“I Can’t Complain” Temple Beth-El of Great Neck Rabbi Meir Feldman’s Sermon on Yom Kippur Morning 2012/5773

YOM KIPPUR WAR -- GOLAN HTS

The year is 1973. The day is Yom Kippur. The hour is now. Fifteen hundred Syrian tanks are rolling toward the . In this sanctuary, on this very day, you gathered, terrified by the news of the . In a place that is now known as the Emek Ha D’maot, the Valley of Tears, 150 Israeli tanks faced the truly impossible.

Within two hours, nearly 50% of them were wiped out.

Binny Friedman, who today lives in , but grew up in Florida, tells a story about a young IDF soldier named Effie Eitam. Eitam was responsible for a five-man reconnaisance unit that was on duty, while most of his battalion had gone home for Yom Kippur.

By 2:15 that afternoon was clearly in dire straits. Shocked, Effie and his small unit witnessed over four hundred Syrian tanks heading their way, with not a single Israeli tank to stop them. The commandoes had only one portable anti-tank weapon. On the one hand, it was absurd to imagine that destroying one tank would make a difference. On the other hand, if you are an elite Israeli commando unit, how can you not fire the anti-tank weapon you are holding? Thus, Effie identified the Syrian tank with the most antennas. He ordered his men to fire the missile. They did. The intended tank burst into flames. And, inexplicably, the entire Syrian advance stopped in its tracks.

===== On this holiest of day of the year, we might ask: What do we do when faced with crisis? How do we want our children and grandchildren to respond to the most challenging moments in their lives, and in the life of our community?

JOHN F. KENNEDY INAUGURAL

I quote: “I have sworn a solemn oath before you and Almighty God . . . Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but as a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle . . . a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

“The faith and devotion we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

I’m thinking about two historic speeches. One, of course, is JFK’s inaugural address from January 1961, when my mom and dad were eagerly awaiting my arrival, in about 6 months time. The other, we heard in our Torah reading this morning. In his inaugural address, JFK created a

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profoundly religious gathering. He invoked God’s presence, and, with an entire nation looking on, either in person or on television, he framed a covenantal moment.

To every citizen, from the heads of tribes and the elders of the community, to the water carriers and wood cutters -- President Kennedy asked the same question. “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country?”

THE LAND OF ISRAEL & JFK’S QUESTION

JFK speaks to us about our future in the land of America. Moses speaks to us about our future in the land of Israel. I return to our Torah reading:

“You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God, from the heads of tribes and elders of the community, to the water carriers and the wood choppers. . . to enter into the sworn covenant. I place before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life . . . that you may endure in the land, which the Lord swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

For thousands of years, to choose life has meant to bind our hearts and souls and dreams to the land of Israel. Since the beginning of Jewish time we have known that our potential as individuals and as a people is inextricably tied to one piece of land.

Moses is speaking to us about our future in the land of Israel. JFK is speaking to us about our future in the land of America. If we close our eyes, or open them wider, the mind’s eye can see two bodies of water. Yes, today we stand in Great Neck, on the shores of the Long Island Sound, but today, we stand as well on the banks of the .

BUT IT DOESN’T EXCITE

But it’s quite likely that JFK’s question, the Torah’s question, is problematic. It likely doesn’t resonate. It doesn’t excite. For many of us, when we contemplate our next vacation, Israel is far down on the list of destinations. When thinking about a language to learn, the most glorious language on the planet, the language of our family and of our people, Hebrew is likely not on the list. When considering a piece of world history to study, it’s usually not Israel’s. When downloading our next book on Kindle, or inquiring about a great artist, musician or thinker, none will likely be related to Israel.

Lastly and most importantly, when searching for inspiration, for a sense of awe or wonder or passion; when we yearn for a soul-filling sense of connectedness, or commit to enriching our lives more than we could ever imagine, Israel is rarely considered. Unlike the 25 generations of that preceded us, we don’t look to our communal connection to provide us with great meaning, or a sense of lofty purpose.

So let me re-frame JFK’s question, why : Why must her past and future be critical to each of us, to our children, and to our grandchildren? Beyond the fact that the Torah instructs us to place Israel at our center, and beyond the fact that since our founding moments our dreams have been

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bound up in this one piece of land, why must our care and concern for Israel be so deep, that each of us is unavoidably drawn to JFK’s question?

ONE ANSWER

There’s one answer. The full expression of our Jewish lives depends on it. We simply cannot fulfill our purpose, our mission as Jewish individuals, without a deep, abiding and ever-active love for Israel.

Allow me to share a series of stories that make my fundamental point: neither we nor our children or grandchildren can fulfill our mission as Jewish individuals, without an abiding love and attachment to Israel. We owe that love and attachment to our past and to our future, but mostly we owe it to our present selves.

MODERN LIBERAL JEWISH ZIONISTS & THEODORE HERZL

I begin with the story of the giants of Modern , who stood at this covenantal moment, not thousands of years ago, but about 100 years ago.

I hope you know of them. Max Nordau, Leo Pinsker, Moshe Hess, David Ben Gurion , Eliezer ben Yehuda, Vladimir Jabotinsky, . These giants of the modern Zionist story were educated at the great European universities. They grew up with varying degrees of Jewish education, but all of them chose a largely secular Jewish life. Furthermore, all of them felt that without Israel, their lives would be incomplete; there would be no way to fulfill the potential of their Jewish identity.

Then there is Theodore Herzl, the founder of Modern Zionism. Born in Budapest in 1860, Herzl studied at the Univ of Vienna. He received his doctorate in law, worked in the courts for a few years, and then became a writer.

A decidedly non-observant Jew, Herzl became convinced in the late 1890’s that Jews had to create a Jewish state, and so he organized the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, in 1896. This quite secular Jew is widely regarded as the father of modern Zionism.1

These giants of modern Zionism teach a profound lesson: university-minded Jews know the critical role that Israel must play in our lives. Liberal, non-Orthodox Jews should be the Zionist trail-blazers, the ones to inspire a historic renaissance in our ancient Jewish home.

SOVIET REFUSENIKS

Here’s a more modern version of that story. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin led a mission to the former Soviet Union, to visit Soviet refuseniks, non-religious Jews who dearly wanted to make to Israel. An American asked one of the ‘refuseniks,’ “How is the Jewish education in Soviet Russia?”

1 [In 1897, he wrote in his diary, “If not in 5 then in 50 years there will be a Jewish state.” 50 years later, in 1947, the United Nations voted to create a Jewish and an Arab state.] 3

Although it hardly existed, the refusenik answered: “I can’t complain.” “And how’s the availability of religious articles in Russia”? Although they mostly didn’t exist, he said: “I can’t complain.” “And how is your standard of living in Russia”? The refusenik answered: “I can’t complain.”

“Then, why are you so anxious to leave Russia for Israel?” “Well, answered the refusenik, in Israel, at least I can complain.”

COMPLAINING & ZIONIST LOVE

But, I worry . . . that for too many of us, our Zionism has one, all-too-prevalent form of expression. We complain. We often give money. But even more often, we complain.

There is so much to complain about and the causes for complaint are monumental. But my first great concern is that complaining is our primary act of Israel-engagement.

Let’s start with the subject we probably complain about the most, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, aimed directly at Israel. These days our complaints are regularly directed at the Presidential candidates. We accuse one or the other, of failing to care, or care properly, for Israel.

But let’s be real about these complaints – should Meir Feldman’s opinions on the precise response, the particular line to draw, regarding Iran’s nuclear ambition, really matter. I don’t have access to the most critical facts. I don’t possess the intimate, all-important details that are necessary for a compelling opinion. And I’m guessing neither do you.

But the worst of our complaining is not our lack of: information. It’s our lack of: appreciation, for each other. Let me explain.

Those of us on the TBE trip to Israel this past July got to meet Bob Rosenschein. He’s in his 60‘s and made aliyah 30 years ago or more. Bob, who is the founder of Answers.com and designed the Hebrew-English word processor, used by MS, shared with us a piece of his grandfather’s wisdom: “When a megalomaniac says that he wants to murder you, believe him.”

For those of us on the political right, the left is making a naive and potentially catastrophic mistake, by disbelieving or dismissing, the stated intentions of Iran’s leader.

For those of us on the right, the left dishonors all who were murdered by the Nazis, by minimizing this megalomaniac who denies the Holocaust and who publicly states his intention to destroy the “Zionist cancer”, the State of Israel.

For those of us on the left, the right fails to acknowledge the horrifying risks of an attack on Iran. Twenty-five thousand rockets from Iran, 25,000 rockets from Hezbollah and from , and as well from Hamas in Gaza -- all aimed at Israel.

And, for those of us on the left, the right seems to be blind to what an attack on Iran could well unleash, right here, in our US of A. How could the right not fear the terror that Hezbollah might

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unleash, not in , but here, on our soil, in NYC and Chicago. And, how can the right sleep at night, knowing that Americans might well ask several obvious questions:

Is attacking Iran, or helping Israel attack Iran, worth it? Are Americans willing to risk, much less sacrifice, their American lifestyle for Israel? Is helping the Jews really worth it?

To us Jews in America, we should be very concerned. What might Hezbollah’s terror in our streets unleash against us?

There is no denying that both the right and the left speak Truth. The views of both are powerful and absolutely compelling. No one in this room may dismiss or hold in disdain, the right or the left. They are both speaking truth.

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Yes, we lack the necessary information. But even worse, we lack the critically needed appreciation, for each other. My first concern is that complaining is the primary muscle we exercise when it comes to Israel.

My even greater concern is our children and grandchildren, and their relationship with Israel. When it comes to Israel, we, the non-Orthodox world, have a ‘youth problem.’ We assume that the cause of our ‘youth problem’ is the very long list of absolutely legitimate Israel-complaints. But that assumption, I believe, is wrong.

Here’s a question: what conversations do we have with our children and grandchildren about Israel? Do we tell them our stories -- where we were in May of ’48, June of ’67, October of ‘73? Do they hear us speak of our love, our deep concern, our genuine commitment to Israel? As with everything else, our youth pay close attention to how we, their parents and grandparents, relate to Israel.

We now see a generation of young Jews who maybe feel a vague, passing interest in Israel. For the first time in Jewish history, we have a generation of young Jews whose love for and devotion to Israel is very much in question.

But I suspect that Israel’s imperfections, monumental as they may be, are not the primary cause of our problem. Rather, I suspect, we are the primary cause of that disconnect between our youth and Israel.

All one has to do is look at the Birthright initiative. In 10 days time, 100,000’s of our college aged children have been turned on to Israel. They’ve been transformed from young adults with little connection, to young adults with enormous hunger and concern for Israel.

Let me address some of our other legitimate, compelling causes for complaint, beyond the Iran desires to wipe Israel off the map.

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There is: a) the ugly war of ideas, the war against Israel’s very right to exist, waged by many in the Arab world, but aided by Westerners often on the far left; b) the failure of Palestinians to create the institutions of statehood and to willingly live as Israel’s peaceful neighbor, c) the domestic Israeli policies that are major roadblocks to a Palestinian state, and that have undermined confidence in Israel’s commitment to such a state; d) the enormous domestic struggles that Israel faces, from who serves in the Army and how, to the treatment of women and the economic drain in the Haredi world, to injustices faced by Israeli Arabs, to the very uncertainty about Israel’s democratic essence.

There is so darn much to complain about, so much that we must complain about. It leaves some Jews feeling ashamed, embarrassed. To some of us, Israel is like the crazy aunt you keep in the basement. Some Jews wonder, with dismay, how could a country of Jews, with such lofty goals and intentions behave in such ways?

What I fear is that complaining is our primary contribution to Israel. What do we do to cultivate our own personal connection? What do we do to transmit to our children and grandchildren a deep, abiding, and ever-active love of Israel? Clearly, complaining, as an expression of love and care, does not translate.

THE MIRACLE OF ISRAEL

Friends, lets be clear about what we’ve witnessed since 1948. Israel’s re-birth is a mythic, extra-ordinary event in human history. It is extra-ordinary because never before in human history has a language, dead for 2000 years, come back to life. It’s extra-ordinary because it took 2000 years for Jews to be the subject of a sentence rather than the object.

What does it mean to be a religious state profoundly devoted to free speech, free assembly, freedom of religion and the right to vote? What does it mean for a powerful army, to uphold Jewish laws concerning innocent civilians, captured soldiers and women? What does it mean to construct a Jewish vision of freedom, democracy, minority and individual rights?

These are the greatest challenges facing human-kind today, and because of Israel, Jews can contribute to this conversation. God forbid we yawn at this historic moment or we fail in this monumental responsibility. God forbid we squander this momentous opportunity.

The Talmud teaches, “O’ chevruta, O’ mituta,” there is “either partnership or death.” The story of the refuseniks and the Modern Zionist leaders, is a story about partnership; about Jews actively striving to impact life in Israel, to plug into that unique Jewish power source, that we call Israel.

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JOSEPH TRUMPELDOR

Let me tell you about a secular man named Joseph Trumpeldor. This past July, in our TBE trip to Israel, 18 of us visited Trumpeldor’s memorial in the northern town of Kiryat Shmoneh. In March of 1920, Trumpeldor died defending a site that is called, Tel Chai, the encampment of life. In his last moments he said: “Ein davar, tov lamut b’ad artzeinu.” “No matter [that I’m about to die], it is good to die for our land.”

Mr. Trumpeldor was raised in Russia to a proud, but non-observant, Jewish family. He was a decorated volunteer in the Russian army. He was educated at the Russian Gymnasium and studied dentistry. Eventually, he devoted his life to organizing chalutzim, young people who wanted to go to the Land of Israel to form a Jewish defense force.

Today’s enormously popular Israeli youth movement is named , after Yosef Trumpeldor. ר ת י ב -- BETAR is a 4 letter acronym, beit, yud, taf, reish bayit Yosef Trumpeldor. If you don’t know those Hebrew letters, join us for our next Hebrew Marathon, next January.

JFK said, “Ask what you can do for your country.” Trumpeldor’s answer was: “Tov la’mut b’ad artzeinu.” It is good to die for one’s land.

DANIEL GORDIS

After making aliyah from LA, with his wife and children, Daniel Gordis, a scholar, author, and a director of the Shalem Institute in Jerusalem, wrote an ethical will to his children. In it, he says: “Decide what’s worth hanging on to at all costs, what’s worth being scared for, what’s worth fighting for, what’s worth giving everything for. If you can find that, you’ve found everything. And that, more than anything, is what your I’ma and I want for you. . . We love you with all our hearts.”

How do we cultivate the love and the desire to sacrifice, that Gordis, Trumpeldor, the Refuseniks and great Zionist dreamers seem to possess?

LESLIE WOLLIN

On the bus, leaving the Valley of Tears where that famous tank battle took place, one of our 18 Beth-El travelers said something I will never forget. She and her husband had never been to Israel before, and certainly had not been to the site where 40 years ago today, 1000 Syrian tanks rolled into Israel.

She said: “I’ve never understood what it could mean or what it could feel like to love something as much as I love my family. The love, the connection I now feel to Israel, to Jews everywhere, is nothing I’ve ever before experienced.”

How do we cultivate that love? One answer, for sure -- Go to Israel. Make it your next big vacation. Put on hold other vacation plans, until after you’ve landed in Tel Aviv. At Ben Gurion

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Airport, by the way, you’ll be greeted by cousins of every color who say: “Welcome home!” Go to the one place on the planet where you’ll experience something so beautiful, so rich and so compelling, you’ll be forever transformed.

CLAUDE MONET

A few weeks ago, we Feldmans went to the Bronx Botanical Garden. I didn’t realize at the outset that we were embarking on a journey beyond time and place.

The year was not 2012, but about 1885. The place was not the Bronx, NY, but Giverny, France, specifically, the home and gardens of Claude Monet.

From the 1860‘s until 1883, Monet celebrated many artistic achievements. But in 1883, he moved to his final residence, in Giverny. It was from this home that Monet reached his fullest potential. Professor Paul Tucker wrote this, “It was his water and lily gardens in Giverny that fulfilled Monet’s horticultural longings.”

Abundant with irises, (Japanese, Siberian, bearded, yellow flag,) roses, water lilies, nasturtium, sunflowers, weeping willows and more, Monet’s world-renowned garden was an extraordinary expression of artistry and spirituality.

According to Professor Tucker, Monet “began a process that soon would alter history. . . Monet’s gardens attest to his unwavering determination to create environments that were intimately tied to his aesthetic aims as a painter.”

MONET & ZIONISM

What connections exist between the Jewish relationship to Israel and Monet’s relationship to Giverny? There are two. First, the fulfillment of Monet’s vision, required Giverny; the fulfillment of the Torah’s vision for the Jewish people, requires Israel. Second, the Jewish dream of home is nothing less than our striving to create a glorious garden. Israel is the grand, artistic dream of the Jewish people. Zionism itself is the creative, unique expression of Jewish artistry.

MANY OTHER NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS

In the mid-1800’s, Jews were inspired by the national aspirations of many peoples. The Bulgarians, Greeks, Swiss, Hungarians and Italians, were among the most well-known examples. In the following century, aspirations spread to many other corners of the world. Today, there are more than 80 Christian countries and more than 30 Muslim countries in the world.

The one and only Jewish national aspiration, the Jewish dream to reunite with our land, is like those of so many other peoples. Ours just happens to be recorded in one of the oldest living documents of human civilization.

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Monet’s incomparable gardens, his creative genius in Giverny, is akin to the extraordinary Jewish flowering in Israel since 1948. Fertile, prolific Jewish soil in Israel has spawned so many gardens: in science, medicine, bio-tech, water-technology, agriculture, computing; in religious and secular literature; in its Nobel Prize winners; and, and in its guarantees of freedom of religion to all faiths, unlike any neighboring country; and to its guarantee of woman’s rights and human rights no matter one’s sexual orientation. Israel’s achievements in a short 64 years are as colorful and brilliant as Monet’s gardens in Giverny.

As it turns out, Monet’s life was not nearly as perfect as his gardens. The ups and downs of his life were, a bit messy. Israel as well is quite messy. It is far from the Garden of Eden. But as my friend Rabbi Noa Kushner says, if you’re looking for a perfect religion, a perfect, ancient and beloved home, a perfect spouse, friend, teacher--p’zhalista. Go find it.

HAPPINESS SURVEY

Fortunately, Israelis today are not looking for the perfect. A stunning survey came out about two years ago. Gallup Polls performed a study over a 4 year period, trying to determine the happiest people in the world. It’s called the Happiness Survey.

The top five are the Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands. Next comes Costa Rica and New Zealand. Then, tied at number 8 are Israel, Canada and Australia. The US was 14.

[Among major industrial powers, U.S is 14, is 33, Japan is 81 and China is 125. Middle Eastern countries, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria range from 82 to 115.]

How could it be that the Jewish people, with fears of nuclear holocaust, persistent existential threats from their neighbors, and daunting, daily economic challenges, are among the happiest people in the world?!

Teachers of happiness point to 3 ingredients: deep personal connections, a weighty sense of purpose, and a striving to fulfill one’s potential. Apparently, Israelis have an abundance of all three. And, fortunately, they’re not looking for perfection.

