We meet for prayer at a solemn moment in our nation’s history. We seem destined for a war which will bring pain and suffering upon the combatants, and which may spread to engulf the world. Most wars are fought for material reasons, either to gain wealth or territory. It is a mistake to identify the motivation for the impending conflict as our appetite for oil. The reasons are purely ideological. Mr. Bush wishes to bring democracy to the world. In this respect he resembles the early Christian evangelists or the armies of Mohammed, whose goal was to spread the faith. While the aims of our administration vis a vis Iraq were originally limited to ridding it of weapons of mass destruction, or toppling a current regime, present objectives are far more extensive. It is assumed that, subsequent to military victory we will succeed in establishing in Iraq a democratic government. The gain will be so obvious to surrounding countries that a domino effect will ensue. Not only will the surrounding countries of the Middle East all eagerly embrace our democratic principles, but democracy will spread to embrace the world. Those who think differently, like peace activists in this country, or leaders of contrary European nations, are viewed not as having different opinions, but being either stupid or venal. The absence of spokesmen for peace from Democrats in the House or Senate suggests that efforts to intimidate the non-believers have been successful.

There is a poem by Shaemas O’Sheel that begins: "He whom a dream hath possessed knoweth no more of doubting." There is nothing wrong with dreams. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream which transformed the character of this nation. It is the absence of doubting which is the problem. There is a significant difference between possessing a dream and being possessed by a dream. Dreams represent a single perspective, and existence is multi-faceted. I prefer the poem "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. The poet speaks of mottled things, of the play of light and dark, of the contrast of adjacent colors. It is only in a cartoon or a nursery school painting that the sky will be a constant blue. A good artist will capture the presence of the clouds, differences of tone and texture. In good writing, characters will be multi-dimensional. The reason that soap-operas are so tedious is that the players are caricatures of real people. The scientist is a fraud who chooses to discount the data that does not conform to the thesis he is endeavoring to prove.

People who are possessed by a vision are capable of seeing nothing else. Theodor Herzl, whose dream was responsible for creation of the State of Israel, pursued his goal with such intensity that he completely ignored the needs of his wife and children. In this he resembled the prophets of ancient Israel who abandoned home and family to speak God’s word to an unwilling assembly. One of the questions which always arises in study of the prophets is why there are no prophets in our own time. Has God chosen to cease addressing us? It was the rabbis, who succeeded the prophets as spiritual leaders of our people, who determined that the institution of prophesy was faulty. All manner of individual claimed to speak in the name of the Lord. The text speaks of true and false prophets. One can discriminate between them in subsequent history, but there is no way of differentiating at the time. The last of the prophets was designated as Malachi, and it was assumed that God would never again reveal himself to a single person. A far more accurate measure of God’s word, they believed, was a process that involved an assembly of learned teachers. The rabbis would sit in council of debate. One was compelled to take into consideration the views of others, as well as the accumulated wisdom of past generations. The "revealed" word was determined by majority vote. A legend describes Rabbi Eliezer, who is so convinced that he is right, that he calls upon miracles as proof of his point of view. "If I am right and the majority incorrect, may this stream, flowing down hill, reverse itself and flow uphill." And it does. "May this tree move across the road." And it does. Still the council remains unmoved. "If I am right and the council wrong, may God himself speak on my behalf." The voice of God thunders down: "The rabbi is correct and the council is wrong!" The presiding officer, Rabbi Joshua, apologizes to God but reminds Him that He had earlier commanded that the majority rules, and so it must be.

Thus was initiated the democratic process. In antiquity the king was either a manifestation of God or a representative of God. As such, his judgement could not be questioned. The leader of a democratic state, on the other hand, seeks a variety of opinion and tries to determine the will of the people. Vox populi, vox Dei. Critics of President Bush have impugned his character. I think them incorrect. I believe the President to be well motivated as well as pious. But unlike predecessors who have sought advisors from competent individuals of all shades of opinion, Mister Bush has surrounded himself with the like-minded. This refers to his cabinet, his counselors, as well as those he has chosen for court appointment.

A sermon would include words of practical suggestion which, if pursued, will enrich the life of those in attendance. I have three such suggestions which can save you a great deal of money, precluding the need of a dietitian, a physical trainer, a psychotherapist. As far as diet is concerned, the food you need most for physical well being is the food you like least, like raw cauliflower. As far as the ideal exercise for physical training, do the one you find most unpleasant! The reason it is difficult is that you have not exercised that particular muscle group. The most painful and the most important psychological task is to become acquainted with, and make peace with, one’s shadow. C.G. Jung has identified the shadow as the inadequate portion of the self, that which we like least about our own person. When shadow is not accepted it is often projected on to another individual. To make friends with the individual you least like will help getting in contact with and making peace with your own shadow. I am surprised that Mr. Bush is not hearing some of these things from his own minister. Asked to describe the philosopher who influenced him the most, Mr. Bush replied "Jesus Christ." Even a casual familiarity with the New Testament reveals Jesus as an individual who believed in peace at any price. He spoke of loving the enemy, walking the extra mile, turning the other cheek. Mr. Bush’s intense personal dislike of Sadaam Hussein may reflect some reflection of his own autocratic manner of governing.

A second question of Bible students, after the nature of prophesy, is why the God who divided the Red Sea and personally guided us through the wilderness is no longer intervening in history. Why doesn’t God stop this awful war from happening? The answer is that God granted freedom to human beings. To deprive us of this would make us puppets. But God continues to help by giving us hints. The most obvious hint to rethink our direction is what is happening in North Korea. If we don’t get that, the next hint is what is happening in Iran. Just as the ancient world was peopled by evil empires, like: Rome, Egypt, Assyria, so today; and so it will always be. North Korea made a suggestion which our administration rejected abruptly. I thought it rather good. They said: "Let’s sit down and talk!" I think if we choose to do so, the conversation will begin something like this: U.S. - "You are developing atomic weapons that can reach our shores." North Korea = "But you have the atomic weapons that can reach our shores!" For all the differences in ideology with these realms, there is one thing we have in common. Neither wants to die.

As the conversation continues, we will come to recognize that these are deeply troubled nations, haunted by poverty, the absence of technology, medical crises. Rather than demonstrating contempt for their way of life, and threatening annihilation, we might demonstrate some concern for their physical problems, for the fear of military superiority, and for the absence of dignity in which they are seen. If they sense from us some responsiveness to their needs, and our desire to help, they may become more sensitive to our needs, and our point of view. There is a story that Henry Kissinger could not make an event at which he was scheduled to speak, so he sent his older brother. After the talk, some one asked him how it was that, unlike his brother, he spoke with no trace of an accent. His response was: "I listen!" The present crisis which threatens the world can only be addressed effectively if President Bush can learn to listen. First he must listen to his own people. Mass demonstrations for peace indicate that our populace is sharply divided on the question of whether we should invade Iraq. Our history indicated that it is difficult to be successful in a military endeavor when a large percentage of the population considers the action ill advised. The second group to which Mr. Bush should listen are our European allies. We have had long and precious relationships with some of these nations for a long period of time. To treat their comments with total disrespect, and to question their motives while rejecting out of hand any questions about ours, is neither intelligent nor gracious. While we do not agree, we can assume that these people speak with judgement and integrity. Finally it is essential that our president sit down with Saddam Hussein and work out some effective compromise. The solution will be one that neither side appreciates but will be some thing that each can tolerate.

The central prayer in every Jewish worship is the Tefillah. It is distinguished from all others by being titled "The Prayer." The Shema, also important, is less a prayer than a description of the ideal relationship between our people and God. The Tefillah, recited daily, has eighteen separate parts. Some of these parts offer praises to God: others make specific requests. But the Sabbath day is considered so extraordinary a blessing, that the Tefillah on this day retains all the elements of praise, but eliminates every request from God, except for one. And this is the prayer for peace. Let us offer at this crucial moment in our nation’s history a simple prayer: Dear God, grant us peace!

Amen.