Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 1

J ust a few weeks ago, we commemorated the 13th

anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 - a day that changed so
much for all of us - the bar mitzvah anniversary of that
date.
I want to travel back with you to that time, to share a very
personal story this morning.
As the attacks of 9/11 2001 took place, I was half-way through rabbinical school at Hebrew
Union College in New York, just 5 blocks from the Twin Towers. The events of that day are a
story for another time. I want to talk about the days following 9/11.
Less than one week after the attacks was Erev Rosh HaShannah, and like most of my friends, I
had a job to do. My student pulpit in Hickory, North Carolina was the incubator in which I truly
became a rabbi. I had served the congregation the previous year, come to love them and was
thrilled to be joining them for the second of what would be three years together. But in the days
following 9/11, the skies around New York City were completely closed to air traffic. Pam and I
decided that we would get in our brand new pre-owned Toyota Sienna, and strap four-month-old
Lev into his infant seat for the drive to Hickory.
As we drove out of Manhattan, there was a calm in the air and the sun was shining, much as it
was that previous Tuesday morning. We continued over nearly 600 miles of US Highways 78,
81, 77 and 40 to drive straight through to Hickory. The journey was a challenge for Lev - and I
am not totally sure that he trusted us for years to come when we said were just getting in the
car for a few minutes! But what made the
journey extraordinary was the sense of
national unity and fellowship that was evident
at every overpass draped with the stars and
stripes, with every hastily constructed
billboard proclaiming that we were Stronger
together, that we would Never Forget;
Fire and rescue trucks through the mid-part of
our country draped with the FDNY insignia.
The journey to Hickory was, in reality, a salve
on our nerves; encouragement for our hearts.
Following Rosh HaShannah, Pam and I decided that rather than head home to New York on the
chance that airlines would resume service, we would remain in North Carolina until Yom
Kippur. We booked a bed and breakfast in Asheville - affectionately called The Berklee of the
East. Driving into town, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. As we returned to the car, I was
walking a few paces ahead of Pam, who was pushing Lev in his stroller. I came close to the car
and noticed that there was a folded up piece of yellow legal paper under my windshield wiper.
Great, I thought. Someone has hit our car. At least they had the decency to write a note. In
reality, I had already scratched the car the week we got it, navigating our tight garage space in
New York!
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 2
I approached the car, unfolded the note. It read Go back to New York you f***ing J ews. If you
stay here tonight we will kill you. Were watching you.
I was paralyzed for a brief moment. Then I folded up the note and put it in my pocket before
Pam arrived. She asked about it and I said it was nothing.
I pulled out of the parking space, watching carefully in my rear view mirror.
I drove the route into the center of town, turning again and again to see if, indeed, there was
anyone behind us.
I continued to our hotel, checking every few seconds to see if there was anything to be seen.
We checked into our room, put Lev down for a nap, and I watched the door. I dont think I slept
much that night at all. But I couldnt tell Pam, not when we were sitting there with our 4 month
old son who was the entire world in potential. I debated going to the police; getting back in the
car and returning to New York. But ultimately, we stayed the weekend in Asheville, and had a
lovely time, visiting the galleries, enjoying the colorful characters at the drum circle in Pritchard
Park.
But the whole time, I was waiting for... I dont even know what... but I was waiting for
something terrible to happen. And it didnt.
We returned to Hickory for Yom Kippur, then drove home to New York City. The flags still
were draped from the overpass. Never Forget emblazoned in even more locations. But my
heart was troubled.
I have never shared this story before publicly, and really only told Pam about it years later. For
some reason, this year the story keeps coming back into my mind.
What led to the note being placed on my windshield by
some rage- and hate-filled idiot? Our New York
license plate? My long pony-tail that I wore in those
days? No. It was the fact that I have worn a kippah in
public since the day I landed in Israel for my first year
of rabbinical school. An observable statement of
J ewish identification. And I wondered to myself all the
way home - should I take my kippah off? Am I
endangering not just myself, but Pam and Lev by
proclaiming my J ewishness to the world? Now, it just
as easily could have been wearing an inconspicuous
J ewish star or mezuzah necklace; or checking into the
hotel with the name Cohen, Goldberg or Schwartz; or
joining a fraternity or sorority that begins with A-E; or
any other number of outward proclamations of J ewish
pride.
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 3
I was faced with a dilemma: conceal my J ewish identity and hope that looks-alone didnt garner
too much J eweyness; or commit to my outward identification, believing in the goodness of most.
I try really hard not to be Chicken Little
1
about anti-semitism. Mainly because I believe it
leads us into the foxs den, from which we will never emerge. I do not subscribe to the idea that
anti-semitism is to be found under every rock and in the heart of every non-J ew. I know this not
to be the case, and so do you. I recently heard mid-east analyst Aaron David Miller explain his
phrase the cosmic oy vey, which happens among some in the organized J ewish community
who will look for and find something to lead them to the conclusion that the sky is falling,
when it is really just an acorn.
But... But...
J ust last week, a German newspapers
offices were covered with swastikas, the
phrases Sieg Heil and J ews - Kill
them all.
2
Last week, a group of J ewish day school
students were refused entry to a sporting
goods store in England by a security
guard, who barred their entry saying
No J ews, no J ews!
3
J ust last week, a Brussels synagogue was
the target of an arson attack, just hours following the re-opening of the J ewish Museum of
Belgium which was closed since May 23rd when four individuals were gunned down there in a
terrorist attack.
Incidents of French anti-semitism are too numerous to list over this past year, but it is sobering to
note that more than 4500 J ews have left France for Israel, making aliyah from Europes largest
J ewish community. Forecasts are for that number to grow next year.
I could talk about the conflicts this summer between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but that will be a
piece of what I will address on Yom Kippur.
So, Ill draw it closer to home.
Last week, a Philly kosher butcher was defaced with swastikas, just blocks from a synagogue
that was similarly targeted with anti-semitic graffiti and swastikas in August.
4
In late August, a young married couple was assaulted on the streets of New Yorks Upper East
1. http://www.worldstory.net/en/stories/chicken_little.html
2. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/germany-newspapers-office-daubed-neo-nazi-graffiti-jews-kill-them-threat-1465462
3. http://www.jewishnews.co.uk/sports-direct-security-guard-told-yavneh-pupils-jews/
4. http://jewishexponent.com/headlines/2014/09/northeast-philly-kosher-butcher-store-hit-with-anti-semitism
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 4
Side by a group of young men in cars wrapped in Palestinian flags. They pelted the wife with
water bottles and punched the husband until he fell to the ground. He was wearing a kippah.
5
Cars, stores, synagogues and homes have all be vandalized with anti-semitic graffiti across
Miami in the six weeks since Rabbi J oseph Raskin was murdered while walking to shul on
Shabbat morning in a hate crime that remains
unsolved.
6
Four J ewish Ohio University students were
arrested last week for questioning the Student
Sentate Presidents video of the blood bucket
challenge claiming to protest the blood on
the hands of the State of Israel. The students
were led away in handcuffs to cheers and
jeers. The student leader commented to the
press that she would never apologize for the
people of Palestine... and never stand up for
fascists.
7
I could keep on going, but we have limited time, and I have a job to do. Which is to try to
answer the question: What can we do in response to rising levels of virulent anti-semitism, at
home and abroad? How do we respond?
As I see it, we can either run and hide, cover our identity and hope that were not found out, or
we can live Positively, Publicly and Proudly as J ews.
In recent weeks, I made a change to a practice of Temple Isaiah that goes back at least twenty
years. Generations of bnei mitzvah in our congregation received the High Holy Day
prayerbook, the machzor that you are holding in your hands right now as a gift on the bimah.
But, as we are anticipating the arrival of our new machzor in time for next years High Holy
Days, it simply didnt make sense to give our young adults a book that they would never use.
So, as we resumed bnei mitzvah this summer, members of our board of trustees have been
presenting students with a beautiful and important book, I Am J ewish: Personal Reflections
Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl. Over eighty individuals offer short reflections
responding to the statement: I am J ewish.
Pearl, youll remember, was the Wall Street J ournal reporter who was abducted and then
beheaded by extremists in Pakistan in 2002. A human being of incredible character, creativity,
commitment and compassion, Daniel Pearls death shook the world, particularly the J ewish
community. Among the final things he said in a videotaped statement before his death, he
5. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/theshack/man-injured-anti-semitic-attack-upper-east-side-cops-blog-entry-1.
1917142
6. http://www.jta.org/2014/09/10/news-opinion/united-states/more-anti-semitic-graffiti-in-miami-dade-as-one-arres
t-made
7. http://www.jta.org/2014/09/12/news-opinion/united-states/ou-students-protest-blood-bucket-video-are-arrested
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 5
proclaimed proudly: My father is J ewish, my mother is
J ewish, I am J ewish. Remembering Daniel Pearl is even
more natural after this summers similar murders of
American journalists J ames Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Sotloff, it would be revealed after his murder, also shared a
tremendous J ewish pride (not to mention Israeli citizenship)
with Daniel Pearl. Both were also young idealistic and brave
reporters who had a fierce commitment to covering the
Mid-East and getting the story right.
Out of their great grief, Daniel Pearls parents have sought to
perpetuate what was best about their son Danny through
telling his story, and allowing his words and actions to
inspire others.
J udea Pearl explains in the introduction: To Danny, I am
J ewish meant I must understand. Or in other words: I am
possessed with a historically baked obsession to understand
and repair things, because my wandering ancestors, hardened by centuries of persecution and
discrimination, have taught me to mistrust all dogmas and ideologies and to question authority
and the status quo and conventional wisdom.
8
Id like to share excerpts from a few of the readings, in an attempt to craft a positive sense of
active J ewish pride, a J ewish pride that is lived out publicly, and which brings blessing to our
world.
US Womens Olympic gold medalist, Kerri Strug,
who was the lynchpin in the womens team gold
AFTER she injured her ankle at the 1996 Atlanta
games writes: I have heard the same question
over and over since I received my gold medal in
gymnastics on the Olympic podium: Youre
J ewish? people ask in a surprised tone. Perhaps
it is my appearance or the stereotype that J ews
and sports dont mix that makes my J ewish
heritage so unexpected. I think about the
attributes that helped me reach that podium:
perseverance when faced with pain, years of
patience and hope in an uncertain future, and a
belief and devotion to something greater than
myself. It makes it hard for me to believe that I
did not look J ewish up there on the podium. In
my mind, those are attributes that have defined J ews throughout history.
9
8. I Am J ewish, Pearl, p. xxi
9. I Am J ewish, Pearl, p. 98
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 6
For Strug, being J ewish means embodying patience, hope and perseverance - not to mention
defying stereotypes. Did you know that since 1928, at least 32 J ews have medaled in Olympic
gymnastics? Without Wikipedia, I could have come up with Aly Reisman and maybe Kerri
Strug!
With a wink to an ancient midrash about Abraham, comedian Sarah Silverman shares a very
short essay. (And, thank God its very short, because if she were to go on too long, this is no
longer going to be a book that I could give to bnei mitzvah students!). Silverman writes:
Remember the guy who smashed all the idols in
the idol store? His mother had a heart attack when
she saw the mess, but Im sure she bragged about it
later. Thats us. Thats me. I am J ewish.
10
For Sarah Silverman, as for many of us, J udaism is
about taking some sincere pleasure in challenging
authority, breaking boundaries and forcing the
world to reconsider assumptions. Many of the
contributors point out J udaisms high premium on
our right to question everything. In fact, I hear that
consistently from non-J ews and from many
studying for conversion to J udaism that a faith which honors and even encourages questioning is
one of the things that draws them to J udaism.
My friend from rabbinical school, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu is the spiritual leader of the
Abayudaya J ewish community of Uganda, a community of nearly 2000 J ews who date back to a
mass conversion in the 1880s. He writes: When I was only two years old, Iddi Amin Dada,
legendary for his cruelty and corruption, grabbed political power and the presidency at gunpoint.
Between 1971 and 1979, when he was overthrown, Amin ordered us to stop our religious
observance and warned us against calling ourselves
J ews. He gave us three alternatives: convert to Islam
or Christianity, become unaffiliated, or face public
execution. While many of our people succumbed to
the first alternative and converted, my family and
several other families continued to observe Shabbat
and the other mitzvot in secret. Most often, we held
our services in bedrooms, where we would worship
in whispers to our God... Although I have faced
life-threatening dangers during my thirty-four years
as a J ew in Uganda, I am also one of a special people
- the J ewish people - who have resisted many
centuries of hatred and oppression and continue to
say shalomtotheworld.
