This is my message about the "Justice Reform" passed by Netanyahu's Kenesset, and how it relates to Tisha B'Av and the Ten Commandments, which we read this coming Shabbat.
Monday, July 24, 2023
Friday, June 30, 2023
God Loves Queer People
This video comes from my colleague The Rev. Alexa Gilmour in the Greater Toronto Area. She writes:
Monday, January 2, 2023
A Reflection on a Legal Holiday from Many Years Ago
A Reflection on a Legal Holiday from Many Years Ago
In my first year of seminary, at our annual off-site
retreat, an event occurred, that still sticks with many of us. In many ways, it
was deeply personal to me, because I had retired from a 22-year career in the
Navy just a few years prior, and this day was Veteran’s Day. For me, the
gesture was very powerful and meaningful; the colleague put a flower in a vase
on each table at lunch, in honor of the veterans who had served the US in years
past. The poppy was a symbol of honoring veterans for many years, but they were
not available, so roses were used in their place.
I was deeply touched by this gesture, as I understood the
historical significance of the flower, and what it represented. Most of those present
did not understand or appreciate it, because it appeared to endorse the extant
wars at the time, the “Global War on Terror.”
There are a number of things that those who haven’t served
in the military didn’t recognize. First off, until the end of the Viet Nam era,
soldiers were conscripted, they didn’t volunteer to serve. This meant that if
your number was called, you went, or you had bigger troubles!
With Desert Storm, even though no US assets had been
attacked there was a huge surge of patriotism stirred up, and the war was
highly supported. It had broad global support as well – after all, how could we
sit by and watch one country gobble up another one? Ironically, we are doing just that these days
with the Russia/Ukraine war, since intervening against Russia bears risks and
results beyond catastrophic.
After 9/11, of course the surge in patriotism was
unbelievably high, and the numbers of people enlisting was unprecedented. Yet
even so, the military still needed to call up Guard and Reserve forces like
never before to have adequate numbers to staff the battle forces that were
called for by President GW Bush. Were
these wars necessary? That’s a topic for another discussion, though.
Since Viet Nam, however, a new phenomenon occurred in the
US. Instead of blaming the President, Congress, or the National Command
Authority, where blame lies for going to war, American citizens blamed, and
attacked, returning soldiers. This attitude continues today. It is considered
the military’s fault that we are at war, and if the military would just stop
being so militaristic, well, then we could have peace, after all.
The rub is that the Constitution mandates a defense force.
We must have a military. The issue is how it is used. And almost every
president who has been to war himself understands the significance of that, and
has been hesitant to commit to war, and has limited the military actions. On
the contrary, presidents who never served in combat, including Clinton, GW
Bush, Obama and Trump have kept the military engaged in the Middle East
continually for over 30 years.
So, when we want to cast blame, it needs to go inside the
Washington Beltway for sure, but it needs to go to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NOT
to the Pentagon. The Pentagon does not
make the decision to go to war, and it does not declare war on other countries.
That is the President and Congress.
And the military troops and veterans at the bottom of the
chain of command? They were following
the LEGAL orders they swore an oath to follow. To not follow those orders
carries other problems. The military does have procedures such as the
conscientious objector, and I have a friend who filed for that status after
returning from the Afghanistan war. So PLEASE, do not blame the military
personnel and veterans – give them flowers. We really are trying to make peace
in the world.
It's the politicians in the White House and Congress who try
to make war. Please remember that every election year.
Trans Generations and Generational Trauma related to the Biblical Book of Genesis
I recently submitted a scholarly paper for review about
generational trauma in the Book of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible. Anyone who has ever read Genesis is aware
that we are taught to revere the main characters in the book. Yet, if we read
the book closely, that just does not make sense.
A husband who sells his wife into sex slavery. A father who exiles his wife and son, then
tries to sacrifice his other son. The “sacrificed” son who then copies what his
father did. His wife and their younger son conspire to steal his blessing. That
son, Jacob, steals his father-in-law’s flocks. Jacob’s sons conspire to kill,
but eventually kidnap and sell into slavery their brother Joseph, while they do
many other horrible things. Their sister
Dina, unaware of the risks, walks into a trap, and is taken advantage of by a
smooth talker, or raped, depending on which commentaries you read.
This reads like a night-time soap opera! And this is
biblical text. What is going on here?
After the Holocaust, the field of generational trauma was
developed. Survivors didn’t talk about their experiences, but it was noted that
their offspring showed signs of trauma, even when they had not experienced
direct trauma themselves. If that trauma
was not addressed, it could be transmitted to the third generation, etc.
We have been aware of PTSD in various forms since WWI, with
“shell shock” and its other names. But it wasn’t studied with any intensity
until the post Viet Nam/Desert Storm era. Then we began to really understand
PTSD. This is about the same time that third generation survivors – people my
age, started showing trauma signs.
In my paper, I took these seemingly random and disastrous
events, and put them within a framework. Each generation had experienced
trauma. That trauma had not been treated and it was transmitted to the next
generation. That generation in Genesis experienced more trauma and so on.
By reading Genesis with this lens, we are able to gain an
important understanding of this book. We are also able to gain an important
pastoral tool. In my research paper, I
show the implications of this knowledge in treating survivors of generational
trauma in historically oppressed communities such as Black and Indigenous
communities in the US.
But friends, the trans community fits this mold as well. I
know quite a number of trans/NB folx who have trans/NB offspring. Quite
frankly, I have yet to meet a trans person who does NOT have cPTSD, and for
most of us, it remains present to some level or other. So, for those of us who
have kiddos, we are at risk of transmitting this trauma to our kiddos as well,
whether we are aware of it or not.
Complicating this, as the NTDS details all too well is the
denial of adequate mental healthcare for trans/NB folx in the US. Thus, it is
really difficult for many of us to get our trauma into remission. And for those
who are both trans/NB AND BIPOC? The trauma load is almost unbearable.
So what do we do? First of all, we can’t give up hope. Now that we know this is an issue, we can
deal with it. If you are the trans/NB
parent of a trans/NB kiddo, then watch your kiddo for signs of trauma. If they
show ANY signs at all, get them help ASAP. Whether it’s at the Center, the
Crisis Center, or if you are fortunate enough to have insurance, your doctor,
you MUST act. Your life and your child’s life depend on this.
I have struggled to find meaning and value in Genesis for
many years. I know others have as well. I hope this offers some people meaning
and hope, and I hope you will take this lesson to heart.