Cantor Vera's Corner
Cantor Vera's Message
January 2021
Dear chevre,
Back in late October, I was talking with a colleague. I asked how their congregation was doing. They said, "I’ve been telling my people to vote early, to stay away from the polls on Election Day.” I assumed their concern was coronavirus safety. No, they quietly corrected me. It wasn't only that. They didn't want their Black congregants to be targets of racially motivated anger as they voted, on a day when emotions were running high.
That pulled me up short. That’s a fear I’ve never personally experienced.
2020 was a year of reckoning for America on race. For myself, I’ve been brought face-to-face with my own privilege as a white person, over and over, in personal encounters and while reading the news. I’m conscious that I’ve had affordable access to quality health care (including coronavirus testing) where my providers respond swiftly and appropriately to my needs. I am blessed to work in a stable job, here in our wonderful Temple community, which I can do remotely, protecting myself and my family during coronavirus. And I have never had to worry that the color of my skin would expose me or my family to harm, from unconscious or conscious bias, from civilians or police.
This year has thrown inequities in all those areas between white experience and Black and Brown experiences into extremely sharp relief.
Confronting my privilege has been uncomfortable—I’ve felt by turns embarrassed, guilty, defensive, and sad. But discomfort can open doors to needed change.
Our Jewish ethical treasury, Mishnah Pirkei Avot, exhorts, “hevei dan l’chol ha’adam l’chaf z’chut” (Pirkei Avot 1:6). Judge each person, regardless of race, by their good merits—give them the benefit of the doubt. We live in a country where that ideal of equal presumption of good merit is not yet fully realized by our institutions of criminal justice, healthcare, and education. There’s a long way still to go. Our Social Justice and Antiracism Committees have begun creating opportunities for our congregation to educate ourselves about systemic racism, large and small, and to work together to change it.
As we look forward to celebrating our 33rd Martin Luther King Jr. Shabbat service with our friends and neighbors, Calvary Baptist Church, on January 15 at 7:00 pm (by Zoom and Facebook Live), I am grateful for the opportunity this service affords to listen to our Black neighbors—to hear their stories—and to create hope together for a brighter future. Rabbi Rachel and I are working closely with Calvary’s Pastor Kenneth Young and Music Minister Joe Devoe to adapt our service for an online format with the wonderful choirs and musicians of our congregations, and we’re excited for the participation of our Greater Haverhill interfaith community.
May we look back on this year as a year in which our country’s collective discomfort turned tides of inequity and injustice, and helped inspire all to tikkun olam, the work of repair.
Bivracha,
Cantor Vera
Back in late October, I was talking with a colleague. I asked how their congregation was doing. They said, "I’ve been telling my people to vote early, to stay away from the polls on Election Day.” I assumed their concern was coronavirus safety. No, they quietly corrected me. It wasn't only that. They didn't want their Black congregants to be targets of racially motivated anger as they voted, on a day when emotions were running high.
That pulled me up short. That’s a fear I’ve never personally experienced.
2020 was a year of reckoning for America on race. For myself, I’ve been brought face-to-face with my own privilege as a white person, over and over, in personal encounters and while reading the news. I’m conscious that I’ve had affordable access to quality health care (including coronavirus testing) where my providers respond swiftly and appropriately to my needs. I am blessed to work in a stable job, here in our wonderful Temple community, which I can do remotely, protecting myself and my family during coronavirus. And I have never had to worry that the color of my skin would expose me or my family to harm, from unconscious or conscious bias, from civilians or police.
This year has thrown inequities in all those areas between white experience and Black and Brown experiences into extremely sharp relief.
Confronting my privilege has been uncomfortable—I’ve felt by turns embarrassed, guilty, defensive, and sad. But discomfort can open doors to needed change.
Our Jewish ethical treasury, Mishnah Pirkei Avot, exhorts, “hevei dan l’chol ha’adam l’chaf z’chut” (Pirkei Avot 1:6). Judge each person, regardless of race, by their good merits—give them the benefit of the doubt. We live in a country where that ideal of equal presumption of good merit is not yet fully realized by our institutions of criminal justice, healthcare, and education. There’s a long way still to go. Our Social Justice and Antiracism Committees have begun creating opportunities for our congregation to educate ourselves about systemic racism, large and small, and to work together to change it.
As we look forward to celebrating our 33rd Martin Luther King Jr. Shabbat service with our friends and neighbors, Calvary Baptist Church, on January 15 at 7:00 pm (by Zoom and Facebook Live), I am grateful for the opportunity this service affords to listen to our Black neighbors—to hear their stories—and to create hope together for a brighter future. Rabbi Rachel and I are working closely with Calvary’s Pastor Kenneth Young and Music Minister Joe Devoe to adapt our service for an online format with the wonderful choirs and musicians of our congregations, and we’re excited for the participation of our Greater Haverhill interfaith community.
May we look back on this year as a year in which our country’s collective discomfort turned tides of inequity and injustice, and helped inspire all to tikkun olam, the work of repair.
Bivracha,
Cantor Vera
Cantor Vera's Video Teachings
Cantor Vera's Writings
D'var for Pesach 5780/2020 (video)
"Practicing Failure, Cultivating Resilience," d'var for Yom Kippur 5780/2019
D'var for Kol Nidrei 5780/2019
"Israeli and American Jewish Identity," d'var for 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah 5780/2019
"The Geir Without and Within," d'var for 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah 5779/2018
"Ki Hinei Kachomeir: Desiring our Yeitzer," for Kol Nidrei 5779/2018
Cantor Vera's Report on Trip to San Diego and Tijuana with T'ruah in July 2018
"Practicing Failure, Cultivating Resilience," d'var for Yom Kippur 5780/2019
D'var for Kol Nidrei 5780/2019
"Israeli and American Jewish Identity," d'var for 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah 5780/2019
"The Geir Without and Within," d'var for 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah 5779/2018
"Ki Hinei Kachomeir: Desiring our Yeitzer," for Kol Nidrei 5779/2018
Cantor Vera's Report on Trip to San Diego and Tijuana with T'ruah in July 2018