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Rapid Curriculum Response
Disaster and Trauma: Please send additional submissions to rebgoldiem@aol.com.
Introduction: Goal #1: Pause to assess your own reaction to the disaster; this will help you prepare to be with students. Times of trauma are like being in an airplane; first the parent/teacher needs to put on his or her own oxygen mask, then help the youth/student.
How many types of
emotions do you have about the unfolding disaster? About the deaths and
losses; the horrific scenes; the slow government response; the price of gas;
and much, much more? Here is a way to constructively
emptify yourself so that you
have room to fill yourself with energy for teaching and space to take in the
emotional states, questions, action agendas, and concerns of your students. Goal #2: The mitzvah of shema v’ahavta, listening and loving. Take the emotional temperature of your students about their reactions to the disaster; help them decompress and express. No matter where you are located – close to or distant from a disaster – an early classroom goal is to create a safe forum for your students to express their feelings and questions. This prevents Post-Traumatic Stress Ddisorder that our children throughout the country are susceptible to just from viewing the media images alone, never mind losses in their immediate or extended family and friendship systems. Start with something counter-intuitive to Jewish educational norms, but urged by mental health professionals: Instead of immediately talking with them about tzedakah initiatives or teaching values and related texts, start by listening to your students. The Guild of Jewish Healthcare Professionals has assembled a panel of mental health specialists to consult to CAJE and Jewish educators everywhere. Here is information they would like every Jewish educator to have right now, as well as links to helpful websites about youth, disaster, and trauma. Here is an effective Jewish program model, tested during 9/11 and approved by a panel of mental health specialists for creating a safe forum for students/congregants to express their emotions and prayers, hopes and losses.
Here is how
a congregation is handling
the opening of religious school in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Goal #3: Most students want to find ways to get help to the survivors –
support their impulse and underscore the Jewish values they are manifesting. The website www.ujc.org is posting reliable information on how to help.
Anne Brener, a Los
Angeles-based Jewish educator and psychotherapist born and raised in New
Orleans, is now volunteering on-site in New Orleans. She wrote the
following about the Jewish New
Orleans-specific and locally-controlled fund mentioned below: "I
have 100% confidence in this suggestion. I grew up with Sandy Katz Levy who
is the director of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of New Orleans. She is in
Baton Rouge now. Thank you for everything you can do. Make checks payable to
Jewish Endowment Foundation and send them c/o Beth Shalom Synagogue, 9111 Jefferson
Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70809."
Goal #4: Reveal Judaism’s wisdom, liturgy, and skills about how to be resilient in challenging times. Young people are at risk, in part, because they don't yet have a perspective on how life is full of challenges as well as joyful times. Meaning-making mentoring will help them move through troubling times and emerge believing they can have and contribute to a better future. The spirits of your adult students are also intensely sore at this time; they will connect with gratitude to religious schools and communities that provide both tzedakah opportunities and a forum for spiritual and emotional support and expression. Here are texts that inspire and reveal our ancestors' remarkable coping skills for troubled times. |
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Psychological Orientation & Resources Bottom Line: As soon
as you realize a student is traumatized by recent events, refer for
counseling. In this day and age of terrorism and high population densities in areas vulnerable to natural disaster, leaders in the community -- teachers, clergy, healthcare professionals, etc. -- need ongoing training in preventing and managing the psychological and spiritual effects of severe trauma. Even in the absence of major natural disaster, accident or terrorism, this training is valuable since Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) most commonly occurs in society after the sudden unexpected death of a loved one and also after events that are not uncommon, such as suicide, auto accident, criminal violence, etc. Children are particularly vulnerable, so teachers can play a valuable role in detecting troubled children, listening, creating safe connection, and reporting. Even though individuals directly threatened by death or serious injury to themselves or loved ones are obviously at greater risk of developing acute stress reaction and PTSD, others who witness scenes of horror, devastation, death, and destruction on TV may also be affected. Those with prior exposure to trauma may be more vulnerable to being triggered by present traumas. Self-care is of prime importance since, to a greater or lesser extent, all who witness this catastrophe are victims. Teachers need to attend to their own spiritual and psychological and physical well-being, if only to acknowledge and ventilate, in an appropriate setting, their own feelings of fear, anger, cynicism, dismay, etc. This way, their own emotions are less likely to interfere with their hearing those of the children. Children need to feel safe. As much as possible, maintain normal routine in the classroom. However, do not act as if the disaster never occurred. Create a safe space for listening so that students can take their turns to express their feelings. Gather information, e.g., "does anyone here have someone affected by the hurricane?" Appreciate that living through a traumatic experience such as this hurricane is very different from educating oneself and others about an event that occurred in the distant past, e.g., the Holocaust. In the current situation, minimizing the amount of exposure to scenes and stories of trauma is appropriate. Reassure that it is normal to have a multitude of emotions after an event of this nature. Confusion, disorientation, anger, etc., is normal and tell them that people say and do abnormal things in abnormal times. Respectful listening is the key. Dan Bloom, a psychotherapist, says: "I touch by my listening." This is far safer and is more helpful that hugging. When challenged with
the question, "Why would God cause this to happen?", avoid giving trite
answers. One approach may be to respond that we do not know; review texts
such as Lamentations, Job, and Psalms that reveal that we have asked this
question before, even in biblical times. The teacher may point out to the older
children that suffering is not optional and the Jewish people in particular
have a long history of suffering and learning how to respond to it in humane
and caring ways. Explore texts that support this. So that the child does not
feel helpless, point out that we are given resources to take care of
ourselves since there will always be hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes and
that these natural events are necessary to keep the planet alive. Review common-sense steps such
as keeping bottled water, batteries, radio, etc., on hand. Yael Gott,
Chaplain Listen and validate. The children may disclose feelings of fear that this type of event could happen to them. They need to be heard and not to be discounted. It is tempting for an adult to respond to a child sharing his fears by "making him feel better," and saying that they need not worry, or that his fears are unfounded for various reasons. This is not what the child needs. He needs to have the listener validate his fears in verbal and non-verbal language (example: "It sounds like you're sad and afraid that something like this could happen here."), with receptive body language and an empathetic and serious expression. This allows the child to open up and share his or her feelings. At that point, it is the role of the counselor to continue validating the child's feelings, while giving the child(ren) perspective. The teacher might offer: "This type of event is very rare, and when it happens everyone feels sad and afraid. What are some things we could do to help the people who have been affected?" At this point the child(dren) will contribute ideas that will help them feel less vulnerable, and help those in need. It may not be wise to reference similar stories from the Tanach, in this case, those pertaining to floods. Bible stories are frequently extreme, and may include destruction and fatalities. Limiting the discussion to the feelings of the children, and their suggestions for offering assistance, may be the most empowering steps to take. Study of Bible stories with similar themes may be more sensitive in the future. The teacher should remain sensitive to the children's feelings, as they study stories touching on these themes. In the future, the children may retain some of their fear regarding certain stories. As these stories are introduced, the teacher should continue offering support, if the children comment that these stories remind them of these events. What these children have seen on television will have a lasting impression on them. If they continue to be disturbed by these events, parents and the principal should be consulted. David Nefesh, psychotherapist
Rabbi Dr. Goldie Milgram, MSW -
Meeting with your children in the wake of a major national trauma First, self-care - then care for all; it's like being in an airplane when you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first. Attending to self-care first prevents despair, PTSD, and acting out, while facilitating the flow of generosity and creative attention to the situation. l) It is important for educators to issue parent advisories to the effect of not keeping the television playing the images around their children. 2) Create safe space for listening to the children's fears/ideas/questions and be careful to not deny them their feelings. 3) Otherwise, keep daily routines in place as much as possible; this is comforting. 4) Speak about how you (the parent or educator) see the children's safety as the top priority and that you will always do everything possible to keep them safe. 5) In a religious school setting, it is essential to have times to listen to the questions raised by the children. One option is to create a wall to post their questions. Don't jump to answer them; let the time-of-questions-arising be its own experience. Emphasize that Judaism is a religion that encourages questions and questions of God. 6) Theological responses are tricky. So far, one simple response to “Why would G-d make this happen?” is to say that weather is out of the control of G-d -- it is simply a system of the planet, but we can pray for strength to get help to those who are suffering and for help with our own fears. 7) While global warming may very well be making such storms worse because warmer waters yield fiercer hurricanes, this is not the time for assigning blame. Self-care, mourning, and questioning come first - assigning responsibility can be done when folks are stable. CAUTION: Skip empathy/re-enactment exercises you may find recommended in some curricula (such as, if I had to leave my house in an emergency, I would take....). That approach can create vicarious trauma and reinforce lack of safety. For sure, hold foul weather/bomb threat drills in your religious school - but not unless something is threatening to happen in the same month of a major, publicized disaster. It is too threatening for right now and will counteract the good you can do. 8) Many religious schools and synagogues in North America will have members who are extended family of those affected in the South. These folks, too, will need caring and careful responses. Your staff will need guidance in how to deal with distressed, traumatized family and students. We have specialists preparing guidelines for this. In the meantime, I'm keeping in mind the Talmudic aphorism: "All that is said in grief is to be forgiven." And rather than physically embracing those suffering, which is often unappreciated unless solicited, touch with your listening and non-judgmental responses.
Anonymous advice
from a recent JFS professional: We would go in as a team of two people so that there was always more than one person available to both see and hear responses. In addition, when working with students, it was better to have two people for a sense of "control" while in the group. We always had a debriefing when we (the team) returned to the agency in order to help us process our own reactions. Furthermore, a report was written and kept on file. If we (the team) had any significant concerns about a particular person, we would report that to the principal after we debriefed and collected our thoughts and information. If there were no concerns, a general overview was provided so that we would not breach confidentiality of the participants. This is very important! The participants need to be made to feel comfortable enough to share and know that, unless there is some danger involved, what they shared will not be told to others (parents, teachers, etc.).
Critical Incident Stress Response related to Children 9-04-05 The mission of the Crisis team is to provide defusings and debriefings in crises. Defusing is a quick intervention before those involved leave the scene (usually of one hour or less). It may or may not be a formal group. Its goals are the following:
Debriefing is usually done within 3 days. It is always done in a group. Its goals are the following:
For those in the midst of the disaster, there is much written about defusing and debriefing as it pertains to crisis intervention. Some articles (and brief explanations) are provided here. For a more in-depth explanation of steps, please consult these resources or consult with your local AJFCA/JFS. Lee Ross, PhD of Frostburg State University provides information from James L. Clements, 1992, about 7 phases for a debriefing group. He says that it works best when people have experienced an upsetting, critical event or occurrence. People often have normal post-traumatic stress-type symptoms after such an event. Remember that not everyone will experience a critical incident in the same manner. The following is a general framework; there are professionals and teams who have had training to do this type of work. 1. Introduction 2. Facts. Great care must be taken in this phase. The debriefer facilitates the normalization of symptoms. There is much focus on the “facts” of the events – what happened from every person’s perspective. 3. Thoughts. Aain, great care is taken because one does not want to force a participant to reveal his or her thoughts/emotions. It involves asking people about what they were thinking as they saw X event happening. 4. Reactions. During this phase, members are encouraged to speak about their own selves versus how they saw others react. This is a part of the normalization process when several members might acknowledge similar emotions about the incident. 5. Symptoms. Discussion of physiological, emotional, and other symptoms that occurred immediately following and up to this group meeting are discussed. Most of the time it will involve classical PTS symptoms and the mental health worker should be familiar with these. The goal is to elicit common symptoms and normalize those reactions that are truly normal. 6. Teaching. Providing information about normal reactions, including the physiological model of stress reactions. It is reinforced that their reactions are normal reactions to an abnormal situation. Information is given about ways in which participants can handle their symptoms. Emphasis is placed on the fact that these methods do work. Dependent upon the age of the participant, they can be asked about times when they were successful in handling stressors and what helped them to do so. Support systems are good. Participants are reminded of resources available to them should they still experience symptoms after a few days to weeks (dependent upon the person). 7. Re-entry. Time is taken to summarize that the incident was significant, a variety of feelings and symptoms resulted, they are normal, and they can get better.
Jeffrey T. Mitchell, PhD – article in the Journal of Emergency
Medical Services,
December 1988, "Stress: Development and Functions of a Critical Incident
Stress Debriefing Team." He also provides information about
the 7 phases for these teams to cover, stating that this is a specialized
area of training for health care personnel. Much education is provided to
those who have experienced a potentially traumatic event. Again, not
everyone reacts in the same way to what they see/hear. Dr. Abramovitz states that responses to crises need to be divided into three categories: psychological safety, physical safety, and re-assurance/explanation. He says that the primary goal is to prevent frightening feelings from becoming overwhelming. Dr. Abramovitz talks about giving children a message of “how can I help you feel safe, in spite of having distressing feelings?” Thus, there is an attempt to promote the capacity to adaptively manage emotional reactions so that they don’t disrupt the ability to think and respond. It is necessary to validate children’s reactions. Children need to be heard. Dependent upon their developmental stage, they can talk or “play out” their feelings. We, as adults, need to listen, listen, listen. Our presence is important. Carolyn Graham wrote a piece on Working With Children. She follows the 7 stage debriefing that is listed above. For defusing, she states the following:
Ron Lewis,
specialist in adolescent behavior and treatment, marriage and family
therapist Fingers are
connected with emotions. We all know that when babies are agitated they suck
their thumbs. Simply hold the indicated finger from the list that follows.
After a while the person will be able to feel the pulse; when the pulse is
detected by the affected person they will already be better grounded and
their inner energies in better harmony. Remember, when you first hold it
with two fingers from the opposite hand, you won't feel the pulse; gradually,
the
pulse comes in as energy balances. |
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Activities • Make Caring Cards to send. • Make a collection and send the money to a helping resource your students choose from a careful review of options. • Have the Hebrew school children join together in a misheberach (prayer for those who are ill) for those affected. • Each write a prayer to be made into a scroll and read aloud in the sanctuary during tefillah. • Study weather and theology. Looking into the science of global warming and its connection to the mitzvot could be a unit to consider for later in the year - after shock, grief, loss can come knowledge and action. •Study the responsibilities of leaders for the people, hold mock trials about budget decisions that left New Orleans vulnerable, and send class delegates or meet as a group with legislative representatives to help create the leaders of the Jewish future. [Brought too quickly, finger-pointing and assignment of collective guilt breeds emotional damage, casues resistance to needed change and slows recovery.] •Learn some of Lamentations (Eichah) this year. In the book, Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice (Milgram), there is a guide to the essential mental health function of lamenting, along with an exercise on how to go from the powerful lament of Eichah to understanding the universality of human lament and expressing one's own lament. Here is a link to using Eichah for students to express their feelings in the form of a traditional lament. Because religious schools start after Tisha B'Av, this is a special opportunity to embrace the human lament within this hurricane and the slowness of governmental response to tragedy and to recall how our people often have moved from tragedy to rebuilding and good lives. We, of all people, know how to do this and that it is a spiritual process. •Use the Psalms of David when he was desperate and frightened, e.g., Psalm 38. Help children understand that life is like a sine wave (or like a wheel), that times get rough and painful and that things improve. They don't realize it intellectually and it's very helpful to have perspective right now. You can say: "Look how the very powerful and successful King David wrote psalms about his most frightening and painful times." It is as holy to lament as it is to praise. Psalm 42 (interestingly attributed as for the leader, the maskil of the sons of Korach), actually includes the phrase eleh ezkerah, and allows for bridging the High Holidays and lamenting of losses. Eleh ezkerah literally means "These we remember." It is the name of a prayer, commonly referred to as "the Martyrology," recited on Yom Kippur. It recalls ten rabbis who were tortured to death by the Roman Empire during its occupation of the Land of Israel because they refused to abandon the teaching and practicing of Torah. Psalm 42:4
