Earlier this week the world marked World Refugee Day. According to the World Refugee Day site, “World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.” The theme of this year’s day was Hope Away from Home. 

Over and over again in the Torah, 36 times according to the Talmud, we are told that we should honor the widow, the orphan and the sojourner, precisely because  were slaves in the land of Egypt and then we were refugees. Wanderers. Not just our ancestors. We ourselves. We know what it is to be mistreated, to be an outsider, a slave.  We were refugees. And throughout the ages, Jews have continued to be refugees. That is part of why HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society exists, and supports World Refugee Day. Yes, I made my financial commitment to the work they are doing. And yes, that is part of why I chose to work for Refugee Immigration Ministry as one of my rabbinic internships. That is part of why I have a Cambodian nephew rescued from the Killing Fields.  That is part of why I have a brother-in-law who is an immigration attorney and a judge. And that is part of why I went to meeting last week for Elgin leaders and Centro de Informacion to talk about what we can do as a city to welcome new immigrants. CERL leaders and city officials have a commitment to doing precisely that. 

This week, the Israelites who are wandering in the desert, who we have listened to them kvetch and complain for weeks now, do something else in this week’s parsha. One of their leaders, Korach, questions Moses and Aaron’s authority and leadership. Now questioning by itself is not bad. My father’s definition of a Jew, as I often quote is someone who questions, thinks and argues.  

Korach, a cousin to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and a fellow member of the tribe of Levi, and who holds a position of communal prominence, but he wants more. So he rallies thought leaders and political figures to his cause, claiming to be the people’s champion. “All in the community are holy, all of them, and the Lord is in their midst,” he declares. “Why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?” (Numbers 16:2-3) 

What is the problem with Korach’s question? It sounds like a good point. Everyone is holy. No one should be above the people, right? We are all created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of G-d. Acording to Rabbi Menachem Creditor, “In so doing, Korach’s assault on Moses and Aaron is really an assault on the foundations of the community, an attack on the nation he purports to defend. Beneath Korach’s lofty words lies a deep-seated desire for power. This unquenchable thirst represents a profound imbalance within him, as real satisfaction lies not in accumulating authority, but in finding purpose and meaning within oneself. Korach’s quest for power would never have led to fulfillment.” 

In contrast, we see an example of a leader who is humble. We are told about Moses that he was humble and as an expression of that humility, he falls on his face before G-d. Later, in Deuteronomy, we are told that there has never been a leader, a prophet that arose like Moses. We sing that line in Yigdal.  

What do we want in a leader? Moses is held out as an example of a good leader. Folliwing the example of G-d being merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, patient, forgiving and humble. Those seem like good attributes of a leader. Recently we had our own board induction of leaders. We called it an Induction into the CKI Leadership Hall of Fame. Some people tell me that they are not leaders. There is no one model for leadership, An old Girl Scout handbook, in taking about leadership outlined several styles. Some are Directors. Some are Delegators. Some are Coaches. Some are Supporters. Each has a unique role.  

The Talmud in Pirke Avot teaches that there are two types of arguments, those for the sake of heaven and those that are not. The example that Pirke Avot uses is the difference between Hillel and Shamai’s debates and the one of Korach. The old RSGB prayer book has a prayer for committee meetings that includes this very example. When we gather as a board or a committee we should argue for the sake of heaven, not because we want to grab more power. 

Shortly after Korach questions Moses’s authority, the earth seems to swallow up Korach and his band of 250 followers. “They went down alive to She’ol, with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them and they vanished from the midst of the congregation” 

This seems like harsh punishment.  

Sermons are supposed to be timeless, not necessarily timely. This week, however, I feel the need to be timely, so please forgive me.  

This week we saw two examples of the sea swallowing up people. Sadly, they went down to the depths. The world seemed captivated by a mini-van sized submersible with five people on board. These were not refugees, rather they were privileged elite, who could afford just this kind of thrill ride. For their families and friends the outcome is a tragedy, and I am sure that they will be missed. Sudden deaths like this can be very difficult, because there was no time, no opportunity to fully say goodbye. Yes, the participants signed waivers, but I am not sure they could fully understand the risks.  Once I went white water rafting in New Hampshire. I too signed a waiver that included death as a possible outcome. It spooked me and still I went.  It was a thrilling 3 hours, and expensive on our budget, but not something I feel I need to repeat.  I may not be that much of a thrill seeker. 

Perhaps though what struck me as I sat from the safety of my living room, was the hubris of the CEO who felt that the satiety warnings didn’t apply somehow to him and his craft. He ignored those warnings and put people, himself included, at risk. That risk turned out to be fatal. This example is the opposite of Moses’s example. It is hubris. 

We mourn with the families, this loss of life. We applaud the international cooperation that the rescue mission, which became a search and recovery mission took. We have seen this kind of cooperation before. With the Thailand cave rescue and more recently with the Turkey and Syria earthquake. Israel, with their unique skills honed with years of responding to terrorist attacks often offers significant help. There is much that can be learned from this disaster. And it is a tragic disaster. 

