Shabbat
– O – Gram
November 11,
2005 and, Heshvan 9, 5766
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
.
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We recall the sacrifices of so many today and this coming week:
n victims
of Krystallnacht in 1938
n victims
of terror in
n the
assassination of Yitzhak Rabin 10 years ago (by the Hebrew calendar)
n and
veterans who have served this country through all-too-many wars
Also, congratulations to all the winners of this week’s
elections, including Mayor Dan Malloy, and special condolences to Shimon Peres,
who never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to be elected when he is
leading in the polls… See Political storm as
Peretz takes Labor leadership from today’s Ha’aretz. A Sharon-Peres third party is becoming more
and more possible by the hour. See also: Analysis
/ A new era - Labor Party is back in the game and Analysis / If he forms a new party, does Sharon need Peres?
Contents
of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)
Just
the Facts (service schedule)
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
Required Reading and Action Items (links
to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)
KEY REMINDERS!!!
Thursday
evening @ 7:30 – Medical Ethics Panel
Friday
at 7:30 – Shabbat Unplugged! Followed by a TERRIFIC Oneg and lecture on
Jerusalem archeology by Dan Bahat
(a young children’s program with Nurit will also be held
upstairs in the chapel)
Sunday
at 10 AM at UConn – The Secrets of the Tunnels of
Ancient
See below for more details in the
“Annoucements” section
Quote for the Week
On this week’s French riots:
“In the immediate
aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the
Since
the mid-1960s,
For
too long much of the West, with France at the vanguard, has tried to paper over
its real conflict with radical Islam with the argument that if only a solution
to the Israeli-Arab conflict could be found, then all would be well with the
world and Islamic enmity would disappear. Not so. The French would be wise to
pay attention to the fact that these flames of alienation are being fanned and
leveraged for their own use by Islamic radicals who—as the homegrown London
bombers proved in July—are thriving on the streets of Europe.”
—Editorial. (Jer. Post, Nov. 7)
JUST THE FACTS
Friday Evening
Candle lighting for
Stamford, CT: Candle lighting: 4:22
pm (Oy) on Friday, 11
November 2005.
For candle lighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to
download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. To see the festivals of other faiths as well,
go to http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/
SHABBAT UNPLUGGED – this week!
7:30 PM – in the SANCTUARY
Children’s program with Nurit: 7:30 PM – in the
chapel
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM - MAZAL
TOV TO Austin Dowdle, WHO BECOMES BAR MITZVAH THIS SHABBAT MORNING!
Children’s services: 10:30
AM, including Jr. Congregation for grades 3-6 and Tot
Shabbat Morning for the
younger kids.
Torah Portion:
1: 14:1-9
2: 14:10-16
3: 14:17-20
4: 14:21-24
5: 15:1-6
6: 15:7-16
7: 15:17-21
maf: 15:17-21
Haftarah – Isaiah
40:27 - 41:16
Shabbat Afternoon/Havdalah: 4:00 PM - MAZAL
TOV TO Michael Rosenfeld WHO BECOMES BAR MITZVAH THIS SHABBAT AFTERNOON!
See a weekly
commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. University
of Judaism,
JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/.
USCJ Torah
Former Knesset
Speaker Avraham Burg offers Torah-based commentary on current affairs
(Y-net)
THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE
FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT
Morning Minyan: Sundays at 8:30 AM (note new
time!!!),
Weekdays at 7:30 AM – IN THE CHAPEL
TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF
YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG
AND ALSO CONTACT ME AT RABBI@TBE.ORG.
Minyan Mastery
Now you can become more comfortable with the prayers of our
morning service by heading to…
http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/minyanmastery.htm
The Rabid Rabbi
My letter to the Advocate (printed today) regarding the
recent swastika incidents… http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/opinion/letters/
To the editor:
I am very grateful for the speedy and professional manner in which the recent
swastika vandalism has been handled, both by
I especially want to commend Joshua Starr, our new schools superintendent, and
Camille Figluizzi, principal of Westhill High School, for their strong
statements to students and to the public condemning these hateful acts and
recognizing how such deeds can rip apart the fabric of our diverse community.
Language is a very powerful tool, and symbols like swastikas and graffiti
extolling Hitler have no place in civilized society. I am also grateful at the
way they have maintained an open dialogue with Jewish leaders during this
recent string of incidents.
It is disturbing to me, therefore, that the police have shown reluctance to
label these as bias or hate crimes. There may be extenuating circumstances that
I am missing, and I am always ready to give authorities the benefit of the
doubt. Our police and mayor have done a stellar job in addressing such issues
in the past, and our community is a shining model that diversity can work.
But the mere appearance of tolerating hate, even if justified given extenuating
circumstances, sets a very dangerous precedent and places us on a slippery
slope. If nothing else, these very public incidents cry out for a sustained
educational program addressing the roots of racism and anti-Semitism. In this
case, opportunity was missed by the police, at least in the early announcements
on results of their investigation.
It's not too late to address that error. If the perpetrator did not realize the
implications of his act, it is our collective responsibility to make sure he -- and everyone else -- learns from it.
Joshua Hammerman
The writer is rabbi at
This message is especially relevant in light of this being
the anniversary Krystallnacht…
Kristallnacht Must Never Be Forgotten
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg
Congregation Beth El,
Imagine one
morning you and your family are awakened by shout and screams. Then,
suddenly, the police break into your house. They start breaking the
china, destroying the furniture, and shattering windows while showing great
satisfaction in their destruction. Then you and your family are told to
get dressed and are taken to the police station for no apparent reason.
On the way, you see your synagogue in flames, and your neighbors throwing rocks
at it.
This happened on
the early morning of November 9, 1938, to Miriam Cohn,
Jewish social worker who lived in
During that night in 1938, mobs
burned synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes and businesses, vandalized Jewish
hostpitals, orphanages and cemeteries, and dragged thousands of Jewish men,
women and children into the streets, where they were beaten and
humiliated. The germans later named this night "Kristallnacht" , The Night of Broken Glass, because of the tons of
shattered glass that scattered German cities following this event. The
Jews began to call that date the beginning of the Holocaust because of the
tremendous amount of violence which began that night and escalated as the days
progressed.
On November 7,
1938, the Third Secretary of the German embassy in Paris, Ernst Vom Rath, was
murdered by Herschel Grynzpan, a 17 year old German-Jewish refugee.
Herschel wanted to avenge his parents' expulsion, together with 15,000 other
Polish Jews from
The German
government attempted to disguise the violence of those initial days as a
spontaneous protest on the part of the "Aryan" population. In
reality, Kristallnacht was organized by the Nazis with technical skill and
precision. The Nazi chiefs commanded the Gestapo and the storm troopers
to incite mob riots throughout
Kristallnacht
marked the beginning of the plan to rob the Jewis of their possessions for the
benefit of the Reich and finally eradicate all traces of them.
Thereafter, the Jews had not place in the German economy. In addition, no
Jewish life was possible with the dismissal of Jewish cultural and communal
bodies and the Jewish press. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Berling reporter
called that night "the worst outbreak of anti-Jewish violence in modern
Jewish history."
During
Kristallnacht over 1,100 synagogues were destroyed, as well as 7,500 Jewish
businesses and homes. Several hundred Jews were killed and 30,000 were
arrested and sent to concentration camps at Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and
Ronald Lauder, a
former U.S. Ambassador to
Today, many
historians can trace a pattern of event, occurring before that night, that would suggest that such an atrocity was
imminent. In 1933, when the Nazis took power, German anti-Semitism
adopted quasi-legal forms. One of the new anti-Jewish actions, which began with
the
One may ask how
the entire world stood by and allowed this to occur. the Fascist and
authoritative regimes in Italy, Rumania, Hungary and Poland approved of this
pogrom against the Jews and wanted to use it to strengthen their own anti-Semitic
state policies. The three great Western nations,
Looking back at
Jewish history, every Jew should be cautious and aware of what is occurring
today. In a powerful speech before members of the
------
Something About Mary
Something interesting happened at this
past Tuesday’s “Learning and Latte” interfaith dialogue at Borders. We had our ususal nice turnout of about 15-20
sitting and sipping in the café, including several unaffiliated Jews who have
no connection to a synagogue but were intrigued by the topic. What was interesting is that the ratio of
Christians to Jews was much greater than usual (there typically is a solid
majority of Jews present). Why the
sudden shift? Was it the title (“Mary
and the two Hannahs”) that scared some Jews away? Was it something about Mary? Whatever the cause, it’s too bad, because I
learned much about Judaism by learning about the figure of Mary in the New
Testament, and the comparisons between Mary and the Hannah of the Bible, as well
as the Hannah of the Hanukkah story, are uncanny. Interfaith discussions such as these have
great value. Plan on joining us at next
month’s on Dec. 6, as we welcome Bruce Feiler, author of “Walking the Bible”
and the just-published “WHERE GOD WAS BORN.”
