Congratulations to our Rabbi in his First Pod Cast
Listen to Rabbi Yossi’s first podcast. Below is the link directly to the conversation. Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz – Safe Conversations w/Kelvin Waites
Listen to Rabbi Yossi’s first podcast. Below is the link directly to the conversation. Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz – Safe Conversations w/Kelvin Waites
Dear Friends,
Let me first express gratitude to those who were so helpful in making our High Holidays a full experience, foremost Dr. Packer for his ritual and security leadership. Along with our President Tina, his support was invaluable as was that of our little orchestra Courtney, Keith, and Stephen. Many others too numerous to identify by name were also instrumental in making the services happen.
As we begin our year with the Torah readings in Genesis, it gives us pause to consider the idea of direction and of the imperative to move forward in our lives. The sages note that the holy Torah begins with the letter Bet closed at the bottom, the top, and to the right. As such, it bids us to not dwell as much on heaven above (God’s abode) or the earth below (the afterlife) or any of the secrets of the universe. Moreover, we are to look less to the past but to focus on the future.
Some years ago, I read an article in the Wall Street journal which humorously reviewed an airline traveler headed for Oakland, CA. On the way to California, he fell asleep. Jarred by the landing he heard the announcement that they were going to head on to Auckland New Zealand which he mistakenly heard was Oakland. And so, he stayed put in his seat and fell back to sleep as the plane took off on the way to Asia. A few hours later he noticed they were flying over the water. We could imagine his surprise and of course the inconvenience it caused for it took him a day and a half and more to return to his original destination which was Oakland, California.
All of us look for direction in life, and we get confused sometimes because we’re literally asleep and at other times because we fail to hear one another offering us. We look forward to a year to which we understand well where we are heading as persons, as members of the family, and of a larger community which includes our synagogue.
Wishing all of you a wonderful year, one of new beginnings, and a journey that is both full and spiritual.
Shalom,
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
“Where the rubber meets the road is the most important point for something, the moment of truth. An athlete can train all day, but the race is where the rubber meets the road, and they’ll know how good they really are.” (The Rock Group, Meatloaf)
Dear friends,
My one-time cab driver father would quip when I got a flat tire, “Yes, but it’s only flat on the bottom!” As we will have emerged from the High Holy Days with its hopeful promise of transformation, the time ahead is daunting. After the spoken words, the lofty expressions of hope and the promises uttered to do better the proof of its implementation is when the “rubber meets the road!”
The mood of this seasons shifts dramatically after Yom Kippur with Sukkot. It is a joyous holiday though some elements are somber. Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) speaks of the transitory nature of all our lives, the impermanence of all things. “Vanities of vanities,” Kohelet declares in references the accomplishments and endeavors we cling to. A somber bit of solace is offered threaded through the pages of how living in the moment should be our ongoing concern. “To everything there is a season.” Long before Pete Seeger made those words popular through a musical offering (and don’t forget The Byrds’ version) Jews have taken heart from its imperative to find gratitude in the now.
Sukkot is a time to breathe. To take in the gifts of what is and focus less on what was and even on what will be. Not a mood of fatalism to be sure, but one of hopeful surrender, a faithful view that things may have happened and will happen for a reason. It is that realization that impels us to be more charitable as we notice those who have less for which to show gratitude. As our Thanksgiving observance of Sukkot arrives I hope that it will be one of joy for you and all your loved ones!
Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
Dear Congregation B’nai Israel Members,
I want to thank everyone who has made our high holidays services possible this year. Firstly, thank you to our dedicated Rabbi, who has put together the services and curated a wonderful team of musicians and vocalists. Our pianist is Steven Graff, our violinist is Courtney LaBaur, and our vocalist is Keith Jones.
Another large thank you goes to our Ritual Committee who is led by our own Dr. Mark Packer. Mark met with the Rabbi and several of our members including David Blumenfeld, Sandy Gordin, Bob Britanisky, Cheryl August, and Rex Russell to plan and offer the Aliyah’s to many of our members during this high holiday season.
Our Sisterhood deserves a huge thank you for the beautiful Oneg provided during Rosh Hashanah.
I would also like to thank Susan Abelkop for planning the Yom Kippur Break-Fast for us. The cost for Break-Fast is $10.00 per adult, $5.00 children 6- 10 years, under 5 is free. If you have not RSVP’d for Break-Fast, please do so.
The gorgeous flowers for our services during this High Holy Day season are in memory of Seymour “Speedy” and Marion Feinstein. They are given by their family: Lori and Rob Axelrod, Sandi and Gerald Friedman, and Sheree and David Kanter and Families.
Jan Stribling our incredibly talented secretary deserves a tremendous thank you for all the secretarial and organizational tasks that are taken care of behind the scenes each day and especially during high holy days.
Sharon Packer has been instrumental in taking care of our Facebook and social media presence. The board and I appreciate her time and expertise.
I would like to thank Avi Liebowitz for his technical advice so we can continue to be a presence each week on Facebook Live.
My message this month is brought to you by the Letter “B”. When I was thinking about what to write, the letter B kept coming up in my thoughts. I am not sure why. After thought and reflection I realized that two of my Temple Topic messages from this year were written with B’s in mind.
In February of this year, I wrote about becoming a human being. Yes, I know, we are all human beings. However, are you really a human being or a human doing? To be honest, I find I am a human doing, rushing around to complete the next item on my “to do” list so it can go on my “ta da” list. Then when I do have free time, I find I am looking for ways to be entertained by doing something like watching a movie, reading, or stitching on a needlepoint canvas. When am I ever just being – being still and reflecting – very seldom. However, I am grateful for my religion and Synagogue. Our beautiful Temple gives us a sanctuary to be a human being. Being still, being reflective, and just being. I hope you find when you are here or tuning in to our Facebook Live each week, you find a way to go from a human doing to a human being.
As I just mentioned, our beautiful Temple gives us a place to just be; it requires another type of “B” to thrive. It takes worker bees similar to a honeybee hive. When I was a teenager, my father took up bee keeping. In March of this year, I wrote about his hobby in Temple Topics. When my father went about setting up his hives I read and observed along with him. Honey- bees it turns out are very interesting creatures. I learned several life lessons from bee keeping, not just how to avoid being stung in life.
Learning about and watching bees taught me several life lessons.
I learned the importance of working well with others. Every bee has a job, and if each bee does their job and cooperates the hive thrives. If not, the hive dies.
I learned to plan for the future. Bees make extra honey to feed the hive during the winter; they plan ahead so their hive can continue growing.
I learned to do good without a reward in mind. Bees are selfless. If one or two scouts know where some colorful flowers are, they don’t hoard the pollen for themselves so they will look like heroes to the other bees. They go to their hive and do a wiggle dance that tells all the bees exactly where the beautiful flowers are, so they can go gather pollen, too.
Overall, bees work to create a vibrant community that is achieved through communication, planning ahead, and doing the selfless hard work necessary to thrive.
Our Temple community is much like a beehive. We are each a bee in the hive. Like bees, we need to communicate, work, plan, and cooperate to keep our Temple vibrant and growing. Selfless contributions make our Temple a wonderful place to be.
Please consider how you can be involved; be a giver of time, effort, and money. The Rabbi, board, and I are grateful for every minute you spend at our Temple. With you we can continue to grow and be strong.
Money is important. It takes an incredible amount to keep our lovely sanctuary, Sunday school, kitchen, and office functional and thriving. If you are not a member, please join. We need you to be an official part of our congregation. We have in-town and out-of-town membership options. If you are currently a member, thank you. When it comes time to donate to our Annual Fair Share campaign, perhaps increase your donation. Every cent counts and helps our hive thrive.
So, my message brought to you by the Letter B is:
For us to continue to have a place to be a human being, we need to work together like bees in a hive.
I wish you each wonderful high holidays this year. I wish you peace, love, laughter, reflection, and moments of human being.
Shana Tova
Tina Lyon
Congregation B’nai Israel, President
Dear friends,
My sister Janice who lives in England has started to become a family archaeologist, that is to say, she is digging deeply into our family roots. She is a whiz at it, discovering documents long hidden and fairly revealing. (Yes, one skeleton or two that I would only share over a glass of wine if you are interested!) These finds included some Yiddish letters that were dusty and worn. Finding an expert Yiddishist to translate them was not as challenging as I had first thought. While not all that inexpensive it was worth it. Two of them resolved a debate over our Great Grandfather’s occupation. On his immigration paper he was listed as a Hebrew teacher. Memories fail and often become embellished. I remembered that he was not only a Hebraist but a Rabbi. Of course, my sister disagreed. As you can see from the two letters below, despite my aging memory, I was vindicated. The first letter, a poem from the student of my great grandfather. The second is Great Grandfather’s poem which was an acrostic. As is traditional, often poets would use the letters of their name to configure one verse or line after another. The Sabbath bride verses Lecha Dodi is an acrostic spelling out Shlomo Ha-Levi. (Solomon the Levite) Various psalms also employ acrostics as does the Book Lamentations in the Bible. Such was the case of the poem he wrote back to his student. It was signed Rabbi Binyamin Budafsky.
Rabbis start to think about the High Holy Days in July. The first poem from his student contains a High Holy blessing. From his time to ours. From the students of my Great Grandfather Binyamin to you and yours. A wonderful summer! A wonderful year to come!
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
Dear Friends,
As I am preparing to teach a mini-course on God (a fairly broad subject p. 5), I have come to see how glibly folks toss about the idea of the Divine being responsible for blessings. Curious assertions such as “I prayed to God and the tornado in my town spared my home!” or “God has blessed me all the days of my life!” (a favorite of televangelists) or when I was watching the suspenseful moon landing, my devout Christian boss said, “They will land only if God wants them to! Not the science of course or Armstrong’s skill as a pilot made the difference. This antique view of course is matched by a series of curses that can also be traced to the Holy One. My favorite curse came from one-time presidential candidate and TV 700 Club evangelist Pat Robertson. When that awful Hurricane afflicted New Orleans claiming the lives of hundreds and causing untold pain to thousands of its citizens this Bible thumping self-appointed prophet claimed how God was displeased with the gay population in that city. Ergo, God’s curse-filled wrath poured forth. The fact that the neighborhoods inhabited by a largely gay presence was the least affected by the hurricane could only have meant that God had bad aim.
In the cited quote from the Seven Beggars written by Rabbi Nachman of Bratislav, a young couple is visited every day for a week by a well-meaning man with a deformity. One could not see, another was blind, one more was lame, and so forth. But, each brought with him a blessing which could be traced to making what would seem to be a curse into something good. The blind man claimed he could now see with his heart and the deaf man better understood the cries of the world. He cleverly noted as well in his narrative how too many blessings can become a curse. Ergo, “There was much muchness!”
The Jewish view of the flip side of blessings, curses, is informative. Under the category of “If you don’t laugh then you will cry!” Yiddish folklore absorbs life’s pains with a touch of whimsy making our sufferings more tolerable. Here are a few of my favorite curses that one might wish to have inflicted on an adversary.
May all your teeth fall out but one – and may that one have a tooth ache!
May you win the lottery – and spend it all on hospital expenses!
May you prosper selling candles and then may the sun never set!
May you be like a chandelier – hang by day and burn by night!
Summertime and the living is easy – so we hope and pray that whatever burdens you have you will take heart from the Yiddish proverb. “God gives us burdens, but he also gives us shoulders to carry them!”
Blessings only to you and yours, Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
Rav Kook wrote in Orot (Orot Yisrael 3:3, p. 146):
“Bonding with a Tzaddik, in order that the force of being of the Tzaddik’s soul should influence the imperfect soul [of the follower] is a very respectable matter in the process of spiritual growth. However, it requires great caution. If the follower should err regarding a Tzaddik and cling to his inner essence, he will also be adhering to his faults. These blemishes may sometimes be more detrimental to the follower than to the original soul [of the Tzaddik].”
Dear Friends,
Elon Musk, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, the Kardashians – these are but a few of the names that occupy the attention of our social media. From Elon Musk who is twittering about with free speech, to Will Smith whose slap was seen and heard around the world to Johnny Depp who domestic life is paraded before us to the Kardashians who, as the quip would have it are famous for being famous – all these really have little, if anything to do with my life. And yet, the energy expended in focusing on them is as baf- fling as it is inane. The above quote offers some perspective on our celebrity culture and its incessant preoccupation with personality.
Having just emerged from our Passover celebra- tions it is remarkable to note that the traditional Haggadah hardly mentions Moses if at all; such was our heritage’s posture to emphasize a focus on God and not on an intermediary. Other faiths depend greatly on extolling and imitating the virtues of ancient worthies as the central path to meaning and even salvation. Such was not our Jewish inclination.
The Rabbi of my youth, Rabbi Feinstein played down his role as exemplar. A modest man, he would quip; “Don’t do what the Rabbi does but what the Rabbis have taught us to do!” Our culture is one that is built on distraction, pointing us to consider such things and personages which have so little to do with our inner spiritual lives. I am as much a political junkie as anyone and yet, I have come to realize how very draining the news has become. No sooner is an election over then the prognostications of the future contests begin. We are polled to exhaustion.
Often lost in the holiday Spring observances is the counting of the Omer which begins on the second day of Passover; a forty-nine-day observance that is concluded with the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot, one of our three ancient pilgrimage festivals (Passover and Sukkot being the other two) is both an observance of gratitude for the spring growth and the sustenance so pro- vided, and an historical reminder of Matan To- rah, the giving of Torah at Sinai. In no small way the holiday of freedom, Passover is only Act I of this seven-week experience. That experience begins with expressing gratitude for freedom and concludes with a clarification that freedom is meaningless without the bounds of Tradition and observance. The mystics of our heritage impelled us to engage in a deep meditative review of our spiritual inner selves. Much of it was based on the Kabbalistic tree of life and its review of the aspects of the Divine.
So many Jews of my generation and before has sought spirituality elsewhere, perhaps because our communities have failed to communicate in these deeper spiritual pursuits – emphasizing culinary Judaism over prayer and study of Torah. One Shavuot tradition impels Jews to this day to stay up and study Torah all night long until morning, this to make up for what was the neglect of our ancestors at Sinai – they fell asleep as the Ten Commandments were being given.
This season provides us with a challenge and a gift to wake up to our inner selves and our connections to the Holy One of Being.
B’Shalom
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
Date and time TBA
The discussion will be about the book Off the Edge, by Kelly Well. The book is available on Amazon in these formats: hardcover, audio, and kindle. Click Here to Purchase