From the Rabbi

In the past year, I’ve been meeting with the Judaism and Art group, comprised of working artists from our congregation, to discuss artistic expression related to Judaic concepts. On Sunday, March 25, we will mount an exhibit of each member’s contribution. The artists will speak briefly about their works and the themes they explored. Painfully missing will be our dear friend Bob Strimban A”H, who passed away last month. Bob was a giant artist, who didn’t stop creating for a minute. Any piece of paper around him held the potential for a rendered figure. All who knew him would attest that his enthusiasm and personal warmth were contagious.

Bob had been planning to participate in the event and was working on a new piece — a Bristol paper head of a rabbi. As a true fan and as a rabbi, I was looking forward to seeing the complete work. But God decided otherwise.

            Remarkably, this demonstrated to me what we have been speaking about all along — that art is a process, always unfinished. In fact, the word for an artist in Hebrew is the same word as Amen. God is an artist, who created the world. The art we observe is always through the prism of His creation. Every time we say Amen, we affirm that. Our mandate as humans is to become co-creators with God — a never-ending creation. We are all an “Unfinished Rabbi,” who needs others to complete us. Irma Strimban, Bob’s wife, a talented artist herself, completed her husband and his art for more than half a century, and she continues to complete him now, after his departure.

            A few weeks after Bob’s passing, Irma sounded excited about that very concept. She had completed Bob in life, and she felt she had found a way to continue that now. Bob’s unfinished work gave Irma the opportunity to become his co-creator—she added a yarmulke. So, is it finished now? Perhaps it will never be. Perhaps it ought not to be.

As we approach Purim, we should keep this idea in mind. On Purim, it is customary to give donations in the form of half a shekel (Machatzit Hashekel), substituting the Biblical commandment to only half. But a shekel is not a big amount, so why request an even smaller amount? One of the beautiful teachings is that one is never complete without the one who holds the other part.

May we all have a happy month of Adar and Chag Purim Sameach.

—Rabbi Gadi

It is the time of year that we read about the Ten Plagues and the eventual liberation of the children of Israel from Egypt. Their thrust into the desert was the moment they became a people — a people of immigrants. For the rest of the Torah, they will be roaming the wilderness. So it’s not surprising that the Torah is full of mandates to love and care for the immigrant. The Torah calls us in dozens of different ways to love the stranger, as we were all strangers. Many immigrants pay with blood to arrive on safe shores. They make a blood covenant with Lady Liberty and the ideal of freedom, just as the children of Israel had to apply blood on their doorposts in order to leave.

As an immigrant and a son of immigrants, I always felt comfortable in America — the land of immigrants. Beyond the discussion about legal or illegal immigration, we must not forget that we are playing with many lives. But for those undocumented, they live in the shadows. Their liberation would not be to leave, but to stay. In America, immigration and its many issues should not be perceived as a hot potato, but rather as its meat and potatoes. While we are debating a comprehensive solution to the immigration system, let’s not forget that life doesn’t wait. Many families formed, many children were raised, and for many, this is the only reality they know. Let’s deal with this issue as we deal with life itself, starting with the life in the womb.

I often compare the discussion about immigration to that of abortion. Just as many of us wouldn’t want to end the life that developed in the womb, we shouldn’t want to uproot the life of a family. America may secure its borders but cannot ignore the life that developed in its womb. Deportation, like abortion, sometimes is necessary. According to Jewish law, “life” begins after 40 days in the womb, the time of the first heartbeat. Similarly, in immigration, after a certain point, life develops.

Immigration is a religious act. It is willing to leap forward through a bloody door. The Prophet Ezekiel says: “And when I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: In your blood, live; I said to you: In your blood, live;” (16:6) According to our rabbis, Ezekiel is referring to the lamb’s blood on the doorpost and the blood of the covenant with God who gives life (also circumcision), the blood we are willing to give in order to reach a better existence. Immigrants don’t just develop life here, they bring life with them. Accepting the immigrant gives the other side an opportunity to fulfill many mitzvoth. Immigrants are our way to be God fearing. Ultimately, they can be the best ambassadors on earth, and also in heaven in front of God.

