Shabbat-O-Gram for June 9

  Shabbat-O-Gram

The Shabbat-O-Gram is sponsored by Jon Eisenstein

 and Debbie Eisenstein in honor of their daughter, 

Sarah, becoming a Bat Mitzvah.

 

 Hope in Motion and Harmony in Action

Scenes from Sunday's Cancer Walk and last night's Cantor's Concert

See our complete spring and end-of-year album 

and stay tuned for photos from last night's concert.

Shabbat shalom!

 

Mazal tov this weekend to Sarah Eisenstein and her family as she becomes Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat.  This evening,we will be honoring our graduating 12^th graders with a special blessing (and a gift) and also awarding our Men's Club Scholarships.  Additionally, some TBE college students will join us, particularly those who have been on Birthright Israel or wish to share campus experiences regarding Israel.  We will have some 8^th graders as well who also just returned from Israel experiences.  This is a perfect way to recall the 50^th anniversary of the Six Day War, as we are this week.

And mark your calendars for June 16, when TBE's Meira Rosenberg will discuss her new book, Indiana Bamboo.  Mazal tov, Meira!  Also, our annual Pride Shabbat will take place on June 23^rd.  Stay tuned for more on that!

 

Stay tuned also for our Jewish Heritage Trip to Europe will embark on July 2.  Twenty two of us will be going, and in a real way we will represent the entire congregation as we will visit places that continue to define us, both as Jews and Americans.  I am hoping to send back a number of dispatches from our journey.

 

Fault Lines and Menorahs

 

 

See our parsha packet on the symbols of the menorah and flag

The Six Day War jubilee has stirred considerable interest in Israel and in the conflicting narratives that often confuse us.  Over the coming months, we will be commemorating the 70^th anniversary of the UN resolution that paved the way for partition  and that will be followed up with Israel's 70^th anniversary next spring.  So it will be a big Israel year here.

 

With that in mind, please mark your calendars now for two special events in the fall:

November 7: Hoffman Memorial Lecture.  Our speakers will be Daniel Gordis and Peter Beinart, well-known authors and pundits who span the right-left spectrum when it comes to Israel.  Through their popular podcast series sponsored by the Forward, "Fault Lines" they cross their ideological divides to tackle pressing issues facing the Jewish community. Peter and Daniel prove that meaningful conversation can take place despite significant fault lines. We are delighted to be hosting them both.

 

December 1: Uri Regev, executive director of Hiddush and former head of the Reform movement in Israel, will speak to us about religious freedom and equality in Israel, with particular regard to marriage rights for Jewish Israelis.  Regev visited TBE this week to speak to a group of Fairfield County rabbis and cantors (and it was so nice to meet with colleagues from up and down the pike) about many of the issues surrounding Jewish pluralism that tend too often to be swept under the rug. 

 

Uri also told me an interesting tale about the large cast iron menorah that is outside my office (see photo above).  The artist, David Palumbo, is well known for having designed the cast iron gates to the Knesset as well as the gates to the memorial pavilion at Yad Vashem.  What I did not know was that this decorated Israeli artist was a victim of Israel's endless culture wars.  His workshop was on Mt Zion, not far from a yeshiva that on a weekly basis extended a chain barrier across the road to keep people from driving in the area on Shabbat.  On a fateful Friday in 1966, Palumbo was riding on his motorcycle on Mt Zion, did not see the chain and was killed in the most gruesome manner imaginable.

One could say that the man who created the greatest artistic works of Jewish national unity, spiritual inspiration and healing, was killed by an act of religious intolerance and exclusion.

The menorah as a religious symbol has a fascinating history - and it is the subject of our Torah and haftarah readings this Shabbat. (Click for info packet)

 

Uri Regev, like Gordis and Beinart, are seeking to empower all of us to feel fully invested in contemporary Jewry's great work in progress, the State of Israel - the state symbolized and brought together by the menorah.

 

Three Pillars: My Greeting for the Cantor's Concert

Here are my words  as originally posted in the electronic journal for last night's concert:

 

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome everyone to our annual Cantor's Concert.  Tonight is about partnership and a leadership formula that has sustained Jewish communities for centuries.

 

A synagogue, like a stool, requires three firm legs to stand - a formula that is even found in our liturgy.  Almost exactly a thousand years ago, a prayer was added to the siddur to be recited on Shabbat morning, bridging the Torah reading and the Musaf service.  This prayer is called Yekum Purkan (literally, "May the deliverance arise"). (See that prayer in our new prayerbook). Its three paragraphs ask for divine protection for 1) religious leadership and students, 3) the membership as a whole, and 3) administrative leaders and volunteers who provide for the essential needs of the community, such as candles, wine for Kiddush and Havdalah and food for guests and the poor.

