Notes by Our Rabbi

Rabbi Shaul Praver

The Soul and Heaven
Rabbi Shaul Marshall Praver

Science has not yet identified the existence of the Soul and the entity remains a matter of faith. Yet, not all things need to be scientifically proven to be believed. For example the Physical human Heart; it can be dissected, searched and probed ---yet all these efforts will not lead to the discovery of love. Nowhere is a Love chromosome or cell to be found in the heart. But does this scientific fact shatter our faith in the existence of Love? Of course not! We know of Love from feeling it and don’t need to prove it to ourselves or the world. Love simply exists and is uncontested.

Since science in this case does not shatter our faith in Love, perhaps we should consider that science should not necessarily shatter our faith in the existence of our soul and it’s eternity. In the same light, science need not shatter our belief in God.

Science is our friend, we heal disease with science, we fly to the moon with science and our lives and understanding of the world is greatly advanced and enhanced by science. However, it is important to understand one key distinction: science is the study of the physical world and Religion is the study of the Spiritual world. Personally I believe that these two fields of inquiry will one day meet to create a new synergistic force in the world which will bring heaven and earth a little closer to one another then they had ever been before.

While Judaism teaches that there is an Olan Haze and an Olam Haba—meaning a physical world and a spiritual world, it is not at all clear where this concept is found in the Torah narrative itself. It takes some interest and special investigative techniques to find it. Let’s find heaven together in the Torah:

When Moses died the Torah describes his death in euphemistic terms; “And Moses was gathered unto his people” and this terminology is used often in the Torah. On a simple “Peshat” level, it means that when a person dies, they are gathered amongst their people to be mourned and buried in accordance with their laws and traditions.

Deuteronomy 32:49-51 reads:

“And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, [unto] mount Nebo, which [is] in the land of Moab, that [is] near Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; And {then} die in this mountain and be gathered unto your people; just as Aaron your brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people.”

Everything seems straight forward until we see another account of Mose’s death two chapters later in Parshat V’zot Habracha: Deuteronomony 34.

“Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he {the Lord} buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, near Beit Peor: but nobody knows where he is buried even unto this day. And Moses [was] a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, and he still possessed his strength and vigor.”

In 32:50 the narrative states that Moses was gathered unto his people, and we have learned this to mean, being gathered and buried by his people. Yet, in chapter 34:5-7 the narrative states that Moses was buried by God and nobody knows where he is buried even to this day.

This seems to be a total contradiction! Which one is it? Was Moses buried by God or by the Children of Israel? Moreover, if Moses was buried by his people then everybody would know where he was buried! Here’s the resolution:

The expression being “gathered unto one’s people” doesn’t refer only to the burial ceremony, it also speaks to matters of the Soul. It means that in the world of souls Moses was reunited once again with his loved ones; his parents, his siblings and friends. There is no contradiction! in this case, the expression applies to Mose’s soul. “His people” are not the children of Israel of this world, “His people” are his people that await him in the next world--- and it is amongst them that he was gathered and reunited.

In accordance with our traditions, Moses is one of two individuals that was able to achieve "Beam me up Scotty" stattus and entered straight into heaven without burial as we know it. The second person that had this merit is Elijah the prophet.

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Yom Kippur 5767

The stories we learned as children and what they mean for us today

Raise your hand if you went to Hebrew school?

Raise your hand if you heard the story of Abraham and his father’s idol shop?

Fabulous!

Now for the sake of those that never heard the
Story I’d like to briefly tell it.

Abraham’s father, Terach carves idols out of stone for a living. He sells them in his shop.
One day Terach had to leave town and put his son, young Avram in charge of the shop.
Just moments after his father Terach left town Avram picked up a stick and smashed to pieces all the stone idols---- all except one. And in the hand of the one remaining idol, Avram placed the stick. When Terach returned and saw all his inventory smashed to bits he yelled, “Avram, what have you done...you’ve destroyed everything.” Young Avram retorted, “But father I did nothing, it was he, the last remaining idol that did it,, look! over there! Whereupon, Terach Exclaimed, “that’s impossible, this idol can’t do this.” “But why can’t it father”, Avram demanded. Terach flustered, proceded to answered, “because an idol can’t do anything, they just sit there.” Whereupon Avram said, “but father, if they can’t do anything and they just sit there, why do people pray to them?”

Terach had no answer for his son, he was confused and shaken by his son’s words.
Terach came to his senses and realized that Avram is a very special and blessed boy,,, Terach eventually followed Avram in life and regarded him as his teacher.

Now back to those of you that already heard the story.

Did this story change your life or provide you any insights that you feel has impacted on the quality of your spiritual life?

Did you ever revisit this story as an adult?
Hear a class on it, read an article about it?

I believe most of us have not. I believe that most of us heard these stories as children and haven’t really heard much about them in our adulthood. I believe that, for many of us that have been Bar or Bat Mitzvahed, a lot of things we learned including our Haftorah, have not been revisited with any regularity.

The point I am trying to make is that our exposure to Judaism was a pediatric version of Torah. The education was only offered up until Bar Mitzvah age. That’s when many of us graduated from Judaism.

Did you know that more Jewish Adults worldwide study in Ashrams then Yeshivot? Why? Ashrams are for adults, they offer sophisticated perspectives on spirituality and Explore methods for gaining tranquility of mind and elevated states of consciousness through the practice of yoga, meditation and chanting.

We’ll come back to that in a moment,,,

Let’s talk about children’s movies. Fortunately they can be appreciated on a variety of levels and it’s ingenious the way that the producers address simultaneously the interests of both the children and adults.

Let’s take for example one of the most celebrated movie of all times.

The Wizard of Oz

Many of us can still watch it for the Four hundredth time with great interest.

