Dear Rabbi,
I understand TBE is holding its first Shabbat
service in downtown Stamford in over 40 years.
Is that true? And if so, will you
be checking out the watering holes on Bedford St after the service?
Tevye Butterfield Tigin
Dear Tigin… I mean Tevye,
It’s true that we’ll be holding our first
Shabbat service in 41 years downtown on Friday – at the Unitarian Universalist
building just across Bedford St. from the Avon.
We’ve been wanting to return to our roots for a long time. Our membership committee has been pounding
the pavement down there to let everyone know that Beth El’s back! I envision this grand “Hello Dolly” scene at
the Harmonia Gardens…. or something equally dramatic. So get there at 7 on Friday. The service will end early enough for adults
who choose to frequent the many restaurants and other gathering places down
there to do so, sort of like Jews do in Manhattan after Friday night services
on the Upper West Side. All the ingredients are in place: snow on the ground,
the coldest night imaginable, and walking out of that and into a very warm,
inviting, musical environment to celebrate with a welcoming community. They
even have a Jewish star hanging in the front of the room!
Of course there is also this thing called
Shabbat…which will preclude me from joining you afterwards…
Dear Rabbi,
Where should we park?
Remo Lucky 16
Handler
Dear Remo,
Wherever you can! That’s the one thing that makes this a little
less convenient than services up here. But give yourself a little extra
time. There are parking lots and spaces
on the street. I’ve been informed that
parking at the bank right there is not a good idea. You can also park up here at TBE, but you’ll
be lonely. There is no service here this Friday night.
Dear Rabbi,
I heard your temple will be playing my music
this Saturday night. Can I come?
P.
McCartney
Dear P
Absolutely.
But be prepared to bid on these
items. And please don’t sing the one
about Maxwell’s
Silver Hammer. It has a dark side,
mentions my name and I take it personally.
Dear Rabbi,
How about Lucy in the
Sky with Diamonds?
Dear P,
That’s OK.
I never went along with the supposed secret messages embedded in that
song. But if you are interested in
discussing the Jewish view on the legalization of Marijuana, the snowed out
session from last Tuesday has been rescheduled for Tues., Feb. 10.
Dear Rabbi,
What else is happening this weekend?
Miriam
Timbrel
Dear Miriam,
Lots.
It’s Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song, where we read of the crossing
of the Red Sea and the great Biblical song that followed. The Haftarah is the Song of Deborah
Next week is Tu B’shevat, the new year of
trees. I’ll be honored to lead a seder
for our younger grades on Sunday and on Thursday our older grades will be
having another fantastic “Top Chef” contest to celebrate. You can find some Tu b’Shevat materials here
and here. Also, this Sunday is UJF Super Sunday.
Go down to the JCC and led a hand – and don’t miss the halftime show.
And as for later, here’s some “Halacha
for Halftime” for those who prefer Talmud to Katy Perry.
Dear Rabbi,
Speaking of halftime, what’s this year’s Super
Bowl prediction, based on Jewish sources?
I need to know, because you are always right!
Shimmy
the Greek
Dear Shimmy,
I’m recusing myself this year. No not that I feel “deflated” by anything
that’s happened over the past few weeks.
I already stated
my case last week that I would take my lead from a man and family I’ve
known my whole life; and on Monday night, Robert Kraft spoke. Unless proven otherwise, his word matters to
me more than all the hot air that has inflated the airwaves these past two
weeks (though
I liked today’s scientific revelation in the NY Times) . But we’ll see.
As for the game, well, this week’s portion’s Song
of the Sea states clearly, “Horse and Rider will be thrown to the
Sea(hawks).” The horse would have been
either the Broncos or the Colts. Is the
rider Paul Revere, the original riding Patriot?
Not a good sign for the Pats. BUT… the portion’s name is Beshallach,
which sounds a lot like the name of a certain Patriots coach.
Looking at Jews in
Super Bowl history, it is noteworthy that the Patriots’ Julian Edelman has
Jewish ancestry on his father’s side. And
the NY Times chips in with the revelation that Tom Brady has
a menorah in his Boston area home, which BTW, is located down the street
from the Krafts, in my home town of Brookline.
In the Talmud (Berachot 9a) a protector is
called a “Patranos.” This clearly refers to the New England
offensive line. Also, in Hebrew, “Pitriot” are mushrooms. Go here to see
some gorgeous looking Israeli mushrooms, likely from the Hefer Valley (a
fertile strip of land between the Mediterannean sea and Green Line in Central
Israel). This is one area of the country that was redeemed by the
Jewish National Fund in the early Zionist days, and the great symbol of that
redemption, at least here, are Pitriot. And since there are three
whole pitriot in this photo, so, Patrots by three?
OK.
Here’s more proof:
Sexist implications aside, there are clear
connections between what Jews call the Patriarchs and what Americans consider
"the fathers of our country," the Patriots. Abraham planted trees,
George Washington cut one down. Samuel Adams had a biblical name. So did Isaac.
Bob Kraft's brother, incidentally, is named Avram.
The words Patriot and Patriarch both appear in
modern Hebrew, each beginning with the three-letter root peh-tet-resh. That
root yields some interesting words, like "Pehter Rechem," the
first born of the womb," for livestock and humans, based on the Passover
story and the 10th Plague. I'm not sure about that plague, but
I can see the Pats' pass rush reminding Seattle of a few of the others. Then
there's the word "Patur," which means "exempt" or
"free." It's a rabbinic concept often employed in halachic
discussions, especially in deciding who might be exempt from certain ritual
obligations. Interestingly, in modern Hebrew a "pehter" is
also a "trigger action," indicating that the Pats will be especially
effective in the shotgun, and the verb derivative "hiftir"
means "to sack." Clearly, their pass rush will be ferocious. Finally,
"niftar," the passive form of the root, means to die. I'm not
sure what to make of that.
But whichever team wins, the other will be
saying what parents have said to their B'nai Mitzvah children for centuries,
"Baruch shep'tarani," which means, "thank God I'm not
longer going to have to deal with your shenanigans, essentially, and in modern
Hebrew, "Good Riddance." All from the root peh-tet-resh. Is that enough for you, Shimmy?
Dear Rabbi,
Yes. But
what’s on TBE’s schedule for next week?
Dear Shimmy,
Glad you asked.
We’ll be hearing from Scholar in Residence, rabbi and noted author
Jeffrey Salkin. See the schedule below.
And have a Super Shabbat!
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman