Transformative Waters Pascagula River Rabbi Myrna Matsa, D. Min. The setting was magical as was the moment in time in which we found ourselves.

Transcription

1 Transformative Waters Pascagula River Rabbi Myrna Matsa, D. Min. The setting was magical as was the moment in time in which we found ourselves. We were on a 20-foot motor boat winding our way up the Pascagula River near Moss Point, Mississippi. We were seeking a place to anchor. The symbolism of where we anchored did not escape any of us. At a point about five miles above the place where salt water from the Gulf of Mexico and fresh water from a local bayou mingled and merged is where we settled. This particular Sunday morning we were on a sacred mission. We accompanied Karen Baker on her journey toward becoming a Jew. Rabbinic student Noah Farkas will be ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America May He led the bet din, a religious court consisting of three religiously knowledgeable individuals who serve as witnesses to the conversion process. Including Rabbi Noah, the other two were a leading member of the congregation who serves in matters of ritual and is a teacher in the Hebrew school, Lori Beth Susman, and myself. I am the rabbi sent to the region to assist the mental health efforts of long term recovery post Katrina. The captain of the boat and his wife are members of Congregation Beth Israel of Biloxi, MS where Noah Farkas is the rabbi who travels to the community once a month from New York City. Paula and Carl Perry learned that Karen had completed four years of study, had demonstrated to all who knew her that she was ready for the final stages in the process leading to conversion. They offered to take us on their boat to enable us to fulfill our mission. For men and women becoming a Jew entails both study and a ritual bath called mikveh. Men will go through the additional step of circumcision like Abraham in the

2 Hebrew Scriptures. The final steps include appearing before the bet din and mikveh. The court of three will examine the proselyte s level of knowledge and they will probe for commitment to live a full Jewish life. Once they are satisfied, the person will submerge into a body of living waters mayyim hayyim. Typically this is rainwater which can be contained in a receptacle large enough to hold 40 seahs of water. In biblical times people would go to a flowing body of water and immerse in it. In those days people would immerse themselves to cleanse themselves of impurities that they felt might have separated them from God and community. Immersion meant that the person made a commitment to live by divine law. Physical infirmities were thought to have been the visible demonstration of moral, social, or ritual wrongdoings. Also, people would cleanse themselves from physical ailments such as skin lesions or after bodily flows had subsided. It was thought that to serve God one must be physically, emotionally, and spiritually in a state of readiness. Today traditional Jews go to mikveh in preparation for significant events in their lives such as before a wedding the bride will go to mikveh and will repeat this upon the completion of her monthly cycle throughout her married life. Many bridegrooms also go to mikveh. Many men will go to mikveh Friday afternoons in anticipation of the Sabbath which begins Friday before sunset and continues through sunset on Saturday evening. Mikveh is a ritual bath; a spiritual cleansing that beckons the participant to shed barriers that keep one from experiencing the divine within and might separate a person spiritually from the community. In anticipation of this occasion a search for the nearest mikveh took place. We could have traveled from Mississippi to Atlanta, GA or to Houston, TX. An inspiration

3 came when a colleague suggested the Gulf of Mexico which certainly would satisfy the requirement of a natural body of flowing water, living water. However, modesty prevailed. Our captain, Carl, spent weeks looking for a bayou, a river, or a tributary that could provide privacy and comply with Jewish law. Early on a Sunday morning six pilgrims navigated up the Pascagula River in search of sacred space in which to immerse the newest member of the congregation. Upon completion of the first dip into the river, Karen offered the traditional prayer, Praised are You, Adonai our God, who rules the universe, whose mitzvot add holiness to our lives and who gave us the mitzvah of immersion. A mitzvah is a commandment. When we live by the commandments mitzvot it is as though we bring God s presence palpably into the world. The joy of living this way leads to the next prayer which is said on this occasion after the second dip and at other times throughout our lives and throughout the liturgical year, Praised are You, Adonai our God, who rules the universe, for granting us life, for sustaining us, and for bringing us to this day. Rabbi Noah read words which welcomed Karen to the people of Israel and for the first time we heard her chosen Hebrew name: Shira Peninah. Shira in Hebrew means song which is very important in her life. She loves music and is always singing, especially these days when Karen sings prayers and popular Israeli songs. Peninah means pearl. Karen had a great aunt whose name was Pearl. Karen s grandfather on her father s side was Jewish. She has been on a quest for a religious commitment to fill the void she felt since childhood and has had an affinity for all things Jewish. She had basic questions, During prayers at Mass, I was thinking to myself that I and others should only pray to G-d, that the Torah needed to be given prominence. Two pictures keep her

4 focused: one a photo of a bimah (pulpit) in a synagogue and the other is a photo of Jerusalem. It was the pictures that awakened me to where I needed to be, with my Jewish family. The call of Israel is ever present. I find myself going to web-sites and looking at places to live in Israel. The journey continues because the process of conversion is a bridge linking Karen from yearnings of her youth and leading her on the path joining the Jewish people in all endeavors here and in Israel from this day forward. Shira Peninah recited the declaration of commitment to Jewish life and the Jewish people in the presence of community. The small shul in Biloxi, MS, counted a new member in the minyan, an event that brought all of us to tears of joy.

5 Captain Carl Perry owner of the boat. Where we anchored on the Pascagula River.

6 A view of the side we were facing. A delightful chat between Karen and Lori Beth Susman.

7 Rabbi Noah.