Shabbat-O-Gram

 

 

April 20, 2007– Iyar 3, 5767

 

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

 

Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness -- a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org.  To be removed from this mailing list, sent e-mail request to office@tbe.org.  If you have signed up and are not receiving our e-mails, check your spam filter to make sure that TBE is not being “spammed out.”

 

 

Contents of the Shabbat O Gram:

(Click to scroll down)

 

Just the Facts (service schedule)  

The (Occasionally) Ranting Rabbi

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities

Ask the Rabbi

 Spiritual Journey on the Web

    The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary

Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life) 

 Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)

Joke for the Week

 

See photos of our TBE teens at our new USY website:

http://stamfordusy.com/

 

Check out www.tbe.org for photos from our recent Cantors’ Concert,

Plus Purim photos and our extensive library of photo albums,

articles, sermons, info about the temple,

Shabbat-O-Grams and links to the Jewish world.

 

 

JerusalemOnline presents:
an amazing video
of Israel from the Air
Aerial Odyssey - chapter 3

 

 

 

Quote for the Week

 

 

 

The tragic events this week at Virginia Tech, along with Yom Hazikaron, force us to confront the great sadness that befalls us all when young people are taken from us so senselessly and so abruptly. I’ve just sent out an e-mail to our college students expressing my concern for how they are coping, and a few have already responded.  

 

Israel has lost over 20,000 of its young flowers during nearly 6 decades of constant strife.  And this week, the world lost over 30 beautiful souls, so senselessly, in the Va. Tech shootings.  The following Israeli song, popular in the late ‘60s, summarizes how all of us feel right now:

 

How Can I Bless (Mah Avarech),
by Rachel Shapira 

(click here for Hebrew lyrics)

 

"How can I bless him, what gift shall I give
to this child?" said the angel of love.

And he gave him a smile that was radiant as light,
And he gave him two eyes that were open and clear
To seek out each flower and each creature and bird
And a heart to rejoice in each day of the year.

“How can I bless him, what gift shall I give
to this child?” said the angel of love.

And he gave him two feet that were light in the dance,

A soul to rejoice in each tune and each song,
A hand that collected the shells on the shore,
An ear to respond to the old and the young.

“How can I bless him, what gift shall I give
to this child?” said the angel of love.

But those hands that were able to make flowers grow
Were blessed with the skill to drive engines of might,
And the feet that could dance also knew how to march,
And the lips that could sing, also summoned to fight.

“How can I bless him, what gift shall I give
to this child?” said the angel of love.

“I have given him all that an angel can give,
Two light dancing feet, and a song and a smile,
A delicate hand and a sensitive heart.
What else can I give him? I’ve given him all”.
“How can I bless him, what gift shall I give
to this child?” said the angel of love.

He has joined the angels, that wonderful boy,
He has no more blessings, no longer is blessed.
Oh Lord, Lord above, did your angel forget
To bless him with life along with the rest?

 

 

                  

JUST THE FACTS

 

Candle lighting: 7:20 pm on Friday, 20 April 2007.  For Havdalah 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/.  The United Synagogue has updated its candlelighting information. To learn more, click here.

 

Friday Evening:

 

Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:30 PM – in the chapel

 

Tot Shabbat: 6:45 PM – in the lobby

 

Shabbat Morning:

 

Service begins at 9:30 AM

 

Mazal Tov to ALEX ROSENBERG, WHO BECOMES bAr MITZVAH THIS SHABBAT MORNING!

 

Children’s Services: 10:30 AM

 

Our Torah Portion for Shabbat Morning

Parashat Tazria-Metzora

פרשת תזריע־מצרע

Leviticus 12:1 - 15:33

1: 14:33-38
2: 14:39-47
3: 14:48-53
4: 14:54-15:7
5: 15:8-15
6: 15:16-28
7: 15:29-33
maf: 15:31-33

Haftarah: II Kings 7:3 - 7:20

 

If you liked Storahtelling, Storahtelling’s new weekly blog about the Torah portion is at http://storahtelling.blogspot.com/.  Also check out Torahquest at  http://www.torahquest.org/commentary_list.php  ORT Navigating the Bible; Rashi in English; BibleGateway: Useful for comparing different translations: Note- this is a Christian site.What’s Bothering Rashi

