By Hazzan Barbara Barnett
Each morning for the past month, during Elul, the morning service was punctuated by the blasts of the shofar. Tekia: “Heads up!” Shevarim: “Get Ready!” Teruah: “It’s coming!” “Look inward,” the calls implored, inching me toward this week and the start of the High Holy Days, the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe).
By the time you read this Rosh Hashanah will have concluded, and we will be in the “Aseret Y’mei Teshuvah,” the ten days of teshuva, the time during which we search even further inside our souls and take account, make amends, to return to who we really are deep inside, and get us back on the path to our best selves. And as Yom Kippur approaches, we begin to make a pact within our hearts, with each other, and with G-d, to be better this year.
We will not hear the long, harsh blast of the shofar sound again until the gates metaphorically close on these days of Awe, bringing to an end the Yom Kippur Neilah service.
As it says in the Unetaneh Tokef prayer of High Holiday Musaf, “U’va Shofar Gadol Yitakah” – the great Shofar sounds, but as we move further and further from its blasts, it’s easy to get distracted, pulled away from our paths, forget, even with the best of intention, our promises made to ourselves and G-d during this season. But the text continues: “v’kol d’mamadaka yishamah” –the still, small voice is heard. It is that still, small voice resonating on and on—I like to think of this sustained echo of the shofar as our own personal Jiminy Cricket to help carry us through the challenges of the year to come.
Phillip and I wish for you a 5782 of health, safety, sweetness and shalom—peace and wholeness.
by Rabbi Alex Freedman
Ah, it’s that time of year again. The kids have new notebooks and new shoes. You successfully unearthed that backpack that was buried somewhere last June.
In equal measure for kids and parents, the beginning of the school year is an annual rite of passage. Yet there’s at least one crucial difference between them.
For the students, each year brings a tangible sense of advancement. “No longer am I in Grade X,” they tell themselves with good reason. “I’ve moved up to Grade Y.”
Not so for the parents. It’s possible – even easy – for these school years to feel the same to parents. One year may feel identical to the next. Or if not exactly so, the transition might be gradual instead of as sudden as a first day of school in a new grade.
As a parent, I envy the ease with which students feel themselves advancing and growing in knowledge. I wish each year brought me a similar emotion.
Having no appetite for late-night homework, final exams, or loads of student debt, I will not be returning to the classroom as a student. Neither will most parents. But you and I can return to shul next week for Rosh Hashanah with renewed focus and purpose. And a sense of growth.
I want to share an insight I hope will elevate our understanding of Shabbat. I think many of us intuitively understand Shabbat to be the week’s finish line. A day of rest, good food, and time with people we love recharges us for the next week. We believe this because Saturday falls on the “weekend.”
But there’s another way to see it. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed in his book Laws of Shabbat shares an amazing Gemara: from the viewpoint of the world, the creation of the six weekdays came before Shabbat. But from the perspective of humankind, who was created on the sixth day, Shabbat came before the six weekdays (B. Talmud Shabbat 69b).
This means that the world knew the six days of the week before Shabbat. But for Adam, who was created on Day Six, the first day was Shabbat. The weekdays followed.
Rabbi Melamed writes, “Shabbat is also the anchor and beginning of the next week. From Shabbat we draw spiritual strength for the upcoming week so that we are able to realize, through our activities, the spiritual values that we absorb on Shabbat (7).”
Rabbi Melamed means that Shabbat is also the first day of the week. The day should set the tone for the next six. The values that animate Shabbat – quality time with loved ones, community, prayer, an emphasis on the spiritual – should be activated all week long in some ways.
I love that he teaches me something new about something that I’ve been doing for so long in the same way.
As we have only a few days to go before Rosh HaShanah, I hope we can begin to discover a new area of growth so that when the Shofar rings, we feel we are further along than we were before.
By Rabbi Alex Freedman
I don’t have to sell anyone in our community on the power of summer camps. When I ask Beth El parents what their kids are doing over the summer, it seems nearly everyone is going to different day/overnight camps. I smile because I too spent my childhood summers at camp, which became the highlight of the year; the school year was merely the long shlep back to camp. Any overnight camp is beneficial socially and emotionally, especially this pandemic year. Camp friends often become friends for life. And living independently of parents is valuable for self-growth.
Jewish summer camps offer all the pluses of overnight camp plus an amazingly positive religious education. I spent my summers at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, and the wonderful experiences I had there are shared by many Ramahniks. I also know that other camps offer robust Jewish experiences too, which is fantastic.
The morning prayer Ahavah Rabbah asks G-d to allow us “to understand, to learn, to teach, to perform and uphold all the words of Your Torah with love.” Camp Ramah excels at this because camp is an immersive experience (I speak primarily of Ramah since I know it personally and it is part of the Conservative Movement). Kids learn how to pray because their counselors model it for them and it’s a daily experience. Kids learn Hebrew because the buildings are referred to by Hebrew names. Kids learn to love Shabbat as a day of rest because all of camp slows down. Kids form a personal connection with Israel because they have personal relationships with some Israeli counselors. There’s a palpable Avirah, atmosphere, that can’t be found in any other place because everyone is together for the summer.
Of course NSSBE shares these values, and we do our best to teach them. But, from an educational, structural perspective, camp can do so much more because kids learn better by doing than by sitting in a classroom. Or on Zoom.
Although this summer I cannot visit Beth El kids at camp, I look forward to doing so in the future.
If you are considering a Jewish summer camp for your child next summer, I welcome the conversation. I’m happy to find a Jewish camp that is a best fit for him or her.
We can say about Jewish summer camps what the Torah famously says about the Israelite desert camp: “Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov, How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.”
by Rabbi Michael Schwab
I feel honored and privileged to live in a time when there is a thriving State of Israel. Israel is a blessing to Jews and the world for so many reasons. It is the country that contains our historic homeland and the religious and ancestral sites of our people. Israel is a place in which the national culture can flow by the Jewish calendar and naturally celebrates Judaism’s incredible heritage. Israel is a center for the proliferation of Jewish scholarship, art, literature and religious innovation. Israel is a safe haven and protector for Jews spread all over the Diaspora. Israel is a place we can visit to reconnect with our own personal Jewish identities and to deepen our Jewish journeys. Israel is a place where millions of our brothers and sisters call home. Israel is a country that supports the same liberal freedoms that the United States was founded upon: democracy, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. Israel is proudly an incubator for so many scientific and medical advances, punching far above its weight class, which they share with the rest of the world. Israel is a beloved place that our Jewish community should treasure.
I know that right now, in particular, and throughout its entire history, some actions of the governments of Israel have been the subject of heated debate. This piece is not intended to weigh in on the merits of any particular arguments about any of Israel’s government’s choices. I also firmly believe that it is absolutely clear that the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is very real and that impactful solutions regarding the issue of Palestinian sovereignty urgently need to be reached. Further, it is also a fact that we all have different perspectives on what solutions are best, and we each have rationales for why we believe what we believe.
Therefore, my ask today is threefold:
1) Let us all acknowledge that the situation is complicated. Slogans, tweets and Instagram posts are not going to help us communicate or progress. They make those who agree with us feel good but do not meaningfully engage anyone who may differ in opinion. In fact, they may have the opposite effect. As every diplomat I have ever spoken to has told me, real dialogue and a willingness to listen to the other’s narrative is the only way progress will be made. Violence will beget violence and hatred will lead to further hatred. We may not like what we hear, but we need to speak to each other in civil language and truly listen to one another’s perspective. Agreeing to listen is not agreement to concur. We should respectfully challenge when we disagree, but we should listen and do our best to understand. Being able to hold such dialogue that does not lead to hatred is a value in and of itself.
2) Whatever you think about the current situation in Israel, do not let yourself fall into the trap of questioning Israel’s legitimacy or Israel’s incredible value to the world. There is much work to be done inside of Israel, inside of the Palestinian territories and inside the region as a whole. However, our people have an ethical, legal and historical right to a homeland in Israel and Israel has a legitimate place amongst the world of nations, like any other country, that was granted to her in 1947 by the UN.
3) Let us do whatever we can to not let our feelings about Israel’s policies divide us at our core. We need to continue to be one people and to be ohavei yisrael – lovers of our fellow Jews. Extremists aside, we need to be able to advocate for what we think is right and foundational to our values without consigning those who disagree to the status of “other”. There are those out there claiming that our people are destined to be divided into Zionists and Anti-Zionists. I cannot accept this prognostication and will continue to work towards a more sophisticated understanding of Jewish community that allows us to oppose one another around significant issues while still understanding one another as Jews and part of the same family.
