B'Shalom Rav 5779
B'SHALOM RAV -RABBI RON SHULMAN'S SERMONS 2018-19 | 5779
back to school
the rules of the game
american ideal
© 2019 Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman
history and census
security challenge
Shabbat Behukotai | June 1, 2019
I invite you to come into the room with our Congregation Beth El Board of Directors. We’re in the midst of a very difficult and emotional discussion.
In response to recent events and the rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and acts throughout our country, let alone within our own community last month, in addition to other security measures we’ve taken we’re considering erecting an interior security fence around the buildings here on our campus.
Should we do so, and I believe we will, this choice reverses almost three decades of work in American synagogue life to open up synagogue campuses and buildings. Until now, it was our project to make synagogues accessible, open, and welcoming sacred spaces.
In my rabbinic career, I’ve spent a lot of time learning and teaching all over the country that a synagogue facility tells a story about the community building it. A well designed synagogue facility reflects the purposes and values of the community gathering there.
Look around this sacred space. Words of Torah envelope us on the windows. Memories of earlier Jewish generations inspire us in the design of the space. We sit facing one another and together focus on what we are here to do. We bring the outside natural world in and go out to an open space reminiscent of Israel right here in La Jolla.
Back to the board room discussion. No one of us wants to do this, to build this security fence. Most of us know we have to.
I have stated my position very clearly. As Ron Shulman, I oppose this fence. It violates the spirit and vision of an open and accessible Jewish community. It represents a very sad capitulation that ours is not the free society in which I think I live. My soul cries if it has come to this in 21st century America.
As Rabbi Ron Shulman, I support this fence as a moral duty to this congregation, to our children, and to our guests. Rabbi Meyers in Pittsburg and Rabbi Goldstein in Poway did not arrive at Tree of Life synagogue on October 27th or Chabad of Poway on April 27th expecting to do anything more than enjoy Shabbat with their communities and friends.
As your rabbi, first I must ask us to be reasonable, responsible, and prepared. It is critical that we protect and defend.
This morning we conclude our reading in Sefer Vayikra for this year. The last verse of this Book of Leviticus reads, “These are the commandments that the Eternal God gave Moses for the Children of Israel on Mt. Sinai.”
The sages of the Jerusalem Talmud observe. “If you fulfill it as a Mitzvah it is a Mitzvah, if not, if you perform the deed unsuitably, it is not a Mitzvah.
For example, if on the first night of Passover one recites the blessing for eating Matzah over a stolen piece of Matzah, he or she is not doing a Mitzvah. You and I are accountable and responsible for the quality and character of our Jewish expression, here and everywhere.
We see this taught more clearly from an earlier verse in Leviticus. “You shall keep my laws and My rules, doing so you shall live by them, I am the Eternal God.”
About this verse, the Talmudic sages comment: “You shall live by them, you shall not die because of them.” About which, in 1902, Rabbi Baruch Epstein comments, “This is to teach that the Holy One, Blessed be God, does not expect people to observe the commandments of the Torah when danger is possible.”
As your rabbi, first I must ask us to be reasonable, responsible, and prepared. It is critical that we protect and defend.
As your rabbi, second, I must challenge us. We are not secure physically if we are insecure spiritually. It is vital that our communal dialogue not be about hate and security.
I challenge us. Let’s strive to match the dollars we will spend on security with dollars we can spend on Jewish education, celebration, and affirmation. Responsible for our safety, we are also responsible for securing the next generation of literate and engaged Jews.
My challenge echoes this insight from Dr. Israel Abrahams, a distinguished Jewish scholar of the early 20th century. “For Jews the moral is to answer anti-Semitism with more Semitism, if by Semitism we mean greater devotion to the great ideals which Judaism proclaimed to the world.”
My challenge extends a thought of Rabbi Abraham Neuman, who immigrated to the United States from Austria as a child in 1898 and went on in his American life to hold many prominent rabbinic and educational positions. In 1953 he spoke to this responsibility. “Jewish institutions of learning are the laboratories where weapons are forged to repel anti-Semitism to the degree that such a course is possible.” Those weapons are Jewish education, Jewish behaviors, and acts of loving kindness.
The first Chancellor of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Rabbi Judah Magnes, who lived between America and Israel, likewise said. “Anti-Semitism cannot be the guiding negative principle of Jewish life. Only freedom and service can be the guiding principle of the living Jewish people.”
As your rabbi, second, I must challenge us. We are not secure physically if we are insecure spiritually. It is vital that our communal dialogue not be about hate and security but about Torah and life.
Yes. We will call out anti-Semitism and hatred of any kind. They are truly ignorant and irrational evils. We will never mollify or tolerate them.
Yes. We will reasonably do what we can to protect ourselves and care for one another. We’ve coined a term to describe our security protocols and protections here at Beth El. When we are here, in a welcome setting, we want to “Be Safe and Feel Safe.”
Yes. We will promote who we are and what we believe. We will demonstrate in our lives and for our society God’s attributes of compassion and kindness.
One last thought. The rabbis of the Mishnah tell us to “make a fence around the Torah.”
So, yes. We will create and sustain a compelling and meaningful Jewish communal experience inside any new fences we may need to build around the Torah.
Though maybe instead of seeing it as a security fence we can call it a security gate. Gates protect and at the same time allow people to come inside. As the Psalms rejoice, we “Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving.”
