Reflections on the Morning After Hanukkah

Transcription

1 Rabbi Moshe Adler Tzitziyot remind us every day that God and His mitzvot are our people s raison d etre. NEWSLETTER Beth El - The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community. We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning. January UBw / TBU Reflections on the Morning After Hanukkah Could there be a hint of Hanukkah in the Torah? Strangely enough, we find one in the third section of the Sh ma. There God commands us to wear tzitzit so that you may remember and perform all My commandments (Numbers 15:40). On Hanukkah we celebrated our victory over a rampant assimilation that threatened to erase God and His mitzvot from our collective memory. The tzitziyot (plural of tzitzit) remind us every day that God and His mitzvot are our people s raison d etre. Just how do the tzitziyot remind us of this? Our tradition offers various answers. To take one example, the numerical value of the letters of the word tzitzit is 600. Adding to this the five knots and eight cords that make up each fringe, we get 613, the total number of mitzvot in the Torah. This is obviously more a mnemonic than an actual answer (even disregarding the fact that the biblical spelling of the word tzitzit comes up ten short). This combination of word numerology, knots, and cords works nicely because it creates an association between itself and what it s supposed to remind you of, which is, after all, what a mnemonic is for. The Midrash (B midbar Rabbah 17:6), however, addresses the question of why a braided cord was chosen as the symbol, and it thus comes closer to explaining just how the tzitziyot remind us of God and His mitzvot: It is comparable to the case of someone who was cast overboard. The skipper held out a rope to him and said to him, Hold fast to this rope and don t let it go, for if you let it go, you will not live. So did the Holy and Blessed One say to Israel, As long as you cleave to the mitzvot, you, who hold fast to HaShem your God, are all alive today (Deuteronomy 4.:4). Scripture likewise says, Hold fast to the discipline; don t let it go; keep it; it is your life (Proverbs 4:13). The tzitziyot symbolize God s commandments, which constitute the cord that has kept us alive as a people for millennia. We have held fast to that cord through good times and bad, often at the cost of our lives, and have survived mighty empires. Whenever we have let the cord slip from our hands and allowed ourselves to drift on the changing tides, we have come perilously close to disappearing as a people. Over the centuries, the fact that we have had to become proficient at surviving has given many of us the misconception that survival is what Judaism is all about. It s not. When Moses says, You, who hold fast to HaShem your God, are all alive today, he means not only alive as opposed (continued on page 4) Rabbi Moshe Adler s Saturday Morning Services at 9:15, 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Hts., OH s (

2 Scott Wachter, President Qu e s t i o n s? Co n c e r n s? Co m m e n t s? Co m p l a i n t s? Please do not hesitate to contact the President by or home telephone (216) Help Us Stay In Touch! Please be sure we have your current contact information. Send changes to info@ bethelheights.org or call (216) Keep Up w i t h t h e Ne w s! Jo i n t h e BE-THS Li s t s! Send an to Leon Adato, leon@ adatofamily.com if you need help with signing up. Newsletter: If you d like to get the pdf version, contact news@ bethelheights.org President s Perspectives, January 2012 We are Participatory In my last few articles, I have written about the ways in which we welcome all and embody a true learning community. Both are key elements in our identity. Yet equally important, is the way in which virtually all our members participate in our community in one form or another. Just as we have a wide range of individuals with distinct political and social outlooks, so too do we have a wide range of participation. There are several members, teens, young adults, adults, and seniors who build our community by leading services. Our Ritual Committee chair and a dedicated member make certain that we have people every Shabbat to lead our services, read Torah, and read Haftorah. These members do an incredible job, providing our community with services that follow run smoothly, are meaningful, and are easy-to-follow. This type of participation is critical, since our Shabbat services are a focal point of Beth El The Heights Synagogue. We have other members who don t feel comfortable leading a service, but instead provide a d var Torah. Often our d vrei Torah are fodder for robust discussion among those in attendance at the service. Consequently, the member who provides the d var not only prepares the d var, but also facilitates a discussion. Equally significant, we have members who work on various aspects of our infrastructure. Just like a home, much work is needed to keep our building functioning and in working order. This may entail anything from helping out with electrical and plumbing issues, to making certain that our Shomer Shabbat elevator license is up to date. Every Shabbat, we have members who head downstairs to our kitchen and assist Executive Chef Marvin Palevsky with setting up our kiddush luncheons. This includes preparing the food, and setting the tables. It also includes the clean up required after every luncheon. When we have a Lunch and Learn on a Shabbat, we have volunteers who come in on Friday afternoon to help prepare. Some members of our congregation participate by leading our junior congregation and teen study group, as well as our Learners service. We have regulars who, once a month, help us stuff envelopes and have the newsletter mailed on a timely basis. We have people who participate by simply donating money. When we revisit our mission Beth El The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community. We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning. participatory is defined in several different ways. Each perspective keeps our community thriving. We are a small community, but, as it states in our membership brochure, that is our strength. We are self-sustaining because we are participatory. So many of our members give of their own time, often voluntarily donating their professional expertise to keep us growing. I hope you will join us for a Shabbat in the near future, so that you can have a chance to meet this incredible community Beth El The Heights Synagogue Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 4, January 2012 Beth El The Heights Synagogue Carol Bruml, Editor Telephone , news@bethelheights.org General submittal deadline is the 7th of each month Desota Ave., Cleveland Heights, OH Published 11 times per year. For address or mailing list change, call

3 Lunch and Learn Saturday, February 11, after Services Rabbi A. Leib Scheinbaum will speak on The Forgotten Jew: Reaching Out to Our Brothers and Sisters in Restricted Environments Rabbi Scheinbaum is an acknowledged speaker and author who serves as a regional prison chaplain, Director of Special Projects at the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, and Founding Director of the Academy s Camp STEP. As National Director of the Academy s Living Memorial Project, he has overseen the publication of a national Holocaust curriculum, The World That Was. He is a graduate of Telshe Yeshiva and is a dynamic writer whose Peninim Al HaTorah has inspired thousands world-wide for more than two decades running. Beth El The Heights Synagogue, 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118, Beth El - The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community. We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning. 3

4 Learn with the Rabbi Series Continues Eliezer Berkovits A Moral Philosopher for Our Time Dr. Eliezer Berkovits is someone whose thought can provide a framework for resolving many of the issues of Jewish life in the modern world. The Rabbi s series this year focuses on Eliezer Berkovits. A theologian, philosopher, communal rabbi, and teacher, Eliezer Berkovits was one of the most significant and outstanding Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. Dr. Berkovits was a brave and innovative thinker, who engaged the concrete problems of the Jewish people during a period of momentous change. From God and the Holocaust to the meaning of the modern State of Israel and agunot, he explored the intersection of religion, spirituality and modernity. Today, Dr. Berkovits is being rediscovered as someone whose thought can provide a framework for resolving many of the issues of Jewish life in the modern world. (Jewish United Fund s JUF News 2/9/2011.) The remaining classes will be held after Kiddush on the following Shabbats: January Divine Law and Ethical Deed: The priority of the ethical in Halakhah: Jewish law must not be left in heaven, but is intended for the ongoing shaping of human beings. February Reconciling Belief with Love of Jews Who Believe Differently: How resolving the issue of conversion can teach us how to maintain faith without fundamentalism and exclusivism. March Holocaust and National Rebirth: The Holocaust forced us to reevaluate the meaning of faith in the God of the Covenant, and the State of Israel forces us to reevaluate the meaning of Jewish qidentity and purpose. (Reflections on the Morning After Hanukkah, continued from page 1) to dead, but also alive as opposed to merely surviving. Likewise, when the author of Proverbs refers to the Torah as the discipline, he means that the Torah is a comprehensive way of life. Beyond being the means of our survival, it is the very thing we survive for. The word for discipline, musar, means correction or training, as when Moses tells the Israelites, HaShem your God disciplines [m yaser] you just as a man disciplines [y yaser] his son (Deuteronomy 8:5). He is telling us that our God-given Torah is meant to train us, to teach us the boundaries between right and wrong, between holy and profane, so that, by living holy lives, we bear witness to God s presence in this world and His concern for humanity. We may seldom achieve that goal, but as we move consistently toward it we become progressively more moral, more ethical, and holier. The author of Ecclesiastes (12:14) puts it succinctly: The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments, for that is the whole of being human. 4

