Chag Purim Sameach from our Congregation!
As the weather warms and early blooms appear, I vividly recall a disappointing day during my freshman year in college. While trying to register for my spring classes, I discovered that a course I had been hoping to take was closed. Instead of Modern Fiction, then, I would have to enroll in another class to complete my English requirement. I selected one called Early British Romantic Poetry, which I chose quite reluctantly and did not expect to enjoy.
To my surprise, I loved the class, and over the years I’ve retained much of the knowledge and insight that I acquired by reading works by Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth (whose poems very often employ the imagery of springtime, by the way). Something similar happened in graduate school, when I was closed out of a seminar on Hegel that I was hoping to take. Instead, I had to enroll in a course on the philosophy of art, which was a subject I knew little about and in which I had almost no interest. Little could I have suspected then that I would wind up specializing in just this field, and would write my doctorate dissertation and numerous scholarly articles on this very subject.
To some, turns of events like these may amount to little more than happy coincidences and good luck. Others might see them as instances of what is described by the Hebrew word b’shert, or “what is meant to be.” But it’s not just course selections that reveal these turns of fortune. What would life had been like, for example, had you turned down the invitation to the dinner party where you met your spouse, or where a casual introduction at a cocktail party led to an amazing job offer?
Whether it’s luck or it’s b’shert, very often the most significant gifts that we receive in life, and the ones which help us to grow the most, are not what we expect. Very often, in fact, these occurrences even turn out to be contrary to what we had actually been planning for ourselves.
This is not to say that plans are unimportant. They certainly are. But in addition to all the rational thinking that goes into our plans, we must also cultivate the wisdom to understand the limits of how much planning we should do, when to implement our plans, and when to keep them on the drawing board. We must also learn how to adapt to the surprising dynamics of life by not clinging so stubbornly to our plans when circumstances require us to change.
For me, the takeaway from these memories, and many other besides, is a reminder of the need to be open, receptive and spontaneous in our expectations and dealings with the world. This is precisely the situation we have found ourselves in lately as a congregation. Without planning or searching, we were fortuitously contacted by Cantor Shira Ginsburg, who went on to lead our beautiful High Holiday services this past year. Similarly, just when our previous Cantor, Jason McKinney, was leaving us for a congregation in North Carolina several years ago, Converse University was hiring two new faculty members named Courtney LeBauer and Steve Graff, who, along with Converse Professor Keith Jones, have been gracing our services with their exquisite musical gifts. The same can be said for Elliott McCarthy, who joined our temple at the precise time that we needed the ritual talent and knowledge that he brings to our Friday evening Shabbat services.
Eastern philosophical traditions instruct us to be open to all possibilities. Judaism teaches us to have faith that the lives we live are rich with meaning. Our own experiences as a community inspire us to be grateful for the gifts we enjoy.
With these thoughts in mind, I wish everyone a healthy and joyous spring filled with surprise, wonder and gratitude.
Mark Packer,
President
Sisterhood will hold a brunch meeting. We welcome all members as well
as anyone interested in joining Sisterhood to attend.
Enjoy delicious food, visit, and discuss upcoming
Sisterhood projects. The latest project, an exit door in
the Sisterhood room, is well underway so come see the
progress. Many thanks to Rex Russell for
overseeing this project.
3/3 Sarah Halley
3/4 Melissa Gerscovich
3/7 Stanley Friedman
3/10 Ruth Friedberg
3/13 Keith Bell
3/24 David Lyon
3/25 Karen Fuller
3/26 Arielle Wilson
3/27 Frances Hawkins
3/28 Stella Ferrari
3/28 Forrest Graff
3/28 Anne Poliakoff
3/29 Margaret Freedman
3/30 Lexi Lyon
3/30 Debby Gordin
3/30 Craig Lyon
3/5 Meyer Bernstein
3/7 Esther Bromley
3/10 Samuel Hecklin
3/11 Gussie Hecklin
3/12 Lenore Axelrod
3/13 Jeanne Hutchinson
3/15 Alvin H. Levin
3/16 Samuel Cohen
3/16 Emil Mortge
3/17 Morris Cohen
3/17 Abraham Felsher
3/17 Alan Silverman
3/20 Ray Fishbein
3/22 Iman Bornstein
3/23 Anne P. Gray
3/25 Lillian Bernstein
3/25 Esther Garrell
3/29 Sidney August
3/30 Molly Black
3/30 Rose L. Katz
3/30 Margaret Wachter
Sometime back in the 1980s, the Dalai Lama was visiting the United States. While he
was here, he requested an audience with some rabbis so that he could learn more about Judaism.
During the conversation, he asked one of the rabbis to express, in just a few words, a basic
insight about Jewish belief and practice. The rabbi replied that one essential thing to understand
about Judaism is that Jews always disagree with one another.
“That’s not true!” quipped another rabbi.
Ten Jews, eleven opinions. That’s what my father always used to say. And if we scroll
through the pages of the Talmud, we can see the truth in this. Over the course of many centuries,
rabbis disagreed and debated with one another about such issues as how to interpret the Torah,
what certain symbols in the liturgy mean, and the best ways to practice the rituals, among many
other topics. In the absence of a pope or some other religious authority to settle the matter, the
discussions were left open, without resolution, so that future generations could continue the
conversation.
Yet, in spite of all the differences in opinion, somehow the Jewish people have
remained united as an enduring faith tradition throughout many years of exile, diaspora and
persecution. It amazes me when we host visitors from other countries as far away as Latin
America and Eastern Europe, that we all recite the same prayers and even sing the same
melodies when we pray together as Jews.
Sameness in difference, and difference in sameness, might have been a good way to
inform the Dalai Lama about who we are.
It is therefore rather discouraging to see how these insights and values are quickly
disappearing from American political life. E Pluribus Unum, said the founders of the
Republic: Out of Many, One. But as more and more people burrow ever more deeply into
their information silos and echo chambers on social media and cable news, the value of
difference and disagreement for the democratic conversation has been forgotten, and is even
greeted with hostility. In addition to the many other gifts the Jewish people have given to
Western civilization, the revival of a robust but civil conversation on contentious topics could
certainly be one of them.
Louis Brandeis, who was the first Jewish Justice of the US Supreme Court, aptly noted
that when we find the opinions of others to be disagreeable and even obnoxious, “the remedy
to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.” Similarly, the philosopher John Stuart
Mill, one of the most passionate defenders of liberty, remarked that however true an opinion
may seem, “if it is not fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead
dogma, not a living truth.”
As the world around us explodes with controversy and uncertainty, let’s not forget
what these thinkers are teaching us about viewpoint toleration. Let’s also remember how our
traditions instruct us about the life and sustenance to be found in disagreement, as opposed
to the mind-numbing dullness that results from conformity of opinion. To be Jewish is
certainly to disagree with our fellow Jews. Let’s not lose sight of this wisdom when we
disagree with our fellow citizens.
Mark Packer
I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who
helped me through my sister’s (Diane “Cookie”
Cohen) illness and passing. I really appreciate
the people who sat with her overnight, the Chevra Kadisha,
and everyone who came to the min-
ions and brought food to the home. It really
made it feel like home. To Sandy and Robert
Nabow, you were my rock.
Sending love to the whole community,
Helene “Sweetie” Glassman
Sister of Diane “Cookie” Cohen
Please be sure to join us in the Sisterhood Room for our monthly meetings of the Jewish
Forum. The conversations that the Forum sponsors cover a broad range of issues, from the Israel/
Hamas War, to antisemitism on college campuses, to the experience of being Jewish in the
Upstate of South Carolina. These are challenging times for Israel and Jewish communities all
over the world. Sharing our thoughts with one another during such moments is essential, and
has proved to be an educational and therapeutic experience for everyone who has attended.
There is no agenda. The program is determined entirely by our congregants. Every
conversation is a fresh and spontaneous discussion among people who care about being
Jewish, and wish to share their reflections and experiences with their fellow Jews.
Coffee and dessert are provided by the Sisterhood, and there is no charge to participate.
Please consult the events calendar in Temple Topics for our schedule and stay alert for email
reminders announcing each meeting.
The Gift of Our Sisterhood
We appreciate our Sisterhood for providing a wonderful spread of goodies for the Board
Installations. Below are some photos of everything served. Next time you see a Sisterhood
member, thank them for all that they do for the Temple.