A Good Name for All Times

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. Our world is changing as
new leaders come and old leaders go. Or maybe you
might say old leaders come and new leaders go, however
you might perceive the world's changes. We know that the

(00:21):
next four years are changing in some unexpected ways, and
all of us must walk the walk and talk the
talk so that our communities, our homes, our nation comes
together in this changing time. I've been asked by many people,
how do we go about it? How do we face

(00:42):
the future? In many cases, it's simply the unpredictability, not
just the person or the way, but not knowing how
to address what is coming or not. In Judaism, like
in many faith traditions, we look for foundations, values, teachings,
lessons that have endured over the years so that we,

(01:06):
even as the world changes around us, can find our
footing make our best efforts the way we walk and
work and speak and relate to other people. I can't
spend the time that we have today teaching you everything
that I would like you to know about how to
take hold of your future and find your footing in

(01:26):
a world that changes so quickly these days. But I
will share with you this. We open the book of
Torah to the Book of Exodus, and when you hear
the word Exodus, you think a journey, and we certainly
are on one. But the name of the Book of
Exodus and Hebrew is Shimote, because Shimote is not only

(01:47):
one of the first words in the Book of Exodus,
but it also describes what follows in the first few verses,
which are all the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The names that are listed are significant and it leads
to many interpretations. Significantly, it teaches us that our name,
at the end of the day is very often all

(02:09):
that we have when we are gone from this world.
Our wealth, our work, our possessions are immaterial to us.
What is left of us is a good name. So
our tradition teaches first of all, that we walk through
our life with many names. One is the one that
our parents choose for us. In Judaism, parents are privileged

(02:33):
to choose any name they wish for their child. We
certainly hope that they choose well a name of honor,
a name connected to something that's modern relevant and something
that might help other people. Really appreciate who is this
child coming up? But there's a second name that a
child also has through his or her lifetime. It's the

(02:54):
name that they make for themselves. And we hope, in
a world filled with opportunity, a nation filled with freedom
and liberty, that our children can grow up and make
a name for themselves by virtue of the profession, the vocation,
or the kind of person that they are, which leads
to the third and final name that we have through

(03:15):
the course of our lifetime, which is the one that
other people give us. Are we regarded as a person
of honor, credibility, honesty, Are we a mensch the Yiddish
German word that means a total human being of high
quality and caliber? And ultimately, are we a friend to

(03:36):
our friends? If these things matter to us, then we
take them seriously, and I would urge you as we
look for those foundational lessons to help guide us into
the future, which is filled with many unknowns. In a
good time, let alone the times that are so challenging
around the world, the name that we bear, the name

(03:59):
that people give us, should matter to us as a
core strategy to be valued by others in a world
filled with uncertainty. Wouldn't it be so special if you
were the person because of your name, your reputation, and
the name that people use to describe you that they
come to you for advice, for help, support, partnership, cooperation. Then,

(04:24):
in a world that is seemingly changing all around us,
we're not isolated at all. We're reached. People reach us
to feel connected, We reach back to participate in building
the home, the community, and the world we wish to see. Furthermore,
the Rabbis thought something else. They rift they played on

(04:46):
the Hebrew word that gives us three words coase, case costs.
You can hear the familiar sounds in each of those words,
case costs. They are three Hebrew words, and when we
translate them they mean kase is a cup, kis is

(05:06):
a pocket, and us is anger. The reality is they
really are three different Hebrew words, but they have a
similar sound. So the Rabbis were able to play with
them and lead us to a new understanding about who
we are by our human nature, and how we can
be at our best as human beings in any age

(05:28):
in which we live our coasts, they said, and you
can interpret it independently and personally, For yourself can mean
what we have in that cup is what we also eat,
we drink, what nourishes and sustains us. But it might
also be what we give to others. So the cup,

(05:49):
as we often say, might runneth over as texts have
taught us, or we might see the cup is half
empty or half full. It might represent how we perceive
the world around us. So in some way we are
measured and evaluated by the cup that we hold and
how we use it. The next word is keys, which

(06:11):
means a pocket, and for the rabbis of old the
pocket held their goods. Perhaps their coins may be something
precious to them. In olden days, they didn't have safe
deposit boxes or safes at home, but what was sewn
into their garment or placed in their pocket was what
they could afford. It was some source of their wealth.

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It could also be what they could take out of
their pocket and give to others. So the cup represented
outlook and perspective, what they used to nourish themselves physically spiritually,
what they might offer others, And the pocket is what
they held onto what was theirs, their source of their

(06:54):
wealth and sustenance that allowed them to get through the day,
but also to help others do the same. And finally,
cau us means anger. Each of us has a temperament. Well,
one thing the Rabbi's taught about a temperament is that
somebody who is angry, who has a fiery temperament, should

(07:14):
not be hired to be a teacher. Somebody who guides
and leads, instructs and teaches should be a person who
can accommodate people's needs, personalities, and their own temperaments. We
need to be the non anxious presence in the room,
and so if we're the person who gets lit up

(07:36):
too quickly, we're not going to be a non anxious presence,
and we might fuel the flames that are already burning.
That would be a terrible shame, especially in a world
that is already raging. The world needs something different, and
our anger is something that we need to be able
to control and to temper. Now, in addition to those

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three things which describe the nature of who we are
and the nature then that we bring into the world
around us, the Rabbi said, some also add that we
are known by our laughter. The rabbis had a sense
of humor. You might think that they don't because they
look awfully serious and traditional pictures in traditional garb, and

(08:20):
even many of their texts teach profound lessons. But in truth,
just as they played with these three words kose, kiss
and kas, they had a sense of humor. And even
in Yiddish expressions, we often say Man plans and God laughs,
and very often we have to find humor in ourselves
so that we first don't take ourselves too seriously, and

(08:43):
second don't lose hope that tomorrow couldn't be much better.
But it all begins not with what is outside of us,
our rulers, our elected officials, our bosses, our commanders, but
rather it begans ends with us. Who are we? How
do we want other people to understand us? What do

(09:05):
we bring into the conversation and the context of the
systems that we enter at home, community, at work, in
our houses of worship, and in the larger world. I
think it all boils down to taking personal responsibility not
only for what is, but how we react to what

(09:25):
is When we watch the news or get outraged over
political issues. We don't have to. Let's find a better way.
Let's take an accounting of all the skills, the gifts,
the temperament that is ours and use it for something productive.
We can't always change the times in which we live,

(09:46):
but as the old saying goes, we can change our
reaction to it. No one has that sort of control
over us. We have to temper and limit and moderate
how we engage and perceive what we have around us.
Very often someone asks me, and it happens almost every day.

(10:07):
People watch so much news and internet sources and social
media posts that they're outraged. They're just inflamed. They're just
out of control with how to respond to everything. And
the very first answer that I give them is turn
it off. Turn off the news and social media and
the internet, because in the course of the day, from

(10:29):
morning until night, there's just a limit to how much
actually happens in the world. But does it have to
be commented on and diced and sliced by talking heads
and pundits on TV twenty four hours a day. It's
the same story with only a limited number of reasonable
explanations or outcomes. And I would give you credit, as

(10:49):
my listeners and watchers of the internet and TV news
and social media posts, to be much smarter, to be
able to discern, to discriminate properly about what you hear
and what you see. And ultimately, after an hour of
the news, if you turn it off and turn it
back on at the end of the day to catch

(11:10):
the end of the day's news, you'll discover that not
much more has happened. It's only been processed and filtered
eight thousand more ways, and not all of them make sense,
not all of them are helpful. And as we say,
the twenty four hour news cycle changes and ends so
quickly that all that was said yesterday does not endure

(11:32):
until the next day or even a week. People are
making a living being pundits. People are making money with podcasts,
though I am not, but many people do because they
have an audience that listens to every word that they say.
But at the end of that day, at the end
of that week, it is only you and yourself that

(11:53):
have to be responsible for what you hear and what
you do with what you hear. As you who lives
in covenant with God, I would also add, and whether
you're Christian or Muslim, it's between you and your God.
How you speak and what you do should be the
best reflection of your best teachings, of your religious faith

(12:14):
and tradition, not far to the right or far to
the left. I always celebrate moderation. We can learn and
listen to the right and the left politically and religiously,
but in moderation is where more people can find community
and a safe place to gather, and a very meaningful
way to continue to walk together. I'm Rabbi David Lyon

(12:38):
from Congregation Meth Israel and Houston. To listen again or
to share this message, please find it my podcast called
Heart to Heart with Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety
nine dot com on the iHeartRadio app. As the week
unfolds and the times be continue to change, let's be

(12:59):
sure or that as we measure the world and have
comments and editorials to share, let's be sure it's the
best reflection of who we are at our best, a
reflection of our good name, reflection of our outlook, represented
by our cup, represented by our generosity, and what we

(13:20):
continue to value found in our pocket and always a
measure of our temperament. Is it only about our anger?
But may it also be about our compassion and empathy?
And ultimately, you might ask yourself, did I laugh today?

(13:41):
And if you did marvelous, But if you didn't laugh today,
I think you need to change the channel or look
for a social media post or podcast that truly makes
you look around, find a little humor, because not everything
is always so serious every single day. And I think
the combination and not the singular one needful thing is

(14:04):
exactly where we'll find all that we can consume and
use and share with others to see that the world,
though it is quite complex, is also manageable. We have
the tools and the skills, We have the outlook and
the faith to make it so. So as the week continues,
please accept my lesson and my offer of help to

(14:28):
be sure that as the world continues to unfold, we
are in charge of ourselves and how we will react
to a world that may seem so different. But as
we often say, the more things change, the more they
stay the same. We are not the only time euro
or generation that has endured such change, dramatic shifts in perspective.

(14:50):
But we are still the fine people that we are
living with faith and hope in the same way that
our ancestors did, and so should we. Thank you for
joining me today. I look forward to being with you
again next time