Shofar (TBE Newsletter)

The Shofar, Temple Beth El’s monthly publication, keeps community and temple members up to date on what’s going on. Take a look at this month’s Shofar to see what’s coming up or browse through the archives to see all that we’ve done!

July 2025 – Shofar (pdf)

Partners in Spirit

What does it mean to be an ally? When the going gets tough, do the tough get going, or do they say, “Where you shall go, I shall go,” the biblical Ruth’s words to her
mother-in-law Naomi under difficult circumstances? Is our commitment to one another’s; “in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, in good times and in bad.”  In the world of ideas, can two religious communities find common ground, despite radically different theologies, or better yet, partner to make a difference? It turns out we can.

Allyship is hard to come by, even more difficult to maintain. The ever-growing gap and non-collaborative chasm between Democrats and Republicans make even mere conversation strained. Purity tests, simplistic assumptions, obsessions with every element of another’s agenda—or what the rabbis call sinat chinam, or gratuitous hatred—these lead to the dissolution of shared space, pariah institutions, and left without attention, political and sometimes even physical violence. Sheesh, it sure feels like we are living in the wake of the Big Bang, our life force and energy just dissipating and disappearing into the void. William Butler Yeats, in his poem, “The Second Coming,” describes this apocalypse:

          “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
          Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…”

So when a Bakersfield Christian community is vandalized for its commitment to the Jewish homeland, and instead of hiding decides to double down to provide free security for our little Bakersfield synagogue, one must adjust their thinking to CELEBRATE that those on the other side of whatever dividing line there is—in this instance, a religious one — are wonderful people who deserve our praise for recognizing our humanity and fragility, and for suspending any human tendency to highlight differences when, instead, they are “all in” on a shared love for Israel.

When Pastor Brandon Holthaus of Rock Harbor Church sat down with me, after the October 2023 Hamas murder spree in Israel, to offer his community’s security detail to protect us, I discovered in my esteemed religious colleague a partner filled with sensitivity, intellect, and unmitigated kindness, who with pure intentions wanted to defend us from danger. Our synagogue accepted this gift to shield the Jewish people from misfortune in our little Bakersfield
community. So, to all the good people at Rock Harbor Church, who have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to
protect Jews, not just locally but also in Israel, we say, Todah Rabbah, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Pastor Holthaus and I occasionally touch on political matters—treading lightly, out of respect and deference—and I think we would both acknowledge that we may hold slightly different views about how Israel should manage itself and, probably by extension, how the United States should respond in this moment. I have strong commitments, like most Jews, to protecting the poor, immigrant rights, and how best to build a just and sacred society; Pastor Holthaus, too, holds his own passionate perspectives, with very similar goals. We undoubtedly have differences, at the very least theologically. Yet, while Pastor Holthaus and his community see things differently than my community and I do (which is a safe thing to say; which two thinking people hold identical views?), I know that we have found friends, allies, and trusted partners willing to put their life and limb in the way of those who would hurt us. This is particularly remarkable, given the history of Jewish-Christian relations, both Protestant and Catholic. The good people at Rock Harbor Church are not trying to change us, they are only trying to support us in our time of need, at a time when the zeitgeist of the era prevents handshakes across aisles. This is remarkable, and why this tale of collaboration and friendship deserves public accolades.

Is there a lesson here? Can we seek common ground despite our differences? Our world feels more fragile than ever, certainly within my lifetime. May the blessings bestowed upon the Jewish community by our Christian neighbors at Rock Harbor Church remind us of our shared humanity, the value of unconditional love, and that things can most certainly get better if we just reach out to one another, even unilaterally, without expectations of returns, resulting in the creation of our very own heaven on earth. To Rock Harbor Church, I say: Be blessed, and continue to be a blessing for our diverse community!

Rabbi Jonathan Klein

p.s. send me feedback via phone: 424.248.5775. Thank you!

SHOFAR ARCHIVES