I present them here to you, faithful blog-followers:
Shabbat Morning with the California Democrats - Jewish Caucus
Parshat Vayikra – March 8, 2014
Good Morning and Good
Shabbos!
Yesterday … many of us in the
Jewish professional world shared and spread around a Facebook post on this
week’s Torah portion, Vayikra … in
the form of a blog entry from “Punk Torah,” an unaffiliated, independent,
mostly online community run by Rabbi Patrick Beaulier in Atlanta.
The title of the post was:
“Is Judaism Programming Itself to Death?”
When I clicked on the link,
the image that popped up was one with which I am all too familiar: a completely
packed, all-blocked-out, weekly Google calendar snapshot. Lots of color, and
events, and things going on … and very
limited blank space.
I would imagine that many of
us in this room know the image of the packed calendar all too well – whether we
use Google or Outlook or … even … an old-school, actual, handwritten paper calendar. We know that image because … our
lives are busy, our schedules meticulous, our “free time” not really that “free.” (pause)
Rabbi Patrick suggests that
today, we who work in and serve the greater community structure our entire
careers around “the calendar,” and specifically: programming and promotion … getting this person in the door, or reaching out to that segment of the population. We set a date, pick a location,
promote the hell out of something, and put on an event … whether it’s Israel Advocacy, a Young Democrats breakfast,
or even Election Day.
Now, back to Torah. Punk
Torah, that is. Rabbi Patrick reminds us that at first blush this week’s Torah
portion, Vayikra, is a horrifying
read. It’s all about animal sacrifice.
We go from the grandiosity of Exodus – the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving
of the Ten Commandments, the building of the Tabernacle … to fire and brimstone
and bloody, burned animals.
Of course, sacrifice here serves
a greater purpose … it reminds us to draw near to God and community … the
Hebrew word for a sacrificial offering, korban,
is the same root as the verb, “to draw close,” likrov.
Rabbi Patrick suggests that
the modern-day parallel of sacrifice … is the calendar. It’s the schedule that we so protect and keep. The
endless programming we put ourselves and our communities and our families and
our careers through … that’s our modern-day version of bloody, burning animal
parts. It’s death by scheduling … and the worst part? It ignores the very
reason people are drawn to Judaism … and progressive politics … in the first
place…
Change. Relevance. Meaning. Making daily life a
little bit more secure … ensuring that the future is a little bit brighter for the
next generation.
And at the core of all that? People. Relationships. Connections. (pause)
Our imperative as modern Jews
is to repair the world, not dominate
it – to mend what has been broken.
That is the essence of tikkun olam and
it is a hallmark of social justice.
But tikkun olam at its best isn’t really about the olam – the world. It’s about the anashim – the people – who
reside within it, utilize its resources, help it to grow and flourish and
progress … people are at the
root of this endeavor that we call life. (pause)
When we begin to lose sight
of that … when we become so dependent on our highly developed programming and
our terrifyingly complex schedules … then, we lose sight of our real, authentic goals. We forget for whom
we’re programming and scheduling in the first place… and we need a Shabbos … a respite … a
re-fresh … to remind ourselves who we’ve
committed our lives to and why.
So this Shabbat morning, take
a breath. Take a moment. Look around you. Look at the faces of those who are
our future – the next generation of progressive politics in this state. Put
down your smart phone and your Google calendar app … and I promise to do the
same.
Remember that time – our time - is an extraordinary gift. A
gift we must use wisely.
To paraphrase the philosopher
Abraham Joshua Heschel, “six days a week
we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth. On the Sabbath we
care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. Six days a week we seek to
dominate the world; on the seventh day, we finally attend to the self.” (pause)
In the coming weeks and
months as we in this room head into our respective busy seasons, let us
remember … to take that breath. To connect – or reconnect – with the people for whom we do the work
that we are so privileged to do.
Let us not be so bold as to throw away our
calendars entirely … because then it might actually throw the world off its axis
… but let us at least try to wean ourselves from that meticulous planning
… sit a little more comfortably in those
blank spaces … and instead look up, lean out, and reach toward those whose
hands meet ours.
Imagine the possibilities.
Imagine the connections; the conversations. Imagine the power in those
exchanges – however brief they may be. (pause)
It is my hope … and my prayer
… that these breaths, pauses, and reconnections will enhance the work that we
are already doing, and the people we already are. That they will make us even
better at dancing with the busy-ness that rules our lives.
Then, and only then, will we
truly work towards the California of our dreams – a California of dignity,
strength, and promise.
Kein Yehi Ratzon. Shabbat Shalom.
-Jaclyn
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