Speech
I can only say thank you! I was so surprised to learn that I
had received this award! And am so happy to share this with Rabbi Yammer, of
whom I have heard so many wonderful things.
I am honored to have met you this evening. I would also like to thank everyone here for
attending and particularly to my congregation who have driven down from
Huntsville to Birmingham. It is wonderful to see you all.
When Richard Friedman spoke at the Temple in Huntsville last
spring in honor of Yom HaAtzmauot, he spoke of our rich Alabama history of
hiring such strong rabbis like Rabbi Grafman and Rabbi Yammer and having faithful
Jewish communities. In a sense, because
we are few in number, especially in the South, we have had to work harder to
create strong and vibrant Jewish communities. I pray, as has happened in our history, when
faced with adversity, as we are currently around the world and on our college
campuses here at home, lights of hope will emerge from the darkness and bring
warmth and comfort to those around us.
The richness of Southern Jewish Life is not well understood
in other parts of the country. I have been deeply blessed since I came here to
be part of this rich heritage and to take my small part in its leadership. This part of my life’s journey has been
nothing short of a blessing for me and for my family. I am grateful to be the leader of such an
amazing congregation – Temple B’nai Sholom in Huntsville AL. I am grateful for
the support and love of my friends and family – thank you to my husband Uzi,
and children: Aiden, David and Daniel
along with my parents and extended family and friends. I am grateful that this special community in
Huntsville has shown and continues to show holy hospitality by welcoming in the
stranger. This community has taught me
at their bed sides, simchas and
sorrows how to be a rabbi today in the South; and I am eternally blessed simply
to be in their presence in a daily basis.
I want to share with you this evening just a few short
thoughts. One of the things which has
always guided me has been the centrality of love. We are taught in our Torah: “to love your
neighbor as you love yourself. (Lev. 19:18).
This is probably one of the hardest commandments to follow
in the entire Torah. It is difficult because many of us don't love
ourselves and the faults we see in others are actually mirror images of our
own. It is easier to find fault in others than to turn the lens of
introspection onto ourselves and work to change our own behavior. Yet that
mitzvah is the foundation of how I understand Judaism – I have worked hard to
grow to become an example of living an authentically modern Reform, life.
Rabbi Heschel wrote in an essay explaining his involvement
in the peace movement that he was powerfully aware of a lesson from our
prophetic literature: “that morally speaking there is no limit to the concern
one must feel for the suffering of human beings…that regard to cruelties
committed in the name of a free society, some are guilty, while all are responsible.
[1]
We must continue to strive for a more just and whole world –
a world where we remember that we are all created betzelem Elohim – in the image of God. Adam and Eve the first people God created
were not black or white; rich or poor; Gay or Straight; Republican or Democrat;
abled or disabled; Muslim or Jewish or Christian, instead they were simply the
children of God. When we treat everyone
as a child of God, when we welcome them into our sacred spaces and share with
them our teachings, then we can become better ourselves. Ben Zoma famously said “who is wise, one who
learns from all” (Peirkei Avot 4:1).
When we share with them then we can learn from them and we can become
who we are truly supposed to be: Or LaGoyim A light to the nations. Thank You!
Benediction
We have gathered this evening to honor and celebrate
leadership. We have learned about different types of leaders and that we are in
a challenging time. It is imperative in
these modern times to see the value of the sacred in our lives.
Rabbi Heshel said: “It is customary to blame secular science
and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It
would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined
not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive,
insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline,
love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of
the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when
religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of
compassion--its message becomes meaningless.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in
Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism)
I pray that we once again see the relevancy that religion
and God can play in our lives. I pray that
we are able to come together to build the community that we dream - As the prophet Isaiah described: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”(Isaiah,
11:6)
We pray for our brothers and sisters
Whose home are in Israel, our sacred homeland, in spite of terrorism.
We pray for their safety and their peace.
We pray for those who have been injured
That they have a speedy recovery of body, mind and spirit
Courage to continue to live and the ability to coexist in harmony with
those around them
We pray that our leaders have the wisdom to lead
That instead of having their own interest, they have the interest of
the people at heart
May they have the ability to see the path that needs to be taken and
the courage to take the first step
We pray that the world’s eyes are open to see the suffering of our people
May they have the courage to work toward justice for all and act in
mercy
May they be given the strength to defend against terrorism
Instead of being fearful of knives flying through the air
May they be turned into pruning hooks
Instead of being fearful of cars driving toward a bus or a crowd
May they be turned into carriages of peace
May the fundamentalists all over the world be given the ability to see
the other
May we once again be able to form a community united in a Zionist ideal
– a home for the plurality of Jews
May we then be able to be a light to the other nations of the world,
demonstrating how to live in peace and prosperity together
El Male Rachamim, O God of Compassion please bless us to have the
strength and the courage to grow and become the best of who we can be. Please spread over us Your shelter of peace
and speedily have compassion on us as we go through this harrowing struggle.
[1]
Abraham Joshua Heschel, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, essays edited by
Suzannah Heschel. p.225
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