TBE IN ISRAEL IN JULY

For the 18 Beth-Elers who visited Israel this summer, we saw and heard about this first-hand. At Friday night kabbalat shabbat services, we stood on the Tel Aviv pier. With 500 non-Orthodox Israelis, we sang Lecha Dodi as the sun set over the Mediterranean. We celebrated two birthdays and danced with Israeli children and their grandparents; all of us squeezing every ounce of joy out of this precious moment.

We met a handful of inspiring young Israelis. They left us with a sense of hope and vision. On the horizon, there is an extraordinary generation of rising young leaders. These are individuals that you all must come to know, visions of change that you must encounter, and budding movements that we must support.

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There’s Dr. Micah Goodman, known throughout Israeli society -- because of his TV show and his best-selling book on Maimonides; because he’s the teacher of the Generals of the IDF; and because in eight years’ time, his intensive Jewish spirituality program for secular and religious IDF grads, has gone from attracting six participants; to over 1000 applicants and 350 participants; there’s Dr. Ruth Calderon, known throughout Israel because of her Jewish influence on Israel’s top music and art celebrities; and, there’s Dr. Alick Isaacs, who’s work is bringing influential Israelis from the extreme left and right, into one conversation about the Jewish future. And there’s so much more.

JOBS TO SCULLEY: SUGAR-WATER or CHANGING THE WORLD

These extra-ordinary young people, reminded me of Walter Isaacson’s book on Steve Jobs. When Jobs offered John Sculley, the President of Pepsi Co, to be the Apple CEO, he said this: “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”

I think that although Jobs didn’t know it, he was describing how we and our children should understand the purpose, the mission of Israel. Israel is the Jewish chance to change the world.

O CHEVRUTA O MITUTA

Let me clarify something important. I know that only a tiny fraction of us will move to Israel. I know that only a fraction of our children or grandchildren will serve in the IDF. And I know that only some of us will be able to visit Israel.

However, I also know that a few days after Yom Kippur, 1973, there was a gathering in this very Sanctuary. Packed all the way to the top row, people were leaning over the balcony and dropping checks. The desire to help was limitless.

Inspired by the love and devotion that was in this room 40 years ago, today every one of us can ask JFK’s question – What can I do for my beloved Israel?

O chevruta O mituta, either partnership or death, says the Talmud. For our children and grandchildren, each of us can commit to a sense of partnership with the land we love.

Friends, recalling this morning’s Torah portion, I am determined that this sermon live, neither in the heavens nor across the sea, but that it will be on your lips and in your hands. Please pull out the elegant bookmark that is in your seat.

There is a tradition that each of us has a special letter in the Torah. There is one letter in those sacred scrolls that is mine, a letter that speaks uniquely to me. I suggest that there is a special letter in the name ISRAEL for each of us TBE. Discover that letter.

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I want to focus your attention on R. We are bringing Israel to Beth-El. Every month this year, there will be a Shabbat afternoon, R-Rabbi’s Tisch. Each month we’ll have the privilege to learn with one of the personalities I mentioned above -- Micah Goodman, Ruth Calderon, Alick Isaacs, and others.

PLEASE, this sermon’s significance will be determined then. Put these dates in your calendars, and return this bookmark to us, with your name and email address. For all of Jewish history there have been three ways to plug in to that magical, power-source, Israel. Learn more. Do more. Go more.

Every aleph, bet or gimmel you learn is a bridge to the land of Israel. Every Zionist thinker you study, draws you closer. Every shabbat, every kiddush over wine, motzi over challah, is like a 747 jet liner. Learn more. Do more. Go more.

I am grateful to you for your patience. I am ready to close. My prayer is in Hatikvah, THE HOPE, so long as the Jewish spirit, the Jewish heart yearns for Israel, then our 2000 year old hope will not be lost.

What we need, in this “long twilight struggle” is a yearning heart, and children and randchildren with yearning hearts. I know that there about 2000 of them right here.

Direct your hearts eastward, to the land we have forever loved, and let your hearts sing. PLEASE RISE.

HATIKVAH . . .

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