KOLEINU - Our Voice

WELCOMING OUR NEW RABBI

    For fifteen years, B’nei Israel has grown from the International Jewish Community, a small group of Jews from scattered parts of the world, to a dynamic, growing Jewish alternative in San Jose, Costa Rica. A cemetery, a school, a synagogue building, are material developments that we were able to reach through the devoted work of all of our members.

    And now, the culmination of this devoted effort on the part of so many, has brought us the joy of having our first permanent Rabbi.

    On June 19th, Rabbi Michael Holzman and members of the Board of Directors joined together and signed the contract, which will guarantee us rabbinical leadership for the next two years.

Rabbi Holzman and his wife Nicole have found a home in Escazu and have been working to settle in as quickly as possible. Michael will be attending Spanish classes for the month of July at Conversa, so he will not be around the synagogue very much until August. But Michael will be leading services beginning July 4, and we look forward to seeing him there. Michael's next bulletin column will appear in the August Koleinu.

PARASHAH COMMENTARY

Part of the weekly program of the UJCL is the translation of the Parashah commentaries
from the Jewish Theological Seminary. To whet your appetite for Torah study, we include
this week’s translation. To visit the UJCL webpage, go to:     http://www.ujcl.org

   A colleague and friend who shares my fascination with golf as well as my plague of performing poorly, recently gifted me with a book entitled, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect.

   It is another one of the ever-expanding genre of self-help books in sheep's clothing in which the subject, in this case, golf, is viewed as a microcosm of life. Accordingly, the sport is given a philosophical reach that outdistances any drive from the tee. It is filled with pithy moral teachings such as "Golfers must learn to love the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough ... the alternatives - anger, fear, whining, and cheating - do no good." Through tangible advice on the game, it subtly links such challenges as hitting a forty foot put to reaching for personal and professional goals. Books like this one and others of this ilk by sports personalities like George Forman and Michael Jordan tend to see an ecumenical relevance in seemingly mundane activities.

   Our culture is filled with such moral tomes. And while I am sure I can learn a lot from George Forman's lesson of picking yourself up off the canvas when you're down, the aisles of Barnes and Noble are not necessarily the first place we should go in search of ethical teachings. There is much our own tradition teaches us about living life morally, beyond our expected ritual obligations.

   The gift of Judaism is that within the nuanced discussions of ritual obligations, moral lessons emerge. They are, in fact, inextricably connected and should be viewed as a whole - each dependent on and enhancing the other. In the latter half of our parashah this week, after the famous earthly consumption of Korah and his followers, the focus shifts to the laws, rights and obligations of the priestly class. Their ritual obligation is to perform the sacrifices and engage in holy activities of the Temple - work that is replete with measurement and detail, and seemingly devoid of moral lesson.

   However, we read in Number 18:7, "I make your service - a service of a gift ... " This gift can be given either by the priests to God or by God to the priests. The giver and receiver are ambiguous. Reading ritual obligations as a gift to God seems itself a bit contradictory, and many medieval commentators attempted to rectify this seeming contradiction. For example, Rashi and Ramban, in an unusual instance of concurrence, define the gift that God has given to the Jewish people as the priesthood. This view is also expressed by the commentators Ibn Ezra and Sforno.

   This is not the case, however, when we reach the commentary of the Zaddik Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev (circa:1740-1810). In his commentary, Kedushat Levi (p. 311 Mesamchei Lev ed.), he states, "When we serve God, it is not a gift, because it is our obligation. However, when we work to return the Divine sparks to God, this is the gift we give to God.” Applying a concept that originated with gnostics in the early part of this century and continued with some early kabbalists, Levi Yitzhak believed that there was a service we could perform in addition to ritual responsibilities, which would return the fragments of God in exile in our world to the Godly realm. Continuing, he says this higher service is our responsibility to act ethically in business. His definition of the verse as a gift we give to God extends ritual law to include a moral dimension. Thus, avodah, service of God, can be simple ritual observance without any moral dimension, or, when the ethical dimension is included, our service becomes a gift to God.

   This concept is supported by Rabbi Sampson Raphael Hirsch (Germany 1808-1888) in his Nineteen Letters. In letter fourteen, (p.88: Feldheim trans.), Hirsch defines avodah as "striving to regain the eternal values of life if we should have lost sight of them through the deceptions, errors, conflicts and temptations of living." He adds, "Our sages call true devotion avodat ha-lev - the service of the heart; that is, the fulfillment of God's will toward our own inner person by purifying and ennobling our character." Rabbi Hirsch's service is truly more than ritual observance and contains elements that are consonant with tikkun olam, repair of the world, also incorporated in Levi Yitzhak's definition.