Sadly, however, there was another example of people going down to the deep this week. A refugee boat with roughly 750 people on board capsized off the coast of Greece. Refugees, migrants seeking a better life in Europe sank in Greek waters. With hundreds still missing and dozens confirmed dead, Greek and European authorities are facing mounting criticism. 

The number of survivors is currently at 104 people. Many of them are Syrians, Pakistanis and Egyptians. Most of those who have been rescued were taken to a refugee camp on the mainland just outside of Athens, and if you do the math, that leaves hundreds of people still missing – up to 500, according to the U.N. 

500 people missing, not 5. Where are they? What could the leaders of European nations done differently? What kind of international cooperation could we have mustered in this case? Whaat are the failures of leadership here? According to some: 

“Well, we know that the boat capsized overnight local time on Wednesday last week. We also know the Greek Coast Guard was observing the vessel for several hours before it sank. And one question is why Greek authorities didn’t immediately intervene, given how unseaworthy and overcrowded this vessel was. According to international law experts, Greek authorities had an obligation to act even if people aboard rejected assistance, which Greek authorities claimed they did.”  https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1183842802/migrant-boat-disaster-has-greece-and-european-authorities-facing-criticism  

We mourn with these families too. But this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Pun intended!  

To be clear, refugee and asylum issues are not just a problem on our southern border. They are not just a problem in downtown Chicago where 10,000 new immigrants have arrived this year. Centro has served 6,000 clients this fiscal year alone. 

I don’t have the solutions to the global immigration crisis. To say that I do, would be hubris on my part. But I am willing to roll up my sleeves and work.  

We also know that the migrant and immigration problems throughout the world will only get worse as a reflection of climate change. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “Climate migration occurs when people leave their homes due to extreme weather events, including floods, heat waves, droughts, and wildfires, as well as slower-moving climate challenges such as rising seas and intensifying water stress. This form of migration is increasing because the world has not been able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt global average temperature rise, which leads to more climate disasters. Most climate migration is projected to occur within a country’s borders (internal), but cross-border migration will also rise. In some instances, extremes combined with other factors, such as natural subsidence and oil and gas activities, are displacing entire communities, forcing them to find refuge in different parts of their country or journey across borders. Some researchers project that drought-driven migration in particular could triple this century if international efforts fail to address the growing climate crisis. ) https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/climate-change-fueling-migration-do-climate-migrants-have-legal-protections#:~:text=Why%20is%20climate%20migration%20on%20the%20rise%3F&text=Climate%20migration%20occurs%20when%20people,seas%20and%20intensifying%20water%20stress.   

We look to our leaders to respond to these crises with compassion and humility, like Moses. No one, fleeing climate disasters or seeking asylum for other reasons, persecution, fear of violence, poverty, etc. should meet a fate like the refugees on that boat. As the Torah suggests, we need to protect the refugee, the sojourner, strangers, as we were once refugees too.  

We’re not done yet. The Israelites contribute to complain. The very next day the whole Israelite community railed against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You two have brought death upon the Lord’s people.” And a plague began. 14700 people were lost. Plus the 250 from Korah. That’s a lot of people. A lot more death. It almost feels like current events. 

Yet, after the plague, there is an almost magical scene. G-d told Moses to tell the Israelite people to take from them a staff, one from each new chieftain. 12 staffs in all. These staffs were placed In the Tent of Meeting and as G-d said, they would begin to sprout and produce blossoms. Which is exactly what happened. New, promising growth. A sign of hope.  

Once, we were in Rocky Mountain National Park after a forest fire. It was smoky still and the trees were all charred. It looked and smelled awful. But if you looked closely, the ground of the forest was that bright green, new growth like we have here in early spring. The forest floor has the ability to begin again.  We have the ability to begin again—even after tragedy and trauma. It takes work. A lot of work. But it is possible. With leadership and a lot of work.  Come work with me. Argue if you must–for the sake of heaven and for the people.

This is two part entry, That makes it a little long. But I think hopeful.

Part One:
Friday night we hosted, together with Hadassah, Shabbat on the Road. It is a program I’ve adopted from Rabbi Ed Friedman, now in Aurora, IL. Our version goes like this. Once a month in the summer, June, July, August, we are not in our building for Friday night. We are in someone’s home or in a park. There may be instrumental music or not. There could be some yummy food, some kind of dairy potluck or food that people bring just for themselves or their family. Or not. Sometimes at the last minute we have had to cancel because of weather. Usually, we get to enjoy davenning, praying outside the way the rabbis designed the service.  

This week we were scheduled to be a park in Elgin. In a picnic shelter that has electricity. Better for that instrumental music. Near real bathrooms and a playground. The weather was perfect. Cooler in the morning, so people kept reminding me to bundle up. But the sun had come out. It was about 72 degrees out. Not too cold. Not too hot. Just right.  

