Monday, October 27, 2014
Sermonic Response to Ottawa
Top of the evening to all.
You may remember that there was a terrorist attack in Boston about 18 months ago. I wrote a sermon in response to that event. After the attacks in Ottawa and in Quebec last week, I felt that I again needed to respond. The following sermon was delivered Shabbat Noach, October 25, 2014.
18 months ago, two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Over the week afterwards, several of you offered me condolences as an American over an attack that took place in one of the venerated cities of my birth country, and in one of the venerated cities of that nation's birth.
I went back and read the sermon I wrote in response to that event. It was a good sermon. With a few changes to the words, I could easily give the same sermon today. That sermon spoke of my condolences to all of us, as we had yet again had the point driven home that the number of soft targets that we take for granted, synagogues, subways, the ACC, or any place at which people gather, might be a target. We had all been attacked that day.
The events of this week both in Quebec and in Ottawa are a grim reminder of this continuing reality. As I mentioned then, the mundane act of looking both ways when crossing the street involves more now than just checking for traffic. As well, with Canada's seat of government attacked, this nation is forced to consider the uncomfortable possibilities of increased security at its most proudly public places. As such, I return those condolences to all of you.
But I will also again accept condolences in this regard. I accept condolences though not as an American. I accept them as someone who shares a bond with all those who wear a uniform. It is a bond that crosses borders. I accept them as someone who, like you, has just been attacked. I accept them as someone who has just seen the reminder that the US and Canada have far more in common than not. I accept them as someone, like you, who has had to find the balance between security and individual rights, between a visible, accessible government with the doors of Parliament wide open so that we can all see what happens there, balanced against the need to protect those inside.
I again want to point out some of the good that happened. The first responders reacted well. They secured the locations, tended to the wounded, and protected their charges. Four total strangers stood over a mortally wounded Soldier to help him, and making sure that the final words he heard were of love. O' Canada was sung at a hockey game between the Flyers and the Penguins, teams not from this country. Yet again, good people outnumbered the bad.
Words of consolation are clearly in order. As such, I remember that we stand together, Canadians, Americans, British, Australians, and all of the other nations that had to adjust their security posture this week. We do not just stand together with resolve against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, to take arms against a sea of troubles. We also stand together with the warmth of genuine friendship and concern not just for ourselves, but for each other. We stand together knowing that we can no longer walk placidly through the chaos, but also knowing that we do not walk through that chaos alone.
As the locals build the Tower of Babel, there is an old midrash that as the tower got higher and higher, there would be construction accidents. The builders would sit and cry when a brick fell, but would not pay heed when a person fell. We pay heed when our people fall. We feel when our people fall. We realize that what makes the soul of a community and the soul of a nation is not contained in its bricks, but in the values and beliefs of its people. We are those people. We care when one of our own falls.
Keep safe, everyone.
R/SCG
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Jennifer's Favourite Mitzvah Redux...
Top of the evening everyone...
A few years back, I wrote an entry to this blog entitled Jennifer's Favourite Mitzvah. It was a posting about mikveh. I would, first and foremost, like to reiterate some of the points of that posting.
The mikveh attendants of any city should meet once a month. Each mikveh has its own practices and customs. Often there is a great deal of logic behind those practices that should be shared with the world.
I also mentioned that a mikveh should be a place of physical health as well as spiritual health. To that end, the dressing rooms should have instructions for a monthly exam, as well as phone numbers to shelters and crisis counsellors.
There is a certain etiquette to the mikveh. In general, the women who go are there for the same reason. It is the end of the monthly cycle. They are there to immerse. They will then go home and resume intimate relations with their spouses after having taken an 11-day hiatus. That is not discussed, obviously. When we were still living in New York, there were times that I would go with Jennifer. When that happened, I would wait across the street or across the parking lot. There was NEVER eye contact with the women who were going. Again, this was an intimate moment for them. It is not to be intruded upon, especially by a stranger, and especially by a male. I call it a secret sorority. Most men have not been privileged with the password.
I write this now due to the pending case of a prominent rabbi in the Washington DC area. Allegedly, he had rigged a camera in the mikveh area. He is being charged with voyeurism.
