Thursday, May 27, 2021

In This Moment, May 21 - Tulsa and Kishinev, Are Cicadas Kosher? Memorial Day

In This Moment
The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored
by Hayley and Josh Levine in honor of their son, Wesley,
becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Memorial Day.


ZOOM Recorded Highlights from the past week...

Annual Meeting Shtisel Discussion
TBE Annual Meeting 2021
TBE Discussion of "Shtisel"
Mazal Tov to Our Annual Meeting Prize Winners!
Scenes from Jordan Alexander's Bar Mitzvah. See more photos and read his D'var Torah here.

Shabbat Shalom!

As we reach Memorial Day weekend, we are especially mindful this year of the supreme sacrifices made by those who fought to defend freedom and democracy here and around the world. As I have in prior years on Memorial Day weekend, I share with you the words of Rabbi Roland Gittlesohn  in a speech delivered at the dedication of the 5th marine Cemetery on Iwo Jima, in March 1945. It has been called one of the great battlefield sermons to come out of World War Two. 
 
Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and whites, rich men and poor . . . together. Here are Protestants, Catholics, and Jews together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy ...
 
Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this, then, as our solemn duty, sacred duty do we the living now dedicate ourselves: to the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of white men and Negroes alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid the price ... 

We here solemnly swear that this shall not be in vain. Out of this and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come, we promise, the birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.

Those sacrifices can not be allowed to have been made in vain. But that requires our vigilance. We need to fight hate and discrimination wherever we find it. No blind spots are allowed. That might mean being critical of our own country once in a while, and fighting hard for police reform, voting rights and a bipartisan review of one of the greatest crimes committed against our democracy, on January 6. it might also mean assisting Israel, in the wake of this month's destructive and pointless war, to address both the external threat of the hateful terror group Hamas and the strains of hatred and mistrust that threaten to tear the fabric of Israeli society apart from within. And it now also means addressing head-on the spike (an 80 percent increase is not an "uptick") in anti-Semitism in the US. Memorial Day will bring with it some welcome relief from Covid hibernation for many of us, as more and more are fully vaccinated; but it also is a sobering time for us, as Americans and as Jews. Sobering yes, but precisely NOT the time to go back into hiding. That's why I attended the anti-anti-Semitism rally on Monday. Now is the time to show special pride in being Jewish and to demonstrate it in public. Now is the time to show our love for America and for Israel, despite our concerns, and even because of them.

Here is some suggested reading material, from many vantage points, for your holiday weekend:


In the most striking example of this, on the evening of May 19, a number of men dressed in black and waving Palestinian flags drove up to a restaurant to carry out a premeditated attack on a group of Jewish diners on La Cienaga Boulevard, at the heart of Jewish Los Angeles.These have also included brazen and brutal attacks in broad daylight in a number of major American cities. Aside from the attack in L.A., there were similar ones on the streets of South Florida, synagogues vandalized in Tucson, Arizona, and Skokie, Illinois, and we have seen repeated attacks in New York including a widely seen video of a Jewish man beaten by a gang in broad daylight — in Times Square. In Brooklyn over the weekend three men allegedly drove around Borough Park harassing and assaulting Jewish individuals, including teenagers. They yelled antisemitic slurs as well as “free Palestine,” and kicked a synagogue’s doors.




Your kids’ questions on Israel and Gaza, answered – The Forward - Here's one of the answers provided by Jodi Rudoren of the Forward:

How can I support Palestine without contradicting my beliefs that Israel should exist? I really don’t think we have to choose. We can support Israel’s right to exist and criticize its government’s treatment of Palestinians — just like we believe in the United States but might think the way it treats immigrants or poor people is unfair.

Israel, the world’s only Jewish-majority country, is a subject of special concern to many Jews in the United States. Caring about Israel is “essential” to what being Jewish means to 45% of U.S. Jewish adults, and an additional 37% say it is “important, but not essential,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey that was fielded from Nov. 19, 2019, to June 3, 2020 – well before the latest surge of violence in the region. Just 16% of U.S. Jewish adults say that caring about Israel is “not important” to their Jewish identity.
However, the survey found that Jewish Americans – much like the U.S. public overall – also hold widely differing views on Israel and its political leadership.

