Shabbat and Hanukkah-O-Gram for Dec. 11

Shabbat-O-Gram

Shabbat Shalom, and mazal tov to Jessica Olin and Sydney Eben, the last TBE b'not mitzvah of 2014 - and to their families, who are sponsoring this week's Shabbat-O-Gram and weekly announcements.  Click here to read Max Trell's Torah commentary from last Shabbat - and to see the connection between Jews and professional wrestling!  This Shabbat morning, Jessica will be the final student from our Bar/Bat Mitzvah class of current TBE 8^th graders.  Mazal tov to all of them!

 

The Hammerman family menorah

Hanukkah begins this coming Tuesday night (and don't forget our big musical Hanukkah celebration next Friday!)  Here are some resources for you:

• A sourcebook of materials
• A nifty D.I.Y candlelighting guide
• Some essential Talmudic  texts
• An interesting historical analyisis
• An inspirational passage from Natan Shanansky's autobiography, "Fear No Evil, describing Hanukkah in the Gulag
• A stunning Hanukkah Menorah collection from the Jewish Museum
• Collection of photographs of ancient menorahs 

  

 

Newtown, Two Years Later

Today is the second anniversary of the Newtown shootings.   Propelling the post Newtown world from darkness toward light takes us in three distinct directions.

1)       Healing - as we pray together at services and at events like this evening's vigil coordinated by the Enough Campaign at the Ferguson Library, and through our tears will emerge some sense of healing. We are all affected so profoundly by what happened two years ago.

2)       Activism - see the 2013 State Scorecard and see how improved gun laws could really make a difference for public safety.  School shootings have become so commonplace that they are no longer front page news in this country.  This is madness.  Connecticut is way ahead of most states, for which we can be proud.  But nationally, there is a long way to go.  And so we ask, what can we do to change our culture of violence?

3)       Acts of Kindness - The people of Newtown have asked that we remember the victims through performing 26 acts of kindness and love, one for each of the victims.  See the Newtown Kindness website, and learn more about the victims on the very moving  Sandy Hook family site.

All of these options lead us in the direction of life, affirming and choosing life in the face of death, life after Newtown.

With that in mind, I share here, with her permission, the testimony shared by Dana Horowitz last winter here at Beth El.

Memories of a Father, by Dana Horowitz

Some called him Brewer.  Some called him Bruce Lee.  Others called him Brucie.  His name was Bruce Horowitz and I called him dad.  His smile would light up a room.  He was one of the friendliest and most personable people you would ever meet. 

He loved taking hikes, especially at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, CT, listening to music, photography, sailing with the sun shining on his face, and most of all he loved doing these activities with me, his only child.  I was proud to call him one of my best friends.

On May 1, 1992, my dad turned 46.  It was my junior year of high school.  He had stopped by my house that morning, (my parents divorced when I was 10), so that I could give him his birthday gift: a photo of us from a photography project we worked on together, smiling and eating cookies.  He loved the picture.  Little did I know, as I watched my father pull out of the driveway smiling ear to ear that it would be the last time I ever saw him.

Three days later, on the morning of May 4, he was shot and killed, point blank, in his place of employment in Hamden.  He was a public insurance adjuster who had a meeting with his supervisor, and their 31-year old client.  This client shot and killed my father, and then my father's supervisor with a 9mm gun.  A gun he had without a permit.  A gun he shot a total of 10 times.

I was eating lunch in the courtyard of my high school when I was summoned and escorted to the principal's office.  As I walked in, my heart sank at the sight of my mother in tears; I knew something was terribly wrong.

"Your father was shot and killed at work this morning," she said to me.  I was 16 years old and couldn't believe what I was hearing.  Could this really be happening in my life? I was in shock.

The immediate days that passed were not easy.  Despite my heartbreak and disbelief, this double homicide had become front page news all over New England.  On the day of the funeral, local news channels reported directly outside of the funeral home as cars were pulling into the parking lot. Our privacy was lost and our pain was shared with complete strangers.  My father's name was in the news for days, as was mine.  When I returned to school after a week of mourning, I felt like people looked at me differently, they didn't know what to say.  Most said "I'm sorry", but it was never comfortable for them or me.

That morning, my world changed forever.   My father became a statistic, another victim of gun violence.  Now, more than 20 years later, whenever I read about gun violence at a school, on a university campus, in a movie theater, or just in someone's neighborhood, my heart breaks for the families that lost loved ones.  I am angry that someone made a life choice that not only left someone dead, but left a permanent scar on their family and their community.  Using a gun to kill innocent people is horrible.  No one should have to endure the pain of losing someone they love before a full life was lived. 

I now have two children of my own and the hardest question my five year old daughter asked me, which I have not yet honestly answered, was "How did your daddy die?"  How do I answer that question?  What do I say?  A five year old is just a child, an impressionable soul that embraces life with such joy and wonder.  I never want to take that away from her.  One day she will know the truth, but it won't be for a long, long time. 

My dad would have been the best grandfather.  He would have taught my kids about trust, equality and love just as he taught me when I was a child.  He would have been proud of both of them for all of their large and small successes.  He would have made each child feel special and valued as he did for me during the sixteen years he was in my life.  My dad was a special man and despite his life being stolen from me, I take comfort in knowing that no one can steal my beautiful memories.  Memories live forever.

 

Acceptance Speech of Lisa Manheim for Harvey Peltz Award

Lisa Manheim received the prestigious Harvey Peltz Award at last night's UJF Annual Meeting, held here at TBE.  Her words were so inspiring I asked if I could share them here.

My Federation story began on a rainy Sunday in February, 1985.  I straggled into the Bridgeport JCC with my parents, who were chairing something called Super Sunday.  I expected a carnival or a dance party for an event whose title included the word "Super."  What I walked into instead was a large room, filled with black telephones, lined up on tables which were set up in rows.  In the back of the room, there was an enormous cauldron of soup simmering, to feed the volunteers.

My dad sat me down and explained that Super Sunday was a day when the Jewish community came together to call on other Jews to pledge money to our Jewish Federation.   I'm sure we had a long conversation about all the good and important things that Federation does,  but what I really remember was the soup. The smell was intoxicating- onions, garlic and vegetables-as it permeated the auditorium of the JCC.  I had come for the Super, but I stayed for the soup. It's what I remember most about that day.

And I realize now, 30 years later, that Federation is all about the soup.

I think about my mission to Israel in 2000, cooking lentil soup in a small kitchen in Be'er sheva, with Jews who had just emigrated from Ethiopia.  With the help of Federation dollars, they had made the harrowing journey to Israel, which included days of walking in the desert.  

I remember the chicken soup I brought to an elderly Jewish woman in Budapest on another Federation mission. She was dressed all in black, living on the 5th floor of a crumbling walkup.  She had escaped from the Nazis during World War II and come back to her home city, determined to pick up the pieces of her life.

I recall matzo ball soup served at the monthly Shabbat dinners that UJA sponsored in New York City, where I created a chevrah of friends who, to this day, are known as my "UJA friends."  And I think of the Sunday afternoons with these friends in soup kitchens and shelters, ladling soup to people in Queens and Harlem, Jews and non-Jews, who were having trouble making ends meet. 

United Jewish Federation is all about the soup. We feed people who need food, we nourish people who need warmth, we provide community for those who are alone or seek company.

I am thankful to UJF for honoring me with the Harvey Peltz Award.  It has been pointed out that I am following in some mighty footsteps, men and women who know the true meaning of mitzvot and generosity.  I strive to live up to their examples. 

Jeff, Emmet, and I are lucky to have a community who nourishes, feeds, and warms us every day.

Thank you to Gan Yeladim, Shorashim, JCC, and Carmel Academy who have imbued Emmet, and our family, with strong Jewish values and high academic principles.

Thank you to our synagogue, Temple Beth El and Rabbi Hammerman, for providing us with our spiritual home (and often our social playground).  I am proud to serve on the Board of Trustees of this wonderful place.  

Thank you to those at United Jewish Federation, particularly Jim Cohen, Rebekah Raz, Sharon Franklin, the YLD Board, and my partner in crime Dana Horowitz.  I truly love and believe in this organization and it is my pleasure and honor to work with all of you.

Thank you to my friends, who are always supportive.  As one friend put it, "It's expensive to be Lisa's friend."  (It's all for a good cause).

Thank you to my parents for setting such an important example, all those years ago, for my sister and me, about the importance of community, tzedakah, and tikkun olam.

