Dear Friends,
Mazal tov to New Jersey same-sex couples who as of a few minutes ago have the right to be legally married in our state!
Kol Ha’kavod [kudos] to the New Jersey State Supreme Court for denying Governor Christie’s request for a stay on same-sex marriages until his appeal is settled. Governor Christie is appealing State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s ruling that New Jersey has to allow such marriages to comply with the United States Supreme Court ruling in June. The governor should withdraw that appeal and recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry. It is the right thing to do.
In the meantime, any Jewish same-sex couples out there who need a rabbi to officiate at their wedding?
L’Shalom,
Jordan
Monday, October 21, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Government Akeda
Dear Friends,
It is a guiding principle of rabbinic Torah interpretation that no matter what the Torah portion of the week happens to be, it turns out to be THE “prefect portion” to help us understand the events of the week. This week’s Torah portion, Va’yera, contains the famous story of the Binding of Isaac, the Akeda, familiar to most as the story read on Rosh Hashanah. Need I say more?
This week, at the very last moment, we, the American People, escaped the blade of the debt-ceiling knife poised to strike us, like Isaac escaped the knife poised to strike him in the Akeda. It is instructive that in the Torah Abraham hears the word of God telling him to sacrifice his son. In our contemporary debt-ceiling Akeda story there were congressmen who sincerely believed that their actions, though painful and destructive in the near term, were the morally right thing, a political “commandment,” as it were. Their view is that this action was necessary in order to prevent what they consider a greater social evil, Obamacare, from going into effect, as well as strike a blow against another great social evil, the accumulating national debt. But, just like when we read the Akeda in the Torah, we are left with the question: Is this the way to go about taking a stand for God? Is this the way to take a stand for what one believes is right? Or do such destructive means not justify the moral ends – no matter how strongly one may feel that things are going in the morally wrong direction? One hopes that those who took Isaac up Mount Moriah, and pulled out the blade that threatened severe damage to our economy and our standing in the world, do not try to do this again. Perhaps, we can pray that they now hear the angel calling out from the heavens, “Do not lay your hands on the boy, nor do him any harm.”
After the events of the past few weeks it is hard not to be left feeling completely cynical about politicians. But, it would be wrong to paint all politicians with the same brush, to see all parts of our government as hopelessly dysfunctional. For example, those we have elected to state and local offices – and those running against them in the upcoming elections in November – had nothing to do with the federal government shut down and debt-ceiling crisis.
I sincerely hope that you make a point of coming out this Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. to our (free!) Brotherhood Breakfast when we will host a candidates forum for those running for New Jersey State Senate and Assembly and Bergen County Freeholders in District 37. Candidates who have confirmed that they will participate are Loretta Weinberg, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Gordon Johnson, Paul Duggan, Gino Tessaro, and Dierdre Paul. Come find out what these candidates stand for and what issues concern them before going to the polls. Even if you’ve already made up your mind, come out to make sure that all our elected officials know that the Jewish community cares about what they do and believe. Our community and our democracy depend on our active involvement!
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
It is a guiding principle of rabbinic Torah interpretation that no matter what the Torah portion of the week happens to be, it turns out to be THE “prefect portion” to help us understand the events of the week. This week’s Torah portion, Va’yera, contains the famous story of the Binding of Isaac, the Akeda, familiar to most as the story read on Rosh Hashanah. Need I say more?
This week, at the very last moment, we, the American People, escaped the blade of the debt-ceiling knife poised to strike us, like Isaac escaped the knife poised to strike him in the Akeda. It is instructive that in the Torah Abraham hears the word of God telling him to sacrifice his son. In our contemporary debt-ceiling Akeda story there were congressmen who sincerely believed that their actions, though painful and destructive in the near term, were the morally right thing, a political “commandment,” as it were. Their view is that this action was necessary in order to prevent what they consider a greater social evil, Obamacare, from going into effect, as well as strike a blow against another great social evil, the accumulating national debt. But, just like when we read the Akeda in the Torah, we are left with the question: Is this the way to go about taking a stand for God? Is this the way to take a stand for what one believes is right? Or do such destructive means not justify the moral ends – no matter how strongly one may feel that things are going in the morally wrong direction? One hopes that those who took Isaac up Mount Moriah, and pulled out the blade that threatened severe damage to our economy and our standing in the world, do not try to do this again. Perhaps, we can pray that they now hear the angel calling out from the heavens, “Do not lay your hands on the boy, nor do him any harm.”
After the events of the past few weeks it is hard not to be left feeling completely cynical about politicians. But, it would be wrong to paint all politicians with the same brush, to see all parts of our government as hopelessly dysfunctional. For example, those we have elected to state and local offices – and those running against them in the upcoming elections in November – had nothing to do with the federal government shut down and debt-ceiling crisis.
I sincerely hope that you make a point of coming out this Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. to our (free!) Brotherhood Breakfast when we will host a candidates forum for those running for New Jersey State Senate and Assembly and Bergen County Freeholders in District 37. Candidates who have confirmed that they will participate are Loretta Weinberg, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Gordon Johnson, Paul Duggan, Gino Tessaro, and Dierdre Paul. Come find out what these candidates stand for and what issues concern them before going to the polls. Even if you’ve already made up your mind, come out to make sure that all our elected officials know that the Jewish community cares about what they do and believe. Our community and our democracy depend on our active involvement!
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
Friday, October 11, 2013
The Internet is for...
Dear Friends,
It is gratifying for any rabbi to get positive feedback on his/her High Holy Day sermons. After all, we rabbis spend a lot of time crafting these messages and we wouldn't be human if we didn’t enjoy hearing from people afterwards that they loved one or another of the sermons or found them meaningful. But, as much as we rabbis want people to like our sermons, it is even more gratifying when we learn that people have taken the message of a sermon to heart, have discussed it with others, and have been inspired to do something that makes a difference in their lives.
With this in mind I want to thank you for the many comments I received about my Rosh Hashanah morning sermon on the impact of electronic media on our lives today. Now I want to urge you to take an action which could make a difference in your life and the life of your family. This Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the Temple social hall, Dr. Richard Gallagher will be giving a talk on how to be an electronic media savvy parent. (Both the talk and bagel breakfast are free!) Dr. Gallagher is a clinical psychologist and an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine and a member of the NYU Child Study Center. He has spoken widely on this topic, advising parents on how to deal with their children's increasing exposure to social networking sites, movies, TV, video games and more.
When we hear the term “electronic media” we tend to think of teenagers and their phones. But, in fact, such media includes the videos watched and games played by children as young as toddlers. This program is for parents and grandparents of children of all ages. We need to understand on a deeper level what is going on with our kids and grandkids and learn what kind of measures we can take to help them lead healthier intellectual, emotional and spiritual lives.
Hope to see you this Sunday!
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
It is gratifying for any rabbi to get positive feedback on his/her High Holy Day sermons. After all, we rabbis spend a lot of time crafting these messages and we wouldn't be human if we didn’t enjoy hearing from people afterwards that they loved one or another of the sermons or found them meaningful. But, as much as we rabbis want people to like our sermons, it is even more gratifying when we learn that people have taken the message of a sermon to heart, have discussed it with others, and have been inspired to do something that makes a difference in their lives.
With this in mind I want to thank you for the many comments I received about my Rosh Hashanah morning sermon on the impact of electronic media on our lives today. Now I want to urge you to take an action which could make a difference in your life and the life of your family. This Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the Temple social hall, Dr. Richard Gallagher will be giving a talk on how to be an electronic media savvy parent. (Both the talk and bagel breakfast are free!) Dr. Gallagher is a clinical psychologist and an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine and a member of the NYU Child Study Center. He has spoken widely on this topic, advising parents on how to deal with their children's increasing exposure to social networking sites, movies, TV, video games and more.
When we hear the term “electronic media” we tend to think of teenagers and their phones. But, in fact, such media includes the videos watched and games played by children as young as toddlers. This program is for parents and grandparents of children of all ages. We need to understand on a deeper level what is going on with our kids and grandkids and learn what kind of measures we can take to help them lead healthier intellectual, emotional and spiritual lives.
Hope to see you this Sunday!
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
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