spoils."

On this holy day, when we take account of our lives, and stand in judgment, not so much before a Judge on High as before our own selves, I want us to think back to the Dayenu prayer we sang so joyously on Pesach. We should consider our own sense of Dayenu, the attitude of sufficiency, and see how we can use it to feel better about our lives and our future.

How do we do it? One rabbi coined the phrase "The Power of Positive Thanking." It is impossible to be happy without first experiencing gratitude, or to see it from the other side, every happy person is first and foremost a grateful one.

Most of us have had the experience of applying for financial aid or a loan. When you do, you have to present a statement of your net worth. As you calculate your net worth this Rosh HaShanah, I want to suggest a few assets that should appear on your balance sheet.

Our net worth includes human capital - the people in our lives whom we care for and who care for us.

Our net worth includes intellectual capital - formal education and the lessons learned along life's way that no one can ever take away.

Our net worth includes social capital - friendships, connections and community.

And hopefully we can include in our net worth some degree of spiritual capital as well - traditions that enrich our lives, beliefs and faith that gives meaning, direction and purpose to our days.

Last semester in our Hebrew High School I discussed with the teens issues of spirituality. I introduced the prayer in our siddur called “Asher Yatzar.” Too many Jews have never even heard of it. It is the prayer you recite after a bowel movement. The high schoolers immediately dubbed this “the poop prayer,” but I think they came to appreciate it. The prayer is amazing, and it so well demonstrates the sensible, down to earth spirituality of our tradition. If you can give thanks to God for something as basic as your digestive system, you can truly feel satisfaction in life.

Another example of how our heritage helps us appreciate life and feel gratitude can be found in the beautiful morning blessings. We thank God for things we too often take for granted: being able to stand straight, taking a few steps on Terre firma, having clothes to wear, and just being able to face the new day. When we can appreciate these basics, when we can say Dayenu with a full heart for each of our blessing, then we can truly be satisfied with our portion.

I want to conclude this morning by bringing to your attention just one of those things the Mastercard people would call ‘priceless.’

Rabbi Milton Steinberg, may his memory be a blessing, died at the age of 47, at the height of his career, serving as the rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. Seven years before his death, in December 1943, while on a speaking tour of army camps for the Jewish Welfare Board, he suffered a heart attack in Texas. He was hospitalized in Dallas. After weeks recuperating indoors, he was finally permitted to go outside. Rabbi Steinberg told of that experience in a sermon:

“After a long illness, I was permitted for the first time to step out of doors. And, as I crossed the threshold, sunlight greeted me. This is my experience--all there is to it. And yet, so long as I live, I shall never forget that moment.... The sky overhead was very blue, very clear, and very, very high.... A faint wind blew from off the western plains, cool and yet somehow tinged with warmth--like a dry, chilled wine. And everywhere in the firmament above me, in the great vault between earth and sky, on the pavements, the buildings--the golden glow of sunlight. It touched me, too, with friendship, with warmth, with blessing....

In that instant I looked about me to see whether anyone else showed on his face the joy I felt. But no, there they walked - men and women and children, in the glory of a golden flood, and so far as I could detect, there was none to give it heed. And then I remembered how often, I, too, had been indifferent to sunlight; how often, preoccupied with petty and sometimes mean concerns, I had disregarded it. And I said to myself -- how precious is the sunlight but alas, how careless of it are men...I was reminded, to spend life wisely, not to squander it.”

As we enter this New Year, 5770, may we all be blessed with the ability to sing Dayenu with gusto and fervor. Let us not focus on what we lack. Instead, may we appreciate the sunlight and the multitude of blessings that are ours to enjoy. Shana Tova u’mvorach.

Rosh HaShanah Day Two 5770   2009

What Can We Learn from Bernie Madoff

We all love to shep nachas, to take pleasure in our children or grandchildren or to bask in the glow of Jews who do great things. Many of us have received email messages that certainly help find much for which to be proud. I am sure you know what I am referring to: the disproportionate percentage of Jews among Nobel Prize winners, how the Jewish has survived despite all the forces that have plotted our demise, the number of Jews who are presidents of universities, the amazing scientific and technological innovations that have come out of Israel, and on and on with the well deserved pats on the back. Before the last election I saw lists of how many of the candidates have claimed Jewish roots, and then after the Obama victory, how many of his closest staff are Jewish, with the punch-line that assembling his team sounded more like gathering a minyan. We love to hear those things.