Thank you to my husband and Super Sunday co-chair Jeff, who understands these values as well and as deeply, and makes it possible for me to attend lots of meetings with only a minimal amount of guilt.  I am also trying to get him to join more committees.

 

And for those of you who don't know, Jeff and I are co-chairing Super Sunday this year, one generation after my parents chaired it before me. To everyone in this room, we look forward to your participation on February 1.  There will be a pot of soup waiting. 

 

 
 

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah!

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Statement by Conservative/Masorti Leadership on Possible Nation-State Legislation

New York (Nov. 30) – The following is a joint statement by the collective leadership of the Conservative/Masorti movement of possible nation-state legislation currently working its way through the Knesset.

“The past months have been a time of great concern for the security and defense of the State of Israel and also for rising anti-Semitism around the world. Indeed, the continuing need for a secure Israel, a proud Jewish and Democratic state, is made more apparent every day. The achievements of Israeli society to the betterment of life around the world are expressed through the remarkable contributions of the Jewish state to humanitarian causes and advances in science and technology.

Current versions of a new nationality bill now under discussion will erode, rather than strengthen the democratic character of Israel. Strong and clear opposition by leading figures currently in office, including President Reuven Rivlin, raise important issues of the possible erosion of democratic freedoms resulting from this bill, the risk of attrition of the rights of Arabs and other minorities and the risk of further eroding values of religious pluralism.

We call upon Israel’s political leadership to refrain from passage of any bill that weakens the social contract already effectively expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Basic Laws which delineate Israel’s most precious ethical, moral and democratic political values.”

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President, The Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Bill Gershon, President, The Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Steve Wernick, CEO, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Richard Skolnik, President, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Shueli Fast, Chairperson, Masorti Movement
Yizhar Hess, CEO, Masorti Movement

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Max Trell on Vayishlach

Shabbat Shalom!

For the past few years, I have become a big fan of wrestling.  All kinds of wrestling.  Everything from the WWE to MMA – (which is mixed martial arts).   Within a few weeks, I expect to earn my junior black belt in Kempo karate– so it would be best not to mess with me. 

I’ll bet you never knew that Jews have historically been big in the wrestling world.  Why, we even call one of the martial arts JEW Jitsu!

And there’s also JEW-Do!  

n the professional ranks there have been great Jewish wrestlers, including Macho Man, Paul Heyman (who did not get his name from Purim) and of course, Goldberg!  So you can see that wrestling is really big for Jews!

To top it all off, my portion contains the most important wrestling match ever, with the possible exception of when the Rock defeated Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania 18 in 2003.

Of course I’m talking about the main event of Wrestlemania –negative one thousand, the match where Jacob the Patriarch took on The Stranger – part man, part God, part angel, part Jacob himself, in a fight to the finish along the shores of the Yabbok River.

Jacob’s name, Ya’akov, by the way, could be a play on the name of that river, or, more the point, even a play on the word Ya’avek, which means “he wrestled.”

During that wrestling match, which lasted until dawn, the angel nearly won it with his patented hip-breaker move.  Jacob was down for the count – his hip socket injured.  But then he got up, wrapped his arm around the angel’s neck and won after the angel tapped out.  It might be the most talked about match ever – today, Jews all over the world are talking about it. 

Oh yes.  One other detail:  Jacob’s name was changed to Israel – which means “he wrestled with divine beings and people and lived.” 

So when you think of it, not only was one of our great heroes a wrestler, our entire nation – Israel – MEANS wrestler.  So basically one might consider the land and state of Israel to be just one big wrestling arena.  Unfortunately, that’s true.

Wrestling is also a key to living as a Jew.  Nothing comes easy, brother!  Having just prepared for today, I am living proof of that! 

Through this process, I’ve learned that the struggle is even more important than getting to the finish line.

Sometimes the hardest match is when we wrestle with ourselves.  On the night Jacob crossed that river, Jacob didn’t know what to do, whether to confront Esau, his brother, whom he ran from twenty years before, or to run away.  He had always run away before.  Whenever the going got tough, Jacob got going.

In my life, I’ve had to wrestle with some tough decisions too, like the choice of which school to attend, when I moved this year.   It was not an easy choice – but it was mine to make, so I couldn’t run from it.

The good thing is that although I now live in two communities, I have deep roots here at Beth El.  I’m the 6^th generation of my family to belong here.   Just outside in the lobby, there is a program for the groundbreaking of the old Beth El building on Prospect St, and I saw that it contains the name of my great great great grandfather, Harris Gruber.   I’m proud to be carrying on the traditions of the Gruber family and the great legacy of Goldberg, Macho Man and Paul Heyman.

As I become a bar mitzvah, I understand that we never really stop wrestling… but that’s also what helps us to grow.

Big Tents and Red Tents - Shabbat-O-Gram

Shabbat Shalom and mazal tov to the Trell family, sponsors of this week’s Shabbat-O-Gram, and a special mazal tov to Max Trell, who has deep TBE roots on both sides of his family (6^th generation on his dad Jeff’s side) and becomes Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat.  And happy December 5, a date that has a very unusual connection to Jewish liturgy.  It’s when we praying for rain in an agricultural blessing in the middle of the daily Amida.  Why Dec 5?  All I’ll say is that it is complicated and has to do with the date growing season in ancient Iraq.  Curious?  Read the whole story here.

Also, join us for Comedy Night on Sat. night if you haven’t already made reservations.  And we’re proud to note that Cantor Fishman will be featured at some concerts in the tri-state region this weekend, including this one produced by the National Yiddish Theater.

Big Tents and Red Tents

Today’s Shabbat-O-Gram revolves around the theme of Big Tents and Red Tents.  That fits in nicely with tonight’s “This American Jewish Life” presentation by Beth Styles at our 7:30 Kabbalat Shabbat service.  Beth will talk about her life journey and the rediscovery of her birth parents (who will be here).

Earlier this week, I was proud to have participated in Stamford’s 17th Annual World AIDS Day Interfaith Service, always one of the most important events on this community's interfaith calendar.  The Advocate immortalized me on the next day’s front page (see photo below), even though I was the least colorfully adorned clergy there.  It was an honor to be sitting next to my friend, Imam Kareem  Adeeb, the only Muslim leader to be president of an interfaith council in this country.  Stamford’s interfaith community is indeed a big tent.

“The Red Tent” on Lifetime

In 1997, Anita Diamant’s biblically based novel, “The Red Tent,” became a word-of-mouth hit, sold three  million copies and has been translated into more than two dozen languages. This Sunday it will be featured on Lifetime as a miniseries.  See “The Red Tent” home page on Lifetime, along with this Lifetime study guide.  It can’t be a coincidence (or can it?) that this Shabbat we read the story of Dinah, the subject of the novel.  Dinah’s was Jacob’s 13^th child and only daughter. Dinah never founded a tribe, unlike all of her siblings (and Joseph got two), but hey, she got a best seller and Lifetime miniseries, which is more than I can say for Naftali and Manasseh. 

The “Rape of Dinah” as it’s so often called, is one biblical tale that they did not teach us in Hebrew School.  The novel (and the steamy miniseries) and some contemporary commentaries tend to see Dinah’s controversial relationship as more consensual, which makes this a very appropriate time to discuss a whole variety of hot button issues not necessarily covered in the novel, including date rape, campus party culture, the silence of the victim, intermarriage and ethnic “purity,” and whether collective punishment is ever justified.  Dinah’s story deserves a novel, and she deserves a voice. See some contemporary feminist material on Dinah that I’ve collected from various sources.  Also see this ”Women of Faith” conversation guide on “The Red Tent.”

I haven’t previewed the series, but I’ll be DVR-ing it this Sunday (hey, it’s up against “Homeland,” “The Newsroom” and last but not least, Patriots-Chargers; incidentally, “Homeland” fans will notice that Brody’s wife has morphed into the matriarch Rachel in “The Red Tent.”)

Israel’s Big Tent

…Big Tent as in Big Top, because Israel’s political system has turned into a circus.  The government is dissolving after less than two years in office and new elections will be held in March.  Apparently, the Jewish Nation/ State basic law that was approved by the cabinet last week but will likely not be voted on by the departing Knesset, was a device used by the Prime Minister to hasten his government’s collapse so that he can go back to the polls, in his hopes of cobbling together a more right wing coalition that could then pass the same bill.  One of the largest organs of American Jewish journalism, the LA Jewish Journal, has made it clear that the proposed bill could well be the “red line,” the final straw that ruptures ties between American Jewry and Israel.  If you read through some of the articles I’ve collected on the topic, you’ll have a better idea as to why. 

In fact, the proposed law is legally unnecessary and symbolically redundant.  The Declaration of Independence serves well in defining Israel’s character as both Jewish and democratic, assuring the “complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.”  One response to the proposed bill has been to make that Declaration of Independence, signed by Israel’s founders, the preamble to an as yet nonexistent Constitution.   That’s a great idea, except that some believe, not without justification, that were Israel’s Declaration of Independence to be voted on by the current Knesset, it might not pass!

So, aside from creating a tempest to blow up the government, there seems to be a more fundamental, underlying goal of this Nation-State Bill, and that is to pave the way for a “one state solution,” annexing a good deal of the West Bank (Naftali Bennett wants to immediately annex 60 percent, “Area C” as it’s called) where a potential Jewish minority would assured preferential legal status.  There is a word for that - the dreaded “A” word.  In other words, this bill would be the greatest gift Israel could ever give to the B.D.S movement, an early Hanukkah present for Jimmy Carter and, as the LA Jewish Journal correctly states, the red line that American Jews simply will not cross.  We Jews have gained too much from living in a democracy to abandon democratic values now – especially since such blatant discrimination flies against the very Jewish values a truly Jewish state is supposed to promote.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “It’s Iran, Stupid.” While the Israeli government should be doing everything it can right now to keep the world’s eye on the single most pressing existential danger to Israel and the region, they are fiddling with something totally unnecessary.  Additionally, if the Prime Minister truly believed in a two state solution, as he has claimed, or at least if he wants to strengthen Israel’s diplomatic hand at a precarious time, he should not be the one shoveling dirt on diplomacy’s grave.  At a time when hatred is spilling over in the country, including an alarming increase in lone-wolf terror attacks and the despicable arson attack at the only Jewish – Arab cooperative school in Jerusalem, a responsible government would be calming the fires rather than fanning the flames.  When the brother of a Druze policeman killed in the line of duty during the horrific terror attack at a Jerusalem synagogue last month heard about the Jewish state bill, he said the Druze equivalent of “What are we, chopped liver?” and suggested that these incredibly loyal Israeli citizens would bristle at the prospect of second class status.  To this, a Likud Knesset member proposed an amendment to the bill granting special status to Druze who serve in the military.   That proposal only confirms how ludicrous the bill was in the first place.  If you need to devise a plan for affirmative action even before the law takes effect, there is something rotten about the whole idea.

If Israel is to fulfill its vision of being the Big Tent that its founders promised, both for Jews and for other groups, the Jewish State bill is a red line it dare not cross. On the other hand, were Israelis and Jews throughout the world to come together and affirm the basic values espoused in that visionary document, signed on a day in 1948 when the nascent state was being existentially threatened by armies attacking from all sides, this red line could be transformed to glorious hues of blue and white.

Shabbat-O-Gram for Thanksgiving

An early Shabbat Shalom

As we brave our way through the storm for our Thanksgiving destination, you can get some inspiration from Sara Gatz's bat mitzvah speech last Shabbat - her topic was travel.  You also be inspired by Josh Pickel's remarks on acting earlier in the day.  This Friday night we are welcoming and naming Sydney Gella Friedman daughter of Matt and Diana Friedman and granddaughter of Susan and Bob Friedman. Mazal tov to the Friedmans!

Last week's Ugandan Jewry themed service was fantastic in all respects.   Special thanks to Julie Trell, daughter of Gail and Steve Trell, who provided - and took - the stunning photos of the Abayudayan community. See this video tour of the community's first synagogue, also done by Julie.

An Attitude of Gratitude: Shabbat Hodu

On Thursday, we'll set at our tables and pat our tummies, looking around at all our loved ones, and echoing Rabbi ben Zoma, who said, two thousand years ago, "Who is wealthy?  The one who is happy with what she has." 

And then on Friday we shop 'til we drop.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with shopping, giving gifts and wanting more for ourselves.  But Thanksgiving weekend demands that we cultivate an attitude of gratitude, not just a gumption for consumption.  This Friday night we'll be doing just that at our 7:30 service, which we are calling "Shabbat Hodu" (Hodu being the Hebrew for "thank you" as well as "turkey."  Go figure. 

Join us and if you have any out of town guests for the weekend, this is the perfect time to show them what all the excitement surrounding our Kabbalat Shabbat services is about!

This service packet could also be very helpful at your Thanksgiving dinners.  You'll find passages, prayers and quotations.  You might consider placing quotes about thankfulness on cards at each place around the table.  At our service, we'll be singing an alternative prayer for food, found in the Talmud, called Brich Rachamana.  You can read the interesting back story and hear it chanted here.

The Pope's 10 Tips for a Happier Life

In a recent interview with an Argentine publication, Pope Francis released ten tips for a happier life.  I thought they were perfect for all of us as we head into a holiday weekend dedicated to preserving the precious balance between "satisfied with what I have" and "striving for more."    I've added my annotations in italics.

1. "Live and let live." Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, "Move forward and let others do the same." 

  "LIVE AND LET LIVE" IS NOT REALLY A JEWISH VALUE, ACTUALLY - WE ARE OUR BROTHERS' KEEPERS, AND WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A FENCE, OT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, IS STILL OUR BUSINESS.

2. "Be giving of yourself to others." People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because "if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid." 

NO ARGUMENT HERE!

3. "Proceed calmly" in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist - gaucho Don Segundo Sombra - looks back on how he lived his life.  

SEE THIS PACKET ON THE JEWISH VALUE OF TRANQILLITY. "A person who has mastered peace of mind has gained everything." (Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm)

4. A healthy sense of leisure. The Pope said "consumerism has brought us anxiety", and told parents to set aside time to play with their children and turn of the TV when they sit down to eat. 

I'M ALL FOR RAISING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY KIDS. AS RABBI ABRAHAM IBN EZRA: "Life is for love."

5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because "Sunday is for family," he said. WE CALL IT SHABBAT - SAME DIFFERENCE

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. "We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs" and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.  

WE'RE THE ONES WHO DREW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WORK AND WORSHIP, UNDERSTANDING THAT LIFE IS  DIGNIFIED THROUGH HONEST WORK

7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation "is one of the biggest challenges we have," he said. "I think a question that we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'" 

BROWSE THE HAZON SITE TO SEE CORE JEWISH ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN SYNCH WITH THE POPE'S IDEAS

8. Stop being negative. "Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,'" the Pope said. "Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy." THE POWER OF JEWISH POSITIVE THINKING

9. Don't proselytize; respect others' beliefs. "We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyses: 'I am talking with you in order to persuade you,' No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing," the Pope said. 

I GUESS TORQUEMADA DIDN'T GET THE MEMO.  NICE CHANGE FOR THE CHURCH

10. Work for peace. "We are living in a time of many wars," he said, and "the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive" and dynamic. 

COULDN'T AGREE MORE

Share these around your Thanksgiving table and see how many you agree with - and how many we can resolve to integrate into our lives over the coming weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving, Shabbat Shalom  and Safe Travels!

Don't forget that our morning services are at 9 AM on Thurs, Fri. and Sunday, 9:30 on Shabbat.

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Sara Gatz on Vayetze

As many of you know, travel is one of my favorite things.  From the moment I could walk, I loved to travel.  Actually, even before I could walk, I’ve been told that, instead of crawling, I used to scoot across the floor on my butt. 

I’ve have been to lots of places, like Italy, France and  California. So I was thrilled when I found out that not only does my portion talk about Jacob’s travels, but the actual name of the portion, “Vayetze,” means “he went out.”

How much do I love to travel?  Well, I have this interesting custom:  Everywhere I go, I take a picture of my feet.  I started doing it about three years, when we went to Washington DC.  I have a photo of my feet in front of the White House.  At this point, I have about fifty photos of my feet in some of the world’s most exotic locations.  I can’t wait for my class to go to Israel, so I can photograph my feet in front of the Kotel.

It’s interesting to note that the Hebrew word for a pilgrimage is “regel,” רגל which also means foot.  The three pilgrimage festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, are called sh’losha regelim literally is the three feet.

That tells us that there is something spiritual about travel, especially when you are travelling to a holy place at a special time.

My portion tells us that too.

Jacob wakes up from his dream and says “G-d was in this place, and I- I didn’t know.”  He’s so overwhelmed that he said the word “I” twice.

He was not in any special place, just a clearing with a bunch of rocks that he put under his head.  But that is the place where he dreamed about a ladder to heaven and where God promised to protect him on his journey. 

This verse teaches us that everyplace we go is special.  The important thing is that we need to appreciate its greatness.

At this time of year, the week of Thanksgiving, we make a different kind of pilgrimage, one that we do, fittingly to honor the people we call the pilgrims.  For many, that journey is a trip back home, or to any place where our family and friends are gatherings.  For my family, Thanksgiving has always been the time when we would make a pilgrimage to California – we’ve done it every year except for two: Rebecca’s bat mitzvah year was the first.  The second is mine.

Sometimes what’s most special about traveling is that it helps us appreciate what’s special about home. 

Jacobs dream also teaches us that what’s most important about pilgrimage is not just about the destination but the steps along the way.  Each rung on that ladder to heaven was as important as making it to the top or bottom.

That’s why photos are so important.  They can help us appreciate where we’ve been – each step along the way.  Now there are some people who just can’t stop taking pictures and it can get annoying at times.  But when we look back, we always appreciate them!

It’s interesting that one of Gods’ names is makom which also means place.  So Jacob was right. God is in this place, but we usually don’t realize it.  Every place we go is connected to God.

For mitzvah project, I’m going to be working with special needs children at Friendship Circle. I’ve already completed the training process.  I chose this project because I am inspired by my cousin Tyler, who is here today.  I can tell you that whoever I end up working with, when we get together, God will be in that place – and I will know it.

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Joshua Pickel on Toldot

Shabbat Shalom!

Many of you know that I’ve done a lot of acting.  For instance, I was in a couple of episodes of “Law and Order,” also in “Royal Pains,” and did a voice over for a commercial for Heinz ketchup that was shown during the Little League World Series.

I liked doing it – A LOT – but acting is not as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be.  It can be really EXHAUSTING work, especially for my mom who has to SCHLEP me to all of my auditions and calls to the set.

I was happy to hear that my portion contains one of the greatest acting roles in the entire Torah.  Jacob plays none other than his brother Esau in a high stakes game to convince his father, Isaac, that he is the one who should get the blessing and NOT his brother. 

It’s also funny that even from when I was really young, I always wanted to become bar mitzvah on a week when we read about Jacob. 

Jacob is arguably the GREATEST actor in Jewish history.  His name even means DECEIVER.  And, later on, he gains a new stage name as he enters the stage of history, “Israel.”  What becomes clear about Jacob is, that through his acting, his true self emerges.  Even as he pretends to be his brother, he learns a lot about himself and the power he has to change things. 

So in the commercial when I said, “Heinz, proud sponsor of Little League,” I helped people to draw a connection between America’s national pastime and a company that makes ketchup. 

Does that make the world a better place?  Probably not, BUT, it helps me to know that the words I speak CAN change things.  Other actors can make people laugh and cry.  For now, I know I can make them like ketchup. 

Becoming a bar mitzvah is very similar.  I recite words on a stage that make people cry – ESPECIALLY my parents.  I have to memorize lines and work on how to present them.  And when all is said and done, I CAN make a difference.

In this case, though, I’m not pretending to be someone else.  I’m showing people who I REALLY am.  I’m doing something I love and showing all of you the role I want to play in the Jewish community.  This is one of the most important roles I’ll ever play.  

So here’s another role that I once played, for a theater at camp:  Peter Pan.   I think it’s safe to say that Peter Pan never became a bar mitzvah.  He NEVER wanted to grow up.  AND, I must confess that there’s a little Peter Pan in me.  But by taking on this new role as a bar mitzvah, I recognize that I HAVE to grow up.  Still, I hope I can combine the two roles in some way.  I never want to lose the playfulness of Peter……but at the same time, I need to gain the sense of responsibility of a Jewish adult.

Which brings me to my mitzvah project.  Some of you already know that I’ve been selling chocolate and raising money for UNICEF in order to pay for the cost of one of car to carry supplies for children in need.  I need to sell 1,500 candy bars to reach the $3,000 goal.  I’m well on my way – BUT… if you have a sweet tooth and want to buy some, email me after Shabbat!