Rabbi Bruce's Reflections on Life

 Dear Friends, As we approach the Jewish New Year of the Trees, Tu'B'Shevat next week, I wanted to share some thoughts about recent events.  Living in the Washington DC area and teaching at George Mason University, I encounter many people who are concerned about whether they are safe, whether their grants will be continued, whether their efforts to build a more peaceful world will be funded, whether they will have a job, and whether they will be able to stay in the United States.  We hear reports about a plan for Americans to take over Gaza and turn it into the "Rivieria of the Middle East." As we read Biblical texts that deal with the Exodus from Egypt in our weekly Torah readings at this time of the year, we remember that we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.  We endured plague after plague and in each case Pharaoh hardened his heart.  Our ancestors continued to have hope that there would be a better world and finally were able to escape and journey toward the p...

  Dear Friends, Colbert King wrote an article about Dr. Martin Luthur King Jr.  in the Washington Post today (Jan. 18, 2025) and I want to share an excerpt from his article.  King was sitting at a table in his house in January 1956, after receiving a phone call telling him that if he persisted in his civil rights campaign, “in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house,” and he thought about all that could be taken away. His baby daughter and his wife, Coretta, asleep in the next room, his father miles away and a cup of coffee growing cold before him, King   later recalled   that   he prayed: “Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I am right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now. I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage. And I can’t let people see me like this because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak.   As we commemorate ML...

  Dear Friends, A number of you have already seen part of this blog since I sent the link below to ascertain if it resonated with people and a number or you commented positively so I thought I would send this to all of you. The link had been sent to me and  I found it to be inspiring and hopeful. (see below) I hope you can open the link from YouTube. Recently in the New York Times, (Sunday Dec. 22) David Brooks writes the following, in his article, " My Decade-Long Journey to Belief ," "My life feels remusicked (his word...check it out online) since my own little Exodus journey began.  It turns out the experience of desire is shaped by the object of your desire.  If you desire money, your desire will always seem pinched, and if you desire fame, your desire will always be desperate.  But if the object of your desire is generosity itself, then your desire for it will open up new dimensions of existence you had never perceived before. for example, the presence in o...

 Dear Friends, As we approach Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa I want to share some thoughts about religious freedom. In this week's Torah reading (scriptural reading which begins with Genesis Chapter 37) , we are reading about the beginning of the Joseph narrative.  When Joseph is sent out to find his brothers he encounters someone who in Hebrew is called "Ha ish," the person.  That person asks him "for what are you looking "mah t'vakeish?" The person is not identified and could be anyone.  It is a reminder that any of us have the potential to impact someone's life.  If the person doesn't tell Joseph the best way to look for his brothers and he finds them too soon, they might kill him instead of throwing him in a pit. Ultimately Joseph is taken to Egypt where he interprets Pharaoh's dream and saves humanity from the famine.  (please read Genesis 37 and the next several chapters which through the end of Genesis tell the saga of Joseph and hi...

 Happy Thanksgiving, In Jewish tradition, one fulfills one's obligation for prayer when one says amen to the prayers of whoever is leading the worship experience....WITH ONE EXCEPTION. When one is giving thanks, although one can say amen to the prayers of others, each person must find something for which to give thanks.  On this Thanksgiving, as all of us acknowledge we are living in challenging times and facing various hurdles in different aspects of our lives, I hope that Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to search for the blessings in our lives and acknowledge them. I am teaching a course in the Holocaust this semester at George Mason University and have taught about Viktor Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning." and the power of hope. Two of my favorite quotes from Viktor Frankl, are the following:(see below) Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cann...

 Dear Friends and Family, I have been privileged to be able to lead a number of sessions recently about the election, Krystallnacht, which occurred Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 (the night of broken glass that many feel is the event that began the Holocaust), recent events in Amsterdam, and Veterans Day. I quoted the following poem which I hope inspires you in the way it inspires me.  I thought it was an anonymous poem but recently found the name of the author in this version.  (See below) As we think about the strong feelings that people have about the recent election, the recent violence in Amsterdam, recall the horrors of those nights in Germany 86 years ago, and remember and honor all those who serve in the military, this poem speaks to something we all can do. We live in a world with deep division and much tension.  A friend recently illustrated this with a grammatical joke. What do you call it when the past and present walk into a bar? Tense We live with tension and coul...