New Jersey colleagues of whom I am very proud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ox7s3J0QLI&feature=email

Dvar Torah for Temple Israel 2011/5772 Annual Meeting

As we gather this morning for our Annual Meeting, the parshat hashavua or weekly torah portion for us and the rest of the Jewish world is Parshat Vayeshev.  Vayeshev,  which takes up chapters 37 through 40 of the Book of Genesis, introduces the story of Joseph and his brothers which will take us through the next four weeks, up until the end of the Book of Genesis.

This week as preparations were under way for our meeting today, I found myself continually coming back to one particular detail in the parasha.  Jacob has instructed Joseph to go find his brothers who seem to have been away with the flocks longer than expected.  And at Genesis 37:15-16 the Torah reports:

 וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ אִישׁ, וְהִנֵּה תֹעֶה בַּשָּׂדֶה; וַיִּשְׁאָלֵהוּ הָאִישׁ לֵאמֹר, מַה-תְּבַקֵּשׁ. וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶת-אַחַי אָנֹכִי מְבַקֵּשׁ; הַגִּידָה-נָּא לִי, אֵיפֹה הֵם רֹעִים.

A man found him wandering in the field, and the man asked him “What are you looking for?”.  And he [Joseph] said, ‘I seek my brothers – Please tell me where they are tending the flock?”

The man then tells Joseph that he heard Joseph’s brothers talking about heading of to Dothan.  Joseph then heads on after them, and we never here again anything about the this mysterious man whom Joseph encountered.

Many of the traditional midrashim and Torah commentaries identify this unidentified person who finds Joseph wandering in the field as an angel. For example, the 11^th century commentator Rashi, reiterating earlier midrashim, comments on the words וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ אִישׁ  (A man found him), to say:

 זה גבריאל [שנאמר (דניאל ט כא) והאיש גבריאל

This is [the angel] Gabriel, as it is said  “And the man Gabriel” (Dan. 9:21).

We can draw a couple of lessons from this brief incident in Torah:

One such lesson comes if we focus on the idea of this mysterious person being a divine being sent by God to guide Joseph on his way.  Viewing the Torah text this way, it teaches us that we should always have faith, that even in the most difficult or confusing or stressful times, that, God is, in the words of the siddur --- hameychin metzadei gaver.  [ the One who guides the steps of each person.]

When we attend services at Temple, and when we engage in our own personal spiritual practice throughout our lives, we can have faith that this divine guidance exists. 

Our task then is to quiet ourselves and center ourselves sufficiently so that we can discern that guidance.  May our membership in this kehillah kedoshah, this holy congregation, strengthen us in our own journeys, especially when we, like Joseph, are “to'eh basadeh” (“wandering in the field.”)

Another kind of lesson comes when we think of the man whom Joseph encounters as simply that, an ordinary איש  (“ish”), an ordinary person.  Viewing the Torah text this way, it reminds us that each one of us, in each of our mundane activities, in each of our seemingly inconsequential encounters with one another, might have a profound affect on another person without even realizing it  -- just as that unidentified person in our parasha had on Joseph.  This reminds us that we must always be caring, sensitive and thoughtful in all our encounters with one another.  We really do at times function as “angels” in one another’s lives.  May our membership in this kehillah kedoshah, this  holy congregation,  continue to provide us with ample opportunities to help guide one another and to expand the realm of holiness in the world.

Amen.

Rabbi's report delivered to Temple Israel 2011/5772 Annual Meeting

Dear Temple members,

It continues to be a wonderful experience for me to serve as your Rabbi.  Now that I’m into my second year at Temple Israel, I’ve come farther along in getting to know, or at least making the acquaintance of, almost everyone in our Temple community.  I plan to continue to do my best to deepen and expand these relationships in the months and years to come.

