Author: Rabbi Michael Farbman

The joys of Purim… Adar is here!

Mishenikhnas Adar, marbim b’simchah… From the moment the month of Adar begins, we increase the joy… This ancient rabbinic dictum reminds us that we are to celebrate Purim with much joy and happiness – not only on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (when the festival occurs) but from the very beginning of the month! That’s wonderful news, right?

For some reason, Purim seems to be a problem for many people. They view it as a festival for kids, something that takes place at a religious school if at all – kids dress up, maybe put together a purim shpiel (play), maybe have a costume parade. Grownups only need to turn up if they are a parent or a grandparent – or a rabbi :). This creates a reality of what many call a ‘pediatric Judaism’ – something reserved for kids. The result is that the minute the kids hit high school, they want to be nowhere near the celebration. Why would they, in their minds it’s only for kids! I think of this often, especially at the time of Halloween. When we take our kids trick-or-treating, I never cease to be amazed by teenagers, as well as grownups, fully dressed and having fun. Why is it, I wonder, most of us find Halloween a socially acceptable time to dress up and have fun, yet so many shun Purim as adults? Is it the deep religious message of the Halloween, perhaps, that tips the scales? 🙂

There’s another challenge. Have you read the Megillah in full? It’s blood-thirsty! It’s pretty heavy! It speaks in categories that we find challenging to say the least… You do NOT want to read the full, unabridged text of the megillah to the little kids before bed – and so we omit a few details from our story as we play it out in religious school. Combine that with the fact that we refuse to go back to Purim and the text as adults and voila – you have a problem. For years now I have been advocating that every year we should engage in serious discussion of the megillah text – with all the gory details. We should challenge ourselves and find our own answers. We should never allow ourselves to disengage from this part of our heritage. Last year we had a fabulous Purim party for adults. We read the megillah, we dressed up, we had a musical Purim spiel, had a drink or two (or three – after all, it is a mitzvah on Purim :)) and we danced the night away. Not a single person wanted to go home! This year on March 10th at 7:00pm we are doing it all over again – and we know that THIS year there will be many, many more TE members who will not want to miss this party! Please click here to sign up! Don’t forget to bring your family and friends!

Earlier that morning (Saturday March 10, 10:30 am) I invite you all to come and study the megillah in English with adults as part of our weekly Torah study group – it will be fun and it will be educational, there will be coffee and hamentaschen! Remember, Adar is the time for joy! Come yourself. Make sure the teenagers are there. Make sure they see YOU having fun – and engaging with Judaism for YOUR sake, not just for their sake. Maybe, just maybe, they will know that it’s OK to have fun being Jewish :).

Chag Purim Sameach! A Happy Purim!

Rabbi Farbman.

(this article first appeared in the monthly Shofar in March 2011)

Adult Education at TE!

Learning opportunities aren’t just for kids at TE! There is a warm, welcoming learning community for adults too.  Multiple educational opportunities with the Rabbi are available for adults including weekly Torah study on Shabbat mornings, Basic Judaism class on Sundays, and continued Jewish education class on Thursdays.  There are numerous special lectures and learning sessions which occur throughout the year, including an annual interfaith scholar-in-residence program with our neighboring houses of worship. Individual opportunities exist for adult b’nai mitzvah, for learning Hebrew and Torah trope.

The quiet months are over…

‘Deep winter, still winter, but the days are visibly longer. The sun is visibly brighter. In the Land of Israel, it is still raining – but the rains are beginning to slacken. Already they have filled the deepest recesses of the earth. Far underground, the roots of trees are beginning to suck at earth’s replenished breasts. Their branches are beginning to grope toward the gathering light. There is barely any change to see; there is barely any change to hear. But the turn of the year has come. The still and quiet months are over; the seed is quickening, life is reasserting itself. In this hushed moment we celebrate the new year of trees, and the reawakening of the Tree of Life.’ (Arthur Waskow, Seasons of Our Joy)

The Mishnah records a disagreement between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel. They are trying to decide when to celebrate the New Year of Trees (an important date, since it would determine the tithing system for the ancient Israelite farmers). Shammai insists it should be on the 1st of Sh’vat, around the time when the sap begins to rise inside the trees, marking the beginning of spring – invisible to the eye yet real awakening of nature from winter slumber. Hillel suggests the 15 of Sh’vat, around the time when the first almond trees begin to blossom, providing a visible sign of spring. In the end, the tradition follows Beit Hillel and marks the New Year of Trees on Tu BiSh’vat (which means 15 of Sh’vat), this year it falls of February 8th. On that day, it is customary to eat as many fruits that grow in Israel as one can find, some try to eat 15 different fruits (dried fruits are also OK, especially if you can get some Israeli ones!).

In his introduction to the chapter about Tu BiSh’vat, Arthur Waskow talks about the nature and life reasserting itself. ‘The quiet days are over’. In this remarkable 50th year of Temple Emanuel, we hardly had any quiet days – but if we did, they are definitely over! Outside, the snow comes and goes, the winter is in full swing, but just like the sap begins to rise inside the trees before we ever get to see any real signs of spring, the activity begins to heat up at TE as we continue to celebrate our 2nd Half-Century. Just take a look at the calendar: Chinese Dinner, Purim party, an incredible musician-in-residence weekend with Jeffrey Klepper, an upcoming Sisterhood variety show, not to mention Pesach and the Anniversary Gala – all of this in addition to two new adult study programs, building renovations, committee work and school programs! Our new family Shabbat service on the first Friday of the month was a huge success in January and we look forward to seeing many more families, with and without children at the early service in February. The first Torah service with Mishkan Tefilah prayerbook was in January and we continue to get used to the new prayerbook, proudly using it alongside our beloved TE siddur. We continue to improve our communications and our website, so that it can match the outstanding Shofar that we are so proud to produce every month, thanks to our wonderful team! As of this month, you can register for most of our events online, through our website, complete with payment opportunity, saving you (and our office) some precious time.

As we go through winter, and as we acknowledge the change of seasons in Israel, may we remember to take a moment and marvel at the miracle that is Temple Emanuel. I look forward to seeing many of you at all the wonderful events coming up this month and in the spring. The quiet days are over – let the fun begin!

50週年快樂! (Happy 50th Anniversary!)

Click here to reserve your seat!

50週年快樂! (Happy 50th Anniversary!)
Come Celebrate our Great Fortune: Temple Emanuel’s 50th Anniversary
Enter the Royal Palace Door and you will find…
Great food, wonderful company
and our traditional silent auction filled with unique and creative bargains galore!
Let’s meet, have fun and kibbitz
Sunday Feb 12, 2012, doors open 6:00pm
Royal Palace 32 Orange Street New Haven, CT
Adults Only Please
Click here to reserve your seat!

Dreaming of camp…

Happy New year! May 2012 bring you all much joy and happiness – and a little fewer snow days than last year! 🙂

Together with Lew Shaffer and Bruce Spiewak I have recently attended the Union for Reform Judaism biennial in Washington, DC. The program was absolutely terrific, as always – with multiple engaging sessions, services, music and camaraderie of some 6000 reform Jews from all over the United States, as well as Israel and the UK. For the first time in our movement’s history, President Obama addressed the gathering – and if you haven’t seen his address yourself, I strongly recommend taking a look at urj.org/biennial11 – the website where videos of many of the main sessions are available.

One of the main initiatives unveiled at this historic meeting was the Campaign for Youth Engagement. It is a comprehensive attempt to address the continued trend of disengagement of teens from Jewish life and the synagogue past their bar/bat mitzvah. The campaign will attempt to better understand the reality – and to address it directly. It will not be easy. It will not be simple. It will most likely not be straight forward… But unless we address this issue head on, we are ignoring one of the biggest threats to the Jewish community in the 21st century.

I am extremely proud of our movement and I look forward to engaging with members and leaders at Temple Emanuel in trying to find ways to better serve our teens and our families. It is not a secret that I have a dream that we will once again have a very strong and vibrant, self-dependant youth group soon. Much has already been achieved and I am very proud of all our teens and parent volunteers have accomplished in the last two years, but we still have a long way to go.

One of the strongest Jewish identity builders in children is Jewish camp. Study after study shows that a few weeks at camp often do more to foster a positive Jewish identity than many other things we do. Needless to say, a summer spent at Jewish camp combined with Jewish education received at the synagogue and involvement in the life of the community throughout the year is an excellent idea! As you know, for the past two years I have served on the faculty of Camp Eisner – most rabbis, cantors and educators take turns in spending 2 weeks at camp, teaching the kids and providing wonderful Jewish experiences. Last year 4 kids from Temple Emanuel attended the Eisner/Crane Lake camps, all returning home with renewed sense of Jewish belonging and I am hoping that this year the numbers will be even greater.

First time campers are eligible for a $1000 incentive grant from the Foundation for Jewish Camping and Temple Emanuel offers additional scholarship through the David Nevis Fund. If you are interested in sending your children to a sleep-away Jewish camp, please speak to me or pick up a brochure at the Temple. I would also like to encourage those of you who would like to support the TE kids going to Jewish camp in the summer to consider the David Nevis Fund when making your next donation in honor or in memory of someone. Whether it is through Camp Eisner/Crane Lake, or a local Camp Laurelwood, I sincerely hope that you will start dreaming of a Jewish camp – even though it’s only January!

“What’s God got to do with it?” – Adult Education Opportunity Feb 4th @ 3pm

So, as Ike and Tina Turner might say “What’s God got to do with it?”

Come decide in this lay led, 5 week class that will meet once a month on Saturday afternoons!

“Praise the God of…..Lessons of Jewish Theology and Finding Your Place in It” is a course centered on 3 ways in which we relate to God: creation, redemption, and revelation. We will look at prayers and try to unravel what God means to each of us. It is possible to live a rich Jewish life, attending synagogue, celebrating holidays, visiting and supporting Israel, studying Torah and repairing the world without being clear about our belief about or in God.

So come learn in a warm and friendly environment; 3pm on February 4th at a private residence in Woodbridge.

Please e-mail education@templeemanuel-gnh.org or call Temple Office by Wednesday February 1st .

"Torahs'R'us: All you ever wanted to know about Torah but were afraid to ask"

A brand-new educational opportunity for adults for 2012

This course will examine the Torah-reading traditions, its history and meaning, the structure of the Torah service and much more. The practical part of each class will be dedicated to learning the ‘trope’ – how to chant the Torah, as well as writing a ‘d’var Torah’ – a commentary on the weekly portion. For those who choose to have an adult bar/bat mitzvah this course will serve as the first and major step in training.

The cost is $36 per person (TE members) and this will include the course book.
Pre-registration is essential!
Please email office@templeemanuel-gnh.org by January 5th to sign up.
The course will take place on Thursdays, 7:30-9pm at Temple Emanuel on the following dates:
12-Jan, 26-Jan, 2-Feb, 9-Feb, 1-Mar, 8-Mar, 22-Mar, 29-Mar, 5-Apr, 12-Apr, 3-May, 10-May, 24-May.

Chanukah is here!!!

Everyone is invited to celebrate the magic of Chanukah at Temple Emanuel!

The festivities will begin at 6:00pm on Friday, December 23rd. It is still not too late to sign up  on-line using Paypal! This Super-De-Duper celebration will include a fantastic Shabbat service with Rabbi Farbman and our very own T.E. music band followed by a dinner with latkes, crafts, dreidel games and our Annual Latke competition! Does your family have a special latke recipe? Whip up a batch and enter them in our Latke Contest. 

Don’t have kids??? No worries! Our Holiday celebration will be fun for ALL ages!!!

Children’s activities will be supervised so adults can relax and enjoy.

Feel free to bring your own menorah and candles for candle lighting!!!

 

Chanukah Gift Giving Program a Success!

On Sunday December 11th about 30 religious school children, their parents, teachers, and members of the Education Committee & Social Action Committee participated in a fun and educational morning that ended with a community mitzvah project that was a true success. The kids and parents sang with the Rabbi, then kids learned with their teachers and adults studied with the Rabbi,  and then everyone helped to pack about 115 Holiday baskets for kids  (and moms) from Jewish Family Services, Fairhaven Clinic, r’ kids, and Life Haven Shelter. It was busy, noisy, and fun.  A huge mazel tov to all the volunteers who donated their time, gifts, and energy and who made this such a special TE event.