Rabbi Kelman's Charge to Rev. Robert Chase

The Charge to Rev. Robert Chase
Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Feb. 24, 2008

I humbly bring some hope and offer a prayer from Jerusalem....

"Then our father Abraham called the place ADONAI IREH, God will see. But Shem called it Shalem (peace), for we know from the passage in Genesis in the Hebrew Bible :and MalchiTzedek, was the King of Shalem. According to the Rabbinic interpretive tradition, 2 righteous men gave the place I come from 2 separate names. God, however, not wanting to hurt either one, combined the 2 names resulting in Yireh-shalem or Jeru-Salem, God will see peace (Shalom) .

Jerusalem is a city of intersections...a city built on sacrifice and compassion, faith and despair. A city where, old meets new, East joins West, mountain meets wilderness. In Hebrew, the name is plural. When the Temple stood, it symbolized eternity nestled in temporality. This notion translated into an everlasting image of 2 cities: the Heavenly or Celestial Jerusalem and the earthly Jerusalem.

Then when the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built and the Mosque of El Aqusa too, Jerusalem became a place holy to the three monotheistic religions, who share the God of Abraham, the God of Israel.

How fitting for this celebration of INTERSECTIONS to call for what could be, what might be a prayer from and for Jerusalem. If only we could see the holy in the other; just how our intersections could bring us together instead of tearing us apart. Please, help be that bridge between the faiths, the peoples who live and those who yearn for an open and multifaceted Jerusalem. Help us reach for a heavenly Jerusalem while recognizing the complexity of the earthly Jerusalem. Challenge all of us to become a city where we see Peace.

Simple truths are either/or; profound truths are either and or. This is a reality we live in, in the Middle East; competing truths. Remind us that no one has a monopoly on truth. No religion is an island, the great Jewish Theologian and social activist, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said; we all need each other. Remind us that INTERSECTIONS are where we meet, not where we diverge.

"In"..is our theme at this glorious installation, where just to evoke God's name in this august institution creates would seem an oxymoron. It is here that the mysteries of Science, indeed the mysteries of Creation are understood and decoded. Yet there is no contradiction, God created the world for the purpose the we humans unlock the mysteries. We marvel at them, we embrace them, not to control, not to enslave but to liberate, to exalt the gift of life and this world. Remind us that the mystery should keep us humble. Guide us to indeed reach beyond the stars in order to share in the gifts of this fragile solar system.

In Hebrew the word for "in" p'nim is the same word for face, panim. This intimate linguistic connection says something about how we are to understand our inner selves. They must be in sync, one cannot mask the other. Our face is the entry way to our inner life; our exterior is a reflection of the interior. Walk that path where your soul shines through your deeds, and your actions reflect the innermost depths of your soul. Fight cynicism, stop hypocrisy, rejoice in God's presence, promote holiness, as we were all made in God's image. One's face is the window to a soul, a soul that God breathed into us. Panim/pnim is also in the plural, we are mutli- faceted human beings; we can be broken and whole at the same time. When we are broken even despairing, remind us of the wholeness. When we feel whole and get too comfortable, point to the broken that needs to be healed. This is the dynamic tension. We must be inclusive, we have to be expansive. Our religious beliefs can live with science, our spirit must live with art and music.

Teach us courage...Abraham and King Malkitzedek could have been enemies, they chose to break bread together. Redemption begins with small acts of courage and hope. Model this, encourage us to take these steps, large and small. Help us join hands likeThe first 2 women in recorded history ....When Miriam, sister of a baby Moses, reached out to the daughter of Pharaoh (Pharoah, King of Egypt was the oppressor of these Hebrew slaves) .In a joint effort to defy the royal decree and kill the baby boys of the Hebrew slaves, these 2 women, both Princesses, saved Moses, who grew up to become the liberator of the House of Israel.

There are so many remarkable things about this Biblical story. When Pharaoh's daughter goes to bathe in the Nile, she hears the cries of the infant and is filled with compassion and seizes the moment to act. Some verses later, when Moses is already grown, and God reveals God's self to Moses, God uses the same words; I heard the cries of my people, and indeed it was time to act. So what we have here is not Imatio Dei (humans imitate God). Rather we have a story where God imitates us, a woman no less, and an Egyptian, daughter of the tyrant. Help us feel God's presence in our work, in our homes, in our communities. This is the essence of the pursuit of peace and justice. Hear the cry of the other, to literally reach out, and act, intervene; to build a partnership with someone who may actually even be your so-called sworn enemy, religiously and politically. Let us change the course of history. Help religion be a force for justice, compassion, understanding!!!

This is a tall order...but you are a tall man.

You also stand at the most crucial intersection...where your feet are grounded and your head reaches heaven , never forget that!

There is a wonderful Jewish saying...if your house is on fire and you can only take one thing...what would you take? Rev Chase, take the fire!