Blessings,

—Rabbi Gadi Capela

By its name, Jerusalem is a city of peace (“they shall regard peace”), and for centuries the object of hope for the Jewish people. The yearning to return to Jerusalem was not simply to return home, but to return to God, with Jerusalem acting as the bridge between earth and heaven. The Talmud (Taanit 5a) brings a midrash where God Himself says, “I shall not arrive in the heavenly Jerusalem (Yerushalayim shel Maa’la) until I arrive at the earthly Jerusalem (Yerushalayim shel Mata).”

In essence, Jerusalem is built on two levels: The road to redemption in heavenly Jerusalem goes through its earthly twin. God will not bestow His blessing of peace from heaven until we bestow the blessing of peace on each other here on earth. The Jewish yearning is to bridge the physical and the spiritual Jerusalem, where the angels from Jacob’s Ladder will continue to go up and down, and where it feels as comfortable on earth as in heaven.

Following President Trump’s Jerusalem’s speech, the Conservative Movement worldwide — including 13 of its institutions, the Rabbinical Assembly, United Synagogue, and the Jewish Theological Seminary — issued the following statement:

“Jerusalem is Judaism’s holiest city and the capital of the State of Israel, as the Conservative Movement has long maintained in resolutions and public statements. We are pleased at the President’s initiative, that the United States government will now recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and begin the process of moving the American  diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv.

“The status of Jerusalem is a matter to be settled in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. But in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and planning to move the American embassy to a location under uncontested Israeli sovereignty, the U.S. government acknowledges the age-old connection that Israel and the Jewish people maintain with the holy city.

“We urge the U.S., Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the international community to take the bold steps needed to advance a two-state solution and a regional accord between Israel and its neighbors. Now more than ever, Israelis and Palestinians deserve a just and durable peace that protects the security of Israelis and grants to Palestinians an independent state in which to realize their national aspirations.”

I believe our movement’s message summarizes and encapsulates the elements that are needed for us to strive for a peaceful earthly Jerusalem. Whether the President’s announcement was simply stating an existing reality, or meant as a will to “undo” the U.N.’s denial of any clear Jewish connection to Jerusalem in its resolution last year, the fact is that Jerusalem is where we have established our capital and we want that fact to be recognized. U.S. policy on the ground reflects an awareness that Jerusalem is a city subject to dual claims, both of which the United States still respects. And that shouldn’t disqualify the U.S. from being an honest broker between Israelis and Palestinians. I hope that other countries and leaders around the world will stand behind Israel and its right to make Jerusalem its capital.

Furthermore, neutrality is not necessarily the best strategy here. For two states to exist next to each other, the Palestinians should grant that right to Israel, too. U.N. resolutions should be calling on the Palestinians to stop their monetary support for terrorists, and stop teaching hate of Israel in their textbooks. Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel does not negate a Palestinian connection to the land. In fact, the Talmud continues to say that the ultimate obstacle to bridging the physical Jerusalem with the heavenly one is idol worshipping. Since all monotheistic faiths fight against idol worship, there should be no problem in having the Jewish sector and the Muslim sector next to each other.

There is divinity even in this political reality and discussion — a sacred and difficult conversation — as in a marriage. In fact, we say it at every Jewish wedding: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy.” That is to say, the relationship between God and the people of Israel is a marriage. There are ups and downs, and we can be away for a long time, but we are still married to each other.

As we enter the month of Tevet, let’s take to mind the lesson of Hanukkah and the candles we just lit for eight nights. At the end of the Haftarah for Shabbat Hanukkah: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, said the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) Eventually, Jerusalem will show us how to be in peace.

Chodesh Tov.

—Rabbi Gadi Capela