“In every generation we must see ourselves as if we personally have come out of Egypt…” Pesachim 116b, Passover Haggadah
cooking!sharing our journeys…sharing circle says goodbye to Sampre-shabbat talkTeenssinging with Rabbi
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, we continue to look at the events unfolding with utter disbelief. After the initial shock wore off, like so many others we responded by offering financial support to the efforts on the ground. Shortly after a call came from the JDC for Russian-speaking clergy to volunteer during Pesach, I traveled to Poland to help. Later in the summer I traveled to support the Barcelona reform community’s refugee resettlement efforts, this time as part of a father-son team with Samuel. The TE support during both of these trips has been invaluable and inspiring, the work was impactful, the connections forged were powerful.
Many of you know about these efforts already and have generously supported the work. What you may not know is that Olga has been involved in these efforts from day one as part of her work at the Jewish Federations of North America. It became crystal clear within the first few days of the war, that many Jewish organizations assisting refugees on the ground in Europe, meeting them at the borders, offering the housing, food, medical care, and mental health support to those fleeing the conflict zone, were facing the major challenge – shortage of people speaking the language. Olga was tasked with leading the Pan-American communal effort of creating Global Volunteer Hub to recruit, train, and deploy Russian/Ukrainian speaking American and Canadian volunteers in Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Czech Republic, Spain, and beyond. Olga’s phone continues to buzz day and night with messages from teams of volunteers serving all around the world, exchanging stories and pictures, offering support to each other as they serve the displaced Ukrainian refugees trying to make sense of the unfolding tragedy. For almost a year Olga’s work has been coordinating so much of this gargantuan task that she had to put on hold her personal desire to be on the ground and volunteer herself.
One year later, it is clear that the current conflict and the suffering and displacement it has unleashed is anything but temporary. We were recently blessed with the opportunity to welcome a Ukrainian family here in Connecticut, with JCARR offering its support and expertise to make this transition as smooth as possible. (Please see the interview with Morozov family in this issue of the Shofar). In fact, many of you have met the family at our Shabbat services where they have become regulars.
As we approach Pesach once again, the two of us (Olga and myself) will be traveling to Spain to support the incredible efforts of the local Jewish community and other volunteers. We will celebrate Passover seders here with our family and TE community, and then will set out to bring the message of freedom and hope to the refugees. Our professional training and years of experience in community building are very much needed. And yet, as we prepare for this journey, we are well aware that as native speakers we are best equipped to respond to the needs on the ground. We are not doing this alone – we are volunteering on behalf of everyone at Temple Emanuel. We will be sharing our journey with all of you, as I have done in the past. If you would like to support our efforts, please feel free to make a donation to Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at TE, please mark it “Support Ukraine”.
As we celebrate our freedom at the Passover seder, may we remember those who struggle for their own.
When I stand on the bimah next to a young person celebrating their arrival at the age of taking responsibility for observance of mitzvot, I often say something like this: ‘as you arrive at this moment of celebration, please remember that this is not the end of the journey of Jewish learning – quite the opposite! Becoming a Jewish adult is embarking on a journey of life-long learning and Jewish discovery’. I know that in that moment it may be hard for the 13 year old to grasp the full meaning of this charge, but I hope that they remember this as they continue to grow, mature and become the true Jewish adults. Learning is NOT just for kids. In fact, Jewish learning that we offer our children is just a handful of tools and concepts that they will be able to use to continue to engage with Jewish texts, services, festivals and celebrations, as well as many customs and traditions of our people.
Over the course of the year we make sure that all of our religious school families enjoy some family learning – grades 3 and up have an annual Shabbaton, and we run school-wide programs a few times a year. Parents of our 7th graders are offered a B’nai Mitzvah Parents class every year, allowing them to explore our traditions in depth, just as their kids prepare for their big day. This year we once again offered an Adult Hebrew Class on Sundays – many thanks to TE’s own Eyal Yazdi for volunteering to teach this group of dedicated learners!
Our weekly Torah Study group has returned in person (as well as online) with renewed sense of excitement. For the first time in the 13 years that I have been leading this study group we have decided to engage in a slow reading of the Torah text – rather than following the traditional weekly portion schedule, we go through the narrative a few verses at a time, delving deeper and not moving to the next verse until we are ready. So far we have managed to get to Noah, and the conversations have been so rewarding! If you have not yet tried it, why not spend 90 minutes on Saturday morning engaging with a little Jewish learning, cup of coffee in hand?
One of the highlights of the year is TE’s Annual Scholar in Residence program. Over the past few covid years, while we were not able to have our traditional weekend-long programs, complete with meals and a chance to spend quality time with our scholar in residence, we have experimented with a few different modalities online.
I am delighted to announce that our Scholar program this year will be offered by Professor Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, a Horace Goldsmith Visiting Professor in Judaic Studies at Yale University. Stories portraying Jesus and heretics (‘minim’) in rabbinic literature are a central site of rabbinic engagement with the ‘other’. We will use previously untapped Christian materials to arrive at new interpretations of familiar texts and illuminate the complex relationship between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity. Whether you took the TE class on co-existence of Jews and Christians in ancient times back in 2019-20, or you are completely new to this topic, I promise you an incredible journey of exciting learning! Since prof. Bar-Asher Siegal is based in New Haven this year, the three sessions will be offered on January 24, 31 and March 1 – come to one or come to all! (And yes, we will also be streaming on zoom, to make it more accessible to those who are not comfortable driving at night!). A huge thank you to our anonymous donor who continues to make these learning opportunities available to all TE members.
As our Adult Hebrew learners are conquering the alef-bet, we will soon be ready to begin our Adult B’nei Mitzvah class – so please continue to check the Shofar Blast for more info coming soon. 5783 is shaping up to be a year of great Jewish learning at TE!
Earlier this year we celebrated 100th anniversary of the first American Bat Mitzvah, and many of TE members shared their personal stories of celebrating Bat Mitzvah as an adult. Some of our members grew up in Jewish homes but did not have a traditional Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony. Some have joined the Jewish people as adults. Over the years, some have expressed the desire to celebrate this milestone as an adult. This is your chance! Rabbi Farbman will be teaching this Adult B’nei Mitzvah class beginning in January – please sign up to join this class!
Sundays | Jan 15, 22, 29; Feb 5, 12; Mar 12, 19, 26; Apr 23, 30. 11 am – 12 noon.
From the amazing High Holy Days season, back in the sanctuary for the first time in 3 years, to the Gala celebrating Temple Emanuel’s 60th anniversary, my heart is full of gratitude for the blessings bestowed on us all and on this cherished community of ours. A huge THANK YOU to the Gala committee and so many volunteers that helped make it a night to remember!
The vision of our founders lives on. The community they so lovingly built continues to be maintained and sustained by the new generations of TE members, even as many of the founders and the ‘early adopters’ continue to bless our community with their love and support. Our Religious School continues to provide the opportunities for children and parents to learn and to grow – both Jewishly and personally. Our teens step up to engage not just with each other, but also with the next generation of students. Our expanded building is once again abuzz with excitement of learning. My heart overflows with gratitude.
Our world is far from perfect – and yet we continue to respond the best way we know how: by supporting those in need, by loving our neighbors and our friends, by comforting the bereaved, by supporting those who struggle with illness, by rejoicing any time we have something to celebrate: a wedding, a baby naming, a coming of age to fulfillment of mitzvot… We celebrate and we mourn, we support and surround with love, we continue to engage with the modern world while holding fast to traditions that go back centuries.
At 60, we are young and vibrant. We look back with the gratitude for our past, and with excitement for our future. Mazal Tov, TE!
As I write this article for the Shofar, it is less than one week until Temple Emanuel’s 60th anniversary gala. As you read this, the gala has already occurred. While it wouldn’t be honest to discuss the gala in the past tense, I can say I am impressed by the response the gala has received. After being isolated for the past couple of years, we are all ready to socialize again. It is an exciting time. In my first Shofar column, I stated “I’m back.” In this column I will discuss that we as a congregation are back. It was very gratifying to see congregants in the sanctuary for the High Holy Days for the first time since 2019. I am not exaggerating when I point out there was definitely a buzz in the sanctuary. While modern technology kept us together during the low points of the pandemic, people, including me, were truly excited to see others in person, as opposed to in two-inch squares on a Zoom screen. Interaction with others is something I cherish, and it appears the rest of the congregation does as well. Yes, we did adapt to the restrictions imposed on us by Covid. Zoom services will continue to be available to those who are unable to attend services in person. Rabbi Farbman was able to make the Zoom experience interactive by way of chat rooms. Board meetings, classes, and other meetings were made available through technology. Nevertheless, it is great to see and speak with each other in person. Onegs have now returned as part of our Friday night experience. Though I can’t resist a piece of challah and a chocolate chip cookie, what I enjoy most about our Onegs is that we stand around talking to our friends. I consider many of you already to be great friends, and if we don’t know each other well now, we will eventually. That is in the blood of Temple Emanuel. While Shabbat under the stars was a once or twice a year occasion, we have all come to enjoy it regularly during the late spring and summer, even though we have been able to return indoors. Our beautiful grounds, thanks to the Building and Grounds Committee, are very inviting, as are our benches. The hard work of Melissa and Robin has resulted in TE getting a $69,500 security grant from the federal government. Going forward you will see many improvements as a result, including new entrance doors. All of this pleases me, but most of all I am delighted to proclaim “we are back.”
sharing our journeys…sharing circle says goodbye to Sampre-shabbat talkTeenssinging with Rabbicooking!
The three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av are a period of mourning in Jewish tradition. On the 17th of Tammuz the walls of Jerusalem were breached, and on the 9th of Av the Temple was destroyed. According to the Jewish tradition, both the First and the Second Temple were destroyed on the 9th of Av, and so over the centuries that date also absorbed the mourning for other catastrophes that have befallen our people: the Khmelnitsky pogroms, and the 1492 expulsion from Spain (the decree was actually signed on that day, in a carefully orchestrated nod to history), among many others.
It is a complicated date in modern history – while the world is not complete, and the Temple is gone, the City of Jerusalem is alive and vibrant, and very much rebuilt. Many Jews continue to fast on this day and lament the ancient destruction, and recite the mournful verses of Eicha, Lamentations. Others look for ways to engage in meaningful Jewish experiences, performing Mitzvot big and small.
Upon my return from Israel (where I, sadly, contracted COVID and missed a part of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Torah seminar), I learned that there are many Ukrainian refugees who have found their way to Spain, and that the local Jewish community was organizing many programs for kids and adults, with support of the World Union for Progressive Judaism’s Ukraine Crisis Fund. Dedicated volunteers and coordinators were working very hard to create special summer experiences for these children displaced by war, and they really needed help.
Samuel Farbman and I boarded a flight to Barcelona – we were there for a week, to support the local Jewish community and the refugees in any way we could. We brought some supplies -mostly electronics that are cheaper in the US. We bought additional supplies there, thanks to the continued generosity of so many TE members and friends. As many of you saw, I tried to post brief reports of our experiences while we were there, and am reproducing some of those notes here as a summary. The 9th of Av fell right in the middle of our trip – we were so grateful for this opportunity to do something meaningful, helping to heal the world, and our people.
Stories, powerful stories… I met with a group of refugees who were sharing some of their journeys of the past 5 months, of their lives before and since the war, of travel for leisure and of running to safety… The human resilience that comes through the trauma, the humor and wisdom and an overwhelming sense of loss. Tears and laughter… We helped with shopping (including getting a cake for one of the volunteers who celebrated her birthday), sang some songs with kids, and met with a few families. I gave a talk about the upcoming 9th of Av and led Shabbat services (in Russian, simultaneously translated into Spanish by an amazing local coordinator, with readings in Spanish, Catalan, Russian and of course Hebrew). Sam helped set up all the computers we brought, played (and cooked pizza) with kids (all of whom demanded to know if he would stay with them permanently), and was answering a myriad of questions that kids and adults had for him all day. Shabbat was all (well, mostly) about teens. It was beautiful and amazing – and perhaps the toughest so far… They giggled and were all age-appropriate while they introduced themselves – many have begun to form friendships; some only met for the first time, traveling from multiple towns around Barcelona just for the chance to be with other teens. And then I asked them about the last 5 months – the depth of their experiences, which they are altogether too young for, and the way they chose to speak about it left me sitting quietly and holding my breath for a while. I spoke to them about Tisha B’Av and the pain our people have carried for thousands of years, while finding the strength to build our lives with optimism, and laugh, and have joy. A most powerful experience indeed. Sam got to talk to them about education in America, a subject that was very much interesting, and fielded a ton of questions.
With our help the leaders organized a boat trip for the teens – they have been dying to do something special and fun, and we were so excited to help make it happen! Later on, Sam got a chance to produce the largest bill in his life by treating everyone to some food. The teens spent the day together, and for most of the time, it felt almost normal. This may not have been the most traditional start to the 9th of Av, but it was one of the most meaningful ones we have ever experienced.
Singing together after Shabbat service
The next two days were quite busy: together with a group of refugees, we toured the old Barcelona and the old Jewish quarter – it was a little surreal to talk about Spanish Jewish history on the exact day Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand signed the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from Spain; not to mention seeing the stones from the Jewish cemetery used in the construction of the Royal palace. Happily, though, signs of support for Ukrainian refugees were everywhere – banners, posters and Ukrainian flags. Then, back to the synagogue (and air conditioning) for a chance to talk with Sam about education in America (which continued to draw lots of questions!), followed by a self-organized trip of the ‘travel club’ to the botanical gardens, led by one of the young refugees (a student of botany), who showed us some fascinating plants! Then we transferred to Pineda, a small seaside town where many of the refugee families have been living for many months now. We spent the day with the kids – on the beach, and in the park, and I also met with a number of people who wanted to talk one-on-one. Later that evening, Sam joined a group of teens, and I gathered with a group of grown-ups, talking about life, war, politics, and everything in-between while sitting in a circle on the local beach. It was a little surreal to be surrounded by thousands of people in a seaside vacation town – it’s easy to think that all these families are also here on vacation, except that of course they are NOT – they are trying to figure out the rest of their lives. So many of them were well established, with comfortable lives, businesses, plans and dreams that most certainly did not involve even the idea of having to leave their entire lives behind, but now most of them feel they have no choice but to make that choice (even as they hope they can get back).
Back in Barcelona, Sam was immediately absorbed by a gaggle of kids, while I met with the local coordinator who has been pouring her heart and soul into creating the infrastructure of support for this community of displaced people – a yeoman’s job. Later, a group of a dozen coordinators, psychologists and supporters came together – sharing their plans, and asking both of us for advice and support. They were MAGNIFICENT. We were both in awe of their creativity and resourcefulness. We got to treat them to some afternoon sushi while they worked, a well-deserved symbolic offering (which apparently was just what the doctor ordered). The day continued with more conversations, too many to count at this point, but all so clearly needed. The next day we packed our bags and came back for a final few hours with the kids (who have all decided that Sam needs to have lots more holiday time and come spend it with them!), and a few final projects/conversations/meetings, before hopping in a taxi.
We couldn’t wait to be home, and yet we knew we cannot fully disconnect from this amazing community. Our trip came to an end, but the stories will continue to reverberate in our minds and our hearts.
Please join us on Friday, September 9 at 5pm for the Annual TE BBQ picnic (fun activities for kids open at 4:30 pm), followed by Shabbat Service Under the Stars at 6pm! Invite your family, friends and neighbors – spread the word! This event is open to current and prospective members.
Kosher BBQ will be provided by our great chefs and snacks and sides will be individually packaged.
I’m back, and it’s time to get my first baseball reference out of the way – as Yogi said “It’s déjà vu all over again”. When I first was president more than a decade ago, I used to joke that I hated the job and was counting the days till my term ended. I obviously didn’t, but I just said it so I wouldn’t put a kinehura on it. Being president of Temple Emanuel is one of the most rewarding things one can do. Dealing with the Rabbi, Olga, the Board, the staff, and the congregation is extremely pleasurable.
While my predecessor, Robin Levine-Ritterman, faced many challenges- a pandemic, security issues, and an addition to our facility, I look for a return to normal. While things will never be the same as they were three years ago, Robin and Rabbi Farbman have worked hard and have made changes so that we can do what we do best – provide spirituality, tradition and offer a welcoming community.
One thing I learned through the years is that most synagogues state that they provide “a warm, diverse welcoming community”. However, while one can say that, it always isn’t accurate. Temple Emanuel however, walks the talk. That is why I love being part of this community.
I wasn’t perfect twelve years ago, and I am not perfect now. One thing I do promise is to listen. For that reason, our Board is not made up of people who just say yes to everything. Rather than be inflexible, I promise to solicit and listen to opposing views. I want to offer others the opportunity to convince me to change my position. When I am making a decision, I will try to talk to those who may see things differently. I have always found our community to talk civilly even when disagreeing, and you might notice that after services, I try to seek out those who don’t view things the same as I do. I might still disagree with someone, but I will always try to hear them out.
I am glad we have returned to the sanctuary. Soon I hope that we can return to sharing meals and conversations together. Thank you for allowing me to serve again.
