Until last week, the 45-year-old was in charge of Muslim burial customs involving the washing and wrapping of the deceased women in the local community. Absent of her, [Husna] Ahmed's family washed her body themselves. — David Child, "Christchurch mosque attack victims laid to rest in mass burial," Al Jazeera News, 3/22/19

 

Like Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz in Pittsburgh, Husna Ahmed was a beloved caregiver and burial fellowship leader in Christchurch — scheduled the next day to teach the Muslim body preparation traditions that are so similar to Jewish ones. 

 

Tragedies from Pennsylvania to New Zealand highlight the powerful, cross-cultural healing practices of caring for the bodies of the dead. As we bear witness to the shattering of our communities and our world, the blessed memories of Husna, Jerry, and others offer us continual opportunities to organize ourselves locally toward this ultimate kindness. 

 

We bury the dead of non-Jews along with the dead of Jews, for these are ways of peace. We console the mourners of non-Jews along with the mourners of Jews, for these are ways of peace. — Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Gittin (~400 CE)

 

WAYS OF PEACE offers simple, practical tools for advancement of local caring efforts. And the consolation that grows from communities organized for support and prepared to serve is ultimately a cause for celebration. 

LEARN MORE

 

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"This year we are still slaves. Next year may we all be free."

 

We are reminded that hatred can be as intoxicating as alcohol, as Purim revelry gives way to sober preparations for Passover. The season of counting days that begins with the Festival of Freedom offers vital opportunities for personal growth to all of us. LEARN MORE

 

COUNTING DAYS provides inspiration with brief, daily reflections for today's challenges. It's a primer for spiritual seekers, students of Mussar (Jewish ethical discipline) and mysticism, chaplains, synagogue leaders, Jewish Family Service staff, spiritual directors, and all who care about healing the scourge of addiction within the Jewish community and beyond.

 

Order Counting Days now to insure delivery before Passover! *

 

*Those in the greater NYC area can purchase COUNTING DAYS directly from Ways of Peace, without sales tax or shipping charges.

 

CONTACT US about hosting a COUNTING DAYS book program in your community! We can donate a percentage of the proceeds for each book sold to your hosting synagogue or other nonprofit organization. 

 

 

All of us face life's most difficult decisions with the best information we have available at the time. Yet greater awareness is urgently needed of how fossil-fuel-invested choices at the end of life result in significant, often unrecognized damage. Can the death of a master composter help us connect the dots?

 

Earth Island Journal, 2/19/19

Both composting and natural burial hinge on acceptance that the organic remains of the living are neither trash nor personal commodities. They belong, and should be brought back, to the earth.

These connections were intensified for me last April with the self-immolation of master composter David Buckel in my local community of Brooklyn, NY. A pioneering civil rights attorney who had exchanged legal briefs for buckets and shovels, Buckel was passionate about involving as many people as possible in community composting powered entirely by renewable energy sources. “My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,” he declared in his final message before setting himself on fire.

 

It has never been easy to accept our own bodies as compostable material. Perhaps David Buckel's legacy can help us affirm life by redirecting our end-of-life conversations toward a natural, fossil-fuel-divested return to the earth. LEARN MORE

 

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WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources promotes justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. We foster the dialogue among generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history.

 

In 2011, outrage erupted at a liberal Florida college when it was discovered that a rising star of white supremacy had quietly enrolled there. Risking ostracism themselves, two Jewish friends invited this white supremacist classmate to weekly Shabbat dinners that — over the course of two years — led to a high-profile renunciation of hatred and bigotry. Shabbat dinner host Matthew Stevenson later reflected on what inspired him to reach out:

 

"My mother, who passed a few years ago unfortunately...was very active in Alcoholics Anonymous...and so I had this belief inculcated in me very early on that people can change and transform, no matter how far gone they may seem."

 

These are painful times of fear, anger and divisiveness in the United States. And yet healing continues to spread quietly through people in addiction recovery and their families, even as they share deeply and personally about the real brokenness that so many experience across our lines of diversity. Anonymous traditions of unity, trusted service, principles over personalities, attraction rather than promotion, focus on common welfare and primary purpose are all part of this healing.

 

Addiction has been called the sacred disease of our time. Recovery offers much healing to our wounded world — one day at a time.

Before the 2016 elections, WAYS OF PEACE published COUNTING DAYS: From Liberation to Revelation for Jews in Recovery. It's a unique guide, especially for the one-day-at-a-time season between Passover and Shavu'ot, that features 50 daily reflections on recovery principles integrated with classical Jewish teachings. It offers an accessible  introduction to the Twelve Traditions as well as the Twelve Steps of healing from addiction.

 

Order COUNTING DAYS Now — for "One Day at a Time" guidance through  our next Festival of Freedom. And as you plan your calendars, please contact us if your community is interested in a workshop or scholar-in-residence program by videoconference.

Related programs include "Turning and Letting Go: Jewish Ways of Forgiveness," which explores unique Jewish challenges, literature, concepts, values, prayers, rituals and songs of willingness to make amends.

 

May we go from hopeful strength to hopeful strength.

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WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources renews justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. We foster the dialogue among generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history — and healing our shattered world.

 

 

2019 / 5779 is a leap year in the Jewish calendar. In Hebrew it's called a "pregnant" year, because it doubles the month of Adar. Adar is traditionally a time for shaking off winter blues: "Be happy; it's Adar!" The "pregnant" doubling also suggests mindfulness of what it means to move from winter into spring rebirth through the cycles of our lives.

The 7th day of Adar is a traditional time to celebrate the hevra kadisha / sacred Jewish burial fellowship for its ultimate kindness throughout the year. Now more than ever, recent tragedies have shown how sacred fellowship practices can help to restore our broken rhythms of community life. LEARN MORE

Whether your community maintains a hevra kadisha, is in the process of organizing one, or simply wants to grow further in the direction of kindness, please consider offering a program during this season to help move your caring efforts forward. As in every Jewish leap year, we have TWO upcoming opportunities to celebrate the 7th of Adar: mid-February and mid-March 2019.

 

If you would like to bring WAYS OF PEACE to your community for a program during this auspicious time, please contact us.

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WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources promotes justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. We facilitate transformation through compelling programs, unique publications, and life-changing consultations.

We have now moved through the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the shattering that became the broader devastation of the Holocaust — and we continue to face the relentless shatterings of hatred and violence over recent weeks in our nation and our world. How do we face our own brokenness? 

 

In Buddhist tradition, an ancient compassion-activist who vowed to liberate all beings from suffering became so overwhelmed with the enormity of that suffering that s/he shattered into thousands of pieces. The broken pieces were restored as thousands of eyes and arms — perhaps a reminder of how those who seek the world's healing must move through heartbreak into ever-expanding circles of connection and community.

 

In November 2005 I joined an international, multifaith Bearing Witness retreat on the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Memories of that experience are emerging powerfully now — and they shine light through the clouds of today's pain, fear, and anger. LEARN MORE

Thirteen years later, I have again become a bat mitzvah — a "daughter of imperative" — as my experiences and memories come of age on another level. I find it imperative to lift my candle, to listen for guidance, to reclaim the vigil, to walk the walk — and "First, do no harm." 

 

Most of all, I find it imperative to sustain the poor, visit the sick, bury the dead, and console the bereaved — for these are ways of peace across the lines that continue to divide us. These loving actions send healing through space and time to all the shattered bodies and souls — past, present, and future. LEARN MORE 

 

We bury the dead of non-Jews along with the dead of Jews, for these are ways of peace. We console the mourners of non-Jews along with the mourners of Jews, for these are ways of peace. — Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Gittin (~400 CE)

 

Thirteen Black and Jewish victims of hate-filled gun rampages in Jeffersontown, KY and Pittsburgh, PA were laid to rest over five days last week. The wounded are struggling to recover. Survivors are stunned. Our nation is overwhelmed. 

 

Media concern for Maurice Stallard and Vickie Lee Jones — of blessed memory— remains inadequate. Please remember "ways of peace" in opening your hearts to mourn and stand with the survivors in Jeffersontown and beyond.

 

In Pittsburgh, two hevra kadisha / sacred burial fellowship colleagues are among the dead and wounded. Jerry Rabinowitz — of blessed memory — was one of the first Pittsburgh victims buried this past week. I am thankful that the condition of Daniel Leger has been recently upgraded from critical to stable My heart goes out to their families and fellow volunteers of the New Community Chevra Kadisha.

 

I have long asserted that, when "nothing" can be done, the hevra kadisha goes to work. But when a sacred burial fellowship itself is wounded, the broader community must step forward into the breach — as is happening now in Pittsburgh. especially through vigil-keeping.

 

And when the cloud lengthened many days over the Tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the vigil of the ETERNAL and did not move on. — Numbers 9:19

 

The ancient Israelites, camping beneath a great cloud in the wilderness, never knew when the cloud would rise and move them forward — and they never knew when the cloud would again descend and bring them to a sudden halt. While less perceptible, today's clouds of grief and trauma continue to rise and descend beyond our human regulation. As in the biblical wilderness, vigil-keeping can help to restore our broken rhythms of community life. 

