Friday, May 31, 2002

Shabbat-O-Gram for May 31 – June 1, Sivan 21 5762

  Shabbat-O-Gram for May 31 – June 1, Sivan 21 5762

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

 

The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is  http://www.tbe.org/sog/020601.htm. The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions. Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-o-Gram at www.tbe.org. If you wish to unsubscribe, contact office@tbe.org. Previous Shabbat-O-Grams are archived at http://www.tbe.org/sog/.

 

This week’s Shabbat-O-Gram features some new sections designed to help us all perform small but significant “mitzvot” close to home, among our own congregational family.  If you can think of other ways this newsletter can be put to such use, feel free to suggest!  One possibility being discussed is that of encouraging congregants to “sponsor” Shabbat-O-Grams, thereby assisting us in funding important programs.  Let us know what you think!

 

SHABBAT SHALOM 

New Feature: “The Highest Level of Tzedakkah” -- TBE Job Shidduch

According to Maimonides, the highest level of tzedakkah is not to give money to another, but to provide that person with the means to earn a living on his/her own.  In these difficult economic times, many within our Beth El family find themselves “downsized” out of a job for the first time in many years.  It is incumbent upon us to help them.  It would be an honor to utilize the Shabbat-O-Gram for this kind of mitzvah.  If you are looking for employment right now and would like the help of the congregation, please e-mail me a brief paragraph describing your needs and qualifications.  Anyone with potential leads can then contact me and I will in turn forward to that person contact information. Everything will be handled in the strictest confidence.  I can personally vouch for any of the individuals whose particulars are featured here.

This week we are looking for job contacts for a senior level professional with extensive experience in accounting, financial planning and credit and collections. Here is his personal request:

“I need to build my job search network real fast. Recently my company filed for bankruptcy, which was expected. As a result of the bankruptcy there was an additional 30% of the workforce let go including myself, which was not expected. Any suggestions or contacts would be appreciated.   At this point due to the minimal severance package (which is subject to approval of the bankruptcy court) I would be interested immediate opportunities in the areas of, finance, client services or human resources; even if it was on a consultancy basis.”

If you have any leads or wish to contact this person directly, contact me at rabbi@tbe.org.

 

JUST THE FACTS: Services and Such (N.B. 7 PM Fri night, outdoors)

 

Friday Night: Candles: 8:00: PM

Shabbat and Shavuot Ma'ariv service: 7:00 PM, OUTDOORS (weather permitting -- dress is casual).

MAZAL TOV to our 7th graders, who will be participating in their “Aliyah” service as they move onward from the Religious School years to the many alternatives for Jewish involvement offered teens in our community.  Note to the parents of our 7th graders…because the service will begin before sundown, it will be possible to take photos of the class at the start.  So feel free to bring cameras (only please respect our policies of no photography once Shabbat begins).

Shabbat Morning

P'sukey d'zimra (psalms and meditations) 9:15 and Shacharit: 9:30

MAZAL TOV to Ely Gerbin, who becomes Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat morning.

Children's Services: 10:30, in the chapel (grades 3 - 6) and downstairs in the Kindergarten room for younger grades. This week's jr. cong. is hosted by grade 5

TORAH PORTIONBe’ha’alotcha. 

Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at http://uscj.org/item20_467.html. UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://uahc.org/torah/exodus.shtml. Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL's Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/

Mincha-Havdalah Services: 7:30 PM

MAZAL TOV to Libby Osher, who becomes Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat afternoon.

Morning Minyan: Daily at 7:30, Sundays at 9:00

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Spiritual Journey on the Web: Spider-Man-orah: Spirit, Power and Responsibility

No, it’s not Hanukkah, but in fact this week’s Haftarah, from the prophet Zechariah, is the same one read on Shabbat Hanukkah.  The portion’s focus on the paraphernalia of ancient worship includes a detailed discussion of the menorah, as well as the silver trumpets used for religious and secular occasions.  If you want to see what all these things looked like, go to the Temple Institute at http://www.templeinstitute.org/main.html.  Go to http://www.templeinstitute.org/current-events/TrumpetsAtWesternWall.html and you’ll see the silver trumpets being blown at the Western Wall, and at http://www.templeinstitute.org/vessels/menorah.html you’ll find a depiction of what they think the original Menorah looked like. I’ve been to the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, BTW, and it is both fascinating and a bit scary.  The underlying expectation of this organization is that the Temple is going to be rebuilt – and soon (they even have the red heifer to prove it – for an explanation on that, see http://www.templeinstitute.org/current-events/RedHeifer/index.html).  For the Temple to be rebuilt, however, there will have to be a divine/human intervention of the most cataclysmic sort, something that ranges from the unfathomable to the unthinkable. 

