Rabbi Bruce's Reflections on Life

  Dear Friends, I gave a presentation recently where I talked about an old commercial for a cigarette company that was based upon a tune "that's what happiness is."   2:15 1965 Ray Conniff Singers - Happiness Is (mono 45) YouTube   ·   The45Prof 2 minutes, 15 seconds Dec 17, 2021 As we read from  the Holiness Code this Shabbat, I asked the group a question about what holiness is? We are taught that G-d told us we would become a holy people.  As I reflect on this, I do wonder what holiness means and whether holiness and happiness are tied together. When I applied to rabbinical school, I wrote that I believed that a rabbinical career was avodat kodesh, a holy task.  As I approach the 42nd anniversary of my ordination, I do believe that rabbinic work is sacred.   However, as I think about whether it made me happy, I have to pause.  Sometimes holy activity is so intense that it drains a certain amount of happiness from the one who is do...

 Dear Friends, As a rabbi who was trained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, I have always subscribed to the belief that Judaism is a civilization.  You can certainly learn more about this by either reading Mordecai Kaplan's book, "Judaism as a Civilization" or reading a summary or review of it. One of my takeaways is that we are fortunate that we are free to live as Americans and as Jews, enjoying the best of both American and Jewish civilizations.   After 31 years of serving in congregations I now have the ability to choose what I do on Saturday mornings since I don't have congregational responsibilities.  Last Saturday, instead of going to services,  I offered remarks at the dedication of Little League Batting Cages in a local suburb in Northern VA.  They were dedicated to a man who devoted his life to helping young people grow through their participation in youth baseball. In my remarks I quoted a number of Yogi Berra ...

  Dear Friends, As we journey from Passover to Shavuot, we perform a ritual called counting the omer. for the seven weeks between these two major festivals. This was a grain offering that represented the agricultural significance of the spring planting and harvest. Spiritually, counting the omer provides us an opportunity to think about what it means to journey from slavery to freedom (Passover) and then onto the revelation of receiving the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot. As we journey toward revelation I am reminded of when I stood on Mt. Nebo in Jordan, looking at the Promised Land the way that Moses did  As we remember Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land and was only given a glimpse.  I had hoped to see Israel from the mountain top but it was a hazy day and I could only see haze.  I was sad until I thought  that perhaps revelation may be the realization that our promised lands and goals are not always clear and...

  Dear Friends, As part of your Seder experience this year, please consider asking your guests a question (after all, it is the night for questions) What food would they want to add to the seder if they were providing a new symbol for today's world? I tried this recently with a group of college students and one shared that they would include burnt cake to show that we are still around no matter what has happened or happens to us. One student suggested an onion since the taste doesn't go away and the Jewish people continue to not disappear. Another student included a strong pepper to remind us to keep the taste of Judaism vibrant in our lives. I hope that we all are liberated from the despair that threatens to overwhelm us in the world of gun violence and that we will listen to the cries of those who have died.  They are urging us to DO SOMETHING to create a safer world, address the issue of guns in society and provide resources and support to improve mental health. My add...

  Dear Friends, In this week's Torah reading we are taught that a flame should be ignited on the altar in order to perform the Temple ritual. Some understand that the flame should be ignited into the individual who performed the ritual. As I think about the discussion in the portion, Tzav, I think about what lights up the lives of those who serve us and perform acts of tikkun olam (repairing our world). A friend with whom I study Torah once a week, wrote the following poem: Tzav We are called to remember that we are all priests. that we must keep the fire burning to notice the Holiness of every bit of reality, the marvel that our lives are, that the Infinite conspired to create us,  to sustain us. to offer us the incalculable joy of existence, the gift of being an infinitesimal but integral bit of Infinite Being. That the fire is fervor for justice, that we can't just notice the wrong, but must passionately pursue the path of healing, and forgive ourselves when that fervor doe...