February 4, 2006 - Shevat
6, 5766
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
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Contents
of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)
Just
the Facts (service schedule)
The Rabid Rabbi (including E-mail from the Front)
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
Spiritual Journey on the Web (including the Super Bowl
prediction)
Required Reading and Action Items (links
to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings on in and around
TBE)
Quote for the Week
“Man cannot
approach the divine by reaching beyond the human; he can approach Him through
becoming human. To become human is
what the individual man has been created for.”
--
Martin Buber
This Sunday: Two Special Programs
GET INTO LEATHER…
at the World Wide Wrap
Sunday, February 5th at 9:00 a.m.
(includes morning
minyan slightly after 9:30)
For the sixth year in a
row, thousands of Conservative Jews around the world will be “wrapped
up” in the “ties that bind.” As part of the WORLD WIDE WRAP, Jews
around the world--men and women--will participate in an ancient practice called
“tefillin” on Sunday, February 5, 2006. A form of prayer, tefillin involves
wrapping leather straps attached to boxes containing scripture around the
forehead, arm and hand in an intricate pattern that spells out the name of God.
Join our 7th
grade families for the “Wrap,” for an explanatory morning
learner’s service and a video entitled “The Ties that
Bind.” Beth El will be
one of the hundreds of congregations worldwide that are participating in the
Wrap. Extra sets of tefillin will
be provided, and instructions will be given to those who are in need of
assistance. (Naturally, it’s also OK just to watch!).
The Federation of
Jewish Men's Clubs in
PLUS …
JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WEEKEND continues…
featuring JTS student, Abbi Sharofsky
and TBE’s own
Elise (Kahn) Dowell, Senior Director of Communications at JTS
On
Sunday, February 5th at 10:00 a.m. join us for a light breakfast,
sponsored by Sisterhood, as we welcome Elise Dowell (daughter of our own Evelyn
and Bruce Kahn) and JTS student Abbi Sharofsky for the viewing of “To
Lead a Jewish Life: Education for
Living,” a new documentary by JTS, which explores education as a
spiritual journey through which a child learns to be Jewish. The documentary features commentary by
experts across denominations, including Hebrew Union College’s Jewish
Education Studies Program, summer camp directors and counselors, and JTS’
William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, the largest such school
in the country.
Abbi
graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2004, where she studied psychology and
art. She is currently in her second year of a Master’s degree
program in Jewish Education at the
Elise
Dowell is the Senior Director of Communications at The Jewish Theological
Seminary. In this position she is
responsible for all marketing, media relations, advertising and interactive
efforts for the institution. She
also manages the production of award-winning documentaries that are aired on
ABC and NBC. Elise
has been involved in the
Elise
holds a BBS with a concentration in marketing from
Friday Evening
Candle lighting for Stamford, CT: Candle lighting: 4:55 pm on Friday, 3 February 2006. Havdalah is at 5:59 on Saturday evening.
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/
Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:30 PM – in the chapel
– come and meet our JTS guest for the weekend!
Tot Shabbat: 6:45 – in the lobby- Tot Shabbat will be hosted this week by Deb and Ken Goldberg
in honor of their children, Daniel, who is celebrating his first birthday,
Alyssa, and Andrew.
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – JTS Shabbat
– Guest Speaker: JTS
student, Abbi Sharofsky – who will speak on the
topic: "If Solomon Schechter Could See Us Now: The New
Generation of Jewish Leadership"
We are proud of all our TBE students going to
Danielle Bachar, Benjamin
Burstein, Jacob Cohen, Laura Eber, Katie Maimon, Ilana Polak, Lindsey Simon and
Alyssa Wiener.
We will be honoring them with a special blessing at the
conclusion of services this Shabbat.
Children’s services: 10:30
Torah Portion: Bo – Exodus
10:1 - 13:16
1: 11:4-10
2: 12:1-10
3: 12:11-13
4: 12:14-16
5: 12:17-20
6: 12:21-24
7: 12:25-28
maf: 12:25-28
Haftarah – Jeremiah
46:13 - 46:28
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
THE ENTIRE
HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE
TRANSLATION AT
Morning Minyan: Weekdays at 7:30, Sundays at
9:30 AM
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.
Winter Weather Advisory
Note that in the case of
bad weather, weekday minyan does not take place when
Violence in the Community
This morning I took
part in a gathering of community leaders convened by Mayor Malloy and
Superintendent Starr. Together we grappled with the violence that took an
innocent life a week ago and the ripple effects that have impacted our
community and especially our schools.