•Do a bibliodrama drawn from the text when Hagar has been sent away by Avraham, where she sets down her son under a shrub, moves a bowshot away, lifts up her voice, weeps and hears a bat kol (literally, "daughter of a voice" but understood as a voice from heaven) and comes back to herself and the promise. Help students find the prayer of their hearts, to value calling out to God during times of distress. Holding a ritual gathering for the school or in each classroom where students can do something like that indicated below, which was found during the period following 9/11 to help a lot (even better, when possible, hold this ritual with parents forming a circle around the children, a circle of safety): Opening song. Rav Nachman of Bratslav's Narrow Bridge works, only amended to be something like this: All of the world is a very narrow bridge; and the main thing, the main thing is we all care, we won't let each other fall. ... Let students chant and move in a circle. Some find it helpful not to use the original lyric: "the main thing is not to fear at all." Why? Disenfranchising emotions is very damaging to people. Embrace emotions and respect them. For a youth to feel afraid after seeing the images of people on rooftops, etc., is healthy and normal. However, when one is in the water and on the rooftop, the original lyric seems right on to help keep equanimity. Next: In the center of the circle have two crystal or pottery water containers - at least large salad bowl size. Place water in the bowl - water is hessed in Judaism, the presence of God. Invite students to come up and sprinkle some kosher salt into one bowl - this is the well of tears. When they do this, each says their feelings, concerns or connections to the situation. Example: I am very
sad today. My grandmother's house was swept away in New Orleans. We know she
is safe in Texas. She is worried about her neighbors and friends. Part of being a religious and educational community is caring about the mental health of our students. When the students are done, a teacher or principal actively listens by summarizing: "Together we are sad, scared,........ and we are also together. We are safe here in (Chicago, etc.) and we here at Temple Beth .... have each other." Follow this with another round of the Nachman song, or something like it; let the tempo get more upbeat - moderate - bring energy into the room. Offer the other bowl of water, the well of hope. "Our ancestors felt the presence of God beside the wells they dug in the wilderness. Here we express our hopes, our prayers for all who are suffering from this terrible disaster. " Students come up and sprinkle silver glitter onto the surface of the water and express hopes. Example: "I hope (or
pray) every possible person is rescued." Now, chant once again, building up an energy of hope and strength and resilience, not so fast it gets silly, but fast enough that singing is strong and lifts the souls of those doing so up. Now, give the students a recess so they can regroup internally. White space is essential after a ritual and lets the nutrients work on the soulstream. •Address the
tzedakah and gemillut hassadim components of our tradition. By first
honoring fears and opening up questions, it is possible to more powerfully
and effectively access move into intellect and stimulate generosity. Hinini, here I am, present in this moment, I consciously choose to do the mitzvah of . . . supporting someone in need......as you write a check, offer a meal, give shelter, etc. . . .watching over my body as sacred space...as you take in nutrition, use protection, etc. . . .experiencing the holiness of time...as you make Shabbat, begin a holy day, etc. Hineni mukhan u'v'zuman l'kayem et mitzvat borai....Here I am ready and invited to effect My Creator's mitzvah of ......." From Meaning and Mitzvah: Daily Practices for Reclaiming Judaism through God, Prayer, Torah, Mitzvot, Hebrew & Peoplehood by Rabbi Goldie Milgram (Jewish Lights, 2005). •Study rather than rote recite specific psalms, liturgy, and prophetic texts in religious school. Why? Reciting isn't learning, nor really even praying, because one hasn't yet integrated the meaning/thoughts. a. Try chevruta (paired learning) on a piece like this by Rabbi Leila Berner - it can be a powerful tool for students in upper grades and adults. Chevruta builds friendships and is one of the best ways to create meaning in the classroom. b. And have students discover the Eleven Blessings that come to one who helps the hungry and wretched from this piece of Isaiah. c. Psalms that
describe King David in duress are powerfully expressive. They help students
realize even the greatest of our people's leaders had to overcome really
hard days. •Organize both fund drives and blood drives; the shortages are already the most acute, some think, in the history of this country. Parents may find youth asking them to come into the religious school lobby to donate blood rather compelling. The children can participate by giving juice and sweets to donors, working appointment coordination (runners to fetch donors), etc. •Disaster specialists are urging people not to send materials, but to donate money. •After the refugees return, your school may want to adopt a school or affected community, ask what is needed (don't assume), and then work to help out. It might be months before that level of helping is likely to be possible. Sustain momentum, and keep your students interested and ready to engage. By week two, tikkun olam brainstorming could start. For example, all of the schools were wiped out. Even if tent schools are created, what will be done for books? Infinite things to do will emerge, but much gets wasted by leaping into projects too quickly before those in need are ready to engage and receive. For now, find large-scale nationally coordinated efforts into which to tap the caring energy of your students and families. Here is a helpful link for that purpose:
http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm#canhelp
•When
you adopt a community, have the children learn as much about it as they can.
Find out all the ways that the adoptive community is just like the one that
you live in. Then, find ways (other than the refugees) that it is
different. How can the children provide assistance within both the areas of
similarity and difference?
•Here's an example of how Temple
Emanuel of Greensboro, NC responded to the Katrina disaster as submitted
by Rabbi Andy Koren: As he presented, he referred to an article he wrote that first appeared in the Greensboro News & Record following the Asian tsunami in December: http://www.tegreensboro.org/rabbis_corner/category_6.php?page=4302 (He is updating this piece in the aftermath of Katrina.) He also spoke of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s piece on Katrina: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17407_1.html
A list of CAJE materials was
distributed and briefly discussed. These included the following: TZEDAKAH: Tzedakah is not charity, "but has come to mean the obligation to see to the needs of fellow human beings who are unable to meet their own needs." Tzedakah is obligatory for every Jewish person, no matter how young or old, no matter how rich or poor. It is a mitzvah to give Tzedakah. MITZVAH: A Commandment. It is by doing Mitzvot that we help the world to become a better place. TIKUN OLAM: To repair (fix) the world. Each of us is responsible to help perfect the world, which was created incompletely to enable humankind to contribute to ongoing creation. KESHER: Connection. Every Jewish man, woman, and child has a connection to each other. When harm comes to another, it is your responsibility (obligation) as a Jew to help with that person's needs. KLAL YISRAEL: Community (congregation) of Israel. "There is an old Hebrew saying: All Jews are responsible for one another. Being part of the Jewish community is like being a member of one very large family." GEMILUT CHASADIM - Acts of lovingkindness. Involves our time and personal connectedness, actions, and commitment to our community. TEXTUAL REFERENCES "And you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Leviticus 19:18) "All Jews are responsible for one another." (Talmud Shavuot 39a) Rabbi Akiva said: . . . "Do Mitzvah through me; the benefit will be that we will live, and you will live a long life." (Mechilta, Ki Taytzay 2) Rabbi Assi said, "Tzedakah outweighs all other commandments together." (Talmud Baba Batra 9a) "There is no greater or more glorious joy than to bring happiness to the hearts of the poor, orphans, widows and strangers, One who brings joy to the hearts of these disadvantaged individuals resembles G-d." (Mishnah Torah, Laws of Megillah 2:17) “Tzedakah demands the utmost care and diligence, for it may save a life." (Tur Yore ‘Deah #247) “Simon the Just used to say, ‘The world rests on three things: Upon the Torah, worship and the practice of Tzedakah.’" (Mishnah Avot 1:2) "If a person is hungry, the person should be fed. If the person needs clothes, the person should be given clothes. If the person has no household furniture or utensils, furniture and utensils should be provided. . . . (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 250.1) “Hillel said, ‘Separate not thyself from the congregation.’" (Pirke Avot 2) "They that turn the many to righteousness (tzedakah) shall shine like the brightness of the skies." (Daniel 12:3) "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" (Hillel) He summed up by teaching the final stanza of Adon Olam. We place our soul in God’s trust, when we are sleeping and when we awake. Body together with soul, God is with me and I need not fear. I read your suggestions re: gesher tzar me’od (Rav Nachman's song, A Very Narrow Bridge) and not denying the emotion of fear, a concern which is most valid. Fred spoke about the other extreme, which is the way that some American politicians and media outlets play on fear (as he was teaching, I couldn’t help but think of Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine). Tomorrow night, we are meeting with our community high school (9-12 graders, Reform and Conservative). We will be doing a one-hour program that uses the Four Worlds as our framework. We will start with a presentation of the Four Worlds in Jewish thought. On the "physical" level, we will hear from a few of the professionals from Jewish Family Services who will talk about how our community is responding and what teens can do to help. On the "emotional" level, Nancy Guttman will lead a discussion centering on their feelings over the past week. On the "mental/intellectual" level, Fred will do a text exploration on theodicy and where God is at times like these. Finally, on the "soul" level, we will do a service with prayers for those affected by the hurricane – likely using Carlebach’s “Shalom” tune to take us through it. |
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• Judaica
Press Complete Tanach with Rashi Online
http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive.asp?AID=63255 The voice of HaShem is upon the waters, the G-d of Glory thunders, HaShem is upon the vast waters. The voice of HaShem is in power! The voice of HaShem is in majesty! The voice of HaShem breaks the cedars, HaShem shatters the cedars of Lebanon.…The voice of HaShem cleaves with shafts of fire. The voice of HaShem convulses the wilderness.…HaShem sat enthroned at the Deluge; HaShem sits enthroned as the King forever. HaShem will give might to His people, HaShem will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29, a psalm of David. As translated in Artscroll Siddur Kol Yaakov • On having the fortunate ability to drive out of New Orleans [The One] who grants salvation to kings and dominion to rulers, Whose kingdom is a kingdom spanning all eternities; Who releases David, His servant, from the evil sword; Who places a road in the sea and a path in the mighty waters. Prayer for the Welfare of the Government, Artscroll Siddur Kol Yakov, Pg. 451 • Upon the sight of the destruction in the city of New Orleans I beheld the earth,
and, lo, it was waste and void; I beheld, and, lo,
there was no man, At the presence of
the Lord, Jeremiah 4:20 – 27 • In response to law enforcement personnel's apparent indifference to suffering and crime …indifference
to evil is more insidious than evil itself……silent acquiescence leads to
evil being accepted and becoming the rule. • On the disregard for the long range potential for harm by not properly maintaining the storm walls and levees Who
is the wise person? The person who foresees the future consequences of
his actions. •On our obligation to repair what has been damaged or destroyed …..every person must say, "the whole world was created for my sake." Therefore, since the whole world was created for my sake, I must always be improving the world, fulfilling the needs of humanity and praying for its benefit. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Likkutei Moharan I, 5:1 as quoted from Dovid Sears, Compassion for Humanity (Jason Aronson) •On the response to crisis with Gemilut Hassidim Noah’s most
important offspring were his "good deeds." • On the need to do positive action, not simply write a check and not consider the human elements It is not sufficient merely to do mitzvot while acquiescing in unjust conditions. R. Acha ben R. Chanina, Shabbat 55a, tanchuma Tazria 9. • On facing the enormity of the job of rebuilding You are not required to complete the task, But neither are you free to withdraw from beginning it. Rabbi Tarfon, Pirke Avot, Chapter 2, verse 21
The reward is in proportion to the exertion. Ben Fei Hei, Pirke Avot 5:26
All who exert themselves for the sake of the community Should exert themselves for the sake of Heaven, For the merit of the community’s forefathers aids them, And their righteousness endures forever. Rabbi Gamliel, son of Rabbi Judah HaNasi, Pirke Avot 2:2• On our need to act with deliberateness and timeliness to this crisis He (Rabbi Hillel) used to say: If I am only for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself , What am I? And if not now, When? Pirke Avot, 1: 13•On the ability of prayer to help with crises On the fourth of Iyar, I went to sea. On Sabbath, the tenth of Iyar in the year 4925, a heavy gale arose. The sea was turbulent, and we were in danger of drowning. I vowed to observe the tenth of Iyar in complete seclusion and to devote the day to prayer and study. On Sunday, the third of Sivan, I landed safely in Acre. Rambam, in a letter during his escape from Fez, as presented in Rambam, His Thoughts and His Times, by Brenda Bacon for the Melton Research Center
Seeking G-d through Pain and Joy The bible gives no account of how Abraham came to recognize G-d; that decisive step in Jewish History is shrouded in silence. The Rabbis rush in with tales to fill the void. One story compares Abraham to a traveler who sees a palace in flames. He cried out, ‘Is there no one responsible for this palace?’ From an upper window the owner peeked through to assure the frightened traveler that he is responsible. The palace had an owner. Similarly, Abraham, seeing the world in flames, cried out, ‘Is no one responsible for this world?’ G-d came to Abraham in response to his cry. The twist to this midrash is that the word it uses for ‘in flames’ is doleket. Doleket can also mean ‘full of light.’ So perhaps Abraham saw the world as a blazing fire or as a brilliant light, as a caldron of injustice or as a palette of beauty. Did he think a terrible world must have a monarch – or so magnificent a world must have a creator? Do we come to G-d for tragedy or from joy? The midrash suggests we come to G-d in response to both, as did our ancestor Abraham. David Wolpe, floating Takes Faith, page 52 •On keeping the faith While the Candle Burns Despite the proliferation of therapies, self-help gurus, and how-to books, changing one’s life is an arduous business. We are not wired for upheaval; as the old adage has it, we change only on the edge of anxiety, when the old internal systems have crashed and there is little choice. So it is a statement of faith that Judaism builds on the changeability of human beings. We are faithful to the possibility that a person can transform himself or herself not only by crisis but also by resolution. We hold that we can create a sort of crisis in the soul when we realize the brevity of life, the importance of the tasks we have been given, the power of love, and the majesty of the Divine. Much of Judaism is designed to help us to those realizations in the hope that we will turn them into change. Rabbi Israel Salanter was once passing by the shop of a shoemaker and saw the man working late. He asked, "Why are you still working; the candle has almost gone out?" The shoemaker answered, "Rabbi, as long as the candle burns, one can still do some mending." That became Rabbi Salanter’s motto: "As long as the candle of our soul still burns, we should not despair of change." David Wolpe, Floating Takes Faith, pg. 168
After Katrina - Rabbi Leila
Gal Berner U-ma’avir
yom u-meyvi laila u-mavdil beyn yom u-veyn laila, Adonai tz’va’ot shemo. . . The harsh winds came
and the rains came Eicha yashva badad
ha-ir rabati am. . . You make day pass away and bring on night . . . Where were You, our
Leader of the Throngs, Where were You? Where are You? Job’s voice cries out in the distance: . . .
Ani el Shaddai
adaber — v’ho-hay-ach el Eyl echapetz Did YOU bring the
winds and the rains and the rushing waters? Did YOU ravage and
abandon us? Did YOU do all this? Some of us believe
that And if this is so,
We cling, like
refugees on rooftops You are with us Even as we argue
with you, Even then, You are with us •On seeing or hearing about looting It is told that the same robbers in the neighborhood of Rabbi Meir were causing him trouble. He prayed that they would die. Beruriah, his wife, said to him, "How do you make such a prayer?" Do not pray that the lives of sinners cease, but rather that their sins should be no more. For if their sins cease there will be no more wicked men. Pray for them and that they should do repent. He did so and they did repent.
