Category: Rabbi’s page

After Pittsburgh…

I often take too long to write my shofar articles, waiting for the ‘right’ moment to put together words that would resonate when the new TE Shofar will reach your home. This month I was quite happy to submit my column in a timely manner, but then… Pittsburgh tragedy rocked our world, and the crafted words had to be set aside…

The shock of hearing the news at the end of the Torah study, the long week filled with grief, the life stories of the victims, their pictures, their funerals… But also the week filled with vigils, and countless messages of support from faith communities, and neighbors, and strangers – Jews and non-Jews, religious and secular, priests, imams, community leaders and ordinary folks. And most importantly: the TE sanctuary filled to the brim on a Sunday morning for asephah (assembly), with parents and children who choose to be a part of the Jewish religious community, the synagogue, with its customs, and traditions and values… And then the first Shabbat with our sanctuary filled beyond capacity with people seeking comfort and community, and with others coming to show support and solidarity… And the Pittsburgh Gazette that printed the opening words of kaddish, in Hebrew, right below their name… And Pittsburgh Penguins that changed their logo for the first game after the tragedy to incorporate the Star of David – as did the Steelers…

I can talk about hatred today, and antisemitism – both are far too real, and need to be taken seriously by all of us, by our society and our country. Growing up outside America, I am not surprised by either of these things – I have a firsthand experience of both, and have physical and emotional scars to show for it. One of the greatest tragedies of anti-Semitic hatred, any hatred really, is when it is followed by indifference, or tacit approval, of the society at large. This last week was tough – but also filled with hope and comfort. We live in the society where this is NOT OK. Our neighbors, our friends, strangers on the street, our police officers, our elected officials, our athletes, all of us rise to say: this is NOT who we are.

This does not mean there’s no hate, or no antisemitism – sadly, it is very much here. We have to be vigilant, as we know from history that we ignore these signs at our own peril… But let us also acknowledge and celebrate the fact that our society at large chose to stand with us in our time of sorrow. And then let us go back to doing what we do best: practice our values and our traditions, celebrate Jewish Festivals and Shabbat, sing and pray, learn and feed the hungry, improve the world – and improve ourselves. Let us do what is in our power, every day: be the best versions of Jews WE can be.

Honoring TE traditions

Over the past few days we have been sorting through some of the archives of Temple Emanuel, and marveling at some of the history, including terrific photos, and a collection of the old Shofar editions, going all the way back to typed up pages from 1966! I flipped to one of the first issues (December 1969), and found a message from then President, Paul Levine:

“Last year after considerable, careful thought we put out a mini-leaflet which we feel is true to the spirit of our congregation. In it we described ourselves as “… a new temple for creative judaism”. It was no accident that “temple emanuel” and its description appeared in lower case letters. This device signified to us that the institution was no more important than its congregants… An institution such as ours must serve the needs of its members. But the rabbi, officers and board are not all-wise in guessing the needs of the members. Realizing this, last summer Rabbi Winer, together with an officer or board member visited nearly every congregant’s home to solicit views and ideas. Many worthwhile innovations followed. One or two ideas flopped. But if we profess to be “a new temple for creative judaism” we must continue to be willing to change where desirable. Therefore, I solicit your ideas and your help in carrying them out. Our temple is a very precious concept. Let’s care enough to have it serve us properly.”

Having stumbled upon this paragraph by accident, I have been returning to it, day after day, and pondering the legacy of our early ‘pioneers’. While we no longer spell Temple Emanuel’s name in lower case letters, we remain committed to the principles of ‘creative Judaism’, and especially to our identity of a community, rather than an institution. We remain governed by committed lay leaders who do not presume to be all knowing, and continuously encourage ALL members to share their vision, as well as their energy, in making TE the kind of a community we all need it to be.

The first summer I arrived at Temple Emanuel I was blessed with an incredible opportunity to get to know my new congregation. All throughout that first summer, TE members took turns in leading Shabbat services, sharing their favorite tunes, their passion for Judaism and Shabbat, and their wisdom in making the words of the weekly Torah portion come to life. Many have continued to share their talents with TE community since, but mostly on the weeks when I am out of town: working at camp, attending a conference or taking a family holiday. This year, I’d like to begin changing that – and I can find no better inspiration than the words of Paul Levine!

I’d like to invite all TE members to partner with me, and with each other, in leading the services at Temple Emanuel on a regular basis, not just when I am away from the bimah. I’d like to learn from you and your take on the weekly Torah portion. I’d like to be guided by you with regard to your favorite tunes. I’d like to partner with you in making TE Shabbat that much more special every now and again. I promise to help you make educated choices with regard to the service, to help with music, playing and singing, and to be a true partner in the holy work. I know that many of you are up for this challenge, and I can’t wait to have these experiences with YOU! Call me, text me, email me – and let’s find a date for YOUR Shabbat!

The month of Elul as the doorway to the High Holy Day Season…

The arrival of the month of Elul in the Jewish calendar is always tinged with both excitement and sadness. The summer is beginning to wind down, and even though we may still have a few weeks of summer weather, fall is on the horizon, and with it the return of a ‘regular’ routine for many of us. Kids go back to school, commuters go back to battling the usual traffic volumes, and sooner or later the evenings become cooler as well.

In the Jewish calendar, the arrival of the month of Elul is a signal to switch spiritual gears. It reminds us that Rosh Hashanah is on its way, followed closely by Yom Kippur – and thus, there’s no better time to begin the process of introspection, also known as ‘heshbon hanefesh’ –  accounting of the soul. How was my last year? Did I reach the goals I set out for myself? Did I remember to be kinder, to act justly, to color my actions in this world with Jewish values?

Did I fail? (I know I failed – I am a flawed human being!) And more importantly, when I did fail, how did I respond? Did I seek to fix my own mistakes? Did I acknowledge my failures and look for ways not to repeat them? One of the fundamental ideas we begin to consider with the arrival of Elul is how we can strive to rise above our flawed human nature;  to become a better version of ourselves. We begin this spiritual work ahead of time, and we continue throughout the festive season of High Holy Days, culminating in a day-long observance of Yom Kippur.

I always look forward to the High Holy Days with excitement. This year especially I look forward to seeing so many TE members together in one room, celebrating our ancient traditions with a brand new Machzor (prayerbook) for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. May our journey of introspection this year bring us new insights into our own lives. May our holy day celebration be filled with meaning and joy.

Shanah Tovah, a sweet, happy and joyous 5779 to you all!

Israel is 70!

Some of us may remember the world BEFORE Israel came into being. Some of us remember when Israel became a fragile reality. Many, if not most of today’s Jews live in a world where Israel has always been there. What a powerful statement it is: for nearly two thousand years, for the first time Israel is not just a dream, but also a reality for the majority of Jews living today!

Sure, Israel continues to live in a complex reality and a tough neighborhood, and much as we would like it to be otherwise, its existence continues to be threatened by those seeking to destroy the Jewish state. While it has managed to make peace with most of its immediate neighbors, Iran continues to wage proxy war against Israel from afar. It is also true that Israel continues to struggle with internal complexities: secular vs. religious identity; multiple and varied communities, including Israeli Arabs and other minorities and how they fit into the picture of the Jewish State; pluralism of Jewish religious expression; growing income inequality; social justice, gender equality – these are just the tip of the iceberg, questions that most modern democratic societies need to tackle, as does Israel. And of course, the unresolved complexity of the Palestinian narrative, as well as Israel’s continued presence in the areas of the West Bank that everyone, including the majority of Israelis, would like to see as a peaceful and independent neighbor someday.

Talking about Israel is not easy. It evokes passion in all of us, and we have a variety of different opinions, formed by our personal history and our individual politics. I feel like this year we have made a huge leap forward at Temple Emanuel – with the help of iEngage curriculum we began to learn not just the facts, but also how to engage those facts in an honest way that acknowledges the complexity, while allowing all of us to have and share our personal opinions without insisting that only we know the ultimate truth. Our Scholar in Residence has allowed us to continue the conversations, and I know this is just a beginning. And of course, we look forward to this year’s TE trip to Israel, which will take our learning and our engagement with all of its complexity to a completely new level.

This year we also celebrated Israel at 70 with a wonderful Shabbat service, Israeli dinner, and Israeli dancing – what a wonderful way to round up the special year! Something tells me this will become an annual tradition 🙂

Happy birthday, Israel – chazak chazak, v’nitchazek!

Fragile Dialogues in the 21st Century

As I write this column, our nation continues to reel from the pain of another devastating school shooting, this time in Parkland, Florida, that claimed 17 lives. As always happens after such tragic events, we engage in fierce debates and discussions, in person and increasingly online, on how best to prevent such tragedies. As always, there is not much listening going on in these debates – but quite a lot of shouting. The issues are real, the pain is real, and the frustration is real. It is hard to talk about difficult issues, amidst communal and national pain, when we are so divided in our opinions. It is obvious that people are finding it increasingly hard to even acknowledge the humanity of anyone holding an opinion that differs from his own. And yet also we must acknowledge that unless we find a way to listen to each other, and to really hear each other, the solutions to this and many other of our problems, will continue to elude us.

