May 31, 2013
May 30, 2013
After Birkat HaMazon Learning this Shabbat: "Were the Spies Death Eaters?"
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Congregation Netivot Shalom
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Shlach Lecha: "Destiny and Choice"
© Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Rashi asks about the beginning of this week's Torah Portion in juxtaposition with the end of last week's. He writes:
Miriam and Aaron are involved in casting aspersions against Moses for one reason or another in Chapter 12 of Numbers. Miriam is stricken (presumably, Aaron ought to have been as well) with tzara'at, a spiritual skin ailment traditionally connected to the sin of evil speech. Ten of the spies in this week's Parasha bring back reports of Canaan that lead to distress and distrust within the Israelite camp. A close read of the biblical text might help us understand exactly where they went wrong:
Look closely at the order of events.
The spies tell of the land they toured, listing the sizes of the fruits and the nations therein. According to Benjamin Bloom's educational taxonomy for levels of abstraction within questions, the spies first shared 'Knowledge', which includes collecting and naming lists and definitions, typically connected with questions like "who, when, where, etc."
When they complete this knowledge-sharing, spies then ascend through Bloom's taxonomy, processing what they've experienced and making recommendations. Caleb (presumably, along with Joshua) advocates for a path of action: "We can do it!" he says.
The 10 other spies then reveal their own recommendation and say, "We can't do it!"
The spies' self-negation ("we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves") plays an important role in understanding Rashi's comment. What is it that they witnessed in the case of Miriam? They saw that there are powerful consequences for the words that flow from a person's mouth, and that those consequences touch even the greatest among us. They were tribal leaders and Miriam was a prophetess. No one in a role of authority can ever forget that the moment they say something it becomes real for others. There can be no truly objective glimpse into the future – there can only be a commitment to a future.
The spies would have chosen a fate of fear. Of eternal wandering in the exile of self-alienation. After all, the opening command of our Parasha, as understood by Rashi, as God tell Moses, "Send out these spies. I Myself don't need them – they are for your sake, if you choose. (Rashi on Num 13:1)."
God commands us in this Parashah to empower ourselves as destiny-setting, as deeply impactful people! And the ultimate negation of this command is to see yourself as a grasshopper. As Reb Chaim of Volozhin teaches in his magisterial Nefesh HaChayiim:
Miriam's lesson could have taught that to the spies. And perhaps they did learn something in the end – that fear is as contagious as courage. Perhaps that is why Rashi calls them wicked – because they were fear-infectors. (The 'Death Eaters' in Rowling's Harry Potter saga come to mind.)
Rabbi Israel Morgenstern of Pilov once taught:
The land of Canaan, the promised land which they affirmed was flowing with milk and honey, was right there in front of the same eyes that refused to learn from the lesson of Miriam. They saw it. But they didn't really see it. As Chancellor Arnold Eisen of JTS tweeted this past week:
We choose our destinies. May we remain informed of the sometimes precarious realities we inhabit and, through it all, lead ourselves and those around us with passion, conviction, and hope.
May 29, 2013
From Rabbi Creditor: An Invitation to Torah!
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Only Human
May 28, 2013
Legacy and Family: A Hadran for Harry Potter
Legacy and Family: A Hadran for Harry Potter
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Author's note: This piece is deeply inspired by J.K. Rowling's final installment of the Harry Potter series. There will be no spoilers, but the emotionality of completing the book just now compels its own Hadran, its own traditional commitment to return and relearn its lessons.
When my wife and I chose the names of our three precious children, we were committed to naming them after family members we had loved and lost. It struck me immediately, when our youngest daughter was named, that the pantheon of my ancestral family was whole again. My Grandma z"l, my Sabbah z"l and my great-uncle z"l were alive again. There are simply no words for the burn in my heart birthed by their names. Naomi Shemer wrote in "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" that saying Jerusalem's name is like experiencing "the kiss of a Seraph." A Seraph is a fiery angel. Shemer was so right.... continue reading here
Alban Weekly 5/27/2013 Preaching as Sermon Communication
Preaching as Sermon Communication
I have a confession. I usually call preaching by another name. I refer to it by the odd and bulkier two-word phrase sermon communication. At best, this word choice raises an eyebrow and a follow-up question from pastors. At worst, the term creates defensiveness, misconceptions, and even distance between some clergy and me. Oh, the power of words!
This past semester I witnessed this power at work when I invited a guest speaker to my Intercultural Communication class. The students were a highly engaged group on whom I could depend for lively dialogue. I bragged to the speaker about these eager learners, promising highly responsive listeners as the reward for donating his time and energy. The speaker had been asked to discuss language and race, and he titled his talk "The N Word." As this passionate black man and his white colleague pulled up their first slide displaying the title of their session, the room fell silent. Not just hushed, with the usual background noise of laptop keyboard clicks and students shifting in their seats, but completely and utterly quiet.
During the presentation, this experienced speaker and his colleague had us hear "the word" again and again—voiced by comedians, rappers, white supremacists, and unidentifiable others. Questions from the speakers followed: Do you use this word? How do you use it? Have you heard it used? How does the history of the word affect the way it is used? Does the use of this word in certain contexts affect its use in broader culture? Who can use this word? When can they use it? How could meaning related to this word change over time?
The pin-dropping pauses lengthened after each question was asked. If you know northeastern Wisconsin, you may be able to guess that, as is sometimes possible in this region, the speaker was the only African American in the room. Finally, one young woman said, "That is a bad word that I was taught never to say." Then someone else added, "But people do say it. You know, they don't mean it in a bad way—um, usually . . ." A few other brave learners commented politely. After the presentation, students wrote about the experience, and nearly all said they were struck by their own unusual silence. One student noted, "That word has so much power. It shut us all up. Nothing has ever done that before." And a senior communication major who had sat stone-faced and unflinching throughout the class session scribbled, "I will never forget this presentation. I had no idea what a word could do."
You probably already accept that word choice matters. Some words are even considered so hateful and simply "wrong" that their use has been challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, in spite of this country's firm legal and cultural commitment to freedom of speech. "Pastor" Fred Phelps (notice how uncomfortable I am giving him that title) leads his flock to intrude on military funerals and proclaim, "God hates fags." (Oh, the pain of even typing such stuff!) In a 2011 ruling related to this group's hateful speech, Chief Justice John Roberts said, "Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain." Yes, the words we select are critical, and though citizens of the United States—Phelps included—are free to choose any words we wish, the impact of those words on our ways of thinking and being and doing deserves close inspection.
What difference does it make to think or talk about preaching as sermon communication? Does my use of that term annoy or concern you? Perhaps you are intrigued. Having had this conversation with hundreds of pastors during interactive workshops over the past several years, I am aware that curiosity is a less common initial reaction than disagreement or consternation.
A pastor who had heard only the title of my recent talk "Transforming Sermon Communication" wrote to me just last week to set me straight: "Preaching is not the same as communication. It is more holy, led by God. Studying communication techniques would diminish the movement of the Holy Spirit." In other cases, clergy have raised their hands to speak, working carefully to correct my usage of the term. "Don't you mean to say that though we are communicating when we are preaching, we are doing something more than that?" or "In fact, preaching is really completely different from other forms of communication, wouldn't you say?"
Another incredibly common reaction when pastors hear the wordcommunication in close proximity to the words sermon or preach goes something like this: "But only a few preachers still use emotional manipulation to get people out of the pews and down to the altar." The underlying assumption of these initial responses seems to be that connecting the concept communication with the word sermon somehow degrades preaching. Dozens of pastors have shared various versions of seminary preaching-class stories in which the "communication" component of the process was set aside, noted as tangential to textual analysis or even declared unworthy of consideration for preachers-to-be.
In contrast, as I look through the lens of the communication scholar, this way of describing the sermon or homily elevates expectations for what will happen as a result of the sermon. A communication perspective on preaching brings together the pastor's analysis of the text and the listeners' responses. Because preaching has often been taught as if the text and the listener are separate, I purposefully use the cumbersome term sermon communication to lead preachers and listeners to a different way of thinking about this sacred experience.
By incorporating the idea of communication, I seek to help capture the essence of preaching at its best: people in relationship with one another and with God, speaking and listening for the purpose of spiritual transformation. I intend for this sermon communication paradigm to pull clergy toward a heightened awareness of critical realities in preaching: the spiritual growth purpose, the struggle to make meaning from spoken words, the concept of community, the profound responsibilities of speaker and listeners, and in light of all that—our tremendous gratitude for the Holy Spirit's participation in the process.
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This article is adapted and excerpted from Preaching That Matters: Reflective Practices for Transforming Sermons by Lori J. Carrell.
Calling All Organizations and Synagogues: Sign the Jewish Community Letter on Gun Violence
Dear Chevreh,
I have been in touch with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) about their gun violence prevention campaign, Zichronam-Livrocha: For Their Memory Shall Be a Blessing. Our teacher Rabbi Amy Eilberg has also been working closely with JCPA on this campaign to save lives.
JCPA is currently reaching out to congregations throughout the country to ask leadership to sign on to JCPA's national sign-on letter, addressed to Congress. This national letter will not only show Congress that the Jewish community at large demands common-sense gun law reform, but will also be a resourceful tool for connecting and coordinating with other synagogues within the nation for continued local advocacy efforts. Please see the attached letter. That letter was sent in April and includes 24 national Jewish institutions as signatories. JCPA intends to send another copy of this letter (the text of the body of the letter will be exactly the same) but include as many local Jewish organizations including synagogues, JCRCs, Hadassah chapters etc., as signatories. JCPA is encouraging all Jewish organizations to sign!
(I've also attached a press release that may be useful to you, as well in convincing others that this is worthwhile.) Please consider adding your organization or your synagogue's name to the letter.
If you'd like to sign on to the letter, please email Taylor Lustig with the official name of the organization you represent. Please let Taylor know if you have any questions (tlustig@thejcpa.org or 202-212-6035). Taylor works in the Washington, DC Office of JCPA and is coordinating their gun violence prevention campaign.
If even one life is saved through our urgent work, then we've saved a world. May many more worlds be saved by the commitments we make as shuls, jcc's, and communities.
Kol Tuv,
Menachem
May 23, 2013
now available on Amazon: PEACE IN OUR CITIES: RABBIS AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE (second edition)
Now available on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Our-Cities-Against-Violence/dp/1482333813
PEACE IN OUR CITIES:
RABBIS AGAINST
GUN VIOLENCE
Second Edition
Foreword by Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Introduction by Pastor Michael McBride
Afterword by Teny Oded Gross
Edited by Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Second Edition Afterword by Dr. Erica Brown
CONTENTS
1 FOREWORD: Violence, Jews, and Justice
Rabbi Jill Jacobs
3 Introduction: Seek the Peace of The City: The Moral Mandate for Gun Control
Pastor Michael McBride
7 A Letter That Changed My Life
Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
9 "And None Shall Make Him Afraid": The Jewish Legacy and Guns
Rabbi Steven Greenberg
17 Where is Our Strength? Bearing Arms in Jewish Thought
Rabbi Sheldon Lewis
23 I Live on a Quiet Tree-Lined Street
Rabbi Shalom Bochner
25 Becoming Actors
Rabbi Nina Mandel
29 A Prophetic Response to Gun Violence
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
35 The Name on The Bullet
Rabbi Jack Moline
37 Unnecessary Danger: A Jewish Reflection on Guns, Violence and Personal Safety
Rabbi Aaron Alexander
41 Answer Our Prayers: Remarks at the National Cathedral Gun Violence Vigil
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
45 Testimony Before the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee on Gun Violence
Rabbi Michael Adam Latz
49 Be Like Busch: An Open Letter from Four American Rabbis to the NRA Membership
Rabbis Aaron Alexander, Sharon Brous, Ronit Tsadok, and Menachem Creditor
53 On the Sandy Hook School Tragedy
Rabbi Sam Weintraub
59 You Shall Not Murder
Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin
65 The Blood of The Children Cries Out from
the Ground!
Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
69 The Blood of Your Fellow
Rabbi Daniel Kahane
71 Guns and Moses
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
77 For Their Shoes
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
79 Waking Up: Gun Violence and Inequality
Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann
89 Rising to Face Indifference to Gun Violence
Rabbi David Baum
97 Gun Owners: Who Will Stand Up and Say, 'Enough?!'
Rabbi Aaron Alexander and Rabbi Ronit Tsadok
101 It is Time to Put a Stop to This!
Rabbi Jack Riemer
107 Several Questions
Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
111 The Weapon's Shame: A Case for Gun Control in Jewish Law
Rabbi Ari Hart
115 Are They His Adornments? On Guns and Masculinity
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen
119 Newtown and New Orleans, Oak Creek and Oakland
Rabbi Amy Eilberg
123 When God Cries
Rabbi Jesse M. Olitzky
127 God Full Of Mercy
Rabbi Ben Goldstein
129 Gun Violence in Our Country: A Crisis for Every Single American
Rabbi Aaron Alexander
133 To Stay Awake
Rabbi Noah Z. Farkas
137 The Ten Commandments and Gun Violence
Rabbi David Kaiman
141 Passover, Non-Violence and Gun Control
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen
144 The Fifth Child
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
147 Karpas -Drenched in Tears: A reflection on Gun Violence in our Society for the Passover Seder
Rabbi Ron Fish
151 AFTERWORD to the First Edition: A Just Day
Teny Oded Gross
153 AFTERWORD to the Second Edition: Blood Upon Our House
Dr. Erica Brown
157 Contributors