Tag: Torah sparks by Rabbi Schell (Page 4 of 19)

November 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

One Mitzvah leads to another, while one sin leads to another,
and when one acts justly it is very good. – Pirkei Avot 4:2

Chaverim,

This Saturday evening and Sunday morning, we join forces with our friends from Temple Israel and Beit Emanuel to help others. Every year in November, Jews world-wide dedicate one Sunday to do good, and to talk about it. All the other times, we should just do good things without talking about it, but this time is different. We are going public, because we want more people to follow our lead and to go out and help, as one mitzvah leads to another.

Our kindness and our actions—no matter how small—matter. The way we treat each other matters. We see that clearly in our Torah portion. Jacob has left Canaan, and has come to Haran, whereupon he sees Rachel and sees the stone covering the well. It should say “there was a large stone on the mouth of the well” but that’s not the actual order of the text. It actually says “the stone was large on the mouth of the well.” The s’fat emet understands this as a metaphor: the stumbling block—our evil urge—may be everywhere, but it is heaviest and largest on the mouth of the well. What is the well? Our words, our mouths, our hearts, our intentions, our own actions. Once Jacob understands the situation, he, by himself, removes the stone from the well. He takes the action. He does what is right at that moment. His actions improve the fate of the shepherds around him.

Jacob’s actions matter and so do ours. When we choose to act with kindness, even if the action is small, it changes the life of that person. If you follow the lead of others, or an inner drive, it doesn’t matter, just do it.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Details about the Mitzvah Day can be found on page 1 and on our Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/yb4cedu7 .

Please join us. Thank you.

Shabbat Shalom  – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Yair D. Robinson)

Luca Giordano – Jacob and Rachel at the Well

Parashat Toledot: Never again

November 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Spring blooms in the Negev

Chaverim,

Water is life. Our bodies are mostly water. Our planet is able to sustain life largely due to its abundant supply of water. The symbolism of water flowing and nourishing the thirsty land is easily understandable, even by those who have never lacked rain. So, what can we learn from the image of a well, that has been intentionally filled with earth so that it no longer functions as a well? If water is life-giving, then a stopped-up well is the opposite. Why, then, did the Philistines, as we read in this week’s parashah, Toledot, fill up the wells that had been dug in the days of Abraham and tell Isaac to leave the region? Why were they ready to make the land uninhabitable?

I interpret it as an early attempt to stop Jewish life, one of many that we Jews have had to endure over history. The Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Pogroms in eastern Europe, Nazi-Germany, and even this horrific attack on the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, they all shared one goal, making Jewish life unbearable; from preventing Jews to study Torah to forbidding Jewish rituals, from expelling Jews to physical prosecution and then to annihilation. Jewish history is full of stopped-up wells.

However, our Jewish history is also full of re-opened wells. Isaac’s digging the same wells that his father dug shows us how he reclaims his father’s traditions and ensures Jewish survival. I identify with Isaac’s actions: I have learnt to seek to reclaim the traditions handed down to us by our ancestors. I have seen how Jewish life has put out new roots in Germany. We all witnessed how Jews all over the world, us included, came together last Shabbat, mourning the victims of the Pittsburgh shooting, but more importantly, we celebrated Jewish life, too, affirming our commitment to never allow any anti-Semites to fill up our wells.

Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell

Because they lived, we will too

November 1, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Beloved Friends,

 Normally, when Jews die, we recite a prayer: ‘baruch dayan ha’emet’ – blessed is the True Judge. It’s a way of saying: “the good and the bad they did, can pass with them — their soul is in God’s hands now“. When Jews are slaughtered by anti-Semites, however, there is a different prayer: ‘hashem yikkom damam’ – may God avenge their blood.

It may sound awful to call for revenge in the wake of an attack. It may sound like a summons to continue the cycle of violence. Please be assured, that is not the type of vengeance we are speaking about.

The best form of revenge, in the face of people who want to destroy you, is to carry on living, more than ever. Nothing pains anti-Semites and haters more than to see the people they want to extinguish go on and thrive.

Last Shabbat we celebrated our Judaism proudly. We came together for our Challah Bake, we had joyful services, some of us went to the Johannesburg Pride, and on Monday we welcomed a new Baby Boy into our covenant with God. And this is exactly how we will carry on, being more Jewish. More visible. Louder. More different. More inclusive.

Last Shabbat was also painful, hurtful, and shocking. Not only have we, the Jewish people, lost members of our community, but humanity has lost—as in so many other terror attacks before—wonderful souls, human beings created in the Divine image.

In their honour, we will be more faithful, more humble, closer to God. Because they lived, we will too. We will outlive the anti-Semites, the haters, the racists. With our lives, we will avenge their blood.

– Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Adrian M Schell

 

Happy pride day Johannesburg

October 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Friends,

 This weekend, Johannesburg is celebrating Pride day, and by that diversity in our South African society. While the legal position of people, who identify as LGBTI* in South Africa, is not bad at all (not only in comparison to other African states but also in  comparison to Worldwide standards), still many of the queer, gay and trans community suffer from great discrimination, social exclusion and marginalisation, often including physical and sexual abuse when people “come out“. It is happening in our neighbourhoods, in the countryside, and in our cities, and it is not only part of the reality outside our own circles, but also inside the Jewish community, including our own one.

As Progressive Jews, we recognise the Divine image in every human being. Human dignity doesn’t have limitations. As much as we do not discriminate race, social/economical background, and skin colour, we must also uphold the rights and dignity of every person who is identifying as Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, Trans, Queer, Hetero, or even not within any of those terms. As early as in the Talmud, our sages have recognised at least 7 genders, teaching us that gender-identity is more than two options*.

It goes without saying … but I guess we/I have to say it again: This rabbi, our movement and our community, Bet David, has and always will welcome, respect, embrace and shower overflowing chesed (love) upon all, including people who are/identify as LGBTI*.

Happy pride day – Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Adrian M Schell

 *A handout with the teaching of the Talmud is available here: Handout More Than Just Male and Female The Seven Genders in Classical Judaism

 

Lech Lecha: Hear the call

October 17, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Friends,

Our Torah Portion for this coming Shabbat is Lech Lecha. In Lech L’cha, our story focuses on our ancestor Avram. He was a wanderer who heard a divine call and went forth. God’s call to Abraham was a call to leave a position of warmth, of security and the “same good old” in order to
encounter something new, something that had the potential to change the world (and I think it did). This call was the beginning of the Jewish people and our eternal covenant with God.

What do you feel a call towards? How do you honour your journey, and the journeys of those who came before you? How can we all honour the wanderers in our midst?

Our Torah portion call’s us, to follow Abrahams first steps. We are called to open ourselves to new ideas, new approaches and sometimes even new beginnings. Lech Lecha asks us to strive for justice, a better world, and to constantly renew  our covenant with the Eternal — today,
tomorrow and every single day.

Shabbat Shalom

—Rabbi Adrian M Schell

 

Parashat Noach: Be a hero

October 11, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Friends,

No doubt about it—Noah was a good person. In fact, the Torah tells us that he was the most righteous person in his generation. But, perhaps that’s like praising someone for being the best player on a losing team! Let’s look more closely at Noah.

Noah saved his family and the animals. This is all good. But something is missing. Nowhere do we read that Noah tried to persuade his friends, neighbors, and anyone who would listen to repent and change their ways. He didn’t utter a word of concern for all the people who were about to drown in the waters of the Flood. While it’s true that God commanded Noah to bring just his family and the animals aboard, you would think he would have argued with God about the death sentence for humanity.

The Hasidic master, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, once referred to a certain rabbi  as a tzadik in peltz—“a righteous person in a fur coat.” Here is what he meant: “When it is freezing cold outside, you can build a fire, or you can wrap yourself in a fur coat. If you wear a fur coat, you’re the only one who gets warm. But, if you build a fire, everyone else can get warm, as well.”

While Noah didn’t wear a fur coat during the Flood, he certainly remained content with saving just his family. When the decree of the Flood came, Noah did as he was told, but didn’t intercede on behalf of all those who would die.

Unlike Noah, Abraham, ten generations later, stands up to God. In a huge debate, Abraham asks God how many innocent people it would take to spare the city. For many sages, God chooses to make Abraham the first Jew precisely because of his concern for others. Righteous people cannot merely care about themselves and their families; they have to care about others as well. This is why, for example, we honor the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust, often at the risk of their own lives. The greatest heroes in history have been those who have gone beyond their own needs and their own safety to save others.

Shabbat Shalom

—Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi Salkin; Torah Commentary)

Bereshit: Are we really done, back to “normal”?

October 4, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Friends,

Done! The High Holy Day season is over. The past weeks were exciting and exhausting, we were taken to spiritual highs and grounded again, we shared joy and we gave comfort to another when sadness overcame us. We (I) were nervous about new things, such as the new prayer books, and we felt safe in the tradition that gave us a strong framework for the new.

And now, what comes now?

 Are we really done, back to “normal”? I am not so sure about that. Now we are given the time to act upon those things we reflected on during the High Holy Days, now we walk the different paths we promised to follow during the Vidui (confessional prayer), and now is the time to find out where we can help others or where we need help from others to achieve all those goals we have set for ourselves.

Perhaps the start of the new Torah cycle, beginning once again with Parashat Bereshit this Shabbat, will give us some support and hope in this endeavour. It seems to me that the Torah stretches out her hand to walk with us on our journeys, telling us of our ancestors and their lives, encouraging us to never give up when we are challenged.

The first words of our Torah come with their never-ending message that we are all equal in front of the Eternal, reassuring us that all steps count, no matter who takes them

For me, the weeks and months after the High Holy Days are a wonderful time, full of opportunities and new chances to grow, as individuals, and as a community.

May you all go from strength to strength in this new year.

Shabbat Shalom

 —Rabbi Adrian M Schell

 

Yom Kippur isn’t an easy day

September 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Chaverim—Friends,

 Yom Kippur isn’t an easy day. Not because of the fasting. What isn’t easy is the affliction of the soul, the practice of going deeply into ourselves and revealing our innermost fears, doubts and insecurities in front of the Eternal. There is no more bargaining time left. No more time to negotiate with God, to present good deeds in mitigation of our sins in the hope that we will be dealt with compassionately to receive a ‘lighter’ sentence. This should have been done in the previous 10 days in particular, and in the weeks that preceded Rosh Hashanah. Everything we have
done, or not done, is already recorded and known in the heavenly court. On Yom Kippur, we are awaiting the final verdict, and we must stop playing games. We know we could have done better: we have sinned; we have transgressed.

There is no way out. The die has been cast, and the verdict is almost in. On Yom Kippur our fate will be decided. On Yom Kippur! On Yom Kippur we need to be honest with ourselves, and with God – and this is the painful exercise. The affliction of the soul hurts. There is no ‘waiver’ we can apply for to get away from this duty. Without exception, every one of us is standing before the Eternal, waiting for our fate to be decided upon.

But as a little piece from our liturgy indicates, Yom Kippur isn’t a sad day at all. It is a day full of hope and joy. God is a merciful God, full of loving kindness and grace. God grants forgiveness to all who honestly ask for it. “Va-Yomer Adonai: Salachti Ki’devareicha – And Adonai said: I have pardoned in response to your plea.”

This hope, or maybe certainty, does not come out of the blue. It is something that is deeply embedded in our relationship with the Eternal, in our unique covenant with God, throughout the history of our people. The hope of gaining God’s forgiveness from transgression and sin goes way back to the story of the Golden Calf.

Pardoning its people is God’s response to Moshe‘s plea for forgiveness, and thus it is the basis we use to ask for atonement on Yom Kippur. The affliction of our souls might be painful, but the knowledge that God is with us and is granting forgiveness is what turns Yom Kippur into a day of hope, and not a day of pain; in a day of partnership, a day where we renew our covenant with God.

May you all be sealed in the book of life, rewarded for your honesty towards yourself and towards God. May you gain strength from Yom Kippur to master the tasks that await you in the coming year. May you feel God’s Presence within you always, and never lose faith and trust in God and his people. Gmar chatima tova!

—Rabbi Adrian M Schell

 

Awesome moments between past, present and future – Greetings for the New Year 5779

September 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear congregants, members, supporters, friends—chaverim,

This will be my 5th High Holy Days with you, or to be more precise, my 6th, as Chayim and I joined the congregation exactly 10 years ago for my rabbinic internship at Bet David. Much has changed in the past years, but also many things have remained untouched and sacred, as they have been for so many generations before us.

The High Holy Days are for me this special time of the year, where we live in these “awe“some moments between past, present and future, where we look out for the right balance of ideals and capability, of achievements and failures. For me Rosh Hashanah represents the renewal of our covenant with the Eternal and  every human being, and our wishes to become our better selves.

I look forward to celebrating some very meaningful festival days with you, the beginning of the New Year, and many
more years in your midst.


יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ
יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי
אֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ
שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ
שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וְּמתוּקָה

 Y’hi ratzon mil’fanecha, Adonai Eloheinu v’Elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu,
shet’chadeish aleinu shanah tovah umtukah.

 Our God and God of our ancestors,
Eternal God of all generations:
May Your Presence in our lives
this New Year renew our spirits
and renew our strength.

May it be a good year.

May it be a sweet year.

 

Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah

—Rabbi Adrian M Schell

Mishkan HaNefesh: Rosh HaShanah: Machzor for the Days of Awe (Page 300).

 

Yizkor: Let my cry come before You.

August 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

As a deer yearns for streams of water,

so I yearn for You, O God.

My whole being thirsts for God,

for the living God. Psalm 42:2

 Hear my prayer.

Let my cry come before You.

Do not hide from me in my time of sorrow. Turn Your ear to me.

When I cry, answer me soon. Psalm 102:2–3

 My God,

my soul is downcast.

Therefore I think of You. Psalm 42:7

 

Dear friends,

The above beautiful prayer is taken from the Yizkor service section in our new High Holy Day Machzor for Yom Kippur (page 549).

Celebrating a new year includes also remembering those who walked this path before us. Those who came together in joy and in sadness, who were in awe, fear, and in tears, and in love, happiness and full of hope.

When we bow down our heads in remembrance this year on Yom Kippur, we will know that they are with us, and that as long we remember them, they will be part of us and our lives.

May the coming Shabbat and High Holy Days comfort those who have lost a loved one only recently or at this season in years past.

Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M Schell

The Yizkor service will take place on Yom Kippur (19.9.) at 17:00. The  dedication of new leaves for the tree will take place at 16:45.

 

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