The song “Somewhere over the rainbow” is one of the all time great songs.

Somewhere over the rainbow speaks to a transcendent need for a world with blue skies,
Where dreams come true, birds fly and in short a place of peacefulness and delight.

It may be the fabulous costumes that keep up our interests, Judy Garland’s masterful performance and beautiful voice, or for many it may be good old fashion Nostalgia, it connects us with pleasurable childhood memories. All of the above mentioned
Apply to me.

Additionally However, and With a bit of thoughtfulness, I believe that not only are there powerful spiritual concepts to be discovered in the movie, but that these concepts are Judaic in origins.

Though Jews are small in number, we wield a huge worldwide influence. Our wellsprings of thought run deep in the bedrock of civilizations and we come up with a lot of great and powerful ideas that shape the world around us.

There is a great deal of Torah wisdom woven into our popular culture and sciences---- much more then we may have imagined. These are the Universal aspects of the Torah.
However, to decipher Torah wisdom in our secular culture, one must look at the material through the right lense and of course one must have Torah knowledge to start with.

Let’s find the hidden Torah script in the story of the Wizard of Oz; perhaps by exploring this one example, it may sensitize you to noticing Torah concepts in other aspects of our culture.

Judaic content in the Wizard of Oz didn’t get there by accident or through an arbitrary process, but was innately or purposely produced with these Judaic concepts in mind.

The same can be said for the “Kohen Hagadol,”
Our favorite Vulkan, Spok from star trek. He didn’t accidentally show the secret sign of the Kohen and recite aspects of the Birchat Kohanim, “Live long and prosper” And given that this Vulcan greeting first appeared on the episode No. 44 "Journey to Babel,” the firm rooting it has in Torah classics is clear. Babel of course refers to the tower of Babel from the Genesis episode. The people build a tall tower reaching to heaven. In dismay, God made the people speak different languages so they couldn’t understand one another--- hence we have the phrase, “He was just Babeling” -- talking but not making any sense. Perhaps a bit like this sermon. {Laughter. pause}

Let’s turn to our good friend Maimonides to take us into the “Nistarot” the hidden Torah concepts that actually conceptually hold together the Wizard of Oz.

Maimonides, otherwise affectionately known in the Yeshiva world as “The Rambam” -- was one of our great Torah Sages and Philosophers.

Maimonides spoke of a round earth in the 12th century hundreds of years before Galileo. Some of his contemporaries viewed him as a heretic, but the test of time established him as one of the great Torah sages and Philosophers of all time.

Let’s take one of Maimonides loftier thoughts and see how it can be applied to Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.

Maimonides explains that:

The Almighty meets humanity through Moses the Prophet in an age where people didn’t pray. The method of worship that spoke to people at the time was bringing sacrifices from their field and Herds as an offering to the Deity.

Jews offered burnt offerings from their flocks. The smoke rose up before the Almighty and was acknowledged by God as a “sweet savor before the Lord.”

Does God have nostrils that smells and savor the smoke from animal offerings?

NO!!

This is all Shamanistic imagery that speak to a certain need of human beings. The imagery provides a set of iconic tools with which people can focus and “work with” in their spiritual urge to express themselves to their God.

God says to man, “I love the smell of your burnt offerings and your offerings have risen to me as a sweet savor and are accepted.” In short---God plays along! God allows us the iconic tools we need to express our spirituality. We need God to be like this and God is there is as such.

Maimonides goes on: This manner of service to God and conceptualization of God is very primitive. The Deity is perceived as a force external to a person, and a person reaches outside of themselves to come closer to the Deity.

According to this perspective, God is never seen in terms of being within a person them self. There is no concept of a spark of the Deity being present in the core of a person. In a sense it is a very pediatric and primitive way of understanding the Phenomenon of God.

The Ashrams I mentioned earlier are very much involved in teaching methods for finding Divine energy within oneself. Surprisingly, Children are able to understand God in this manner. For example,
Obi Won Kanobie from Star Wars teaches young Luke Sky walker about “The Force”-- it is clear that this undefined abstract force is something kids can relate to.

My son Noah asked me what the “Force” is. I took this as an opportunity for a teaching moment and I whispered into Noah’s ear in a breathy tone, “The Force is God”!! He was positively delighted to learn this. I could see on his face that this connected his Jewish world with his world of play and popular culture. He, like all of us live in two cultures and he was delighted to experience some unananimity. He had heard about God through the blessings we make over food, but that was more of thanking a God that was outside of himself. In fact, sometimes Noah would look up and say, “Thanks for the food and drinks God” Ever since Noah and I talked about the force, whenever I succeed at something, he says to me, “Daddy,, the force was really with you” and when I was recently frustrated because I was unable to open a fudge bar wrapper, Noah Said to me,, “Daddy,, use the force!!... Your not using the force!!” Well of course he was right about that, and as soon as I started using the force,, the wrapper on the fudge bar opened for me.

Now back to Dorothy. The Wizard of OZ has a Hebrew name in the title. The word Oz means power! The Wizard is the one that is going to solve all the problems. The Wizard is all powerful and the Wizard is in a distant place called the emerald city. The path to the city is the yellow brick road. The Wizard allegorically represents God---the ultimate authority figure.

Surely the Wizard will be able to redeem Dorothy from her exile and bring her home again.

The characters, the straw man, the tin man and the Lion represent the attributes of intellect, emotion, and human will.

Dorothy is the dreamer of this dream and she views these attributes as some what deficient within herself, so she looks outside of herself for a redeemer; she seeks the Wizard to grant her the attributes of intellect, emotion, courage, and the way home. Her adversary is the lady that tried to take her Dog Toto that morphed into the wicked witch of the west.

