"Lean to the Left" or "Unshackled"

"Lean to the Left" or "Unshackled"
(C) Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Ask all your questions,
but beware of calming answers.

Tomato and parsley,
orange and horseradish,
chocolate and shankbone.
Never just one,
never has been.

Lean to the left,
on an armless chair.
Feel the void
beneath your freedom.

If you resolve to open your door
and be the Messiah this year,
next year there will be less need.

Making Space: A Progressive Rabbi's Torah-Riff on the #AIPAC2018 Policy Conference

A Purim Blessing

A Purim Blessing
(c) Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Tonight is #Purim.

Tonight we read the Megillah (Scroll) of Esther, whose central phrase is "Nafoch Hu" - "Revolution." What might that mean for us today?

On Purim, in addition to the mitzvah (commandment) to #Hear the Megillah, It is obligatory to enjoy a meal (#Seudah), send a gift of at least two portions to another person (#MishloachManot), and to provide monetary support for the poor (#MatanotLaEvyonim).

In our interconnected world, where inequality on our streets and law are growing, where any group's vulnerability on a given day seems to matter to leaders no more than a toss of the dice (literally the 'lots' of 'Purim'), all these mitzvot feel somehow connected.

How can I enjoy a meal if my privilege robs another of their dignity? On this day, a traditional fast leading up to Purim, a fast commemorating the bravery of the Biblical Heroine Esther... On this day, let us all reflect on the excesses of our portion and commit to interweaving our fates with that of all peoples. Let us commit to a revolution that turns every curse into blessing. Let us learn from Esther that, when the fate of the world hangs in the balance, we dare not wait for an invitation.

Let us be brave enough to see that we have more than we need and good enough to share.

witness poem

witness 
© rabbi menachem creditor 
in support of #MarchForOurLives 

gazing with tearful eyes
i witness
pure potential, boundless love
colors yet unchosen, taking form... 

feeling with a privileged heart
i sit surrounded
by tweeted headlines 
so much needless loss
not far away. here. now. 

the unbearable silence 
drives me outside
where a picnic bench silently invites

a little girl dances over to let me know she's having cucumber and a sandwich for lunch. 

life. please God, life. 
let the music play... 

amen? a prayer for more than thoughts and prayers

amen? a prayer for more than thoughts and prayers

© rabbi menachem creditor

chair, rabbis against gun violence

Compassionate One,

we beg of You:

awaken us from the cruelty of dispassion.

17 souls ripped from this world yesterday

for the crime of being born in America,

today’s America, a country whose ongoing trauma

is fueled by greed for profit and the poverty of our national soul.

Our children, our precious children...

"No home was without its dead,"

we read in the Torah,

when the firstborns of a sinful nation were lost.

Our children, our precious children...

They matter less to our leaders

than automatic weapons and bump-stocks.

We have sinned;

the hot blood of our dead children

is on our hands.

oh, our children,

felled, bloodied by worshipped bullets,

national (bought) numbness,

developmental anger, teenage alienation,

armed by a free, uncaring market,

cowardly politicians,

cultural weapon-fetish.

There is only one way to repent:

we must save our children

from our sins

before…

[Oh God…]

before…

[GodForbidAMillionTimes]

Dear God…

Please…

[amen?]

GodForbidAMillionTimes #poem

GodForbidAMillionTimes
©Rabbi Menachem Creditor 
upon the 14th school shooting in 2018

oh, our vulnerable children, 
17 felled, bloodied by cherished bullets
and national (bought) numbness. 

developmental anger, teenage alienation
armed by a free, uncaring market, 
cowardly politicians, 
and a cultural weapon-fetish. 

how long before it is your child?
GodForbidAMillionTimes

#schoolshooting #EndGunViolence

Sing! Psalms of Praise, of Purpose, of Love (An Introduction to the Book...