Finally, our society is beginning to discuss the countless ways in which we have made life difficult for the people who are lame, blind, deaf, mute, or who suffer from one of the many physical impediments that can restrict their lives.
Jewish education forms the backbone of our communities. We assure the community of vitality and endurance through the Hebrew studies of our children, the outreach programs for those considering conversion, and the continuing education programs for other seeking adults. And those programs need our support. Consider today's Torah portion. God instructs Moses to take a census of the Jewish People in order for each Jew to pay a half-shekel tax to maintain the central communal institution of Jewish learning--the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Mishkan, a Jewish school!?!
Our culture is materially opulent and spiritually starved. Throughout American communities, lavish homes and well-furnished schools provide our children and ourselves with abundant physical comforts. We have all the possessions we can imagine. Our richness in things is counter-balanced, however, by our poverty in time.
One of the ironies of modern Judaism is that so many of us consider the sermon to be the high point of the Shabbat service. In fact, a sermon in the vernacular is a relatively recent addition to the service, and our tradition, as a whole, generally minimizes the significance of preaching.
Ours is an age of unparalleled uncertainty. While we ransack the past and its accumulated wisdom for guidance today, we also know that the degree of change in every aspect of our lives is without precedent. Groping in the dark, treading uncertainly down a path not previously taken, modern humanity doesn't know its destination and isn't even sure it is enjoying the trip. And we have good cause for our doubts.
Isaac is one of the least appreciated of the biblical Patriarchs. While his father, Abraham, was a public leader, the founder of ethical monotheism, and his son, Jacob, established the Jewish People and wrestled with God, Isaac is remembered mostly for being the sacrifice during the Akedah, the binding on Mount Moriah.
In today's Torah portion, we meet that same Isaac -- unimpressive, simply going along and repeating what his more prominent father had innovated in the past.
Have you ever noticed that the most contented people seem better able to deal with deprivation than their less happy peers, that those people with the most secure sense of being lovable are best able to hear criticism as an opportunity for their own transformation and growth?
At a ripe old age, Abram receives a message from God, telling him that he will yet produce an heir, and that the child will inherit not only Abram's property, but also his father's covenant with God.
Is Judaism a particularistic religion, concerned only with the well-being and sanctity of the Jewish People, or is it also one of the universalistic faiths, expressing a concern for all humanity in every region of the globe? To the enemies of our people, Judaism is portrayed as a narrow, legalistic and particularistic religion. By focusing on the Chosen People -- defined as the Jews -- and their needs -- to the exclusion of everyone else's, Judaism seems to show an indifference to the rest of the world.
One of the great debates within the environmental community is the proper human posture toward the preservation of diverse species. On the one hand, there are those who argue that extinction is the normal method through which nature keeps itself trim. Throughout the eons, a great many species have gone the way of the Dodo bird and the stegosaurus -- no longer able to compete successfully for a habitable niche in a difficult world.
