Rabbi & Community: Abortion and Mental Health

Rabbi & Community: Abortion and Mental Health: Since this post may be controversial by its very nature, I want to make my position concerning abortion clear from the outset. I don’t favo...

Abortion and Mental Health

Since this post may be controversial by its very nature, I want to make my position concerning abortion clear from the outset. I don’t favor abortion as a method of birth control. However, I do support a woman’s right to choice. “Tea Party” supported changes to State laws for the purpose of preventing abortion rights and generally, a woman’s right to health care exams and birth control assistance is extremely disturbing. But most disturbing are recent stories having to with woman who have taken their own lives because of postpartum depression and it moved me to write this blog post.

In early October, Miriam Carey, tried to crash the White House gates. A a high speed chase followed and Miriam Carey was killed in a hail of gunfire when Capital Police finally trapped her.  Police found a child about a year old in the back of the car but no weapons.

A search of Ms. Carey’s home revealed that she was taking prescription medications for postpartum depression with delusion. Interviews with family and friends revealed that Ms. Carey believed that President Obama had her “under electronic surveillance” according to the New York Times.

Recently, Governor John Kasich of Ohio signed an anti abortion law attached to the State budget that required a 24 hour wait between counseling and the actual abortion itself. As a part of the counseling, counselors are required to show the patient an ultrasound displaying the beating heart of the fetus.

In a story reported from Ohio a 24 year old woman who had become pregnant for the third time requested an abortion. She and her family reported that she had suffered from postpartum depression and they were not prepared to risk another child given the extent of her disability with the first two children.  Under the laws governing abortion in Ohio she was counseled and made to watch an ultrasound of the beating heart. Then she was forced to wait 24 hours before the procedure could take place.

How is it that ‘pro-lifers' are pro-life prior to birth but postpartum the child or children born, may suffer by having basic needs denied them. The ‘Tea Partiers’ are perfectly comfortable allowing children to go hungry and without medical care, housing, or schools to balance the Nation's budget. They consider a safe place for supervised play frivolous and would rather children wander gang riddled community parks in unsafe neighborhoods. 

Their policies are down right hypocritical. They want to prevent abortion but they are willing to allow starvation for our Nations children, they are willing to allow pain and suffering rather then provide medical care. Pro-lifers are comfortable denying our children schooling, thereby causing ignorance and driving them into a life of disabling poverty, ill health and starvation. 

If ‘Tea Partiers‘ are going to force live birth, let them also provide assistance for the care of these children. We are a Country that declares a mission of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as "unalienable rights” for all members of society. 

‘Tea Party’ public policy are inhumane, cruel and beyond human understanding for those who have never known these indignities.

When life begins is also beyond human understanding, and another life event perplexing to most humans'. What causes a perfectly healthy woman to suddenly suffer delusions, postpartum also escapes our understanding. Mental illness is a human experience that is beyond our comprehension, . Why are people suddenly robbed  of their sanity? No one really knows. The loss of one’s common sense and mental health is a torment that no one should endure. 

There Harvard University stars like Senator Ted Cruz who support  policies that demand live birth but deny children basic rights in the name of God. 

Personally, I think God would be ashamed. After all, are we not our brothers keeper!

The Tea Party, Guns and Abortion

Abortion is a controversial topic that is why I want to begin this post by making my personal belief clear from the start. Abortion should not be a method engaged for family planning. Abortion is the last choice when there are no other options and when a pregnancy will bring harm to the mother.  It is not a reasonable method of birth control but I firmly believe that a mother’s health transcends that of the fetus. This is a very personal question between a mother, her immediate family, her spiritual counselor and her physician. This is not a societal decision and should not be subjected to public debate by the varying religious ideologies of the community.  Religious communities have differing views about abortion and while some consider it a mortal sin, others believe that there are times when abortion is a sacred method for avoiding potential harm to a mother.  Judaism, for one, does not recognize an unborn fetus as human life but assigns the fetus a sacredness that would prohibit casual disposal of a pregnancy.

I support a woman’s right to choice and this article is written in response to recent “Tea Party” activism that has changed State laws in order to hinder access to safe abortions. This kind of activism endangers American women by obstructing the path to good health care with personal religious ideology not universally shared by all Americans’. In addition, while ‘Planned Parenthood’ offers abortion it is the smallest part of their work. Planned Parenthood primarily provides birth control counseling and healthy mother and baby exams. Tea Party activist propose closing woman’s health care clinics’ to prevent abortion at the expense of indigent woman in our community needing inexpensive health care acquired at these same organizations. In other words,  Tea Partiers’ want clinics shut to satisfy their personal religious ideology.

In early October, Miriam Carey, tried to crash the White House gates and in doing so died in a hail of gunfire following a high speed chase by Capital Police.  In the back of the car, police found a one year old child secured in car seat but no weapons. By some miracle the child was physically unharmed. However, with the mother dead, DC social services was forced to take guardianship of the infant and assigned her to foster care while police searched for more immediate family members.

A search of Ms. Carey’s home revealed that she was taking prescription medications for postpartum depression with delusions. Interviews with her family and friends revealed that Ms. Carey believed that President Obama ordered that she be monitored by “electronic surveillance” according to the New York Times.

Recently, Tea Party Governor, John Kasich of Ohio, signed an anti-abortion measure attached to the Ohio State budget that required a 24 hour wait between counseling and the abortion procedure. In Ohio, counselors are required to show the patient an ultrasound displaying the beating heart of the fetus.

A pregnant 24 year old woman from Ohio was about to carry for the third time when she requested an abortion. The family reported that the pregnant woman had suffered from postpartum depression and with each live birth the condition grew worse. The decision to terminate this pregnancy was made after she became delusional and they were advised that psychotropic therapy should be stopped if the pregnancy was to be carried to term.  The family concluded that her sanity took precedence over the pregnancy and therefore the abortion was requested.

Under the laws governing abortion in Ohio she was counseled and made to watch an ultrasound of the beating heart. Then she was made to wait 24 hours before the procedure could take place.

How are the ‘pro-lifers', ‘pro-life’ up to birth but once the child or children are born, ‘pro-lifers’ will ignore basic human needs. The ‘Tea Partiers’ are comfortable allowing children to go hungry and without medical care or housing and without schools but heaven forbid abortion. They consider a safe place for supervised play frivolous and would rather they wander community parks in unsafe neighborhoods. Their policies are hypocritical. They are anti- abortion but they are willing to allow starvation for our Nations children, or for children to suffer pain and illness for lack of medical care, or, incapacitate them with ignorance and destine them to a life of disabling poverty, ill health and starvation. At least, if ‘Tea Partiers‘ are going to force live birth, let them also provide assistance for the care of these children. 

We are a Country that declares our mission as “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as "unalienable rights” for all members of society.  The ‘Tea Party’ public policies are cruel and inhumane beyond description for those who have never known these indignities.

There are some things that are beyond human comprehension. One of them is when life begins, another is what snaps inside the mind that suddenly and often without warning, causes otherwise healthy people to be insane.  Loss of one’s common sense and mental health is a torment that no one should endure.

Tea Partiers want their way and are unwilling to negotiate. They are the American version of Taliban. They want to deny abortions regardless of the reason and they want to proliferate guns by inhibiting gun laws regardless of the casualties. America needs to stand up to this lunatic fringe. 

Rabbi & Community: Diversity is the Birthplace of Innovation, Uniform...

Rabbi & Community: Diversity is the Birthplace of Innovation, Uniform...: In the last half of the 20 th Century Jews who survived the Holocaust wrote books to record the death of brothers, sisters, parents and fr...

Diversity is the Birthplace of Innovation, Uniformity the Demise of Freedom

In the last half of the 20^th Century Jews who survived the Holocaust wrote books to record the death of brothers, sisters, parents and friends. Unlike Elie Wiesel, many of them had to hire ghost writers to tell their stories. My appetite for these stories is insatiable.

There was a reunion of survivors in Washington DC prior to the Holocaust Museum and I was fortunate to have been there. I witnessed the reunions of survivors who found friends and family they thought were murdered at the hands of the Nazis’. It was an amazing sight and one I will never forget.

Many Survivors came with books in hand to tell their individual stories. Recently, I read “Witness to the Truth” by Nathan Shapell. He tells the story of his family many who survived because they were employed by the Nazis’ to clean the streets of Kultusgemeinde. Nathan was able to use his position to find jobs for family and friends delaying imprisonment and execution. In ‘Witness to the Truth’ Nathan Shapell records for posterity the brutality of the Nazis regime. Ultimately, he made his way to America and became a successful business man. Throughout his life time the scars of the brutality experienced under the Nazi regime and in Concentration around Europe tormented him but did not prevent his success.

In most cases, individual members of the Nazi Party were self-centered and made decisions in a self serving way. During WWII the lunacy of Hitler drove people to self-preservation, in America, the opposite has been true, and concern for every human being drives our conduct. 

The sanity of our Government has forced us to consider the plight of our fellow citizens’. The ‘civil rights movement’  is an example of that sanity.  As a Country we forced ourselves to look at the plight of the Black Community and we acted on a principle that “all men are created equal”. We surrendered our self-interest for the greater good. We sacrificed the here and now for a democratic future. 

The Rehabilitation Act (1973) is another example of America creating laws to protect a minority. The Fair Credit Act (2004) enacted to protect those in debt, the Abolition of Slavery (1883) to set people free. These are diverse example of laws enacted to protect the weak.

What has happened? We have elected representatives to our Congress who would rather act out of self-interest than the best interest of our society.

What is exactly is the principle behind todays' Government shutdown, the delay of ‘Obama Care’? Rather than struggle with the implementation of Obama Care our Republican representatives would rather deny 30 million Americans’ health care. Rather than pass a Continuing Resolution to fund our Government, our Republican representatives would rather put more than 2 million people out of work. Where is the sanity in this behavior?

There are twenty three Representative in Congress who are members of the Tea Party and they use their power to coerce an entire Country. They speak as though they are reasonable but nothing that they say or do is reasonable.  These are self-centered people acting much like the Taliban or Al-Shabaab. They may believe that their ideology is blessed by the Creator but they refuse to accept that each of us have our personal view of our relationship with our Maker. They would deny you your beliefs'  rather than admit that there is more than one way to heaven.

These are dangerous times for America. Radicalization is dangerous. Those who believe that their values are the only right standards pose the greatest threat to our democracy. What makes our Country strong is its diversity. In fact, diversity is the birthplace of innovation and uniformity is the demise of freedom. Richard Nixon once said; “when the president does it that means that it is not illegal” and if Richard Nixon had his way this Country would be a dictatorship not a democracy. If the Tea Party has its way, we will live in a Country coerced by the needs of the powerful.

“IN THE BEGINNING” GOD WARNED US, HAVE WE TAKEN HEED?

IN THE BEGINNING, GOD WARNED US.

After the Jewish Community celebrates the High Holy Days we begin again reading the Torah. Last week was the first chapter of Genesis. I believe one of the most important lines in all of Torah is found in Ch:4 Vs:10.

Permit me to set the scene. Cain and Abel each make independent offerings to God as an expression of their loyalty. God accepts the gift offering of Abel with greater enthusiasm and Cain takes Abel’s life.  God ask’s Cain, “Were is your brother Able? (vs: 9)” Cain foolishly responds, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

With contempt for Cain’s behavior, God confronts Cain; “What have you done?  The blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth” This verse speaks volumes to people about people.

In my almost 40 year as a pulpit rabbi, I had opportunities to experience people up close and personal. As a student of Psychology, I was fascinated by human behavior.  A rabbi, as I am sure do all clergy, one gets to see the best and the worst of people. The generosity of people is absolutely amazing especially when someone is challenged with tragedy. The general rule is that human suffering bring out the best in people and contempt brings out the worst.

Couples who begin their relationship with love, passion, affection, joy respect and forgiveness, can, and often do, become so contaminated with revulsion that after a few years of marriage, what was love morphs into contempt. When contempt is the prevailing spirit at home the family notion of love is distorted.  These families teach that deceitfulness, emotional abuse and disrespect is a reasonable negotiating tactic in relationships.

The stories are unending. I knew a man who asked his wife to allow him to have her engagement ring cleaned.  While in his possession, he had the diamond removed and replaced it with Cubic Zirconia.  Their home insurance required updating and the wife took her prized engagement ring to have it appraised and learned of the switch.

In another family, a spouse who suffered from mental illness was regularly insulted publicly while children watched. This coupled tortured one another as they engaged in a code of behavior reminiscent of covert war rather than family.

