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HJK will introduce the Torah service with a comment reminding people that
On removing the Torah from the Ark we will replace the Torah Mantle with the special mantle created by the CA for the Torah of the Tree of Life Congregation that is circulating around the country. Hazzan: One year ago according to the Hebrew calendar our community was reeling from the news that was unfolding from Pittsburgh and the vicious acts of violence that rocked the Tree of Life congregation. Amid frenzy of anxiety about safety and security in our houses of worship there was also an outpouring of love from our neighboring faith communities. Amid the fear of rising antisemitism, and the hand-wringing about the seemingly irreparable fracture points that continue to separate our country, there were huge, public assemblies of the faithful who stood, sang, cried, and were silent with the Jewish people, for we all knew that what happened at the Tree of Life Congregation could have happened anywhere. After the violent and senseless ends of individual Jewish lives, and the attempt to end many more, a scar has begun to form over our deep communal wound: still visible, still red and new-skinned, the beginning of healing. One year after, while we are still in very much in the aftermath of death, we have been able to see the sprouts of life that have taken root over the past year. We have witnessed an outpouring of love to our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh: clergy came down to help with counseling, lawyers, contractors, doctors, nurses, first responders and more offered their services pro bono, families sent stuffed animals and made sweet potato comfort pies, congregations donated money, companies donated construction materials, friends and neighbors made and delivered food, cut red tape, navigated bureaucracy, created art, donated Judaica, and deepened relationships. This is what happens after tragedy – this is the response: all of the above – and all of the above boil down to: stare down death with unapologetic life. So many of us did this in our own small way last year: by showing up on Shababt one year ago to celebrate with Lexi at her Bat mitzvah – with or without the #showupforshabbat hashtag – we continued to live our lives amid the horrific chaos and uncertainty, because this is what we do. This is what our forefather Abraham did, as we read this morning – as our parasha Hayei Sarah begins at the aftermath of death (albeit after a long and full life). “Sarah lived to be 127 years old – this was the lifespan of Sarah’s life. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. Then Abraham rose after the death of his wife” – and goes on with the business of living the best he can - negotiates a burial site for his wife, and inters her there. Then, he attends to the business of life, namely, marrying off his son, remarrying Keturah, and continuing to produce children and grandchildren. The parsha concludes with Abraham’s death, and Isaac and Ishmael coming together to bury him in the same cave that their mother was buried in. After death, after trauma, after the unthinkable, to keep living is enough. To show more love, to batten down against hate – or, as my friend and colleague, Tree of Life Synagogue’s spiritual leader Hazzan Rabbi Jeff Myers calls it, the “H-world” is a radical act. After death, keep living. After death, show more love. After death, if you can, and if it will bring you healing as you mourn, make something beautiful in response. Let art have the last word, and let art be the first word in a new conversation. Today, Adath is proud to host a stunning Torah cover created by the Cantors Assembly to inspire us to reach out to one another once again and offer messages of unity and friendship. And this message in inherent in the artwork of the Torah cover itself, which is rich with symbolism. During the coming year the Tree of Life Torah cover is traveling around North America, to many different communities, who have pledged to “dedicate that Shabbat to messages of harmony among faiths, the preciousness and precarious nature of life, civic action projects which work toward keeping our children and citizens safe, etc. It lends itself to adding a great sense of inspiration to and serving as a springboard for teaching the community, blended by bringing faiths together, about tolerance, acceptance and fellowship.” After this year of travel, the Torah cover will be in the aron kodesh (holy ark) of the Tree of Life congregation for all to see. This Torah cover has specific symbolism that is unique and special to the Tree of Life congregation including: Words from the prayer for the New Hebrew Month (“for life, and the fulfillment of the desires of our hearts, for good”) Each Shabbat on which this prayer is recited is called Mevarchim HaChodesh. *In a non-leap year, Mevarchim haChodesh is recited 11 times (representative of the 11 blessed lives lost on October 27, 2018). *The 11 black and gold stars have special resonance in Pittsburgh – Steeler colors. * There is a tradition that in each generation there are 36 saintly