Dorothy is a child and who has been feeling powerless--- even Aunty Em wouldn’t advocate for keeping Toto when the mean woman came. Dorothy wishes to be empowered to overcome her adversary. Dorothy is able to achieve this power in her dream world. In her dreams she succeeds in traveling somewhere “Over the rainbow” where life is beautiful, and where she is able to gain the power she needs to protect Toto.

The truth is that Dorothy would like to kill the evil woman, but she wouldn’t dare, she’s a sweet innocent girl. Yet, in the security of her dreams she was able to conveniently script the story whereby her whirling house just happened to land on top of the wicked witch of the East leaving behind only her ruby red slippers, the symbol of her Power, which were then miraculously transmitted to Dorothy’s feet, much to her surprise. Her dream satisfies all her needs, she doesn’t have to kill her adversary, her house “accidentally on purpose” does it for her. Dorothy doesn’t have to steal the power, the ruby red slippers just got on her feet all my themselves.

Of course to keep the excitement of the story going there needs to be another witch--- another adversary. The wicked witch of the west suddenly appear out of a black cloud and is very angry about the death of her sister, the wicked witch of the east and therefore tries to regain the ruby red slippers. Of course she can’t and she gets a shock when she tries to touch them while they are on Dorothy’s feet.

The dynamics of the story is the fight for this power symbol.

Let’s Fast forward to the scene where we find Toto the object of Dorothy’s love peeling away the curtain and thus revealing “The little man behind the curtain” Toto proves that the All Powerful Wizard of Oz is just a big fraud. He’s not the big thunderous face on the screen,, he’s just the little man behind the curtain.

What does this mean? Is the Wizard a bad man?

Is the Wizard really a fraud?

Does the wizard have any ability to help Dorothy and her “friends?”

Enters Maimonides:

The Wizard had to act as the All powerful Wizard because that is how everybody needed him to be. Just like we needed the Deity to be the kind of God that likes the smell of our burnt offerings; and so, God manifests as such. God plays along!

The subtext of the story is that Dorothy is involved in a maturation processes and will be able to find her way home. The Wizard In the end is not the one that gives intellect, feelings courage, or redemption, but is the one that awakens these characters to realize that they already possess these gifts. In a sense, the wizard put’s the straw man, the tin man and the Lion in touch with the force within them.

The Wizard provides the needed affirmation and fosters the self confidence and promises
to bring Dorothy home. But the Wizard is imperfect, he is unable to do it…. His balloon got away without Dorothy on it---- If memory serves, I believe it was Toto jumped out the last minute and caused that mess up.

Of course Dorothy is sad and upset again because she has no way to get home.

Poof, out of a cloud enters the good witch of the North, a deeper and more developed manifestation of the Deity~ allegorically she is the Shechina— divine presence. She is not all powerful but she is a wellspring of Kindness and wisdom. She doesn’t need to appear scary or fearful to gain Dorothy’s respect.

She is the benevolent teacher,
She is Dorothy’s spirit guide,
but she doesn’t do the work for Dorothy,
she directs Dorothy to her inner resources, she instructs her to recite the words,

“There’s no place like home…. There’s is no place like home”........

Whenever Dorothy is ready, all she has to do is click her heals together and and recite, “there’s no place like home,,there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” and that is how she will bring herself home— through the power of her own mind and heart. She discovers the courage to trust in her own abilities.

When Dorothy awakens and finds herself back home in her own bed, she returns having internalized these deep spiritual themes and now she sees her home and her family with new eyes.

It’s the same place, but Dorothy has changed and this makes all the difference in her world. Now she is able to appreciate the value of Anti Em, the value of her uncles and the security of her own room.

The movie is chock full of Torah concepts that
Maimonides alerts us to.

These are the universal aspects of the Torah which are deeply integrated in Western culture. The more we study, the more we will recognize and be able to find the unifying thread running through the two culture in which we live.

Shana Tova

Rosh Hashana First Day
5767

The Plague of American Jewish Assimilation and its antidote.

A parent recently said to me:

“I gave my child the choice to go to Hebrew High School or not.”

At first this sounded like it made sense, but after hearing it from a parent

And then a post B’nai Mitzvah, I began thinking deeper into the whole thing.

I started to compile a list of things parents really don’t give their children choices

About and I wrote them in the positive--- by this I mean, that the parent would give

Their child the choice. For example:

I gave my child the choice whether to attend High School or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to learn how to swim or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to learn how to ride a bicycle or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to brush their teeth twice a day or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to drink milk or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to go to college or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to be clean or not.

I gave my child the choice whether to get exercise or not

I gave my child the choice whether to where a winter coat or not

I gave my child the choice whether to go to the doctor or not.

When I look at these choices, I realize that many of us parents don’t really

Give our children the choice whether to do these things or not.

We use our authority to make sure that our children participate in all off Of these practices and activities.

I think we all need to look deep inside ourselves and ask ourselves,

Why wouldn’t we put Post B’nai Mitzvah Jewish Education on this list?

Why should it be any more disposable?

When we remove it from this list and put it on the B list of items that

Your child can opt out of; you express in a powerful way that Judaic education is of lesser importance. You empower your 13 year old child to opt out of their continuing Jewish education and you surrender your parental authority to the child.

This poor regard for continuing Judaic education sometimes comes out in the

Words that some parents us when speaking of Hebrew School. For example,

I once heard a parent say in reference to a question their child had about which School the parent was speaking of. This parent referred to their child’s public School as their “normal” school. Less egregious but still objectionable is, “Your regular school” both these terms pitted against Hebrew School make Hebrew School by association “abnormal” and “irregular” respectively. Why can’t the Hebrew School be simply identified by it’s name and quality “ Private Hebrew School Education” There is public school and there is Private School. Public and private are not pejorative, they just define The type of school. One is not “abnormal” and the other “normal,” nor is one “Regular”
And the other “irregular”---- they are just different.

Public School teaches Math, Science, Social Studies, Language arts, health, physical education and so forth.

Hebrew School Teaches the Hebrew language, Jewish History, Judaic classics, prayers, observances culture and so forth.

One is secular and the other religious. They are both normal and they are both Regular--- they are

simply different.

In conclusion:

Put Post B’nai Mitzvah education on the list and use your parental authority

To enforce it through the same creativity, energy and interest that you used

To enforce the practice and observance of all the other items on the list.

Your 13 year old is not old enough to make this decision any more then they

Are ready to make the decision that they will desist from any one of these

Practices. You know these things are essential and you therefore will not

Part with them. Please consider approaching Judaic studies with the same

Degree of importance — this will greatly strengthen your child’s Jewish Identity.

Two other instruments we have in our arsenal is
The Hebrew Language and the Land of Israel.

The majority of the world’s Jewish children live in Israel. The Israeli Jewish population is growing, while the Diaspora Jewish population is shrinking. If this trend continues, it will take about 50 years before the majority of Jews world wide live in Israel. The last time this occurred was around 3000 years ago, prior to the Babylonian and Roman conquests.

Over half of Diaspora Jews marry out of the faith, and for most the Hebrew language is a foreign language, and the Mosaic creed is not known or practiced in a religious or cultural setting. Unless something changes, the Jewish community in the Diaspora will fold, and only a small community of observant Jews will survive.

What then is the solution to this tide of assimilation? The most powerful galvanizing force in Judaism is, of course, the practice of Judaism itself. The second is the Hebrew language. The majority of Israeli Jews observe the main tenants of their faith, but their identity is greatly shaped by their Jewish culture, not the least of which is the Hebrew language.

Therefore in light of the power of Hebrew to keep Jews
Alive and well, it occurred to me that:

The secular Hebrew language should be taught in American public schools as an elective - open to all, just as Italian, Spanish and French are taught. Hebrew is obviously necessary for American Jews. It would strengthen Jewish identity and build a cultural bridge to Israeli Jewish brothers and sisters. Yet it is also relevant to Christians — it is one of the languages Jesus spoke – as well as relevant to Palestinian Americans. Hebrew is one of the two official languages of modern day Israel. When Palestine emerges alongside Israel and peace returns to the region, entrepreneurial-minded Palestinian-Americans may, ironically, wish to do business in Israel’s booming economy.

Consider the historical context for this linguistic expansion. Living in Israel today are a remnant of the original Jewish people, practicing major tenets of their religion and speaking the same (albeit, updated) Hebrew language. The majority of Israel’s Jews are Middle Eastern, whose major immigration took place in the early twentieth century. They hadn’t been expelled very far, particularly those who located in what is today Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Other Middle Eastern Jews were exiled to Babylon, a region that primarily comprised modern day Iraq and Iran. This exodus occurred primarily because of the pogroms in these areas, where Jews had resided for thousands of years, up until the modern state of Israel was established in 1948.

Violent pogroms afflicted to an even greater extent the European Jews, who comprise the second part of today’s Israeli Jewish population. For the Ashkenazi Jews, however, these pogroms culminated in the Holocaust. Both the Mizrachi and Ashkenazic Jews returned to their ancestral homeland, Israel, seeking protection from the pogroms and a desire to be free in their own land. They sought to simply live as Jews, which they couldn’t do under foreign rule. Being such a miniscule minority and enjoying few human rights, their faith was inextricably bound to the land of Israel. They constantly dreamed of a brighter future in the cradle of their own civilization. And indeed, with the help of the Hebrew language, they found it. Perhaps we can realize the same dream for the American Jews here in North America as well.

On Rosh Hashana we eat the Pomegranate. It’s many seeds represent the many rights or “zechuyot” we strive for
As a minority. May it be the will of the Almighty that the study of our language be one of the seeds that sprout this year.

Shana Tova— A sweet and Joyous new year to all.

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Rosh Hashana Day Two: 5767

Two powerful pictures were presented to me.
One I am sure is familiar to you too:

Jews in the concentration camp barracks,
Lying side by side, packed in tightly in a sort of a
Shelf that served as bunk beds. There are no mattresses --just pine wood.

Below it, a caption reads-

Good Jew!

And then there was a second picture, this one of
An extremely handsome Sephardic Israel soldier on Chag Ha’sukkot waving the Lulav and etrog early in the morning in the desert in front of his tank.
Below it a caption reads-

Bad Jew!

The idea expressed in the contrast of these
Powerful images is:

When we suffer, the world says
“poor Jews” and wish us well on account of our suffering. But why does our suffering make us good in the world’s eyes? And whom are we good for,,,
Ourselves or others? Our suffering couldn’t be good for ourselves— it therefore must be good for them?
But how could our suffering be Good for the nations of the world. Because they like to wish us well — and when we are indeed, well, it deprives them the opportunity. As such, on some level, the world prefer that we not be well so that they can carry on wishing us well. /////

And what is the second picture,, the one of the soldier saying?

When we are Strong, when we are in control,
when we are Robust and beautiful---
They say we are bad because we are not
Suffering the way we’re supposed to.

This is the anti-semitism thing that is so puzzling to me. It’s like the shell game—the shell is never found. The Cause of anti-Semitism is studied much and still not completely discovered. Underneath it all the complaint against us is not about where we live or how we live, but it’s about our very existence as human beings. Everywhere a Jew lives is occupation when we flourish. The world just can’t bear to see us actually alive AND well. They like us weak and harmed. It seems we are good when we suffer and die and Bad when we dare to live?////

Let’s talk about another picture.

Another picture is the map of the middle east
And a tiny miniscule line is drawn for Eretz Yisroal.
It is a spec in the middle of the map. A grain of sand on a place setting.

Below, it’s caption reads,
Israel the Occupier.

What is This whole uproar over the right of one tiny Jewish state to exist. Can’t Jews have one tiny speck on the map to live as Jews? Must we always be scattered like crumbs to the wind. Eretz Yisroal is where Jews came from is it not?

Indeed it is.

History taught us that we had to protect ourselves. Through Zionism, Israel became the third great Jewish civilization to live in Eretz Yisroal---- Even with the Bible emerging from there in the earlier days, I dare say that our current Israeli civilization is every bit as significant as the two Proceeding.

Unable to defeat Israel militarily,
Enemies sought to discredit her in the news.
Yet, notwithstanding all the pebbles, stones and boulders hurled at us, one good Op Ed can dispel an
Abundance of darkness and lies. Yet often times
The Op Eds criticize us without mercy.

Former Prime Minister Golda Meir said,

“ It’s better to receive bad Op Ends then Good Obituaries

She was saying “We don’t want the worlds Sympathy and we will gladly choose life and bear unkind words.

Throughout this past year, I was alerted to a considerable amount of Israel basing in the newspapers, including the Danbury Newstimes.
I decided respond, but I wasn’t going to field grounders, I was going to swing for the fences and right the all powerful Op Ed that I myself wanted to read in the paper. So I swung for the fences and came up with the provocative “Zionism is Beautiful”
I remembered “Black is Beautiful” from the sixties.
I knew it was Black people confronting racism directed against them and I felt it was time for Jews to make the same declaration about themselves and the national movement that transformed us from timid sheep being lead to slaughter to that handsome Israeli soldier shaking his Lulav and Etrog in front of his tank ready to take on the world in protection of his people and their land ancestral homeland.

“Zionism is Beautiful”

The words “Israel", "Jew" and "Zionism" are beautiful words. Yet repetitive racial slurs concerning these words make them sound ugly and pejorative.

Zionism means scorched desert wastelands transformed into magnificent gardens and green farm lands.

Zionism means oppressed downtrodden Jews becoming uplifted and able to affirm their continuity from Biblical times.

Zionism means Jews living proudly once again in their ancient homeland.

Zionism means the collective creativity of Jews of every ethnicity coming together to build a free civilization.

Zionism means the opportunity to enact an ancient dream that will not die.

Zionism means establishing a modern civilization that shares a messianic vision of making earth a little more like Heaven.

Zionism means sharing Israel's blessings with the world. ////

Zionism is not Racism. Jews come in every race and ethnicity.

Zionism is not an apartheid State: While Jews are the Majority in Israel, Arabs vote and are represented in the Israeli government.

Zionism is not Colonialism: Jews won the war of Independence against the British colonists and lay claim to only Israel. Furthermore, Israel is no more a racist state for creating a haven for Jews then Saudi Arabia is a racist state for creating a haven for Arabs. Whosoever points an accusing finger toward Israel in this regard will find four fingers pointing back at them, because Israel is a democratic state where freedom of religion is enjoyed by a multitude of ethnic groups. Charges of racism are empty and inflammatory. Jews are willing to share their land with the Palestinians. But peace also depends upon the willingness of Palestinians to share their land with the Jews.

Please ask yourself a basic question: If Israel laid down her weapons and retired her army, navy and air force, how long do you think it would take for Israel to be conquered by Muslims? Days? Weeks? Or Months? Now, ask yourself the question in reverse. If all of Israel's neighbors laid down their weapons in the same manner, is it likely Israel would attempt to conquer Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia? I believe honest answers to these questions clarify the essence of the conflict. Namely that only one party seeks the destruction of the other.

For half a century, Palestinians have professed an interest in acquiring a state of their own. Several attempts to grant Palestinians their wish were made, starting with the 1948 U.N. Partition Plan and concluding with the offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Barak in 2001 at Taba, 98% of the requested land - including east Jerusalem, as per Yassir Arafat's request - was offered. But even that offer was answered with war. For many, it would seem that Barak called Arafat's bluff; revealing the peace process to be a process of war. Due to these harsh realities, the Sharon administration had pursued the building of a security fence and has completed the disengagement of all the Jewish communities from Gaza. The Palestinian’s understood this as a sign of weakness and promptly positioned themselves along the new boarder and bombarded the town of Sderot with Ketusha rockets. They smashed, burned and
Totally destroyed millions of dollars of High tec, state of the art green houses the Israelis left behind in a good will offering to the Palestinians. These are the green houses that the Israelis used to run a lucrative international flower industry.

Yet a million Arabs live in Israel and enjoy democratic rights and freedoms. Is this fair? Why can't Jews live under the Palestinian flag just as Arabs live under the Israeli flag? The Sharon administration say it's a practical matter; Israel no longer wishes to deploy its Army to defend a small number of Gaza Jews. But wait! Stop! Think! Is there a need for a Palestinian Army to protect Israeli Arabs? No! Israeli Arabs need no protection; they are safe as citizens of Israel. Israelis simply want peace and would much prefer spending their time, tending their gardens, doing art, finding a cure for cancer, composing and performing world class music, and inventing more incredible bio-pharmaceuticals and computer technology. Real time internet applications, cellular telephones, color printing are just a few examples of the technology developed in Israel. There is so much brainpower and creative energy emanating from Israel's diverse ethnic population that benefits every person on the planet. Yet even at a time that Israel pursues territorial concessions for the sake of peace, many people lack the ability to say even a few kind words. I will say to them then, "Zionism is Beautiful!"

