SHALOM!

We have now entered into the Hebrew calendar month of Adar— the most unabashedly joyful month because contained in this month is the raucous holiday of Purim where we get dressed up, eat sweets and hamantashcen, and host parodies on the book of Esther called Purim Shpiels. 

The reason for the unbridled celebrating lies in the storyline of the book of Esther— a story about a foolish king named Achashverosh who is swayed by his top advisor, Haman, to issue a decree to exterminate all of the Jews in Persia. To save the day, Esther, the king's wife, must reveal to her husband that she in fact is Jewish and that he should reverse the decree lest she and her co-religionists die. Her "coming out" as Jewish is a success, the plan is thwarted, and the Jews celebrate redemption.

So, the parties and rowdy nature of the customs of Purim are actually a cathartic response to the the dark and terrifying story of a people who were nearly wiped out.  

Yesterday, I named a baby for a dear couple I had married 5 years ago. The baby was born early and had a rough and chaotic first few months of life-- requiring several surgeries and months in the NICU. From the time he was born, his community rallied around him, offering resources of time, care packages, and many MANY prayerful pleas for an outcome of wellness. Yesterday, our celebration of his entrance into the world and his health was pure and unbridled joy. The kind that salvation from near catastrophe can bring. 

It was a reminder that humans exist on the cusp of life and death. Each day that we wake up to is another gift from God. The Talmud drives home that point by describing sleep as 1/60th of death. So, during this month of Adar, may we all wake up each day grateful to be alive, and ready to embrace this sacred life we have been afforded. That's what it means to live with a sense of the sacred.

Thanks for #KeepingItSacred!

NEARING THE END

I am proud to report that we are nearing the end— of the first tractate of the Talmud, that is! The last page of Tractate Berachot will be read Friday night March 6 and all day March 7. So, after sundown March 7, all around the world, communities are planning what’s known as a Siyyum to mark the occasion. Siyyum literally means “completion.” And it is a kind of culmination of study. In fact, I will present a shiur (study lesson) in a virtual Siyyum (on zoom) on Sunday, March 8 with our Progressive Rabbi Daf Yomi group of 391 dedicated rabbis studying.  

Traditionally, we end large sections of study with a blessing of the Kaddish D’Rabbanan (Rabbi’s Kaddish) which states that God is great, sacred, and then lists out a number of other epithets for Gods magnamity. This is the way of praising the Source for the teachings. this is done for each of the 63 Tractates of the Talmud. 

But, then how did the Kaddish come to be one of the most commonly recognized customs associated with mourning, even acquiring a new name (The Mourner’s Kaddish) with only slight textual derivations? 

Well, we are told that one day the great teacher was going to recite the Kaddish but he died. In the wake of his death, his students gave his son the honor of reciting the Kaddish. This custom took off and people came to expect that the relatives closest to the deceased would recite the Kaddish and it came to become the version that we have today known as the Mourner’s Kaddish. 

So, if you’re planning on honoring the conclusion of the first section of the Talmud, the Rabbi’s Kaddish is the text to turn to (just remember it is customary to recite with a minyan of them people).  Oh and food. Lots of food is customary, too. How wonderful is that?!

Check out our Daf Yomi #Talmudgrams by clicking the image below. Enjoy!

VOTING IS A MITZVAH

When I was in Israel last April, campaign signs adorned practically every billboard. The most notable (for this rabbi!) was one sponsored by the Shas party which read (in Hebrew): It is a mitzvah to vote!

Now, that is certainly not a mitzvah that is specified in the Torah which predated an electoral process. However, the point stands: according to our democratic system, those who are eligible to vote, have power. And, it is a general principle of the Torah to take the responsibility of having power seriously -- to wield it thoughtfully and distribute it fairly and justly. The field of candidates began 34 strong and has now been widdled down to 9 candidates-- and that's just for the office of President. There are many other candidates for other offices and measures and propositions to consider.

For those of you who are eligible to vote in elections, and especially those of you who live in states that host primaries tomorrow-- Super Tuesday!, please consider casting your ballot for the candidate you believe will be the best to serve in the various offices open.

And, if we are exhausted by the campaign, let's all appreciate that because of the way their system of parliament works, and their inability to form a coalition, Israel is hosting their THIRD elections in the past 365 days-- TODAY! 

With so much at stake there and here, we MUST wield our power wisely. The future depends on it.

THE PRESSURES OF GIVING GOOD GIFTS:
Sermon originally delivered at Temple Israel of Hollywood 2/28/20

Have you ever had this problem— where you had to quickly figure out: What do you get for that person in your life who has it all?

If you google: Gifts for someone who has it all, here’s what you’ll get:

1. A flight in a fighter jet.
2. Old home movies—digitized! 
3. The Super Bowl On Location experience.
4. An electric bike.
5. Seriously [Amazing] Shoes. 
6. An indoor skydiving session.

The choices are infinite and the pressure is real. Gift giving is no joke probably because it simultaneously reflects on you, it reflects on what you think about the person’s interests, and it reflects on the relationship you have. It’s a lot of pressure to think about giving gifts.

This week’s Torah portion tells us: 

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה

God said to Moses: Tell the people of Israel to bring me gifts.

To those of you like me who always have a hard time choosing gifts for people, this single sentence is anxiety inducing. It is hard enough to figure out what to give a human loved one— all the more so, God!

Fortunately, all we need to do is read the next lines of the text to find out that God gets pretty specific about the kinds of gifts that are on the wish list:

gold, silver copper, various colors of yarn, and luxurious materials that will eventually be used to build the tabernacle. 

But once the tabernacle is built, and a few hundred years later the Temple mount, the people continue to bring the gifts specified by God. We learn about them in detail in the book of Leviticus as the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Peace Offering, the Sin Offering and the general Offering of Transgression. 

But even when we have these lists of what God would like, we have are questions. Like, should the poor offer gifts? Even if they are receiving benefit from the communal pot? 

In the Talmud, Chagigah 7a, we learn that 2,000 years ago, Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish argued over how many offerings one can bring to God.  Reish Lakish said there’s no limit to the number of times a person can appear at Temple to give gifts to God. 

Rabbi Yochanan said, that may be true, but God doesn’t want TOO many gifts— remember the gift offerings back then were sacrifices often offered because the giver had sinned and they were repenting!

Each person needs to give their gifts to God in their own way with their own understanding. 

But, remember, love is not a one-way street. All relationships that are truly sacred involve some give and take. So, yes, we give God all kinds of gifts of praise and gratitude, but many of them are in recognition of the idea that God has given us precious gifts, as well. The gift of life is among the most obvious. 

I can only imagine the nerve-wracking task that God had, having to come up with the ONE gift that every individual in the entire Israelite community would love and cherish all the days of their lives— from young to elderly, from wealthy to poor. 

We only need to look at the Ahavat Olam blessing which we will soon recite for the answer to what God chose to give to us.

The prayer says:

“Ahavat Olam beit Yisrael Amcha Ahavta Torah u' Mitzvot Chukim u'Mishpatim Otanu Limad'ta.”

Endless is your love for your people, Israel. Torah and commandments,  laws and precepts you have taught us.

In other words—God gave us ALL the Torah out of love. 

As we say: Dayenu— it would have been enough to have given us the 10 commandments to direct our morals, values and lessons, or even the entire Tanakh which contains narrative and poetry and fantastic miracles— there is truly something for everyone in it. 

But the ancient Rabbis tell us that God actually gave us TWO Torahs through Moses on Mt. Sinai. The written Torah which we know and love and have multiple copies of in the ark tonight. SUCH a beautiful gift! 

But also, we were given the Torah SheBa’al Peh— the Oral Torah which is the rabbinic tradition of human interpretation of the Torah. Records of thousands of years of scholarship that continues today, if only we participate in it. This process helps us experience gems of revelation continually with new relevance for our own time. Each day we read, we find new wisdom that applies to our lives. 

On the holiday of Shavuot, we celebrate God’s giving these gifts to us by studying them, the written Torah and the Oral Torah (which has since been written down) all night! 

But we don’t just study these texts on one night of the year!  You are probably familiar with the idea that we read a different portion of the Written Torah each week. 

And, there is also a tradition, called Daf Yomi, where Jews throughout the world study a page of Oral Torah called the Talmud— syncing up to study THE SAME PAGE of Talmud as one another— every day.  The cycle just began January 5. We all began to engage in this conversation and since the Talmud is 2,711 pages long, we should be done by May of 2027! 

This is the gift that we receive just for being Jewish. And we are empowered to engage in the conversation and make meaning of the texts for ourselves.  As my colleague Rabbi Mark Gross says, “To se the light of Torah refracted through the prism of rabbinic thought.” And the most exciting part is that we get to enter into the conversations and weigh in on great rabbinic debates— so, in today’s world, ARE there limits on the number of gifts a person can bring God? And there are 2,710 more pages of Talmud to jump into and weigh in on. 

Now we know the answer to the question:

What’s black and white and a gift for all generations in all times? The TORAH! And it never gets old!

After the Ahavat Olam blessing, thanking God for this precious gift, we recite the Shema and then acknowledge through the Veahavta that we will continue learning and teaching it to the next generation. This is how we give God the most precious thing we have: our thoughtful attention. 

TORAH OF THE WEEK:

And, finally: happy new week! The reflection on this week's Torah portion, Tetzaveh, called "Lightening Burdens" can be found by clicking HERE:

LA TALK RADIO INTERVIEW

Have you heard the interview? Rev. Sheena Metal interviewed Rabbi Miller on the "Raising the Vibration" program on LA Talk Radio and they discussed:

-faith experiences growing up, 

-being vulnerable and what we do when we get hurt, 

-the Women's Rabbinic Network, 

-the beauty of diversity, 

-health issues, 

-gym classes, 

-being in the clergy bubble, and 

-so many other amazing topics!

A listener recently emailed that she tuned in with her whole family and had this to share:

"I loved how the interview was infused with spirituality. So much of it touched my soul: your discussion of Talmud, Mishna, social action, values and morals, dedicating study to honor or remember someone, family, loss leading to deeper understanding.”

Check out the full interview here: 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

SIYYUM FOR PROGRESSIVE RABBIS STUDYING DAF YOMI

March 8 at 10am, via Zoom, Rabbi Miller will present on the first page of the Talmud, Berachot 2a/b, during a massive, online Siyyum (culmination) celebrating the completion of study of the entire book of Berachot. Other committed and progressive rabbis will participate as well, and if you are a Progressive Rabbi interested in attending, please contact rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com for more information.

FAITH-BASED WORKING GROUP FOR VETERANS

March 10 at 11:30am in Tustin, CA, Rabbi Miller will join interfaith clergy colleagues to celebrate and discuss working meaningfully with veterans. If you're an interfaith clergy member and you'd like more information, please email rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com for more information.

MIDRASHIC METHOD AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH in RSM THIS SPRING

Rabbi Miller will teach a class on the practice of filling in the gaps in biblical texts, a Jewish genre of literature known as Midrash, at St. John’s Church in Rancho Santa Margarita this spring. Stay tuned for more. 

COUPLES’ RETREAT: COMING THIS SUMMER!

We are working on planning a Keeping It Sacred Couples’ Retreat for this summer. This retreat will be geared toward:

• those who were married by Rabbi Miller and would love to add new dimensions to their prior Spiritual Couples Counseling,
• those who are already married and would like to benefit from a modern, relevant Jewish spiritual framing of relationship building, and/or
• those who are newly engaged and would like to see what the tradition has to offer in terms of modern, practical and spiritually wise relationship advice.

This retreat is in the beginning stages, but please contact rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com to let us know what timing works best for you. 

THANK YOU!

You are a cherished member of this community and we love to hear from you-- what questions do you have? Reach out to rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com or via phone at 818-312-8388 anytime to let us know what you’re finding meaningful, inspiring and what you’d like to see.

And, THANK YOU for Keeping It Sacred!

...together, we're #keepingitsacred

We'd love for you to forward this to a friend to invite them to sign up, too!