 

Beyond familiar vigils of public solidarity, the tragedies of the past week have highlighted the simple yet powerful practices of sh'mirah / vigil-keeping around the clock over the bodies of the dead. The last time that sh'mirah garnered any significant media attention was after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, when a pluralistic, 24-hour mobilization of more than 200 Jewish vigil-keepers at the NYC Medical Examiner’s office was sustained until the Ground Zero recovery efforts were suspended in May 2002. 

 

"This is something I can do," asserted Judith Kaplan, one of the 9/11 vigil-keepers whose stories went out around the world. Jessica Russak — who organized Kaplan and other classmates at nearby Stern College to insure that the vigil would be covered each Shabbat — later discovered that her great-grandmother had been a burial fellowship leader. "I think that’s the best thing I’ve heard since it all began," commented Russak, as she reflected on the first anniversary of the attacks. "I learned that there are more mitzvahs out there than I was aware of."

 

"This was something they knew how to do," reported Emma Green in The Atlantic on the dozens of volunteers who mobilized for sh'mirah in Pittsburgh over the past week, highlighting a range of personal practices. The only requirement for participation is the ability to be respectful and cooperative in the presence of the dead. Most vigil-keepers do not realize this until they volunteer. 

 

May this commitment be shared and sustained toward future healing. I want to express the gratitude that I have felt for fellow vigil-keepers since my own first vigil over the dead more than two decades ago:

 

Thank you for volunteering to fulfill this mitzvah of ultimate kindness. Your presence means more than anyone can ever say. 

 

 

Ar Hyd y Nos / All Through the Night

 

Melody first published 1784

Original Welsh poem by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887)

New singable English rendering lovingly dedicated

to all the dead, survivors, and vigil-keepers everywhere

 

All the eyelids of the stars say—

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

“Vale of glory beckons this way”

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT 

Suffering at these times is winter

Yet to beautify life further

We’ll put our weak light together

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

 

 

In 1887, a death in the small Jewish community of El Paso ("The Pass") galvanized the formation of the Mount Sinai Association to bury the dead, sustain the poor, and visit the sick. Join WAYS OF PEACE in El Paso at today's Temple Mount Sinai, as we renew the spiral of life!

 

From Caring Community to Sacred Fellowship

October 26th-28th, 2018 at Temple Mount Sinai, El Paso, Texas

 

How can we show up and accompany each other through the full range of life transitions — while keeping our own balance? Join Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips of WAYS OF PEACE as we discover a renewed equilibrium that integrates kindness and justice for these challenging times. LEARN MORE

Zombies...and Things That Come Back To Life

Tablet Magazine

"What is your position on zombies?" It's not something I'm usually asked as a rabbi, especially in the middle of a meal. (...) 

‘Tis the season for discussions of how kosher it is for Jews to celebrate Halloween. But the fascination with “the undead” provides ongoing opportunities for dialogue between generations on issues that go beyond costumes and candy. LEARN MORE

 

 

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WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

 

"...and after the hurricane, an earthquake...and after the earthquake, a fire...and after the fire — a still, small voice." (First Kings 19:11-12)

Professor Allan Lichtman, who has correctly predicted the popular vote of every presidential election since 1984, has done so on the basis of principles derived from the study of natural disasters — especially earthquakes: "Everything we know about elections, we've already stolen from geophysics....Tremors of political change, seismic movements of the voters, volcanic elections, political earthquakes. It's all geophysics anyway."

As so many of us continue to reel from the fallout of current events and their media coverage, this could actually be good news. Lichtman's perspective suggests that we turn our attention away from momentary headlines toward deeper forces, long-term transformation — and our own personal daily choices.

 

Today is the 92nd birthday of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen master and peace worker known to tens of thousands of followers worldwide simply as Thay (Teacher). He has weathered more than a half-century of exile, the devastation of his homeland, the murders of close friends, and countless setbacks in his continual efforts to alleviate suffering.

Throughout his life, Thich Nhat Hanh has offered a still, small voice of sanity beyond the terrors of our world. Even in his silence following a severe stroke, Thay continues to offer spiritual guidance through the ways he lives each day fully and mindfully.

 

What might our communities and our world look like if we spent more time listening for all the still, small voices that can guide us toward the best each of us can be? What if — beyond despair, rage, and holding our breaths for the next elections — we truly believed that Election Day is every day of our lives? LEARN MORE

 

In this season of change and uncertainty, may we remain mindful of all our miraculous, daily opportunities to make a world of difference.

In our commitment to just-giving, WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of renewing justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

 

We have just entered the introspective season of Elul — our SIXTH Jewish month of the year. (We traditionally count Jewish months from Passover, not from Rosh haShanah.) And WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources just celebrated our SIXTH anniversary!