 

Even a thousand years ago, leaders understood that the sacred work of a congregation had to be a team effort, and if any of those legs were missing, the stool would not be able to stand.

 

Tonight we celebrate the strength of each of those pillars.  With regard to religious leadership, I could have no partner more passionate and inspirational than Cantor Magda Fishman.  Each day she challenges us to climb ever higher into the spiritual stratosphere, and her voice and energy give us a hefty boost in that direction. And this evening I warmly welcome her travel partners, the Divas, to Stamford and TBE.

 

With regard to membership, the incredible buzz generated by this concert is in no small part due to the sustained dedication our membership has demonstrated for our sacred work, and the excitement that we all share as we complete a highly successful programming year.  Special thanks are due to the family of Norma and Milton Mann z'l and the Mann Foundation for their sponsorship of our Cantor's Concert series.

 

And last but certainly not least, there is that third vital leg, embodied here for the past decade by our executive director, Steve Lander - and embodied by Lieba elsewhere in our community.  I've often thought that Steve and I aren't simply partners.  To paraphrase the Joker and Jerry Maguire, Steve completes me.  All the areas where I am not particularly skilled (like, say, fixing anything) are areas where he excels.  I'd say that the reverse might be true too, except that Steve delivers a mean d'var Torah - and he never steps on the punch line.  

 

My family and I have come to know the entire Lander family quite well over the past decade, and our love and respect deepens by the day.  If Cantor Fishman is the soul of our synagogue, than Steve Lander is its beating heart.  I could not be more fortunate to be partnering with them - and with our other talented professional and lay leaders.

 

So let's all celebrate - for tonight is a reflection of who we are and what we aspire to be.

  

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Mickey Flaum-Souksamlane on Shavuot

Chag Samayach--Happy Shavuot!

Today I would like to talk to you about how both positive and negative experiences have the ability to leave an impact on our lives.

I am sure if you thought about it, you could think back to the most impactful moments of your life, and see how they affected you.    What made these experiences so powerful for you?

Powerful experiences are shaped when you’re part of an event that makes you feel something so strongly, that your brain imprints the experience and then stores it away.

The most impactful experiences are usually derived from fear, sadness, happiness, curiosity, or pain.

When these emotions are at the center, you are most likely to be impacted in a real way. These experiences can also shape your morals and stay with you forever.

For example, a moment that really impacted me was when my little brother Evan was born.  I was about three at the time.  Then later on, I remember teaching Evan how to swim.  The experience made me become more protective of him – and more protective in general.  I don’t let anyone pick on Evan – except for me!

The Torah reading I read for you today describes what most would call the most impactful of all experiences in Jewish history because this is when the Jews received the Torah.  It’s found in Exodus chapters 19 and 20.

One aspect of the scene at Mount Sinai is especially curious.

It states in chapter 19, verse 17: “Moses led the people out of the camp toward God and they stood at the bottom of the mountain.”

The Midrash interprets the phrase ‘bottom of the mountain’ quite literally: the people were standing, not at the foot of the mountain, but underneath it.

The Midrash continues, saying,

“The Holy One held the mountain over them like a bucket and warned them: If you accept the Torah — good. And if not — here you will be buried.” (Shabbat 88a)”

Imagine the pressure they felt at that moment.  It’s amazing how the Midrash uses the term bucket to describe the mountain, because the Israelites must have felt the same pressure under the mountain as Michael Jordan felt in game six of the NBA finals against the Utah Jazz when he made the game winning bucket.

Overcoming pressure and hardship is what makes an experience truly impactful – the key is to take that hardship and turn it into a positive.

Specifically, as I stand here, I remember my mother explaining to me the hardships that my grand-mother went through, and how those hardships ultimately led her to her untimely death.  After my grandpa died of a heart attack when my mom was 4, my grandma got super depressed and committed suicide while my mom was still young.

My Bar Mitzvah project is to spread suicide awareness in memory of my grandma by raising money.

Suicide is a big problem that needs to be fixed:

• Each year, 44,193 people die by suicide,
• There are an average of 25 attempts for every suicide that results in death.
• More people die by suicide than by homicide in the United States.
• Suicide is the tenth-leading cause of death across all ages
• In addition, for the age range of 10-34 suicide is the second leading cause of death.
• Suicide costs the US $44 billion a year

I’ve put together a list of suicide prevention programs that you can donate to online.

On this Shavuot, I am accepting the Torah, just as the entire Jewish people accepted it thousands of years ago, which is just a little bit longer than Dirk Nowitzki has been in the NBA.  I’m proud to be celebrating my bar mitzvah on this special holiday.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Sophie Blomberg on Naso

Good morning folks. Shabbat Shalom. Those of you who know me know that I lead an unbelievably busy life. Check out my schedule on a random Thursday. I wake up at 6:45 am.  If needed - facetime friends to finalize studying for a test, out of the house and on the bus by 7:30, in school until 2:30, school basketball until 4:00, race to Hebrew School until 6, grab a slice of pizza at temple, meet my Bat Mitzvah tutor until 6:45 when mom picks me up and takes me to Travel basketball practice until 9.  

I arrive home around 9:15. Dinner. Homework and more Bat Mitzvah prep. No time for TV, no time to hang out. Bed by 10:30-11.

7 hours later I do it all again except delete Hebrew school and tutor and add in 1.5 -2 hours of swim practice or a private lesson.

You may think I am a bit nuts. A bit overscheduled.

You might think that this schedule would make me a little bit cranky. That is just not the case.   I get good grades, enjoy everything I do and can usually smile my way through the day.

            So… you may ask… what is my secret? I will tell you in a second… but first a word from the Torah.

My portion includes something very unusual and unexpected. There was a class of people in ancient times known as the Nazirites. Nazarites took vows to be set apart from others for the service of G-d; which required them to abstain from certain foods and beverages - including wine. They refused to cut any hair on their bodies.  They could not even visit the graves of their deceased family members because they did not want to be “ritually impure.”  They went above and beyond what others did at the time. They imposed strict order and limits on how they controlled their life and they did this voluntarily, dedicating themselves to G-d.

So, the Torah is teaching us, that in order to get control of our lives, we need to give something – and to go above and beyond the rules that are already in place.

In order to structure my time to get things done, like the Nazerite, I have chosen to give up certain things, like social media with my friends on most weekdays and, believe it or not, television.  Yes it’s true.  On most weekdays and even weekends when I have games or meets or, yes, services, I watch almost no TV.   For instance, I’m still on the second season of Grey’s Anatomy, which came out twelve years ago! 

People of my generation have found other ways to reduce their stress levels found in this chaotic world that do not require giving up something like TV.  Unfortunately for the Nazerites, they never had Fidgit spinners, Fidgit cubes or Stress balls - are all items that we use today to reduce our stress. And then there is slime…Most of you know that beginning this past March, slime was a big hit. Slime is today’s silly putty. It can consist of a wide variety of ingredients including glue, foam hand soap, shaving cream (preferably your father’s Barbisol hidden in the closet), lotions, food dye and borax.  A true slime maker will also have glitter, foam beads or sequins on hand. You may wonder why in the world anyone would want to make this gooey, sticky, substance.

Well, it accomplishes several goals.  For one thing, it drives our parents crazy, including mine.  I won’t go into detail, but suffice to say, that slime stain is still on the kitchen ceiling.  Also, I used to sell slime to my friends and made some money off of it.  But most of all, slime gives us a way to relax when we are stressed out.   If the Nazerites had had slime, their life would have been much less stressful!

I don’t know if it’s the slime or the lack of TV or the time I don’t waste online, but whatever it is, I think I’ve found the secret to being able to live a happy life with such a chaotic schedule.

In fact, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with myself now that my bat mitzvah studies are over.  I suppose I could stop by and read some Torah from time to time. Or maybe I’ll just finish Grey’s Anatomy.

(Put hands out as if weighing your options)

Torah…Grey’s Anatomy…. Grey’s Anatomy… Torah.

You know what?  I might just do both!

For my mitzvah project, I arranged for a swim event at the Westhill pool as a fundraiser for Swim Across America, helping to raise money for cancer research.  Thus far I’ve raised $2,294. 

Swimming is a great passion of mine.  I’ve been swimming since I was five and made the state meet twice; I practice five times a week for up to two hours each time and… which is why I wanted to write a dvar Torah about how to manage a very busy schedule!

Raising money for cancer research is very important to me because cancer has touched my life in many ways. I was named after my great grandmother, Estelle Klein, who died after a very long battle with cancer at age 93. I understand she was a very strong and special person who always put others before herself. She was a fighter. Although she wasn’t an athlete like me, she never gave up. Sadly, I never got to meet her but I can see that I got my strength and drive from her.

I have also been touched by a close friend’s brother, Eli Schwartz. Eli was diagnosed with cancer at age 5. Like Estelle, Eli fought hard and never gave up. As I got to know Eli, he became the little brother I never had. Eli, who is now in 4th grade is very happy - and most importantly I'm happy to say healthy and cancer free. 

Shabbat-O-Gram for June 2

 Shabbat-O-Gram

The Shabbat Announcements are sponsored by 

Jeff and Jill Blomberg in honor of their daughter, 

Sophie, becoming a Bat Mitzvah.

 

7th graders at their Aliyah Ceremony last week. (Photo by Dan Young) 

See our complete spring and end-of-year album

Shabbat shalom!

 

Mazal tov to the family of Sophie Blomberg (four generations at TBE!) and also to our ufruf couple, Jaclyn Bolno and Michael Becker.

 

A very special Mazal Tov to all our graduates, and to Brad Boyer, who is retiring from the US Navy this weekend after 30 years of service.  He will continue to serve our nation in other important ways.

 

On Sunday, TBE'ers will be well represented marching here in Stamford at the annual Hope in Motion cancer walk and in NYC at the Celebrate Israel parade.  Good luck to all our marchers.  And for those who wish to watch the parade, Stamford has a viewing area on the east side of 5th Ave. between 61st and 62nd St.

 

Next Friday, June 9, we will be honoring our graduating 12^th graders with a special blessing (and a gift) and also awarding our Men's Club Scholarships.  Additionally, I am inviting our TBE college students to return that night, particularly those who have been on Birthright Israel or wish to share campus experiences regarding Israel.  For those 12th graders who can't make it on the 9th, we're setting up an alternate night for us to see you off with a blessing, on June 30.

And mark your calendars for June 16, when TBE's Meira Rosenberg will discuss her new book, Indiana Bamboo.  Mazal tov, Meira!

Cantor's Concert Next Thursday,  June 8

 

 

Did you see the article about Steve and Lieba Lander in the Advocate?  See it here, and if you haven't yet ordered your tickets for next Thursday's Cantor's Concert, featuring our own Cantor Magda Fishman and the Divas on the Bima, with the Landers as our honorees as we celebrate Steve's 10th year as our Executive Director, you can do so here.  Tickets are going fast.

In Gal we Trust

 

 

Forgive us for going a little Gal Gadot crazy, as "Wonder Woman" opens to huge audiences and scintillating reviews.  She's been called the most significant Israeli export since Waze, and I'm wondering whether even Waze might run into some traffic trying to keep up with this former Miss Israel.  Gadot also served in the IDF, as most Israelis do, and so as result her film is being boycotted by the Lebanese.  I would call it their loss, but most will be able to buy the DVD eventually, so the boycott will have little impact.  Somehow I think even Hezbullah and ISIS fighters will be caught by their superiors streaming scenes from "Wonder Woman." 

 

Gadot's interview on Israel TV crept into that political zone and was summarily censored by her handlers as if the word "Lebanon" had been designated as classified by the FBI. But she transcends politics and brings people together, giving us something hopeful to cheer for during trying times.

 

She is primed to become the greatest Israeli superstar ever (sorry, Natalie and Bar) and Israelis are kvelling with pride.   Tel Aviv's Azrieli Towers were decked out with the words, "We are proud of you, Gal Gadot! Our Wonder Woman!"

 

To our gal Gal we say, we're proud too.

 

 

LeBron or Jordan - with a side of Curry

 

With the NBA Finals now in full swing, the question of the hour is this:  Which all-time NBA great is all-time greater?  This week, I tried to answer this question using my patented Super Bowl predicting methodology, which, as you will recall, is nearly infallible.  Yes, I was slightly off in picking the Patriots to win, 34-31 instead of 34-28, but who knew there would be overtime?

 

So which of these two basketball giants is truly the best? 

• Take a look at Joshua 4:7 (using the King James translation, of course), and you find this:  "The waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark when it passed over Jordan."

In an imaginary contest between the two, it seems that Jordan was cut off by Lebron as he drive down the lane, where Lebron, because he is taller, was able to pass over Jordan when he drove. Two points for James. 

• Look at Kings 7:4 - "In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan."  

