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I think I am absently borrowing a lot here from a book I read about all of this a few months back. I by no means intend to plagiarize Michael Walzer's Exodus and Revolution which was a great read....
The lessons of Egypt and the wilderness-Exodus as social change Model
I am often curious about why Jewish liturgy repeats phrases like, "because I, your God, freed you from the land of Egypt" and "Remember you were slaves in Egypt." Here is a framing that is speaking to me very loudly these days...
1. We, the oppressed, called out to God, an external force, for aid and assistance.
1a. That external force hears us and remembers the oppressed people
2. We needed an external force to help us find our own voices and to harness our power
2a. But initially, the oppressed people could not do it alone but the motivation for change and the modality of change was internally shaped by the oppressed more than the external power coming in.
3. God did not do it for us, but rather offered scaffolding for us to grow, develop and learn our own skills as self advocates-especially Moses.
4. It took us a whole generation to make the mental shift from slaves to free people
5. By coming in to Israel we became more than just free people, but a people with a responsibility for ourselves and others
6. The total trajectory is from slaves to free people to leaders with great power and great responsibility.
7. By helping the oppressed to help themselves, the oppressed then become free to function on their own and are then obligated to hear the oppression of others in need, help them to find their own voices, scaffold them in their transformation from slavery to freedom to agents of change.
8. And PS-God gave up a lot to be that external force. Being that power was not always fun and it meant self sacrifice (we are the stiff-necked people). For us too, we too need to remember that helping others and fighting oppression means discomfort. Regardless of that price to pay, we are still obligated (And hopefully even inspired!) to hear the voice of the voiceless and do what needs to be done.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
An image of a Synagogue Community Doing Justice
This is excerpted from an email I sent to a dear friend in an ongoing conversation about different ways to bring Justice Work in its various forms into a synagogue so that it could more fully live out being a Justice Congregation...Ok, blog readers, your comments on how this sits with you would be very very appreciated!!
"Oh, but I had an idea about the social justice congregation. What if it was "beit praying with our feet" and Saturday morning services looked like this (for example). Psukei, birchot hashachar, shema, social change action (like everyone picks up their phones and calls 3 members of the synagogue or 3 politicians about one policy piece or 3 local food establishments to ask about their worker's labor rights-like each seat in shul would have a piece of paper on it with the three names and numbers with a script written on it (and on any given day everyone would be making the same sorts of calls just to different people so all health care one day, all inreach one day etc etc) and then Alenu, Kadish, Ein Kelohenu (I am not sure if Amidah would still be included...)..."
What do you think?
"Oh, but I had an idea about the social justice congregation. What if it was "beit praying with our feet" and Saturday morning services looked like this (for example). Psukei, birchot hashachar, shema, social change action (like everyone picks up their phones and calls 3 members of the synagogue or 3 politicians about one policy piece or 3 local food establishments to ask about their worker's labor rights-like each seat in shul would have a piece of paper on it with the three names and numbers with a script written on it (and on any given day everyone would be making the same sorts of calls just to different people so all health care one day, all inreach one day etc etc) and then Alenu, Kadish, Ein Kelohenu (I am not sure if Amidah would still be included...)..."
What do you think?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Stories of iritation and agitation
My body is irritated. My chosen mode of transportation here in the twin cities is bicycle. It is wonderful. Yesterday I rode the high bridge over the Mississippi River. That was really cool! Today Elyse, my friend’s sister-in-law who is giving me a place to live for the summer, showed me to the bike paths of Minnesota which are just gorgeous. I have ridden twenty-five miles in two days and have another 10 to do tonight to get home.
But oy, my under-carriage is sore! My body is irritated.
Today, I was talking with the person in the office working on foreclosures and housing issues. We were talking about the one-to-one. I asked him what he thought a successful one-to-one looks like. He said, when the other person is so agitated that they shoot up out of their chair and run out the door to go change the world. And I thought, Yah! I want to make people do that…but then thought about what that means…
Agitating people. It is the nature of creating change. Change does not happen until the status quo becomes so uncomfortable that staying as is means MORE uncomfortable than the discomfort of that necessarily accompanies change.
The conversation in the office continued. There is a dynamic tension between building relationships and agitating others. The one on one works to do both. This is a continuum. In pure organizing or on a shorter campaign, agitation is king. But in congregation life where a rabbi, for example, needs to not only agitate a congregant but also facilitate that same congregant’s baby naming, wedding and or funeral, the relationship may have to take precedence over the agitation for the rabbi to keep their job or to be effective as a service leader…
Wait, does that have to be true? I mean, can we be adult enough that I, as your rabbi, can, with full transparency, piss you off for the greater good on Monday and then offer you comfort for that agitation at services on Friday night? I mean, why not be both? Isn’t that my job as a rabbi…
Isn’t that our responsibility to one another as people?
What would the world look like if I felt it was my job to not only tell you when you are being self-contradictory, hypocritical, unnecessarily self-defeating, and then also hold your hand while you undergo the process of not doing that anymore?
I want my people to feel like it is their job to that for me…you all have my permission to do so.
Hmmm, on to the next task, how do I get right with, get comfortable with, actually putting discomfort in the world? And, will I be willing to take responsibility for it too?
Shoosh, this is a tall order…
Because really, my inner honest person (also affectionately referred to as inner bitch) knows the words to say. Does my inner softy also know the words? I think she does. Now, can I truth them both to work together and get along for the sake of what could then be possible?
So bottom line is this...irritation and agitation are not the same. There is no greater good to the soreness I feel sitting here right now from all the biking. That pain for pain's sake (I am building my callous which is not a greater good but more of a necessary evil). I think if I ONLY anger then I am irritating. If I also comfort and guide, then I am agitating. If the greater good is the reason, then the ends justify the means.
Right?
I am working all this out in my head. Am I just rationalizing??
But oy, my under-carriage is sore! My body is irritated.
Today, I was talking with the person in the office working on foreclosures and housing issues. We were talking about the one-to-one. I asked him what he thought a successful one-to-one looks like. He said, when the other person is so agitated that they shoot up out of their chair and run out the door to go change the world. And I thought, Yah! I want to make people do that…but then thought about what that means…
Agitating people. It is the nature of creating change. Change does not happen until the status quo becomes so uncomfortable that staying as is means MORE uncomfortable than the discomfort of that necessarily accompanies change.
The conversation in the office continued. There is a dynamic tension between building relationships and agitating others. The one on one works to do both. This is a continuum. In pure organizing or on a shorter campaign, agitation is king. But in congregation life where a rabbi, for example, needs to not only agitate a congregant but also facilitate that same congregant’s baby naming, wedding and or funeral, the relationship may have to take precedence over the agitation for the rabbi to keep their job or to be effective as a service leader…
Wait, does that have to be true? I mean, can we be adult enough that I, as your rabbi, can, with full transparency, piss you off for the greater good on Monday and then offer you comfort for that agitation at services on Friday night? I mean, why not be both? Isn’t that my job as a rabbi…
Isn’t that our responsibility to one another as people?
What would the world look like if I felt it was my job to not only tell you when you are being self-contradictory, hypocritical, unnecessarily self-defeating, and then also hold your hand while you undergo the process of not doing that anymore?
I want my people to feel like it is their job to that for me…you all have my permission to do so.
Hmmm, on to the next task, how do I get right with, get comfortable with, actually putting discomfort in the world? And, will I be willing to take responsibility for it too?
Shoosh, this is a tall order…
Because really, my inner honest person (also affectionately referred to as inner bitch) knows the words to say. Does my inner softy also know the words? I think she does. Now, can I truth them both to work together and get along for the sake of what could then be possible?
So bottom line is this...irritation and agitation are not the same. There is no greater good to the soreness I feel sitting here right now from all the biking. That pain for pain's sake (I am building my callous which is not a greater good but more of a necessary evil). I think if I ONLY anger then I am irritating. If I also comfort and guide, then I am agitating. If the greater good is the reason, then the ends justify the means.
Right?
I am working all this out in my head. Am I just rationalizing??
Why I think Jews are not natural organizers/Funny, you don’t sound Jewish
Here is what I learned as a Jew growing up about justice. People being hungry is an injustice, go serve in a soup kitchen. Elders being left to die alone in a nursing facility where they are mistreated is an injustice, go visit an elder. People having inadequate access to health care is an injustice, go open a free clinic. Racism is an injustice, go make a friend who is of-color.
I learned the texts that prove all those things are unjust. (Justice justice thou shalt pursue, let justice well up like a mighty stream, it is not upon you to complete the task, nor are you free to deter from it, love your neighbor as yourself, hate evil and love what is good and so forth and so on…) Here is the Jewish problem as I see it. I am thirty-two. These teachings existed before me and are being taught now. People are still hungry, elders are still alone, health care is still inadequate, racism is still alive and well. And they are still unjust. What we have not done and not taught to do is fight the problems. We are great with arguing and identifying the issues. We can stand up and claim-THAT IS INJUSTICE. We are masterful triage nurses and band-aid putter-onners. But what we have not learned to do is how to make poverty, agism, abandonment, and racism go away.
How come?
How come we have not done that? And instead of spending time talking about the why, what are we doing now to fix it?
Look, it is uncomfortable to ruffle feathers. Good Jews boys and girls do not shame people or make others feel uncomfortable. Do they. Untrue, Talmud is replete with tales of shaming someone in to doing the right thing. Good Jewish boys and girls do not create upheaval in the social order (that’s ok, I’ll sit in the dark) do they? Untrue. Exodus itself is a tale of bucking the system and speaking truth to power.
What us good Jewish boys and girls seem to do is say, wow, it is such a shame that person over there is begging and then we go home to a nice meal. What us good Jewish boys and girls seem to do is talk about how important workers right are, I mean heck, I buy fair trade coffee and shop at the coop! While leaving an inadequate tip for a server, hiring cleaning lady who cannot afford insurance and shopping at Walmart (but it is so easy, so convenient…these are the voices in my head too!).
I too buy ice cream even when it comes in a Styrofoam cup I will throw away, I too buy the cheap convenient brand, I too shop at the farmer’s market for cheap prices when others cannot get there, I too buy new clothing when I have something perfectly acceptable in my closet instead of giving money somewhere useful, I too accept that poverty is a given, I do not squeak when someone else’s rights are infringed upon. I too say…this is not my problem.
The truth is, it is my problem. The truth is, I am part of the problem. The truth is I cannot fix everything but that does not mean that I should fix nothing. The truth is I cannot fight every fight but that does not mean that every fight does not belong to me. I will say it again so I can hear it louder, the truth is I am a part of the problem
I am part of the problem because I buy in to, benefit from, perpetuate in and accept the system as it is. I am part of the problem because I worry more about rocking the boat when really the whole thing should be burnt, bludgeoned, sunk and abandoned!
I am part of the problem
I don’t want to be a part of the problem.
Pretending that I am not part of the problem does not make it not so.
I want to be part of the solution.
I am scared
I don’t want to give up too much
I don’t want to be too bothered or too uncomfortable
But I think it is about time that I let these truths make me so uncomfortable that the discomfort of standing up for what I believe in pales in comparison.
How do I let THAT responsibility sink in? How do I make this a permanent change to care more about rights than about wants?
I don’t know, but it is happening slowly. Please, help push me along, please, struggle along side me.
I learned the texts that prove all those things are unjust. (Justice justice thou shalt pursue, let justice well up like a mighty stream, it is not upon you to complete the task, nor are you free to deter from it, love your neighbor as yourself, hate evil and love what is good and so forth and so on…) Here is the Jewish problem as I see it. I am thirty-two. These teachings existed before me and are being taught now. People are still hungry, elders are still alone, health care is still inadequate, racism is still alive and well. And they are still unjust. What we have not done and not taught to do is fight the problems. We are great with arguing and identifying the issues. We can stand up and claim-THAT IS INJUSTICE. We are masterful triage nurses and band-aid putter-onners. But what we have not learned to do is how to make poverty, agism, abandonment, and racism go away.
How come?
How come we have not done that? And instead of spending time talking about the why, what are we doing now to fix it?
Look, it is uncomfortable to ruffle feathers. Good Jews boys and girls do not shame people or make others feel uncomfortable. Do they. Untrue, Talmud is replete with tales of shaming someone in to doing the right thing. Good Jewish boys and girls do not create upheaval in the social order (that’s ok, I’ll sit in the dark) do they? Untrue. Exodus itself is a tale of bucking the system and speaking truth to power.
What us good Jewish boys and girls seem to do is say, wow, it is such a shame that person over there is begging and then we go home to a nice meal. What us good Jewish boys and girls seem to do is talk about how important workers right are, I mean heck, I buy fair trade coffee and shop at the coop! While leaving an inadequate tip for a server, hiring cleaning lady who cannot afford insurance and shopping at Walmart (but it is so easy, so convenient…these are the voices in my head too!).
I too buy ice cream even when it comes in a Styrofoam cup I will throw away, I too buy the cheap convenient brand, I too shop at the farmer’s market for cheap prices when others cannot get there, I too buy new clothing when I have something perfectly acceptable in my closet instead of giving money somewhere useful, I too accept that poverty is a given, I do not squeak when someone else’s rights are infringed upon. I too say…this is not my problem.
The truth is, it is my problem. The truth is, I am part of the problem. The truth is I cannot fix everything but that does not mean that I should fix nothing. The truth is I cannot fight every fight but that does not mean that every fight does not belong to me. I will say it again so I can hear it louder, the truth is I am a part of the problem
I am part of the problem because I buy in to, benefit from, perpetuate in and accept the system as it is. I am part of the problem because I worry more about rocking the boat when really the whole thing should be burnt, bludgeoned, sunk and abandoned!
I am part of the problem
I don’t want to be a part of the problem.
Pretending that I am not part of the problem does not make it not so.
I want to be part of the solution.
I am scared
I don’t want to give up too much
I don’t want to be too bothered or too uncomfortable
But I think it is about time that I let these truths make me so uncomfortable that the discomfort of standing up for what I believe in pales in comparison.
How do I let THAT responsibility sink in? How do I make this a permanent change to care more about rights than about wants?
I don’t know, but it is happening slowly. Please, help push me along, please, struggle along side me.
Why I think Jews are natural organizers
It’s funny…that reminds me of a story. What more Jewish words (other than pass the lox and bagel platter) are ever uttered? We are story tellers. We relate to the world through a good tale. Hassidic tales, talking with our hands, the Torah (come on, everyone’s favorite parts are Genesis and Exodus because those are some good stories)
Community organizing is all about telling stories. Tell me a story which shows any of the following…What keeps you up at night? What motivates you? What is your vision? Who inspires you? Who do you inspire? Who/what (people as well as beliefs) do you care about? Who or what cares about you? Why do you care? How far are you willing to go?
I invite you-tell me your story. Choose a question and answer it…coming soon, some stories of my own….
Community organizing is all about telling stories. Tell me a story which shows any of the following…What keeps you up at night? What motivates you? What is your vision? Who inspires you? Who do you inspire? Who/what (people as well as beliefs) do you care about? Who or what cares about you? Why do you care? How far are you willing to go?
I invite you-tell me your story. Choose a question and answer it…coming soon, some stories of my own….
Welcome to Organizing
So I am back to blogging this next part of my Rabbinic adventure. I am now living in Minneapolis for the summer with the family of a good friend of mine from New York. I am here as the Rabbinic Intern for Jewish Community Action, a community organizing organization. Check out their site, their stuff if super cool. (if you know anything about Heksher Tzedek-which you should-well, JCA is doing stuff with that.)
While I am here, I am hoping to take the knowledge of community organizing which I have gained through a training in May and a class I took about 2 years ago at Hebrew Union College (my rabbinic school).
I am freaking out about the whole thing on some level. I am afraid. Yes, fearless traveler of the world is afraid. Of what? Well, first of all, I always am frightened at the start of any new journey. But, I am fearful of failing, I am fearful of doing this really knew thing which I seem to have a love and affinity for, but just have never done. Change is always intimidating, so is learning something new. What if I just can’t get it? My inner over achiever is afraid of looking or being incompetent . What if I hate it and am stuck here!? My inner restlessness always worries about sitting still for too long. What if …what if…what if…
I was talking with Vic Rosenthal, executive director of JCA on day one. I told him about being afraid. He told me two things which I think will be wonderful for me to keep in mind. First of all, he said that organizing is about failing! Taking risks is part of the game and not all of them will pan out. Failing and having it go wrong is part of the culture of this world. I am reassured by this. These words remind me that failing is normal and here especially, there just seems to be no judgment about it. This feels like a safe space to mess up.
Secondly, I said that in my own experience, I like to see myself as someone who pushes. But when pressed to push, I often balk at the opportunity. Like I know what an edgy sermon to give would be, a challenging question to ask, but then, I do not. I think of a rational reason to walk away from the discomfort when really all I am doing is avoiding discomfort and creating a dynamic tension. Vic said, well, you know that one question you are afraid to ask…ask that one! Well, I am embarrassed to say it (why am I embarrassed?) but I needed permission from someone to do what I want to do. I need to think a great deal about this one…
So, I am off and running.
My goals are 1) to be a witness, watch and learn about community organizing and how this organization approaches it, 2) learn and practice the skills of doing the one to one by doing as many as I can while I am here, and 3) to lay the ground work for future rabbinic interns to do this same thing!
I hope through this blog, not only will I get to develop my own rabbi-ing further, but also to just do this stuff and help other people who afraid of this stuff too that it is doable (I need to believe that! I need to do this and try it and mess it up and succeed and write about it and I really hope someone else will read this and think, Yes, I can do that too even though I am afraid…)
Ultimately, it comes down to this. I think our world is a mess. I think we, as a human race, are in real trouble. And I think if anything is ever going to be different, if we stand a fighting chance of being “saved” from the messes we have created, then we have to brave enough to cross the barrier of discomfort for the sake of the greater good. Because, I am more afraid of silence and that nothing will change than I am of the personal pride-beating I might endure. If I cannot do this, if we cannot do this, if YOU cannot do this, well, then…we are all screwed….
While I am here, I am hoping to take the knowledge of community organizing which I have gained through a training in May and a class I took about 2 years ago at Hebrew Union College (my rabbinic school).
I am freaking out about the whole thing on some level. I am afraid. Yes, fearless traveler of the world is afraid. Of what? Well, first of all, I always am frightened at the start of any new journey. But, I am fearful of failing, I am fearful of doing this really knew thing which I seem to have a love and affinity for, but just have never done. Change is always intimidating, so is learning something new. What if I just can’t get it? My inner over achiever is afraid of looking or being incompetent . What if I hate it and am stuck here!? My inner restlessness always worries about sitting still for too long. What if …what if…what if…
I was talking with Vic Rosenthal, executive director of JCA on day one. I told him about being afraid. He told me two things which I think will be wonderful for me to keep in mind. First of all, he said that organizing is about failing! Taking risks is part of the game and not all of them will pan out. Failing and having it go wrong is part of the culture of this world. I am reassured by this. These words remind me that failing is normal and here especially, there just seems to be no judgment about it. This feels like a safe space to mess up.
Secondly, I said that in my own experience, I like to see myself as someone who pushes. But when pressed to push, I often balk at the opportunity. Like I know what an edgy sermon to give would be, a challenging question to ask, but then, I do not. I think of a rational reason to walk away from the discomfort when really all I am doing is avoiding discomfort and creating a dynamic tension. Vic said, well, you know that one question you are afraid to ask…ask that one! Well, I am embarrassed to say it (why am I embarrassed?) but I needed permission from someone to do what I want to do. I need to think a great deal about this one…
So, I am off and running.
My goals are 1) to be a witness, watch and learn about community organizing and how this organization approaches it, 2) learn and practice the skills of doing the one to one by doing as many as I can while I am here, and 3) to lay the ground work for future rabbinic interns to do this same thing!
I hope through this blog, not only will I get to develop my own rabbi-ing further, but also to just do this stuff and help other people who afraid of this stuff too that it is doable (I need to believe that! I need to do this and try it and mess it up and succeed and write about it and I really hope someone else will read this and think, Yes, I can do that too even though I am afraid…)
Ultimately, it comes down to this. I think our world is a mess. I think we, as a human race, are in real trouble. And I think if anything is ever going to be different, if we stand a fighting chance of being “saved” from the messes we have created, then we have to brave enough to cross the barrier of discomfort for the sake of the greater good. Because, I am more afraid of silence and that nothing will change than I am of the personal pride-beating I might endure. If I cannot do this, if we cannot do this, if YOU cannot do this, well, then…we are all screwed….
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