Month: September 2026

The Importance and Power of Water

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , , , , , ,

During a summer in rabbinical school I was doing a social justice fellowship with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. One day after a long week of work, I turned on the water and left it on a few minutes before planning to take a relaxing shower. My housemate admonished me, stating, “Ben, water is not an infinite resource!”

There is so much power in water. According to the Torah, water existed even before the creation of light![1] The Torah speaks of מים חיים, the water of life.[2] The rabbis metaphorically compare water to Torah, asserting “there is no water without Torah.”[3]One cannot live long without water; similarly, our lives become desiccated and empty without study of Torah and transposing that study into meaningful action. The Talmud asserts that just as water is free to all so too is Torah free to all.[4]

Water is central to Jewish ritual. Before we eat bread, we wash our hands and say the blessing al netilat yadayim. We purify ourselves with water-look at the Mikveh. Water represents new beginnings and rebirth, just as we celebrate a new Jewish year today.

Another biblical covenant, marriage, is often created through well encounters. When I got engaged, my mother-in-law gave me the book Meeting at the Well (show) about biblical betrothal being connected to wells. The servant who found Rebecca as a wife for Isaac knew she was the right woman because he gave water not only for him but also for each of his camels.[5] Jacob saw Rachel when she was waiting for water and in a brute act of strength he lifted off the cover of a well that normally would have taken all the shepherds combined. He then proceeded to water Laban’s flock.[6] Moses saw Tziporah and her six sisters driven away by shepherds; he in turn chased away the shepherds and watered Yitro’s flock.[7] While not an act of betrothal, we know of the prophetess Miriam’s power in finding water for the Israelites to drink throughout their journey in the desert.

Our tradition verifies the importance of water and the damage too little or too much can cause. When we pray for rain at the end of Sukkot, we say “for blessing and not for curse; for life and not for death; for abundance and not for famine.”[8] Water is foundational to our people’s narrative. It was prediction of drought and famine that led Joseph to become a high level official in Egypt.[9]  The drought and famine in Egypt caused Jacob to send his sons to Egypt for obtaining wheat.[10] This led to settling in Egypt and the entire exodus story.[11]   

In modern times, it can be easy to take water for granted. We open our taps and expect water to instantly come out, not worrying about our taps running dry. Yet in our great state, we know not to take this for granted. Remember the megadrought of 2019-22 and the restrictions it brought-including not being allowed to water our lawns more than 3 days a week, with more restrictive regulations in the city and in Roseville.[12] That’s solely on the residential level; water has a much greater aspect on the state level. California produces 50 percent of the countries’ vegetables and 75-80 percent of the nation’s fruits and nuts.[13]  We have a number of growers in our congregation-not a surprise, as agriculture is a $60 billion industry in our state.[14] A shortage of rain can be economically disastrous and lead to wildfires in the dry season; a surplus can lead to flooding.

As the years go by, it becomes harder to ignore our dependence on water as human beings. This summer, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest and second-largest reservoirs in the United States, hit their lowest water levels since they were formed 90 years ago.[15] States are being required to cut back on their use of water from the Colorado River.[16]

Water dependence is a worldwide issue. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 4 people in the world lack access to clean, managed drinking water.[17] Lest we think that this is only a third-world problem, we see boiled water notices in the United States, often because of main breaks.[18] We have also seen industrial runoff impacting water in numerous places, with carcinogens on the rise.[19]

Last week, we were reminded of water’s potency. Israel went through a water crisis as a microalgae bloom knocked out 5 of Israel’s 6 desalinization plants, leaving only the one in Hadera.[20] Thankfully, household taps continued to run, but southern farmers were not so fortunate, with their taps closed for a few days.[21]

In addition, we the impact of water as a weapon. Look at the end of July where Iran allegedly hacked into water systems in over a dozen states-among them Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, Michigan, New Jersey and Georgia.[22] Thankfully they were able to be manually overridden, and the water was not contaminated. Water lines are often amongst the first thing attacked by enemies. In Qusra last month, two Palestinian families were blockaded by Jewish terrorists, and their water line was cut off, with the goal of forcing them out of their homes.[23]

         Lest we think that water is only a problem, we should look at a section of yesterday’s Torah portion that is often glossed over. The Sixth Aliyah contains a covenantal pact between Abraham and Avimelech where Abraham gives Abimelech sheep and oxen.[24]Then in the Seventh Aliyah, Abraham gave Abimelech 7 ewes as proof that he dug a well. The two of them swore an oath, leading the founding of Be’er Sheva, which means well-of-7 or well-of-the-oath.[25]

         What is forgotten about is that Abimelech was a Philistine king. One chapter earlier, Abraham entered his kingdom of Gerar. There, for the second time, he had Sarah pretend to be his sister instead of his wife, fearing that if Abimelech found out she was his wife he would kill Abraham. God appeared to Abimelech in a dream saying, “You will die because of the woman you have taken; moreover, she is a married woman.”[26] There is dialogue between Abimelech and God after which Abimelech implores Abraham “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you brought upon me and my kingdom such great sin? Deeds that out not be done you have done to me! What did you see that you did such a thing?”[27] Abraham and Abimelech did not start out on the right foot, yet one chapter later they make a covenant with one another. They were able to move from fear to trust. Abimelech and Abraham did not resolve their disagreements, but they agreed that the basic necessities of life apply to both their peoples.

There is opportunity to build upon the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech as well as from all the covenants which brought two people together. Look at the Arava Institute in the Negev which has been bringing atmospheric water generators to Gaza to provide clean drinking water.[28] Twenty-three days after October 7th, the Arava Institute issued the following statement: 

Water is a central element of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel controls several water pipelines entering Gaza, much as it controls most of life there. But water can also be a source of hope for an alternative future.

The Middle East is an arid region that is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. There is an essential need for solutions that offer equitable access to water and sanitation, and that protect Israel and the Palestinian territories’ shared water resources.

Our experience has shown us that working together creates understanding and friendships that defy the ongoing conflict.

We are not naïve. We recognize that water is central to the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. Yet, as we see it, continuing to weaponize water will not make peace more likely. What it will do is amplify the suffering that is already taking place.[29]

         It is very easy to see the suffering in other parts of the world. Because the Islamic Republic of Iran focus on destroying Israel, they haven’t spent money on water resources, and they are reaching “water bankruptcy.”[30] In contrast, the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan obligates Israel to supply Jordan with approximately 75 million cubic meters per year, while providing mechanisms for mutual assistance in drought years. Both sides established a Joint Water Committee to manage the resource, monitor water quality, and collaborate on new supplies. It is called the Israeli-Jordanian Water Cooperation.[31]

         If Israel can find a way to make peace with Jordan around water, a peace which has held for 32 years, then we must also find a way to create a sacred covenant around water, where a sufficiency mindset rather than a scarcity one will rule the day. It requires dreaming of a world where we will be able to say יש לי כל-I have everything that I need.[32]These same words were said by our ancestor Jacob (also known as Israel) to his brother Esau. Like Abraham and Abimelech, Israel and Jordan, we can agree to cooperate over the limited resource that is clean water and that water is needed as a basic necessity of life. I charge each and every one of us to also be more cognizant of how much water we use and recognize that it is a finite resource that must be safeguarded and protected. May we take steps to do so in 5787.

[1] Genesis 1:2 has רוח אלקים מרחפת על-פני המים, whereas light is not created until Genesis 1:3.

[2] Genesis 26:19, Leviticus 15:13

[3] Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 82a

[4] Based off Pirkei Avot 6:2

[5] Genesis 24

[6] Genesis 28:10

[7] Genesis 2:16-18

[8] Tefillat Geshem

[9] Genesis 41:34-36

[10] Genesis 42:1-3

[11] With appreciation to Baryohay Davidoff for remining me of this important insight

[12] Yes, You Can Water Your Lawn. But Here are the Restrictions for Sacramento Area, So Far – Water News Network – Our Region’s Trusted Water Leader

[13] CDFA – Statistics

[14] How Much Food Does California Produce for the World? – Chef’s Resource

[15] https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/worldview-image-archive/low-water-levels-lake-powell-lake-mead-august-2026

[16] This is largely because growing communities in the southwest, especially with the rapid growth of Maricopa County which houses Phoenix, use of the water from the Colorado River has become a premium. Lower basin states (California, Nevada and Arizona) have to cut their water use from the river by 20 percent over the next 2 years while upper basin states (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming) have no mandatory cuts but are encouraged to voluntary cut back 200k acre feet. Learned from NPR Marketplace podcast 8-25-26.

https://www.who.int/news/item/26-08-2025-1-in-4-people-globally-still-lack-access-to-safe-drinking water—who–UNICEF

[18] U.S. Boil Water Notice Tracker 2026 : Live Advisories by State – Clean Air and Water

[19] Water contaminants and cancer risk: arsenic, disinfection byproducts, and nitrate – NCI

[20] https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/04/climate/microalgae-bloom-israel-water-deasalination-shutdown

[21] Ark News Daily Podcast September 3, 2026.

[22] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-states-water-systems-cyberattacks-iran-backed-hackers/

[23] https://www.nbcnews.com/world/israel/scenes-israeli-settlers-siege-palestinian-homes-west-bank-rcna592078

[24] Genesis 21:27

[25] Genesis 21:29-31

[26] Genesis 20:3

[27] Genesis 20:9-10

[28] https://arava.org/bringing-new-atmospheric-water-generators-to-gaza/

[29] https://theconversation.com/collaborative-water-management-can-be-a-building-block-for-peace-between-israelis-and-palestinians-216250

[30] https://e360.yale.edu/features/iran-water-drought-dams-qanats

[31] Israel-Jordan Water Cooperation: From Historic Treaties to Today’s Fragile Partnership – Finacc Water

[32] Genesis 33:11

Comforting the Afflicted and Afflicting the Comfortable

Rabbi Ben Herman

What would it mean to live
in a city whose people were changing
each other’s despair into hope? –
You yourself must change it. –
What would it feel like to know
your country was changing? –
You yourself must change it. –
Though your life felt arduous
new and unmapped and strange
what would it mean to stand on the first
page of the end of despair?[1]

A rabbi’s job sometimes reflects a quotation that the fictional Irish immigrant bartender Mr. Dooley gave about newspapers: “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”[2] In this sermon I am going to start with the latter and then end with the former.

 It’s not an easy time to be Jewish. During the past year, we saw a truck ramming at a large suburban synagogue in Michigan. We witnessed a gentleman accost worshippers on a Friday night at a Manhattan synagogue. We recoiled at the stabbing of a Jew with a screwdriver outside a synagogue on Tisha B’Av, one of the 70 percent of July New York City hate crimes targeted against Jews.[3] Closer to home, we saw a man enter a Carmichael synagogue on a Friday night and put a box with wires on the bimah during the silent Amidah. No synagogue is safe from this hatred, which is why we now have 2 guards, one of whom is armed, every week at Shabbat services and whenever children are present. 

We know that this is not a new phenomenon, yet we might be surprised that antisemitism, while found more in the open now than it was for a long time, always existed in America. Pamela Nadell in her new book Antisemitism: An American Tradition, starts with Dutch politician Peter Stuyvesant wanting to kick out the first Jews to arrive in New Amsterdam, now known as New York, from Recife, Brazil in 1654. As Stuyvesant wrote, this “deceitful race, such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ, be not allowed further to infect and trouble this new colony.”[4] Stuyvesant tried to expel the Jewish immigrants, but he was overruled. Ironically, Stuyvesant high school in Manhattan was 90 percent Jewish in the 1950s.

