September 2012 Bulletin - From Aurora to Elul

My Dear Friends,

I write this article in the aftermath of the Aurora tragedy.  In the days following the shooting, the world press took the spiritual, physical and emotional pulse of our community.  I was contacted by multiple new sources and asked 2 basic questions.  The first question was:

Where was God in this tragedy?

My answer was straightforward and simple.  God had nothing to do with the tragedy. God was in the response to tragedy. God was present in the acts of heroism, comfort and consolation that we witnessed.  God was in heroism of the police officers, EMT’s, ambulance drivers, medical professionals, 911 Emergency personnel and everyone else who answered the call to help.  God was in the acts of those who risked and, in a few occasions, lost their lives in order to save others.

The second question was always some form of:   

What should the religious response be to terror?

Again, my response was simple and straightforward:  The religious response to terror can best be found within the context of community. By coming together – to pray and to grieve, to comfort and console one another we were bringing God into our lives.

Soon we will be entering into a new year.  When we gather together at Temple for High Holy Day services, we are doing more than simply performing an age-old ritual.  We are also affirming the importance and centrality of creating and celebrating sacred community.  Whether we are at “Rosh HaShanah Unplugged,” or in our sanctuary service, or at Shwayder camp, the simple act of coming together as a community strengthens our souls and our congregation.  This year, in the shadow of the events in Aurora, our need to pray, to celebrate and experience community is all the more intense.

The sounding of the shofar is a clarion call for us to support one another – in times of difficulty and in times of joy.  Each note offers us an opportunity to engage in the process of Cheshbon HaNefesh examining ourselves and our souls in the context of our community.  If it has been a while since you’ve been in Temple – it doesn’t matter:  we want to welcome you home.  If you are new to our congregation – now is the perfect time to find your place.  We need and want your presence.

I look forward to worshipping together very soon.

Sue, Ethan and Elana join me in wishing you all a Shanah Tovah U’metukah – a good and sweet new year.
 
L’Shalom,
 
Rabbi Joseph R. Black

My remarks at the Aurora Prayer Vigil

Tonight I participated in a prayer vigil at the Aurora Civic Plaza. Many people from around the country saw the proceedings live on national television. From my perspective, sitting on the dais, the scene was somewhat surreal. There was a sea of faces - tens of thousands of people - all coming together to find some comfort in the days following a terrible event.  The pain and the hope in the crowd were both palpable. 

For me, the most powerful moments came when the families of the slain and the wounded were ushered in to the proceedings.  As I looked at the faces of these men, women and children – some in wheelchairs or crutches, others carrying pictures of loved ones who had died – my heart broke.  We had been hearing about numbers and statistics for so long – now we were seeing, face to face, the true toll of evil. 

There were many aspects of the vigil that were beautiful.  Other parts of the event could have been different – especially the lack of any Islamic presence in the program.   Aurora has the largest mosque in Colorado.  There are many Muslims living in the city.  I hope that the lack of a representative was due to the fact that we are now in the time of Ramadan – and no one was able to be there. 

The fact that the vast majority of the prayers and hymns offered were Christian – with specific Christological references -  made some of the Jewish dignitaries on the dais uncomfortable.  As someone who has participated in similar events for many years now, it didn’t surprise me.  After 25 years in the Rabbinate I know that the only way to avoid this is to engage in a process of dialogue and discussion.  Clearly, we have our work cut out for us.  And yet,  this was not a time to bring this up.  That can wait until the future. 

What follows are my remarks.  Thank you to the many people who texted, tweeted and posted comments on my Facebook page in response to the televised broadcast.

A Prayer for Peace – in the Aftermath of Terror

City of Aurora Prayer Vigil

Rabbi Joseph R. Black- Temple Emanuel – Denver, CO

July 22, 2012

Our God and God of all People,

God of the rich and God of the poor.

God  of the faceless and God of the famous.

God of the victims and God of all who cry out on their behalf.

