• Jews and Christians: Working For Israel

   

  The South Florida Jewish community has good reason to take pride in the accomplishments of our congregations and institutions. We are one of the largest Jewish communities in America with leadership that often sets the standard for communities around the country. I recently sat down with Eric Stillman, President and CEO of Jewish Federation of Broward County to discuss an important project that he has supported both personally and professionally. I share this column with my readers to make them aware of important, ground-breaking work in Jewish- Christian dialogue that touches each of our lives and promotes the safety and security of Medinat Yisrael.

  Q: Eric, you have been involved in Jewish- Christian dialogue for the past two years. How did you get involved in this project?

  A: The then Israel Counsel  General, Ofer Bavly, suggested that Pastor Mario Bramnik and I work together  to explore ways in which the Christian community and the Broward Pastors Network could work with Federation to develop pro-Israel programming in Broward county. I then understood that this joint effort was very important to the government of Israel. It proved that we were all on the same page about Israel advocacy. Over the past two years I have come to understand that we have much in common and share many of the same goals. Having had the opportunity to get to know many pastors and leaders of organizations like Christians United For Israel, I have come to appreciate a very fundamental truth: this Christian community does not want to convert Jews to Christianity. They support the State of Israel and the Jewish people because they believe that it is time to make amends for historical acts of Christian Anti-Semitism. They believe that they should embrace the Jewish people and embrace Israel as the Jewish homeland.

  Q: After your meetings with Consul Bavly and your discovery that Jews and Christians could create a powerful platform to support Israel did you find the community accepting of this new partnership or suspicious? Did the community understand how important this partnership was to the Israeli government?

  A: Many members of the community and the Federation leadership immediately saw the potential this initiative had- they encouraged others to support the work. I believe the leadership of our community understands that the Christian community’s support for us and for Israel is sincere and unconditional. I am happy to say that one of the outgrowths of our joint work for Israel has been the breaking down of many walls of mistrust and created opportunities for Jews and Christians to be open with each other.

  Q: What have you personally come away with through the process of building this partnership for Israel?

  A: I have learned that there are many members of the Christian community who understand our fear and skepticism about working together. They understand that there is good reason that many Jews see the cross as a weapon that has been used against us for centuries. I have come to understand that they truly want to create a bond with the Jewish community and, if you will, to make amends for “the sins of the fathers.”

  Q: How do you think this new kind of dialogue will affect Jewish attitudes about Christian support for Israel and a new beginning in interfaith communication? Can the progress made of the institutional level be translated into something tangible in the broader Jewish community?

  A: It’s not just the large scale events that get the message out- when rabbis and pastors speak to their congregations they can bring the message of Jews and Christians working together for Israel to their congregants. I have tried to do so by speaking about the subject at meetings and making the dialogue the subject of my weekly articles to the community. By talking openly we bring the message that this is important to us. Many people have told me that our programs have opened their eyes to many new ideas. They never knew or understood that the Christian community could be so supportive in helping us advocate for Israel.

  Q: Do you think that the ground-breaking work that you and others have been doing here in Broward county will serve as a model for other communities?

  A: Our efforts have been noticed by other federations and national organizations and we have received many inquiries about ways in which our achievements can be duplicated. I believe that other communities will start to emulate what we are doing. Our work is being replicated already and all of us stand ready to help other communities embrace this opportunity.

  Q:  Having spent so much time in the building of these new bridges to help Israel, where do you think these bridges lead for the American-Jewish community?

  A: We are healing the wounds that are deeply felt in the Jewish community. If we have personally experienced Anti-Semitism or heard the experiences of others we can heal those wounds by sharing our feelings with Christians who are genuinely aware of that pain and want to share a new kind of future with the Jewish community. It is important to know that we have Christian neighbors who are on our side and have our back for our right to live as Jews and for Israel to exist as the Jewish homeland.

   

   

  
  

Life after the Seders

As we prepared to celebrate this week of Passover most of us focused on the Seders. There is good reason to- the Seder tells the story of Passover, it is the Mitzvah of retelling the Exodus story, and it is that special evening that we get to sit around the Seder table enjoying family and friends. Even in homes in which very few of the holidays are observed, most families get together for this great evening of Jewish storytelling. While not everyone may hold both Seders, Passover is a special time to embrace the lessons of hope and freedom that emerge from 4000 years of Jewish history. I remind you, however, that Passover does not end with the Seder; in fact it is only the beginning.

The fact is that there is life after the Seder! It is in fact the quintessential essence of Jewish life- taking in the spirit of the Jewish past to animate the Jewish present. A Jew without history is an orphan. Like a child without parents, we would have no idea of where we came from, how we got here, or, most importantly, why we are here. While the Haggadah does much to help us understand our pedigree, it is the rest of Passover that ties up our “loose ends.” For an entire week we taste the bread of affliction, we eat the bread of slaves, and we celebrate the birth of our nation.  Then at the end of Passover we get one final chance to see the panorama of our people unfold both in terms of our life as a people and our lives as individuals.

Today tracing the history of one’s family has become the new kind of “scrap- booking.” People spend hours on ancestry websites trying to discover small pieces of unknown family history. The reasons for this “craze” may be many but I believe one is more important than the others- we long to know who we are- the only way we can truly understand that is by knowing from where and from whom we have come. Passover is our ancestry website. We log on using the Haggadah, we share what we have learned during the Seder, and, at last, we personalize the lesson on the eighth day of Passover by observing Yizkor. Yizkor then serves as our own personal ancestry lesson. We remember who made us who we are. We reconnect with where we came from. We realize we share a history and fate with all those who join in the recitation of Yizkor.

http://youtu.be/j0269QdDeKM


Click the YouTube link above to watch my Interview with Pastor Carlos Ortiz of Christians United For Israel. Remember that To Life LChaim now airs at 10:00 pm EST on Jewish Life TV

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The Purim Paradox

Next week we will celebrate Purim on Saturday night and Sunday. We set the stage for Purim in the time that has passed since the coming of the new month of Adar. Our tradition tells us that when the month of Adar arrives we are to increase the joy that we feel. This is an anticipatory kind of happiness- looking forward to celebrating should put us in a good mood, make our hearts more receptive to feeling joy, and inspire us to embrace the holiday. All this talk of joy makes me wonder what our sages had in mind- can we really be joyous just because a holiday comes? Can we choose to be “happy” with just the turn of the calendar?

I think most of us feel that happiness is not something that we can just turn on or off at will. There are times that we feel so sad that we can’t imagine ever smiling again. There are also times that we feel so happy that we forget that we ever felt sad! Most of our lives are spent somewhere in between those two extremes, living a mixture of happy and sad. The kind of good news/bad news the average day brings! So what did our Sages have in mind? Did they really think we could be “happy” at the drop of a hat? For some of us it might seem a paradox that we are being command to be happy. Both joy and sadness are feelings that creep into our hearts unexpectedly- we hardly ever think of them as the result of a conscience decision. I think all of us would choose to be happy if only it were that simple!

So what is all this talk of well-intentioned happiness over the month of Adar and the anticipation of Purim? Perhaps it’s the Jewish take on the old “is the glass half empty or half full” thing. When you really think about Purim seriously could become sad and, in fact, discouraged. Purim was the first act in a play that has run the entirety of Jewish existence. Purim: Haman hated us because we were different. He called us “outsiders.” He said we should not be included in society because of our beliefs. His words were repeated over and over by generations of those who hated us for no other reason than our very existence. For that we have suffered over and over. Good reason to be sad. Good reason to be saddened by a pain that has plagued our people in every time and place.

But to that temptation our Sages said “No!” It is not sadness that we feel but joy! The glass is “half full.” Every would-be Haman has failed. We are here to tell the story and mock (and erase) his memory. We choose to celebrate the continuity of Jewish life and to make light of every threat that we have faced. God said this to Abraham: Those who bless you shall be blessed, those who curse you shall be cursed.” Our Sages “command” us to find the joy in Purim because it is a day to celebrate rather than mourn.

Some of us choose to find the joys of being Jewish but some of us act like it is a curse. Purim is a good time to choose the joy of being Jewish. Despite all that we have faced we are the ones who are still around- telling and retelling the story each year and being happy just to be able to do it.

 

Keeping Israel Safe

 

What would you do if your neighbor had a canon pointed at your home? I think you would agree that just deciding to keep your windows closed might not be enough!  That canon would be a big exclamation point reminding you that it was time for action. We all know that Israel lives with multiple canons pointed at her everyday and yet the world says “Just close your windows and you will be safe.”  Windows offer no safety when your entire home has a big target painted on it. The only real safety is in removing the canon.

That is exactly what Israel did last week when it attacked an arms convoy inside Syria. The arms were to be delivered to Hezbollah terrorists to be used against Israeli planes. Yes, Syria and Iran have vowed to retaliate- is that anything new? Israel acted to protect itself and I praise the Israeli government for protecting its citizens. Am I a war monger? Don’t I understand that an attack inside Syria is dangerous? Yes, I do understand- but not to act is more dangerous.

Often times Israel is criticized for protecting herself or for acting is a pre-emptive strike. Whenever I hear such arguments I am reminded of a principle that our Sages discussed- the law of the rodef. Rodef is a Hebrew word meaning “to pursue.” The principle is simple and clear- if someone is pursuing you with the clear and explicit intent of hurting or killing you it is time to act. In our faith it is a moral imperative, a mitzvah, to protect yourself. You have often read my words about the preciousness of life. Judaism teaches that your own life is precious too. If someone plans to end your life you have an obligation to defend it. That may sound strange to many modern ears but speaks volumes about the wisdom of our tradition.

It is unfortunate that Jewish history is filled with examples in which people waited too long to act, waited too long for that canon to go away by itself, or for someone else to take it away. I think Americans are just beginning to understand the Israeli mentality. Recent violent events in our country have forced us into a new kind of awareness. Can you imagine living under the threat of not just “random” violence but the daily threat of terror and war?

Israel will be threatened and criticized for its action inside Syria- but it is vital that you remember that that this was not an act of war but an act of self-defense. To do anything less would be to betray the safety and future of Israel’s citizens.