Temple Beth El Blog

Please watch your mailbox for your Temple Beth El membership renewal packet in early December.

In the packet we will share stories from current members describing how TBE fuels their lives, just as your membership dollars fuel our work.

Our Board of Trustees carefully oversees the use of these funds, which represent the single largest source of revenue for TBE.

In recent years we have been very gratified to welcome new, young families to our congregation, which has increased our total membership. These new faces are a testament to the strength of our Temple.

However, TBE has experienced a decrease in total income: membership contributions dropped from $815,000 in 2018 to just below $800,00 in 2019.

Reasons include recent tax code changes, which have decreased charitable contributions. We have also seen a decrease in the average contribution as younger families have joined, congregants with larger average contributions have left for retirement in warmer climates, and many current members have not increased their contribution in many years.

As income from membership has decreased, our expenses have gone up:

• Inflation has led to higher utility costs, higher prices for the goods we purchase, and higher prices for services such as cleaning and garbage collection.
• Staffing changes have added to our payroll costs, while allowing us to improve our member relations, enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of our communications, and maintain our aging building.
• Costs to repair or replace equipment in our aging building have continued to climb, and frequency of maintenance has increased.

To account for the difference between membership contribution income and rising operating costs, the Temple Beth El Board of Trustees has passed a one-time request for a donation equal to 10 percent of your current membership contribution. For example, if you currently pay $1,500, we will ask you to consider an additional $150 donation. We thank you in advance for your generous response, which will help keep TBE on a sustainable path in the face of rising expenses. 

The board approved this increase with the understanding that the finance committee will continue to evaluate the membership contribution process and recommend potential changes to the current structure, which has been in place for approximately 20 years.

I am always available to answer your questions about membership contributions and the financial health of Temple Beth El. We will continue to keep you updated through future editions of the Giving Spotlight and the Temple Bulletin. Don’t hesitate to contact me at exec@tbemadison.org or 608-238-3123.

“As my ancestors planted for me, I plant for my children and my children’s children.”
(Taanit 23)

As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we honor the generations who founded and nurtured TBE and grew our congregation into the vibrant community we are today. Sam and Rose Silverberg, parents of Joe Silverberg, are two of those individuals. Sam and Rose were charter members, and Joe grew up at Temple, even before TBE found a permanent home on Arbor Drive. After Joe was introduced to his wife, Jeanne, and convinced her to move to Madison, they “were married in New York and immediately joined the Temple,” Joe says. Joe and Jeanne’s children attended Religious School and the family celebrated other life-cycle events at TBE.

Joe and Jeanne are honoring the Silverberg family legacy by being inaugural members of our Dorot Society. Membership honors those who commit to leaving a legacy to sustain TBE for future generations, just as Joe’s parents did for them. When asked why it was important for them to do this, Joe simply responded, “It was the natural thing to do.” We are grateful that for Joe and Jeanne, helping to provide for Temple’s future well-being is the natural outcome of being part of our community.

There are many ways to become a member of the Dorot Society. Several of these are easy to do on your own and don’t require amending your will or trust.

And now, we have even more reasons to join the Dorot Society: Pam and Howard Erlanger, Amy and Marty Fields, and Gary Friedman and Bonnie Denmark Friedman together have offered an instant donation of $8,000 to the Yerusha Fund as soon as the Dorot Society reaches 80 members. (Couples are counted as two members.) Our goal is to make this happen during Temple Beth El’s 80th anniversary year. If you’ve considered joining the Dorot Society, now is the time to become a member!

Please join us at Temple on Monday, November 18, at 7:00 pm to learn about simple ways to leave TBE in your estate plan, with Jordan Taylor of DeWitt law firm and Dean Stange of Wipfli Financial. Please sign up at https://www.tbemadison.org/event/leaving-a-legacy-with-ease-understanding-planned-giving.html.

Please reach out to Dorot Society co-chairs Howard Erlanger (h.erlanger@gmail.com) and Gary Friedman (gfriedman42@gmail.com) or executive director Stefanie Kushner (exec@tbemadison.org) with any questions or to set up a private meeting.

Thank you to our inaugural Dorot Society members:

Niles & Linda Berman
Rabbis Jonathan Biatch & Bonnie Margulis
Pam & Howard Erlanger
Marty & Amy Fields
Gary Friedman & Bonnie Denmark Friedman
Paul Grossberg & Dean Ziemke
Janice Kaplan
Tamara Sue & Ken Kaplan
Harry & Karen Roth
Joe & Jeanne Silverberg
Jerry & Vicki Stewart
 

Do you have some time to give? We have lots of great opportunities to help out in our community.

Immigration Assistance Fund: Raising Awareness for Local Immigration Assistance

Temple Beth El is a member of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition, joining with other congregations and organizations to support immigrants in our community. The coalition is starting a project to raise awareness and to fundraise for the Immigrant Assistance Fund. This fund pays for legal services, emergency aid, bail, travel costs, and other aid for undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Dane County. The fund is administered by the seven members of the Immigration Collaborative (Catholic Multicultural Center, Centro Hispano of Dane County, Community Immigration Law Center, Jewish Social Services, Literacy Network, Rise Law Center, and UW Immigrant Justice Clinic). You can read more about the fund here.

We are looking for volunteers with public relations and/or fundraising experience to be part of a small committee to work with the Immigration Collaborative and move this effort forward. For more information, and to volunteer, please contact Rabbi Bonnie Margulis at rabbibonnie@charter.net.

Healing House: Like to Cook? Volunteers for Healing House Meals Needed in November

 

The Healing House is a place where a homeless child or family member can go to heal after surgery, illness, or childbirth. Imagine you have just delivered a baby and your family is homeless. The shelters are only open at night. You are on the street with your newborn and other children for 10 hours a day. You have no safe place for your newborn to sleep.

That’s where Healing House comes in, providing clients three meals a day, childcare assistance, and case management to end the cycle of homelessness. Research shows that homeless patients have 50 percent fewer hospital admissions within 90 days of discharge if they receive respite care.

The Healing House, a program of Madison Area Urban Ministry, officially opened on July 8, 2019. Located at 303 Lathrop Street in Madison, it is an eight-bed facility providing 24/7 recuperative care by medically trained staff and volunteers for up to 28 days. Case management is provided by The Road Home staff.

