Rabbi Birdie Becker
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Alternative Shabbat: Gun Debate Review

2/29/2016

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What a delight it was this past Friday evening to gather with the Pueblo Jewish Community for dinner and to discuss/debate our views on gun issues. Using Jewish texts as our baseline, we entered into a passionate exchange of ideas around buying and selling, ownership and inheritance of guns, guns and ammunition restriction, licensing, registration, background checks, age limits, mental health and its various parameters including the emptying of the institutions decades ago and the lack of funds to assist people currently, parental responsibility, state versus federal regulations and of course, gun manufacturer responsibility. We even included an exchange on the safety controls that are both current and upcoming through R&D, the pros and cons thereof.

Who would have imagined that Biblical texts about dangerous dogs, roofs around parapets, not putting stumbling blocks before people and beating swords into plowshears could be so relevant! We even came to some consensus on a few issues.

Just as importantly, with the understanding that we gathered as community, friends, with regard for each other as individuals and respect for one another's opinions, thirty people with strong opinions spent an hour together and never once was anyone belittled, called a name, had their ideas dismissed or was cursed. Plus, the dinner was wonderful thanks to our chef and the volunteers who helped provide it.

Thanks to all who prepared and all who participated. I can't wait for our next alternative Shabbat.

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LET ALL WHO ARE HUNGRY, COME AND EAT

3/31/2015

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We uncover the three matzot on our seder table and announce, “Let all who are hungry, come and eat.” No sooner do we give credence to our bread of affliction than we turn our attention to those who may have even less. There are many still in affliction, who see no end to their enslavement. The matzah, which sits on our table, will be broken by us and hidden for the sake of games with our children. Our children will know it only as a bread of freedom.  However, there are many who cannot offer this hope for their future generations. For what do they hunger? Starvation is a prominent problem in the world. One in nine people on the planet go to bed hungry according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Poor nutrition causes death for 3.1 million children each year under five years old.

Now we may think that this all takes place in third world countries but Feeding America, a network of food banks across America whose mission is to eliminate hunger, provides service to 46.5 million people in need across the United States, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. I was unable to obtain the statistic for veterans.

Still physical hunger is but the beginning of need. There is a hunger for safety. "In a world torn by violence and pain, a world far from wholeness and peace, give us the courage to say ...” (Mishkan Tefilah pg 157) you will be safe from my hand. Are we willing to stand for peace: in our homes, in our schools, in our lands, both America and Israel? We all know too well that America has a problem with gun violence, domestic violence and racial divide. War looms large in both countries and will likely not dissipate as ISIL spreads across the Arab lands and beyond with media influence.

There is a hunger for security. Thirty five million human beings were transported around the world in slave trade according to the 2015 Global Human Trafficking Conference. Yes, slavery still exists. Even in America, human trafficking is a big commodity.  

Then more deeply, there is the hunger for acceptance. The orange introduced to the seder plate in the 1980s by Susanna Heschel, daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, represents the LGBTQ community who hunger for the right to love and to be accepted as they are. Perhaps we need to find a proper representation for the misattributed meaning of the orange, the struggle for women to be able to fulfill their potential; not part of the misattribution, but I would include, and manage their own bodies. Acceptance is a hunger for people whether they are different because of race, religion, sexual preference, disabilities, poverty or just a bit quirky. We all need to be accepted but we turn aside from the 'other' forgetting that 'others' need acceptance. 

Let all who are hungry come and eat. This year, as we begin our telling of the Passover story, let us not pass over those who are still hungry for their freedom. They are still trapped in Mitzrayim, in Egypt, in that narrow space. Ah, but we'll leave that to explore for another time.