We must never be embarrassed or apologetic about our support for Israel and or Judaism. We must relearn how to hear the sweetness and beauty in the words, “Israel”, “Jew”, and “Zionism.”

Shana Tova!

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5767: Kol Nidrei Sermon

Two Bombs, Two solutions and One people

Rabbi Shaul Marshall Praver

I look out at you today and what do I see?

I see a congregation that is spiritually evolved.

I see people opening their hearts in prayer and seeking the Torah’s wisdom and faith.

In fact the majority of this congregation is so spiritually evolved that you are able to grasp the very essence of what this holy day is all about.

Your spirituality is so completely absorbed, that the majority of you have been able to sustain the inspiration of Yom Kippor 5766 all the way until today,, Yom Kippur 5767.

Certainly this explains why I see many of you only on the High Holidays. ( }

Yet, I have to approach this sacred day with a certain degree of caution. I must carefully weigh what I say to you, for I fear that if my sermon is too good I might not see you for years! { }

Whereas if I did a fair job today , you might be inclined to come to Synagogue as much as once a month so that you could collect the energy we failed to generate at this time.

OY! And if the performance was atrocious today, then we might wind up seeing each other at least once a week at services.
{laughter pause}......and we all know we just can’t have that going on in a Synagogue!
{Laughter.. Pause}

And please Let’s not even think about the kind of performance that would be necessary to attract a daily minyan! {Laughter.. Pause}....
Let’s not even go there!

As much as I am joking--- there is also a strand of truth to it and every rope is formed from several strands.

The title of this sermon,
“Two Bombs, Two solutions and One People”

bring us to the existential threat facing the
American Jewish community as well as the Existential threat facing the State of Israel.

There is one common fear Israeli and Diaspora Jews face; The fear of being Bombed! Both have been bombed before and both fear more catastrophic bombings.

Israelis are afraid of the Islamic Nuclear bomb, and the American Jewish leaders are afraid of the Christian Love bomb!

We’ll come back to this thought in a moment,
But in the mean time, let’s learn about the Kol Nidrei prayer together.

For some reason, the Kol Nidrei Prayer appears to possess a great deal of emotional power which resonates with even the most marginal of Jews. What is the Kol Nidrei?

The Kol Nidrei prayer is an ancient Aramaic prayer that dates back to at least the ninth century, where it was included in the first comprehensive prayer books, Seder Rav Amram Ga’on. It gained greater prominence in our liturgy during the persecution of Jews in Spain at the time of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 by King Ferdinand and and Queen Isabella to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. The Inquisition was under the direct control of the Spanish monarchy, and was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabel II.

Jews who had been forced to convert, or Jews who converted to avoid being expelled, or Jews who converted to be admitted into the inner circle of the Spanish society - yet still secretly believe and practiced Judaism - were all called “Conversos”

So, once a year the Conversos recited the Kol Nidrei as a means of renouncing the oaths they had been forced to make forswearing their own religion in favor of Christianity.
The Kol Nidrei was their solemn proclamation that their baptismal vows were null and void, and so were all of their external Christian behaviors.

Yet if the conversos were forced to convert by threat of the sword, why were they referred to as sinners in the liturgy; “Yeshiva Shel Ma’la” ? They are called sinners because a Jew is actually required to give up his or her life in what is called Kiddush Hashem, the (ultimate) sanctification of God’s name, rather then convert to another religion.

Daniel Pearl, a newspaper reporter with the Wall Street Journal who had been held hostage by Muslim terrorists, understood Kiddush Hashem and carried it out. He could have saved his life by simply saying: “Please convert me to Islam” -- but instead he declared proudly, “I am a Jew.”

That is the meaning of Kiddush Hashem.
What is holy about it? It makes us all stop and think, what is it about being a Jew that this man sacrificed his life for? There must be something to it,,, perhaps I should look into my Jewish identity a bit more, perhaps there are depths to it that I am just not seeing.

The Rabbis, however, decreed that Kiddush Hashem is a deed only the most exceptional Jews can fulfill----not everybody can be a Daniel Pearl, and most people would not die for their religion. As such, the Rabbis also utilized the recitation of the Kol Nidrei as a signal to the Jewish communities in areas less affected by the Inquisition. It was also meant to tell these communities to accept the Conversos, and admit them into the Kehilat Yisroal, The “Congregation of Israel.”

That is the meaning of the words,
“Anu Maf’tirin Le’hitpalel im Ha’avar’ya’nim” “We declare it permissible to pray with sinners”

Now let’s return to our original topic,
Two bombs, two solutions and one people.

Both the Muslim Nuclear Bomb and the Christian Love bomb present serious existential threats to the Jews, yet both have achievable strategic solutions.

What do the Israelis have to do?

When the Iranians go nuclear, Israel must militarily cripple their nuclear infrastructure before the Iranians launch their missiles. As Gold Meir used to say: “A bad Op Ed is far better then a good obituary.”

What do the America Jews have to do?

Each Jewish person who marries a gentile must make one simple clear demand, which must be presented as a deal breaker:
The gentile must convert to Judaism and embrace the destiny of the Jewish people.
At the very least, the prospective spouse must agree to raise the Children Jewish, and play a supportive role to that effect. It must not be a combination of Latkes and Christmas trees.
A Jew has a responsibility to establish a Jewish home. Pick any Jewish affiliation and follow it.
It can be Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanistic, or Renewal---
pick one and become a participating member of the community. If you don’t like the Jewish God, that’s fine---- {we all have a bone to pick with God anyway) but at least find your place amongst the Jewish people!

There is a neglected part of Mosaic Law that has collected a lot of dust over the past 3,500 years. I am speaking about the legal status of a Ger Toshav.

