In this Moment: The Color Purple; The Kiddush Cup Craftsman; Jew By (Whose) Choice

In This Moment

Shabbat-O-Gram, January 29, 2021

Scenes from Tu B'Shevat...

Tu B'Shevat Adult Seder

Tu B'Shevat Family Seder

   

   

This week is Shabbat Shira (the Sabbath of Song), when we read the portion Beshallach, featuring the crossing of the Red Sea.  Here's a unique midrash on that Red Sea passage, from Manga Mutiny, a Biblically-accurate retelling of Genesis through Exodus 15:27 presented in the authentic Japanese Manga style.  

(Thank you to Ethan H for sharing this - and happy birthday next week!)

  

See the bottom of this email to find out what happens!

Shabbat Shalom!

We begin with some sad news.  The name Gene Wendell probably does not ring a bell to most of you, but he has a special place in many of your homes.  You see, Gene, who passed away this week, has been engraving kiddush cups for TBE B'nai Mitzvah for 67 years.  That means that if you are 80 years old or younger, and your Bar/Bat Mitzvah was here, that kiddush cup that you use on Friday nights or Pesach, or had under your huppah, or that just gleams proudly from your mantle - well, it was lovingly engraved by Gene.

He took the job very seriously, although there were times (many) when he would knock on my office door just before Shabbat, right under the wire, to deliver the goods. He always had a question about Judaism or a story to share - about his involvement at his synagogue in Norwalk or other things going on in his life.  You can read his obituary here.  

I'll miss Gene. I'll think of him every time I lift one of "his" cups under a huppah.  There's a lesson here for us.  Behind every treasure you own, every book, every car, every piece of jewelry, every hand-made bagel - everything - there is a Gene Wendell. Often many of them.  You will never see most of these faces, but they are connected to us in the deepest possible manner.  

This Shabbat, let's raise our glasses - our cups - to Eugene Wendell. In fact, if you are coming to Friday night services, bring your TBE cup with you, we'll lift them all together, and I'll send the photo to Sue, his wife.

On to other matters of great urgency....

- These days, it seems like the forces of hope and despair are engaged in an all-out war, especially regarding Covid-19.  Israel is being touted for being way ahead of the curve regarding vaccinations, yet as the chart below shows, the crisis of infections is not abating.  

  

You would think that with so many having been vaccinated the infection rate would be going down much more. In his weekly newsletter, Marc Shulman looks into these sobering trends.  Meanwhile, if you are looking for an uplifting moment, yo've got to listen to this new "We are the World" style song created by Israel's most popular musicians (thank you to Aviva Maller for sharing):

Katan Aleinu (קטן עלינו, "We Got This") with English subtitles

- Remember when I spoke on Rosh Hashanah about the regal nature of the color purple and how it connects to the ancient history of the Israelites and the Curse (and Blessing) of Canaan, as well as the African American experience?

Well this week sent us major news on that front, an unprecedented archaeological discovery:

 

Ancient cloths with royal purple dye found in Israel, dated to King David's time (Times of Israel) This is a big deal. Israeli researchers have found three textile scraps near the southern tip of Israel colored with the biblically described "argaman" royal purple dye, and dated them to circa 1,000 BCE - the era of King David. The earliest ever such finds in this region, the vibrant cloths add tangible weight, in particular, to the Bible's account of an Edomite kingdom in the area at that time.

Here's the front page story in today's Ha'aretz: 

More recommended reading....

- Enough for a minyan: A Jewish who's who of Biden's cabinet (Forward)

- Reform Jewish Institutions Affirm IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism - 

The challenges posed by rising antisemitism are so great that we need all people of good will to join in the fight against it.

- See my featured Times of Israel op-ed on how Holocaust denial is the canary in the coal mine of Big Lies, Fake News and American white supremacy

 

- Over 1100 Jewish clergy from around the country have come together to impress upon the Biden Administration and 117th Congress the urgency of addressing the rights and safety of refugees and asylum seekers.  Here's the letter - I'm proud to have signed it.

- I'll be moderating a panel discussion on Climate Change next Thursday. An in-depth conversation with national leaders, the Rev. Lennox Yearwood, founder of Hip Hop Caucus, and Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, a leading climate scientist. The event is co-hosted by the Hartford Seminary and the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network.  This paragraph from an op-ed from the NYT, "Let's Say Goodbye to Normal," by Roy Scranton, was particularly alarming.

 

- Our growing partnership with the Black community, and in particular members of Union Baptist Church, has borne tremendous fruit - last week's shared cooking experience was just another example.  SAVE THE DATE of Feb. 21 at 5:30 PM for a panel discussion involving the two congregations, along with the AJC, JCC and others from the community.  The focus will be the film, "Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance.  See the trailer here.  This groundbreaking film will be made available for viewing before the program.

- If you missed my talk last night on Jewish views on "The Good Life," as part of the Interfaith Council's Midwinter Theological Seminar, here's the Zoom video:

Rabbi Hammerman Midwinter Theological Study 1-28-21

- Another save-the-date.  We are doing another Zoom Seder, this time on the second night of Passover, Sunday evening, March 28.  

Jew By (Whose) Choice

I was fascinated by a story shared by Forward editor (and former Hoffman lecturer) Jodi Roduren, who wrote in her weekly email about an awkward moment that recently occurred.  The Forward wanted to honor Kamala Harris's blended Jewish family, and in particular her 22-year old stepdaughter Ella Emhoff, only to discover that she is not Jewish.  

Wait, what?

Didn't she come up with the name "Momela" for her step-mom?  Isn't her dad being called the unofficial "Second Mensch?"  Perhaps we should have understood the subtle difference between "Momela" and the more Jew-ish "Mamela."

According to Ella's spokesperson Joseph David Viola, "Ella is not Jewish."Ella's dad has been "celebrating Judaism for a few years now but out of an independent search," and Ella was living on her own in New York during this period. "It's not something she grew up with," he explained. "Ella truly has no qualms with the faith, but she does not want to speak on behalf of Judaism, as she does not celebrate herself."  

Funny that he used the expression "celebrate." Has he not read his Lenny Bruce?

Gentiles celebrate; Jews observe. If Ella celebrated Jewish holidays, she would be the first person to do so!

Rudoren then goes onto explore the implications of this surprise reply for our Jewish conversations on intermarriage and assimilation,  and the increasingly complicated world of Jewish (and Jew-ish) identity that we inhabit. (Incidentally, not to toot my own horn, but I think I was the first to employ the expression "Jew-ish", though I can't take credit for "Jewish-adjacent).

 
Basically, in a well-intentioned desire to be inclusive, combined with a not-as-well intentioned desire to add a few more trophies to our Jewish "who's who" treasure chest, we added Ella to the fold against her will.  It was all a misunderstanding, of course, but maybe we should have asked before assuming.  

Yes, her father is Jewish, but we really don't need to gerrymander Ella in. There are enough famous Jews to go around. There's a cottage industry of websites out there identifying famous Jews and half-Jews.

We've got plenty of unknown Jews to discover.  About a decade ago, a team of geneticists uncovered explicit evidence of mass conversions of Sephardic Jews to Catholicism in 15th and 16th-century Spain and Portugal. The study, based on an analysis of Y-chromosomes and reported first in the American Journal of Human Genetics, indicates that 20 percent of the population of the Iberian Peninsula has Sephardic Jewish ancestry. That's about 10 million people. So we can leave Ella alone.

But chromosomes don't make a Jew Jewish either.  Neither does having a Jewish father - or mother, for that matter.  Ultimately, we are all Jews by choice.  

This week I had the pleasure of performing my first (and TBE's first) Zoom conversion ceremony.  The candidate, who now lives in Boston, immersed in the safe, socially distanced warm waters of the progressive Mayyim Hayyim mikva in Newton, MA, while three Jewish clergy "witnessed" the proceedings from three remote locations in Connecticut.  So where did the conversion occur?  Who knows - but it happened, and it was very real and very meaningful.  We are all Jews by Choice.

And Ella Emhoff is a non-Jew by choice.  Some will consider this to be tragic news, claiming that another soul has been lost to the Jewish people.  I don't see it that way at all.  Certainly, it would be nice if more children with Jewish ancestry could have the positive, immersive Jewish childhood experiences that might lead one to answer the question differently at age 22.  But age 22 is a time of questioning for most people, so I don't hold that against her, not do I indict her father for her reply.  Maybe someday she will feel comfortable taking the same plunge taken by a Jew by Choice in Newton this week. It is never too late for an immersive Jewish experience.

Jodi Bromberg, who runs the interfaith outreach website 18doors (we have a close relationship with them), told Jodi Roduren, "I don't think we are good as a Jewish community at talking about the complexity and nuance of identity -- even the labels that we use don't always reflect our ongoing practices. We've got to embrace the messiness," she added. "Young-adult children are free to make their own spiritual and religious decisions -- and will whether we want them to or not. But that's not fixed for any of us."

Theodore Herzl was one of the most important Jews of all time. Yet none of his three children was Jewish and only one descendant, a grandson, was a Zionist - and he committed suicide. Nancy Pelosi has Jewish grandchildren. Eight of Moses Mendelssohn's nine grandchildren were baptized. Thomas Jefferson reportedly had Jewish ancestors (and we know of course about his African-American descendants). We've become the La Guardia Airport of faith traditions; so many coming in, so many going out.

Oh, and Fiorello La Guardia had a Jewish parent, in fact, as does Sean Penn.

The Herzl family history was tragic, but no more so than the ancestry of King David. His great grandmother was Ruth, a Moabite, whose on-the-fly conversion following the tragic deaths of her husband and brother-in-law is recalled every year on Shavuot. 

A Midrash states that every Jew was present at Sinai, including all future generations. If David and Ruth were there, what about Fiorello, Sean and Jefferson's progeny of all hues? What about 10 million Iberians, whose only crime was that their ancestors were forced to convert? We can't retroactively crop them out of the Sinai family picture.

 

And I won't cut Ella out either.  Nor will I paste her in against her will.  The lesson here is that nothing is static about Jewish identity.  It is always flowing, like the living waters of the mikva.  

Or the flowing, splashing waves of the Red Sea.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

 

 

Shabbat-O-Gram Super Bowl Ask the Rabbi Edition

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 10^th 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

The ten things we think will make us happier, but don't:

This week's Torah portion traces the early stops of the Israelites in the Wilderness. If they had read this before they began their incessant kvetching, it would have saved them much tzuris. But they were slaves still - slaves to their cravings.

The ten things we think will make us happier, but don't:

1-To become rich, powerful and famous 
2-To treat the universe as if it was a mail order catalogue for our desires and fancies 
3-To yearn for the “freedom” to do everything that comes into your mind. (This is not freedom, but being the slave of your own thoughts). 
4-To constantly seek pleasant sensations, one after the other (Pleasurable sensations soon become dull, and often become unpleasant).
5-To maliciously take revenge on someone who has hurt you. (Doing so, you become as mean as them and you poison your own mind.)
6-“It I had all that, I will surely be happy,” or “If I don’t have that, I can’t be happy.” (Such predictions usually don’t turn out to be true.)
7-To always be praised and never face criticism. (This will never help you to progress.)
8-To vanquish all you enemies. (Animosity never brings happiness.)
9-To never face adversity. (This will make you weak and vulnerable.)
10-To put all your efforts into taking care of just yourself. (Altruistic love and compassion are the roots of genuine happiness.)

~Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk, an author, translator, and photographer

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Anya Castle on Beshallach

When I began to study my portion, something amazing occurred to me- the story, is all about me!


Today is called Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath of the song. And the song that this Sabbath is all about is called the song of Miriam. My middle name in both Hebrew and English is, you guessed it, Miriam! And not only that, but we both love to sing and dance, Miriam and I. 


