May 9, 2008 – Iyar 4, 5768 – Omer Day 19

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

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TONIGHT AND TOMORROW!!!

SYNAPLEX:

» Invitation and Flier
» Schedule of Activities

“Israel @ 60: The Jew Re-imagined”

Featuring Scholar in Residence

Reuven Kimelman

Friday night:  “Israel @ 60: The New Jew”

Shabbat morning: “Israel @ 60: Jews, Christians and the Love of God”

Shabbat afternoon: “Israel @60: Jews, Moslems and the Struggle for Jerusalem”

Rabbi Reuven Kimelman is a Professor of Classical Judaica at Brandeis University and Scholar-in-Residence of the JCC on the Palisades. Previously, Professor Kimelman held the position of Five College Professor of Judaic Studies at Amherst College and Senior Scholar of CLAL. He has also taught at Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Trinity and Williams Colleges as well as the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His Ph.D. is from Yale University in Religious Studies. Professor Kimelman has published widely in journals of scholarly and popular interest on bible, history, ethics, liturgy, and current affairs. He is the author of the Hebrew book, The Mystical Meaning of Lekhah Dodi and Kabbalat Shabbat, he is also engaged in writing a book on the Meaning and History of Jewish Prayer and one on Terrorism, War, Democracy and other issues in the Jewish Ethics of Power.

Dr. Kimelman lectures frequently at academic conferences, synagogues and national Jewish organizations, he has served as scholar-in-residence for many groups including the former UJA Young Leadership Cabinet, The Wexner Heritage Foundation, The JCCA Biennial Conference, and the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities.

And highlighted by the Grand Premier Preview performance of…

“Becoming Israel”

Read all about “Becoming Israel”

And see a video preview…

by clicking HERE

A full collection of past articles, sermons and essays can now be found at my new blog at http://joshuahammerman.blogspot.com/

Contents of the Shabbat O Gram:

(Click to scroll down)

Just the Facts

The (Occasionally) Ranting Rabbi

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities

Ask the Rabbi

Spiritual Journey on the Web

The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary

Masechet Cyberspace (NEW)

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

Joke for the Week

DID YOU SEE THEM ON THE FRONT PAGE OF TODAY’S Advocate?

Our Junior Choir singing proudly at yesterday’s Israel celebration at the JCC

And click here for photos of our teens at the March of the Living

Quote for the Week

When I see the word "Israel"

When I see the word

Israel

I see

Isra-el

wrestles with God

God is

victorious

When I see the word

I do not see

the chosen few

I see those few who choose

Those few who choose

to wrestle with You,

a contest

in which both wrestlers

are one

and in which the one

is victorious

I see those few who choose,

among the many nations among all people,

those few who choose

to make love

to you

and those who say:

I betroth myself to you

whether it feels like honey

or a thornbush

because even the thornbush

sometimes glows

with fire

of revelation

When I see the word

Israel

I know many claim it as their own

As a title a privilege a status

As if God chose them

they are right in this:

God chooses

but they are wrong in thinking:

only them

God breathes through many begotten sons

and daughters

God wrestles through his glorious perverts

and professors

and as there is only one contestant

for better or for worse

in (excrement) and in shine

this wrestling

is an embrace

of recognition

and delight

do you seek God? God seeks you.

Who will you allow

to be victorious?

(—Jay Michaelson)

JUST THE FACTS

Candle lighting: 7:41 pm on Friday, May 9, 2008. 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.

THE FULL SERVICE SCHEDULE NOW APPEARS ON THE SEPARATE TBE ANNOUNCEMENTS E-MAIL

Friday Night Shabbat Services:

6:30 – Main Service – in the lobby – NEFESH service

Reuven Kimelman’s first talk will be given at 8:15. All are welcome!

Shabbat Morning:

See the complete Synaplex Schedule

for adults, teens and younger children

Mazal tov to Allison and Terence Jackson on the naming this Shabbat morning of their daughter, Ava Sophia Jackson

Morning Minyan: 7:30 Weekdays, 9:30 Sundays

PLEASE COME TO MINYAN!

TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG AND THEN NOTIFY OUR OFFICE.

Now you can become more comfortable with the prayers of our morning service by heading to…

http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/minyanmastery.htm

NOW THERE’S ONE MORE REASON TO COME TO MINYAN…

We’ve just received copies of a new and comprehensive commentary on our siddur, “Or Hadash” – This joint project of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly, authored by Rabbi Reuven Hammer, features material from classical and contemporary sources, explanations of the history, structure and meaning of prayers and more. The page numbers match our regular weekday siddur, but the in-depth commentaries will bring a whole new dimension to your experience of prayer, opening new doors to understanding the service.

Parashat Emor

Torah Portion: Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23

1: 21:1-6
2: 21:7-12
3: 21:13-15
4: 21:16-24
5: 22:1-9
6: 22:10-12
7: 22:13-16
maf: 22:13-16

Haftarah Ezekiel 44:15 - 44:31

Text Studies and Commentaries on Emor

from www.myjewishlearning.com

Some Days Count More Than Others by Rabbi Avi Weinstein

Provided by Hillel’s Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning, which creates educational resources for Jewish organizations on college campuses.

Caring For The Dead by Rabbi Jordan D. Cohen

Provided by KOLEL--The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning, which is affiliated with Canada's Reform movement.

Our Relationship to Other Creatures by Ora Sheinson

Provided by Canfei Nesharim, providing Torah wisdom about the importance of protecting our environment.

Sacred Time & Space by Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla

Provided by American Jewish World Service, pursuing global justice through grassroots change.

Inclusivity and Access by Michelle Kay

Provided by American Jewish World Service, pursuing global justice through grassroots change.

Catch the Rhythm by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky

Provided by the Jewish Outreach Institute, an organization dedicated to creating a more open and welcoming Judaism.

Gleanings by Rabbi Ismar Schorsch

Provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical seminary and university of Jewish studies.

Life And Love by Yitz Greenberg

Provided by CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a multi-denominational think tank and resource center.

The Pursuit Of Happiness by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, which ordains Conservative rabbis at the University of Judaism.

Sefirat Ha-Omer--Time As Text by Rabbi Shimon Felix

Provided by the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel, a summer seminar in Israel that aims to create a multi-denominational cadre of young Jewish leaders.

Sanctifiers Of Time by Rabbi Avraham Fischer

Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.

Ascending Towards Accessibility by Rabbi James Michaels

Provided by SocialAction.com, an on-line Jewish magazine dedicated to pursuing justice, building community, and repairing the world.

Does It Really Matter How I Drive? by Elliot Forchheimer

Provided by the UJA-Federation of New York, which cares for those in need, strengthens Jewish peoplehood, and fosters Jewish renaissance.

Tattoo or not Tattoo? That is the Question…

LEVITICUS 19:28

כח  וְשֶׂרֶט לָנֶפֶשׁ, לֹא תִתְּנוּ בִּבְשַׂרְכֶם, וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע, לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם:  אֲנִי, יְהוָה.

28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

Last Shabbat we had a fascinating discussion on this recent article from Ha'aretz, also reprinted below. The article details a moving account of how the adult child of a survivor wanted to keep the legacy of his father alive by walking into a Tel Aviv tattoo parlor and asking to have an exact copy of his father’s Auschwitz number branded on his own arm. Since the law against tattooing comes from last week’s portion of Kedoshim, and coming on the heels of Yom Hashoah, the discussion was a “natural.”

It’s a discussion I often have with teens. Why are tattoos considered so “unkosher?”

A good, quick response can be found on Hillel's website. Essentially there are three reasons that have been posited through the centuries: 1) that tattooing was originally a form of pagan worship; 2) that the human body is a holy vessel, a creation “in God’s image,” and who are we to desecrate a gift from God? The mutilation of the body isn’t entirely prohibited, though. Earings are permitted, for instance, and anything that enhances or saves life, such as autopsies, organ donation and, yes, even some plastic surgery. If the Elephant Man came into my office and said he wanted “a different look,” I don’t think I’d chase him out as a vain, narcissistic man. While he could have technically lived without it, his self image may be so low that in fact, such surgical enhancement could in fact keep him from taking his own life.

I must add, however, that the worship of the body should have its limits – and if such physical enhancement also causes a serious risk to health (e.g. tanning salons or breast implants), we’ve got to wonder if it isn’t just another form of pagan worship. Some have made the claim that circumcision is mutilation, but the prevailing Jewish view is that it is a finishing touch to the miracle of birth, symbolizing a partnership between parents and God. And in fact, in Greek times it was the painful operation to reverse circumcision that was considered the most reprehensible form of body mutilation, since it was done in order to assimilate into Hellenistic society, which was so focused on the exposed – and exalted – human body.

So it’s a complex subject, but the third rationale, he most recent. is the most relevant here. One reason I advise teens to avoid the temptation of tattooing is precisely because the Nazis did it to us. (It’s similar to the argument that I make against cremation). The Nazis did it to dehumanize human beings, to brand them as they would brand cattle, to take away their individuality and freedom of choice. Some claim that in the current context, tattoos are freely chosen and are a means of expressing that very freedom and individuality. But the very indelibility of a tattoo demonstrates the opposite. If it cannot be reversed, we forfeit the choice to not have it! And if the only permanent choice we should be making is to devote our lives to God, rather than a lesser object of devotion (read: idolatry), then that explains why circumcision can be the only indelible bodily change that is granted blanket approval.

But what of this survivor’s son, who wishes only to preserve the memory of the evil – itself a mitzvah (“zachor”) – rather than to perpetuate that evil form of dehumanization. Is this a fitting tribute to a generation that will soon be gone? Or is it a clumsy distortion, a visual aid that may succeed in shocking people but can’t come close to duplicating the real thing?

I tend to think the latter. There are many avenues of remembrance out there. Why choose to imitate the evil rather than stamp it out? The son’s desire is well intentioned, but if it didn’t even bring comfort to the father (who lived his whole life hoping his children would never have to live in such shame), how is this act not more than an example of the very self flagellation and mutilation that the Torah prohibits.

