PESACH - Community SederDATE: Thursday, April 20Members : Adults $23 / Children (under 13) $18 |
Just prior to Purim and in preparation for the festival to be held at the Lev's, Jody Bonilla conducted a reading of the Megillat Esther with twelve or so of our students in Hebrew School. There was no teaching by rote in that session and there is no teaching by rote in any of the classes that our teachers hold. Our children are engaged in discussions and they THINK. This learning process leads the kids to discern a problem and analyze it with a Jewish moral viewpoint. The commandments, the mitzvot are not dry tablets and rules, but a living code of action for our kids. In the course of their lives the kids that today are our students will have to grow up and make their decisions as to what kind of households and families they'll want to have. That is their privilege. All we can do, and we are doing it, is set in their hearts the whys and hows of our religion in the hope that by understanding these whys and hows they will come to love Judaism and make it an integral and unchangeable part of their lives.
Pesach is around the corner. We all know Pesach is about freedom. What is freedom to a child? To an adult? Were we released from the yoke of pharaoh or from the yoke of subservience to preconceived ideas? I cannot wait to deal with these topics with my students. I know they will come to their own answers after THINKING what it means to be a slave and what it is be free.
One could argue that there is a portion of our religion that indeed is taught by rote. How can you learn a prayer if not through reading and reading it? Even if we do not understand Hebrew, we should not commit a prayer to memory, but say it until we understand it, identify with it, and make it part of us. The Veahavta is a prayer that I love to teach to kids. It has praise to Adonai, history, a guideline for action, and is a testimony to how we can survive as Jews in generations to come. I could not help but being extremely proud of Eduardo Lev and Mischa Nachtigal, our latest B'nei Mitzvah; not only did they chant and read the prayers, but enjoyed doing it and leading us all in meaningful services. I truly believe the children whose names are in our Bar/Bat Mitzvah ring chain feel the same as Eduardo and Mischa.
Our Shabbat services also reflect our intention of bringing joy and fulfillment into our lives by consciously praising Adonai. We cannot afford to have a rabbi. But we have individuals that Friday after Friday stand up to fulfill the mitzvah of observing Shabbat. Leading a service is a very personal experience, and the personal characteristics of our service leaders are decisive in the way they guide a service. We all follow our precious trilingual siddur, but the approaches to guiding services are different and, to many of us, this diversity is what keeps us alive. None of us is a Rabbi, but we all try to bring our best to the pulpit. There is no rote praying in B'nei Israel.
As I wish you a very Happy Pesach, let me leave you with the thought that to be a proud Jew is our choice. Pride comes through joy in what we are and in what we have achieved. Let's actively seek out the meaning of our religion and let the happiness derived from living it embrace us. I am sure that the feeling of gratification arising from association with something we truly believe in, real pride, will follow.
Chag Sameach!
Hilda ten Brink
We noted your congregation's appeal for help in the rebuilding of your synagogue. As a result, the Jewish Day School of the North Peninsula has decided to embark on a school-wide project to have the students direct their tzedaka money to your rebuilding fund. The school includes grades Kindergarten to 5th. You can visit our web site at < http://www.jdsnp.org>. This project has been developed under the theme "Jews helping other Jews in foreign places."
Two families will be in Costa Rica -the Maller's (2 boys K & 3rd) and ours (2 girls 1st & 2nd). Our family will be there over Passover and intends to join your community seder for the second night if possible. The Mallers will be arriving after Passover.
My children would like to present to Congregation Bnei-Israel a check on behalf of their school mates. Some parents have agreed to match their children's class collection. In addition, each class will be creating some form of communication to be presented.
Mr. Maller, who is an extremely gifted photographer, will make contact with the synagogue to take photographs so that our students have a pictorial account of the visit.
We hope that you will accept this gesture of brotherhood and international goodwill. Please let us know if this arrangement is acceptable to you.
We look forward to an exciting and educational visit to Costa Rica and we are most anxious to make your acquaintance.
Sincerely,
Jack Simke
Now on the many more exciting events.
