ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sharon Brous - Rabbi
Rabbi Sharon Brous is a leading voice in reanimating religious life in America, working to develop a spiritual roadmap for soulful, multi-faith justice work.

Why you should listen

Based in Los Angeles, Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a community built in 2004 that has become a model for Jewish revitalization in the US and beyond. IKAR’s goal is to reinvigorate Jewish religious and spiritual practice, inspiring people of faith to reclaim a moral and prophetic voice in counter-testimony to the small-minded extremism now prevalent in so many religious communities. IKAR quickly became one of the fastest growing and most influential Jewish congregations in the country, and it's widely credited with sparking a rethinking of religious life in a time of unprecedented disaffection and declining affiliation.

In 2008, Brous was the youngest person on the Newsweek/Daily Beast list of the most influential Rabbis in America, and in 2013 she was named the list’s most influential rabbi. In 2013, Brous blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service.

More profile about the speaker
Sharon Brous | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2016

Sharon Brous: It's time to reclaim religion

Sharon Brous: Koha te përmiresojme fetë

Filmed:
1,391,871 views

Ne nje moment qe bota duket te kete dale jashte kontrollit, feja duhet te ndihet e pavend-- ose si pjese e problemit. Por rabinia Sharon Brous beson se ne mund ta permiresojme fene qe te takojme nevojat e jetes moderne. ne kete diskutim te pasionuar, Brous ndan kater parime te praktikes se nje feje te rivitalizuar-- dhe ofron besimin e te gjithe llojeve si nje kunder rrefyes te realiteteve mpirese te dhunes, ekstremizmit dhe pesimizmit.
- Rabbi
Rabbi Sharon Brous is a leading voice in reanimating religious life in America, working to develop a spiritual roadmap for soulful, multi-faith justice work. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

Une isha një nënë e re
00:12
I was a new mother
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dhe një rabine e re
00:15
and a young rabbi
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00:16
in the spring of 2004
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në pranverën e 2004
00:18
and the world was in shambles.
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dhe bota ishte ne kaos.
Ndoshta e mbani mend.
00:21
Maybe you remember.
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00:22
Every day, we heard devastating reports
from the war in Iraq.
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Cdo ditë, ne dëgjonim lajme
shkatërruese nga lufta ne Irak.
00:25
There were waves of terror
rolling across the globe.
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Ishin disa valë terrori qe rrotulloheshin
në të gjithë globin.
00:29
It seemed like humanity
was spinning out of control.
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Dukej sikur njerëzimi po
dilte nga kontrolli.
00:33
I remember the night that I read
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Më kujtohet nata kur lexova
00:34
about the series of coordinated bombings
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rreth nje serie bombardimesh
të koordinuara
00:37
in the subway system in Madrid,
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në një metro të Madridit,
00:39
and I got up and I walked over to the crib
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dhe u ngrita e eca deri te krevati
00:41
where my six-month-old baby girl
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ku vajza ime 6-muajshe
00:44
lay sleeping sweetly,
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po flinte ëmbëlsisht,
00:46
and I heard the rhythm of her breath,
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dhe degjova ritmin e frymëmarrjes së saj,
00:48
and I felt this sense of urgency
coursing through my body.
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dhe e ndjeva si nje prioritet që
përshkroi gjithë trupin tim.
00:52
We were living through a time
of tectonic shifts in ideologies,
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Ishim duke jetuar në një kohe
të përplasjeve tektonike në ideologji,
00:56
in politics, in religion, in populations.
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në politikë, fe, dhe në popullsi.
00:58
Everything felt so precarious.
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Cdo gjë ishte e pasigurtë.
01:01
And I remember thinking,
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Mbaj mend që mendoja:
01:02
"My God, what kind of world
did we bring this child into?
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"Zoti im, ne cfarë lloj bote e sollëm
këte fëmije?
01:06
And what was I as a mother
and a religious leader
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Dhe cfarë isha unë si një nënë dhe
udhëheqëse fetare
01:10
willing to do about it?
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e gatshme të bëja rreth kësaj?
01:14
Of course, I knew it was clear
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Sigurisht, e dija mirë
01:17
that religion would be
a principle battlefield
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se feja do të ishte
beteja kryesore
01:20
in this rapidly changing landscape,
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në këtë peisazh shpejtësisht
të ndryshueshëm,
01:23
and it was already clear
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dhe ishte tashmë e qartë
01:24
that religion was a significant
part of the problem.
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se feja do të ishte një pjesë
e rëndësishme e problemit.
01:28
The question for me was,
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Pyetja për mua ishte,
01:29
could religion
also be part of the solution?
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mundet feja gjithashtu
te jetë pjesë e zgjidhjes?
01:32
Now, throughout history,
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Tani, përgjatë historisë,
01:34
people have committed
horrible crimes and atrocities
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njerëzit kanë kryer krime
të tmerrshme dhe mizori
01:37
in the name of religion.
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ne emër te fesë.
01:40
And as we entered the 21st century,
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Sapo hymë ne shekullin e 21,
01:42
it was very clear that religious extremism
was once again on the rise.
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ishte shumë e qartë se ekstremizmi fetar
ishte sërish në rritje.
01:47
Our studies now show
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Studimi ynë tani tregon
01:49
that over the course
of the past 15, 20 years,
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se përgjatë rrjedhës
se 15-20 viteve te kaluara
01:52
hostilities and religion-related violence
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dhuna e lidhur me fenë
01:54
have been on the increase
all over the world.
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ka qenë në rritje
në te gjithë botën.
01:57
But we don't even need
the studies to prove it,
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Por ne nuk kemi nevojë që
ta provojne studimet
01:59
because I ask you,
how many of us are surprised today
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sepse nëse ju pyes
sa prej nesh surprizohen
02:02
when we hear the stories
of a bombing or a shooting,
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kur dëgjojmë për histori
me bombardime apo të shtëna,
02:06
when we later find out
that the last word that was uttered
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kur më vonë zbulojmë se
fjala e fundit që u tha
02:09
before the trigger is pulled
or the bomb is detonated
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para se këmbëza të tërhiqej
ose bomba te shpërthehej
02:12
is the name of God?
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është emri i Zotit?
02:14
It barely raises an eyebrow today
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Mezi ngremë sytë lart sot
02:16
when we learn that yet another person
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kur mësojmë se një person tjetër
02:18
has decided to show his love of God
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vendosi te tregojë dashurinë për Zotin
02:21
by taking the lives of God's children.
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duke marrë jetët e fëmijëve te Zotit.
02:24
In America, religious extremism
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Në Amerikë, ekstremizmi fetar
02:27
looks like a white,
antiabortion Christian extremist
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duket si një i bardhë, ekstremist
kristian kundër abortit
02:31
walking into Planned Parenthood
in Colorado Springs
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që futet brenda Planned Parenthood
në Colorado Springs
02:34
and murdering three people.
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duke vrarë 3 veta.
02:36
It also looks like a couple
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Duket si një cift
02:39
inspired by the Islamic State
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qe të nxitur nga Shteti Islamik
02:40
walking into an office party
in San Bernardino and killing 14.
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futen në një zyre në
San Benardino duke vrarë 14 njerëz.
02:45
And even when religion-related extremism
does not lead to violence,
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Edhe nëse ekstremizmi i lidhur me fenë
nuk con në dhunë,
02:50
it is still used
as a political wedge issue,
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prapë se prapë përdoret
si një cështje politike
02:53
cynically leading people
to justify the subordination of women,
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që cinikisht i con njerëzit të
justifikojnë nënshtrimin e femrave,
02:57
the stigmatization of LGBT people,
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stigmatizimin e njerëzve LGBT,
03:00
racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
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racizmin, islamofobinë dhe
anti-semitizmin.
03:04
This ought to concern deeply
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Kjo duhet te shqetesoje thellesisht
03:06
those of us who care
about the future of religion
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ata prej nesh qe kujdesen
per te ardhmen e fese
03:09
and the future of faith.
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dhe për te ardhmen e besimit.
03:11
We need to call this what it is:
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Duhet ta shikojmë ashtu sic është:
03:14
a great failure of religion.
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një dështim i madh i fesë.
03:17
But the thing is, this isn't even the only
challenge that religion faces today.
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Por problemi është se, ky nuk është
problemi i vetëm qe përballet sot feja.
03:24
At the very same time
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Në të njejtën kohë
03:25
that we need religion
to be a strong force against extremism,
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që e duam fenë te jetë
një forcë e madhe kundër ekstremizmit,
03:29
it is suffering
from a second pernicious trend,
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është vuajtëse
nga një trend i dyte i dëmshëm,
03:32
what I call religious routine-ism.
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që une e quaj rutinizmi i fesë.
03:35
This is when our institutions
and our leaders
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Kjo eshte kur institucionet tona
dhe lideret tane
03:38
are stuck in a paradigm
that is rote and perfunctory,
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jane zhytur ne nje paradigme qe eshte
rutine dhe sa per forme,
03:42
devoid of life, devoid of vision
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liria e jetes, liria e vizionit
03:44
and devoid of soul.
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dhe liria e shpirtit.
03:46
Let me explain what I mean like this.
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Më lejoni t'ju shpjegoj
cfarë dua te them me këtë.
03:48
One of the great blessings
of being a rabbi
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Një nga bekimet më te mëdha
e te qenit mësuese e judaizmit
03:51
is standing under the chuppah,
under the wedding canopy, with a couple,
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është qëndrimi
nën tenden e martesës, me ciftin,
03:56
and helping them proclaim publicly
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duke i ndihmuar te shpallin publikisht
03:58
and make holy the love
that they found for one another.
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dhe te bej te shenjte dashurine qe ata
kane per njeri-tjetrin.
04:01
I want to ask you now, though,
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Dua t'ju pyes juve,
04:03
to think maybe from your own experience
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te mendoni ndonje eksperience tuajen
04:05
or maybe just imagine it
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ose thjesht ta imagjinoni ate
04:07
about the difference
between the intensity of the experience
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rreth diferences mes
intensitetit te eksperiences
04:10
under the wedding canopy,
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poshte tendes se marteses,
04:11
and maybe the experience
of the sixth or seventh anniversary.
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dhe ndoshta eksperiencën
e përvjetorit te gjashtë apo te shtatë.
04:15
(Laughter)
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(Të qeshura)
04:17
And if you're lucky enough
to make it 16 or 17 years,
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Dhe nëse do te keni mjaft me fat
që ta bëni të zgjase për 16 ose 17 vjet,
04:21
if you're like most people,
you probably wake up in the morning
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nëse jeni si shumica e njerezve, do
te zgjoheni ne mëngjes
04:24
realizing that you forgot to make
a reservation at your favorite restaurant
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dhe do te kujtoni se keni harruar te
rezervoni ne restorantin e preferuar
04:28
and you forgot so much as a card,
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dhe ngaqë harroni shpesh,
04:29
and then you just hope and pray
that your partner also forgot.
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do te shpresoni dhe luteni
qe edhe partneri juaj te ketë harruar.
04:33
Well, religious ritual and rites
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Në rregull,
ritet dhe ritualet fetare
04:36
were essentially designed
to serve the function of the anniversary,
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janë krijuar fillimisht
per te shërbyer si përvjetor,
04:40
to be a container in which
we would hold on to the remnants
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dhe te jete nje ene ne te cilen
do te hedhim gjerat
04:44
of that sacred, revelatory encounter
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e shenjta, ne takimin e shpalljes
04:47
that birthed the religion
in the first place.
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qe lindi feja
per herë te parë.
04:49
The problem is that after a few centuries,
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Problemi është se pas disa shekujve,
04:51
the date remains on the calendar,
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data qëndron ne kalendar,
04:54
but the love affair is long dead.
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por dashuria ka vdekur me kohë.
04:57
That's when we find ourselves
in endless, mindless repetitions
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Kështu ndodh kur e gjejmë veten nëpër
përsëritje te pafundme dhe të pamend
05:01
of words that don't mean anything to us,
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te fjalëve qe nuk kanë asnjë
kuptim për ne,
05:04
rising and being seated
because someone has asked us to,
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qe shtohen dhe nuk lëvizin
sepse dikush na ka pyetur për to,
05:07
holding onto jealously guarded doctrine
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duke u kapur pas doktrinave me kujdes
05:10
that's completely and wildly out of step
with our contemporary reality,
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qe është komplet pa lidhje me
realitetin e sotëm,
05:14
engaging in perfunctory practice
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duke u përfshirë ne një praktikë
te përciptë
05:17
simply because that's the way
things have always been done.
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thjesht sepse kështu ka qenë mënyra si
si janë bërë gjërat.
05:22
Religion is waning in the United States.
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Feja po dobësohet ne Shtetet e Bashkuara.
05:25
Across the board,
churches and synagogues and mosques
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Ne te gjithë vendin,
kishat, sinagoget dhe xhamitë
05:29
are all complaining
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po ankohen
05:31
about how hard it is to maintain relevance
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per vështirësinë për te ruajtur rëndësinë
05:36
for a generation of young people
who seem completely uninterested,
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të nje gjenerate te re
qe duken tërësisht te painteresuar,
05:40
not only in the institutions
that stand at the heart of our traditions
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jo vetëm per institucionin fetare
qe qëndrojnë ne krye të traditave tona
05:43
but even in religion itself.
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por edhe për vetë fenë.
05:46
And what they need to understand
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Ajo që duhet te kuptojnë
05:49
is that there is today
a generation of people
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eshte se sot ekziston
nje gjeneratë njerezish
05:52
who are as disgusted by the violence
of religious extremism
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qe jane te merzitur nga dhuna
e ekstremizmit fetar
05:55
as they are turned off
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qe i mbyll
05:57
by the lifelessness
of religious routine-ism.
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ne rutinizmin fetar.
06:02
Of course there is
a bright spot to this story.
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Sigurisht kjo eshte
pjesa e dukshme e historise.
06:06
Given the crisis of these two
concurrent trends in religious life,
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Duke pare krizen qe po shtohej ne
jeten fetare
06:11
about 12 or 13 years ago,
I set out to try to determine
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rreth 12 apo 13 vjet me pare,
vendosa te provoj te gjej
06:15
if there was any way
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nese ka ndonje menyre
06:16
that I could reclaim the heart
of my own Jewish tradition,
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qe une mund te permiresoja vete
traditen time Judaiste
06:20
to help make it meaningful
and purposeful again
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qe te kishte serish te njejtin
kuptim dhe mendim
06:23
in a world on fire.
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ne nje bote qe po ziente.
06:25
I started to wonder,
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Fillova te pyes veten,
06:26
what if we could harness
some of the great minds of our generation
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nese mund te merrnim disa nga mendjet
me te mira te gjenerates tone
06:31
and think in a bold and robust
and imaginative way again
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dhe te mendojne serish ne menyre te
fuqishme, imagjinare dhe te spikatur
06:35
about what the next iteration
of religious life would look like?
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rreth asaj se si perseritja e fese do te
duket?
06:38
Now, we had no money,
no space, no game plan,
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Tani, ne nuk kishim para,
hapesire, dhe asnje plan loje
06:41
but we did have email.
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por kishim email.
06:42
So my friend Melissa and I
sat down and we wrote an email
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Keshtu qe, shoqja ime Melisa dhe une u
ulem dhe shkruajtem nje email
06:46
which we sent out
to a few friends and colleagues.
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te cilin ia derguam
disa miqve dhe kolegeve.
06:49
It basically said this:
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Shkurtimisht thame kete:
06:51
"Before you bail on religion,
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"Perpara se te lini fene,
06:54
why don't we come together
this Friday night
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pse nuk bashkohemi
kete te premte ne darke
06:56
and see what we might make
of our own Jewish inheritance?"
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dhe te shikojme se cfare mund te bejme
per trashegimine tone hebreje?"
07:01
We hoped maybe 20 people would show up.
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Shpresuam se vetem 20 do te ishin te
interesuar.
07:03
It turned out 135 people came.
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Por erdhen 135 veta.
07:07
They were cynics and seekers,
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Ata ishin cinike, kerkues
07:09
atheists and rabbis.
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ateiste dhe rabinj.
07:11
Many people said that night
that it was the first time
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Shume njerez thane se ate nate
ishte hera e pare
07:13
that they had a meaningful religious
experience in their entire lives.
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qe kishin patur nje eksperience me
kuptim per fene ne te gjithe jeten e tyre.
07:18
And so I set out to do the only
rational thing
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Dhe keshtu kam vendosur te bej
gjene logjike
07:20
that someone would do
in such a circumstance:
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qe dikush do te bente
ne rrethana te tilla:
07:22
I quit my job and tried to build
this audacious dream,
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Lashe punen dhe u mundova te ndertoja
endrren e guximshme,
07:27
a reinvented, rethought religious life
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nje jete te re fetare te rizbuluar
dhe rimenduar
07:31
which we called "IKAR,"
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te cilen e quajtem "IKAR"
07:33
which means "the essence"
or "the heart of the matter."
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qe do te thote "esenca" ose
"qellimi i ceshtjes."
07:36
Now, IKAR is not alone
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Tani, IKAR nuk eshte i vetem
07:39
out there in the religious
landscape today.
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ne peisazhin e feve qe ka sot.
07:41
There are Jewish and Christian
and Muslim and Catholic religious leaders,
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Ka lider fetare hebrenj, te krishtere,
muslimane dhe katolike,
07:45
many of them women, by the way,
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2296
dhe meqe ra fjala, shumica
prej tyre jane femra,
07:47
who have set out to reclaim
the heart of our traditions,
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4016
qe kane vendosur te permiresojne
qellimin e traditave tona
07:51
who firmly believe that now is the time
for religion to be part of the solution.
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te cilet besojne se tani eshte koha qe
feja te jete pjese e zgjidhjes.
07:57
We are going back
into our sacred traditions
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Jemi duke u kthyer pas ne
traditat tona te shenjta
08:00
and recognizing that all of our traditions
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2736
dhe duke njohur qe te gjitha
traditat tona
08:02
contain the raw material
to justify violence and extremism,
158
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4296
permbajne material te mire per te
justifikuar dhunen dhe ekstremizmin
08:07
and also contain the raw material
to justify compassion,
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4816
por gjithashtu permbajne material te
mjaftueshem per te justifikuar meshiren
08:12
coexistence and kindness --
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2416
bashkejetesen dhe miresine--
08:14
that when others choose to read our texts
as directives for hate and vengeance,
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qe kur te zgjedhin te lexojne tekstet tona
si udhezues per urrejtje dhe hakmarrje
08:19
we can choose to read those same texts
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ne do t'i lexojme te njejtat tekste
08:21
as directives for love
and for forgiveness.
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si udhezues per dashuri
dhe per falje.
08:26
I have found now
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Kam zbuluar
08:27
in communities as varied
as Jewish indie start-ups on the coasts
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4480
ne komunitete te ndryshme qe nga start-ups
indipendente hebrenj neper brigje,
08:32
to a woman's mosque,
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500880
1896
deri tek xhamia e femrave,
08:34
to black churches
in New York and in North Carolina,
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502800
3656
tek kishat e njerezve me ngjyre
ne Nju Jork dhe Karolinen e Veriut,
08:38
to a holy bus loaded with nuns
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tek nje autobus te mbushur me murgesha
08:40
that traverses this country
with a message of justice and peace,
169
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3359
qe kalonte ne te gjithe vendin me
mesazhin per drejtesi dhe paqe,
08:45
that there is a shared religious ethos
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2856
qe atje ndahet nje karakter fetar
08:47
that is now emerging in the form
of revitalized religion in this country.
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5657
qe po shfaqet ne kete vend ne formen
e fese se revitalizuar.
08:53
And while the theologies
and the practices vary very much
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521600
4136
Nderkohe qe teologjite dhe praktikat
variojne shume
08:57
between these independent communities,
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2696
midis ketyre komuniteteve te pavarura
09:00
what we can see are some common,
consistent threads between them.
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ajo qe shohim jane ca fije te perbashketa
dhe te perhershme midis tyre.
09:03
I'm going to share with you
four of those commitments now.
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3040
Do te ndaj me ju tani kater
nga parimet e tyre tani.
09:07
The first is wakefulness.
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2216
E para eshte vigjilenca.
09:10
We live in a time today
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1896
Sot jetojme ne nje kohe
09:11
in which we have unprecedented access
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539960
2496
ne te cilen kemi akses te pashembullt
09:14
to information about every global tragedy
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2896
ne informacionet per cdo tragjedi boterore
09:17
that happens on every corner
of this Earth.
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2456
qe ndodh ne cdo cep te Tokes.
09:19
Within 12 hours, 20 million people
181
547880
2696
Per 12 ore, 20 milion njerez
09:22
saw that image
of Aylan Kurdi's little body
182
550600
2576
pane imazhin e djaloshit
Aylan Kurdi
09:25
washed up on the Turkish shore.
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553200
2376
i mbuluar me pluhur nga sulmet me bomba.
09:27
We all saw this picture.
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2360
Te gjithe ne e pame ate fotografi.
09:30
We saw this picture
of a five-year-old child
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558920
2336
Pame ate foto te nje
femije 5-vjecar
09:33
pulled out of the rubble
of his building in Aleppo.
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3440
i nxjerre nga rrenojat e nderteses
ne Alepo.
09:37
And once we see these images,
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2376
Dhe sapo i pame serish keto imazhe
09:39
we are called to a certain kind of action.
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2640
kerkuam te merrej nje lloj aksioni.
09:42
My tradition tells a story
of a traveler who is walking down a road
189
570520
4416
Ne traditen tone tregohet nje histori
e nje udhetari qe po ecte ne nje rruge
09:46
when he sees a beautiful house on fire,
190
574960
3536
dhe kur pa nje shtepi te bukur ne zjarr,
09:50
and he says, "How can it be
that something so beautiful would burn,
191
578520
3536
thote, " Si ka mundesi qe dicka kaq
e bukur te digjet,
09:54
and nobody seems to even care?"
192
582080
2536
dhe askush te mos e vrase mendjen?"
09:56
So too we learn that our world is on fire,
193
584640
3096
Pra, gjithashtu mesojme se bota eshte
ne zjarr
09:59
and it is our job to keep our hearts
and our eyes open,
194
587760
3736
dhe eshte detyra jone te mbajme zemrat
dhe syte hapur,
10:03
and to recognize
that it's our responsibility
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591520
2536
por edhe te pranojme qe
eshte pergjegjesia jone
10:06
to help put out the flames.
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594080
2576
ta nxjerrim boten nga flaket.
10:08
This is extremely difficult to do.
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596680
2056
Eshte shume e veshtire per
t'u realizuar.
10:10
Psychologists tell us that the more
we learn about what's broken in our world,
198
598760
3776
Psikologet thone se sa me shume te
mesojme se sa eshte shkaterruar bota
10:14
the less likely we are to do anything.
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2336
me te veshtire e kemi per te reaguar.
10:16
It's called psychic numbing.
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604920
1576
Quhet mpirje psiqike.
10:18
We just shut down at a certain point.
201
606520
2560
Ne thjesht mbyllemi ne nje pike
te caktuar.
10:21
Well, somewhere along the way,
our religious leaders forgot
202
609520
4056
Diku gjate rruges,
lideret tane fetare harruan
10:25
that it's our job
to make people uncomfortable.
203
613600
3296
qe eshte puna jone ti bejme
njerezit te ndihen rehat.
10:28
It's our job to wake people up,
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616920
2056
Eshte detyra jone te zgjojme njerezit,
10:31
to pull them out of their apathy
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619000
2136
ti nxjerrim nga apatite
10:33
and into the anguish,
206
621160
1456
dhe nga ankthet,
10:34
and to insist that we do
what we don't want to do
207
622640
3456
dhe te insistojme qe te bejme ate qe
nuk duam ta bejme
10:38
and see what we do not want to see.
208
626120
3336
dhe te shikojme ate qe nuk duam
te shikojme.
10:41
Because we know
that social change only happens --
209
629480
2376
Sepse dime qe ndryshimi social
vazhdon e ndryshon--
10:43
(Applause)
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1056
(Duartrokitje)
10:44
when we are awake enough
to see that the house is on fire.
211
632960
3880
kur ne jemi mjaftueshem ne dijeni
te shohim se shtepia eshte nen zjarr.
10:49
The second principle is hope,
212
637760
1936
Parimi i dyte eshte shpresa,
10:51
and I want to say this about hope.
213
639720
1620
dhe dua te them kete per shpresen.
10:53
Hope is not naive,
214
641364
2132
Shpresa nuk eshte naive
10:55
and hope is not an opiate.
215
643520
1936
dhe shpresa nuk eshte lende narkotike.
10:57
Hope may be the single
greatest act of defiance
216
645480
4056
Shpresa mund te jete akti i vetem i
optimizmit
11:01
against a politics of pessimism
217
649560
2336
kunder politikes se pesimizmit dhe
11:03
and against a culture of despair.
218
651920
2416
kunder kultures se deshperimit.
11:06
Because what hope does for us
219
654360
1896
Sepse ajo qe shpresa ben per ne
11:08
is it lifts us out of the container
220
656280
2776
eshte qe na heq nga ena
11:11
that holds us and constrains us
from the outside,
221
659080
3696
qe na mban dhe ndrydh nga
pjesa jashte,
11:14
and says, "You can dream
and think expansively again.
222
662800
3736
dhe thote,"Mund te enderrosh dhe
mendosh fort serish.
11:18
That they cannot control in you."
223
666560
2400
Sepse ata nuk mund te kene kontroll
mbi ty."
11:21
I saw hope made manifest
in an African-American church
224
669760
3016
E kam pare shpresen te manifestohej
ne nje kishe Afro-Amerikane
11:24
in the South Side of Chicago this summer,
225
672800
2536
ne pjesen jugore te Cikagos kete vere,
11:27
where I brought my little girl,
226
675360
1656
ku cova vajzen time te vogel,
11:29
who is now 13
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677040
1216
e cila eshte 13 vjece
11:30
and a few inches taller than me,
228
678280
1696
dhe disa cm me e gjate se une,
11:32
to hear my friend Rev. Otis Moss preach.
229
680000
2800
per te degjuar predikimin e pastorit
Otis Moss.
11:35
That summer, there had already been
3,000 people shot
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683560
5496
Kete vere, te pakten 3000 njerez
jane qelluar
11:41
between January and July in Chicago.
231
689080
3320
midis Janarit dhe korrikut ne Cikago.
11:45
We went into that church
and heard Rev. Moss preach,
232
693040
3096
Ne shkuam ne kete kishe dhe degjuam
predikimin e tij,
11:48
and after he did,
233
696160
1936
dhe pasi ai vdiq,
11:50
this choir of gorgeous women,
100 women strong,
234
698120
4256
nje kor me femra te mrekullueshme,
rreth 100
11:54
stood up and began to sing.
235
702400
1960
u ngriten dhe filluan te kendojne.
11:57
"I need you. You need me.
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3136
"Kam nevoje per ty. Ti per mua.
12:00
I love you. I need you to survive."
237
708360
2680
Te dua ty. Kam nevoje per ty qe te
mbijetoj."
12:03
And I realized in that moment
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1696
Dhe ne kete moment kuptova
12:05
that this is what religion
is supposed to be about.
239
713440
3576
se kete supozohet
qe te beje feja.
12:09
It's supposed to be about
giving people back a sense of purpose,
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717040
4696
Supozohet qe te jete rreth te dhenit pas
sensit te qellimit,
12:13
a sense of hope,
241
721760
1496
sensit te shpreses,
12:15
a sense that they and their dreams
fundamentally matter in this world
242
723280
4936
nje sens qe ata dhe endrrat tyre kane
rendesi te madhe ne kete bote
12:20
that tells them
that they don't matter at all.
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2560
qe u tregon atyre qe
ata nuk kane rendesi fare.
12:23
The third principle
is the principle of mightiness.
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2776
Parimi i trete eshte
parimi i forces.
12:26
There's a rabbinic tradition
that we are to walk around
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734560
2656
Ka nje thenie rabinike se ne
duhet te ecim perreth
12:29
with two slips of paper in our pockets.
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737240
2296
me dy copa letre ne xhepa.
12:31
One says, "I am but dust and ashes."
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739560
3416
Njera thote," Une jam por me pluhur
dhe me hi."
12:35
It's not all about me.
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1696
Nuk eshte gjithcka rreth meje.
12:36
I can't control everything,
and I cannot do this on my own.
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3520
Nuk mund te kontrolloj gjithcka,
dhe nuk mund ta bej kete vetem.
12:40
The other slip of paper says,
"For my sake the world was created."