When Miriam led the people in song, she also led the women in dance. I used to take dance class, but soon learned that big feet aren’t that good for it. But I bet that if I had been at the Red Sea with Miriam, I would have danced too. 


 So I began to think about this hidden connection I have with Miriam. As I learned more about her, it became clearer to me that we have more in common than just our names and the fact that we love to sing and dance. 


For one thing, Miriam was a great leader. Now, I don’t consider myself a great leader… yet, but I am president of the Builders Club, the main fundraising arm of my school. For my Mitzvah project, the Builders Club and I are going to collect change in a jar from the students at my school to donate to Pennies for Patients. Even more than a leader, Miriam was a care-giver. She protected Moses when he floated down the Nile, and made sure that he would be brought up properly by the Pharaoh’s daughter, with help from their mother, Yocheved. 


Later, when in the wilderness and they were thirsty, according to legend, a well miraculously appeared and gave water to the people through their journey. The well was called Miriam’s well, because she cared so much for the people and the well dried up when Miriam died. Like Miriam, I also want to devote my life to caring for others. I want to be an oncologist, partly because of what I went through this past year, when I had to be treated for a rare type of skin cancer. Thankfully I am totally okay now. But as I was going through the treatments, I learned that caregiving is more than just providing medical care, it’s about caring for another person. In Jewish tradition, a patient should be seen first and foremost, as a human being. 


 As a leader and a caregiver, it will be hard to live up to the example of my namesake, but as I become a Bat Mitzvah today, I know that I will always look to Miriam as the perfect role model.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Ethan Finkelstein on Beshallach

Hello everyone, thank you for coming to share this great day with me and my family. It is also very special to share this day with Zoë – we will have the memories of this day and our preparing for it to talk about for the rest of our lives.

Today, Zoë and I are reading the parsha, Beshallach. I really like Beshallach. It is a great portion to have because it is about a very important part of Jewish history. If the Jews had not escaped from Egypt, then either I would never have been born or I would be a slave in Egypt.

In the portion, after crossing the Red Sea, the song of victory is sung. According to the Midrash, the angels and the Israelites started to celebrate the defeat of the Egyptians, but God stopped them, saying, “My creations are drowning and you are singing before me?”

But Jewish tradition asks to go even one step beyond not celebrating the defeat of our enemy. Tractate Avot, which is in the Talmud, says “Ayze hu gibor? Ha’oseh soneh hu ohavo.” This means: “Who is a true hero? The one who turns an enemy into a friend.”

Martin Luther King Jr. whose life and legacy we remember and celebrate this weekend, had a similar philosophy. He said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming enemy into friend. How can we turn people into friends? Through love and kindness especially to those who are different from us or less fortunate. They don’t have to be enemies, just different.”

I think turning enemies into friends is very important, because it could help bring peace around the world and make the world a much better and safer place. For example, in the Middle East, there is so much hatred among countries. If they become friends all the effort and resources now used toward war and terrorism could perhaps be used to get oil and other energy more efficiently. That could change the world. It could happen - for example, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews a long time ago and now, Egypt and Israel have a peace treaty. Do you think Moshe would have imagined that was possible?

Dr. King’s philosophy can also be applied in day-to-day life. I am a big Steelers fan (Go Steelers!) and I have a teacher who is a big Ravens fan. Whenever the Ravens beat them, he walks up to me and starts to gloat. Whenever the Steelers win, I go up to him and gloat. I am also a big Yankees fan and whenever the Yankees beat the Red Sox, I gloat with some Red Sox fans, (the Rabbi, for instance). Even while enjoying the victory, just like the Israelites at the Red Sea, I realize that it is more important not to put down anybody, but to simply appreciate our differences.

It is also important to not fear those who appear different, or whose situation in life is different. For the last few years on Christmas Eve, my family and I have served food at Pacific House, a homeless shelter here in Stamford. They are having a very difficult time in life and some might look a little scary on the outside. But it is great to serve food to them, talk to them, and see the smiles on their faces and learn they really aren’t different, and there is no need to fear them. They aren’t enemies.