This sixth anniversary is especially meaningful as we move toward publication of Who Knows Four? I Know Six! — Our Servant-Class Matriarchs and Social Justice Today. We are lifting up ancient, hidden legacies to inspire progress beyond protest — and to foster a deeper listening to the silences we often take for granted. LEARN MORE

 

Do You Know Six?

 

Since August 2012, our social microenterprise has facilitated personal and community transformation through compelling programs, unique publications, and life-changing consultations — all without any primary institutional funding support. On our sixth anniversary, help us take our work to the next level!

* Make a tax-deductible donation to support ...I Know Six!, MA'AVAR, or any of our other innovative programs and services

 

* Bring a program to your community. Special late October / early November opportunities in the southwest!

 

* Schedule an individual or family consultation

 

* Order your copy of Generous Justice and/or Counting Days

 

* Refer us to visionary foundations and other like-minded individuals who may be willing to support our efforts

 

* Contact us with words of encouragement!

 

"Just a brief note to express my deep gratitude for your bringing endless wellsprings of inspiration and caring to my attention. These are very dark days in the States and in Israel and your voice of hope, decency and dignity offers reminders of the better times we need struggle to create."

—Levi D. Lauer, Founding Executive Director, ATZUM-Justice Works

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WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

Please support our work today!

 

"They may deport her," reported a disheartened accompaniment volunteer who had emerged from the building. She described how an enforcement officer had spoken harshly to an immigrant petitioner in the presence of the family's frightened and confused children. As those who had gathered outside the building surrounded the veteran volunteer in a wordless hug, she was able to find some release in tears.

And then we began to walk.

 

Every Thursday for more than an hour, immigrant advocates and supporters participate in a Jericho Walk: seven silent circuits around the main ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) field office and court building in lower Manhattan. After each circuit, open hands are raised toward the building and a silent prayer is offered. At the end of the seventh circuit, the prayer is recited aloud in English and Spanish. Then we raise our voices for a collective shout and scream. "For me, it's a cry of pain," shared the accompaniment volunteer after that week's culminating outcry. 

 

Some weeks there are a few people; other weeks there are many more. Ravi Ragbir, the director of the New Sanctuary Coalition (NSC) of New York — who has walked alone as well as with hundreds who have supported his personal struggle against deportation — believes that the weekly walks are an essential component of the renewed sanctuary effort. The walks are usually led by Father Fabian Arias, an Argentinian-born priest who also "walks the walk" far beyond these weekly circuits by providing legal guardianship to dozens of young Latinx immigrants in danger of deportation. 

 

In times of growing polarization, hatred and violence, it is tempting to view retaliation as a form of righteousness. The Jericho Walk offers a way to transform pain, despair, and rage into a recommitment to bearing witness in love and hope. Even the name "Jericho Walk" involves the transformation of an originally violent narrative into a contemporary nonviolent action — a reminder that our first step is to "Do no harm." As reflected in a parallel Buddhist commitment in Oregon, this holds interfaith implications beyond the biblical metaphor.

We also have daily opportunities to "walk the walk" through our financial choices — and game-changing opportunities have recently emerged around the world in this regard . RAICES, a front-line immigrant rights network on the U.S./Mexico border, politely declined a six-figure grant from Salesforce, a corporation that indirectly profits from the separation of immigrant families.

 

"We will not be a beneficiary of your effort to buy your way out of ethical responsibility. We ask you to commit to ending your contract with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and we hope that we will be able to accept your donation under these terms," wrote RAICES in a private letter that was publicized after the corporation demurred. RAICES was able to do this, in part, because of the democratic "just-giving" of more than a half-million people who have nearly tripled RAICES' original operating budget in less than six weeks.

 

As  financial journalist Felix Salmon explains, "When you give to a bail fund, your money doesn’t just get used to bail someone out once. It gets recycled with repayment, and used over and over again to help out the most neglected people in the justice system....A permanent bond fund, which has the resources to bail out every detained parent, and ideally every wrongfully detained immigrant, is a fantastic public good, and once it’s seeded with enough money, it can operate almost indefinitely."

Across the ocean, as conditions remain untenable for tens of thousands of African asylum seekers in Israel, a coalition of immigrant advocates and supporters has launched the Kibbutz Resettlement initiative. Under the fiscal sponsorship of ATZUM-Justice Works, a veteran social justice organization, international support is sought to move vulnerable asylum-seeking families out of urban poverty into welcoming kibbutz communities.

 

Violence — whether verbal or physical — often springs from a sense of helplessness, and it is extremely contagious. The good news is that nonviolent action is also contagious, opening our eyes and hearts to the range of daily possibilities for hopeful, effective action in these painful times.

 

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WAYS OF PEACE donates at least 10 percent of net staff compensation to other organizations that uphold our core mandates of promoting justice and kindness across lines of diversity. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK TODAY!