Blessed One-ness,
Though we are afraid
Help us imagine possibilities
Within our fear
And our fury,
Of safety
Of healing
Of clarity
Of action.
Amen.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018
All Our Grudges: An Alternative Kol Nidrei
All grudges,
resentments, and vows of vengence and bitterness,
All undying hatreds
or annoyances that we may hold onto
Or talk endlessly
about, boring our friends,
Or lose sleep
obsessing over
Or write bad poetry
about
Or bring up at
family dinners to the consternation of all present;
From the previous Day
of Atonement until this Day of Atonement
For the benefit of
our mental health
And the peace of mind
of all who surround us;
Regarding all of this
that we have refused to let go,
Despite the fact that
they are long past
Or pointless
Or one-sided
Or ridiculous
Or destructive of the
innocent
Or hurting ourselves
more than anyone else;
Regarding all of
them, these intrusions on the Holy Wholeness,
we repudiate them.
we repudiate them.
All of them, we let
them go,
Give up
Wave away
Acknowledge as
stupid
Declare null and void
Because we are done.
Because we are done.
Our grudges are no
longer our grudges,
Our silent
resentments are no longer silent,
Our eternal vows of
vengence are no more.
The entire community
acknowledges and takes action
So that everyone we
have been angry at is forgiven,
Every hurt we did not
speak about will be dealt with,
Every relative will
be loved for who they are rather than who they are not,
Every change in the world that
needs to be made will be made rather than contemplated.
Holy Wholeness!
We need help to step
back into connection with the One.
We look for the
compassion and mercy
That is always there
If we but pay
attention.
Yes, there it is.
We are forgiven?
We are forgiven?
Blessed be the
One-ness,
Creator, Created,
Creating.
Amen
Art by Mike Cockrill
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Torah Covers That Go Wow: Changing the Torah Covers on Erev Rosh Hashanah
On Rosh Hashanah
It's
time,
Among
much else,
To
change the covers on our Torahs from the everyday colors to white.
I
google
Torah
covers,
Hoping
for some Jewish knowledge to inspire deep thoughts
And
at the top of the list there is an ad,
An
ad for a company that makes custom torah covers.
The
headline for the ad reads,
Torah
Covers That Go Wow!
Torah covers that go, "wow!"?
I'm
impressed
And
I start thinking about the other talking Torah covers I have known
And
what they might have to say
Besides wow.
For instance, I once knew a Torah cover that said, Because You Are a Girl You're Not Allowed To
Touch Me.
So I touched.
I
knew a Torah cover that said, Pick me up and Dance With Me!
I
met that Torah cover at my first Simchat Torah.
And we danced.
I
knew a Torah cover that said Take Me Off And Look Inside!
So I did and it was not boring.
I
knew a Torah cover that said, Don't Worship Me, I'm Just A Book.
I agreed, and then I kissed it with my tallit.
I
knew a Torah cover that said, Doubt Is An Act Of Faith!
And
so I asked questions, and then asked some more.
And these High Holyday white Torah covers, what do they say?
These cry out, Remember Me.
And I think of the loved one of blessed memory, who gave these covers to us.
I still miss her, and remember.
Last year the Torah covers spoke and said,
“Every
small stain on white is visible, every blemish is there for the world to see”*
So that
we may know ourselves, seek forgiveness and change.
And everywhere there is Rosh Hashana, what else do all the white covers say?
They sing the song of the Shofar, the three notes,
According to Rabbi Arthur Waskow,
Tekiah, “Awake!”,
Teruah ,”Open your heart!”,
Shevarim, “Sob with all who suffer!”
All
these noisy covers, going: Help Me, Touch Me, Go Away, Learn and Study, Ask and
Listen, Worship, Fear, Dance, Forgive and Be Forgiven, Remember, Awaken, Open
Up, Empathize, Resist...
All
these voices
Kolot Torah, the voices of our torah covers,
Kolot Shofar, the voices of the Shofar,
Kolot Chayeinu, the voices of our lives
As
we join together
And go,
Wow.
Shana
Tova
*Tabitha St. Bernard and Adam Jaffe, Changing The Torah Covers http://kolotchayeinu.org/TorahCovers
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Everyone Who Hears Will Laugh With Me
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר שָׂרָ֔ה צְחֹ֕ק עָ֥שָׂה לִ֖י אֱלֹהִ֑ים כָּל־הַשֹּׁמֵ֖עַ
יִֽצְחַק־לִֽי׃
Sarah said, “God has brought me
laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
May God bring you laughter
This funny month of Adar. Because,
Having
invented banana peels,
Ladders topped with teetering buckets of water,
Also
dictators and children
And plagues and prophets
And villains hoisted on their own petards,
And plagues and prophets
And villains hoisted on their own petards,
God
appears to love a good pratfall.
And
then there's that
Magic comedy number three:
Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob,
Those cut ups!
Sarah wanted an audience,
She loved a good spiel
Until her husband tried to kill their son, then
She stopped giggling.
Did God also invent antisemites? Racists?
What about autocrats? Fascists?
Why is Purim funny?
C’mon, laugh with me.
Friday, July 20, 2018
A Healing Prayer For Disrupted Immigrant Families
What do we pray for, so that disrupted immigrant families will be healed?*
Do we pray for God's intervention?
Do we pray that the trauma of their forced separation is miraculously
cured?
Do we pray that the racism responsible for these policies just instantly
vanishes?
Do we pray that easy cruelty is abruptly transformed
into empathy and kindness?
No, because this will not be simple and easy.
And it isn't God who needs to intervene.
So this is our prayer for complete healing:
Blessed be all of us,
As we
Agitate and organize,
Shout and sing,
Write and call representatives,
Write and call representatives,
Send money and sign petitions,
Attend rallies and march in the streets,
Attend rallies and march in the streets,
Get out the vote.
And Vote.
And let us say,
And let us say,
Amen
*Written in solidarity with the July 26, 2018 Deportee Suitcase Solidarity March
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