RabbiYoshi

Kol haKavod to Julian Edelman - we should call out antisemitism and, when possible, do it in ways that can help people to change, to grow, to make teshuvah.

Morning meditation with Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback

A wonderful step forward for equality and justice.

Join us tonight for a special service featuring Pastor Michael Fisher from Greater Zion Church Family in Compton...

Join us TONIGHT at 6:15 pm for Shabbat services... We could all use the joy and renewal that Shabbat brings!

Tonight we begin counting the Omer, anticipating with excitement and joy our arrival at Sinai - seven weeks, 49 days to Shavuot, to Torah, to meaning and purpose. We count our days. We make our days count. ... (For a fun Omer counter, visit https://homercalendar.net/Welcome.html)

The Torah of Contagion - What Our Tradition Can Teach Us About COVID-19 It was one of those parenting moments you just have to savor. My wife had a work commitm...ent and my daughters said, Hey Abba, let’s go out to dinner - just the three of us! We thought it would be nice to go to a new place so we went to Yelp and searched up the best new restaurants in our neighborhood. We found a restaurant with excellent reviews. I figured we should get a reservation. We arrived a few minutes late and I was worried they’d give our table away. It turns out there was no need to worry - we were the only ones in the restaurant. It’s the Coronavirus, said the hostess. People are staying away. It’s happening all over the world. Markets are crashing in part because of the uncertainty about how this virus will affect businesses big and small like restaurants, hotels, travel related services, and manufacturing. There is reason to be concerned - to be sure. It will take time to contain the transmission and develop a vaccine. I’m not an epidemiologist. I’m not a doctor although I am a doctor’s son. I don’t have any great wisdom to share about this disease other than what we all should know already: -Stay home when you are sick. -Wash your hands before eating; after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. -Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces, like cell phones, using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. -Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue. Then, throw the tissue in the trash. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve, not your hands. That’s all good advice from the CDC. But our tradition has some wisdom about how - more generally - we should cope with outbreaks like these. It’s found in a text from the Talmud, almost 2,000 years old. It describes a disease they called Ra’atan. It was thought to be contagious - and dangerous. It begins by asking what the symptoms of the disease are: The rabbis answer: His eyes tear, his nostrils run, spittle flows from his mouth and flies swarm about him. The rabbis suggest various treatments that include using herbs and plants to make medicines that are to be combined with surgery. But then the text shares something that is most interesting. It tells us how some of the sages responded to the contagion - how they told others to treat those who were infected. Rabbi Yohanan issued the announcement: Beware of the flies of the man afflicted with Ra'atan. Rabbi Ze’eira never sat downwind of the sufferer. Rabbi Eleazar never entered his tent. Rabbi Ammi and Rabbi Assi never ate any of the eggs coming from the alley in which he lived. Rabbi Joshua son of Levi, however, hugged these [sufferers] and engaged in Torah [with them] We want to keep ourselves safe. We don’t want to get infected with a potentially deadly disease. That’s natural. We want to stay away from people who might unwittingly and unintentionally transmit the disease to us. That’s understandable. The rabbis who knew a great deal about the world but were largely ignorant of the biology and chemistry of these diseases, warn people to keep their distance. Not bad advice. But I’m deeply moved by the teaching of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. He lived in the 3rd century of the Common Era in the land of Israel. He came from Lydda - near to where Ben Gurion Airport is today. He believed that Torah was an elixir - a cure-all that would protect one from harm and bring healing to all who engaged in it. So when he heard that someone had this disease, he went to them and embraced them and taught them Torah. Think about this for a moment: Ra’atan was a disease that was thought to be highly contagious - and dangerous. And yet Rabbi Yehoshua goes to those who are suffering from it. He holds them - these people who have been ostracized. These people who have been - because of the fears that others had about the disease - largely abandoned by the community. He shows them kindness and then he studies Torah with them. The great commentator of the Torah, Rashi, says that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches Torah to protect himself - it’s a type of vaccine that prevents transmission of the disease. But it’s also possible that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches them Torah as a way of curing them. He believed that Torah study is good for the mind, good for the soul, and good for the body. One last thought - I want to connect this all to last week’s Torah portion, parashat Terumah. It describes the gifts the Israelites bring to build the Mikdash - the portable Sanctuary that our ancestors carried with them in the wilderness. According to our tradition, God tells Moses to tell the people: And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. The Mikdash - the portable Sanctuary - the root of the word is KODESH - holiness. So here’s the lesson: When people are in need of healing and we try to bring them comfort, we try to restore them to health - that’s a holy act. When people are suffering and we try to ease their pain - that’s a holy act. When we try to keep others - and ourselves safe - so that diseases like Ra’atan or the common flu or COVID-19 don’t spread - that’s a holy act too. So wash your hands. Get plenty of sleep. Take care of yourselves. And - take care of each other, too. Find ways, safely, to embrace those who are in need of healing. Bring them your love, your heart, your Torah. The Mikdash our ancestors built in the wilderness is no more. But the holiness embedded in those efforts, it’s all around. Now especially - in a time of such great concern and fear - let us make sanctuaries for one another. Let us be sanctuaries for one another.

I've attended AIPAC's policy conference many times and have found it to be - consistently - a rare oasis of bi-partisanship in a deeply divided environment. Senator Sanders should attend and listen to the wide-range of voices that are featured - and then he should issue an apology to AIPAC and its supporters.

There's a conversation happening at Wise this Sunday about Israel and American Jewry that rarely happens anywhere else in the world. It's extraordinary, we're hosting it, and we don't want you to miss it. Our Z3 (Zionism 3.0) Conference brings together diverse voices for explorations of topics close to Israel and American Jewry including an exploration of the disturbing increase in antisemitism in the US and globally. We'll also be joined by some of the most creative voices i...n the Jewish world today including actors, producers, and creators from the hit show Shtisel. Our Wise clergy and lay leadership have put together an incredible full day of thoughtful, innovative, and open discussion. You can read more below and on our web site. Please register in advance (it's not too late) as we will have hundreds joining us from all around Los Angeles and the country. We want to be sure you can maximize your time learning and connecting. Friendsthis really matters. Data indicates that there is a growing divide between Israel and the Diaspora. The Z3 Conference is our opportunity to be inspired and to bring our community closer together in respect, dialogue, and love. Won't you join me this Sunday?

What a joy to be part of the Partners of Peace gathering with our friends from Faithful Central Bible Church and so many others yesterday. The full video of the program is below - if you need some inspiration, take the time to watch it. Rabbi Sari Laufer, Cantor Nathan Lam, David Kates, Whitney June Aja Norton, and our Stephen Wise Temple Band all helped lead the service and many, many of our members participated. On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day especially, we are reminded of our sacred mission to stand up - together - for compassion, love, and justice...