Mishna Berakhot 10a
The power of teshuvah is great, for as soon as a person contemplates doing teshuvah [s]he immediately ascends — not just ten miles, not even twenty miles…but a journey of five hundred years…to the highest heaven, until [s]he stands in front of the Kissei Hakavod, the heavenly throne. Pesikta Rabati 44
There is a remedy for every affliction in the world, and the remedy for the yetzer hara (evil inclination) is teshuvah. Midrash Tanchumah 58:1
No earthling sins unless a spirit of madness enters into him.
Sotah 3a
M.T.,
Hilkhot Yesodei Hatorah 5:10
A community may do teshuvah at any time. So long as the individual Jew identifies with the greater community of Israel, the universe is never closed and resistant to change. Society liberates the individual from the inexorable repetition of the past; the concept of tzibur, community, guarantees an open future. The individual need not succumb psychologically to eternal recurrence so long as the community of which he is a part firmly believes in the power of teshuvah to alter even the sealed judgment of the Lord of history. ...community is a unit which liberates the individual to believe in the efficacy of teshuvah. The doctrine of teshuvah is a magna carta affirming the freedom to begin anew – to seize the opportunities for redirection and genuine change.
Hartman Institute Guide to Teshuvah Isaiah 58:6-14 (translated by R'Goldie Milgram) This is the fast I
desire Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Storm Sharon Frant Brooks It was supposed to be a “long weekend” - Friday to Monday – that’s it. The Big Kat -- Hurricane Katrina -- was just a kitten then, a Category 1 off the Atlantic coast of southern Florida. Not even a mention of it as a threat to the Gulf states. That all changed on Saturday. Too late for us, as all flights out of New Orleans were cancelled by the time we heard. Airlines chose to fly their planes out empty and not put their “passengers at risk.” We considered all the options, spoke to our hotel management, and followed their advice to remain in the hotel for the storm. It was not the hotel we planned to be in. When we arrived, our reservations were suddenly changed from the “W” to the “Windsor Court.” It was lovely and elegant, with original grand master paintings. Not what would have appeared to be a hardy sort of structure. But, we were told, their windows were safety tested to 225 mph, and their location was slightly up hill from the W and the Loews. How fortuitous the change was. We would not know until much later how true that proved to be. Let me explain further, my husband is a quadriplegic in a power wheelchair. I am an occupational therapist and a Jewish educator. Prior to the storm, on Sunday, the hotel menu read “Hurricane Menu.” ( I wanted that for a souvenir. ) The meal was lovely -- fresh flowers on the table, classical music in the background. Ken says: “It's like the dance band on the Titanic.” Sunday night, an emergency announcement over the public address system tells us they would be handing out flashlights and we should fill our bathtubs with water. Monday -- 5 a.m. -- the public address system again. We should leave our rooms and go out into the hallway with our flashlights, drinking water, and bedding. The lights went out, with the emergency generator providing only hallway lighting and public area lighting. We remained there until 10 a.m. the next morning, ultimately putting our things back in the room (except for the flashlight) and using the single operational emergency elevator to go to the 2nd floor to see where the other guests who remained in the hotel were. Most were there in the same frame of mind. It is less scary with a group. We formed little groups of people, the groups changing memberships from time to time. We got to know most of the hotel guests very well. David Wolf, the 40-something young man who brought his 100-year-old great-aunt and her caregiver out of her condo to refuge at the hotel on higher ground. He could never have evacuated her in the short time allowed. Lisa Scher, her physician husband Cory, their 16-year-old son and their golden retriever Maddie. Cory wrote out any prescriptions needed for chronically ill evacuees and filled them at his hospital pharmacy as long as he was able to do so. It felt like we had known them forever. He gave us the inside scoop on the conditions in Tulane Hospital, the shootings at Medivac helicopters, the looting of guns from Wal-Mart, and the commandeering of empty homes by refugees from the Superdome. Vinnie (the “other OT”); her Tulane student daughter, who was to start school that weekend; her husband, and her 17-year-old son. (She has already called me since our mutual “escape” from the storm. Her daughter will be doing her first semester at Columbia, but will go to Tulane when the campus reopens in January. It seems that the young evacuees from Tulane felt an unusual bonding – trial by water, so to speak). The other Tulane mom who taught all of the teens poker and organized a “Kid’s Poker Championship” for pretzels. Then there were the Hirsches from Brooklyn. An Orthodox Jewish couple there for vacation – and stranded like us by the airlines. The restaurant manager gave her access to the kitchen to prepare kosher meals on disposable cookware for her diabetic husband and prepared bagged breakfasts of packaged cereal, milk, and juice. And the hotel staff, each looking out for all of us, especially for Ken. They made sure his wheelchair battery was charged on the generator before the power was turned off and took him through the “secret” staff elevator through the kitchen when the one emergency elevator stopped working. The dining room manager, Fernando, with his wife Lisa, drove us from New Orleans to Houston as part of the “Windsor Court Caravan” along with the 20-year-old college student/server staff member, Daniel Turkowitz. (I assumed mother-ship role for him once we got to Houston, making sure he got tickets on a flight out to Kansas City and giving him my phone number to let me know if he had any problems.) The Mayor, Ray Nagin, and the Governor indicated that all hotel guests were required to leave New Orleans immediately. However, no evacuation assistance was provided for this to happen. Some hotels simply sent their guests out with the vehicles they came in with, and did little to help those without transportation. Some hotels rented busses, but most of those busses did not get out until Friday. At the Windsor Court, however, it became personal matter between the staff and