Your Inside Voice – Rosh HaShannah/Parshat Ha’azinu 5772

Eve PosenLeave a comment
I’d like to share one of my favorite poems, “The Voice: by Shel Silverstein:
There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long
I feel that this is right for me, I know that this is wrong
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend, or wise man can decide
What’s right for you, just listen to the voice that speaks inside.
Around this time of year, we often talk about the voice inside us and listening to our conscience, but each of us also has an individual voice, the voice that we use to speak to one another.  Sometimes it is a sweet, upbeat, light voice, and other times, it is loud, heavy, and angry.  The voice we use can change based on our environment.  When we’re outdoors having fun, we might be giggly and light spirited, but in front of the boardroom or class during a presentation, we try to make our voices firm, grounded and unwavering.  Voices can also make a distinct first impression when we hear someone before seeing them, which is the premise behind NBC’s show called “The Voice.” Our voice can allow others to know what we’re feeling at a given moment and, if we listen, alert us to how our peers are feeling.  The voice is a powerful tool.
We are in the midst of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, the days that represent not only a new year for the Jewish calendar, but days that require us to take accounting of our own souls, actions and deeds and to take ownership of the wrongs we have done in the past year.  We move quickly through the celebration of the New Year to the Shabbat of liminality, Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of return or repentance that prepares us for Yom Kippur, the day of ultimate judgment.  All the while, we’re expected to use our voices to ask forgiveness, listen to others as they ask for forgiveness and listen to our internal voices as we determine our next actions.
During the unetanetokef prayer of the Rosh HaShannah liturgy we will read this week, we read the words “The great shofar will be sounded and the still small voice will be heard.”  This phrase from the liturgy contrasts the loud and soft voices we’re hearing.  Sometimes the right choice, the right voice, is loud, booming, alarming and in your face like the blasts of the shofar.  And other times, the voice is nearly silent, a whisper, hidden in the thought process that leads to decision making.
Rosh HaShannah serves as this day of calling out and beginning to be in tune with our voices, with our choices, with our conscience.  Finding our voice is as much about what we say as it is about what we hear.  Between Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur we read parshat Ha’azinu, the last portion of the Torah cycle read on Shabbat morning and a poem of Moshe recapping God’s glory.  He begins: “Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; let the earth hear the words I utter.”  Moshe conjures up two listeners: one includes the universe, God and the expanse unseen; the other is the earth, the material, that which happens between human beings.
The voice can connect us in prayer with one another and with God and can just as easily alienate us with violent words.  As we begin a new year, listen to the blasts of the shofar, the alarm of awareness.  Search for your own voice, but remember to “just listen to the voice that speaks inside.”  Only when we are in tune with our inner voice can our voice that is heard aloud truly make a difference.
ללמוד  To Learn: ללמד  To Teach: The parshah this week, chapter 32:7tells us: Remember the days of old… Ask your father, he will inform you.  This echoes the commandment of Passover to remember our past and teach our children.  Trace your family tree and see where you’ve come from.  As a family search for a custom for Rosh HaShannah from this place and try it out this year. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah.shtml
לשמור  To Keep  לעשות  To Do: During the Yamim Noraim pay special attention to the voices you use when talking to different people.  How do you sound?  Are you angry?  Frustrated?  Is this tone caused by the person to whom you are speaking or a separate incident in the day?  Awareness of the voice we use to speak to others can help us move forward with stronger relationships.

Heaven is a Place on Earth – Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech 5771

