 B’NEI ISRAEL CONGREGATION JOINS WITHTHE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF THE WORLDTO CELEBRATE THE 53rd ANNIVERSARYOF THE CREATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAELYom HaAtzma’ut |
B’NEI ISRAEL CONGREGATION JOINS WITHTHE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF THE WORLDTO CELEBRATE THE 53rd ANNIVERSARYOF THE CREATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAELYom HaAtzma’ut |
We have become increasingly concerned with Chabad Lubavich's divisive activities in Russia. In competition with the mainstream Russian Jewish Congress, the umbrella Jewish organization established after the fall of the Soviet Union, Chabad Lubavich established an independent Jewish organization the Federation of Jewish communities of the CIS.
The Federation recently elected Rabbi Lazar to the title of "Chief Rabbi of Russia." This move was aimed at displacing Rabbi Adolph Shayavich of the Russian Jewish Congress who is recognized widely by the local and international Jewish community as the Chief Rabbi of Russia.
Many supporters of Russian Jewry are beginning to feel that they are losing the struggle to define Russian Judaism broadly in a manner that embraces all elements of the Jewish community.
We are convinced that many Reform Jews, motivated by the sincere desire to help our brothers and sisters in the former Soviet Union (FSU), are being misled by Lubavich. They are sending funds without fully appreciating that, in fact, Lubavich is the recipient.
No funds should be sent to any person or organization that cannot state to your satisfaction that they support religious pluralism and that they have respect for Reform and Conservative Judaism.
Through the work of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Reform Judaism is growing rapidly in the former Soviet Union. Thousands of Jews in the FSU are attracted to our approach. We desperately need your support.
Lubavich is reportedly spending tens of millions of dollars annually in the FSU, much of it donated by well meaning but uninformed Reform Jews. By comparison, our own budget is less than a million dollars a year.
Our fellow Jews in the former Soviet republics need Judaism to survive. We believe that only the Reform movement can attract the masses of Jews in the FSU. As the recognized Chief Rabbi of Russia, Adolph Shayevich, said recently: "We cannot rebuild Russian Jewry without the Reform movement."
Please help us. We have a generation at most to ensure the continuation of Jewish life in the FSU.
Best wishes for a joyous Pesach,
YOUNG ADULTS MARK WOMEN'S DAY IN HAIFA:
The Young Adults' Forum of
the IMPJ, along with the community center at Haifa's Leo Baeck educational
complex and a number of women's groups, sponsored a happening this week
to mark International Women's Day. The event included workshops on women's
health, feminism in Judaism, and more. It was capped with a performance
by standup comedian Nurit Hadar Fuerstein titled "Pulsa Dinurit" which
dealt with the status of women in Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox society....
The Forum's activities are designed to bring post-army-age Israelis closer
to Judaism and Jewish culture.
INFORMAL RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE BEIT MIDRASH OPERATING
IN TWO ISRAELI CITIES:
The IMPJ has instituted weekly
Torah study classes for Russian speakers in Ashdod and Netanya, two areas
with high concentrations of immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU).
Both programs have approximately 10 students, who meet for an hour and
a half each week to study Torah and discuss the weekly portion....
IMMIGRANT CANTOR BRINGS "LOST" MUSIC FROM PALE
OF SETTLEMENT:
Some 2,000 items from a virtually
priceless collection of Jewish music - which is still officially "off-limits"
to Israeli scholars - are now in Israel on microfiche, thanks to Cantor
Mila Mendelson of the Progressive congregation in Netanya. The collection
was compiled in the early 20th century as part of the Jewish Ethnographic
Expedition, which aimed to document the folkways of the Pale of Settlement.
The musical component was "lost" until 1996, when researchers at the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem learned that it was being stored at the Science
Academy of Kiev. So far, Ukrainian authorities have refused to allow the
researchers even to photocopy the material. Enter Mila Mendelson, a Ukrainian-born
musician and theater artist. Prior to making aliya in 1997, Mendelson managed
to photograph some 2,000 items from the collection during the course of
a year of research on Jewish theater and musical sources. After arriving
in Israel, she made contact with Rabbi Mira Raz of Congregation Netan-Ya,
and soon became the congregation's cantor. The Israel Movement for Progressive
Judaism helped underwrite the cost of developing the microfiche film....
MEET THE WORLD UNION'S MINSK-BASED RABBI, NELLY
SHULMAN:
St. Petersburg native Nelly
(Kogan) Shulman was ordained at Leo Baeck College in London in July, 1999
- the first Russian rabbi to be ordained there. She is now the spiritual
leader of Congregation Simcha in Minsk, where she served as a student rabbi-in-residence
on behalf of the World Union. She is also considered the Chief Rabbi of
the Progressive Movement of Belarus. While the 29-year-old Shulman says
the Progressive Jews of Belarus tend to be older (with many of the younger
Jews from the country's mostly small, provincial cities and towns having
left for Israel or elsewhere), Belarus's Progressive youth movement is
considered to be the strongest in the FSU. One of her goals is to establish
a youth retreat center to impart Progressive Jewish values. Another goal
is to establish a daily pre-school program for toddlers. Her dream, however,
is to be given a building for use as a synagogue....
6 April 2001 * 13 Nisan 5761
MARRIAGE FAIR AT TEL AVIV CONGREGATION:
More than 100 prospective
Jewish couples attended an IMPJ-sponsored marriage fair at the end of March
at Congregation Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv. The evening featured information
on the Halachic and legal aspects of alternative forms of marriage ceremonies
in Israel, and on Progressive ceremonies in particular.... IMPJ rabbis
performed weddings for some 900 couples in 2000, an 33% increase over the
previous year.
MODEL SEDER FOR HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN HAIFA:
Congregation Or Chadash of
Haifa, and its spiritual leader, Rabbi Edgar Nof, recently held a model
Passover seder for some 100 Holocaust survivors. Participants inserted
their own passages into the Hagaddah story that relates to the exodus from
Egypt and deliverance of the Jewish People from slavery to freedom. "Pharoah
wanted to turn the Jews into slaves," said one, "but Hitler didn't want
even this. He wanted to turn us into dust." Another participant proposed
adding four cups of water to the seder table to symbolize the lack of food
and drink in the ghettos and concentration camps. Rabbi Nof remarked that
the heroism of Holocaust survivors indicates the strength of the Jewish
People to overcome the greatest obstacles, and that with this strength
the Jews, especially those in Israel, will overcome the difficulties they
face today.
GROUP BAT MITZVAH PLANNED FOR MEVESERET WOMEN:
Adhering to the adage "better
late than never," seven women from Congregation Meveseret outside Jerusalem
are to be called to the Torah during the Shavuot holiday to mark bat mitzvah
ceremonies they never had as youths. The women, ranging in age from 40
to 60, are studying the Torah portion for the holiday. Rabbi Maya Leibovic,
the first Sabra woman to be ordained a rabbi in Israel, is spiritual leader
of Congregation Meveseret and has long emphasized the importance of empowerment
for women in Judaism.
CRIMEAN CONGREGATIONS BEING STRENGTHENED THROUGH
EXODUS 2000:
The Progressive Congregation
of Simferopol in the Crimea has been twinned with Kingston Liberal Synagogue
of London. The relationship began after Rabbi Danny Rich, who has long
been active in providing support for Progressive Jewry in the Czech Republic,
became inspired to extend his outreach efforts to the FSU. This followed
a networking meeting last fall by Exodus 2000, which oversees social action
projects in the FSU for the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain and Union
of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues. In addition, a delegation from London's
North Western Reform Synagogue, to be led by Rabbi Charles Emanuel, will
be traveling to the Crimean community of Kerch to participate in the dedication
of that congregation's new synagogue. Last summer, the London congregation
donated a Torah scroll to the Progressive Jews of Kerch.
EUROPEAN REGION ANNOUNCES GALA DINNER TO FETE
WORLD UNION AT 75:
The European Region of the
WUPJ will hold a celebratory dinner on Monday, June 9, to mark 75 years
since the founding of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.... For further
information, please contact Sylvia Morris via <sylvia.morris@reformjudaism.org.uk>.
In addition, the European Region has announced that its next biennial conference
will be held in Barcelona during March 14-17, 2002.
REMINDER: The text of major addresses from
the recent World Union International Convention have been posted on the
WUPJ website: <http://wupj.org>.
REFORM JEWRY CALLED UPON FOR IMPORTANT ELECTION:
Register to vote in the election
that will help ensure the Progressive movement's future in Israel! This
spring, your congregation will contact you >with registration materials
for the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections. The stronger our performance
in these elections, the more influence the North American Reform movement
will have regarding religious freedom, policies influencing the status
of "Who is a Jew," and whether contributions to Israel will fund Reform
institutions. Your participation in these elections is essential! More
details will follow in the next Short Takes.
JOIN THE ARZA/WORLD UNION MISSION TO THE FORMER
SOVIET UNION:
Members of the Reform Jewish
community from throughout North America are invited to participate in ARZA/WORLD
UNION, North America's Leadership Mission to Moscow, Kiev and St. Petersburg,
scheduled for August 23-September 2, 2001. Meet with the leadership of
the Progressive Jewish community and visit some of the most beautiful and
historic sites of Russia and Ukraine. For more information, please contact
ARZA/WORLD UNION, North America, (212) 650-4280.