I am a Zionist. I love Israel and will work to support her continued vitality and safety. I stand with her during challenging times and celebrate her many successes. I pray for wisdom for all of the leaders in the region, I pray for the safety of all the inhabitants in the region, and I pray that a lasting peace can be created between Israel, the Palestinians and all of their neighbors. I also pray that we continue to work towards our vision of being Am Echad, one people, who can continue to stand together as we, and the rest of the world, face so many difficult challenges. Am Yisrael Chai!
By Hazzan Ben Tisser
Dear Friends,
As I reflect on my six years at NSS Beth El, a passage from the Torah comes to mind: “For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you may prune your vineyard…and I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year…” (Leviticus 25:3, 11). For the last six years I have felt blessed to come to work every day at Beth El. Truly, being a Cantor is the most wonderful job in the world. I have the opportunity to share in the lives of thousands of people, to teach, to learn, to share holy moments, and of course to make music.
As I walk the halls, I am reminded of all that has been accomplished here these years. I can see the Sanctuary packed to the brim as we delayed the first a cappella concert’s start while adding more chairs; I hear the voices of our children singing with the choir on the High Holy Days; I see the transformation of our sacred spaces as we made them accessible to those with a variety of needs; I remember conversations at Kiddush and in the parking lot, meetings at which big plans were made and big changes were catalyzed. In these six years, so much has changed at Beth El, and it has been an honor to have played some part in that change.
I remember my first visit to Beth El – months before my interview. I was in town to study with Hazzan Mizrahi at Anshe Emet, and knowing that I would be applying for this position, I made an appointment to meet with Rabbi Kurtz. He showed me around the facility, telling me the history of the shul, and inquiring about my own background. We bonded over common experiences as children singing in the choirs of our own Cantors, and said that we both looked forward to meeting again. (For those who don’t know the story, ask me about how he tried to “stump” me at my audition!). I recall the weekend of my interview, riding with Larry Weiner to morning minyan, being shown around by Jackie Melinger, spending Shabbat with the Starkman-Pachters and their Havurah, and getting to know many of our core group of leaders who have remained so involved for all these years. I will never forget the many wonderful experiences I have had here—they have shaped me in so many ways.
I have been blessed to work with incredible clergy and staff colleagues. Rabbi Kurtz was an incredible mentor and friend. Rabbi Schwab has not only been an excellent partner, but a friend and confidant as well. Together we worked hard to create programming and rituals reflective of our community’s values, and at the same time recognizing that we have the opportunity and ability to grow. I am so proud of the work we have done, and am ever grateful for his constant support in my own work. Although we have only worked together for a couple of years, Rabbi Freedman is an incredible asset to this community and to the team. His creativity is endless, his sensitivity to people knows no bounds. He is a great Rabbi and it’s been my privilege to work with him. I must finally acknowledge our Ritual Directors, with whom I have worked so closely on a daily basis, ensuring that our B’nai Mitzvah program continues as strong as ever. Mark Stadler remains a great friend, and I am so glad I got to know him here. Hazzan Barnett is an incredibly passionate and compassionate educator – I am grateful to her for her collegiality and dedicated work.
On the lay side, there are far too many people to name, and I fear I’ll leave some out. There are, however, a few people I must acknowledge specifically. Mark Mosk was tasked with helping me acclimate to the community in my first year. We began speaking on the phone regularly from the start, and then would meet for breakfast after minyan once in a while. He has been a constant source of support, of good feedback, and a good friend above all. Steve Abrams and Brian Jacobson, in succession, have chaired our Music Committee for the past four years. It is because of their leadership that we have a clear mission and vision, as well as a dedicated group of volunteers who will work hard to ensure an excellent future for music at Beth El. Finally, I offer unending gratitude to JoAnne Blumberg. For my first four years she chaired our B’nai Mitzvah Liaison committee, then became VP Ritual, and all the while ran the High Holy Day committee for our Sanctuary services. JoAnne, I could not have done my job without you. We have spoken or emailed at literally every hour of the day. We have been with each other in moments of sadness and celebration, and our friendship is truly special. I will miss working with you each day.
Robyn shares her thanks for having welcomed her so warmly and lovingly into the community. The experiences she had at Beth El have had deep influence on her own Yiddishkeit, and we have loved reminiscing about so much of our time here. My children have grown so much here. Ethan was three months old when we moved to Highland Park, and soon he will begin second grade! Thank you for nurturing them, for playing with them, and for loving them while I was on the bimah. You made shul a place they looked forward to coming.