A Ger Toshav is Literally, “a stranger that dwells amongst us.” What did the ancient Israelites do with friendly gentiles who lived in the region?

Did they force them to convert with Sword and Fire like the loving Christians had done to us, and the peaceful Muslim still do us? NO!!

Did they Require them to pay a tax for the sin of not being Jewish.. Like the Muslims require from the Dhimmi, tolerated infidels?
NO!!

What did our sages do in Ancient Israel?
They got together and said, Look, these “strangers” are really not so strange at all. They share the same basic ethics and morality as we have. We must protect their rights and give them money for their poor, infirmed, homeless, and destitude, just as we do for our own people!

The Ger Toshav enjoyed the rights of the society, were required to abide by the civil and family law, but did not have to observe the ritual law, such as maintaining a Kosher diet and abstaining from work on the Sabbath and Holidays. The one right denied them, though, was the right to marry a Jew. The Ger Toshavim would marry other Ger Toshavim.

The Ger Toshav was considered an Israelite, almost like a gentile-Jew. If a Ger Toshav wanted to marry a Jew and join the Kehilat Yisroal, The “Congregation of Israel”--- they would have to accept upon themselves the same Mosaic law, and become a full fledged member of the community. Marriage wasn’t just to an individual, it was an affilliation with a family that required loyalty to the tribe.

The biggest problem the American Jewish community faces is the 54% assimilation rate. The reality is that diaspora Jewry is a shrinking community. And unless the trend is challenged, our community will eventually disappear.

Now, many of you are undoubtedly asking yourselves - How am I getting up in front of you today and saying these provocative things? Am I crazy?

I am talking to a congregation that has many interfaith families, and welcomes them with open arms - no less so than the Reform Synagogues of Danbury and Southbury. Am I committing professional suicide on the holiest day of the Year?

NO!!

I am doing my job. I am fulfilling my charter as a servant of God and as a shepard of our people.

But let me be clear to you that I understand the situation. Jews marry Gentiles because these Gentiles are nice, warm wonderful people. A Jew falls in love, and it happens to be with a Gentile. If this Gentile wasn’t a great person – you wouldn’t fall in love with him or her in the first place! And conversely, these Gentiles think we are nice, wonderful, terrific people, and love us too.

So what’s wrong with this?...
America is one big love fest-- Lennon and McCartney got it right,, “All we need is Love.”

I’ll tell you what’s wrong. If this continues with no push toward conversion, there just won’t be any Jews left to love. We’ll just disappear. I know this sounds melodramatic, but the statistics are in. The trends are clear. So you need to ask yourselves – is being Jewish a priority for me, or not? Do I care whether or not my grandchildren are Jewish? If the answer is yes, then by all means marry the person you love – just make sure that person embraces Judaism, and the destiny of your people, along with you.

Currently, most Jews marry out of their faith and do NOT demand that their spouse join the destiny of their Jewish people.

They decorate Christmas trees, not Sukkos. They hunt for Easter Eggs, not Chamatz.
They drink Egg Nog, not Manishevitz.
They go to Baptisms, not Brises.
And they dress up for Halloween, not Purim.

Ironically, the Truth is that when such discussions happen before marriage, often times the stronger Jewish presence in interfaith families is the Gentile parent, not the Jewish one!

How can that be? Time and again, I see the Christian parent playing the stronger role in the B’nai Mitzvah education! The Jewish spouse demanded that the Children be raised Jewish, and the gentile parent took it seriously and follows through.

I wish to publicly praise these interfaith households. These Jews had the courage to demand that their children be raised Jewish, and their spouses have loved them and respected the traditions of their people. They are the Ger Toshavim of our generation. There is no dust on this Mosaic edict--- the Ger Toshav lives in our midst and is no stranger!

These are the heros of the Jewish people. It’s easy to raise Jewish children in Williamsburg. There, the kids think anybody that doesn’t have Payas and a Striemel are goyim. It’s much, much harder to be a Joseph in Egypt - or Shlomo in Newtown.

The irony of all Ironies is this:

When you go home tonight, I’m betting it will be the Gentile spouses that get this, and won’t be offended by how forthright I am being with you tonight. Whereas, you Jewish spouses are going to feel like maybe I went too far.

But as you’re thinking and contemplating and mulling, consider this: One day, sooner than you think, your children, my students, are going to bring home a lovely boyfriend or girlfriend. A really great kid. The sweetest and most kind person you’d ever want to meet – who will happen not to be Jewish. This person is going to make your child very happy and fulfilled. You will be happy to see love’s magic shinning on the radiant face of your child.

What should you do?.....
What will you do?......

Shana Tova

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The Fury of the Dove

Rabbi Shaul Marshall Praver

Op Ed

The dove, an elegant bird of grace, also in our culture represents liberty and peace. Yet it is the doves of the world that often unleash unspeakable fury upon the enemy in times of war. For example, it was one of the world’s most outspoken doves, Albert Einstein, who successfully advocated for and offered technical assistance for the production of the world’s first atomic bomb. The Nazis thought they could rule the world, but they miscalculated the fury of the dove. Consider as well Shimon Peres, Israel’s most out spoken dove and architect of the Oslo peace accords. He is ironically the man most responsible for Israel’s nuclear capability.

In both cases, what the enemies of peace failed to understand is that the dove not only represents liberty and peace in the abstract, but also the desire to keep liberty and peace alive in real terms. In the heart of the gentle graceful dove is found a fury greater than that of the powerful dictator, and it is for this reason that western liberal civilization has defeated all types of fascism throughout the centuries. Indeed, it is for this reason that Western liberal civilization will, ultimately, defeat Islamic fascism as well.