our tightly-knit guest corps. Large drive boards were set up, like the kind we used to have in college – cars and destinations listed with a note about how many extra seats they had, people without cars and where they were headed. Anyone without a vehicle in which to leave or who could not carpool with others was brought to safety by the staff of the Windsor Court in their personal cars and none would accept any remuneration for doing so. Ken was carried into Fernando’s pick-up truck by a burly hotel security guard, and his power wheelchair was bungie-corded down in the back of the truck. I was in the 4-wheel drive vehicle with Lisa and Daniel with all the tightly-packed luggage around us. We first went to Baton Rouge and it was apparent that we would be unable to get out of there at all. Then, Lisa and Fernando decided to drive us all the way to Houston airport where we connected with a flight to Newark. I knew I was shielded by the many blessings I received from my friends and family. Our good fortune was great. First, the very fact that we “accidentally” ended up at this hotel. Our hotel lost just 3 windows, and that was from falling debris from the Doubletree roof next door. Next, that the lounge window I was sitting next to, after being pummeled by branches in the wind, shattered. But it was only the outer pane of a double pane window that shattered, while the inner pane remained intact. Then, that we decided not to go to the Riverwalk, the “after-storm walk” location I wanted to go to on Tuesday, because Ken did not want to deal with the trolley and train tracks, only to discover later that that was the very site of much of the looting and violence that occurred that day. We saw a lot of destruction. We felt the pain of our newly-made friends for the loss of home, property, vehicles, and possibly livelihoods. But we were truly spared so very much. We followed the advice of hotel staff we did not even know to stay at the hotel, rather than that of friends and relatives - to be evacuated by the New Orleans police to a special needs shelter – which ended up being the Superdome. We were fed, afforded dignity and camaraderie. My daughter Heather manned the Brooks' home switchboard and keeping our network informed and, ultimately, getting us our flights out of Houston (when we finally got there) to get us home! And I am so thankful and happy, and feeling reaffirmed in my faith in G-d’s protection. Now that I am home, and safe, I watch the scenes of destruction so close to where we were. The block we did walk on that Tuesday morning was the site of a warehouse fire and building collapse and police/robber shoot-out depicted so graphically on Fox News the day after we arrived home; it was across the street from the hotel, the W, the hotel we were originally to stay in. It is actually quite strange that the entire time I was in New Orleans I remained focused on keeping my husband calm, reminding him not to worry about things that had not happened, and conserving his emotional strength to deal with what was happening. This, in turn, kept me calm. I also kept seeing the many small positive events generated by this crisis, how people can and do take care of each other. I kept seeing values lessons I could use in my life, in my work, and in my outlook on life. It was, as my dog trainer taught me when dealing with my dog’s misdeeds, not to be seen as negative experience, but as an “opportunity for correction.”
Perhaps my friend
and colleague, Raphael Stahl of Lakewood, NJ said it best: “It only goes to
show that even here, even in a country as powerful as America, we are still
subject to the will of HaShem.” And to that, I say a “Shechecheyanu.” This nonfiction narrative was a Junior Library Guild selection, so you may have already seen it. It is the amazing story of a historic hurricane that caused a shipwreck, founded a country, and changed American/World history as well as literature!
For a curricular tie-in, you
might want to go to my website, www.gailkarwoski.com.
On the "school visits" page, click on
"lesson plans" and you will find a sort of scavenger hunt for students that
takes them to some really cool Internet sites on the subject of hurricanes. |
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Writing Lamentations: When Life Gives You Grief from Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice: Holy Days and Shabbat, by Rabbi Goldie Milgram, Jewish Lights, 2004. The Hebrew title of the book Lamentations is Eihah, which means “How.” It derives from the first line of the text, “How lonely is the city . . .” To lament means to mourn or wail. Take up a copy of Lamentations, look at the words with a friend, go line-by-line and see how the verses apply to you in your life. What is your lament? Lamentations is a sacred text. Your laments are also holy. Lamenting is part of the initial process of healing from a wounding. Sometimes this can become a stuck place, a tape playing over and over.
A lament must be heard, honored, and looked into to see what you need.
When a lament moves on to become part of your sacred history, no longer the foreground of your daily life, then healing has begun.
Laments are often mishandled. A nursing home resident laments: “I had a beautiful home, my children sold it. Now I live in a small room, the meals here do not taste right.” Too often the response is: “You are so lucky to be here, this is an excellent facility, you couldn’t live on your own anymore.” To respect a lament is to respond: “How sad you sound to have given up your home and so much of your independence. I can imagine that you miss the familiar taste of foods you preferred and there are many other things you probably miss, too.” If heard and respected, the pattern of the lament does not have to be repeated. Tears may be shed and gradually curiosity about being in a new place with different advantages has room to emerge. This, too, is the function of Lamentations on Tisha b’Av, for the pain of the ancestors to be heard and honored, the hard lessons understood, and then to move on with renewed vigor and determination for living. Here is a recasting of Lamentations by a Christian seminarian in reaction to Hurricane Katrina and the politics that resulted in inadequate levees and slow government rescue efforts. Let your Jewish students -- adult and youth -- try their own hand at adapting many or even just the first verse of Lamentations - the catharsis and awareness that arise are important forms of meaning-making through sacred text.
Clyde Fant, Stetson University |