Temple volunteers are being asked to assist with dinner by cooking and dropping off dinner or serving and cleaning up after dinner at the house.

If you are interested in helping out the week of November 10–16, please sign up here or contact Cathy Rotter at c.rotter.mail@gmail.com.

Catholic Multicultural Center: Serving Meals at the Catholic Multicultural Center Is Fun and Easy

Looking for a fun, easy opportunity to help the community and spend quality time as a team? Help serve the daily meal at the Catholic Multicultural Center! The Catholic Multicultural Center provides free meals every day to low-income community members and people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers set out and serve the food and clean up after the meal; you’re busy the whole time and on your feet. Temple Beth El has agreed to serve on the second Monday of each month. November is already full, but we’d love volunteers for Monday, December 9, and in 2020. Sign up here or contact Sue Levy at slevy51@gmail.com.

Emerson: Emerson School Is Seeking Reading and Math Mentors

Seven years ago, Jewish Congregations for Social Justice “adopted” Emerson School on Madison’s east side, and we have been supporting their academics and family programming ever since. We would love to have you join us for the 2019–20 school year. We’re looking for adults who want to work with elementary-age children on reading and math skills:

Reading mentors work with beginning readers. Your job is to help children build skills and discover the joy of reading.

Math mentors work with children on basic math concepts and lessons. You don’t have to be a math whiz—many kids need support with very basic math facts and strategies that most adults are comfortable with.

Interested? Please contact Marcia Vandercook at marcia.vandercook@gmail.com.

Coat Donations: It’s Getting Colder—Do You Have Some Coats You Could Donate?

Jewish Social Services will welcome a new refugee family this month from Afghanistan. With these new arrivals and the fact that our current families’ kids keep growing, we are in need of gently used or new winter outerwear in sizes from infant to age 18. How can you help? Easy-peasy!

If you have gently used coats, snow pants, boots, or accessories, you can drop them off at:

• Jewish Social Services, 6434 Enterprise Lane
• Temple Beth El, 2702 Arbor Drive
• Beth Israel Center, 1406 Mound Street

Or buy a gift card to Target, Kohl's, Walmart, or the discount store of your choice and mail to JSS, 6434 Enterprise Lane, Madison, WI 53719, or send a check. On your check, please write "Winter Wear for Refugees."

2020 is not just an election year—it’s also the time when the federal government counts the population in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five US territories. Around March and April 2020, each home will receive an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire either online, by phone, or by mail. This will mark the first time that you will be able to respond to the census online.

This census is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the US Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for our community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.

The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the US House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. So a complete and accurate count of the population is essential to drive policy decisions over the next 10 years.

However, finding everyone is not an easy task. While most TBE members will probably receive their questionnaires at home and will be able to answer online if they choose, there are many people who are traditionally undercounted. The most commonly overlooked people include seniors, children under five, immigrants, and those experiencing homelessness. The US Census Bureau is looking for partner organizations to help with outreach and education.

You can find more information about the census at https://2020census.gov/en.html. If you are interested in getting involved locally, please contact Aleeza at engage@tbemadison.org.

This fall, at least 3,500 low-income families in Dane County will be depending on the Goodman Community Center for their Thanksgiving meal. This total of 3,500 families means that 21,000 residents, including 10,000 children, need help to make sure they are included in this enduring family tradition. As you can imagine, 3,500 families need a lot of groceries! Our Thanksgiving Food Collection is just one of many across the city to help fill this need. For many years, our Religious School families (and others) have helped out by donating items during October and November.

Things got really interesting a few years ago when we started a contest between the grades for who could bring in the most food, and now it’s a race to the wire every year! You can bring just one item, several items, or best of all, a whole flat of cans or boxes to the collection bins in the coatroom.
 

Here’s what we are collecting:

• Boxes of macaroni and cheese (4K & kindergarten)
• Boxes of stuffing (1st grade)
• Aluminum roaster pans (2nd grade)
• Cans of fruit (3rd grade)
• Cans of vegetables (4th grade)
• Broth, any kind (5th grade)
• Cans of cranberry sauce (6th grade)
• Gravy (7th grade)

The collection deadline is 10:00 am on Sunday, November 24. Items will be counted that morning and then delivered to the Goodman Community Center’s Fritz Food Pantry. To find out which grade donated the most, join the Religious School Song Circle on December 8, where our Mitzvah Core students will announce the winning grade.

Because the real winners are the families who get to enjoy a holiday meal with their loved ones, we welcome donations from anyone (not just our Religious School families). Consider bringing the requested items during regular business hours or when you come for Shabbat services, Swarsensky Weekend, Midrasha, or any other reason.

If you’d like to donate your time, please see goodmancenter.org/events/thanksgiving-baskets for how you can help with sorting the food and filling the baskets shortly before the holiday.

On November 22, the Social Action Committee will host a Shabbat service focused on the struggle for racial justice and what we can do to support real progress. We are excited to announce that our speaker will be Rev. Marcus D. Allen Sr., pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church and the newly elected president of the African American Council of Churches in Dane County.

Pastor Allen will talk about the power of a team in achieving racial justice and how the black and Jewish communities can work together more effectively. We will reaffirm why racial justice is important to us as Jews and learn about meaningful actions we can take. The evening will help us build more effective and consistent teams, through our racial justice action team and elsewhere. This Shabbat service will build on Rabbi Biatch’s Rosh Hashanah sermon on racial justice.

Pastor Allen was ordained in July 2005. Before that, he served in the United States Army for over 10 years, including three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received a number of medals and awards. He also preached while abroad, assisting soldiers with motivation and spiritual guidance to help endure the hardships of being in a war zone. Since then, he has completed studies for his Master and Doctor of Divinity degrees and served as a pastor for four years in Virginia. He has been in Madison serving at Mount Zion since 2017.

Please join us for any or all of the evening. Dinner from Banzo will be served at 6:30 pm, with services at 7:30 pm. The Oneg Shabbat will feature pastries from Just Bakery. RSVP and register for dinner here. Please register for dinner by November 13.

The Social Action Committee will also share information about all the work we are doing and how your family can participate. Social Action Committee members will be available to answer questions.

L’shanah Tovah and G’mar Chatimah Tovah: May we all conclude this day with a brighter outlook and a renewed spirit for the work ahead of us: the work of tikkun, of repairing the fractured world we inhabit, and repairing our souls as they yearn for fulfillment.