God of those who have no God:

We have come together at this sacred and solemn hour to pray for peace. 

These past days have been filled with horror.

We have seen the devastating effects of Violence on those killed and injured –on their loved ones – and on those who may have escaped physical violence but who bear painful wounds deep within their souls.

We have held tightly to our children and played out the scenarios of “what ifs” and “why nots” over and over again in our minds.

We are drained.

We are in pain.

And we are angry.

Tonight we pray:  spread over us the shelter of Shalom - of peace – knowing full well that peace can seem out of reach in the aftermath of devastation. 

Help us to see the potential for holiness that resides within each of us.

We have felt your healing presence in the outpouring of love and caring that binds this community together.

We have witnessed your love in moments of clarity that cut through the deafening sorrow that fills our hearts and our homes.

We have learned of selfless acts of courage that stir our souls and remind us of the inherent goodness you have implanted within us.

Guide us to see the good in the midst of evil.

Grant us peace – Your most precious gift – and help us to be partners with You in shining the light of peace in the darkest corners of Your creation.

Oseh Shalom Bimromav – He Ya-ahseh Shalom Ahleynu va’l Kol B’nai Adam –

May the One who makes peace in the High Heavens –send peace to us and  to all Creation.

And let us say:  AMEN

Opening Prayer for a Shabbat in the aftermath of tragedy.

Eloheynu V’elohey avoteynu,

We come here tonight to this sacred place – numb with shock and grief – in the aftermath of a senseless tragedy that has shaken our state and our nation to the very core.  Our hearts are heavy as we contemplate the horror of this day.  WE realize just how precious and fragile are the lives with which we have been gifted.

We have been a witness to Evil O God..  We pray for the families and loved ones of those who were murdered.  We ask for Your healing blessing upon those who are wounded.  Guide the hands of the surgeons and healers who labor feverishly to save the lives of the injured.

On this Shabbat, in addition to our prayers for our own community here in Colorado, we are also  mindful of those who died and were wounded  in Bulgaria at the hands of terrorist murderers.  That this tragedy occurred on the 18^th anniversary – to the date – of the bombing  of a Jewish center in Argentina makes out horror more acute.  All of these victims of terror lost their lives simply because they were Jews.  They paid for their innocence in blood.

God – we pray for hope on this Shabbat.  In this time of Sinat – Chinam – baseless hatred, we ask that you help us to find and create – Ahavat Chinam – unrestricted love.  May we find pathways of peace that will help us to see you in the beauty of your creation – unrestricted by the blinders of hatred and violence.

Give us strength as we comfort one another.

Give us hope as we contemplate the possibilities for healing.

Help us to work to build a better, safer world.

We thank you for the gift of community. 

We thank you for this Shabbat – this day that provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our lives with meaning and purpose.

AMEN

Reflection on the Aftermath of a Tragedy

Reflection on the Aftermath of a Tragedy

 On Friday night, July 20th, one day after the tragedy that occured in an Aurora Movie Theater, I delivered the following sermon:

Reflection on the Aftermath of a Tragedy

Shabbat Mattot-Massey

July 20, 2012

Rabbi Joseph Black – Temple Emanuel – Denver, CO

Dear Friends,

On this Shabbat  we come together to find comfort.  We look for answers in the depths of this terrible tragedy. 

·         We ask ourselves and one another:  how could this happen?  How could something so horrific, so monstrous happen – especially here – in this community that only recently experienced a similar horror in Columbine?

·         We seek answers.  We ask:  How could God allow this to happen?”

·         The truth is – there are no answers – none that give us comfort.

·         The randomness of this act of violence makes the horror of what we have heard all the more intense.

·         AS a rabbi – there are times when I wish I could put things in perspective and tell you about the true reasons for pain, suffering and evil in this world – but I cannot.

·         That this tragedy occurred on this day – when, in the State of Israel the bodies of 4 men and a pregnant woman were buried as a result of an act of unspeakable terror in Bulgaria makes the realization of this horror all the more painful.

