Since I'll be away this Shabbat at a family Bar Mitzvah, let me be the first to offer a Yasher Koach to all who will be participating in this weekend's Sisterhood Shabbat. I've no doubt that it will be as great as always. Special thanks to event chairs Denise Greenman and Linda Hempel Braun and to Suzanne Stone for her d'var Torah. Plus, thanks to Stacey Essenfeld, our Sisterhood president, and all those involved in Sisterhood - and to the Men's Club for providing lunch. I look forward to hearing great things about the service when I get home.
Despite last week's ill-timed snow storm, our 5 and 6th graders (plus kids other local Conservative synagogues) enjoyed a super Shabbaton, thanks in large part to enthusiastic staff from Camp Ramah. A great time was had by all.
Since I won't be here to deliver a d'var Torah in person this week, a few comments about the portion, Bo, beginning with a story:
An elderly lady gets onto a crowded bus and stands in front of a seated young girl. Holding her hand to her chest, she says to the girl, "If you knew what I have, you would give me your seat."
The girl gets up and gives her seat to the old lady.
It's hot. The girl then takes out a fan and starts fanning herself. The woman looks up and says, "If you knew what I have, you would give me that fan." The girl gives her the fan, too.
Fifteen minutes later the woman gets up and says to the bus driver, "Stop, I want to get off here." The bus driver tells her he has to drop her at the next corner, not in the middle of the block. With her hand across her chest, she tells the driver, "If you knew what I have, you would let me off the bus right here." The bus driver pulls over and opens the door to let her out.
As she's walking out of the bus, he asks, "Madam, what is it you have?"
The woman looks at him and nonchalantly replies, "Chutzpah."
Our portion might not contain the world's first example of Chutzpah but it certainly was an example that created a significant model of behavior for future generations, and for us. How do you define Chutzpah? Well, if you live in ancient Egypt, Chutzpah is when your God orders you to purchase an animal that is also the symbol of the Egyptian god, to slaughter it in public, and then paint your doorposts with its blood. How do you think your Egyptian neighbors are likely to respond? What do you think will happen if this Exodus thing falls through? What kind of chutzpah might it take to follow through with such an act - and to have 600,000 of your closest friends and relatives do it too?
That is exactly what the Israelites did. They proved that they deserved to be free with a supreme act of courage - and premeditated insolence. They passed the Chutzpah test. To this day, every Jewish child retakes this test each year, when asked to bring pieces of very crumby unleavened bread to school during the intermediate days of Passover and then to explain to their friends and teachers why they are refraining from Ring Dings that week. It takes Chutzpah to be different.
So this portion is teaching us that the Jewish people came into being not through an act of divine salvation but through a human demonstration of Chutzpah. It takes Chutzpah to believe in simple values when the materialistic society around us worships at any number of golden calves. It takes Chutzpah - or in Heschel's words, "Spiritual Audacity" - to believe that there is meaning beyond absurdity. And it takes real Chutzpah to plant a tree in the middle of the winter. Who ever heard of such craziness? But that's what Jews will do, in a little over a week, on Tu Bishvat. The groundhog may run the other way, but we will plant trees - or at least pay for them to be planted in Israel. We have the Chutzpah to believe that someday soon, those trees will begin to grow.
Shabbat Shalom!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Shabbat-O-Gram for January 20
We have lots of guests coming to TBE this Shabbat.
Each year for the past few decades, dozens of TBE
congregants participate in the preparation, delivery and serving of Christmas
Eve dinners at local homeless shelters. It’s not just a one-time thing, as we service
the needy of our community throughout the year, including monthly lunches
served at New Convenant
House food drives for Person to Person
and numerous mitzvah projects supporting the Food Bank and other organizations. But once Christmas Eve comes and goes, many
of us tend to push the issue of homelessness to the back burner.
On Friday night we welcome Carol Walter, Executive
Director of the Connecticut Coalition to End
Homelessness. In 2011, over 13,693
adults and children were homeless in Connecticut; and 4,451, including 531
children, managed each day without a place to call home. During times of economic stress and plunging
temperatures, we need to better understand what is happening and how we can
help. Carol comes to us from upstate,
but her roots are right here at Beth El.
Carol’s grandparents were founders of TBE and, as she puts it, her
favorite aunt was Claire Redniss, of blessed memory, who passed away not long
ago.
Carol will be speaking at the conclusion of tonight’s
7:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat service.
That’s’ not all…
On Shabbat morning, Rabbi Yonatan Yussman will be giving
the d’var Torah at our main service, which will be held in the chapel this
week. Rabbi Yussman is the new Head of
School of the Jewish High School of Connecticut,
which, in its second year, is making a huge impact on our community.
And there’s more…
This Shabbat we’ll also be welcoming staff from Camp Ramah in New England, who will be running
programming for our grade 5,6 and 7 Shabbaton.
We’ll also be welcoming students from other Conservative synagogues in
Fairfield County. So our building will
be buzzing throughout this Shabbat.
On Shabbat morning, Shabbaton attendees will participate
in our Family Service for grades 2nd and up.
Since the Ramah staffers will be participating in the program, along
with Rabbi Dardashti and Cantor Mordecai, it gives our families a chance to see
the Ramahniks in action and, afterwards, to ask them about the flagship camp of
the Conservative movement. Ramah has
always been close to my heart. I was a
camper and staff member there, sent my son Dan there, and even met Mara there! Camp Ramah has become one of the enduring
success stories of the Conservative Movement.
Kids love it!
And speaking of my sons… Ethan, a junior at Brown, has
gotten involved in a new project, an app that will change how people follow sports
online. It will be launched this week and you can join me in beta testing it by
clicking here. Perfect timing for the local sports-crazed
populace, salivating at the possibility of a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl rematch.
Finally, as Oscar season approaches, this week’s portion
of Va’era has some fascinating ties to last year’s Oscar Winning film, “The
King’s Speech” on the topic of leadership.
You recall that Moses was “slow of speech and slow of tongue,” in other words,
a stutterer. You can read about it (and
other aspects of this portion) here.
Shabbat Shalom – and enjoy the expected snow!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Shabbat-O-Gram for January 13
This weekend we commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.
On the evening of March 25, 1968, ten days before he was killed, Dr. King appeared at the sixty-eighth annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly. He was presented to the Assembly by Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, his comrade in the Civil Rights struggle of the '60s (whose yahrzeit is today). Read the transcript of that Conversation with Martin Luther King, as recorded in the journal "Conservative Judaism." Also see To Birmingham and Back, an eyewitness account from a rabbi who participated in those historic events.
On Friday night, we'll be honored to host an old friend to so many of us, Rev. Ann Schmidt. At the conclusion of the service, which will be led this week by myself and Steve Leiterstein, with Rabbinic Pastor David Daniel Klipper delivering a brief d'var Torah, Ann will discuss the medical and spiritual impact of her recent heart transplant surgery. From the conversations I've had with her during this very trying period, I know just how moving and profound her words will be. Please join us tonight, at 7:30 in the lobby.
Last November, the Jewish Home in Fairfield organized an Israel trip like none other, taking several nonagenarians on the trip of a lifetime. Among them was Leslie Novis, who turns 91 this weekend. Making the trip extra special for Leslie was the fact that his granddaughters Gaby and Marley Baum participated in a service at the Kotel, where Gaby became Bat Mitzvah and Marley, too young to be Bat Mitzvah, also celebrated by participating in the event. Click here to see a lovely photo of Gaby, Marley and Leslie. This Shabbat morning, all three will be participating in the service, as we will have the chance to celebrate with them and welcome them home.
Also on Shabbat morning, we'll begin the book of Exodus by reading the portion Sh'mot, which means names. At its beginning, the portion lists the names of those who descended to Egypt with Jacob, leading to a description of the astounding growth of the fledgling nation and the decision of a new pharaoh, one who did not know Joseph, to enslave them. But in fact the most important name revealed in the portion is that of God - the four letter name by which God introduces Godself to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:15. We'll talk about that name in greater detail - along with other names we have for God - on Shabbat morning. You can get a preview of the Parsha packet here.
In his appearance before the Rabbinical Assembly in 1968, Dr. King said something that is as true now as it was then:
"The fact is that we are tied together in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whether we like it or not and whether the racist understands it or not, our music, our cultural patterns, our poets, our material prosperity and even our food, are an amalgam of black and white, and there can be no separate black path to power and fulfillment that does not ultimately intersect white routes. There can be no separate white path to power and fulfillment, short of social disaster, that does not recognize the necessity of sharing that power with black aspirations for freedom and justice."
Let us take that thought into this special weekend, wherever we may be.
Shabbat Shalom
On the evening of March 25, 1968, ten days before he was killed, Dr. King appeared at the sixty-eighth annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly. He was presented to the Assembly by Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, his comrade in the Civil Rights struggle of the '60s (whose yahrzeit is today). Read the transcript of that Conversation with Martin Luther King, as recorded in the journal "Conservative Judaism." Also see To Birmingham and Back, an eyewitness account from a rabbi who participated in those historic events.
On Friday night, we'll be honored to host an old friend to so many of us, Rev. Ann Schmidt. At the conclusion of the service, which will be led this week by myself and Steve Leiterstein, with Rabbinic Pastor David Daniel Klipper delivering a brief d'var Torah, Ann will discuss the medical and spiritual impact of her recent heart transplant surgery. From the conversations I've had with her during this very trying period, I know just how moving and profound her words will be. Please join us tonight, at 7:30 in the lobby.
Last November, the Jewish Home in Fairfield organized an Israel trip like none other, taking several nonagenarians on the trip of a lifetime. Among them was Leslie Novis, who turns 91 this weekend. Making the trip extra special for Leslie was the fact that his granddaughters Gaby and Marley Baum participated in a service at the Kotel, where Gaby became Bat Mitzvah and Marley, too young to be Bat Mitzvah, also celebrated by participating in the event. Click here to see a lovely photo of Gaby, Marley and Leslie. This Shabbat morning, all three will be participating in the service, as we will have the chance to celebrate with them and welcome them home.
Also on Shabbat morning, we'll begin the book of Exodus by reading the portion Sh'mot, which means names. At its beginning, the portion lists the names of those who descended to Egypt with Jacob, leading to a description of the astounding growth of the fledgling nation and the decision of a new pharaoh, one who did not know Joseph, to enslave them. But in fact the most important name revealed in the portion is that of God - the four letter name by which God introduces Godself to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:15. We'll talk about that name in greater detail - along with other names we have for God - on Shabbat morning. You can get a preview of the Parsha packet here.
In his appearance before the Rabbinical Assembly in 1968, Dr. King said something that is as true now as it was then:
"The fact is that we are tied together in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whether we like it or not and whether the racist understands it or not, our music, our cultural patterns, our poets, our material prosperity and even our food, are an amalgam of black and white, and there can be no separate black path to power and fulfillment that does not ultimately intersect white routes. There can be no separate white path to power and fulfillment, short of social disaster, that does not recognize the necessity of sharing that power with black aspirations for freedom and justice."
Let us take that thought into this special weekend, wherever we may be.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Thursday, January 12, 2012
From Generation to Generation
Together with their grandfather, Leslie Novis, who celebrates his 91st birthday this weekend, Gaby and Marley Baum will be coming up to the Torah this Shabbat, as they did in Jerusalem last November, where they joined a group of seniors traveling in Israel with the Jewish Home for the Elderly in Fairfield.
Friday, January 6, 2012
2 Israeli hotels in 'Conde Nast' Top 10
The Inbal in Jerusalem was named one of the top ten Best in the World Middle Eastern hotels by Conde Nast. And we're staying there on our TBE Israel Adventure this summer!
2 Israeli hotels in 'Conde Nast' Top 10
Read the mouth-watering review:
The neo-Byzantine landmark made of Jerusalem stone sits in a former olive grove in the Talbieh district, overlooking Liberty Bell Park. Rooms are decorated in muted cream and honey hues and have marble and glass furnishings; anticipate “unmatched views of the Old City from the huge private terraces of the suites.” “Probably the best food in the city” includes “an excellent breakfast buffet” at Carmel Restaurant. Grilled meat is the specialty at Splash Pool Bar.
Read the mouth-watering review:
The neo-Byzantine landmark made of Jerusalem stone sits in a former olive grove in the Talbieh district, overlooking Liberty Bell Park. Rooms are decorated in muted cream and honey hues and have marble and glass furnishings; anticipate “unmatched views of the Old City from the huge private terraces of the suites.” “Probably the best food in the city” includes “an excellent breakfast buffet” at Carmel Restaurant. Grilled meat is the specialty at Splash Pool Bar.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Shabbat-O-Gram for January 6, 2012
Shabbat Shalom!
Welcome to 2012. If you are missing the snow (personally, I'm not), you need to head on out to Israel's winter wonderland. And while you are visiting the Israel 21c site, you might want to take a look at the top 10 science stories of 2011 and see why Tel Aviv was named one of the world's most creative cities. After seeing all that, you might just want to take a look at the TBE Israel Adventure's NEW interactive itinerary. We've tweaked it a bit, based on the wish list of those who are planning on joining us. The group is coalescing, so now is the time to sign up!
When the film "Defiance" came out a couple of years ago, it was hailed as the prototype for a new type of Holocaust movie, one where the Jews fight back. But unlike fantasy films like "Inglorious Basterds," this story is 100 percent true. On Saturday evening, we'll not only watch the film, but we'll be hearing from Alan Bell of the famous Bielski family, who will introduce the film and then discuss it afterwards. Parents are advised that the film is rated R (primarily for violence), but I would personally recommend it to for most teenagers, accompanied by parents.
Join us for tonight's (Thursday) Comparative Religions class at 7:30. We've had over 30 people at each of the first two sessions. Tonight we'll be engaging in dialogue with a local Muslim Imam, Kareem Adeeb, comparing Judaism and Islam. Even if you missed the first two sessions, feel free to join us tonight, or next week, when we will be in dialogue with Rev. Kate Heichler, comparing Judaism with Christianity.
And join us for services this Shabbat, both Friday night in the lobby (welcome back to Cantor Mordecai!) and Shabbat morning in the chapel (and our Torah for Tot service at 11:15 in the triple classroom). Todah rabbah to Beth and Robert Golove for sponsoring the Kiddush in honor of their son Austin recently becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Austin, grandchild of Fred and Sandy Golove, was a student in our religious school until his family moved to Long Island last year. As he was leaving, I told him that we would be honored to have the chance to celebrate with him here at some point. This weekend is that point. So welcome back Austin!
Finally, this coming week, on Tevet 18 (Thursday night and Friday) we commemorate theyahrzeit of Abraham Joshua Heschel, who died in 1973. Fittingly, within the next week we are also expecting to receive back from the printer an updated version of our service guide, with 32 added pages, including meditations, readings, explanations, transliteration of key prayers and most of all, lyrics to many of the new songs that Cantor Mordecai has brought to us over the past year and a half. The enhanced guide is one way in which we hope to make our service experience more accessible, relevant and meaningful to people with a wide variety of backgrounds and spiritual leanings. We are deeply indebted to Norma and Milton Mann for their continued sponsorship of this essential project.
Heschel challenged the synagogue of his day, which he felt was drifting into irrelevance. He wrote:
"Has the synagogue become the graveyard where prayer is buried? Are we, the spiritual leaders of American Jewry, members of a burial society? There are many who labor in the vineyard of oratory; but who knows how to pray, or how to inspire others to pray? There are many who can execute and display magnificent fireworks; but who knows how to kindle a spark in the darkness of a soul?
As we celebrate the memory of this inspirational man, we strive here to ignite that spark in the soul of each and every person who passes through our doors and joins us in prayer.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
When the film "Defiance" came out a couple of years ago, it was hailed as the prototype for a new type of Holocaust movie, one where the Jews fight back. But unlike fantasy films like "Inglorious Basterds," this story is 100 percent true. On Saturday evening, we'll not only watch the film, but we'll be hearing from Alan Bell of the famous Bielski family, who will introduce the film and then discuss it afterwards. Parents are advised that the film is rated R (primarily for violence), but I would personally recommend it to for most teenagers, accompanied by parents.
Join us for tonight's (Thursday) Comparative Religions class at 7:30. We've had over 30 people at each of the first two sessions. Tonight we'll be engaging in dialogue with a local Muslim Imam, Kareem Adeeb, comparing Judaism and Islam. Even if you missed the first two sessions, feel free to join us tonight, or next week, when we will be in dialogue with Rev. Kate Heichler, comparing Judaism with Christianity.
And join us for services this Shabbat, both Friday night in the lobby (welcome back to Cantor Mordecai!) and Shabbat morning in the chapel (and our Torah for Tot service at 11:15 in the triple classroom). Todah rabbah to Beth and Robert Golove for sponsoring the Kiddush in honor of their son Austin recently becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Austin, grandchild of Fred and Sandy Golove, was a student in our religious school until his family moved to Long Island last year. As he was leaving, I told him that we would be honored to have the chance to celebrate with him here at some point. This weekend is that point. So welcome back Austin!
Finally, this coming week, on Tevet 18 (Thursday night and Friday) we commemorate theyahrzeit of Abraham Joshua Heschel, who died in 1973. Fittingly, within the next week we are also expecting to receive back from the printer an updated version of our service guide, with 32 added pages, including meditations, readings, explanations, transliteration of key prayers and most of all, lyrics to many of the new songs that Cantor Mordecai has brought to us over the past year and a half. The enhanced guide is one way in which we hope to make our service experience more accessible, relevant and meaningful to people with a wide variety of backgrounds and spiritual leanings. We are deeply indebted to Norma and Milton Mann for their continued sponsorship of this essential project.
