It is here. The day that most sports fans have waited for, Superbowl Sunday!
Or, if that doesn’t make you excited…
It is here. The day that most sports fans have waited for, the commercials on Superbowl Sunday!
Since the Vikings are out, I don’t really care that much who wins (though I’ll be rooting for New Orleans). Who are you rooting for?
Or…
Are they having a Bud Bowl this year? Who do you think will win and just how many commercials with Clydesdales do you think there will be?
This week in the Torah we read Parshat Yitro, the story of Revelation. Just forty-nine days after the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and Redemption, this emerging community is made into a covenantal community. No longer will the Israelite people be connected by individuals with Divine experience (like Moses). Now we’re a unified community with rules, laws and consequences. Every time we read of the Sinai experience we’re reminded that every Jewish soul that ever will exist was present. Do you remember what it was like? I hope to spend Shabbat this week trying to do just that.
And because I try to have a sense of humor sometimes, for your viewing pleasure…
Take a look here. Did you write to Congress yet? I did yesterday and it was so easy. Remember, faxes and emails are most effective! Calls are great, too. Here is a list of contact information for the Senate. Here is a way to find your representative in the House and how to contact them. There’s work to be done.
This is from HRC.
In just a few hours, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen will be meeting with senators about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Have military leaders heeded the growing call to end discrimination in the military? Not necessarily. A Pentagon spokesman said, “The Joint Chiefs have been thinking through how they would go about offering their best advice on this issue.”
Don’t you just love Washington double-speak?
We need Congress to know there’s immense public pressure on this issue. As they decide how to respond to today’s hearing – whether to push this repeal forward or push it aside – they need to hear from you immediately.
Tell your representative and senators to repeal this discriminatory law NOW.
In case you missed it, I’m forwarding the email I sent after President Obama’s State of the Union speech, announcing our $2+ million campaign to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Please join us in this crucial effort.
I admit it. Prayer is not easy and sometimes, it is downright hard. This morning I led minyan, I was fortunate to be able to attend yesterday, too. I have to say that I am in the midst of a struggle. From time to time this happens to me. Whether it is my emotional state, my busy mind that sometimes struggles to achieve quiet, whatever it is, prayer is hard. I find when this happens to me the best thing for me to do is to keep praying. It seems almost counter intuitive. When something is difficult why does it makes sense to do it more often? I am not entirely certain of the reason, I just know from experience this is what works for me. Let me be clear. Challenges with prayer don’t indicate a void in my spirituality. I actually find naming the struggle deepens my spiritual experience.
I read Vanity Fair. Sometimes it takes me a little longer than I might like to get through an issue. This isn’t to say I am not always reading. I am. This month’s issue, or shall I say, the February 2010 issue has Tiger Woods on the cover. I need to be honest. I think one of the reasons I haven’t read the issue is because I don’t really care very much about this Tiger Woods story. I know it has taken up much of the news since American Thanksgiving and I know he is a great golfer but I don’t really like golf very much and I feel badly for the Woods family but that is about it. Why is it still a story? What is it about celebrity’s lives that is so fascinating? If anyone has some suggestions, I’m interested.
That very handsome man in my uncle Alan. To the world he’s better known as, Rear Admiral (ret.) Alan M. Steinman, MD. Okay, I added on the MD but he is a doctor! My uncle is an amazing person. Here are a few reasons why (and my other uncles are amazing, too).
Alan is a retired officer of the United States Coast Guard and the Public Health Service. He worked in a variety of locations as a flight surgeon and became one of the leading experts in the world on hypothermia. He was the equivalent to the Surgeon General for the Coast Guard during his career and served in a variety of capacities. One of the most notable roles Alan held was his position as Chief of Wellness for the Coast Guard in which he oversaw a variety of programs. After the first Gulf War and Uncle Alan’s retirement he was appointed to the Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf-War Chemical and Biological Incidents, where he served under Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH) as the chief medical advisor for the Board from July, 1998 to January, 2001. He has a really impressive biography. You can read it here.
My uncle Alan also attended every graduation ceremony I ever had. High school, Brandeis, my M.A.H.L. and my rabbinic ordination, he was always there cheering me on. Uncle Alan also created a Steinman family tradition, the elevator dance. I cannot disclose this dance it is truly something that must be witnessed. As the oldest niece it has been my familial duty to ensure that each of my cousins have learned and perform the elevator dance. No there will be no videos either.
When Uncle Alan retired from the Coast Guard my dad went in support. We all wished we could be there in support but school was calling.
Uncle Alan also is a gay man. He was unable to come out publicly and even privately to our family because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a 1993 law established by Executive Order of President Clinton. After a highly decorated military career, Alan couldn’t afford to be discharged from the Coast Guard in this manner. Five separate times federal courts have upheld DADT.
Upon his retirement from the Coast Guard, Alan was able to come out to his family. In 2003, the 10th anniversary of DADT, Alan became the highest ranking military officer to self-identify as gay. He has appeared widely in a variety of venues about the problems of DADT and the tremendous negative effects it has on the military, service members, and our entire country.
Last night in his State of the Union address, President Obama used 38 words to address DADT. He said, “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are, it’s the right thing to do.” This was a nod to the cause and now it is time for us to raise our voices. You can visit the SLDN and HRC for more information.
You can rest assured that I will use this blog to let you know when it is time to phone congress and write faxes and emails. I hope that you can see from take away from this post that DADT doesn’t just effect ‘people’ in some abstract way. I am talking about people who want to serve their country and continue to be denied the opportunity. It is discriminatory. It is wrong. It cannot be tolerated any longer. No person should have to wait to come out to their family because they are serving in the armed forces.
It would be wonderful if one day I could talk about my uncle Alan and could talk about all the work he needed to do to end discrimination as part of a history lesson. Let’s all work together to make that day come sooner.
Oh and most important, I love you Uncle Alan!
So I said yesterday that I was going to post another blog that included some Torah. You might notice no such post was written. Dear reader, I am sorry. I said I was going to do something and I didn’t do it. Forgive me.
This week we are reading Parshat Beshallach as I mentioned yesterday. As my friend almost Rabbi Noam Katz taught me this week, we have the very first recorded song session in the Torah. As the people of Israel crossed the Sea of Reeds and made their way safely to the other side Miriam, Aaron’s sister, leads the women in song and dance. What do you think the song sounded like?
P.S. You should also buy Noam’s new CD.
Rabbi Eleanor Steinman 