There will be a Sisterhood Board Meeting at Flor Keibel's home in Lindora, Santa Ana, on Monday, April 3rd, at 3:00 P.M. It is most important that all Sisterhood Board Members attend as we want to start work on our "FASHION SHOW DOWN MEMORY LANE", and SILENT AUCTION.
We need everyone's help... Whether you are a Board Member or NOT, we NEED YOU. For details please contact:
Regretfully, and much to my sadness, I cannot say the same for the recent religious services that have been officiated by visiting rabbis. They have left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth on which I feel the need to comment, a spiritual need, not a desire to create controversy.
In the first case, a Rabbi arrived with his wife and his guitar, and from the Bimah he sang songs (prayers) in tones and melodies that were unknown to our congregation. All of this occurred while his wife filmed the events. I felt as though I were at a musical presentation, and that the Rabbi and his wife were the protagonists of the Show, and that I was at a theatre, and not in a synagogue. It would be worthwhile to remind this Rabbi that he is officiating at a Bimah and not in a theatrical atmosphere. The Bimah represents the MAKOM HAKADOSH in the tabernacle. It is the Holy Sanctuary in the BEIT HAMIKDASH. It is the most sacred and holy place in which were housed the Menorah, the Ark, the Tablets of the Law, the Altar of Sacrifice, etc, and in which only once a year would the High Priest enter. The space was so holy, that the sons of Aaron were killed when they entered in a profane state, and not one of sanctity (see Leviticus, 10:1-11)
Logically, one will argue that nowadays the interpretation is different; however, this represents the same thing, and the least we could do is to maintain this character of sanctity as a symbol of respect for our traditions.
I know as well that many people can argue that my position is contradictory to that which King David expresses in his Psalms: "With harp and with flute . . . I wish to celebrate the perfection of Your work" (Psalm 92). It is necessary to remember and to see the historical process of liturgy within Judaism. In the times of the BEIT HAMIKDASH, and before then, liturgy in and of itself didn't exist, and was limited to the different types of sacrifice performed by the people, either in the Temple or in the Tabernacle, where KAVANA lived within the will of the Jewish heart to sacrifice itself with humility, as God in His Goodness gave them the possibility of bringing the soul and the blood of an animal instead of their own. Then came the destruction of the Temple. Despite this, the Jew needed to maintain communication and communion with God, this need to express his fear and his love, this need to thank, or to ask forgiveness to the Supreme Being. And this is how, more or less, prayer was transformed throughout the ages, becoming that which it is today. Returning to King David, author of the Psalms, we can appreciate that he complied with his MITZVOT related to the sacrifices, and he wrote his psalms of worship and thanks in his room; song and dance to God in his palace, but not in the Tabernacle and much less in the MAKON HAKADOSH.
As far as the other Rabbi, whose name I also don't know, just that he has a congregation in Miami, the case is not so pathetic, but it still bothers me, and for the following reason: prayer constitutes a form of expression, of communication between man and God, and there is one form and style defined and very characteristic.
When I pray I intermingle with God in a liturgical style that will lead to KAVANA. If that style is changed by an unknown form, the channel of communication I have with God is altered, and I cannot comply with my goal of communion with God. For this reason, I think that if a rabbi comes to conduct a religious service for only one time, it is he who should adapt to the system of prayer of the congregation, and not the congregation to his system, because that will demonstrate, aside from everything else I have expressed, a lack of respect for the congregation.
As it is said in the Talmud (Raba Metzia 86b): "When you arrive at a town follow the customs of that place . . . because when the angels visited Abraham, participating in his food, each one submitted himself to the customs of the place."
We should remember that the Religious Service is a prayer and not material for studying where we are taught new knowledge, in which the knowledge and in many cases the ego of the Teacher is what is highlighted; there are other occasions for this. The service should be held with feeling and humility, virtues that I hope haven't been lost in our congregation.
Last week, as I studied and prepared for leading the Friday night service, the concept of biblical sacrifice suddenly acquired a new meaning for me. Rabbi Gunther Plaut states in his commentaries:
The general intent of these chapters is plain. They emphasize the grandeur and importance of cult and priesthood. Through the sanctuary and the sacrifices, GodÕs nearness to His people is established and maintained.We were, during biblical times, a nomadic, recently enslaved people. As Rabbi Ron Klotz reminds us: "We rightfully take pride in monotheism, our gift to the world, but Tzav reminds us that we are a flesh and blood religion, that we evolved from paganism. Yes, we rejected human sacrifice, but, nevertheless, moved slowly from the idea of sacrifice itself". It was necessary to find a spiritual link -- a daily way to put spirituality in the people's lives. The minute attention to detail was of particular importance to maintain the spirituality, and not allow the sacrifices to become mundane. As Rabbi Garry Loeb writes:
The sacrificial rituals of our ancient ancestors and the various types of actual sacrifices seem to have been a way of linking us with God by asking us to share what we possess with God. Our God was, after all, not a typical Mesopotamian deity, who was mostly unconcerned with humankind. Ours is a God whose reality is intimately bound up with us, the people of Israel, whose Torah is an instruction on how we are to live a God-filled existence. Thus offering sacrifices was a method of connecting us in an intimate and physical way with this God who is unseen.And if we search deeply within this Parashah, we will discover that Tzav confirms the idea that Judaism has always been evolving, changing and reforming. At first, the daily sacrifices, which were offered on behalf of the entire nation, were donated by just a few wealthy people. Later, the rabbis decided that since the sacrifices were offered for all of the people, then everyone should contribute to them, and that every Jew should have to participate in the actual process of offering sacrifices. This was not difficult while the Israelites were one unified traveling unit. But by the time the Temple was established in Jerusalem, Jews were living throughout Judea. And so, an intricate system of financial support was worked out: the sacrifices were paid for by a special fund in the Temple treasury to which every Jew contributed. As to the actual participation in the daily sacrifices, coming to Jerusalem was an almost impossible task. The country was divided, therefore, into twenty-four districts (ma'amadot), with each one being assigned a special week during a six-month period. According to Rabbi Warren Stone, during the district's special week, a delegation representing the district was physically present as the priests offered the daily sacrifices. The rest of that district gathered in their synagogues at the time the sacrifices were offered, in the morning and evening. Separated by place, they nonetheless felt a deep bond by sharing this time-bound mitzvah. Prayers were recited in the synagogues of the district, and the Torah was read. This became the model for the future practice of daily prayer services in the synagogue. We no longer have priests or sacrifices; they are no longer a part of our lives as we are no longer the same people; we do continue the tradition of daily prayer.
Which leads us to today: I am writing in celebration of innovation and pluralism in prayer. Through our study, we can come to see that there is a historical basis for it in the Torah and throughout our other literature. We must actively seek that which is meaningful to us in our prayer service. I must admit, I believe that this is very personal, and most probably will be very different for each of us. But that very difference, that pluralism allowed in prayer, is the essence of Liberal Judaism. We don't "daven". We learn the meanings of prayers, and hope to be touched in our inner souls by the beauty and spirituality expressed by the words and music we utter together as a congregation.
The story of the young boy with the whistle comes to mind. It is told about the Baal Shem Tov, the Master of the Good Name. One Yom Kippur eve, as he slowly chanted Kol Nidre, the Baal Shem Tov, whom everyone called the "Besht" for short, felt intuitively that his prayers were not reaching heaven, and he began the beautiful melody a fourth time, with tears streaming down his cheeks. The congregation was shocked. Everyone knew that Kol Nidre was only said three times! Why was he chanting it four times?
During this same service, a farmer from far away had come with his son to pray during the Kol Nidre service. The farmer watched his son who tried so hard to participate, whose intense interest showed keenly on his face as he yearned to join in with the prayer. The farmer was saddened and ashamed that his son knew no Hebrew and no prayer. But during the fourth chanting of the Kol Nidre, the young boy, so intense, so filled with "kavana", took out a reed whistle and blew one long beautiful loud note. The congregation was shocked. Cries rang out from throughout the small schul: "Throw the boy out", "How dare he", "For shame!" At that moment, the Besht raised his hand for silence and said:
"All evening I have prayed hard so that our sins might be forgiven. But I felt that my prayers were not being heard. When this little boy blew on his whistle, a strange thing happened. I knew at once that he had caused our prayers to be accepted by God. Because of this boy who has never wronged anyone, and his whistle, we shall all be inscribed in the Book of Life".