 Of course, this didn’t begin with Stuyvesant. Jews were kicked out of England, France, Portugal and Spain, among others, all of which utilized prejudices from the Christian Bible to demonize and distort our people, who better convert to be saved from the fires of Hell.[5] The blood libel, stemming from Thomas of Monmouth in 1144, that Jews killed children and baked their blood into matzah,[6] found its way into Trent and Damascus, amongst other places, and led to organized pogroms against Jewish communities. This claim might sound ludicrous but was bolstered by Jewish apostates wanting to appease their new co-religionists. 

 Nadell continues that we cannot forget antisemitic tropes related to Jewish avarice and money, stemming from Jesus seeing Jewish money changers turning the Temple into “a den of thieves” and decisively knocking over their tables and kicking them out.[7] Judas the Jew would betray Jesus and get thirty pieces of silver for his evil deed.[8] It doesn’t take much to see the Shylock demanding his “pound of flesh” from Antonio for the money he lent.

This American tradition of antisemitism morphed over the years. It was certainly masked by the establishment clause in the first amendment and by Washington’s letter to the Touro Synagogue, part of which I read during our semiquincentennial celebration on July 4th Shabbat

Above all. We are blessed to live in a country that established freedom of religion in its first clause of the Bill of Rights. Yet we cannot forget that Alexander Hamilton, of musical and $10 bill fame, smeared an opponent as “Shylock the Jew,” and authors like Maria Edgeworth who in her book The Absentee portrayed Jews as “cruel and rapacious” with a villain Mr. Mordicai chasing debtors to their deathbeds.[9] Baron Rothschild was accused by Mississippi’s governor of having “the blood of Judas and of Shylock flow in his veins.”[10] I could go on with Professor Nadell’s examples, including General and Future President Ulysses S Grant expelling Jews from his military district of parts of Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky during the Civil War or of the newspaper articles of “Jewish criminals who would not hesitate to break into houses and stores, pluck Gentiles’ pockets, or even ‘plunge a knife into the breast of his fellow.’”[11] Don’t get me started on Henry Ford, who became fodder for Adolf Hitler, may his name be obliterated. I could also give a whole sermon on the disgraceful comparisons between Israel and the Nazis. Israel is a country that is flawed like any other, and I will give a critique of an action taken by Israeli settlers in my remarks tomorrow. With that being said, it is most certainly not engaging in a genocide or final solution, as one might see on Tik Tok or through the algorithms developed by generative AI.

All is not lost, however. Dara Horn, who likes bold, provocative titles for her books, recently wrote a new one entitled The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living. She recalls having been asked by many people after her previous book what to do about the increasing antisemitism and strives to give answers here, though she admits the title is sardonic.[12] The problem Dara sees is that American Jews have chosen to define Judaism as a religion rather than as a people. While not proposing any one solution, Horn advocates that we must reframe Jewish civilization as “a 3000-year-old anti-tyrannical movement.”[13] She wants us to teach Jewish living identity, rather than outsourcing Jewish education to passive trends or hiding behind universal safety nets. One of the dangers she sees with assimilation is trying to accommodate antisemitism in hopes we will be liked by others; instead, we should focus on fighting the lies that are behind antisemitism. Horn argues that the American Jewish community has “unconsciously accepted the assumption that we need to have no agency, but in reality, agency is the only reason we’re here today.”[14]

Above all, Horn asserts that we need to reject fatalism-the idea that antisemitism is predetermined and will always be there. Her solution is not a list of policy points but rather about the story we need to tell about how Judaism has survived by defying the dominant empires of the day through maintaining our faith, our culture, and our peoplehood. While she admits the battles are difficult, Horn believes we can fight against “the world’s oldest hatred” which is predicated on “the big lie” that “Jews destroy whatever you value the most.”[15]

Horn’s words remind me a statement Rabbi Shaul Robinson made at the Zionist Rabbis’ seminar. He asserted, “We must not internalise antisemitism and antizionism [16]״.When we hear the same lie time and time again we become victims of the illusory truth effect, that we believe the lie is real. As Dara Horn reminded me, many of the phrases heard by antizionists today, that “Zionism is racism, genocide, apartheid and colonialism” originated in the Soviet Union during the 1960s and 70s as part of its Cold War propaganda. She implores us to step away from the lachrymose version of Jewish history and an overemphasis on Holocaust education because that is a the least interesting thing about us; what is far more interesting is Jewish resilience through conscious choices against the dominant society. As Horn asserts, “we are actually the choosing people”[17] and those who choose to embrace Judaism are the ones who have survived.

Now that I’ve afflicted the comfortable it’s time to comfort the afflicted. How can we feel hope with the rise of antisemitism? In past years I spoke about maintaining Jewish pride and resilience, which remain important topics. This year, I want to focus on recognizing that we have friends in unexpected places, and we play a role in cultivating allies. In July, the British singer Boy George released a pro-Israel AI-generated reggae song “We Will Dance Again,” inspired by the Nova music festival. His song begins, “You say genocide, I say war” and continues “Does it get ugly? Yes, it does. When I know you want to kill every last one of us.” Boy George continues, “But if you’re ever confused, I stand with the truth. I don’t feel brave I just need to behave like a human.” Wonderful Jewish words, except Boy George is not Jewish. George Alan O’Dowd was raised Irish Catholic and has since embraced Nichiren Buddhism. Since creating the song, Boy George has faced dire consequences, having to step down from a West End role in (ironically) Jesus Christ Superstar, losing his record label manager and getting banned from the music platform Bandcamp. Yet he has cast his lot with the Jewish people.

We also cannot forget that when the antisemites strike, people in unexpected places sometimes stand up. Remember the first night of Hanukkah celebration last December at Bondi Beach. 15 people lost their lives, and it would have almost certainly been dozens more had it not been for a 42-year-old Muslim fruit seller and father of two named Ahmed al-Ahmed. Ahmed jumped on the back of one of the two gunmen, tackled him and wrestled away his long-barrelled gun. The price he paid was multiple arm wounds from the other assailant. His goal, as he asserted when interviewed, was to “stop the terrorism and stop the hate.”[18]

What are the simple steps that we can take in 5787 to cultivate more allies like Boy George and Ahmed al-Ahmed? There are genuine fears with the rise of antisemitism, which is often couched behind antizionism. Rather than focus on those detractors who offer hate, I choose to concentrate on those who can offer love. That is why it is so important to me to participate in the Sacramento Act Clergy Council as well as to meet with clergy leaders from the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento and give tours of our campus to those from other faith traditions. Boy George on his own will not save us, but maybe 1 million, 2 million or 10 million Boy Georges might. In the spirit of afflicting the comfortable, what is our responsibility in that direction, and what steps will we take in 5787 to join the Jewish Community Relations Council in building relationships with philosemites? 

I ask each of us to commit to this cause. My classmate Philip Weintraub is giving out to his congregation this year this lapel pin (show pin) stating הנני. I choose to translate as “HERE I AM-ready, willing and able.”  I am considering purchasing similar pins for Mosaic Law Congregation if there is sufficient interest. Regardless, may we proudly come forward and say הנני, building bridges with others during Jewish New Year 5787. Speaking of which, please stay and hear Rabbi Cantor Reuven Taff beautifully chant the הנני prayer.

[1] “Dreams Before Waking” by Adrienne Rich FEBRUARY 10, 2021 / JANFALLS

[2] Mr. Dooley is a fictional character created by journalist and humorist Finley Peter Dunne. This quotation comes from one of Dunne’s newspaper columns in 1902.

[3] Times of Israel Daily Briefing Aug 17, 2026

[4] Pamala S. Nadell Antisemitism: An American Tradition (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2025), pg. 12-13.

[5] Ibid, pg. 29.

[6] Ibid, 30.

[7] Ibid. 31

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid, 522-53.

[10] Ibid, 56.

[11] Ibid, 63.

[12] Identity Crisis podcast with Yehuda Kurtzer September 1, 2026.

[13] Ask Haviv Anything podcast August 19, 2026.

[14] Dara Horn, Rabbinical Assembly Talk, August 25, 2026.

[15] Ibid

[16] Zionist Rabbis High Holiday Seminar August 17, 2026.

[17] Rabbinical Assembly Webinar with Dara Horn, 8/25/26

[18] Bondi Beach hero Ahmed al Ahmed: I just wanted to protect ‘innocent people’ | The Times of Israel

25th Anniversary of 9/11

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , , ,

         I will never forget that fateful Tuesday morning. I was walking down B-wing at Nicolet High School in Milwaukee between 1st and 2nd periods during my senior year. I noticed that there were televisions outside classrooms-very odd as I had never seen that before-and there were people standing outside the classrooms watching. I started watching just as the 2nd tower was hit, recoiling at seeing the fire and smoke. Since then I have lived in New York City and have visited the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

         September 11th impacts people differently. When I lived on Long Island, a young man was memorialized every year, the son of congregants who worked at Cantor-Fitzgerald law firm. Many New Yorkers were struggling with survivors’ guilt, as they were a few minutes late to work that day. Others were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember the valiant first responders, the firefighters and EMTs, who ran into the inferno to try to save people’s lives. I remember the hospital workers who worked tirelessly to save lives. We must honor our heroes, including those who perished on that infamous day.

         Rosh Hashanah is an opportunity to strive to find a balance between remembering the past while concurrently being in the here-and-now. That is what we are asked to do every year, especially so when our very freedom as proud Americans came under attack. Each year before this one I have told a story on Erev Rosh Hashanah. The story I was planning to tell this year is my mentor’s magnum opus, I will save it for his first Yahrzeit, Shabbat Bereshit. Tonight, I want to leave us with how we should move forward in a world that reminds us that people hate us and want to take away many of the freedoms that we cherish. 

The poem “Walking a Narrow Bridge,” by Rabbi Joy Levitt, was written 1 year after the attack on the Twin Towers. I have chosen to conclude tonight’s remarks with it because in a world full of uncertainty, the most important thing is, as Rabbi Levitt asserts, “to find the very best within all of us” rather than giving into fear or despair.

Walking a Narrow Bridge

Rabbi Joy Levitt

Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od

The whole world is a narrow bridge.

Today we walk that narrow bridge,

ever aware of the chasms on either side of us.

We know what is below us, around us.

It is violence, hopelessness, the death of the future.

Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od 
The whole world is a narrow bridge.

We know how narrow is the pathway on which we walk,

how rickety the bridge feels under our step.

How little room there seems to be to maneuver; to change direction.

Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od 
The whole world is a narrow bridge.

And we are all on it. The whole world.

Our friends and our enemies and all of our children.

All of our Children.

Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od.

V’ha-ikar lo lifachayd klal

The whole world is a narrow bridge.

And the ikar — and the essential thing — is not to be afraid at all.

Because a greater danger than everything that lies around us and beneath us is the fear that paralyzes us, that causes us to stop in our tracks, unable to go back, afraid to go forward.

At this moment when we are most afraid,

when everything we see and hear is so very frightening,

when we are on the narrowest of narrow bridges,

it is at this moment that we hold onto the ikar,

the essential truth that fear robs us of hope.

Fear stops us from moving forward.

Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od.

V’ha-ikar lo lifachayd klal.

The whole world is a narrow bridge.

And the essential thing is not to be afraid at all.

To find the very best within us.

To find the very best within all of us.

However hard it is. However long it takes.