When we as a people say “Never Again?” what does that mean? It is so easy for those of my generation to believe those are words from the past that do not apply to us today. After all, we live a comfortable existence in America. Most of us, including myself, can count on one hand (if at all) the number of anti-Semitic incidents we have faced in our lifetime.

This is what makes the current situation so scary. It is easy to look at what is occurring in Israel and say “how does that relate to me?” My answer is as follows: if you enjoy all that western civilization has to offer, it relates directly to you! The war going on in Gaza is not Israel vs the Palestinians, it is the Western World versus the World of Radical Islam.

I have seen for a fact that not all Muslims are radicals. Having worked in social action partnerships with Muslim organizations in New York City and on the South Side of Chicago has proved this to me. However, those who are in control (or fighting for control) throughout the Middle East and Africa are radical Muslim leaders. This means that they do not support my right (or yours) to live in freedom. They oppose the western ideals of “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Take for example the thousands of Christians and Yazidis who are being murdered by ISIS in Iraq or the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced from their homes. Take the Boko Haram (whose name means western education is forbidden) who are enslaving hundreds of Nigerian Christian girls (threatening their death if they do not convert) and killing hundreds more Nigerians. Take the 200,000 who have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 (the Arab Spring) many of whom have been killed at the hands of radical Muslim leaders. The bottom line is hundreds of thousands are dying because they are of a different religion. 

The concept of Radical Islam is well described by Martin Kramer:

“The idea is simple: Islam must have power in this world. It is the true religion—the religion of God—and its truth is manifest in its power. When Muslims believed, they were powerful. Their power has been lost in modern times because Islam has been abandoned by many Muslims, who have reverted to the condition that preceded God’s revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. But if Muslims now return to the original Islam, they can preserve and even restore their power.” 

What this teaches is we need to stand united against the face of radical Islam, not just for Israel’s sake but for our own. Never Again must mean Never Again.

These two videos (by Christian journalists) will shed more light on the matter. Thank you to my mother-in-law Robin and to congregant Lorraine for sending them my way:

Andrew Bolt is an Australian journalist – see what he has to say.

http://www.israellycool.com/2014/08/05/bolt-hits-the-nail-on-the-head/

The inimitable, wonderfully irreverent Pat Condell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqSY285BqQg

This weekend is the Shabbat of Comfort where we read the famous words: “Be comforted my people, Be comforted says God.” Comfort is such an important value in life. People find friends and join organizations at which they are comfortable. They go places where they are comfortable as opposed to those beyond their comfort zone.

When I was on Heritage Retreats, a summer program designed to turn secular college students into baalei teshuva, I mentioned that I wanted to become a Conservative rabbi. I was told that Conservative was “beyond the fold” and that I should at least go for Modern Orthodox. The rabbis said “Why Conservative? You are fully observant!” My response was that i am more comfortable in an egalitarian environment. Their response was “Comfort is not a halachic value!” I replied, “Comfort is a value in how I live my life on a day-to-day basis.” Needless to say, I decided to attend a Conservative rabbinical school.

May this Shabbat bring about comfort in the lives of each and every one of us. May we live our lives in accordance with practices that we personally find comfortable rather than those that others say we “should” do.

May this coming Tisha B’Av be a day when we recognize the humanity inherent in all the peoples of the world.

May it be a day where we become more tolerant of others’ actions and extend compassion unto all who we encounter.

May we refrain from sinat hinam and instead engage in ahavat hinam, full-flowing, unconditional love for our surroundings and those who surround us.

May we accept each other’s differences and value what makes them unique from us, rather than being jealous of what we do not have.

May we willingly extend lovingkindness and a desire for making the world a place in which we are proud to live.

May there be peace in our households, in our communities, in the Middle East and throughout the world.

May we take the steps forward to actively be the change we want to see in the world.

May we be true to ourselves, to our beliefs and to those who we care about deeply in our lives.

May this be our prayer. Amen.

Each day I read about the war in Israel, I get increasingly upset because I realize that this is a war over the values that we hold dear. I see the anti-Zionist protests throughout Europe and I understand that this is not about “Free Palestine” but about fighting against western society, a society which promoted the freedom of women, gays and lesbians and people of all religions. As the model democracy in the Middle East, Israel is a country where everyone can live freely as he or she chooses, as opposed to most of its neighbors, where people confirm to the majority out of fear of being persecuted or killed. I see this as the primary reason why the United States has been such a staunch supporter of Israel: it recognizes that Israel promotes the same freedoms on which our country was founded.

What scares me the most is what will happen in the years ahead. I look at European cities with 40% Muslim populations which have 3 times the number of kids as the typical European family and realize that Islam will become the majority religion in parts of Europe within a decade. The Muslim population in the West Bank is also growing at a staggering rate and will likely surpass the Jewish population within a couple decades. What does this mean and why is it important? As others have said before me, there are two wars going on. One is the current battles between Israel and Hamas. The other is the “waiting game” where Islam is gradually growing in numbers in western countries and will eventually attempt to take over through the western democratic process or through sheer numbers. Why is this an issue? As we see in Muslim countries, there is an emphasis on the need to conform to the practices of the majority religion and to oppose those western values of liberty that we hold dear. It is also the difference between a people that values life (as it says in Deuteronomy “Choose life”) versus one that values martyrdom and sacrifice as a means for obtaining its objectives. Israel, through promoting life, stands out as a beacon of hope throughout the Middle East.

As Israel needs the support of each and every one of us, now more than ever, I would urge you to join us as the Israel Bonds Breakfast on Sunday August 10 at 10:15 a.m. in the Jericho Jewish Center Ballroom. My colleague Cantor Barry Black and his family will be honored at the event. Please join us to support a strong, secure Israel.

Today there is a big rally outside the United Nations building in support of Israel. Thousands are gathering to hear motivational speakers and rally their support for Israel. Personally I think rallies are wonderful opportunities for the Jewish community to come together. My question is why do we always come together when the situation is difficult? Wouldn’t it be wonderful for us to come together to celebrate Israel’s technological advances or the continued survival of our people amid challenges? My hope and prayer is that in addition to coming together to support Israel in the difficult war it is fighting, we also will come together to support our people’s accomplishments and achievements. In addition to being united in times of war, let us also be united as one people to showcase all the wonderful things that Jews are doing throughout the world.

When I told my congregants in Tucson that I was going to become the Rabbi of the Jericho Jewish Center, a number of them said, “Oh, so you’re going to be the Rabbi of a JCC?” My response was “No I’m going to be the rabbi of the JJC, a shul called the Jericho Jewish Center.”

The confusion is not for naught. A number of shuls in the greater New York City area are referred to as Jewish Centers. Why is this the case? Jewish centers emerged from Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s idea of the “synagogue center,” a “shul with a pool.” Rabbi Kaplan believed that the synagogue should be the center of social, cultural and community programming, in addition to a place of religious worship. He began with his own congregation, The Jewish Center, which he founded in 1917. As the Jewish community moved into the suburbs, the majority of Conservative synagogues followed Kaplan’s line of thinking, inscribing their building as a Jewish center. There are dozens of these shuls today, including the Fresh Meadows Jewish Center, Midway Jewish Center, Princeton Jewish Center, Riverdale Jewish Center and of course the Jericho Jewish Center. Many of them formed in the 1950s and 1960s, when Jews began to move to the suburbs.

As the years passed, the synagogue lost its place as the center of Jewish gathering. A number of YMHAs (Young Mens Hebrew Associations) began taking the name Jewish Community Center (JCC). These organizations centered on athletics and social programming as well as preschools and teen programming and over time became the central places where Jews would congregate for big community events (Yom HaShoah ceremonies and Yom HaAtzmaut parades, to name a couple). The JCCs are more in vogue today, as they appeal to people’s fitness and social needs.

My challenge for the contemporary synagogue is to reacquire some of the appeal of the Jewish Center of the past through focusing on engaging the entire person. Shuls today have to realize that some will come for prayer services but others will come for social action, yoga, bridge or athletic competitons. We need to embrace the synaplex model that different activities appeal to different congregants and to meet people where they are at rather than where we want them to be. If we do this, we can start to regain some of the glory of Kaplan’s synagogue center of the past.

Judah HaLevi said it best: “My heart is in the east but I am in the west.”That is exactly how I feel when I watch the war in Israel on television or read about it in the paper. I pray for the day that rockets are no longer fired into Israel and that no more innocent civilians are killed. I pray for Hamas to be destroyed and a viable peace partner to come to the forefront. I pray for the safety of the soldiers and of volunteers who risk their lives to bring food, water and supplies into the heat of battle. I pray each and every day for a cease fire and for an eventual peace.

As we begin the Book of Deuteronomy, I cant help but think about what Moses felt being so close to the Land of Israel yet so far away at the same time. Moses begged to enter the land but no no avail. As the Book of Deuteronomy begins, “These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness.” Moses wanted to be in the Promised Land yet he was separated by the Jordan River. Similarly, I long to be in the Land of Israel, the Jewish homeland, but I am separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

The war has in part impelled me to begin planning a congregational mission to Israel, to take place in Winter 2015. I want to return to this land with such a rich history, where Hebrew is spoken every day and where people courageously progress in their lives each and every day. I want to return to this rich tapestry of cultures and religions, a land where I am at home for being a Jew yet which numerous Christians, Muslims, Bedouins and Druze also call their home. It has been 5 years since I was last in Israel, and I am ready to return and to lead a group to this wonderfully rich country, the homeland of the Jewish people. Israel needs our support more now than ever. I applaud those who are continuing to take trips to Israel this summer and look forward to my return to this wonderful country of survivors-those who persevere in the face of terror and continue to live life with such meaning and richness.

May the coming week bring a calming of the violence.