Prayers and Deeds for Peace

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. As summer takes hold, we
open the Torah to a familiar portion called shellach Lecha
in the Book of Numbers. It's the place in the
Torah where we're told about the story of the scouts
who scout out the land and come with a report

(00:22):
for all the Israelites awaiting their steps into the Promised Land.
And when the scouts return, some say, it's a place
filled with all kinds of people, and we will not
survive it, we will not be able to make our
way in or up or settle there. But Joshua and Caleb,
whose names are remembered because they brought a report that

(00:44):
was at this one hand difficult to hear, but on
the other hand, filled with aspirations and hope and faith.
Caleb said, we shall surely go up, we shall surely scene.
These are words that come to mind today when any

(01:05):
of us face a challenge in front of us. It
might be something small at home, in a relationship between
family or friends or partner. It might be a work
relationship that we have to work through, perhaps individually or
with hr if it comes to that, or it might
be a very deep seated issue like some of the

(01:26):
challenges that we face in our nation or across the world,
even in the Middle East. As a rabbi, as a
Jewish leader, I face these challenges every day with members
of my congregation in the community, and of course thinking
about the Middle East. But what I want to share
with you is not what is only on my mind
or on others, but what should be on everybody's mind

(01:50):
at this time. We can work for peace, We can
pray for peace. And when I use the word piece,
I also think of the Hebrew word shaloon because it
does mean hello and goodbye, because it is a greeting,
a wish for peace as we come and go. But
it also is the root of the word that means
completeness and wholeness. A real peace is whole and complete.

(02:14):
In our prayer for peace, which is a part of
every worship service in Judaism, we might also share a
themed prayer that is specifically addressing our hope and our
effort to make peace. One such prayer begins this way,
our God, the guide of humanity, let your spirit rule

(02:34):
this nation and its citizens, that their deeds may be
prompted by a love of justice and right and bear
fruit and goodness and peace. You can hear in these
words that there is a difference in all that God
provides and all that we must do. And so we
begin to bear witness to God's presence in our life.

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But not as one who is pulling strings like a
puppet tear. We're rather one who teaches models and guides
us with teachings to give to us in our hands,
in our mouths, and our minds, all that we need
to do as well. The prayer goes on to say,
teach us to work for the welfare of all, to

(03:19):
diminish the evils that beset us, and to enlarge our
nation's virtues. Bless our people with civic courage, And we
hear again echoes of partnership. Teach us, through your teachings
to work for the welfare of all, to diminish the evils,
and bless us with civic courage. Sayve it courage to

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do what we know needs to be done, because there
is a space in that effort that must take care
of our own needs. There's no question about it. And
that doesn't mean being selfish, but it might be selfish
if we only think of our own needs without leaving
room for someone else. Many years ago, when I was

(04:02):
serving another congregation, it was time for the congregation to
consider the needs of others as we change our worship style,
open the way for newcomers to take their place and
even have an influence on the well being of the
synagogue and its direction. I went to one of the
old guard as you might call him, and spent almost

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two hours learning about his history and his family and
his hopes for himself and his Judaism and the synagogue.
And I validated all of those comments and said to him,
that's beautiful. You've had such a rich past, you love
your heritage, you want the very best for the synagogue.

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Is there room? I'm at bench, that proverbial bench or
pew in the synagogue where we can make room for
others to bring their hopes and dreams too, for their
Judaism that will share together. I thought I listened well
and laid it out correctly. And then he turned to
me and he said, no, there is no room. This

(05:04):
is the way it has to be, and I will
share with you. It was many years ago, but I
felt in that moment, and still feel today that I
would have concluded the same thing that I disagreed with
him completely. There is always room to cherish one's heritage,
to maintain a commitment to tradition that has been so meaningful.

(05:28):
It can be practice at home and in the synagogue too.
But is there never room for someone else's opinion or
thought or direction. It's exactly what's enabled our Judaism to
thrive for so many thousands of years, and Christianity and
Islam and our nation called America. There's always room for

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an open mind, some new opinion, And it doesn't mean
vacating everything that we ever come to know, but it
does mean having the civic courage, as God grants us it,
to use it well for the sake of peace that
can be born. Well. Following that conversation, I will tell
you that I made commitments as a rabbi of that

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congregation to go slowly but persistently to open the doors
for others to find their way into Judaism too, And
seeing that it was the only synagogue in that community,
we had to make room so the synagogue would grow
and thrive, and young people would find their place and
contribute to the creativity and the vibrancy of Jewish life.

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We did make some successes, but it wasn't easy. It
takes courage. The prayer goes on, bless us God, bless
our striving to make real the dream of your kingdom,
and we shall put an end to the suffering we
now inflict upon each other. Bless our people with a
vision of your kingdom on earth. The important part of

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adverse is that we need to put an end to
the suffering we inflict upon each other. Many people will ask,
how come these terrible things happen? Where is God? I
often say that God is in the world. We have
faith in God, but God has faith in us, and

(07:21):
we inflict too much pain on each other. So we
need to take responsibility for tamping down those terrible things
that we do to each other and lift up a
greater good. It goes on to say, for you have
endowed us with noble powers, help us to use them
wisely and with compassion. Lest our people with a wise

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and feeling heart. Indeed, God created us, above all the
creatures on this earth, to have powers that none who
other creatures could possibly imagine, or know or use. This
prayer calls the noble we need to use, use them,
as it says, wisely and with compassion. It takes a

(08:05):
feeling heart. Finally, it concludes, You have given us freedom
to choose between good and evil, life and death. May
we always choose life and good that our children may
inherit from us the blessings of dignity and freedom, prosperity
and peace. This prayer so important to Jewish thought, is

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a very important part of our prayers, and many of
the words and verses come straight out of the Torah.
Because we learn in Deuteronomy that God gave us good
and evil, life and death. We are commanded to choose
life and good that our children may inherit blessings of
dignity and freedom, prosperity and peace. That's exactly what we

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want for them and for all people. It's hard to identify,
it's hard to recognize in a world that is raging
around us. But don't be fooled into thinking that it
isn't our hope, our deepest expectation. And with courage and
compassion and feeling hearts, we can all do it, and

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we can all do it together. And so another prayer adds,
and you might remember Where there are ignorance and superstition,
Let there be enlightenment and knowledge. Whether there are prejudice
and hatred, Let there be acceptance and love where there
are fear and suspicion. Let there be confidence and trust

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where there are tyranny and oppression. Let there be freedom
and justice where there are poverty and disease. Let there
be prosperity and help. Where there are strife and discord,
Let there be harmony and peace. It is a prayer,
of course, to let these things be, but it won't
happen on their own. We do have to cause them

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to happen, and it begins with us personally. As you
are listening to me, I urge you to share these
words and to listen to others too, because it begins
with our words, not only spoken to each other, but
the words that we post on social media and all
the places where we post. And to be sure that
we're not going down that proverbial rabbit hole to follow evil,

(10:18):
to respond to it. We never know who's really out
there and who is making these comments. They could be
next door, they could be around the world. They could
be true to their identity online or not, But to
follow them is to create a trail and to waste
time that could be spent doing so many better and

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more productive things. If you post anything on social media,
respond to a family member, a friend, or neighbor, be
sure to pause, to halt, and to remember that God
has given us noble power. But it will take to
the courage and a compassionate heart to be sure that
we don't foment more evil and more age, but rather

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create something that is the complete opposite. That would be
our hope. And so another prayer says that it is
so easy to find what we really need. Quoting from
Psalm thirty four, we read who desires the elixir of life?
We all do right, and it simply says they're good.

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Here's how you do it. Keep your tongue from evil,
depart from evil and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.
It really is and can be that easy, And so
very often in our prayers we end with these words,
Grant us peace, your most precious gift or eternal source

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of peace, and give us the will to proclaim its
message to all the peoples of the earth. Bless our
country that it may always be a stronghold of peace
and its advocate among the nations. May contentment reign within
its borders, health and happiness within its homes, strengthen the
bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands. May

(12:07):
the love of your name, O God, hallo every home
and every heart. Bless it be the eternal God, the
source of peace. This prayer seems to contain so much.
Perhaps all that we need the source of peace is God.
That it really does rest in our hands to be

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sure that in all the places where we live and lead,
that peace may be real. And then, as the prophets teach,
they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spirits
into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift upsword against nation,
nor ever again shall they train for war. So there

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are so many words and ways that have inspired our people,
all people, throughout so many generations, through many wars, and
here we are once more. Let's see if we can
learn from the past and also the enduring teachings that
have come down to us. They are sacred because they
have persevered, they have led us. I hope that they

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can lead us again into something that we all want
and need. But let's do more than pray and sing
our songs of peace. Let's participate in the actions of peace,
whether we are citizens of Israel or Iran or any
of the neighboring countries. Let's be sure that as Americans,
those who are listening to this message take to heart

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what is our human responsibility in relationship to God, who
gives us these ennobling powers and commands us to do
something good with them, for the sake of wholeness, for
the sake of peace, for a real Shaloon. I'm Rabbi
David Lyon from Congregation Meth Israel and Houston, and to
share this message or listen again, please find it at

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my podcast called Heart to Heart with Rabbi David Lyon
at Sunny ninety nine dot com or on the iHeartRadio app.
This is our time not to pull back, but to
lean in and to be sure that we are participated
in all the positive ways that we can. I can
say it enough that social media can be the scourge

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of our time and our generation. But if you lend
a hand and post a note, be sure that it
is a reflection of your noble power and your ability
to contribute peace where there is strife and hope where
there is despair, and certainly prosperity where there is poverty
and suffering. Every good person wishes these things for oneself

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and for others. We are good people, and we can
do this if we try. I will keep it in
my prayers but also in my deeds, and count on
the fact that you will do the same. Thank you
for joining me today. I look forward to being with
you again next time.