Category: Rabbi Michal’s Blog

This week, Justice lost a fight and a fighter. It is difficult to follow my own advice from the High Holy Days with the whirlwind of politics that escalated over the past weeks, culminating in appointment of a new Supreme Court justice via a process that seemed far from just. When I think of how a group of us sat together on Shabbat morning and wrestled with issues of gender and equity in our tradition and liturgy, I am reminded of how deeply entrenched male power is in human society. And while we progressive Jews can look at the stories of men acting badly throughout Torah as lessons of lo ta’aseh – don’t do that – we know there remain plenty of Jewish communities that continue to treat our texts and patriarchs as without blemish. Equality between men and women lasted all the way through chapter one of Genesis. Yet, we also see examples of women taking stands, demanding their rights, and men accepting blame and apologizing. Read the story of Tamar fin Genesis chapter 38 or some inspiration! But the examples are sadly scarce.

We have a long way to go. And we cannot become caught in the frustration and anger, but rather must look forward, both far and near, and figure out how we can help create the world we want to see, in our homes, our communities and our workplaces. We must each have a vision and determine where our energy and our priorities lie, trusting that collectively our myriad passions and skills will cover the breadth of possible need. The only unacceptable outcome is anyone looking back and thinking, Why didn’t I….. or I should have…….

Estelle Katz, who died last week, had vision. One vision, her desire to be a physician, was not one she was able to fulfill in her lifetime due to restrictions based on her religion and gender. Throughout her life Estelle found ways to support others oppressed because of their minority status, in both very personal and and via legal, organizational avenues. She pursued justice as long as she was able. Her commitment is a model for caring about those both near and far.

Below you will find information on a number of community events focused on justice, both near and far. Well before the Kavanaugh hearings highlighted the issue, the Milwaukee Jewish community had launched an effort to address the issue of domestic and sexual violence. I was excited to be part of a very diverse group of representatives from the Jewish community to begin to vision this effort, called SHOFAR. The kick-off event will take place on November 13th and feature gymnast Aly Raisman. This weekend, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will be speaking in our community at CBINT. I worked with Shmuly as a student and was thrilled to watch as he made a huge impact in NYC with the Teudat Tzedek – a certification that restaurants were service just food and not just technically kosher food. I expect his talk to inspire us for the work ahead of us.

I am still hearing and feeling the echoes of Rosh Hashanah: our music, wisdom shared by our speakers, voices of readers of Torah and poetry, the beauty of our new artwork, the delight of being together. During these these days-in-between you might find moments to stop along the way to hear your own echoes and to remember if there was anything that needs to be said to someone close to you, including yourself.

As you heard from Jason, the list of people to thank is long, and much longer still when we add the names of those who made SO much happen over the past year. As you heard from me, we will continue to work on ways to make it easy, rewarding, and meaningful to connect to and support one another and the community in the coming year. Looking back and forward, I wish to acknowledge Max Samson and Michelle Bak, who led the RHII retreat and are leading and Shabbat Shuva Service, respectively, enhancing our holiday experience and allowing me to be a bit more Michal and a bit less Rabbi for some blessed moments during these days.

I appreciate the compliments, comments, and requests received following Rosh Hashanah services as I continue to fine-tune our ritual for Yom Kippur and think about the years to come. There will be a formal opportunity to share feedback when the holidays are over, but your input is welcome at any time.

Please look closely at the schedule below for all the details for Yom Kippur and the plans for the weeks to come! Please also note the special requests for maintaining our sacred space, the HHD Food Drive, and break-the-fast meal.

The Torah was commanded to us by Moses, right?  Well, maybe not, but that does not stop up from chanting these words as we redress the scroll. Part of the beauty and wonder of our approach to Jewish tradition is blending the mythic and historic, the literal and interpretation, and enhancing keva – fixed practice – with kavannah – intention.

As we studied the book of Deuteronomy this past shabbat we simply accepted that some verses from chapter 6 went into the black box of the Babylonian exile and came out “the Sh’ma”, as did a lot of the rabbinic practice that appeared in the Mishnah in the third century C.E. We read in the book of Kings that a priest of King Josiah of Judah “found” a book of law that mirrored Josiah’s own political and religious priorities, which were immediately instituted. Yet this knowledge does not temper the reverence with which we regard these texts.

The “discovery” of Deuteronomy in the early 600’s prompted us to want to know about the history of the other books or Torah, history that I could not give in sufficient detail. So, as any good teacher does when she can’t answer her students, I did some research.  Here is the current state of scholarship on this topic.

The oldest texts are likely the J texts, which may date back to the unified monarchy of David and Solomon in the 10th century B.C.E.  The E texts are at least a century younger and likely a contribution of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Priestly texts are the youngest and attributed to the Babylonian exile as well as early in the period after the return in 539 CE. This P source is also credited with a significant redaction role.

This is certainly interesting and useful information to think about. But it doesn’t do so much for our emotional or spiritual lives, I suspect. So, as we celebrate the treasure of our Torah on Shabbat morning, singing Torah tziva lanu Moshe! is a pretty good interpretation.

This week marks a year since my family and I arrived in Milwaukee and to Congregation Shir Hadash. It has been a lovely year and we are grateful be here and looking forward to year two!

If you check out you Milwaukee Jewish Chronicle you will find my column on the challenge of the conflicting calendars in summertime. As Americans, especially this week, we are all about rest, leisure, and barbecues. The Jewish calendar spends these same months counting the days leading to disaster as we remember the destruction of the temples and myriad other Jewish catastrophes. In the article I suggest that today we need to use this day to look beyond our own stories and history and respond with empathy to those of our neighbors as well.

Of course, this includes the disasters unfolding around us daily, so this year mid-summer mourning does not feel so far off. I was honored to represent Shir at the immigration rallies last shabbat and pleased that both Susie Stein and I made the local paper and national media with our experiences as the child/grandchild of immigrants. We have a lot of work to do to assure that our nation’s sick be healed, captives be freed, and those bent down be brought upright.

Looking forward, I hope many of you will join us for the special program on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis on the 9th and invite friends who will be interested. And it is an important time for us all to have opportunities to be with nurtured, fed, and connected, so I hope someone is inspired to host our community table on July 13th. Please let me know!

One year together – so exciting, right? Did you know Rabbi David and Sandy are celebrating 50 this shabbat? Come join them, and your Shir chevre this Friday at 7 in our usual space. It will be good to bring our hearts, souls, and voices together in prayer and community.