There is still some significant communication that is not carried on over the Internet. A colleague told me about an experience in his barbershop. Sitting in the chair next to him was an Italian man being worked on by an Italian barber. They were discussing their recent hernia operations.  The customer was still suffering two weeks after surgery while the barber was back at work with no pain at all. What lesson did the barber learn? This is what he told his customer: “I love Italy and I love Italians, but when it comes to a doctor, I want a Jew.” We love to hear that sort of thing. We kvell with pride when we hear good things about Jews - but how do we handle the rest of the story, and this past year the story had some very embarrassing chapters.

A bombshell hit the Jewish community this past year and its name was Bernie Madoff. Do you remember the film “Weekend at Bernie’s?” We had not a weekend with Bernie but what seems like an eternity as this horrible story continues to reverberate in the lives of people who lost their fortunes and charities that have been seriously impacted. On top of that damage, there were several other awful incidents this year involving members of the Jewish community that were somewhat less extensive, but terrible in their own right:

There was a front-page picture in many newspapers of a perp-walk: handcuffed politicians and rabbis behind a yellow police barrier. Gevalt. Rabbis and politicians. I cannot speak for how politicians might have reacted, but as a rabbi I was certainly deeply embarrassed. A colleague in New Jersey shared a bit of black humor. He said, “You know its bad when a colleague calls to give you his cell number, and he doesn’t mean his mobile phone.”

Sadly, the embarrassing incidents this year were not limited to our country. In Israel, there were deeply troubling stories as well, and the distance of 6,000 miles made it hit no less close to home. Two weeks ago, the first headline on the JerusalemOnlineUpdates made me shudder. “Former Government ministers begin serving prison terms.” That same day, the New York Times reported that the former Prime Minister, who was is also the former mayor of the Holy City of Jerusalem, was indicted on a slew of charges. Coincidently, on the same day the mayor of the less holy city of Hartford was also charged.

Here is another situation you probably did not hear about. The Village Voice in New York City publishes each year a list of the ten worst landlords in the city of New York. This year, seven of them were Jewish. What was not reported was something the author of the list said privately. He admitted that he made a special effort to find at least three non-Jewish names to put on the list so that he wouldn’t be accused of anti-Semitism.

Unfortunately, this catalog of horrors is not a complete list, but it is as much as I can bear to repeat in public.

I imagine that most of you share my embarrassment. These are Jews; members of our mishpacha, our family. Indeed, the Jewish concept of peoplehood is powerful. “Kol Yisrael Chaverim” “All Jews are connected,” and this sense of peoplehood is indeed compelling.

And there is another reason to be upset, specifically in regard to those scoundrels who call themselves observant Jews. Does Jewish observance only mean that you observe Shabbat or that you are strict about how you keep kosher? It should mean a lot more than that. That is why I am embarrassed when Jews who claim to live a life of Torah and mitzvot are clearly not doing that at all. When they appear before the media in that ‘perp-walk’ wearing their yarmulkes and black coats, they add one more transgression to their list of crimes: Chillul HaShem, bringing disgrace upon the name of God, the Jewish religion and the Jewish people. When Jews do wonderful things, we call that a Kiddush Hashem, a sanctification of the Name and we shep nachas. But when they are engaged in criminal activity, and do so publicly where their Jewish identity is front and center, we call that Chillul HaShem, desecration of the Name and we cringe.

Pirke Avot teaches that the truly wise person is the one who can learn from everyone. It is easy to learn from our heroes, the exemplars of the very best of Jewish values. Finding lessons in the Bernie Madoff takes a bit more digging.

There is an anti-Semitic canard that Jews are avaricious and will cheat anyone in business. One side effect of the Madoff scandal was that it gave support to this malicious stereotype. The importance of learning the tenets of Jewish business ethics is certainly a valuable lesson at this time. Integrity in business practices constitutes a vast portion of Halacha, Jewish law. There is a discussion in the Talmud about what questions you will be asked when you come before the True Judge, the Dayan HaEmet? The very first question will be whether you conducted your business affairs with integrity. How do you think Bernie is going to fare in that judgment?

It is too late for Bernie Madoff, but there are many people in the business world and in the financial industry who could benefit from a course in Jewish business ethics. We all could. If I designed that course, here are some of the elements I would include.

I would begin with a verse from Leviticus 19: “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.”

This would be followed with: “A person is forbidden to act in a smooth-tongued and luring manner.  He should not speak one thing outwardly and think otherwise in his heart.  Rather, his inner self should be like the self that he shows the world.”

I would surely include this text from the Rabbis: “Where money was given to an agent to buy wheat and he bought with it barley, or barley and he bought with it wheat,’ it was taught, if there was a loss, he would sustain the loss but if there was a profit, the profit would be divided between them.”  Had Bernie Madoff taken this course, he could have asked, “What if he was given money to buy wheat and he bought nothing at all, just gave the buyer an accounting of his wheat holding?” Interesting question.

I would include in the curriculum this MIshna: “It is forbidden to deceive people. One should not press his colleague to share a meal with him when he knows that his colleague will not accept the invitation, nor should he press presents upon him when he knows that his colleague will not accept them. He should not open wine supposedly for his colleague that he must open for sale, in order to deceive him into thinking that the bottle was opened in his honor.”

Of course, this is just a start. Three of the lengthiest tractates of the Talmud deal with nothing but business practices. This course could go on for years without repeating any material.

Another lesson to take from the entire scandal comes from reflection on the question of what motivated Bernie Madoff and the others to be so wealthy? What drives people who put acquisition of material things above all other values? Truly it is no excuse but to some degree I believe it is the nature of our society that puts so much emphasis on material wealth and consumerism. Lisa and I were in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware this summer. The biggest man-made attraction there, second in size only to the God made Atlantic Ocean, is the outlets. The volume of merchandise is mind-boggeling. Just thinking about the Arab oil burned trucking it there, and the packaging that will wind up in our landfills, is fearsome. Everything we read, every television show we watch, pushes us in the direction of buying more things. Surely, living in such a society has something to do with the avarice these people displayed. Ratcheting down the materialism of our society is certainly a lesson we must learn from these scoundrels and their deeds. The recent economic downturn we have suffered has done just that in a most painful way, but most often the pain was felt by the those who least deserved it. People are now seeking ways to get by, not just spend money.

We can also learn an important lesson for our lives from the victims of Bernie Madoff’s crime. The number of people who were so affected was staggering. One was Loretta Weinberg, a state senator from Teaneck, NJ, who at the age of 73 lost her life’s savings. Another, Burt Ross, was the former mayor of Fort Lee and a real estate firm owner; he also lost a bundle – five million dollars of his net worth. How did they react and what did they say about Madoff? State Senator Weinberg said “I don’t believe I will have any recourse over this loss in my lifetime. But I am determined not to make this the centerpiece of my life. I have to budget myself very carefully over the next several years.” Mr. Ross said “I felt very little anger during this whole thing, until I started reading about those elderly people who have been affected. For me it is not the end of the world. You realize that most of what you do is more luxury than necessity. You cut back on vacations and eating out – that’s not a tragedy. But when I see the elderly suffer, that’s when I think ‘Bernard Madoff should suffer in the lowest depths of hell.’”

Perhaps the most remarkable reaction was from Ian Theirman of Ben Lomand, California. The man ran a pest-control company and retired twenty-five years ago. He is ninety-years old. He lost all of his savings, $700,000.00, to Madoff; money he needs for home payments and his wife’s ailments. What did he do and what is his attitude? Thierman took a job for $10.00 an hour as a greeter at a local supermarket. Is he bitter? He says, “I have no time to feel sorry for myself or to dwell on Madoff. I have a job to do.”

We can take a perspective for our own lives from these victims. They lament their bad fortune, but they will not wallow in it. They will move on and reconstitute their blessings. That echoes the advice in Ethics of the Fathers: “Aizeh Hu Ashir- Ha sameach B’Chelko” – “Who is rich? The person who is content with his lot.” Those rich people, people rich in contentedness - if not in material assets - can do great things for humanity.

I want to conclude on a very positive note, a truly uplifting story, an example of remarkable human nobility.
I refer to Robert Lappin, 87 years old, who personally lost almost 90 million dollars to Madoff. Beyond that, the entire 5 million dollars the employees of his company had contributed to their retirement funds were wiped out as well. You know what Robert Lappin did? He took from his remaining personal funds and made whole the 5 million that his employees had lost. He told the Boston Globe “I wanted to do the right thing. And that, to me, is my reward.”

Friends, on this holy day I pray that in 5770 we all derive from the Madoff debacle lessons for our own lives so that we can be the kind of Jews that make other Jews proud. I pray that whatever vicissitudes may come, each of us does “Hatov v’hayashar b’eynay Elohim –
What is right and what is good
in the eyes of God.”

Shana tova.