Category: Rabbi’s page

Recent hurricane-turned-tropical storm Sandy has disrupted most of our lives. This month’s Shofar arrives late as yet another reminder of what a loss of electric power for a week can do. I hope that by now everyone has had their power restored, allowing us all to greet the cold weather with warm houses. My heart goes out to so many victims of ‘Sandy’ – to those who lost their loved ones, to those who lost their homes and cars, and years’ worth of memories and precious possessions… I watch with horror the scenes of devastation from New York and New Jersey, just as I cringe with heartache at the pictures of damaged Torah scrolls rolled out to dry in destroyed sanctuaries…

Hardship and suffering tend to bring out the worst in people – the looting in flooded neighborhoods and fist fights at gas stations are, sadly, all too real. But hardship and suffering also bring out the best in people! Hundreds of thousands of people have opened their hearts, their homes, and their wallets to help their fellow human beings through this difficult time – volunteers who offer to walk up the stairs of high risers in lower Manhattan to deliver food and batteries to the elderly who are stuck in their apartments, scared and unable to get food; people renting vans in Philadelphia to fill them up with food, clothes, and gas to bring to shelters in Long Island and Brooklyn for those whose homes have been destroyed; and repair crews driving for 23 hours non-stop from all over the country to get to the northeast to help us restore our power lines.
Closer to home, the JCC opened its doors to all local residents for showers, internet, and electricity, making it possible for hundreds of people to maintain some kind of normalcy in their lives throughout the week. Our own TE members exchanged messages online and off-line, opening their homes to each other for showers and food and company. As we were fortunate enough to have power at the Temple (we only lost phones and internet for a week), we were able to host Congregation Sinai of Milford for Shabbat in our building, adding a special sense of community to our Shabbat celebration.
Storms and hurricanes will happen again. Many of us will learn to prepare better by installing generators and acquiring emergency gas stoves. I hope that we also remember that what makes it possible for all of us to make it through the difficulties that extreme weather brings is the community that surrounds us. This is why we build community around us. This is why we invest our time, our energy, our hearts and souls – and our finances – into Temple Emanuel. It is wonderful to have a community to celebrate with – on Rosh Hashanah and on Chanukah, on Pesach and on Purim. It is incredible to have support of the community when we suffer a loss or celebrate a happy milestone. But when ‘Sandy’s’ disrupt our lives, the community around us helps us support each other without having to ask for help…
The Union for Reform Judaism is raising funds to help the victims of Sandy, and I would like to encourage you all to participate as much as you can. For more information and to donate, please visit www.urj.org/sandy
Wishing you all some well-deserved warmth and calm in the month of November!

The Jewish month of Tishrei is filled with a variety of ways to engage with Judaism. It is often seen as a long marathon of holy days and holidays, but each and every occasion offers a different way to connect with our heritage. Rosh Hashanah is all about the New Year, the new beginnings, and the sweetness and happiness we hope and pray for. The apples and honey bring ‘sweetness,’ a simple symbol of joy and prosperity into our lives. Rosh Hashanah also begins the period of contemplation and self-assessment which then culminates on Yom Kippur, when having sought forgiveness from others, we come to seek forgiveness from God for all the failures of the past year – and for the failures that will occur in the future. A solemn day, Yom Kippur is filled with symbolism of memory, as we recant the stories of suffering and survival from our long history as a nation, asking God to ‘renew our days as of old’ and to bring peace to us, to Israel, and to the world. We barely get a chance to recover from the fast when we begin the sacred task of building a sukkah, a temporary shelter that is a most memorable symbol of Sukkot. And after a week of sukkah-dwelling, lulav shaking, etrog smelling, and the excitement of getting in touch with nature, we finally arrive at Simchat Torah, when we celebrate the completion of the Torah reading cycle – and the immediate beginning of a new one.

The Torah identifies three main Festivals which required a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem – Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, with Sukkot being called The Festival – the most joyous and, according to some, the most important Festival of the year! But for Jews living in the 21^st century America, the Festival of Sukkot is puzzling at best. The majority of us no longer farm the land and live by the agricultural cycles. Even if some of us are really into gardening and grow our own vegetables, we do so for the experience and for the sake of control over chemicals and pesticides that make their way into our food. A good crop gives us joy and pride, but unlike our ancient ancestors, we are not relying on the good crop to tell us if we are going to have enough food to survive the winter! Thus, we may try to engage with the ideas and ideals of Sukkot on an intellectual level, yet it does not speak to us in terms that are quite as clear as those of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur!