5 January Learners Services Are you interested in: Becoming more comfortable with the Shabbat morning service? Building your prayer vocabulary? Delving into the meaning of prayers? Join us for the Learners Service! Each session is a self-contained unit so you can drop in as your schedule permits. We meet twice a month, on the first and third Shabbats, in the library adjacent to the balcony, when the Torah service starts (about 10:30 AM) and rejoin the service in time for the d var Torah. Our text is Hi neni: Prayerbook Hebrew for Adults, by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin; it is available through Joe Buchwald Gelles, jbgelles@gmail.com or at cost. Questions? Contact Mia Buchwald Gelles, miabgelles@gmail.com or Learners Service Dates: Saturday, January 7 - Eitz Chaim He Saturday, January 21 - Aleynu q Saturday, February 4 - Kadish Yahrzeits, January 2012 Jacques R. Simons 20 Tevet 5739 Tevet ~ TBU Samuel Soffer 21 Tevet Sam S. Birkner 6 Tevet Charlotte Hope Saltzman 22 Tevet 5765 Jack Lertzman 6 Tevet 5719 Fannie Fromson 23 Tevet 5717 David L. Susman 6 Tevet 5721 Lillian Ratner 23 Tevet Carl Gilbert Lampel 6 Tevet 5726 Linda Robinson 23 Tevet 5767 Adolph Weinberger 6 Tevet 5738 Celia Sobel 23 Tevet Harry Samuel Weiss 7 Tevet 5710 Joe Silver 25 Tevet 5733 Private First Class Michael Marks Sylvia Tucker 25 Tevet 7 Tevet Charles Robert Bruml 26 Tevet 5755 Lawrence Mesnick 7 Tevet Rosalyn Louise Berkman 26 Tevet Rebecca Dorothy Charms 8 Tevet 5729 Morris Givertz 27 Tevet Bella Sobel 10 Tevet Alfred Adler 28 Tevet 5751 Sidney Russack 10 Tevet 5755 Henry Gelfand 29 Tevet Max Adler 10 Tevet Louis Jacobs 29 Tevet 5730 Isadore Litt 11 Tevet 5722 Bertha Weinberg 12 Tevet 5692 Max Levinsky 13 Tevet 5719 Sh vat ~ UBw Milton Gutentag 13 Tevet 5738 Harriet Feldman 2 Sh vat Minnie Jacobs Weinberger 13 Tevet 5725 Victor Reiss 3 Sh vat Margaret Jacobs 15 Tevet 5721 Theresa Siegler 3 Sh vat Eliezer Lindenbaum 16 Tevet 5697 David Carr 3 Sh vat Henry Rocker 16 Tevet 5727 Mordechai Lugasy 4 Sh vat Morton Glaser 18 Tevet 5750 Rudolph Landesman 6 Sh vat Annie Moll 18 Tevet 5761 Ziskind Alex Simon 6 Sh vat Louis Shifrin 18 Tevet 5727 Isaac Bruder 7 Sh vat Tamar Tepper 18 Tevet Eugene Goodman 7 Sh vat Fannie Eisenberg 19 Tevet 5733 Ethel Newman 7 Sh vat Jack Gordon 19 Tevet Steve Cernigoj 20 Tevet 5 Deliver Your Very Own Dvar! We have a number of dates/parashat open for D vrei Torah in the coming months. Claim a parasha for your very own! Please contact Nina Sobel, or via at for further information, or to let her know what parasha/ parashiot you would like for your very own, this winter.

