Crazy just ‘is’

I think it would suffice to say that we’re all in a state of shock over the recent hate crime that rocked the entire fabric of our community, in fact that of the entire world. Right now we share a lot of deep sadness with those families directly affected, holding them in our thoughts and prayers. Events as such leave us grieving, feeling insecure and questioning in utter disbelief why/how this all could have happened. But, you can’t expect to be able to reason/rationalize with an irrational person. Crazy just “is.” Indeed, it’s all so incomprehensible! Quite the contrary, however, it was Albert Einstein who was once quoted to say, “The eternal mystery of the world IS its comprehensibility.”

The perpetrator of this despicable hate crime is obviously a delusional individual that embraces a hate so intense, so consuming that he could justify to himself such heinous actions. As Jews, we believe that creation is based upon the practice of kindness, compassion and forgiveness toward everything — inside and outside ourselves — in everything we do: words, thoughts and actions. Forgiveness is not about excusing the misdeeds of others, but about letting go the negative emotion (i.e., anger) that we burden upon ourselves. The Talmud says that good deeds are their own reward and misdeeds are their own punishment. Our passion need be guided not by anger but by a desire for good; to extrapolate the good from within (evil) and let go of any negative emotions tied therewith.

As Jews, we practice kavanah — a continual awareness of the implications of everything we do; attuning our thoughts/words/actions toward a spiritual focus/awareness, an interconnectedness to all things rather than a materialistic/separateness. As such, we continue with our Seder, evermore reminded of our real connection to the events of our ancestors.

Dr.John Fasbinder

Lenexa, Kan.

Visibility doesn’t equal solid future

We have all remarked countless times how ubiquitous are Jews in the fields of business and finance, cultural arts and social services and charitable pursuits, and “what would this country do without us.”

More significant, however, is how many of these Jewish names are in the synagogue on even the High Holy Days or if there is any Jewish observation in their homes? Are they raising their children as Jews? 

What is the future of Jews in America? Will we prosper or even survive for a generation or two at the current rates of assimilation and intermarriage?

David Ben-Gurion had a vision for the Negev to be the future for the Jewish state’s growth and prosperity. A pioneer, he trusted in the Jewish people to transform a seemingly uninhabitable desert into a hub of creativity and innovation.

The Negev region covers more than 60 percent of Israel. Its heart, the critical organ that pumps life into the Negev’s acres of arid land, is Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Through BGU, Ben-Gurion’s dream is being realized.

On March 7, I returned from a week-long mission to BGU, selected to join a handful of science and health writers to report firsthand on the newsworthy research, innovation and collaborations occurring at the university. The BGU research in areas of neurological science, the environment and high-technology has provided me with many stories, expert sources and insight into how Israel is exporting its technology from the desert to the world.

We met with BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi, the first woman president of an Israeli university. Before taking on her role, Carmi’s research included the identification of 12 new genes and the delineation of three new syndromes, one of which is known as the Carmi Syndrome.

“We are stationed in a unique way in Israel in that we have both academic and clinical staff working together intimately,” Carmi explained, noting that the BGU model of research for the sake of community improvement is one that has been recognized and adopted by leading universities around the world. She said she sees the school’s role not only as pivotal in the development of southern Israel, but in the progression and continued vitality of the entire State.

We met with Prof. Alon Friedman, who has made a dramatic discovery about the blood-brain barrier and its connection to the onset of epilepsy following brain trauma. We watched a demonstration by representatives of a BGU spin-off, ElMindA. The company’s Brain Network Activation takes cognitive-electrophysiology to a new frontier, unparalleled by any other test.

Two billion people suffer from brain-related disorders, including developmental problems (autism and ADHD, for example), neurological disorders (brain injuries, epilepsy), mental problems, and neurodegenerative disorders. ElMindA can assist in therapeutic interventions for nearly all of these problems.

We talked with two researchers who believe they have reliably identified new ways to improve diagnosis of autistic children based on biological and neurological testing and markers. 

Dr. Ilan Dinstein, a member of the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, said his latest research indicates that even 20 or 30 percent of autistic patients can be identified based on MRI scans and/or EEG exams at the age of one, which he believes will revolutionize the field. Idan Menashe, a senior lecturer at BGU’s Department of Public Health, has collected data from more than 200 studies purporting 5,000 copy number variations that might be associated with the disease and managed to reduce that number to seven. A copy number variation is the number of copies of a particular gene in the genome of an individual. Evidence shows that such copy number variations can lead to patients with autism.

“Our study helped prioritize these regions, so doctors know where to look for these CNVs that might be associated with autism. … Now, we can use genetic diagnostic tools in addition to the typical psychiatric diagnosis, which increases the reliability of the diagnosis,” Menashe said.

I am very fortunate to have visited Israel nine times, and to have lived there for almost six years. But in all those experiences, I rarely took notice of the Negev or BGU — until now. 

The area has biblical relevance: Both Yitzchak and Yaakov lived in the Negev (Genesis 24:62; 37:1), it was to the Negev to which the 12 spies were sent to scout out the land of Israel (Numbers 13:22), among other references.

And BGU is Israel’s most dynamic university, a catalyst for growth and an engine of innovation to propel Israel further to the scientific forefront.

David Ben-Gurion believed that “those who searched for wisdom should go south.” Next time you are in Israel, head down to the Negev.

Maayan Jaffe is director of philanthropy at the Jewish Community Center and a regular freelance writer for Jewish News Service. Her work related to the BGU media mission can be read on JNS.org, in Autism Parenting and B’nai B’rith magazines, among other places.

By Rabbi Moti Rieber

Guest Columnist

Recently the issues of free speech and academic freedom have been prominent in the news and in our conversations. In response to a heartfelt but intemperate tweet from a KU journalism professor, the Kansas Regents came up with a social media code which seems to many to be unduly restrictive and, frankly, ill-thought-out. 

This issue led me to think about the Jewish attitude toward free speech. The best example of Judaism’s support for free inquiry is, I think, the Talmud — that compendium of argumentation that is the very source of our post-biblical religion. Throughout its volumes, rabbis from different regions and even different generations argue about what exactly is the meaning of this or that law, or word, or practice, or story. 

There is even a character in the Talmud who is described as a heretic — a former rabbi who has fallen into sin — but who is also considered to be the teacher of the great Rabbi Meir, who continues to learn from him even in his fallen state. 

To me, the verse that speaks to this most directly is from Tractate Eruvim: “A divine voice came and said, ‘These and these are the words of the living God, and the law is according to the House of Hillel.’ ” To me this is saying, as long as we’re struggling from a place of love and honest striving, our words are godly. 

That’s why I’m so disturbed by the limitations on speech that I see growing in Jewish communal institutions when it comes to the issue of Israel. Many Jews are concerned, as am I, about the direction the government of Israel is going — its endless expansion of settlements, footdragging on the peace process with the Palestinians and attempts to undermine President Obama’s diplomacy with Iran. Now, you may disagree with me on some or all of these issues, but I would hope that you would recognize that I am certainly not saying these things out of a desire to harm Israel. 

Yet the national Hillel organization, in its efforts to make sure that Hillel continues to be supportive of Israel, has put forward speech codes that are so broad as to exclude not only opponents of Israel, but people who simply do not toe the party line — by, for instance, sponsoring testimonials from former soldiers, or advocating boycotting products from Israeli businesses based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  

Even so prominent an Israeli as Avram Burg, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset and scion of one of Israel’s founding families, was prohibited from speaking at the Hillel at Harvard because the event was being co-sponsored by a Palestinian student group. How can we make peace if we aren’t even allowed to talk to one another? 

I want to be clear: I do not and will not support academic boycotts. I think free speech and free inquiry are not only core American values — they are core Jewish values as well. Yet as with the KU professor, the problem is that when you restrict speech for what you consider valid reasons, you never know who is going to enforce those restrictions or what criteria they are going to use. You may intend to exclude only supporters of academic boycotts, and end up excluding Avram Burg. 

At the very least I would say, we do no service to Israel if we stifle those in our own community who are — rightly I think — concerned about the path it is on.

Moti Rieber serves as rabbi of the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation.

In December I sat with 5,000 other Reform Jews and joined in an erev Shabbat service that was uplifting and heartfelt, musical and deeply engaging. It was a blast! … but for me the most poignant part of the service was one that was anything but joyful. I sat with eyes welling up with tears as I listened to Mindy Finkelstein tell her story.

When Mindy was 16 years old, in the summer of 1999, she was a Jewish camp counselor at the North Valley Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Los Angeles. That summer Buford Furrow drove to LA desiring to open fire at the Skirball Cultural Center, the American Jewish University and the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance. He had maps for these places in his car. But when he arrived at these Jewish locales, he saw their security and decided he needed a different target. Buford had five rifles, two pistols, 6,000 rounds of ammunition in his car. He later said that he wanted his shooting to “be a wake-up call to America to kill Jews.”

So where could he go now? While filling up his car with gas, he looked across the street and saw the JCC. It did not have security. The next morning Buford went in to the JCC with his Uzi-style semiautomatic weapon. At the same time that he entered through the front door, Mindy, with her class of preschoolers, was coming in through the back door. Buford opened fire — spraying at least 70 shots into the complex. Three children, a receptionist and Mindy were shot. It is surprising that more people were not hurt. Mindy was shot several times in her leg, and one of her campers was shot as well. Amazingly, all of the people at the JCC survived that day. Buford Furrow left the JCC, went to another neighborhood and opened fire at short range on a mail carrier — who died.

Mindy recuperated and has made it her life mission to work to reduce gun violence. I hope we will all join her in the fight to curtail access to guns — especially semi-automatic and automatic weapons — which NO average person needs in our society. On the very day that Mindy told this story to 5,000 of us, there was a shooting at a school and more school shootings have happened since. On average, 30,000 Americans are killed by firearms each year! Thirty Americans are murdered each day. With 88 guns per 100 people, the United States has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. By contrast, Yemen, the No. 2 country, has 55 guns per 100 people. Israel, you might be interested to know, has only seven guns per 100 people.

A year after Sandy Hook most people agree that we need to reform gun legislation but pro-gun lobbies have made that very difficult, but not impossible.

As Sarah Brady, wife of former press secretary James Brady), put it, “We have cracked down on library books, cell phone calls, fertilizer purchases and wearing shoes in the airport, but we have done almost nothing (at the state level) to make it harder for either a terrorist or garden variety armed robber, or young person to get their hands on a handgun.”

Is this a religious issue? It is! Our religion urges us to get involved in creating a more just and compassionate world. This is a rallying call of Judaism. Deuteronomy urges “justice, justice you must pursue.” Leviticus commands “do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.”

We as an American Jewish community have often been a voice for reason and activism in the political arena. We have not been afraid to speak out strongly for causes we felt were important. And we HAVE been effective. Now is a time to join our voices to those of others around the United States who are looking for ways to reduce gun violence. You can go on to the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center’s website (rac.org) to learn more about advocacy on this topic. We should not turn a blind eye to the violence. I hope we can work together and with others to reduce the bloodshed.

Rabbi Debbie Stiel is the rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kan. This article is adapted from a sermon she gave on Dec. 20, 2013. It was originally published in the congregation’s February newsletter to members.

In December I sat with 5,000 other Reform Jews and joined in an erev Shabbat service that was uplifting and heartfelt, musical and deeply engaging. It was a blast! … but for me the most poignant part of the service was one that was anything but joyful. I sat with eyes welling up with tears as I listened to Mindy Finkelstein tell her story.

When Mindy was 16 years old, in the summer of 1999, she was a Jewish camp counselor at the North Valley Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Los Angeles. That summer Buford Furrow drove to LA desiring to open fire at the Skirball Cultural Center, the American Jewish University and the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance. He had maps for these places in his car. But when he arrived at these Jewish locales, he saw their security and decided he needed a different target. Buford had five rifles, two pistols, 6,000 rounds of ammunition in his car. He later said that he wanted his shooting to “be a wake-up call to America to kill Jews.”

So where could he go now? While filling up his car with gas, he looked across the street and saw the JCC. It did not have security. The next morning Buford went in to the JCC with his Uzi-style semiautomatic weapon. At the same time that he entered through the front door, Mindy, with her class of preschoolers, was coming in through the back door. Buford opened fire — spraying at least 70 shots into the complex. Three children, a receptionist and Mindy were shot. It is surprising that more people were not hurt. Mindy was shot several times in her leg, and one of her campers was shot as well. Amazingly, all of the people at the JCC survived that day. Buford Furrow left the JCC, went to another neighborhood and opened fire at short range on a mail carrier — who died.

Mindy recuperated and has made it her life mission to work to reduce gun violence. I hope we will all join her in the fight to curtail access to guns — especially semi-automatic and automatic weapons — which NO average person needs in our society. On the very day that Mindy told this story to 5,000 of us, there was a shooting at a school and more school shootings have happened since. On average, 30,000 Americans are killed by firearms each year! Thirty Americans are murdered each day. With 88 guns per 100 people, the United States has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. By contrast, Yemen, the No. 2 country, has 55 guns per 100 people. Israel, you might be interested to know, has only seven guns per 100 people.

A year after Sandy Hook most people agree that we need to reform gun legislation but pro-gun lobbies have made that very difficult, but not impossible.

As Sarah Brady, wife of former press secretary James Brady), put it, “We have cracked down on library books, cell phone calls, fertilizer purchases and wearing shoes in the airport, but we have done almost nothing (at the state level) to make it harder for either a terrorist or garden variety armed robber, or young person to get their hands on a handgun.”

Is this a religious issue? It is! Our religion urges us to get involved in creating a more just and compassionate world. This is a rallying call of Judaism. Deuteronomy urges “justice, justice you must pursue.” Leviticus commands “do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.”

We as an American Jewish community have often been a voice for reason and activism in the political arena. We have not been afraid to speak out strongly for causes we felt were important. And we HAVE been effective. Now is a time to join our voices to those of others around the United States who are looking for ways to reduce gun violence. You can go on to the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center’s website (rac.org) to learn more about advocacy on this topic. We should not turn a blind eye to the violence. I hope we can work together and with others to reduce the bloodshed.

Rabbi Debbie Stiel is the rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kan. This article is adapted from a sermon she gave on Dec. 20, 2013. It was originally published in the congregation’s February newsletter to members.

Service honors Judy Jacks Berman

They came by the dozens. Chairs were added to the back of the room. Young children sat on the floor in front of the bimah. Educators, grandparents, parents, school age youngsters and preschoolers all packed into Congregation Beth Shalom’s services last Shabbos (Feb. 8) to honor Judy Jacks Berman, a teacher’s teacher and director of the Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center of Congregation Beth Shalom.

Everyone helped “Miss Judy” celebrate 20 years as teacher and director of the nationally accredited children’s preschool program. Miss Judy has infused the curriculum with Judaic and life principles gained growing up as the daughter of practicing Jewish parents and KU early childhood training. It was so natural for her to greet congregants with “boker tov” and a smile, and hug all the service participants as they left the bimah. Miss Judy remembered the names of her preschoolers, their parents, former students and the 40 or so present and past educators who joined in paying homage to her for her many abilities and joyful attitude over the past two decades.

Miss Judy encourages children to learn about their world and religion through creative programs and an evolving curriculum. If the lessons worked before, she thinks of ways in which the students can become more involved or leave with a more positive experience. Jewish current events help students connect the present to the past. Services express how important tradition is to Judaism. All the service participants last Saturday have a direct connection to the education program — present and past, except for Rabbi Glickman and Hazzan Ben-Yehuda — although the rabbi’s youngest is enrolled in the school. Middle-schoolers and high school students chanted the service. A few undergraduates traveled home from nearby universities. Many community members honored Jacks Berman by donating to the Education Center to keep it a program of excellence.

Jacks Berman admitted other synagogues in the area also have good early childhood programs, but with her skills and heart invested in Beth Shalom’s, its participants will continue to be winners.

Marlene Lerner

Overland Park, Kan.

As President’s Day approaches, we can rededicate ourselves to protecting the liberties we enjoy today by reflecting on Jewish life in colonial America, when we were granted both citizenship and religious freedom for the first time.

To the first president of the United States, George Washington, liberty and democracy were central causes. Letters from various congregations to Washington urging action on these fundamental tenets are considered to be among the most important letters in American Jewish history. An excerpt from one letter from the Newport Congregation in Rhode Island begins “Sir: Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merit. … we rejoice to think that the same spirit which rested in the bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel. … rests and ever will rest upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of the Chief Magistrate of these States. Deprived as we hitherto have been of the invaluable rights of free citizens, we now — with a deep sense of the gratitude to the Almighty Disposer of all events — behold a government which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance, but generously affording to all liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship, deeming everyone of whatever nation, tongue or language, equal parts of the great governmental machine.” (Friedman, L. M. [1942]. “Jewish Pioneers and Patriots,”  Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America.)  It was signed: Moses Seixas, Warden, August 17, 1790.

Washington replied as follows, “… The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy — a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. … For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support….” (Friedman 1942). It was signed: G. Washington.

The letter from the congregation refers back to our biblical history with pride but it does not hold back from voicing concerns about the status of the Jewish people. Washington’s response reiterated the Jewish writer’s own words in assuring him that intolerance and discrimination had no place in America. Washington added the phrase “the Government of the United States” to emphasize that the Jewish people had the protection of the authority of the federal government. Consequently, for the first time, the Jewish people became both citizens of a nation and enjoyed religious freedom.

George Washington is a towering figure in American history. He was a leader who recognized the real and pressing problems of the new nation. Washington addressed the concerns of a minority group by guaranteeing the principles of equality and religious liberty to the Jewish people. We can be guided today in our own search for good leaders by the sound foundation established by our American heritage. We need leaders who are guided more by ethical principles than emotional reactivity. We need leaders who recognize the real problems our society faces and solve them without putting unjustified pressures on minority groups.

Individually and collectively, we must become advocates for choosing responsible leaders who address real societal problems. Each of us must acknowledge the challenges of our times and take well defined positions on real problems. Real problems are in contrast to imagined problems, which universally falsely target vulnerable minority groups such as the Jewish people. Each of us must speak up and speak out. Every society has real problems that need solutions. Each of us is responsible to direct attention to these problems and to make sure that our leaders listen and act. Our colonial ancestors’ words and actions can be the benchmarks to inspire us with the courage to meet the challenges of being responsible American Jews.

Mary Greenberg, Ph.D. is a member of the State of Kansas Holocaust Commission and Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kan. An adjunct research associate at the Department of American Studies at The University of Kansas, Greenberg also holds a master’s degree in social work. Her commentary is based on “The Staying Power of Anti-Semitism and a Possible Explanation of Its Resilience,” which she gives at speaking engagements.

One-side article

I thought the J Street/ Peace Now item in the Jan. 30 issue (written by Ron Kampeas, distributed by JTA) was remarkably one-sided. It addresses the Obama/Kerry Iran strategy, but neglects to observe that the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism is Iran. The Kerry/Obama deal can support the Iranian economy to achieve its goal of completion of a nuclear weapon. Mr. Kampeas does not seem to recall that this is the same Iran that demands the annihilation of Israel and of the United States as well. How does Mr. Kampeas explain that this arrangement enhances national security of the United States? Of Israel?

Attempts to block the world’s most dangerous and fanatic regime from achievement of nuclear weapon capability is defensive, not warmongering! I perceive J Street as legitimizing the anti-Israel policies of the Obama administration. Obama, Kerry and Ron Kampeas have not explained how continuation of Iran’s uranium enrichment and development of heavy water increase the security of the United States or that of Israel. Iran is being permitted to continue on its path to possible global destruction.

David S. Jacobs, MD

Overland Park, Kan.

Boker tov, Kansas City!

The average person lives for about 27,375 days. I am only 18 and I have already had the 10 best days of my life. It sort of seems a little crazy. Now you are probably curious as to what made these 10 days the best, right? Well I can make it simple for you, it is called Birthright. Birthright, or Taglit in Hebrew, is a 10-day trip to Israel for Jewish teens. I went on this trip with KU Hillel in early January and returned feeling like a totally new person. I know it all sounds so cliché, but hear me out.

You become a different person after climbing Masada. You become a different person after floating in the Dead Sea. You become a different person after eating falafel and schwarma for 10 days in a row. And you most definitely become a different person after visiting the Western Wall. I just did all of these things on my trip. So, if all of these things make me such a different person, then there is absolutely no way that I am the same person that I was before going to Israel. I am different now and I love it.

Israel taught me to be open to new things. Israel taught me to make friends even when I thought I already have enough. Israel taught me to eat foreign foods and enjoy them. Israel taught me to do things that I would never do at home. Let Israel change you like it did me.

I have never been so affected by something like this in my entire life. I look at the whole world differently now, in a good way. I have 46 new best friends, I have eaten spicy schwarma and burned my lips off, my skin has cringed from all the salt in the Dead Sea, and I have had one of the most impactful experiences of my life.

On one of the first nights of the trip we were each asked what we wanted to get out of being in Israel. My response was that I wanted to cry while I was there. It seems strange, so let me clarify. I am not an emotional person, but I wanted something we were going to do or see in Israel to make me emotional. Nothing got to me and I sort of felt guilty about it.

I have had some time to reflect since we got back and I have come to realize that I did not mean emotional like tears streaming down my face. I think what I meant was that I wanted to feel touched by Israel. I wanted to feel inspired and rejuvenated and I am glad to say that I have accomplished that. It was a new type of emotional experience for me and I would not change it for the world.

While in Israel, Rabbi Neal Schuster, who was one of our group leaders, talked about how participating in Shabbat does not necessarily mean that a person must attend services, all someone has to do is acknowledge it. Light a candle, have some challah at dinner, or say the Shema before bed. What the rabbi said made me recognize how easy it can be to celebrate Shabbat and I look at Judaism differently now because of that.

I am having major Birthright withdrawals because Israel really did change me. I know I will go back and meet again with the Holy Land — I can hardly wait. I know that when I get there, everything will be — as they say in Israel — sababa (everything is all good).

Rebeka Luttinger is a freshman at the University of Kansas majoring in journalism.