Week 3 of #929

We are now in our third week of studying the TaNaKH.  Beginning at the beginning, we have gone from Creation to Noah to Avram.  We are on a journey.  It moves in fits and starts.  Throughout Genesis we hear the stories of our ancestors.  We see the complicated relationships that our ancestors have.  Sometimes they make incredible choices.  Sometimes they are challenged and challenging.

In today's reading (chapter 13), Lot and Avram go their separate ways.  Avram closes the chapter giving thanks.  In Hevron, he builds an altar to God.  

How do we thank God today?  

When and where do we express our gratitude?

How do we thank others?

How do we solve our disputes?

All these questions appear in just eighteen verses!

 

Genesis Chapter 6

Genesis 6 has angels sleeping with humans, wickedness increasing in the world and Noah finding favor in God's eyes.  It is a complicated and violent world.  From creation to this moment is only ten generations--yet their lifespans are tremendous.  Noah comes into the picture and God hits the reset button.

Genesis 6

When humankind began to increase on earth and daughters were born to them, 

the [males among the] divine beings Others “sons of God.” saw how pleasing the human women were and took wives from among those who delighted them.— 

יהוה said, “My breath shall not abide in humankind forever, since it too is flesh; let the days allowed them be one hundred and twenty years.”— 

It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when divine beings cohabited with the human women, who bore them offspring. Such were the heroes of old, the men of renown. 

יהוה saw how great was human wickedness on earth—how every plan devised by the human mind was nothing but evil all the time. 

And יהוה regretted having made humankind on earth. With a sorrowful heart, 

יהוה said, “I will blot out from the earth humankind whom I created—humans together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.” 

But Noah found favor with יהוה. 

This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.— 

Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness. 

When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth, 

God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth. 

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 

This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 

Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a cubit of the top.. Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second, and third decks. 

“For My part, I am about to bring the Flood—waters upon the earth—to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. 

But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 

And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female. 

From birds of every kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of creeping thing on earth, two of each shall come to you to stay alive. 

For your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away, to serve as food for you and for them.” 

Noah did so; just as God commanded him, so he did.

https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.6?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&lang=bi&aliyot=0

929--A new opportunity for daily blessing

 Dear friends,

As we journey through our years together, we have opportunities to learn and grow. As a community, we have a number of exciting educational and social possibilities, where we can come together and inspire.  Sometimes our endeavors are local--like our new reminder that every day is mitzvah day--and some are national--like our partnership with USCJ's incredible ScholarStream programming.  

Sometimes we have the chance to participate in something even larger than that.  A number of our members participate in Daf Yomi, studying a page of Talmud each day.  While an incredible learning experience, it is more than many might wish to take upon themselves.  Today I want to share a bite-size program, that will lead to a great accomplishment. 929 is a program to read one chapter each day of the TaNaKH, the Jewish Bible.  The newest cycle began this past week and continues through 8/27/2025.  Each Sunday-Thursday you read one chapter (5 per week) and review on Shabbat.  It is not a huge time commitment, but reading a little each day you see the depth and breadth of our Scriptures.  

Of course, as Jews, TaNaKH is just the beginning.  We have thousands of commentaries and thousands of years of Jewish practice that follow--yet learning some of our foundational texts can lead to great meaning.  On the webpage: https://www.929.org.il/lang/en/today/ you can sign up for regular reminders, read the chapter in English, see works of art and more.  On a communal level, I will be sharing daily lessons at my "other" facebook page.  My goal will be to inspire questions and share positive thoughts about the day's readings. Link: https://www.facebook.com/morejoylessoy/. If you "like" that page, you will see my posts.  The more you interact, the more other people will be able to see it.  I will also share brief videos at times and am considering the best way to create a weekly podcast.  (If you have great ideas or would like to participate, let me know.

If you are interested in signing up with CBI, please follow the link here

https://forms.gle/VzoTCgh47HxngJo48

In my lunch and learn this week, we learned about the mystical power of community in prayer and study.  May this endeavor lead us to holiness and blessing!

Adventures and Blessings

I like to teach that every moment can be a blessing.  I think regularly about the choices we make in daily life.  I love being a rabbi, AND some days can be very challenging.  Some challenges are great and some less so. Today was filled with beautiful challenges.  

I met with someone exploring Judaism, spoke to congregants going through different health challenges, had my picture taken with the other police chaplains.  After my own prayers this morning, my day found me at the city council meeting.  There I had the privilege of offering an invocation, opening their meeting with words of blessing.  With my hectic schedule, I usually bless and run, but this morning I stayed for a little while.  

I heard about the devotion of a city employee, Assistant Chief Antonio Gilliam, who has an incredible new opportunity. After eighteen years of service, he is leaving to go to his childhood town, serving as the Chief of Police of the city of Tallahassee.  It was a privilege and an honor to hear his story, to hear the beautiful words the council shared with him and to hear him speak.  He is a man who chose to serve the community, to work in a very difficult position, and who is a mentsch.  

Today could have been like any other crazy rabbinic day, but by taking a few extra minutes this morning, I heard a beautiful story.  There is definitely a lesson in that!  What are the odds that someone who served for 18 (chai/life) years in our community is honored on the day the rabbi gives the blessing?!  

Assistant chief Antonio Gilliam and me (Rabbi Weintraub)

I'm happy!

Yonina mashes up Happy and V'samachta!

Sukkot is the season of our rejoicing.  Each morning we sing Hallel, reminding ourselves of my favorite verse: (Psalm 118:24)

זֶה־הַ֭יּוֹם עָשָׂ֣ה ה' נָגִ֖ילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָ֣ה בֽוֹ׃

This is the day that the LORD has made— let us exult and rejoice on it.

What are you doing to rejoice today?  How are you celebrating?  What is bringing you joy?

Being part of a community that comes together to study, to celebrate, to live regularly brings me joy.  I'm glad to be home.

Gratitude and Tshuvah

As I hear the sounds of the shofar in Elul, my thoughts turn to tshuvah, to repentance.  I think of turning, of changing, considering our habits and our choices.  In that line of thinking, gratitude is central.  I am grateful for the opportunity to truly consider my life.  I am grateful for the gift of this time.  I am grateful for the blessings of my life.

Discussing Elul

For most rabbis, Elul is a time of great stress.  We consider every detail of the services.  We write and rewrite, write and rewrite, to craft messages that inspire and encourage deep thinking.  We think about the brief thoughts we will interject into our prayers.

Amidst this turmoil, we teach, we learn, we love, we visit, we pray.  There is nothing else I would rather do than walk with people on their spiritual journeys.  I am grateful for the tremendous gift of being invited into people's lives at their most joyful, most vulnerable, most challenged.  Every day is a blessing.  Do we notice?

Elul for Rabbis--the power of words

What does Elul mean to you?  For many Jews, it may escape notice.  Yet for a rabbi, as that first shofar sounds, she/he knows that our most stressful time of year has begun.  As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches, since palaces in space have been destroyed so often, Jews build "palaces in time": Shabbat, festivals, holy moments.  In order to enjoy, to grow, to live through these moments we need thorough preparation.

For Shabbat, we prepare meals in advance, invite friends and family over, make our reading list and ensure we can get to shul (when we so desire).  For Rosh Hashanah, we do the same, but we also need some spiritual preparation.  We have to do research into our personal histories AND our people's histories.  We have to look back at our choices in the past year and consider how they reflect on us.  How would we do things differently?  What can we do differently next year?

Preparation for the holidays includes evaluation of our lives--it includes evaluation of our speech, of our words.  Are we using our words effectively?  In a crowded media environment, does our communication add positivity or spread hurt?  Do we help or hurt?

For congregational rabbis, this time of year is focused on the power of words.  In this world we may wonder what that power is.  Does a single sermon have a major influence on a congregation in the 21st century?  While I cannot speak for the power of the sermon, the power of words is indisputable.  Words are part of the fabric of our universe.  Words brought this universe into being and words will bring it to its end.  Human words determine the course of world events.  Words determine the course of every relationship--for better and for worse.

Will my sermons change the lives of everyone in my congregation?  I have no such expectation.  What I do expect is that some of my words will resonate with many people and many of my words will resonate with some people.  I pray that they will reach deep into the soul and inspire a life of kedushah, of holiness.  I know it is possible.

Ultimate St Pete: Sitting in a coffee shop/bike store writing while drinking iced tea in a cup with no straw