Since our last annual meeting, I’ve led or participated in a number of life cycle events for Temple members, their families, and other folks in the local Jewish community including baby namings , a pidyon haben,  weddings,  conversions and  funerals.  Sadly, the latter type of life cycle event has been the most numerous.  However, I’ve also in the past year had the privilege of working with three of our teens as they were confirmed at Shavuot, the holiday known in our tradition as “Zeman Matan Torateynu” (“The Season of the Giving of the Torah”) and welcoming two new students with consecration at Simchat Torah, when our yearly Torah reading cycle starts anew.  In the meanwhile, I continue to teach, from the Bima, in Torah study group, in Hebrew school and in Adult Education.  And I’m particularly happy to be starting to engage in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation process with a new group of prospective 2013 Bnai Mitzvah and with a new group of confirmation students starting a two-year preparation towards confirmation in 2013.  In all of these endeavors, Andrea Buck has been a great professional partner with her excellent work as Youth Education Director.

In the past year I’ve been involved in numerous community events and meetings with individuals and groups seeking to learn about Judaism and the Jewish community, representing our congregation at such events as the City of Duluth’s September 11^th program, the interfaith Thanksgiving service and the CHUM holiday concert.   I’m especially happy that we’ve been able this year to deepen our congregation’s connections with Habitat for Humanity and with the Islamic Center of the Twin Ports, to name just a couple of initiatives.

In general, I have been feeling increasingly at home at Temple Israel and in Duluth, especially after the wonderfully warm installation I experienced here in May, and especially since my partner Peter was finally able to finish his own relocation to Duluth in August. 

This was my first year that I was able to begin really putting my stamp on how we conduct our High Holiday services.  As usual, Mike Grossman and the High Holiday committee did spectacular work, and I’m pleased that our new machzor (generously funded by the Lurye/Kuretsky  family) was such a hit.  And, as I’ve mentioned in recent Bulletin articles, the violin playing and choral conducting of Erin Aldridge, and the participation of the Temple Choir, at High Holidays were beautiful and inspiring.  Also on the ritual front, I’m so grateful to Temple Israel’s talented rabbinic aides, Gary Gordon, Linda Eason and Chris King, who have stepped in to assist with life cycle, service leading and pastoral tasks when I have been out of town for conferences or vacation.  In addition, Deborah Petersen Perlman, Trevor Swoverland, Maureen O’Brien, Sheryl Grana, Mark Weitz and Ben Yokel have also led services or Torah study in my absence and I’m grateful to them as well.  And Danny Frank and Casey Goldberg have been great musical partners in services throughout the year.  ( I’d also like to thank Danny for his musical accompaniment at the CHUM holiday concert last week.)

My priorities continue to be to serve the spiritual needs of the members of our congregation, to teach and represent Jewish culture and tradition within our congregation and in the wider community, and to work with all of you to further our people’s quest for Tikkun Olam  (“repair of the world”).

Through all this, it has been a particular pleasure to work with such dedicated and mentshlikh people as those who serve on our Temple staff:  Andrea Buck, Carrie Kayes, Pauline Russell, Marko Jukic , Marjeanne Tehven, and Dori and Ben Streit.  And it’s a joy to work with such capable and committed lay leadership at both the Board and Committee levels, led by our wonderful Temple president Neil Glazman.  Neil and I are off to Washington, DC next week for the Union for Reform Judaism biennial and I know we both look forward to connecting with Reform Jews from around North America and to reporting back to all of you about what we learn there.

Finally, I would like to thank our outgoing Board members, Ethan Kayes and David Siegler for all of their generous commitments of time and energy.  And welcome and best of luck to our incoming board members Danny Frank and Theresa Neo.   

May they and all of us go from strength to strength in the coming year.

L’shalom,

Rabbi David Steinberg

"Occupying" Shabbat

I really like this dvar torah that I encountered this morning.  You don't have to be Orthodox in your practice or theology in order to find meaning in this (at least that's my reaction to it).