A synagogue facility tells a story about the community building it. A well designed synagogue facility reflects the purposes and values of the community gathering there.
On this campus, our story and our purpose always will be about feeling the freedom and confidence as Jews that is ours, and as the caring people we are, to learn and to renew, to celebrate and to affirm all that is good and right in our world.
© 2019 Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman
collective Memories: a synagogue sermon for memorial day
mixed feelings after poway - op ed article
mixed feelings after poway - full sermon
Shabbat Aharei Mot | May 4, 2019
holocaust Memorial wall dedication
mitzvah isn't a choice
workism & judaism
wisdom of the heart
Anti-Semitism as idolatry
seeing God
Standing at sinai and in Washington DC
come together
The shabbat after pittsburgh
talk about god
© 2018 Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman
a remarkable endeavor
Shabbat Bereshit 5779 | October 6, 2018
my rabbinic letter about meaning
God Talk
best for me or we
I think this is remarkable. Truly. All of us gathered together in synagogue. All of us bound together by this tradition we share, by the variety we represent, and by the ideals of goodness, renewal, and hope we cherish. In this room we sit: hundreds of individuals, choosing to be here, who outside of this space are involved with every imaginable type of career, business, academic pursuit, and personal interest.
Tue, March 19 2024
9 Adar II 5784
Today's Calendar
Passover Food Drive 2024 |
Daily Minyan : 7:30am |
Coffee & Conversation : 9:30am |
Hamantaschen Baking : 10:00am |
Jewish Meditation Cohort : 2:00pm |
: 4:30pm |
: 7:00pm |
Friday Night
Kabbalat Shabbat Service : 6:15pm |
Shabbat Day
Passover Food Drive 2024 |
Torah Reading Class : 9:00am |
6th Grade BM Shabbat Morning Class : 9:00am |
Saturday Morning Service : 9:30am |
The Great Purim Heist: Megillah Reading & Celebration : 7:00pm |
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Mar 1 Passover Food Drive 2024 Friday, Mar 1 |
Mar 19 Coffee & Conversation Tuesday, Mar 19 9:30am |
Mar 19 Hamantaschen Baking Tuesday, Mar 19 10:00am |
Mar 19 Jewish Meditation Cohort Tuesday, Mar 19 2:00pm |
Mar 19 |
Taanit Esther
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Friday ,
MarMarch 1 , 2024
Friday, Mar 1st (All day)
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Tuesday ,
MarMarch 19 , 2024
Tuesday, Mar 19th 9:30a to 10:30a
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Tuesday ,
MarMarch 19 , 2024
Tuesday, Mar 19th 10:00a to 2:00p
Join Michelle Gurr-Barbour in our Beth El kitchen for baking sessions where we'll roll out dough, fill it with an assortment of sweet fillings, and expertly shape hamentaschen. that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Together, let's infuse our Purim celebrations with the sweetness of friendship, tradition, and community spirit. These hamentaschen will be enjoyed at our Purim celebrations, and will enhance Mishloach Manot packages for seniors in our community. We'll provide all the necessary ingredients and equipment. Please bring an apron if you prefer to wear one. Please sign up HERE --> https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D49ABAB2AA6FB6-48257546-hamentaschen#/ -
Tuesday ,
MarMarch 19 , 2024
Tuesday, Mar 19th 2:00p to 3:30p
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Tuesday ,
MarMarch 19 , 2024Chai Jews and Brews
Tuesday, Mar 19th 7:00p to 9:00p
Please check back soon for more information and registration. -
Wednesday ,
MarMarch 20 , 2024
Wednesday, Mar 20th 10:00a to 2:00p
Join Michelle Gurr-Barbour in our Beth El kitchen for baking sessions where we'll roll out dough, fill it with an assortment of sweet fillings, and expertly shape hamentaschen. that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Together, let's infuse our Purim celebrations with the sweetness of friendship, tradition, and community spirit. These hamentaschen will be enjoyed at our Purim celebrations, and will enhance Mishloach Manot packages for seniors in our community. We'll provide all the necessary ingredients and equipment. Please bring an apron if you prefer to wear one. Please sign up HERE --> https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D49ABAB2AA6FB6-48257546-hamentaschen#/ -
Thursday ,
MarMarch 21 , 2024
Thursday, Mar 21st 10:00a to 2:00p
Join Michelle Gurr-Barbour in our Beth El kitchen for baking sessions where we'll roll out dough, fill it with an assortment of sweet fillings, and expertly shape hamentaschen. that are as beautiful as they are delicious. Together, let's infuse our Purim celebrations with the sweetness of friendship, tradition, and community spirit. These hamentaschen will be enjoyed at our Purim celebrations, and will enhance Mishloach Manot packages for seniors in our community. We'll provide all the necessary ingredients and equipment. Please bring an apron if you prefer to wear one. Please sign up HERE --> https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D49ABAB2AA6FB6-48257546-hamentaschen#/ -
Thursday ,
MarMarch 21 , 2024VTS Thursday Grades 2-7
Thursday, Mar 21st 4:00p to 6:00p
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Thursday ,
MarMarch 21 , 2024Chai Yoga
Thursday, Mar 21st 6:00p to 7:30p
Join Chai member, Danya Greenberg, as she leads us through mindful movents and connection. Hope to see you there! Please bring a yoga mat, water and a towel. -
Thursday ,
MarMarch 21 , 2024
Thursday, Mar 21st 7:00p to 9:30p