Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
It was approximately twenty-five hundred years ago that the Prophets of Israel roamed the countryside preaching about the goodness of humanity and how it could be found in each of us. In fact they emphasized that the most enduring force known to man was the power of our ability to conquer the wrong doing we witness every day.
There are many ways we can accomplish what was suggested so long ago. For example: Supporting institutions that give others the ability to survive and even carry themselves with dignity. Every day we witness the poverty and misery of those less fortunate. And there are those among us who were more independent but somehow became victims of the terrible nightmare we have been exposed to for these many years.
It is not enough to acknowledge the problems. We are obligated, as partners with God, to ensure that the tear in our society is repaired to the best of our ability. Each tear in the fabric of our existence should bring us closer to understanding our place in the journey we are embarked upon. Age should not be a deterrent to reaching out to lend a helping hand. Rather it should encourage us to do more because we have been there and have seen what nothingness brings.
Perhaps, given what has transpired this past year, we can reach for the unreachable with deeds. We are nothing without purpose and only when we lift a person who has fallen, can we with pride, declare who we are and truly comprehend the connection of Heaven and Earth.
This time of the year enables us to recollect as well as plan for tomorrow. There is the custom of New Year’s resolutions – a wish list of things yet to be accomplished and with good intentions attached. But it shouldn’t end there. The act of making a wish should be connected to the action necessary to see them completed. Some will falter and some will see their dreams come true. There is no shame in failing but rather in not making an honest attempt. That is the beauty of trying.
Our religious New Year encompasses these thoughts but also includes a desire to complete the journey with God as a partner. The secular New Year enables us to recall the past with the intention of trying harder through our own efforts of will power and determination. When you think about it they are similar.
Yes, the Prophets were right when they declared that goodness can be found in each of us. And it takes a little push called New Year to bring out the best in each of us. This to me is the true meaning of a New Year.
My prayer is that we will all find 2012 a year that will give us the ability to celebrate those things that give us comfort and joy; that each of us will join in creating an even better life filled with wishes and dreams, contentment and good health; that God will look favorably upon us and bless us with long life and most of all, quality of life.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Meaning of Tradition
Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
Usually at this time of the year we start asking questions because of all the commotion regarding Christmas. It is a wonderful time of the year and, a frightening time as well. There are doubts about who we are and how we fit into the rush and excitement that we witness taking place with our Christian neighbors. I, for one, am happy for them because of the message of the season, not the trappings and gift giving.
The meaning is quite simple which makes it even more appealing. Peace on Earth, good will toward men – men, of course, used in the generic sense. How could anyone argue with such a concept? After all it has its roots in Judaism’s understanding of relationships and attachments. It emanates from the Jewish gift to humanity of the concept of a Messianic wish and hope – a time when all will be well with the world and the lion will finally lie down with the lamb indicating the removal of hate and fright.
And yet, while we delivered this message as described in the Prophets, we still are a skeptical people reacting more to practical feelings rather than spiritual ones. Our Christian brothers and sisters have taken the belief to include a physical arrival while we look to a time when order will be created out of chaos. Both traditions are rooted in the belief and hope that humanity is capable of good and noble things
We look at this tradition in a more humorous way giving us the opportunity to rationalize the idea so that we can digest it. For example the story is told about a small Russian shtetl (community) where the city council decides to pay a poor Jew a ruble a week to sit at the town’s entrance and be the first to greet the Messiah when he arrives. The man’s brother comes to see him, and is puzzled why he took such a low paying job. “It’s true,” the poor man responds, “the pay is low. But it’s a steady job.”
We wait and yet we wonder and all too often we see misery and homelessness and poverty and wonder about our ever witnessing a time of tranquility and peace. And, yes, we laugh because it gives us the ability to hope without feeling so frustrated.
A Jew comes home from Synagogue and tells his wife: “They say the Messiah is coming any day, and will take us all to Israel.” The wife becomes hysterical. “Oh no! It would be terrible. It took years till we could finally move into this neighborhood, and buy the house we wanted. Now we’ve spent a fortune fixing it up. I don’t want the Messiah to take us away.” “Okay, okay, don’t worry,” the husband says. “We survived Pharaoh; we survived all types of discrimination. With God’s help, we’ll survive the Messiah too!”
Woody Allen reacted to the prophesy about the lion and the lamb explaining that a man was visiting a zoo and is taken to the lion’s cage. He witnesses there the literal fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy – a lion and calf in a cage together. Amazed he calls over an attendant. : How long have you had a lion and calf in a cage together?” “Over a year already.” “How do you do it?” “It’s easy. Every morning we put in a new calf.”