I felt that the meeting was very constructive and some good ideas were
shared. There is an important role
that religious institutions and clergy can play here, as well as educators,
social service workers, elected officials and the police. All were part of this gathering.
Last week I refrained
from commenting on this matter because so little was known and so many rumors
abounded. But I should have spoken
out quickly and clearly regarding the grief we all feel at the loss of life and
the concern we share for those who are in fear. I was present on the Westhill campus
last Friday, when so many students stayed home out of fear, but I wish I had
gotten there earlier to stand at the entrance with clergy of other faiths and
send a message to our kids especially.
I do feel that this is a safe and wonderful place to live and that we
will be more prepared for situations like this should they arise again.
But this points to a
problem that can no longer be pushed under the rug. Violence has become so endemic to our
society, not just here, but everywhere, and not just with youths, but with
everyone. This also came out in our
discussions this morning, but we knew it already. A startling lack of civility and respect
for fellow human beings can be found everywhere – in movies, in the
media, in our homes. We try to
teach it here in the context of Jewish values, by working with our b’nai
mitzvah students at being respectful in services, by taking younger kids to
nursing homes to learn how properly to respect the elderly, and even in our
committee rooms and our websites, we need to reinforce the priority of civil
behavior in how adults talk with one another. We’re actually pretty good at it
here, but now, with the world so violent around us, we need to work even
harder. Which brings me to my next
topic….
We're halfway there!
Several months ago I asked Andy Lehrfeld, our webmaster, to create
a discussion forum on our site. I've always felt that one of the most
important things a rabbi can do is to encourage congregants to become fully
engaged in the most important matters of the day. For Judaism to have
any relevance at all for people, it cannot be relegated to a few hours a
week in synagogue, but must live and breathe within us at all times - as the
Sh'ma says," when we walk on our way, when we lie down and when we rise
up."
And so my goal has always been to foster constructive dialogue on
all manner of issues. Conservative Judaism has always sought truth
somewhere between the extremes, and that search for truth has always been a
dynamic process. At the end of the day, for sure, you have to take the leap, as
the movement has done on all manner of controversial issues, but it is the
educational / spiritual process of engaging our traditions in search of truth
that has been the most energizing part. Conservative Judaism is about the
journey itself rather than the destination.
I'm a crazy guy - I've been willing to bring in as part of the
dialogue people I do not agree with (what a meshugah!).
Even my own sister has become part of this respectful, loving
conversation. We did it a few years ago and this week we renew our
“E-mail from the Front” in light of Hamas' stunning victory and
So what better way to celebrate that spirit of dialogue than by
establishing a discussion forum on our own site? For months I’ve
been asking for contributions, starting a few threads on my own and seeing if
anything would catch on.
Nada.
The Prime Minister is
in a coma…no response.
On Sunday I posted a plea from a congregant supporting a
filibuster in the Senate - something that I opposed, by the way. But I
wanted to encourage a vigorous but respectful debate. That is not what we
are supposed to avoid - that is what congregations are supposed to do. I
hoped that maybe we would be able to set an example for the world of a
congregation so mature and respectful of one another that we could engage in
the type of dialogue that you can never see in the media these days, or
virtually anywhere.
Could we do it????
By Sunday night I was amazed to see that the original posting had
received nearly 100 views. On Sunday alone our TBE web site received 511 visits
and -- you won't believe this – 9,233 hits. That means that lots of
people who came to check the discussion forum also took the time to look at the
hundreds of other informative pages and heartwarming photo albums that fill our
site. So the good news is that Beth El became more relevant to many
people, and perhaps a few even grappled with some of the key issues discussed
in the posting.
The bad news, as far as I'm concerned, is that so few bothered to
post. So we had, in one day, dozens of browsers but virtually no one
willing to share an opinion. Over the ensuing days some more intrepid
people put their toes into the water and I am very pleased at the tone and
content of the ongoing conversation.
It troubles me to think that people might be afraid to venture an
opinion, to “put themselves out there.” One of the few who did
post, in fact, posted because he was also troubled by that very same
thing. I'd like to think that
TBE does not foster an atmosphere of political correctness, intimidation or
"holier than thou." I’d like to believe that we can teach
the world how to live in perfect harmony (to quote the old Coke commercial),
but we won’t be able to do that until we can do it right here. And yes, it is possible to do it
passionately, positively and constructively.
Elie Wiesel said that the opposite is evil is apathy - and I intend
to continue fighting apathy every step of the way. But however we
continue to make Judaism relevant to every moment of our waking lives (while
also giving us a chance to find an oasis from some of the tzuris of life), we always need to do it in the spirit of loving
our neighbor as ourselves.