I sincerely believe that how we pray is not
the most important. What is important is that we pray as best we
can, with as pure a soul, and as clear a mind as we can muster. And that
means that we will see many different ways of prayer in our services. I
know I have faults as a service leader. But I sincerely do my best. I believe
all of our service leaders do the same. The many different Rabbis who visit
us do the same. I love discovering the same heart of the prayer as it comes
to us in many different forms. We donÕt always agree with or prefer
all of the ways or forms of prayer, nor do we have to. Sometimes the "whistle"
will be shocking, or grating to our sensitivities, or boring to our need
for something different, more intellectual. But prayers of sincerity, prayers
of the heart, regardless of their form, are always heard by God.
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Now that Nabisco has made the commitment to providing Jews (and the world at large) with kosher Oreos, we Jews have a responsibility to consider the halachic implications of this remarkable coup. I am not referring to the reliability of rabbinical hashgacha within Nabisco's factories, chas v'shalom. Rather, my concern is income-based (how it's ingested) and outcome-based (digested). Halacha covers even the most picayune details of a Jew's everyday life. The reliance on seder, a certain order as part of the process, is integral to implementation. For example, the way we put on our shoes and tie them: we first put on the right shoe, then the left shoe, then we tie the left shoe and finally tie the right shoe. The reasons behind these halachos are beyond the ken of the average Jew. It may be best left to kabbalists to divine their significance. Nevertheless, we take this shoe-fitting decree seriously, a case of na'al v'nishma.
This concept of seder is no different for kabbalistic Oreo-eating. Which should come first? A straightforward bite into the whole cookie? Should one first break apart the two sandwich halves and concentrate on the creme? One can postulate that if white represents purity and goodness, and black evil and darkness, then perhaps one should eat the white first, as an example of the yetzer hatov triumphing over the yetzer hora? Or should one save the best for last, so to speak, by first destroying, via consumptive powers, the Darkness (the cookie part) and be left only with Light (the creme)? Or perhaps, this sort of binary weltanschauung is not healthy at all, it may be preferable to take the centrist position and bite into the intact cookie, representing the real-world mix of good and bad, light and dark, moderation versus extremism.
A fresh insight and hint may be garnered when analyzing the Hebrew form of Oreos, Ori-oz (aleph-vav-resh-yud-ayin-zayin), translated as "my light is the source of strength." Assuming that the "s" in Oreos takes on the Ashkenazic pronunciation, it may also be interpreted Ori-os, or "my light shall be a sign." Thus the Hebrew appears to favor the creme-first eating process, although it's advisable to check with your local rabbi for a p'sak.
And then, of course, comes the question of which blessings to say. 'Borei minay mezonos' seems the obvious choice, unless one first chooses to excise and consume the white creme center (in which case, a shehakol would be the way to go, followed by a 'mezonos' when the cookie part is tasted.) Or, since the creme is subjectively the mehudar, perhaps a 'shehakol' is sufficient for both creme and cookie, provided that the creme is eaten first?
And if one has a glass of milk with one's Oreo, does the 'shehakol' that one first said over the Oreo's creme center suffice? Clearly the introduction of Oreos and all the shaylos it presents allows us the opportunity to triumph over lust, by exercising control over the Oreo, versus the Oreo having control over us. Cooperation between Nabisco and the Orthodox Union has given Jews the opportunity to take the everyday act of noshing on kosher Oreos, and raise it to a whole new level of holiness.
We see that Oreos enrich our bodies with a perfect blend of ruchniyus and gashmiyus, the transitory (a taste of Heaven) and the permanent (a waistline that holds no secrets).