So here we are at this time, in this place, and the same thoughts run through our mind about a Messiah and the message it is intended to deliver. But then I look around and see people rushing to help people. I see people, some tired, some ill, still reaching out to help others who need the help more than they. I see volunteers serving food to those who are hungry or bringing groceries and medicines to the housebound. I see people raising funds for the needy among us. I see others collecting food for those less fortunate. I see all of this each and every day and I realize that the Messiah is among us – in each of us.
This is not a dream or a wish – but in the person of each of us who join together to reconnect to an idea, a feeling, and a moment of sacredness.
Those who believe in a physical Messiah can witness all the Messiahs at work. Those who believe in a Messianic era – well each generation brings the Messianic time a bit closer through the works of their hands. This is how God intended us to believe in the future by living in the present.
To our Christian friends – we wish them a very Merry Christmas together with the hope that their dreams and wishes will receive fulfillment and that the message of this season will give them renewed faith in each other and in God.
To all who celebrate Hanukkah – my wish is that the lights of the Menorah will continue to burn in each of us as we go from strength to strength in achieving the meaning of the Messianic promise and expectation of goodness and mercy, of kindness and redemption. This is what the Maccabees, some 2200 years ago in the midst of turmoil and despair taught us by taking destiny into their own hands thus giving us the opportunity to get closer to God through our own efforts of determination and fortitude.
May God bless all of us, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Baha’is and all who seek to find God through their own commitment of love and caring. And may He find favor with us as we begin a new season of continuity.
Usually at this time of the year we start asking questions because of all the commotion regarding Christmas. It is a wonderful time of the year and, a frightening time as well. There are doubts about who we are and how we fit into the rush and excitement that we witness taking place with our Christian neighbors. I, for one, am happy for them because of the message of the season, not the trappings and gift giving.
The meaning is quite simple which makes it even more appealing. Peace on Earth, good will toward men – men, of course, used in the generic sense. How could anyone argue with such a concept? After all it has its roots in Judaism’s understanding of relationships and attachments. It emanates from the Jewish gift to humanity of the concept of a Messianic wish and hope – a time when all will be well with the world and the lion will finally lie down with the lamb indicating the removal of hate and fright.
And yet, while we delivered this message as described in the Prophets, we still are a skeptical people reacting more to practical feelings rather than spiritual ones. Our Christian brothers and sisters have taken the belief to include a physical arrival while we look to a time when order will be created out of chaos. Both traditions are rooted in the belief and hope that humanity is capable of good and noble things
We look at this tradition in a more humorous way giving us the opportunity to rationalize the idea so that we can digest it. For example the story is told about a small Russian shtetl (community) where the city council decides to pay a poor Jew a ruble a week to sit at the town’s entrance and be the first to greet the Messiah when he arrives. The man’s brother comes to see him, and is puzzled why he took such a low paying job. “It’s true,” the poor man responds, “the pay is low. But it’s a steady job.”
We wait and yet we wonder and all too often we see misery and homelessness and poverty and wonder about our ever witnessing a time of tranquility and peace. And, yes, we laugh because it gives us the ability to hope without feeling so frustrated.
A Jew comes home from Synagogue and tells his wife: “They say the Messiah is coming any day, and will take us all to Israel.” The wife becomes hysterical. “Oh no! It would be terrible. It took years till we could finally move into this neighborhood, and buy the house we wanted. Now we’ve spent a fortune fixing it up. I don’t want the Messiah to take us away.” “Okay, okay, don’t worry,” the husband says. “We survived Pharaoh; we survived all types of discrimination. With God’s help, we’ll survive the Messiah too!”
Woody Allen reacted to the prophesy about the lion and the lamb explaining that a man was visiting a zoo and is taken to the lion’s cage. He witnesses there the literal fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy – a lion and calf in a cage together. Amazed he calls over an attendant. : How long have you had a lion and calf in a cage together?” “Over a year already.” “How do you do it?” “It’s easy. Every morning we put in a new calf.”
So here we are at this time, in this place, and the same thoughts run through our mind about a Messiah and the message it is intended to deliver. But then I look around and see people rushing to help people. I see people, some tired, some ill, still reaching out to help others who need the help more than they. I see volunteers serving food to those who are hungry or bringing groceries and medicines to the housebound. I see people raising funds for the needy among us. I see others collecting food for those less fortunate. I see all of this each and every day and I realize that the Messiah is among us – in each of us.
This is not a dream or a wish – but in the person of each of us who join together to reconnect to an idea, a feeling, and a moment of sacredness.
Those who believe in a physical Messiah can witness all the Messiahs at work. Those who believe in a Messianic era – well each generation brings the Messianic time a bit closer through the works of their hands. This is how God intended us to believe in the future by living in the present.
To our Christian friends – we wish them a very Merry Christmas together with the hope that their dreams and wishes will receive fulfillment and that the message of this season will give them renewed faith in each other and in God.
To all who celebrate Hanukkah – my wish is that the lights of the Menorah will continue to burn in each of us as we go from strength to strength in achieving the meaning of the Messianic promise and expectation of goodness and mercy, of kindness and redemption. This is what the Maccabees, some 2200 years ago in the midst of turmoil and despair taught us by taking destiny into their own hands thus giving us the opportunity to get closer to God through our own efforts of determination and fortitude.
May God bless all of us, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Baha’is and all who seek to find God through their own commitment of love and caring. And may He find favor with us as we begin a new season of continuity.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Don't let the lights go out
Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
Hanukkah 5772
December 22-29, 2011
“Don’t let the lights go out!” With these words, over 2200 years ago, humanity was introduced to an awareness that not only illumines the path of life’s journey but also enables us to understand the difference between good and evil.
Good requires light so that everyone can see the splendor that it represents. Good is the indispensable ingredient toward fulfillment. Good demands a great deal of effort because it is needed to eradicate our inclination to be evil.
Hanukkah helps us understand this eternal struggle because it is man’s first fight for religious freedom.
Hanukkah represents the globalization of the understanding of God. The light that emanates from the Menorah is the light of the true meaning of the relationship between us and God.
Hanukkah comes at a time when darkness surrounds us. The days are short. The night is long. It is cold and the harshness of winter is upon us. Life withers. We sleep. And some die. For this is the darkest time of the year.
Then there is light. The warm glow of these candles hopefully kindles awareness in our hearts that radiates so strongly and embraces everything around us. We are mesmerized by the flame, almost hypnotized, and we feel secure. Each night we light another candle until all eight are lit. And each night we feel a new sense of enlightenment, a new level of Holiness, a new attempt at the connection between God and humanity.
We light eight candles to differentiate between the Creator and the created. For in six days did God bring order from chaos and rested on the seventh,
and we, on the eighth day, attempt to bring this order into our daily lives through the miracle of the lights.
We cannot recapture the past, but we can use it to ensure the future. The religious freedom that was won has been the clarion call for all people throughout history. Every battle for religious freedom has had as its foundation the spark from the candles lit to indicate that evil was conquered by good.
May the lights of freedom continue to glow for all humanity.
May the lights of hope always give meaning to our lives.
May the lights of redemption remain fulfilling through the days and years ahead.
May the lights of Hanukkah remain a symbol for the future of all God’s children.
May the lights illuminate the paths of darkness, awakening our souls to our societal duties and always reminding us that there is goodness in each one of us.
May the lights help us to remember our responsibility to comfort the oppressed; encourage those who feel hopelessness.
May the light act as a symbol always reminding us to respond in a meaningful way relieving all the pain and suffering so that tomorrow will be better than today because all life is to be cherished.
Hanukkah 5772
December 22-29, 2011
“Don’t let the lights go out!” With these words, over 2200 years ago, humanity was introduced to an awareness that not only illumines the path of life’s journey but also enables us to understand the difference between good and evil.
Good requires light so that everyone can see the splendor that it represents. Good is the indispensable ingredient toward fulfillment. Good demands a great deal of effort because it is needed to eradicate our inclination to be evil.
Hanukkah helps us understand this eternal struggle because it is man’s first fight for religious freedom.
Hanukkah represents the globalization of the understanding of God. The light that emanates from the Menorah is the light of the true meaning of the relationship between us and God.
Hanukkah comes at a time when darkness surrounds us. The days are short. The night is long. It is cold and the harshness of winter is upon us. Life withers. We sleep. And some die. For this is the darkest time of the year.
Then there is light. The warm glow of these candles hopefully kindles awareness in our hearts that radiates so strongly and embraces everything around us. We are mesmerized by the flame, almost hypnotized, and we feel secure. Each night we light another candle until all eight are lit. And each night we feel a new sense of enlightenment, a new level of Holiness, a new attempt at the connection between God and humanity.
We light eight candles to differentiate between the Creator and the created. For in six days did God bring order from chaos and rested on the seventh,
and we, on the eighth day, attempt to bring this order into our daily lives through the miracle of the lights.
We cannot recapture the past, but we can use it to ensure the future. The religious freedom that was won has been the clarion call for all people throughout history. Every battle for religious freedom has had as its foundation the spark from the candles lit to indicate that evil was conquered by good.
May the lights of freedom continue to glow for all humanity.
May the lights of hope always give meaning to our lives.
May the lights of redemption remain fulfilling through the days and years ahead.
May the lights of Hanukkah remain a symbol for the future of all God’s children.
May the lights illuminate the paths of darkness, awakening our souls to our societal duties and always reminding us that there is goodness in each one of us.
May the lights help us to remember our responsibility to comfort the oppressed; encourage those who feel hopelessness.
May the light act as a symbol always reminding us to respond in a meaningful way relieving all the pain and suffering so that tomorrow will be better than today because all life is to be cherished.
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