Rashi (1040-1104), the famous rabbinic scholar points out that when God speaks to Cain, God uses the plural, “the blood of your brother cries out, rather than the singular cry out and he sees this as having a central message. Rashi say's the plural cries is because there were multiple wounds inflicted to cause Abel’s death and each wound cried out. God was therefore bombarded by the cries that came from the wounds on Abel's body and soul. 

Usually when people cause others harm there are multiples of wounds. Each wound cries out to God and each wound demands God's intervention. “In the beginning”, God warned us, treat your neighbor with respect and friendship for in the event of harm “the blood of your brother cries out to God.”

Things You Don't Want to Know About Lubavitch...

Today I received an email from CHABAD.ORG to my recent post. 

They wrote:

Dear Peter, I was reading your blog and I thought that you may like to read this-to shed some light your way. May the wisdom of the Rebbe of righteous memory open up your heart to the truth and may this year be a year of personal growth and closeness to HaShem-and a Happy and Healthy year- be well, Ahavah

Ahavah

Apparently, Chabad.Org has its’ own social media folks who search the internet for negative publicity. The best response that they have to criticism of cronyism, deception and fraud is; “May the wisdom of the Rebbe of righteous memory open up your heart to the truth”.

Christian evangelists use similar language when criticized for offering false hope and the promise of miracles. “May the faith of Christ free you of your cynicism.” As someone who has spent his life examining humanities relationship with God, I feel confident stating  that faith in God and Torah should lead us to behavior that reflects upstanding moral integrity.

Let me catch you up on the latest antics of our friends at Lubavitch Chabad. MJI (Michigan Jewish Institute) the Lubavitch College which has failed the test of accreditation and is now threatened with losing its ability to register students for Federal Aid was back on the front pages of “The Forward”.

This past week ‘The Forward’ reported that when they “interviewed MJI’s Director of Academic Administration, Dov Stein… he offered contradictory information about MJI’s student enrollment. Initially, Stein said MJI had about 3,000 students. Later, he revised that figure down to about 2,000 students.”

In addition, investigations by ‘The Forward’ revealed that 99% of the students at MJI receive Federal funding which is only available to US citizens. All of the students were secured while in Israel at orthodox Seminaries. The United States Department of Education has now invested $25 million in MJI since 2008 but few if any students have graduated from the school.

This year the school has received $8.6 million dollars. This is not free money. If MJI fails to obtain accreditation from the "Appalachian Regional Commission" student may be obligated to refund the money to the Government.

So what did Lubavitch do with the $33 million they pocketed? They built “The Shul” which houses MJI and they are about to build “a new 16,000 square foot headquarters — even though almost no students ever set foot on campus” according to ‘The Forward’.

As I see it, this conduct is not consistent with Torah values. Nor, do I believe, are these actions consistent with ‘The Rebbe’s’ values as professed during his life time. This is stealing. It is comparable to  physicians who take  Medicare money for procedures billed but not performed. These are educators billing for student education and classes that have not been provided. Shame on you Lubavitch and shame on the Jewish Community for not having acted sooner to stop these abuses.

Read more: http://forward.com/articles/170106/chabad-college-in-michigan-gets-building-go-ahead/?p=all#ixzz2gM87eMZW

Should Mom be hungry while living in upscale assisted living facility?

Tonight, Barbie and I enjoyed dinner with Bernice Rosenthal, grandmother to our four children and great-grandmother to our four grandchildren. Bernice lives in a relatively posh assisted living facility. Laurel Oaks is every seniors dream about the golden years. A beautiful apartment, friends who share the facility and meals prepared and served to her in a restaurant like dinning hall. However, today, Mom reports that she hasn't eaten for two days because the food is just inedible. Steak, chicken, rice, salad, mushrooms and zucchini; Mom ate and was happy. What the hell is wrong with the World when 92 year old women who live in posh facilities are fed crap that’s inedible. 

Mom, "what did you do when there wasn't anything for you to eat?" Bernice said; "I went home hungry, what should I have done?" Call us and we will bring you food. Call a takeout restaurant and order a meal delivered. As we drove back to her apartment, she said; "I am not motivated enough to do anything." How much more money would it take to provide her with a good, nutritious, meal. At least, how much more than the $7.50 they now charge her per meal. This story is repeated over and over again by the elderly living in senior facilities. 

