Rabbi’s Notes: Juxtapositions and The Essence

It’s been one of those times lately when, as I wander through town or pick up my phone or chat with my friends, people tell me of sorrows upon sorrows. Young people are dying; livelihoods are teetering on the brink; families and neighbors are fighting and struggling and falling apart. Meanwhile those gorgeous lupine are blooming around here thicker than they have in years, and the rattlesnake grass glows these days like it’s lit from within in the late afternoon sunlight. Here on G Road, Mick and I are getting ready (or not getting ready, more accurately) for summer’s trips and parties and visitors. Right now I hear him outside splitting firewood. The lawn mower is sitting on the front path, atop new wood chips he’s spread, ready to spring into action. I have a lug of apricots sitting on the counter and the illusion that they may even get made into jam and pies today and tomorrow. Juxtaposition of opposites…

Back in the Alternative Futures class that my dear friend Kent Hoffman taught to a gaggle of us little ten-year-olds back in 1968, he taught us that word ‘juxtaposition,’ along with a lot of more important things. I think often of a little game we’d play there: pick two words, as unalike as possible. Say, for example, ‘lawn mower’ and ‘cancer.’ ‘Brainstorm’ (another everyday term I heard for the first time in Alternative Futures) about ways they might in fact be linked, until you’ve come up with a new idea that emerges from their unlikely ‘juxtaposition.’

Okay then. Picture a page of Talmud: Rabbi Alef says, “It’s a beautiful late spring morning, and my sweetie is about to mow the lawn.” Rabbi Bet says, “The world is increasingly toxic, and I know a dozen people who have cancer.” Rabbi Alef says, “We start the morning service with Ma Tovu (“How good are your dwelling places…”) Rabbi Bet says, “We conclude the service with the mourners’ Kaddish, which itself ends with a plea for peace in our fractured world.” Rabbi Gimmel (how many of you remember Gabe Shapiro’s davar Torah at his bar mitzvah, spoken through the mouth of his dummy, Gimmel? This isn’t the same guy) says, “It is a sinful waste of water to have a lawn in a time of global warming.” Rabbi Dalet says, “How can anyone be fooling around here writing about lupine and lawn mowers when there is so much suffering in the world?” Rabbi Alef says, a bit defensively, “We didn’t plant the lawn – God gave it to us! And it’s mostly dandelions anyhow.”

Somewhere many years ago I heard a sentence attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav. I’ve written and quoted it over and over a million times, no longer remembering, if I ever knew, where he said it, or even if he really did. I’ve put it at the front of the Amidah in every siddur I’ve cut and pasted together over the years. And so this fictitious page of Talmud continues:

Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav says, or maybe he says, or he would have wanted to say, “The essence of everything is joy.”

The fictitious rabbis protest: “Whatever can he mean by, ‘The essence of everything is joy?’ He wouldn’t dare say that in the face of a person who is wasting from a degenerative illness!”

Rabbi Heh says timidly, “Well, maybe he means that suffering makes you stronger.”

The rabbis groan and say, “Oh, please!”

Rabbi Vav says, “Even when there is a loss of life or health or livelihood, the sorrow that these bring is the mirror image of the joy of life, health and livelihood themselves.”

Rabbi Heh whispers, “Maybe you appreciate life even more when it is fragile.”

Rabbi Alef introjects, “I just got another one of those phone calls. This stuff sounds pretty damned abstract in the face of intractable physical pain.”

Rabbi Zayin says, “Nobody who hasn’t been through these losses can say anything good about them.”

Rabbi Het says, “There’s nothing either good or bad about illness, death or loss of livelihood. These are all just things that happen in life. The essence of all of them is their lack of essence.”

Rabbi Alef says, “I just got another phone call, this time from someone trying to figure out a right position about Israel and Palestine.”

The rabbis begin to groan and quarrel among themselves. The question arises: “There may be an essence of joy in the natural progression of life and death, even including illness and debilitation. But how can one possibly find any meaning in the injuries that humans inflict on one another?”

Rabbi Tet says, “This is a kal v’chomer (from the easy case you can infer the harder one.) If illness, poverty and death mirror the joy of health and sustenance, then all the more so the passion of violence mirrors the love of family, home, land and safety. If people did not find joy in these things that they love, why would they fight when they feel that what they love is threatened?”

Rabbi Yud blows up and says, “This conversation is getting ridiculous. Our ancestors have been trying to answer these questions for as long as humans have lived on God’s earth. There is no answer and no point in asking.”

Rabbi Vav says, “You’re probably right. But I still wonder about that essence of joy. I can’t exactly explain it. But I can feel that it is in there somewhere.”

************

Summer / Tisha B’av. Ease / siege. Holy mountain / devastation. “The essence of everything is joy.”

Wishing you a joyous summer, my dear community.

 - Rabbi Margaret Holub © 2009

Computers and Coffee Comes North

Everyone is invited to a get-together with Art “Doc” Holub for a couple of hours of accessible tech talk on Tuesday, July 7, 5:00 – 7:00 PM at the shul. Doc runs a popular weekly open conversation about computers for seniors in Orange County and loves to answer questions and soothe people’s heebie-jeebies about computing. So bring your questions. Doc is Margaret’s father and a fan of the elder conversations and organizing we’ve been doing up here. So this will be a chance for him to share what he’s doing and to hear about our adventures. (mh)

Tish B'Av Fire and Remembrance

Tisha B’av, the day of remembrance of the twice-over destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, falls this year on Thursday, July 30. We will observe Tisha B’av with a ritual bonfire at Big River Beach from 5:00 – 7:00. Please come to the area of the beach which is below the Presbyterian Church and bring a folding chair if you’d like one. It may be chilly, so dress warmly.

Tisha B’av is about the fire of destruction which burned the holy Temple in Jerusalem, and which has continued to burn cities and populations through all manners of warfare and social destruction. Tisha B’av provides a place to express the lamentation in our hearts for that flaming energy of destruction which has ruined and killed so much through history, for the Jewish people and for all peoples. We will contemplate the power of fire as we chant Lamentations and memories, and reflect, as Tisha B’av draws to a close, on the promise of healing and redemption which the rabbis say reside at that special time.

Tisha B’av used to be a “minor” holiday in our community. But in recent years we’ve learned much about its importance and even beauty. This year we will experience a new ritual form for this observance. (mh)

Kabbalat Shabbat

In July we will be celebrating our home Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner on Friday, July 10th at the home of Irv and Rosalie Winesuff in Mendocino. Please call them at 937-4526 for directions and to let them know you are coming. In August we will be at the home of Benna Kolinsky and Danny Mandelbaum on Friday August 21st (as the Women’s Retreat is the second Friday) in Boonville. They invite you to come early, bring your bathing suit and take a plunge in their beautiful pool before we welcome Shabbat. Please call them at 895-3883 to let them know you are coming and for directions. In September we will be at the home of the Duncan family in Mendocino. The monthly Kabbalat Shabbat includes a song-filled short service that begins at 6:00 pm and is followed by a pot luck vegetarian dinner. If you would like to host this wonderful event in your home in future months, contact Mina at 937-1319. (mc)

MCJC Board Meeting Dates

The next MCJC board meetings will be Thursday, July 9 and Thursday, August 13th . If you would like to attend a meeting please contact Raven Deerwater at raven@taxpractitioner.com so he can let you know the date and include you on the agenda.

Book Group
The book group will meet Monday July 27th (not our regular meeting time) and then again on Monday, August 17th at the home of Rosamond Gumpert Jorgensen Please call Fran Schwartz at 937-1352 if you wish to join us. In July we will be reading “A Conspiracy of Paper” by David Liss. This novel takes place in 18th century London and the main protaganist Benjamin Weaver is called on to investigate his father’s sudden death. He is drawn into the world of Englsih stockjobbers, coffeehouses, and gaming houses. This historical thriller leaves the reader wondering just how much has changed in the stock market in the last 300 years.

In August our selection will be “The Thirteenth Tribe” by Arthur Koestler. This book traces the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a major but almost forgotten power in Eastern Europe, which in A.D. 740 converted to Judaism. Khazaria, a conglomerate of Aryan Turkic tribes, was finally wiped out by the forces of Genghis Han, but evidence indicates that the Khazars themselves migrated to Poland and formed the craddle of Western (Ashkenazim) Jewry. Books are available at Cheshire Books in Fort Bragg for a 10% discount if you let them know you are in the Jewish Book Group. We welcome new people at any time. We have not yet chosen the September selection. (mc)

Tisch

The monthly Tisch isl now take a summer break. We will meet again in the fall after the High Holy Days. Have a wonderful summer. (mc)

Thank You for Megillah Help

Thank you to Judy Minkus for collating and mailing our June Megillah. Contact Mina if you’d like to help with this task.

Mitzvah Meal: Feed the Freezer

MCJC is now in the possession of a chest freezer for keeping food that can be used to help sustain people in our community who are ill or in need of a little “Jewish” penicillin. We have all pitched in to help in this mitzvah and now we’re going to make it easier to fulfill the mitzvah of helping the sick. On Sunday, August 9th at 5 pm you are invited to a potluck dinner at the shul. We ask that you bring a vegetarian dish to share and one to “freeze”. We will have containers to divide your donation into single portions and will tuck it away in the freezer for future use.

So think of what freezes well: soups, stews, casseroles, cooked vegetables, etc. that are not too spicy. We will ask you to give us the ingredients so in case someone has diet restrictions we can take care of that. At the moment we’ll keep it vegetarian, as many people who are ill have trouble digesting chicken or beef in any case. In the future if you wish to cook some chicken, make chicken soup, etc. we’ll make arrangements to add it to the freezer.

We’ll enjoy a meal together, have some schmoozing time, and do a mitzvah all at the same time. If you have any questions contact one of the Bikkur Cholim committee Mina at 937-1319 or mcohen@mcn.org, Fran Schwartz at 937-1352 or franamie@cs.com, or Karen Rakofsky at 937-5522 or nerak@mcn.org. (mc)

High Holy Day Readers
Rosh Hashana is September 19th and Yom Kippur is September 28th. Once again we invite you to participate as a Torah reader. If you would like to participate in this wonderful mitzvah we can get you started early. We can give you a CD to listen to, the text, even a little tutoring if you feel a little rusty. We are giving you lots of notice to get ready. If you would like to perform this mitzvah contact Mina at 937-1319 or by email mcohen@mcn.org. (mc)

Want to Read the Torah?

Rosamond and Mina are reading the torah again from the beginning on Wednesdays at 10 am. If you want to join us, we read for one hour, you can join us at any time, and we are reading in English. Not necessary to be a scholar, we have some fascinating conversations. Call or email Rosamond at 962-0390 or auntrosie@mcn.org.

Celebration and Unveiling of Torah School Tile Project

On Friday, September 11th we will celebrate our Kabbalat Shabbat at the shul.  During the last school year the students of our Torah School have been creating tiles to decorate the shul, featuring the stories of Bereshit (Genesis). Come and see the results, celebrate Shabbat and kick off the new school year.  We will meet at the usual 6:00 pm and will have a short service and a pot luck dinner. (mc)

Donate to the Shul Kitchen

We are trying to better equip the shul kitchen for holiday, Torah school, Tisch and special event cooking. If you have any of the following items that you would like to donate, please call Joan Katzeff,  964-9161 to arrange pick up.

Cuisinart, 1 electric mixer, 6 cookie sheets, 4 medium stainless steel bowls, 2 large stainless steel bowls

1 set of dry measuring cups, 1 set of measuring spoons, 4 good quality potato peelers, 1 potato masher

2 - 8 quart stainless steel soup pots, 2 4 quart stainless steel soup pots (mc)


19th Mendocino Women’s Retreat  Thursday, August 13th to Sunday August 16th

What Floats Our Boats? Faith, Hope, Doubt, Knowing and Wondering  We welcome you to join us again for 3 days and evenings of singing, celebrating Shabbat, deep personal exploration, eating fabulous food, meeting new women, hanging out with old friends, and experiencing our Jewish souls in community with like minds and hearts.  We will gather under the Redwoods and within their sheltering splendor our stories, voices, and laughter will be joined with those of our mothers and sisters, of our personal as well as mythic past    Our leader through the wilderness and wildness of our own minds will be our ever thoughtful and beloved teacher Rabbi Margaret Holub.  There is still room for you!  Contact Harriet Bye at bysawyer@mcn.org (mc)