Shabbat-O-Gram for September 20: What is Tzom Gedaliah, Who Won Israel's Elections, and Other Burning Questions...

Shabbat-O-Gram 

   

  

Enjoying the first day of Hebrew School

Shabbat Shalom

Mazal tov to Maddie Winarsky and family as she becomes Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat morning.  My co-leader on Friday night will be the one and only Judy Aronin (who is also Maddie's tutor).   Join us as well for Selichot services at Congregation Beth El of Norwalk, 109 East Avenue, on Sat. night at 9 PM.

For some nice pre-holidays inspiration, check out Jewels of Elul, a collection of inspirational passages assembled by musician Craig Taubman.  This year he asked writers to compose letters to themselves.  Here's an excerpt of one written by Naomi Ackerman:

You are a fierce stilt walker, but not forever. Turns out, lessons we learned walking on those stilts are rules to practice in life.

1. Don't be afraid to fall.
   It's scary but inevitable. Fall, breathe, re-group, continue. It's not as hard as it looks to get up. You simply do. People fear falling, so they don't move forward. Don't be that person.
2. Balance.
   Without balance you can't walk on stilts. Without balance you can't live. Focus on your core. Center yourself from inside not out. Balance.
3. Reach out to people.
   From the height of stilts don't forget that the best way to interact is to lean into people. That is your job and will turn into your best asset.

Some more High Holidays preparation from My Jewish Learning

What is Elul?

What is Rosh Hashanah?

9 Things You Didn't Know about Rosh Hashanah

Why Jews Blow the Shofar

What is The Fast of Gedalia?

At last night's Hoffman Lecture, the Unorthodox cast chided me for not teaching my congregants about the unheralded fast day known as Tzom Gedalia.  Now, as a public service, here it is explained in Unorthodox's new book, the Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.  Click here for a clearer pdf version of the page.  Our sellout crowd had a great time at the live podcast!

Israel's Election Puzzle

Israeli party voting slips configured to spell "Unity Government"

Thank you to Pinchas Gross for his expert analysis of Israel's very complex election process on Tuesday evening.  We also watched live coverage on i24 while trying to figure out what it all means. You can see the election results at this site, and then try your luck at getting to 61 seats to form a government.  A unity government seems the best bet right now, and the Netanyahu era may be coming to a close.  The losses of his party combined with his upcoming potential indictment do not bode well for him, since he most likely will no longer have the possibility of immunity.  But much remains to be seen, including the true intentions of kingmaker Avigdor Liberman.  For American Jews, it could mean the beginning of a new era of religious acceptance for the non Orthodox - or not.  Stay tuned.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary - Class of '19  

Over the past two weeks, our Hebrew School Class of '19 completed their B'nai Mitzvah cycle with the B'nai Mitzvah services of Sydney Marks and Michael Luther. See Sydney's speech here  and Michael's here.  And then click here to see highlights from each student.  They've taught us a lot this year, with topics ranging from playing bass guitar to raising chickens.  Mazal tov to the class of 5779!

High Holiday Message of JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen

Below is an excerpt of the High Holiday message of Arnold Eisen, who announced this week that he will be stepping down as JTS Chancellor:

...So much remains undone, unchanged, unmoved despite our best efforts. We have made mistakes as individuals and as a society. The Ashamnu and Al Het confessionals that we recite over and over on Yom Kippur are too often and too painfully on the mark. Plans have gone awry, we have hurt people we love, and we have neglected others who needed our attention. Goals we were sure to have reached by this point in the year, or in our lives, still lie ahead. In some cases, we can be confident that we are almost there. Others will have to be put off to another day, another year.

In the midst of reckonings like these, I am grateful for Maimonides' assurance, in his brilliant and ever-relevant meditation on teshuvah in the Mishneh Torah, that each and every human being has the ability to choose wisely, do good, repair mistakes, receive forgiveness, and build a better world. He takes great pains to contest and even ridicule the determinists in our midst who say that all is fated, and our best efforts doomed. He tries to shout down the doubts we ourselves may harbor about our chances of making real changes in ourselves or the world. "Freedom is granted to every human being," he insists. We can do better than we have in the past and finish what is still undone. Those who want to turn to a good path have that ability, he insists. Those who want to go in the opposite direction are free to do that as well. And because this freedom of action is in our hands, we should "examine our ways and probe ourselves deeply and return to the Lord." This is the work of teshuvah.   Read Eisen's complete message here.

Eastern Europe Trip 2020

If you are interested in next summer's Eastern Europe trip, know that the site has now gone live. Check the itinerary and sign up now!   Click  here for the trip's home page - and see the flight information, which has just been posted.  Note that the early bird deadline is approaching quickly.  So reserve online and share the link with your relatives and friends!  And please note that we will be providing scholarships of $500 (or more) for all teens and college students who come with their families.

Shabbat shalom!

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Maddie Winarsky on Ki Tavo

Shabbat Shalom. 

I would like to thank everyone who came to my Bat Mitzvah this morning.

In my torah portion, Ki Tavo, Moshe instructed the Israelites to bring the first fruits to G-d as an offering. Moshe also urged the Israelites to thank Hashem for all the good that he has done for them. He also lists the blessings where Hashem will reward the Israelites if they follow the laws of the Torah, and he then lists all the harsh consequences that will overtake them if they abandon his commandments. 

            One of the most interesting parts of this parsha is the idea of choice. 

Moshe clearly explains that the Jewish people have a choice. They can follow Hashem and be a holy nation, or they can suffer. He also says that the Israelites are G-d’s chosen people, but they also must make the choice to follow Hashem. 

Moshe clearly laid out BOTH the positives and negatives of following Hashem’s rules. If you choose to follow Hashem, you will be blessed, your land will be fruitful and your enemies will fall. If you choose not to listen to his commandments, then curses will overtake you, you will be returned to slavery, you will have terror, plagues and sickness.  These consequences are horrible, but Hashem still gives people a choice about whether or not to follow his instructions. 

This parshah relates to my life because there are many important choices that we must make everyday. If you choose to not listen to your parent’s rules, you will get in trouble.  If you choose not to study, you will receive bad grades. If you choose not to vote, your voice will not be heard. If you choose not to follow laws, you will be punished. 

Another choice that I have made over the past 8 years, is my choice to play the violin. Rabbi Hammerman and I discussed a great deal about the violin and its importance in Jewish culture. It is a fragile instrument that requires a great deal of balance and skill to produce a wonderful sound. 

I choose to attend group and private lessons twice a week. I also choose to practice every day so that I can improve my skills. I get to choose what pieces I perform for my solo concerts and by the effort that I put into my practice, I choose how they will sound. 

People make simple choices like what to eat for breakfast - cereal or waffles (waffles definitely!) and more important choices like choosing to study torah and follow Hashem. Today, I have made the choice to be a woman on the bimah who read torah. I have chosen to spend time studying and learning these traditions because they are important to me, my family and the Jewish people. I think it is important for both men and women to have the opportunity to study torah and become closer to Hashem. All of my Bat Mitzvah studies have allowed me to feel more connected to Hashem.  Now a Bat Mitzvah, I also plan on being a more active member of our Jewish community.

My mitzvah project is called “Hooties for Hearts” where I will be raising money for the Babies Heart Fund, and also donating mini owl plushies at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center (Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York) to children in the hospital who are having heart surgery. The reason this is my project is that when I was four years old, I was diagnosed with a heart condition called SVT, Supraventricular Tachycardia. This condition is where someone’s heart beats suddenly at a super rapid speed, which is very dangerous. Three years ago, I had cryoablation surgery at Morgan Stanley’s Children’s Hospital to correct the problem. At the hospital after my surgery, my parents gave me a stuffed animal owl that I named Hootie. I decided to name my project “Hooties for Hearts” where I will be donating owl toys to other kids who are having surgery at the hospital. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Babies Heart Fund, more information can be found in your program. 

Shabbat-O-Gram for September 13

Shabbat-O-Gram 

The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored 

by Dana and Robert Luther in honor of their son, Michael, becoming a Bar Mitzvah.

Shabbat Shalom

It was fun last night to meet some of our new and prospective members who joined us at my home for dinner.  What impressed me most was how, despite a wide diversity of demographics, they all are looking for the same thing - a place that is warm and welcoming.  Tell your friends about TBE!

Mazal tov to the Luther and Plansky families on Michael's becoming Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat.  Michael is a huge Disney fan, so join us on Shabbat morning to learn where Disney themes and Judaism intersect.  On Friday night I'll be joined by Beth Styles for our service, with musical guest Jason Terry. Join us and see why attendance has remained consistently high through the summer and into September. 

Sunday morning marks the last day of my 11 months of saying Kaddish for my mother.  Sunday is also the first day of Hebrew School, and I'm looking forward to seeing the kids returning from their summer adventures.  

We now have 300 reservations for next Thursday's live-taping of the Unorthodox podcast, featuring Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Farook Kathwari.  We are expecting many more than that to be here.  While you don't have to reserve in advance, it will help us to prepare if you do.  And by all means, get here early that evening.  Details at the bottom of this email.  Meanwhile, see what all the fuss is about and listen to Unorthodox's most recent podcast.  You can also see that TBE is perfectly positioned right at the top of Unorthodox's upcoming book tour for their "Newish Jewish Encyclopedia."

Israel votes on Tuesday - again.  For a concise summary of the who's what's and why's of this election, see this handy briefing put together by the Jewish Federations of North America.  And for more background, see this recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute, revealing that Jewish Israelis are in favor of a unity government.  We'll see if they get their wish!

Watch the televised returns as they come in on Tuesday at 8 PM right here at TBE, with insights and background provided by TBE member Pinchas Gross.  Also on Tuesday - from 7-8, you can partake of Rabbi Gerry Ginsburg's series preparing us for the High Holidays.

In Purdue Pharma's Backyard

There is absolutely no reason for us to feel any sense of responsibility or discomfort at the news of the Purdue Pharma opiods settlement.  But as we see the Stamford dateline on all the stories coming out (along with photos of the their headquarters along rt. 95), combined with the Jewish connections of the Sackler family, including their philanthropic history, it can't help but cause discomfort.  This is not a good time to be a Jewish philanthropist, with the stench of Madoff still discernible, along with the still unfolding saga of Jeffrey Epstein, which has sullied the legacy of the Wexner foundation. So what are we to do?

For better or for worse, the Sacklers have never donated a million dollars to TBE - which would have been a good investment, I should add, and I encourage others to do so while our endowment - capital campaign is still ongoing.  Had they done so, would we have given it back?  Ask me when it's not so hypothetical.  For instance, if a hospital accepts a million tainted dollars that have been used to cure diseases, I think the prudent thing would be to pocket the cash but take down the plaque.  The Louvre has done just that with Sackler donations.

But more to the point, this confluence of facts that has landed us right at "ground zero" of the opiod crisis demands that we be more active in dealing with the crisis itself.

So mark your calendars for Tuesday evening, November 19, when we will be hosting Rabbi Rick Eisenberg, an old friend (he attended my wedding) and author of the new book, "Emerging from the Fog: Judaism, Addiction and Recovery: A Spiritual and Fact Based Approach." Read more about the book here.  Rick, who served as a rabbi in Woodbridge and is a lifelong Connecticut resident, wrote this book as a wake-up call to the Jewish community.  His approach draws upon models that extend beyond the 12-Step philosophy.  The opiod crisis is our crisis too, and we can't afford to ignore it.

So, yes, we do reside at opiod addiction's "ground zero."  But so does every religious institution in America.  If we don't step up to help our own parishioners, who will?

Some Resources on Heshbon Hanefesh (Soul Searching) during this month of Teshuvah

Teshuvah comes from the word meaning "return."  Heshbon Hanefesh is "soul searching" (Literally, taking an accounting of the soul), which is what Jews do during the month prior to the High Holidays and on the Ten days of Repentance, the High Holidays themselves.

Read more about teshuvah here

Read Maimonides "Laws of Teshuvah" translated here

Here are some other ethics-ercises I recommend for Elul:

As we approach the Days of Awe, our annual exercise in self scrutiny and stock-taking can be a daunting task. Rather than highlight a single ethical dilemma this week, I offer here some suggestions, some "ethics-ercises," as it were, to assist you on this journey.

Study Maimonides' "Laws of Personality and Character Development." Find the texts here.

 Dr. Rambam had some fascinating insights on human behavior and the relation between body and soul.

 Note especially the following advice:

2:3 - There are times when one shouldn't be moderate - there is no middle road with regard to arrogance and humility; we should all aim for Moses-esque super-humility.
2:4 - Cultivate silence.
2:5 - Enough with the kvetching already!
2:6 - Don't be a phony.
2:7 - Find middle ground between moroseness and being giddy
4:1 - Dr. Rambam's diet - only eat when you are hungry!
2:4 - Get 8 hours sleep
2:7 - Eat poultry first
2:11 - Avoid fruits (!)
2:15 - Exercise (and move those bowels, too!)
4:23 - A Torah sage needs to have these things in his community (includes a blood letter and a latrine)
5:7 - No Yelling!!
5:13 - Be honest
6:3 - Love everyone

Another good site for Elul is Jewels of Elul- a daily dose of inspiration, created by Craig Taubman. Pearls of wisdom are shared each day, culled from an eclectic array of voices.

Check out The Mussar Institute, which, according to their website, "exists to provide people with ideas and practical tools deriving from the Mussar tradition in Judaism that will help, guide and motivate them to develop and improve the qualities of their inner lives, in fulfillment of the potential of their souls as well as for the benefit of the world." 

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs suggests that we focus on civility.  As they put it, "This sacred season impels us to consider how we speak and listen-in our relationships and in community-as a central part of our work of teshuva/repentance." Given the tone of political dialogue in Washington - not to mention the accusatory self righteousness that has infested American Jews' conversations about Israel, civility has become a major concern. See their Civility Statement and additional resources on civility.  And see my call for Civility Metrics: What Can Be Done About Toxic Political Climate).

Interested in improving your Business Ethics? See the website of the Business Halacha Institute. I find it to be a superb resource. Also see the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, another excellent resource.

I've collected some more links and resources, spiritual preparations, guided meditations, etc. in my blog entry, Preparing for the Awesome Days.  The road ahead will not be easy, but we can be comforted that the hard work of Teshuvah can also bring about great reward, simply in the doing. In this case, the journey itself is far more significant than the destination. The following wisdom from Nachman of Bratzlav can guide us:

"Know that it is necessary to judge each person favorably, and even someone who is completely evil, one needs to search for and to find in him some little bit of goodness, that in that little bit, he is not evil. By means of this, that one finds in him a little goodness, and judges him favorably, by this, one elevates him actually into favorable judgment and returns him in teshuvah... for how is it possible that there is within him no little bit of goodness at all - that he never did any mitzvah or good thing in his whole life? By means of this, you can find within him another small bit of good, a place within him that is not evil, and judge him favorably... until he returns in teshuvah...

... So too a person needs to find (a point of goodness) also within himself... even when he begins to look into himself and he sees that there is within him no goodness at all, and he is full of sins... even so it is not permitted to despair because of this, rather he needs to search and to find within himself some small point of goodness... and even if he begins to look at this good thing and he finds that it is full of flaws... despite all of this, he can extract from it some point of goodness, and continue to search for and collect other points of goodness and by means of this they will be made into niggunim ("melodies")... and then he will be able to pray and to sing and to give thanks to God..."

Good luck on your journey, and my best wishes for a year of sweetness, fulfillment and love.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Hebrew School Class of 2019 Highlights

Michael Luther

From a young age, ‖ I have always been intrigued by Disney. ‖ But over the last couple of years, ‖ I have become obsessed!  I love everything Disney, ‖ but especially the theme parks. ‖While some 13-year olds spend their time surfing YouTube ‖ for videos of cats or gaming, ‖ I follow the latest video updates ‖ from Disney World vloggers… ‖ yes, they really do exist… ‖ and there’s more than three of them! ‖If you want to know ‖ about the latest in happenings at Disney World, ‖ I’m your man! ‖ I’m sure some of you know ‖ that Star Wars Land opened ‖ just two weeks ago, ‖ including a ride where you can pilot ‖ the Millennium Falcon. ‖ So, ‖ it was natural for me ‖ when I began to look ‖ at my Torah portion of Ki Tetze,  to see everything through the Disney lens. ‖ (Put on glasses).  When viewed this way, ‖ it almost seems ‖ like the entire portion ‖ came from Space Mountain ‖ instead of Mount Sinai. ‖  The portion has 72 mitzvahs, ‖ or laws – ‖ that’s about 12% percent ‖ of the 613 commandments ‖ in the Torah. ‖ Most of Ki Tetze’s laws ‖ have to do ‖ with relationships between humans, ‖ but Disney has done ‖ an excellent job of teaching these ‖ same rules through their iconic ‖ movie characters and parks. ‖

Sydney Marks

My clearest memory of Hurricane Sandy was that when we heard how bad it was going to be, my brother and I moved all our stuffed animals to the living room and built a fort around them to protect them.  As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize that stacking blankets and pillows with stuffed animals won’t protect us for long. We’ve got to change our world and we can begin in small ways, by recycling.

Liav Vadel

By the way, in case you are wondering, I do eat chicken, but I would never eat my chickens.  But when my father was a kid and one of his chickens had a cold, they would feed her chicken soup. While I am not a vegetarian, my caring for animals has helped me to be more sensitive and I understand the need to go above and beyond what others might do, to teach myself that important lesson.

Lexi Handel

My portion of Bechukotai explains that the actions of people have consequences on the whole world. It gives a number of horrible examples of consequences if people disobey the commandments. In one of them, it is that wild beasts will wipe out our cattle. It is hinting that the destruction of species is both a horrible thing and a consequence of human activity.  The curses get really bad, but the worst thing about it is not how bad things get, but that people lose hope. They don’t realize that things can be turned around.

Zachary Lew

Those of you who know me know that I have an interesting hobby – I love to build things.  I started building with Legos when I was about 2 or 3.  What I liked about them was that anything was possible.  Out of nothing, you could create something amazing.  Some of the things I have built include, an Apollo 11 spaceship, which is standing in my closet right now and a James Bond Aston Martin, which gets fifty miles to the gallon.  Just kidding.  It gets forty. But the thing about building with Legos is that you can only do it one block at a time.  When I am building something I just think of it and then I start to build.  I don’t always know how it will look in the end.  But I keep on building, block by block.

Adam Kinderman

The portion, Behar, speaks about the Jubilee year, the 50^th year, when all slaves were set free.  One verse tells about how the shofar is sounded at the beginning of that year, and it says, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.” That’s the same verse that is found on the Liberty Bell.  By the way, I really liked visiting the Liberty Bell, although I don’t think it’s all it’s cracked up to be. The interesting thing is that in the portion, the verse is talking about freeing slaves.  But on the Liberty Bell, it’s talking about freedom from Britain and my buddy, King George III.  It’s definitely not talking about freeing slaves – because that didn’t happen for about another 90 years.

Yael Everett

I’m a big fan of empathy.  I guess it’s not surprising that when I grow up I want to be a psychologist.  I hope I’ll be able to help people deal with crises in their lives.  So this project really excited me.  It reminded me of what sports stars often do – people like Curtis Granderson, who is always visiting hospitals and schools, and Roberto Clemente, a real hero of mine, who died in a plane crash trying to help people in while on route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He was just 38 years old. I’ve had lots of practice in showing empathy, through my love for my pets. It all started with Lucky, a cat who was rescued from the streets of New York.  Lucky was not just lucky to be rescued, he was lucky enough to live to the fine old age of 21. Then came our dog Carmel, who is a ten-year-old Labrador. But after Lucky died, I wanted more, so I started begging for kitten. One day when my mom and my dad went out to buy dog food, there was a sign in the store.  That’s how we got our two kittens, Ian and Chad, who are now one year old.  And now, since it’s been a WHOLE YEAR since we got a new pet, I’m trying to convince my parents that it is time for labradoodles. Yes, I know pet ownership can be complicated.  At one time, we were giving the cats a total of 18 different medications PER DAY. Having so many pets has been a real blessing for me – it’s taught me a lot about responsibility, time management and of course – empathy.

Jesse Kalt

When you look at me, if you don’t know already, probably the last thing you will think of is that I love to play bass guitar.  I love to play it so much that it’s starting to fall apart. I’ve been playing for about 4 years.  My dad had an amplifier and two basses in the basement and we would go down all the time – and while he would be playing the song “Iron Man” I’d be pretending to play along with him.  It was doubly special because not only did I love it, but I loved making music with my dad. So, I’m a big fan of Rock and Heavy Metal – I can’t help it!  But I also know that heavy metal has its place – and that place is not here, at services. Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu didn’t understand that. In my portion of Shemini, these two kids played with fire, literally.  They brought their own unusual offerings without telling anyone else. And a horrible accident occurred, and they were burned to a crisp. It’s a very tragic story that has a lot of lessons for teenagers, and especially for creative types like me.

Matthew Goodman

I have to say, I am one lucky kid. But with my teams winning, there are a couple of lessons that I have learned. Lesson number one:  Winning takes a lot of hard work, focus and determination. Always try your hardest. When you are trying to win a championship, you can’t take your foot off the gas, or be satisfied before it is over, and expect to win.  Look at the Patriots. A few years ago, they were losing 28-3 in the Super Bowl. They kept working hard when the other team took their foot off the gas and thought it was over. The Patriots came back and won.  My haftarah continues the story of Amalek that was also the subject of the maftir Torah reading.  Amalek attacked Israel right after they left Egypt.  They did not fight fair – as they attacked them from behind. Israel defeated them in the Wilderness; but in my haftarah, King Saul, who was ordered to destroy them completely, let’s their king, Agag off the hook.  Because of that, the nation of Amalek survived, and their descendant, Haman, nearly destroyed the Jewish people.  The holiday of Purim, which we celebrate this week, tells that part of the story.

Ben Kassel

From my ten commandments of soccer.  Number 3: Respect my team mates, and coaches, and NEVER talk back to an official. Nobody is perfect, mistakes are made, but respect is and must be an important trait of my personality. Number 4: Trust my teammates. In my portion, Moses’s father in law Jethro, teaches him how important it is to delegate.  Moses set up a system of judges who would only bring the toughest cases to him. He trusted them that they will  do their best, and in return he would do his best. Just like Moses  I have to trust that my team mates that they will step in front of a shot, and they have to trust me that I’ll block whatever they can’t get in front of. Nobody is perfect, mistakes are made. But I have to trust them to do their best, and in return I’ll always be ready to do my best.

Kyle Nadel

There have been other tests in my life experience as well.  Moving to the US was a big test.  When my mom became ill, we needed to be pulled out of school in Japan, and we moved to this area to get her the best medical care.  When we moved back to the New York area, my parents didn’t want me to forget my Japanese, so they sent me to a Japanese school in Greenwich, Ct.  There, I was the only completely American student, excluding my siblings. I looked and felt very different from my peers. I was challenged when I had trouble making many friends because I was the “new kid”.  Also, being the only American student, I spoke and understood less of the Japanese language than the other children, and, at the very beginning, I did not do too well in Kanji tests, which are the Japanese characters.  Eventually though, I passed more of these “tests,” as I started to study more.  Slowly, I overcame the test of socialization by becoming friendly with a few peers in the classes. I have been physically tested as well. Some of you may already know that I have broken, at separate times, my arm and my leg from one sport: skiing.  My parents decided I was just “unlucky” both times, so I was forced, against my will, to keep trying. Again, here, I was tested to persevere at something at which I had already failed twice in my mind.  Although I am physically healed by now, I am still a bit scared to go on trails with many trees.   Sometimes, I am forced to face this challenge, and my fears are subsiding.   Just for the record – I still enjoy skiing a lot. 

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Michael Luther on Ki Tetze

Shabbat Shalom!  From a young age, I have always been intrigued by Disney.  But over the last couple of years,  I have become obsessed! 

I love everything Disney,  but especially the theme parks. 

While some 13-year olds  spend their time surfing YouTube for videos of cats or gaming, I follow the latest video updates from Disney World vloggers… yes, they really do exist… and there’s more than three of them! 

If you want to know about the latest in happenings at Disney World, I’m your man! I’m sure some of you know that Star Wars Land opened just two weeks ago, including a ride where you can pilot  the Millennium Falcon. But, did you know ‖ that on August 23rd, Disney filed for a land permit to install pre-fabricated stairs at the Droid Depot in Star Wars Land? ...I did. 

I’ve even researched the price of living at Walt Disney World for a year…  it’s a whopping $287,000 per person… since I know you all wanted to know. 

So, it was natural for me when I began to look at my Torah portion of Ki Tetze, to see everything through the Disney lens. (Put on glasses).  When viewed this way, it almost seems like the entire portion came from Space Mountain instead of Mount Sinai.   

The portion has 72 mitzvahs, or laws – that’s about 12% percent of the 613 commandments in the Torah. Most of Ki Tetze’s laws have to do with relationships between humans, but Disney has done an excellent job of teaching these same rules through their iconic movie characters and parks. 

Here are some examples - 

The first mitzvah found in the portion talks about how important it is not to treat people as slaves. A woman captured in war cannot be mistreated.  In verse 21:14, it says clearly, “You must not enslave her.”

So many Disney characters faced that kind of treatment – like Rapunzel, or Jasmine or even Dumbo or Pinocchio.

Or, take the rebellious child, which we find in verse 18 of that same chapter. The Torah calls it a capital offense to not obey your parents. I know that now that I am a bar mitzvah, I am responsible  for my actions, and hopefully I won’t get executed  for not making my bed this morning. 

This verse is teaching us ‖ that kids should be responsible and not let family issues turn into a full-scale rebellion. Peter Pan and company learned that lesson well –  almost at the cost of their lives. When the Lost Boys  ran away from home ‖ and got to Neverland, what they wanted most of all was a parent. 

In verse 22, we are instructed to return lost items to their owner. Disney parks have taken that commandment to a whole new level. 

If you lose an item anywhere on the property, Disney Cast Members will search for it and send updates to your phone. 

Disney really takes seriously another commandment found in this portion… the mitzvah to love the stranger. As soon as you set foot in the park, you are greeted warmly by cast members, even though they have probably never seen you before. 

In chapter 22, verse 6, we are instructed to shoo away a mother bird before taking her eggs. The idea is to show compassion for animals – which is pretty much a part of every Disney movie…  except for maybe Bambi’s mom and Mufasa. 

In verse 4, it says that if you see an animal fallen in the road,  help it up… like Pumba and Timon helped to raise Simba, or the mouse in Dumbo.

In the next verse, women are instructed not to wear man’s apparel and vice versa.  Fashion has changed these days, but in traditional society,  these things were forbidden –  as we can see with Mulan.   The real message here is that women and men do not need to pretend to be what they are not.  

At the very end of the portion, we read about Israel’s arch enemy, Amalek. We are commanded to defeat them and wipe out their memory. Good defeats evil throughout the Bible and in just about every Disney movie.  I’d like to think that this always happens in real life, but unfortunately, it does not. The Yankees can’t win every game. Life is not always a Disney movie. 

On the other hand, there are no Amalekites around anymore, no ancient Romans, no ancient Egyptians, no Haman, and the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany are gone - but the Jews are still here! 

And so is Disney. Good things never die (and according to some, neither has Walt Disney)! 

For my Mitzvah project,  I’ve chosen to work with  David’s Treasure Chest Toy Closet, which provides free toys to hospitalized children. Toys bring life to children, even if they don’t come to life like they do in Toy Story. I’ll be donating, and I’m encouraging you to donate too.

If you would like to contribute toys ‖ or make a monetary donation, ‖ please see the information ‖ in my Bar Mitzvah Booklet, ‖ or the flyers in the lobby ‖ next to the toy collection box. ‖

Mensch-Marks Featured by the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey

Published by the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

A roundup of new Jewish books teach life lessons for character growth, just in time for the new year

LIBRARIANS’ ROUNDTABLE

September 11, 2019

The New Year brings new books for adults and children. We gathered recently to discuss some of the standouts.

IRENE: As we approach this time of year, we think about t’shuvah – repentance – and how we can live a better life. Rabbi Joshua Hammerman gives us “Mensch-Marks: Life Lesson of a Human Rabbi,” bringing together 30 years of personal, professional, and spiritual insight. There are 42 brief essays organized into categories of character, or “mensch-marks,” each one leading toward spiritual development. Hammerman writes, “If by sharing what I’ve learned, I can add a modicum of generosity, honesty and human connection in a world overflowing with cruelty, loneliness and deceit, then I’ll have done my job.” Here is a guide to being both human and a mensch at the same time.

MINNA: Sarah Hurwitz spent a decade as a political speechwriter for the Obamas and Hillary Clinton, but in “Here All Along” she speaks in her own voice. At age 36, after a difficult breakup, the author, an unobservant Jew, took an introductory class on Judaism that changed her life. Captivated by the rituals, ethics, social justice, and meaningful insights that she never gained in Hebrew school, Sarah Hurwitz wrote this book to share what she learned while inspiring other Jews to make Judaism their own.

AMY: Edmund Case believes it is time for the Jewish community to stop simply engaging in the mitzvah of welcoming the stranger. Instead, he advocates for a new way of approaching the “other,” the non-Jew. He suggests we need to practice radical engagement, and he describes what this looks like in his new book, “Radical Inclusion, Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future.” Case, founder of the Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism and retired founder of Interfaith Family, offers three invitations to interfaith couples to experience Jewish life and community; he also offers three guides, or roadmaps, to Jewish leaders and organizations.

MINNA: For younger readers, I recommend an historical fiction chapter book set on the Lower East Side in the early 20th century. “Rachel’s Roses” by Ferida Wolff follows third grader Rachel Berger as she tries to earn twenty-five cents to buy buttons to decorate her new skirt for Rosh HaShanah. Sibling rivalry is another theme as Rachel wishes to outshine her little sister, Hannah. Reminiscent of the All-of-a- Kind Family series, this will appeal to the elementary schoolage group.

AMY: Saralee Siegal is ten years old and has an extraordinary sense of smell. She is the executive assistant to her Zadie, the chef. The only smell she cannot identify is the secret ingredient in Zadie’s famous apple cake. With orders for the cake coming in quickly as Rosh Hashanah approaches, Zadie has an accident that affects his memory and Saralee must use her skills to discover that special ingredient in “Once Upon an Apple Cake, A Rosh Hashanah Story” by Elana Rubinstein. Seven-to-ten-year-olds will surely enjoy this holiday tale.

IRENE: We can visit Israel’s most fun places – a kibbutz, the beach, a market, and more and discover each spot’s special sound in this rhyming tribute to the sounds of Israel. Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh along with illustrator Steve Mack has produced a colorful 12-page board book, “Listen!: Israel’s All Around,” that introduces toddlers to many new sounds while acquainting them with the land of Israel. Sure to be a favorite with such rhymes as, “Crisp falafel, munch, munch, munch. Stuff a pita, crunch, crunch, crunch!”

AMY: I’m glad to see a new children’s book about the practice of tashlich. “Jackie and Jesse and Joni and Jae” by Chris Barash helps young children learn its meaning. In this picture book for 4-6 year olds, a group of children bring bread as their rabbi leads them through a forest to a river, where they recall the hurtful things they have done to their friends and throw their breadcrumbs into the water.

MINNA: “The Elephant in the Sukkah” by Sherri Mandell will entertain and educate preschoolers with its story about Henry, the retired singing elephant, who joins the Brenner family to celebrate Sukkot. When the elephant can’t fit inside the sukkah, young Ori finds a way to include the lonely pachyderm using a surprising Talmudic ruling that an elephant can make up one wall of a Sukkah!

IRENE: Rabbi Marx slurps spaghetti and throws his socks on the floor according to little Lena, the kid detective in the humorous account of the ins and outs of a Rabbi’s daily routine presented in “The Rabbi Slurps Spaghetti” by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Sharon Davey. This picture book is just right for 4 – 8 year olds who are curious about a Rabbi’s life from teaching Torah to attending a tea party.

For more information, contact us: Irene Afek at the Sanders Memorial Library of the Katz JCC (iafek@jfedsnj.org) and Congregation M’kor Shalom (library@mkorshalom.org); 7Minna Siegel at Temple Beth Sholom (msiegel@tbsonline.org); and Amy Kaplan at Congregation Beth El (akaplan@bethelsnj.org).

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Mensch-Marks Review in Tampa Bay Magazine

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TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Sydney Marks on Shoftim

Shabbat Shalom!

My portion of Shoftim revolves around the theme of justice – it includes the famous phrase, “Tzedek Tzedek tirdof,” “Pursue Justice!” – and it talks about how we should work to make this a better world.

It’s a perfect portion for me – because I have a very strong sense of right and wrong….I’m right and you’re wrong 😊

Seriously, I’ve always been concerned about justice - I watch the news more than many other teens and I’ve been troubled by how kids are being treated at the border and about racism and discrimination everywhere.

But I have a special concern for environmental justice.  We are living in a world where my generation has reason to worry about the impact of climate change on our own lives, not just on those generations who will come after us.

When I was in 5^th grade I was researching how kids in India and other parts of Asia have to wear masks all the time because their air is so polluted. And I can recall some of the big storms we’ve had here, that have been made worse by climate change.  

My clearest memory of Hurricane Sandy was that when we heard how bad it was going to be, my brother and I moved all our stuffed animals to the living room and built a fort around them to protect them.  As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize that stacking blankets and pillows with stuffed animals won’t protect us for long. We’ve got to change our world and we can begin in small ways, by recycling.

It so happens that the basis for the Jewish approach to the environment is found in my portion.  In chapter 20 of Deuteronomy, verse 19, it says, “Don’t cut down trees when besieging a city.”  לֹא-תַשְׁחִית אֶת-עֵצָה

And then the verse asks, כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר

“Is a tree an enemy soldier that you need to make war on it and destroy it?”

From this verse the rabbis came up with the concept of “Bal Tashchit,” teaching us how important it is to recycle and not waste.  For Jews, nothing should be wasted.

The Talmudic sage Rabbi Ishmael taught: if the Torah warns us not to destroy fruit trees, then we should be even more careful about not destroying the fruit itself. This applies to all food that is fit to be eaten, and not only the fruit of trees.

According to a 2011 study commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted.”  In the United States, less than three percent of this waste is recovered and recycled.  We need to do better.

Two years ago, my family did what the temple did a few years prior, we put solar panels on our roof.  I know that already we’ve saved a lot of energy and put less carbon into the atmosphere.  There are lots of other ways to make the world greener.  A few months ago, Connecticut started enforcing strict laws keeping us from using plastic bags at the supermarket.  I’m happy to say that my family has always done this.  Ever since I can remember, we’ve brought recycled bags to the supermarket.  We also use LED bulbs at home, which saves energy and makes things brighter too!

My mitzvah project is also related to the environment.  I’m donating to an organization called “4 Ocean,” which makes bracelets like this one that I have on my wrist.  Each bracelet is made with one pound of trash taken from the ocean.  Of course, the trash is cleaned!

You can order your own from the website for $20, or you can buy one of these necklaces like the one I’m wearing, which I will make for you $5 and then donate the money to “4 Ocean.”  Since 2017, 4 Ocean has removed over 6 million tons of trash from the ocean.  4ocean is a global movement actively removing trash from the ocean and coastlines while inspiring individuals to work together for a cleaner ocean, one pound at a time.

And that’s the only way to fight climate change and save the earth – one mitzvah at a time.