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Rabbi praises support for cancer victim

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Contributed by: Mark Sobel on 8/7/2006

On July 29, a weekend with the horrific slaying of a woman and wounding of five others at a Seattle Jewish Center and on the heels of the crisis in the Middle East, almost 100 individuals came to a concert sponsored in Burbank to help raise money for cancer for one of the congregant's mother's in Macedonia.

The event was sponsored by a Liberal Jewish Temple performed in an Episcopal Christian church for a Macedonian woman nobody knows, Rachel Razankova.

What a contrast to the world was the concert. Music, the universal language, became the venue for the "righteous deed." You see, people put away their prejudices that night and came to help "make a miracle and save a life."

Where all the news these days seems about loss, loss of dignity, loss of hope, loss of home and loss of life, these members of Temple Beth Emet of Burbank and St. Jude's Episcopal Church, joined together from the beginning planning stages to the final chorus to make a miracle happen.

And it did.

People were treated to wonderful singing from host organizer Marissa Sellers and a varied program of jazz from the "Little Big Band." This was an evening of lovely music, lovely conversation, lovely words all for Rachel Razankova, the inspiration for Rachel's Fund.

Acts of love culminating, God willing, with the arrival of one cancer victim to the land full of God's love, the United States of America.

Still, what made me the happiest was the fact that Jew and Gentile, black and white, old and young, male and female sat enthralled by the several performers who generously donated their talents, time and music to help bring a victim of cancer, whom they had never met to the United States for treatment.

Also, I was joyful that there were people in the audience there for the same reason. We as a people are told in the Book of Deuteronomy, "if you have a choice between life and death, choose life."

All those involved with the "Concert for Rachel's Fund" lived up to the highest standards of that quote from Deuteronomy because they not only chose life for a life they knew, they chose life for a stranger.

At a time in our personal lives and in the lives of our nation and our world where people seem to be choosing death for each other, not just with cannons and missiles, but with words and with gestures, it is good to have found Father Chuck and the members of St. Jude's.

From the first moment I proposed contributing to Rachel's Fund to them, St. Jude's, acted stupendously. They announced from the stage, they called their fellow congregants, they organized committees, they moved furniture,they provided space for food and beverage, and then they welcomed us to their house of worship with love, respect and camaraderie given to brothers and sisters.

But I shouldn't be surprised, St. Jude's has been my congregation's home for High Holidays for the past seven years.

From the first moment we came across town to sit with their leadership and Father Chuck, we have felt the warmth of true Christian charity.

We call charity, Tzedakah, righteous behavior, and we are commanded to act in accordance with Tzedakah at all times. That has been the case with St. Jude's.

Now how can we bring the love of Saturday night's concert to the Middle East?

Maybe we need to teach the next generation as I was taught by my mother, of blessed memory, that the truly religious of all faiths are our allies in the wars to come. And add another teaching that one of my biology books gave. It said that while we all look differently on the outside, inside we are all the same.

So, if you are a scientist, our internal organs, systems, cells, etc., are the same. The same is true if you are a spiritualist, because as the great medieval philosopher Rashi said, "The part that is created in the image of God is internal, not external."

We need to instruct our young people that which ever house you belong to the House of Science or the House of Spirituality, the vast majority of every individual's being is the same not different, so we should find things that bring us together not split us apart.

Maybe, if that is too hard a teaching, we could just bring together small groups of the warring parties and remind them that there are innocent men and women throughout the world needing our blessings. Strangers have no hope for health without our prayers, works, healing and concerts.

Alienated people who have lost the capacity to hope, have faith or a vision for the future. Then we could, as is the Middle Eastern custom, invite them for a cup of "feenjan," strong coffee and agree to disagree.

Hine mah tov u mah na'im shevet achim gam yachad -- How good it is when brothers (and sister) can sit together as brothers. b'ahava.

Sobel is the rabbi of Temple Beth Emet in Burbank.

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