   Maimonides, in The Guide for the Perplexed, (3:32) talks about the deeper meaning of sacrifices and asserts that if the ritual detail is of paramount importance to the avodah, then there would be more leniency about where they can be held instead of restricting them to the Temple. Thus, there must be a more profound meaning imparted to the sacrifices. Moreover, he adds, the prophets - the champions of ethics and morality - frequently spoke out against observing ritual law that does not include a corresponding moral code.

   All this is to say that rather than consult the self-help aisles of the local book store, our religion can serve as a moral and ethical compass. Our commentators bring law and ritual to life and instill it with a meaning relevant to our daily lives. Looking within our tradition for inherent moral structure will provide guidance with context and depth that is relevant to us as Jews - it just may be a little more challenging to find our moral guidance here than in a book by Michael Jordan.

   Our challenge, then, is to approach our tradition and discover the morals behind what may appear to be outdated and irrelevant ritual detail. To quote a popular statement from Pirkei Avot, "turn it over and over, everything is contained within it."

   Our tradition is living and evolving, the challenge of relevance is yours, and the next time you're playing golf, remember sometimes a sand trap is just a sand trap.

    Shabbat Shalom.

The publication and distribution of Rabbi Wolf's commentary on Parashat Korah are made
possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee and Harold (z"l) Hassenfeld.

LETTERS TO THE CONGREGATION

    Comunidad Hebrea de Tegucigalpa

    June 8, 2003

   Dear Friends:

    With much pride and humility, I would like to invite you to join us for the inauguration of our new synagogue building on Sunday, August 29, 2003, at 11:00 a.m.

    More than three years after Hurricane Mitch ravaged Tegucigalpa and destroyed our existing temple, we will have the enormous pleasure of saying Shehechianu in the first building constructed as a synagogue in our city. Mitch dealt us a tremendous blow, but in the spirit of kol yisrael arevim ze la ze, all Jews are responsible one for the other, world Jewry comforted us in our distress and extended a hand to us in brotherhood. This outpouring of support was the driving force behind this project.

    We would be honored if you could share this magnificent simcha with us. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at fgelman@sdnhon.org.hn .

    Sincerely,

                        Philip Gelman
                        President

WHAT LIES AHEAD

By Marvin Sossin

    Is anybody there? I´m looking for answers to some questions that may hold the key to whether we grow – or fade – as a congregation. I need help. I need to understand what I need to do as a Jewish grandfather to assure the continuity of Reform Judaism in Costa Rica.

    I feel like I´m up against a brick wall of indifference. I feel like Humpty Dumpty atop the wall. I feel like the walls will come tumbling down – and nothing will put Humpty Dumpty together again.

    I feel sad and frustrated. All that enthusiasm; all those fundraisers and bingos and dreams of a synagogue, Bar/Bat Mitzvah and learning and truly incredible achievements over 18 years. What was it for? What was the point? Is Reform Judaism in North and Central America really sliding towards the future predicted by Alan Dershowitz where only the ultra Orthodox will survive in about 75 years?

    Is B´nai Israel on a crash course to obscurity? Perhaps Rabbi Plaut was right when he told me, that the critical mass in a community is 75 families minimum. Less than that spells inevitable extinction of the community. And that people who lit the fires under us and worked so hard would ultimately burn out.

    We have always been small. We have always been underfinanced. We have always struggled against the odds. Yet we overcame every challenge. We gave life and meaning to Jewish families that thrive today and would never have known what Jewish family life was all about – if not for B´nai Israel. We bought land and built a cemetery – to last at least 400 years. We organized and run a great Jewish school. We built a Beit Hamikdash; a beautiful sinagogue and Community Centre. We were the moving force that founded the U.J.C.L.

    We did all these things.

    Recently, we hired a Rabbi. Michael Holzman is not your run of the mill young graduate. I know him. He is outstanding, He is brilliant. This is not just his first job. B´nai Israel for him is the realization of a goal. We are what he has been studying and striving for. He truly believes in what he preaches. For him, Reform Judaism is a noble path towards understanding man´s relationship to God, and to the highest values and principles of our tradition.

    So I ask myself, “Is Michael the answer?” Will he forge the path of our growth? But – I know the answer. My brain doesn´t figure it out. My heart speaks to me. And I hear the echo of my silent supplication.

    Michael is a Rabbi, not a magician. He is a Spiritual leader; not a proselytizing preacher. He is, above all, a teacher of Torah and all that it entails.

    Who can lead, if the followers lack the will and spirit to carry the burden?

    Who can learn , if the wonder and astounding history of our birth and nationhood is taken for granted and fails to excite Jewish people who have never read the story of Ruth?