Only together, in the true spirit of Conservative Judaism, can we
come closer to knowing God's ways.
Here are some helpful guides to get us started in practicing true
dialogue, followed by this season’s first “Email from the
Front.”
http://www.globallearningnj.org/global_ata/a_comparison_of_dialogue_and_debate.htm.
Other versions of that can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/transform/dialog.htm and,
presented below in chart form at http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/SocraticSeminars/dialoguedebatediscussion.htm.
|
Dialogue |
Debate
and/or Discussion |
|
Dialogue is collaborative; cooperative;
multiple sides work toward a shared understanding |
Debate is competitive and/or oppositional;
two (or more) opposing sides try to prove each other wrong; sometimes
Discussion can move in this direction as well |
|
In dialogue, one listens to understand, to
make meaning, and to find common ground |
In debate, (and sometimes discussion) one
listens to find flaws, to spot differences, and to counter arguments |
|
Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a
participant's point of view |
Debate defends assumptions as truth; in
discussions, participants may tend to "dig in" |
|
Dialogue creates an open-minded attitude;
an openness to being wrong and an openness to change |
Debate creates an close-minded attitude, a
determination to be right; Discussion often tends to lead toward one
"right" answer |
|
In dialogue, one submits one's best
thinking, expecting that other people's reflections will help improve it
rather than threaten it |
In debate, and often discussion, one
submits one's best thinking and defends it against challenge to show that it
is right |
|
Dialogue calls for temporarily suspending
of one's beliefs |
Debate, and sometimes discussion, calls for
investing wholeheartedly in one's beliefs |
|
In dialogue, one searches for strengths in
all positions |
In debate, and sometimes discussion, one
searches for weaknesses in the other positions |
|
Dialogue respects all the other
participants and seeks not to alienate or offend |
Debate rebuts contrary positions and may
belittle or deprecate other participants; a discussion gone awry may end up
this way as well |
|
Dialogue assumes that many people have
pieces of answers and that cooperation can lead to a greater understanding |
Debate assumes a single right answer that
somebody already has |
|
Dialogue remains open-ended |
Debate demands a conclusion |
|
Dialogue is mutual inquiry; collective
knowledge |
Discussion is individual opinions;
individual knowledge |
And
this, from the Alban Institute
|
· Why Dialogue? |
|
|
|
by Susan Nienaber Dialogue and deliberation is a new
movement in our country that is having and will have a huge impact on
congregational and denominational life. Take, for example, these two
fictional cases: Case #1 Case #2 One day a gay couple approaches the
pastor and requests baptism for their two newly adopted infants. Within the
same week a cohabitating opposite-sex couple volunteers at the last minute to
fill in as adult chaperones for the junior high ski retreat. In some
congregations, this would be no big deal, but not here. The pastor is flooded
with calls from parishioners expressing concerns. The governing board feels
caught. Some board members don’t have a problem with either of these
situations and others are troubled. What’s a congregation to do?
Click
here to continue reading “Why Dialogue?” |
It’s baaack…
E-MAIL FROM THE FRONT
For the past several years,
my sister Lisa has lived in the small settlement of Mitzpeh Yericho, on a
hillside overlooking
Lisa and I are at opposite
ends of the philosophical spectrum on a wide variety of issues in Jewish life,
although on matters of terror and security those differences have narrowed
considerably. One of Yasser
Arafat’s great accomplishments, in fact, was that he was able to bring
the Orthodox right-wing settler and her brother the Conservative American rabbi
together, on that subject at least.
Geographically we have also lived worlds apart, and that has contributed
to our diverse stances. You just
look at the world in a different way when you gaze out your window and see the
mountain where Moses died and then peer down upon the ancient city where Joshua
“fit de battle.”
Right now the non-biblical
Joshua and his sister Lisa are both fighting the same battle, in
To that end, these e-mails
are being sent, in love, from one corner of “the front” to the
other.
Lisa and new daughter Adereth
bs"d
30 January, 2006
Dear Josh;
You REALLY want an email from OUR front??? I hope that it doesn't sound
too much like another
Well, the front here is "warming up," as it were. A few caches
of weapons and artillery were discovered not far from here, and we have
repeated forays (ostensibly "just" to rob us) by the neighboring
Bedouin into the village, which the police are for some reason not prosecuting,
including the time that the local "preparedness squad" stopped a
truck full of stolen building materials from the village and when the police
were summoned, they did nothing to arrest the thieves. A complaint was lodged,
but the Bedouin are still casing the joint....
In fact, the police figure in fairly highly in our "big
picture" lately, as there seems to be a cognitive dissonance issue. On the
one hand, the police are ostensibly undergoing a major overhaul as the result
of tremendous and pervading corruption within the ranks, and at the same time,
being touted as the "heroes" in the drama of forcibly and violently
evicting Jews from their homes, in the name of peace.
In the most recent case, of course, from Jewish OWNED property in Hevron
(the deed is available for all to see). Unfortunately, the media is talking
about Arab stores in Hevron which were taken over by Jews, so nobody is getting
a fair shake. It is adjacent to another Jewish section in Hevron, so to say it
is because of security is specious, unless, (of course!) the other community is
also in the hairline sights....
The other thing that is figuring highly in our lives these days is the
political scene. It is no longer "political," not that it was. It is
like an ant farm that someone poured hot mustard into.... everyone is
scrambling to find higher ground. It is interesting to see how it pans out.
From our perspective, the Kadima party is akin to a trash compacter, where
On the Arab scene, we see things very positively. Finally there is a
government which will stop lying and will say what it means, so that the
obfuscation will cease. This is not to say that the media will not try to
obfuscate, because it is not comfortable to know that Europe, the
In the
We are all fine, I will tell you more another time about Asher's former
job, since we feel that the place he worked at is very much a reflection of the
breakdown happening both here and in the
We are NOT pessimistic, however! We are sure that the best is yet to
come, and we know that everything that has happened so far is just as it was
written it would be happening.
We love you, and wish you were here, where it makes a DIFFERENCE to be a
Jew!
Hope Dan enjoys the darbuka; I
will write something very soon, G-d willing!
Love,
Lisa
2 February 2006
Dear Lisa,
Good to hear from you – and I’m sure Abe Foxman
is glad, too! The reason Foxman
“baited” Pat Robertson is because Pat said what many Jews are also
saying ‘round your neck of the woods, that
But we share a similar approach to the Hamas victory. Arafat was a wolf in sheep’s
clothing. Hamas is too busy
attacking the sheep to bother wearing them. I think Hamas will be forced to adopt
more subtle tactics to appease the Europeans, but it will be much more difficult
for the Palestinians’ traditional sympathizers to fall in line behind
them. I have no faith at all that
the Europeans will ever do the right thing – my faith is that Hamas will
continue to do the wrong things.
Olmert is in a pickle and needs to look tough right
now. I’ve never loved him but
the alternatives to Kadima are worse.
If he’s a scumbag, what word has been invented to describe
Bibi’s integrity? With all
the crazy things that have been happening, I’m half expecting Sharon to
wake up on Election Day (which of course, will delight conspiracy theorists
everywhere) and whisper “vote Kadima” with his first conscious
breath. Kadima is
I don’t expect the next government to move quickly on
establishing permanent borders, but I do wish that proposed security fence for
the Jerusalem area would be shifted a few more miles into the wilderness along
the Jericho road, just beyond your yeshuv and that camel at sea level. In the current climate, with no
negotiating partner, I suspect that might happen, along with a partial
redeployment in the territories. I
guarantee that the next big story will be the sight of secular Palestinians
pleading to be situated on
Happy Groundhog Day!
Love, Josh
A PLEA FROM ONE OF OUR FORMER
STUDENTS…
This week I had this correspondence exchange with Lauren Kahn
(whose sister Elise will be speaking here on Sunday)
Dear Rabbi Hammerman,
I hope you are doing well!
I am writing to seek your advice about an extremely unfortunate
situation facing a family I know. I volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House of
I have become extremely close with an eight year old girl, Fatma
who was diagnosed with Fanconia Anemia (an extremely rare, life-threatening
disorder) and has been receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan
Kettering for the past 2 years. Her family is originally from
In December, her doctor (one of only 2 specialists with any
statistically proven results with this disease) terminated her treatment saying
that she only needs to been seen for follow up every two months. In addition,
he informed them that he would no longer be her doctor. Her parents felt that
they needed a second opinion and brought her to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital
where a doctor felt that she needed to go through a number more procedures and
tests.
Unfortunately, since Memorial Sloan Kettering terminated
treatment, the Ronald McDonald House also asked them to leave and they are
moving out today. The problems keep coming for this family as the Norwegian
insurance company dropped her in December. They also do not have a permanent
place to live and neither parent has a job or a work visa.
I know that you and the Beth El Congregation have done wonderful
things to help those less fortunate and I was hoping you might have some ideas
on how to help this family.
Please let me know if I can provide any further information for
you. Thank you in advance for reading this letter.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!
Lauren Kahn
---
(I wrote back asking for more information and offering to spread
the word to the congregation – here is her response)
Hi Rabbi Hammerman,