6 News from Beth El TW$DX Updated Rosters Available to Members the shul at bethelheights.org or call (216) if you would like a copy. Condolences to: Judie and Bruce Amsel, on the recent death of Judie s father, Irwin Beckenstein Z L. Refuah Sh lema to: Carol Bruml Yasher Koah to: Debbie Michelson, who won a $1.2 million verdict in a federal court jury trial on a trade dress infringement claim against a company that is making knock-offs of her client s industrial products (pumps for automatic lubrication systems used with semi tractor-trailer trucks). The jury unanimously found that the defendant intentionally infringed her client s protected trade dress and that its infringement was willful. Zev Valancy, son of Jack and Blanche Valancy. Zev is the Literary Manager of Stage Left Theatre, a company on the North Side of Chicago, which is currently celebrating its thirtieth season. He spearheaded an expansion of the Playwright in Residence program and led the process of selecting two playwrights to receive development at Stage Left. He will also be working as dramaturg for the upcoming world premiere of The Fisherman by Jayme McGhan at Stage Left. In December, Zev appeared in a production of The Eight Reindeer Monologues at Stage Left. Next June he will appear in The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade at the Right Brain Project, another Chicago storefront theatre. 6 Thanks for Contributions to: Sherry Ball and Marty Gelfand, in honor of the birth of their nephew, Ezra Sheldon Ellis. Michael and Shelly Bloomfield Molly Brudnick Bill and Carol Bruml, in memory of Judie Amsel s father, Irwin Beckenstein Z L. Alan and Amy Cadesky Ruth Cantleberry, in memory of her mother, Doris Glaser Z L. Janice Carrick Chas Ehrlich Ron Fersky Debora and Marc Lynn, in honor of Cheryl Hantin (Debora Lynn s sister), being a three-year breast cancer survivor. Antoinette Miller, in honor of the installation of Rabbi Diana Miller as Rabbi of Kehilat HaNahar in New Hope, PA. Stanley Neuger Judi and Roy Schonfeld Elaine and Jan Schwartz Beth and Scott Wachter Beth and Scott Wachter, in memory of Dalia Kutnick s father, Yoav Burstein Z L. Beth and Scott Wachter, in memory of Judie Amsel s father, Irwin Beckenstein Z L. Thanks for Simcha Kiddush contributions to: November Beth and Scott Wachter, in honor of their anniversary. Thanks for December newsletter mailing help to: Sherry Ball Teri Tomberg Sondra Jacobs Blanche Valancy Sue Klein Scott Wachter Alan Lerner Ditte Wolin Erica New

7 Calendar, January UBw / TBU Saturday, December 24 Teen Torah Study, led by Rabbi Moshe Adler. Sunday, December 25, 9:30 AM (Morning Minyan) 10:00 AM 12:00 Noon (breakfast til 11:30) Pancake breakfast. See flyer in December newsletter. 7:00 PM Short Stories by Jewish Authors Reading and Discussion Group. We will discuss stories in Amos Oz newest book, Scenes from Village Life. For information, contact Sondra Jacobs, , or sondrajacobs@sbcglobal.net. Saturday, December 31, after services Monthly Simcha Kiddush: Celebrate all of the happy events that have occurred during December.. Friday, January 6, 5:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat services, followed by dinner. Prepaid reservations requested, if you plan to stay for dinner. See flyer for details. Saturday, January 7, 2012, About 10:30 AM The Learners Service will convene in the library, adjacent to the balcony. Topic: Eitz Chaim He Sunday, January 8, 1:00 to 4:00 PM Youth Group Snow Tubing at Alpine Valley. See flyer for details. Saturday, January 14, after Kiddush Learn with the Rabbi, Session 4: Divine Law and Ethical Deed: The priority of the ethical in Halakhah: Jewish law must not be left in heaven, but is intended for the ongoing shaping of human beings. See page 4 for details. Saturday, January 21, 2012, About 10:30 AM The Learners Service will convene in the library, adjacent to the balcony. Topic: Aleynu Saturday, January 28, after services Monthly Simcha Kiddush: Celebrate all of the happy events that have occurred during January. Sunday, January 29 Breakfast with Dr. Benjamin Sommer. See flyer for details. 9:00 AM Morning minyan 9:30 AM Breakfast 10:00 AM Program: Economic Justice in Prophetic Literature Simcha Celebration Celebrate your simchas with us at Kiddush on the last Shabbat of each month. Become a Simcha Kiddush honoree: Donate $36 per simcha celebrant to the Kiddush Fund. Remember to state honoree s name, month of event and what you are celebrating. Your contribution supports our synagogue. Friday, February 3, 5:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat services, followed by dinner. Prepaid reservations requested, if you plan to stay for dinner. See flyer for details. Saturday, February 4, 2012, about 10:30 AM The Learners Service will convene in the library, adjacent to the balcony. Topic: Kadish Saturday, February 11, 2012, after services Lunch and Learn with Rabbi A. Leib Scheinbaum: The Forgotten Jew: Reaching Out to Our Brothers and Sisters in Restricted Environments. See flyer for further details. 7