This is appalling. That he would (allegedly) violate both the intimate spiritual life and the intimate marital life of these women is a betrayal on a grand scale. Frankly, it is a violation not just of the mikveh at Kesher Israel, but at every mikveh throughout the world. Every woman now must enter the mikveh with the knowledge that if it can happen in DC, it can happen anywhere.
What to do? First and foremost, the communities should pronounce a herem on him if and when he is convicted. This is effectively a communal silent treatment. He is not to be allowed to daven anywhere. No one is allowed to do any sort of business with him.
Second, no one person should ever be allowed into the mikveh area alone. This means the rabbis. This means the women who go. Usually, there is an attendant in there with the women. This is normal.
Third, every mikveh board should have women on it. It is in and of itself ludicrous that this needs to be said. Women are the primary users. Men often do not fully understand the intimacy involved. It is the natural result of being wired differently.
I am at present wrestling with the fourth thing to do. I have said that men should likely go on a monthly basis. The rabbis of the Talmud teach us that the monthly observance of mikveh is to maintain a woman's enticing nature to her spouse. Men are also involved in that. We should also be enticing to our spouses.
There may be another level to consider men's attendance at the mikveh.
As healthy men, we have very few violations of our bodies. We do not have to endure yearly pap smears that accompany remarkably personal physical examinations. We have a brit milah, and then a digital exam when we become men of a certain age. I do not think that we will ever fully understand the physical and spiritual vulnerability of the mikveh without using it consistently. Perhaps if we can come to understand it, we menfolk might be more able to react to what has happened here. Please note here that I have read at least six different editorials on this incident today. Only one was written by a man.
Gentlemen: a violation of our spouses is also a violation of us. What happens to one spouse happens to the other.
On a separate note, both the Rabbinical Council of America and the rabbanut in Israel have decided that the conversions he has thus far overseen are valid. Out of respect to those people who have undergone conversion with him, that is the right decision. However, putting on tefillin, keeping kosher, and observing Shabbat are simply not sufficient. Henceforth, until the teshuvah is done, his kashrut is not to be trusted. His testimony before a beit din is not to be trusted. The failure to keep the national laws in my mind renders all of his Jewish practice suspect.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
P.S. The synagogue and the mikveh are separate organizations. I have looked at the synagogue's website. If you would like to see a superb example of how to respond to this correctly, go to www.kesher.org. I give them a great deal of credit.
A few years back, I wrote an entry to this blog entitled Jennifer's Favourite Mitzvah. It was a posting about mikveh. I would, first and foremost, like to reiterate some of the points of that posting.
The mikveh attendants of any city should meet once a month. Each mikveh has its own practices and customs. Often there is a great deal of logic behind those practices that should be shared with the world.
I also mentioned that a mikveh should be a place of physical health as well as spiritual health. To that end, the dressing rooms should have instructions for a monthly exam, as well as phone numbers to shelters and crisis counsellors.
There is a certain etiquette to the mikveh. In general, the women who go are there for the same reason. It is the end of the monthly cycle. They are there to immerse. They will then go home and resume intimate relations with their spouses after having taken an 11-day hiatus. That is not discussed, obviously. When we were still living in New York, there were times that I would go with Jennifer. When that happened, I would wait across the street or across the parking lot. There was NEVER eye contact with the women who were going. Again, this was an intimate moment for them. It is not to be intruded upon, especially by a stranger, and especially by a male. I call it a secret sorority. Most men have not been privileged with the password.
I write this now due to the pending case of a prominent rabbi in the Washington DC area. Allegedly, he had rigged a camera in the mikveh area. He is being charged with voyeurism.
This is appalling. That he would (allegedly) violate both the intimate spiritual life and the intimate marital life of these women is a betrayal on a grand scale. Frankly, it is a violation not just of the mikveh at Kesher Israel, but at every mikveh throughout the world. Every woman now must enter the mikveh with the knowledge that if it can happen in DC, it can happen anywhere.
What to do? First and foremost, the communities should pronounce a herem on him if and when he is convicted. This is effectively a communal silent treatment. He is not to be allowed to daven anywhere. No one is allowed to do any sort of business with him.