The Institute’s description of the Menorah’s uniquely spiritual light helps us to understand why Zechariah coined that immortal phrase, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” 

The menorah can be seen as occupying the most central role of all the sacred vessels, for it is the symbol of light—and the sages refer to Jerusalem as "the light of the world" (B’reishith Rabbah 59). One reason for this is the light of the Menorah, bursting forth from within the sanctuary. For the menorah’s light was a spiritual, as well as physical, illumination. Thus the sages teach that the windows in the walls of the sanctuary were constructed differently than any other windows in the world. These were just the opposite of ordinary windows, for what is the normally considered the function of windows? To let the light in. But these windows were in order to let the light the out—to disseminate the spiritual light emanating from the Temple menorah out into the world. The Sanctuary’s windows allowed the special ethereal light coming forth from the menorah to burst out to the world from within the hallowed hall.”

So the light is focused outward, rather than inward.  Michael Fishbane, in the new Conservative commentary (Etz Hayim) sheds some “light” on this in his explanation of the Haftarah (p.836).  He shows how Zechariah later compares the lights of the Menorah to the eyes of God (see Zech 4:10-14) and how later Midrash compared the seven lamps to various heavenly bodies: the sun, moon and five visible planets.  In that way, the Menorah was able to translate the intimacy of God’s presence within the shrine into a statement of cosmic transcendence.  The focus, again, is primarily outward.  (Other takes on the Menorah as a symbol are found at http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm#Menorah and http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/menorah.html, and for a historical survey of the symbol, take a virtual tour at the Israel Museum, at http://www.imj.org.il/menorah/galleries.html -- it’s fascinating.)

At Beth El, we are fortunate to have a sanctuary lined with windows on both sides.  We often speak of how this architecture enables the beauty of nature to inspire our prayer.  Perhaps we need to turn that around.  Maybe it is our prayer, inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds us, that needs to project outward into the world.  Too often we find ourselves saying, “That service did nothing for me.”  The menorahs standing in our sanctuary should serve as a reminder that such a statement begs the question.  Sure, it’s best that the service is inspiring, with all that “inspiration” entails (stimulating music, provocative discussion, warm greetings from friends, good food); but we mustn’t forget that that inspiration’s goal is to ignite the flame within each of us solely for the purpose of our projecting that light outward.  That is the essence of Jewish spirituality (as opposed to much of the self-obsessed, navel-examining New Age stuff out there): it revitalizes our spirit for the purpose of transforming the world.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit…”  Where have I heard that lately?  Hmmm.  “With great power comes great responsibility….” I know!  Spider-man! (Check out http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/spiderman.htm for some religious perspectives on the film, though not necessarily Jewish ones, and for some Jewish connections, check these two articles form the Forward, at http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.05.10/news11.html and http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.05.17/arts3.html).  Nebbish turned super hero (rather than becoming a tycoon or heartthrob), saving the world from evil: that’s the eternal Jewish dream.  (And go to this week’s Jewish Week http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=6241 to read about Will Eisner, the creator of the 1940s comic book hero calledappropriately enough, “The Spirit.”)  It’s comforting to know that Zechariah’s message to use power wisely toward divine ends is breaking box office records in America today.

 

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REQUIRED READING AND ACTION ITEMS

 

ISRAEL AND THE WAR ON TERORRISM

To subscribe to the Daily Alert, Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in association with the Fairness Project by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. please send a blank email message to:  daily-subscribe@jcpa.org

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/krauthammercharles/A17468-2002May14.html -- Krauthammer on why Sharon's tactics have worked

Summit of Evil
"Leaders of al Qaeda, militant Palestinian groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and a number of other groups linked to terror held a summit in Lebanon in late March," ABC News reports. "At the Lebanon meeting, the groups discussed tactics and the possibility of an unprecedented level of joint activity, U.S. officials said--including a possible new round of attacks against America, Great Britain, and other targets."

If this report is accurate, it should silence once and for all anyone who claims that Israel's war on terror is somehow less legitimate than America's. But it probably won't.

Good Fight - Martin Peretz
There is an early Zionist military doctrine called "purity of arms" that still holds in Israel. It is a doctrine of self-constraint: Everything reasonable must be done to avoid harming civilians, even if that entails additional risks to Israeli soldiers. Richard Holbrooke recently observed that the Israeli military is probably more fastidious about moral constraints than is our own. (New Republic)

 

Emergency Fence Under Construction - Ze'ev Schiff
Recent suicide strikes have put an end to delays in the construction of a fence around the West Bank. Some 20 contractors are to work on the fence, which will not be put up exactly along the Green Line but will follow the physical contours of the land. The separation fence will not provide total protection. IDF soldiers and weapons will have to supplement the fence, and IDF operations within Palestinian areas will continue. (Ha'aretz)

 

Hillel Halkin on “Why the Settlements Should Stay” – even for those who disagree, a provocative and compelling argument (and it straightens out a lot of historical inaccuracies as well.  Check it out at http://opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110001769.

 

Useful References: ·  Twenty Facts about Israel ·  Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict

 

 

“Being There” -- Another new feature of the Shabbat-O-Gram

They say 99% of life is “just showing up.”  I am privileged to have the chance to see the power of a simple visit during my regular rounds of the hospital and other places, but “Being there” is mitzvah anyone can fulfill.  I went to visit David Jaffe at the Tandet Center this week. Many within the congregation know David, son of Sari and Alan, and he is admired for his incredible spirit, courage and sense of humor. He’s doing very well there right now, but it always helps to see some visitors from the outside world.  If you know David, why not stop by and pay a visit?  Of course, if you know others who could use a visit, by all means let us know!  And if we can spread the word through the Shabbat-O-Gram, then this e-mailing is serving a great purpose.

 

  Quotes of the Week:

  “The Palestinians would have in the West Bank an area that was contiguous. Those who say there were cantons—completely untrue…His [Arafat’s] negotiators understood this was the best they were ever going to get. They wanted him to accept it. He was not prepared to...For him to end the conflict is to end himself.”—Former U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, on the peace terms presented by President Clinton to Israel and the Palestinians in December 2000 (Jerusalem Report, May 20)

 

“We are sorting out for ourselves what would be appropriate for us to say about the endgame and the best time to say something about it. What we say about the endgame is something we are truly grappling with.”—U.S. administration official, playing down reports that his government is considering a key shift in policy by publicly detailing terms for a final Middle East settlement, including a negotiating schedule for achieving an accord [Both CIA Director George Tenet and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns will arrive in the region over the weekend to push for reforms to the civil administration of the PA and its security apparatus.] (Washington Post, May 28; Wall Street Journal; Ha’aretz, May 29)

 

 

POLL: TERROR ATTACKS HAVE TEENAGERS CHANGING LIFESTYLES—(Jerusalem) Approximately two out of three Israeli teenagers have made changes to their lifestyle because of attacks by Palestinian terrorists, according to a poll released yesterday. More than half said they did not go out as often as they used to, shunning cinemas, concerts, discotheques, and cafés. Teenagers now tend to spend their time visiting friends rather than going out. An overwhelming 70% said they looked forward to playing a meaningful role in their upcoming army service, "to help improve the situation," the poll reported. The survey, conducted by the Smith Institute, questioned 400 Israelis aged 14 to 18. (Jer. Post, May 29)

 

 

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Women's discussion group was scheduled to have a meeting on June 6th.  That meeting has to be postponed and the new date has not yet been decided. 

 

MAZAL TOV to Elliot Tuckel and Kathy Cooperman, on their engagement!

 

 

ANTI-ZIONISM & ANTI-SEMITISM:CHALLENGES FACING THE JEWS IN EUROPE

 

With SHIMON STEIN Israeli Ambassador to Germany and DAVID HARRIS, The American Jewish

Committee’s National Executive Director

 Wednesday, June 5, 2002, 7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by Temple Beth El andThe American Jewish Committee

 

From our Youth Center:

 

COME ON OUT AND SEE OUR BASEBALL TEAM IN ACTION: THE BETH EL BRONCOS PLAY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT RIPPOWAM FIELD!

 

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR 2 GREAT EVENTS!! 

 

GRADES 5-12:

                                    SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

                                    DATE:   Sunday, June 9th        

                                    TIME:   leave Beth El at 9:00 am, return 9:00 pm

                                    COST: $50.00  Includes: admission to both parks (Six Flags New England & Kingdom Water Park),

                                                bus transportation, dinner & program at Temple Beth El, Springfield, MA

                                                *If you are a season pass holder, your cost is $30.00.

 

                                    FORMS & PAYMENT DUE THURSDAY, MAY 30th

                                    RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org or contact Regional Director, Marcus Fink at   (860)563-5531.

 

 

 

ALL GRADES:

                        FAMILY FUN DAY at the Bridgeport Bluefish Baseball

                                    DATE: Sunday, June 23rd

                                    COST: $15.00

                                    RSVP: to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org with your # of tickets requested by

                                    THURSDAY, MAY 30TH.

 

 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS...

                             Encampment

WHO: Entering Grades 6-12 Teens from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Regions

                                    DATES: August 20-25               

                                    WHERE: Camp Ramah in the Poconos

                                    watch your mail for more information, or contact Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

                                    2002 Senior Class: watch your mail for staff application

                                    APPLICATIONS ARE ON THERE WAY!

 

 

 

Marcie B. Gelb

Programming & Youth Coordinator

Temple Beth El

350 Roxbury Road

Stamford, CT  06902

phone      203-322-6901, ext. 324

fax           203-322-0532

e-mail                  youth@tbe.org

 

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 SHA’AR

Outreach to Young Jewish Singles

So, you’ve come to the Greater Stamford area and you are interested in the who’s who and the what’s what in the Jewish world. Well, you’ve come to the right place to find out. Through a grant provided by Michael Steinhardt, project SHA’AR was developed to provide information about and/or formulate welcoming Jewish educational, cultural and social programs that are geared to the interests of young Jewish singles. SHA’AR is your link to existing Jewish organizations in the Greater Stamford community.