8 O G l t, H L H C B g H X M s b Y N g M A c, H L G S O E, h L E b, H L K Y Ab T R U E O Y A b H K L. H L K 8 l L w B Y A l b Kabbalat Shabbat at Beth El The Heights Synagogue Yes, we are coming to the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat dinners on: January 6, 2012 ; February 3, 2012 ; March 2, 2012 Name Phone number Number of: People ages 5 and over Children under 5 Number of vegetarian meals requested Friday, January 6, 2012 Friday, February 3, 2012 Friday, March 2, :30 PM Services begin in the sanctuary 6:30 PM Dinner in the social hall, followed by z mirot (singing) The cost of the dinner is $15.00 per person, maximum of $45.00 per family, IF your reservation is received by the Monday before the Kabbalat Shabbat. The cost will be $20.00 at the door (paid afterward), per person, with a maximum of $50.00 per family. Children under five are free. Reservations and prepayment are absolutely necessary. Reserve your January 6 spot by Monday, January 2, by sending in payment with response forms (to help us keep track of what your check is for!). For more information, call the synagogue, No reservation necessary if you would just like to come to services! Total amount enclosed ($15.00 per dinner per person, prepaid; children under 5 free) Note: The cost is $20 per person if we do not receive your prepaid, advance reservation by December 2. Checks payable to Beth El The Heights Synagogue Mail to: 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Heights, OH I d like to help: Set up (Friday, 4 PM) Clean up l D Y D, H L k T A R Q L. H L b Q N T b w Y N p

9 Come to the youth group snow tubing Sunday, January 8 th 1:00pm-4:00pm Meet at Beth El The Heights Synagogue Tubing at Alpine Valley, Mayfield Road $15 per person for Beth El THS members; $25 per person for non-members Checks payable to Beth El The Heights Synagogue Wear snow pants, coat, gloves, boots anything to keep you warm! Snow tubing is a fun activity for everyone. Just bring warm clothes and be ready for fun! 3246 Desota Ave. Cleveland Heights, OH / (216) / probstadam@gmail.com Beth El - The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community. We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning. As legal guardian, I hereby grant permission for my child to attend the Beth El The Heights Synagogue Snow tubing event on January 8, Cost should not keep your teen from this event. If it might, contact Advisor Adam Probst or BE THS Treasurer Yevgenia Probst Teen s Name Signed and dated Name in Print and Phone Emergency Contact and Phone

10 "Economic Justice in Prophetic Literature" Sunday, January 29, 2012 Beth El The Heights Synagogue 3246 Desota Ave Cleveland, OH An examination of a key theme in the work of Isaiah ben Amoz with an eye towards understanding how that famous theme fits into Isaiah's larger theological project. We will read several passages closely, using selected commentaries as necessary. Dr. Benjamin Sommer Minyan at 9 a.m., Breakfast at 9:30 a.m., Program at 10:15 a.m. Suggested donation of $7 for members and $10 for non-members. A s part of the Visiting Scholars Program at Siegal College, we welcome Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer, Professor of Bible at The Jewish Theological Seminary, and former director of the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies at Northwestern University. Dr. Sommer teaches Hebrew Bible, ancient Judaism, and religions of the ancient Near East, specializing in the history of Israelite religion, literary analysis of the Bible, and biblical theology. Dr. Sommer is an experienced, active lecturer, scholar-in-residence, and teacher in both the U.S. and Israel Desota Avenue, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Telephone, ; , info@bethelheights.org; Website, Beth El The Heights Synagogue builds vibrant Jewish community. We welcome all in participatory, traditional, egalitarian worship and learning.