people (Lamed Vovniks) alive in the world who do unparalleled good in their lifetimes. The 25 silver stars (added to the 11 black and gold) represent the Lamed Vovniks of Pittsburgh on the day of the Tree of life tragedy, honoring the first responders, hospital personnel and myriad others on that Shabbat morning. *Also present is the shape of the Rosh Chodesh new moon, an image of new beginnings. *The circles, of many colors, represent a ‘River’ of comfort flowing down from all over the world to reach this community. This ‘river’ then nourishes the tree of life which grows from the word Goodness (L’Tovah). (Pittsburgh is distinctly known for its Three Rivers and the bridges which traverse the waters to bring communities together). *The prominent line of text asks that Goodness Fill our Hearts, a prayer for the world. The first word, Chayim, was the Hebrew name of one of the victims, Cecil Rosenthal, who regularly carried the Torah in the congregation. The Second word L’Tovah is the essence of this prayer. Each person is obligated, by the Creator to share their goodness within with all others with whom they come in contact throughout their lives. The inscription sewn inside the back of the Torah cover reads: ליבנו במזרח Though we may live beyond “The Neighborhood” our hearts are with you in the East. חברים כל ישראל In memory of your cherished Tree of Life, Dor Chadash and New Light family members, now stars whose guiding light shall never dwindle. And in honor of, and gratitude for, our colleague and friend Hazzan/Rabbi Jeffrey S. Myers From your worldwide Cantors Assembly Family Kislev 5779 - כסלו תשע''ט Thank you Hazzan for your leadership as an officer of the CA and your part in bringing this powerful ritual object to our congregation. It is easy to take for granted the ritual items that we use all of the time in our Jewish faith. It is moments such as this that remind of us of their importance and the power of the message they convey. Our hearts go out to the Pittsburgh Jewish community and to those who are still healing from their wounds in the aftermath of this and other attacks generated by hated of others. One powerful message that came from Pittsburgh after the attack was the deep appreciation of the solidarity of diverse faith communities. As I shared in my Yom Kippur message, we must not forget that we have many allies in the broader community and from communities of faith. We are blessed to have a supportive relationship with local policing organizations, that we do not take for granted. Thank you to friends from our community who are here today: Hazzan Dulkin called our attention to the parsha Chayei Sara which starts by speaking about life and death. It ends by speaking about reconciliation. In Gen 25:9 we read that after the death of Abraham, “His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.” I invite you to take a look at that passage on p. 140 which reminds me of the back story of Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac, whose father took him up to Mt Moriah to offer as a ritual sacrifice before an angel of God stays his hand. There is no record of Isaac having any contact with to his father Avraham after that event until this mention of his role in burying his father. And Ishmael, who was expelled from his father Abraham’s home together with his mother Hagar who almost died in the wilderness until God intercedes and enables his mother to see a water well to save his life. There are no further mentions of Ishmael having contact with Avraham, until the burial scene in Gen 25:9. Isaac and Ishmael are understood in Judaism to be the patriarchs, respectively of Judaism and Islam. What a powerful story of reconciliation for the leaders of these two faiths. The commentator in our Etz Hayim Chumash makes this point. It speaks to the ability of people to be in serious conflict and the ability of participants in even the worst conflicts to reconcile. This spring our congregation will look at how faith traditions can be in conflict or can build bridges to each other. We will host Prof Marc Gopin the weekend of March 28. He is widely respected for his work on transforming conflict and the unigue contribution faith communities can make to that effort. We hope that on the Sundays before that we will have faith leaders exploring these issues as well. We invite you to join us for this. We will soon conclude this part of the service with prayers for our country, for Israel and for peace. Before we do we are obligated to honor the memories of those who were murdered in the attack on the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh with hope for healing for all who sustained injuries of any kind as well. Joyce Fienberg Richard Gottfried Rose Mallinger Jerry Rabinowitz Cecil Rosenthal David Rosenthal Bernice Simon Sylvan Simon Dan Stein Mel Wax Irv Younger Please rise for the El Maleh – Prayer of Memory p. 336 of Siddur Lev Shalom Now we turn to p. 177 Prayer for Country, Israel. Peace After Torah service let people know at the conclusion of the service we will remove the special Torah mantle and allow people to take a closer look if they wish.