SHA’AR will provide information about the existing Synagogues, so that you can find the one that fulfills your religious needs. A number of programming options will be available to fulfill your Jewish religious and educational desires. Additionally, SHA’AR can connect you to the popular Young Jewish Professionals singles group to accommodate your social interests.

Our program is unique, due to the fact that SHA’AR involves you in the development process of the project and that its coordinator is 26, single and can relate to and understand the needs of the young Jewish single.

For more information please contact Dan Rozett, Coordinator of SHA’AR, United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien.

203.321.1373 ext. 115 or dan@ujf.org

www.ujf.org

 

SHABBAT SHALOM

The Shabbat-O-Gram goes out weekly to hundreds of Beth El congregants and others. Feel free to forward it to your friends, and if you know of anyone who might wish to be included, please have them sign up at 
www.tbe.org. You can unsubscribe by contacting our office at office@tbe.org.

For more information on my synagogue, check out Beth El's Web site at www.tbe.org. To check out some previous spiritual cyber-journeys I have taken, see my book's site at www.thelordismyshepherd.com.

 

Friday, May 24, 2002

Getting To ‘Yes’ (Jewish Week)

 

(05/24/2002)
Getting To ‘Yes’
Joshua Hammerman

I am in a very precarious position at the moment. You see, I am a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan living in Cablevision-land who happens to have access to something extremely valuable: Yankees games on the YES satellite TV network. Ironically, I acquired a satellite dish a few years ago specifically to enable my children to grow up with their Sox on.

DirecTV was my only hedge against their assimilation into Yankeedom — and it has worked. Now my kids have the pleasure of suffering both from an upsurge of global anti-Semitism and from not having won the World Series since 1918.

For me, this is a classic win-win. If the Yankees lose, the Sox gain ground. If the Yankees win, their diehard supporters suffer from not being able to watch them.

But I’ve come to realize that it’s not just Yankee fans who have been trying desperately to get to YES recently.

It’s been a very depressing year for all of us, a year when affirmation has seemed a distant dream.

Golda Meir once said: “Pessimism is a luxury a Jew cannot allow himself.”

We need, so desperately, to get to the kind of “Yes” that comes from deep within the soul, one that can overcome all the little things that get in the way, and the big things too. We need a “Yes” embedded in profound faith; a “Yes” that is embodied by the liturgical response “Amen.”

Amen appears 30 times in the Bible, mostly in formulaic endorsements of blessings, curses and oaths. In our liturgy, the word almost always comes as a response to hearing a blessing recited.

The custom of responding with “Amen” developed centuries before Gutenberg, when only the prayer leader had the written words in front of him, so the rest of the congregation had one chance only to state, unequivocally, that it endorsed every word spoken, by saying “Amen.”

Jewish legend stresses the great religious value of responding “Amen,” saying it prolongs life and promotes forgiveness from sin. Even God nods “Amen” to the blessings offered up by mortals.

“Whoever says ‘Amen’ with all his strength,” said the rabbis, “to that person the Gates of Paradise will be opened.” That’s what we need — an “Amen” that forces open the Gates of Paradise.

When we say “Amen” to a blessing, we are affirming that there is a direction to history, a foundation for morality and a purpose for Jewish peoplehood. We are saying that miracles do happen if we work in partnership with God. We are signing on to all those things, we are sealing the deal, and we’re even toasting the agreement.

We are getting to “Yes.”

By saying “Amen” we are suspending some of our doubts and laying our cynicism and fatalism aside in order to be full participants in the cosmic experiment known as the Jewish people. We are taking a leap of faith. Every “Amen” is one more “Yes” to life that can counteract all the negativity that we hear out there. It’s a “Yes” to being human, a “Yes” to cherishing every moment, every encounter, every morsel that we eat. It is a “Yes” to seeing all of life as a blessing. When we adopt this “Amen” mentality, we can begin to turn away from all that holds us down and really enjoy our few, fleeting days of life.

And now, the cry of our generation, our most sacred obligation of the moment, is for each of us to stand up unabashedly and say “Yes” in solidarity with Israel and against terror. We owe it to America. We owe it to Israel, to ourselves and our children, to the world.

But we have a problem. Judaism is a glass-half-full religion. Unfortunately, however, most Jews are glass-half-empty people, weighed down by our glass-mostly-empty recent history. Take a look at a recent American Jewish Committee survey of American Jews. Only 9 percent of those surveyed think anti-Semitism will decline over the next five years. OK, given how things are in the world right now, that’s understandable.

But look at this: fully 40 percent actually disagreed with the statement, “Virtually all positions of influence in the United States are open to Jews.” This survey was conducted exactly one year after an identifiably Jewish individual nearly became vice president. How soon we forget. And this pessimism appears at a time when, according to the Wall Street Journal, high-ranking colleges are fighting to recruit more Jewish students to their campuses.

Abba Eban called us the people who could “never take ‘yes’ for an answer.” The Torah and the Jewish people seem to be the worst mismatch since, well, the Red Sox and the Yankees. Our tradition has provided us with an eternal hook-up to the YES network, yet far too few have subscribed.

We get another chance to do that now. Having just ascended to Sinai on Shavuot, we can’t allow ourselves to wallow in pessimism and self-pity. Heck, even the Red Sox have a shot at winning it all this year. If they can do it, surely anything is possible. Neither Cablevision nor Arafat should keep any of us from getting to YES this year. As the rooters of that other New York team used to say, “You Gotta Believe.” n

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Conn., can be reached at rabbi@tbe.org. His new book, “thelordismyshepherd.com: Seeking God in Cyberspace” can be previewed on-line at www.thelordismyshepherd.com.

Friday, May 17, 2002

Shabbat (and Shavuot)-O-Gram for May 17-18, Sivan 6-7, 5762

  Shabbat (and Shavuot)-O-Gram for May 17-18, Sivan 6-7, 5762

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

 

The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is http://www.tbe.org/sog/020517.htm. The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions. Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-o-Gram at www.tbe.org. If you wish to unsubscribe, contact office@tbe.org.

 

SHABBAT SHALOM, and Happy Shavuot, and Mazal Tov to our 12 Adult B'not Mitzvah!

 

 

 

JUST THE FACTS: Services and Such (N.B. 7 PM Fri night, outdoors)

 

Friday Night: Candles: 7:48: PM

Shabbat and Shavuot Ma'ariv service: 7:00 PM, OUTDOORS (weather permitting -- dress is casual).

Tot Shabbat (Shavuot) Service: 7:15 PM (in the lobby)

Shabbat Morning (Second Day of Shavuot): Adult B'not Mitzvah as well as Yizkor service.

P'sukey d'zimra (psalms and meditations) 9:15 and Shacharit: 9:30

Children's Services: 10:30, in the chapel (grades 3 - 6) and downstairs in the Kindergarten room for younger grades. This week's jr. cong. is hosted by grade 5

MAZAL TOV -- to all our B'not Mitzvah!

Morning Minyan: Daily at 7:30, Sundays at 9:00

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Spiritual Journey on the Web:

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REQUIRED READING AND ACTION ITEMS

 

ISRAEL AND THE WAR ON TERORRISM

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/krauthammercharles/A17468-2002May14.html -- Krauthammer on why Sharon's tactics have worked

Summit of Evil
"Leaders of al Qaeda, militant Palestinian groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and a number of other groups linked to terror held a summit in Lebanon in late March," ABC News reports. "At the Lebanon meeting, the groups discussed tactics and the possibility of an unprecedented level of joint activity, U.S. officials said--including a possible new round of attacks against America, Great Britain, and other targets."

If this report is accurate, it should silence once and for all anyone who claims that Israel's war on terror is somehow less legitimate than America's. But it probably won't.

 

 

 

 Quote of the Week:

  

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Mazal Tov to Alix and David Eben, on the birth of Sydney Rachel. Also, Mazal Tov the grandparents, Joe and Barbara Field

 

From our Youth Center:

 

 

KADIMA (Grades 6-8) BBQ & Softball Game at the Stamford JCC

Wednesday, May 29th 3:30-5:30 pm

$7 for JCC members, $10 for non-memebers, Drop-ins at $3

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

8th Graders & USY (Grades 9-12)

Thursday, May 23rd FREE EVENT!! FREE FOOD!!

Final Lounge Night

6-8/8:30 pm

come for pizza, snacks & movie

also...get info on upcoming events as when as info on next year's calendar of events

CALLING ALL LEADERS... we will be discussing the 2002-2003 chapter board

*final event forms due to Marcie by this event*

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

GRADES 5-12: SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

Sunday, June 9th leave Beth El at 9:00 am, return 9:00 pm

$50.00 Includes: admission to both parks (Six Flags New England & Kingdom Water Park),

bus transportation, dinner & program at Temple Beth El, Springfield, MA

*If you are a season pass holder, your cost is $30.00.

FORMS & PAYMENT DUE THURSDAY, MAY 23rd

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

FAMILY FUN DAY - ALL GRADES: Bridgeport Bluefish Game

Sunday, June 23rd

$15.00

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org with your # of tickets requested by

Monday, May 27th.

 

Entering Grades 6-12: Encampment

August 20-25 Camp Ramah in the Poconos

watch your mail for more information, or contact Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

2002 Senior Class: watch your mail for staff application

 

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Friday Night Outdoor Services

weather permitting (otherwise we'll be indoors, but still at 7:00),

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 SHA’AR

Outreach to Young Jewish Singles

So, you’ve come to the Greater Stamford area and you are interested in the who’s who and the what’s what in the Jewish world. Well, you’ve come to the right place to find out. Through a grant provided by Michael Steinhardt, project SHA’AR was developed to provide information about and/or formulate welcoming Jewish educational, cultural and social programs that are geared to the interests of young Jewish singles. SHA’AR is your link to existing Jewish organizations in the Greater Stamford community.

SHA’AR will provide information about the existing Synagogues, so that you can find the one that fulfills your religious needs. A number of programming options will be available to fulfill your Jewish religious and educational desires. Additionally, SHA’AR can connect you to the popular Young Jewish Professionals singles group to accommodate your social interests.

Our program is unique, due to the fact that SHA’AR involves you in the development process of the project and that its coordinator is 26, single and can relate to and understand the needs of the young Jewish single.

For more information please contact Dan Rozett, Coordinator of SHA’AR, United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien.

203.321.1373 ext. 115 or dan@ujf.org

www.ujf.org

 

SHABBAT SHALOM

The Shabbat-O-Gram goes out weekly to hundreds of Beth El congregants and others. Feel free to forward it to your friends, and if you know of anyone who might wish to be included, please have them sign up at www.tbe.org. You can unsubscribe by contacting our office at office@tbe.org.

For more information on my synagogue, check out Beth El's Web site at www.tbe.org. To check out some previous spiritual cyber-journeys I have taken, see my book's site at www.thelordismyshepherd.com.

 

Shabbat (and Shavuot)-O-Gram for May 17-18, Sivan 6-7, 5762

  Shabbat (and Shavuot)-O-Gram for May 17-18, Sivan 6-7, 5762

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

 

The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is http://www.tbe.org/sog/020517.htm. The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions. Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-o-Gram at www.tbe.org. If you wish to unsubscribe, contact office@tbe.org.

 

SHABBAT SHALOM, and Happy Shavuot, and Mazal Tov to our 12 Adult B'not Mitzvah!

 

 

 

JUST THE FACTS: Services and Such (N.B. 7 PM Fri night, outdoors)

 

Friday Night: Candles: 7:48: PM

Shabbat and Shavuot Ma'ariv service: 7:00 PM, OUTDOORS (weather permitting -- dress is casual).

Tot Shabbat (Shavuot) Service: 7:15 PM (in the lobby)

Shabbat Morning (Second Day of Shavuot): Adult B'not Mitzvah as well as Yizkor service.

P'sukey d'zimra (psalms and meditations) 9:15 and Shacharit: 9:30

Children's Services: 10:30, in the chapel (grades 3 - 6) and downstairs in the Kindergarten room for younger grades. This week's jr. cong. is hosted by grade 5

MAZAL TOV -- to all our B'not Mitzvah!

Morning Minyan: Daily at 7:30, Sundays at 9:00

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Spiritual Journey on the Web: Downloading Torah from Sinai

Torah is a Verb

It is hardly news at this point that there are surprising parallels between the notion of divine revelation as understood in Jewish tradition and how we retrieve information on the Internet.  But as we approach Shavuot, the festival of the "giving" of the Torah, there is no better time to look at some of the ways Torah is shared on the Web.  

Years ago, Leonard Fein wrote a classic article about Reform Judaism, "Reform is a Verb."  In the same manner, Torah is more a verb than a noun for Jews.  We do Torah.  To understand that is to understand Judaism.   Those who think of the Torah as an object are those most likely to have stopped their Jewish education at age 13.  "Torah" is the lifelong act of gleaning meaning and wisdom from our sacred sources, and then in turn injecting new life into those sources.  It is an interactive, life-giving experience, best done while in networking mode (traditionally called "hevruta").

So how are people "doing" Torah online this Shavuot?  We can begin with Rabbi Barry Lerner’s Shavuot downloads (html or Adobe), at http://shamash.org/holidays/shavuot/.   A wealth of materials can be found there.  Or, how about CLAL’s experiment in distance pluralism, found at  http://www.shavuot.org, their "National Unity Shavuot Web site."  So, let’s say you can’t make it to a late-night Torah-thon at your local synagogue (ours will be in Greenwich with Temple Shalom) on Sunday night; simply click on this and voila, Mount Sinai will be staring right back at you.   You can study the texts presented and post your comments.  Some of the texts they’ve selected are extremely provocative.  Here’s one, from the Zohar:

Once the world was created, it could not have been sustained had it not occurred to the Divine Will to create human beings to engage in the study of Torah. For just as God looked into the Torah and created the world, humans look into it and sustain the world. Zohar 161 a-b

Talk about the Torah being a verb!  Here it’s the Mother of all Verbs: Creation.  Doing Torah is not only what sustains our people, it’s what sustains our world.

Taking Jewish Learning Seriously

There’s lots of ways to do Torah online.  One is through distance learning.  Full, accredited Jewish studies classes can be found at many sites, including JTS (http://courses.jtsa.edu/registration/), Hebrew College of Boston (http://www.hebrewcollege.edu/online/index.shtml) and the Jewish University in Cyberspace (J.U.I.C.E.) at http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/juice/index.html, and Bar Ilan University, at http://www.bar-ilan.edu/courses.html.  A complete listing of places to go can be found at http://www.jesna.org/jeet/distance.htm.   If you are at all interested in Jewish Education, that JESNA page is a must-bookmark site, along with http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/links/toptorares.html, the World Zionist Organization’s "A Touch of Torah: Web sites to Teach and Learn." For hard-core graduate level studies, find more at http://www.gradschools.com/listings/distance/jewish_distance.html, but beware, you’ll find some Messianic Jewish offerings there (it shows us what we’re up against).

Shavuot and Zionism

Simply learning ABOUT the festival of the giving of the Torah is a great way to be "doing Torah,"  especially this weekend.  http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/festivls/index.html literally maps out the Jewish festivals for easy navigation.  Click on Shavuot for quick explanations of key concepts, emphasizing the multi-layered nature of this festival:

"Shavuot, perhaps more than any other festival, embodies the extraordinary integration of the spiritual-religious side and the earthly-material side of the Jewish people.

The festival of Matan Torah, the Giving of the Torah, wherein the children of Israel willingly and consciously accepted a system of laws that make up the Torah, the infrastructure for their spiritual and moral existence, is also the festival that expresses the close connection with the daily life of the people who, on entering Eretz Israel,s became farmers, cultivating the soil, and completely associated with all aspects of nature, its seasons and its manifestations.

When we dwelt in our land, before the destruction of the First and the Second Temples, Shavuot was above all the festival of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Following the Exile, the emphasis for Shavuot was naturally placed on the fact that it is the festival of the giving of the Torah.

When the Jewish people returned to their land in recent generations, they returned to a natural life, working the land in their independent state. Shavuot once more became the Festival of Reaping, the festival of the fruits of our soil, the festival of flowers and greenery - and this combines well with "Hag Matan Torah.

Only in Israel can Shavuot be celebrated fully, with its entire range of meanings."

That final line is not surprising, given that the source is the Jewish Agency. 


Shavuot: Something for Everyone

Shavuot has begun to take on new meaning for all branches of Judaism.  You’ll find a gold mine of Shavuot links at http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaysh.htm and some neat audio lectures from a modern Orthodox perspective at http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaysh.htm

Shavuot has made the greatest inroads in the liberal movements, although it still is not being taken as seriously as it should.  In that way, it is the perfect Jewish match for the American Memorial Day, which has lost almost all of its meaning as a true Memorial Day (except for Reform Jews, who say Yizkor on Monday).  Between the aforementioned Ruth, the all-nighters, and the environmental, Zionist slant, this holiday is enjoying a renaissance.   A good example is http://www.jewishappleseed.org/ and its treatment of the Omer.  Also see Art Waskow’s interpretation of the Ezekiels’s vision of the chariot, a classic text of Jewish mysticsm and a haftorah for Shavuot.  It’s at http://www.shalomctr.org/html/seas06.html.

Finally, take a Shavuot quiz and send a Shavuot card.  You can find a card at http://www.bluemountain.com/eng3/shavuot/, and the quiz at http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/yreshef/pesach/shavuotquiz/shquiz.htm.

Yes, I passed the quiz.  But that doesn’t mean I know all there is to know.  We can never stop downloading Torah from Sinai.

------------------

 

REQUIRED READING AND ACTION ITEMS

 

ISRAEL AND THE WAR ON TERORRISM

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/krauthammercharles/A17468-2002May14.html -- Krauthammer on why Sharon's tactics have worked

 

 

 Quote of the Week:

  

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

 

From our Youth Center:

 

ATID (Grades K-2): Kite Making & Picnic Day

Sunday, May 19th 1:00-2:45 pm

*Parent help is needed, please sign up.

$10.00 RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

KESHER (Grades 3-5) Shabbat Scavenger Hunt & Havdalah

Saturday, May 18th 7:00-9:00 pm

$5.00 RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

KADIMA (Grades 6-8) BBQ & Softball Game at the Stamford JCC

Wednesday, May 29th 3:30-5:30 pm

$7 for JCC members, $10 for non-memebers, Drop-ins at $3

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

8th Graders & USY (Grades 9-12)

Thursday, May 23rd FREE EVENT!! FREE FOOD!!

Final Lounge Night

6-8/8:30 pm

come for pizza, snacks & movie

also...get info on upcoming events as when as info on next year's calendar of events

CALLING ALL LEADERS... we will be discussing the 2002-2003 chapter board

*final event forms due to Marcie by this event*

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

GRADES 5-12: SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

Sunday, June 9th leave Beth El at 9:00 am, return 9:00 pm

$50.00 Includes: admission to both parks (Six Flags New England & Kingdom Water Park),

bus transportation, dinner & program at Temple Beth El, Springfield, MA

*If you are a season pass holder, your cost is $30.00.

FORMS & PAYMENT DUE THURSDAY, MAY 23rd

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

 

FAMILY FUN DAY - ALL GRADES: Bridgeport Bluefish Game

Sunday, June 23rd

$15.00

RSVP to Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org with your # of tickets requested by

Monday, May 27th.

 

Entering Grades 6-12: Encampment

August 20-25 Camp Ramah in the Poconos

watch your mail for more information, or contact Marcie at 322-6901 ext.324 or e-mail youth@tbe.org

2002 Senior Class: watch your mail for staff application

 

-----------

Don't Forget to Join us for our

Adult B'not Mitzvah Service on May 18, the Second Day of Shavuot!!!

 -----------------


Don't forget…May 19 
- "Hazzan: The Musical,"

Community Event to Honor Hazzan Sidney and Sandy Rabinowitz
 -------------------

 

House-Hunting Help Needed by the Temple

The Temple needs to rent a three-bedroom apartment or house as interim housing for Cantor Deborah Jacobson and her family, until the Hazzan's Parish House becomes available. The residence will be needed beginning June 15th for three or four months. Furnished preferred but not essential. If you know of any available rental housing for the June-October period please let the Temple office know so that the Hazzan Transition Committee can follow up on it. Your help is very much appreciated.

--------------------------------------- 

 

Friday Night Outdoor Services

weather permitting (otherwise we'll be indoors, but still at 7:00),

------------------

Opening May 17th at the GARDEN THEATER
29 Isaac Street, Norwalk, CT
203-838 4504

TREMBLING BEFORE G-D
A film by Sandi Simcha DuBowski

Special event with Rabbi Steve Greenberg, Sunday, May 19th


Trembling Before G-d is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious
fundamentalism.

Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are lesbian or gay, the film portrays a group of people who
face a profound dilemma- how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that
forbid homosexuality. As the film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals- some hidden, some out- from the world's first openly gay
Orthodox rabbi, to closeted married Hasidic gays and lesbians, to those abandoned by religious families, to Orthodox lesbian high-school
sweethearts.

Trembling Before G-d is an international project with global implications that strikes at the meaning of religious identity and
tradition in a modern world. For the first time, this issue has become a live, public debate in Orthodox circles. The film is both witness and
catalyst to this historic moment. What emerges is a loving and fearless testament to faith and survival and the universal struggle to belong.

"A real eye-opener....This sensitive, passionate and beautifully made film provides an overwhelming emotional and intellectual experience. Nearly five years in the making and shot on locations encompassing half the world, DuBowski's film might be likened to an adventure in ethics both personal and political. And it's an adventure, no one, Jew or gentile, can afford to miss." - Houston Press

"Sublime, moving, and hopeful" - LA Weekly

----------------

 

Junior Choir Reunion! Friday, June 14, 2002

The Committee to Honor Hazzan & Sandy is looking for former Junior Choir singers to participate in the upcoming festivities! If your son or daughter ever participated in the Beth El Junior Choir, please call Roz Perlson (323-7328), Kathy Paseltiner (356-9735) or Carol Kalter (968-1075) to give his/her name, address and phone number.

-------------------


 

Israel and the Palestinians: What Next?

A lecture by Mitchell Kraus, former CBS News correspondent

Wed. May 22, at 1:00 PM

at the Harry Bennett Branch of the Ferguson Library

115 Vine Road

Registration recommended: call 964-1000 X292

-------------

 

 SHA’AR

Outreach to Young Jewish Singles

So, you’ve come to the Greater Stamford area and you are interested in the who’s who and the what’s what in the Jewish world. Well, you’ve come to the right place to find out. Through a grant provided by Michael Steinhardt, project SHA’AR was developed to provide information about and/or formulate welcoming Jewish educational, cultural and social programs that are geared to the interests of young Jewish singles. SHA’AR is your link to existing Jewish organizations in the Greater Stamford community.

SHA’AR will provide information about the existing Synagogues, so that you can find the one that fulfills your religious needs. A number of programming options will be available to fulfill your Jewish religious and educational desires. Additionally, SHA’AR can connect you to the popular Young Jewish Professionals singles group to accommodate your social interests.

Our program is unique, due to the fact that SHA’AR involves you in the development process of the project and that its coordinator is 26, single and can relate to and understand the needs of the young Jewish single.

For more information please contact Dan Rozett, Coordinator of SHA’AR, United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien.

203.321.1373 ext. 115 or dan@ujf.org

www.ujf.org

SHABBAT SHALOM

The Shabbat-O-Gram goes out weekly to hundreds of Beth El congregants and others. Feel free to forward it to your friends, and if you know of anyone who might wish to be included, please have them sign up at www.tbe.org. You can unsubscribe by contacting our office at office@tbe.org.

For more information on my synagogue, check out Beth El's Web site at www.tbe.org. To check out some previous spiritual cyber-journeys I have taken, see my book's site at www.thelordismyshepherd.com.