Divre Harav – Words from the Rabbi

Divre Harav/Words from the Rabbi – December, 2012

Posted by

0

Every study of Jewish identity demonstrates that immersive Jewish experiences, such as Jewish camps and Israel programs, are linked to increases in positive Jewish behaviors, such as giving to Jewish causes, lighting Shabbat candles, holding a Passover Seder, and fasting on Yom Kippur.

The key word is immersive. Most of our days and weeks are spent interacting with a very secular American or Christian world. Watching television, listening to the radio or to the music on our iPods, conversations with out co-workers or clients or customers or supervisors, all of these things take place outside of Jewish time and space, and with rare exceptions, do not call attention to specifically Jewish values or concerns. This is, of course, a very broad statement that does not apply to everyone. Some of us have Jewish playlists or podcasts on our iPods, or subscribe to RSS feeds from Jewish media sources or stock out netflix queue with Jewish themed or Israeli movies. Nonetheless, when living and working in North America (and even more so in West Michigan), our interpersonal contacts, at the supermarket, the bank, the pharmacy, the bakery, the restaurant, on the phone with DTE, Comcast, AT&T, or the City of Grand Rapids, will rarely end with a “Shabbat Shalom” or a “Hag Sameah!” In our day to day lives, we are decidedly not immersed in the language of Judaism.

An immersive Jewish experience is one which is structured to present us with Jewish opportunities throughout the day. A Jewish camp invites us to wake up surrounded by Jews, engage in prayer, eat breakfast with Jews, go swimming at a waterfront, do art projects, engage in sports or learning activities that explicitly incorporate Hebrew, Jewish texts, Jewish language, and Jewish values into the activity. In an Israel experience, we are surrounded by Hebrew as a living language, and to wish Shabbat Shalom to the bus driver, the bank teller, and the tech support person on the phone is part of the common discourse. The sign on the bus reminding young people to give up their seats to their elders quotes Leviticus 19:32, “You shall rise before the aged.” Such use of Hebrew doesn’t feel like in-your-face Bible thumping, it’s just street language.

In an immersive Jewish experience, in Israel or in a serious Jewish camp program, Jewish identity does not require an active effort … one can relax and simply be Jewish, letting the little bits of a Jewish life flow past as naturally as a scrap of wood sweeping down the Mississippi river.

Ahavas Israel is blessed with a generous scholarship program. We have the Berkowitz Fund and the Ahavas Israel scholarship fund for children, and the Shapiro fund for adults. Their intent is to fund educational camp and Israel program and (for adults) retreats and classes and seminars that provide an immersive Jewish experience. You can find information about the scholarship program elsewhere in the Voice as well as on the AhavasIsrael.org website. I urge you to consider how you might take advantage of it, for your children or for yourself.

Divre Harav/Words from the Rabbi – November, 2012

Posted by

0

I have been observant of traditional Sabbath practices (shomer Shabbat) for about 26 years, and my Shabbat practice has become so second nature to me that I sometimes forget the extent to which it is out of step with the way most people live their lives. However, I didn’t grow up strictly Sabbath observant. It’s something that I began to explore as a teen at Camp Ramah and in my home synagogue, and began to adopt seriously during my year studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was not until I came home after that year that I made the commitment to incorporate the restrictions of a traditional Jewish Shabbat observance a consistent part of my life.

It was not only an adjustment to me, but to my family and friends as well. When I stopped using the telephone on Shabbat, my family was worried about how they would contact me in case of emergency. I assured them that if I was home, I would listen to the answering machine, and if it was an emergency I would pick up. One of my friends began leaving 5-10 minute messages on Shabbat afternoon and calling me 10 minutes before the end of Shabbat, which I suspect was a passive-aggressive way of dealing with his unhappiness at my evolution into “Religious Jew.” Slowly, though, friends and family adjusted.

It was not a terrible adjustment for Congregation Ahavas Israel when I arrived in Grand Rapids.  Most of the previous rabbis, including my predecessor, also had a fairly traditional Shabbat practice. However, it is worthwhile periodically discussing how my Shabbat and Holiday practice affects my functioning and availability as a rabbi, and how to contact me in case of emergency, such as death or serious illness.

The answering machine that I had when I first arrived in Grand Rapids has gone the way of the dinosaur. Voicemail has some advantages, but I have not figured out a way to screen calls on Shabbat and pick them up of they are urgent. In the case of death or serious illnesses,if you need to reach me on Shabbat or holidays, there are a couple of options:  You can call my Google Voice number (616-929-0459) and leave me a message which I will get immediately after Shabbat or the Festival ends. Alternatively, you can stop by my home or ask someone else to come to my home to notify me. I will discuss funeral arrangements to the extent that I am able, given that it is Shabbat and I will not have access to my calendar. If it would be helpful, I could walk to the hospital (Blodgett or Butterworth only).

Despite the occasional hardships of not using electronics on Shabbat, I find it to be tremendously liberating. I sleep better and have sharper concentration. If you would like a detailed discussion on the use of electronic devices on Shabbat, you can find a very well written paper by my colleague Rabbi Danny Nevins on this page, under the category of Shabbat: http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/jewish-law/committee-jewish-law-and-standards/orah-hayyim

Divre Harav/Words from the Rabbi – September, 2012

Posted by

2

Many Jewish homes have a copy of Isaac Klein’s “A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice” on their bookshelves.  My own copy was given to me by the synagogue in which I grew up. As the bookplate indicates, it was presented to Marisa and me in honor of our marriage on the occasion of our aufruf. Published in 1979, it is a detailed and comprehensive guide to Jewish practice at home and in the synagogue.

Although Klein’s Guide is still very much relevant and useful, The Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement has just published a book which is destined to be the next general’s version of the Guide. The book, entitled “The Observant Life:  The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews,” edited by Martin S. Cohen, weighs in at 900+ pages, 50% larger than Isaac Klein’s Guide! Within the first 13 pages, the need for an updated guide for a Jewish life is apparent.  There is a discussion of inserting the names of matriarchs into our prayers, something which was barely a blip on the radar screen in the 60’s and 70’s when Isaac Klein was writing his guide. There is also a discussion of joining a minyan via internet, something which was science fiction technology Isaac Klein’s world (see the Dear Rebbe column for an answer to this question).

At a recent board meeting, the president, Bill Lewis, posed an intriguing question: What is the role of a religious institution in a secular world? Those of you reading this column who have chosen to be a part of Congregation Ahavas Israel (or another synagogue community) presumably have some sort of answer, at least for yourself. “The Observant Life” suggests that the synagogue is an extension of the religious life of the individual Jew – a place of prayer, learning, and spiritual assembly. I suggest that the synagogue exists to support you in your quest to be an educated, observant, caring Jew, seeking to connect yourself with a like-minded community and/or with God.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, my family and I wish you a sweet new year, one in which the synagogue will play a role in your social, emotional, spiritual, religious, educational and/or cultural life.

Divre Harav/Words from the Rabbi – Summer, 2012

Posted by

0

The Fast Days of Summer

Fasts of mourning are not the most popular of fasts, especially in the middle of the summer. The sun is warm and bright, and the last thing that we want to do is mourn the loss of an ancient Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subsequent exile.  There is a reason, however, why Judaism has such elaborate rituals for death and morning … funeral customs, shiva, and Yahrtzeit.  Judaism believes that we are not disconnected beings creating and living our lives on our own.  Rather, we are intimately connected with and dependent on those who preceded us.  We inherited a world and a religious tradition from the hundreds and thousands of generations of humanity that came before us.  After our brief time on earth, it is our responsibility to pass along that heritage to those who will follow.  The rituals of death and mourning create the memory link between us and our past, and give us a framework in which to transmit the stories of our past to the next generation.

Tisha B’Av, the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av, is the anniversary of the day upon which both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, and Jews were expelled from England in 1290 and Spain in 1492.  It is one of two major fast days on the Jewish calendar (the other being Yom Kippur).  Aside from fasting  and refraining from wearing leather and from engaging in intimate relations, it is observed by reading the book of Aicha, Lamentations, traditionally ascribed to the Prophet Jeremiah, who lived through the Babylonian exile after the first Temple was destroyed.

Three weeks prior to Tisha b’Av, on the 17th of Tammuz, Shiva Asar b’Tammuz, the walls of Jerusalem were breached. Shiva Asar bTammuz is observed as a minor fast day (sunrise to sundown) on Sunday, July 8.  These three weeks are observed as days of semi-mourning, in which weddings and other joyous celebrations should not take place.  During the first nine days of Av, one should not eat meat or drink wine (except on Shabbat), or cut one’s hair.  Three special Haftarot are chanted, known as the Haftarot of destruction.  The Haftarah the week prior to Tisha b’Av is chanted using the trope of Aicha (Lamentations). The three weeks lead us into the emotional low of the consideration of exile and the destructive nature of anti-semitism, prejudice, racism, and all forms of hatred.  Following Tisha b’Av, a series of 7 Haftarot known as the Haftarot of consolation take us back up to the emotional high of Rosh Hashanah, 7 weeks later.

Tisha B’Av will be observed on Saturday night, July 28, and Sunday, July 29.  Services will be held at the synagogue beginning at 10:00 p.m. on July 28 and 9:30 a.m. July 29.

Divre Harav/Words from the Rabbi – May, 2012

Posted by

0

On Shavuot, we celebrate revelation of Torah by reading the Aseret Ha-d’varim, the initial decalogue with which the formal communication of civil, criminal, ritual, and ethical law was given to Moses.  Torah reading forms the core of any Shabbat service. A typical service contains both prayer – a time for us to speak to God; and Torah reading, which we might imagine is a time when God is speaking to us. The Religious life committee has been discussing two issues within the Torah service related to the way we distribute the honor of being called to the Torah for an aliyah to recite the blessings before and after the reading.

The first change that the Religious Life committee has made is to the way we manage aliyot during a family simha such as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or an Aufruf.  Our custom at Ahavas Israel has been that when a family is celebrating a significant event, the family is given the privilege of distributing all of the Torah honors.  This occasionally creates situations in which other congregation members are unable to get an aliyah.

We need to keep in mind that Torah reading is a congregational obligation (in the sense that we read torah publicly only in the presence of a minyan), and as such its function is to bring us together as a congregation. When distributing aliyot, halakha has a hierarchy of entitlements to aliyot, known as hiyyuvim, such as a child celebrating a Bar Mitzvah, a bride and groom on the Shabbat before his wedding, parents on the shabbat following the birth of a child, a person who as experienced a life threatening illness or surgery or a potentially dangerous journey, or a person with a yahrtzeit in the coming week. The aliyot give the community a chance to recognize life passages.

Therefore, the Religious Life committee has decided that families celebrating a simha who wish to distribute aliyot themselves will permitted to take six of the seven aliyot (as well as maftir) to give to whomever they wish.  In addition, they will be given the option of distributing all of the Ark openings and closings, selected English and Hebrew readings, and all of the Torah readings.

The Religious Life committee will keep one aliyah for congregational use, to be offered to a person who has a halakhic privilege to take an aliyah, such as someone observing a Yahrtzeit or who has recovered from an illness.  If no one from the congregation requires an aliyot, the ushers will do their best to give the aliyah to someone connected with the family celebrating the simha. For a fuller explanation of the policy, see AhavasIsraelGR.org under “Religious Life.”

The second Religious Life committee change has to do with the first two aliyot, the Kohen and Levi aliyot. When the Kohenim and Levi’im lost the privileges due to them by virtue of their Temple service, the Rabbis compensated them by given them the first two aliyot whenever the Torah was read.  This was a rabbinic enactment, not a Torah privilege, given to them out of a sense of darchei shalom, “the paths of peace,” in order to preserve their honor in the community. Many congregations have moved away from this custom. Since darchei shalom is a sociological norm (in other words, it only applies when the kohanim would feel insulted by not being recognized), it changes with time and circumstances.  In certain congregations and situations the limitations and restrictions created by maintaining the kohen, levi, yisrael procedure, rather than maintaining darchei shalom, tend to interfere with them.  Where a Rabbi feels that a congregation or service would better be served by calling people up to the Torah as rishon, sheni, shlishi, it is entirely permissible to do so. Our religious life committee made a decision a number of years ago that giving the first two aliyot to Kohen and Levi was entirely optional. They have now reconsidered. The new policy returns us to a more traditional practice of reserving the first aliyah for a Kohen and the second aliyah for a Levi.  If a Kohen or Levi are not present, that aliyah may be given to anyone.  Additionally, if a family is distributing aliyot themselves for a family simha and they do not have a Kohen/Levi that they had planned to honor with an aliyah, they may give the first two aliyot to anyone they choose, regardless of Kohen/Levi status.

Both of these new policies will begin July 1 at the beginning of the new Ahavas Israel programming and fiscal year.