Over the last five months some 40 plus TE members have engaged in learning about the 100 years of modern Jewish history, 1917 through 2017, through the study of pivotal events in the history of the State of Israel with the help of the materials prepared by the faculty of Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. As we deepened our knowledge and understanding of the historical events of 1917, 1947, and 1967, we also considered some of the fundamental ideas of Zionism, as well as the challenges. We were most inspired by the way multiple (and diverse) opinions were presented and debated by the Hartman faculty in the Round Table discussion of each lecture. Having dramatically different ideas, and disagreeing, perhaps vehemently, does not have to stand in a way of listening and engaging in a conversation, however challenging it may be.

As you will see elsewhere in the Shofar, our Scholar in Residence this year is Rabbi Larry Englander, a wonderful teacher and a colleague, who co-edited the recently published ‘The Fragile Dialogue: New Voices of Liberal Zionism,’ a collection of essays presenting a wide variety of modern liberal Zionist ideas and challenges. While we will have an opportunity to learn so much from Rabbi Englander during his time here (see the full list of events in the Shofar and online), I am particularly looking forward to continuing our conversation on how to have these ‘fragile dialogues,’ addressing some of the most difficult, most challenging questions of our generation. I look forward to this continued journey of learning and listening with all of you and with Rabbi Englander on April 12-14, as well as during a special session on April 8th where we begin to look at the ideas presented in the book. In the meantime, I wish you a Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach – Happy Passover, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the TE Seder (first night, March 30) and the Passover Morning Service on March 31st.

‘The Fragile Dialogue’ is available for purchase at a discounted price of $15 through TE website and at the office.

Sacred Communities Matter

TE Team at 2017 URJ biennial

At the recent URJ Biennial in Boston over 6000 Reform Jews from all over United States, Israel, UK, and a number of other countries spent five days together learning, singing, discussing and debating, praying and engaging, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, and celebrating Shabbat together. The Boston Biennial was doubly special for me, as it was a chance to revisit the location of the very first biennial I got to attend as a newly ordained rabbi from London back in 2001.  A lot has changed in my life and in our movement in the last 16 years, but I was especially excited to come to the biennial surrounded by the biggest TE delegation yet – we had our own minyan!

In her speech, Daryl Messinger, the Chair of the URJ, described her passion for our movement and posited, “Sacred space, sacred ritual, and sacred relationships matter today more than ever. No virtual reality could create the caring and connection that our Movement’s clergy, professionals, and lay leaders do every day in congregations and communities throughout North America.” I spend my life building and sustaining the sacred community, a task that requires true partnership with our leadership and all our members. However, we do not live in a vacuum, and so we look for every opportunity to enhance our work, extending the boundaries of our sacred community to include our movement, our local Jewish community and Federation, and the wider Jewish world. We seek every partnership and build relationships that allow us to foster the sacred community we need to be better Jews and better human beings.

Our religious school helps engage children and their parents, from the very young age all the way through high school – and we hope that the parents will also have an opportunity to find their own place in the TE community, engage in learning, be inspired, and enjoy a more fulfilling Jewish life. Our kids love Hebrew school! But we couldn’t do this alone, and so we seek the sacred partnerships to deepen the experiences our kids can have in Hebrew school. URJ summer camps are very much our partner in that endeavor, creating a ‘bubble’ of a sacred community of kids and teens, offering an opportunity of summer experience of communal Jewish living, something that is quite impossible to create during the year… URJ Eisner, Crane Lake, and SixPoints Sci-Tech Camps are very much our partners in the daily work, and I am so grateful for their presence in our region! Camp Laurelwood and JCC Day Camp offer additional local summer opportunities for Jewish life beyond Hebrew school.

Camp, especially sleep-away camp, is expensive. Over the years, TE has proudly offered small scholarships to our campers to help defray slightly the cost of URJ camps. This year I am delighted to report that after many years of discussions and encouragement, the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven now supports the ‘One Happy Camper’ grant, offering up to $1000 per child going to camp for the first time (this is NOT need-based), as well as offers the need-based Jewish camp scholarships that now extend to URJ Camps Eisner, Crane Lake, and Sci-Tech! This is indeed great news, and I very much hope that many more TE families will consider sending their children to a Jewish camp this summer. I will once again be returning to serve on faculty of URJ Camp Eisner this summer, and I look forward to seeing many happy faces of TE campers and CITs!

 

 

 

From the Rabbi’s Desk…

TE school having fun in the sukkah!

The chagim (festivals) are over, the regular year is moving full steam ahead. The building is buzzing with learning: kids in Hebrew school, adults in Mishnah class and iEngage series, committee meetings, Men’s club, Sisterhood – TE is full of energy this fall!

  This year’s Shir Magic will span an entire weekend of music with our Musician in Residence Alan Goodis, with Friday night and Shabbat morning services, special Hebrew school program on Sunday morning and especially the Saturday night concert (not to be missed), all in memory of our beloved Rabbi Jerry Brieger z’l – mark your calendars for Nov 10-12 and get the tickets for Saturday night November 11th concert online ahead of time!

 

This year brings lots of important dates to our attention – Nov 2nd marks the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, followed shortly by the 70th anniversary of the UN partition plan vote, and next April we get to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the modern State of Israel! With the iEngage series we have began to slowly unpack the complexity of the last 100 years of Jewish history and identity in Israel and beyond, and I am delighted to see that well over 40 TE members have signed up for the series this year, an absolute record for a multi session education class!
There’s lots of special programs still ahead, and the year will culminate with a special TE Travels trip to Israel with our guide and master educator Julian Resnick next summer, July 14-26! The sign up is now ready. Many of TE members have already expressed their commitment to the trip, I hope YOU will consider being part of this Jewish journey!
Look forward to seeing you all at our special Shir Magic weekend Nov 10-12, as well as Shabbat Chanukah celebration on Dec 15th!

Shanah Tovah! May the New Year be filled with learning!

What a whirlwind of a summer it has been! I was privileged to attend the Rabbinic Torah Seminar at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and engage in 10 days of profoundly impactful learning, together with some 150 colleagues from the United States, Israel, and Europe. We explored the last 100 years of Jewish history, based on key dates that have shaped the modern Israel: 1917 – the Balfour Declaration was signed, 1947 – the UN voted on partition plan, and 1967 – the 6 Day War occurred. I was greatly impressed by the faculty of Shalom Hartman and have expanded and deepened my knowledge and understanding of the narratives that surround the modern Jewish state. iengage logoI am delighted to announce that I will be offering the Hartman ‘iEngage: Israel’s Milestones and Their Meanings’ course this year at Temple Emanuel. It explores the pivotal events of 1917, 1947, and 1967 as key moments when Zionism unleashed new thinking about the meaning of Jewishness for generations to come. This iEngage series grapples with the different ideas and values that shape the meaning of modern Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity today. Together we will engage in a new values-based discourse about Israel, including topics such as nationhood, land, Sovereignty, Jerusalem, Occupation and Moral Red Lines. You can read more about the course and the schedule here, and registration is now open – I hope that many of TE members use this wonderful opportunity to engage in serious learning and conversation. The course will be taught on Sunday mornings and will begin on October 15th.

This is the year we mark the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel, and there will be multiple occasions to celebrate, to learn, and to engage with Israel in this coming year at TE. I am delighted to share with you that Julian Resnick, a master educator and travel guide (who guided our journey through Spain this year), will be leading the TE trip to Israel next summer, July 15-26, 2018. More details, including cost and program highlights will be available soon, but please mark your calendars now for this exciting TE Travels opportunity!

Last but not least, I am honored to share with all of you that I have been accepted into the Masters in Sacred Theology program at Yale Divinity school. I will pursue this program part-time over the course of the next two years as part of my sabbatical, deepening my knowledge and skills. I am extremely grateful to Temple Emanuel for this wonderful opportunity, and I cannot wait to begin my classes!

I wish you all Shanah Tovah, a Happy New Year 5778, and may it be filled with a joy of learning for all of us!

Yerushalaim shel zahav: Jerusalem of gold…

Every year that I have served Temple Emanuel, my summer begins in a similar way: I find myself sitting in a chair in the faculty residence at Camp Eisner, writing the Shofar article for the summer edition. Every year I strive to have it all finished before I go to camp, but alas this little ritual persists, despite my best efforts and the gentle encouragement from Caryn and Jen, our wonderful Shofar editor and designer (who do a phenomenal job every single time – we are so lucky and so blessed to have their energy and talents!).

Well, this year is different! Camp Eisner asked me to come for one week only this year and later than usual – and I suddenly found myself able to go to a Rabbinic Torah Seminar at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem that takes place in the first two weeks of July every year.  A great program that brings together rabbis from across the Jewish denominational world, this has been my dream for quite some time. Therefore, thanks to camp scheduling and the sabbatical time available, by the time you read this article I will be in Jerusalem, engaged in study and conversations for almost two weeks! I am truly excited and a little anxious – in this year when we mark the 50th anniversary of Unified Jerusalem, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Occupation of the West Bank, that the many difficult questions will no doubt permeate this year’s Shalom Hartman seminar and my time in Jerusalem.

To paraphrase my friend Julian Resnick, going to Jerusalem most likely cannot produce answers, but it can help me deepen my questions, and to learn, listen, and breathe Israel, with all its complexity and all its beauty. Together with much of the Jewish world, I was devastated to hear of the recent Israeli cabinet’s proposal, with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s approval, to abandon the negotiated plan for the Kotel (Western Wall) egalitarian space, as well as a serious challenge to non-orthodox conversions performed in Israel – a move that is as devastating to us as it is detrimental to the Israeli society at large.  Our National movement, Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) as well as American Reform Zionist Association (ARZA) have issued very strong statements, as did the Jewish Federations of North America and a host of other voices and are considering a coordinated response as I write this column. And while I am truly upset at these most unfortunate actions, it will not make me love Israel any less – it will only strengthen my resolve to work even harder, to listen more intently, to build relationships, and to learn. This is not the end, just a bump in the road.

I look forward to sharing my journey and my learning with you soon. In the meantime I wish you all a wonderful summer – see you at Shabbat on the Beach on July 28!

 

Counting the Omer…

shavuot aThere is no doubt that the Jewish calendar is designed in a way that can easily confuse just about anyone! I was always absolutely certain of that! J What, with the new year in September (or thereabout – only proving the original statement!) and Chanukah and Passover that fall all over the place… no one can ever figure it out!

I recently asked my Christian colleagues at our local interfaith clergy gathering why the Western and the Orthodox churches sometimes celebrate Easter together and sometimes weeks apart. The answer totally blew me away – because of the Jewish calendar! As it turns out, all churches use the same formula for calculating Easter, but the Eastern (Orthodox) Church also waits for the Passover to take place. Since Passover moves around so much, so does Easter.

If you found yourself agreeing with anything that I said in the first paragraph of this article, you should seriously consider signing up for the Basic Judaism class next time I advertise it! For the Jewish calendar is a very logical and beautifully symmetrical creation, linked to the moon cycle – as well as to the sun – in a very thoughtful and sophisticated way. Much of it is based on the Biblical commandments as well as on the natural cycles of the year and the seasons.  And once you get to know it a little, it’s not THAT complicated J!

One of the calendar cycles connects the Festivals of Passover and Shavuot through the ritual of Counting the Omer. In fact, the very name of the Festival of Shavuot hints at the cycle – it is best translated as ‘The Festival of Weeks.’ From the second night of Passover, we begin to count the seven weeks, or 7×7 – forty nine days in all, so that on the fiftieth day we can celebrate Shavuot, the festival of first fruits, as well as z’man matan Torateinu, the time of the giving of Torah on Mount Sinai.

So what is the Omer? An ‘omer’ is in fact a sheaf of wheat, a nod to the wheat harvest that would begin around that time of year. And how does one count it? A few years ago I came across a very clever website that referred to it as ‘counting the Homer’ – making the age-old ritual connected to the Simpsons! It gives the basic information about counting, as well as providing the blessings to be recited on each day in the run-up to Shavuot. You can try it for yourself! Just go to www.homercalendar.net and enjoy.

This year Shavuot begins in the evening on Tuesday, May 30th. As we celebrate the giving of Torah, we come together to pray and to study – please make sure you check the calendar and Shofar Blast for more details nearer the time. We also follow the Reform tradition of holding the Confirmation service on Shavuot, celebrating our wonderful teenagers who have completed their two-year long course of study with me by helping to lead the Shavuot service and read the 10 commandments from the Torah. I know that when festivals fall mid-week it makes it harder for many people to attend, but I want to encourage you all to do so and come celebrate this very special Festival together with your TE family. See you there!

Rabbi Farbman

Parts of this article previously appeared in the Shofar in 2011.