Stewards of our Earth

May 3-4, 2013 / 24 Iyar 5773

Day 39 of the Omer

Shabbat Behar-Behukotai

Torah Portion:  Leviticus 25:1-27:34 / Haftarah Portion: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14

“Stewards of our Earth”

Dear Friends,

It finally feels like spring.  The days are warming, the trees are in bloom, and everywhere I look, people are spreading chemicals on their lawns… Recent flooding is washing pollutants of all kinds into our rivers.  The effects of decades of soil, water, and air pollution are being suspected in our health and in the wellbeing of our ecosystems. Yet, as a society, we continue to pollute.  This week’s Torah portion has a strong message to share with us.

Im bechukotai teilechu v’et mitzvotai tishmoru

If you will keep my laws and follow my commandments...

I will give you blessing, food, security, abundance, peace, and happiness.

You will live on the land and shall not know fear...

But if you reject my laws and disobey my commandments...

Life will be bitter and you will be hungry and defeated.

Recently, I read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.  Some say that it was the book that sparked the environmental movement in America by exposing the terrible effect of chloro-hydrogen chemicals on our environment.  It got so bad in the 1960’s that she was predicting the breakdown of ecosystems and a time when songbirds would vanish, hence the title, ‘silent’ spring.

DDT, Chlorodane, and a vast array of industrial chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and neurotoxins of all kinds have been released into the environment and washed into rivers and streams causing fish kills and the destruction of food chains. These same chemicals are entering water tables and contaminating wells, too. 

Because of Rachel Carson’s book, the environmental movement was born and much of what she warned is being addressed.  The work is far from done, however.  New problems she could never have predicted have created concern. Carbon buildup in our atmosphere leading to climate change is a new threat to our existence. Fish are showing increasing deformities in reproductive organs.  The culprit may be the vast amount of reproductive hormones, similar to estrogen, which we put into our waterways, much coming from birth control medications and BPA in plastic water bottles. Recent research into the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder in beehives is pointing to a new class of insecticides called neonicotinoids.

I have seen areas of tremendous habitat destruction and environmental degradation.  I have also hiked through parks where habitat is being restored and life is thriving in Nevada, Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and even here in Illinois.  Species are returning to these areas and the health of the ecosystems is improving.

These wild areas are places of profound Jewish experience, part of God’s splendid creation. This week’s Torah portion teaches that if we are careless and injurious to our environment, then destruction, sickness, lack and loss will follow. Yet, if we will only follow our Jewish tradition and the Torah’s command to choose life and health, to seek justice and compassion, and to live in harmony with all life, then we will not destroy our beautiful world, but rather emerge as good stewards and caretakers.  In return, life will thrive; we will eat, we will be content and we will bless.

This is an ancient Jewish environmental message for today. The fate and future of the world is in your hands.  We must be bright and aware.  Let us live make our world a healthier place. Enjoy the glorious spring!

Zye a mentsch – Be a good person. 

L’Shalom,

Eitan

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Saving Lives

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April 26-27, 2013 / 17 Iyar 5773

Day 32 of the Omer 

Shabbat Emor

Torah Portion:  Leviticus 21:1-24:23 / Haftarah Portion: Ezekiel 44: 15-31

“Saving Lives”

Dear Friends,

Kol Hakavod – All Honor to Ken and Dan Hechtman – true heroes of our Chicago Jewish community.  The brothers are co-owners of Ken’s Diner, a great kosher hot dog and burger restaurant on Dempster in Skokie.  On Sunday evening they witnessed a terrible truck and car collision on the Edens Expressway that erupted in flames as gas tanks ruptured and tires exploded.  Despite the heat and the flames, both stopped traffic and ran towards the wreck to help.  They saved the lives of everyone in the crash.

What a story!  What an inspiration!  Two Jewish men put their own lives at risk to save the lives of others.  For me, this is all about responding to the call of duty whenever it is heard.  It is about acting in the service of others.

The Talmud teaches that ‘the world stands on three things, on Torah study, on worship, and on acts of loving kindness.’  Three paths are necessary to build a fulfilling and meaningful Jewish life.  We must learn and continually grow intellectually.  We must find time to pray and express our spiritual yearnings.  Just as important as study and prayer, we must help our fellow human being through compassionate, just and loving deeds.

May each of us follow these three paths to living fully Jewish lives.  When called upon, may we help those in need to the best of our abilities, whether in time of safety or in time of danger and disaster.  May we act with kindness and compassion to lift lives, enrich lives and perhaps even, to save lives.

Kol Hakavod, Ken & Dan.  You make us all proud!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Boston Marathon Tragedy

April 19-20, 2013 / 10 Iyar 5773

Day 25 of the Omer

Shabbat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim

Torah Portion:  Leviticus 16:1-20:27 / Haftarah Portion: Amos 9:7-15

“Boston Marathon Tragedy”

Dear Friends,

How can we understand the horror of the bombing at this year’s Boston Marathon?  Who could do such a thing?  One of the commentators has explained that at the time of the bombing, most of the runners on the course were ‘charity runners’ – those raising money for various causes through their incredible athletic accomplishment.  The pictures are appalling.

This week’s Torah portion, Aharei Mot-Kedoshim, includes a section called the “Holiness Code.”  It is a list of rules for living together as a caring community based on principles of common decency and the rule of law. Amongst the laws is ‘Do not stand by the blood of your neighbor. I am the Eternal One.’  Many scholars have weighed in on the meaning of this line.  For some, it means that we are not to do anything that endangers our neighbor’s life.  For others, it means that we are not to abandon a fellow human being in their time of danger.  Still others interpret this line as telling us not to associate with those who are bloodthirsty and seek to the harm of others.

On this day of national alarm, all three interpretations shed light on this event.  First, we abhor those who attacked the innocent at such a celebration of life, health and community.  Second, we applaud and commend all those who acted so quickly to help the injured and rush them to safety. Third, we reaffirm to commitment to stop anyone who seeks to terrorize and commit such terrible acts.

We offer our prayers to those who are suffering from their injuries.  May they be restored to health and may they be granted refuah shleimah – a complete and speedy recovery.  Finally, we mourn the dead. May their memories be for a blessing.  We pray for their families.  May they know comfort, healing, love and peace.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Empowering our Children

April 12-13, 2013 / 2 Iyar 5773

Shabbat Tazria-Metzora

Torah Portion:  Leviticus 12:1-15:33 / Haftarah Portion: II Kings 7:3-20

“Empowering our Chidren”

Dear Friends,

Leprosy on my computer?  What’s the connection?  This week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, deals with the plague of leprosy, a condition that causes skin, clothing, and even wall plaster to waste away.  This was a dreaded and frightening malady that our ancestors tried to understand and confront as best they could. “Tzara’at” (leprosy) was a punishment from God caused by unrighteous behavior, they reasoned.  Curing it involved a process of repentance, quarantine and washing.

The Talmud teaches that the source of tzara’at is “lashon hara,” speaking gossip and lies about our friends, family and neighbors.  When we speak falsely and spread rumors, we become spiritually deficient and bring wasting and loss upon our communities and ourselves.

This is a simple and straightforward teaching that has resonated through the generations.  And if we follow the Talmud’s way of thinking, then in contemporary times, tzara’t has become a true plague once again.  For, it is the Internet that has given us the ability to spread gossip, lies and rumors with a power previously unknown to humanity. Often, the ones most harmed are our children.

We hope that as adults we can deal with the falsehoods and rumors that circulate on the web.  This is because as adults, we have had the chance to work though our identity issues and come to an understanding of who we are at our core.  But our children are right in the middle of all of their self-discovery, of which the development of self-esteem and self-image are critical factors.  Add the newest form of lashon hara, cyberbullying, into the mix and we have real problems.

Cyberbullying occurs when a person, often a child, preteen, or teenager is bullied, harassed, humiliated, threatened, embarrassed, or targeted through the use of internet, cell phones and other forms of technology. Cyberbullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mails to someone who has said they want no further contact with the sender, but it may also include threats, sexual remarks, and hate speech.

This Shabbat, I urge you to visit the stopcyberbullying.org website with your school aged children and ask them what they think.  Then be prepared to listen to their stories and learn.  At some point, discuss with them the fourth core value of Shir Hadash and ask them if this value can begin to help them deal with the scourge of cyberbullying.

Thoughtfulness (derech eretz)

We commit ourselves to mentschlichkeit - behaving with kindness, compassion, respect, dignity and sensitivity.

Cyberbullying is affecting our children whether they are victims, instigators, willing accomplices or silent bystanders. As Jewish adults - as parents, teachers, and leaders - we must find a way to empower our children to understand and stand up to this new threat.  It is evil.  It is destructive.  It is not Jewish.  We must find a way to cure this new ‘leprosy.’  The Torah recommends a three-fold path to curing leprosy and it applies when it comes to cyberbullying:  Repentance - soul-searching and heightened awareness, Quarantine - blocking access to the scourge and reacting swiftly to shut it down when it appears, and Washing - cleansing our hearts and souls in order to bring goodness, safety and lovingkindness to the world.

Find your way to stand up to cyberbullying. Help others to rise above this new and hurtful gossip. Act with thoughtfulness, kindness and love. Zye a Mentsch – Be a person of honor, compassion and dignity.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Making the Most of Life

April 5-6, 2013 / 26 Nisan 5773

Shabbat Shemini

Torah: Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 / Haftarah: II Samuel 6:1 - 7:17

“Making the Most of Life”

Dear Friends,

Did Nadav and Avihu deserve to die?  The two sons of Aaron, essentially priests in training, were just fooling around with the sacrificial altar.  I am sure they thought that no one would find out what they were doing and that it would be a lot of fun to offer ‘strange fire’ on the altar in the Tabernacle tent.  After all, they were favored princes of Israel.  They were sons of Aaron and amongst the elite, with everything going for them and everything available to them.  Yet, they chose to act in an irresponsible manner that brought them down from their favored position of leadership.  Whatever they were doing ended in tragedy as fire leapt out from the altar and killed them.  Their action was unbecoming of their status and disrespectful of all that the Children of Israel and even God had invested in them.

Now compare Nadav and Avihu with modern urban teachers and leaders who mentor young adults, although lacking resources and opportunities of the well off. Compare the favored sons of Aaron with those who run inner city sports and study programs, free dance classes, summer activities, community gardens to get kids of the streets and give them some enrichment.  Compare the upstart princes to those who dedicate so much personal time to empowering the youth.   Due to their diligence, perseverance, strength of character, they are able to go above and beyond everyone's expectations.  While Nadav and Avihu squandered the gifts given to them, great teachers and mentors make the most of life and raise us all in the process.  That is the Jewish way.  That is the fundamental Jewish message of being a mentsch, being responsible and making the most of every situation - which explains why the Jewish people, though small in numbers, continue to emerge as powerful leaders in the world.

Every year we read the story of Nadav and Avihu, so that we will be warned not to descend to decadence and wastefulness.  Rather, we are enjoined to seek the path to opportunity, possibility, creativity and growth.  We are commanded to live life to the fullest in the service of family, friends, and community.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow