The Nature of God & Jonah

Today is Shabbat, a joyful holiday, and it is also Yom Kippur, at the end of which we are to feel forgiven. A two years ago I gave a talk about guilt and how we are already forgiven: that Yom Kippur is a special day not for us to beg for forgiveness, but to stop feeling guilty and feel forgiven, because we already are. So today we can feel forgiven and joyful. But the question I'd like to explore today, is, Who are we asking forgiveness of? What is the nature of God? In this afternoon's Haftarah reading, the prophet Jonah asks that question. God instructs him to go to the Non-Israelite city of Nineveh, now in Iraq, and declare to the people their imminent destruction. He heads in the opposite direction, fleeing the assignment, is swallowed by a great fish, and survives only to have to go to Nineveh, after which he sulks in the desert, when the people of Nineveh repent and are saved, because he says, "I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, relenting from evil." This is a quotation from Jonah who is quoting the part of Exodus, known as the 13 Attributes of God, which we say in our Torah services during the Holy Days. Abraham, who lived before the 13 Attributes were given, asked the same question, about the nature of God: If there are 50, or even 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, will you still destroy the entire city? Abraham finds out that God is compassionate and not destructive. Moses asked this question twice: once when he offered to sacrifice himself if God will forgive the people for worshipping the Golden Calf, and once to probe the essential essence of God. Moses asks, "Show me your ways, that I may know you" (Ex. 33:13), which results in his hearing the 13 Attributes where God affirms the Divine Nature: Being, Existence, God, Compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in kindness and truth, forgiving and cleansing, but allowing us to experience the results of our choices and learn from our mistakes. We all know that the Torah also presents a God who is not always that forgiving. There are contradictory messages in Torah, so how are we to know for sure which messages to believe? We might want to think that God is kind and loving, but as humans, we also believe in justice, believing God to be an arbiter of justice. We have an innate sense of justice. Children at a very young age will shout, That's not fair! So they know inside that fairness is to be expected in this physical life. In the first chapter of Genesis we are told that we are made in God's image. God says,“Let us make humans in our image, as our likeness, and they shall rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over the animal and over all the earth, and over all crawlers that creep on the earth. And GOD created the human in (God’s) image, in GOD’s likeness created him; male and female created them.”(Gen. 1: 26-7) In the story of Noah we are told, "in the image of God the human was made (Gen. 9:6)." So we are like God, not on the outside, but on the inside; however, we know that we need to satisfy our need for justice and fairness with our equal and opposite desire to punish wrong-doers. We want the world to be better and sometimes blame others that it doesn't measure up to our standards. In addition, we want to have good opinions of ourselves, and sometimes hold onto grudges in a self-righteous way, thinking we are right and others are wrong. Rabbi David Katz pointed out that Anger makes us feel powerful, and we humans would rather feel something than feel nothing, so we settle for indulging ourselves by feeling anger instead of striving to actually be like God: loving and forgiving. We have made God in OUR image rather than acting as if we are made in God's image. It is we who want punitive justice, not God. And I think that we see this in the student protests of the past year, and in so many people who see the situation in the Middle East as more black and white than in shades of gray. Many would like a better world, but as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction"(Strength to Love1963). And Ghandi, another great leader said, "It is my firm conviction, that nothing enduring can be built upon violence." Understood energetically, for those who heard my talk on Rosh Hashanah: negative energy cannot result in positive energy. Only positive energy can bring about positive energy. This also provides a perspective about one reason why Oct. 7^th happened. If we think back to the great discord in Israel over judicial reform: the protests and disruption it caused, it may not be a coincidence that a terrible, negative result came about from that negative energy. I am not saying that one caused the other. I am just saying that negative energy was perpetuated, and is being perpetuated by many people who are in the midst of the conflict and also those who are very far from the conflict, not understanding the situation energetically. The Torah clearly states that we are co-creators with God. We sometimes act as if we think we are all alone, and other times we act as if God has all the power. The Torah teaches a different way to think about life: that the power comes from God, which is exactly what we say in our blessings: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu: Blessed are you, BEING, our POWER, with the root word, EL meaning power.  Power does come from God but we are the ones with our hand on the tiller, directing the rudder, the course of the energy flow. Once we understand this, it opens up a new way of looking at life and effecting change in our own lives. We know we have free will, and we can use that will for good: for envisioning a better life for ourselves and a better world for everyone, sending out our positive energy. We can be forgiving like God, merging with God's power of goodness and love, directing the goodness of that creative energy to cause wonderful things. Every thought carries energy. As one spiritual teacher affirmed, we can say to ourselves, it's only a thought and a thought can be changed. We know when our thoughts are neutral, when they are positive and when they are negative. Rabbi Gelberman's quotation about this urges us to choose our thoughts consciously and not unconsciously. He wrote: "If we allow rampant domination of negative thinking we are defeated by a foe with no more power except that which we thoughtfully grant to it. With Love and Wisdom we are capable of control over what enters and leaves our mind. Love thoughts push out hate thoughts. Honest thoughts push out fraud thoughts which trick us into self-righteousness and emotional immaturity for temporary satisfaction and false release. We alone are the hosts who must answer to thoughts: “Invited or Uninvited.” So it is with whom we serve: the God of Joy or the God of despair. If we choose a positive attitude based on faith, the goodness of life, and an ethical value system based on emotionally mature attitudes, we are masters of our choices, not slaves of our whims." In this time we are ready to choose our thoughts with more expertise. We are ready to choose them by looking at their energies, using our expertise to create happier lives. We are ready to become more compassionate and forgiving, slower to anger, abundant in kindness and truth; for coming closer to acting in the image of God and experiencing the joy that it brings. The prophet Jeremiah predicted this. He said, "No longer will they teach each to their neighbor or each to their brother and say, “know GOD”; for all of them will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares GOD. For I will forgive their iniquities, and their sins I will not remember any more"(Jer. 31:33). Had Jonah only known then what we know now: that we have so much power to put more positive energy into the world, for ourselves and others, being the kind of people we can admire, taking full responsibility for what we experience, and being that source of goodness we were always meant to be. Who is God? God is who you want God to be, who YOU choose to be, as the Torah says, You are gods, all of you. The Torah teaches, it is up to each of us, as Moses said, I have placed before you life and death, good and bad, and you shall choose life. Be good to yourself as God is good to us. Love yourself as God loves us. Love others, as God loves all life. Choose Life, choose good, choose happiness.

An Energetic, Vibrational Understanding of Judaism

It was a freezing winter night in Karlin, now part of Belarus, in the middle of the 19th Cent. Everyone in the city was home, shivering in their dark, cold apartments, as no one dared break the curfew. The Russian authorities were not known for their compassion to anyone who broke the law. However, one devout chassid, Reb Feitel, found the curfew impossible to observe. His heart was aflame with a desire to see his rebbe, Rav Aaron of Karlin, and do service to God. Clutching a book of Tehillim, Psalms, wearing only a thin overcoat, he hurried through the streets. Suddenly, a Russian police officer towered above him, blocking his path. The policemen leered at the hapless chassid, who quickly slipped the Psalms into his pocket. “Spy! Counter-revolutionary!” the policeman shouted. “You’re going to regret this nighttime excursion,” as he trussed the man’s hands and marched him off to jail at gunpoint. The jail cell, a dank pit in the cellar of the city hall, reeked with mold and grime. It was inhabited by half dozen vagabonds. Feitel was thrown inside and the door was locked from the outside. Dazed and stunned, all he could do was stand in a corner and try to make sense of his surroundings. His hands had not been tied well, and he tugged at the rope until it was slack. Now that his hands were free, he reached for the Psalms in his pocket. “It wasn’t bashert for me to see my rebbe tonight, but at least I have my Psalms,” he mused. Feitel opened to the first chapter and began to chant with tremendous fervor. The criminals around him watched, open-mouthed, as this strange man communed with his G-d. His dismal surroundings melted away, and all that remained was a Jew and his Psalms. Suddenly, the jail cell swung open, and a rough pair of hands grabbed the Psalms from him. Now Reb Feitel stood, alone and bereft. A small kernel of despair wormed its way inside his heart. But only for a moment. Suddenly he caught himself. A Jew never gives up hope. “They took me away from my rebbe, and they snatched away my Psalms,” he murmured. “Still, I am a Jew, and they can’t take that away from me!” He was suddenly suffused by a tremendous wave of joy and gratitude that he was from the Chosen People, God’s beloved. Reb Feitel, trapped in a Soviet prison with the dregs of humanity, lifted his feet, raised his arms in the air, and began to dance. As he danced, he hummed a merry niggun, “Ya da da da dada di da da.” He kicked up a storm as he twirled to the tune in his head. Once again, the door to the jail cell burst open, and the prison guard stood there, eyes bulging in shock. “Get out of here, imbecile!” he shouted. “This prison has no room for crazy people. You belong in a mental institution!” As the other prisoners watched, the guard shoved him out of jail, up the stairs, and into the freezing night. As soon as he was freed, Feitel ran through the darkened streets until he arrived at the home of his rebbe. “Nu, the rebbe said with a smile, so now you know that with simcha, joy, one can break his chains of captivity!”

