Worship
From the Heart With Rabbi Liebowitz
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.
From the Heart with Rabbi Liebowitz
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.
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.
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
Old friends
Old friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
A time it was, and what a time it was, it was A time of innocence
A time of confidences
Long ago it must be
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you (Paul Simon)
Dear Friends,
Though I am the son of a one-time New York taxi driver, my understanding of car mechanics is somewhat lacking. Just last week an unhappy noise was emanating from the engine of my Jeep Wrangler. Our mechanic used what some call the Mechanic’s Stethoscope (a rather long screw- driver) to discover the source of the noise. Turned out it was something called a Synchronizer. I have labored on the internet to discover what that somewhat expensive part is all about. Below is a picture of the same with this brief description: A synchronizer, or “synchro,” lets the collar and gear synchronize their speeds while they’re already in contact but before the dog teeth engage. My reaction after reading that was; “Huh?”
remain unclear what all that means, but as the name would suggest it does have something to do with timing and gears. The noise is now gone, but the bill still remains with a bit of unclarity regarding the synchronizer’s necessary function.
There are innumerable sayings connected to time, such as “A watched pot never boils!” and “There is no time like the present!” or “Timing is everything.” And finally, Tempus fugit, which is a Latin phrase, usually translated into English as “time flies.” The phrase is used in both its Latin and English forms as a proverb meaning “time’s a-wasting.” A kindred phrase Carpe diem, (meaning something like “Seize the day!) also comes to mind.
As we will soon review the Biblical tale of the Wanderings in the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar – In the Wilderness!” in Hebrew) we can well imagine how that forty-year trek to the Promised Land must have taken its spiritual toll on our ancestors. As a kid, my brother and I would say to Pop driving the car, “Whenever will we get there?” Of course, we were unacquainted with the Buddhist saying, “Wherever you go, there you are!” The Jewish and Hindu inspired teacher Ram Daas once mused in his book “Be here now!” the value of being present in the moment. How many of us are speeding along, trying to get to there from here without noticing the “now” of our existence.
Perhaps Moses was taught as much at the burning bush when God answered his question “Whom shall I say has sent thee?” The Divine answered, “I am that I am” or to use one theological idea, “the Eternal Now!” I find that idea inviting. God (the Eternal One) is not only everywhere but also every when, unbounded by time. God is at the splitting of the Red Sea, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and at the moment when each of us will “shake off our mortal coil!”
As we are in the “winter of our discontent” (When will spring please arrive?) we should hopefully take time to “smell the roses” that have not yet bloomed. Let us be in sync as we drive along our road to understanding life and its gifts, now and forever more. Amen!
Yossi Liebowitz, Rabbi
Covid-19 Policy for Shabbat Services
Services will be streamed via Facebook Live. We want everyone to remain healthy for the New Year.
Covid-19 Policy for Shabbat Services
The Temple Board has set the requirements for those attending service based on the most recent CDC guidelines. If you are fully inoculated you are welcome to attend services in person, and mask wearing is expected. Services will be streamed via Facebook Live for those unable to attend. We want everyone to remain healthy for the New Year.
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.