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Saturday, May 19, 2012
LIFE LESSONS FROM A LIBERAL JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the May 2012 BAJC Newsletter
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My middle son, Michael, called me the
other day and wanted to know if I had any “life lessons” to share. I
couldn't believe my ears. Was I hearing him correctly?
It turns out he was doing a school project and needed to ask family
members for life lessons and make a list of them. As least, so he
said. Whatever the actual assignment was, he wasn't looking for
anything that involved deep reflection. He just wanted five words or
less that he could jot down. His question ended up prompting a longer
conversation, but as a fairly-typical teenager this was not what he
initially had in mind.....
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the April 2012 BAJC Newsletter
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Most people know the liberation story we
celebrate each year during Passover. And most people know that God
had Moses tell Pharaoh: “Let My people go.” But not as many people
know the second half of that famous line, which appears SIX times in
the book of Exodus: “Let My people go -- that they may serve Me.”
(Ex 7:16, 26, 8:16, 9:1, 9:13, 10:3)
The second half of the line is just as important as the first half,
for the point of the story is not freedom alone. It is freedom for a
purpose. Mainstream culture has led us to believe that freedom means
being able to enjoy a carefree lifestyle filled with recreation and
luxury. But quite to the contrary, this may only be freedom from one
kind of slavery in exchange for another....
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THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHOICE
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the March 2012 BAJC Newsletter
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This year, Purim begins at sundown on
March 7th. There will be a reading of the megillah (the scroll
containing the story of Esther), the performance of songs and Purim
shpiels (skits), and the making and eating of hamentaschen (the jelly-
filled three-cornered pastries unique to this occasion.)
These playful traditions are intended to delight children but they
also serve a deeper, more serious purpose. They symbolize the forces
at work in a psycho/spiritual dynamic that plays itself out in the
world and in our lives, often without us even noticing....
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the February 2012 BAJC Newsletter
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February in Vermont hardly feels like to
time to be celebrating the birthday of trees.
Our Vermont trees are usually bare or covered with snow during this
time of year, but in slightly warmer climates the sap has begun its
upward flow. In the Land of Israel, this was the time when our
ancestors instituted a Jewish arbor day known as Tu b'Shevat for the
purpose of calculating the age of fruit-bearing trees.
The word Tu is comprised of the Hebrew letters that signify the 15th
day of the Hebrew month, Shevat, in which this holiday occurs. For
landowners, this date was important to know because they were required
to bring their fourth-year fruit crops to the ancient Temple as a
tithe (Leviticus 19:24). After the destruction of the Temple, however,
Tu b'Shevat came to serve other religious purposes......
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HOW A NEW PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the Jan 2012 BAJC Newsletter
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Although it's not a Jewish tradition, I am
intrigued by New Year's resolutions.
The custom began in 45 B.C.E. when Julius Caesar instituted the Julian
calendar and named the first month of the year “Januarius.” Caesar
felt that this month was like a door into the new year, and so it was
only appropriate to name it after Janus, the Roman god of doors and
gates. And what does this have to do with resolutions?
In mythological iconography, Janus appears with two faces, enabling
him to look backward and forward at the same time. Hence, the month
named after him became an occasion to reflect on both the past and the
future, adjusting ones habits and behaviors as necessary....
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the Dec 2011 BAJC Newsletter
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Why is it not a 'Jewish thing' to
celebrate Christmas?
Hundreds of thousands of Jews, many being members of interfaith
families, observe the occasion in one way or another. The song “White
Christmas” was written in 1940 by a Jew – Israel Baline, better known
as Irving Berlin. The most obvious fact is that Jesus himself was a
Jew.
But a lot has happened since Jesus sat with rabbis and studied Torah.
In the two millenia since then, our respective religions have taken
very different paths. While our religions have a common origin, our
'meta-stories' are very different. That is to say, the religious
narratives we look to for direction and purpose are not entirely
compatible. And so it's often around holidays, when these sacred
narratives come to the foreground, that we find ourselves wondering,
“how do we find our place in relation to a narrative that is not our
own?”...
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WHEN CHUTZPAH IS A GOOD THING
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the Nov 2011 BAJC Newsletter
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“I'm God, You're Not.”
This bold statement is the title of a recent compilation of essays
written by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and published in 2010 by Jewish
Lights (Woodstock, VT.) It highlights the humorous side of his
insightful observations on organized religion and, as he puts it,
“other disguises of the ego.”
In the opening section of essays, Rabbi Kushner reflects on what he's
learned as a rabbi and shares “mischievous, heretical, and humorous
truths about surviving and healing congregational life.” Since
reading these truths a few months ago, I've been thinking long and
hard about them and feel compelled now to share three of them with
you...
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Rabbi Tom Heyn, Yom Kippur Day sermon 5772/2011 - BAJC, Vermont
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Abraham and Sarah go
shopping at Costco.
That would
make for a great sermon,
though it's not my idea. I heard about it on NPR, on a program that
aired
a month ago about two rabbis in
Southern California who organized a workshop for their colleagues on
how to write better sermons. They
invited as their instructors some of the best writers in Hollywood –
the guys who write for The Simpsons,
Desperate Housewives and other popular shows. One technique they
recommended is to place biblical
characters in a contemporary setting and then see how things play out.
OK, how about this one? Moses comes to Brattleboro...
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THE CHAPLAIN IS HERE TO SPEAK WITH YOU
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Rabbi Tom Heyn, Kol Nidre sermon 5772/2011 - BAJC, Vermont
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“The chaplain is here to speak with you.”
That kind of introduction doesn't usually get a rousing
response. If anything, it signifies to those hearing it that
something is terribly wrong.
I've been introduced in that way to many individuals and families,
from nursing home hallways to hospital waiting rooms. I see people in
all walks of life. Some are Jewish, but many more are not. Some are
happy to see me, but some greet me tentatively, as if they're trying
to hide from something...
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THE WORLD DEPENDS ON THREE THINGS
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Rabbi Tom Heyn, Rosh Hashanah 5772/2011 - BAJC, Vermont
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There was once a Rabbi who
delivered the same Rosh
Hashanah sermon for four years in a row and the congregation was
beginning to talk.
The congregation's senior members decided, after many emails, that
someone would have to confront the rabbi about this and
they decided it should be the president. She decided to wait until
the next board meeting and thought about
what she would say; something like, “Rabbi, with the Holy Days
approaching, we would love to hear a fresh, new message....”
For more
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THIS IS WHEN YOU SHOULD TURN
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By Rabbi Tom Heyn for the Sept 2011 BAJC Newsletter
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Driving as much as I do, I often rely on a
GPS, which I affectionately
refer to as “Mrs. Garmin.”
If I ever take a wrong turn, she doesn't
scold me or make me feel incompetent. She just alerts me in a pleasant
voice and says, “recalculating.” Not only does she get me where I need
to go (well, most of the time), she teaches me an important lesson
that seems particularly relevant during this time of year.
For more
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