Eve PosenLeave a comment
A Talmudic dispute: the Talmud tells of a dispute among scholars over a technical point of Jewish law.  They go back and forth.  Rabbi Eliezer starts, “If the law is like me, let the carob tree lean.”  And the tree leaned.  The Sages responded, “We don’t get our proof from a tree.”  Rabbi Eliezer continued, “If the law is like me, let this river turn directions of flow.”  And the river switched directions, but the Sages responded again, “We do not take proof from a river.”  Rabbi Eliezer continued, “If the law is like me, then let the walls of this Beit Midrash, house of study, start to lean.”  The walls began to lean.  R. Yehoshua called out to the walls, “We are arguing over Halachah. This is not your affair!” The walls stopped falling, to honor R. Yehoshua. To this day they remain bent, in honor of R. Eliezer.  R. Eliezer: If the law is like me, Heaven should show it.  A voice from heaven calls out, “Why do you argue with R. Eliezer? The Halachah always follows him!” R. Yehoshua: “It is not in Heaven.”
This story is a classic Talmud story, one of the first sections I learned in rabbinical school.  At its heart is the conflict of government deciding on matters of religious domain such as circumcision or marriage rituals.  While we have a strong hold to our Torah, the laws divinely inspired and passed from God to Moshe and humanly interpreted for our day, we might also find ourselves wondering why God, the heavens might be prescribing our daily lives, rituals and actions.  Rabbi Eliezer appears as the staunch believer, putting his system of practice in line with the Torah, not taking into account the condition of present society.  One can envision Rabbi Yehoshua enraged as he arises to make his statement.  He replies that matters of Halachah, the Jewish legal system taken on by the rabbis to prescribe law and observance in our modern society, is not a matter for heaven to interfere with.
This statement, lo bashamayim he, meaning “it is not in heaven,” has its roots in our parshah this week, parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech.  These two parshiyot come together right before Rosh HaShanahas a means to allow us to reaffirm our covenant with God and with our religion, to secure our place in the land of Israel and to prepare us mentally for the work of repentance, repair and rebirth that happens with the Yamim Noraim, these coming days of awe.
In D’varim chapter 30, verses 12-14 we learn: “It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, to observe it.” The text almost reads as a rebuke to the people building the Tower of Bavel: Don’t try to reach the heavens, that’s not where you’re meant to be.  The laws, the passion and the beauty of Judaism are not meant to be out of reach, they are meant to be within our grasp, within our souls.  Torah, God and Mitzvot are not for those who are overly pious and self restrained, they are for every human being and have been entrusted to us to study and to interpret.
The challenge of this idea is made clear a few verses later in 30:19. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live.”  We have a choice.  We can choose to leave ritual and Jewish practice for others, or we can choose to take on the responsibility of Jewish practice, striving to build a relationship with those around us, with God and with our heritage.  We can choose to see the Torah as a book of the past, irrelevant to our lives, or we can rejoice in the blessings of connecting to our past and our future.
While the laws of the Torah, of Kashrut, of Shabbat, can seem overwhelming, we should remember that it is not out of reach, they are not in Heaven; rather, they are right here, waiting to be discovered, uncovered and learned and loved by each of us.
ללמוד  To Learn: ללמד  To Teach: Ask a Rabbi or Phone a friend.  The best way to learn is with a guide to help you down the path.  Pick up the book It’s A Mitzvah to start your journey with step by step suggestions, or find a mentor to help teach you whichever mitzvot you choose to take on next.
לשמור  To Keep:  לעשות  To Do: As we approach the Jewish New Year, make a resolution.  What do you want to learn this year? What do you want to teach your children?  Let me know how I can help make Judaism within reach to be loved by you.

It Takes Two. Or Three, or Four… – Parshat Ki Tavo 5771

Eve PosenLeave a comment

When she was First Lady, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promoted the concept that “it takes a village” when it comes to caring for the needs of children.  After the terrible tragedy this summer in Houston with the Berry family, we have seen that a village of supporters can come together to help out in the greatest time of tragedy.  On a day to day basis, it also takes a village to keep a society working smoothly.  Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses; we strive to find partnerships that complement one another and offer peaceful co-existence, relying on one another to complete our lives.  For instance, I can offer spiritual guidance as a rabbi, but when it comes to numbers, I’m lost. For my CPA, numbers might be second nature, while religion might seem foreign and complicated.  
As the Torah inches towards the end of our yearly cycle, we find the Israelites preparing to enter the promised land; learning about what they’re supposed to do now that their once migrant society is settled.  The Torah makes no secret that each person has their own purpose, the priests to bless and offer sacrifices, the Levites to help the priests, the Israelites to farm the land so the community can eat.  Each of these elements works together to create a society that functions. 
Parshat Ki Tavo teaches us about rebuking one another when one has wronged someone, about bringing the gifts of our labors as an offering to God, and about the consequences of obedience and disobedience.  These consequences are actually framed as blessings and curses.  The text teaches that if one were to follow all of God’s laws, blessings would come to them.  As we teach our children, when you eat your vegetables, you can have ice cream for dessert.  Or, the reward for a dog who is finally house trained is a treat (a treat for the dog, and certainly a treat for the owner).  But the same child learns there will be time out when she doesn’t follow directions, and our text also teaches of the consequences, the curses that befall a nation who disobeys God’s laws.  
What strikes me in this parshah is the fact that the text recognizes that we all have something to teach or share with our community.  In chapter 27, verse 26 the text teaches: “Cursed be he who will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them.  And all the people shall say, Amen.”  Observing and learning Torah is an obligation on every Jew.  But, the commentators recognize that not everyone will be cut out for sitting and learning all day, so they remind us in the Talmud Yerushalmi that this applies even to those individuals who never studied and never taught Torah, but can give financial support to those who do.  The Torah tells us that it is a curse, a negative, when we don’t share our gifts with the community.  When we withhold our gifts – educational, financial and otherwise – we take away a piece of the community, a piece of God’s Torah that we are commanded to share.
It takes a village.  We must share our gifts with one another in order to create and sustain that village.  Whether you can give financially, or offer services, if you can design the T-shirt forZimriyah, or help build a sukkah, or even just greet with a smiling face, each and every member of our Levine Academy community, our Dallas community and our Jewish community is an integral part of making our village work.  What will you share?
ללמוד  To Learn: ללמד To Teach: Find someone to teach you something new, and offer to share your wisdom with them.  Creating a partnership in learning, a chevruta, is the essence of Jewish study. 
לשמור  To Keep  לעשות  To Do:  When you celebrate Shabbat and other holidays with your close or extended family, do certain people always have certain roles? How does the family work together to get everything done?

Do as I Say, And as I Do! – Parshat Ki Tetzei 5771

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I’ve seen the embarrassed looks on parents’ faces.  The ones that wish they could be anywhere but here with their child, young or old, who is throwing the temper tantrum of the century.  The child is screaming, crying, often kicking or hitting their parent.  What is it about? Perhaps not wanting to get in the car and leave, or not wanting to get out of the car and stay.  Sometimes it is because the child simply doesn’t want to do anything, maybe from over exhaustion.  Whatever it is, I’ve seen it and experienced it as a teacher, and as my mother can tell you, I was that child at times too.  Most children are stubborn by nature and occasionally rebellious.  Whether it starts in childhood with a tantrum or as an adolescent or teen with missing curfew, or even just talking back, parents are tested to their limits by their children.
Parents, you are not alone. As far back as the Torah, we see incidents of children rebelling against their parents or authority figures.  Korach rebels against the nation, wanting to have his moment as leader, and Aaron’s sons get into trouble when they take matters into their own hands and offer strange fire to God, causing their death.  This issue goes back to one of the fundamental aspects of leadership – parental or otherwise.  Adults are meant to teach their children through actions and words what is expected of them.  We are supposed to be role models, in Hebrew doogmaot, of proper behavior and etiquette.
This week, parshat Ki Tetzei shares a number of laws to govern society.  We receive laws about war and taking care of hostages, laws about our clothing, laws about family relationships, parents and children, taking care of the poor and so much more.  Ki Tetzei is actually the Torah portion with the most number of mitzvot within it, but the recurring theme is the issue of a stubborn and rebellious son. 
Here’s the situation in chapter 21:18-21:
“If a Man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not listen to them; Then shall his father and his mother lay hold of him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place; And they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shall you put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
What starts out as a typical incident – parents asking or telling their child to do something and the child rebelling – turns into a trial by the community and death.  That’s a significant consequence for your children: do as I say or else! 
Have no fear, the Talmud reads these verses and the punishment within them with such a narrow interpretation of what they mean that it could never happen.  One way they did this was to let it apply to a case where both father and mother were present and shared a common set of values.  But when reading this text, the commentator Ibn Ezra of the Middle Ages picks up on “will not obey.”  Reading this as implying that the parents tried to teach the child and did not ignore or excuse the child’s behavior, he teaches that the son can be charged only if his parent’s behavior has been exemplary; otherwise, they have no right to bring accusations against him. 
The bigger lesson is that we have a responsibility to live our lives true to our beliefs and values.  When we model this style of living, our children will learn from it.  Think about the times you tell your child to eat healthy when you find yourself skipping a meal or needing sugar or caffeine to get through the afternoon.  Or when we reprimand children for using technology too much, only to spend our evenings on our various devices.  When we espouse one value and then do another, we set ourselves up for a fight.  By teaching what we actually believe, we limit these moments of dissonance.  That does not mean that the tantrums will suddenly disappear, but when we engage in a relationship with one another that is based on morals and that models appropriate behavior, our children will heed our words and our fights will be for the good of the world, not for 5 more minutes of TV time.  The Torah teaches that it’s important for parents and teachers alike to remember that behavior management has to start with us. Just as Gandhi encouraged us to “Be the change . . .” let us challenge ourselves to be the good.
ללמוד  To Learn ללמד  To Teach: we are all life-long learners.  Pick up a book to further your learning, whether on Judaism like Rashi’s Daughters, or Jewish Literacy, or on parenting likeBlessings of a Skinned Knee, or Blessing of a B-, we can all benefit from further learning.
לשמור  To Keep:  לעשות  To Do: Remember that your children are watching you to gain clues on how to behave, think, believe.  Discuss with your children your beliefs, ask them about their own.  Spend one night every two weeks talking to each other about what is happening in the world and what it teaches us about how we should act. 

What Goes Around – Parshat Shoftim 5771

Eve PosenLeave a comment

When I was a kid, troll dolls were the in thing; little did my friends and I realize the trolls made their first fad appearance when my mom was a teen.  The highlighter yellow t-shirts and neon clothes our eighth graders sported in Israel are a throwback to the 1980s.  Even bell-bottom blue jeans made their come back in the 1990s, and now the Smurfs have resurfaced into popular culture with their new movie.  If you take a look around you at any given time, it seems that just as the seasons go round and round, so do the trends in fashion, food, and music. Even education theory continues to shift the balance of experiential learning and lecture style.  Yes, it seems that in all things in life, what once was old becomes new again, and yet we constantly struggle to keep up with the trends, to remain modern and “with it.”
One of the most beautiful elements of Judaism is knowing that the Torah, the book from which it all began, is a living document.  While the events occurred long ago, the content can be understood and is relevant to our lives today almost as though it was written for us in this exact moment.  The beauty of studying Torah year after year is that the words and meaning offer something new based on our life experiences.  This week we read parshat Shoftim, in the middle of the book of D’varimwhich outlines our legal system, the responsibilities of judges and prophets, punishments for witnesses and more.  The Torah recognizes that the legal system and those in charge of it must be hip to the times.
Chapter 17, verses 8-9 teach “If a case is too baffling for you to decide, be it a controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault – matters of dispute in your courts – you shall promptly repair to the place that the Lord your God will have chosen, and appear before the levitical priests, or the magistrate in charge at the time and present your problem…” These verses set up a legal system in which the judge’s word is the final word regardless of the judge who preceded them or comes after them according to the legal commentary the Sifrei.  The text focuses on the words “at that time,” meaning that the judge must be in tune with the times, knowledgeable on today and the context of crimes within the society.  Only a judge that lives in our modern world can understand how to apply the law today. 
Expanded, the Torah, as a living document, teaches that it is the essence of the law that impacts our society today.  The tag line of the conservative movement is “Tradition and change,” which speaks to a movement that is steeped in the tradition of Judaism from across time, but able to understand religious practice in terms of our ever morphing modern society. 
The Judaism of today is exactly like that of yesteryear, and at the same time completely different because it is guided by our need to meld modern society with our inheritance. Parshat Shoftimreminds us that Judaism is a living religion that moves with us throughout our lives.  For example,Shabbat teaches us to value rest, so while it might not make sense to us to refrain from plowing our fields, it certainly makes sense to have a day when our technology is turned off and we’re tuned into our families and restful sensibilities.  Likewise, kashrut may not make the most sense to modern culinary sensibilities, but it reminds us that we should be conscious of all we put in our bodies.  Living Jewishly is living in modernity. Our challenge is to hold onto our values in our modern world.
ללמוד  To Learn: ללמד  To Teach: Learn one new brachah to be said over your food.  If you shop for whole grains, organic products, adding a brachah can only enhance your conscious eating.  Find thebrachot for food on page 708 of Siddur Sim Shalom
לשמור  To Keep:  לעשות  To Do: Parents, go through an old photo album with your students – perhaps from your bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah if you had one. Let your students identify what styles and tastes have changed and what has remained the same.