Tag Archives: Genesis

Hineni – at Hillel at Oklahoma University, Norman, OK – Rosh HaShanah Morning 5779 – Monday, September 11, 2018

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We’ve just met so it would be inappropriate for me to discuss politics with you. I think it would be silly, however, for me to pretend that there aren’t a lot of politics swirling around us. Plus, today is September 11th, which brings up moral outrage and political questions for most Americans.

Even before you could vote, each of you already mattered. (If you aren’t 18 yet, please know: No one will card you at a protest or when you call your elected representatives.) Now, here you are now, college students and voters. I have no idea what in particular each of you care about, how your politics animate you. What I do know is that – fighting for justice has been part of Jewish tradition since Abraham.

The Akeda (Genesis 22) – Hillel’s prayer book (machzor) provides the Creation story for our Torah reading today which would be a lovely, carefree way to enjoy the beginning of a new Jewish year, but Jewish guilt won’t let me let you do that. The second choice in our prayer book is the story of the Akeda. Jews all over the world are reading the Akeda – what Jews call “the binding of Isaac” – for Rosh HaShanah. Most of us dislike this text. It’s painful. It’s about suffering, questions, confusion, and terrible parenting. In a few minutes – I promise I’m not going to talk for very long now – we will read a horrible story. God commands Abraham to take his favorite son up to a hill, build a fire, and cut his throat (Gen 22:2).

Abraham stands over Isaac, knife in hand and is interrupted at the last moment by an Angel of God shouting his name – Abraham, Abraham!…Sacrifice this ram instead. (Gen 22:11-13) Phew. Isaac is saved from death. Abraham is saved from committing a heinous crime. God reassures Abraham – or maybe God is reassuring God’s own self – Abraham passed this test. Abraham is a real God-fearer (Gen 22:12). He was willing to kill his favorite son.

Do you think that Abraham should have rejected this command? Do you think that God should have apologized? Do you blame Isaac for never talking to his dad again? How could Abraham have known that this order was “true” or “real” or “holy”? Does this story make you hate Abraham – even just a little? [Are you distracted by the fact that he even had a favorite son?] I have a million of questions about this text for y’all, but I’m trying to just give one short sermon this morning.

Two Different Abrahams – Just 4 chapters ago in Genesis 18, Abraham heard God was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham confronts God fearlessly. Abraham condemns God’s plan as unjust. Abraham bravely bargains with God to save the lives of a group of people he doesn’t even know. Where was THAT guy on the morning God commanded Abraham to kill Isaac? Is there something that Abraham knew that WE can’t know that made it possible for him to follow this terrifying order? How can we listen and read critically? How can we evaluate what we hear and see? How can THAT guy from Genesis 18 be the same Abraham we encounter in Genesis 22 ready to murder his son?

*If the order of these texts were flipped, the narrative of Genesis could be teaching us how to become ever more thoughtful and brave in the face of injustice. However, at this point, the Torah is in the order it’s in. (This would be a useful moment to discuss the way Torah became what it is today, but I promised Jessica that services would end before lunch.)

I searched for answers, and, instead of hating Abraham and the Akeda story, I’ve decided that we get to learn this lesson anyway. It is better to stand up than to keep our head down and meekly follow rules. The Torah is telling us to evaluate what we hear and see – to stand against dangerous consequences. It’s about being true to ourselves – while trying to draw near to what we perceive as divine.

Hineni – So, it is each of our responsibility to stand up for whatever WE care about, whatever WE are passionate about. Stand up. Speak up. Embody OUR passions. Collect donations. Make phone calls. Join a campaign. Vote. Volunteer. Read articles critically and share the few that stand up to your criticism. Embody your concerns for the world. Be like the Abraham who doesn’t make us cringe. Be like the Abraham who protested injustice. (Gen 18:23-25) Follow the Abraham who focused on what was right for the most people, even the ones he didn’t know.

A Litany for Black Lives Matter – written by the Church of God in Christ – adapted for the American synagogue.

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Leader: Today, we stand together in solidarity with our African American brothers and sisters. We unite with all of those who have lost their lives to the unjust forces of police brutality, racial profiling, and systematic oppression.

Congregation: Together, we will stand. As co-created ones, we affirm that all Black bodies mirror the image of God. (Gen 1:27)

Leader: Together, we will march. In efforts to embody the prophetic command, “Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream.” (Amos 5:24) We will dismantle racial and social barriers in order to stand as one and march to the beat of peaceful protests, until God’s work is done.

Congregation: Together, we will march. Adonai, you have taught us to march for freedom and justice. We will march together like the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. We will learn from the marches of generations past, and we will prepare the next generations to march with us.

Leader: Together, we will remember Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Rumain Brisbon, Cameron Tillman, Reneshia McBride, Trayvon Martin, and so many others who have lost their lives at the hands of police brutality. We hear the ringing of the twelve shots that were fired at Michael Brown’s body. We see the horror in Eric Garner’s face as he uttered his last words – “I can’t breathe.” We grieve the unfulfilled dreams of Aiyana Jones, who was only seven years old.

Congregation: We know that we should not stand idly by the blood of our neighbors, (Lev 19:16) and yet we have ignored the graphic images of tragic deaths. We have ignored the cries of victims, their children, their spouses, their parents. With new awareness and humility, our souls lament.

Leader: Together we will boldly name the unjust acts throughout our nation, the unwarranted deaths and shamelessly prejudiced acts. Yet, we are honest enough to also name the reality that resides within these four walls. We too have been unjust. In our ignorance, we too have persecuted. In our privilege, we too have closed doors and silenced voices.

Congregation: Together, Adonai, we seek your forgiveness and the forgiveness of our neighbors.  We have ignored the cries of those whose stories did not beckon the media’s response, whose graves went unmarked, whose bodies remain missing, whose memorials are forgotten.

Leader: Together, Adonai, we refresh our commitment to justice. The Prophet Micah taught us to walk humbly with God and to love mercy. We are also called to act justly. (Micah 6:8)

Congregation: We will walk with humility, and we will love mercy. Our humility and love would be empty without our just action. Together, Adonai, we strengthen our commitment to act justly.

Leader: Together, we proclaim the value of Black bodies. We will deconstruct discriminating stereotypes that have legitimized the death of African Americans, criminalized Black boys and girls, and dehumanized Black women and men.

Congregation: Together, we will proclaim: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the parent who grieves a child she will never hold again, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the child who lives in fear because his neighborhood is barricaded by police, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the father who feels compelled to teach his son how to keep his head down rather than hold his head up, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the sister who is doubly-subjugated because her skin is labeled ugly and her gender is less-valued, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: Throughout our congregations, our cities, our classrooms, our work-places, and our homes, we will continue to declare: All of us are created in the Divine Image. This is a truth older than the United States, a truth that America cannot erase. Therefore, we proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter. African American Justice Matters. Black Freedom Matters. African American Dignity Matters. Black Lives Matter.

 

Thank you to the Church of God in Christ for the Black Lives Matter Litany and other powerful, meaningful prayers which respond to current events.

This happened on Facebook.

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I posted this on FB this morning:

“I can’t believe I have to say this, but here we go:
Not all Arabs are Muslim.
Not all Muslims are Arab.
Not all Americans are Christian.
Not all Israelis are Jewish.
Not all Israelis agree with every policy of the Israeli government or the Israeli police force.
I can support Israel, call myself a Zionist, and still disagree with things that happen in Israel.
I can love Israel and fear for Israelis’ safety, and still think critically about how they protect themselves from terrorism.
I can love Israel and my Israeli friends and family, and still care about the Palestinian people.

“If you are reading this and you are surprised, please go read more about the situation. Maybe try +972 Magazine or Al Jazeera English. NPR and the New York Times don’t always present all sides of the story – partially because the story is 2,000 years old. There are not only two sides to this story.

“If you are surprised that I am posting this, please know that I don’t want to have to, but every once in a while, I am surprised and disappointed by how ignorant/naive/hateful some smart people are. (Sorry for the run-on sentence.)”

A whole bunch of people “liked” it, and some people “shared” it.

Then, I came home to make dinner and I had to write this:

“A blogger who shall remain unnamed here (who I’ve already blocked) gleefully posted his blog on my FB page with the caption:

‘I mentioned you in my blog!’

(Apparently, I am the idiot below.)

Here was the mention – “Some idiot on Facebook wanted to take this opportunity to remind us that Palestinians are people too. Here’s the thing: I don’t divide people based on race, religion, or creed (I don’t even know what creed is). This is my simple framework: If you run around stabbing innocent children, you are not a person. If you cheer the stabbing of children, you are not a person. If you hand out candy when airplanes crash into buildings, you are not human.”

1. This inarticulate public tribute to my idiocy reminded me that I have my own blog that I never use and I’m going to start using it RIGHT NOW.

2. People who proudly post that they don’t know something – while on the internet that holds the answer – are too full of themselves to look up the thing they don’t know. Public confirmed ignorance is a lifestyle choice.

3. I loathe terrorists, but I don’t deny their humanity. Terrorists are human beings, which is why this situation is so complicated.

4. People who think of any human being as less than human SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF ME. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let fear stop me from seeing humanity in every other person on this terrifying planet.

5. There is a spark of divinity in every single one of us, even the people we don’t like. (Genesis 1:27)”

So, welcome back to my blog.
Get ready for some ranting.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.