Judy-ism to Hava Nagila

We have a whole religion called Judaism. But who was Judy? We want to know!! I wrote these parody lyrics and performed them at The Actors' Temple on May 20, 2024. Here is a link: https://youtu.be/yDO0e0Q8ezc Judy, we love you, Judy we need you, Judy you are a heck of a gal. Judy, we love you, Judy we need you, Judy, you are Hebrew's best pal. You have been who knows where, Judy we really care. Judy come back to us into the light. We're looking everywhere, Judy we’re in despair. We need you back again right here tonight. Judy, Judy, Judy, Who are you? We’d like to know it. Who are you? Come on and show it. Where you’ve been, we can’t discover. Who you are, we would uncover. Who are you? Who are you? Solve this mystery!

The Four Worlds and the Mishkan in Terumah

The Four Worlds of the mystics of Spanish Kabbalah in the 13th Century, including Azriel of Gerona, then Moses de Leon, Isaac b. Samuel of Acre, and later Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (first half of 18th Cent. from Padua), in The Way of God, derived the concept of the Four Worlds from Isaiah (43:7) which is also in the haftarah for B’reisheet כֹּ֚ל הַנִּקְרָ֣א בִשְׁמִ֔י וְלִכְבוֹדִ֖י בְּרָאתִ֑יו יְצַרְתִּ֖יו אַף־עֲשִׂיתִֽיו׃ “All that is called by my name for my glory (Atzilut) I have created it (Beriyah) I have formed it (Yetzirah) and I have made it (Assiyah)." The four worlds also describe the primal elements of the natural world: Action or earth; Emotion or water; Intellect or air; Essence or Spirit or the energy of fire. Assiyah is the physical world: the material universe in which we live and perform actions and deeds. Yetzirah is the world of angels or energies: of emotion, creativity, and expression; Beriyah is the world of the soul forces that receive guidance and of thought and intellect; Atzilut is the eternal unchanging Divine world of God’s emanations and influences. The Tabernacle or Mishkan, from the word, Shakan, meaning dwell, consists of a courtyard outlined by lace hangings, and a Tent of Meeting, divided into two sections, containing holy golden objects. The outer courtyard of the Mishkan represents the world of Assiyah, doing, where sacrifice is offered, washing is done, and confession and prayers are offered. The outer half of the tent with the golden menorah giving light for the eyes, the Incense altar with its hypnotic scent and smokey, almost tangible cloud, the table or shulchan with sweet tasting bread, and the sound of tinkling bells from the High priest's robe, represents the world of Yetzirah: the emotions created by engaging all the senses creating feelings of uplift, wonder, and reveling in all the magnificent beauty of the gleaming golden furniture. The inner half of the tent represents Beriyah, the Holy Aron or ark, the place of the words on the tablets of the Ten Declarations, which require intellect, thought, and choice, the command center of the human being from which all emotions and actions flow. The world of Atzilut is represented by the space between and above the wings of the angels on the ark, from where God's voice could be heard. The Mishkan was a physical representation of how human beings create and live in this world. All the spiritual teachers say that thought and choice produce emotion, and lead to deeds, all of which create our world. The design of the Mishkan imparts this knowledge and deep wisdom, showing us that, similar to the teachings of the Chassidic masters and to Buddhism: right thought leads to joyous and uplifting emotions, which lead to blessed action and happy lives. Choosing to think of and care about the Divine and each other, which the 10 Commandments help us to do, and appreciating the Divine and the beauty, goodness, and uplift we receive through our senses, lead us to enjoy our lives and express our joy though an active, expansive, and good life. The design of the Mishkan can speak this to us: be guided by your intellect. Choose the good and beautiful. Choose joy. Enjoy everything that comes to you through your senses, and act, living life fully and joyously.

Links to Rabbi Jill Hausman's Published Articles on the Web

https://www.tikkun.org/hiding-in-plain-sight/ (Vayakhel) 2023 Tikkun Magazine online; https://www.jta.org/2011/10/18/ny/the-gift-for-eating-forbidden-fruit (B’Reisheet) 2011 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2012/10/16/ny/in-the-wake-of-the-flood (Noach) 2012 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2019/11/05/ny/the-quest-for-perfection (Lech Lecha) 2019 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2014/10/28/ny/the-road-to-jerusalem (Lech Lecha) 2014 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2021/10/21/ny/abraham-had-faith-but-not-blind-faith (Vayera) 2021 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2015/11/10/ny/the-good-parent (Toldot) 2015 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2020/12/10/ny/the-blessing-of-a-forthright-confession (Vayeshev) 2020 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2017/12/26/ny/a-deeper-level-of-forgiveness (Vayechi) 2017 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2018/12/24/ny/the-promise-of-the-unknown (Shemot) 2018 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2014/02/04/ny/the-essence-of-jewish-royalty (Tetzavah) 2014 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2018/02/27/ny/the-lesson-of-the-golden-calf (Ki Tissa) 2018 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2020/04/21/ny/the-holy-ties-that-bond (Tazria) 2020 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2015/07/08/ny/the-violent-passion-of-pinchas (Pinchas) 2015 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://www.jta.org/2018/08/08/ny/the-circles-of-giving (Re’eh) 2018 NY Jewish Week, Times of Israel; https://truah.org/resources/the-paradigm-of-a-perfect-world/ Chukat 2015 T'ruah.org;

If There Were No Chanukah, There Would Be No Christmas

If there were no Chanukah, there would be no Christmas. Why is that so? Toward the end of the Greek Empire, the Greeks were feeling tremendous pressure from the new power in the world, the Roman Empire, which was threatening to engulf them. We are familiar with the Nazis trying to exterminate all the Jews and so many others, Catholics among them, during the Second World War. In the 2nd Century BCE, a similar thing was happening, only the Greeks were not attempting to kill the Jewish people, although many were murdered; they were trying to destroy the Jewish religion. The Seleucid ruler, Antiochus IV’s idea was to resist Rome by making his Syrian Greek Empire thoroughly Greek. Only Greek Gods could be worshipped, only Greek culture could exist. The Jewish religion must be wiped out. A band of Jewish rebels resisted swearing allegiance to the Greek Gods and to the worship of Antiochus IV himself as a God. Jews were forced to eat pork, prohibited from observing the Sabbath and from circumcising their children. A band of them, later called the Maccabees, ran into the hills to train as a guerilla army. The Greeks sent larger and larger forces against them, even elephants, the “tanks” of the day. Then “a great miracle happened there,” (symbolized by the letters on the dreidel): the few defeated the many; the weak overcame the strong. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem, they cleaned and rededicated the great Temple. There is a legend that a small amount of holy oil burned for the eight days of the re-dedication celebration. However, most importantly, Judaism survived, and Jesus, also known as Rabbi Joshua, could be born, about a hundred and fifty years later. There is a growing acknowledgement from Christians that Jesus really lived as a Jew and died as a Jew. And there is a small but growing acknowledgement from within Judaism that Jesus’ teachings are fully Jewish, and that he was an important prophet, in the tradition of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. So if the Jews had not defeated the Greeks, there would have been no Rabbi Joshua, to become Jesus, the great teacher to Christendom. As we celebrate this holiday season, may we appreciate our common roots, accept and love each other, and know that we are much more interdependent than we realize. Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! This article was previously published by Times Square Chronicles online, Tuesday, December 16, 2014. Jill Hausman is the Rabbi and Cantor of the historic Actors’ Temple in NYC.

My Solution to World Peace

My solution to world peace is that everyone should move to Queens (NY). Then we would all take the subway together: the #7 Train and the E and the F trains. We would all get along, and then after having lived in Queens, if people want to go back to their countries, they can. Living together in Queens would definitely create world peace, but NY City might have to build a few more home and subway lines.