Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb (of whom I wrote a few posts ago) was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio’s program Worldview today. She spoke extensively about her recent trip to Iran with the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Among other things, she has a great deal of insight to share about her experiences with the Jewish community of Iran.

I believe she has some enormously important things to say - click below to listen:

Rabbi Lynn on Worldview

From this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Behar:

“But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with me.”  - Leviticus 25:23

In the middle of a litany of laws dealing with how to treat the resident alien (in Hebrew: “ger toshav“) we find this remarkable verse that suggests that at the end of the day, we are all really resident aliens after all.

This short verse has a myriad of spiritually radical implications. Just think of what our national priorities might look like if we truly took this idea to heart. Consider its impact on environmental policy, on immigration, on foreign policy, on trade…

As I mentioned in my last post, I believe this concept is absolutely intrinsic to the Jewish world view. The earth does not belong to us - it belongs to a greater and more transcendent Good. In the end, redemption will only come to the land when we truly come to realize the extent to which we are all but resident aliens upon it.

Check out the Mirembe Kawomera blog for some interfaith musings on the meaning of Fair Trade, moderated by my friend Ben Corey-Moran at Thanksgiving Coffee. I was honored to provide the Jewish point of view, alongside Reverend Will Scott (of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco), Nyla Khan (a teacher at the Islamic Foundation School in West Chicago) and Reverend Anne Myosho Kyle Brown (of the Kumeido Zen Center in California).

Here’s an excerpt from my piece:

I find a great deal of spiritual power in this teaching: that the world becomes ours to enjoy only when we acknowledge that it really doesn’t belong to us. I also believe that this insight has profound implications for a world in which humanity too often claims exclusive proprietorship over its bounty – where increasingly powerful interests are claiming ownership over increasingly diminishing resources.

I sometimes find myself wondering, what would it mean for our global world economy if we truly took this teaching to heart: that none of it was ever really ours to begin with? One thing I do believe is that it would force us to confront the chronic sense of entitlement we have toward the earth’s resources. And I also believe it would give us a much deeper sensitivity to the process by which goods and services reach our door.

You may recall my earlier posts about Miremebe Kawomera the incredible Ugandan Jewish/Christian/Muslim Fair Trade Coffee cooperative with which JRC has partnered actively over the years. I’m excited to report that we will be visiting our good friends at the MK coop as part of JRC’s congregational service delegation to Rwanda/Uganda this July. Stay tuned for much more on this one!

I’m proud to say that the Founder’s Gathering of Shomer Shalom - a new organization promoting a Jewish path of nonviolence - will take place this weekend at JRC from May 15-18. This important new effort was created by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb (above), who has been “walking the peace walk” Jewishly for decades now. Shomer Shalom is an attempt to find a new Jewish grounding for the work of nonviolence on a personal as well as communal level.

Individually, members of Shomer Shalom will be committed to living a nonviolent Jewish life and are encouraged to participate in nonviolence organizations as Jews and to participate in Jewish organizations as practitioners of nonviolence. Collectively, Shomer Shalom will offer retreats and programs dedicated to nurturing the nonviolent faith of its members. It will also produce and distribute educational and liturgical materials rooted in Jewish nonviolent traditions.

I have recently joined Shomer Shalom’s “Council of Elders” (first time I’ve taken on such a venerable title!) and am excited about the prospects for a new Jewish organization whose time I believe has truly come. The Shomer Shalom website can give you more information about the schedule of the Founder’s Gathering as well as Shomer Shalom’s Organizational Principles.

Rabbi Lynn is currently leading a Fellowship of Reconciliation tour in Iran (a remarkable trip that was recently profiled in the Jerusalem Post) and will undoubtedly have much to share at the gathering this weekend. Before she left, she and I corresponded with one another about Shomer Shalom and it’s spiritual/ideological assumptions. Here is an excerpt from one of her e-mails to me - it should give you some idea about the depth of her passion and conviction:

In the case of war, I believe a Shomer Shalom makes a calculation that somebody has to stand for peace, has to be that person in the midst of conflict that both sides can turn to as a party who refuses to engage in harmful conflict. And it is true that a person who embraces nonviolence as a way of life rejects solutions that intentionally cause harm because how do we actually know what those certain terrible circumstances actually are in which violence might be redemptive? Who is to judge?