Earlier in the day, the verdict came out in the Tree of Life mass shooting. Guilty on all counts. This is a good thing. But is it a security risk for a Jewish congregation out on the road? Should we be visible? What if we are singing in Hebrew? Is it too late to get a detail? Can we afford it? Can we afford not to? 

I texted my contact at the police department who handles details. She had already seen the news and even though it was her day off, she arranged for a steady stream of police squad cars to drive by the park shelter. Every single officer waved. One came and sat with us for a while. I have never felt quite so protected. It was definitely a spiritual moment.  

Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav who I quote often says that we need be outside alone and pour out of souls to G-d. That is definitely part of my reason for running and walking. There were two other intensely spiritual moments. At Lecha Dodi, it is traditional to rise, face the door, and greet the Shabbat bride and queen. If you are outdoors, in a picnic shelter in the round, where do you face? I watched people try to figure that out. I was reminded of the verse, “The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.” All the world is G-d’s home.  

As I was quietly doing my personal Amidah, the central standing set of prayers, I could hear the birds sing and the children at play. Perhaps because I am in the middle of wedding season, I was reminded of the last of the sheva brachot, the seven marriage blessings that praises G-d for joy (seven words for joy!), for loving couples and youth at play.  

It was a lovely, lovely evening that could only have been better with ice cream! 

Part Two:
The teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Bratlav: 

Kol ha’olam kulo, geher tzar me’od. All the world is a narrow bridge.
V’ha’ikar, lo lefachad klal.–The important thing is to not be afraid.  

Franklin D. Roosevelt is famous for saying, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” 

Fear can be an important emotion. The fight or flight response, necessary to keep us safe, is driven by fear. This portion has a lot to teach us about fear and hope.  

When Moses sent in scouts, one member of each tribe, to spy out the land and to give an assessment, they came back with a mostly positive report. The land is a good land, flowing with milk and honey, with abundant food, grapes and pomegranates and figs. But, 10 out of 12 of the scouts were afraid. They didn’t think they could overcome the people. Only Caleb dissented. The others thought that the people were like giants, nefalim, and they appeared as grasshoppers. Now it is true the meaning of nefalim is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps giants, perhaps fallen angels, perhaps the offspring of Seth. We really don’t know. But the affect is clear. 10 out of 12 scouts did not think they could overcome them or that the Israelites would be welcome. The whole people then questioned what they were doing there at all. Perhaps it would be better to go back to Egypt.  

I want you to think for a moment about when you have been afraid. When did you feel small? Maybe as small as a grasshopper.  

Recently I learned about a museum in New York. The Museum of Failure. In it are products that never succeeded in the market. One of them is Nww Coke. Then, as you may remember, Coca Cola went back to what it called Coke Classic. The museum spotlights 159 products. Once I went to a conference on Intellectual Property. Many universities actually have IP offices. I heard the director of the MIT office tell the workshop that they expect students and professors to fail. It is a necessary component to getting a new product from the R&D stage to being a successful product. But what if they had been afraid to try at all? No lightbulbs. No phones. (or cell phones!) No cars. No maple syrup. Who was the brave person who first tried that? Fear could have prevented many of our “advancements.” 

After a rather intense argument between Moses and G-d, Moses arguing on behalf of this stiffnecked, sttubborn, kvetching people and G-d forgives them. The people march on. That defense of the people and plea becomes the basis of much of our High Holy Day liturgy. Moses reminds G-d of G-’d essential nature—to be merciful, full of lovingkindnesss and truth,, slow to anger, and forgiving. G-d then tells Moses that G-d has forgiven them according to his word.  

But what was the sin?  What had the people done wrong? Why was G-d so angry? Perhaps it was the fear that would prevent the Israelites from moving forward. Perhaps it was not trusting G-d. Perhaps it was the kventching, the constant complaining that the Israelites seem to do. Perhaps it was all of it.  

We often joke about how the Israelite kvetch. How we kvetch. And we do. In our families. In our communities. Even right here at CKI. Maybe that kvetching comes out of fear.   

Imagine what our households would look like if we just stopped kvetching. Or our communities. This community. Maybe this shoukd be a kvetch free zone. There are plenty of memes that will tell you to stop complaining. Just google etsy or pinterest. But what is really going on? In order to stop complaining, it is helpful to understand the underlying causes. It maybe the fear.  

If we look at complaining as the misfired expression of a wish, there are three sources where it can come from: a desire for control, a need for validation or sympathy, a fear of managing a problem directly,  

What are the wishes we have? What are preventing them? 

It is our job then to motivate people. I found these suggestions helpful: 

“Ask the person what things would look like if the situation became better for them. Encourage them to describe their ideal outcome and think of three things they could do to make that happen—if they are willing, of course. Have them create an action plan and let you know how this plan works for them.” 

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/what-it-means-when-someone-cant-stop-complaining  

There are a number of things that we all might be afraid of these days. Instead of kvetching, I try to do something about it, whatever it is. Rising anti-semitism. I show up, and try to be loud and proud. I know that is what Myrna did. After the Tree of Life massacre, she found CKI and has stayed. And we are grateful she has! I think of that today, since the verdict came out guilty on all counts yesterday. Increasing gun violence? Advocate for more mental health services and some kind of gun law reform. Trash around a neighborhood park? Pick it up. (And then wash your hands!) Climate issues and these increasingly violent storms? Learn what really causes climate change and what we can do about it. Healthcare issues? Keep advocating for healthcare for all.  

Does it work? Not always. Here’s my kvetch. Some of the issues I have worked on for decades seem to be worse or worsening.  

Chuck pointed out something during Torah study that I had missed. Probably because we read the triennial cycle. Later in the full portion we are instructed about tzitzit. We have short memories. We go back to kvetching quickly. So G-d gives us a tool. A memory device: 

“Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of יהוה and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. I יהוה am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, your God יהוה.” (Numbers 15:38-41) 

Why this thread? Why now in the storyline? It is to remind us of what Adonai did for us when we went forth from Egypt. Leading us out. Parting the sea. Giving us Torah. Giving us manna and water in the wilderness. So easily we forget. So easily we are afraid and then we kvetch. It would be better to go back to Egypt, right?  

There are two schemas that I know of for tying tzitzit. One is so that the knots equal 613, the number of commandments in Torah. The other so that the twists and turns equal the numerical value of Yod (10) Hay (5) Vuv (6) Hay (5). Either way, even today, when you look on the tzitzit, the original Jewish macrame, you remember G-d and the commandments. It is like tying a thread on your finger to remember to buy milk on your way home. 

One way to combat fear is with hope, Even if that hope is just a thin thread. 

A thread plays an important role in the haftarah as well. A crimson cord is used as a signal of safety. Rahab, the non-Israelite whore, is responsible for rescuing the Israelite spies, entering into an oath with them and tying that crimson cord on the window. She, as an ally, an unlikely one at that, gives me hope and lessens my fear. 

That string, tivkat choot, may have the same root as hope, I first learned of this connection from Wendy McFadden in my adult Hebrew class. She is the director of publications at the General Offices of the Church of the Brethren and a scholar in her own right. I always learn from her. This gives me hope too.  

Many of us are undergoing medical procedures. I have always liked the last verse of Adon Olam. It was Dan’s calming mechanism if he had to have an MRI. I have sung it at any number of patient bedsides and watched as blood pressures fell. Last night we sang the Craig Taubman version which was Dan’s favorite: 

B’yado afkid ruchi
B’eit ishan ve’a’i’rah

Ve’im ruchi geviati
Adonai li v’lo irah

Ve’im ruchi geviati
Adonai li v’lo irah

[Verse 2]
My soul I give to you
My spirit in your care

Draw me near
I shall not fear
Hold me in your hands 

Into Your hands I place my spirit. When I sleep and when I wake, I will have no fear. G-d with me and I will not fear.  

Rabbi Jennifer Singer taught this week: “As I remind myself, I am remembering to remind you too – to be brave in the face of the unknown, to be brave when fear holds you back, to be brave because you know that what is right must be spoken, must be supported. Be brave.” I’ll add. Remember, you are never alone. G-d neither slumbers nor sleeps. G-d walks with you. This gives me courage and reduces my fear.  

There is an old series of commercials for Motel Six that ends ”We’ll leave the lights on.” In truth, it would be fair to say that Motel Six is not my favorite hotel chain, but the commercials were charming and I always wanted to like them. There is something about light that is welcoming, warm and inviting.  

Today’s portion is called B’ha’alotecha. Which Eiz Chayim translates as “When you mount” but really is more like “When you raise up.” It is from the same root as aliyah, to go up. The same word we use for coming up to say the Torah blessings or going up to Jerusalem. When you move to Israel, you make aliyah. It is a spiritual raising up. 

There is something about light that is spiritually nourishing. When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they had a pillar of smoke to lead them by day and a pilar of fire to lead them by night. Here we learn that somehow G-d is present when we leave the light on. And this light is supposed to be lit for all time. It is a Ner Tamid, an Eternal Light. What we learn from this portion is that while Aaron raised up the light, it is all of our responsibility to keep the light on.  

Recently someone noticed that our own Ner Tamid had gone out. Despite it being an LED bulb it had simply gone out. I am glad that he had noticed, and we quickly replaced it the next day. That “we” is really the royal we, I didn’t do it. I told Gene it was out and Gene did. It takes a village. Each of us, here at CKI has a job to do to keep the lights on.  

 This portion has a lot to say about leadership and community.  

 It seems so appropriate that we had our Board Induction last night.  

Rabbi Lord Sacks said of this portion: 

“There have been times when one passage in this week’s parsha was, for me, little less than lifesaving. No leadership position is easy. Leading Jews is harder still. And spiritual leadership can be hardest of them all. Leaders have a public face that is usually calm, upbeat, optimistic, and relaxed. But behind the façade we can all experience storms of emotion as we realise how deep are the divisions between people, how intractable are the problems we face, and how thin the ice on which we stand. Perhaps we all experience such moments at some point in our lives, when we know where we are and where we want to be, but simply cannot see a route from here to there. That is the prelude to despair.”  

Despair is all too common these days. There are any number of reasons people feel despair and hopelessness. As our elected officials all know, I argue for more funding for more mental health services in every encounter I have with them. Yet, there is still a stigma for seeking help for mental illness or for announcing you have one. It is part of why I proudly say that I have a therapist. I am hoping I am role modeling something for the rest of you. 

But mental health services alone are not enough. There is a spiritual malaise that is sometimes palpable. Throughout the centuries, Judaism has provided answers to this problem. 

Perhaps, like the prayer that we say at the beginning of the services which says that G-d is the Ultimate Healer, G-d is also the Ultimate Therapist. Perhaps that is why Rabbi Nachman suggests we should be outside every day and pour out our souls to G-d.  

Perhaps that is why it takes the whole community to light the lights and keep them going. Light dispels darkness. Dispels hopelessness. “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu 

Perhaps, then it is our job as leaders of a spiritual community to provide a sense of hope and optimism.  

The message that this portion is giving us is profound. As Sacks says, “Judaism is not a recipe for blandness or bliss. It is not a guarantee that you will be spared heartache and pain. It is not what the Stoics sought, apatheia, a life undisturbed by passion. Nor is it a path to nirvana, stilling the fires of feeling by extinguishing the self. These things have a spiritual beauty of their own, and their counterparts can be found in the more mystical strands of Judaism. But they are not the world of the heroes and heroines of Tanach.” 

No, he is right. But like Kushner taught in his book, even with the title, is is what we do when bad things happen, because they will, not why do bad things happen. The challenge to a community, then is to help people cope with the tragedies and trauma.  

Sacks continues: “Why so? Because Judaism is a faith for those who seek to change the world. That is unusual in the history of faith. Most religions are about accepting the world the way it is. Judaism is a protest against the world that is in the name of the world that ought to be. To be a Jew is to seek to make a difference, to change lives for the better, to heal some of the scars of our fractured world. But people don’t like change. That’s why Moses, David, Elijah, and Jeremiah found life so hard. 

Sacks is correct again. People don’t like change. And yet we know that we are on the cusp of major changes to the Jewish community and community at large. This has been happening even before the pandemic but exacerbated by it. We don’t yet know what this change will ultimately look like. I think of the song we sing on Shabbat morning, “Or chadash…Cause a new light to illumine Zion.” What will that light look like? What will Judaism be for the next several generations? It is not that people don’t want to be engaged, involved, invested. But they want to do it differently. That’s why I gave all the board members a new book to read over the summer. Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century. Maybe we will treat it like a “One Community, One Read” book and have everyone read it. Please do and give me, as your spiritual leader, your thoughts. What we build at CKI is for you! 

Sacks continues: “The Torah is giving us a remarkable account of the psychodynamics of emotional crisis. The first thing it is telling us is that it is important, in the midst of despair, not to be alone. God performs the role of comforter. It is He who lifts Moses from the pit of despair. He speaks directly to Moses’ concerns. He tells him he will not have to lead alone in the future. There will be others to help him. Then He tells him not to be anxious about the people’s complaint. They would soon have so much meat that it would make them ill, and they would not complain about the food again. 

The essential principle here is what the Sages meant when they said, “A prisoner cannot release himself from prison.” (Brachot 5b) It needs someone else to lift you from depression. That is why Judaism is so insistent on not leaving people alone at times of maximum vulnerability. Hence the principles of visiting the sick, comforting mourners, including the lonely (“the stranger, the orphan and the widow”) in festive celebrations, and offering hospitality – an act said to be “greater than receiving the Shechinah.” Precisely because depression isolates you from others, remaining alone intensifies the despair. What the seventy elders actually did to help Moses is unclear. But simply being there with him was part of the cure.” 

Our job is to accompany people in their darkest hours, whether that is acknowledging their physical limitations and health or their mental health. Sometimes it is hard to know just what to do. We know how to visit the sick, comfort mourners and join in festive celebrations. I am glad that the CKI Cares Team is revamping so that we can expand our connections because that is really what community is all about. 

Later in the parsha, after Aaron and Miriam challenge Moses’s leadership and after Miriam is struck with some kind of skin disease, Moses prays for his sister, “El na refana La. Please G-d heal her.” The research is clear. When people know that others are praying for them, they heal faster. They feel connected to a community, even if they are isolated. Miriam was outside the camp for seven days and then brought back inside the camp. That is a metaphor for community. Sometimes that integration is smooth and sometimes it is more difficult.  

It can be hard to be a leader. You may even think yourself as a failure. You join good company, as Moses thought he was a failure. But you don’t have to go it alone. The message of today’s portion is that we raise the lights together. As community.  

Sacks in another d’var Torah said, there are two ways to live in a world that is often dark and full of tears. We can curse the darkness or we can light a light and as the chasidim say, a little light drives out a lot of darkness.” 

Come light the lights with me. Raise those lights! 

Last night I went to see a movie, Crescendo, part of the Violins of Hope Project co-sponsored by Congregation Kneseth Israel, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music on the Fox and JCC Chicago, After the movie the EYSO Hansen String Quartet played a very complicated Shostakovich piece. 

The movie, too, is complex and it felt like it represented my entire rabbinate, my entire life. The premise is a world-renowned German conductor takes on a challenge to have a youth Israeli-Palestinian symphony perform a peace concert. Sounds simple, no?

He auditions various musicians and the rehearsals begin. He chooses the Palestinian girl violinist as concertmaster, angering some musicians from Tel Aviv. 

He brings them all to Germany to a manse to rehearse. It does not go well. And then it does. Maybe.

There is much in the movie about generational hate. Jews who are children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors not wanting to be in Germany. Palestinians who were displaced by Israelis. Israelis whose relatives were killed by Palestinian terrorists. Palestinians who can’t get through Israeli checkpoints. There is much hate and mistrust to go around.

My rabbinic thesis was written about intergenerational trauma, sins if you will, based on the 13 Attributes of the Divine. Are there some sins that carry on to the third and fourth generation? Can you interrupt these trends? I examined domestic violence, German-Jewish relations and the Israeli Palestinian conflict. 

At some point I took a class run by Abraham’s Vision, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of violence. It was an important class and I can’t find my syllabus or my notes. Not terribly surprising, Probably 15 years and four moves later, they are undoubtedly in an unmarked box in the basement.

Let’s be clear. My first finance was killed by a terrorist bomb during the incursion into Lebanon. His parents were Holocaust survivors. They lost their only child to new violence. Since then I have actively worked for peace. With organizations like Parents Circle and Abraham’s Vision. Like Rabbis for Human Rights and T’ruah. Habitat for Humanity. American Jewish World Service. The list goes on. It has been my life’s work.

And I worked in Germany. For 6 years I consulted with SAP, the German software company. And because I had to be in Germany during the High Holy Days, one of the highlights of my career was being a High Holy Day rabbi in Hamln, Germany. 

While at SAP there were many late nights talking over beers about German reconciliation. The SAP managers were aghast at what their families had done in a previous generation. They worked extensively for peace. Notably with Afghanistan. They were welcoming of people like me. And at one stage I thought maybe the business world would lead the way towards a better world. Imagine a rabbinical student, a guy from Jordan and a bunch of Germans sitting in a New York office trying to figure out how to reverse engineer a piece of software. Everything seemed possible. Or a newly converted Orthodox Jew and the guy from Jordan figuring out what they could eat for lunch at a board retreat in Germany. 

You will have to watch the movie to see how it turns out. It doesn’t end the way you would expect. (Gail Borden Public Library has it on their canopy selections!)

Throughout the Violins of Hope project I have been thinking about an article we read during that class from Abraham’s Vision. It talked about whether an exposure to or an immersion with another culture was really effective. Could people really stop being afraid of the other> Could it really change the nature of peace work? The jury was out. If you go to a summer camp experience at something like Seeds of Peace and everything seems OK, what happens when you get back to your regular, segregated lives in Israel? What kind of follow up do you need to prolong the experience and truly make it fruitful?

Dara Horn in the Atlantic recently had an article about whether Holocaust education actually helps break down anti-semitism. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/05/holocaust-student-education-jewish-anti-semitism/673488/

It is a critical question in this time of rising anti-semitism. If classes are mandated to teach Holocaust, and then kids get bullied after reading the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, are we really ahead. 

What writing my thesis taught me, is that it is possible to interrupt the cycle of violence. However, in order for it to work, people, on both sides need to have a sense of safety. You cannot make peace with a domestic violence perpetrator, if you are afraid you will be beaten again. You cannot reconcile with the next generation of Germans if you feel that this new generation is going to commit the atrocities of the Nazis again. 

One Sunday morning in my hotel in Waldolf near the SAP headquarters I was watching CNN (it was the only channel I understood!) and working on my thesis. Israel had just mistakenly bombed an apartment building in Lebanon. It happens, sadly. A young parent was clutching a 3 month old and explaining that it will be 20 years before anyone forgets. 20 years, a whole generation before anyone feels safe. It was a startling story.

I have staked my rabbinate, and my life on doing exactly that. I have been involved in Interfaith Dialogue since college. If they know Jews, they won’t hurt us, right? I have been president of the Greater Lowell Interfaith Leadership Alliance, and am now the co-president of the Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders. I have opened our building for things like OpenElgin or a class that just wants to understand more about Judaism. That list goes on and on, too.

But what if I am wrong? After watching last night’s movie, I don’t think so. There has to be a place for things like a Israeli-Palestinian Youth Orchestra, or the group we met doing an Israeli-Arab theater or Seeds of Peace or Abraham’s Vision. 

There is a place for organizations like the Anti-defamation League to break down prejudice, to loudly proclaim there is not place for hate and to work to prevent those rising hate crimes.

But part of it does begin by bringing people together. To really see that we are all created ‘b’tzelim elohim, in the image of G-d.” That we all want that sense of safety and security. Because what I learned in writing that thesis, is that generational sins continue if there is not safety. I pray for a day when all will sit under their vines and fig trees and none will make them afraid. This line from Micah is one that George Washington quoted to the Jewish community of Newport, RI. But I have also learned that it is not enough to pray, we must pursue peace, actively run after it, work for it. I pray that we do this work speedily, so that little girl in Lebanon and the little boy in Tel Aviv and the ones in Elgin and the surrounding arear do not have to live in fear. 

This is the longest portion of the entire Torah at a 176 verses. Here at CKI we read thr triennial cycle and this year we are in year one.  

Our portion begins with a census. This census is a little different than the censuses that we saw in Leviticus. This one counts men between 30 and 50, men of working age, those in the service of God, in the mishkan, the sanctuary. Each of them had a personal responsibility to carry out the duties that were uniquely assigned to them that would quite literally move the mishkan forward in the service of G-d.  

Now service is an interesting word—the root avodah can mean work, worship or service. The Israelites were slaves, avodim and Moses was an aved Adonai, a servant of G-d. All the same root. Everyone counts—at least between 30 and 50 and male. Everyone has a job to do. Each of us may have a unique role to play, a calling if you will, something only you can do. It takes all of us, pulling together for the good of everyone to make this world a better place. What is your unique role? 

However, fairly quickly in this long portion, the tone switches and we are told that Moses is to instruct the people to “remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse. Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell.” (Numbers 5:1-4) 

Not just men, this time but men and women, anyone who has come in contact with fluid that might be dangerous or with a corpse. There seems to be an underlying fear of some sort of contagion. 

We have just lived through such a period. Remember washing down groceries for fear of coming in contact with a contagion that might be dangerous, even deadly?  Remember locking nursing homes down and not letting people in or out of the camp, so to speak. There were other steps as well that we all took to minimize risk to our communities. Some of those were driven by fear. 

This weekend we have another blood drive at CKI. Blood is also something the ancients feared. However, we were told unequivocally we were not to stand idly by while our neighbor bleeds. We have a responsibility to save lives. And yet, there are plenty of people who are afraid of blood. The fear can be real.  

Not everyone can donate blood depending on some of their own underlying medical conditions. I am permanently off the donor list. And there is a real need to keep the blood supply safe. My own cousin back in the 1980s wound up with hepatitis because of some tainted blood received at the world class Boston Children’s Hospital during surgery to repair a hole in his heart. We didn’t know yet how to test blood adequately. Testing of blood for contamination has gotten so, so much better. And it continues to improve again and again as we learn more and more. Luckily, the hepatitis was discovered when he was graduating high school and about to begin college. He had one very difficult freshman year, and he is fine now.   

Many Americans will need blood at some point in their life time. The statistic is a mind-numbing, one out of three, for all sorts of reasons including natural disasters to unforeseen catastrophes, emergency hospital procedures to life-long battles with chronic diseases such as sickle cell, so the demand for blood is constant. Therefore, the donation and collection of blood is critically important. It literally saves lives. On average for every pint collected, we save three lives. The Talmud teaches us that to save one life is to save the world. This sentiment is repeated as well in the Koran. Here is your chance! 

I was lucky last year, After the bone marrow transplant, I only needed one unit. Other people, right here at CKI are not so fortunate, and I know of two who recently needed blood and one more who might this week. But we don’t host blood drives merely for ourselves. We host blood drives to live out those verses, “Don’t stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

This weekend is we mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Based on the tragic story of Hadiya Pendeton, a young Chicagoan of much promise.  On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Now I have cousins who are hunters. Cousins who own guns. In Michigan you actually get the first day of deer season off. I spent many a fall Girl Scout camping trip wearing orange. This orange is different. And the orange I am wearing today is a rainbow of color.  

Wear Orange is now observed every June. It happens to fall this weekend. Thousands of people wear the color orange to honor Hadiya and the more than 43,000 Americans are killed with guns and approximately 76,000 more are shot and wounded every year. https://wearorange.org/  

Our tradition teaches us to not stand idly by while our neighbor bleeds. Wearing orange is one way to talk about the ongoing tragedy of gun violence in this country. I have been an outspoken advocate against gun violence, having been a victim of gun violence in the early 1980s. I have stood at rallies, and vigils, as long as I can remember. But thoughts and prayers do not necessarily help. Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman said on Twitter that “in Judaism, if you say a prayer over something, then fail to do the requisite action that follows, like blessing bread and not eating it, it’s a bracha levatla — which is a sinful act.” He continued about gun violence: “If you pray for victims of gun violence but do nothing, it is a sinful act.” Bracha levatla is sometimes translated “blessing in vain.” 

So how do we solve this: 

 Another way to help is to support an organization called, “Don’t Stand Idly By” started by a Chicago rabbi (now in New York) who lost his own father to gun violence in Chicago. This organization advocates for smart gun technology that would help eliminate some of the tragic deaths. The Fox Valley Imitative has partnered with them in years past. The mayor, the city manager and the Kane County Sherriff have all signed on in years past. There are other ways to help. Call your elected officials. Advocate for more mental health services.Take a Stop the Bleed class. Give blood. Make your voices count! 

This weekend many congregations are marking Pride Shabbat as part of Pride Month. The City of Elgin is hosting its first Pride parade right now. The first one was actually scheduled for June of 2020 but was cancelled due to COVID-19. Many of the local congregations we partner with are marching, however, it conflicts with our own service. That’s a discussion for another time. Wander over to Festival Park and see what is going on. You can walk from here. You don’t have to spend any money. It can be within your normative Shabbat observance. Bring a water bottle, however. It’s hot! 

Sometimes, the LGBTQ+ community is put outside the camp, just like we read about in today’s portion. Sometimes, that is based on fear of the other. Sometimes it is based on a mistranslation of a verse in Leviticus. That too is a discussion for another time.  

 There was a time when African American blood was segregated. According to the Red Cross’s own website: “In 1942, the Red Cross made the regrettable decision to segregate blood based on race, accommodating cultural norms of the time rather than relying on scientifically based facts—resulting in civil rights organizations boycotting the Red Cross and blood donation.” They continues, “However, as the science of blood continued to evolve, we learned that there are some markers in black blood that makes it even more compatible for other African Americans and collecting blood in the African American community has become a priority for the Red Cross.” https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2021/the-color-of-blood–red-cross-reflects-on-its-blood-collection-hiistory.html 

There was a time when gay men could not give blood. Period. It was based on a fear of the other. Fear of spreading AIDS in the blood system. Remember when people weren’t even sure you could swim with someone with AIDS or go to school with them. Gay men were not the only possible carriers. Also hemophiliacs. It was a scary time.  

However, in December 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved from a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood to a deferral of one year for any man who has had sex with another man during the past 12 months. According to the FDA, this pre-screening eliminated up to 90 percent of donors who may be carrying a blood-borne disease.   

Then again in April of 2020, the FDA tweaked the rules again, announcing that it would update its policy for gay males to a deferral from 12 months to three months.  

But wait, there’s more news. Just last month, May 2023, the FDA has updated the policy once again.  

Yesterday I called our coordinator and asked, “Wouldn’t this be a good way to mark Pride Month. We have a number of supporters of CKI who have been waiting for just this kind of announcement.” He said he would find out. 

Sadly, the new rules will not be in effect to January of 2024. And for my gay friends, this still feels like they are outside the camp. They don’t yet count fully.  

 Let me be clear, asking this question is part of allyship. The ongoing violence against the LGBTQ+ community it all too real. It is not unlike the rise in anti-semitism and hate crimes against the Jewish community. Sometimes it is even driven by the same fear.  

It is not enough to say during Pride Month that “love is love is love.” Which is important. This congregation is an open and affirming congregation, the marriage equality logo is on our website and we do have a number of people in the congregation that represent the spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community.  

For some, this entire conversation may make you uncomfortable. That’s OK. Let’s talk about it. Civilly. Let’s learn more, together. 

Our portion, in its full version, includes one of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture. Called thr Birkat haCohanim, the Priestly benediction, it was a blessing the priests offered all the people. Today we use it on Friday nights to bless our children. We use it at B-Mitzvah celebrations and weddings. It is part of the musaf service. And as we just saw it is part of an aufruf, when we shower a wedding couple with blessings and candy, so that their marriage will be sweet!  

The first line is Yiverecha v’yishmarecha. May the Lord bless and keep you, guard you and protect you. All of you. Those in the camp and out of the camp. To use a line from the U-46 Mission Statement, where I once spoke about transgender issues, “All means all.”  

Please rise for a special birkta hacohanim: 

“May God bless you and protect you, guard you and watch over you.!  

May light of G-d God shine upon you and be gracious to you!  

May God lift up God’s face to you and grant you peace!” Num. 6:22-27 

May we find a way to live out this blessing. Sharing G-d’s light and love. Finding wholeness and completeness. And making our lives, all of our lives count.  You matter. You are loved. Period.