Jewish Life
A Message from Rabbi Liebowitz
Dear members,
I hope that you and all your loved ones are well and doing as best as possible given the difficulties we are experiencing with this pandemic. I am aware of some of the challenges that our members are facing along with other members of the community.
As with many of my fellow rabbis I am glad to contribute to the well being of our respective synagogues and temples. I have decided to tithe a portion of my income back to the temple some 10% each month. I am aware of the ongoing generosity of many of our members at this time and in times past to keep our congregation solvent. I ask you to consider doing whatever you can with respect to tsedaka, Jewish and communal. Carrie and I have included in our giving back pack lunches for children. In the past few weeks we are also glad to contribute to American Friends of Magain David Adom (Israel’s version of the Red Cross) for Israel which also has many sufferers and deaths from this pandemic. We also favor the ASPCA. Those commercials have gotten to us!
As antisemitism has become more prevalent, we also give to the Southern Poverty Law Center which thwarts prejudice nation wide.
Should you wish to help out in this regard or to help some of our members that I am aware of who are strained financially do contribute to the rabbi’s discretionary fund which is monitored by our president and our treasurer.
I do hope that you have been able to catch up with us through Facebook live services regularly offered on Friday afternoon at 5:30 and our Torah study at 10 o’clock Saturday morning. The latter Torah study is through Skype and you can easily get on my contact list which is ezrabbi. We are preparing for a virtual Bar Mitzvah for Reuben Falcon this mid May. It too will be offered via Facebook live. Mazal Tov Reuben!
This coming Monday, April 27, at 5:30 pm, in honor of Israel Independence Day Yom Ha’atsma’ut, I will be offering a Facebook live with some songs, poetry, and prayer in celebration of the Jewish state.
Once more thinking of you and looking forward to the time when we can greet one another in person.
Prayers for our people!
Prayers for our nation!
Prayers for the world!
B’ Shalom
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz D.D.
Shabbat On Facebook Tonight!
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6: 4–5
Dear Friends,
In the birth pangs that separated Christianity (a onetime Jewish sect) from Judaism, lots of accusations back and forth were hurled one to the other. For our ancestors’ part we derided the legends of resurrection, virgin birth, and the claims of divinity. Early Christian assaults configured that Judaism was a religion of stern laws and their faith one of love. In its most virulent forms, Christianity divided the deity into two parts, the God of vengeance for Jews and the God of love for Christians. All this notwithstanding, Judaism hardly articulated a place of eternal punishment asserting that “all people had a place in the world to come (heaven).”
Judaism is a religion of love.
- Consider the quote above that surrounds the most important assertion of God’s unity – the Shema.
- Consider the teachings of Leviticus “to love one’s neighbor as oneself!”
- Consider how the evening and morning prayers preceding the Shema are
filled with love talk; Ahava rabba – With a great love have I loved the people Israel and Ahavat Olam – With an Eternal love have I loved the House of Israel.
- Consider the gematria, the numerological interpretation that the Hebrew love equals thirteen and the name of God YJWH equals 26, offering the idea that when one person loves another 13 and 13 = 26 God is present.
- Consider the Song of songs (the subject of our Brown Bag lunch this month page 7) how the sages of old saw in its imagery (some of it pretty salacious) as a reflection of the intimacy of God with the Jewish people.
As the celebration of love is celebrated in our culture by the day dedicated to Valentine, (Some think it is connected to a more ancient Roman festival Lupercalia) we are given an imperative to consider how caring is our heritage and how affectionate is our spiritual legacy. Though it is of Christian origins, Valentine ’s Day is one observance wherein we can all find an excuse to celebrate love from all our traditions.
Wishing one and all a beautiful month
Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz, D.D.
A Message From Our President
HELP WANTED!
As a Human Resources professional for many years, those two words were constantly on my mind. I spent many hours recruiting and training new employees for the organizations in which I worked. I learned early in my career that those with the “right” attitude could be trained to do almost any job and were, of course, the best employees.
So that brings me back to our Temple. We thrive because many of us con- tribute not only dollars, but our hands, hearts, and time to building and sustaining the community in which we make our home. The more we each engage with the work of the Temple, the stronger our community be- comes and the deeper the gifts we each receive from our participation. This is true in any congregation, but especially true in a small congrega- tion like ours which depends on volunteer energy and effort. We are a community of great people, and there’s no shortage of jobs for everyone.
Each of you is always encouraged to provide your ideas, suggestions and feedback to any member of the Temple Board. Most importantly, we want and need your participation and expertise to make things happen. If you are involved, but perhaps would like to be more involved, or if you aren’t sure what type of “job” might work for you, please let us know.
I would be most happy to meet you for a cup of coffee or lunch to share ideas and receive your feedback. I hope to hear from you soon!
Warmest regards,
Sandy
February Yahrzeits
2/1 Conley Cook
2/1 Morris Small
2/2 Barbara Friedman
2/3 Daniel Axelrod
2/3 James C. Strait
2/3 Esther Tobochnik
2/8 Mae B. Belowsky
2/9 Susan E. Portnoy
2/10 Jeannette Morris
2/11 Bess Blumenfeld
2/11 Mortimer Friedberg
2/11 Sroel Weisz
2/12 Betty Malinow
2/13 Donald Haughay
2/13 Fannie Lichtenstein
2/14 Louis Bruck
2/14 Louis Himber
2/14 Ethel Silver
2/15 Isador Cohen
2/16 David Cohen
2/16 Ann Finkelstein
2/16 Isaac Malinow
2/16 Amelia Mann
2/17 Jonas Bernanke
2/18 Louise Smith
2/19 Lazorus Cohen
2/19 Bessie Gray
2/19 Isaac Revich
2/20 Rose Perlman
2/21 Charles Finke
2/22 Ben Abelkop
2/23 Harry Finkelstein
2/23 Otto Teszler
2/24 Harry Smiley
2/25 Sarah D. Cohen
2/25 Samuel Hecklin
2/26 Mimi Gelband
2/26 Gussie Hecklin
2/26 Sigmund Pickus
2/27 Lenore Axelrod
2/27 Avraham Weisz
2/28 Jacob Finke
2/28 Jeanne Hutchison
2/29 Moises Retelny
2/29 Harry Stemberg
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
Dear Friends,
My brother, sister, and I would wait patiently as dad would eventually drive up at the end of a long hot summer’s day in his cab. Exhausted, dehydrated, and hanging on for a few more hours, dad would nevertheless summon the energy to share some of his more colorful tales from the day’s work. On occasion someone famous would hop into his cab – Sean Connery, Vincent Price, just to mention a few. Dad had made a science out of teasing. With chutzpah he would engage whichever celebrity entered into his yellow cab. Once, Joe DiMaggio “Joltin’ Joe” ambled in. Pretending not to recognize him, Dad started to make some uncouth remarks about how lousy the Yanks were doing that summer. “They’re goin’ nowhere this year,” he would intone with no small measure of chutzpah. “They’ll be fine!” DiMaggio retorted. “What the heck do you know?” said dear old dad. “Well,” said the famed Yankee clipper of years gone by (this was 1966 and he was making Mr. Coffee commercials) “I played baseball.” “Really?” said Dad, “who are you!”
“Joe DiMaggio,” came the expected response. “Not possible,” teased my father. “DiMaggio was a skinny good looking kid; you’re a fat old man!” When asked what DiMaggio then did my dad said: “He laughed heartily and then I got his autograph.” Which brings me to the other story of Paul Simon who had annoyed Joe DiMaggio with his lyric from the film “The Graduate, “Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio? A nation leans its tired eyes to you!….What’s that you say Mrs. Robinson, Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away!” DiMaggio thought the song was an insult, believing that Simon had declared him dead. He actually wanted to sue him for libel until it was explained that Joltin’ Joe was a lost figure, a celebrity that all admired, whether they were a Yankees’ fan or a Dodgers’ fan. It did not matter.
As we enter 2020, I can’t help but think about the heroes we have lost, the people we admired who transcended normal discourse. People who made us proud to be Americans! How our country longs for statesmen and stateswomen! Where have they gone? People who put principles over politics. Love of country over party. I am not much for celebrity. “A celebrity is someone who is famous for being famous.” It was not always that way! I grew up reading “Profiles in Courage” and I now wonder when those days will return. When will our political tribalism be checked by a devotion to right and justice? When will decent verbal discourse and eloquence return to the American conversation? In my youth I favored William Buckley’s TV show“Firing line!” It was a thoughtful engagement of issues. While I agreed with perhaps 10 percent of his comments, I never felt anything but appreciation for his thinking, his eloquence and his deportment. On occasion, George Will will resurrect in me similar admiration. In my work on addiction at the Betty Ford center as a 5th step counselor; they would say of some alcoholics that they had “to get sick and tired of being sick and tired.” I pray that the coming year will have us recover from the vitriol and anger that so often masquerades as genuine discourse. As the psalmist declared; “from the depths I call unto Thee!’
Happy New Year
Rabbi Yossi Liebowitz, D.D.
December Yarhzeits
12/1 Max Cohen
12/1 Hannah E. Nabow
12/2 Lidia Teszler
12/3 Barnet Freedman
12/3 Isadore Lazarowitz
12/3 Israel Massey
12/3 Harry Reimer
12/3 Abe Smith
12/3 Dina Weisz
12/4 David Falcon
12/4 Evalynn Poliakoff
12/5 Ida Gelburd
12/5 Simon Hecklin
12/5 Harry Levine
12/5 Julian N. Spigel
12/6 Eva Adelman
12/6 Marsha A. Horn
12/7 Maxwell H. Goldberg
12/8 Helen Klausner
12/9 Bernie Fleishman
12/9 Harry Koshak
12/9 Esther Minsky
12/10 Max N. Davidson
12/10 Hammah B. From
12/10 Rebecca Price
12/11 John Barbarash
12/12 Marvin Hyman
12/14 Sylvia F. Gray
12/17 Seymour Feinstein
12/18 Clara Barbarash
12/18 Martha Glazer
12/22 Morris Siegel
12/23 Tiffany Greenfield
12/24 Samuel Price
12/24 Rabbi Laurie Skopitz
12/28 Max Lichtenstein 1
2/28 Frances Schwartz
12/29 Paula Rabiner
12/31 Phil H. Singer