The Meaning of Tisha b'Av

Tisha b'Av, the ninth of the month of Av, which begins at sundown tonight, is a holiday mourning the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples; hoping for their restoration and the Jewish people's return to worship in that space. The Temples were built on Mt. Zion, which is what is today called the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Functionally, Tisha b'Av is a 2,600 year old Zionist holiday, a least by the most basic definition of seeking a return to Zion.

Yes, there are other events that are now included in the Jewish people's mourning on Tisha b'Av including the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, but at its heart, Tisha b'Av is about a return to a restored Mt. Zion.

Those who believe that Zionism is fully a modern invention are wrong. Those who believe that Zionism is solely a response to events in Europe in the 20th Century are wrong. What changed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries was that Jews, facing genocidal mobs in no few nations and severe bigotry even in the most welcoming of them, asked why Jews as a people should not assert our right to nationhood, like other peoples and nations, and to seek to return as a people to our ancestral land, from which we were violently expelled, and to which we had hoped to return for the entirety of our nearly 2,000 year exile as a people, to live in security and prosperity.

The answer, as we wept by the "waters of our Babylon" in numerous countries, was "Im tirzu, ein zo agada," "If you will it, it is no dream." And the Jewish people returned in larger and larger numbers, as refugees from persecution, were not welcomed, but were attacked and even massacred by inhabitants of the land whose ancestors had conquered the territory from its previous conquerers centuries earlier. But the people whose origin is in the land of Israel, the people of the Kingdom of Judah, who had been in exile, survived and re-founded a nation.

Tisha b'Av reminds us of more than just the times when we were exiled or faced tremendous loss as a people, it reminds us as well that whatever glories we might have or whatever temporary solace we may find, that we must ever be vigilant of threats. That it perhaps reminds us as well of difficulties faced by other peoples is inherent to the nature of the day, when we remember humankind's ability to act with inhumanity against Jews through generation after generation.

It is on Tisha b'Av, perhaps most of all, that Jews traditionally expressly hope for the coming of the Messianic Age, a time when such tragedies would end and peace would prevail. Today, many of us believe that bringing about that age requires our efforts rather than a divine act. May we act to bring about an age when the mourning of all peoples turns into laughter and joy.

Then the words of the prophet Isaiah will ring true and the day will come when people can turn their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, when nation will no longer lift up sword against nation, and their children won't ever have to learn of war.

Dvar Torah on Racism and the Vigil for George Floyd

I am thankful that I was invited to offer the opening prayer this past weekend at the Vigil for George Floyd. In this epidemic environment, I have avoided anything resembling a crowd, because having had open heart surgery, I am at elevated risk.

But I could not stay away. I did wear a mask and did my best to social distance, but the reality is that it’s hard to maintain social distance in crowds. Masks are important.

I was there to demonstrate my love and support along with the love and support of the Jewish community for the African American community, our friends, and family members. I stress this latter point, “our friends and family members,” because very often in conversations about the Jewish community, Jews of Color are forgotten and people of color who are part of Jewish families are ignored entirely. Long gone are the days when the Jewish community could think of issues related to racism and civil rights as issues with which we as Jews, all white Ashkenazim, didn’t have to worry ourselves, but needed to act to help others.

The Jewish community of Des Moines today is multiracial and, increasingly, Jewish communities around the world are becoming more and more so. Racism is now an issue of immediate relevance and concern to members of our community as well. It is about us too. Some members of our community now face Antisemitism AND Racism.

 

Racism and bias are issues that need to be addressed in terms of work that needs to be done within our community, raising awareness about prejudice and privilege for some of us, on the one hand, while also needing to be seen as something that many Jews have to deal with in their daily lives because of the color of their skin on the other.

So, when I go to speak about racism, I do so thinking not only about other communities, but about those in our community as well, including our good friends and family members.

And when asked to speak, well… those who know me well, know that I’m not one to keep silent. Our tradition teaches that the greatest sin of our age is silence. I’m going to speak.

Jewish tradition teaches us, as well, several things that are important for us to think about in relation to the death of George Floyd. First, in the words of Hillel:

When people around us are acting without humanity, our job is simply to act like a human being.

When those around us are showing callousness and absence of concern about the well-being of others, as those officers did, not responding to cries for help, it is upon us to show concern and care. We are supposed to be a mensch, a human being.