In the macrocosm, Israel and the West are the doves and Islamic fascism is the hawk.
There are two essential differences between the groups: First, consider that the dove extends a longer line of credit to her enemies. This means that a dove will explore every possible peace plan under the sun. The dove will give money and logistical support even to her enemies in a show of good faith, and a dove will explore every manner of diplomacy in order to avoid violence. Why? Because the dove has these inner resources, she endeavors to maintain peace without the use of violence. Her reluctance to take up arms is not out of her fear of the enemy but out of fear of her own strength. Ironically, this is the point that the enemy often fails to understand. When Israel left the Sinai Peninsula, Lebanon and Gaza, for example, Islamic terrorist members of Hamas and Hizbollah interpreted it as a sign of weakness - not strength - and staged victory dances in the streets. Had they correctly interpreted these withdrawals, they would not have been surprised by Israel’s response to the most recent round of attacks by Hizbollah and Hamas.

Rest assured, the dove will not be the first to introduce nuclear fury into the Middle East. But it is clear that should her enemies be foolish enough to do so, she will remain standing and her enemies will swiftly vanish. As history has proven time and again, when the dove’s enemy betrays all the trust and credit she invested in them, all hell will break lose. The dove will respond with the fury that has not yet been seen on the earth. It would be terrible day of reckoning. Thus, consider why, despite Israel’s superior military might, she continues to plead with Islamic terrorists to realize the destruction they will bring upon themselves and the countries in which they operate, should the current violence continue. For this reason, Muslim civilians should rise up and silence the fascists amongst them lest they get vaporized in the same cloud of fury along with the evil ones in their midst.

Hebrews and the Hebrew language

Rabbi Shaul Marshall Praver

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Zionism is Beautiful

The Talmud says, "When good will exists amongst brethren, both can dwell together even on the razor thin edge of a sword, but when good will does not exist amongst them, even the full expanse of the earth lacks sufficient space to contain them." Israel", "Jew" and "Zionism" are beautiful words. Yet repetitive racial slurs concerning these words make them sound ugly and pejorative. Zionism means scorched desert wastelands transformed into magnificent gardens and green farm lands. Zionism means oppressed downtrodden Jews becoming uplifted and able to affirm their continuity from Biblical times. Zionism means Jews living proudly once again in their ancient homeland. Zionism means the collective creativity of Jews of every ethnicity coming together to build a free civilization. Zionism means the opportunity to enact an ancient dream that will not die. Zionism means establishing a modern civilization that shares a messianic vision of making earth a little more like Heaven. Zionism means sharing Israeli's blessings with the world. Zionism is not Racism. Jews come in every race and ethnicity. Zionism is not an apartheid State: While Jews are the Majority in Israel, Arabs vote and are represented in the Israeli government. Zionism is not Colonialism: Jews won the war of Independence against the British colonists and lay claim to only Israel. Furthermore, Israel is no more a racist state for creating a haven for Jews then Saudi Arabia is a racist state for creating a haven for Arabs. Whosoever points an accusing finger toward Israel in this regard will find four fingers pointing back at them, because Israel is a democratic state where freedom of religion is enjoyed by a multitude of ethnic groups. Charges of racism are empty and inflammatory. Jews are willing to share their land with the Palestinians. But peace also depends upon the willingness of Palestinians to share their land with the Jews. Please ask yourself a basic question: If Israel laid down her weapons and retired her army, navy and air force, how long do you think it would take for Israel to be conquered by Muslims? Days? Weeks? Or Months? Now, ask yourself the question in reverse. If all of Israel's neighbors laid down their weapons in the same manner, is it likely Israel would attempt to conquer Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia? I believe honest answers to these questions clarify the essence of the conflict. Namely that only one party seeks the destruction of the other.

Israel has suffered many horrible terrorist attacks in restaurants, hotels, city buses, trains, beaches, streets, universities, school buses, highways, banks, grocery stores, private homes, kibbutzim, parks, caves and fields. And if, God forbid, these same attacks occurred in the United States, our military would respond with decisive force and alacrity. Losing such a war on terrorism would be tantamount to losing one's country and losing one's very civilization; it is not an option. For half a century, Palestinians have professed an interest in acquiring a state of their own. Several attempts to grant Palestinians their wish were made, starting with the 1948 U.N. Partition Plan and concluding with the offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Barak in 2001 at Taba, 98% of the requested land - including east Jerusalem, as per Yassir Arafat's request - was offered. But even that offer was answered with war. For many, it would seem that Barak called Arafat's bluff; revealing the peace process to be a process of war. Due to these harsh realities, the Sharon administration has pursued the building of a security fence and has just completed the disengagement of all the Jewish communities from Gaza. Yet a million Arabs live in Israel and enjoy democratic rights and freedoms. Is this fair? Why can't Jews live under the Palestinian flag just as Arabs live under the Israeli flag? The Sharon administration say it's a practical matter; Israel no longer wishes to deploy its Army to defend a small number of Gaza Jews. But wait! Stop! Think! Is there a need for a Palestinian Army to protect Israeli Arabs? No! Israeli Arabs need no protection; they are safe as citizens of Israel. Israelis simply want peace and would much prefer spending their time, tending their gardens, doing art, finding a cure for cancer, composing and performing world class music, and inventing more incredible bio-pharmaceuticals and computer technology. Real time internet applications, cellular telephones, color printing are just a few examples of the technology developed in Israel. There is so much brainpower and creative energy emanating from Israel's diverse ethnic population that benefits every person on the planet. Yet even at a time that Israel pursues territorial concessions for the sake of peace, many people lack the ability to say even a few kind words. I will say to them then, "Zionism is Beautiful!"

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