The leadership of my students gives me strength

היום ארבעה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות בעמר
Today is fourteen days--that is two weeks--of the omer
מלכות שבגבורה
A day of leadership in a week of strength

As we end this second week of the omer, I gain strength from the leadership potential of the next generation.

This afternoon I went to see Dance Brigade's Grrrl Brigade perform. "What is that?" you ask.  On their web page, you'll see:

"The GRRRL Brigade is an intensive dance/leadership development program designed to provide high quality dance training, performance opportunities, and a sense of self-empowerment for San Francisco's girls ages 9 to 18. Our goal is to give the girls, their parents, and our audience the inspiration, magic, and hope only evocative dance theater can spark in creating a just and peaceful world."

What I can say is "Wow......" Their expression of the environmental and social impact that climate change is and and will continue to have on our world, on THEIR world, through dance and drum and spoken word, was powerful. These girls have a mindfulness that they are not alone in this world, that we need to work together to create. They use fully use body & soul as their voice to bring this mindfulness to us. As long as their vision stays strong, there is hope.

And then I got an email from a student who is applying for a Jewish Teen Foundation. This touched me on two levels. First, that he feels the pull to participate in the program--connecting the values of the Jewish people with a need to make a difference; fulfilling the precept of tikun olam, repair of the world. At his bar mitzvah, he taught about the need to protect the land. Perhaps that had an influence on his decision to pursue this fellowship.

And then there is the personal level that touched me. He wrote:  ". . . they asked for someone as a reference that could speak about my character. One of the examples they gave was a religious leader, so I put your name down and contact information down." What can I say :)  For all my whining about not being a rabbi, not able to get respect on that level---my students know, to them, I am their rabbi.

A perfect message to end to this day of leadership and strength.

Manifesting leadership in strength

היום אחד ארבעה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות בעמר
Today is fourteen days, which is two weeks of the omer
מלכות שבגבורה
A day of nobility in a week of strength

Thank you, Adam Silver, on this day of nobility, of leadership, in a week of strength. For today you have exhibited those qualities.

There was lots of speculation as to how the NBA would react to the horribly racist views expressed by LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Would Commissioner Adam Silver try to walk a line of doing something without too much impact, something done as a stop-gap measure until the NBA playoffs were over? Would he be able to come down hard on a very rich owner, part of a group of very rich owners all who want to protect their investments--who might not take well to being told what they can and can't say, especially in private.

Adam Silver, just months into this extremely high profile position, faced a situation more more volatile than anything his predecessor David Stern had to face in the 30 years of his term. And while there is still much more to unfold in this story, Silver's decision to ban Donald Sterling for life, fine him the maximum allowed, and direct the owners cast a vote to force Donald Sterling to sell the team was strong and bold. His demeanor in the press conference was calm and firm, clearing acknowledging the issue, letting all know that there was no question about the solution. I applaud him.

I understand the point of those who wonder why it took so long for the NBA to do something about this man whose racism was well know, not just within the confines of the sport but out into the wider world where he engaged in egregious housing discrimination:

. . . in 2003, 19 plaintiffs sued Sterling for housing discrimination. In the suit, Sterling is accused of telling his staff that he did not like blacks and Hispanics, citing their behavior. “Hispanics smoke, drink, and just hang around the building,” he allegedly said. What’s more, the lawsuit said, Sterling told his staff that he only wanted to rent his apartments to Koreans and forced black tenants to sign in when they entered the building. “Is she one of those black people that stink?” he allegedly asked of an elderly black tenant who needed repairs to her apartment. “I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch.”  (Slate.com)

I agree that something should have been done earlier, and maybe someone will ask David Stern why he remained silent and inactive. But this is now Adam Silver's league, and he did act. Also, although it may be sad that it's just because of words and not actions that Sterling, a large beam of light is focused on the specter of racism still hovers over this country. And bringing that awareness to light may help to remind us all, to teach us all that the fight for civil rights is not over.

6 million...then and now

היום אחד שנים עשר יום שהם שבוע אחד וחמשה ימים בעמר
Today is twelve days, which is one week and five days of the omer
הוד שבגבורה
A day of humility in a week of strength

Yom HaShoah -- the day we remember those lost in the Holocaust.

At the start of my course on the Shoah, I share this with my students:

There are a little over six million Jews in the US.
Six million.What if all the Jews in the US were to disappear?

It's one way I can impress upon them the enormity of what happened in the Shoah. It's inconceivable and incomprehensible. For no reason other than they were of a certain religion and ethnicity, 6 million people were murdered. And too many people stood by and watched it happen.

We need to teach the why and how of what happened to truly honor the memories of those who lost their lives. Our remembrance needs to encompass a mindfulness that the conditions that brought on that horrible onslaught of the 20th century can happen, and I'm sure some would say has happened, again.

As a young girl growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust, the phrase "Never Again" was drummed into my brain. I feel the pain of that time and place. But I need to take that pain and have it fuel my passion to teach my students an awareness of need to work for justice in this world. The story of our people--the story of freedom and liberation that we told on Pesach; the stories of perseverance and survival that we tell this week--is the foundation of those teachings.

I stood yesterday to say kaddish for all of those lost souls--so many have no one to stand for them. But more than just remembrance--we need to take action in one way or another to ensure we do not witness another Holocaust for any peoples on this earth. In that way, we can truly make their memories a blessing.

Generational Mark

היום אחד ועשרים  יום שהם שלשה שבועות בעמר

Today is twenty-one days, which is three weeks of the omer
מלכות שבתפארת
A day of nobility in a week of compassion

I'm planning lessons for tomorrow evening's classes, but I feel I will also need to address what happened in Boston with my students. These are kids who, most likely, have extremely vague if any memories at all of what happened Sept 11, 2001. I'm sure they are aware of the day, have studied it in school, maybe were part of the 10-year commemoration. But this is the first incident of mass insecurity they have experienced in their lives.

In my social justice class, I am planning a discussion of labor issues, centering around the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I'm wondering if seeing how the explosions effected Boston will give them a closer perspective of how that fire effected all of New York City.

In my Holocaust class, I'll be teaching about Kristallnacht and bystanders--some helped, some hindered, and some remained indifferent. I'm glad that I can use Boston as an example of "upstanders" - those who jump into the fray to help.