Where is the Love?
http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2005-12-26.5367080713
Tikkun - Berkely,CA,USA
.... Are we seeing the push to eliminate the separation of church and state,
the most awesome and unique aspect of our country? Last ...
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Where is the Love?
A cautionary note for the holiday season from Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater
Where is the Love?
Rabbi Joshua Levine-Grater
This holiday season, there seems to be a ramping up of the rhetoric over
whose religious holidays are more “American,” more acceptable and more
tolerated. As Jews, we know that we live in a country that is almost 85%
Christian, so it is always an uphill battle to feel included and accepted,
but this time of year it is always amplified. With the so-called
“Christmas wars” that were launched by the Christian right and their media
outlet, Fox News, anyone who is not Christian is being told that Christ’s
birth can and should be a national moment of joy and celebration. Not that
it already isn’t, for Christmas is a federal holiday. That is a breach of
church and state that unfortunately is too large to repair, so we just
accept it. Just say “Merry Christmas,” or “Put the Christ back in
Christmas,” are the slogans of this year’s war. The old ways of tolerance
and inclusiveness, which moved us to say “Happy Holidays,” are now passé we
are told, for everyone knows that Christmas is the only real holiday of
this season. The President himself has been criticized for using the
tolerant phrase on his cards this year, rather than saying Merry Christmas
to everyone, even if they don’t celebrate that holiday. And, for those
that don’t know, there was a recent resolution on the floor of the House of
Representatives, which has become a real bastion of Christian ideology,
which called for the defense of the traditions and symbols of Christmas.
When another representative called for Jewish and other symbols to be
included in the resolution, the sponsoring rep said no. No, there is to be
no defense of religious freedom and expression, the very reason that we
broke away from the oppressive English monarchy and their official ties to
the Church of England. But, with the IRS already camping out in Pasadena,
that is all I will say about the government! Save to say that I commend
the President for keeping his cards inclusive and tolerant of all
Americans.
What is going on? Are we seeing a move to make America a Christian nation?
Are we seeing the push to eliminate the separation of church and state, the
most awesome and unique aspect of our country? Last I checked, we are not a
religious nation, even if we are a nation of religious people. And I am
not just being cranky or whiny, as some have accused my wife because she
was upset by spontaneous Christmas caroling in the public library recently.
I am speaking out a sense of responsibility for the religious tolerance and
freedom that makes America great. While there are still great interfaith
relations in the world, like my holy brother Rev. Ed Bacon and his
All-Saints Church community, there is loud interference coming through from
the Christian right. We go through this in every generation, as I remember
my parents fighting with many a school board over Christmas songs in the
classroom, Easter baskets in art class and prayer in school. When we don’t
speak up, when we don’t stand up, then those who seek to make change, which
is done covertly and slowly, will get the upper hand. I have been told to
let it go, for we have gone through this before and survived. But, I don’t
agree with that strategy. How does it feel that Paseo Colorado mall, here
in Pasadena, decided not have the menorah sponsored by Chabad this year
because their new policy is not to have any “religious symbols” in their
commercial establishment. Which, as a policy, might not be a bad one.
However, when asked if they were removing the Christmas tree, they said,
“No, that is more of a pagan symbol, a universal sign of holiday cheer, not
something identified as a Christian religious item.” Yeah, and the
Passover seder is a Roman banquet with Greek customs and words (afikomen
anyone?), not a Jewish celebration of freedom. Happily, though, after a
day of media barrage about the story, with Rabbi Chaim Hanoka of Chabad on
several major networks of news, the mall owners “re-invited” the menorah to
Paseo. Thanks. How great it could have been to recognize the confluence
of religious traditions happening this year, bringing us closer together,
rather than driving another wedge between us. And that is a theme that I
feel, sadly, was prominent for this year, which is coming to an end.
I know that I am sounding a little angry, and I am. These are my last words
of 2005, and I want to focus both on the good achieved, but also on the
missed opportunities, which make me upset. I am angry that our country is
moving backward in its tolerance rather than forward. I am saddened by the
continued erosion of church and state that many on the far right of the
Christian world are pushing. From intelligent design arguments (which were
thankfully rejected in Dover, PA in a major victory for the Constitution),
to the Christmas wars, there is a move to bring religion into every sphere
of life in America, even where it doesn’t belong. I am angry because we
are doing less and less for the poor and needy in our country, especially
during the time of giving, as the victims of Katrina continue to suffer
without power to almost 30% of the city of New Orleans, barely any of the
money allocated for relief has been received and the strong words of hope
and encouragement by the highest of elected officials have blown off into
the winds of indifference once again. The victims of the Pakistani
earthquake have been totally forgotten by the majority of the world, the
fate of yet another natural disaster in a year that already faced the
tsunami and Katrina. Thankfully though, former Presidents Bush and Clinton
have teamed up to show us what America can really be about. These men are
working together for the good of others and becoming great friends doing
it. That is the spirit that all of us, from all stripes of our
multifaceted rainbow, need to embody as we move into another year together.
Our governmental altruism should be modeled on our individual altruism,
which is strong and incredibly generous.
The Torah teaches that we are “to love our neighbor as ourselves.” What
does it mean to have a holy community, a people of peace that respects,
reveres and honors each other as souls of God, the embodiment of divine
energy in the world? We have lived long enough to understand the patterns
of human civilization such that we have seen our story before in history.
Yet, alongside each of the stories of our past, there has been the words of
Torah, reminding us what is truly worth striving for, what are the
obstacles and how we can overcome them. And still, we have never been able
to reach the goals of harmony on Earth. We once again have the opportunity
to choose “the right and good in the eyes of God, hayashar v’hatov b’einey
Adonai,” as we come up against chances to right previous wrongs, like
occupations and hatred, where we have the chance to truly help the poor and
the needy in our midst, to live according to the light of Torah, a holy
word that calls for us to be tolerant, loving, merciful and giving people.
When we turn away from the great gifts of the Garden of Eden, which were
our destiny, and are still attainable, when we turn towards the darkness of
greed, ego, fear and power, then we lose sight of the light that is equity,
compassion, grace and love. When we can’t see those lights, then we are
far from God and far from redemption. When we end wars, stop genocide,
share wealth and free the enslaved, the light shines brighter.
On that note, this year also saw the promise to eliminate the yoke of debt
from 18 of the poorest nations, mostly in Africa, thanks to the tireless
effort of Bono and his ONE campaign. Facing an uphill battle, Bono used
his rock star presence to make poverty and African suffering something
everyone could understand and care about. And for his work, along with the
other great leaders on this issue, Bill and Melinda Gates, the three of
them have been named Time’s People of the Year. I am very proud to have
been a small link in this chain of awareness and action that is beginning
to make some headway in one of our generation’s most crucial challenges.
This coming year, with the genocide still raging in Darfur, we will
continue to engage in efforts to end that atrocity. I am proud that our
congregation is taking an active role in speaking out against the
atrocities in Darfur, by participating actively in Jewish World Watch. We
must help Africa enter the modern world, and support that entry with open
hearts and minds. History will show that that is the least we can do.
And speaking of doing things, what are we to do with the president of Iran?
If he didn’t really mean it, it actually is comical for a moment. Comical
not as in funny, but totally ironic and grossly out of place with the
times. Is there ever a time when we can say, “I thought we had put that
idea or notion to rest? I thought that we had already been through this?”
To say that the Holocaust didn’t happen or that Israel should be wiped off
the map? Haven’t we closed that chapter in the world’s conversation? I am
sickened by this rhetoric and disgusted that he was elected by his people.
We live on the same planet and but not in the same world, and that is still
the most frightening aspect of living today. With all the Internet and
global connection, we still have no idea what is going on in Iran or North
Korea, really. There are now bans again on Western music and American
influence in Iran. As I said earlier, we are going backwards in the world
and that is incredibly scary, for we know that a backward rolling spiral
and crash totally out of control. With nuclear weapons still an option, we
threaten to annihilate ourselves with maniacs. When will we dismantle and
destroy all nuclear weapons, finally declaring them the greatest mistake
humankind has ever made? Worse, I think, than the Tower of Babble. Iran
should be sanctioned and punished for its outrageous comments. The world
should not tolerate leaders of nations to speak that way about other
nations. We must all learn to live on this Earth together. This is the
eternal lesson that the Torah calls us to in every generation. I would
call for the U.N. Security Council to censure Iran for its recent racist
and genocidal outbursts, and threaten greater punishment if they refuse to
live according to the rules of the international community.
Having said that, I am greatly heartened by the hopes for peace in Israel
and Palestine. I know that it might not look like that now, but I feel
that we have another opportunity for the two peoples to come together and
work out a framework for the creation of a two-state solution. Israel is
restructuring its political landscape, as we all know, and this could a
time when the final push forward to peace could happen. The Palestinians
need to find a way to control their fundamentalists, stop the suicide
bombings and rocket attacks, and elect decent people to represent them. As
for Hamas joining the elections, I know that it seems unfathomable, and
sadly that is what the House resolved to say last week, but a recent
Ha’aretz poll showed that over 60% of Israelis favored allowing Hamas into
the elections if that meant peace. And what better way to disarm people
than elect them as representatives of their government? It is civilized—is
that not what we want? They must abolish their wish to destroy Israel
though, before we negotiate. We learned this lesson in Northern Ireland,
which is having success, and it is yet another relevant comparison to that
conflict from which the Middle East could learn. You might be mad at me
for saying that, but I am only following what I see a majority of Israelis
saying too. And in theory, aren’t governments better than terrorists?
Let 2006 be the year that we don’t torture any human being, seek to destroy
any human being, discriminate against or hate within, and that we finally
understand that killing any person, be it state-sanctioned execution or
murder, is still killing, and that will never solve any of our problems.
Shalom is the way of 2006, love is the way of 2006, equality and equity is
the way of 2006, ending hunger, disease, malnutrition and what Bono calls
“stupid extreme poverty” is the way of 2006. May Christians, Jews, Muslims
and all religions of the world unite behind a common cause of loving our
neighbor and spreading peace, true peace, to one another. May this be the
year of greater religious tolerance, with a return to the civility and
harmony that we had once achieved. It is a shame to go backward in civil
discourse and moral clarity. And this time next year, as we herald in
2007, may we see a radically new world, where people are not going hungry,
dying of common ailments and living on $1 a day. May the light of
Chanukkah, which is known as the “or haganuz,” the hidden holy light of the
messianic time, illumine the way to our healing. With the speed in which we
operate today, a year is a long time, with a great deal of potential. Let
us pray that we reach our goals now, for why should we wait to bring tikkun
olam, righteous healing and repair , to our world, for even another moment?
Chag urim sameach
Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater is the spiritual leader of the Pasadena Jewish
Temple & Center and a member of the National Advisory Board of The Tikkun
Community.
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Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
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.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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