Broken Glass: Yes, My Child

Broken Glass: Yes, My Child
© Rabbi Menachem Creditor

The world turned upside down
with America first
tonight

1938 Germany
glass ceilings broke
burning synagogues
neighbors' hatred the accelerant
... tonight?

today my child tells me
she is scared
I am too

But.
And.

It is not 1938
and we do not go gently
and we do not go alone
we dare not go alone

broken bonds
threefold cords
calling for repair
for love
for love

yes, my child:
it will get worse
before it gets better
yes, my child:
I am afraid

But.
And.

I am here. Alive.
You are here. Alive.

Shards of broken glass
history's sharp, bloody call
to overcome,
to never forget
to walk this narrow bridge unafraid
to live fiercely with, not against

that banner yet waves
over kneeling brothers and sisters
hands up, heavy spirits all
teary eyes searching heaven
for reassurance

we are not resigned
not resigned
despair, an unforgivable sin

we will not hate
I will not hate

Say it with me, child:
I. Will. Not. Hate.
I. Will. Not. Hate.

the obligations of citizenship
have just begun.

Yes, my child:
the work has just begun.

#poem #poetry #poetcommunity #life #America #kristallnacht #remember #zachor #riseup #notresigned #Democracy #election2016 #children #fear #citizenship #service

For America, With Trembling Hands

For America, With Trembling Hands 

© Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Each line drawn with my trembling hand, this act, this obligation, this privilege is complete.

My daughters, my mother, my matriarchs in my crying eyes as I voted for President.

So many others in America, incarcerated, gunned down, ignored - the fate of so many is in our hands. Was in my hands. Your hands.

I pray we do right today, America. One more step toward life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Toward justice and equality. For all. 

Really, God, for all.

Amen.

#vote #voting #Prayer #election2016

White Privilege at Shul

White Privilege at Shul

Quick Links CNS Homepage Make a Gift! CNS Calendar Rabbi Creditor's Blog Join Our List From Rabbi Creditor: White Privilege at Shul Dear Chevreh, This message is a hard one to articulate well. I received a call from someone who was asked a question while at Netivot Shalom. That is not surprising. We love questions! But Jewish tradition celebrates the exploration of what motivates questions as well. (For instance, see the well known Torah study book: "What's Bothering Rashi?") So what prompted this shul-wide message is what surrounds the question. I formatted my thoughts in a video I encourage you to watch. I'm not sure it came out right. I'm a white man. I'm not typically aware of that. Yes, as a Jew, I know what it means to be marginalized. But this is different. If I were black, then... ...actually, I can't even complete that sentence, because I don't have any notion of what it is to be black. In this case my best role, I believe, is to make sure we hear the question that was brought to me.  (Between recording the video on Facebook and completing this message, I've now heard from a dozen shul leaders around the country that they have similar stories. We aren't alone, and the challenge is larger than one shul's.) Click the graphic above or right here for the rest of this message. May we listen well to each other, and learn from our mistakes. Kol Tuv, Rabbi Creditor ----- netivotshalom.org CNS Mission Statement Netivot Shalom invites you to engage in a cross-generational discovery of Jewish inspiration and purpose. Our community is defined by the values of: Belonging - we believe, as a participatory egalitarian community, that every member has a voice. Learning - we provide introductory and continuing encounters with Jewish wisdom. Ritual - we strive to deepen personal engagement with the sacred. Justice - we embrace Judaism's call to perfect the world.

............................ Rabbi Menachem Creditor Rabbi, Congregation Netivot Shalom Chair, Rabbis Against Gun VIolence (#RAGV) Scheduling Inquiries: ra@netivotshalom.org or (510) 549-9447 x103 ▶menachemcreditor.org ▶netivotshalom.org To join Rabbi Creditor's email list, send a blank email to thetisch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com!

the blessing of being a rabbi

Some days, the blessing of being a rabbi is so very clear.

Someone comes in to my office for a morning meeting. They are a recently joined-member. Officially, it's a conversation about shul programming, so we dwell on that topic. I share the ins and outs of shul history, demographic trends, opportunities for involvement. We discuss our different and overlapping interests in fields of Jewish learning. 

And then. It happens. A pause.

That pause happens sometimes, the kind of quiet, pregnant pause that indicates there's a deeper truth being shared. The feeling that just being in a safe, warm, sacred space matters. A lot.

Yes, this is as much as I can share about that.

But, once in a while, I hear in my memory the old canard: "Being a rabbi isn't a good job for a Jewish boy or girl."

I say this, from the grateful core of my being:

There is such good a rabbi gets to do in this world. What a blessing it is to be a rabbi.

Zionism Rejects Trump;

One Rabbi's Message, Just Before Yom Kippur: Don't Wait.