The Americanization of the Israeli-Palestinian Debate - The Atlantic - Many Americans are now using their image of home to construct their image of Israel. Indeed, for some on the progressive left, the conflict between Jews and Muslims 6,000 miles east of Washington, D.C., has become jumbled up with American ideas about race.



Cicada Time

Eric Carle, writer and illustrator who gave life to ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar,’ died this week at 91Carle is the one who introduced me to the word "cicada." And this week, in one of the wonders of nature, the 17-year cycle renewed itself not far from here, as billions of cicadas emerge to sing their love song - loud! For those who are wondering, while some forms of locusts are kosher (and apparently popular in some parts of the Jewish world)cicadas are definitively not kosher. But of course there is a Jewish backstory (isn't there always?) Some compare the cicada’s “singing” to the joyful celebration of their long overdue freedom and liberation of the Israelites upon leaving Egypt. But unlike that chorus (and like the choruses in Orthodox synagogues) the cicada choir is all male.

Click on the photo below to listen to them....
Tulsa and Kishinev


This week marks 100 years since the infamous Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 - June 1, 1921. As a student of Jewish history, I find it interesting to look at the parallels between this debacle and a similar event in recent Jewish history, the first Kishinev pogrom in 1903, an often overlooked event that, in the eyes of some scholars, transformed Jewish history.

What began as a disorganized romp of rowdy teenagers evolved into something much more destructive. In the end, 49 Jews were killed, an untold number of Jewish women were raped, and 1,500 Jewish homes were damaged. The destruction in Tulsa was comparable. In the wake of the violence, 35 city blocks lay in charred ruins, more than 800 people were treated for injuries and contemporary reports of deaths began at 36. Historians now believe as many as 300 people may have died, brutally butchered by the mob.

The New York Times account of Kishinev states that on Easter Sunday, as people left their churches:

The mob was led by priests, and the general cry, "Kill the Jews", was taken-up all over the city. The Jews were taken wholly unaware and were slaughtered like sheep. The dead number 120 and the injured about 500. The scenes of horror attending this massacre are beyond description. Babes were literally torn to pieces by the frenzied and bloodthirsty mob. The local police made no attempt to check the reign of terror. At sunset the streets were piled with corpses and wounded. Those who could make their escape fled in terror, and the city is now practically deserted of Jews.

The sheer destruction only tells a small part of the story, however. In both cases, for Tulsa and Kishinev, the causes were eerily similar and the long-term psychological and historical impacts were profound.

The Tulsa Massacre resulted from the growing resentment of whites at the relative prosperity achieved by Blacks, especially in the Greenwood section of the city, also known as "Black Wall Street." (See The New York Times' interactive exhibit). But the spark - the pretext - involved two teenagers in an elevator in the Drexel building in downtown Tulsa and morphed into a sexual assault accusation.

According to the Times, accounts vary about what happened between Dick Rowland, 19, a young Black shoe shiner, and Sarah Page, 17, a white elevator operator. The Times continues:

One common theory suggests Mr. Rowland tripped and grabbed onto the arm of Ms. Page while trying to catch his fall. She screamed, and he ran away, according to the commission reportThe next day, Mr. Rowland was arrested and jailed in the Tulsa County Courthouse. By that afternoon, The Tulsa Tribune published a front-page news story with the headline “Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator,” which essentially mobilized a lynch mob that showed up at the courthouse.

The pretext for the Kishinev massacre was similar. When a Ukrainian boy, Mikhail Rybachenko, was found murdered in the town of Dubăsari, about 40 km (25 mi) miles north of Kishinev, and a girl who committed suicide by poisoning herself was declared dead in a Jewish hospital, the Bessarabetz paper insinuated that both children had been murdered by the Jewish community for the purpose of using their blood in the preparation of matzah for Passover.

In both cases, the hated "other" is accused of harming innocent minors, thereby igniting mob violence. Such accusations have found their way into current discourse as well - which is one reason why the incendiary (and false) insinuation that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza evoked that anti-Semitic trope, and predictably, mob violence followed.

The destruction of Kishinev paled in comparison to the Holocaust that would follow, but it gave Jews a clue of what was to come - and that led many to decide to embark to America and to Palestine. They understood that there was no future for them in Russia.

Bialik's poem chided Jews for their passivity.

And all have eyes that are the eyes of slaves,
Slaves flogged before their masters;
And each one begs, and each one craves:

Those martyred bones that issue from your bags, And sing, with raucous voice, your pauper's ditty! So will you conjure up the pity of the nations, And so their sympathy implore. For you are now as you have been of yore And as you stretched your hand So will you stretch it, And as you have been wretched So are you wretched!

The Tulsa Massacre ripped from the Black community their hard-earned dignity, and with Jim Crow in ascent, it would be many decades before they would have a chance to regain it. For Jews and Blacks, then, these seminal episodes were designed to crush their spirits along with their bones, and for the oppressors, it was "mission accomplished."

But one hundred years later, a different story is being written. Yes, Jews, dispirited, left Russia en masse. But in doing so, millions of refugees and their descendants saved themselves from the genocide that would follow; and those who went to Palestine forged the foundation of the nascent Jewish State. After Kishinev, Theodore Herzl immediately embarked upon his plan to resettle the Jewish people in Uganda. That scheme was thankfully rejected (the falafel is lousy there), but it shows how profound was the impact of this pogrom in convincing Jews that they could no longer rely on God to save them, and that their future was elsewhere. While some stayed in Russia and enlisted in the fight against the Czars, others formed self defense groups in Palestine, which later led to the establishment of the Hagana. So the net result of Kishinev, as interpreted by Bialik, was one Jewish state defended by the most powerful army in the Middle East, and millions of living Jews in America (including me and possibly you) whose familiy would otherwise have been snuffed out a generation later. Even Tevye owes his fictitious life to the shock of Kishinev.

And for Blacks, the story of Tulsa is also still being written, in the growing dignity of this moment, with a Black Vice President, a reasonable chance at police reform, hope for renewed voting rights and true equality. We're not there yet - far from it - and our actions over the coming months will tell the tale.

The Kishinev pogrom was that moment when Jews turned away from "thoughts and prayer" passivity and moved decisively to action. At least some did, enough to make a difference. Those who came to these golden shores found a country that was not quite ready to accept them, but at least they could survive with a modicum of dignity and the possibility of a future for their kids. For the Black community of Tulsa, a brighter future beckons, but first they've got to reclaim their past.

And so, the mass graves of Tulsa are being exhumed, at long last, so there can be an overdue accounting.

Meanwhile, the graves of Kishinev are forgotten, tilting, bowed and burdened like the ancient, exhausted ancestors who lived and died there - while their youth went on to be reborn, as Bialik wrote in another of his famous poems, in distant, wondrous lands.
Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Temple Beth El
350 Roxbury Road
Stamford, Connecticut 06902
203-322-6901 | www.tbe.org
  
A Conservative, Inclusive, Spiritual Community

Sunday, May 23, 2021

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Jordan Alexander on Naso

 

Jordan’s D’var Torah

Shabbat Shalom!


Those of you who know me know that I’ve always been interested in science. Everything from astronomy to technology to stories of science fiction.  My interest in astronomy began at camp a few years ago – Camp is a place where you can really see the stars. But I can also see them at home, where I have a telescope looking out from my room -- and just last month, I saw the super moon.  


Speaking of super, I’m also a big fan of Marvel and DC and all their characters. All of this has helped me to understand the importance of imagination - looking out at the stars and envisioning distant worlds, whether real or fictional.  And the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know. 


So these interests, along with other intellectual pursuits that I have – I love to read – teach me that knowledge is important.  But only if it leads to wisdom.  


How would I define wisdom?  It’s the ability to take knowledge and apply it to do good in the world – and wisdom also helps us to realize how much we don’t understand.  To have wisdom, you need a lot of humility.


Which brings me to my Torah and haftarah portions and the lessons of the Nazerite.  The Nazerite was a person who took a vow to live a life of dedication to God.  This required extraordinary discipline, as the Nazeriteavoided all wine and even simple grape products and did not cut his hair.  The key to the Nazerite was the need to control impulse.