Since Rosh Hashanah, and really since the beginning of the month of Elul 40 days ago, we have considered what we have done wrong and how we were going to reconcile our broken relationships. And Yom Kippur is a day on which we consider how we are to improve our lives in the future. So, this morning I’d like to speak about Israel because of the wonderful possibilities of that small nation playing a positive and significant role in our Jewish lives.

Imagine this as the teaser for a new television program called “Israel: Religious Freedom for All Its Citizens”:

“Imagine an Israel in which the State treats all expressions and streams of Judaism – and other religions – with equal respect and dignity; where the State recognizes the right to freedom of religion and freedom from religious coercion...”

And here is the teaser for another episode:

“Imagine an Israel in which the State guarantees and preserves the freedom of worship for members of all faiths at their holy sites in the spirit of mutual respect and sensitivity..”

Or maybe you could be enticed to watch this episode:

“Imagine an Israel in which gender equality fully guides the state, and women are not demeaned or otherwise disadvantaged, whether on public transportation, in legal proceedings regarding personal status, at the Western Wall, and in other public venues and services.”

Well, they make not make scintillating prime time television; I think “Shtisel” or “S’rugim” would score higher ratings. But these aspirations and others are on the mind of Israelis today. Promoted by Hiddush, an Israeli organization nearly 10 years old, they stand for a renewal of the pledge, audaciously a part of the Declaration of Independence, that aspired to a society of equals.

That document courageously states the hopes for a future of dignity and respect: “The State of Israel … will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it [the state] will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it it [the state] will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it [the state] will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture … ”

This is an achievable goal, even though after 71 years we have not yet realized it. But the good news is that despite forces in Israeli society that strive mightily to establish a narrowly-based theocracy, there are many more people who still believe in and struggle to secure a society that honors all streams of Judaism, and people of other religious traditions.

I invite us to consider the positive vision of Israel, a society that would not dwell on past events and mistakes even though they make them, but one that dreams of welcoming new Jewish residents and streams of Jewish visitors; one that makes equal room for those of other religious communities; one that develops and promotes life based on the aspirations and values of Judaism; one where secular models of democracy guide the Jewish state despite variations in the practices of religious communities or the secular society.

* * * *

What is the nature of our connection with Israeli Jews? What are the challenges inherent in this relationship?

Donniel Hartman, the president of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, explains that the challenge of Diaspora Jews connecting well with Israel is found in the degree to which we see Israeli Jews as members of our family.[1]

In a typical nuclear family, people view their spouse-parent-child relationships as primary; the “family” is the safety net that assumes that all will be present for each other no matter what, that we watch out for one another, that we have a special relationship to protect.

Inside this nuclear family, we experience life together. We celebrate, we mourn, we strive, we cry, and we laugh. All of that happens – for the most part – with people who are physically closer to us.

Outside of this primary relationship, we may have other relatives living hundreds or thousands of miles away with whom we DON’T share everyday life, and our family ties with them may not be as strong as with our primary family. We may feel concern for them, but the connection is not a primary one.

So, we might compare the relationships between Diaspora and Israeli Jewry to those distant relatives, people whom you hear about and feel empathy for, but the distance prohibits us from cementing a firm relationship. Perhaps there is insufficient reason to care about one another; or maybe we don’t share a vision of being close as family with one another.

Let’s see what the data say.

The American Jewish Committee last June released its annual survey of attitudes held by the Israeli and American Jewish communities toward each other, and visible were large disparities in how we feel about each other.

Almost a third [31%] of Israeli Jews consider us American Jews as “siblings”, and 47 percent consider us as “cousins”. Not bad. Yet only 13% of American Jews think of Israelis as siblings, and 58 percent of us see Israeli Jews as all kinds of relationships, and certainly members of an extended family. And in America, 28% of us don’t consider Israelis part of our family at all.[2]

Anecdotal evidence, however, does not always confirm this ‘relationship gap’. A few years back, I asked here as to the number of worshipers present who had visited Israel. The percentage of hands that shot into the air was significantly higher than the average of 35% of American Jews who have been to Israel. So, there is, at least within our community, a stronger recognition of family ties that bind us to one another. The challenge is to discover the association with Israel that motivates and excites us, and then strengthen and share that motivation with others.

* * * *

How do we come to know Israel living some 6,000 miles away? First is through teachers who come to share with us.

Some of you may be familiar with our Israeli sh’lichim here in Madison. The sh’lichim are the Jewish Federation-sponsored emissaries from Israel who help to awaken the spark of interest in Israel matters. And during my tenure in Madison, we have had some exceptional sh’lichim teaching us about and connecting us to Israel. Our current new sh’lichim – who are newlyweds, by the way – are no exception to this, and I hope you have an opportunity to meet them.

They both came, last week, to attend our Rosh Hashanah morning services, and they enjoyed them very much.

And talk about Jewish geography: I was speaking with our community Sh’lichah, Danielle, and it turns out that her father was a young resident of a certain youth village at the same time and in the same youth village that I spent my first summer in Israel. He was 10, and I was 15; so, I began to think back and wonder if he was the young kid – who knew a lot more than I did about farm life – working with me when we irrigated the banana orchards or mucked out the cow barn.

Anyway, the presence of the sh’lichim here in Madison – and in the other communities where Israelis go to connect with Diaspora Jews – has, over a long time, demonstrated that a connection to Israel is desirable and necessary.

Our religious school children feel it when, in Third grade, they take a year-long virtual trip to Israel (though I don't think they get to eat schwarma). We adults, if we have taken advantage of our congregational trips to Israel, know the joy and good nature of Israelis whom we meet along the way. People have visited on b'nai mitzvah trips, business trips, and other excursions. We are fortunate to have had a lot of TBE members visiting Israel.

Another way we learn about Israel is through our religious movements. We are informed that Israel is becoming a place of pluralistic religious fervor; being "religious" there is no longer the purview solely of the Haredi, or Ultra-Orthodox community.

We see organic Jewish life from many religious communities: from the Haredim to the standard dati or Orthodox Jews; from masorti or Conservative Jews to mitkadmim – Reform and Progressive Jews – and hitchadshim or Reconstructionist Jews. And there are independent communities of prayer and learning among the older and younger Israelis, especially the secular ones, Jews who are exploring their Jewish roots in search of values by which to live as Jews in the Jewish and democratic state of Israel.

Israeli Jews have also become more focused on religious and social matters as primary motivations for voting. We see this in the priorities of Israelis as they went to the polls recently.

Beginning with the election in April and continuing with the election held a few weeks ago, opinion polls demonstrated that security matters took a backseat to the influence of the religious right in Israeli life. We also learned that voters overwhelmingly wanted all men and women, including the Ultra-Orthodox, to serve in the army; most citizens want religious exemptions from national service to disappear. Secular Israelis also wanted the Orthodox rabbinate out of the personal and religious lives of Israelis. And there was a strong public expression that the next ruling coalition NOT include the religious parties.

In short, public attitudes and motivations for voting now center on developing true Jewish and democratic life in Israel. For in addition to its position as a place of Jewish refuge, Israel stands as an exemplar of Jewish literary and cultural creativity, coming from both religious and secular world's. And there is still appreciation for the rich cultural diversity of Israel, due to the immigration of Russian, Ethiopian, and other ethnic communities.

Our family may be an extended one, but its riches are beyond count.

* * * *

There still remains, though, the nagging question of how we view our relationship with Israel, and the degree to which we would want to be involved in the life of Israel herself.

According to that same American Jewish Committee survey, 63 percent of Israeli Jews believe it is “not appropriate for American Jews to attempt to influence Israeli policy on such issues as national security and peace negotiations with the Palestinians,” while 57 percent of American Jews feel it is appropriate for them to do so.[3] This statistic suggests our strong desire to connect to Israel. The challenge is to find the context where this makes the most sense.

We could always take the route that my niece’s son David traveled this past year. As a 20-something interested in serving Israel, he joined the two-and-a half year Garin Tzabar program of the Israel Defense Forces, and is now serving in a combat unit. Short of officially making aliyah, David now can fulfill his aspiration for service to a cause greater than himself. Whether he eventually immigrates will depend on other many factors, though his parents are supportive of his efforts. We're simply hoping he'll find a partner before he makes that big decision.

As for us, we can sit here in America and complain, and physically protest various Israeli government actions. But that is less likely to be effective.

Or we can lend our voices to the overall movement to expand the civil and democratic society in Israel and we can do this through our participation next year in the international elections to the World Zionist Congress.

The first World Zionist Congress took place in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897, and its primary goal was to establish the state of Israel. Today, the Congress serves as a parliament for the Jewish people to determine policy for the World Zionist Organization, designates the Organization’s course of action, chooses the leadership of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish National Fund in Israel, and allocates funds to causes in Israel and the Diaspora. Closer to home, the Congress makes decisions that affect Reform Jews in Israel and across the world, and allocates considerable funding to Progressive Jews in Israel.

In elections five years ago, prior to the last meeting of the World Zionist Congress, Progressive Jews in America elected 56 delegates to the 500-member World Jewish Congress. It may sound small, only ten percent, but because our delegates voted in coalition with partners from other countries, movements, and Israeli political parties, we had a broad seat at the table, secured funding for Reform organizations in Israel, and helped to influence policy for many progressive causes. In this coming election cycle, the Reform movement both in Israel and the Diaspora could likely garner $20 million for their institutions.

But along with the money for our own movement, the Reform-Progressive presence on this governing board could have significant impact on Israeli social policies.

As a result of progressive Jewry’s presence at the last Congress, we influenced the appointment of key professionals to carry out our Reform Jewish values regarding equality, pluralism, and our commitment to a two-state solution. We joined with Israeli political parties to influence Israeli society in matters of conversion, marriage and divorce, religious pluralism, gender rights, and combatting racism. We passed key resolutions in the World Zionist Organization’s policy body for equality, transparency, and societal pluralism.

In short, our participation matters.

My offering you this information today is in preparation for the international voting that will take place beginning on January 20, 2020, and will extend for 50 days.

At that time, we will ask you to vote, and we hope that you vote for the slate connected to ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists in America. This is the one significant way that we Diaspora Jews can, indeed, influence what happens in Israel. The positions we take in the Congress next year will directly help our Israeli sisters and brothers who wish to create a civil and progressive Israeli society consonant with Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Please watch your electronic inboxes and our synagogue bulletin for information about this election in January. There are four simple requirements to vote in this election:

• Be 18 years of age or older by June 30, 2020
• Self-identify as Jewish
• Agree to the Jerusalem Program, the official platform of the WZO and the Zionist Movement
• Pay the minimal $7.50 processing fee

Five years ago we were fortunate to have had Jane Taves, one of our more active TBE members, as a delegate to the World Zionist Congress meeting. For this upcoming election, she serves as a member of the campaign cabinet of the Association of Reform Zionists of America and the Union for Reform Judaism, as well as a congregational coach for us and three other congregations. Our Temple Beth El coordinator/captain will be our Associate Executive Director Kendra Sager. Along with a team of members, we will create ways to educate us and encourage us to vote, promoting a strong voter turnout and result.

If you would like a fact sheet covering some of the aspects of the election, as well as different websites for you to visit to learn more, I have them here and will hand them out after services all day today. Please see me.

Our participation really will make a difference. We can affect real change and become even more visible as our political influence increases. If we increase our Reform presence in the World Zionist Congress:

we will be able to directly promote the cause of liberal Judaism in and for the Jewish state;

we will be able to directly influence Israeli society toward both its democratic and Jewish destinies;

we will bring nearer the day when we will actualize the values of religious and societal pluralism for all of Israeli society;

and we will find even more positive reasons to support Israel from wherever we are in the world: as it will be a place with expanded creativity and ways for all Jews to create firm connections with our homeland.

* * * *

Five years ago, Reform and Progressive Jews secured a significant delegation at the World Zionist Congress. That was not the first time that Reform Jews participated in those elections, but it was the strongest showing to date. So that was, perhaps, a teaser to what’s to come in the elections and in our participation next year.

All it takes is imagination to perceive the future, a future of increased Israel activity for us all.

If you’ve not been to Israel, I invite you to imagine a place where one’s Jewish roots can be nourished by the soil of hundreds of years of Jewish history and learning; a place whose citizens are called sabras, after the hearty – some would say “tenacious” – prickly cactus pear, which is bristly on the outside, and mushy and soft and inviting on the inside.

If you have not been to Israel lately, I invite you to consider a return trip to re-orient yourself with the land and its fast-paced development.

Israel continues to be that ‘miracle on the Mediterranean’ that remains special to us. Is it what Theodor Herzl dreamed about when he remarked, “If you will it, it is no dream.”? He was a visionary, so it’s entirely possible that he was able to envision a land of great promise. You will see amazing changes there, and the potential for reaching its goals are still bright. Let us hope that we can all imagine Israel as a land of equality and dignity for all people. Let us then work for those changes.

L'shanah tovah!

[1] Rabbinic webinar August 29, 2019

[2] https://www.ajc.org/news/israeli-american-and-french-jews-on-the-issues-insights-from-ajc-surveys

[3] https://www.jta.org/2019/06/02/israel/israeli-french-and-american-jews-agree-on-almost-everything-except-trump

L’shanah tovah.

Last month, the world of literature lost Toni Morrison, acclaimed and award-winning author and teacher. She once offered this bit of wisdom to her students: “If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

To me, actualizing this vision is a privilege, and this is the thesis for my remarks this morning.

* * * *

Rabbis and African American pastors were once engaged in a lively discussion about the systemic racism that has characterized American life for more than 400 years, ever since the first slave trader’s ship left what is today Ghana, for its destination on the Virginia colony shore.

The discussion took many turns, but they were avoiding one significant question, which finally came forth from one of the rabbis:

“Jews and African Americans have a long history of working together. It’s been an up and down relationship, to be sure. But what can we do together to improve the situation?”

The response from a 30-something African American pastor, Pastor Richard, was immediate.

“Those who know how to drive, should drive. Those who know how to lead, should lead. African Americans need access to ideas: Share them with us! You need to use your white privilege for this purpose. You also need to use your Jewish privilege.” That same pastor, earlier in the evening, had decried the violence stemming from the police shootings of black youth and from black-on-black crime. He despaired and he even remarked, “Black lives matter when they matter to black people.”

Another black pastor, Pastor Edward, someone who had been in the pulpit for more than 30 years, changed the discourse. He said, “White rabbis can't lead the movement, and need to acknowledge that the African Americans must be in the forefront. White people make too many assumptions about what the African American community needs.”

I wanted to relate this brief exchange because it may provide direction to Jews and Blacks who should be engaged together, at all times, in the struggle against racism.

That conversation took place about six weeks ago in a synagogue auditorium in Montgomery, Alabama, where, along with forty-nine other Reform rabbis, I spent a concentrated period studying the grim and problematical history of the Black experience in our country. From the active years of the international slave trade to the most recent police shootings of young African Americans: For many of us our eyes were opened even further to the realities of inequity and inequality in America.

Being in Montgomery and speaking to African American leaders enabled us not simply to hear about the persecution of the African Americans. Many of us rose to new and different levels of empathy:

We gleaned information from The Legacy Museum, located in the same slave warehouse -- and cell-like rooms -- in which families and individuals were kept while they were being bought and sold.

We learned through the museum’s permanent exhibit, about the sad and distressing history of 400 years of African American life.

We observed the greedy nature of the slave trade through notices in an auctioneer’s catalogue about their ‘merchandise’. Here is a sample listing:

There was an ad about someone named Tilla, which read: “about 16 years old, of a fine family, and very large people. Good in the house or the field, quick to learn, humble, obedient, and valuable servant. Has neither fault nor blemish that the proprietor knows, ought to command a high price”;

We viewed newsreel footage of southern bigots from the 1930’s to the 1980’s defending and expressing pride about their prejudices;

And we spoke to African Americans who were present in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and lived through the era of Jim Crow.

Museums and monuments dedicated to the Holocaust, like the ones our Beth El travelers experienced in Eastern Europe last May, or that many of have seen in Jerusalem, Berlin, Washington, Skokie, and others, teach – on a visceral level – the enormity, the grotesqueness, and the pain of the Holocaust; we know of the impact that those places have on non-Jewish visitors.

And in the same way, for most of the rabbis on our group, our experiences in Montgomery and Selma last month had a similar emotional impact on us. As individuals and as a group, we are now much more dedicated to addressing the problem of race and bringing about justice and reconciliation between the white and black communities in our country.

Such a reconciliation is far off, yet the more we defer our work, the longer it will take. But since we at Temple Beth El have a Brit Olam Action Team dedicated to racial justice and reconciliation, our synagogue now must prepare to take the next steps to make a difference in our local community. I am an ally in this, our common struggle. I hope you will join me as well as the dedicated members of our Brit Olam action team.

* * * *

It is essential that we approach this issue mindful of the texts of our tradition firmly in mind. Throughout its history, our people has developed a sophisticated set of values and commandments about how we treat other people, and we must be familiar and comfortable with them.

This morning we read from the book of Genesis, about the origins of humanity. That creation story revealed more than the substance of creation. Our ancestors brought forth a basic set of instructions on how people should relate to people.

The opening of Chapter Five of Genesis reads:

“When God created humanity, God made humanity in the likeness of God; male and female, God created them; when they were created, God blessed them; and God called them ‘adam’”, (which I am translating as ‘earth creatures’, because of the dust of the earth from which humanity was created.)[1]

So, these are four basic truths about the human being:

that we are created as beings filled with Divine knowledge and impact;

that we include a myriad of genders;

that we as a species are special, unique, and sacred;

and that each human shares a common name and fate: we are all earth dwellers: we are all human.

Merely knowing these truths is a privilege. And the Midrash relates that this distinction – that we are aware of this privilege – confers upon us special responsibility.

This is not “white privilege”, nor is it “Jewish privilege”. This is a notion of “human privilege”. And since our human privilege is a gift, we should not underestimate the value of the privilege, or the magnitude of this responsibility.

Indeed, let us be proud of these four truths about humanity each time we step outside and intervene in the life of the world. We are all one species – people – with much diversity … and many commonalities. And as my midrash states, we each have divinity within; we each are human regardless of our gender identities; we are sacred beings both within ourselves and to others; and we share a common human identity as earth-dwellers, responsible for this planet and making us all family.

There are those who would refute and disparage these values. But the Jewish community inspired and created them; they are Integral. And. Essential. Parts. of who we are.

