K-K-Kibbutz, here I come.

“Elohai n’tzur l’shoni m’ra” ~ O Lord, Guide my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking guile.
Three times a day we recite this phrase at the end of the Amidah.
The Talmud teaches that worse than murder, is slander, because it kills three: “the teller, the listener and the victim.

I’m at a restaurant with a bunch of fellow tribe members enjoying a comedian and eating kosher deli food. The show is over, the conversations ensue, the Orthodox Rabbi makes a joke: “Oh, you want me to be a Reform Rabbi?”, he says to the girl across the table, “Here you go!” He proceeds to take off his kipah and throw it on the table. All the girls laugh, and I make my decision. I’ve been wrong all along, this is what its about: taking the easy way out. Being the Judiasm for Dummies, J-Light, The Choice to Abstain from everything sect was the “it” thing, because “it” is easy.

Flash forward 4 days.
I’m sitting at Starbucks, drinking a Fair Trade coffee, shmoozing. Then I get hit like a ton of bricks. Another diss by Reform Judaism.
Here in comfy southern Florida I find myself fighting the same battles, struggling against the same stereotypes and rising above to do what I do best; Learn and share, sing and teach, follow and lead. The door then opens, the light pours in, and the struggles all of a sudden seem worth it, again.

Liberal, progressive Judiasm is not about “choice”, its about the Obligation to Chose. The difference is we cannot say no and take the easy way out “Just Because”. Let us rise up, study, and make educated decisions for ourselves.

Somebody call the real estate agent. Get me the numbers for a big park in Brooklyn, or Coral Gables, or Southern California. Lets build this Kibbutz. Who’s coming with me?