-----
This next article came as result of a sting operation
revealed on NBC’s Dateline last week.
What’s most disturbing is that the rabbi/internet predator has been
involved closely with an otherwise reputable Jewish teen program. Although his actions indicate that he has a
serious illness, still they are a disgrace to his profession and a hillul ha-shem (profanation of God’s
name).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110302297_pf.html
Rabbi,
Teacher Lose Jobs After Taping
'Dateline NBC' Used Hidden Camera in
Internet Sex Story
By Allan Lengel
Friday, November 4, 2005; B02
A rabbi
for a national youth group based in Rockville and a Prince George's County
special education teacher have lost their jobs after they were allegedly
videotaped by a hidden camera as part of a forthcoming "Dateline NBC"
story about men who try to solicit sex from minors online, officials said
yesterday.
Rabbi
David A. Kaye, 55, vice president of programs for PANIM: the Institute for
Jewish Leaders and Values, resigned this week after disclosing that he might be
featured on a national television news program, according to a statement
released by the organization's president, Rabbi Sidney Schwarz.
Schwarz
said Kaye, who lives in Potomac, "informed me of certain personal conduct
that took place outside our organization that may soon be aired as part of a
larger news story on national television.
We currently are undertaking an internal inquiry to be certain there has
been no similar misconduct at PANIM in any way." The organization conducts
nationwide programs for high school students.
-------------
AND
FINALLY, THE LAST INSTALLMENTS OF
Hey,
It is an amazing
trip. Everyone arrived in
We spent an hour with the Ambassador, learning about Romanian fore1ign policy
and things like that. She a warm lady whose priorities
include educating the country's children about the holocaust. Zvi then
gave us a history of the JDC in
We got back to the hotel at 10pm and we all collapsed. Hotel
accomodations are very good. The shows are hot with high water pressure.
What more could you ask for?
Today we visited 3 synagogues, all within walking distance of each other and
each more beautiful. At the
I forgot to mention that we visited the Jewish
Our final visit was to the Youth Department. I am bringing their power
point presentation back with me. This group is amazing. Not only is JDC
helping the survivors and helping to made the last
days of the elderly better, but now they are helping to build better Jews. In 6
years this department has grown to where they have over 400 individual young
Jews, under the age of 35, attending at least one of their programs each
year. NOt bad for a community of maybe 10,000, of which 5,000 live
outside of
More later.
--------------
The group made Havdallah
about 30 minutes ago and I have time for one last missive from Jerusalem, as we
leaver bright and early tomorrow.
After lighting candles
last night we were off to Shir HaChadasha, an Orthodox congregation where the
community is staying within Orthodox Halacha, but stretching the amount of
women's participation. Prior to Kabbalat Shabbat the group met with Tova
Hartmann, one of the founders and a PhD who teaches at
We walked back to the
hotel for dinner where we were joined by Ruth Ginsberg,
This morning I woke up
early and went to the Sephardic synagogue in Yamin Moshe. It turns out I had
gone to the Ashkenazi minyan years ago. It was a wonderful service. 30 or so men sitting in a large square around the reader. During
Psukei D'Zimra, the reader would chant (in a Sephardic melody) 2 lines and a
member of the group would answer back 2 lines. It was mesmerizing. I had to pay
attention because the pauses and the reader's lines were not always what and
where I expected. The devar was in Hebrew but I was able to pick up a few
words here and there. This week being Parshat Noah and the flood, the speaker
was making references to the fact that we now pray for rain and not just dew.
They brought out 2 scrolls, a Torah and a Haftorah, both Sephardi and in cases.
I had not seen a haftorah scroll since my bar mitzvah. As a newcomer I was
offered the opportunity for an Aliyah and I said yes. It was a wonderful
feeling when they announced my Hebrew name. During the Torah reading there was
quiet, but once the Haphtarah was read, no one paid attention. Kiddush was good
too. hard boiled eggs, vegetables, cookies and cheese
b'raichas. I thought it was better than the hotel breakfast.
Next we had a walking
tour of David's Citadel, a little more history of Old City of