VIRGINIA CONGREGATION VOWS TO HELP REBUILD CRIMEAN
SYNAGOGUE:
Beth El Hebrew Congregation
of Alexandria, Virginia is expanding its social action programming to reach
half way around the world to the Crimea,Ukraine. Beth El is pledging to
help renovate the synagogue building used by the Progressive Jewish Congregation
of Yevpatoriya, and provide other forms of support. The 100-year-old house
of worship was taken over by the Communist regime in 1918 and was a warehouse
during Soviet rule. It was returned to the growing Progressive Jewish community
in 1999. Currently, the building has no water, heat or electricity and
is only usable in the summer. Beth El's "adoption" of the Yevpatoriya congregation
was organized through ARZA/WORLD UNION, North America.
In the near future, we will be posting some Kitchen Rules… and hope that you will visit our beautiful new kitchen that the Sisterhood donated to our new building.
Now we are planning to have a wonderful Ladies Hospitality Tea…. We would like all our Lady Members to join us on this day as we host a Champagne toast to the WIZO Group of Ladies from Centro Israelita Synagogue. This is not the Sisterhood, but a group of Jewish Ladies, including members from B’nei Israel, that raise money for Israel. We would also like to introduce some new members to our Synagogue. So please put these date aside and make this a really fun and exciting afternoon with the ladies.
And last but not least the Sisterhood would like to send their condolences to Kathya Benzaquen on the passing of her mother, and to Pilar and Moshe Elkin on the passing of their sister.
Our next Sisterhood Board Meeting
will be on Monday May 14th at 10:30 a.m. at the Synagogue.
"Keruv" is a Hebrew term which means: "to draw near those who are far". It conceptualizes and speaks to the core purpose of the UAHC – CCAR Commission of Reform Jewish Outreach which, through Jewish education and support, seeks to "welcome the stranger" (Hebrew: Ger/Gioret) who, for one reason or another, has found his/her way to our door.
The Reform movement, perhaps more than any other Stream of Judaism, has acted as a major catalyst by insisting upon a clear recognition that, as North American Jews, we live in an "open" society. Not only does it now make it possible to develop academic, social, and romantic relationships between Jews and those of other faith communities, present conditions, indeed, actively invite it to happen.
In his book, "The Vanishing American Jew", Alan M. Dershowitz aptly points out "... the vast majority of non-Orthodox Jews – who today comprise close to 90 percent of the total Jewish population – will be marrying non-Jews at ever-increasing rates". As we go forward into the 21st century and commit ourselves to seriously evaluate and act upon the potential threat this social phenomenon poses for Jewish continuity, it becomes increasingly evident that a philosophy of inclusiveness is not only important; it is imperative! Thus, "Keruv" or "Outreach" can be said to be nothing less than, !A Mitzvah for our Time".
Our congregation, long a stalwart of "Keruv", has yet again opened its arms to embrace the stranger, by endorsing the Outreach Fellows’ Program of the UAHC – CCAR. Having entered into a partnership with the Commission on Reform Jewish Outreach, our Senior Rabbi has agreed to act as my mentor as I work towards qualifying for certification as an Outreach Fellow. Together with Rabbi Lerner, I help to facilitate and hopefully enrich the process of conversion for those seeking this transforming life-cycle event.
The name, Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, is synonymous with "Keruv". Welcoming the Stranger is what we do: for who could possibly deny that whether it was yesterday, is today, or will be tomorrow, "Keruv", in every sense of the word is, "a mitzvah for our time".... and the time is always, NOW!
Dear Gil:
I grew up in a very non-religious, atheist, Jewish family. I was always confused about my religion, because my parents liked to emphasize to me that although they didn't believe in God, Judaism is still very important. I have never understood this. I am 27 and am just now starting to explore my Jewish heritage.
I know very little about my culture, and I don't even know what the major holidays represent. Having read on AOL your brief excerpts on the importance of recognizing "our" heritage, I feel compelled to learn more. I just thought I would let you know that I feel inspired to become more informed about my Jewish background, and that it will answer those many questions I've stored in the back of my mind.
Dear P:
Your email reminds me of an unusual Jew I heard about. This fellow was a poor, nearly illiterate, agriculture worker who worked for a wealthy Jewish rancher. The unskilled laborer fell in love with the boss' daughter. The daughter loved him too but said she'd only marry him if he studied Judaism.
He agreed even though he couldn't barely write his own name and was already 40 years old. Study he did and he became one of the greatest rabbis of all time. His name was Rabbi Akiva and he lived about 2000 years ago. Many schools today are named for him in part to honor the value of learning in Judaism and that Jewish learning can begin at any age.
So here we are 2000 years later and thanks to the Internet Jewish learning has never been more accessible. I suggest you enter the words "Jewish learning" into any search engine and you will find resources that can keep you going for years.
I constantly receive email from others like you who are exploring their Judaism anew. This sort of good news does not make headlines in this day and age of angst over our diminishing numbers, assimilation, intermarriage etc.