This philosophy also applies on the baseball field. I love baseball and it is a very fun sport to play. I have also learned a lot playing baseball. I have learned the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship and also that you can be friends with those on the opposing teams.

This ties into my mitzvah project: I am collecting and donating new and gently used baseball equipment to a group called, “Pitch in for Baseball.” Pitch in for Baseball delivers baseball equipment to underserved communities around the globe. Hopefully those who get to use the equipment will learn these same lessons and perhaps create bonds between communities as they play baseball that can help turn some enemies into friends.

So that’s something important I’ve learned from my portion. Now we’ll hear from someone who needs no introduction, but I do want to congratulate her on becoming a Bat Mitzvah today.

MAZAL TOV, ZOE!

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Zoë Finkelstein on Beshallach (Shabbat Shira)

Hello, and thank you so much for coming and sharing this special day with me and my family. A special Mazal Tov to Ethan. It’s been very special to share today with you.

This Shabbat is Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of Song. It is called the Shabbat of Song because in our Torah portion and Haftarah, we have two of the top ten songs in Jewish history: the Song of the Sea, when the Israelites cross the Red Sea, and the Song of Deborah (both sung by women, by the way).

I am glad that we have this portion for a few reasons. One is just the fact that it is part of the Passover story, and Passover is a big holiday in my family. Every year my family comes over and Dad leads the Seder. He was born during the first Seder, so it’s his Jewish Birthday. I always have a great time, especially with my cousins, which is why it’s one of my favorite holidays. I especially love it when we all search for the afikomen, which my cousin Evan usually hides.
Another reason why I am so glad we have this portion is because of all the music.

I love music a lot and I have for as long as I can remember. I love it because it is a way for people to express themselves, it brings people together, it inspires a lot of things, it can be relaxing as well as electrifying, and it has the ability to make any situation so much more fun.
I love listening to it, but I also love singing, both for choral groups in school and at home on my own. I love playing songs on the piano, reading off of sheet music, or just playing around, improvising and experimenting, seeing how different combinations of notes sound together. I just started teaching myself to play guitar, which I have also quickly come to love.


I love all kinds of music, and my tastes are very eclectic; at least that’s what my dad says. I like almost every style: hip hop, alternative, pop, rock…almost everything but Miley Cyrus, and my favorite songs and bands, they're almost uncountable.


I’ve been looking closer at the lyrics of some of the songs that I like, and the more I look into it, the more I see that many songs have Jewish themes or lessons, even songs that don’t appear to be “Jewish” on the surface.

Take “Livin’ on a Prayer,” by Bon Jovi, for instance.

We’re half way there, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear, livin on a prayer.

It means that if you trust, you can get where you want to go. Like in the portion we read today, the Jews trusted in God and in Moses, and were able to cross the Red Sea.

Or a more recent song, like “Grenade,” by Bruno Mars – here are some of the lyrics:

I’d catch a grenade for you,
throw my hand on a blade for you,
I’d jump in front of a train for you,
you know I’d do anything for you.


This song is all about being totally and completely dedicated, willing to give everything, even a life, for what we believe in. Jews have suffered so much over the centuries, just because they were Jewish. Still, Jews have not given up and stayed Jewish, risking their lives but never giving up.

And how about the song “Beautiful,” by Christina Aguilera?

You are beautiful no matter what they say,
Words can't bring you down,
You are beautiful in every single way,
words can't bring you down,
Don't you bring me down today.

This song teaches us how important it is to be confident, believe in yourself, and not let things get to you, no matter what nasty stuff people say. We, as Jews, have survived over a long period of time because, even when people threatened us, or made us feel unwelcome, we believed in Judaism and stayed Jewish.

Or “Miracle,” by Paramore

I'm not going cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving I won't let you,
Let you give up on a miracle
Cause it might save you.