The rabbis taught, once the arrow leaves the bow, not even the mightiest warrior can bring it back. We in fact have no control over the violence we unleash. What we do know, however, is that violence once unleashed sets off a cycle of revenge that ravages future generations. There are so many examples of this that I do not think anyone can truthfully make an argument that violence ever redeemed us.

I hope to see many of you at the Founder’s Gathering.

As you can see, I’ve shaken up the design of the blog a little bit because, well, for no real reason actually. Other than the outward look of things, it’s the same ol’ Shalom Rav.

BTW: I’ve also acquired a new and easier domain name: rabbibrant.com. But don’t worry if you’ve bookmarked the old address - that one will still lead here as well…

During this past week, Israel and Jews around the world celebrated its 60th birthday while Palestinians commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakhba (the “catastrophe).”  A complicated anniversary to say the least: for Israelis Yom Ha’atzmaut marks the moment of their liberation; for Palestinians, it represents the commencement of their exile from their land. How on earth can we reconcile such a profoundly contradictory milestone?

A verse from this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, might be instructive:

You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly — Leviticus 27:20

As we generally tend to regard the olive as a symbol of peace and tranquility, it is rather jarring to read that only “beaten olives” were considered fit for lighting the lamps in the Tent of Meeting. Rashi points out that this Hebrew term, “shemen zayit zach katit” refers to olive oil that was obtained from the first pressing, which yields the purest form of the oil and is free of external ingredients. (Even today, the term “first cold press” designates the purest form of extra-virgin olive oil).

Perhaps we can take our cue from Rashi’s insight that from oppression can come purity. Perhaps the best way to rise above the cognitive dissonance of Yom Ha’atzmaut/Al Nakhba  is to support and celebrate the instances in which both peoples are rising above the intractability of the conflict to promote coexistence in their land.

In this regard, I commend to you “Planting Justice: Two Trees Initiative,” a new campaign sponsored by Rabbis for Human Rights - North America that will support the re-planting of olive trees in the West Bank as well as in impoverished Jewish neighborhoods in Israel. I’d like to suggest that efforts such as these offer us all a more fitting way to commemorate this painfully complex anniversary - by helping to pursue the dream of justice for Jew and Arab alike and to the nurture the possibility of peace and reconciliation.

(I’m thrilled to say I am currently joining the national board of Rabbis for Human Rights - North America - an organization whose work I have long admired. I hope you will consider adding RHR-NA to your list of organizations eminently worthy of your support).

If you are reading the news about recent global crises and you’re feeling overwhelmed and impotent, I’ve always found that actually doing something seems to help allay my feelings of helplessness.

To help aid victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, I’m encouraging donations through the International Development Enterprises. IDE Myanmar opened in 2004 and is one of the few organizations that is doing both relief and development work in all of the affected areas and also has government permission to go into them. Donations to IDE Myanmar will be used for relief aid to survivors of the cyclone in the Irrawaddy Delta region, many of whom have no shelter, food or fuel. Most critically, IDE will initially focus on providing immediate relief but will also plan for rebuilding communities to be self sufficient in the long-term.

On a wider front, Avaaz.org is organizing a campaign to deliver the following petition to G8, UN and EU leaders to respond to the growing world food crisis::

We call on you to take immediate action to address the world food crisis by mobilizing emergency funding to prevent starvation, removing perverse incentives to turn food into biofuels and managing financial speculation, and to tackle the underlying causes by ending harmful trade policies and investing massively in sustainable agricultural productivity in developing nations.

(For important background on the food crisis, I recommend this excellent NY Times editorial.)

“The state will not be given to the Jewish people on a silver platter.”

So went the famous statement attributed to Chaim Weizmann in 1947, not long after the UN’s decision to partition Palestine. While historians debate as to whether this quote was actual or merely apocryphal, it attests to the profound sense of foreboding in the days leading up to the 1948 War – and to the realization that Jewish independence would almost certainly entail grave sacrifice.