There is a tradition of reading the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) during the week of Sukkot. This remarkable book is a collection of wisdom, traditionally attributed to King Solomon. It begins with a voice of a tired monarch, who has pursued many interests in his life, and yet has found them all futile in the end. Kohelet has long been perhaps the most favorite book of the Bible for me – brutally honest, almost cynical, yet life affirming! The reading of Kohelet on Sukkot allows us to put things a little into perspective, to take a step back from the sheer excitement of Rosh Hashanah and the overwhelmingly sobering Yom Kippur and to look at life and ourselves through the wise eyes of the ancient king. Having completed an intense period of examining our personal behavior between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we arrive at Sukkot, when the combination of Kohelet and the fragility of the sukkah make us ponder some of the existential questions, thus helping us complete the cycle.

The festivals of the month of Tishrei take us on a journey. It is a journey of discovery, of asking many questions – personal, communal, and existential. It culminates with Simchat Torah when we receive the answer as we embrace the Torah scrolls and go dancing with them around the sanctuary. Etz Chayim Hee Lamachazikim Ba, it IS a Tree of Life to those who hold fast to it! As we embrace the Tree of Life, we affirm life, a most fitting way to end the busy month of Tishrei.

I wish you all a sweet and happy New Year 5773!

The summer feel is still in the air, yet we are busy with a brand new academic year and that can only mean one thing: fall is not far behind. The schools welcome the students back, older kids head back to college, and coaches are putting together schedules for fall/winter sports activities, games and meets. Our own TE Hebrew school is gearing up for another wonderful and exciting year of Jewish learning, as we welcome the returning as well as the new students into our classes. The new year of learning is here!

This summer I had an incredible opportunity to visit my friend and colleague Rabbi Robert Ash who serves Temple Emanuel in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a wonderful and eye-opening trip in many ways, I am still trying to process all that we saw and experienced there. One of the remarkable experiences was coming to terms with Jewish life in southern hemisphere, where Jewish Festival cycle and seasons are not quite in sync- at least not the way WE are used to them! For us, the fall brings the new academic year and the new Jewish year, whereas Passover is the Festival of Spring. In South Africa (and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere) Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are celebrated in the spring (so is Sukkot!), while Pesach occurs in the fall. It was hard enough to wrap our heads around the fact that August is winter, but Rosh Hashanah in the spring is even more confusing! J

Now, I know what you must be thinking – surely our rabbi is educated enough to know that seasons are reversed ‘down under’! Let me assure you – I certainly knew about all of this IN THEORY. But visiting South African synagogues and praying with them using the special World Union edition of Mishkan Tefilah prayerbook drove that message home in a very different way. (For a moment I wondered – what reading would I choose in Amida – the winter one for rain or the summer one for dew? The answer was simple – their siddur includes a passage from a British Liberal prayerbook, acknowledging BOTH seasons at the same time, an excellent compromise!). On this trip I was reminded once again that theoretical knowledge is extremely important, but practical experience helps us truly understand and appreciate many things in life.

Our tradition sets aside the month of Elul, the one immediately preceding Rosh Hashanah, as a time for contemplation. For looking back at the year that is about to end, for evaluating our actions – and our thoughts. For putting them on ‘scales’ and trying to see if we have lived up to our own standards, our own expectations of what we think is a right and proper way to live our lives. In Judaism we often refer to this process as cheshbon hanefesh, the accounting of the soul. The idea is that we will begin this wonderful process of self-examination early, so that by the time we arrive at Rosh Hashanah we will have had a chance to truly prepare ourselves to this very special and joyous time of transition, ready to enter the new year. At least that’s the THEORY. Did you ever try this at home? What is YOUR practical experience of cheshbon hanefesh? Did you ever spend the month of Elul getting ready for High Holy Days? I know that for many of you the answer is yes – I know because you have shared those stories with me in the past. But I also know that far too many of us are way too busy this time of year to sit down and really process our actions and our thoughts. We know the theory of Jewish practice, and we also know that it would be a wonderful idea to really do it – but then life gets in the way and we arrive at Rosh Hashanah barely catching our breath…

Let’s try and do things differently this year. Let’s try and put theoretical knowledge to the test of practice. Let’s all find at least a few hours here and there to read a Jewish book (Agnon’s ‘Days of Awe’ is an excellent collection of stories, as are many others) to help get ourselves ready for the wonderful experience of High Holy Days WELL in advance. I know I’m going to try harder this year. Will you join me?

Shanah Tovah, a sweet a happy new year 5773!

