Temple Torat Yisrael

Eikev: A Prayer for the Gulf: May God Have Reason to Praise Us

08/01/2010

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Parashat Ekev                     Torah Reading:  Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

Announcement by The Rabbinical Assembly:
A Day of Prayer for the Gulf                   
Prayer for Recovery and Restoration of the Gulf
Weekend of July 30th
 
We rebuilt the wall until it was a continuous all around to half its height; for the people's heart was in the work.
Nehemiah 3:38
  The Louisiana Interchurch Conference and BISCO (Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing), will be sponsoring a special prayer service to be held in Houma, LA on the Gulf on July 30th. Parallel to this, we are asking our colleagues to include special prayers during Shabbat services, July 30-31 to pray for the recovery and restoration of the Gulf and its people.  This particular weekend marks roughly 100 days since the explosion of April 20, 2010.   We also remember in our prayers those who lost their lives in the explosion and subsequent fire and we pray for their families and all who grieve. 

At one moment in this week's Torah reading, Moses attempts to fill the people of Israel with as much wisdom as possible as he prepares to send them into the Land that awaits them.  These same words of wisdom echo for us today, as communities of faith around our country set aside this Shabbat as a day of prayer for another sector of God's Land: the Gulf of Mexico.

Moshe taught us:   "So keep these commandments as you enter this promised land--a land that can flow with milk and honey. This is land for which God cares. The eyes of God are always upon it. If you will serve God with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give rain and the plants will grow and be harvested and you shall eat and be satisfied."

"This is a land for which God cares."

We mark 100 days since the beginning of this toxic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  For all the progress made in controlling the situation, damage that will be decades in the repairing is now fresh in our minds and foul in the waters and beaches.  Please join us this evening at our 7:30 pm service as we add our voices to those of so many other faith communities in prayer for the Recovery and Restoration of the Gulf.

 May God Have Reason to Praise Us
A Prayer in Response to the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill
Prayer based on verses from Psalm 104 and composed by Rabbi Amy Levin

Reader: 
Praise the Lord, O my soul.  O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
God wraps in light as with a garment;  stretches out the heavens like a tent
God set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

Congregation:
The foundations of God’s earth support us, too.   The splendor and majesty of Creation inspires us.  The delicate balance of Your creation is ours to cherish and preserve.

Reader:
You covered the earth with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
But at Your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of Your thunder they took to flight;
You set a boundary they cannot cross;  never again will they cover the earth.

Congregation:
As the flood waters receded, Your Covenant with Noah was established, Your promise to us has stood:  Your precious waters may surge and surround us, but we hold fast, the core of Your creation.

Reader:
God makes springs pour waters into the ravines; they flow between the mountains.
They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
God waters the mountains from the upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of God’s work.

Congregation:
God’s work of creation is ever-renewing.  Humanity’s responsibility to cherish, preserve and restore God’s creation is equally eternal. 

Reader:
How many are Your works, O Lord!  In wisdom You made them all;  the earth is full of Your creatures.
There is the sea, vast and spacious,  teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small.
There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which You formed, to frolic there.

Congregation:
How many are our works, O Lord!  Some made in wisdom.  Some made in folly.  The earth is full of our presence and Your teeming creatures are in our hands to thrive or to suffer, to fill Your earth or to disappear.

Reader:
When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.

Congregation:
When our faces are not hidden by humility and awareness of our own responsibility, we terrify Your creation:  we take their breath away, they die and return to the dust.  When we accept Your spirit, we nurture Your creation and have a hand in renewing the face of the earth.

Reader:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;  may the Lord rejoice in God’s works-
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to God, as I rejoice in the Lord.

Congregation:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in the works of God we have revered, restored and healed.  Let us sing praise to God who inspires and challenges us throughout our lives.  May God have reason to sing praise of us as we move from contemplation to action, caretaking, advocacy and compassion.


© Rabbi Amy Levin, Av 5770 / July 2010
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Ki Tissa: The Gold is the Same: It's What We Do With It.

03/05/2010

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Parashat Ki Tissa                   Torah Reading:  Exodus  30:11-34:35

Rabbi Erica Seager Asch of the American Jewish World Service writes of this week's Torah Reading:
This week's parashah contains the well known episode of the Golden Calf. Our ancestors eagerly gave their gold for its construction. That gold became an idol and the people made sacrifices before it. Their misuse of the gold was so grave that God sought to destroy the entire nation. Yet a few weeks from now we will read of our ancestors using their gold for good by eagerly offering it to create the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Israelites brought many gifts, including gold, to build a Mishkan. In this instance, the people gave freely of their possessions for a divine purpose. 

The gold of the Israelites was used in two very different ways, prompting Rabbi Abba bar Aha to declare: "You can't understand the character of this people! When asked for the [Golden] Calf, they contribute. When asked for the Mishkan, they contribute." The gold was the same--it was what was done with it that gave it the quality of either idolatry or of holiness.

The question of how we use our limited resources is not just a question for ancient Israelites or for modern Jews, it is a question for every human being.  How can we be good neighbors?  How can we improve our own quality of life as well as the quality of life of those with whom we share this world?

Yesterday, I had the privilege of addressing the Rhode Island House of Representatives Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources.  The Committee was accepting testimony on upcoming legislation that is referred to colloquially as "Right to Dry."  This legislation, if passed, would protect the rights of Rhode Island residents to hang laundry outside, mount solar panels on their homes or small wind turbines on their property and would render illegal local regulations from prohibiting these actions.

Here is my statement to the Committee:

Mr. Chairman, honored members of the committee,
     I am Rabbi Amy Levin.  I am the rabbi of Temple Torat Yisrael in Cranston and also serve as the vice-president of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis.
     It is an honor to have the opportunity to bring a Jewish sensibility to today's discussion . . . for the legislation you are considering today touches upon two values cherished by Jewish tradition:
     The first is "kvod habriyot":  respect for every created being.
     The second is "tikkun olam":  repair of God's created world.

The Jewish ethic of k'vod habriyot, of respect for every created being, compels all those in leadership positions on every level to do our utmost to respect the realities and support the most fundamental aspirations of everyone around us.  The legislation before you is a means to just such an end.  A family struggling to cover the monthly commitments of utility bills, rent or mortgage and food bills, can find substantive relief in an act as simple as hanging laundry in the sunshine instead of paying for the electricity or gas to run a clothes dryer.  In our state, this should be low-hanging fruit.  I would hope that legislation from this body protecting everyone's latitude to take such a step would be a self-evident value.  It is a step that would be applauded by the constituents of Rhode Island as an act of intelligence, vision and compassion.

The Jewish ethic of "tikkun olam", of repair of God's created world, also informs today's discussion.  By acknowledging that we are all in the same boat . . . and that that boat is the natural world . . . we take on a tremendous burden of mutual responsibility.  The actions of one have an influence on us all.  The unbridled consumption of the natural resources that currently supply the overwhelming percentage of our electricity have implications for those of us alive today, in this place; for generations to come, God-willing, in Rhode Island; and for generations to come all over the world.  Passage of this legislation would express to Rhode Islanders and our peers in other states and other countries, that here we take our responsibilities seriously.  That here in Rhode Island we understand that making way for individual commitments to sustainable energy through small wind turbines and solar panels is really the least we can do to encourage the sustenance of the natural world God has left in our hands.

If we have people in our state who are willing to pay the premium to generate sustainable energy, we should thank them, we should remove all barriers to their commitment and their vision.  You and your colleagues are in the unique position, with this legislation, of bridging the gap between theory and practice, between ethical talk and moral action.  I and many others in our state would feel blessed to be led by statesman who embrace the opportunity to nurture the financially vulnerable and to encourage the environmental pioneers of Rhode Island with the passage of this one, sound, simple piece of legislation.

Thank you and God bless you.
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