·         That this tragedy occurred on the 18^th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish Center in Buenos Aires – a fact not lost on the terrorists in Bulgaria – compounds our sense of fear and powerlessness

·         That this tragedy occurred at the same time that the International Olympic Committee has refused to acknowledge the 40^th anniversary of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the Munich Olympics only adds more outrage to our pain.

·         Tonight we also begin the Hebrew month of Av –the month when we, as a people, remember the destruction of the 1^st and 2^nd Temples – as well as many other tragedies that have befallen on our people throughout the ages.

This morning, after being awakened with the news of the shootings, I was contacted by a reporter from CNN who wanted to know what the “religious” perspective on this horrible event might be.  My first response was to tell the person on the other end of the line that there is NO religious response.  Religion had nothing to do with the killing of 12 innocents and the wounding of dozens more. 

But then, as I gathered my thoughts together, I realized that, yes, there was a religious answer – but it was not necessarily a Theological response.  My first instinct, once I heard about the shootings, was to find out who in our community was impacted by the events of last night.  Then I felt the need to reach out to the entire community and let them know that we all felt the same shock, horror and pain.

You see, the religious response to horror and terror is caring and community.  It is found when we come together – to grieve, to cry, ask questions, to get angry – to find comfort and to comfort one another. 

·         It is in Community that we find comfort. 

·         It is in Community that we find God.

·         It is in Community that we grieve and we allow ourselves to express our loss and fear.

But it is in Community that we also find strength.   The purpose of terror is to isolate us – from one another and from God.  We need to come together at times such as these and proclaim that we will not allow fear or violence or hatred to rip us apart.   And that is why we are here tonight and that is the answer to those who would use violence and hatred to destory the fabric of our lives.

In this week’s torah Portion, Mattot Masey, there is a terrible story.  God instructs Moses to wipe out the entire Midianite Population – to spare no one: Men women and children alike.  The Israelites attack the Midianite encampment and massacre all the men and the children – but they spare the women.  Moses is furious.  You see, last week’s parasha told the story of how the Midianites sent women to seduce the Israelites – and were almost successful.  By sparing the women – who, in Moses’ eyes were the cause of the debauchery of the Israelites, not only were his people disobeying orders, but they were displaying the very same weakness that almost destroyed them in the first place.

Each year that we approach this portion – I cringe.  There are so many problems that it poses:

·         What kind of God commands us to commit genocide?  

·         How can we read this in a post-Shoah world and not be sickened? 

The truth is, we cannot.  An essential aspect of Reform Judaism is the understanding that there are times when we must accept the fact that there are portions of Torah that are anathema to our vision of the world.  And it is permissible to reject them – or to try to find some redeeming aspect of their narrative – if we feel that the message does not fit with our understanding of the world in which we live.

Tonight, our rejection of the violence of this week’s parasha is all the more poignant and painful in light of the carnage of Aurora and Bulgaria.  As we remember the victims of our recent past:  in Buenos Aires and Munich – and so many others – we need to stand firm and resolute in our rejection of violence and our faith in the holiness implanted within each human being.

From another perspective, if we are to have a response to the events that took place in Aurora yesterday,  we might start by looking at why it is possible for any person to purchase an automatic weapon capable of carrying out this kind of carnage.  We might ask why gun lobby feels it necessary to flood our nation with weapons.  We might ask why any politician who questions the sanity of easy access to multiple weapons is targeted for defeat by the bottomless coffers of those who want to protect our right to bear arms…..

Would better gun laws have prevented this tragedy in Aurora from occurring?  Maybe – maybe not.  But I believe that it is in the best interest of our nation to find ways to reduce the culture of violence that has permeated every aspect of our lives.

We have been here before.  Unfortunately, we will probably be here again.   But that does not mean that we need to accept the status quo.

Tonight we grieve. Tonight we try to find comfort in our community.  We remember the victims and pray for the survivors.

If we can take anything away from the tragedy it is to remember that we cannot allow our fears and our hatred to control us.  They cannot become the driving force in our society.  We need to combat hatred and violence with love and peace – with caring and community.  Then, and only then, will we be able to put this terrible tragedy behind us.

May we find a way to build a world of peace.  AMEN.

Invocation for Colorado State House - 4/19/12. Holocaust Remembrance

Invocation for the Colorado House of Representatives

Holocaust Remembrance

Rabbi Joseph R. Black

Temple Emanuel – Denver, CO

April 19, 2012

Our God and God of all humanity,

At this solemn occasion when we commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, we turn our thoughts and prayers to memory:

The memories of those who perished in the monstrous Nazi machinery of death.

The Memories of those righteous ones who stood up to evil – at their own peril

The memory of our ability to hate

The memory of our ability to heal

The memory of our ability to learn from the past

The memory of our inability to learn from the past and, in our hubris and passion repeat the mistakes of our mortality again and again.

On this morning we search for healing and renewal.

As we gather in this sacred chamber, let us acknowledge that our leaders have the power to enlighten our community.  Let us also remember that, all too often, throughout history there have been those who chose to wield power to create darkness and chaos.

Guide these legislators, O God.  On this day that we honor, sanctify and grieve at the loss those who died at the hands of murderers who failed to see the humanity of their victims, help these elected officials to look beyond the minutia of legislation and see the faces of those who will be impacted by the laws they pass.

Keep them humble, O God.  Keep them focused on the good that they can and will do – in partnership and collaboration – regardless of race, creed, gender or political affiliation.

God, you give us memory - for even at times when You were silent, You remembered us

In times when we have seemed to forget You - we came back to you

In the shadow of our loss, let us find the ability to heal – to renew ourselves and our souls – to rededicate our lives to community building – with strength, with love, with hope.

We honor those who died for the sanctification of Your name.

May they be for an Eternal blessing.

AMEN

Opening Prayer for the Colorado House At Budget Time.

Opening Prayer for the Colorado House of Representatives

April 11, 2012

Rabbi Joseph R. Black – Temple Emanuel – Denver, CO

God – where can we find you?

Are you only in the sanctuaries of the faithful where ritual and rubric move in a carefully choreographed  routine of dedicated petition and praise?

Or, perhaps you reside in the rooms of the sick and dying - where fevered prayer cries out in desperation and faith.

Are you in the mountain top from which – newly melted snow flows into the thirsty valleys below…

Can we catch a glimpse of your presence in the majestic sunsets that fill our hearts with awe and our minds with wonder?

Is there any limit to your presence?

Surely – there is no place for you in the figures and the formulae that fill the pages of our State budget.

You cannot possibly be found in the amendments, revenue forecasts, cuts and proposals that have kept these lawmakers in these chambers late into the night.

And yet…. Each number, each column each redline and reshuffling reflects our values and our ability to make a difference  - to build, to teach, to heal – to tear down, to eliminate and to eradicate……

We are finite beings – O immortal Creator.  We can only work with the tools and the resources You give us. 

Help these legislators to see the souls of all who are impacted by the decisions they make. 

Let them understand the hope and fear of the vulnerable and infirm;

Show them the faces of the children and the teachers, the nurses and the social workers, the police and firemen and women  and so many more on whom we depend and who depend on these elected officials to ensure that they can do their sacred work.

Let them see that politics and party-lines serve no purpose other than to obscure Your presence from the sacred deliberations that take place in this hallowed hall.

Give these legislators the strength to do what is right and to honor the dignity of all of your creation.

Let them move away from partisanship and look to the light of compromise – of partnership – of mutual support and respect as they make the difficult decisions that will affect all of us.

You are here – God – now.  Let us feel Your presence. And let that awareness move us all to a higher calling.

AMEN

Invocation for the Colorado State House of Representatives - February 9. 2012

 

Our God you have placed us in a world filled with beauty.

