Midway Jewish Center
56 Years Bold: 1953-2010 !
THE CYBERSHUL

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Shabbat Rosh Hodesh	The New Month of Shevat Today!
Parashah	Va'era
Secular Date	January 16, 2010
Jewish Date	5 Shevat 5770
Shabbat Begins	4:33pm
Shabbat Ends	5:35pm
MJCyber Shul Minyan	14016
Last Week’s Minyan	1413
Upcoming Holiday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day— this holiday marks the birthday of one of America’s most celebrated civil rights leaders. Born in 1929 and assassinated in 1968, Dr. King moved the nation when during the “March on Washington” rally, he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, thus raising consciousness about the civil rights movement and establishing himself as one of the great orators of the generation.

TORAH READING

Va'erah

God reaffirms His covenant with the Jewish people, which Moses reports to Israelites too weary to even listen. A family list of the Levites, the tribe from which Moses and Aaron descend, is recorded. Moses and Aaron, 80 and 83 years of age respectively, demand that Pharaoh release the Israelites from bondage. Pharaoh refuses. God thus brings ten plagues upon Egypt, though only seven are covered in this parashah, namely: 1) water turns to blood; 2) frogs overrun the country; 3) lice cover human beings and animals; 4) insects swarm Pharaoh’s palace and the Egyptian households; 5) disease strikes the livestock; 6) boils erupt on human beings and animals; & 7) hail pelts the land. Pharaoh is hard-hearted and though the plagues were disastrous for his people and his land, he nonetheless refuses to let the Israelites go.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

In times like these it helps to recall
that there have always been times
like these.

~~ Paul Harvey  ~~

WEBS OF THE WEEK

These are the most serious clowns you will ever encounter!

A WORD ABOUT HAITI

Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Response
JDC is collecting funds to aid relief efforts for the victims of the earthquake on a non-sectarian basis. Damage assessment is underway, and it is extensive! JDC is turning to its partners on the ground, including the Red Cross and Caritas for immediate needs information. JDC is fully coordinated with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) as well as Interaction in Washington D.C.

Donations are being accepted through United Synagogue, your may paste the following url into your browser to donate: www.uscj.org/donate/relief

If you prefer to send a check, please send to:
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
1820 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
attention: Rabbi Paul Drazen--Haiti Disaster Relief.

AURAL TORAH

Helping Haiti Now

Just click on the picture on the left hear this week’s Aural Torah!

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GOTTA QUESTION?
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DEAR CYBERAV… I’VE GOTTA QUESTION

A Gay Trip to the Kotel

Dear Cyber Rav,

I visited Israel last year with my son. We went to the western wall to pray. It was the highlight of my trip, standing next to him praying at this holy site. As we were leaving a rabbi approached us and asked if he was my son. I told him yes, my younger son. He told me to place my hand on his head and repeat a blessing after him. He then asked me what I wish for my son. I replied “Health, Happiness and Success.” The rabbi added “and a nice Jewish wife and many children.” I repeated again my wish “Health, Happiness and Success” and he repeated “a nice Jewish wife with many children.” I looked at my son, smiled and then thanked the rabbi as we left. I didn't tell the rabbi my son was gay and I do feel guilty that I didn't. We didn't discuss what the rabbi had said to us but by my son’s other remarks, I could tell that he felt “a gay son can't be a nice Jewish boy.”

How can I bring my son to share the joys of being Jewish when he is gay? Can he be accepted for whom he is? Is being Jewish and being gay mutually exclusive?

Proud Father of a Great Gay Son

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Proud Father of a Great Gay Son,

First of all, what a terrific trip--you, your son, Israel--wow! I wish I could have been there with you. I hope you walked the paths of Abraham and got your fill of falafel as well.

Let's start with your last question first: Is being Jewish and being gay mutually exclusive? I have a short and a long answer to this question. First, the short answer: No.

OK, now on to the longer answer--

I don't know if you are aware of this, but not only are some homosexuals living very Jewish lives, but some of them are rabbis. Just about every major Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative seminary ordains homosexuals, and even though no Orthodox yeshiva ordains known homosexuals, they probably are ordaining closet homosexuals because there are homosexual Orthodox rabbis--we know this because they are open about their Orthodoxy and their homosexuality. You might ask how can a homosexual be Jewish or be a rabbi when the Torah explicitly prohibits homosexuality? This is a great question that entails a lengthy answer, but again, to answer standing on one foot, remember that the Torah prohibits a certain homosexual act, not homosexuals. There are many prohibitions in the Torah, not all of which we can abide by and some of which we deliberately choose to ignore, like stoning our rebellious children or putting Sabbath violators to death. If we followed the Torah very strictly on some of these matters, we'd all be dead.

Jewish homosexuals, like any other Jew, will dip into Jewish thoughts and practices, integrating those thoughts and practices into their very beings which resonate with them most deeply. If they want to keep Shabbat, observe kashrut, put on Tefillin, study Torah daily, make aliyah, etc., nothing will or should stop them. As for marriage, that too is a complicated subject, and one over which the rabbi at the Wall seemed to have unnerved you the most. (I hope we won't hold that against the rabbi. He didn't know to whom he was speaking--how could he?) In a very narrow way, the rabbi was clearly asking that your son find a wife and raise Jewish children, and God knows we need more Jewish children! So if we were to take his words and broaden them, let's say that the blessing would be for your son to find a life-long companion with whom he can raise Jewish children. Not easy, you say? Maybe, but it's not impossible, and it is being done by Jewish homosexual couples around the country. I think these couples have already and will continue to find synagogues that are increasingly open to their membership and respectful of their decision to raise Jewish children and bring them into a kehilat kodesh, a sacred community.

Look--there are many things that I don't understand and I certainly don't pretend to understand homosexuality, but I hold firm to several sacred principles which should guide us all in our attitudes toward homosexuality (and I am not alone in this venture): 1) we are all God's children; 2) violence against any of God's children is violence against God—and that is strictly prohibited; and 3) if we believe in principle #2, then the greatest antidote to that intolerable discrimination or violence is to create an environment that is welcoming and compassionate. I think that the Jewish community has already done that for homosexuals to some extent, and will continue to do a better job of that in the future.

In short, the homosexuality of your son should be no reason for you to despair about his future in the Jewish community. And now I have a question for you: When are you and your son going to Israel next? I want to come too.

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!

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