My
Dear Friends,
Every
year, when we read the story of the Akeda - the binding of Isaac, I am struck
by the power of the narrative. No word is wasted, every nuance, every action,
every moment is carefully choreographed to heighten the drama, the emotion, the
energy and the terror of the events being described. Once again we listened to the
story of God's asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac – read and chanted so
beautifully for us this morning. In our text, father and son walk together to
an unknown destination. Abraham leads Isaac to the altar, ties him up and prepares
to slaughter him according to God's command. At the last minute, God stops
Abraham and a ram which happened to be caught in a nearby thicket was offered
up in Isaac's place.
On
a literal level, the text teaches us that the binding of Isaac is a test of
Abraham's faith. God needs to know if Abraham and his descendants will be able
to fulfill their part of the Covenantal relationship.
And
yet, we must ask: What kind of a God would ask a parent to sacrifice a child -
as a test? And so, each year, I try to find another perspective to help me to
come to grips with the Akedah.
This
year, I had no trouble. This year, the answer came to me quite clearly - in the
sounds of people marching through the streets of almost every city in our
nation. These marches and protests took place following the deaths of several
Black Americans: George Floyd, Breonna
Taylor, Ahmad Ahbrey and Elijah McClain – to name only a few.
I
want to share with you a poem composed by the Israeli Poet, Chayim Gouri. It is
called "Heritage"(Yerusha):
The Ram came last of
all.
And Abraham did not know that it came to answer the boy's question -
First of his strength when his day was on the wane.
The old man raised
his head.
Seeing that it was no dream and that the angel stood there -
The knife slipped from his hand.
The boy, released
from his bonds,
Saw his father's back.
Isaac, as the story
goes,
Was not sacrificed.
He lived for many years,
Saw what pleasure had to offer,
Until his eyesight dimmed.
But he bequeathed
that hour to his offspring.
They are born with a
knife in their hearts.
Gouri's
final stanza: "They are born with a knife in their hearts" would
suggest that Isaac's bequest to his offspring is the memory of the violence that
shaped his childhood.
Gouri
wrote this poem in the aftermath of the Shoah. The wound of
which he speaks is etched into our consciousness as Jews. Indeed, many studies
have demonstrated the intergenerational trauma experienced by children and even
grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
Last
year, at our Selichot services, Rabbi Tirtza Firestone shared her research and
writing on the topic of intergenerational trauma and the holocaust. I must
confess, I was deeply moved by her words. She shared how the descendants of
survivors face many fears, trauma and even physiological issues even though
they never directly experienced trauma. My mother escaped Nazi Germany when she
was 12 years old and my sister and I grew up in a home where fear of the
“other” and a perpetual sense of dread were constant companions. This had a
profound impact on every aspect of our lives.
Intergenerational
trauma, however, is not an exclusively Jewish phenomenon. There is ample
evidence in American history of those who were victimized, brutalized and
dehumanized and who bear scars to this very day. The legacies of Slavery, Jim
Crow, racial segregation, and White privilege have been passed down from
generation to generation. They live on in the many hidden and not so hidden
barriers, policies, and daily practice of American life. As such, the murders
of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and so many others did not cause
the protests of this past summer. The
slogan, “Black Lives Matter,” did not suddenly emerge as a provocative call to
radical revolution. Rather, all these events and ideas were formed and forged in
a crucible of history that reached a boiling point that had been set in motion for
generations. Add to this the tensions created by the realization that the
danger, infection and mortality rates of COVID-19 were highest in communities
of color and those on the bottom of the economic ladder. It is clear that the
explosion of anger, frustration and fear we witnessed was both understandable
and inevitable.
Last
year, I also spoke about racial justice during the High Holy Days. In the
months that followed, we convened a series of conversations at Temple that
resulted in a dedicated group of learners who gathered to explore issues of
race and injustice. These were very difficult conversations. No one wants to
acknowledge that they may somehow have contributed to or benefitted from a
system that was built to promote White Supremacy and privilege. But the
evidence is overwhelming.
The
African American academic and author, Roxanne Gay, wrote the following this
past May:
“…Some white people…fret over the destruction
of property and want everyone to just get along. They struggle to understand
why Black people are rioting but offer no alternatives about what a people
should do about a lifetime of rage, disempowerment and injustice…The rest of
the world yearns to get back to normal. For black people, normal is the very
thing from which we yearn to be free[i].”
As
Jews, I believe that our response to these events– the marches,
demonstrations, calls for radical reform and self-reflection – are as much a
test as was the binding of Isaac.
·
If we ignore the
clarion calls for understanding, for justice and equity that have emerged from
the streets of our cities - then we / have failed / our test.
·
If we focus only
on the destruction and chaos caused by extremists with vested interests in
disrupting and obfuscating messages of pain and trauma - then we / have
failed / our test.
·
At the same time,
if we do not condemn the demonization and random violence directed against Law
Enforcement - - then we / have failed / our test.
·
If we only hear
the scattered voices of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that a small number of
organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement have spoken – and do not hear the
condemnation of these individuals and ideas within the movement – or, even
worse, allow these few outliers to provide us a reason to disregard the entire
movement, then we / have failed / our test.
·
If we allow
ourselves to stand silently while our neighbors, family members, fellow
congregants, friends and colleagues bleed – then not only have we failed our
test, but we have forsaken the sacred, prophetic cry that our faith, our
history and our Torah have bequeathed to us.
Elie
Wiesel, in his 1986 acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize said the
following:
Sometimes
we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in
jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men or
women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that
place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.
And
if you feel that cries for racial equity do not apply to us as Jews, then you are
cutting off members of our own congregation – our children, spouses, leaders
and students. A recent study showed that 12% of American Jews are either “Jews
of Color” or live in multi-racial households[ii]
- and these numbers are growing. While
these statistics may vary in different parts of the country, the fact remains
that our community is changing – for the better. If demographic trends
continue, then the Jewish people will continue to grow increasingly diverse and
the beauty of multi-ethnic and racial harmony could very well be part and
parcel of the legacy of American Judaism.
Like
Abraham, we are being tested, my friends. And the way that we, as a community,
as people of faith and as a congregation of conscience rise to the challenge
will determine, in no small way – our ethical core and consistency. We who have
inherited a prophetic legacy of social justice cannot remain silent, passive or
oblivious to the reality of racism in our community and our national history.
It
is for this reason that I am incredibly proud of the following resolution
drafted by members of our racial equity working group that was voted on and
overwhelmingly passed by our Board of Trustees in August. It reads, in part:
Temple
Emanuel … strives to create a kehillah kedoshah – a holy community – for
all past, present and future members. We believe that Black Lives Matter.
As such, we unequivocally condemn expressions of bigotry, intolerance,
violence, and white supremacy. We firmly stand alongside our friends and
colleagues of color as we struggle together toward equity and righteousness. We
believe that it is not enough to merely condemn these societal ills, but we
must actively become anti-racist by addressing and working to change them.
Temple Emanuel and the Reform Jewish community have a long and proud history of
partnership, activism and solidarity with Movements for Social Justice and Civil
rights in our country. But there is still a great deal of work to be done to
achieve racial equality….
As a result, we are fully dedicated to becoming an anti-racist
congregation.
To become an anti-racist congregation, we will
initially look inward and focus on the following:
- Providing ongoing educational content and
opportunities for self-reflection on issues of racial justice - for our
clergy, staff, lay leadership and membership.
- Implementing an institutional assessment to
measure where we are organizationally in terms of diversity, inclusivity,
and equity.
We pledge to work in solidarity with others as we live
out the essential Jewish value of B'Tzelem Elohim - all Humanity is
Created in God’s image. We are committed to dismantling systems of white
privilege wherever they might be found as we celebrate the holiness in every
human being.
At
Temple Emanuel, the time is now for our voices to rise together so that we can
live out the biblical injunction:
“Justice, justice, shall you pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20)
Our
Congregational leadership has stepped forward to proclaim our values as Jews,
as concerned citizens and as children of Isaac who know all too well the pain
of intergeneration trauma.
I
am also very excited to announce that the Rose Community Foundation will be
partnering with Temple Emanuel. They have provided us with a substantial grant
that will support our enable us to begin the work of becoming an Anti-Racist agenda.
We received the following letter this past week:
Rose Community Foundation is proud to provide seed funding to support
Temple Emanuel’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist congregation…
In addition to ongoing funding to increase the strength and capacity of
Jewish organizations and support programs that are reflective of diverse Jewish
communities and offer meaningful and relevant ways to engage in Jewish life,
Rose Community Foundation aims to support local Jewish efforts that seek to
advance social justice by engaging Jewish people and using Jewish values and
traditions to respond to key social issues of our time…We pledge to continue
listening, learning and directing our philanthropy toward advancing equity,
justice and inclusion, and we are honored to have Temple Emanuel as a partner
in that work.
On
Yom Kippur afternoon, at 2:00 PM, members of our Racial Justice Task Force will
be joining with me to discuss the vitally important work that we will be continuing
and expanding over the course of the next year. Our High School Youth Programs
will be engaging in a similar discussion this afternoon at 3:00. Join us. Help
make a change – in our community and most importantly, in ourselves.
My
friends, there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done. Today, our
tradition teaches, we stand before God. We are being tested. Like Abraham and
Isaac, the way that we respond to the pain and suffering around us will
determine whether or not we have passed the test.
I
look forward to partnering together to make our world more complete.
AMEN
L’Shanah Tovah
