Rabbi's message

February 2012

           In the age of instant messaging and constant contact, I find it
increasingly more difficult to write a Bulletin message by the 10th of
the month before it will appear.  As I sit at my laptop on January
10th, it is the week we begin the reading of the Book of Exodus which
is called in Hebrew, Shemot, the Book of Names.  Throughout the month
of February and well into March, this Book of Names that recounts our
people's Exodus from Egypt will be a lens through which we can look at
the events unfolding in our own lives, in the life of our community
and of our world.

           Our Torah reading begins with the words "These are the
names of the Children of Israel."  The chapter continues with the
listing of the names of the tribes that went down to Egypt, prospered
there and were ultimately enslaved.  By the end of the chapter, our
attention has been focused upon one child of one family of one tribe,
a person named Moses.  In chapter three, the story of the "Burning
Bush," we hear this man named Moses asking God: "When they (the
children of Israel) ask me what is God's name, what shall I say to
them?" God answers Moses by saying Eheyeh asher Eheyeh which can
translate into English one of four ways: I am that what I am; I am
that what I will be; I will be that what I am; I will be that what I
will be.

           What's in a name?  Why is the name of God, derived from
God's answer to Moses's question, considered so holy that we dare not
pronounce it?  Why are the secondary names of God such as Adonai,
which means my Master, considered so sacred that except in prayer we
use euphemisms such as HaShem, THE NAME, in referring to God? Moreover,
what is the significance in the name that we call ourselves, the
children of Israel which, according to the story recounting Jacob's
second dream where he is given the name Israel, means children of the
God wrestler? 

           Some thoughts on the question of the names we
call ourselves and each other:

           1. Being a Jew in the 21st century requires each of us to
choose to be God wrestlers.  Every Jew today, like the Israelites who
chose to leave Egypt, is a Jew by choice.  Some are biological
descendants of Jacob while others, like the mixed multitude who left
during the Exodus (Chapter 12), are spiritual descendants and full and
equal partners in the covenant that God made with Abraham.  The Jewish
future is ultimately simultaneously in each of our own individual
hands AND in our communal hand. 

           2. Just as there are 12 tribes in the Book of Exodus, each
unique, yet each related, that went down into Egypt with their father
Jacob and came up out of Egypt with their leader Moses, so too today
there are unique but authentically different tribes that belong to the
People of Israel.  Today instead of calling them Judah, Levi, Benjamin,
Reuben, we call these tribes by their religious divisions Conservative,
Orthodox, Reconstructionist and Reform; and by their most immediate
place of residence be it American, European, Russian, Ethiopian, Iraqi,
Syrian and so on.  Yet, as the anti-Semitic vandalism of late December
and early January here in Bergen County and elsewhere in the New
York/New Jersey area proved once again, to the anti-Semite we are all
equal.  

           3. Being a Jew in the 21st century also requires of us to
recognize that, created in the image of God, each of us, as the name
of God indicates, will both be what we will be based upon who we are
and who we wish to become.  Like Moses, we need to have the patience
and perseverance to continually fight for the liberation of the
enslaved and the oppressed everywhere and anywhere.  It is neither
philosophically or politically correct for a Jew to be an isolationist.
Hillel taught us that lesson 2,100 years ago in his famous admonition:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  If I am only for myself,
what am I?  AND if not now, when? 

           Like Moses, we need to be willing to stand up to the
oppressors of our age, be they Pharaohs like the leaders of Syria or
Iran, or those who seek to terrorize innocent people through acts of
anti-Semitic vandalism in our community or through acts of terror via
rockets from Gaza; that we will stand together and demand liberation
for ourselves and for others and assert in the words of FDR that we
are entitled to Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from
Want and Freedom of Speech.

           4. The lesson of the Book of Exodus, from enslavement in
Egypt through the wanderings in the wilderness we will read of later
this month, is that being a Jew is a choice; a choice that requires us
to continually be "God wrestlers" who recognize that in the ever
evolving world, God is present and is continually calling out to us to
connect ourselves to THE NAME, the source of physical, spiritual and
intellectual energy by connecting ourselves to each other.  Judaism
teaches us that unity with God requires being a member of a community.
 We must affirm what unites us, and respect each other's differences.


           As we continue to read again from the Book of Names that we
also call the Book of Exodus, may 2012 be the year that we Jews of
various religious streams and ethnic, racial and national origin,
leave behind our petty rivalries and accept each other for who we are,
unique but equal members of the community of God wrestlers who call
ourselves B'nai Yisrael.

           May we as Americans practice this same principle during the
continuing political debates of this election year.  May we make our
choices based upon the merits of differing visions for a better path
to a brighter future, rather than upon the negativity of those who try
to lift themselves up by pulling down their opponents.

-Rabbi Neal I. Borovitz

The Mission Statement of Rabbis for Israel

A Lasting and Secure Peace for Israel

We, the undersigned, believe that Israel has a legitimate right to exist as a sovereign, democratic Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. We support a peaceful and just resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that will recognize two independent states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace, security, and prosperity.

We call upon the Arab world to accept unequivocally and publicly Israel's permanent right to exist in peace.

Sovereignty

We believe that any resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will require Israel to cede sovereignty over most of the West Bank and will need to address the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians concerning Jerusalem, a city that is holy to three religions.

Palestinian claims for a right of return will need to find their resolution within the Palestinian state once established.

Teaching Tolerance and Peace

We call upon Muslim and Christian religious leaders to establish frameworks in their own communities to oppose messages of hatred and violence against Israel, to work towards developing a spirit of mutual understanding, tolerance and peace with Jews, and to encourage the strengthening of peaceful relationships and partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians.

We demand that the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and their agents cease using the media, mosques and textbooks to foster and incite hatred against Israel and the Jewish People.

Support for Israel

We call upon leaders in the Jewish community to support Israel in their public statements and express any concerns they may have with great caution and considerable forethought given the manner in which their views are likely to be manipulated to Israel's detriment by those who use every opportunity to vilify her.

The Use of Violence

We call upon Palestinian political and religious leaders to denounce the use of violent Jihad, and demand that the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and their agents cease all forms of support, complicity and participation in or glorification of terrorist activities.

Moral Equivalency

We recognize Israel's moral right to defend her citizens against attacks emanating from the Palestinian territories. To demand that Israel forgo the right to defend her citizens in order to improve the lot of Palestinians without the latter abandoning their call for violent resistance is both morally and ethically repugnant. As such, we reject the moral equivalency that some would draw between the suffering of the Palestinians and the lasting psychological trauma not to mention literal endangerment of life with which Israelis have to contend.

Israel’s Defense

We call upon the international community and media to recognize that any resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will demand that Israel's very real security concerns be addressed, particularly in the light of the key role played by Iran and Syria in arming and training Israel's enemies.