So, I decided to feature your email, precisely to make a headline, called: Returning To Judaism. I am doing this for two reasons. First, to give you and others encouragement. I want you and others to know that you are not unique in wanting to examine or reexamine Judaism. I have even heard from senior citizens who are looking at their Judaism seriously for the first time in their lives!
Know that there are many other adults like you, who have "questions stored in the back of their minds." Further the "stuff of Judaism" is adult material, says Rabbi Harold Kushner, and he is right. For example, Judaism has much to say about such adult topics as: how to deal with work, aging parents, raising children, health, friends, enemies etc.
There is a second reason for my wanting to feature your email: There has been a running argument amongst Jewish academics, rabbis, and leaders about whether to expend Jewish communal resources, on Jews who are active (the core) or Jews who are disconnected from Jewish life (the periphery.)
Some argue that the Jewish community should invest its resources on the core Jews and not waste time and money on Jews on the periphery. Your email and contacts I have had with countless other Jews like you, lead me to reject this argument.
My experience is that Jews may and do come to their Judaism for many reasons at many times in their lives: a birth, a death, a career issue, a marriage issue, a hunger for spirituality, an exposure to Israel, meeting an impressive Jew, reading an influential book, and on and on.
We can never know what will motivate a Jew to further delve into their Judaism -- regardless of how connected or disconnected they are to Jewish life. I have found the same approach works for any kind of Jew. The approach is simple: a personal touch, a warm welcome, and a willingness to genuinely entertain any questions no matter how intelligent, ignorant, or challenging.
I don't believe we can afford anything less. Besides, the next Rabbi Akiva may be out there... .perhaps it is you? I hope so.
Thanks for writing!
Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote that if other religions may be characterized as a relationship between human beings and God, Judaism must be described as a relationship between human beings with Torah and God.
The holiday of Shavuot celebrates the anniversary of the day on which the Torah was given to the Jewish people, seven weeks after the exodus from Egypt. As the seder is the "quintessential exercise in group memory" at which we remember, retell, and relive our personal redemption from Egypt, so Shavuot becomes the day upon which we relive the moment when the Torah was given, celebrate it and accept the gift anew.
How do we accept it and come to own it? Through studying it. Each word, each verse, each story which we study becomes our possession. And when we study we link ourselves to the Jewish people in a chain going all the way back to those who stood at Mount Sinai.
In Jewish life, study of the Torah is itself a religious ritual -- some say the most important of all Jewish rituals and it is by participation in this most sacred of pastimes that we come to own the most sacred of possessions.
Shavuot, the time of the giving of the Torah, reminds us that Torah has been offered but the responsibility of coming to own it is ours.
The holiday of Lag Ba'omer originated in the era of Roman rule in Judea, when Torah study was forbidden and Jewish teachers had to carry on a guerilla war (on the battlefield and in the classroom) to insure that the Torah would be passed on.
A legend tells us that Lag Ba'omer commemorates a day on which a plague which had been killing Rabbi Akiva's students suddenly ended. But--many say that the 'plague' was really 'the Roman plague,' the students were dying in battle, and Lag Ba'omer commemorates a victory, perhaps even the recapture of Jerusalem.
On Lag Ba'omer it's traditional to go on a picnic to remind ourselves of the secret study of the Torah and the secret planning meetings for the rebellion which were conducted in the woods. By so doing we remind ourselves that there have been times when (and still are places where) Jews have risked their lives to study Torah and to pass it on.
Lag Ba'omer has become a day for honoring teachers of Torah, those who own Torah and pass it on.
Pass It On!
(A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, by Rabbi Isaac Klein. JTS)
One day someone said to him "Akiva, why do you break the Roman law by teaching Torah? Do you wish to be imprisoned--or worse?"
Akiva answered him with this story:
"Once upon a time a very hungry fox was walking along a stream when he noticed that the stream was full of fish--any one of which would make a great lunch. He came close to the edge of the stream and attracted the attention of one of the fish. He said to it, "You are in great danger! People are coming with nets to catch you. But I have come to rescue you. Come with me and I will take you to a safe place far from this stream and the nets that are coming..." The fox moved closer and reached out for the fish. The fish swam back a safe distance from the shore and said: "How foolish do you think I am? If I go with you and leave my home in the water I will certainly die. If I stay here--I will keep my life AND I can watch out for the nets and try to escape."
As fish will surely die without water, so the Jewish people will surely die without the Torah. As water is home to the fish, Torah is home to us. Breaking the law by studying Torah may be dangerous but NOT studying Torah is far more dangerous....
CONGRATULATIONS to Bill and Bonnie Fischer on the occasion of the reaffirmation of their marriage in our temple.
Question from the Editor:
If Internet didn’t
exist, how many pages would this bulletin have?