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4176
Copa tjeter e letres thote,
"Per shkakun tim u krijua bota."
12:45
Which is to say it's true
that I can't do everything,
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3120
Eshte tregimi i te vertetes qe une nuk
mund te bej gjithcka,
12:49
but I can surely do something.
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757040
2200
por me siguri mund te bej dicka.
12:52
I can forgive.
253
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1656
Une mund te fal.
12:53
I can love.
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1200
Une mund te dashuroj.
12:55
I can show up.
255
763560
1496
Une mund te dalloj.
12:57
I can protest.
256
765080
1616
Une mund te protestoj.
12:58
I can be a part of this conversation.
257
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3176
Une mund te jem pjese e kesaj bisede.
13:01
We even now have a religious ritual,
258
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2856
Qe tani ne kemi nje rit fetar,
13:04
a posture,
259
772800
1216
nje qendrim,
13:06
that holds the paradox
between powerlessness and power.
260
774040
3696
qe mban paradoksin mes
pafuqise dhe fuqise.
13:09
In the Jewish community,
261
777760
1216
Ne komunitetin hebre,
13:11
the only time of year
that we prostrate fully to the ground
262
779000
3296
koha e vetme ne te gjithe vitin,
qe ne gjunjezohemi plotesisht ne toke
13:14
is during the high holy days.
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1656
eshte gjate diteve te shenjta.
13:16
It's a sign of total submission.
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2240
Eshte shenje e nje bindjeje totale.
13:18
Now in our community,
when we get up off the ground,
265
786840
3056
Tani ne komunitetin tone kur
ngrihemi nga dyshemeja,
13:21
we stand with our hands
raised to the heavens,
266
789920
3496
qendrojme me duart tona te ngritura lart,
13:25
and we say, "I am strong,
I am mighty, and I am worthy.
267
793440
5616
dhe themi," Jam i forte, jam i vendosur,
jam i vlefshem.
13:31
I can't do everything,
but I can do something."
268
799080
3360
Nuk mund te bej gjithcka,
por mund te bej dicka."
13:35
In a world that conspires
to make us believe that we are invisible
269
803720
4896
Ne nje bote qe komploton te na beje te
besojme qe jemi te padukshem
13:40
and that we are impotent,
270
808640
1536
dhe qe jemi te pavlefshem,
13:42
religious communities and religious ritual
271
810200
2736
komunitetet dhe ritet fetare
13:44
can remind us that for whatever
amount of time we have here on this Earth,
272
812960
3616
mund te na kujtojne se per cfaredo kohe
qe jemi ketu ne Toke,
13:48
whatever gifts and blessings
we were given,
273
816600
2456
cfaredo dhurate dhe bekimi
qe na kane dhene,
13:51
whatever resources we have,
274
819080
1736
cfaredo burimesh kemi,
13:52
we can and we must use them
275
820840
2336
ne mund dhe duhet t'i perdorim ato
13:55
to try to make the world
a little bit more just
276
823200
2576
qe te perpiqemi ta bejme boten pak me
te drejte
13:57
and a little bit more loving.
277
825800
1381
dhe me shume te perzemert.
13:59
The fourth and final
is interconnectedness.
278
827920
2936
E katerta dhe e fundit
eshte nderlidhja.
14:02
A few years ago, there was a man
walking on the beach in Alaska,
279
830880
3256
Disa vite me pare, nje burre ishte
duke ecur ne nje plazh te Alaskes,
14:06
when he came across a soccer ball
280
834160
1936
ku i doli nje top futbolli perpara
14:08
that had some Japanese
letters written on it.
281
836120
2496
qe kishte disa shkronja japoneze
te shkruajtura ne te.
14:10
He took a picture of it
and posted it up on social media,
282
838640
3336
I beri nje foto dhe e postoi
ne nje media sociale,
14:14
and a Japanese teenager contacted him.
283
842000
2696
ku nje adoleshent japonez kontaktoi me te.
14:16
He had lost everything in the tsunami
that devastated his country,
284
844720
3776
Ai kishte humbur gjithcka ne cunamin qe
shkaterroi vendin e tij,
14:20
but he was able
to retrieve that soccer ball
285
848520
2696
por ishte i afte te
gjente ate top futbolli
14:23
after it had floated
all the way across the Pacific.
286
851240
3016
pasi kishte pluskuar ne te gjithe
Paqesorin.
14:26
How small our world has become.
287
854280
2776
Sa e vogel qe eshte bere bota.
14:29
It's so hard for us to remember
how interconnected we all are
288
857080
4816
Eshte kaq e veshtire per ne te kujtojme
se sa te lidhur qe ne jemi
14:33
as human beings.
289
861920
1200
si qenie njerezore.
14:36
And yet, we know
290
864720
1976
Por serish, e dime
14:38
that it is systems of oppression
291
866720
2696
qe eshte sistemi i tiranise
14:41
that benefit the most
from the lie of radical individualism.
292
869440
4096
qe perfiton me shume nga
genjeshtra e individualizmit radikal.
14:45
Let me tell you how this works.
293
873560
1816
Me lini t'ua shpjegoj se si
funksionon.
14:47
I'm not supposed to care
294
875400
1936
Mua nuk duhet te me interesoje
14:49
when black youth are harassed by police,
295
877360
2456
kur policia i bie ne qafe
te rinjve me ngjyre,
14:51
because my white-looking Jewish kids
296
879840
2296
sepse femijet e mij te bardhe hebrenj
14:54
probably won't ever get pulled over
for the crime of driving while black.
297
882160
3896
ndoshta nuk do te ndalohen ndonjehere
per krimin qe jane shofere me ngjyre.
14:58
Well, not so, because
this is also my problem.
298
886080
4016
Ky eshte problemi im gjithashtu.
15:02
And guess what?
Transphobia and Islamophobia
299
890120
3176
Gjeje cfare?
Transfobia, islamofobia
15:05
and racism of all forms,
those are also all of our problems.
300
893320
3536
dhe racizmi i te gjithe formave,
jane te gjitha problemet tona.
15:08
And so too is anti-Semitism
all of our problems.
301
896880
3456
Gjithashtu keshtu eshte edhe anti
semitizmi jane problemet tona.
15:12
Because Emma Lazarus was right.
302
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1696
Sepse Emma Lazarus kishte te drejte.
15:14
(Applause)
303
902080
2320
(Duartrokitje)
15:19
Emma Lazarus was right
when she said until all of us are free,
304
907560
3336
Emma Lazarus kishte te drejte kur tha
qe derisa te gjithe te jemi te lire,
15:22
we are none of us free.
305
910920
1936
asnje prej nesh nuk eshte i lire.
15:24
We are all in this together.
306
912880
2080
Jemi te gjithe bashke ne kete.
15:27
And now somewhere at the intersection
of these four trends,
307
915800
3496
Dhe diku ne nderprerjen e ketyre
kater parimeve,
15:31
of wakefulness and hope
and mightiness and interconnectedness,
308
919320
4736
te vigjilences, shpreses,
forces dhe nderlidhjes,
15:36
there is a burgeoning, multifaith
justice movement in this country
309
924080
4536
eshte nje levizje e drejte, mugulluese
shume besimore ne kete vend
15:40
that is staking a claim on a countertrend,
310
928640
2256
qe po ndermerr nje pretendim
kunder trendit
15:42
saying that religion can and must be
a force for good in the world.
311
930920
5136
duke thene qe feja mund dhe duhet
te jete nje force per mire ne bote.
15:48
Our hearts hurt from
the failed religion of extremism,
312
936080
4016
Zemrat tona dhembin
nga feja e deshtuar e ekstremizmit,
15:52
and we deserve more
than the failed religion of routine-ism.
313
940120
4216
dhe ne meritojme me shume
sesa rutinizmi fetar i deshtuar.
15:56
It is time for religious leaders
and religious communities
314
944360
3776
Eshte koha qe lideret fetare dhe
komunitetet fetare
16:00
to take the lead in the spiritual
and cultural shift
315
948160
3376
te marrin drejtimin ne levizjet
shpirterore dhe kulturore
16:03
that this country and the world
so desperately needs --
316
951560
3696
qe ky vend dhe bota kane nevoje
deshperimisht--
16:07
a shift toward love,
317
955280
2136
nje zhvendosje drejt dashurise,
16:09
toward justice, toward equality
and toward dignity for all.
318
957440
3896
drejtesise, drejt barazise
dhe dinjiteti per te gjithe.
16:13
I believe that our children
deserve no less than that.
319
961360
3440
Une besoj se femijet tane nuk meritojne
me pak se kaq.
16:17
Thank you.
320
965360
1216
Ju falemnderit.
16:18
(Applause)
321
966600
7524
(Duartrokitje)
Translated by Gramoz Pisha
Reviewed by Helena Bedalli

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sharon Brous - Rabbi
Rabbi Sharon Brous is a leading voice in reanimating religious life in America, working to develop a spiritual roadmap for soulful, multi-faith justice work.

Why you should listen

Based in Los Angeles, Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a community built in 2004 that has become a model for Jewish revitalization in the US and beyond. IKAR’s goal is to reinvigorate Jewish religious and spiritual practice, inspiring people of faith to reclaim a moral and prophetic voice in counter-testimony to the small-minded extremism now prevalent in so many religious communities. IKAR quickly became one of the fastest growing and most influential Jewish congregations in the country, and it's widely credited with sparking a rethinking of religious life in a time of unprecedented disaffection and declining affiliation.

In 2008, Brous was the youngest person on the Newsweek/Daily Beast list of the most influential Rabbis in America, and in 2013 she was named the list’s most influential rabbi. In 2013, Brous blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service.

More profile about the speaker
Sharon Brous | Speaker | TED.com