Thoughts on Sukkot (5771/2010)

(I delivered this dvar torah at our Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot service on Friday evening 9/24/10)

Earlier this evening we read together a beautiful passage from our siddur composed by Rabbi Sidney Greenberg, a prominent Conservative rabbi who passed away in 2003.  Let me read it again because it bears repeating:

May the door of this synagogue be wide enough

to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for friendship.

May it welcome all who have cares to unburden,

thanks to express, hopes to nurture.

May the door of this synagogue be narrow enough

to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.

May its threshold be no stumbling block

to young or straying feet.

May it be too high to admit complacency,

selfishness and harshness.

May this synagogue be, for all who enter,

the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life.

Underlying the words of Rabbi Greenberg’s prayer is the understanding that whenever we gather here, the hopes, backgrounds, anxieties, joys, talents and quirks that we bring with us are varied and diverse.  But our tradition teaches that it is IN PARTICULAR when we are together as one community in prayer that we access the holy in a way we can’t do alone – no matter how rich our individual spiritual practices may be.  As we read in Leviticus 22:32 (part of the traditional reading for the first day of Sukkot ):

“Do not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel (Hebrew: “VENIKDASHTI BETOKH BNAI YISRAEL”)-- , I, the Eternal who sanctifies you.”

A traditional Chasidic teaching explains:   “When a person is singing and cannot lift their voice, and another comes and sings with them, another who CAN lift their voice, the first will be able to lift their voice too.  This is the secret of the bond between spirits”  (Hasidic teaching, cited Siddur Hadesh Yameinu , p. 101)

We need each other – and our own spirituality is nourished by our time together in this Bet Tefillah/ house of prayer, This Bet Midrash/  House of Study  -- This Bet Knesset/ This House of Assembly and Meeting. 

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Posted on October 1, 2010 by Rabbi David.

Two Fall Holidays Down -- Two More to Go!

It was wonderful seeing everyone at Temple for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (not to mention a good crowd for Shabbat Shuvah in between).  Wishing everyone a joyous Sukkot, the weeklong Jewish fall harvest festival, which starts this Wednesday evening 9/22 on the full moon of Tishri.  Here's a link to nice little cartoon about Sukkot from the website http://www.g-dcast.com/  

Students in our Hebrew/Religious School will be decorating the Sukkah on Wednesday afternoon -- but all ages are invited.  Then the congregational  Sukkot service and potluck dinner will take place on Friday evening.  

Sukkot is the most universal of Jewish holidays while at the same time celebrating the diversity within the Jewish community.  I plan to speak about these themes on Friday evening.  I hope to see you there!

(and of course we have Shabbat morning services on Saturday morning as well -- check them out if you're not already a Saturday morning "regular"!)

And on Friday October 1st we'll close the fall holiday season with a festive celebration of Simchat Torah as we finish the Torah and wind it back to the beginning of Genesis.  We'll be dancing with the scrolls and we'll also welcome a large group of young people from the Duluth Playhouse children's theatre who are preparing a production of Fiddler on the Roof and will be sharing some of their music with us during the service.

Let the merrymaking commence!

Chag Sameach/Gut Yontif

Rabbi David

 

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Rabbi David.

RRA Statement on Park51

[The following is a statement from my professional association, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.   I fully support this position.    Rabbi David Steinberg 8/31/10]

August 25, 2010 / 16 Elul 5770

“RRA STATEMENT on PARK 51”

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) has watched the conversation unfold around Park51, the proposed community center in lower Manhattan, with deep concern. We fully recognize the strong sentiments that have been aroused, and the passionate expressions of grief that are still raw for many families. As Jews and as rabbis, however, we want to state unambiguously our commitment to the principle of the free exercise of religion, a principle that has allowed Jewish Americans to flourish in this country.

Park51 is a project that seeks to emulate communal institutional expressions of other religious traditions like the YMCA and the JCC which not only provide for their respective faith communities to come together for social and educational offerings, but more importantly, are open to the larger neighborhood regardless of religious affiliation.  As Reconstructionist Jews, we understand that peoplehood is at the core of these institutions - reflecting that Americans of all faiths live in two civilizations simultaneously and Park51 is an opportunity for American Muslims to celebrate their history, traditions and heritage in the embrace of one of the highest American ideals, that of freedom of religion.

We commend Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama for their support of this project and urge them both to be strong and of good courage in the face of rising hate speech and condemnation of the voices of tolerance.   We call on Jews of all denominations to oppose the dangerous rise in these debates and protests.  At this time on the Jewish calendar of moral introspection and teshuvah (returning and repenting), we call on our rabbis to work with their communities to turn toward the kind of America we want to live in going forward, one whose deep commitment to religious pluralism will be strengthened, for Muslim Americans and for all of us.

 

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Rabbi David.

Renewing Our Days

“Hashiveynu Adonai, eylekha venashuvah, chadesh yameinu kekedem.” (“Cause us to return to you, Adonai, and we will return; renew our days as in days of old.”). Each Shabbat morning, these words from Megillat Eycha (The Book of Lamentations) accompany our return of the Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) to the ark at the end of the Torah Service.  

I’ve long been struck by this verse --- by its spirit of partnership between God and humanity, by its hopefulness, and by its acknowledgement of the interplay among past, present and future.  We treasure our ancient traditions, while seeking ongoing spiritual and cultural renewal. 

In particular, I often find myself thinking about this verse at times of transition in my own life. I’m writing this article less than a month after I have begun work here at Temple Israel as your new rabbi.  As with any person coming into a new position, I still have plenty to learn about the workings of the place.  However, from the first day here (and indeed for months prior to my arrival) I have been bowled over by the warm welcome that all of you have given to me and Peter.  Thank you so much for your kindness – and thanks in advance for bearing with me while I’m still on my “learning curve” here.

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Posted on August 18, 2010 by Rabbi David.