* * * *

There are other texts to learn, however, texts germane to the African American experience. So, here are some basic history from those texts. They may seem elementary, but we need to start from a common level of knowledge if we want to root out prejudice and reverse the effects of the pervasive inequality in our country.

From the beginning of the slave trade in 1619, 12 million people from Africa were effectively kidnapped and placed on boats to the West. One estimate was that perhaps 40% of them never even arrived at our shores.

In 1808, Congress outlawed citizens’ participation in international trading of slaves. But Congress turned a blind eye to the domestic slave markets. They remained legal.

From 1848-1860, 164 businesses in Montgomery, Alabama, were licensed to buy and sell slaves. The city’s location on the Alabama River – with its eventual opening at the Gulf of Mexico – made this city and port a natural locus for the slave trade.

After end of the Civil War, slavery was abolished in law. But in practice, very little changed regarding social attitudes toward slaves. Southern state legislatures came to enact laws that segregated black and white communities from one another. And the constitutionality of this practice was oddly upheld by seven of nine of the US Supreme Court justices in the 1896 ruling, Plessy v Ferguson. The ruling gave license to segregated facilities if they were equal in quality. That was, of course, rarely the case.

By 1898, 73% of the revenue of the state of Alabama came from ‘Convict Leasing’, a system of prisoner labor provided to private parties, such as plantation owners and corporations. The issue of race emerges because the so-called ‘convicts’ who were leased, were often in prison under false arrests or trumped-up charges.

From 1910 to 1940, six million southern Blacks migrated North, finding homes in cities where the racial strife was less intense. But persecution was not limited to the South. States like Nebraska, Nevada, and even my home state of California approved anti-miscegenation laws and imposed other social disabilities upon African Americans.[2]

It is one matter to learn these and hundreds of other realities through historical resources. It is entirely different to stand in a former slave warehouse in Montgomery and absorb salient facts about the persecution of a people within the boundaries of our “free” nation.

It is unique to stand on the stoop of the Montgomery parsonage of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and to see the dent in the concrete porch made by a 1956 pipe bomb.

It is a solemn experience to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and remember those who died and were injured on Bloody Sunday, 1965.

It is breathtaking to see monuments dedicated to the victims of slave kidnapping and lynching, and visit historic sites preserved to help us recall the terrors of this era.

It is heartbreaking to hear the story of a Jewish merchant in 1965 Selma, who tried to bring his son to see the Brown Chapel, the operational nerve center for the Montgomery marches. This pair of would-be visitors were turned away from the church because the street was filled with police cars, end to end, like barricades restraining the Blacks in their housing projects and keeping visitors out. (The father, by the way, said to his son, “We better get home and hunker down,” not realizing the privilege in that statement, the privilege, that is, of being able to leave and hunker down.)

There is so much we yet don't know. We can learn from various resources and we may develop relationships, but sometimes our Jewish myopia – especially when it comes to the sufferings that we experienced throughout our history – could blind us to the needs of others.

We understand our lives, our family, our friendship networks, our desires, our sins, our accomplishments, our failures. Yet, despite our keen ability to empathize with those who suffer, sometimes we know very little of the needs of others, of their sufferings, their longings, or their difficult pathways through life.

* * * *

My friends,

We have a major task before us if we wish to reverse the systemic racism that has plagued our nation, and to repair the inequities in our land due to race. The report from our national partners at the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism is that dialogue between the African American and Jewish American communities is today not broad or deep enough to be transformative. Here in Madison, my impression is that we’re still getting only our toes wet. And nationally, the specter of alleged and real antisemitism constitutes the Damoclean sword that hangs above these two communities.

For many years, American Jews and Blacks have jointly sought ways of working together in the struggle against persecution and bigotry. But the time is more pressing now – as some of our nation’s leaders express prejudices against both Jewish and Black communities – that we become the right kind of allies in the struggle for human equality.

For us, this is the moment of using our human privilege for good.

* * * *

What does it feel like to be Jewish in America today? Proud and out? Assimilative and restrained? Victimized by pervasive antisemitism? Unfettered, and able to wear one’s kippah if one so chooses? We feel a myriad of emotions as American Jews, who, on one day, can be subject to politicians who use us as a political wedge, and who, in the next breath, can cheer for yet another Jewish Nobel laureate or celebrity who says the right truth to the right person in power.

And what does it feel like to be black in America today? That, I don’t know.

Can I, a cisgender male member of the Jewish tribe, dripping with privilege only because of the accident of my birth; who passes for white every time I enter the public sphere; how can I possibly claim to know the indignities of people of color in our nation, a nation that, over time, imported 12 million human slaves – carelessly losing some on the way – and whose countrymen and women offloaded them just as easily as modern cargo ships dock and disgorge their freight?

But we must try to understand more. As much as we know, there are tons of things that we do not yet know.

Very few of us can easily comprehend the humiliation and the degradation of slavery. More of us, perhaps, can empathize with prejudice based on one's connection to their people. But the way to be an ally is to try to know these things.

On this Yom Hadin – this day of judgment, this New Year’s Day – we must discover three realities that Mahatma Gandhi spoke of when naming his movement Satyagraha: there must be clarity in our thinking about these matters; truth in our speaking about them; and authenticity in our actions to change the world for the better.[3]

Let us work diligently in the struggle for equality. Let us tell our African American brothers and sisters that we can be loyal and energetic allies. And let us integrate into our souls those words of Toni Morrison, that “If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

This is my wish and my prayer for us in this new year ahead. May we go from strength to strength. L’shanah Tovah.

[1] Genesis 5:1-2

[2] A smattering of state laws from this very period of exodus of black Americans from the South to the North:

Alabama, 1952: “No cards, dominoes, checkers, pool, or billiards to be played in mixed race groups.”

Nebraska, 1943: “Marriages between a white individual and someone deemed 1/8 black, Chinese, or Japanese, will result in the dissolution of the marriage.”

Nevada, 1929: “No one, including priests and ministers, will perform mixed race marriages; it is a gross misdemeanor.”

And California, my home state, 1949: “No marriage may take place between whites and blacks [A different term was used: negroes], Mongolians, members of the Malay race, or mulattos.”

[3] Reading Gandhi, Surjit Kaur Jolly, Concept Publishing Company, 2006 India, page 91

For more than 40 years, the Reform movement has been committed to protecting the environment. Our tradition of stewardship goes back to Genesis and teaches us to be partners in the ongoing work of creation. The Reform Jewish movement believes that it is our sacred duty to alleviate environmental degradation and the human suffering it causes. Learn more here.

The David Suzuki Foundation lists ten concrete actions we can take to address this issue:

1.Demand climate solutions
2.Use energy wisely
3.Get charged up with renewables​​​​​​​
4.Eat for a climate-stable planet
5.Start a climate conversation
6.Green your commute
7.Consume less, waste less, enjoy life more
8.Invest in renewables and divest from fossil fuels
9.Support or join youth-led movements
10.Get politically active and vote

For more details about each action, see “Ten Ways You Can Help Fight Climate Change” 

YWCA Racial Justice Summit, October 15 and 16
Each year, the YWCA Madison hosts a Racial Justice Summit that brings together people and organizations committed to learning about institutional racism as well as to building an ongoing practice of racial justice. This year’s theme is “Transforming Ourselves.” The summit focuses on systemic racism and convenes nationally known keynote speakers and researchers, in addition to local experts and advocates, for an audience of over 800 participants. You can read more about the program and register here. Spots are limited, so register now if you are interested.

Madison City Clerks Offers Voter Education Ambassador Training
It’s important to make sure that each eligible voter is able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. On Monday, November 18, the Madison City Clerk's Office will offer a free training to help with voter outreach efforts. You will learn how to accurately answer questions about voter ID, voter registration, absentee voting, and the election process. Advance registration is not required, but contact the City Clerk in advance if you want to receive a packet of voter outreach materials at the training session.

Following the training, participants may sign up to help the City Clerk's Office provide voter education at community events.
When: Monday, November 18, 4:30–5:45 pm
Where: Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

If you can spare an hour each week during the school day, you can make a positive difference in a child’s education. Seven years ago, Jewish Congregations for Social Justice “adopted” Emerson School on Madison’s east side, and we have been supporting their academics and family programming ever since. We would love to have you join us for the 2019–20 school year.

We are currently recruiting for adults who want to work with elementary-age children on reading and math skills:

-Reading mentors work with beginning readers. Your job is to help children build skills and discover  the joy of reading. 

-Math mentors work with children on basic math concepts and lessons. You don't have to be a math whiz; many kids need support with very basic math facts and strategies that most adults are comfortable with. 

For both kinds of mentors, the teachers will provide instructions and materials and the school will provide training. You need to be able to commit to an hour each week, usually at the same day and time, at the school (2421 East Johnson St.). You suggest some available times and the school will try to find a match that will work for you. Pairing will begin in October.

Emerson is a great community school with a dynamic principal and devoted staff. The student body is diverse in race, income, and English language ability. The school has shown better-than-average growth in the students’ literacy and math skills over the last few years, and we like to think that our mentors have played some small part!

Jewish Congregations for Social Justice is lucky to participate in this special program, and we would love to have you join us. If you want to learn more, please contact Marcia Vandercook at marcia.vandercook@gmail.com.

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The TBE Board has agreed that going forward, leadership of the Urgency of Now immigration and racial justice action teams will be provided by the Social Action Committee.

The Urgency of Now initiative grew out of TBE’s participation in the 2017 URJ Consultation on Conscience, which seven of our members attended. At the Consultation on Conscience, the URJ urged congregations to pursue tikkun olam through greater involvement in public policy issues, as long as their positions are grounded in Jewish values and the efforts are nonpartisan. In 2017 the TBE board unanimously agreed to participate and formed action teams to focus on three priority areas: immigration, racial justice, and the rights of transgender or gender non-conforming individuals, with a coordinating committee to oversee activities.

At TBE, the initiative has seen a number of successes:

The immigration action team works closely with local partners and sponsors educational programs and service projects. TBE has joined the Dane Sanctuary Coalition and monitors both local and national developments.

The racial justice action team focuses on how racial disparities affect the criminal justice system. It has presented a series of educational discussions and offered a simulation into the challenges experienced by people returning home from prison. This year’s Social Action Shabbat will focus on racial justice.

The transgender action team has focused on in-house efforts to make TBE a more welcoming and inclusive place. It has worked on relabeling the restrooms, changing registration forms, hosting Pride Shabbats, providing education for congregants and staff, and working with the youth groups.

Finding separate leadership for all these efforts is an ongoing challenge. It has also been hard to distinguish between the work of the Social Action Committee and the Urgency of Now action teams due to significant overlap in active members.

Going forward, the Social Action Committee will provide oversight for the immigration and racial justice action teams, without continuing to identify them as Urgency of Now issues. We plan to update the TBE policy for when and how to seek board approval before taking a new public policy position. Efforts to address transgender and LGBTQ issues will continue separately.

At the 2019 Consultation on Conscience, the URJ identified five priority areas where it offers strong support for congregations: immigration, racial justice, environment, gun violence prevention, and reproductive justice. Additional support will be provided in 2020 for civic engagement and voting.

The Social Action Committee plans to be active on immigration, racial justice, and civic engagement, and we welcome all members to join us as we carry on this important work.

In August, the Madison community celebrated its ongoing commitment to equity and quality of life for all LGBTQ+ people.

On Friday, August 16, TBE started the weekend with our annual Pride Shabbat. The Weinstein Community Court and the sanctuary were decorated with rainbow colors, and there were family-friendly activities, pronoun stickers, informational handouts, and lots of rainbow-colored food.

Sue Center attended the Shabbat services and was impressed by the warm and welcoming atmosphere. “The service was beautiful, reaffirming, spiritual and relevant to the theme. As always, Rabbi Biatch was outstanding in his remarks and special readings throughout, and Cantor Niemi did a great job with the musical interludes. It was a wonderful and very special Shabbat.”

Paul Grossberg said, “For me, the most moving moment was when everyone sang ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ Listening to it as a song about inclusion was spiritual and meaningful. I told some East Coast friends about the rainbow-colored challah and they were impressed—it’s something we have that they don’t!”

On Sunday, August 18, the broader Madison community celebrated Pride Week with the OutReach Magic Festival at Warner Park. The festival recognized the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the 30th anniversary of Madison’s first Pride parade. There were activities for all ages, entertainment, food and merchant vendors, and information booths representing a huge array of organizations. Jewish Congregations for Social Justice sponsored a booth together and received praise from passers-by for doing so.