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Robert Aronson is a congregant of Adath Jesherun Congregation. He is an immigration attorney at Fredrikson & Byron, located in Minneapolis. He is also the Chair of HIAS, the Jewish community’s agency dedicated to the protection, dignity, and welfare of refugees and forcibly displaced persons. The views appearing in this piece are personal to the author and are not attributable to HIAS, Adath Jeshurun Congregation, or Fredrikson & Byron.
Israel is probably the greatest political miracle of the 20th century and regardless of political turmoil and internal strife, it remains a country with an unabated capacity for wonder and reinvention. So, particularly at this point in time of political transformation in Israel with its possibility for starting anew in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, permit me to share some observations arising from my trip this past June to the West Bank that was undertaken with a delegation of American Jewish leaders committed to conjoin the Palestinian narrative with the official Israeli viewpoint that had heretofore defined our collective understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Or to quote Rabbi Heschel: “Our sight is suffused with knowing, instead of feeling painfully the lack of knowing what we see. The principle to be kept in mind is to know what we see rather than to see what we know.” BACKGROUND TO THE TRIP The trip itself was organized by Encounter Israel, an American Jewish, nonpartisan educational organization cultivating more informed and constructive Jewish leadership on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I went on my own account and my comments do not reflect policy positons of HIAS, any other Jewish organization, or my employer. I went on a four-day trip to the Occupied Territories with 30 American Jewish leaders drawn from disparate segments of the American Jewish mosaic. All participants had to have had previous exposure to and involvement with Israel and an understanding of the Israeli narrative on the conflict. The underlying principles established by the trip’s organizers were: Ahavat Israel – Love of the Jewish people, as well as the core Jewish principles of k’vod ha-adam (human dignity); areivut (interdependence and inextricability); anavah (humility); ometz (courage); and hatmada (steadfastness and perseverance), as well as the motivating ethos appearing in Pirke Avot: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it either.” In essence, we as a group met with architypes of the Palestinian community. There was a certain self-selection in the process depending on who would meet with an American Jewish group, so I have no illusion that we met with the more intransigent or militant sectors of Palestinian society. But we were able to meet and dialogue with the following: an advisor to the Palestinian Authority; an American-Palestinian entrepreneur; representatives of the Holy Land Trust; a Palestinian refugee displaced in the War of Independence and living under UN protection; a Palestinian peace activist; an activist for Palestinian women’s empowerment; a number of Palestinian village representatives; an East Jerusalem social worker who heads a community center in the Silwan District; a Palestinian resident dispossessed of his family home in Jerusalem’s Old City; a bookstore owner in East Jerusalem who is a proponent of cultural revolution to revise the narrative; a Palestinian who was released after serving time in Israeli prison for political activity. COMPETING ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN INTERESTS While within both communities, there are certain divergences in outcome expectations, as a general observation: The Israeli ultimate objectives in its engagement with the Palestinian community are: 1) security; 2) preservation of Jewish identity; 3) preservation of liberal democracy; 4) reclaiming the Biblical lands of Judea and Samaria; 5) economic advancement. The Palestinian interests are: 1) territorial sovereignty and political self-determination; 2) reclaiming Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign state; 3) reunification with Gaza; 4) the right of return or, at minimum, restitution for properties confiscated during the War for Independence. But beyond this admittedly broad statement of objectives, there are further splits involving the more militant Palestinian community calling for the destruction of Israel, a dismantling of Western-style democratic movement in the Middle East, and the insertion of Iran as a power broker in the Region and a counterbalanced movement disproportionately evident in the younger generation advocating for fundamental reforms in the Palestinian Authority, including elections, and either the creation of a one-state solution presumably to take advantage of Israeli economic development and to create a demographic/ethnic movement that will ultimately destroy Israel as a Jewish state or a devotional adherence to an independent Palestinian state freed from Israeli domination. But in addition to the conflicting objectives of Israelis and Palestinians from the peace process, there are some basic asymmetries in the basic approaches of the two peoples to the peace process, consisting of the following:
