שירת שלום
Song of Peace
Due to the war I have been receiving many questions. Here is one that has been asked several times concerning the water and electricity situation in Gaza.
When Gaza fell into Israeli hands during the War of 1967 after the Egyptians left the area, what was left was a collapsed infrastructure, a completely broken water pipe system, one old and often dysfunctional electrical power plant, an antiquated, barely functioning electrical grid and a dilapidated sewer system.
Due to ongoing bitter rivalry between political groups in Gaza, the ability to elect an effective central authority as a governing body, was impossible. In fact, no effective public utility to speak of existed in Gaza since the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, other than humanitarian help, no serious international initiative to improve the infrastructure has been offered to remedy the situation.
This was the situation 65 years ago. Nothing much has changed since except that the population is now more than four times as much, from 400,000 Arabs living in Gaza in the late 60’s to 1.8 million presently cramming into the same small area.
After the 1967 war, the State of Israel realized it needed to supply Gaza with water and electricity while trying to rebuild the infrastructure using its own limited resources of water and electricity. To make things even worse, the Israelis realized that at least half of the water supplied to Gaza could not be handled by the antiquated water pipe system. A few desalination plants were desperately needed as well as a few new power plants to replace the one small dysfunctional electrical power plant along with its dilapidated electrical grid.
Over the years, plans to improve the situation in Gaza were drawn by Israeli engineers with international support. These plans were impossible to implement since terror organizations were active in Gaza against Israel. Any Israeli initiative to ease Gaza’s situation was flatly rejected.
Plans to help the situation were also drawn specifically by the Israeli water and electrical authorities. These plans were scratched as well due to constant terror activities from Gaza.
The UN organization, UNICEF however, did manage to build a small water desalination plant in Gaza in order to ease the water shortage. However the plant is too small. It is based on old technology and cannot solve the dire water situation in Gaza.
One of the well known plans to help the situation was put forward by former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett and former foreign minister Yair Lapid. It evidently had great European support. It was never implemented due to the refusal of Hamas to even consider it.
There were also Israeli proposals to build a few modern desalination plants as well as patching the water pipe system using Israeli vast know- how and experience in the field. Plans to build a few electrical power plants with foreign donations were also considered.
In 2008 Hamas authorities agreed to allow the building of a desalination plant and electrical power plants to alleviate the severe water and electrical shortage. Building materials earmarked for these projects were sent along with engineering plans for the projects to be built with the help of Israeli engineers and foreign money.
However, Hamas had plans of its own. All the building material was used to build one of the most elaborate and sophisticated underground large tunnels. This became what is now known as Gaza’s underground city. The goal was to provide shelter to the dozens of thousands Hamas terrorists as well as a way to kidnap Israelis.
Both goals were achieved. Many terror attacks in the area including kidnapping Israeli citizens (and getting back hundreds of terrorist prisoners in Israeli jail in a prisoner exchange) were conducted using these tunnels.
When Israel realized that all building materials were used to build the underground structure instead of helping the population, it was decided to immediately stop the transfer of all construction material to Gaza.
However, according to IDF reports, it has been discovered that Hamas has managed to smuggle huge amounts of construction material through the Egyptian border and through its extensive tunnel system. Hamas even expanded the underground elaborate tunnels system to more than 200 miles. For years Hamas has been successfully smuggling anything they needed for their terror activities through land and sea.
It also became apparent that a lot of materials have been smuggled through Israel by hiding them in double strength food bags like rice bags. Israel, having no other choice, started monitoring everything that is shipped to Gaza on a daily basis aboard dozens of large trucks including food and other goods.
Unlike what Arab propaganda wants everyone to believe, there are absolutely no restrictions on food, medicine, and all other basic needs. Everything is simply being checked for any material that could be used, directly or indirectly, for terror, including weapons and ammunition.
This is the hard lesson learned by Israel that when it comes to Gaza that less than total vigilance leads to terror disasters. Israel is still obligated to supply water and electricity as much as it can to Gaza. This is not a “control” issue but rather the kind of moral and legal obligation issued by the international community and the UN despite the hatred and the will to obliterate the state of Israel.
It is sad that on one hand the world accuses Israel of “controlling” Gaza by controlling the water and electrical flow and by restricting material going to Gaza and on the other hand demands that Israel provides Gaza with water and electric power, food and other materials. It is sad that the world has ignored all the attempts by Israel to help rebuild Gaza infrastructure and instead has faced extreme hostility.
It is a strange anomaly that Gazans want to destroy Israel by completely killing all men (women and girls should be taken for obvious purposes) despite the fact that Israel provides for the Gazans, as much as it can, water and electricity and despite Israel's attempts over the years to help with plans which cannot be implemented.
No other country in the world ever came out with a serious attempt to help the water and electrical infrastructure situation, not even the UN, with all its vast resources.
Any accusation from any international body over the years of Israel’s discriminatory restrictions in regards to helping Gaza is a propaganda fallacy.
Rabbi David
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I always love to set a beautiful table for Shabbat and the holidays. For me it is a way to send Light and my prayers. The first Friday after the Hamas attack, Oct. 13th, I wanted the tablescape to radiate out the Light of Peace and knew a dove I keep on display would be perfect to use. It is pretty difficult to reach so I asked Rabbi David to get it for me but as he was doing so, it slipped from his hand and broke.
I just looked at it in sadness and said, “A sign of what is happening.” Rabbi David managed to glue the dove back together but one piece is missing. It is a piece by the dove’s heart.
As I placed the dove on my table, I could feel the Light radiating from my tablescape’s Prayer for Peace. It was so beautiful, so sacred, so strong! “Thank you for your message,” I told the dove. “We may be broken with pieces of our heart missing, but we will still continue to bring our Light to the world!”
I reset my table after Shabbat in the exact same way. I told the dove, “This is going to to be your new place for awhile.”
Love, Cantor Lee
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Another Message?
Noah sent out the dove three times from the ark. The first time she couldn't find a place to rest and came back. The second time, she brought back an olive leaf which has become a universal sign of peace. The third time, she didn't return to the ark for the flood was over and life could begin again. She had found her place in the world.
The dove in the mystical teachings is a symbol of the Divine Presence.
There are certain numbers that Judaism considers sacred as they occur over and over again in the Torah. Well known of these numbers include 4, 7, 10 and 40. The number 40 is especially intriguing. We read about 40 days of rain during Noah's flood, 40 days Moses spent on the mountain receiving the Torah, 40 years spent wandering in the desert, 40 days Elijah fasted and others. Forty seems to signify a time of purification that leads to transformation where we build to a higher consciousness.
As we begin to prepare for the High Holy Days, our tradition also asks us to offer 40 days of inner work or purification throughout the 30 days of the Hebrew month of Elul and ending with the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This work is so important that each day during Elul which begins on August 18th this year, the shofar is sounded, reminding us to wake up and judge our deeds. The intent of this self judgment is not to promote guilt but to help us discern what would like to keep in our lives and what we would like to discard. The daily process of inner reflection is meant to also help us become more aware of our emotions and perceptions allowing us to eventually have control over them rather than having the emotions and perceptions control us.
In Jewish meditation circles, there is a popular teaching story that illustrates this. A retired Air Force Colonel was standing in the express line at the grocery store and found himself getting quite agitated. At the head of the line, the cashier was not only speaking to a customer with a baby but was cooing with the baby and tickling her. While everyone in the line waited, the colonel found himself getting more enraged by the minute. Fortunately he had taken an anger management class and was able to use the tool of focusing on his breath to help his anger subside.
Once he got to the head of the line, he was even able to remark at how cute the baby was. The cashier responded, "Oh, you think so? The baby is actually my baby. My husband was an Air Force pilot who recently died in an airplane crash. I needed to go to work to support myself and my mother takes care of the baby for me. She comes into the store to buy something several times a day so I can see my baby."
Especially as we continue to deal with issues arising in our world, may we learn to shift our perspective and truly be examples for our children.
May we all be blessed with awareness, discernment, peace and joy as we begin the High Holy Day season! May we radiate out this Light to all inhabitants of our world!
Virtual High Holy Days
When I was in elementary school decades ago in Israel, the class discussion one day in the beginning of the month of April was about the up coming memorial day for the Holocaust. When the class was asked to explain the significance of the day I raised my hand and started talking about "Yom Ha Shoa. I did not get far in my explanation. The teacher, Mrs. Morinski suddenly became very upset. "No!" she said in anger. "There is no such a thing as 'Yom Ha-Shoa!' "
By the beginning of 1943 the Warsaw Ghetto population was very depleted. Most of the Jews had been sent to Auschwitz but under the ghost like empty buildings in underground bunkers a group of young Jews were preparing to do something never heard of before...In the most amazing ways (an incredible story on its own ) they manage to sneak into the Ghetto some pistols, grenades and material to make Molotov cocktails.(essentially, bottles with gasoline and wicks so that when ignite they make a loud breaking noise and produce a little fire.)
On April 19, 1943 a line of German Tanks entered the Ghetto with the intent to raze everything inside to rubble. But the Germans faced the surprise of their lives when an onslaught of exploding Molotovs welcomed them into the camp . Thinking that they were facing a barrage of heavy artillery they turned their tanks around and retreated. The bravery of these young men and women continued for weeks as a house to house combat ensued. The Warsaw revolt became known among the anti German underground group throughout Europe as one of the most amazing acts of defiance. However, after the war it became known that in fact, throughout the war many Jewish Ghettos all over Europe revolted and fought the Germans with the little means they had. In spite of the wide range of Jews rebelling in Ghettos and fighting as partisans in forests all over Europe, Jewish heroism is not well celebrated and understood in the US.
Mrs. Morinski dismayed upon hearing the term "Yom Ha Shoa" ( literally "a day of the Holocaust) is well ingrained on my heart. That day she went on to explain to the class that while we remember the evil, it is even more important to honor the incredible bravery of those who relentlessly fought the evil, having close to nothing with which to fight. As she put it :"one holocaust is enough. We do not need another "day of the holocaust" every year.
Therefore, although this term is extensively used in the United States one does not hear the term "Yom Ha Shoa" in Israel. In the early fifties when the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) declared a special day to remember the Shoa, the official name became known as the "Memorial Day for the Shoa and (Jewish) heroism (Yom Zikaron La Shoah veh la G'vura). While in the early days some people called it Yom Ha Shoa including myself as a child, this term quickly disappeared.
The original suggestion for the date of the memorial day was the 14th of the month of Nissan, Passover eve, to honor the Warsaw revolt which started on that day. However the Knesset felt that such a solemn day should not coincide with the happy holiday of Passover. The decision was therefore to place the memorial day as close as possible to the last day of Passover. The 27th of Nissan was agreed upon and became the official memorial day for the Holocaust and Bravery.
May we always remember Who We Are.....
Connection to Healing
After I heard the story I looked up the number of students in the school. There were over 1,000.00. Probably not all of them would have seen the symbol on the wall. But even if just a third of the children saw it, only one took action.
His name is Nate, a sixth grader and a student in our Hebrew School preparing for his Bar Mitzvah.
When Nate passed by the quilt hanging on the wall, he knew the swastika shouldn't be there, not in his middle school, not anywhere! He told me that it made him feel bad, of bring hated by the Nazis.
I asked if anyone else mentioned it to him. “Only one,” he said. His friend said to him, “Did you see that?” But that was all that happened. His friend didn’t take action as he did. Nate had no question in his mind. He needed to tell his parents.
When Nate’s parents called us, we all adamantly agreed that they should contact the principal. What was most disturbing is that the hanging quilt had no explanation of why a picture of Hitler and the swastika was there. Nate told me he knew the quilt was about famous people. Jackie Robins was there and so was the Dali Lama.
As adults looking at a picture of the quilt, we immediately understood that the swastika and picture of Hitler was being used to show what Simon Wiesental, a famous Nazi hunter, was fighting against. That section was even created by a Jewish child. So yes, we applauded this choice of Simon Wiesenthal being displayed. But as Rabbi David said, including the swastika was in poor taste. It still radiates out a message of hate. The child just needed to be appropriately guided.
Nate’s parents had a meeting with the principal the next day. When they walked into the office the quilt was on the conference table. The principal told them he had it taken down immediately. It had no place being on the wall. He even scoured the school and found another sign with Hitler and a paragraph which was immediately taken down. He was extremely apologetic.
We are all so proud of Nate! He had a chance to share his experience with the Hebrew School children which led to a beautiful discussion.
And so now I share his experience with you. May Nate inspire us all to be guided by our hearts and speak up when needed! Only then can we ensure “Never Again!” Only then can we truly create a World of Peace, a World of Love!
Cantor Lee
This week we read two Torah portions, Vayakhel (“He Assembled”) and Pekudei (“Accountings Of”) Artists chosen by G-D begin building the Mishkan. (Tabernacle) * We learn of Betzalel, the head architect and Oholiav, a master teacher and craftsman who are filled with G-D’s spirit as they begin the construction. With the donations given by the people, there is an open counting of the gold, silver and copper used to build the Mishkan. When all is complete G-D’s presence comes into the Mishkan with a cloud resting on top of it during the day and a fire by night. When the cloud would lift, this would be a signal for the Israelites to journey to their next stop in the desert.
During our soul’s journey, we learn from this portion that we are to be partners with G-D in all that we do. When we live in this state there is transparency among the community such as in the open counting of the donations from the people. We each use the gifts G-D has given us whether it is as a teacher, builder, artist or leader.
Pekudei now closes the Book of Exodus. The next three books of the Torah contain the journeys of the Israelites in the desert and the laws needed to form a new society.
Although I will not be continuing this series I have appreciated sharing the Torah’s wisdom of Genesis and Exodus with you and wish you many blessings as you take your own soul journeys.
* Every week a section of the Torah is read throughout the week. There are always many levels of understanding with each week's portion. The Torah portions also have energies that can be utilized to help us navigate though our daily lives not only during the week the specific portion is read but any time it is needed.
This week’s Torah portion is called Ki-Tisa “You shall Take.” * The Israelites each donate a half-shekel for the sanctification of the priests, the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the holy vessels.
This portion also contains the famous story of the people building and worshiping a golden calf when Moses is on Mt. Sinai receiving the Torah. This goes against the very first commandment which was already announced to them. When Moses comes down from the mountain and sees the scene, he angrily breaks the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten commandments which he is carrying.
When Moses begs G-D to forgive the people, G-D responds with the famous expression “I forgave the people as you asked of me”, a statement which has been adapted in our Yom Kippur service. Moses asks to see G-D but is told he cannot see G-D’s face and live. Moses is told to stand in the cleft of a rock. As the shadow of G-D passes behind him, Moses utters the 13 Divine attributes of compassion. Moses then returns with a second set of tablets. His face is so radiant with Light that he needs to wear a veil when speaking to the people.
There are many messages in this Torah portion that guide us on our soul’s journey in this Torah portion. One I would like to focus on is the Light radiating from the face of Moses after meeting with G-D.
We need to first understand that when the Torah was translated from the Hebrew, the word “Karan” which means “radiating” was mistakenly seen as “Keren” which means horns. There are no vowels in the Torah so it is easy to see the similarities of the two words. The use of the word, “horns” makes no sense in this context. Unfortunately, the notion that Jewish people have horns took hold from this error and even Michaelangelo’s statue of Moses is depicted with horns.
So why did Moses need to wear a veil with so much Light radiating from his face when speaking to the Israelites? The answer is they weren’t ready to absorb so much Light. When we begin a spiritual journey it is just that, a journey. We need to go through the various stages. The Light that comes into our lives shows us anything that is dark or hidden within us that needs to be resolved. Examples may be old grief, unresolved anger, emotional stress from childhood, even trauma in our genes such as the Holocaust.
Our holidays, prayers, Jewish traditions and performance of mitzvot are all meant to help us absorb a higher level of Light and release darkness.
By tapping into or aligning with Ki Tisa, we can receive additional help to face and release any hidden darkness in a gentle manner.
This week’s Torah portion is called “Tetzaveh,” command. *The brother of Moses, Aaron, and his sons are appointed as the priests. G-D gives detailed instructions in how to sanctify the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the priests which will take place over seven days as well as how to make the golden altar and priestly clothing.
The breastplate worn by the high priest is used to bring Divine guidance when dealing with the people. Twelve precious gemstones inscribed with the twelve tribes light up in response to questions.
In the journey of our souls, this portion teaches us about the holiness of a command from G-D which we know as a mitzvah. The deeper meaning of the word is “to connect.” When we follow G-D’s will we forge a connection between us and the Divine which brings guidance as we live our lives.
By tapping into or aligning with the energy of Tetzaveh we can receive help to receive and understand Divine guidance.
This week’s Torah portion is called Terumah “Donation.” * G-D tells Moses to have the people bring (donate) gifts in order to build a dwelling place for G-D called a Mishkan, a portable Tabernacle. There are precise instructions on how to build the various furnishings that will be inside of the Mishkan including the ark to hold the Ten Commandments, the golden cherubs to be placed on top of the ark, table, lamp, walls, curtains and altar. With these gifts, G-d specifies that “you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.”
In the inner meaning of this Torah portion, it is actually referring to building the sanctuary of our hearts which is our own individual portable Mishkan.
A related Hebrew verb to Terumah is le-harim which translates as “to raise up.” In the journey of our souls when we allow “our hearts to move us” we are aligned with compassion and giving which helps to raise us up to the higher realms of the Divine where we experience a state of peace and freedom. We understand that giving also brings gifts in return for us. As givers we become the receivers.
By tapping into or aligning with the energy of Terumah, we can receive help to become more compassionate and giving.
This week’s Torah portion is called “Mishpatim” meaning “Laws or Ordinances” given to the Israelites.* They include laws governing lost property, holidays, damages, holidays and indentured servants to name a few. These civil laws enabled the Israelites to learn to live as free people in a just society. All they had known was slavery.
The main purpose of these laws was to bring the spirit of the Ten Commandments into everyday life. How would they be applied in situations that would arise? the basis of many of these laws can be found in our legal system. For example, the person who caused harm, injury or death to the person or property of another, faced a considerable range of consequences depending on whether it was an intentional act or of negligence.
Following these laws was considered to be a contractual agreement between G-D and the nation of Israel. There was always the reminder: “You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep [his laws]” (Deut. 5:15).”
The laws were meant to develop compassion within the people. For example, “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Lev. 19:33-34).”
The Zohar, considered to be the bible of Kabbalistic mysticism, explains these are cosmic laws. In the journey of our souls we understand that in no longer being ruled by Egypt, the place of the ego, we now live in a higher state which requires a different operating system. These laws, so revolutionary for their time, are meant to bring holiness to the mundane, to bring us to the spiritual realm of the Divine in every aspect of our lives.
By tapping into or aligning with the energy of Mishpatim we can receive help to more fully bring the intention of these laws into our daily lives.
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