Conversations with the Rabbi

It's amazing and tragic the way history repeats itself. The question then is how to avoid it? Learn from it and step in when its your moment to ensure it doesn't happen again.

823,101 dead from Covid as of today, Thursday, December 30, 2021. What must we do to help make their deaths not be in vain? Be real. Be honest. Get vaccinated. And recognize that there is NOTHING in Jewish law, tradition, lore, minhag (culture) or bubemeisse (old wives tales) that teaches or requires otherwise.

Photo by Susan Nerlove

Sigd is an Ethiopian Jewish holiday older than the Talmud. Oh, yes Horatio, there is far more to our Jewish world than Ashkenaz and Sepharad.

The Goyim Defense League? It would be hilarious if it wasn't so frightening. In Austin, as the American Jewish community remembers the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh, this week three years ago, the self proclaimed "GDL" hung a banner proclaiming "Vax the Jews" over the highway exit near the Jewish Community Center. Don't they know we're the most pro-vaccine religious/ethnic group in the country? Oh that's not what they meant? Click to hear Rabbi Scott's take.

There are moments when we can and must recognize public leaders channeling the wisest teachings of our ancient sages. This is one of them.  In a few short weeks, we at CSK will have the great privilege of welcoming into our community the chief executive officer of Harris County, Judge Lina Hidalgo.  Elected by the voters of Harris County in 2018 at the age of 27, Judge Hidalgo  has championed and secured greater and fairer access to the polls and advocated for the rights of business owners and customers alike to keep our public spaces as safe as possible from COVID-19.  She speaks truth to power, advocating for ordinary constituents whose voice is so often unheard by the powers that be.Judge Hidalgo is a Latin-x woman whose office has fundamentally and forever changed the age, gender and race of the kind of person most had always imagined would occupy that seat.

We're all tired. And we all yet need to transform. How do we do it? The High Holy Days are a good place to start.

Over the past year, the existential crises brought to my attention have had much more to do with one’s self and one’s partner, than one’s parents or other close, but not live-in, relatives. In many cases, distance did make the heart grow fonder. But now, yep!, masks are off. And with them, the potential for closer ties to make things a bit closer (and potentially difficult). All this is to say, as you begin to plan for the reunion with your parents or children, perhaps consider following these little 10 commandments of “re-entry.”

Israel is not an Apartheid state. If you want to have a meaningful conversation about Israel-Palestine, stop throwing stuff at us and do your homework. Any productive conversation between two people assumes that both are worthy of being heard, both are worthy of their own existence. Same is true of nations.

How do we respond to things over which we have no real control? And does our response make things better or worse for those actually suffering? Brief but daily prayer and meditation centers us, and keeps us more honest and reflective when things get rough. As our mystics taught, "There is nothing more whole than a broken heart."

Here are the words to the song:

Mei libeinu anachnu sharim

Mei libeinu anachnu sharim

Uv’charta bachayim

Uv’charta bachayim…Chayim

(From our hearts we sing

From our hearts we sing

Choose life

Choose life…life)

Uv’charta bachayim, Uv’charta bachayim

L’ma-an tichyeh uzchor

Ki baz’chirah sod geulah

Sod geulah mei libeinu

(Choose life and choose life

In order that you shall live

For in memory lies the secret of redemption

The secret of redemption from our hearts.)