It means to never give up on what you believe in, and to try to make sure no one else does either. Going back to the Passover story, right after the Jews cross the Red Sea, they start to complain. Moses believes G-d has many miracles in store, and tried to get the complaining Jews to believe the same.

I think that almost every song has a meaningful moral, if you go down deep enough. In learning this, I realized that, yes, music inspires things, but the music itself is inspired by so many amazing things.

My mitzvah project was to collect toiletries, sheets, towels, and blankets for the Pacific House homeless shelter, as well as St. Luke’s homeless shelter, both here in Stamford. I’ve helped out at Pacific House by serving dinner on Christmas Eve with my family for the past few years and the men are in a very difficult situation, so I decided to help by collecting the items on their “wish list.” Many of these items are basic necessities such as shampoo, soap, conditioner, tooth brushes, and tooth paste.

When it was near Christmas Eve, I wrapped up enough toiletries for both shelters, listening to holiday music on the radio to get into the mood. Listening to the music made me want to be festive and have red and green bags, and snowflakes on the boxes, just for them.

On Christmas Eve the men were happy and laughing, with the Christmas music playing along in the background. We handed out the toiletries that night. The men are so nice, and they deserve so much more than they have, and seeing their faces as the toiletries were placed into their hands made me so glad I chose this project to do. I was so inspired by these men, that I wrote a song about them.

That is an example of how music is created through inspiration, and how music can be inspiring, too. Looking back on what I’ve said, I realize that what I love the most about music is how much it inspires and how much inspires it. Everything is music and music is everything.

God's Playlist: Judaism's Top Ten

Special for Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of Song, I recently compiled my list of the Top Ten Songs in Jewish History, along with one from Midrashic sources. You can see my list here, with a tribute to Debbie Friedman, and an older version here, along with a detailed explanations for the unusual layout of the Song of the Sea in this week's portion.

Yes, I put "White Christmas" there because it met the standards that I had set - though feel free to disagree. This Shabbat includes not one but TWO of the top ten, the Song of the Sea and the Song of Deborah.

And in memory of the great Debbie Friedman, here's her version of Deborah's song.

God's Playlist: CHAI-Tunes

On this Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Song), let's take a look at God's Playlist - or CHAI-Tunes, as I call them. Click here for the pdf, which contains:

THE TOP TEN SONGS IN JEWISH HISTORY (Where would you put Adon Olam? Hatikva? The Sh'ma? "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof? See my list here

THE SONG OF THE SEA:
What do the spaces between the words symbolize? See the full list of 14 here. Selected interpretations are below:

1) Talmud: Shabbat 103b – “like a brick wall” – recalling the bricks of slaves.

2) This implies that the connection between our nation and God is stable and strong, like the wall of a building.

3) Each phrase stands by itself / its own unique meaning, yet connected to the whole.

5) Until now, the mysteries of God’s miracles were “closed” and out of reach – now they are open and clear for all to see.

6) Shabbat is the pause, the space, that gives music to our lives. The silence shouts out eloquently.

7) Kotzker Rebbe: “This is my God and I will declare His perfection.” (ZEH AYLEE V’ANVAYHU). How? I will make a dwelling place for God within me. Those spaces are the places that we have carved out for God in our lives.

8) Psalm 81: “I answered you in the secret place of thunder (a thundering silence). God speaks to us in silence.

9) MEDITATE ON THE VISUAL TEXT OF THE SONG / STARE AT IT FOR A MINUTE – WHAT DO YOU SEE?
- Rows of Soldiers?
- Waves of the Sea?
- Do you see the form of a giant Alef? (which is a silent letter)

10) Without getting too graphic, can this space between the words be Israel’s “birth canal?”

11) Or could this be a “Battle of the Sexes?” Moses is up top, Miriam is mentioned below. Or maybe the separation of the sexes. Midrash Mechilta Shira 10 cites this song as justification for separation of men and women. Could it be seen as a sign of the need to unify?

Some recent scholarship suggests that this song was written by women (it is called the Song of Miriam in some ancient manuscripts). In rabbinic literature, Moses and Miriam often appear in parallel, with Miriam given equal status.

12) The song describes a mythological battle between Israel’s God and the Ugaritic Sea god Yamm. There is no mention here at all (in the song) of the historical context of Egyptian slavery. It’s God vs. Yamm. Sacred vs Profane. Hebrew letters vs. Empty spaces. May the best deity win!

13) The white space symbolizes winter. The dark is beginning to encroach as Spring approaches. Tu B’Shevat is here!

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Jacob Gubner on Beshallach

Those of you who know me know that I am a big fan of Star Wars and DC Superheroes. So it was especially fitting that my portion, Beshallach, is filled with action and suspense, and more than just about any other portion, resembles at Batman movie or Superman comic. After all, where else can you find armies of marauders chasing down innocent victims, evil villains plotting to take over the world and super special effects, with thunder and lightning and courageous feats that are downright miraculous – and of course, water.

So there was this hero who was saved from certain death as an infant, only to be sent away by his parents. He’s adopted by total strangers and grows up to be a big hero who saves his nation. Who am I talking about? Moses … or Superman? Batman was also orphaned, as was Luke Skywalker. It seems like one thing that connects all these heroes is that they become wanderers at a young age and they discover themselves in these wanderings. It’s no surprise that Superman and Batman were dreamed up by Jewish writers.

Superman’s original name was not Clark Kent, it actually sounds like a Jewish name, Kal-El, a name that includes the name of God – a Kol is a voice in Hebrew and El is God’s name, so Superman speaks in the voice of God. Moses was God’s spokesman as well.

For every hero there is an arch enemy: Our portion has two: Pharaoh, at the beginning and Amalek at the end. It was Amalek’s army that attacked the Israelites from behind in the wilderness.

The Egyptians are much like the Empire in Star Wars. At the end of Episode 6, everyone is partying with the Ewoks when the Empire was thought to be destroyed. They cheered too soon. When the Egyptians were drowning in the sea, the angels were also partying, according to legend, but God warned them not to. How could they celebrate, when God’s creatures were dying?

Come to think of it, in Star Wars, Obiwan is much like God, because he instructs Luke in the ways of the Force much as God instructs Moses at the Burning Bush. God tells Moses to go back to Egypt and Obiwan says, “Got to the Dagobah System,” which is where Luke finds Yoda and and begins his Jedi training.

Yoda is much like a rabbi, and did you ever wonder if there might be a connection between the word Jedi and the word Yehudi – which is Hebrew for Jew?

Another comparison is that while the villains are very bad, they aren’t totally bad and the good guys aren’t totally good. Although Moses does is job correctly here, he later shows his frustration when he hits the rock that God had instructed him to talk to. Because of that, he was punished by not being allowed into the Promised Land. The most recent Batman movie was very dark – and Batman himself was far from perfect.

There’s one other important message that comes from the Torah and the comics and that is that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Regular people can be heroes – like the guy who according legend, was the first one to step into the Red Sea. It would only split when someone had the courage to do that, and this volunteer, named Nachshon, was an unknown before he took that fateful step. Kind of reminds me of Chewbacca, just a regular Wookie – an old one at that – about 200, who became a hero while serving in the Clone Wars.

And then there’s the important role of women, people like Miriam in the Torah, who rescued baby Moses and led the Israelites in song after crossing the sea. She was the Princess Leia (which is also a Hebrew name) of her time, the Lois Lane or Wonder Woman.

In the end, all the heroics are nice, but what matters most is to make this a better world. So the children of Israel headed right to Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments, whose goal is to promote “truth, justice and the American way.” But meanwhile, in my portion, what’s most important is not lose hope, even when things look bad. As they say in the most recent Batman movie, “The night is always darkest just before the dawn.”

One way to bring light to people in dark times is through performing mitzvot. For my mitzvah project, I did a memory walk for Alzheimer's and raised over $1,000.