Passover is a time for getting in touch with our past. We look back at the history of our people; we remind ourselves where we came from – not just in one or two generations, but the very humble beginnings of our people. We remember slavery and its bitterness. We remember divine liberation and freedom. We remember that freedom required extraordinary events such as the sea parting – and extraordinary commitment from our ancestors, who had to make steps into the unknown from which there was no way back… We remember the suffering of others, not just our joy – and that is also the Jewish way…

We ask questions, not just four or five, but dozens, maybe even hundreds throughout the night. Some are trivial and others are profound, but it is the act of asking that matters the most, for it reminds us that we can never know it all, nor can we ever know too much of our own tradition and history. So we are commanded to keep the curiosity alive in ourselves and our children.

As we remember the slavery, we remind ourselves that the world we live in should be free of that plague; we re-dedicate ourselves to the great many issues that demand our attention in this world – freedom from oppression, end of human trafficking, end of modern slavery, end of hunger –  to name just a few. Each family will ask their own questions. Each one of us will be inspired by different passages from the haggadah or by different stories of people around the table.

One of my favorite passages in the haggadah is Dayeinu. Not just because of a great melody and the singing that comes with it, but because of the idea therein: even if we received fewer blessings, it would have been enough! Just freedom, without a chance of survival, would have been enough… Just survival without the land would have been enough… Just a chance to celebrate Shabbat or to have the wisdom of Torah would have been enough.

What an incredible concept! We live in a world in which nothing is ever enough. We ‘need’ bigger cars, better homes, more TV channels, latest gadgets – nothing is EVER enough for us. The world moves forward and so must we. There’s nothing wrong with that, don’t get me wrong – if we are not looking forward, we would never move forward. However, I love the idea of looking back, at least a few times a year, and having a chance to say, “Wow, look how far we have come!” and also “How blessed we are! Dayeinu…” As we celebrate the incredible festival of Passover this year, as we ask the questions and learn the answers, may we also find an opportunity to acknowledge where we are and to say ‘Dayeinu’.

Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach, a Happy Passover to you all!

Israel Abrahams, Poetry and Religion (1920)

Music has always been a part of Judaism. From the Levites who sang the Psalms and played instruments on the steps leading to the Temple in Jerusalem, to the ancient system of cantillation, a special way to chant the Torah; from the melodic way of studying and memorizing rabbinic texts of Mishnah and Talmud to the Hassidic niggunim, often simple melodies that were credited with being as powerful as the most well composed prayers. There are numerous Hassidic sayings about the significance of melody, as the Zohar (foundational work of Jewish mystical thought) puts it, in “opening those heavenly gates that are firmly shut except to song and tears…”

Music stirs our souls in a way that words often cannot, activating emotions within us that we did not know existed… Music is such a strong presence in Temple Emanuel worship style that it is almost unimaginable without it! Yet music in worship (especially instrumental music) has a complicated history in Judaism. Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE the rabbis placed a ban on the use of music in general, and especially in worship, as a sign of mourning. It is not hard to imagine that having witnessed the devastation, the last thing they wanted to do is sing… Another complication was the prohibition against playing musical instruments on Shabbat – not because the act itself is a violation of Shabbat (it was permitted in the Temple in Jerusalem), but out of much more technical considerations (to prevent the carrying of the instrument, its tuning or repair, if needed, all of which were considered violations of Shabbat). Even the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah was suspended if it fell on Shabbat!

From the very beginning, the Reform Movement insisted on bringing the music back to worship, back to the synagogue, back to Shabbat. Music and joy were always part of Judaism and now they were making a comeback! Synagogues installed pipe organs and commissioned talented and popular composers of the time to write music settings for service in the synagogue, giving us the profoundly inspiring music of Lewandowski, Bloch, Sulzer and many others. The music they wrote for the services was spiritual and uplifting. It was also very modern and reflective of the 19^th century popular music styles.

As the popular music styles changed in the second half of the 20^th century, a new kind of music entered the world of the synagogue worship. The pipe organs were joined (and often replaced) by guitars and electric pianos. Temple Emanuel, founded in 1962, is a true ‘child’ of that era – from the very beginning, our services were accompanied by guitar music, with the entire congregation singing along, rather than relying on a powerful pipe organ and a professional cantor or choir to provide music for the worship experience. In fact, it is probably safe to argue that music has been one of the main defining features of the new congregation, as well as many others that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s around the country.

In the last two years we have introduced the TE band as part of a further experiment with music at TE services – and what an incredible experience this has been! Under Laurel Shader’s wonderful leadership up to 18 TE members of different ages, from middle school to retirees have played together on various occasions, giving a new meaning to ‘musical Shabbat’ at Temple Emanuel. At a recent concert dedicated to memory of Debbie Friedman, Sydney Perry, the Jewish Federation CEO, had jokingly asked me if Temple Emanuel only accepts members who play a musical instrument – so impressive was the presence of our band and the music we were able to contribute to this community-wide concert!

As we continue to bring music to our worship, with the full TE band and with small groups of musicians, with a solo guitar and even a cappella – allowing the music to nurture our souls and lift our prayers straight to heaven – I am delighted to remind you that we have an amazing musical program coming up on March 24/25. A world-renowned singer and composer, Cantor Jeffrey Klepper, is coming to Temple Emanuel! We know and love Jeff’s music, it has for decades been one of the main musical influences in our worship at TE, and we look forward to welcoming him for a very special weekend. There will be a master class for musicians, a talk about Jewish music in the 21^st century for everyone, Jeff will lead the asephah in our religious school and last but not least, he will bring much joy and inspiration to all of us through Saturday night concert. The full details of the weekend can be found in this shofar as well as on our website. All TE members get to enjoy this wonderful weekend for free, but we do need people to register (online or through the office) so that we know the exact numbers for the Fire Marshall. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity and enjoy the music!

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 21^st 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!

There is a wonderful Chasidic story about a boy who did not know how to pray – so the rabbi advised him to recite the letters of the Hebrew alef bet. When someone protested that this would not help, the rabbi suggested that as long as the boy said the letters and put his heart and his soul in it, then God will surely put the letters in the right order… Our tradition constantly reminds us that we have to try and have both the kavannah, the intention to pray, and the keva, the formal liturgy. We struggle to bring both together, realizing that it is not always possible – and yet we try… In today’s world we also struggle with having the right balance of Hebrew and English, of music and readings, of stories and intellectual lessons. Sometimes the balance comes naturally to us, yet so often we have to make an effort to get it right.

Over the last two years I have heard many stories about various services with Rabbi Jerry at Temple Emanuel – especially from those who grew up in the congregation and attended the family services. As is often the case, there were plenty of adults who made sure they came on Friday of the family service – to hear the story, to see the wonder in the eyes of the children, to experience the joy of Shabbat in a slightly different way. As our school welcomes new young children, as we begin to have babies and young children around once again, the ritual committee has asked me to re-institute the Inter-generational Family Services at Temple Emanuel. This innovative service will be child-centered, and not just child-welcoming (as all TE services are, of course). It will be a little shorter, introduce the ‘visual tefilah’ that we have been using at our Hebrew school with much success, and will contain a story in place of a sermon – but it will also retain the full service structure and allow the mourners to say kaddish at the end. It will begin at 6.30pm, to allow more families with young children to come. To make it easier to remember when this special Shabbat service occurs, it will take place on the first Friday of every month, beginning on January 6, 2012 at 6.30 pm. (This will be the new ‘early service’, the second week of the month will return to the regular 8pm time as of January). If you have young children or grandchildren – this service is for you! I look forward to seeing you and your descendants at least once a month J. If you don’t have little children – please don’t feel that you have to stay away – the young children NEED to see adults praying, and the adults NEED to see the children learn their way around the synagogue.

As you may have noticed, our wonderful new prayerbook, MIshkan Tefilah, has arrived! We have used it for Sukkot and Simchat Torah services, as well as for Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – and now we are ready to start using it on a regular basis. As you may remember from my previous columns, the Mishkan Tefilah is not a replacement for TE ‘blue’ prayerbook, but is a wonderful addition that will enhance our prayer experience alongside our current siddur. After a thoughtful discussion at the recent Ritual Committee meeting, a following schedule has been agreed: on the first and the third Shabbat of the month we will use Mishkan Tefilah, on the second and fourth Shabbat we will use the ‘blue’ TE prayerbook. We will also continue to use the loose-leaf prayerbook for the musical Shabbat services! I suggest that to avoid confusion we will keep the Mishkan Tefilah (MT) prayerbooks on the shelf outside the sanctuary and bring them in for the assigned services, while the ‘blue’ books will remain in the usual place inside the chairs. If you are not too sure what book to use – just ask your neighbor! J Just remember – the book is only there to help us along the journey of prayer, so no matter what book you are holding on any given Shabbat, it is your voices and your prayers that matter the most!

I would like to wish you all a happy and joyous Chanukah and I look forward to celebrating it with you on December 23^rd with our phenomenal Musical Shabbat Chanukah!