    Need is the seed of growth. When we were but few and called ourselves the International Jewish Community, we were needy. We had nowhere to go, to pray, to educate our children, to bury our families, to celebrate our Jewishness. We were nothing. We were in danger of losing our Jewishood. “If you don´t use it – you lose it.” So true!

    Today we are suffering from a lack of need. Most of us have satisfied those profoundly important aspects of our lives as Jews. Our children have been born and raised and they have fulfilled their commitments and confirmed their ties.

    So – what now?

    We are like a shell and the outer appearance is appealing. But where is the fruit within? And where is the flavor and richness that filled and fueled our lives?

    The answer my friends, is not evident to me. All I can offer are the questions. Only you, individually, hold the key. You can lock the door and seal the past and throw away the key. Or you can open the door to a future of learning, spiritual enrichment and the realization that living within a growing Jewish community is the fulfillment of all that you aspire to be.

    But – you must work for it. There is no such thing as “I did that”. It’s a never ending story.

    May the story of B´nai Israel, never end. May my grandchildren become Jewish grandparents in Costa Rica.

TO YOU

Poem by Stephen Berg

   At night our bodies nearly touch in the big bed the goosedown comforter feels as light as the hand of God
   I remember a smaller one in a different house where I slept alone in fear without others with others
   I say light because God has no hands nothing except the world to define Him whatever we may say
   Nights are always equally dark but the mind has degrees chocolate tar coal taffeta open grave thoughts that panic the unwary
   But I don’t care what it means as long as it continues or maybe I should say I believe the afterlife is right now since this moment need not be
   Belief !  what a word the only one that really applies to everything as Nietzche knew and Freud who destroyed the word forever
   Of course it all depends on who you listen to or refuse to listen to I’d like to be able to do both at once
   Listen with calm attentive compassion and not hear anyone’s words which might be the one way to cure grief
   Over the way things are over not being able to accept the way things are the way things are is God
   Constantly on the threshold of revelation lamenting all raising hymns to all
   Some days it’s true even the coffee grounds are sacred nose hairs snot lint equal to the most exquisite blazing yellow leaf ruined soon where sweet birds sing
   And in the midst of whatever might be deemed agonizing irremediable the world continues to give itself exactly as it is
   For love of the earth is inescapable in surrender and who we are and what is are one no thought can contradict the peace of that perception

Stephen Berg, who in his long career in poetry has drawn on both his Jewish background and Zen Buddhist thought, embraces both in “To You,” a meditation in 13 extended lines, their long loops of language juxtaposed without punctuation, suggesting the stream of thoughts bumping against thought.

Submitted by Marvin Sossin

   

BOB HOPE AND THE HOLOCAUST: NO LAUGHING MATTER

By Dr. Rafael Medoff
(Dr. Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, which focuses
on issues related to America's response to the Holocaust.    www.WymanInstitute.Org )

    Bob Hope's 100th birthday has been the occasion for an outpouring of heartfelt tributes to one of America's greatest comedians. Among his many achievements, Hope is perhaps best known as the premier entertainer of America's troops, particularly during the Vietnam War. What is not well known about Bob Hope is that he also rose to the occasion during another war – Hitler’s war against the Jews.

    At the peak of the Holocaust, in early 1944, Hope volunteered to perform in an all-star show at Madison Square Garden to benefit the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe.

    This was not merely another benefit concert for a worthy cause. For Hope to support the controversial Emergency Committee took real political courage. The committees public criticism of the Allies apathy toward the Holocaust had infuriated government officials in Washington and London. In fact, the State Department repeatedly tried to have the Emergency Committee's chairman, Peter Bergson, drafted or deported. At State's urging, the FBI opened Bergson's mail, rummaged through his trash, and planted informants in his organization in an unsuccessful search for information that could be used to muzzle or prosecute the Bergson activists.

    Bergson, a maverick Zionist emissary from Palestine, established the New York-based Emergency Committee in 1943. The news of the Nazi mass slaughter of millions of European Jews had been publicly confirmed by the Allies, yet the Roosevelt administration insisted nothing could be done to help the Jews except winning the war. Bergson, by contrast, urged the Allies to take immediate steps, such as opening the gates of Palestine or using empty supply ships returning from Europe to bring refugees to temporary detention camps in America.

    One of Bergson's most important supporters was Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ben Hecht (Gone with the Wind, Scarface). Hecht's Hollywood connections helped bring stars of stage and screen to Bergson's ranks. His pageant, We Will Never Die, publicizing the plight of the Jews, opened at Madison Square Garden with Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni, Sylvia Sydney and Luther Adler in the leading roles. Later performances included guest stars Claude Rains, Edward G. Arnold, Ralph Bellamy and Howard Da Silva.

    The Bergson group also placed full-page ads in hundreds of American newspapers, organized public rallies, and staged a dramatic march to the White House by 400 rabbis. Bergson persuaded leading Members of Congress, in October 1943, to introduce a resolution urging creation of a U.S. government agency to rescue Jewish refugees. The resolution quickly passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was the subject of well-publicized hearings before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This Congressional pressure, boosted by behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts by Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and his aides, persuaded FDR to establish the War Refugee Board. The Board's activities, which included financing the rescue work of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, ultimately saved the lives of over 200,000 people during the final months of the war.

    During the crucial early months of the Board's work, in the spring of 1944, Bergson's Emergency Committee played an important supporting role. The committee sponsored newspaper ads backing the rescue effort; provided the War Refugee Board with information about rescue opportunities; and dispatched two special emissaries to Turkey to assist rescue activity (one was Ira Hirschmann, the Bloomingdale's executive).

    To raise funds for this work, the Bergson group organized an all-star Show of Shows at Madison Square Garden on March 13, 1944. More than 20,000 people attended, including 150 servicemen whose tickets were paid for by the famous Jewish boxer (and WWII hero) Barney Ross. The evening was a combination of pleasant entertainment and bitter reality.

    On the one hand, it featured skits and comedy routines by Bob Hope, as well as by Gracie Fields, Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel, Molly Picon, and others. Milton Berle served as master of ceremonies. Musical numbers were performed by Paul Robeson, Perry Como, the Andrews Sisters, the Xavier Cugat Band, and the Count Basie Band, among others.

    But the evening also included a dramatic reading by Helen Hayes of a Ben Hecht poem about the Nazi massacres. Emergency Committee chairman Dean Alfange (a leader of the American Labor Party), in a stirring address, declared that it was the duty of the Christian world to help these stricken people in this black hour of their misery and distress. Bergson also spoke, appealing to Allied officials and Jewish community leaders to brush aside political considerations at a time when thousands of us are dying daily.

    According to the New York Times, the Show of Shows netted $80,000 – quite a sum for that era and an important boost to the rescue campaign. While other entertainers used their talents simply to gain personal wealth and fame, Bob Hope and his colleagues had demonstrated that they were a cut above the rest. The participants in the Show of Shows took the risk of associating with a controversial group, for the sake of the vital humanitarian cause of rescuing Jews from the Holocaust.

    As Bob Hope's centennial is celebrated by saluting his contributions to American culture and his aid to American troops overseas, his aid to the Jews in Hitler's Europe should also be noted. For that, too, Bob Hope deserves our salute.

   

WEBSITE RECOMMENDATION

    Visit our page to Jewish links on the Internet:     http://www.bnei-israel.org
We have many interesting new links, such as:

• For those who want to make aliyah to Israel:
  http://www.israelenalia.org
  E-mail: aliaarg@jazo.org.il
• Reading of the Tanach in Hebrew:
  http://www.clfb.org.il
  E-mail Josette Bar: josetbar@yahoo.es
• Israel news in Spanish:
  El Reloj.com: http://www.elreloj.com
  Itón Gadol: http://www.itongadol.com.ar/
• Simon Wiesenthal Centre:
  http://www.wiesenthal.com/
• AMIA – Jewish Community:
  http://www.amia.org.ar/
• For those planning to visit Peru:
  Youth Hostel: http://www.youthhostelperu.com/

   

THE BIBLE REWRITTEN

”The most interesting information comes from the children,
for they tell all they know..." - Mark Twain

WHAT I LEARNED IN HEBREW SCHOOL AND WHAT I LEARNED IN CATECHISM
(THE BIBLE REWRITTEN!)

    These are written by children and have not been retouched or corrected, poor spelling and all!

• The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with the unsympathetic Genitals.
• The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.
• The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
• The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
• Moses died before he ever reached Canada.
• Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
• David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.
• Soloman, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
• Most religions teach us to have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

Submitted by Jody Bonilla

   

NEWS – CONDOLENCES

• Condolences to Jimmy and Ronnie Hirsch, Juliana Orwin, and the entire Keibel family, on the passing of TRUDL KEIBEL. May the memories of her life replace the sadness and sense of loss that the Hirsch and Keibel families are feeling at this moment.
  
  
• Warm thanks to the Kaufman family, for the generous donation of one month of intensive Spanish classes in CONVERSA for our new Rabbi Holzman. Todah Rabah!
  
  
• Mazel Tov to Lara Putnam on her naming as History Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, in the United States. It is with much sadness that we say goodbye to Lara, Miriam, Gabriel, and Alonso. Best of luck in your new home, and come back and visit all your friends in B’nei Israel.

   

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KOLEINU Newsletter
July 2003
Editor: Inés Baum