“Six years you shall sow your field…” We have done so much together these six years, and now as I look back, as I read the emails and Facebook notes that have come in recent days, I realize that God has surely ordained God’s blessing in this, the sixth year, and that the yield is great. One cannot often realize the impact their work has on the lives of others. As grateful as many of you have expressed you are for my service, I am doubly grateful for having had this incredible opportunity. I have been touched deeply by each of you. Through good and through bad, you have been my community and my extended family. God bless you all with good health and length of days, and may you always be with a song in your heart and in your mouths.
Now we say l’hitra’ot—we’ll see you soon—for we know we will be back to visit. As I begin my tenure at Beth El Synagogue this summer, I will take all of the memories, the lessons, and the encouragement you have offered with me. I have been changed so much by my time here. We hope you will visit us if you are in the Twin Cities. You will be able to reach me after July 1 at [email protected] – stay in touch!
Stay healthy and safe, and have a great summer. I know that great things will continue to happen at NSS Beth El!
B’yedidut—In Friendship,
Hazzan Ben Tisser
By Hazzan Barbara Barnett
This week’s Torah portion contains three of the most famous lines in Torah. It is called the Birkat Kohanim, but also the “three-fold blessing” or the “priestly blessing” (the English translation of Birkat Kohanim).
May Adonai bless you and guard you!
May Adonai’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you
May Adonai bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
It’s a powerful three, very short lines.
It is the final line that draws my eye this morning in a world filled with conflicts big and small, local and global. “Grant you shalom.” I use the Hebrew because although I could translate it as “peace,” I think the word “wholeness” is more precise here. Peace is amorphous, slippery and elusive. Wholeness is another thing, an attainable thing—something that can emerge from within and not from without. The blessing is written in second person singular, to each individual who receives it—not to a family, not to a community.
Perhaps personal “wholeness” can emanate both from the spiritual connection to G-d as implied by the second blessing and by the more material blessings suggested by the first (as interpreted by Rashi). If we cannot have “peace” in our world, in our lives at this time, perhaps we might find a way to toward a sense of being whole—whether that is to enjoy the warmth of a spring day, to look up at the stars or to simply breathe deeply.
By Rabbi Alex Freedman
Chag Sameach!
The number ten is having its moment. In a few days, synagogues around the world will chant the Ten Commandments in honor of Shavuot.
What follows are ten reasons why Jews go for cheesecake and other dairy goodies on Shavuot, the holiday when we received the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
2. Mt. Sinai is also called Har Gavnunim הר גבנונים, “the mountain of majestic peaks” in Psalms 68:16. The similar Hebrew word Gevinahגבינה means “cheese.”
One thing that impresses me about the Jewish tradition is the range of possible answers to any given question, like this one. Just as cheesecake is enhanced by its broad range of flavors, the Torah is richer when it yields multiple interpretations. It’s a prism that refracts a rainbow of light onto our world.
Chag Sameach!
by Rabbi Michael Schwab
As a native Philadelphian, this week’s Torah portion of Behar holds a special place in my heart. Here is found the source of the inspiring words inscribed on the Liberty Bell, “You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants” (Leviticus 25:10). While in the American context this referred to the freedom of those living in the colonies who wished independence from British rule, in the Biblical context these words literally referred to freeing slaves every 50th year. In the ancient world if one was indebted to a particular creditor and could not pay him back because he had become destitute, the solution that served both parties was that the debtor would become an indentured slave to the creditor. This way the creditor received value for his lost money and the debtor was provided with food and shelter for he and his family. However, in instituting the Jubilee year during which all slaves became free again, the Torah provided a mechanism by which slavery and inequality could not be inherited and passed down from generation to generation, creating a permanent class of the “haves” and a permanent class of the “have nots”. As such, during the Jubilee year all debts were forgiven and any ancestral lands were returned back to the original family owners.
These values of equality and freedom, expressed in Jewish law that was applied to societal living, reminds us today of the importance of maintaining laws and behaviors that support the success of all community members. As many will recall, Maimonides stated that the highest form of tzedakah was not evaluated by how much charity was given, though that too is a virtue, but rather by giving a person an occupation — “to teach a man to fish”. Donating money to provide basic needs is a huge mitzvah, without doing many would suffer and even die. That is why we, at Beth El, make sure to fulfill this important commandment. However, that type of tzedakah will not change the ultimate situation of the person in need. Providing access to education, job training programs, and career opportunities is perhaps the modern day equivalent of the Jubilee year. It allows for someone to rebuild and to provide for themselves a path to a better life.
Therefore, I was so proud of our Social Action and Love Your Neighbor committees as they facilitated a presentation to our community of different organizations that are doing this wonderful type of work. Right in our backyard, the Highwood Public Library, which has become a community center as well, is providing tutoring and career training. And Waukegan to College is helping to ensure student success and is providing resources to help Waukegan students who might not have otherwise been able to enroll in universities and be successful in the college setting. If you would like to help, please be in touch with Abby Lasky at [email protected] or click on https://www.nssbethel.org/community/social-action/season-of-mitzvot/ In doing so we fulfill the spirit of our Torah, and the proclamation of the Liberty Bell, in bringing true freedom to all the inhabitants of our land.
by Hazzan Ben Tisser
The word kadosh, or Holy, is an interesting word. According to the dictionary, it can mean several things:
It is also related to the word “whole”, and so there is a dimension of completeness or fullness – in Hebrew, shalom or sh’leimut.
Last week in Kedoshim, we read the Holiness Code – our charge to be holy because God is holy, and the list of some of the key ways in which we are to live our lives to that best end. For those who remember studying this with me several years ago, the Holiness Code mirrors the Ten Commandments, using other words. In Emor we learn more about the ways in which we are to live a holy life, a life of spiritual and ritual purity, and how we offer our deepest gratitude to God for all that God has given us.
We learn about appropriate marriages for the Kohanim, that they may maintain spiritual purity in their families and households; that they may serve as exemplars of the highest standard of sacred living. And then there is a verse which challenges our contemporary understanding–really all the work we have done as a holy community towards inclusion–when the Torah states that a Kohen with a physical deformity may not serve in the Temple. There are many commentaries about this verse, and I suppose the idea of wholeness comes into play here, but it is a very challenging verse to read.
After describing some aspects of the Mishkan, the Torah goes on to list the Holy Observances–the Festivals, the Counting of the Omer, and Shabbat. These are opportunities for us to approach God fully, offering the best of what we received from the earth or through hard work and good fortune, showing pure joy and gratitude for all that is ours.
As I reflect on the past year, I think about how my own sense of gratitude and completeness has shifted. It has become so much easier to be grateful for everything, especially the little things, since life changed last Spring. It has become easier to feel more complete, more at peace, since then. As a result, my spiritual life has changed as well. I feel closer to God, I have a renewed sense of appreciation for community, and I can pray more honestly. This has all been so freeing. The moment gratitude and spirituality took a greater role in my life, I suddenly became so much more at peace with life and with the world around me.
Holiness is hard. It takes work to live a holy life. But that is our challenge as Jews. We are to be the standard bearers of living lives bound by ethics, mitzvot, and laws, all of which ultimately bring a dimension of holiness to our lives. As we read the book of Vayikra, I invite you to join me in this quest for holiness. Pray more. Practice gratitude. Meditate. Come to shul. Light Shabbat candles and have dinner with people you love. Each of these things, when compounded, takes us one step closer to a life of holiness.
by Hazzan Barbara Barnett
This week’s Torah portion is the double header of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Deep within the portion, in Chapter 19 of Vayikra (Leviticus), is a listing of ethical admonitions punctuated by the words “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (“Va’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha”).
Within this list we find “Do not place a stumbling block in front of the blind” (Leviticus 19: 14) On the surface, it’s a simple commandment. My mom was legally blind most of my life; we took care to make sure there was nothing ever hazardous in her way so she wouldn’t trip. But like many things in Torah, you have to look beneath the surface and into the subtext and metaphors to understand what G-d is trying to say to us in our time.
How many of us get multiple phone calls and emails every day from scam artists promising pots of gold or, conversely, threatening to send the IRS or the FBI knocking at the front door unless we pay up?
Misinformation. Disinformation. Stumbling blocks for the Social Media Age. Rumors morph into “facts” and even conspiracy theories twisted into ill-informed realities and urban myth—spread like wildfire on Facebook, Twitter, texts, and beyond—stumbling blocks, believed as truth by enough people to cause genuine harm. Whether it’s COVID-19 vaccines and restrictions, Jewish space lasers, or vast QAnon-style pedophile conspiracies, they prey upon the uniformed—the metaphorically blind, and to corrosive effect.
“Do not place a stumbling block in front of the blind”—a commandment from G-d as relevant today as the latest social media post.
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