The Shul Blog

Rabbi Burt’s Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon

Tonight I’m so happy to share some thoughts with you.   Specifically, I’d like to share the THREE WISHES I have for all of us.

The first wish I want to share with you is my wish that we will all do what we can to break down those walls that separate us. 

On Rosh Hashanah, we blow the shofar.  The most well known story in the Bible is about the Shofar.  As Joshua and the army of the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan and reached the city of Jericho, Joshua told the people to march around the city, six times for six days.  As they did so, the priests walked behind the Holy Ark, each one holding a SHOFAR.

On the 7^th day, as they marched, they sounded the Shofar and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.  So, the beginning of the Israelites living in the land that was to become the land of Israel… the walls came tumbling, crumbling down.  And those were the walls of Jericho. 

There are so many other walls, like the walls of Jericho, that separate us from each other.

We need a metaphorical Shofar in our hearts to break down those walls that separate each of us from each other.

Some of those walls, in some places in the world, have come down.

Still, even in our country, there are walls that separate us from each other, the walls of race, religion, economic class, sexual orientation (we see this in the bullying of gay children…and the suicides that often follow).

The walls are still standing.  We have not broken them down.

That’s no world for any of us – separation, barriers, walls, fences. 

We sure need some kind of SHOFAR to break down those walls that keep us so apart.

Those are walls we see, those walls we can experience.

But there are more subtle walls…less obvious, not really visible, but we can feel them.

Those are the walls inside that keep us apart from each other.

We create secret walls inside because – for some of us – we think that somehow we’re not ”ENOUGH”  Something’s lacking.

We think that somehow everyone else is “more ENOUGH.”  They are not lacking.  And so we hide a part of ourselves.

We build a wall around ourselves so no one will see that we’re not “ENOUGH.”  What if someone saw what we lack?  So we hide behind that wall.

When we build a wall to keep people from seeing us, to hide, we become separated from life itself.

And some of us feel that we’re somehow helpless.  We just can’t deal with life; we’re overwhelmed by the difficult situations that come our way.  Somehow we think, everyone else is not helpless and so we build more walls and hide, so no one will see how helpless we are.

So we separate ourselves from life.

We all do some kind of building of walls.  These are just two of the possible ways we separate ourselves, building walls and hiding.  We all do some kind of hiding.  Most of us don’t let people see all of us.

We need a Shofar inside to break down these walls we have created.

So, my first wish is that we will all do whatever we can to break down those walls that separate us from others – and from ourselves.  Walls outside and walls inside ourselves.

Robert Frost said, “Good fences make good neighbors.”  I’m not so sure.  What if there were no fences?

My wish is that we build bridges, not fences.  Not walls, but bridges.

My second wish is that we recognize and really feel the great courage we all have within us – in the way we live our lives.

We realize that we live in an unknowable mystery.  Everything is a mystery.  From minute to minute, we don’t know…

We stumble about – like in a game of blind man’s fluff.  One minute everything seems OK then the betrayals, the out-of-nowhere divorces, the sorrows, the broken friendships, the losses…

Of course, wonderful things come along also, but I want to look at all  of this from a certain perspective tonight.  Living in this unknowable, impenetrable mystery, we all live with extraordinary, great courage.  In our spiritual nature is courage.  The only way we can live this life is with great courage.

And we have in our spiritual nature that courage, more courage than we ever dreamed we had, more courage than we ever knew.  Where does this come from?  Who knows?  Maybe it comes from some kind of psychic energy?  Maybe it comes from a survival instinct?

For me, courage comes from God.  It is a gift of God.  The gift of courage.  Spiritual courage every day.

We see it when we deal with the most difficult situations.  Illness in ourselves.  The illness of one we love.  We see it when we deal with heart-breaking losses and disappointments.

Courage, you see it every day in yourself and in other people.

Courage.  Courage.  Courage.

Don’t deny your courage.

Don’t turn away from your courage.

The only way to embrace life is with our courage.