11
10.I Am J ewish, Pearl, p. 66
11.I Am J ewish, Pearl, pp. 137-9
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 7
Rabbi Sizomu has lived through brutal oppression, physical isolation and occasional rejection
from the broad world J ewish community, and still counts himself as fortunate to be one of the
people who have resisted these forces, and continues to say shalomtotheworld.Andsay
shalom he absolutely does! Through his leadership, the Abayudaya have brought their
neighboring Christian and Muslim communities into communal farming partnerships for peace,
making his region one of the most prosperous and harmonious in an otherwise turbulent country.
This is the force of J udaism for mutual benefit and creating shalom.
I want to share finally from the entry by J ulius Lester, an
author, university professor, long-time civil rights advocate
and someone who chose to become a J ew as an adult. He
writes: It is the particular responsibility of the J ew to suffuse
history with holiness... The world needs us to assume the
difficult task of living as J ews and to do as J ews have sought
to do through the ages - merge past and present and future into
a Holy Now... To be a J ew is to be a bracha oflaughter
expressing our surprise, delight, and wonder in creation and
our place in it as J ews. We are called to be a brachaof
unending love because to be a J ew is to be in love - with a
God, a people, and a land - to become that love and live with
the fluidity of a melody understood in the silence of the soul.
To be a J ew is to be a love song - to the God of our people -
and to the world.
12
For my part, I know that I will continue to live my J udaism,
proudly, publicly, positively. Do we need to be increasingly
vigilant against the dark forces of intolerance, hate and
anti-semitism that have surged, it would seem, in recent months? Absolutely. Our communal
institutions are all spending more time than any of us would choose in looking at security plans
and briefings. We are considerably more heavily guarded this High Holy Days at Temple Isaiah
than any of us would like.
All this is not to say that we should be naive, that we ought to court danger in some foolishly
provocative defiance of reality. I will admit fully that there have been times since that incident
in Asheville when I have chosen to wear a baseball cap on top of my kippah, when blending in at
a moment of feeling some type of threat seemed reasonable.
However, these commitments and awarnesses cannot take the place of our positive, joyful J ewish
presence in the world, as J ulius Lester reminds us, the world needs us to be a blessing of joy, a
love song to God and to the world. We are the people who continues, despite it all, to proclaim
shalom!
When we stand together as a community in prayer on our holiest of days, we proclaim J ewish
pride.
12.I Am J ewish, Pearl, p. 144
Rabbi Craig Axler - Temple Isaiah, 5775 Rosh HaShannah Morning 8
When we commit to J ewish study, to continuing to learn, wrestle and debate our age-old texts, it
demonstrates their worth to us.
When a young person returns from Birthright
and changes their profile picture to an Israeli
flag and then engages in spirited, respectful
but ardent debate with their friends about the
relative merits of this summers news feed, it
is a credit to a people who continued to face
J erusalem in prayer over nearly two thousand
years of exile and now have returned,
rightfully, home.
Every time we invite a non-J ewish group or individual into our synagogue, to learn, to question,
to explore - the world is just a little bit more whole.
Last year, when Temple Isaiah hosted the Grassroots Cold Weather Shelter, and one of the
guests commented to me that, in addition to having the best food of all the hosts, he was touched
by the fact that J ews would go to this great length for a primarily non-J ewish clientele, it was a
moment of pride and honor, as the Torah commands us to care for our fellow human beings, not
only our fellow J ews.
This past spring, this very space was
filled with song, story and food by our
Soul to Soul community event, with
hundreds of J ews, Muslims and
Mormons (and an assortment of others)
gathered around the principle that
sharing these elements of song, story
and food builds a more harmonious
world. It was impossible not to be
proud of our heritage, not to feel the palpable joy in this room that day.
When we host our neighbors at our sedertables,demonstratingthefreshnessofaslaveryand
liberation story that has remained vital over three thousand years, and which informs the
decisions we make in our personal, political and professional lives, we are adding honor to our
people.
When we make J ewish life and living, J ewish culture and creativity, J ewish kitsch and trivia a
part of our everyday; when we live our lives proudly, positively and publicly as J ews, we stand
with thousands of years of J ewish continuity, most of whom faced a world far more hostile than
the one we know, and proclaim I am J ewish.
I wish for you and your family, from me and mine - LShanah Tovah UMetukah - A Good,
Sweet, Healthy and Peaceful New Year of 5775!