שבת נקבלה
Shabbat N’kabla:
Receiving Shabbat Nasso
A Shabbat Message from Rav Claudia
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Dear TBZ community:
We stood silently for eight minutes and forty-six seconds at the clergy march
organized and led by Ministers In Action, Baptist Ministers Conference of Boston, Black Ministerial Alliance, and Massachusetts Council of Churches
. We prayed and cried. I was hot, my feet began to hurt, I couldn't focus. In that long eight minutes and forty-six seconds I had time to become uncomfortable, I had time for my mind to wander, time to glance at my phone and ultimately time to let go and be in this moment of prayer and silence. And I cried. It was such a long time to stand, and it was a long time to think. And it was a very long time that Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck, long enough to reflect, long enough to reconsider, long enough to hear the voices around him pleading for George Floyd’s life - long enough to make a choice and simply move his knee.
Rabbi Sharon Brous powerfully spoke this week about
two minutes and fifty three seconds
-- the amount of time that Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck even after he had become unresponsive: “For two minutes and 53 seconds, his body lay still. This was after he stopped saying, repeatedly, I can’t breathe. After he called out for his mama. Two minutes and 53 seconds of breathlessness beneath the knee of a cop, who blithely looked on as the crowd begged him to stop. It’s been a week now, and I can’t stop thinking about those nearly three minutes. Why keep George Floyd pinned to the ground? Those two minutes and 53 seconds reveal so much of what we need to understand about race in America today. The banality of evil. The normalization of excessive force, that only comes with deeply entrenched power. The willingness to stomp out a black man’s life like one would swat away a fruit fly in your kitchen. All of this points to the depth, the fullness of hatred and fear of the black body. A white officer saw George Floyd as a continued threat to his safety, his authority, even when the last breath of life had left him”.
This week, I keep hearing the voice of God in the story of Cain and Abel:
Genesis 4:10:
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתָ ק֚וֹל דְּמֵ֣י אָחִ֔יךָ צֹעֲקִ֥ים אֵלַ֖י מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃
Then God said, “What have you done?
Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!
What have we done?
What happened to humanity?
Like many, I go back to the words of Rabbi Abrham Joshua Heschel who wrote:
“
There is immense silent agony in the world, and the task of man is to be a voice for the plundered poor, to prevent the desecration of the soul and the violation of our dream of honesty. The more deeply immersed I became in the thinking of the prophets, the more powerfully it became clear to me what the lives of the Prophets sought to convey: that morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible” (The Reasons for My Involvement in the Peace Movement, 1972)
There is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, and at this time we must say
Black Lives Matter
and commit ourselves to build a country and a world that can live by this statement.
Black Lives Matter
is an urge for justice and an anguish cry.
Tonight our Shabbat Nariya Kabbalat Shabbat Service will be dedicated to raise our voices in prayer, justice and protest, mourning the murder of George Floyd and all other African Americans that have been killed by the systemic racism in this country. We will weep and sing together and hold each other (virtually) close during this time when we hear the call to not stand idly by our brother's blood and we will lift up the voices of Jews of Color in our community. (see details below)
And tomorrow, and the next day and the day after we will continue the hard work of repentance, healing and justice. We will continue asking what have we done? And we will also ask, what are we doing now to repair, to heal and to bring justice?
Today, I signed with rabbis and other spiritual leaders in Israel and around the world a statement of moral emergency (see the statement below) and called this day a day of mourning and fast for the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and
Iyad Al-Halak in Jerusalem
of blessed memory. Reminding all of us that Human life is the highest value in Jewish tradition - every human life, irrespective of color, gender, religion, nation and condition. And we take on the responsibility for educating in light of this value.
Eight minutes and forty-six seconds is a long time to do nothing and kill a fellow black man. And Now Is The Time to do everything in our hands that this moment demands from us, transforming this time of tragedy to what we can imagine to be a just, equal society.
This week in parshat Nasso, we read the priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:22-27)
The LORD spoke to Moses:
דַּבֵּ֤ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶל־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֥ה תְבָרֲכ֖וּ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָמ֖וֹר לָהֶֽם
Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהוָ֖ה וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ
The LORD bless you and protect you!
יָאֵ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ
The LORD deal kindly and graciously with you!
יִשָּׂ֨א יְהוָ֤ה ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם
The LORD bestow God’s favor upon you and grant you peace!
וְשָׂמ֥וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַאֲנִ֖י אֲבָרֲכֵֽם
Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.
And that is my blessing for all of us, for each of us, for all human beings.
May this Shabbat bring blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, patience and open our heart with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful Shabbat!
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P:S: I invite you to use this Shabbat as an opportunity to stop for a bit. I know technology is a life saver for all of us now, but perhaps consider using technology intentionally and for the sake of connection and friendship. Please see the resources we have created to celebrate Shabbat together as a community from home below. Go for a walk, read a book, talk with someone you love, sleep, sing, jump high and laugh.
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Celebrate Shabbat with TBZ from home:
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Join us this Friday Night for
our monthly Shabbat Nariya
co-sponsored with Kavod
We will dedicate our Nariya Service to raise our voices in prayer, justice and protest, mourning the killing of George Floyd and all other african americans that have been killed by the systemic racism in this country. We will weep and sing together and hold each other (virtually) close during this time where we all hear the call to not stand idly by while our brother's bleed and we will lift up the voices of Jews of Color in our community.
*Please note that we have moved Pride Shabbat to June 12 to make space for the present moment. We are excited to welcome
Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael
Keshet’s Director of Education and Training. to our Pride Shabbat Service.
ZOOM to Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday June 5, 6:00-7:30pm
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By Phone: 1 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 382 452 878, Password: 813275
We will be using a one page Siddur made for today, you can find that page
HERE
. You may want to have your candles, your kiddush cup and your challah (or any bread) available to join us saying the blessings.
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We invite you to spend the day of Shabbat in reflection, learning, and family.
As you know, we discourage using technology on Shabbat, but if, at this time, technology will be helpful for you to stay connected and celebrate shabbat, we offer these resources for you:
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D’var Torah
Parshat Nasso
by Tyler Dratch
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Torah Reading:
Our TBZ Torah readers bring the Torah reading to your home.
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The Torah reading text in Hebrew and English can be found
HERE
.
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Rabbi Ebn Leader Class from last Sunday TBZ (Re)treat:
“Lo Ta’amod Al Dam Re’echa—
Do not stand idly while your neighbor bleeds”
Class on the first chapter of Maimonides’ Laws of Murder and the Preservation of Life. This Torah injunction is understood to require individuals to do everything in their power to avoid bloodshed.
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Access the source sheet
here
.
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Older Kids Read Stories
to Our Younger Members
Raphael Klauber reads
Something from Nothing
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Did you miss TBZ’s Variety Show
at our (Re)treat?
You can watch it here (below).
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Ending Shabbat Together:
Community Havdalah on Zoom
Saturday, June 6, 9:20pm
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By Phone: 1 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 757 829 441, Password: 530219
If you can, have your havdalah ritual objects ready! You will need a candle, wine or grape juice and
besamim
(spices to smell).
**You can find some of the sessions and services on our
Youtube channel
, (link, follow us, etc)
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The Call of these Times: We are all Responsible
In this time of turmoil and pain in our country, TBZ continues its commitment to lead the way based on our Jewish values of justice, human dignity and caring for all human beings.
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As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said: “There is immense silent agony in the world, and the task of man is to be a voice for the plundered poor, to prevent the desecration of the soul and the violation of our dream of honesty.
The more deeply immersed I became in the thinking of the prophets, the more powerfully it became clear to me what the lives of the Prophets sought to convey: that morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible." ("The Reasons for My Involvement in the Peace Movement” (1972))
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We take responsibility and we act.
This week there are three opportunities to raise our voices, in prayer, action and learning to bring some healing and continue this wok.
- Friday June 5th, 6pm. Shabbat Nariya will be dedicated to raise our voices in prayer, justice and protest, mourning the killing of George Floyd and all other African Americans that have been killed by the systemic racism in this country. We will weep and sing together and hold each other (virtually) close during this time when we hear the call to not stand idly by our brother's blood and we will lift up the voices of Jews of Color in our community. (More information below)
- Monday June 8th, 7pm Pathways to Tikkun Olam: Defending our Democracy: Join Rav Claudia and our Tikkun Olam Team for an evening of inspiration, outrage, and ACTION. We will hear from TBZ member Jed Shugerman, Professor at Fordham Law School, about current challenges to our democracy. (More information below)
- Thursday June 11, 7:00pm Rethinking Citizenship: Race and Responsibility. Join TBZ member Stephen Hodin for a three-part study on race relations, identity, and our role as allies in striving for a fairer and more equitable society. We will use Claudia Rankine's Citizen, An American Lyric as a way to launch this ongoing conversation. (More information below)
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STAY CONNECTED
Rav Tiferet, Director of Congregational Learning & Programming - ext. 14, [email protected]
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