Counting On The Long Haul

Blessed Mystery,

In it for the long haul, 

We begin the count. 

We count centuries from Joseph to Moses,

Count years from the burning bush to the Song of the Sea. 

Count weeks from manna to Sinai ,

Count days from the blare of the horn to the Golden calf. 

Count the five books of Moses,

Count the 24 books of the Tanakh. 

Count the 49 days of the Omer 

Count the seven sefirot,

Count and take us to Shavuot and

Count the cheese blintzes. 

Maybe it’s a myth,

Maybe it’s current events. 

But Torah is only the beginning,

We’re in it for the long haul. 

And everyone has a Sea of Reeds to cross,

Everyone has a story 

Blessed Holy Wholeness,

Everyone counts. 

Amen 

This Year

 

Okay God,

This year, did we really need to count the Omer?

Between the election numbers

The corruption and graft

The kidnappings

The tax cuts for the rich

The funding cuts for the poor

The children dead from measles,

The free speeches suppressed.

Haven’t we had enough counting?

 

This year, do we really need to remember the Covenant?

It’s always been here

Even when we couldn’t see it.

Though it is up to us to look:

If we take care of the earth

It will take care of us, yes?

We know what our obligations are,

The good thing is always right there for us to do.

So how many of us tried?

 

This year, do we really need to “receive” the Torah?

Haven’t we been passive for too long?

Don’t we already know what to learn?

Yeah, it feels like it is enough just to survive, 

But shouldn’t we be doing more?

Can we heal our inner spirit

Without healing the suffering of the world?

Do we really want to go back to normal,

Didn’t normal suck?

 

This year let’s make some Torah.

C’mon, let’s do something new.

This year, change the world.

Amen

A Shavuot Blessing For Essential and Sacred Workers

 

Bless those who got us to Sinai:

The ones who fed us,

The ones who kept us safe,

The ones who healed us,

The ones who sustained us,

The ones who listened to us,

The ones who prayed with us,

The ones who did the dirty work for us

And the ones who put themselves in danger, 

whether out of choice or out of necessity.

 

Bless these workers:

May they be paid fairly for their labor,

May they find pleasure in their work,

May they be appreciated for their sacrifices,

May they have room to recover themselves,

May they not be sickened or injured in their jobs,

May they organize themselves successfully in unions,

May they have time for spiritual exploration

And may they all get enough of what they need, 

whatever that looks like for each one of them.  

Amen.

 

Malkhut: A Kavannah for the Last Week of the Omer Count

Written for the 2016 Kolot Chayeinu Anti-Racism Weekly Omer Counter

1.

We count the Omer for seven weeks, 49 days:

The loving kindness and benevolence of Chesed;

The strength and holy limitations of Gevurah;

The spiritual balance and beauty of Tiferet;

The eternal endurance of Netzach;

The prayer and intellecutalism of Hod;

The gateway of Yesod, collecting all of these sephirot and transmitting them to

Malkhut, the end of the chain, our human world.

Malkhut –  It is the culmination.

This is where we live, this is the here and now,

God's name in Malkhut is Adonai ha Eretz, Lord of the Earth. 

But in Malkhut we are ALL the lords of this realm,

We are one in the One-ness.

These are our laws, our nations, our communities, our religions,

These are our choices.

We are the rulers, here.

2.

When I was little I knew I was an American Jew

And I knew what that meant -- 

Ashkenazi,

European,

White,

UJA and Holocaust memorials,

Hebrew School and Fiddler on the Roof,

Chicken on Friday nights and Brisket on Passover,

Charoses made of apples, cinnamon, walnuts and

Manischevitz Concord Grape wine.

I was it, the Real Jew, a Pintele Yid, there was no other

And no other way to be.

There were, however, Others:  The Goyim.

Everybody who wasn't us.

My father sat in front of his TV, labelling every famous white person who appeared:  

Jew.  Not Jew. 