According to Erica Serlin, “The vibe was incredibly welcoming, friendly, and inclusive…with some fabulous costumes and talented performers on display! It was especially enjoyable to mingle with representatives of the other Jewish congregations, and we were pleased to have representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces from California stop by to chat and check out our materials.”

If you’re interested in reading more, check out “Seven Values for an Inclusive Jewish Community” and “Pronouns: Our Communal Responsibility.”

On November 22, the Social Action Committee will host a Shabbat service focused on the struggle for racial justice and what we can do to support real progress. We will reaffirm why racial justice is important to us as Jews and learn about meaningful actions we can take in our own community.

Please join us for any or all of the evening:
6:30 Dinner from Banzo. RSVP HERE
7:30 Shabbat service
Oneg Shabbat to follow, including items from Just Bakery

Information about volunteer opportunities will be available before and after the service.

“How do we measure a year?” This question posed by Jonathan Larson in his signature musical Rent seeps into our consciousness, as we find ourselves in a transition between seasons, summer fading away into autumn. And for Jews, preparing for the upcoming Days of Awe, the question looms even more prominently.

In anticipation of the Jewish New Year, we will observe the service of S’lichot at Temple Beth El on Saturday, September 21, at 6:30 p.m. Our service will include stories from sacred texts, as well as inspirational liturgy, all intended to help direct our focus to the tasks of penitence and the spiritual work of the Days of Awe. We will also ceremonially change the covers on our Torah scrolls from the multicolor covers that they wear throughout the year to their white High Holy Day vestments.

In preparation for this powerful ritual, I offer some reflections on S’lichot, including two narratives from the Torah that illuminate its significance.

As we’re called upon to measure our days, to look inward, and to consider our relationships with one another and with the divine, it can be beneficial to have ways to mark time and to orient ourselves. Fortunately, our calendar is full of rituals and liturgy that function like signposts, helping to give us a sense of where we are in the year and guiding us through journeys of emotional and spiritual growth.

Some of these signposts are subtle, a change of words in a particular prayer in the liturgy, or a special Torah portion whose selection for that time of year may or may not immediately resonate with us. Others are intentionally jarring, stirring us out of complacency, preparing us for the spiritual work that the upcoming cycle will demand of us (perhaps the best example of this is the sounding of the shofar).

In this time leading up to the Days of Awe, all these signs, whether subtle or striking, become explicit and tangible in the observance of S’lichot. The shofar is sounded once more, the Torah vestments are changed to white, and the liturgy introduces themes that will recur throughout the holiday season, even containing text that will return on Yom Kippur.

But what are these themes? What exactly is the message that the composers of the S’lichot liturgy hoped would carry throughout the days that follow?

To answer this, at least in part, we can start by looking at two biblical narratives that form a theological bedrock for the S’lichot and High Holy Day liturgy, each recounting an instance in which the Israelites sinned against God, faced punishment, repented, and were ultimately forgiven. The first of these is perhaps among the most famous sins in the Torah, the sin of the golden calf.

Many are familiar with the first part of this story. Frustrated with the amount of time that Moses had spent up on Mount Sinai, supposedly receiving the commandments from God, the Israelites began to worry that Moses might not ever return. They insisted that Aaron, Moses’s brother, make them a new god. And so, they gathered up all their gold, melted it down, and fashioned it into the form of a calf, which they then began to worship.

But rather than focus on the punishment they received for this sin, I want to direct our attention to what happened after they repented, and after Moses interceded on their behalf. Moses pleaded to be able to behold God’s presence. But, according to God, one cannot see God’s face and live. So, God instructed Moses to stand in the cleft of a rock, where God would pass before him, so that Moses could see God’s back:

The Eternal came down in a cloud; He stood with him there, and proclaimed the name Eternal. The Eternal passed before him and proclaimed: “The Eternal! The Eternal! A God gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and faithfulness, extending lovingkindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:5-7; source pronouns retained intentionally)

One might notice ambiguity in the pronouns in this passage. Who is standing with whom? Before whom is the Eternal passing? The rabbinic sages of the Talmud noted this ambiguity and offered the following interpretation:

The verse states: “The Eternal passed before him and proclaimed” (Exodus 34:6). Rabbi Yochanan said: Were it not written in the verse, it would be impossible to say this. The verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, wrapped Himself (lit. “passed before himself”) like a prayer leader (i.e. with a prayer shawl) and showed Moses an order of prayer. He said to him: Whenever the Jewish people sin, let them act before Me in accordance with this order, and I will forgive them. (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 17b)

This “order of prayer” that Rabbi Yochanan mentions is what has become our liturgy of S’lichot, a liturgy that is built around those very attributes that God proclaimed. Our sages have come to refer to these as the Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy: “(1) The Eternal! (2) The Eternal! (3) A God (4) gracious (5) and compassionate, (6) slow to anger, (7) abounding in lovingkindness (8) and [abounding in] faithfulness (9) extending lovingkindness to the thousandth generation (10) forgiving iniquity, (11) [forgiving] transgression, (12) and [forgiving] sin,” and (13) remitting punishment (note that this last attribute changes the biblical text, which is an interesting conversation for another time).

Another name for the service of S’lichot is actually Seder B’rit Sh’losh Esrei, “The Order of the Covenant of Thirteen.” And this is the covenant, as laid out in that Talmudic text, that whenever we sin, whenever we miss the mark with our actions, or with the ways in which we relate to one another and to God, we can recall these attributes of compassion and mercy.

We can remind ourselves that God is gracious and compassionate, and that we are all called upon to strive to be gracious and compassionate as well. And knowing this, we can remind ourselves that the work of sincere repentance is both worthy and worthwhile.

The second passage that informs the theology of S’lichot comes from the book of Numbers. It recounts what is sometimes referred to as “the sin of the twelve spies.” Without going into detail (join us in our S’lichot worship at Temple Beth El to hear the full story), the most outstanding moment occurs when Moses shows a bit of chutzpah, reminding God of the attributes God had previously proclaimed. God then responds by saying, “I forgive, as you have said” (Numbers 14:20).

As we enter this season of the Days of Awe, let us do so with gracious chutzpah, with an expectation of lovingkindness from God to us, from one another, and from ourselves.