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL THEORIES There are essentially five (5) discrete theories that are set forth, depending on one’s ideological orientation, to explain and justify or condemn the Israeli occupation of the West Bank: 1. THERE IS NO OCCUPATION. This is the position of the Religious Zionists as well as Likud who see the lands of Judea and Samaria as an integral part of the Jewish homeland/Biblical Israel. Under this approach, there is a preexistent right to the land so that the occupation simply becomes an expression of a previously unasserted right to the land. OCCUPIED TERRITORY BUT WITH UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS. This has been the official Israeli view for years. It states that for there to be an occupation of territory subject to international law, there would need to be an occupation of land held by a previous sovereign. But here, the previous sovereign of the West Bank was Jordan, which in 1988 renounced its intention to rule the territory. Under classical doctrine on the rights and responsibilities of the occupier, Israel would normally be prohibited from changing the status of the land in a manner that would prohibit the attainment of a political solution. But Israel essentially claims that these constraints do not apply because:
3. PALESTINIAN AND PROGRESSIVE CIRCLES: Israel is engaged in an illegal occupation. Therefore, if the occupation is illegal, its continuing presence in the Occupied Territories is illegitimate. This means that there are no conditions required for a withdrawal. It presupposes that Israel is an aggressor. The solution simply becomes for an Israeli withdrawal and reversion to the current occupiers of the land. 4. ANNEXATION HAS ALREADY HAPPENED: The reality is that 70% of the land mass of the territories falls within Israeli security and civil jurisdiction. Israeli settlers have the same rights and responsibilities as citizens residing in Israel proper. There has been an appropriation of the land through the sustained support of the settler movement and the extension of Israeli law to the Jewish settlers and the exploitation of the land in a manner consistent with rights exercised by a sovereign nation. CURRENT REALITIES Again, with the proviso that any generalized statement will have individual outliers, here are some prevailing realities that exist within the Occupied Territories:
While the “officially” declared objective is to create a two-state solution, there are competing political architectures on how the conflict might be resolved, running from a one-state solution that arguably would require that full rights be granted to the Palestinians to a confederation without a declaration of statehood to the maintenance of the status quo. But in the aftermath of the Second Intifada, the prevailing policy pursued by both Israelis and Palestinians was a separation of the communities with minimal opportunities for interaction. While the two communities had previously been linked by a heavily textured range of commercial, social, and historical ties, these potentially unifying interactions were systematically torn down and replaced by conflicting narratives that not only painted the opposite community in demonic terms, but allowed these mythical depictions to go unchallenged. It is, in my opinion, unrealistic at present to expect a durable political solution to be imposed through political fiat for the following three reasons: 1) there is no political will on the Israeli side to recognize a Palestinian state; 2) there is no capability within the weakened Palestinian Authority to declare much less enforce a peace settlement; and 3) any politically declared settlement would lack popular endorsement, thereby leading to an artificially imposed and unstable arrangement. Rather, if there is to be a lasting peace and comity between Israel and a Palestinian state, there needs to be a stark change in the narrative propagated by both communities. While any such revision to the popular narrative of each other would benefit from a kick-start from the political leadership, ultimately, it requires the involvement from religious, cultural, educational, and communal leadership circles to change eh hearts and minds of the two hostile communities. In my own opinion, there are major opportunities for trust-building and productive interactions in a number of areas of endeavor, including:
Unquestionably, the creation of a stable, lasting peace will be a long and arduous process. But once popular perceptions have changed, then and only then can the parties move forward to a political solution that probably has significant elements of the Oslo and Camp David formulas of “land for peace,” although the settlements and its entrenchment of Israeli settlers adds a significant new layer of complexity to the entire peace framework. But while the quest for a lasting peace appears at present to be ephemeral, its attainment would, when all is said and done, be a reaffirmation of Israel as a political miracle and a country with an unabated capacity for wonder and reinvention. |
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