Mom has lost at least 25 pounds since her move to Laurel Oaks. If you are considering moving to Laurel Oaks you better have at least 30 lbs of fat on you to survive 5 years; or as an alternative, family who cares about you.

Rabbi & Community: Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...

Rabbi & Community: Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...: We are fast approaching the last days of Succoth and then the close of the High Holy Days. Our rabbis taught that the numerical value of th...

Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...

We are fast approaching the last days of Succoth and then the close of the High Holy Days. Our rabbis taught that the numerical value of the word Succah is the same as the numerical value of the word Amen. 

Amen means truth and Succah a flimsy dwelling. All dwellings are flimsy when faced with the power of God's nature. Boulder, Colorado is before us and we see what a deluge from the heavens can do. Two hundred people are still missing and every day bodies are being pulled from washed out homes and cars are pulled from washed out roads with bodies still inside.

Many years ago I did therapy with a 38 year old woman who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Mary Bloch had severe surgeries and bone disease with little available to offer her hope and so she slowly slipped from the world leaving a young child and husband behind. At the time, I was still going with Barbie and little Zechariah to Sheboygan. It was Succoth and I was out of my Milwaukee office.

Mary came to Sheboygan to visit our Succah and we sat in the Succah for a therapy session. Mary was gentile and curious about this little hut that we lived in for Succoth. I explained to her that the Succah represented the body surrounded by family and God's spirit. But like all dwelling places they are fragile and easily destroyed. But the spirit of our homes cannot be destroyed. While the physical body may be blown down or washed away, the spiritual home always remains intact. I told her of my visits to Jerusalem and the Kotel and how the grandeur of the Holy Temple was still apparent even though only one support wall remained of the entire facility which once occupied a vast part of Mount Zion. I explained how the spirit of God's presence was palpable in that place. While trying to comfort Mary, I told her that while the time may come when her body will no longer be present, surely, the essence of her spirit would be here and that she would remain in life with those she loved. I believe that Succoth day my gentile friend, Mary, was comforted by the story of the Succah. 

Twenty five years have passed since that day but every Succoth, no matter where we have been, Mary dwells with me in my Succah. Soon after Succoth Mary passed on and took her place in the ‘world to come’. Mary left Barbie and me a gift, as a memento of our friendship, it was a painting of musicians rejoicing at a wedding and it continues to hang on the wall of our home.

The rabbis ask; why do we not observe Succoth around Passover?  In Parshas Emor the Torah states very clearly that in Succoth (temporary dwellings) we lived as we made our journey from Egypt to Israel. If that is how the Succah came into being, then surely we should dwell in Succoth between Passover and Shavuoth as did the generation who stood at Sinai, the rabbis theorized?  But for us to say Amen (it's the truth) we need to dwell in the Succah when the winds of change are upon us. The fall is the right time. The cold winds blow, the rain falls from the sky, it soon after we confront our mortality on Yom Kippur. “On Rosh HaShanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed who shall live and who shall die.” While our bodies may see their mortality, the spirit of our lives cannot be taken from us. Our essence, love, affection, generosity, kindness cannot be erased.

As post script and for the record, when I was a young child my brother Barry and I would build the Succah at the side of our parents’ home in Hicksville, New York. We used one wall from the house and one from the fence that enclosed our back yard. The other two walls were very crude built with chicken wire wrapped around polls we sunk in the ground. There was a very meager bulb that hung from an extension cord to provide us with a small amount of light. There was no floor, just the cold wet grass. A folding table and metal folding chairs served as the altar for meals and study. The Succah was worthy of the blessing Layshev BaSuccah (dwelling in the Succah according to God's command). Barry and I observed Succoth together in that Succah for many years and he was fond of telling a story about two gentile boys walking by our home, seeing the Succah and asking; what is that?  The second boy answered; "stupid it's a barn!" No, it was not a barn, not in suburbia Long Island. It was a Succah the body that gives our spirit life. The home in which our spirit rests. It would take more than fifty years before I would realize that my Succah is fragile and I must treasure every blessed moment given by God.

Finally, here's to you Mary Bloch to whom I owe so much for the lessons you taught about courage and the preciousness of the life force. Thank you for sharing your life with me. May your rest be in serenity and may God’s presence be your reward!

My favorite topic "Lubavitch"!

While sitting in a Succah this past week and enjoying dinner with friends the conversation turned to Lubavitch. Whenever this happen my hair stands up on end and I immediately tell people exactly what I think (not good if you want to keep your friends). 

Most people know Lubavitch from the outside looking in, however, few know what has happened since the passing of Rabbi Schneerson. The beloved Lubavitcher Rebbe failed to appoint a successor and since he had no children there was no apparent successor. His body was not cold in the ground when the feuding began. There was a huge financial estate at stake. Lots of real estate, donations, prestige and it was suddenly up for grabs. Those who were closest to the Rebbe began jockeying for position but ultimately they agreed, let's be friends and share the pot of gold. Then there was the question of the dead Rebbe's spiritual circumstances. Was he really dead or was he immune from death? Was the Rebbe like Elijah ascending heavenward on a chariot of fire? Many began to see him as the Messiah and as a result a new word was born "Meshichasts" a breed of Lubavitch that believe the Rebbe is the Messiah and will return to rid the world of the mess humans have made. This did not go over well with those Lubavitch who are traditional Chassidim and so the divide was created.

It is the greed that deserves the attention of the Jewish Community. Lubavitch have been called a 'pariah' on the Community because they are insular taking much financially from the Jewish Communities they serve but giving nothing financial back. They are not donors to the local Jewish Federations, they generally don't hire from the general community even when all they need are basic day camp counselors or bus drivers.

They are nepotists appointing the most powerful families to the best positions within the organization regardless of acumen. Recently they have taken to naming their community Synagogue's "The Shul" as if they are the only Shul in town. Some communities have the “The Shul North" or  "The Shul South",  "The Shul" is simply buzz words for Lubavitch. 

Now they have lost their moral compass. This past summer the Forward reported the story of the Lubavitch in Detroit who created a College offering  Jewish courses and teaching degrees over the internet. The College had enrolled American students living in Israel at seminaries, to take courses over the internet. The students were provided with Pell Grants and loans but reporters found that few if any were graduating and the appropriation of the grants paid to the college were under investigation. The Forward seem to suggest that the students in Israel were unaware of their obligations after signing the financial aid documents. Another words, they didn't know that they had to pay the loans back. Lubavitch Detroit appears to have funded their programs in Detroit and put young students at financial risk.

To paraphrase the late Senator Lloyd Bensen, the Lubavitcher Rebbe was my friend not because I knew him personally but he was someone I greatly admired and who inspired me. Unfortunately, his spirit was not enough to keep the Lubavitch community from "falling off the derech" (buzz words for people who have lost their religious way). I believe he would have cringed at hearing his community refer to him as "Melech HaMashiach" (our king the Messiah).

Although I did not know the Rebbe personally, I spent many a Shabbat at 770 headquarters, I went to many Lubavitch celebrations were the Rebbe was the featured speaker and I feel confident reporting that the Rebbe would have chastised anyone who would have suggested that he was the messiah. Our religious leaders must “talk the talk” but they must also “walk the walk”.

Chag Samayach

They don't get the message!

Justifiably, John Boehner's Congress has been called a "do nothing Congress" with the highest disapproval ratings (about 75% disapprove)  since the 70's. These folks are deaf. When 90% of the Country calls for gun control legislation they fail to create law and they invent reasons to vote on healthcare legislation when no action is required.  Can't they find something constructive to do with their time.

I propose the following: if we furlough Federal employees because the "debt limit" fails to get approval, then lets just furlough Congress.  The Speaker earns $223,000. a year and each Congress person earns a minimum of $174,000. that would save Americans about $93 million dollars and that does not include their staffs. These folks should be subject to the same scrutiny every working person faces. They should be paid for their productivity. This 112 Congress acted on 193 pieces of legislation including the naming Federal facilities.

When will they get the message? Detroit realized that the american automobile industry was in trouble when Japan had captured 25% of the market share and look what happened in Detroit. Washington has been told that the average american has no faith in there congressional leadership but even with 75% disapproving they still don't get the message. HELP!!!!!!!