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https://youtu.be/b0fTDXRgeGE Information about Rosh Hashannah: https://www.judaica.com/discover/rosh-hashanah.html

As we approach and immerse ourselves in this High Holiday Season, we focus on repentance and t’shuva. As humans, we are flawed and imperfect and we come into this life with a purpose to overcome the challenges we face as we travel from birth to death. One of those challenges is forgiveness. I have a strong background in mental health, having a few degrees and many years of working on the floor of a psychiatric hospital. It seemed that forgiveness was a recurring theme. One of my roles, that of a counselor, was to facilitate steps towards resolution for people who were dealing with, among other things, emotional abuse. The psychologists and social workers on staff would ultimately, at some point, discuss how engaging in forgiveness frees up the tortured soul and allows people to move on emotionally and not be tied down by chains of resentment. As much as I participated in this process, I never quite got the concept. I still don’t. Merriam-Webster defines “forgiveness” “to give up resentment of” and “to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) or pardon (Definition of Forgiveness). In Psychology Today, they state that “{M}ost psychologists recommend mustering up genuine compassion for those who have wronged us, and moving on from the past, instead of allowing bitterness and anger toward others eat away at us” (Basics of Forgiveness). The goal is to put the offense behind us, we can probably all agree on that. The problem I have always had with the concept of forgiveness is the mechanism. While just about everyone will agree that the goal is to put it behind us and move us, no one seems to have an answer as to how. It probably goes without having to say that people who carry around resentment for past wrongs by others continue to be plagued by those wrongs. It’s unfinished business. We want to finish it. More important we want vindication. The other side of the equation is a similar challenge. When someone does you wrong, what do people say? “Learn to forgive them and move on”, right? The people who give this wisdom, of course, mean well. They see our pain and truly want to help us in the most sincere way be at peace. Again, how? The message I’m hearing in all this just forget about it. Or what’s that joke? Fawgeddaboutit! In my quest to find a resolution to this dilemma, I found that Judaism does indeed have an answer. It’s not what you might think. Judaism tends to look at things differently than the rest of the world does. First of all, Dr. Solomon Schimmel, Professor of Jewish Education and Psychology at Hebrew College, talks about the idea of forgiveness from a Jewish point of view (How can I Forgive). He first talks about dignity. When a person feels injured, their dignity is injured. Your self-esteem is compromised. What makes it worse is that the offending person doesn’t show remorse or even bother to ask forgiveness. So now we’re asking ourselves, “why should I forgive this person”. On the other hand we’re back to that same question, what do I do with my anger? Dr. Schimmel quotes what he calls a Jewish Kabbalistic prayer that is actually part of the Bedtime Shema from the Artscroll Siddur. This is from the Bedtime Shema which we say as we’re going to sleep at night: "Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or sinned against me, whether against my body, my property, my honor, or against anything of mine, whether he did so accidentally, willfully, carelessly, or purposely, whether through speech, deed, thought, or notion, whether in this transmigration or another transmigration". So the sages recognized the necessity for forgiveness in alleviating emotional pain, and the benefit of forgiving before bedtime so we can sleep peaceably. The purpose, then, is to lay there and declare our forgiveness as an affirmation, and throw away this negativity that disrupts our soul. Let’s now talk about the reverse. We’ve wronged people. The sages looked at the purpose of the High Holidays and saw that it was a time that HaShem wrote us in the book of life for yet another year. Rosh Hashannah was the start of the process of Satan, HaShem’s prosecuting attorney, making the case against us. Naturally, we want to be on our best behavior so Satan has nothing on us to cause HaShem to make this our final year. So the sages decreed that these next ten days, the Days of Awe as they are called, should be spent in our repentance. Of course we should seek forgiveness from HaShem from any wrongs we may or may not have committed, but then again, HaShem—being omniscient—knows whether or not we’re truly sincere. HaShem tempering mercy with justice, will decide with equity what will be our fate. Interestingly enough, in Judaism, we are only forgiven if we truly and sincerely repent. During the weekday Amidah, the order of prayers tells us how it is. In the fifth prayer of repentance in the “Shemona Esrei”, we ask G-d to bring us back (t’shuva) to His Torah, His Law, His moral teaching. Only after that can we recite the next prayer, to forgive us for we have erred, and pardon us for we have sinned. Repentance before forgiveness. The real test of character is in our relationships with our fellow Jews and humans. This is where we go to people that we feel we may have wronged, and up to three times, seek their forgiveness (after that it’s on them). This can be tough as we swallow our pride, take our proverbial hats in our hands, and emotionally prostrate ourselves; is there anything else so humbling and humiliating? How about if I give you a choice of doing that or bungee jumping? This is what makes this ritual so powerful and Judaism such an effective moral philosophy—it asks a lot. But you know what they say: no pain, no gain. So back to forgiveness. The Torah tells us to love our fellows as ourselves. This is another powerful commandment. By doing so, we rise above pettiness. We practice developing higher states of moral turpitude. In so doing, we develop our own self-esteem as we prove to ourselves that our respect for ourselves overshadows any feelings others have for us. And forgiving empowers us because we rise above the petty hatred in which primitive people engage. Three times a day, as we come to the end of the Shemona Esrei (silent standing prayer), we recite another powerful affirmation: To those who curse me let my soul be silent. As we walk in the path of righteousness of G-d, we know that he demands a lot of us and our reward in a better life lived in peace and tranquility. We know the G-d will deliver divine justice. It may not be according to our schedule or timetable, but we know that in the end, it will all somehow work out.