 (Bonchek) Each week, one example from the parashah is deconstructed. 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://www.jtsa.edu/community/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at: http://www.uscj.org/Torah_Sparks5689.html UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://urj.org/torah/index.cfm, Reconstructionists are at http://www4.jrf.org/recon-dt.  Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL’s Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/.  World Zionist Organization Education page, including Nehama Liebowitz archives of parsha commentaries: http://www.moreshet.net/web/index.asp?f=1 For a more Kabbalistic/Zionist/Orthodox perspective from Rav Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, go to http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/index.html. For some probing questions and meditations on key verses of the portion, with a liberal kabbalistic bent, go to http://www.jewishealing.com/learning.html or, for Kabbalistic commentaries from the Zohar itself, go to http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/weekly/intro.  Also, try  http://home.utah.edu/~rfs4/jkmfc.htm.  To see the weekly commentary from Hillel, geared to college students and others, go to  http://www.hillel.org/hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/DF7D129F15B3DF0885256AB80058E9C3?OpenDocument. For a Jewish Renewal and feminist approach go to http://rabbishefagold.hypermart.net/Torah1.html .  For a comprehensive Orthodox viewpoint from the Israeli rabbi, Yaakov Fogelman, go to the Torah Outreach Program at http://israelvisit.co.il/top/previous.shtml.  Guided meditations for each portion by Judith Abrams at http://www.maqom.com/kavannah.pdf For online Parsha quizzes from Pardes in Israel, go to  http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/parsha_quizzes/ Torah for Kids: http://www.torah4kids.net/  Weekly Lesson of Popular Israeli Rabbi Mordechai Elon: http://www.elon.org/archives/archives.htm - and his parsha sheets: http://www.mibereshit.org/special/download_eng_pdf.htm   From Bar Ilan University: http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/; http://www.torahproductions.com/weekly_article.jsp

THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT http://www.mechon-mamre.org/

100 Blessings: Download information about the grace after meals (see Birkat Ha-mazon explained in Wikipedia and in the Jewish Virtual Library)  The actual prayer can be downloaded at Birkat Hamazon [pdf]

Morning Minyan

7:30 Weekdays, 9:30 Sundays

Guaranteed Minyans have been requested for April 20, 23, 24 and 25.   

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.

 

 

The

 (occasionally)

Ranting Rabbi

 

my column in this week’s Jewish Week –

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=5900

 

Ranking Your Rabbi

By Joshua Hammerman

(04/20/2007)

 

Believe it or not, I’ve got something positive to say about Newsweek.com’s widely panned recent ranking of the 50 most influential rabbis in America – this despite that fact that I belong to the legions of the rankled unranked.

The list, a product of three Hollywood bigwigs with entirely too much time on their hands, came up at my seder. I for one hadn’t given it a second look — OK, I did give it a thorough first look — and the whole episode might have passed uneventfully had not my mother asked, “Are you on it?”

Ouch.

But rather than dialing up a therapist, I chose to take her query as a signal that this list needs to be taken seriously. Whether or not it is a good thing, it is the way people think. Rankings are everywhere. Call it the “American Idol” factor, or the Lettermanization of America. Everyone needs to be rating something. There are even top 10 lists of top 10 lists.

Come to think of it, Jews have been creating such lists for centuries. In Chapter Five of tractate Avot alone, there are nine top 10 lists. And, in an interesting twist, here the rabbis rank their congregants. (So what type of learner are you? A sieve, a funnel, a sponge or a strainer?)

Magazines routinely try to quantify quality in reviewing doctors, lawyers, hospitals, colleges and politicians. That quantification is often deceptive. We can rank billionaires on net wealth, but even Forbes can’t rank how much they’ve bettered humanity. I know and admire several doctors who have turned up on New York Magazine’s “best of” lists and, while I’m happy for them and their kvelling mothers, I have no idea what makes them better than others whom I also know and admire.

How does one measure the influence of a rabbi? Is it as simple as the Hollywood formula has it: 20 points each for fame and “impact on Judaism,” and 10 apiece for “media presence,” community leadership, movement leaders, the “size of their constituency” and a bonus 10 for “greater impact?”

The Newsweek list puts a premium on popularity. For Israel Salanter, a 19th-century rabbi, humility and integrity were the true measures of rabbinic greatness. He once claimed famously that a rabbi who is liked by everyone is not a rabbi (though he added, “one who is liked by no one is not a mensch”). These sentiments were echoed by subsequent leaders like Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, who feared no person and eschewed popularity when it flew in the face of conviction. How many points does the list give for integrity, humility and conviction? How many for wisdom?

I’ve had several opportunities to do scholar-in-residence weekends outside my congregation. It’s a wonderful experience, but there was nothing like returning home afterwards. Being a rabbi is about connecting with others on the deepest, most human level, something that rarely can be accomplished over a single Shabbat, no matter how spectacular, and something that can best be done in smaller communities, not mega-shuls. And once that personal connection is made, its depth cannot possibly be measured.

I’ve also had the horrific responsibility to officiate at four recent funerals of people in their 30s. On each occasion, the only thing I had to offer were words that came directly from my heart. Who can measure the impact of such words on a grieving parent? Each one of those eulogies had a more profound influence than anything I’ve ever had published.

The Jewish future is being forged by hero-rabbis in the trenches, one Jew at a time.

Miraculously, despite the lousy rating system, the moguls chose well. Their list contains many role models (and close friends) who have influenced me greatly. They all deserve to be recognized for the quality of their teaching and the depth of their humanity rather than the extent of their popularity. There is no question that among them are several who should be considered “gedolay ha-dor,’ our generation’s greatest.

One more positive thing: The list’s very appearance signals that, in some small way, the place of the rabbi in American Jewish life is veering its way back to the center, where it has always belonged. There’s something comforting in the fact that rabbis maintain a level of mystery and fascination in the public eye. This should be no surprise to anyone who has ever gone to a swim club, kids’ soccer game or anywhere else Jews tend to gather, where inevitably the discussion turns to rabbis. But now, as our communal center of gravity is slowly shifting back toward the synagogue, the rabbi’s role is shifting too, away from the ceremonial and symbolic and toward the substantive, from mere fascination to outright respect. A rabbi is now just as likely to be giving the keynote address as the invocation.

Several years ago, I proposed that American Jewry needs a chief rabbinate. While the suggestion was only half serious, the Newsweek list signals that perhaps the time has come to look for new ways to recognize rabbinic excellence — and to understand the true criteria for achieving it.

Most of the last century’s great Jewish leaders were rabbis. For every Brandeis, Buber or Ben Gurion, there was a Heschel, Kaplan, Soloveichik, Silver and a Wise. Their greatness was not measured on a point system, but by the power of their message, the passion of their commitment and the depth of their love for Judaism and humanity. For decades, however, the rabbinate has been marginalized and, as result, Jewish leadership has been infested with mediocrity. The appearance of the Newsweek 50 signals that a new era of rabbinic greatness might just be at hand.

Joshua Hammerman, a CLAL associate, is rabbi of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Conn.

Special To The Jewish Week

 

Liviu Librescu

 

 

Amidst the horrors of last Monday’s massacre at Virginia Tech, one story shines as a beacon of light.  Liviu Librescu, Romanian survivor of the Holocaust, who later moved to Israel and then to America, saved the lives of his students while sacrificing his own – on Yom Hashoah.  The sound of gunshots outside the door, the threat drawing nearer...it all must have resonated in his deepest memory on Monday when he made his fateful choice.

 

See this tribute in Ha’aretz:  Bush Honors Israeli Professor Who Died in University Shooting - Shmuel Rosner
President George W. Bush on Wednesday paid tribute to Israeli professor Liviu Librescu, who died while trying to save students during the shooting spree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. "With the gunman set to enter his class, this brave professor blocked the door with his body while his students fled to safety," Bush said at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. "On the day of remembrance, this Holocaust survivor gave his own life so others may live," he said. "We honor his memory, we take strength from his example."

 

Click here for the New York Times account of his funeral.

 

See this piece from the Times of London, at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article1668407.ece

 

One victim of the Virginia massacre left an incomparable legacy

 

The last person to see Professor Liviu Librescu alive appears to have been Alec Calhoun, a student at Virginia Tech who turned as he prepared to leap from a high classroom window to see the elderly academic holding shut the classroom door. The student jumped, and lived. Minutes later, the professor was shot dead.

 

There is no meaningful distinction between one relative's grief and another's sorrow as the bereaved converge on Blacksburg from as near as Roanoke and as far as India. But it is worth reflecting on the significance of Professor Librescu's life of quiet heroism, which encompassed the Holocaust, a career of internationally admired teaching and research, and a final act of sacrifice that saved at least nine other lives.

 

The son of Romanian Jewish parents, he was sent to a Soviet labor camp as a boy after his father was deported by the Nazis. He was repatriated to communist Romania only to be forced out of academia there for his Israeli sympathies. A personal intervention by Menachem Begin enabled him to emigrate with his wife to Israel, from where he visited the US on a sabbatical in 1986, and chose to stay. The appalling ironies of his murder by a crazed student after a life of such fortitude and generosity will not be lost on anyone who hears his story.

 

Yet neither should those who mourn him forget the role that America played in his life. As for so many other survivors of the mid-20th century's genocidal convulsions, the US was for this inspiring teacher both a beacon of hope and a welcoming new home. Founded on the idea of liberty, it also made, for him, a reality of that idea. Let those he saved now make the most of it.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Earth Day, the Omer and Global Warming

 

This Sunday is Earth Day, and never before have so many been so concerned about the future of our planet.  The Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation has put together an excellent series of study essays on this topic, to be explored during the Omer period, traditionally a time of serious reflection between Passover and Shavuot, with a focus on nature and spring.  The series link is  http://www4.jrf.org/omer - and here are some of the topics: