LESSONS LEARNED
“…but you the Lord took and brought (us) out of Egypt, that iron blast furnace, to be His very own people, as is now the case.”
(Deuteronomy 4:20)
Without those seemingly endless years
lifetimes of our people as slaves
would we be here now?
Those agonizing years in a blast-furnace
taught us much
things that have served us well to this day
that have helped us endure:
thousands of years
of exiles from many lands
persecutions and unspeakable cruelty
taught us to maintain our faith and trust in God;
in one another; in the future
while praying for redemption, even in darkest times,
of which we have endured far too many
most recently on October 7th, 5784
Those years in Egypt purified us
tempered us
made us tough and strong and resilient
At our Seders, we are Moses in Deuteronomy
reminding ourselves while
teaching the next generation the stories and
lessons of our past, of those years in Egypt
that made it possible for us to be here now,
re-telling those stories every year
stories that have become internalized
embedded in our DNA
stories that no matter what befalls us
continue to give us hope and faith and strength
Am Yisrael Chai!
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO “THE GREATER GOOD”?
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
If not now, when?” ~ Hillel
Once upon a time, long, long ago, in ancient times of naïveté
most folks shared a concept not mentioned much today: “the greater good”
In those quaint days
people were expected to think not only of themselves, but also of others
and of society as a whole
People valued one another and their country
they made sacrifices when necessary for the greater good
and if folks disagreed, they most often could, and would, compromise
Things have certainly changed, but why?
Even wolves and cave men figured out that cooperation works
far better for any group than does selfishness because
it enables them to have better lives
The mere thought of doing the most good for the most people
has somehow become sinful
has been shot down and buried
along with humanistic values
“Love your neighbor as yourself”
devalued; ignored; almost forgotten
making relationships fraught
between people; communities; countries
Look around our world -
at the countries run by theocracies like Iran
by dictators or gangs or anarchists
or terrorists, like Gaza
by those who “govern“ others, but serve themselves
Look at lands whose people are ruled with an iron fist
whose people are barraged by propaganda and falsehoods
who are desperate and fear for their lives if they do not obey
and who, brainwashed, come to believe what their leaders teach them
because their leaders do not believe in the greater good
only in their own
How do we not fight fire with fire and still survive?
How do we still believe in, and act for, the common good?
How do we bring shalom to such a world?
- Debbie Troner
OUR HEARTS ARE IN THE EAST
We are there now
in Eretz Israel, where our hearts
are deeply rooted in ancient soil
Our homeland, filled now with such suffering
It hangs in the air: curtains of pain,
of longing for all that has been lost
Curtains that separate what was from what is
So many loved ones murdered; gone forever
So many stolen; for them, there still is hope
Security; jobs; pleasure; joy; trust; expectations
Shalom, within and outside of us
Gone
Now, in our homeland,
no sleep can “knit up the raveled sleeve of care”*
In this nightmare, there is no rest or respite
From this nightmare, we cannot wake
How will it end?
Will Shalom ever return?
*Spoken by Shakespeare’s Scottish king, Macbeth
-Debbie Troner
THE HATFIELDS AND McCOYS
Forgiveness is not a theme frequently discussed in the Torah, but Joseph is credited with being the first to do so; indeed, forgiving his brothers for their despicable treatment of him was heroic, especially in those early days when revenge killings were common. One could argue that Esau was actually the first to forgive, but he had the incentive of being given a great deal of wealth by Jacob before they were reconciled - far more than enough to be compensated for the birthright Jacob bought for a pittance.
Here is a poem I wrote about forgiving (or not):
The Hatfields and McCoys
Capulets and Montagues
Child’s play compared to Israel and Egypt
who have shared complex family, religious, and political history
for thousands of years and stories
We recall that Egypt took us in more than once
feeding us in times of famine
Abram and Sarai traveled there in such a time
with Sarai’s Egyptian servant, Hagar
Hagar, mother of Ishmael by Abram
Isaac and Ishmael, brothers!
Would things be different now
if Hagar hadn’t been provocative;
if Sarai hadn’t been jealous;
if both hadn’t been cruel?
Joseph, Abraham’s grandson, found himself in Egypt
having been sold into slavery by his brothers
He rose to prominence in the House of Potiphar
where, after a false accusation and dramatic downfall
he ultimately became Pharaoh's right-hand man
His wife, Asenath, was Egyptian
Their sons were Efraim and Menasseh
In those days, Egypt and Israel, Jacob’s tribe,
had no quarrel with one another
Perhaps they remembered their kinship and shared history
Would things be different now
if memories were longer and kinship had been more highly valued?
if God did not want to separate his people, Israel,
from all other nations?
Joseph: dreamer and visionary
consummate logistician and administrator
Let us remember that Pharaoh, in appreciation,
allowed Joseph to bring his entire family to Egypt
in one of many famines:
Jacob; Leah; Rachel; Bilhah; Zilpah
and eleven of the twelve
whose descendants became Israel's tribes
Pharaoh gave them a large area in which to settle: Goshen
They thrived there; increasing in number
and wealth beyond measure
The dreamer dreamed
Abundance followed by famine; seven years each
The farmers gave Pharaoh their grain to store in times of plenty
against the times of famine that were to come
The master plan compelled them to buy it back
Buy it back! when famine arrived
They ended up as serfs, having had to sell their land to Pharaoh
in order to buy back their own grain
Would things be different now
if Pharaoh had been less greedy?
if Joseph had insisted on giving back
what the farmers had freely given?
Many long years of prosperity and ease
became many long years of slavery and hardship
setting into perpetual motion
the wheels of bitterness and resentment
distrust and alienation
between countries
between cousins
that endures to this day
The Hatfields and McCoys
Capulets and Montagues
Playground squabbles compared to the Egyptians and Israelis
Sharing now, at least/at last, a cold peace
Could things have been different?
Could they be different now?— Debbie Troner
Rabbi’s Shabbat in Israel
It all begins with an idea.
Rabbi had a very special Shabbat in Jerusalem on the GMJF mission. He davened this morning with fellow mission participants at Kehilat Kol HaNeshama.
Home | Kol Haneshama Community Jerusalem Israel | Jerusalem
Kehilat Kol HaNeshama is a Jewish religious community based in Jerusalem. We are affiliated with the Reform Movement in Israel, sharing the values of pluralism, equality, Zionism, social justice, peace, and volunteerism. Kol HaNeshama is a caring and supportive community where people pray, and study
Motzei Shabbat was a night out for mission participants. Tomorrow is another full day in Jerusalem.
Rabbi’s Day Three in Israel!
It all begins with an idea.
Rabbi is spending his final night in Jerusalem with the. Tomorrow bus 17 will be on the road to Tel Aviv.
Today rabbi and members from our community and Beth David learned about Remilk - a company that producing dairy milk without cows. https://www.remilk.com
He then made his way to a merkaz klita - the Jewish Agency's Shoshana Absorption Center in Kiryat Gat. Followed by a hummus lunch in Sderot and spent time in Otef Aza where we had a security briefing.
Included is a picture of Rabbi at Netiv Ha'asara in front of the Path to Peace Wall. https://www.pathtopeacewall.com/aboutus
Bus 17 ended their day with an early dinner and a meaningful Yom HaZikaron ceremony.
Rabbi’s second day in Israel!
It all begins with an idea.
Sunday found bus 17 on the move yet again! Rabbi enjoyed a full day of exploring, cooking, and making memories in our homeland with Bet Shira and Beth David members
Rabbi’s First Day In Israel!
Rabbi arrived in Israel this morning and has already packed quite a bit in...
Rabbi's first destination upon arriving in Jerusalem was to drop off his luggage at the King David hotel. From there he made his way to the Kotel. After davening, Rabbi made his way to the bakery of our good family friend Ayman in the Christian Quarter. Following some more stops to visit friends in the Old City, Rabbi was ready for his favorite soup establishment and got the kubbeh! The mission officially begins in a few hours.