The Torah reminds us as well, “v’ahavtah re’ekha camokha,” “love your neighbor as yourself.” Act with concern for the well-being of others as you would act on your own behalf.

Racism and bias, even just in regard to policing alone, much less as found across our society, aren’t concerns that are going to be fixed easily or quickly. What can one person do?

Our tradition teaches us in the words of Rabbi Tarfon:

It is not our obligation to complete the work, but neither can we avoid doing our share.

Individually, we may not be able to end racism and other forms of hatred, but it is our obligation as individuals to do what we can.

We can chant. We can march. We can protest. We can listen and we can teach. We can vote. We can be present at vigils alongside our friends and family members.

Kneeling has been a part of these protests. Kneeling is not part of the Jewish tradition. We do not kneel as part of our worship and we bow only before God.

But in protest, we have knelt, not to bring ourselves low, not to humble ourselves, but to remember. We knelt at the vigil this past Sunday. In my opening prayer that day, I prayed that our kneeling would elevate our passion and our commitment to bring positive change to our community and our world.

Kneeling, we recalled the words, “I can’t breathe!” We remembered that there was no response, instead of callousness and silence. We WILL and MUST respond!

Kneeling, we remembered all of those brought low and held down by hatred, a long history of suffering, the vast majority of it unrecorded, at the hands of those with the power to prevent it from being known. May we will pledge ourselves to remember that long history, as we pledge to reach out our hands to respond to the cries of the oppressed.

Kneeling, we joined ourselves together, united in our commitment to justice.

It was moving to see police officers and protesters kneeling together and in some cases marching and dancing together. And it was good to see our Republican Governor accompanied by Des Moines’ Democrat Mayor and African American Leaders including Democrat State Representative Ako Samad, along with police officials working together and holding a press conference together, the other day. Together, we can change our world.

As we look out at what is happening in America, may we constantly be reminded that we are all created in the divine image and that each and every one of us is deserving of love and care.

May God give us strength in our efforts. Let us be strong and strengthen one another.

Kneeling, by the hundreds, by the thousands, by the millions across our nation, we are united in the urgent need for change.

We have much work to do.

As we take action, on this Shabbat, in this time of epidemics of disease and of hatred,

May we do so in health and safety.

And let us say, Amen.

Reopening, Masks, Fear, and Courage

Friends, I appreciate all of the support and appreciation for what I said at the event for faith leaders (I speak 36 minutes in) and what I said on CNN with Don Lemon the other night. It's always nice to feel appreciated. I feel I need to clarify a few things.

First, I truly appreciated the opportunity to be able to share my thoughts and those of the Jewish community with the Vice President, Governor, and our Senators. That is an opportunity that doesn't come around very often in any circumstance. I am thankful and feel honored that I was considered and invited. I thank Gov. Reynolds and the White House for giving me the opportunity. We need dialogue that includes different points of view. That needs to be encouraged, especially in this polarized political climate. That said, even more diversity of respectful viewpoints would have been better. I was the only non-Christian clergy member in the group.

Second, I wore a mask at the event because as I stated on CNN Tonight, I wear one whenever I'm going out and going to be around people I am not normally around. Having survived bypass surgery, courage is going out and doing things while wearing a mask. It doesn't require being foolhardy and taking unnecessary risks. The greatest thing we have to fear, isn’t fear itself, it’s reality. We all need to address our reality in our own way. Those who have health concerns should consider wearing masks regardless of whether or not they're significantly afraid of getting COVID, just like people with risk factors for heart disease should consider keeping their Cholesterol low whether or not they think they’re at high risk for an immanent heart attack. Adapting to risk isn’t a sign of fear, it’s wisdom.

Those who have been around people who are known to have COVID should consider wearing masks, not because they think they're ill, but because they want to protect the health of those they come into contact with in case they are ill. A cloth mask may reduce your risk of inhaling viral material, though it is not as effective as a medical grade n95 mask, but it definitely helps prevent you from breathing, coughing, shouting, singing, or sneezing large droplets across a room.

Peer pressure, including political peer pressure, can be dangerous here, if it discourages those who should be wearing a mask from doing so, because they want their friends to like them, because it isn't comfortable to wear a mask and any excuse not to is easy to take, or because "they don't want to appear afraid."

Additionally, there are people who can't or shouldn't wear a mask because of their own health concerns. Rather than suggesting that such people not go out of their homes or that they accept grave risk, those of us who can wear a mask can do so to lessen their risk of catching COVID from us.

Third, I do not understand why wearing masks around our state and national officials is not required standard security protocol right now. We can debate whether or not the President, Vice President, or Governor should wear a mask themselves during a press conference or program and under what circumstances, with all sorts of arguments that can be made that they should be able to speak without them with certain protective measures like proper social distancing having been taken, but it really makes little sense at all that others who are attending in whatever fashion, as staff, as journalists, as clergy sharing their thoughts, or in any other way should even have the option not to wear one when around those leaders. 

Our elected officials have security personnel in place to prevent harm from coming to them and many measures are taken to prevent disruptions in the chain of command. A single person with COVID, even without a fever, could start coughing and within days put a political leader in the hospital or worse. Don't get me started about the obvious fact that people can take medicine to lower their temperatures, making the on the spot tests at events and programs highly unreliable, and expel a huge sneeze in a room full of important people. Even if the leaders just have to self-isolate for a few days, it is a disruption in leadership. Why isn't wearing a mask around them then a security issue? And around the VP and President wouldn’t it be a matter of national security? In fact, one could argue that this would be the case around the vitally important leaders of the task forces that are in place to help us fight the epidemic as well.

Wearing masks around people who might be vulnerable, and you may well not know who is vulnerable, should be expected, not just encouraged, for anyone who cares about the health of other people. In other words, for a while to come, in crowds of strangers, everyone should be wearing masks when they can and maintaining physical distance, especially if they can’t wear a mask or if they choose not to wear one for whatever reason, such as will be the case for diners in reopened restaurants.

Fourth, mitigation efforts were put in place to keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed. Restrictions on freedom are not tolerable for long and the idea that states of emergency can be maintained indefinitely without any legal challenges is anathema to democracy. We consider those concerns alongside the principle of pikuach nefesh in the Jewish tradition, saving a life. Our synagogues and temples aren't going to swiftly return to normal just because we're free to do so, if we wanted. Could is not Should.

We have significant numbers of people who attend our in-person services who are particularly vulnerable because of age or medical conditions. Many are elderly. No few attend because they’re facing health challenges. Others come because they’re thankful for finally overcoming them. We like to hug, which we cannot do right now. We like to have communal meals, which we cannot do right now. Our services are based on singing and chanting, which we cannot do right now.

We urgently want to return to anything like normalcy, but right now what we’re able to do in online services, singing and seeing each other’s smiles, celebrating Kiddush at the end of services with glasses held high together, is much closer to normal than what we would be able to do in person with social distancing, masks, and concerns about choral and communal singing. We have a history of adapting to challenging environments and we are up to the task in this one as well.

We will need to have people able to get back to work. The calculus that I’ve seen of “even if it saves one life” doesn’t work. Lockdowns are costing lives as well, some from depression and anxiety, some from people not going to the doctor or not taking care of their health in other ways including not being able to easily get away from abusive situations at home, and others will be lost from the impact of economic hardship in the aftermath of this, including ones lost because state and federal income along with income of vital institutions will be severely impacted until well after the economy begins to recover, harming the ability to maintain and fund helpful programs,. So many beloved communal institutions that are desired and needed are being crushed by extreme financial shortfalls.

Yes, if we open too soon and without proper precautions, we could see a return to concerns about rising cases. We could open up and then have to close down again. We know that spread will increase as we reopen our economy and people physically interact. That is certain. But there are also grave consequences for remaining closed.

None of this is simple. We need to work together. It is important to “reopen” safely and responsibly. We need to focus attention on those who are most at risk, but understand that everyone, including children, is at some risk, potentially other than those who have immunity from having had COVID and recovered from it, if that really provides lasting immunity (and assuming we have a reliable test). We need readily available PPE and we need easily accessible rapid testing. Some things realistically can't happen until we have a vaccine. 

We cannot go through life avoiding all risk. But we don’t need to be foolhardy either. 

Wear a mask appropriately. Keep social distancing. Keep washing your hands.

Reach out to your family and friends. Support those who are in need.

Take care of your health, mental and physical.

Be gracious to people as well. We don’t all see things the same way. Some readers are without a doubt thinking of arguments against some of the points that I have made. Be willing to listen to the views and concerns of others as much as you are to share your own opinions. And give people a break! 

We’re all stressed out. Even though you may be super on edge, others may even be worse off. That stressed out grumpy person in the store may be unable to visit a family member in the ICU or maybe just lost a job and is wondering how they’re going to pay for groceries next month.

People who you know are going to get sick. You might, yourself.

People who you know may even be hospitalized. You might, yourself.

Many of us already have had people near and dear to us die of COVID.

This has been an awful experience for many people.

All lives are precious.

Be gracious. Be humble. Remember the words of Hillel, “When those around you are not acting like human beings, be a human being.” Try to be a mensch.

It isn’t going to be easy to get through this. Getting through it isn’t going to be about not being afraid, when fear is appropriate. It’s going to be about courage, facing our fears, and about wisdom, facing our fears in the wisest of ways, responsibly. It is not courageous to deny reality. Courage is accepting the challenges that reality presents and taking them on. Wisdom is understanding if, when, and how to do so.

We don’t need to take unnecessary risks, but living life is in part about taking them.

In our highly polarized environment, this is precisely a time for moderation. I am glad that I have been able to play a part in finding the right path. I hope that we as a nation will be able to work together. We will make it through this because we acted wisely and courageously, with concern about the possible rapid spread of illness and impacts upon those who are vulnerable and concern about freedom and the economy, not only focusing on some of these and not the others.

Love your neighbor and 

Love yourself.

It will be dark for a while, but a new dawn will rise before long.

Statement on the Possibility of Returning to In Person Services at the Meeting with the Vice President - May 8 2020

This is the text that I prepared for my statement. I offered a slightly different statement live in the actual meeting. You can find it at this link on the C-Span website with my part beginning at about 36:30. Here is my prepared statement:

Thank you for inviting me to participate, today. I appreciate having the opportunity to express the thoughts and concerns of the Iowa Jewish communities this morning about resuming in-person worship.

The leaders of the Jewish communities across Iowa have been holding a weekly online meeting to check in with one another about what is going on in our communities and what concerns we all have. Additionally, my congregation just had a meeting to discuss possible parameters for reopening at some point in the future. There is uniform agreement that it would be inadvisable for us to do so in the near future and especially not with rising case counts in our communities.

First, the population that regularly attends worship is significantly comprised of people who are vulnerable, either people over 70 years of age or people who have or are recovering from illness and are seeking spiritual support amid their health battles or attend to offer thanksgiving for recovering from them. None of those people should attend such gatherings right now and that would significantly impact any return to in person worship. With added concerns about younger people also having complications after contracting COVID, we cannot ignore risk to younger members of our communities as well.

Some of us in the clergy are also high risk ourselves from other medical conditions. I am recovering from Quadruple Bypass surgery that I had at the end of August.

Second, we are a people who like to hug, to eat together, and perhaps most relevant of all, to sing together. Public singing right now in any sort of confined space is very problematic. Singing increases spread of germs and may result in the rapid spread of illness through congregations, especially among members of choirs.

Third, while online worship doesn’t offer the same sense of fellowship that in person worship does and we miss that greatly, we can conduct our services with singing in a safe environment while gathering spiritually. When this crisis is over, we will continue to live-stream our services so that those who are unable to attend physically for whatever reason are still able to join us. This is also true for educational programming. We have also found ways to adapt life cycle events to online platforms, though they are perhaps a bit awkward.

The Jewish community statewide doesn’t see a pressing need to resume in person worship services. We will create new programs, services, and religious experiences to adapt to current needs. It’s what we have done through numerous times of difficulty in the past.

Finally, opening up will functionally require an end to a need for social distancing, and antibody testing to know who may be immune. Without these, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for us to return to something like the situation prior to March of this year.

There is perhaps no one who wants to return to normalcy and celebrations of communal joy and communal support for mourners than the Jewish community and we eagerly look forward to the day when we’ll be able to celebrate together in large numbers in person. Our tradition greatly values communal worship and the concept of the minyan in which the presence of God is found when ten or more are present. We urgently wish to return to worship in person.

We just do not believe that time is now or necessarily in the immediate future and are currently considering alternative plans for the celebration of the Jewish High Holidays in the fall.