ר תָלִֶּׁ֨ינִּי֙ אָלִִּ֔ין עַמֵׁ֣ךְ עַמִִּ֔י וֵאלֹהֵַ֖יִּךְ אֱלֹהָָֽי׃

But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16)

With these poignant words, the Biblical heroine Ruth pledges her loyalty and love to her mother-in-law Naomi. The scene takes place in the ancient country of Moab, east of Judah. Naomi and her husband had traveled there to escape famine along with their two sons who marry Moabite women. Naomi’s men-folk have died and she tells her daughters-in-law to return to their own people. Orpah sadly does so, but Ruth refuses and joins her destiny with Naomi. Together they travel to Judah, where Ruth makes an auspicious marriage to Naomi’s kinsman Boaz. Ruth gives birth to Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David who becomes king, David HaMelech.

This beautiful story makes clear that those who choose to join the Hebrew tribe are to be welcomed and honored, like our mythic ancestress Ruth.

In the midst of this terrible pandemic and political turmoil, I’ve been surprised and inspired to have several holy souls begin studying for conversion. What an unexpected balm for my heart! Our conversion students are of a wide range of ages, interests and experiences. In a recent Zoom get-together they shared their reasons for considering conversion. Some com-mon themes emerged: the atmosphere of intellectual inquiry that encourages questions; the warm, welcoming atmosphere at Temple Beth El events; and the compelling beauty of tradi-tional Jewish holidays.

I’ll be guiding the students in their studies, but I also would like to pair each of them with a mentor from the Congregation, someone to check in with them from time to time, attend ser-vices and classes together (as schedules permit), and generally be available to answer questions. Some of the students are eager to learn Hebrew, so I also am looking for Hebrew tutors. For Hebrew learning we’ll use an excellent series called Alef Isn’t Tough. If you would like to serve as a mentor or a tutor to one of our wonderful students, please be in touch with me.

While I was writing up a list of study materials for conversion students, I realized that I’ve never shared such a list with the Congregation! So here you go -Rabbi Naomi’s Suggested Resource for Adult Learners:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xF2ydh_11Bl9C4IPCDyXWpMqek4JjWTGkZpYwfB-0_A/edit

Toward the end of January I’ll resume Zoom appointments to visit with TBE members and advise students, and I would be delighted to go over items on the list with any of you.

I’m happily planning a Shabbat Shira Songfest for Friday, January 29, 6-8 pm. We have quite a line-up including choir members, T’filah Leaders, and some new faces and voices! If you would like to share a Shabbos song, please contact me.

I hope the joys of studying and singing will help carry us through this very challenging winter.

אַבי געזונט -Abi gezunt…Just be healthy!

Rabbi Naomi

I was delighted to see the video of our Vice-President Elect and her husband offering a Chanukah message. I was struck by their warmth, and also by their interpretation of the festival’s meaning. I was pleased that they avoided the oversimplifications and historical inaccuracies often heard in public remarks about Chanukah, and instead shared what the holiday means to them. You might want to watch it now and then read the rest of my note:

x

VP Elect Harris says, “I love Hanukkah because it really is about the light, and bringing light where there has been darkness.” And then she associates that light-bringing with Tikkun Olam, which she interprets as fighting for justice and the dignity of all people. With this interpretation our VP-Elect is closely aligned with the great majority of American Jews for whom Tikkun Olam is a core value and a key component of their Jewish identity.
 
But it’s important to understand that our tight focus on Tikkun Olam is part of the vibrant, modern, very American branch on the great, living tree we call Judaism. Over thousands of years of history, Jewish communities all over the world developed their own distinctive concerns and cultural constructs, which they saw as rooted in Biblical precedents; we associate Tikkun Olam with the stirring messages of the Hebrew prophets, though the term never appears in the prophetic writings. As scholar David Biale observes, “Every generation weaves its image of the past out of the cloth of its present.” (Cultures of the Jews: A New History, page xxix)

What I want to emphasize here is that the Harris-Emhoff Hanukkah message is appropriate, heartfelt and meaningful in a uniquely Jewish-American way. The message may not resonate so well for Jews in other parts of the world, but that’s alright. We need to accept and celebrate that our texts and traditions are always open to interpretation. That’s what makes Torah an Eytz Chayim, a Tree of Life.

I warmly recommend this fascinating article: The Place of Tikkun Olam in American Jewish Life

It’s long! A thorough reading is worth the time, but you could also read the first three sections, skim the rest and go to the conclusion.

Chag Hannukah Sameach!

Do not separate yourself from the community.”  אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר – Al tifrosh min ha-tsibur – Pirkey Avot 2:14

This has become my mantra throughout the pandemic. As we separate ourselves physically, it’s more and more important to connect virtually, emotionally and spiritually.  Todah rabah (abundant thanks) to the many TBE members and guests who frequent our Zoom services, classes, cultural events and social gatherings.  And a heartsiken dank (heartfelt thanks) to everyone who has filled my signups for Zoom visits and lessons.  I wasn’t so sure about video meetings at first.  I like to limit my own screen time and save my eyesight for taking in the natural world in all its beauty and dazzling complexity.  But I’ve seen the digitized light!  If you haven’t yet met with me via Zoom, please sign up to do so.  You don’t need to have any urgent issues or questions to discuss (though those are welcome), just visiting is lovely.     

Though we won’t be dancing and eating latkes together this year, we’ll have the opportunity to gather in community for all eight nights of Chanukah.  I’ll lead the first and last nights and our Tefilah Leaders have graciously accepted my invitation to lead the nights in between.  Each evening at 5:30 we’ll have a family-friendly candle-lighting, some singing, teaching or stories, followed by discussion of themes on this study sheet from Ritual Well, a lovely on-line resource for evolving Jewish traditions:Eight Nights of Wellness.pdf

https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/eight-nights-wellness-hanukkah-inventory

     Hanukkah Eight Nights of Wellness.pdf  

Feel free to drop in as your schedule and household activities permit.  Remember it’s fine to listen in and keep your video off if you’re in the midst of dinner or you haven’t brushed your hair in a few days!  I encourage you to print out this study guide, or put it on your desktop for easy reference.  I hope that focusing on various aspects of wellness will help us as we go deeper into this very challenging winter.  

So we don’t miss out on seeing one another’s menorahs (chanukiyot) this year, please take a picture of yours, and maybe yourself and family members too, and send it to Blue in the office to include in our Chanukah gallery on the members-only side of the beautiful new website.  This will make a nice opportunity for you to learn how to access that feature.  And how about sharing favorite Chanukah recipes too?  Latkes, sufganyot and burmeloz!  I look forward to seeing your faces on Zoom and your photos on the website. 

B’shalom (in peace) and Chag Chanukah Sameach (a joyful Chanukah festival),

Rabbi Naomi

With the coming of autumn, the Jewish High Holy Days are a time of deep reflection and renewal. All around the world we wish each other “L’Shanah Tova,” meaning , “A good new year!” It’s human nature to hope that the future will be better than the past, that moving through time leads us to growth and positive transformation, through the nurturing powers of our life-loving planet and through acts of grace flowing from the Source of it all. But positive change for the future requires human effort as well.

In the month before Rosh HaShanah, our New Year, we’re taught to review the year that’s ending, consider how we used the time, scrutinize our actions and habits. Have we avoided doing harm and seized opportunities to do good? Have we lived up to our own moral standards? We’ve all made some mistakes; have we rectified them? Have we been good friends, family members and citizens? Where we find ourselves lacking, we make a commitment to improve. Where there have been wrongs between ourselves and other people, we’re required to offer heartfelt apologies and make amends. And if someone has hurt you and then does their best to make it up, you’re required to be forgiving, not to hold a grudge.

Similarly, we reflect on how we’ve done as a community, a human family. Have we supported one another in times of distress? Have we built a loving, just society? Have we defended the vulnerable of both our own species and other marvelous creatures that share our Earth? Have we cherished our beautiful planet and conserved precious resources? Have we promoted peace and understanding?

These are weighty concerns and challenges. We have not completely failed, nor have we succeeded as well as we need for the healthy functioning of our social and ecological systems on which our own survival and happiness depends.

The holy night of S’lichot (Forgiveness) takes place this evening. Across the country and around the globe, prayers will be recited expressing deep remorse for our mistakes and pleading for forgiveness to flow from Our Source, to soothe broken hearts and help our troubled world. Right after sundown this evening, you might want to take some time to ponder these ideas and see where spirit leads you. Jewish tradition teaches that if we’re able to forgive one another, if we can acknowledge where we’ve missed the mark and commit ourselves to doing better, the future can be full of possibilities, of blessings and hope.

More

How do we cultivate positive vision when we know something awful is coming?

2,000 years ago the rabbis of the Talmud grappled with this question as they coped with the historical trauma of the destruction of the ancient temples in 586 BCE and 70 CE. To get a sense of the enormity of this events, read this short article: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-temple-its-destruction/.

Both of these catastrophes occurred on the ninth day of the month of Av, which the rabbis made into a day of mourning. Tradition teaches that the First Temple was destroyed because the people indulged in idolatry, forbidden relationships and murder, and half a millennium later the Second Temple fell because, although learned in Torah and dedicated to mitzvot, the people tolerated sinat chinam, baseless hatred in the community. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We struggle with similar issues today. Tisha B’av is observed with a sundown-to-sundown fast and rituals of mourning such as sitting on low chairs or on the ground, refraining from wearing leather shoes (a luxury), and weeping.

We have happy, creative preparation for a simcha, a joyous occasion, but how do we prepare for Tisha B’av, our saddest holy day? In their wisdom, the rabbis of the Talmud gave us a special Shabbat right before Tisha B’av, Shabbat Chazon, the “Sabbath of Vision.” The name is taken from the opening line of the Haftarah reading, the very beginning of the Book of Isaiah: “A vision of Yesheyahu (Isaiah)…”

The prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For HaShem has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up- And they have rebelled against Me! The prophet goes on to detail the egregious ways in which the people have fallen from righteous living.

And here we are, two millennia later, finding ourselves looking into the face of a national health disaster, economic devastation, mistreatment of vulnerable immigrants, widespread protests over racial injustice and ominous secret police disrupting peaceful demonstrations in US cities, with the climate crisis all around us despite a brief reprieve from travel-related pollution. There is plenty to be upset about.

But the Haftarah of Shabbat Chazon closes with a hopeful image:

The strict chastisement turns into a vision of redemption. As we brace for the difficulties ahead of us in the coming days, weeks and months, how do we cultivate a redemptive vision, a picture of the future that doesn’t attempt to take us back to the status quo of an earlier time, but leads us forward into the equitable, healthy, sustainable world we all long to see and bequeath to future generations?

Many fine minds are working on this. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley offers “Science-based insights for a meaningful life” – https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/. Locally, we have a wealth of worthy organizations dedicated to a better life for us all, to name a few: Cooperation Humboldt https://cooperationhumboldt.com/, True North Organizing Network http://www.truenorthorganizing.org/, Northcoast People’s Alliance https://northcoastpeoplesalliance.org/. In the fall HSU’s Altruistic Behavior Institute will publish a new book by our beloved Sam Oliner titled, What Kind of Future Will Our Children Inherit? Institute Director and TBE member Ronnie Swartz will give us a preview of the book soon.

Chasidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev taught that on Shabbat Chazon we can glimpse a vision of the Third Temple! What might that Third Temple look like? Who is welcome? Who is in charge? What takes place in that visionary gathering place? Since we cannot displace the Dome of the Rock (Heaven forbid!) to build a brick and mortar Third Temple, how will it be constructed and where? Or is it already being built in our consciousness and our hearts?

This coming Shabbat, July 24-25, I invite you to join me to share our positive visions, pooling our wisdom and hopes in Shabbat Chazon discussions Friday evening at 7pm and Saturday morning at 11:00. Rabbi Bob will lead the Torah service via Zoom from the bima at the Temple, and Caroline Isaacs, Jeri Rubin and I will leyn (chant Torah) from our homes. Please join us! 

Join Zoom Meeting Fri, 7/24:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85859549894?pwd=L1poN252dzhKcXU5UUEzemdHWGYxQT09
Meeting ID: 858 5954 9894
Passcode: 762531

Join Zoom Meeting Sat, 7/25
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83888538902?pwd=RGJNKzNseFZ1cU42OUZrL2VaU2NkUT09
Meeting ID: 838 8853 8902
Passcode: 983851

And what about our future vision for Israel and Palestine? Guest speaker Arieh Scharnberg will join our Israel Study & Discussion Group next Tuesday, July 28 from 6-8pm to discuss the very thought provoking articles by columnist Peter Bienart, a longtime supporter of the two-state solution who has recently taken a new approach in a short article in the New York Times and a longer article in Jewish Currents:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/opinion/israel-annexation-two-state-solution.html
https://jewishcurrents.org/yavne-a-jewish-case-for-equality-in-israel-palestine/

To join the discussion via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87455849832?pwd=ejltWVRkem50bng4NFZpTTU2R1JzZz09

I’ll close with some inspiring vision from young rabbinical students in the T’ruah Summer Fellowship in Human Rights Leadership sharing their responses to the Torah portion we’ll discuss and read this coming Shabbat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD8MqAkLDF8&feature=youtu.be&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=7867ba23-eaed-4ab8-b72d-4fc34d60a00b

May we all find the strength and spirit to cultivate and sustain a positive vision for the future — for ourselves, our families and friends, our community, our country and our world.

B’shalom, Rabbi Naomi

In Talmud we read, “Do not separate yourself from the community.”

אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִּן הַצִּבּוּר –
Al tifrosh min ha-tsibur – Pirkey Avot 2:14

 This has been a guiding principle, a central tenet of Jewish tradition for nearly two thousand years. For the rabbis of the Talmud it was paramount to keep the community together and foster communal harmony. How painful it is now for rabbis to say: Separate yourself! Stay at least six feet away from everyone but the members of your household!
 
In the medieval masterpiece called the Zohar we find the Aramaic expression aval hashta, meaning but now. This term is used to link together two contrasting ideas or experiences. Often we use “but” as a neg-ative: “I thought I had the right answer, but I was wrong.” Aval hashta doesn’t negate what came before. In-stead it emphasizes the unique character, the opportunities and the exigencies of the current moment. In the Zohar aval hashta signals that an innovative insight is about to be revealed by the mystic master Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai or one of his devoted companions, as they wander through the ancient land sharing pas-sionate discussions of the Torah, whose every word they cherish as expressions of Divine wisdom.
 
It is as though the text is saying, “Interesting interpretations of the verse that we are discussing have been offered, but in the particular, singular, and unique situation in which we now find ourselves, we must seek another meaning — another secret — which cannot be revealed without an awareness of the singularity of this occasion. This is the Torah of the specific moment, and those aspects of Torah revealed in this mo-ment are unique.”   (Melila Hellner-Eshed, A River Flows From Eden, page 175)
 
Let us now ask: What is the Torah, the Teaching, of this difficult and dangerous, unprecedented his-torical moment?
 
For a quarter of a century it’s been a joy for me to facilitate bringing people together for festive Jewish events, helping us make connections with one another and with Our Source. I love to sit with my students, sharing ideas and dreams. Also, it’s been a privilege to gather with mourners, making a minyan to support each other in times of sorrow. Aval hashta-but now, I’m learning to make connections via Zoom, Skype and telephone, and intensifying my efforts to connect with others on a subtle plane of awareness, both formally in meditation and prayer, and as I go about my day, calling to mind the many people in my life and in my heart.
 
For thousands of years we’ve learned, “Do not separate yourself from the community,” aval hashta-but now, we learn, “Distance yourself from others.”
 
This crisis offers us an opportunity to redefine community in our own minds. Often we speak of com-munities of mutual interest or origin, as in “the Jewish community,” “the arts community,” “the medical com-munity,” “the environmental community,” and so on. Aval hashta-but now, in the midst of this pandemic, we are challenged to go beyond our sub-groups and turn our thoughts to the global community. The word in our verse translated as community or congregation is צִּבּוּר – tsibur. This noun derives from the Biblical Hebrew verb meaning to pile in a heap, to heap up. In our Torah story Joseph advises Pharoah how to sur-vive the seven years of famine that he predicts will follow the seven years of abundance:
 

 
Wiser than many world leaders today, the ancient Hebrews acknowledged that prosperity doesn’t last forever and a country must have disaster preparedness plans that benefit all the inhabitants. Centuries later Moses confronts another Pharaoh and Egypt is afflicted with plagues. River water turns to blood, and then frogs swarm through the landscape and dwellings. The desperate Pharoah appeals to Moses for help, and Moses agrees to intercede with HaShem to confine the infestation to the river.
 

 
In the Book of Psalms we read: אַךְ־בְּצֶֶ֤לֶם ׀ יִָּֽתְהַלֶךְ־אִּ֗יש אַךְ־הֶֹ֥בֶל יֶהֱמֵָּ֑יוּן יצְבֹּּ֗ר וְָֽלאֹּ־ ידַֹ֥ע מִּי־אֹּסְפָָּֽם׃
Only in shadow (or as a shadow,) a person walks about; futility is their hustle and bustle, heaping up [grain or wealth] and not knowing who will gather in. (Psalm 39:7)
 
Many hundreds of years after the Hebrew Bible was written, the rabbis of the Talmud employed our word tsibur to refer to various kinds of heaps (of sand, coins, olives), but they also repurposed the term to designate the community or congregation. To my ear this implies a very down-to-earth description of heaps, masses, throngs of people. These days we generally eschew those terms, they strike our ears as old fash-ioned and out-of-date. Rather than “the huddled masses” we say “the unsheltered population.” While the meaning is clear, we lose the actual image of numbers of people huddled together in makeshift tents and cardboard houses. We tend to think of orderly congregations and clearly defined communities, and those neat-and-tidy collective nouns shift our attention away from the simple flesh-and-blood facts of the collective human existence.
 
As the new coronavirus makes its way through the throngs and masses of humanity we are starkly reminded of our vulnerable physicality. Last month it was horrifying to see videos of chaos and panic in Chi-nese hospitals, and now coffins have piled up in Italian churches, and bodies are heaped up in refrigerated trailer trucks outside New York hospitals.
 
“Do not separate yourself from the tzibur, the group, the community.” In the past this meant, “Go out, show up, take part!” Aval hastha-but now, while we hunker down at home, separated from each other physi-cally, we can and must strengthen our emotional, intellectual and spiritual connections to the great multitude of our species, 7.8 billion bodies and souls, the human family sharing this small, magnificent planet.
 
Professor Melila Hellner-Eshed describes the term aval hashta-but now as the Zohar’s “portal into mystery,” providing an opening for the reader to join the adventures of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his dis-ciples as they make imaginative leaps from the present moment into the mysterious unknown.
 
Right now we all long to go back to the way things were just a few weeks ago. Or do we? Wouldn’t it be better to use this historic moment as a portal into a bold new future? We can envision a future where we say, “We used to tolerate mass poverty across the globe, but now we don’t. We used to be resigned to mil-lions of people without healthcare, nutrition or shelter, but now we have new strategies and alliances. We used to despair of stopping climate change, but now we are resolute. We used to feel hopeless, but now we cultivate hope.
 
B’shalom ~ In peace, Rabbi Naomi

In that great compendium of Jewish wisdom called Talmud, we read that a person should make 100 blessings a day:

תניא היה ר’ מאיר אומר: חייב אדם לברך מאה ברכות בכל יום שנאמר (דברים י:יב) ועתה ישראל מה ה’ אלהיך שואל מעמך

It was taught in a baraita, Rabbi Meir used to say: A person must bless one hundred blessings every day, as it says (Deuteronomy 10:12): “Now Israel, what (mah) does God ask of you?” – Don’t read “mah” (what) rather “meah” (100). (Menachot 43b:15)

The rabbis of the Talmud (200 BCE – 400 CE) came up with blessings for consuming food, for doing ritual activities, for appreciation of nature, for studying Torah, and for hearing good or very sad news.  Our blessing for very sad news says, “Blessed is the Holy One, Judge of the truth – Baruch Dayan Emet.” The rabbis were suggesting that what looks like a very sad event to us might look different from God’s perspective.  The rabbis were not suggesting that the Divine is unsympathetic to our suffering, but that the Divine vantage point is radically different from ours.  Most historians focus on a particular era and region. Scholars in the emerging field of macro-history look at the big sweep of world events.  A good example is the Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.  We could imagine HaShem as the ultimate macro-historian.

In a time of global crisis we might ask ourselves, “What does the Unfathomable Source of Life expect from this magnificent experiment of life on earth, especially this human experiment?”  Or in more traditional terms, “How does Ratson HaShem, Divine Will, manifest in this situation?”

So far the number of deaths from the virus is relatively low when compared with loss of life through ongoing warfare and poverty across the globe and gun violence here in the U.S.  But in dealing with Covid-19, the world is keeping careful count, with the World Health Organization tracking infections and fatalities.  Generally we reserve the blessing “Baruch Dayan Emet” for hearing or sharing news of a personal loss.  As we strive to slow down a potentially devastating pandemic, we might benefit from saying, “Baruch Dayan Emet” as we hear or read the latest numbers, acknowledging that we are one global family.

Also in Talmud we read:

שֶׁכָּל הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ אִבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא.

Anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4)

Not many of us are in life-saving occupations where we know that our actions can make a difference between life and death.  But in dealing with the new coronavirus, by washing our hands frequently (don’t forget to wipe down your phone, too!), and practicing strict social distancing, we can prevent the spread of the infection and protect the lives of family, friends and strangers. As the rate of infection increases exponentially every day, the prudent course of action is to STAY HOME FOR ALL BUT CRITICAL EVENTS for the next two weeks at least. We all can and must do this!

As we struggle with the emotional and practical impacts of this pandemic, I want to suggest that we also increase the number of our blessings of gratitude and appreciation. This will help keep our spirits strong.  The blossoming of flowers, trees and shrubs is a source of joy at this season.  The new growth of plants, the budding out of leaves — it’s all a magnificent springtime spectacle that doesn’t require a big cheering crowd or a studio audience, just an observant eye and a grateful heart.  I recently returned from a short trip to the Bay Area.  I decided not to go to the yoga classes I usually enjoy in Berkeley, but to spend my time walking instead. And oh, such beautiful walks, with all the luxurious vegetation and exquisite fragrances of spring!  The full moon of Purim shone down and, despite the world’s troubles, I felt completely joyful. 

It’s not necessary to know the traditional Hebrew phrasing to make a blessing.  A simple thank-you will do, or any heartfelt words of appreciation.  But say them frequently!  Saying them out loud reinforces the feeling of gratitude, and gives those near you a chance to say, Amen!  Make blessings when you get up in the morning, when you lie down at night, and all day in between, noticing all the wonders we take for granted, all the things that are still working just fine, all the nourishing food, all the benefits, strengths and joys that course through our days and years.  In this way, despite the rising tide of fear, we each can become reservoirs of shalom, of peace and wholeness.

B’shalom,

Rabbi Naomi

For the last few nights the crescent of the waning moon has been beaming bravely in the winter sky, while growing smaller and smaller.  And today at noon my yard was flooded with golden light, as if at sunset, as the sun slunk low across the horizon, barely peering over the treetops.  The darkening moon and early-setting sun can mean only one thing: it’s time for Chanukah!

In their wisdom, the rabbis of the Talmud set our winter festival at the time of greatest darkness, the end of the lunar month closest to the solstice.  The Christian Bible includes the Book of Maccabees 1 and 2, but these Greek texts were not included in the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible.  Living under Roman occupation, the rabbis who oversaw the final redaction of the Tanach chose not to include the story of rebellion, knowing that the story took place in the context of civil war in Judea.  And perhaps more importantly, for the rabbis, the essence of Jewish identity went beyond nationalism.  The Jews were a people not of a place, but of an ideal, a relationship with a transcendent Power-Being-Reality, involved in human history, both as a Force that set the vast universe in motion, and as a Face turned attentively toward human affairs.  (Recall the blessing for the children: May the face of holiness turn toward you, shine upon you…) Not in the Greek Chanukah story, but rather in the Talmud we find the story of the one-day supply of oil that lasted for eight nights, through the celebration of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Oh, Jerusalem!  If I forget you, may my right hand forget its skill.  (Psalm 137:5)

Oh, Jerusalem indeed!

In 1887 excavations in Amarna, Egypt unearthed cuneiform tablets that brought to light the earliest known reference to Jerusalem: diplomatic letters from the Canaanite ruler of Uru-salim (city of the god Salim) requesting military aid from his Egyptian suzerain.  This was sometime in the 14^th century B.C.E, a few centuries before the Tanach story of a tribal chieftain named David who conquered the city and made it his capital. (2 Samuel 5)

Philologist Christopher Rollston points out, “Among the most important things that these tablets demonstrate is that there was a vibrant and sophisticated scribal apparatus in Jerusalem during the Late Bronze Age.  The Canaanite city was certainly not a backwater, but precisely the reverse.”

(See http://www.bibleodyssey.org/places/related-articles/jerusalem-in-the-amarna-letters)

Thirty-three centuries later, the ruler in Jerusalem still relies on a foreign power to the west for military aid!  Is there nothing new under the sun?  How bizarre it is to hear Prime Minister Netanyahu playing the role of the Canaanite king, and President Trump playing Pharaoh.

To really drive home their antipathy toward the Maccabees, and their reluctance to champion a nationalist cause, the rabbis of the Talmud chose perhaps the most pacifist-leaning verses in the Tanach as the Haftarah reading for the Shabbat of Chanukah: “Not by might, not by power, but through My spirit, says the Holy One!” (Zecharyah 4:6).

In ancient times cities were built around temples, which served as a cosmic nexus, connecting heaven and earth.  As scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky has written of ancient Sumer (the birthplace of Abraham and Sarah in the Torah story), “The city was not simply a coincidental assemblage of people who happened to live in the same place. It was an entity that had unity, integrity, and power – it was a locus of divinity.” (In the Wake of the Goddesses, page 9)

Today Jerusalem is revered as a just such a sacred place, a Holy City, revered by two billion Christians, one billion Muslims, and about 14 million Jews.  Jerusalem is a seat of undisputed power, the de facto capital of a nation that ranks number one on the Global Militarization Index, making Israel the most highly militarized country in the world. (See https://www.bicc.de/publications/ publicationpage/publication/global-militarization-index-2017-785/)  But to lay claim to being a Holy City along the ancient model, Jerusalem must be not only of headquarters of power, but also place of unity and integrity.  Many wonderful organizations both within Israel and without are working toward that goal, recognizing the international stature of the city and also the unique Jewish connection.

President Trump’s much trumpeted proclamation on the status of Jerusalem has enthralled his “base” supporters who misguidedly cherish the Holy City as a venue for the Armageddon and return of their savior, but it does little to change the shape of the city. That work is being done in the Knesset, where two bills have been introduced in a blatant effort to boost the declining Jewish majority of the city by annexing adjacent Jewish neighborhoods and excising Arab neighborhoods from the municipality.

An October 2017 position paper by non-profit Ir Amim (City of Peoples) on the Jerusalem, Capital of Israel Bill and the Greater Jerusalem Bill explains as follows: “Over the course of the fifty years since the annexation of East Jerusalem, something resembling a mutual dependence has been created between the two parts of the city, and alongside existing hostilities, delicate balances that help to sustain daily life in the city and deescalate tensions during periods of crisis. Forty percent of the workforce residing in East Jerusalem is currently employed in West Jerusalem and over the years public spheres have been created that serve both parts of the city while both continue to preserve their national and political attachments.  This necessary balance is widely understood by residents of the city, both Israeli and Palestinian, even if politicians tend to ignore it.” (See http://www.iramim.org.il/sites/ default/files/Destructive_Unilateral_Proposals_on_Jerusalem-October_2017.pdf)

When the municipal borders of Jerusalem have been wisely drawn to accommodate the diversity of its residents, and to honor the place it holds in the hearts and minds of three billion people, then we’ll have something to celebrate.  Then Jerusalem, literally meaning City of Peace, will be worthy to see the return of the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence, the Indwelling Supernal Energy that, as tradition teaches, led the Israelites through the wilderness, resided in the ancient Temples, went into exile when the Temples were destroyed, and is present among us when we celebrate Shabbat, when we study Torah, and whenever we greet one another with respect.

As we revel in the dreamy darkness of Chanukah on the redwood coast, in the relative safety and security of our homes, let us rededicate ourselves to a vision of peace and prosperity – in West Jerusalem (predominantly Jewish), in East Jerusalem (almost exclusively Arab), in all the diverse neighborhoods of the Jerusalem metropolis, in our own cities here in the U.S., and in all the cities of the world.

Chag Chanukah Sameach ~ A joyful Chanukah!
Rabbi Naomi