THE PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL
by Stan Schroeder

Congregations around the world pray for the State of Israel during various services. At Shir Ami we chant the prayer in our siddur as part of the Saturday Torah service. Our prayer is a shortened version of the one in Siddur Sim Shalom, the traditional Conservative siddur. This, in turn, is a shortened version of the one composed in Israel in 1948 by Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Herzog and Ben Zion Uziel and renowned author Shmuel Yosef (Shai) Agnon.

Siddur Sim Shalom:
Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel; Bless the State of Israel, with its promise of redemption. Shield it with Your love; spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide its leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth. Help them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our Holy Land. Deliver them; crown their efforts with triumph. Bless the land with peace, and its inhabitants with lasting joy. And let us say: Amen.

Congregation Shir Ami:
Aveenu sh'ba'sha'myim tzur Yisrael v'goalo. bareh, et m'dinat Yisrael ray-sheet tz'mihat g'ulataynu.
Our Parent in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel; bless the State of Israel, with its promise of redemption.

This being the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State, let us say this prayer with special gratitude in our heart and hatikvah, the hope of peace in the land and a Light unto all nations. And let us say: Amen.

BOARD MEETING DVAR TORAH (PARSHA KORACH)

The Torah portion for this week is Korach. There are two main parts in this portion: The Rebellion of Korach and the finalizing of the distinctions between the roles of the Kohen, the Levite, and the Israelite. The latter includes the laws that form the basis of the pidyon ha-ben ceremony, the redemption of the firstborn.

The main themes of this portion involve authority, status, and power: Korach rebels against Moses and Aaron, challenging them by asking why—if all the members of the community are considered holy—Moses and Aaron are somehow "above" the rest of the people. The rest of the parsha deals with the dramatic fallout from this challenge.
When reading up to prepare for this talk, I was struck by various discussions of the roles we each have in life and in our communities, and this is what I’d like to focus on in my talk today.

Authority
and status are conferred in two different ways: by the roles we take on, formally—like taking a position on a temple board—and by what we earn through our actions and behaviors—essentially, what makes up our reputation. We each bring different histories, strengths, and weaknesses to our roles, and we hope to grow and improve while we are in these roles.

The Chassidic view
is that each person in a community has a particular role, and that each person is crucial to the spiritual health of the community: All contribute holiness to the whole. (No pun intended!)

In this parsha, Aaron provides a perfect example of growth in a leadership role:

Before the episode with Korach, Aaron was a quiet, introverted man; a thoughtful, careful person who was well-suited to handling the duties of high priest. He was not someone who was power hungry, or sought the spotlight.
But when he was called on in a crisis, to try to save the congregation, he did more than his previous experience indicated he could do: He went right in among the people, performed the required rituals to atone for their behavior, and stayed there—between the people who had already died of the plague and those who were ill. Eventually, the plague was stopped, due to his efforts. Because of his response to the crisis, many lives were saved. Aaron’s leadership skills certainly improved during this episode.

Another story I read that talked about roles within a community, and how each of us can affect the others around us, is by M. Scott Peck:

In The Different Drum, M. Scott Peck tells the story of a monastery now struggling to survive despite its previous centuries of spiritual richness. The monks were at a loss. The abbot decided to seek the advice of a rabbi in a nearby village; after all, the Jews had survived despite adversity. What was their spiritual secret? The abbot and rabbi met, but the rabbi could not answer the abbot’s questions. "I only know," said the rabbi, "that one of you is the Messiah." "What!" thought the abbot. "One of us is the Messiah?" He hurried home and shared this with his monks. They looked at one another, thinking, "Tom? He’s so quiet? How could he be the Messiah? Ah, perhaps he teaches us to listen more carefully. Joseph? He’s so stubborn! Oh, this teaches perseverance." And so on. Each monk suddenly began to regard the others differently, and the atmosphere of the monastery began to evolve. In time, the place again flourished spiritually.

We often end up in roles of our own choosing, and sometimes in roles that were chosen for us. In either case, we may not spend much time thinking about these roles, or wondering how we can improve ourselves through our new responsibilities. It might be a good exercise to think about this for ourselves, and also in light of what we can learn from watching others, and learning from their examples.

But don’t waste any time—2008 is already half over—and your role on the board will be finished up before you turn around!

Judy Eisikowitz