Second, no one person should ever be allowed into the mikveh area alone. This means the rabbis. This means the women who go. Usually, there is an attendant in there with the women. This is normal.
Third, every mikveh board should have women on it. It is in and of itself ludicrous that this needs to be said. Women are the primary users. Men often do not fully understand the intimacy involved. It is the natural result of being wired differently.
I am at present wrestling with the fourth thing to do. I have said that men should likely go on a monthly basis. The rabbis of the Talmud teach us that the monthly observance of mikveh is to maintain a woman's enticing nature to her spouse. Men are also involved in that. We should also be enticing to our spouses.
There may be another level to consider men's attendance at the mikveh.
As healthy men, we have very few violations of our bodies. We do not have to endure yearly pap smears that accompany remarkably personal physical examinations. We have a brit milah, and then a digital exam when we become men of a certain age. I do not think that we will ever fully understand the physical and spiritual vulnerability of the mikveh without using it consistently. Perhaps if we can come to understand it, we menfolk might be more able to react to what has happened here. Please note here that I have read at least six different editorials on this incident today. Only one was written by a man.
Gentlemen: a violation of our spouses is also a violation of us. What happens to one spouse happens to the other.
On a separate note, both the Rabbinical Council of America and the rabbanut in Israel have decided that the conversions he has thus far overseen are valid. Out of respect to those people who have undergone conversion with him, that is the right decision. However, putting on tefillin, keeping kosher, and observing Shabbat are simply not sufficient. Henceforth, until the teshuvah is done, his kashrut is not to be trusted. His testimony before a beit din is not to be trusted. The failure to keep the national laws in my mind renders all of his Jewish practice suspect.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
P.S. The synagogue and the mikveh are separate organizations. I have looked at the synagogue's website. If you would like to see a superb example of how to respond to this correctly, go to www.kesher.org. I give them a great deal of credit.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Recent Discoveries in Paleontology...
Top of the evening all.
Recently, a new species of dinosaur was discovered. It was very interesting. There were fossils of empty eggs around it, but no real evidence of footprints other than its own. There was ample food supply in the area, but nothing was found in the dinosaur's belly. As well, it was clear that this species had been in some sort of tussle. It had scars on its bones, and one bone was in fact broken.
In the world of paleontology, if one discovers a new species, one gets to name it. This one is thus called 'OyhaveIgotsaurus.'
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Recently, a new species of dinosaur was discovered. It was very interesting. There were fossils of empty eggs around it, but no real evidence of footprints other than its own. There was ample food supply in the area, but nothing was found in the dinosaur's belly. As well, it was clear that this species had been in some sort of tussle. It had scars on its bones, and one bone was in fact broken.
In the world of paleontology, if one discovers a new species, one gets to name it. This one is thus called 'OyhaveIgotsaurus.'
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Sunday, September 21, 2014
You're Kidding, Right?
Top of the evening all...
News of the recent goings-on within the NFL has been all over every media out there. Said news has nothing to do with the scores and the standings.
Apparently, a player for the Ravens flattened his spouse (might have been girlfriend at the time). There is video. The player was appropriately fired from his team and suspended from the NFL. This is the right response, even though it should have happened months ago.
Several people have asked the appalling question: why does she not just leave? Let's analyze this question before answering it.
A parallel situation: a person walks into a store with a gun and robs the place. The storekeeper calls the police. The police come. They take a statement, and then go and look for the alleged perpetrator. The case goes to trial. The defense lawyer questions the storekeeper. Oddly enough, no one suggests to the storekeeper closing up shop and moving elsewhere. The Crown pursues the case as though the storekeeper is innocent. The reason for that is very simple: the storekeeper is innocent!
Now that we have analyzed our parallel situation, let us come back to the question at hand. Why does she not just leave? It is her home. She was attacked by someone who is supposed to keep her home safe. She should not have to leave. Why does he not just leave? He committed the assault. Asking the original question says that she, and she alone, is responsible for her own safety. She, and she alone, holds the keys to preventing such threats to her body. She must suffer the loss of her home after having been assaulted.
Furthermore, all of the statistics will tell us that the most dangerous time for an abused woman is when she leaves. With that in mind, let us rephrase the question: she has been assaulted. Why does she not increase the danger to life and limb by leaving?
A few other notes are in order. Physical abuse is usually only the tip of the iceberg. Prior to that, there is often sexual abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, and social abuse. Leaving becomes far more difficult when one has already been so beaten down prior to the actual punch.
Furthermore, the question itself takes no other circumstances into consideration. A society that asks the question about her leaving is not exactly going to provide the support she needs when she finally does. Beyond that, where will she go? Leaving is easy. Going somewhere is not so easy. What happens with her children? She cannot leave them in a home where she is unsafe. Now the question becomes: where will they go? That question becomes even more acute as summer draws to a close. We had days last year when it was -18 C/0 F last year. It is remarkably easy to ask where someone will go when the weather is lovely. As of mid-February last year, Toronto had 19 days of extreme cold weather alerts. Baltimore, where this couple lives, had 26 days.
Folks, we need to ask the right questions on this. What are we doing to prevent this man from ever punching another person? What are we doing to protect those who have been abused? What are we doing to support those who have been abused as they come through the ordeal? These are better questions.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
News of the recent goings-on within the NFL has been all over every media out there. Said news has nothing to do with the scores and the standings.
Apparently, a player for the Ravens flattened his spouse (might have been girlfriend at the time). There is video. The player was appropriately fired from his team and suspended from the NFL. This is the right response, even though it should have happened months ago.
Several people have asked the appalling question: why does she not just leave? Let's analyze this question before answering it.
A parallel situation: a person walks into a store with a gun and robs the place. The storekeeper calls the police. The police come. They take a statement, and then go and look for the alleged perpetrator. The case goes to trial. The defense lawyer questions the storekeeper. Oddly enough, no one suggests to the storekeeper closing up shop and moving elsewhere. The Crown pursues the case as though the storekeeper is innocent. The reason for that is very simple: the storekeeper is innocent!
Now that we have analyzed our parallel situation, let us come back to the question at hand. Why does she not just leave? It is her home. She was attacked by someone who is supposed to keep her home safe. She should not have to leave. Why does he not just leave? He committed the assault. Asking the original question says that she, and she alone, is responsible for her own safety. She, and she alone, holds the keys to preventing such threats to her body. She must suffer the loss of her home after having been assaulted.
Furthermore, all of the statistics will tell us that the most dangerous time for an abused woman is when she leaves. With that in mind, let us rephrase the question: she has been assaulted. Why does she not increase the danger to life and limb by leaving?
A few other notes are in order. Physical abuse is usually only the tip of the iceberg. Prior to that, there is often sexual abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, and social abuse. Leaving becomes far more difficult when one has already been so beaten down prior to the actual punch.
Furthermore, the question itself takes no other circumstances into consideration. A society that asks the question about her leaving is not exactly going to provide the support she needs when she finally does. Beyond that, where will she go? Leaving is easy. Going somewhere is not so easy. What happens with her children? She cannot leave them in a home where she is unsafe. Now the question becomes: where will they go? That question becomes even more acute as summer draws to a close. We had days last year when it was -18 C/0 F last year. It is remarkably easy to ask where someone will go when the weather is lovely. As of mid-February last year, Toronto had 19 days of extreme cold weather alerts. Baltimore, where this couple lives, had 26 days.
Folks, we need to ask the right questions on this. What are we doing to prevent this man from ever punching another person? What are we doing to protect those who have been abused? What are we doing to support those who have been abused as they come through the ordeal? These are better questions.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
Saturday, September 13, 2014
But Wait! There's More....
Top of the evening to all...
A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog entry about the News You Should Have Seen. In that entry, there were multiple news reports on the goings-on in Gaza that somehow managed to escape the heavy-handed censors.
I would like to report to you all that it is not over yet. Here are a couple of other articles. I will continue to add articles as I find them.
Hamas Threatened UNRWA Personnel at Gunpoint
The only annoying thing here is that we have to have a little sympathy for the UN. I will work on that.
Also, see Hamas Admits to Rocket Fire from Residential Areas.
I have no comment.
Good night.
