Author: Rabbi Michael Farbman

Chag Sukkot Sameach!

lulavולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר כפת תמרים וענף עץ עבת וערבי נחל ושמחתם לפני ה׳ אלקיכם שבעת ימים

“On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an unopened palm frond (lulav), myrtle branches, and willows [that grow near] the brook. You shall rejoice before God for seven days.” (Leviticus 23:40)

After the solemn drama of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we arrive at the Festival of Sukkot – a week-long celebration, a happiest of festivals in the Jewish tradition. In fact, the rabbis would refer to it as ‘heChag’, or ‘the Festival’. It is easy to see why the festival of Sukkot would acquire such a special status in the agricultural world of our ancestors. After all, when you have gathered the crops (and when you know you can make it safely through the winter without starving), you can relax and rejoice! But the agricultural elements of Sukkot hardly speak to the majority of modern Jews – even those of us who like to grow things in our back yard, or participate in the local community farm, hardly rely on the produce for our very survival.

The sukkah, a highly visible and distinct element of the holiday is a big help – through the sukkah, this festival continues to stand out from all other Jewish holidays. Having a meal in the sukkah, even a simple one, is considered a fulfillment of a great mitzvah – so if you don’t get a chance to build one in your own back yard, why not stop by the Temple Emanuel sukkah with a brown bag lunch?

The most important commandment of the Festival is the biblical instruction to combine the lulav and etrog – the four species – together, for a blessing. A palm branch, willow, myrtle and citron are brought together, each representing, among other things, four types of Jews. Through the waving (or shaking) of lulav and etrog we remind ourselves that Jews come in all different shapes and sizes, with different levels of observance and commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people. On Sukkot we remember that we can only truly be a people when we bring all the different Jews together, just as we bring the lulav and etrog together for a blessing.

I look forward to seeing many of you in TE’s sukkah this sukkot, sharing the lulav and etrog and the beauty of their ancient message with all of you. And when we are done celebrating sukkot, we will dance with the Torah and rejoice as we begin to read it, yet again, on Simchat Torah (Wednesday, Oct 15 at 6:30 pm this year).

L’shanah tovah tikateivu v’tichateimu, may you all be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year 5775!

2014-10-05 11.18.09
Temple Emanuel sukkah assembly team

Mussar and TE

BessingerNow, I am neither a Rabbi nor a scholar but I do try to think (contrary to what you may have heard about surgeons). A path suggested by our recent Scholar in Residence, Rabbi  Marcia Plumb struck a familiar chord in me. She discussed how Mussar teachings can be used to create a sense of wholeness in one’s life.

Very, briefly the Mussar movement centered in Lithuania during the mid 1800’s and was led by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter. Much was lost during the Holocaust, but it has become a thriving movement in recent years.  Mussar teachers have sought to help transform lives and get people on the path of holiness. The path they describe is not in any way esoteric or otherworldly, but vey much  within the realm of our own familiar lives. They describe inner traits which when balanced and developed bring a sense of peace, wholeness, and holiness to the individual. These traits are: gratitude, humility, patience, compassion, order, equanimity, honor, simplicity, enthusiasm, silence, generosity, truth, moderation, loving-kindness, responsibility, trust, faith, and yirah. An individual picks 13 traits to work on. Then practices that trait for one week; the cycle is then repeated 4 times during the year.

Over the next several months I am going to apply these traits to TE and the column.

Not surprisingly, I will begin with Gratitude in next months column.

For those with more interest or just to check out what I am describing,  a good place to start is Everday Holiness by Alan Morinis or the website: www.mussarinstitute.org

Dr. Melissa Perkal

 

Erev Sukkot – October 8 @ 6:30PM

IMG_1195Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts,” refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest. It also commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. This year it begins at sunset on October 8th. Please join Temple Emanuel at 6:30 pm for Erev Sukkot Service!

For more information about the holiday, please visit http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays

Abraham's Tent – feeding the hungry and housing the homeless this winter.

IMG_8180Abraham’s Tent is a cooperative effort between Columbus House and congregations of faith in the Greater New Haven area. Represented by the Interfaith Cooperative Ministries, it began in 2009 when a city funded shelter remained closed for the winter due to lack of funds. From December to April Abraham’s tent provides safe shelter and food for 12 men whom are selected by Columbus House for this special project. Our responsibility is to feed the men a warm family style dinner, breakfast the next morning and a bagged lunch for them to take back to Columbus House where they will shower and get ready for their day. Temple Emanuel’s responsibility is for one week in February where we partner with Grace and St Peters Episcopal church in Hamden.
On behalf of Temple Emanuel, this project is spearheaded by Ronda Stiekman. She is always looking for fellow congregants willing to assist during this weeklong commitment. If you’d like to contribute your time and help prepare a meal, please contact Ronda at AT@TempleEmanuel-GNH.org

Tikkun Olam at Temple Emanuel in action

climate change marchIn September, members of Temple Emanuel joined  the March Against Climate Change in New York with more than 750 businesses, unions, faith groups, schools, social justice groups, environmental groups. You can still add your voice to that call and take action to address climate change. An organizational meeting will be taking November 2nd at 10:00 in the Sanctuary to plan next steps.

For information contact Jean Silk at TikkunOlam@TempleEmanuel-GNH.org

Men's Club at Temple Emanuel – Inaugural Meeting: Sunday, October 19th, 10:30 am.

TE Men cookingATTENTION ALL TE GENTLEMEN.  Michael Neufeld is organizing a Men’s Club which will be similar to Sisterhood in many respects, particularly the goal of fundraising for TE, but with its own flair and activities.  Anyone who is interested in learning more is invited to join an organizational meeting to be held at TE  on Sunday, October 19th, at 10:30 a.m.  Michael is very excited about this endeavor and has received very positive feedback based on informal discussions with other members of the congregation.

SELICHOT: An inspirational service and study for the local Reform Congregations in preparation for the upcoming High Holy Days

Update:  Selichot Services at CBSRZ will be Live Streamed via YouTube. 

Congregants and friends can view the live feed by accessing the link below:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqzEsniCplf6GucRcFADVA

SELICHOT

selichot 2014

An inspirational service and study for the local Reform Congregations in preparation for the upcoming High Holy Days

featuring

Rabbis, Cantors, Choirs & Soloists

Participating Congregations:

 Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, Chester

Congregation Mishkan Israel, Hamden

 TempleBeth David, Cheshire

 TempleBeth Tikvah, Madison

 TempleEmanuel, Orange

 B’nai Israel of Southbury

TempleEmanuel, Waterford

 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek,

55 East Kings Highway, Chester

7:00 P.M. beginning with Havdalah


For directions or more information, please call CBSRZ at (860) 526-8920.

NEW YEAR MUSINGS

BessingerIt is hard to believe that fall is here and that the Holy Days are around the corner. This is a time of new beginnings and contemplating where we might have “missed the mark.” It is a time of reflecting what we might do better in the up-coming year. As we begin 5775, I am optimistic with our potential for growth and for bringing our congregation together. I believe we can have a thriving community. This will take dedication, volunteerism, and financial support. Previous TE President Jon Zonderman stated that to do this, it is important that we all agree on one key statement: “I believe that maintaining a vibrant Reform Jewish community at Temple Emanuel is important.” If we all believe that, then we all must believe that each one of us needs to take responsibility for maintaining our community and may not leave it up to others to do so.

What can each of us do to keep TE strong?

  1. Add one new member family to TE by sharing your experiences with your non-TE friends. Bring them along to TE events. Show them how really wonderful our community is.
  2. Participate in our fund-raising efforts by coming to our many “friend-raisers,” buying citrus, baked goods and New Year honey wishes.
  3. Contribute to the “One Campus Campaign” so that we continue to be mortgage free as we build. My goal is that every TE family will contribute something toward making this a reality.
  4. Join a committee, help run an event large or small, get your hands dirty, donate time to stuff envelopes, and/or pick up supplies. We are a small community with a tiny professional staff. So we need everyone’s energy to be actively involved.
  5. Consider making a “Leave a Legacy” pledge so our children and our children’s children will have a community where they can welcome Shabbat and celebrate life cycle events.
  6. Finally, there is still time to make your Fair Share Pledge before the Holy Days. Dig as deeply as you can afford to. TE needs you and TE needs your financial support.

Come find me in the coming weeks, and let me know how you want to be involved.

Shanah Tovah.

TE JOINS THE PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH Sunday, September 21 in New York City.

March for Climate ChangeOn September 21, 2014, heads of state from around the world met at the United Nations in New York to discuss climate change. TE members joined some 400,000 people from businesses, unions, faith groups, schools, social justice groups, and environmental groups in the People’s Climate March in New York City to demonstrate our belief that the world we want is within our reach: a world safe from the ravages of climate change.