No silver platter, indeed. Now, after 60 years of sacrifice more painful than we ever could have ever imagined, we find ourselves back where we began: witnessing an international effort to partition the land into Jewish and Palestinian states. We might well ask ourselves, what was it all for? As Yom Hazikaron – Israel’s Memorial Day – approaches, we would do well to ask ourselves: were the deaths of the fallen in vain? And if not, then how might we honor their terrible sacrifice?

There can be no doubt that the stakes of the current “partition effort” are unbearably high. If Israel does not find the wherewithal to forge a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the tragic sacrifices of the past 60 years can only give way to one of two scenarios: the end of Israel as a Jewish state or a Jewish apartheid state living in perpetual conflict with a majority Palestinian population. Do any of us really believe that either scenario would honor the sacrifice of those who died defending the dream of Jewish independence?

No, the state was not given to Israel on a silver platter. But on this Yom Hazikaron, it is time to ask, how much sacrifice will be enough? How much tragedy must the peoples of Israel and Palestine endure before they realize that their mutual futures depend on their living together and not dying together?

This point was never made more eloquently than by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in a 1993 speech that now resonates with tragic poignancy:

Let me say to you, the Palestinians: we are destined to live together on the same soil, in the same land. We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians.

We say to you today in a loud and a clear voice: enough of blood and tears. Enough. We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred towards you. We, like you, are people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, to live side by side with you in dignity, in empathy, as human beings, as free men. We are today giving peace a chance, and saying again to you: Enough. Let us pray that a day will come when we all will say: Farewell to the arms.

In the end, there is only one way we can honor the memory of the fallen: by redoubling our resolve to pursue peace.

(This piece is part of the new collection “Pointing the Way to Peace and Security: A Resource for Rabbis and Cantors on Israel’s 60th Birthday,” published the Rabbinic Cabinet of Brit Tzedek V’shalom). Click on the link for the entire pdf).

Just finished playing an on-line quiz called “Consumer Consequences” - a test sponsored by American Public Media that helps you determine your personal environmental footprint. Based on your consumer habits in various categories (i.e. use of public transportation, energy bills, eating consumption, trash disposal) the quiz calculates how many earths it would take to sustain your personal lifestyle.

I’ll warn you ahead of time: your results will sober you up. To state the obvious, the earth simply wouldn’t be able to support its 6.6 million residents if everyone lived like a typical over-consuming American. (A critical statistic: we Americans constitute 5% of the world’s population, but consume 25% of the world’s energy).

Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, the test itself is actually pretty fun to take (they even let you pick a goofy avatar persona). Along the way it also includes important insights about American consumption and tips on how you can reduce your footprint. One especially interesting feature: you can compare your footprint with reporters from various American Public Media programs. (Full disclosure: mine is almost equivalent to the the footprint of Krista Tippett, host of “Speaking of Faith“).

You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kin but incur no guilt on their account. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Eternal. — Leviticus 19:17-18

As I read these famous verses from this week’s Torah portion Parashat Kedoshim, I am still overcome by the incredible testimony of a Rwandan genocide survivor who spoke at JRC last night as part of our Yom Hashoah commemoration. Immaculee Mukantaganira, who now lives in South Bend, IN, lost more than 60 members of her family during the 1994 genocide: her husband, two of her children, her parents, as well as sisters, brothers, cousins, other relatives and close friends. Her words to us were alternately heartbreaking, courageous, and often beyond comprehension.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of her presentation was her description of how Rwandan society is attempting to heal from this impossibly tragic episode in their recent history. Unlike the Jewish community following the Holocaust, Rwanda is a society in which victim and perpetrator continue to live side by side - where Tutsi and Hutu continue to strive to live as neighbors. Could we even hope to imagine that the Tutsis would ever be able to reach a place where they “do not hate their kinfolk in their hearts?”

To this end, the Rwandan political establishment has outlawed Hutu/Tutsi tribal loyalties in order to promote one universal Rwandan identity. And for the past few years, “Gacaca courts” have been attempting help the country achieve a semblance of justice and reconciliation. The mixed success of these efforts demonstrates how Rwanda is, in so many ways, a nation struggling to understand the true meaning of the verses above.

For her part, Immaculee provided us with one example of a woman who is doing what she can to move past unimaginable pain and hatred to a place of healing and forgiveness. I encourage you to read this article in the South Bend Tribune to learn more about her story.