R/SCG
A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog entry about the News You Should Have Seen. In that entry, there were multiple news reports on the goings-on in Gaza that somehow managed to escape the heavy-handed censors.
I would like to report to you all that it is not over yet. Here are a couple of other articles. I will continue to add articles as I find them.
Hamas Threatened UNRWA Personnel at Gunpoint
The only annoying thing here is that we have to have a little sympathy for the UN. I will work on that.
Also, see Hamas Admits to Rocket Fire from Residential Areas.
I have no comment.
Good night.
R/SCG
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Days that Will Live in Infamy...
Top of the evening to all...
Hopefully, you recognize the original quote in the variation that is the title of this blog entry. President Roosevelt made the original quote on December 8th, 1941. It was in an address to Congress requesting a declaration of war against Japan the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though Hawaii was not yet a state, FDR understood the attack as an attack against the United States.
Why do I allude to that quote here? It is here because the US has been egregiously attacked twice over the last few weeks. You have all heard about the executions in Syria of the two American reporters. They were executed for being American. The executioner spoke in English, and blamed American policy for his actions.
The comparatively tiny scope of damage in the attacks (2 dead, as opposed to over 2300 at Pearl Harbor) should not take anything away from the national nature of the attack. These murders were a declaration of war. There will be more of them.
The President has said that the US will see to it that justice is served. I hope he does not mean in a courtroom. The people who did this will laugh the entire way to the maximum security prison in Colorado. Justice should be served, up close and personal. The damning evidence has already been delivered to us via youtube.
Air strikes are effective only in a limited manner. There comes a point when there must be boots on the ground. While the US military is probably a little tired right now after ten years in Iraq and in Afghanistan, I am certain that we stand ready to answer the nation's call. I am certain that every Sailor, every Marine, every Soldier, and every Airman is prepared to help deliver that justice.
Combat operations require a clear mission. They require the right equipment. They require overwhelming force. And frankly, they require a steely, angry glint in the eye of the troops.
There is little use in sitting down to negotiate with people who have no desire to talk. Building a coalition is lovely. Still, there comes a point when one must act. Failure to do so in a timely manner reflects a lack of resolve, and will only invite more of this violence.
Somehow, we missed on the ounce of prevention. I hate to sound like a warmonger, but it is time to deliver the pound of cure - emphatically.
R/SCG
Hopefully, you recognize the original quote in the variation that is the title of this blog entry. President Roosevelt made the original quote on December 8th, 1941. It was in an address to Congress requesting a declaration of war against Japan the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though Hawaii was not yet a state, FDR understood the attack as an attack against the United States.
Why do I allude to that quote here? It is here because the US has been egregiously attacked twice over the last few weeks. You have all heard about the executions in Syria of the two American reporters. They were executed for being American. The executioner spoke in English, and blamed American policy for his actions.
The comparatively tiny scope of damage in the attacks (2 dead, as opposed to over 2300 at Pearl Harbor) should not take anything away from the national nature of the attack. These murders were a declaration of war. There will be more of them.
The President has said that the US will see to it that justice is served. I hope he does not mean in a courtroom. The people who did this will laugh the entire way to the maximum security prison in Colorado. Justice should be served, up close and personal. The damning evidence has already been delivered to us via youtube.
Air strikes are effective only in a limited manner. There comes a point when there must be boots on the ground. While the US military is probably a little tired right now after ten years in Iraq and in Afghanistan, I am certain that we stand ready to answer the nation's call. I am certain that every Sailor, every Marine, every Soldier, and every Airman is prepared to help deliver that justice.
Combat operations require a clear mission. They require the right equipment. They require overwhelming force. And frankly, they require a steely, angry glint in the eye of the troops.
There is little use in sitting down to negotiate with people who have no desire to talk. Building a coalition is lovely. Still, there comes a point when one must act. Failure to do so in a timely manner reflects a lack of resolve, and will only invite more of this violence.
Somehow, we missed on the ounce of prevention. I hate to sound like a warmonger, but it is time to deliver the pound of cure - emphatically.
R/SCG
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Contemplating My Naval...
Top of the afternoon to all.
GS - the spelling is correct. Trust me.
One of my congregants asked me this week about how he might come to grips with his imminent retirement. There is so much in the question. Other people, perhaps more capable, are taking over your job. The routines of life change dramatically. There is no professional reason to get up in the morning. It requires a complete rethinking of how to view life.
I answered him as follows: I have the same question. I do not know.
(No sympathy please)
I took my naval commission on October 31, 1994. By tradition, officers get two runs at the promotion board. If they fail to make rank on the second look, it is the Navy's quiet way of saying "thank you for your service. Enjoy the rest of your life in any endeavour you pursue." In the reserve community, officers usually get a third serious look. By law, the Navy must consider anyone on active duty for promotion, no matter how many times that person fails to select for the next rank.
I have failed to select for the rank of Commander three times. The third time would have been my best shot, with a fitness report signed by a 3-star admiral in my files. Lieutenant-commanders (lieutenants-commander?) are allowed to serve a total of 20 years. I am not exactly sure when that point occurs. I have at least one year that does not count. In any event, it is sooner rather than later.
I have realized the same question that my congregant asked. I am not the future of the US Navy. I am the present. Younger people, perhaps wiser people, are filling the ranks that I will soon leave. The security blanket that has left me not having to decide how to match my socks to my clothing will soon be pulled away. The absolute, crystal clear, job description will no longer be absolute and crystal clear. The loss of something definite, something palpable, is downright scary.
To my congregant who asked this question, I do not know. Ultimately, one must come to terms with his/her mirror. One must like the reflection in the mirror. One must be able to look the mirror in the eye and be comfortable with what looks back. Torches must be passed. Mine will be. Everyone's will be.
The week I interviewed for rabbinical school, the dean's mother died. I was not the only candidate to interview. There were probably two dozen. The dean made a remarkably difficult decision to avoid checking in during the week of shiva. When he came back, he found that everything that was supposed to happen happened, despite his absence. He learned that when he is gone, the world will continue, more or less as it is supposed to continue.
So it is for my congregant. So it is for me. The world will continue as it should.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
GS - the spelling is correct. Trust me.
One of my congregants asked me this week about how he might come to grips with his imminent retirement. There is so much in the question. Other people, perhaps more capable, are taking over your job. The routines of life change dramatically. There is no professional reason to get up in the morning. It requires a complete rethinking of how to view life.
I answered him as follows: I have the same question. I do not know.
(No sympathy please)
I took my naval commission on October 31, 1994. By tradition, officers get two runs at the promotion board. If they fail to make rank on the second look, it is the Navy's quiet way of saying "thank you for your service. Enjoy the rest of your life in any endeavour you pursue." In the reserve community, officers usually get a third serious look. By law, the Navy must consider anyone on active duty for promotion, no matter how many times that person fails to select for the next rank.
I have failed to select for the rank of Commander three times. The third time would have been my best shot, with a fitness report signed by a 3-star admiral in my files. Lieutenant-commanders (lieutenants-commander?) are allowed to serve a total of 20 years. I am not exactly sure when that point occurs. I have at least one year that does not count. In any event, it is sooner rather than later.
I have realized the same question that my congregant asked. I am not the future of the US Navy. I am the present. Younger people, perhaps wiser people, are filling the ranks that I will soon leave. The security blanket that has left me not having to decide how to match my socks to my clothing will soon be pulled away. The absolute, crystal clear, job description will no longer be absolute and crystal clear. The loss of something definite, something palpable, is downright scary.
To my congregant who asked this question, I do not know. Ultimately, one must come to terms with his/her mirror. One must like the reflection in the mirror. One must be able to look the mirror in the eye and be comfortable with what looks back. Torches must be passed. Mine will be. Everyone's will be.
The week I interviewed for rabbinical school, the dean's mother died. I was not the only candidate to interview. There were probably two dozen. The dean made a remarkably difficult decision to avoid checking in during the week of shiva. When he came back, he found that everything that was supposed to happen happened, despite his absence. He learned that when he is gone, the world will continue, more or less as it is supposed to continue.
So it is for my congregant. So it is for me. The world will continue as it should.
Have a good evening everyone.
R/SCG
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