You have given us the ability to see, hear, feel, taste and smell Your creation.

But with these gifts come responsibilities, O God.

When we see injustice, You taught us never to be blinded by expedience.

When we hear intolerance, You taught us never to be deafened by indifference.

When we feel the sting of oppression, You taught us never to be dulled by complacency

When we taste the bitterness of bigotry, You taught us never to be lulled into the trap of dehumanization

When we smell the stench of hypocrisy, You taught us never to be fooled by the tyranny of the commonplace.

There is so much work to be done in O God! Help these legislators to use all of their senses to distinguish between the politic and the poetic, the sordid and the sacred.

 

May the urgency of the deliberations that will take place in these hallowed halls move beyond these rigid walls. May they provoke a visceral reaction in our society – stirring us all to strive to achieve our best and truly appreciate the many gifts you have given.

Bless these leaders and bless these proceedings with a passion for justice and a longing for righteousness.

May this day bring about change.

May this day be filled with hope.

May we all be open to Your presence.

AMEN

Opening Prayer – Colorado State House – February 2, 2012

Opening Prayer for the State House of Colorado

February 2, 2012

Rabbi Joseph R. Black – Temple Emanuel - Denver

 

Our God and God of all people,

God of the strong and God of the weak.

God of the fortunate and God of the tormented

God of those who have no God.

Bless our doubts, O God. Bless our second guessing.

Bless our mortality and bless our frailty.

Help these legislators to ask important questions of one another – and, most importantly, of themselves.

Help them to win the battles towards which they have dedicated their office.

Help them to lose their battles with grace and understanding.

May the spirit of compromise infuse these proceedings and triumph over partisanship

May the passions that arise in the midst of debate be only for the sake of the good of our nation, our beautiful State and the communities from which these dedicated men and women have been selected to serve.

Grant us all the courage to grow, to learn, to laugh at ourselves and to see the holy in every person who enters these hallowed halls.

Keep us humble God – Keep us humble.

But push us also to strive to see the holiness that You have implanted within every human being.

We are nothing but dust and ashes. We are little lower than the angels.

Help us to live within the balance of our limits and our legacy.

May this be a day of new beginnings. And let us say: AMEN

Praying at the State House

Last fall, I received a call from the Colorado House of Representatives asking if I would like to be a chaplain for the next legislative session. "What does that mean?" I asked the person on the other end of the line. "It means that you are responsible for delivering the prayer at the opening of every session on a particular weekday. We start in January and end in May. Do Thursdays work for you?"
I thought about it for a moment. Over the course of my 25 years in the Rabbinate, I've delivered a lot of opening prayers. Usually, when a clergyperson is asked to deliver a prayer, it's a one-shot deal. You go to the function, sit on the dais, offer your prayer and that's about it. The nice thing about delivering an opening prayer is that, because they are usually a "one shot" type of event, one can reuse phrases and concepts on occasion.
This, however, was different. To deliver a prayer every week to the State House of Representatives meant that I would have to come up with new ideas each week. But it was also an intriguing opportunity. If I spoke to the legislators once a year, they probably wouldn't remember what I said. If, however, I spoke each week, they might remember what I had to say.
But before I could say yes to this request, I had to wrestle with how I felt about the concept of offering an opening prayer for a governmental agency. After all, aren't we supposed to value the separation of Church and State in our nation? Is it really kosher to offer a prayer prior to legislative action? Might that compromise my values? One the other hand, however, I knew that there were many clergy who would relish the idea of inserting God into the House of Representatives. Perhaps my presence could be a moderating and balancing factor to the more fundamentalist preachers who would seize on the opportunity to evangelize and insert their particular brand of religion into the legislative process?
And so, I agreed to do it.  
I have a question for you all: If you could deliver a prayer to the Colorado House of Representatives, what would you like to say? I really do want to hear from you. No guarantees that I will use your ideas, but I promise to read them all.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Joe Black