The newly elected Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, paid a visit to Chief Rabbi Capers Funnye at Beth Shalom Bnai Zaken synagogue. The visit was part of the mayor’s initiative to foster interfaith dialogue and cooperation in the city.
Our lives are punctuated by one simple thing, noise. Life begins with the
clattering noise of monitors and talking in the delivery room. Life ends with the
abrasive, resounding, definitive thudding sound, unlike any other, that we
encounter as mounds of dirt are thrown onto the caskets. It is no longer from dust
thou art but “from noise thou art to noise thou shall return!1
I am yearning for
silence!
There are many things and people that one may consider beautiful. Some
people would say that the Somali model Iman, actor Haile Berry or the sight of an
African bride adorned for her husband are quite beautiful. Still others may cast
their vote for the majestic heights of Mount Kilimanjaro, the sweeping beauty of
the Swiss Alps on a pristine winter day or the majesty of the many life forms and
foliage of the Costa Rican rainforest. My personal list would include…
How does your day begin? Do you hit the alarm snooze button or roll over one
more time? The important codification of law, (רוּךָע ןָח ְלׁ ֻש (the Shulchan Aruch,
opens with this: “בבוקר לעמוד כארי יתגבר “one should strengthen herself like a lion to
get up in the morning.”
Isaiah chapters 40-66 is concerned with the return to Israel after the Babylonian
captivity. Some of exiled Israelites were reluctant to return because they had obtained a
level of prosperity and comfort in Babylon but Isaiah encourages them to return by
invoking that everyone from the wealthy to the destitute and displaced had a place in the
newly repatriated land.
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We promote peace, love, and respect of all people.
International Israelite Board of Rabbis
6601 South Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60629
Chief Rabbi Capers Funnye
Main Office (773) 476-2924
Rabbi Sholomo B. Levy, Pres.
rabbilevy@blackjews.org
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