This Labor Day weekend we
celebrate the end of a glorious summer (weather-wise) by holding services
outdoors, camp-style, both Friday night and Shabbat morning. On Friday we’ll be at that spot just outside
the sanctuary windows – well lit, as the service will just about at
sunset. But as it gets darer and darker,
signaling the end of summer, we’ll paraphrase the classic Dylan
Thomas poem as we (p)rage against the dying of the light – inasmuch as
prayer can be a passionate - if not exactly raging – affirmation of life). And
on Shabbat morning we’ll shift to our shaded location just across from the
Mitzvah Garden (which looks more like an enchanted Mitzvah Forest right
now!). Dress is casual. If you are around, join us for both! We’ll have enough shade if it gets warm – and
the service will be quick. For the Torah
discussion tomorrow, I’ll be focusing on the laws of warfare, following a
tumultuous summer and in the hopes that Israel and her neighbors will now see a
period of prolonged quiet. And BTW,
morning minyan Sunday AND Monday will be at 9.
·
I would be remiss if I were not to comment on the passing of Arthur
White, whose funeral will take place here Sunday at 11. Arthur too raged against the dying of the
light. He never gave in to notions of
decline or death and in fact, at the age of 90, (a very young 90) was at his
desk working to repair the world right up until he took ill last week. He was a leader and inspiration for all of
us, and countless lives were changed for the better because of his efforts. His
life was epic, and his Wikipedia
page only begins to describe the impact he had. We will miss him. I will miss him.
·
During Elul and the High Holidays, we seek inspiration from all those
who have departed. A new way we can do
that this year is to contribute a blurb about your loved one to our Book of
Remembrance. Just a paragraph – a
few lines to tell us what that person we’ll be recalling on Yom Kippur meant to
you and to others. I’ll make it easy for
you: just click “reply” and send it to me.
Take a few minutes over the weekend.
In order to be included in our Book of Remembrance, we need to get these
in by September 10!
·
We also seek inspiration from those who still walk this earth. Lisa Gittelman Udi and I are planning another
exciting series of “This American Jewish Life” speakers for our Friday
night and Shabbat morning services. This is where congregants share their
stories, focusing on key challenges and traumas, crossroad decisions or acts of
kindness and love have impacted our spiritual growth. We’ve had some
incredible ones thus far. Please let
me or Lisa know if you would like to share your personal journey with us this
year.
·
Speaking of journeys, our Israel trip, as you know, was
postponed to next summer. Not wanting
to waste a single minute, we already have booked hotels and have put together a
preliminary itinerary. You
can download it here. A number of
those who had been planning to go with us this summer have already indicated a
desire to come with us next summer. We
have room for others. Please give it
some serious thought and let me know if you are interested. I know people plan summers well in advance
because camp and vacation commitments need to be made. My feeling is that the horrific experiences
of this summer will make it far more likely that next summer will be
peaceful. In any event, Israel tourism
took a hit because of the conflict, and this is the time to make those plans to
visit our extraordinary, precious homeland.
Please give it consideration.
·
I’ve been getting some nice feedback to the Judaism’s
Top 40 series that I began this week, with the goal of increasing Jewish
literacy and connecting us to key concepts and values during this month of soul
searching. Follow the countdown each day
when you see it pop up in your email.
·
Finally, next week we’ll be welcoming Cantor Magda Fishman and her
family to our community. I’ve been
speaking to her this week, and she is thrilled to be here and can’t wait to
begin. Next
Friday we’ll be welcoming them with a special reception at the conclusion of
her first service. We also will
celebrate not one but TWO b’nai mitzvah next Shabbat. I hope you can join us.
And last but not least, I
spoke at our Shabbat Experience last week (amazing service – 200 plus people –
thank you Beth Styles!) about my visit to Iceland, an island that is
constantly churning, bubbling smoldering, creating and destroying, expanding,
ever alive and always raging against the night.
And the people aren’t so bad either.
We left just as the Bardabunga volcano was set
to erupt. There were literally
thousands of earthquakes while we were there.
We touched the ash that left millions of Europeans stranded in
2010. We saw the biggest waterfall in
Europe, some of the grandest glaciers (yes, shrinking), and actually could see
the fissure where the European and North American tectonic
plates meet – or, I should say, met, because they are slowly drifting
apart. The entire country is heated by
the hot springs that are everywhere – we swam in the legendary Blue Lagoon
(sorry, no photos of me), which was like jumping into a soothing hot bath.
And we descended 120
meters into a dormant volcano. They say
it’s the only place on earth where you can do that. You can see the experience in detail in this
video (not mine, but the same volcano) and about
17 minutes into this BBC documentary.
I can’t even begin to describe what it was like being inside the volcano
– and being in Iceland. Ah yes, if I
couldn’t be in Israel, why not go to a place that’s about to blow up!
Since pictures are worth lots
more than words, below are a few that I took of Iceland’s ancient, churning
terrain.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy
Labor Day.
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
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