Wishing you and yours a Hag Pesach Samayach


Rabbi Becker

 


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IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE

1/8/2013

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It seems to me that the rhetoric in the aftermath of the Sandy-Hook shooting, and the litany of other shootings and violent activity that has become notable in our recent conscious, is missing a key element. While I support sensible gun control regulations, a ban to assault weapons and gun shows, proper licensing and closing loopholes for permits; and while I applaud steps being taken toward expanding access to mental health; I do not believe that the 30,000 deaths that occur from gun violence in this country will be eliminated if the root of our divide is not also addressed. Unless one accepts as an axiom that anyone who shoots a gun at people is mentally ill, addressing these two issues will not alleviate the problem. The deeper problem is that we have lost the ability to communicate effectively. It is not only the ladies and gentlemen of the Congress who have forgotten that opinions are not truths, but much of the populace of this country and many other countries, as well. Civil discourse is rapidly becoming extinct.  

Growing up, I remember hearing that religion and politics, two of my favorite subjects, were not discussed in public. However, religion and politics are often the base of an individual’s views and ethics, thoughts and behaviors. By obviating these two categories, we often engage in very superficial conversations. The fact is, we can no longer even speak about the weather or ask about one’s health without broaching politics. Neither can one ask after someone’s pregnancy, spouse or family without potentially stepping on religious sanctions. 

When the highest position in the land, the Presidency, is denigrated by those who hold the highest positions of justice in the land, the Supreme Court, then the ‘person on the street’ is merely reflecting the attitude of their leaders. If imitation is the highest form of flattery, mimicry has become the lowest form of constructive intellectual processing. It is far easier to repeat a meme than to research the context of a phrase. It is more empowering to listen only to sources that come from our predetermined vantage point than to tune in to a source that challenges our beliefs. 
 
In times of crises, as a nation, we generally come together to support each other. Americans are a generous, caring and supportive people. I saw this as I drove from Colorado to Oregon and back the week following 9/11/01. We have all seen this in the outpouring of assistance during the days following Haiti, Hurricane Sandy, Fukishima, the shootings in Aurora and Sandy Hook and countless other catastrophes. The problem that exists is that those feelings, that desire to assist, is temporary. We have a longer memory for resentment and hatred than we do for compassion and love. Why is it that a single instance of conflict can deplete a lifetime of love but a single instance of connecting will not overcome a lifetime of hate?  
 
I was astounded by the number of people who have told me they de-friended someone during the last election season, and not just on facebook. I am astonished that people of good will cannot discuss religion and politics without devolving to name calling. I am bemused by those who spout rhetoric that they perceive as clever when it is merely degrading for them as well for those who hear it. It is, for me, no different from the comedian who tosses out curses in lieu of being able to present a comedic dialogue. 
 
I am not advocating repressing emotions. In fact, I consider the zero tolerance rules to be an abdication of good judgment. (Common sense should tell us that two five year olds kissing on a playground should not be suspended from school.) Repression merely leads to an eventual emotional explosion. Concern for our fellow human beings, awareness of someone else’s pain, frustration and isolation, involvement in dialogue with family, friends, community and nation, must go hand in hand with any regulations, be they around guns or mental health. 

However, conversation, civil discourse, etiquette and concern for one another, are not things that can be legislated. Rather, these are things that are internalized by observing them and by living within a culture that promotes them. I am not offended by someone opening a door for me. I appreciate someone saying ‘bless you’ when I sneeze. I can afford the ten seconds it takes to wave the other car through an intersection. I do not need to see every ‘blood on the snow’ story that occurs just so a 24/7 news station can fill in their allotted time. I am delighted to hear of any charitable project being undertaken by a child, a teen, a local adult or a celebrity. I look forward to discussing different opinions with my friends, knowing that they will still be friends at the end of the discussion – even when the differences remain. 

Maybe we need to simply go back to basics. Please share your thoughts with me. Thank you for taking the time to consider my opinion.

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    Community educator, choreographer, composer, performer, Becker, M.S.W., M.Ed., M.R.S., Ph.D., serves as rabbi for Temple Emanuel-Pueblo, cellist for Apples and Honey and is a Storahtelling Maven.

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