Now, courage does not mean we are not afraid.   It means being afraid and not letting the fear immobilize us.  It means not letting fear keep us from living.  It keeps us committing to new beginnings, not giving up, as life seems to fall apart. 

Courage is the resilience we discover about ourselves.  The word “courage” is from a Latin root that means, “heart.”  You see this in many languages.  Coeur in French means heart, Core – means heart, Corazon means heart.  Courage means heart.

The heart…….We have a heartfelt willingness to take the next step beyond the fear, despite the fear, with the fear at our side. 

Courage does not come from the head; it comes from the heart.

If there was ever anything I wanted to say as a Rabbi.  That’s one of the most important.  Never doubt your courage, see yourselves as people who go toward the unknown future with courage.  Some timidly, some more boldly, but all of us with heart, with the courage that is at the center of our innermost lives, minds, and hearts.

So, that’s the second wish I wanted to share with you.

On Yom Kippur, I’ll share the third wish.

Please take these wishes – that we are all able to break down walls that keep us apart, and that we are able to know our courage.  Think about them; open your hearts to them.

Breaking down those walls that separate us outside.  Breaking down those walls that separate us inside.   That is Life.

Seeing in your heart the wonderfully courageous person you are is Life. 

In the words of the Torah, “Therefore choose life!”

Posted 11/15/11 By: Rabbi Burt

Sharing Our Family Programs with You

Recently, while the adults were downstairs at The Shul of New York’s joyous Shabbat service, the children celebrated Shabbat upstairs by learning about and creating their own mezuzot (plural for mezuzah).  The older kids in the group wrote their own original scrolls: ie “I love God because it gives me love”.  The younger children spelled out the Hebrew letters Shin Mem Ayin to spell the word “Shema” the Hebrew name of one of the prayers of the mezuzah, which means “Listen”.  When asked what the mezuzah was going to remind them of we heard:  “That it’s a Jewish home”, “That we are all one family”, “To be quiet”.  At first I was puzzled, when an almost 4 year old said that the mezuzah was going to remind him to be quiet.  Perhaps, because in order to listen, we need to be quiet first.

We chose to teach the children about the mezuzah because that week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, deals with the Hebrews entering the land of Israel, and the curses and otherwise horrific things that would happen if they did not follow God’s commandments.  Rather than focus on the reprimands, we decided to emphasize what it means to enter a new place, with the mezuzah being the Jewish symbol of entry.

On the right doorpost of almost every Jewish home you will find a small rectangular box positioned on a slight angle, called a mezuzah.  One interesting facet about the mezuzah has to do with it’s orientation - it was a matter of debate exactly how the mezuzah should be placed, whether horizontally or vertically.  Ultimately, it was chosen to hang the mezuzah diagonally as a compromise between the 2 positions.  Today, the exact way the compromise was reached is lost, but what an interesting result.   The customs of the quintessential symbol of a Jewish home are the result of a compromise.  

Many people think the mezuzah is the actual box on the doorpost. Actually, the mezuzah is the piece of parchment inside the box. On this parchment are two chapters from the Torah written in Hebrew by hand. The parchment is rolled into a scroll, wrapped in paper or plastic, inserted into the box, and affixed to the doorpost.   Included in these chapters is Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema prayer, reaffirming that God is one, that we are all one.

Rabbi Burt says “I like to think of the Shema as affirming, of course, the One-ness of God. As we affirm the One-ness of God, we affirm the One-ness of the whole human family. God is the one Creator of all of the one humanity. And as we affirm the One-ness of God, we are affirming the One-ness and inter-connectedness of all Life. God, the One Source of Life, is the Source of the One-ness of all beings and all Being.”

This summer I read Conversations with God Part 1.   The book really resonated especially when  it posits that each of us is, always has been and will always be a divine part of the divine whole, and that the divine is everywhere - sound familiar? It’s just like the Shema prayer!  

Traditional Jews have a mezuzah on their doorpost because the Torah commands them to affix one on each doorpost of their homes.  As a Spiritual Jew, I see the mezuzah as a reminder to connect with the Source and to live a more spiritually attuned life, welcoming the opportunity to compromise when needed.  These are important life lessons, so we took the opportunity to make them accessible to kids by inviting them to make their own mezu zah, and suggest to see the mezuzah as a reminder of our sole soul purpose- to remember who we are, and to always remember the Godliness of everything and everyone in the Universe.

Posted 11/11/11 by: Dara Kessler

“By Popular Demand! Kenny’s High Holidays Speech”

I’m Kenny Bookbinder and this is the Kol Nidre Appeal 5772.  I am honored and privileged to have given this appeal for what I believe is now 5700 of those years.

Now here we are together - 800 strong - 750 if the fire commissioner is listening.  What a great evening.  What a great and diverse group of people.  When our honorary member, Yogi Berra, hears about this crowd, he will say, “Ahh, the Shul of New York, it’s so crowded no one goes there any more!”

Tonight we are doing what our ancestors have done for thousands of years - celebrating our faith, our belief in God, and on this holiest of nights, atoning for our sins.  Only here at the Shul of New York with Rabbi Burt at the helm, it is done differently.  Yes, we do say Al Chet, and we say Aveeno Malkenu.  But instead of beating ourselves up, and over atoning, the rabbi takes a different approach; at least different from any rabbi I have heard.

I think the rabbi feels that most of us are not deep sinners; that our transgressions are more really negative thoughts that circulate in our minds, but that this is the time to be aware of them, to work at eliminating them, and even better the Rabbi reminds us that we are good people, and while at the same time that we are atoning and becoming more aware, it is perfectly okay to pat ourselves on the back and acknowledge the good that we do and the good thoughts that we carry.  So this is a transformational time, and whether you call the rabbi’s approach an Oprah moment or an “Ah-ha Moment”, for this Shul it is a Mah Nishtanah Moment, something that tells you why this Shul is different from all others.

There are so many Mah Nishtanah Moments here!  I also remember one about 20 years ago when the Rabbi somehow worked out a way to have High Holy Day services not at the basement on Barrow Street, but at Temple Israel on the upper east side.  The Rabbi, who is quite punctual, was adjusting his Yarmulka, tightening his tie and about to walk up to the bimah.  Just at that moment a boy, about 7 or 8 year old, pulled on the rabbi’s jacket.  And the rabbi was about to say to the boy that we are starting the service and can we talk later.  But he saw such an intense look in the kid’s eyes - somewhere between fear and a lot of fear - and our rabbi, being at least as much a teacher as he is a preacher, decided to talk to the kid right then.  And the kid pretty much too frightened to speak pointed to the plaques on the wall.  And those of you who have been to Temple Israel know there are many plaques on the wall.   

So the kid points to the plaques and the Rabbi explains that on these plaques are the names of many of the congregants who have passed away over the years.  The kid shook his head and pointed to two other plaques near these.  And the Rabbi said these were a little different.  The dates were mostly in the mid 1940’s.  Some in the early 50’s.  And a few in the late 60’s.  And the heading on these plaques said, “In Memory of Our Members Who Died in the Service”.    At this point the kid was almost shaking…..  The Rabbi said what is the matter.  And the kid said, “Rabbi, do you know which service it was that they died, Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippor?”

Now, I can go on and on about our rabbi.  He is the main reason we are all here tonight.

It is his spiritual audacity, his warmth, his constant reminders about the power of love, his talk of forgiveness and of letting go.

And his knowing, as John Kennedy said in his inaugural address — and no, I’m not going to “ask you to ask not what the Shul of New York can do for you, but what you can do for the Shul of New York”, although it isn’t a bad idea — but JFK’s concluding line was similar to the rabbi’s philosophy of activism, participation and to not just be observers and critics. but to doers.  So what JFK said was to ask God’s blessing and His help, but to know that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.

I recently read a story where a congregant came in very early before a Saturday morning service and saw his rabbi deep in prayer.  This lasted about 40 minutes and finally when the rabbi arose the man asked him what was he praying about.  The rabbi said he was praying that the rich would give more to the poor.  “Well,” he said, “rabbi let’s hope God hears your prayers.”  “Well, I am sure he has heard at least half of them,” the rabbi said.  “What do you mean?” the man asked.  The rabbi responded, “The poor have agreed to accept the increase.”

We are so lucky to have Rabbi Burt.

So many of us are here because we have had unpleasant experiences at religious institutions - Jewish and non Jewish.  I have heard people say that their rabbi was controversial  What do you mean?  Well, some people dislike him; and others hated him.  Someone else said that their rabbi was so bad that if Paul Revere had known him, he wouldn’t have warned him about the British.  On a more positive note, Peter over there said to Rabbi Burt after our Purim party, “Rabbi, thank you for making Judaism fun and enjoyable for me.”

We have people here from all faiths, from no faiths, from all orientations.  Orientations.  The more the merrier.  Our doors and our hearts are open to all.  Rabbi Burt has created for us a moral imagination, a zest for life and the narrative of the Shul’s soul.  He shows us the way, his passion, his knowledge and his energy take us all to a higher level.  He has taught us to trade hatred and anger for love and compassion.  He has taught us to preserve the past and our heritage, while helping to define the present.

Rabbi, thank you for all you do.  For teaching us that success is not the key to happiness, but happiness is the key to success.

Now over here we have what is known as the Shul Band.  Adam soon to be a father again, has done a great job — and that’s an understatement.  His musical selections (many of the songs he’s written!) are beautiful.  His singing, his work with our kids and the Shul School is so much appreciated, and his putting together a group made up of so much super talent, is phenomenal.  Seth, Lilly, Rebeccah, Sabrina, Ernesto, Albertp, Luis, Matt, Dave, Howard, Adam Seidman.                                        

Thank you all so much.  On a personal note perhaps the best compliment I can pay is to say that I have a great collection of music on my iPod.  I always keep it on shuffle, knowing that whatever song comes up will be terrific.  I have all of your CD’s on there.  When one of your songs comes up, I switch to the full album.  Now I don’t do that for Mozart, the Beatles, The Stones - well, every now and then for the Doors- thank you all.

We would like to pay the band more money.  Tonight you can help.

This is some place the Orensanz Center.  Al, the Prince of the Lower East Side, and Angel, we thank you so much for letting your home be our home over these holidays.

Those of you who are on our mailing list and those of you who attend our services on the first and third Friday nights at Friends Meeting House know that we are far from perfect.  We rarely remember to ask for money.  What kind of Shul is this???  Other shul’s, other religious institutions, do it all the time.  For better or worse we are kind of negligent in this important area.  So in a sense we roll the dice and count on your generosity this one night of the year.  Please understand how important your contribution is tonight and how meaningful it is to our existence.

So how much to give?  That is the great question.  As the Rabbi would say - all are welcome!!!  Yogi once said that hitting was 90% mental and only 50% physical.  So if we follow that formula and you give 140% of what you gave last year, that would work.  But what if you weren’t here last year???

Let me help you.  The Talmud says that charity is equal to all the commandments.

I know a few years ago, I mentioned that as a kid I remember hearing my father say to no one in particular that the only thing that two Jews agree on is what a third should give for their Kol Nidre contribution.

Some people give because they think it will help them to be inscribed in the book of life for another year.  We are in no position financially or spiritually to pass judgement on that.  But there are so many reasons to give to the Shul of New York tonight.  

You can give tonight because you can enjoy our services and our sense of community 24 Fridays a year, or our Havdalah Services, our Torah Shmoozes or because the kids that you see once a month from the Shul School are so cute, so well taught and add to over all Shul experience.

Or you can give because this is such a beautiful evening.  The congregation, the Rabbi, the Shul Band and the building.  You can give because each of these, or any one of these, has touched you tonight, or touched you during Rosh Hashanah, or will touch at tomorrow’s services - whether that is the Torah service, Stomp the Rabbi, Yitzker or Neilah.

Or you can give because you know how much we need it.  This is your Rabbi, this is your Shul Band this is your Shul!!!

You can give because this would be one of the few charitable contributions that you could ever make where you know exactly where 100% of it goes.  You can see it before your very eyes; you can feel it in your heart, and you can get immediate gratification.

So now is the time.  It has to be you!!!  Don’t rely on the person next to you.

Please contribute joyfully and generously.  And allow us to continue to do all that we do for this community — to provide, enhance and further establish the spiritual platform from which we all benefit.

Thank you!

Posted 10/27/11 by: Kenny Bookbinder

New Shul School Year

The year is off and running and The Shul of New York’s Shul School is in full swing! This is definitely NOT the boring Hebrew school we went to as kids.

This year the school has 4 classes.  Level One is mostly Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. On the very first day the kids were already singing the Aleph Bet song and are very excited about learning. They will have a holiday-based course of study over the year, learning not only the holidays, but the lessons, customs culture and joy in each.  Level Two is primarily grades 1 and 2, Level Three is grades 3 to 5 and Level Four is middle school grades 6 thru Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  Each of these levels is focusing on the innate spirituality and love in our shared heritage. There is a delightful crossover time between the classes where we all meet together as a community and sing songs, tell stories and share our Jewish learning with each other. We call it a “kumstiz” -  Yiddish for “come sit”.

A big part of being Jewish is giving, The Shul of New York has partnerships with several other organizations around the city where the kids “Shul School Superheroes” are active in making the world a better place. We have already started volunteering at Shabbat ORE a Jewish soup kitchen sponsored by The Educational Alliance. Many other projects are in the works and we will keep you posted!  

We also attend services together, usually the first Friday of every month, but please check the calendar. We have a family program that brings shabbat connection to every age group. Look for family program blogs every other week and share the simchas with us!

The thought for today is the word “Mitzvah”—generally described as “a good deed”.  A Mitzvah is a kindness, but it is also a giving of your heart to another without being asked and without expecting payment.  Often we go through the whole day doing many nice things for people and it has been nice to take a moment and reflect on them. What kindness did we show others today?   What kindness was shown to us? It is difficult in this time and place to go through a whole day with your heart open, but to find small moments where it can be and where we can take a small pause to breathe, smile and simply to notice…. that is our goal.

Posted 10/11/2011 by Lisa B. Lewis

A post from Rabbi Burt 9/12/11

Our Shul of New York rests upon the spiritual and ethical teachings and principles of Judaism.  The emphasis of my talks on Shabbat, Havdala and the various holidays of the year is the exploration of these spiritual and ethical values and the exploration of how we can most honestly live by them to create a life that is a blessing to ourselves and a blessing to all the world.

 

I’d like to briefly share with you some thoughts about the important spiritual value of courage.  We all know that, at times, life can be very difficult and painful.  It seems that we have, most of the time, one challenge after another. To deal with the difficulties and challenges of life we need courage—-the capacity to not feel defeated, the capacity to believe that we can truly face, embrace and not flee the fear that difficulties bring.  Courage is saying “YES” to life; to our lives.  Without this quality of courage, our problems, our worries, our disappointments and losses would  sap our energy to live as fully as we can while we carry these burdens.

 

Think of Abraham, the first Hebrew.  The Biblical story tells us that Abraham was commanded by God to leave his land, his birthplace and his family and to go to the place that God will show him.  What amazing courage he must have had to leave behind everything that was familiar and known to him, and to begin a journey to an unknown land.  It was a courageous journey into the unknown that was to ultimately lead to our life as the Jewish people.  Out of courage we were born as a people.

 

I believe that we can’t really talk ourselves into having courage.  The courage we seek and need is already within us.  We find it in the deepest depths of our hearts and souls through prayer and meditation.  We find courage as we become deeply aware of the presence of God within us.  As we, little by little, experience God within the depth of our souls, we realize the greatness of our ability to live life courageously.

Experiencing God within is the ultimate purpose of our prayers and spiritual learning at the Shul of New York.