Heschel challenged the synagogue of his day, which he felt was drifting into irrelevance. He wrote:
"Has the synagogue become the graveyard where prayer is buried? Are we, the spiritual leaders of American Jewry, members of a burial society? There are many who labor in the vineyard of oratory; but who knows how to pray, or how to inspire others to pray? There are many who can execute and display magnificent fireworks; but who knows how to kindle a spark in the darkness of a soul?
As we celebrate the memory of this inspirational man, we strive here to ignite that spark in the soul of each and every person who passes through our doors and joins us in prayer.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
TBE Israel Adventure - NEW Interactive Itinerary
Check out our newly revised, interactive itinerary for next summer's TBE Israel Adventure, by clicking here. The changes reflect requests made by the group at our recent informational meeting. The group is coming together. Click here for pricing and here for the registration form.
Update:
The Inbal in Jerusalem was named one of the top ten Best in the World Middle Eastern hotels by Conde Nast. And we're staying there on our TBE Israel Adventure this summer! See 2 Israeli hotels in 'Conde Nast' Top 10
Read the mouth-watering review:
The neo-Byzantine landmark made of Jerusalem stone sits in a former olive grove in the Talbieh district, overlooking Liberty Bell Park. Rooms are decorated in muted cream and honey hues and have marble and glass furnishings; anticipate “unmatched views of the Old City from the huge private terraces of the suites.” “Probably the best food in the city” includes “an excellent breakfast buffet” at Carmel Restaurant. Grilled meat is the specialty at Splash Pool Bar.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
An Apology Regarding the Tim Tebow Article
This week I wrote an article for the Jewish Week in which I attempted to explore the phenomenon of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow to make broad points about society and extremism. I now realize that some of my statements had the reverse effect of what I had intended and for this I deeply and sincerely apologize.
As many of you know, I have spent my entire career engaged in dialogue with people of all faiths while speaking out passionately against all forms of bigotry. I have the deepest respect for those who are committed to their faith, including Mr. Tebow. I realize the way in which I attempted to make my points was clumsy and inappropriate, inadvertently suggesting the kind of intolerance and extremism my article was intended to disparage. I sincerely apologize to Mr. Tebow, his family, the Broncos and Patriots and all those whom I may have offended.
As many of you know, I have spent my entire career engaged in dialogue with people of all faiths while speaking out passionately against all forms of bigotry. I have the deepest respect for those who are committed to their faith, including Mr. Tebow. I realize the way in which I attempted to make my points was clumsy and inappropriate, inadvertently suggesting the kind of intolerance and extremism my article was intended to disparage. I sincerely apologize to Mr. Tebow, his family, the Broncos and Patriots and all those whom I may have offended.
Monday, December 12, 2011
TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Dustin Knopoff on VaYishlach
Shabbat shalom!
You know speeches are very difficult for me. I have never liked them. I was always the one who never practiced a speech but somehow ended up getting an excellent grade on them anyway.
So here it goes...
At this moment I'm standing in limbo, hovering between my past and my future. (Put small blue rug or blanket on the ground). Similarly to standing at the shore of a river deciding whether to cross or not. When I cross this river, my future will begin. But it’s not easy to cross such a large mass of water. On the one hand, what’s on the other side is unknown and scary. But at the same time, it’s exciting to have new adventures and I've always been curious to discover new things.
Where I am right now, is exactly where Jacob stood toward the beginning of my portion. He was about to cross the river back into his homeland, but it was a homeland he hadn’t seen in twenty years. He didn’t know how his brother Esau would react to seeing him. He feared for his family and his own safety.
I can only imagine how it must have been for Jacob. If I were coming back to Stamford after 20 years, I’d immediately go to see if the majestic theater was there or my dad’s office or even Mrs. Hammerman’s M&Ms! For those of you who don't know, Mrs. Hammerman always has M&Ms in her back pocket. But I'd also wonder what new things had come to the community.
Think how much has changed in the past 20 years. In 1992, there were no iPods, smartphones or even no Facebook! How crazy is that! Jacob must have been really fearful of what he was going to encounter. As someone who loves technology and looks forward to the future, I would have been more curious than fearful.
So Jacob crossed this river and while he was crossing, he had a wrestling match with what might have been an angel. I can relate to that part of the story as well. Taekwondo is an extremely important part of my life. I started 7 years ago and now I am a 2nd degree black belt. In case some of you think I'm pulling your leg… Here is the proof(Pull out belt). So I would have not been afraid to cross the river, even if there was a threatening-looking angel standing in my way.
Jews have historically been confident to move into the future. Jacob and his family were called Hebrews which originates from the word “ivri” (eevree) meaning “to cross over.” We’ve been crossing rivers for hundreds of generations.
Similar to Jacob’s, my family has also been quick to adjust to changing times. My grandfather has always used technology to help him work as a doctor. Along with my grandfather, my uncle owns a company that develops games and applications. He’s inspired me to explore the possibilities of new technology, things like learning code or developing my own apps. Someday I’ll develop a Bar Mitzvah app, which helps Jews with all their bar or bat mitzvah needs, from ordering party favors to learning torah trope. Afterwards I might even program a robot to replace the tutor, another to replace the cantor, and another one to chant haphtarah.
Steve Jobs is one of my biggest inspirations. He is a perfect example someone who had every right to fear the future but embraced it and revolutionized it. His views were expressed in a Think Different commercial: “While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
With such inspiration from my family and people I admire, I am confident and ready to cross this river. (Cross rug/blanket)
For my mitzvah project I realized that there are other people who need my help to cross into the future. So I will be donating and collecting select foods needed to supply the local food bank. For without food the future looks a lot murkier than it has to be.
At this time I would like to thank those who have helped me get to this point and supported me to make the crossing of the river much easier.
You know speeches are very difficult for me. I have never liked them. I was always the one who never practiced a speech but somehow ended up getting an excellent grade on them anyway.
So here it goes...
At this moment I'm standing in limbo, hovering between my past and my future. (Put small blue rug or blanket on the ground). Similarly to standing at the shore of a river deciding whether to cross or not. When I cross this river, my future will begin. But it’s not easy to cross such a large mass of water. On the one hand, what’s on the other side is unknown and scary. But at the same time, it’s exciting to have new adventures and I've always been curious to discover new things.
Where I am right now, is exactly where Jacob stood toward the beginning of my portion. He was about to cross the river back into his homeland, but it was a homeland he hadn’t seen in twenty years. He didn’t know how his brother Esau would react to seeing him. He feared for his family and his own safety.
I can only imagine how it must have been for Jacob. If I were coming back to Stamford after 20 years, I’d immediately go to see if the majestic theater was there or my dad’s office or even Mrs. Hammerman’s M&Ms! For those of you who don't know, Mrs. Hammerman always has M&Ms in her back pocket. But I'd also wonder what new things had come to the community.
Think how much has changed in the past 20 years. In 1992, there were no iPods, smartphones or even no Facebook! How crazy is that! Jacob must have been really fearful of what he was going to encounter. As someone who loves technology and looks forward to the future, I would have been more curious than fearful.
So Jacob crossed this river and while he was crossing, he had a wrestling match with what might have been an angel. I can relate to that part of the story as well. Taekwondo is an extremely important part of my life. I started 7 years ago and now I am a 2nd degree black belt. In case some of you think I'm pulling your leg… Here is the proof(Pull out belt). So I would have not been afraid to cross the river, even if there was a threatening-looking angel standing in my way.
Jews have historically been confident to move into the future. Jacob and his family were called Hebrews which originates from the word “ivri” (eevree) meaning “to cross over.” We’ve been crossing rivers for hundreds of generations.
Similar to Jacob’s, my family has also been quick to adjust to changing times. My grandfather has always used technology to help him work as a doctor. Along with my grandfather, my uncle owns a company that develops games and applications. He’s inspired me to explore the possibilities of new technology, things like learning code or developing my own apps. Someday I’ll develop a Bar Mitzvah app, which helps Jews with all their bar or bat mitzvah needs, from ordering party favors to learning torah trope. Afterwards I might even program a robot to replace the tutor, another to replace the cantor, and another one to chant haphtarah.
Steve Jobs is one of my biggest inspirations. He is a perfect example someone who had every right to fear the future but embraced it and revolutionized it. His views were expressed in a Think Different commercial: “While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
With such inspiration from my family and people I admire, I am confident and ready to cross this river. (Cross rug/blanket)
For my mitzvah project I realized that there are other people who need my help to cross into the future. So I will be donating and collecting select foods needed to supply the local food bank. For without food the future looks a lot murkier than it has to be.
At this time I would like to thank those who have helped me get to this point and supported me to make the crossing of the river much easier.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Steroid Shock
With today's revelation that Ryan Braun tested positive for a banned substance, I must confess to my own steroid issue. Last week I was diagnosed with a herniated disc and immediately began a regimen of steroids as treatment. I was recovering fast enough to be listed as "probable" for this past Shabbat but now am subject to a four Shabbat suspension by the NFL and 50 games by MLB. On the plus side, my prayers are now going 30 percent farther.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Responding to Merry Christmas: Hammerman on Ethics
Responding To Merry Christmas
Jewish Week Online Columnist
http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/hammerman_ethics/responding_merry_christmas
Q: It’s that time of year, when everyone everywhere is saying “Merry Christmas” to me, even people who know that I am Jewish. Should I simply smile and repeat the greeting or politely correct the greeter and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t observe Christmas.”
A: Now I know why Lenny Bruce said that Christians celebrate while Jewsobserve. We never get to be happy, even at this most celebratory time of year. We’re alwaysobserving. And in December, we’re always agonizing over how to find our little niche in this annual Yuletide cultural bombardment.
The key is to come up with strategies that affirm Jewish distinctiveness and pride while not adding to the already tense, politicized atmosphere of the Christmas – er, holiday – season in American public life (and if you don’t believe it’s been politicized, take a look at this week’s opening salvos by Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly). How can we reply in a manner that does not invite retaliation and resentment?
There is nothing wrong with wishing a non Jewish neighbor “Merry Christmas,” just as it would not be a betrayal for her to wish you “Shabbat Shalom” when leaving work on Friday afternoon. In the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Moses Isserles notes the need for being good neighbors in a society where Jews and non-Jews mingle and do business together, even regarding problematic greetings. It’s all done for the sake of peace. The idea is to reduce tensions, not increase them.
It’s even halachically OK to mention a holiday whose name includes the name of a foreign deity. At least it is in this case, since the word “Christ” is not really a name at all, but the Greek translation of the Hebrew term for “Anointed One.” If the holiday were called “Jesus-fest” or “Zeus-mas, or “Tim Tebow Day” there might be cause for concern. So when I speak with my Christian clergy colleagues, I have no problem acknowledging their holiday in my seasonal salutations.
Ironically, Jews tend not to label our festivals when extending greetings. We traditionally just say “Happy Holiday” on Passover or Sukkot (“Hag Sameach” in Hebrew or “Gut Yomtov” in Yiddish). The only exception to that rule happens to be Hanukkah. We say “Hag HANUKKAH Sameach” in order to distinguish this minor non-biblical festival from the more significant biblically mandated holidays.
A greeting should be seen as a verbal embrace, the extension of blessing, rather than as an assertion of xenophobic power. In a perfect world, “Happy Holidays” would not be seen as a cheapening of the meaning of Christmas, but as an enhancement of its deepest spiritual message.
So let’s try to get beyond the clichéd salutations that have backed everyone into a corner. If you feel that someone is deliberately trying to impose upon you the hegemony of Christmas, wishing you a “Merry Christmas” while knowing that you are Jewish, let’s look for a reply that is both respectful of diversity yet deeply spiritual, something that could be uttered simultaneously to Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly without blinking an eye. Here are my nominations:
“Wishing you a Blessed Season!” (Sounds too much like Red Skelton, or a Debbie Friedman song, not that there’s anything wrong with Debbie Friedman songs)
“May the Light Increase” (Sounds a bit too Star Warsy)
“Peace” (A little too ‘60s, especially if you are wearing a Nehru jacket)
“Shalom”
Think about it. Shalom is perfect. These days, everyone knows what it means - likeschlemiel and chutzpah. The reply is spiritual, identifiably Jewish yet increasingly universal. Listen to a parade of evangelical politicians lining up to speak at a conclave supporting Israel. You’ll hear more “Shalom”s uttered there than in the hallways of the Knesset, where the politicians are more likely to be spitting at one another.
So the next time someone who knows you are Jewish says “Merry Christmas” just to get a rise out of you, take the high road and elevate the conversation by replying “Shalom.” But if it’s simply someone on the street, movie theater or supermarket, “Merry Christmas” OR “Happy Holidays” would be equally fine.
Anything but, “Oy vey. My children never call!”
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Bible and Adele
Last week's Bat Mitzvah student was a big fan of the humungously popular singer Adele, who last week was nominated for six Grammys. Since I like to integrate the kids' interests in my message to them, I looked for ways to use Adele's songs in explaining her portion, Vayetze. Little did I know that Adele could have WRITTEN Vayetze. Her heartstring-yanking songs could easily be placed into the mouths of the main characters, Jacob, Leah and Rachel.
Some examples:
Early in the portion, when Jacob meets Rachel, a large stone is blocking the mouth of a well. Jacob summons superhuman strength that can only come because he is so smitten by her, and he rolls the rock from the mouth of the deep well. Yes, he was Rolling in the Deep.
And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
So Jacob was not only the inventor of "rock and roll," but this scene presaged the Adele hit, Rolling in the Deep. Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep – and indeed they do, because Rachel dies in childbirth – they could have had it all. (Also see Adele's song Melt my heart of stone)
These are the FIRST REAL TEARS of love and loss IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE! And as we know from the recent SNL skit no one can make people shed tears of love and loss like Adele. In her song First Love, she croons: Please wear the face, the one where you smile, Because you lighten up my heart when I start to cry.
Adele's current mega-hit Someone like You could have been written by Jacob, thinking that he's speaking to Rachel on their wedding night - Old friend, why are you so shy? Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light
Then Jacob turns on the light and realized he’s married the wrong sister, and exclaims to Leah.
Never mind, I'll find someone like you (YOUR HOT SISTER, IN FACT)
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me, I begged, I remember you said
Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.
Leah has lots of kids with Jake, but nothing can make her husband love her, and she feels so lonely. Which leads us to the Adele song, I Can't Make You Love Me
Don't patronize me. Cause I can't make you love me if you don't. You can't make your heart feel something it won't
In the Torah, Leah actually gives her kids names that reflect these very sentiments:
And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said: 'Because the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.' | |
And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said: 'Because the LORD hath heard that I am hated, He hath therefore given me this son also.' And she called his name Simeon. So could Adele have written the Bible? Maybe not, but her songs prove that the human story remains the same. |
The Aborted Israeli Absorption Ministry Ad: Some Reflections
Much has been written about the Israeli Absorption Ministry’s now-aborted ad, asserting that Israelis should not marry American Jews and reside in this country because their kids will grow up observing Christmas instead of Hanukkah. See my prior posting, including links to Jeffrey Goldberg's posting which exposed this quintessentially chutzpahdik ad. Following a nearly unprecedented avalanche of outrage from American Jewish leaders, including groups who typically give carte blanche to far greater affronts, the Netanyahu government wisely pulled the video from YouTube on Friday. As Akiva Eldar wrote in Ha’aretz:
For several long months, the (mostly self-appointed) "leaders" in the U.S. community have ignored the unbridled incitement launched by Israel against human rights organizations, the Supreme Court and the media. As far as is known, the federations have not sent protest letters to the prime minister to express dismay about the rise of violence and racism toward Palestinians in Israel and in the territories. The Anti-Defamation League has said nothing about the exclusion of women soldiers at Israel Defense Forces events. The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC passionately defends settlement policies which are shutting the door to a two-state solution. Thus everything is all right - until the ethnocentric wave which engulfs Israel crosses the ocean, and throws cold water on their egos. For many long years a group of Jewish philanthropists and activists - some of them with right-wing, conservative outlooks, others rank opportunists - has been throwing fuel on the fire of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute that threatens to extinguish Israel's democracy.
Assimilation does present challenges, to be sure, but growing up in America does not necessarily or even typically lead to a one way ticket out of Jewish identification. For that we can thank, in large part, the Israeli government itself, whose contributions to the successful Birthright Israel project have been crucial to furthering the cause of keeping our kids Jewish.
I thought we had gotten beyond the efforts to de-legitimize the Diaspora. But the culture wars that infect both America and Israel internally have also impacted the Jewish people globally. Israelis look at American Jews and fear the lethal impact of assimilation on their Jewish soul. American Jews look at Israel and fear that occupation has done the same. One side sees excessive tolerance, a fatal ecumenicism blurring the lines between Jews and the gentile world, and the other sees a fatal chauvinism, a triumph for an extremism fostering nightmares of a Taliban-like takeover of a faith tradition that was built on tolerance.
Also, who’s to say that Israelis are so Jewishly literate? We often have Israeli soldiers visit our community – they are the best and the brightest. As a matter of courtesy, we offer some of them aliyot to the Torah. Almost none accept. Very few know what an aliyah is or how to do one (and a few refuse to take one in a non Orthodox setting). If the situation on the video was reversed and an American Jewish grandparent Skyped a grandkid in Jerusalem, would that child know that in America, it’s OK for a woman’s face to appear on a billboard?
And how can the Absorption Ministry bemoan the Americanization of Judaism, when Israel has itself become so assimilated to American culture. Those ascending to Jerusalem for the first time are greeted by McDonalds golden arches glowing down from Mevasseret, miles before before the road grants them their first view of the other holy sites. When the biblical Jacob and his family became the first Yordim to return to the Land, they brought along Laban’s household idols; the purity of the indigenous faith was contaminated by diaspora syncretism long before McDonalds (granted, a Kosher McDonalds) opened at the Harel Mall. I can just imagine Rachel sneaking through the customs line at Ben Gurion with her imported goodies like so many returning Israelis have done since.
