Earlier this week, I officiated at the funeral of Rick Klein, Reuven Ben Baruch, an intriguing Jew, full of character and humor, who I met seventeen years ago. After the burial service, one of his relatives shared that when Rick first moved to Bozeman, some thirty years ago, he saw someone “designing” a swastika on a snow-covered vehicle and kindly “recommended” that they remove it. He lived a quieter life, focused on skiing and the outdoors, he never accepted my invitations to attend Shul, but he was a friend, comfortable in his Jewish skin, and stood up for his people when necessary.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach, we read about Shimon and Levi taking on the entire male population of Shechem (Nablus), responding to the violation of their sister Dinah. Jacob wasn’t too happy with their tactics, he felt that they should’ve dealt with the citizens of the city with more integrity and transparency, but we can’t underestimate the courage that these two thirteen-year-old boys employed, ensuring that the rape of their sister doesn’t get swept under the rug. Like the lyrics of the Country Yossi song of my childhood “sometimes you gotta fight to be a Jew”.

Menny is now playing basketball and soccer after school. He normally wears a baseball cap or durag to keep his head covered even when running. Just recently a friend bought him a specific type of clip, and miraculously it worked, so on Wednesday he was playing with his Yarmulke, and it didn’t budge. He was delivering three-pointers and goals with Tzitzis hanging from his pants and his Kippah adorned beautifully on his head. The change created a conversation between me and a few of the soccer moms (and dads) about “how it stays on..” and it was a Kiddush Hashem, because a healthy Jewish identity always is.

Sometimes you gotta fight - but most of the time you just have to choose - to be a Jew!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

While flying to New York last week I watched “Bear 399; The Queen of the Tetons”, a truly mesmerizing documentary that stirred my heart. Thomas Mangelsen is remarkable. He spent decades following 399 and the images and film he captured give us a glimpse into these glorious creatures and the G-dliness that is nature. One evening in 2016 a car hit one of 399’s cubs and killed him. 399 lifted up her cub, dragged him off the road and with motherly love and respect, laid her cub to rest at the side of a log. Though 399 herself was killed by a car this past October, her story of perseverance and poise will be shared for generations.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayeitzei, we read about Jacob and Laban’s dealings with their sheep and goats. Jacob served as a devoted shepherd for his conniving uncle, spending much time with the flock, and accumulating wealth with sheep as his prime commodity. I think that we tend to ignore how many biblical tales throughout the Tanach include human-animal interaction. Whether Eliezer with the camels, Jacob, David and Moses with their sheep, Balaam with his donkey, Adam and Eve with the serpent, Noah on an ark full of animals, Jonah in a fish, Daniel with the lions, Egyptians with the frogs; there is so much to learn from the animal kingdom and our connection with the animals can teach us so much.

We live in Montana where nature is a constant experience. Yet, we aren’t bored, we don’t take it for granted. Every blizzard, every animal experience, every big blue sky, every summer thunderstorm, every dose of hail/sleet/snow/rain, every walk in the mountains or stroll during sunset, every sunrise over the mountains, every star gazing moment, is a gift from Hashem. Visiting an alpaca farm, caring for our dog Ezzy, riding majestic horses, seeing the Turkeys on Goldenstein, watching a mamma bear with her cubs, these are all gifts from Hashem and as Ben Mikaelsen wrote “animals can teach us more about ourselves than any teacher”.

Spend some time in the animal kingdom; it’s good for character!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!