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi David

http://noamdolgin.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-we-occupy-shabbat.html

Simchat Torah and Consecration - An article from the Union for Reform Judaism

[The following article was published this week as part of the URJ's "Ten Minutes of Torah" listserve.  If you would like to sign up to receive articles like this, please visit http://urj.org/learning/torah/ten/ .  And mazal tov to the children in our congregation who are being consecrated at our Simchat Torah service this evening.]  

What is Consecration? What is its connection to Reform Judaism?
by Barry Shainker

How many of us actually remember our own Consecration service? We were young, probably overwhelmed, and most likely unsure of the event’s significance. Aside from some paper flags, an uncomfortable clip-on tie, and a bunch of kids making a mad dash from the sanctuary to the social hall for cookies, today the only real memory I have of my Consecration is the picture which now hangs alongside the many others in the temple. But the meaning of the event is something that I have acquired over time. Looking back, I know that my Consecration began a lifelong experience of Jewish learning.

Consecration is a uniquely Reform event. According to historian Michael Meyer, the ceremony can be attributed to Rabbi David Einhorn, one of the early leading figures during Reform’s creation in Germany and later in the United States. Rabbi Einhorn was a proponent of placing spirituality over halachah (Jewish law), and so he suggested replacing circumcision with a consecration ritual as the opening event that would confirm a young boy’s life in the Jewish community.^1 2

The ceremony of Consecration marks the beginning on one’s Jewish learning, usually between the ages of 5 and 8, within an organized setting, for example a congregational religious school. When young people begin their study of Judaism, they are honored before the community as a new student and often presented with a certificate marking the occasion and gifts like miniature Torah scrolls. Many congregations will add other rituals to the ceremony such as a special blessing or a recitation of the Sh’ma.

Consecration services often take place at the end of the High Holiday season, usually as part of the congregation’s celebration for the holiday of Simchat Torah, meaning ‘joy or celebration of the Torah.’ The word “consecrate” in religious circles means an association with something holy, and throughout our tradition Jewish learning is considered a sacred task. What an appropriate time, then, to celebrate this milestone in a young person’s life. As the entire synagogue community joins in the hakafah (processional of the Torah) and Torah scrolls are unrolled for all to see, new students see the importance and centrality of this ancient and holy sourcebook. They also have the opportunity to see Judaism as a tradition that is interactive, celebratory, and engaging.

A textual basis for Consecration’s placement on this day might come from a custom of calling all in the community to hear the Torah on Sukkot, which is itself based on Deuteronomy 31:12.³ The text reads as God’s instructions to Moses: Gather the people – men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities – that they may hear and so learn to revere Adonai your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching.”⁴

While the overwhelming majority of synagogues follow this practice, a handful in our movement do not. Some see Consecration as a statement of dedication and therefore recognize their new students on Chanukah, one of most triumphant stories of renewal and survival in the history of the Jewish people. Others look to Shavuot, the spring holiday in which we celebrate Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai, and draw a direct parallel between the start of one’s Jewish education at Consecration and the reaffirmation of it as a young adult at Confirmation.

While most of our young people cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of this milestone, we hope that they will look back on the occasion in the years that follow with a new understanding. Consecration, like so many other rituals in our tradition, is about coming together to as a community to welcome new students and new families. Wherever the ceremony is celebrated on the calendar, we affirm our commitment and dedication to educating our young people in Jewish tradition. And, as we see the hope and spirit in our young people, we renew in ourselves a passion for Jewish learning that we hope to transmit to our children. 

Barry Shainker is currently an Education student at HUC-JIR in New York. He is also Educational Intern at Temple Sinai in Roslyn, NY. 

¹ Meyer, Michael A. Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism. Oxford UP: New York, 1999. p. 163 

² At the time, only young boys were recognized with a bris ritual, Consecration, Bar Mitzvah, or any other sort of ceremony. Similar services for girls would only be instituted years later, as the women’s liberation movement gained acceptance in Reform.

³ Knobel, Peter S. ed. Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year. CCAR Press: New York, 1983. p. 135. 

⁴ Translation from JPS Tanakh, 1999 ed.