“Tis a gift to be simple: How to Experience the Winter Celebrations in an Eco-Conscious Manner” was presented by Linda Ott of Sustaining Way at our Temple, December 5th.
Linda comes to the SCIPL (South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light) Director role most recently as a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary with a Masters of Theology in Creation Care. Linda’s vocation life journey included the military, social work, business, and law. Her passion for creation care stems from her time at Drew Theological School, where she completed a Masters of Divinity and discovered her passion for understanding the intersection of faith and the care of creation.
The occasion was one of Interfaith collaboration and good cheer.
My favorite pop online magazine is called Tablet. It covers news from the Mideast to America and parts in-between. Though more cultural than religious Tablet does favor from time to time some spiritual reviews such as an occasional Talmudic response to current concerns affecting Jews.
At the time of writing, and I believe in anticipation of Chanukah, the hate-filled pronouncements by the Nation of Islam Farrakhan were reviewed.
Homophobic and anti-Semitic, this “minister” spews out his hatred through Twitter to nearly one half million followers. Some examples include: his referring to Jews as “Satanic” and claiming that they control most industries and many nations with their secret cabal; Farrakhan has described Adolf Hitler as “a very great man” and has repeatedly argued that the 9/11 attacks were a Jewish conspiracy.
On the other side of the racial divide come the hatemongering actions of White supremacist Richard Spencer. His sanitized pronouncements are offered in the name of authentic white pride called the “Identarian Movement.” His vitriol includes his advocating for a white homeland for the “dispossessed white race” and calling for “peaceful ethnic cleansing” to halt the “deconstruction” of European culture. As a featured speaker at the Charlottesville demonstrations, Spencer’s followers often use the hated Nazi salute and pronouncements of “blood and soil.” That anyone would embrace an ideology that caused the death of millions upon millions boggles the imagination.
As Chanukah approaches we are reminded of the twin concerns which the celebration embraces: the first is the preservation of the Jewish people and its faith and the second is the support given to the notion of freedom. The American experiment has similarly championed these endeavors which regrettably come into conflict. On College campuses restrictions are being advocated to thwart hate speech. How to measure the unacceptability of one presentation against another is the troubling question of our times. To this end, many appearances by speakers for Israel have met with opposition and at times, censorship. It is a slippery slope that we slide down when we thwart free speech.
On the other hand we can become so open minded that our brains fall out. In this age of Twitter, Facebook and Snopes, I have no simple answers except to note that the complacency of many of our European brothers and sisters prior to the Holocaust is something we need not repeat. I have firsthand knowledge of the events in Charlottesville from a colleague and classmate. It was horrifying for him to see the neo-Nazis standing with an intimidating stance with guns outside his Temple.
It occurs to me that there are two Chanukahs of history, the one celebrating the spiritual light, the miracle of God’s light, and the other the prideful recollection of Jewish military resistance. I prefer the former to the latter. Some years ago, I saw in a Jewish home a menorah made out of a spent shell from the six day war. I was stunned to see this martial display, and not the more recognizable decorative and peaceful candelabrum.
I pray for the day when we will have the need for the one that spreads only light and not for the one that emphasizes our resolve to defend ourselves if necessary.
Please be reminded that Linda Ott from Sustaining Way will be speaking at Temple B’nai Israel on Tuesday, December 5 at 12:00 noon on the topic “Tis a gift to be simple: How to Experience the Winter Celebrations in an Eco-Conscious Manner”. Please see attachments. We hope you will join us for this informative lecture. Lunch will be served as well. RSVP to the temple at 864-582-2001.
Linda comes to the SCIPL (South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light) Director role most recently as a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary with a Masters of Theology in Creation Care. Linda’s vocation life journey included the military, social work, business, and law. Her passion for creation care stems from her time at Drew Theological School, where she completed a Masters of Divinity and discovered her passion for understanding the intersection of faith and the care of creation.
As a people of history it is essential to recall how it is we got from there to here; at times in celebration, at times in consolation. The review by one of my long time colleagues and classmates reviews the partition plan and the little the world hesitatingly gave our people after the Shoah, the Holocaust.
RABBI YOSSI LIEBOWITZ
by rabbijohnrosove
Seventy years ago today, November 29, 1947, the newly formed United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish state and one Arab state. The Jewish people led by David Ben Gurion accepted the Partition Plan but it was rejected by all Arab States.
Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, a leading American Reform Rabbi and Zionist from Cleveland, and the Director of the Jewish Agency for Israel, spoke to the United Nations. Among other things he said eloquently the following:
“… it is of course appropriate that it be clear – and I am sorry that messages delivered in recent days by certain representatives may confused what ought to be clear – that when we speak of a Jewish state we do not mean a racist or theocratic state; but a state which will be based upon full equality and full rights for all if its inhabitants, without any discrimination between religions or races, and without a takeover or enslavement …”
Rabbi Silver also spoke about the moral and practical necessity in the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) following the horrors of the Holocaust that had ended only two years before. At the same time, he emphasized the human lesson from those years:
“… We are an ancient people, and even though we frequently experienced disappointment in the long and hard road we’ve traveled, our hearts have never dissolved. We have never lost our belief in the superiority and victory of grand moral principles. In the recent tragic years, when the entire house of Israel turned into one big house of torment, we could not build what we have built if we had not placed our safety in true victory…”
Here, Rabbi Silver speaks about the role of American Jewry in the building of the future Jewish state:
“American Jewry is obligated – to itself and to the entire nation – to completely accept upon itself the burden of scripture and the historic future of Judaism. This grand responsibility will have to gain strength from within itself. It cannot once again depend on the table of the old world… to our satisfaction, American Jewry holds great human material, filled with belief and pride and a sense of responsibility… with which we can strengthen the foundation of the central and necessary institution in Jewish community life – the synagogue, which also a school. It is our duty to strongly emphasize the importance of Hebrew language and literature education. Without the study of the Hebrew language, American Jewry will be destined to spiritual infertility…
If Jewish destiny is placed in the hands of Jews for which Judaism is only a result of persecution, chance or a random gesture of kindness, it will surely sink into ignorance and indifference… if the steering wheel is left in the hands of Jews whose Judaism is an inner necessity, a covenant in their soul, who wish to continue to path of Jewish glory – both people and culture – only then can we be sure that the necessary institutions to enrich our lives, most importantly the synagogue and school – and particularly the school – will be established.
This link includes a speech given by Rabbi Silver before the United Nations on November 29, 19487 beginning at two minutes and thirty seconds to nine minutes and 40 seconds. You can hear, as well, the roll call vote of the nations voting on the Partition plan beginning at 11 minutes and 50 seconds.
The final vote was 33 to 13 with 10 abstentions in favor. The map as determined by the partition plan can be seen here and there is also a link to what countries voted for, against and abstained.
Tonight is the Winter Lighting program in Leonard Auditorium which starts at 6:30. After the indoor festivities, the audience will move outside to watch the lighting of Wofford’s 6-foot menorah in front of Old Main. That menorah lighting typically occurs between 7:20-7:30 depending on when the indoor program ends. The menorah lighting is a quick ceremony to mark the beginning of the holiday season. Please join the Rabbi tonight at Wofford College for the lighting.