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Holidays
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. (Psalm 135: 16 -17)
Dear friends,
As one who is a movie-a-holic (a lover of films) I tend to quote lines from films but far less than I quote the Bible I assure you! One of my favorites is White Men Can’t Jump, both a positive study in racial cultural dispositions and more importantly an exploration of gender differences. Those differences are summed up in the line, “Just listen to the woman!” Focus less on the male question, “So, what do you want me to do?” In another exploration of racial cultural differences came this quote about Jimi Hendrix, “You listen to Jimi, but you don’t hear Jimi!” This was one character’s inability to really get what his music is all about. As I write this message, I am reviewing one of the most consequential passages in the Torah. It is one of which we will repeat in the Yom Kippur morning service.
“You can therefore see that I am placing before you both a blessing and a curse. The blessing will come if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I am prescribing youtoday.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-27)
It occurs to me that everyone has a case of myopia, a narrow vision of what is the correct view on this or that matter. We speak more and listen less because we see less and view more. In these challenging times, the tribal inability to at least understand other points of view is contagious. That is our nation’s political reality. On a personal level, the High Holy days are an invitation to open our eyes and see the world in a different and new way!
I have a wonderful book on my shelf called “A Whack on the Side of the Head!” One of its charming stories is about the Manhattan project physicist Richard Feynman. Finding himself in a rut at Cornell he was having lunch in the cafeteria. He noticed students were tossing and spinning plates in the air. He mused: “What would be the physics of a plates’s wobble?” After figuring out the mathematics, he brought it to the attention of a fellow academic who said, “Interesting, but what good is it to know
that?” Feynman took his question to heart and then applied the mathematics to the motions of electrons, for which he ultimately earned a Nobel peace prize.
How often we all wobble through life, gyrate back and forth, failing to reconsider our view of the world. The High Holidays are an invitation to do something new, see and hear something new. On my desk is a gift someone gave me long ago. I look at it from time to time. It reads, “God is not finished with me yet!”
May all of you have a wonderful Rosh Hashanah and a New Year of discovery!
Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz D.D.
In every generation a person should see themselves as if they were personally redeemed from Egypt! (Haggadah)
Dear Friends,
My father, alav Hashalom (May he rest in peace!) conducted the family seder. Though not religious he did an decent job and repressed his annoyance when his wife, my mom aleha Hashalom (May she rest in peace!) would complain at his sly attempts to skip over various parts of the traditional Haggadah. One time as my father was complaining about wanting to get on with the meal the very next words he had to read were: “and the evil son says: When do we get to eat already?” thus hoisting himself by his own petard much to the amusement of all gathered. Whatever discomfiture dear dad experienced was certainly lessened by the slivovitz that he generously imbibed dulling both his senses and leadership skills. We were aware of the progression of the seder when the yarmulke he sported would slowly but surely make its way from the back of his head to the front of his brow, a precious comical image which remains in my heart and head.
The Passover seder is unique and the many iterations of the Haggadah speak to the wonder of its messages. To name but a few creative ones:
~The Feminist Haggadah (Shechinah – the feminine Devine presence is intoned)
~The Eco Haggadah (noting our task to liberate the environment from humanity’s excesses)
~The Adoption Haggadah (for adopted children who search in vain for their biological parents— Moses was adopted!)
~The Velveteen Rabbit Haggadah (with its different mixes of new age language and customs).
~The libertarian Haggadah (Let’s not leave out those to the pollical right of the spectrum).
~The DIY Haggadah (for the creatively minded “I want my own personal stamp!”)
~The ten-minute Haggadah (for those with ADD or simply for those who have what my father called shpilchus in tuchus, ants in your pants— though that is not the exact translation – call me
if you want an exact rendering ) And many, many more!
Which do you prefer? You may not know it but the traditional Haggadah (and there are many which are claimed to be the real one) does not include Moses, this to diminish any idea of a intermediary between you and God. It is a bit shocking. It is as if you took out all the scenes with Charlton Heston in Cecil B DeMille’s
The Ten Commandments.
Of late I have come to understand the greater importance of the seven-week counting of the Omer which concludes with the holiday of Shavuot (Remembering Sinai and the giving of the Torah along with the celebration of the first fruits of the land). In some ways, they constitute one big holiday of nearly two months in length, a time of meditation and inspiration. By way of analogy, it would be like observing Rosh Hashanah and forgetting about its conclusion Yom Kippur. In this case, it is celebrating freedom without considering the impact of Torah commitment, for freedom is not an absolute but entails responsibilities.
As your Seders are upon you, I hope the precious memories of those who helped laid the foundation of your lives will come to mind. I hope as well that you will create for yourselves and for those coming after you ever new memories to be cherished.
A sissen and a kosher Passover,
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz D.D.
Contract for Selling Chametz 5782
Prohibition of Chametz
On Pesach it is prohibited to possess chametz (leaven). All chametz that will not be eaten or burned before Pesach must be sold to a non- Jew. All chametz utensils that will not be thoroughly cleaned by then, and are stored away in closets or rooms while preparing for Pesach. The storage area is locked or tape-shut, and leased to a non-Jew at the time of the sale. There are many legal intricacies in this sale, thus, only a competent rabbi should be entrusted with its execution. The rabbi acts as our agent both to sell the chametz to the non-Jew on the morning before Pesach starts and also to buy it back the evening after Pe- sach ends. Locking your chametz away and giving your Rabbi
the Signed Chametz Contract is an easy way of observing one of the most important laws in the Torah. (Contract follows below). Chametz which remains in the possession of a Jew over Pesach may not be used, eaten, bought or sold even after Pesach. It is customary to give tsedaka in the performance of this Mitzvah.
I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chametz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chametz, possible Chametz, and all kinds of Chametz mixtures). Also Chametz that tends to harden and adhere to inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils them- selves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chametz and mixtures thereof. Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz is also em- powered to lease all places wherein the Chametz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address listed below, and elsewhere.
Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz has full right to appoint any agent or substi- tute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein. Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chametz, Chametz mixtures, etc., as provided herein.
Signed: ______________________________________________ Date: ______________
Name: ________________________________________________ Address/es: __________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ City/ State/ Zip Country: ____________________________
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
“And Moses gathered all of the congregation together” (Exodus 35:1)
Dear Friends,
Unlike other colleagues who sought employment in Jewish organizations I chose early on to be a part of a Synagogue and Temple. I believed then as I do now in community, even in a time when institutions are either ignored, criticized, or simply abandoned. Places of worship are not alone in this regard. Civic organizations are also in the decline. Our hi-tech society has facilitated such disregard and at times, disrespect.
Some of my colleagues have even become “rent-a-rabbis.” Performing on the fly Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, weddings, and funerals and more! What had been heartfelt community experiences are now commodities to be secured. This is the price we often pay for living in a commercial market-oriented society. Our hi-tech streaming services have not helped much either. So many can simply turn on the tube and switch it on or off to any broadcast they wish. There is a difference between viewing a community and being in community.
And yet, when emergencies come up, such as the horrible Tree of life murders, non-members who contribute nothing by way of time or resources knew where to go, where to sit in a sanctuary they did not help to create, one which is situated beneath the lighting that they have not paid for, nor of the vacuuming and cleanup that sustains a sanctuary as a place of holiness. The same is true when other needs are to be fulfilled by a congregation or by a rabbi. I deeply understand how annoyed some members must feel when a funeral is asked for and when the services are secured for a nominal contribution. The nonmembers get the same dedication and compassion as members who have for decades supported the synagogue. It is hard for such members to feel anything but resentment. We are stuck between enhancing the temple structure and advocating for the compassion and the charity that it houses. We would look terrible were we to turn people away. It would be a betrayal of the holiness we are to embrace.
Some time ago, someone in the general community asked my counsel and my time which in good measure is the synagogue’s time. Curiously, the individual said, “You’re my rabbi!” How that ownership was declared is puzzling to me as it came from someone who had not ventured into the Temple for years, not for a service, not for study, and not for charitable participation in the community. I hope that you would know that I limit my response to one of acknowledgement, a small smile for what was meant as a compliment.
As for the members, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that a synagogue is not merely Bricks and Mortar, furniture and lighting and heat for its members. No matter how beautiful or how endowed, a synagogue is only as strong as the mission it upholds by those who are “the Jews in the pews!” A synagogue is called by three names; Bet Midrash – a House of study,
Bet Tefilla – a House of prayer, Bet Knesset – a House of gathering. These three are the pillars of what synagogue life is all about. Without it, we have an edifice complex, worshipping stone and mortar, forgetting what it was built to
contain. Without it, we have created a museum and not a Temple. You may notice that the Hebrew letters KufKuf – precede the name of synagogues. It stands for Kehila K’dosha, a holy congregation, for as scripture records, “Unless the Lord builds the House, its builders toil in vain!” (Psalm 127)
Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
Dear Friends,
We are living in one of the darkest of times. Pandemic still afflicts, civil strife and racism still persists, inflation and the supply chain not yet fixed. (The replacement for my broken-down dishwasher is a month and a half away from delivery.) Recently, I read an article in anticipation of winter. Barrow, Alaska just began its 64-day hiatus without sunshine, slightly accented with an occasional twilight on the horizon. When things are dark it is hard to imagine light will return.
Chanukah is of course a holiday of light set in the less light filled days. Often our celebrations are associated with the time when the nights are longest. With rare exception, sometime around the fifth candle day, the days incrementally begin to lengthen, a harbinger of brighter times to come.
This pandemic has frayed our sensibilities and irritated our nerves. While it was novel to stare into a camera, that novelty has worn thin.
I am glad to stream our services to those who are still reasonably cautious and for those who for whatever reasons find it more convenient to constitute our minyan from afar. I am grateful to those who have ventured out and come to our services on Friday night, particular to two steadfast women Nancy Rosenberg and Lynn Strait ever vigilant to come and set up our oneg and read the prayers. They are not the only ones – the Blumenfeld family gets high marks for their steadfast participation along with our Vice-President and Ritual Committee chair, Mark Packer.
Our Temple community is a busy one. Most who have not been in a while may not know the activities that continue; Brown Bag Lunch, movie nights, Zoom Torah study, visitations to the homebound, skyping lessons in Hebrew, caring committee hospital visits, Sunday school, and more than occupy most of my time and the attention of many members. I wish to acknowledge those who have supported our other community concerns; the food pantry and most notably the Interfaith Community Thanksgiving Service that raised many thousands of dollars for Brothers Restoring Urban Hope. In the midst of our dark times I urge you to consider keeping our temple alive not merely through the finances but through the most important of all considerations, religious, ed- ucational participation. Woody Allen once quipped that 90 percent of life is just showing up.
One of the other most important aspects of any community cohesion is communication, not indirect in which someone else is appointed your Western Union messenger, but personal and direct. Foremost of the agenda of our sages was to thwart gossip which, though well intentioned is always fraught with dangerous miscommunication. It does not provide light, but only heat to our relationships. Our holiday season provides an ample opportunity to gossip about family and friends. Let us all not take advantage of that opportunity.
So, Chanukah is imminent. I wish one and all a season of light and joy!
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz D.D.