The most famous Nazerite in history was Samson, who, despite being a Nazerite, due to an oath made by his mother in my haftarah, he had very little self-control and almost humility.  


He was a real biblical superhero – almost like a DC or Marvel hero – but although he was super strong and very smart, he was not wise  If he did any good, it was by accident.  For example, he ripped a lion in half with his bare hands.  Who knew this stuff was in the Bible?


He also tormented the Philistines, making their lives so miserable that they were determined to find his weakness.  His weakness was that was easily lured into temptation, so it was easy for Delilah to trick him into revealing that the key to his strength was his long hair.  She cut it and he lost his strength, but as he was dying, he managed to take lots of Philistines with him.


One might say that was a good thing, since the Philistines were the enemy, but Samson is real proof that there is a big difference between being smart, which he was, and strong, which he was, and being wise and heroic, which he was not.


One other interesting fact: the name Samson comes from the word “Shemesh,” meaning sun, and Delilah means “from the night.”  So this story that begins with my haftarah seems to have cosmic implications.  It takes an adventure involving a few people and turns it into something that has a universal theme and significance.  


So my portion relates right back to my interests in what’s up in the sky above us.


For my mitzvah project, I wanted to share my love of books with children, so I held a book drive to donate books to Darien Book Aid.  We collected so many that we lost count.  These books will be sent around the world by the Red Cross.


See the full Zoom service recording 

Click on photos to enlarge
















Friday, May 21, 2021

In This Moment, May 21 - What Now for Israel? The Nazirite and Other Crazy Jews, Starfish Connection, 7th Grade Wedding Photos

 


In This Moment

The Shabbat-O-Gram is sponsored by Natalie and Jeffrey Alexander in honor of their son, Jordan, becoming a Bar Mitzvah

Highlights from the past week...
Sisterhood Shabbat (click for photos) Second Day of Shavuot
Sisterhood Shabbat
Shavuot, Day 2, 2021
Our Seventh Grade Wedding took place in Emmet's Playground. Mazal tov to all the participants!
Shabbat Shalom

Please note that Kabbalat Shabbat services this evening will be OUTDOORS, at 6 PM. There is still plenty of room. Mazal tov to Jordan Alexander and his family as he becomes Bar Mitzvah this weekend. And hey, Shtisel fans, join Rabbinic Pastor David Daniel Klipper and me for a spirited discussion of the show that has become a mega-hit here in America - this Tuesday at 7 PM. Click here for the flyer and Zoom information.

Pure Joy and the In-Your-Face God

I went looking for pure joy the other day…. Where do you find pure joy?
I Googled pure joy – and clicked on images. The first several photos were of dogs – rolling in the dirt, catching a Frisbee… there was a horse being fed an apple. Children – on swings; or in a sunny field with arms extended in the air.

Dogs AND children – eating an ice cream together. 

The ingredients of pure joy would seem to be animals, children, sunny days in the fields and, ice cream.

What’s not there? Human adults. Meals. Commuting. Work. 

When in our lives have we experienced pure joy?

This week’s portion of Naso defines, in a Jewish sense, what pure joy is all about. To find out what I mean, you'll just have to come to services this evening, in person or online.

Last Shabbat, I spoke of the human side of the current conflict, which although tragic can also be heartwarming and a source of hope. I read - and commend to you - the narrative, "Pastrami" by Etgar Keret, written during a prior outbreak but no less relevant now. I'll share a heartwarming story from this conflict tonight.

So now there is a ceasefire, thankfully. Let's hope it holds and that something constructive can come of it. This has been an extremely destructive few weeks, on a whole number of levels: including the human toll in deaths and injuries, the toll on Israel's fragile Arab-Jewish social fabric and already frayed relations among Jews everywhere, including here, and the psychological toll on all of us. "Our Man in Tel Aviv," Pinchas Gross, who happened to be visiting when the rockets started to fall, sends these photos from Tel Aviv this morning, as the ceasefire took hold, along with these comments:

Ceasefire in Israel!  After 11 days of being under a continuous missile attack and internal terror! People flocked to the beaches, coffee shops and the outside- just to be away from the bomb shelters and "safe rooms"! For someone who does not live in Israel on a permanent basis, I was deeply impressed by the resilience of the people and the unbelievable sense of patriotism and conviction of every single person, that we fight for the very existence of the Jewish State! I must say, that during these 11 days of being under fire, my political views have shifted quite a bit, and I better understand the majority in Israel, who some people label as being "Extremists/ Nationalist". I think that they are just led by their very basic human instinct to live as free people in their Jewish homeland." Shabbat Shalom!