I follow the Religion and State in Israel blog, a weekly review of media coverage on issues of religion and state in Israel, unaffiliated with any organization or movement. Here are some of the headlines appearing in THIS WEEK’S digest. I repeat. These articles have come out JUST THIS WEEK.
High Court rejects petition over civil marriage
The High Court of Justice made clear Monday it would not accede to the petition filed by numerous progressive and pluralist groups asking for an injunction against the government to institute a framework for civil marriage in Israel.
Israeli women fight back against Jerusalem billboard vandals
Jewish women in the Britain and the US are being urged to send photographs of themselves holding signs saying "women should be seen and heard" in a campaign against efforts by the ultra-orthodox to remove female images from advertising billboards in Jerusalem.
In Israel, women’s rights come under siege
“In the past two years or five years, it’s just deteriorating,” said Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg of the liberal New Israel Fund, which has launched a campaign to combat the “erasure” of women from public advertising. “The Haredi are having more and more say about how our lives are in Israel.”
Clinton astonished by exclusion of women from public spaces; warns of Israel's eroding democratic values
Clinton related that she had read a day before in The Washington Post an article by Ruth Marcus, called "In Israel, Women's Rights Come Under Siege," which detailed examples of the exclusion or boycotting of women, including incidents where IDF religious soldiers have boycotted events in which women sang, and the segregation of women on some bus routes, in contravention of Supreme Court decisions.
Knesset committee to tackle IDF's gender issues
A Knesset committee will convene in the next few weeks to deal with the IDF's failure to implement a report calling for full equality between men and women in the military.
Women Barred From Funerals in Israel
The troubling phenomenon of excluding women from cemeteries in Israel appears to be getting worse.
Number of gender-segregated religious schools in Israel tripled during past decade
Gender segregation is in effect at 65 percent of the state-run religious elementary schools in Israel, according to data obtained by Haaretz from the Education Ministry's elementary school supervision department.
Love, Marriage, and the Israeli Rabbinate
For many Israelis, Tzohar is the spoonful of sugar that makes the bitter pill of dealing with the official rabbinate palatable. However, it seems clear that increasing numbers of them—including Orthodox Israelis—would prefer never to have to deal with it in the first place, even with Tzohar as a buffer: They would prefer, that is, to have the oppressive and despised rabbinate be removed altogether, whether because they do not share its values or its interpretations of Jewish law, or because they feel that moderns states should stay out of ecclesiastical business.
The people's IDF is turning into the rabbis' IDF
Haaretz Editorial www.haaretz.com December 1, 2011.
The decision by the Israel Defense Forces senior command to freeze implementation of the Segev Report, which recommended establishing full equality among men and women in the army is another aggravating example of the IDF's continuing capitulation to the demands of religious extremist rabbis and officers.
The Israel Defense Forces has effectively frozen implementation of a report that called for full equality of service between men and women.
Based in Jerusalem, the six-year-old [Shorashim center] serves as an international investigation agency, which, by doing intensive research and establishing a wide network of contacts, has helped hundreds of young people from the former Soviet Union prove their Jewishness to the satisfaction of the rabbinic courts, enabling them to get married without having to go through a conversion or marry abroad. …Rabbi Shimon Har-Shalom estimates [of the 750,000 FSU immigrants listed as Jews] between 150,000 and 200,000 will be forced to prove their Jewishness at some point, while some 20,000 of those with "no religion" are actually Jewish and would be able to prove it.
Past ARZA president, wife warn threats to Israeli pluralism
Resa Davids described how her granddaughter’s planned bat mitzva by the Dead Sea had to be moved because not a single hotel in the area would permit a woman to read from the Torah on their grounds. “The threat was if they allowed this child to read Torah, they would lose their hashgacha (kosher certification),” she said. Asked if she equated that to blackmailing the hotel owners, she replied, “exactly.”
I’ve experienced something similar.
When I was on the “March of the Living” two years ago, my mostly non-Orthodox group stayed in a nice Youth Hostel near the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. Our group arranged to have access to the hostel’s synagogue, a simple meeting room with an ark, for a private Kabbalat Shabbat service. No other group was in there at the time. The Orthodox members of our group decided to daven with a mechitza in another location in the building – it was an arrangement that worked well throughout our trip. About ten minutes into our egalitarian service, our group leader came up to me – as I was leading the service – and said that the hostel’s manager had told him that our service cannot continue unless we separate the boys from the girls.
Now this was a group of seventy teens who were, for the most part, experiencing Israel for the first time. Just days before we had cried at Auschwitz and stood silently by the remnants of the Warsaw Ghetto. They were exhilarated to be in Israel and I was trying not to douse their enthusiasm by interjecting the sorry state of Israeli pluralism into their experience. So rather than tell this group that this state-run hostel was hostile to the way they pray, I looked for an escape hatch – literally. There was a door in the back of the room, leading to a large outdoor patio overlooking the city. The weather was perfect, and I had planned to take them outside for Lecha Dodi anyway, so I stalled for time until we got there (as my group leader stared at me nervously, I stared back defiantly), and then, as we reached Lecha Dodi, we danced out the door and onto the patio, where we danced and prayed for the remainder of the service.
So I thank the Absorption Ministry, not for opening a wound, but for opening a dialogue on what kind of Judaism we wish for our grandchildren and where it is best being nurtured right now. My hope is that both America and Israel will be places where all our kids will be proud observers of Hanukkah, and where they will learn to love their neighbors as themselves.
TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Elise Schoenfeld on Vayetze
SHABBAT SHALOM!
In the portion of Vayetze, Jacob flees his brother fearing for his life.
At the same time, he also fears the unknown, as he heads off to a
distant land that he had never visited before. The story in this
portion is how Jacob is dealing with his fears so that they will not
paralyze him.
I can relate to Jacob. I have also been to new places – like camp – where
I have not known a single person. I have also changed schools a couple
of times. The kids are great at all three schools I have been in, but
very different. For one thing, they dress differently. The schools
have all different cultures. One school had all Jews, and the next a
variety of people. It was a dramatic change going from one to the next.
And change can be scary at times.
It’s not like I’m always fearful, but when I do get scared, I’ve learned
a secret that never fails to calm me down.
The secret is MUSIC!
Let’s just say that I REALLY to sing! I sing in school – and not just in
chorus – but randomly. I sing around the house. I sing everywhere.
And I sing everything! As many of you know, I can go from Adele to
rap to Broadway Show tunes without skipping a beat.
At school my friends say “You’re really good!” At home, my sister says:
“Ellie stop singing!”
When I’m not singing I’m drumming. I’m always tapping out beats,
especially at times I when I feel nervous or fidgety. During the past few
months I’ve been doing that a lot!
Whenever I sing I feel better. It makes me feel I can handle anything!
For instance, I’m terrified of being on airplanes.
But when I listen to music – no problem (except when they say “turn
off all electronic devices” – I must admit that once or twice I have failed
to do so!
When I was younger and home alone in the house, and there was a loud
noise followed by the dogs barking, I would go up to my room and put
on my iPod.
Even now, I play music all night long. When I don’ have it on, I feel
lost. It’s harder to sleep. I can imagine what Jacob must have felt like
when he lay down to sleep on that rock – before having his famous
dream about the angels going up and down a ladder. I wish I could
have lent him my iPod. I bet he was listening to one, actually, and
that it was playing “Stairway to Heaven!!”
I find that music doesn’t just help me when I feel stressed. It helps me to
help others. When my friend was sad recently, I started to sing to her.
It just happened! I started singing “Just Whistle a Happy Tune” -
but of course, at the time I couldn’t whistle. And she started
laughing.
I’ve come to learn that many of the prayers in our prayer book are
designed to lift our spirits when we are afraid. A great example of
this is the Sh’ma, which is recited several times during the day, when
you wake up until you go to sleep. It’s very comforting.
I also understand that while there are moments when anyone might be
Afraid, I’m very fortunate to know that I always have clothes to wear
and food to eat. Foe my Mitzvah Project I have been helping Person
to Person. After Yom Kippur, I helped to organize the food donations
that were made by congregants here. I went to Person to Person’s
warehouse and put food on the shelves. Also, I’ve been collecting
clothing here and in my neighborhood for the past several weeks and I
will be donating those clothes to Person to Person as well.
Now that I am a Bat Mitzvah, I’ve come to realize that you should never
let fear conquer you – but if you feel afraid, I’ll always be here to sing
you a song – or to whistle a happy tune.
Thank You!
In the portion of Vayetze, Jacob flees his brother fearing for his life.
At the same time, he also fears the unknown, as he heads off to a
distant land that he had never visited before. The story in this
portion is how Jacob is dealing with his fears so that they will not
paralyze him.
I can relate to Jacob. I have also been to new places – like camp – where
I have not known a single person. I have also changed schools a couple
of times. The kids are great at all three schools I have been in, but
very different. For one thing, they dress differently. The schools
have all different cultures. One school had all Jews, and the next a
variety of people. It was a dramatic change going from one to the next.
And change can be scary at times.
It’s not like I’m always fearful, but when I do get scared, I’ve learned
a secret that never fails to calm me down.
The secret is MUSIC!
Let’s just say that I REALLY to sing! I sing in school – and not just in
chorus – but randomly. I sing around the house. I sing everywhere.
And I sing everything! As many of you know, I can go from Adele to
rap to Broadway Show tunes without skipping a beat.
At school my friends say “You’re really good!” At home, my sister says:
“Ellie stop singing!”
When I’m not singing I’m drumming. I’m always tapping out beats,
especially at times I when I feel nervous or fidgety. During the past few
months I’ve been doing that a lot!
Whenever I sing I feel better. It makes me feel I can handle anything!
For instance, I’m terrified of being on airplanes.
But when I listen to music – no problem (except when they say “turn
off all electronic devices” – I must admit that once or twice I have failed
to do so!
When I was younger and home alone in the house, and there was a loud
noise followed by the dogs barking, I would go up to my room and put
on my iPod.
Even now, I play music all night long. When I don’ have it on, I feel
lost. It’s harder to sleep. I can imagine what Jacob must have felt like
when he lay down to sleep on that rock – before having his famous
dream about the angels going up and down a ladder. I wish I could
have lent him my iPod. I bet he was listening to one, actually, and
that it was playing “Stairway to Heaven!!”
I find that music doesn’t just help me when I feel stressed. It helps me to
help others. When my friend was sad recently, I started to sing to her.
It just happened! I started singing “Just Whistle a Happy Tune” -
but of course, at the time I couldn’t whistle. And she started
laughing.
I’ve come to learn that many of the prayers in our prayer book are
designed to lift our spirits when we are afraid. A great example of
this is the Sh’ma, which is recited several times during the day, when
you wake up until you go to sleep. It’s very comforting.
I also understand that while there are moments when anyone might be
Afraid, I’m very fortunate to know that I always have clothes to wear
and food to eat. Foe my Mitzvah Project I have been helping Person
to Person. After Yom Kippur, I helped to organize the food donations
that were made by congregants here. I went to Person to Person’s
warehouse and put food on the shelves. Also, I’ve been collecting
clothing here and in my neighborhood for the past several weeks and I
will be donating those clothes to Person to Person as well.
Now that I am a Bat Mitzvah, I’ve come to realize that you should never
let fear conquer you – but if you feel afraid, I’ll always be here to sing
you a song – or to whistle a happy tune.
Thank You!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Shabbat-O-Gram for 12/3/11
The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored by Deborah and Joel Schoenfeld, in honor of Elise becoming Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat
Shabbat Shalom, and mazal tov to Elise Schoenfeld and family as she becomes Bat Mitzvah on Shabbat morning. Tonight at 7:30, we welcome Senator Dick Blumenthal, who will speak at the conclusion of our Kabbalat Shabbat service on how “Breaking the Gridlock.” He’ll also share some reflections on the Middle East. The service will be in the lobby, so get here early to get the best seats. Hazzan Rabinowitz will also be joining us this Shabbat, his first time at our services since the recent passing of Sandy z’l and the birth of their first great grandchild.
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