Hadassah Meeting
There will not be a Hadassah meeting in January.
1/7 NO Sunday School
1/14 Field Trip
1/21 9:20 Hebrew, 10:00 Class
1/28 9:20 Hebrew, 10:00 Class
1/3 NO Hebrew School
1/10 School at 3, 4, & 5:00 pm
1/17 School at 3, 4, & 5:00 pm
1/24 School at 3, 4, & 5:00 pm
1/31 School at 3, 4, & 5:00 pm
Join us Wednesday, January 10 between 7—9 am at Select for the monthly Breakfast Schmooze.
Dear Friends,
In ancient Israel, the Jewish calendar was determined through observations of the new crescent moon. On average the lunar month was 29 1⁄2 days long (some months 30 days, others 29 days with a leap month every two to three years to come in line with the solar year of 365 days). Witnesses would be called in to the court to confirm these astronomical appearances. Afterwards the word would go out for whichever holiday was approaching. The announcement was accomplished by lighting signal fires. Inevitably there were clashes between this sect and that sect, as in the case of the Cutheans, also known as Samaritans who were opposed to rabbinical authority. They would try to throw the pronouncements off by lighting fires on the wrong days, the first phishing scam long before the internet was born. Even more problematic was the curse of distance as Jews living outside of the land would not get the news in time. To fend off the possibility of faulty observance, the rabbis mandated two days of Yom Tov thus the need for two Passover Seders.
We’ve come a long way from those less sophisticated forms of communication. The invention of the phone and its old advertisement “Reach out and touch someone” has long been surpassed by the web and the invention of the iPhone, Instagram, Facebook etc. If Karl Marx had warned that “Religion was the opiate of the People,” other intoxicants have surpassed that notion. Psychologists have been taking note of the addictive behavior of cell phones, texting and the like. Even more frightening than the social consequences of living in a communication bubble are other awful concerns like “cyber bullying” and false communication. Others have chronicled how these devices have diminished mental acuity. There is an unhappy review that goes, “Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom.” In this age of rapid communication unfiltered assertions go unchecked. One of the major ethical concerns of the rabbinical tradition was gossip and its deleterious effects on society. Consider this photo of one of my less involved inattentive students at USC upstate.
I was attracted to synagogue life because of its sense of community. Our temple can often boast rightly of its strength of community, especially when it comes to life cycle events, sad and joyous. Some of my colleagues have embraced the new information age in quirky ways. One such rabbi thought it a great idea to set up a screen during the High Holy Days in which folks could continuously make texting comments during the service and Heaven help the rabbi during his or her sermon.
Frankenstein’s monster coming back at its creator! In this new virtual world, there are ups and downs to this new era. A new movement called “Rabbis without borders,” has surfaced creating at best faux communities which falsely claim you have really reached out and touched someone. I find this frightening as we are making hermits of our people who think that looking at a screen constitutes real community. It may take some time for the dust to settle and for us to take advantage of the good aspects of these new communications, (and there are truly many) while jettisoning the bad. The ancient legend of Prometheus “stealing fire from the gods,” found meaning in our earliest attempts to communicate through fire in a faulty effort to unite men and women in prayer. The new electronic fires are now posing even greater challenges.
Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi
January 5 & 6
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 pm
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30 am w/Board
Installation
January 12 & 13
Friday: 7:30 Service
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30 am
January 19 7 20
Friday: Soup & Salad 6:00 pm
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30 am
January 26 & 27
Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 pm
Saturday: Morning Service 9:30 am
BY RABBI DAVID JAFFE , 12/14/2017
One Hanukkah, when I was a child, an Israeli relative showed up at our home in the New York City suburbs with a type of menorah we had never seen before. It was a glass rectangular box with candle holders inside. Since we always lit candles inside, around the kitchen table, we all thought, “Why would anyone ever want a menorah like this?!”
Indeed, he was spectacularly unsuccessful in marketing these “Israeli menorahs” to the Jewish community in the tri-state area. It was only many years later, during my first Hanukkah in Jerusalem, where many people light their menorahs outside by the street, that I finally understood the menorah’s design: The glass box protects the fire from blowing out.
Why light in the street?
The Talmud and Rashi explain that we light the Hanukkah candles for “pirsumei nisah” or to “publicize the miracle.” The public aspect of the candles is so important that if no one else sees them, it is as if you haven’t fulfilled the mitzvah. The Talmud explains that the ideal place to light is outside, or in a window facing the street when people are most likely to see it. Only in a time of genuine danger does the Talmud instruct us to light inside, hidden from public view.
What exactly is the miracle we’re publicizing?
It could be the military victory of a small army against the world power, or, as the Talmud prefers, the spiritual miracle of the one flask of pure oil lasting eight days. If we combine the military and spiritual miracles we get something particularly relevant to our era. The miracle was that God gave strength to a small, minority group to maintain its religious and cultural heritage without assimilating into the powerful, dominant culture of the time. According to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Jewish success in maintaining our particular culture throughout the millennia is a witness for all people to the “dignity of difference.” In this era of homogenizing forces of secular globalization, on the one hand, and ethno-nationalism on the other, valuing difference and the ability to live with people from different cultures is more important than ever.
If publicizing this miracle is so important, why did my family always light in the privacy of our kitchen? The answer probably has to do with exemption in the Talmud from publicizing the miracle in times of hostility towards Jews. Our Eastern Europe ancestors were frequent targets of Christian violence, so these vulnerable communities moved the menorah inside. Once inside, they stayed inside. Lighting inside, just for the family, also had symbolic purpose. We now publicized the miracle to ourselves to cultivate the inner strength needed to remain Jewish in a harsh world. This approach worked for a long time, but now we must go back outside. The world needs us outside.
Who gets to be visible in the public square is more important than ever. Aggressive deportations by the federal government intimidate many immigrants from appearing in public. Neo-Nazi rallies in cities across the country intimidate Jews, Blacks, Muslims, and others from showing themselves in public. Hanukkah is the perfect time to assert our presence, the celebration of difference, in the public square. Although Chabad has taken the lead on public displays of Judaism, with 20-foot-high menorah lightings in cities across the country, I am suggesting something different.
What our society needs are public displays of difference in a context of mutual support. We need to accompany each other, across our differences, making the public square safe for all. A powerful example of this took place at Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville, VA, this past Sukkot. Rabbi-Educator Rachel Schmelkin was leading a Sukkot dinner in the courtyard of the synagogue adjacent to the street, when she received a text message notifying her that the neo-Nazis were staging a rally at the park nearby. Within a few minutes she received another message that a group of her Christian clergy allies were coming to stand between the synagogue and the street so she could focus on the holiday. Schmelkin recalls, “I felt such a weight taken off my shoulders when they came to support us. Our clergy group had decided we would all show up for each other and having them stand outside helped us celebrate Sukkot.” This is what being an ally looks like – showing up and making the public square safe for all.
It is time to reclaim the ideal way of celebrating the Hanukkah miracle by bringing our menorahs back out into the streets.But now, let’s do it in alliance with our Muslim, Christian, and immigrant neighbors, each showing up for the other to proclaim our streets are safe for everyone, in all our beautiful diversity. That would truly publicize the miracle.
Rabbi David Jaffe is the author of the award-winner book Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal and Social Change, winner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Contemporary Jewish Life. He is the founder and principal of Kirva Consulting and teaches Mussar and Jewish spirituality to rabbis, educators, activists, organizational leaders, and spiritual seekers of all backgrounds throughout North America.
BY CHELSEA FEUCHS , 12/13/2017
The walls surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City are lit up at night, a stunning view for locals and tourists alike. As couples sit on park benches overlooking the scene, some close for warmth and others more distant for modesty’s sake, it is easy to forget the arguments that surround this place. Past the external walls and down some winding streets sits another wall, one far more controversial.
The Western Wall, also called the Kotel, stands as one of the last remaining pieces of The Second Temple, the ancient center of Jewish ritual and communal life. Those stones have seen more history than many can imagine; the rise and fall of empires, the development of new neighborhoods, and some of the bravest soldiers who fought in the Six Day War. Since that time in 1967, Jews have had access to this holy place. In reality, though, only some Jews feel ownership over this important site.
The ultra-Orthodox political establishment exercises exclusive control over the Kotel plaza through the office of the Rabbi of the Western Wall. The holy space abutting the wall was divided into two unequal sections, the larger for men and a far smaller one for women. Women are not allowed to hold bat mitzvah ceremonies, bring in a Torah, or dress in a manner judged immodest by the ultra-Orthodox establishment. These non-egalitarian rules hurt many Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora, who feel forcibly distanced from the holiest site to the Jewish people.
There was a glimmer of hope in January 2016 when the Israeli Cabinet reached an historic agreement to expand and grant legitimacy to a new egalitarian prayer space just south of the existing plaza. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu later buckled to political pressure from extreme right-wing Haredi forces to suspend the agreement, dashing the hopes of Reform Jews and our progressive partners.
So, what are we to do now? How does our movement celebrate the Festival of Lights when many things in our world feel dark? How do we reconcile the notion of a Jewish State with a reality that excludes and marginalizes many Jews? We go back to the original meaning of the Western Wall.
When the Temple stood, it served as a meeting place for all Jews – men and women and children made the pilgrimage to celebrate and mourn as a whole community, an inextricably connected kehila (community). Before it became a place of division and derision, the Temple and its walls stood at the center of an entire people. Certainly, this very site has seen far more intense and violent fights, but our goal is to learn from the mistakes of the past rather than to repeat them. We are taught that The Temple’s destruction was due primarily to internal divisions among the Jewish people; let us work toward building and not destruction.
This Hanukkah we will shine a light by continuing to respect Orthodox custom while advocating for recognition of our equally legitimate egalitarian practices. We will learn more about Israel and share our learning with our community. We will connect to Israel with even more passion, insight, and love. From the Western Wall to the deep Negev valleys to the blooming Northern hills, our movement and the values of progressive Judaism will shine.
This Hanukkah, ARZA is working to shine a light on several challenges facing progressive Judaism in Israel. We do so with the intention to generate greater understanding, to increase the investment of Reform Jews in the Jewish State, and to center a connection to Israel in our communities. Each night for eight nights, check in with us to learn more about pressing issues and to advocate for equality, pluralism, and democracy in Israel.
Chelsea Feuchs is the communications and social media associate for ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. After studying for a year in Israel as a Dorot Fellow, she now works and lives in New York City