https://www.judaica.com/discover/rosh-hashanah.html

Who was standing there listening to Moses?; Future Temptations https://youtu.be/IJm0vc_05UI

Recently the current administration lost another person, Sebastian Gorka. Mr. Gorka was advising on security matters. Like some of the other notable personnel, Mr. Gorka’s background involved him with “Breitbart”, an extreme right wing on line publication. Among other things, Mr. Gorka blamed the liberal Jewish media for a smear campaign that forced his resignation. The liberal Jewish periodical, The Forward, called him out many times alleging that he had ties to the so-called “Alt Right” groups. In response, Mr. Gorka affirmed his support for Israel and accused liberal Jewish groups of not supporting Israel. Some of us are familiar with “The Forward”, It is indeed a fairly liberal on line Jewish periodical. Looking at its opening page, you will see its mast with links to News, Culture, Opinion and Community. Scrolling down, you’ll see a variety of stories over a wide range of topics from a variety of sources. They look to be the go-to source of news about all things Jewish. The site includes articles from various sources and the news articles are mostly from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. On a brief perusal of the site, The Forward seems to be fairly left-leaning. For Jews, left-leaning is almost a euphemism for “The Palestinians are under siege by the Israelis”. There are articles from people admonishing Jews for their silence on conditions in Gaza. There was an article about the demolition by the IDF of a school built by Palestinians that was declared to be in a closed military zone. Finally, there was an opinion piece about the censorship of Hillel for not allowing opinions contrary to supporting Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians. More on this in a minute. As much of a controversial person Mr. Gorka may be, and as tempting as it is to dismiss his accusations as a temper tantrum from an alt right sympathizer, along with the pall of “fake news”, we may want to drill down into his gesticulations to see if there is any truth there. In fact, there does seem to be an element of validity to his retorts. And that is the problem. Some of us are very rigid in not allowing divergent views on Israel, and accusing those who demean Israel as a provocateur as politically correct anti-Semitism. The reason for this alleged censorship is that the accusations against Israel are simply not true. People who vilify Israel are ignoring the unprovoked attacks by Palestinians on Israeli citizens. Their rationalization is that this is what the Palestinians have to do to fight for their independence against the oppression of Israel. But now they are ignoring the facts (look them up) that Israel has not only the Palestinian people to discuss peace, but even as a good will gesture pulled out of Gaza in 2005 even at the risk of providing a platform for terrorist attacks. These Jews sympathetic to the Palestinian cause ignore the fact that Palestinians teach their children geography with a map that does not contain or reference Israel. They ignore the fact that the Palestinian authority honors their attackers as martyrs and heroes for killing innocent people and uses financial donations by the other countries to support the families of people who have died attacking Israelis. And on and on. It’s not that there’s a different opinion that is being suppressed, but rather an opinion that has no basis in reality or fact or truth. These people are supporting a political point of view in which they view an underdog. Jews have always done this. Back in the 1960’s, many rabbis marched with Dr. Martin Luther King to support civil rights. Jerusalem is the only major city in the Middle East to not only allow, but support an LGBT parade. Articles in The Forward that decry how “Palestinian School Demolitions Are Destroying Israel’s Future” are leaving out essential facts. Articles that talk about “Selective Outrage And The Damnable Jewish Silence On Gaza” is itself selective in its criticism on Israel. While it talks about the poor living conditions in Gaza, it alludes to Israel blocking aid instead of looking at the Hamas government reallocating those resources towards war efforts against Israel. These people seem to have an agenda and that’s very sad. We Jews have always prided ourselves on being very involved in education. Unfortunately, these people are looking at the situation in a one-sided, subjective point of view. Without having confirmed with the Hillel organization, it would seem that is really one of the reasons why they will not this other, contorted side of the story. We Jews have always believed in and had divergent opinions. Cases in point are whether women should be allowed to pray at the Kotel, and the differences between Reform and Orthodox Judaism. A political issue that is backed by opinion and not supported by facts? That’s just wrong.

A video commentary on this week's Torah portion, "Ki Tavo". Blessings and curses, and the rebuke. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/eQthX9BIiTU #TorahPortion #ParashaKiTavo

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/selichot-prayers-of-repentance/ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/selichot In the Ashkenazic (European) tradition Selichot are begun from the Sunday (often the Saturday night) before Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. This officially starts the High Holiday season that encompasses Rosh Hashannah (Spiritual New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) through Sukkot (Festival of Booths) and Simchat Torah (Honoring the Law by rewinding the scrolls to the beginning of Genesis where we start reading again). Selichot are special prayers for forgiveness, said on fast days and also during the period preceding Yom Kippur. At the Selichot service, worshipers begin to examine their deeds of the past year, seeking forgiveness from G-d and promising to improve their behavior in the New Year. The prayers are specifically tailored to help worshipers direct their hearts and minds to the process of teshuvah (Hebrew for repentance). The Tanna deve Eliyahu Zuta, a midrashic work that dates at the latest to the ninth century, mentions a special service for forgiveness instituted by King David when he realized that the Temple would be destroyed. “How will they attain atonement?” he asked the Lord and was told that the people would recite the order of Selichot and would then be forgiven. God even showed David that this act of contrition would include a recitation of the “Thirteen Attributes of God,” a descriptive passage from Exodus that expresses God’s merciful nature: “The Lord! The Lord! A God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, rich in steadfast kindness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment…” (Exodus 34:6‑7).

Commentary on this week's Torah Portion https://youtu.be/adIqF-4P4WA #ParashaKiTeitzei #TorahPortion

Words are arms that can embrace with warmth. Words are also weapons that can destroy or maim. Wisom lies in the choice, and choice lies in Love. Love holds back the angry revengeful barb. It transmutes it and tells the same lesson with kindness. A word is an outer symbol for an inner feeling. If we speak inwardly to ourselves of the joy of living, of the oneness of people, of our individual security and our emotional maturity; our words will come forth with wisdom. The greatest words of wisdom are often wordless! They are vibrated from "inner to inner" and are perfectly understood when they are launched by love and welcomed in gratitude. A word is an arrow let fly. Thomas Fuller

Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned at Hebrew school. “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge, destroy the enemy, and all the Israelites were saved. “ Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?”“Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”” Continue reading article: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/judaism-is-built-to-last/

Two interesting events happened this week. The first, of course was the solar eclipse. For the first time in 40 years, the moon passed in front of the sun. In certain parts of the country, people got to see the full eclipse. People traveled from all over the world to the most affected areas to get the full experience. People took off from work and some businesses actually let people off for the few hours that it would happen in that area. Major TV and cable networks gave it full coverage. For those who weren’t in the highlighted areas, they could track the progress on their computers. Even the space station beam down footage of this rare occurrence. The other event was associated with this and affected a couple of cultures on this planet, including ours, the Jewish religion. As it does every 29 or 30 days, the “new” moon—as it is called, since it was not visible due to its position against the sun—signaled in a new month. We Jews honor and acknowledge the new month as a sort of mini-new year, 11 or 12 times per year. There are additional prayers that are specific to the event that are inserted into the regular services. There is also the addition of a Mussaf service—even if it occurs during the week when there wouldn’t normally be one—to commemorate and take the place of the additional sacrifice in the days of the Temple. People enjoyed the event, and some took it to the next level. Some people lauded the event as “the” event. There were astrological implications as well as omens and auguries of things to come, both good and bad. Some people read all sorts of energy happenings into the event. But this happens with unusual or rare celestial events. Some people heralded it as foretelling both good and bad things to come. During the full moon, as well, some people pulled out their crystals and rejoiced in the energy. Such is man’s and women’s search for meaning, as Carl Jung would say. But what does Judaism say? What about our own culture and heritage? It just so happens that this week’s Torah portion does just that. Among other things, it addresses the whole idea of using the movement and gesticulations of the heavenly bodies to usher it portents, either good or bad. The short answer is: they don’t. In fact, we have a prayer—or if you’d like in this age of adoring nature and yoga and mindfulness—an affirmation, that addresses this very concept. It is said during the Evening Service, the Ma’ariv, and it is the first prayer before the Shema. It the “Ma’ariv Aravim” and it is very explicit in confirming that HaShem sets the planets and heavenly bodies that move “according to Your Divine Will”. That’s really all we Jews need to know. While other folks are out there looking for auguries and trying to see in Nature the resolution to their secular challenges, we Jews put our faith in HaShem. Not only do the heavenly bodies move according to His—or, yes, Her—Divine Will, but so does everything else. In fact, one of the affirmations during the Torah service states, “in You alone do we put our trust”. This week’s Torah portion, “Shoftim”, elaborates on the second Commandment, to not have any other gods before us. That includes stars and planets. We know that these objects are not gods and we do not pray to them or ascribe any type of metaphysical ability to somehow determine or control our destiny. They are inanimate objects whose purpose is determined by G-d. That in itself requires a lot of faith. Some sages will say that Judaism may be a religion, but it’s not a faith. We don’t need faith. When HaShem gave Moshe Rabbeinu the Torah, there were 2 ½ million Israelites (and some rabble) looking on. Some will even go so far and state that all of us, every Jew who ever lived or would live, was there as well. So there’s no need to believe because we all saw it. We all know the power and scope of G-d. We don’t need to try to figure out how to manipulate Nature the get all the signs in our favor. Everything happens according “to Your Divine will”. That’s all we need. We know that anomalies in Nature, whether they are eclipses, hurricanes or the splitting of the Sea of Reeds is built into the scheme of the Cosmos. So we go right to the source. So I hope everybody enjoyed the unusual occurrence, took or downloaded pictures, maybe had a little party going on. Because we know at the end of the day, HaShem is in charge.

Justice vs. Justice; Kings; Worshiping false gods and heavenly bodies. Commentary on this week's Torah Portion. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/-CB6WiNVNbw #TorahPortion #ParashaShoftim #Shoftim