JFSA - Parshat Chukat-Balak (Numbers 19:1-22:1, 22:2-25:9)

A Helping Hand Makes all the Difference

First, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful outpouring of supportive and welcoming comments following last week’s newsletter. Your feedback, thoughts, suggestions, and even critical comments are all deeply appreciated. The Jewish Federation of San Antonio is here to listen, plan, and ensure a sustainable future for our San Antonio Jewish community, and this cannot be realized without your input and participation.   Staying on the theme of appreciation and thanks, I’d like to share a special thank you to all our service members as we prepare to celebrate a safe Independence Day this weekend, and highlight a local Jewish agency, our Jewish War Veterans of America Post 753. I recently visited with one of the elders of Post 753, and as one topic flowed into another in our casual conversation, it was the theme of brotherhood and community that kept surfacing, specifically what does it mean to have indescribable bonds like these.   In this week’s Torah portion, Chukat-Balak, we read the famous lines of Bilam the prophet who was hired to curse the Israelites, but who instead blessed them unintentionally with the words, mah tovu ohalecha Yakov, mishkenotecha Yisrael (“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!”) Numbers 24:5.   Over the centuries our sages have tried to make sense of this bizarre unfolding of events with much discussion, but it is the great Rashi, one of our most well-known commentaries, who simply suggests that Bilam became inspired by the sight of the Hebrew encampment and was overwhelmed with its beauty and order, and individual’s support for one another. Bilam saw a community with a common cause, setting differences aside, and supporting one another for the good of the group.   Charles Darwin, in his most controversial book, The Descent of Man, presented the theory of the survival of the fittest. This clear concept of brute force and instinct to survive, no matter the circumstances, is how he explained nature selects the strongest lineage for continued survival. This theory presented an individual’s need over the tribe. The idea of win at all costs, no matter the moral or virtuous ramifications. Yet, in the same book Darwin finds a conflicting theory that he cannot explain. When it comes to the collective group, when we look at the characteristics of the tribe, Darwin saw an opposite theory.   “A tribe including many members who, from possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sympathy, were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection.” (p.132)   Darwin identified that if the individuals could somehow come together and work as a unified group the “weaker” characteristics of trust, respect, and care for one another override the system and prove to help the tribe survive over time.   It is this “brotherhood” that my friend of Post 753 referenced, and it is this sense of common purpose that we at the JFSA want to establish for our Jewish community of San Antonio.   This weekend, as we celebrate our country’s independence, please go to Post 753’s FaceBook page and share a thank you to our local veterans, or simply like their page. I know they would sincerely appreciate the thought. Shabbat shalom.

JFSA - Parshat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32)

Jewish Wisdom from 

Our Community and the Torah

I admit, I have struggled this week in writing this column. As the new Interim CEO, I have already received welcome feedback from the community, some good, supportive comments, and some critical, concerned, and challenging — all of which are welcome as I listen and learn in this new role.  I knew that by accepting this professional opportunity, I would not only be leading a community agency tasked with uniting, planning, and fundraising for our Jewish future, but also with listening, collaborating, and holding myself accountable to the highest standards of Jewish leadership possible.  Every day of every week the Federation staff and volunteers demonstrate their dedication to, and passion for, our Jewish community through such actions as: Partnering with other interfaith and inter-racial groups to address racism, whether through community dialogue, security training, or legislative activism through our Community Relations Council (CRC); Educating the greater San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley community on the historical significance and Jewish experience during the Holocaust through the efforts of the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio (HMMSA); Empowering Jewish families with young children to read Jewish books together, instilling a love of Jewish life from the earliest of ages with our free PJ Library SA program; Securing beyond-life gifts to ensure the sustainability of Jewish San Antonio through our LIFE & LEGACY initiative; And so much more! But candidly, what I was not prepared for, was the suggestion that connecting our Jewish Federation mission’s work to the weekly Torah portion was not necessary. Here’s my take: I am the professional leader of a Jewish agency tasked with leading our community toward a vibrant, active, and sustainable Jewish future in San Antonio. If I do not use the Torah as the guide in my decision-making; if I do not solicit the input of thousands of years of Jewish wisdom when faced with weighing the challenges of our community; and if I do not reach out to our local rabbis for their expertise, collaboration, and rabbinic understanding, then what or who should guide my leadership as the chief executive officer of a Jewish agency? In this week’s Torah portion, Korach, we read that, “[the people] assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire community are all holy, and G-d is in their midst.’” (Numbers 16:3)  I too feel your assemblage (and I in no way claim to be remotely comparable to Moses or Aaron!) so please, please reach out and let me know how you would like to get involved and help move our Jewish community forward.  If the Jewish Federation does not have the specific committee or program to engage your passion, we will connect you to the Jewish agency in town that best suits your interests.  This is not a job for one person, nor for a great team of professionals like we have at the Federation, nor for the broad range of Jewish communal professionals across the San Antonio community.  This is a responsibility that we all have as Jewish community members tasked with laying the groundwork for the generations who will follow. We are tasked to listen, to plan, and to ensure a strong, vibrant Jewish future in our city. Please join us on this journey. Shabbat shalom.