Shabbat Shalom for One and All 6/19/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
Today, we not only celebrate Shabbat, but also Juneteenth, considered by many to be a second Independence Day, the day when the abolition of slavery truly took effect. For some context, the holiday commemorates the day (June 19, 1865), more than two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emmancipation Proclamation, on which Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War, and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It's likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before.
This day has become emblematic, full of the joy at the strength and vitality of the black community and their first steps toward equality under the law and in practice as legal, free citizens of this country, while at the same time noting that the racial disparities inherent in our system both then and now purposefully separate our siblings of color from white-presenting people.
On this Juneteenth, we are in the midst of an historic reckoning. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to learn more about this annual commemoration, which is more criticaly important this year than ever before:
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html
I also want to push each of us to see not only what is going wrong in our world, but where we fit into a picture of sustained work in building relational ties of justice with our silbings of color in our congregation, community, and nation. It is our responsibility to learn what we do not know about ourselves, our systems, and what being an ally truly looks like. On this Juneteenth, let's take a look at where we sit within our own community spaces. I hope we can each own our own stories, and see where we can act for a more just world. Here are some tools to assess how to reflect and move forward:
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/olcese.pdf
https://guidetoallyship.com/
We continue to have many fantastic ways to connect throughout our Kol Rinah community. All the links for minyanim, programs, and learning opportunities can be found below.
Today, at 10:30 am, Tammy Arnow will be leading a challah baking class for all who want to come and learn together. This afternoon, at 12:00 pm, Rabbi Arnow will be leading his weekly Torah Talk. Tonight, mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat begin at 6:00 pm. Candle lighting this evening begins Shabbat tonight at 8:11pm. Havdallah on Saturday night will be at 9:14 pm.
On Sunday, June 21, at 11:30 am we have another great learning opportunity featuring our wonderful friend Dr. Rebecca Epstein-Levi will be teaching about Queer narratives within the rabbinic works of our Jewish tradition.
And now, for a little Torah...
I am always fascinated by the story of the spies that appears in this week's Torah portion, Shelach Lecha. For a brief refresher, God gives the people an option to send twelve spies, one from each tribe, to scout out this Promised Land that they are heading toward. They go, survey the land and its inhabitants, and come back to report: ten of the spies say it is a hard land, full of violent and terrible giants, whereas two spies, Joshua and Caleb, report that the land is good and bountiful and a wonderful place to live.
Never before have I so deeply needed to hear this story. All twelve spies are smart, thoughtful people, leaders in their community, adults of depth and compassion. They journey together and view the same place, experience the same situation, and yet have completely different reactions and reports of that shared experience.
And in America, in 2020, I need to be reminded that my experience, my reality, simply is not the reality for everyone. Thank God, I am healty; many have lost their health or their lives. I can currently pay my bills; many of our friends, family, neighbors, and community members are struggling. I am able to go through my day-to-day life without a realistic fear of being hurt or killed by authority figures; far too many of our siblings of color, our queer and transgender siblings, and our immigrant siblings, have never felt such privilege.
My reality is not everyone else's, and projecting one's reality onto others, assuming that you understand or cn relate to their experience of the world can have disastrous consequences. In Parashat Shelach Lecha, the ten spies' terrifying report causes a panic that threatened to tear the Jewish People's fledgling community apart. In 2020 America, when we assume that our experiences, our feelings, and our reactions are the same or even comparable to other people, we ignore their own stories and superimpose ours instead.
It can be tempting when we see people whose experiences differ from our own to write them off as wrong, misinformed, naive, or just made up. It takes infinitely more strength and humility to appreciate the lived narratives of other human beings and to help carry them with empathy and openness. To truly move the needle forward toward a better world, one in which we can each be treated equitably and be appreciated for who we are, we need to do the hard work of listening to others without judgment, hearing and sharing our stories, and standing together with all those in need of our allyship when sytematic oppression and injustice target them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shafrin
Today, we not only celebrate Shabbat, but also Juneteenth, considered by many to be a second Independence Day, the day when the abolition of slavery truly took effect. For some context, the holiday commemorates the day (June 19, 1865), more than two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emmancipation Proclamation, on which Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War, and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It's likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before.
This day has become emblematic, full of the joy at the strength and vitality of the black community and their first steps toward equality under the law and in practice as legal, free citizens of this country, while at the same time noting that the racial disparities inherent in our system both then and now purposefully separate our siblings of color from white-presenting people.
On this Juneteenth, we are in the midst of an historic reckoning. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to learn more about this annual commemoration, which is more criticaly important this year than ever before:
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html
I also want to push each of us to see not only what is going wrong in our world, but where we fit into a picture of sustained work in building relational ties of justice with our silbings of color in our congregation, community, and nation. It is our responsibility to learn what we do not know about ourselves, our systems, and what being an ally truly looks like. On this Juneteenth, let's take a look at where we sit within our own community spaces. I hope we can each own our own stories, and see where we can act for a more just world. Here are some tools to assess how to reflect and move forward:
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/olcese.pdf
https://guidetoallyship.com/
We continue to have many fantastic ways to connect throughout our Kol Rinah community. All the links for minyanim, programs, and learning opportunities can be found below.
Today, at 10:30 am, Tammy Arnow will be leading a challah baking class for all who want to come and learn together. This afternoon, at 12:00 pm, Rabbi Arnow will be leading his weekly Torah Talk. Tonight, mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat begin at 6:00 pm. Candle lighting this evening begins Shabbat tonight at 8:11pm. Havdallah on Saturday night will be at 9:14 pm.
On Sunday, June 21, at 11:30 am we have another great learning opportunity featuring our wonderful friend Dr. Rebecca Epstein-Levi will be teaching about Queer narratives within the rabbinic works of our Jewish tradition.
And now, for a little Torah...
I am always fascinated by the story of the spies that appears in this week's Torah portion, Shelach Lecha. For a brief refresher, God gives the people an option to send twelve spies, one from each tribe, to scout out this Promised Land that they are heading toward. They go, survey the land and its inhabitants, and come back to report: ten of the spies say it is a hard land, full of violent and terrible giants, whereas two spies, Joshua and Caleb, report that the land is good and bountiful and a wonderful place to live.
Never before have I so deeply needed to hear this story. All twelve spies are smart, thoughtful people, leaders in their community, adults of depth and compassion. They journey together and view the same place, experience the same situation, and yet have completely different reactions and reports of that shared experience.
And in America, in 2020, I need to be reminded that my experience, my reality, simply is not the reality for everyone. Thank God, I am healty; many have lost their health or their lives. I can currently pay my bills; many of our friends, family, neighbors, and community members are struggling. I am able to go through my day-to-day life without a realistic fear of being hurt or killed by authority figures; far too many of our siblings of color, our queer and transgender siblings, and our immigrant siblings, have never felt such privilege.
My reality is not everyone else's, and projecting one's reality onto others, assuming that you understand or cn relate to their experience of the world can have disastrous consequences. In Parashat Shelach Lecha, the ten spies' terrifying report causes a panic that threatened to tear the Jewish People's fledgling community apart. In 2020 America, when we assume that our experiences, our feelings, and our reactions are the same or even comparable to other people, we ignore their own stories and superimpose ours instead.
It can be tempting when we see people whose experiences differ from our own to write them off as wrong, misinformed, naive, or just made up. It takes infinitely more strength and humility to appreciate the lived narratives of other human beings and to help carry them with empathy and openness. To truly move the needle forward toward a better world, one in which we can each be treated equitably and be appreciated for who we are, we need to do the hard work of listening to others without judgment, hearing and sharing our stories, and standing together with all those in need of our allyship when sytematic oppression and injustice target them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shafrin
Tue, May 6 2025
8 Iyyar 5785
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Tue, May 6 2025 8 Iyyar 5785