Lesson Learned in Haiti
Our URJ Mission to Haiti during the first week in July was a meaningful and inspiring experience for all 21 participants. Members of TBE and other URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) congregations from around the country spent three days patching up earthquake damaged buildings and working on the new Project Papillon Youth Center, which will be opening in the next few weeks. Those among us with dental and medical expertise were put to work checking out the medical condition of the 29 children who live in our facilities.
We managed to fit into our tight schedule a tour of Port au Prince, including a visit to a tent city of over 50,000 inhabitants. There is still much rubble to be cleared and no sign of any significant rebuilding going on. Desperate children wander the streets asking for money and food. Adults can be found sleeping on sidewalks in front of their shanties and tents, others eking out a living selling used items or home grown vegetables. The people generally look weary and listless – hundreds just standing around with little to do and no place to go.
Yet, in the middle of this human tragedy, we also found an oasis of hope and inspiration. In the tent city we visited, we came across a group of young Israelis working for an organization called Tevel B’tzedek, “A World with Justice,” running a school for 300 children. We were very proud of these young people, who only recently completed their military service in the IDF, for volunteering to spend three months in the middle of the chaos and misery that is Haiti these days.
We were also heartened by the courage and faith demonstrated by John Dieubon, the Director of Project Papillon, his staff, and of course, the children. At Project Papillon, instead of despair, we found hope and vision. Our children are doing well. Of the four houses, three are fully restored, and the children have proper shelter in this rainy season. The diesel generator, donated by the URJ, is up and running at the new youth center. John has started a music academy and will soon be opening a center in which to teach children computer skills. He has also acquired the services of a social worker to help kids in the neighborhood.
I am inspired every time I go to Haiti and encounter people who refuse to give up in the face of daunting challenges. John refutes any suggestion that Haiti is a poor country. He maintains that Haitians have much to share with the world. Haitians, he says, should see themselves as not only takers, but also as givers. He had an opportunity to make these sentiments real a few months ago. After the earthquake, the people of Chile sent a remarkable amount of aid to Haiti, given the relatively small size of that country. It was only a matter of weeks before Chile experienced its own 8.0 earthquake. John immediately gathered the kids in the orphanage and told them they had to do something for the people of Chile. The children were given jobs to do around the facility and asked to contribute to a fund to help the children of Chile. John ended up sending $240 to Chile.
When you are rich in spirit and faith you are wealthy indeed.
THE ISRAEL-AMERICA ALLIANCE IS STRONG AND VITAL
Steve Caster, Martin Lewis, and I recently attended the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. It was gratifying to be with almost 8,000 people supporting and strengthening the unique relationship between the United States of America and the State of Israel. The US-Israel alliance is based on common strategic interests and shared democratic values. For decades, Israel has provided the US military with a wide range of services, including refueling stations for naval ships and air craft, intelligence, and technological support, and the US has provided Israel with much needed military hardware and diplomatic support in international forums like the UN.
Among the speakers at AIPAC this year were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Every speaker spoke of the vital and enduring relationship between Israel and the US. Despite the flap over the announcement of 1,600 apartments to be built in Jerusalem made during Vice President Biden’s recent visit in Israel, the alliance remains strong and vital.
As untimely as that announcement was, the building of additional apartments in the Ramat Shlomo section of Jerusalem is not that controversial. As far back as the Partition Plan of 1947, that neighborhood was designated to be part of Israel. In 1948, Ramat Shlomo was conquered by the Jordanian army and remained under Arab control until the Six Day War in 1967. Shortly after that war, then Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, established municipal borders of Jerusalem, which included Ramat Shlomo. In subsequent peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, all agreed that Ramat Shlomo would eventually be part of Israel. There is much lively discussion and disagreement about what should be done with the settlements on the West Bank. However, we must remember … Jerusalem is not a settlement; it is the capital of the State of Israel.
An important agenda item at AIPAC this year was Iran’s program to develop nuclear weapons. Over and over again, it was emphasized that this must never happen. Not only would Israel’s existence be threatened, but the security of the entire world would be in jeopardy. As it progresses toward becoming a nuclear power, Iran is also developing the capacity to deliver such weapons as far as Europe and beyond. Furthermore, Iran is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world today, supporting Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Recently, the Iranians have been establishing alliances with anti-American regimes and narco-terrorist groups in Latin America. If the Iranians manage to obtain nuclear weapons, it’s anybody’s guess who they will share them with. Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. We should all contact our representatives in Congress, encouraging them to impose meaningful, and if necessary, crippling economic sanctions on Iran. If economic sanctions don’t work, the US must consider other actions, even if it has to do so alone.
I am grateful to Steve Caster for heading the AIPAC synagogue initiative at Temple Beth El and I hope that our Temple delegation will grow next year. *******************************************************
LISTEN TO THOSE WITH WHOM YOU DISAGREE
YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING
Hillel and Shamai, first century scholars in Israel, argued about almost everything. Hillel is thought of by some to have represented a more liberal interpretation of Torah and Shamai, a more conservative approach. Of these two giants of Torah, the Talmud says, “Eilu v’eilu…these and these are the words of the living God.” How could it be that Hillel and Shamai, holding opposite positions, could both be speaking the word of God?
In most, but not all, cases, Jewish law follows the opinion of Hillel. However, the words of Shamai were carefully preserved and honored because they were well reasoned arguments presented by a great scholar who loved his people. There is a lesson in this for those who engage in political or religious discourse these days and that is to honor those with whom you disagree. Without civil discourse, there can be no civil society. When American politicians compare each other to Stalin and Hitler, they simply go too far. When they question each other’s motives, when they besmirch each other’s character, when their words imply threats of violence, they create an atmosphere that is toxic to our nation’s soul.
During Yom Kippur, Dr. Abe Fischler led a superb discussion on Peter Berger’s new book, In Praise of Doubt. The subtitle, “How to have passionate beliefs without being a fanatic,” explains what the book is about. Having strong religious and political opinions and remaining a civil and open minded person is one of the greatest challenges facing us today. The ability to disagree without being disagreeable is fundamental to civil democratic society.
Eugene Borowitz, my theology professor in rabbinical school, encouraged us to read theologians with whom we disagreed. He told us that the vast majority of people who hold ideas contrary to our own are neither stupid nor evil. He taught us that you often learn more in a serious conversation with someone on the other side of an argument than you do from someone who merely reaffirms what you already believe.
Serious people -- liberal and conservative -- should take the time to carefully consider each other’s arguments, without prejudice or hostility. Whenever incivility and hatred enter an argument, reason flees. Democracy is built upon the foundation of passionate debate and destroyed by angry invective. Listen to those you disagree with respectfully and open mindedly. You might learn something. In Sefer Hasidim, a book of Jewish wisdom written in medieval times, we read, “If you are proved right, you accomplish little; but if you are proved wrong, you gain much; you learn the truth.
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TBE HAITI PROJECT WINS FAIN AWARD Hollywood CARES, the project established and maintained by Temple Beth El and First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood to help impoverished children in Haiti, was named as a recipient of the 2009 Irving J. Fain Social Action Award. Every two years, the Union for Reform Judaism recognizes the most outstanding social action projects among its more than 900 congregations with the Fain Award. Through Hollywood CARES, Temple Beth El and the First Presbyterian Church fund a home for seven HIV infected orphans, which is managed by an organization called Project Papillon. We also provide for dental care and schooling, as well as food, clothing, and other needed supplies to all of the twenty-eight children of Project Papillon. During the month of January, a group of ten of us traveled to Port au Prince to inspect the school that we have recently established as part of our project. We are pleased to report that our children are healthy, happy, and serious about their studies. Hollywood CARES is simply the continuation of a 52-year tradition here at TBE of heeding God’s call of Tikkun Olam – Repairing the World. Sharon Tanenhaus, our Social Action chairperson; Dr. Martin Lewis, a key member of Hollywood CARES; and I traveled to the URJ’s 2009 Consultation on Conscience in Washington D.C. in April to receive this award on behalf of our congregation.
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About the Rabbi
Rabbi Allan C. Tuffs is a fourth generation Canadian. His great grandparents left Romania in the late 1890’s for the wide-open spaces of the Canadian prairies. Rabbi Tuffs was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Of course he wasn’t a Rabbi when was born, that would not happen until much later in life.) He spent many summers on Gabriola Island at Camp Miriam, a summer camp sponsored by the Labor Zionist movement. It was there that he developed an undying loyalty to Israel and the Jewish people. It was there that he was introduced to the Hebrew language in a serious way and discovered the beauty of Shabbat. From 1969-71 Rabbi Tuffs lived on Kibbutz Menara on the Lebanese-Israeli border near Kiryat Shemona. He graduated from Menara’s first Ulpan program and remained to work in the kibbutz military and agricultural wagon factory. During that period, the PLO was waging a war of attrition against Israel. Rabbi Tuffs experienced numerous attacks. He says, “Those two years in Israel were among the most important of my life. I was proud to have in some small way contributed to the rebuilding of our people’s homeland after 2,000 years of exile.” Upon returning to North American in 1971, Rabbi Tuffs attended Baltimore Hebrew College, Maryland, where he completed his undergraduate work in Jewish studies. He also worked as a teacher and youth director in various synagogues in the Washington, DC area. In 1980, he received his MA in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (New York Campus), where he was ordained in 1982. His first rabbinic position was at EmanuEl Bne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he served as assistant and then associate Rabbi. Among his accomplishments there was writing “Living Mitzvot;” an Experiential approach to B’nai Mitzvah Training. This program was adopted by over 125 congregations throughout North America. He also founded Project Reunite, a program for the homeless that brought together the resource of his congregation, the Milwaukee County government, and Department of the US Federal government. Rabbi Tuffs also served Temple Shalom of Naples, Florida, from 1987-89, where he was active in programs for the homeless in that community as well. Rabbi Tuffs served Temple Shalom in Bucks County, PA, from 1989-1997. During that period, Rabbi Tuffs earned his doctorate of ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation. He also authored “You Shall Teach Them to your Sons,” a guide for Jewish fathers and sons, as well a several published articles on masculine spirituality. For the past 12 years, Rabbi Tuffs has been the spiritual leader of Temple Beth El, Hollywood, Florida. Under his leadership, this Temple has experienced a true renaissance. Since his arrival, he has written a new innovative Friday night prayer book call Shir Halev (song of the Heart), and introduced Shabbat Renewal, an innovative and highly spiritual worship experience that incorporates yoga and meditation. Rabbi Tuffs has helped to create a warm and spiritual community of people who are committed to preserving and advancing Jewish tradition. Rabbi Tuffs is a serious student of Judaism. As a participant in the prestigious CRE program of the Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, he travels twice a year to Israel where he studies with some of the worlds most renowned Jewish scholars. Rabbi Tuffs is proud to be called “Abba” by his children Gabe, Abbie, and Danny and is blessed to be married to Marilyn Faber.
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