The Torah implores us to choose life. When we leave a cemetery, we wash our hands. Why, as we leave the smokestacks of Auschwitz behind us, should mark our hands so that the stain will never come out? Auschwitz will never fade from history. It is seared into our consciousness. The pain will never completely go away. But that doesn’t mean that we have to wear it on – or inside – our sleeves.

Feel free to leave a comment by clicking here and scrolling down.

Son gets Dad's Auschwitz tattoo on own arm

_{By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent}

One day about eight years ago, Dr. Ron Folman walked into a tattoo studio on Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Street accompanied by his parents, Professor Yeshayahu and Dr. Ahuva Folman. He asked his father to bare his left forearm, and told the tattooist: "I want an exact copy of that tattoo."

The original inscription, B1367, was seared by a German soldier into the arm of the 10-year-old child Yeshayahu Folman in June 1944, on the day he was brought to Auschwitz. The boy had been sent alone from Piotrkow in Poland, and did not know what happened to his parents, whom he would find only after the war.

After surviving selektions and three years in the Blizhin and Treblinka camps, Folman - who describes himself "a survivor, like a field mouse" - survived Auschwitz as well.

Since his arrival at the age of 13 at the Ben Shemen youth village - where he learned how to read and write- through his army service, academic studies, lecturing at the Hebrew University's agriculture department, serving as the Agriculture Ministry's chief scientist and volunteering for UN work in Africa, he has done all he could "not to convey personal trauma."

He did the same while he and his wife raised three children. He did not hide a thing from his family, but believes the Holocaust should be remembered "in a public and national, rather than personal, way."

Forty-six years after that day in Auschwitz, Yeshayahu Folman found himself in the tattoo studio with a strange man copying digit by digit from his arm to his son's, carefully duplicating the exact shade, size and spot. The act followed months of family debates.

Yeshayahu Folman was appalled by the idea and tried to prevent his son from doing it, but eventually cooperated.

"It was an act of solidarity with me," he says. "Of course I was moved, but I was not in favor of it. I still believe that he is burdening himself with a weight he will carry for life. That is unnecessary as far as he and his children are concerned. It pains me to feel that I'm transferring it to him."

He refuses to bare his arm for a joint photograph with his son. "I was a victim against my will. I don't have to display my coercion, especially since I was so young. You," he addresses his son, "since you chose it, don't convey wretchedness. Good or bad, it's your choice."

Two events in 2000 brought Ron Folman to decide to engrave the number on his flesh - his father was hospitalized with a disease, and Ron was preparing for a long trip to Germany for completing his post-doctorate studies. He had served as a fighter pilot in the air force, volunteered for Amnesty, and had a successful academic career. Everything was woven somehow in the Holocaust story, and the Zionist and humanist values he was raised on.

But the trip to Germany, he says, was about to close a circle. He was headed for the University of Heidelberg, the first university to kick out all its Jewish students and lecturers when Hitler rose to power.

"I was the first Jew to hold a position in the University of Heidelberg's physics department since 1933," he says. "But the tattoo wasn't because of Germany, at least not consciously. Nor was it done as a demonstration or public statement. It was about my relationship with my father, and the family members who survived and those who didn't. My father was sick at the time, and for the first time I felt in real danger of losing him. It was purely emotional. I didn't think of the meanings. It was the act of a man who sees his father in the hospital and suddenly all the years he absorbed, between the lines, the great pain, the tears - everything burst out. Until then I suppressed feelings associated with the Holocaust, but when I saw him lying there I felt I had to, wanted to, make a private statement about my feelings toward him and the Holocaust. It was a desire to tell him that his son understands what he had been through and shares his pain.

"As for the Holocaust, perhaps it was to tell myself I'd never forget."

Ron Folman, a quantum physics expert and lecturer at Ben-Gurion University, says "I've always had a strong need for hard facts. Beyond all the feelings around the Holocaust and the talks with my father, I had a need for something factual. The number on the arm was the only factual thing we had left from the Holocaust. I asked for an exact copy, but he blew it. He used different fonts. The Germans made the digit 3 with a round font, but this tattooist made a 3 with a flat top. The 3 irritated me."

The tattoo evoked numerous responses on a daily basis both in Israel and overseas.

"When I'm asked about it I avoid the question," he says. "The number is only important to me as far as my daughters are concerned. I don't know how many stories they'll get to hear from their grandparents, so it's important to me that they see the number and maybe ask questions about it," he says.

Yeshayahu Folman says he has never thought of having the number removed.

"I've heard of people who do that; I don't believe in escaping, especially not from history. It happened, the people who lived through it have no choice, they must bear it as best they can, but why pass the personal emotional burden on to the next generation?"

I asked the President…

…to do the right thing: boycott the Olympics to show support for those oppressed by the Chinese, in particular those in Darfur.

To take action by signing the petition, go to the American Jewish World Service petition site – but you need to do it now.

Beth El Cares:

Inreach and Outreach

 
Blood Drive
 
Give the Gift of Life! Get involved in a short term mitzvah project that will save lives. 
Who benefits from these blood donations? People who are born prematurely, people with auto-immune and other blood disorders, 
people involved in accidents… 
Many people, including temple members,