Here, it looks like King James cast Jordan right into a series on Klay's turf, Klay being Klay Thomson of the Golden State Warriors, who often covers James.  This shows that Lebron is focused totally on the current matchup and is tossing the Jordan comparisons aside for the moment.  He says that the argument is good for barber shops, but not much else.  He is immersed in the here and now, rather than contemplating his legacy.  And it's a good thing, because the Cavs were dismantled in Thursday's opener. 

• Meanwhile, the Warriors' Stephan Curry is angling to insert himself into the argument.  He has a Hebrew tattoo stating, "Love never failed to be."  Yes, it's from the New Testament, but Hebrew counts for something. 

• Curry, incidentally, comes from the Hebrew word that means "cold."  While his shooting was red hot last night, his name means "cold" and the Jordan River is cold, so I suspect Curry would align himself with Jordan in this "who's better" argument. 

• Jordan was expert at the pick and roll.  In this video, his fans are cheering him on, singing, "Roll, Jordan, Roll!" 

So who is better?  The jury is still out. Lebron has his defenders.  Some have even claimed that James is Jewish. But in Jewish folklore, as well as Christian, it is the Jordan that inspires the most hope and faith - such as in this song by the great Israeli songstress Ofra Haza:

 

Yet to come is the day
When shalom and salaam will be established,
And the Jordan will flow
As a river of peace among us.
Yet to come
Is the day when shalom and salaam
Will be established- The day will come.

So while Lebron may be King, in my book, Jordan still rules.

 

The Mitzvah of Stewardship

 

Last week I emphasized how the world's religions have joined with the overwhelming majority of scientists, corporate leaders and nations in supporting the Paris Climate accords.  It is profoundly disappointing that President Trump has chosen to further isolate our country by aligning America with Syria and Nicaragua as the only nations on this planet not to sign on.

 

In response, it makes sense to share a few excerpts from the sermon on sustainability delivered in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, as we dedicated our award winning solar panels project (read about that project here):

 

The Hebrew word for wind is ruach, which also means "spirit."  In Judaism, the meteorological and spiritual are deeply intertwined.  The experience of a storm is a profoundly spiritual one, even in our day.  Perhaps especially in our day, since, we can pinpoint well in advance what will happen, yet we are completely powerless to stop it.  The weather is one of the few things left that reduces us to mush in the face of its power.  It makes us realize how insignificant we really are.

 

Except that we're not. 

 

We're not insignificant here.  Because we can make a difference.  We can turn the tide, in a very literal sense.  If we each take action, some of the damage of climate change can be reversed, or at least slowed.  Roxbury Road does not have to become beachfront property.  And from a Jewish perspective, what is most important is that we can fulfill God's call to Adam and Eve by preserving our planet - and we could save lives.

 

Feeling small is a cop out.  Being helpless is a crutch.  Not wanting to bother fighting for a sustainable planet because it is politically controversial for some inexplicable reason, well that is inexcusable.

 

In the words of environmental activist Nigel Savage, "You could argue that the Jewish people have been thinking about sustainable energy ever since God spoke to Moses out of a bush that burned but was never consumed. Moses was perhaps the first environmentalist: He recycled his staff into a snake, got Egypt to turn off all its lights for three days, and convinced an entire nation to go on a 40-year nature hike.  The Maccabees took a small cruse of oil and stretched it out for eight miraculous nights."

 

If Moses could do it, so can we.  If the Maccabees could do it, so must we.

 

Our sustainability efforts will continue, with our CSA, our Mitzvah Garden and of course the panels -and we plan to intensify those efforts as we look to refit our building over the coming years.         

 

Stewardship is a Mitzvah.

 

In case you missed what I shared last week:  Here is a collection of statements, organized alphabetically first by religion, then by denomination.   This list demonstrates the nearly unprecedented unity within the religious community on this important issue.

 

Baha'i

Buddhist

Christian: Anglican

Christian: Southern Baptist

Christian: Catholic - U.S. Catholic Bishops' Statement on Climate Change

Christian: Episcopal

Christian: Evangelcal

Christian: Evangelical Lutheran

Christian: Mennonite

Christian: Presbyterian

Christian: Quaker

Christian: United Church of Christ

Christian: Methodist

Hindu

Interfaith

Jewish

Muslim

Sikh

Unitarian Universalist

Academic: The (Yale) Forum on Religion and Ecology

 

Have the world's major religions ever agreed so wholeheartedly and single-throatily about anything else?  Undoubtedly a stray pastor or two will buck this overwhelming stampede for stewardship.  There are a few outliers who reject the scientific consensus, though if they've ever read the bible, it's hard to reject stewardship on religious grounds.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman