[yshavurah] December 15th/ 10th of Tevet
- From: Clevineys@xxxxxxx
- To: yshavurah@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 13:31:24 EST
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In a message dated 12/1/2002 7:04:12 PM Pacific Standard Time,
mail-havurah@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> Dear Chevra,
>
> Two weeks from today, December 15, is in the Jewish calendar the 10th of
> the
> month of Tevet. It is the anniversary of the beginning of the siege of
> Jerusalem by Babylonian troops, 2500+ years ago.
>
> Because of that , for thousands of years it has been a traditional Jewish
> fast day, commemorating the start of a disastrous war and the suffering
> that
> arose from it.
>
> This year, we are encouraging both Jews who have continued to observe that
> day and those who have set it aside -- to renew its energy with a special
> concern for resolving the US-Iraq conflict through peaceful means instead
> of
> war.
>
> The Prophet Jeremiah hoped to prevent that ancient war by calling for deep
> internal spiritual and political reforms within the Kingdom of Judah -- for
> instance, by calling for all slaves to be liberated, and perhaps calling
> also
> on the community to carry out other aspects of the Jubilee: equally
> redistributing the land and allowing the earth to rest and renew itself for
> an entire year.
>
> After initially agreeing to free their slaves, the Judean elite changed
> their
> minds. So the war came. Jeremiah was imprisoned as a traitor.
>
> The result was that the great Babylonian Empire shattered a small people,
> but
> sowed the seeds of its own destruction.
>
> The small Jewish community not only survived, but was renewed. The Prophets
> were recognized as a crucial part of Jewish wisdom.
>
> In the present moment, when the present US goverrnment is calling for an
> "American century" of unchecked power, this seems like a powerful teaching,
> and an important moment to remember.
>
> If you decide to join in the Fast, it begins traditionally at dawn on that
> morning and continues until sunset. Traditionally, those who observe it
> refrain from eating or drinking during that time.
>
> The Shalom Center, led by our Program Coordinator Lee Moore, has shaped a
> prayer-and-teaching service for calling a communal fast in time of
> impending
> calamity -- a Taanit Tzibbur al-Ha-Tzarah for this moment.
>
> It lends itself to use on the 10th of Tevet, December 15.
>
> It is posted on our Website, at URL < www.shalomctr.org/html/peace126.html
>
> >
>
> We suggest combining this service with a teach-in from the tradition and
> from
> the daily newpapers on war, peace, oil, and Iraq. See our Website for many
> resources.
>
> Also on the Website is the Multi-religious Call to a Fast for Peace, which
> we invite you to join.
>
> We welcome your comments and your own plans for observance.
>
> Shalom, Arthur
>
> Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director
> The Shalom Center < www.shalomctr.org >
>
Cheryl B. Levine, Psy.D.
Clinical and Consulting Psychologist
Positive Perspectives, Inc.
680 E. Dayton Yellow Springs Road
Fairborn, OH 45324
(937) 390-3800
Behavioral Science Coordinator
"Mad River Family Practice:
Ohio State University Rural Program"
4879 US Route 68 South
West Liberty, OH 43311
(937) 465-0080
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
--T.S. Eliot
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From: National Havurah Committee Mailing List <mail-havurah@xxxxxxxxxxx>
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Subject: MAIL-HAVURAH digest 935
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MAIL-HAVURAH Digest 935
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Again
by Awaskow@xxxxxxx
2) The miracle of Chanukah is not like most miracles
by daseidenberg@xxxxxxxx
3) The Fast of Tevet & the US-Iraq War
by Awaskow@xxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Awaskow@xxxxxxx
To: National Havurah Committee Mailing List <mail-havurah@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [MAIL-HAVURAH:4428] Again
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Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 22:08:54 EST
Dear Chevra,
Once again, as over and over, waves of compassion for the families
shattered
by Mombasa, and for all the people who must once again think, "There but for
grace or luck go we." I feel as if the politics can wait till after the
burials, though if we want to free ourselves from this nightmare we will
have
to look at the politics then.
Here it's yomtov sheni of Thanksgiving. What a m'chayeh, time to breathe, a
holiday -- and thank God, there's no obligatory ritual.
Shalom, Arthur
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director
The Shalom Center < www.shalomctr.org >
To receive a weekly "thought-letter" on new Jewish approaches to
progressive/
renewal/ feminist approaches to prayer, celebration, Torah, & healing of the
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From: daseidenberg@xxxxxxxx
To: National Havurah Committee Mailing List <mail-havurah@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [MAIL-HAVURAH:4429] The miracle of Chanukah is not like most miracles
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Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 22:10:27 EST
Here's a d'var I wrote out for the first night of Chanukah. It doesn't
involve any textual fireworks, but some folks may enjoy it.
David S
_______________________________
"The miracle of Chanukah is not like most miracles"
When the sun stood still for Joshua, or when the sea split for Moshe and the
Israelites, the miracle was dramatic and overt. There are two parts to this
type of miracle. The first is a revision of the order of nature. The
second is that this revision happens at just the right moment to affect
human destiny. For example, the sea didn't split a week before the
Israelites arrived on its shore and then close up again, nor did it split
days after the Egyptians came and recaptured their former slaves, nor did it
stay split so long that the Egyptians could also cross over the sea. To me
this second part of the miracle is really what's astonishing, but in any
case, the "normal" miracle always has these two components -- dramatic
natural changes and incredible split-second timing.
The miracle of the Menorah lights has neither of these components. It is a
hidden miracle, because it accumulates only slowly over time. If you looked
at the Temple Menorah at any moment during the eight days, you would just
see seven lit lamps burning the way lamps do. The closest thing to this
miracle in the Torah is the burning bush. As Larry Kushner used to point
out, if you are watching a log burning, you'd have to watch a real long time
to know whether or not it was being consumed. Perhaps in the desert dry
bushes burn more quickly, but even there, Moshe had to really see to know
that something special was happening. Perhaps this quality was what allowed
Moshe to come close to God.
This slowness is what led to the controversy between Hillel and Shammai,
who disagreed about whether we should light one candle the first night and
then increase by one each night up to eight, or light eight candles on the
first night and then decrease. The root of their controversy is that with
slow hidden miracles, it's hard to tell whether the miracle is increasing
or decreasing with time. If the bush burns, but isn't consumed, then
there is no point during the miracle in which the bush is more or less
"not being consumed". Time itself is suspended within the event of a
"slow" miracle, so there is no forwards or backwards order to the light
lasting for eight days. It's always in the same state of being slowed
down, of suspension.
The slowness of the burning of the oil is also like the slowness with
which the oil was created, the slowness of the growth of a tree or a
fruit. The burning bush was the ultimate slowing down of this process,
so that the bush wasn't burned any faster than it grew.
It's not surprising that the miracle of Chanukah should be like the
miracle of the burning bush. After all, the Menorah of the Temple was
shaped like a tree, formed with flowers and branches. Every time we take
the miracle of the sun's light, hidden inside the growing plants, and make
oil or fuel, and reveal that light, we can taste the miracle of the
burning bush, which is a miracle of renewal. The fact that oil burns
slowly enough for us to enjoy the benefit of its light is already a kind
of hidden miracle.
On Chanukah, we have a chance to taste this miracle even more so. It's
this "even more so" quality that makes the miracle of Chanukah a hidden
miracle, a miracle of intensity, rather than transformation.
The power of this miracle is related to the capacity to sustain, to focus,
to give attention to what is imperceptible. It's about intensity,
generosity, openness, in the face of cold and darkness, in the face of fear
and adversity. That's what we need now, in this season, in this political
climate, in Israel and in America. That was the lesson the miracle of the
Menorah added to the story of the Maccabees -- not by might, not by power,
but by my Spirit says Adonai. Not by reversals, not by victories, not by
wars, but by attention, by hope, by direction and kavvanah -- by the spirit
which is hidden from sight, but not from the heart.
All the overt miracles are only like buoys floating on a sea of hidden
miracles, beacons to remind us about the truly miraculous nature of every
moment and every place. The miracle of Chanukah helps us to remember that
connection. May this light sustain us.
Many many blessing to you all.
_________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------
From: Awaskow@xxxxxxx
To: National Havurah Committee Mailing List <mail-havurah@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [MAIL-HAVURAH:4430] The Fast of Tevet & the US-Iraq War
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 22:10:32 EST
Dear Chevra,
Two weeks from today, December 15, is in the Jewish calendar the 10th of the
month of Tevet. It is the anniversary of the beginning of the siege of
Jerusalem by Babylonian troops, 2500+ years ago.
Because of that , for thousands of years it has been a traditional Jewish
fast day, commemorating the start of a disastrous war and the suffering that
arose from it.
This year, we are encouraging both Jews who have continued to observe that
day and those who have set it aside -- to renew its energy with a special
concern for resolving the US-Iraq conflict through peaceful means instead of
war.
The Prophet Jeremiah hoped to prevent that ancient war by calling for deep
internal spiritual and political reforms within the Kingdom of Judah -- for
instance, by calling for all slaves to be liberated, and perhaps calling
also
on the community to carry out other aspects of the Jubilee: equally
redistributing the land and allowing the earth to rest and renew itself for
an entire year.
After initially agreeing to free their slaves, the Judean elite changed
their
minds. So the war came. Jeremiah was imprisoned as a traitor.
The result was that the great Babylonian Empire shattered a small people,
but
sowed the seeds of its own destruction.
The small Jewish community not only survived, but was renewed. The Prophets
were recognized as a crucial part of Jewish wisdom.
In the present moment, when the present US goverrnment is calling for an
"American century" of unchecked power, this seems like a powerful teaching,
and an important moment to remember.
If you decide to join in the Fast, it begins traditionally at dawn on that
morning and continues until sunset. Traditionally, those who observe it
refrain from eating or drinking during that time.
The Shalom Center, led by our Program Coordinator Lee Moore, has shaped a
prayer-and-teaching service for calling a communal fast in time of impending
calamity -- a Taanit Tzibbur al-Ha-Tzarah for this moment.
It lends itself to use on the 10th of Tevet, December 15.
It is posted on our Website, at URL < www.shalomctr.org/html/peace126.html
>
We suggest combining this service with a teach-in from the tradition and
from
the daily newpapers on war, peace, oil, and Iraq. See our Website for many
resources.
Also on the Website is the Multi-religious Call to a Fast for Peace, which
we invite you to join.
We welcome your comments and your own plans for observance.
Shalom, Arthur
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director
The Shalom Center < www.shalomctr.org >
To receive a weekly "thought-letter" on new Jewish approaches to
progressive/
renewal/ feminist approaches to prayer, celebration, Torah, & healing of the
world, Email: < ShalomCenterJ-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
_________________________________________________________________
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------------------------------
End of MAIL-HAVURAH Digest 935
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