Speaking Out for Vayikra - No Bull!

Leviticus has a reputation for being full of obscure details and outdated rituals.  Parashat Vayikra certainly lives up to this reputation; with all manner of sin offerings and burnt offerings, slaughtered bulls and smouldering wheat cakes, pleasing odours and strewn innards.  But rather than rendering the text irrelevant it presents us with a challenge and motivates us to search for the meaning behind these ancient practices.

If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt - when the sin through which they incurred guilt becomes known, the congregation shall offer a bull of the herd as a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting.  (Leviticus XX:13-14)

Blogging the UK Task Force Study Trip in the Negev: Day Two

Day Two: 20/02/2012

"She named him Joseph, saying, may God add another son for me."  (Exodus 30:24)

Today we met a young woman who is studying at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  She comes from a Bedouin village and convinced her parents to support her higher education only by promising to cover her head and keep away from boys.  She has overcome culture shock and language barriers in this new environment that has also made her acutely aware of her own disadvantage; but she is intelligent, confident and determined to get good education.  When she graduates she will return to her village and face the challenge of bridging the two worlds.  She will have to decide which traditional norms to confront and which to accept in return for continued freedom to work and study.  Pursuing a love match or a foreign opportunity would entail her being cut off entirely so she will agree to enter into an arranged marriage and try to juggle a local career with the culturally-expected role of mother to a large family.

During this second day of the UK Task Force Study Trip, we explored social issues and social provision within the Bedouin communities of the Negev.  A panel of healthcare specialists highlighted the high instance of genetic disorders caused by a 50% rate of consanguineous marriages and explained the problems with access to healthcare in the unrecognised villages.  Amny Athamne of Health Care for Mothers and Infants described ways that health promotion initiatives are improving attitudes towards healthcare in the Bedouin community.  Some panel members also expressed the view that most problems in the Bedouin community stem from Bedouin culture itself and that change has to come from within.

Blogging the UK Task Force Study Trip in the Negev: Day One

Day One: 19/02/2012

"Let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply"  (Exodus 1:10)

Connection to the land is not unique to Judaism and conflicts over land are not unique to the Middle East.  From 'Land of Hope and Glory' to 'England's Green and Pleasant Land', most countries have land-based national rhetoric.  In Israel and the Palestinian Territories this connection is entrenched in 3000 years of history, layered with religious implications and strained by on-going conflict.

For many years, I have struggled to understand the complexity of the conflict over the land of the West Bank but, even after living in Israel for three years, I had no awareness of the disputes between the Bedouin and the Israeli government.  So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the 2012 Study Trip of the UK Task Force on Issues Facing Arab Citizens of Israel, a Jewish organisation that has educational and awareness-raising objectives.

Jewish Outreach on Parashat Yitro?

Parashat Yitro 2009

One of the most powerful experiences of the annual Jewish Christian Muslim conference in Wuppertal happens when the members of the three faiths come together over the three last days of the week and share in each other’s prayer services.  For me, this exercise raises both anxiety about the quality and meaningfulness of our Jewish prayer as well as a kind of spiritual envy of certain elements of the prayer of the other faiths.

What surprised me the most though, was to discover that just as I was inspired by the devotion of the Muslim prayer or by the stillness of the Christian prayer, members of those faiths were equally inspired by the joyfulness of the Jewish prayer or the wholeness of the Jewish Shabbat.   Through their eyes I was able to re-appreciate my own tradition and learn to value what is unique and spiritually meaningful within it.

Generations: A Contemporary Story of Immigration for Parashat Toldot

In the sixties a new family moved to our block

From some foreign land, not really our stock.

Their skin was dark and their accents weird

And the men all sported a bushy great beard.

The fella was quiet, at least he seemed that way,

Went to work and then came home each day.

The wife was quite different, a right little madam;

Had these two kids then regretted she’d had’em.

The boys were quite odd, not at all like each other;

No one believed they were really twin brothers.

The oldest was coarse, an oafish young brute,

The younger a charmer, wide-eyed but astute.

Parashat Ha'azinu: The Power of Listening

"Give ear, O heavens, let me speak!"  (Deuteronomy 32:1)

During the Ten Days of Repentance, we seek to make amends for all our transgressions of this past year.  The hardest and the most important place to do this is in our relationships with others.

When we have a disagreement with a colleague, when we distance ourselves from a friend, when a family feud develops with a relative; we form a narrative in our own mind.  This narrative tells us what happened and why we are angry or hurt but it rarely tells us why the other person is angry or hurt.

Relationships break down, crimes are committed and wars are fought because everybody walks around with a set of narrative so strong that it leaves no space for alternative versions.

Rosh Hashanah 2011: V'yeilchu Shneichem Yachdav.

And the two of them walked on together.

Twice in the Binding of Isaac, we read these words.  When Abraham leaves the servants at the foot of Mount Moriah, he and Isaac continue the journey alone:

"And Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice, and laid it on Isaac, his son.  He himself carried the fire and the knife; and the two of them walked on together."

(Genesis 22:6) 

The father and son then engage in a brief conversation.  It is quite clear from the narrative that the basic situation has not changed; they have not been joined by others, they have not parted company and they are still walking and yet we are told this fact again.

Challenging Fashion on Parashat Tetzaveh

Isaac Bashevis Singer once said: “What a strange power there is in clothing.”  Fashion magazines, makeover shows and Trinny and Susanna tell us the same thing.  From 80s power-dressing to the classic understatement, the message is clear – you are what you wear!

This week, God instructs Moses to make the priestly clothing for Aaron and his sons ‘for honour and for adornment’ (Exodus 28:2).  Employing only the most skilful craftsmen, Moses is to have vestments made for the community leaders who will serve God as priests; ‘a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a fringed tunic, a headdress, and a sash’ (Exodus 28:4).  And the vestments are to be made of only the finest materials: ‘gold; blue, purple, and crimson yarns; and fine linen' (Exodus 28:5).

It would seem that God agrees with Trinny and Susanna!  It is very important that the priestly clothing is not only suitable and functional but also aesthetically beautiful; one could even say glamorous.  The rich colours and textures, the dramatic headdress and sash, the elaborate fringes and jewellery; would have gone together to create a remarkable fashion statement.

Some Toilet Talk for Parashat Ki Tetze 2011

There is a Jewish custom that one does not think about God or sacred things on the toilet.  As far as I know, however, the custom does not work both ways and it is permissible to think about the toilet in God's sacred spaces.  So I will proceed with caution with my sermon.

As far back as I can remember, I have been aware of the battle of the toilet seat.  My mother used to chastise my father and later on my brother for leaving the toilet seat up!  At university, we lived in a mixed house in our second but we made sure there was a girls' bathroom and a boys' bathroom to avoid an inevitable conflict over the positioning of the toilet seat.

For many years, I only lived with female flatmates and was surprised and quite put-out every time a male visitor had the audacity to leave our toilet seat in its upright position.  It is, it would seem, an unwinnable battle that began when the modern toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper in 1861 and will continue for as long as we continue to need toilets (which, I assume, will be forever).