What Now?

I've often shared the reflections of old friend Marc Schulman, who writes from Israel and often appears on media there and here. I find Marc's post cease-fire comments balanced, level-headed and sobering and worth sharing excerpts belowSee his full report online.

See also these articles:



Marc Schulman's posting:

The eleven-day war with Gaza is over. Foreign airlines will shortly resume their flights to Ben Gurion. Last night, despite the fear Hamas, would launch a last-minute rocket attack against Tel Aviv, the bars and restaurants were packed. People knew it was over. Both sides had accomplished what they wanted in the first days. After that, it was just needless suffering on both sides. Hamas had shown itself the “Defender to Jerusalem,” and Netanyahu saved himself the cost of moving vans to exit out of Balfour. Once again, Netanyahu and Hamas continue their symbiotic relationship, which began during the period around the Oslo Accord signing; both opposing the agreement but for very different reasons.

Hamas spent 11 days firing an enormous number of rockets at Israel (over 4,300). It managed to limit operations at Ben Gurion airport and put a dent in Tel Aviv’s nightlife. For residents of the region around Gaza, these 11 days have been a living hell. But thanks to Iron Dome, and the fact residents closely followed instructions, the cost of human lives was very low. The clear winner of the last 11 days is — Iron Dome. Its intercepts saved countless lives and stopped massive property damage.

The Air Force, over-promised, as usual. That is a problem, not only of Israel’s Air Force, but a difficulty shared by Air Forces worldwide — since the 1930s. Whether it was the Strategic Air Command of World War II, the US Air Force in Vietnam, or even the Israeli Air Force in Lebanon II, it is impossible to defeat an enemy from the air — especially when combatting an unconventional army, fighting asymmetric warfare. 

We could flatten every house in Gaza, and that would probably not defeat Hamas. That is not to say there were no achievements in this “round”. The destruction of much of Hamas’ underground infrastructure is a significant achievement, and they will have to think twice about rebuilding it. One thing we failed to do this time, is eliminate any of the top-level Hamas leadership, despite attempts to do so. We did successfully keep collateral damage to non-combatant low. Every death is a tragedy, but the numbers were only a fraction of those killed in 2014.


The US Role

Events in the US these past two weeks have been more than a bit troubling. On the one hand, the Biden Administration has been extremely supportive. It gave Israel almost all the time it wanted to finish its air operations. By the time President Biden began exerting pressure to bring the operation to a close, the general sense from the Israeli military was that most of the significant targets had been hit. Very little more could be accomplished without the enemy making a major mistake. Of course, from our side, there was a realization “Murphy’s law” is always in the background, and that every day the operation continued, increased the chance of a major error — i.e. either an incoming missile breaking through and causing significant loss of life, or, one of our attacks being off-target and killing a large number of civilians. Thus, Biden’s “pressure” served as a perfect excuse to bring this recent operation to a close.  

However, that being said, reactions and statements from the Democratic Party’s left-wing, including some considered more moderate, raise great concern. The introduction of resolutions by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jamal Bowman (a freshman Congressman, with no foreign policy knowledge) to block the sale of armaments to Israel; a sale already approved by the Biden Administration, is a dangerous turn — even if their effort holds little chance of success. 

The dynamics have switched. Over time, it had been the US Administration that might pressure Israel, and Israel with its allies, would approach Congress as a counterweight. This time, it was members of Congress who pressured the Administration to step away. Unfortunately, over the course of the past two weeks the growing group of Congresspersons known as “The squad,” has proven that it's fully anti-Israel — even if, in my opinion, only Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (born to Palestinian immigrants to the US) knows any of the history, albeit from a very partisan perspective. The others follow her lead and the view that because the Palestinians are weaker, they should be supported.  
Of greatest concern were two monologues— one by Trevor Noah and John Oliver, both of whom asserted the same thing — i.e. Since Hamas and Gaza do not have the power to destroy Israel, we should not “overreact” and bomb them. Sadly, these two TV personalities have an outsized influence, especially on younger people, and this view is absurd. 

Perhaps someday, if Iron Dome is 100% effective, and no Israeli can get killed, and no one has to run to a bomb shelter, their view might be correct. But in this here and now, Hamas rockets can kill, and no country can allow its one major airport shut, and millions of people running to shelters, while saying, “We do not have to do anything … After all, they can't destroy us now”. Let’s not even think about doomsday scenarios, that Hamas somehow obtains a nuclear weapon.

A closing comment about all our critics (keep in mind that I am on the left side of Israeli politics). I am yet to hear one of our critics make a practical suggestion regarding how to reach a peace agreement. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s tweet: “End the Occupation” is a great slogan but has no practical value.

One final note: The number of antisemitic incidents in the US this past week is truly troubling. While some of the attacks have been orchestrated by pro-Palestinian groups, others, like the vandalization of Gabbie Giffords synagogue, are more likely the work of white, right-wing groups. 

POLITICS

Now that our mini-war with Hamas is over, for the meanwhile, Israel will return to the questions of how to resolve our ongoing political crisis. In the hours before the war started, the “Bloc for Change” was on the verge of announcing the formation of their new government. The war and the rioting between Arab and Jews in some of Israel’s cities disrupted those plans. Naftali Bennett announced he was no longer willing to serve as Prime Minister of an “alternative” government, because of the situation. Bennett had been on the receiving end of immense pressure from members of his party, especially Ayelet Shaked, who was very reluctant to go along with a government without Bibi, and seems to have undermined the plan.

So, what now? The mandate to form a coalition is currently still in the hands of Yair Lapid. He can try a ‘hail Mary,’ announce the impending establishment of a government, and hope that even without an agreement, the Arab parties will vote in favor — just to remove Bibi from office. It's a long shot, but possible. 

There is also a real possibility Bennett could change his mind. As of Friday afternoon, Yamina politicians have told a journalist that a “government of change” is still a genuine possibility. If neither of these two things happens, when Lapid’s time runs out, the mandate is returned to the Knesset. 

It is possible, though unlikely, that Netanyahu finds a traitor or two in one of the parties, and is then able to form a government. If not, Netanyahu might try to pass his law calling for the direct election of the Prime Minister. However, the chances of that law passing are not good. 

If all else fails, our 5th election in two years will be held in October.  
TBE's Donna Wolff, Executive Director of Starfish Connection, shares this exciting news......
Seeking TBE Empty Nesters to Become Starfish Connection Mentors
 
Congratulations to TBE members, Rosalea Fisher, Janet Schneider, and Jim Benjamin who celebrated the acceptance of their Starfish Connection mentees to 4-year competitive colleges of their choice with first-generation scholarships this week! 
 
Starfish Connection, Inc., 501c, is an all-volunteer organization started in 2008, by Judy Martin z’l and Mayor David Martin. Our mission is to help academically gifted, first-generation students from low- income families living in Stamford, reach their goals of attending a 4-year college of their choice with scholarships and help break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families. 
 
I am currently recruiting empty nesters (women, men, or couples) who are interested in becoming a Starfish Connection mentor. Please email Donna Wolff, Executive Director, and Mentor, Starfish Connection: dwolff.starfish@gmail.com. For more info, visit our website: https://starfishconnection.org/
 
Crazy Jews
This week's portion of Naso touches on an issue that has always deeply concerned me: religious fanaticism. The topic is never not relevant but right now we seem to be discussing it ceaselessly. Last week I spoke of the choice that all of us must make, between extremism and coexistence. Here's a packet I put together of sources, including those involving the Nazirite, a curious case of fanaticism described in our portion. Take a look at it by clicking here.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Temple Beth El
350 Roxbury Road
Stamford, Connecticut 06902
203-322-6901 | www.tbe.org
  
A Conservative, Inclusive, Spiritual Community