Jew.  Not Jew.

Jew was Good, Not Jew Bad.

Everyone was Jew or Not Jew, except for the, you know, them:

The S-words,

Literally the yiddish word for blacks,

Which could have been meant just as a description but wasn't, it was demeaning, no more than a step or two less disgusting than the N-Word.

And those people, the S-Words, were the Other times two,

The Permanently Not and Never Jews.

Even when i was really little I knew that this was a bad word to say and I was embarrassed for my father whenever he used it, which was a lot.

Because he was my father, I will make excuses for him:

Maybe to a people used to being The Other, it feels good to make someone else The Other? 

Or maybe it was a way to make himself more American, to be superior like all the other Americans, the white Americans? 

Or maybe, because he grew up on the streets of the Lower East Side and Brownsville, and he fought with the Black, Italian and Irish kids on the streets for survival, he thought he'd earned the right to be a tough guy? 

Or maybe he was just a racist?

I hope not.

But...

Well, I'm all grown up now

And is is upon me to face the truth

Of racism and Euro-centrism and privilege.

And that there are Real Jews

Of many colors and genders and nationalities and practices.

And I am only one amongst us all.

And because I know this truth,

I am obligated by Malkhut to be conscious of my choices.

Can I try tunes and prayer rituals that feel "weird"?

Can I be aware of my privileges without someone reminding me?

Can I shut up and learn from others?

Can I refrain from telling people I understand when I don't?

Can I be led by people I have never been led by?

Can I give up power I didn't even acknowledge I had?

I don't know, I guess I'll find out.

I hope so.

And really,

Brisket isn't very good for my health or the environment

And Manischevitz Concord Grape is cheap crappy wine

(I don't care, I love it).

3.

So here's a prayer for this world of Malkhut and all of us real Jews

In the last week of the Omer,

Making our choices,

As we gather at Sinai to receive Torah:

Baruch HaMavdil

Blessed Is The One That Divides,

Giving us the illusions

Of time and space

Of days and weeks

So that we may grow and learn

And take joy in the moment,

So that we may rest on Shabbat

And not go crazy,

So that we may count 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot.

We give thanks for this seventh week of the Omer

And the metaphor and earthiness of Malkhut,

Which gathers us in community

And takes us to the 50th day of the Omer,

Shavuot,

To study the choices of Ruth and Naomi

And join with all these real Jews waiting 

At the foot of Mount Sinai.

Blessed HaMavdil,

The One-ness giving us the joys of holy separation,

We are many and we are gloriously different

But we are also one in the One.

Please may we not divide ourselves against ourselves

So together, different and the same,

We may behold the Godhead.

So together, different and the same,

We may pray, forgive and be forgiven, study, create acts of loving kindness, heal the world

And receive Torah.

And let us say, 

Amen.

Go up the Mountain: A Shavuot Kavanah

We gather together

At the edge of the Red Sea

Or in a room at the edge of our seats,

Ready to run

Or ready to study?

Either way it's unknown territory.

We trek through the desert.

And with each step away from home

And the cucumbers of Egypt,

We tremble:

From Revelation

Or Pharoah's chariots?

Either way I hope you brought a flashlight.

So,

With each step

We walk into the past.

History or Myth?

Either way, it's real and it's ours.

Trusting our rabbi or Moshe on the mountain?

Either way we're gonna learn something.

Following our hazzan or the prophetess Miriam?

Either way it sounds good.

Closer and closer to Sinai

To get the Gift of Torah.

The Gift of Obligation and Knowledge,

Or the Gift of Doubt and Guilt,

Either way, God loves giving presents!

Would you have left Egypt?

Would you have crossed the Red Sea?

Would you have walked the desert?

Would you have waited at Sinai?

Or would you have stayed home, cozy and hydrated,

Asking no questions,

Fearing no answers?

Either way, my feet already hurt.

So,

Let us go up the mountain.