August 28, 2009

Dear Friends:

L’Chayim! This ubiquitous word in Jewish life, our toast every time we raise our glasses, has now made it into a song that is popular among our teens (at least mine), and is heard regularly on the radio stations favored by that age group. (Mazel tov makes it into the song too!) If you are not an aficionado, or if you don’t have to fight over radio stations with your kids, the song is by Black Eyed Peas. Of course, I much prefer the melody and the message in the use of the word in Fiddler on the Roof. The bottom line is that through the best and worst that history has brought us, we always hold dear the supreme value of life.

This is so deeply and intrinsically connected to our existence that we are taught that the vast majority of laws found in the Torah not only can, but must be violated if we have the opportunity to save a life. This theme, known in Hebrew as Pikuach Nefesh, can be attached to many aspects of our existence today, but we have an interesting way to connect to this tradition on September 9th.

Within the Ashkenazi Jewish community (the vast majority of our congregants and of Jews in America today), there is a high risk of particular types of breast cancer tied to the BRCA gene. We have an obligation to work for the good health of everyone, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, but this one hit’s particularly close to home. We are blessed that four members of our congregation are prepared to do the hard work for us. From October 16-18, Stacey Kapushy, Carol Ruzow, Harvey Scolnick, and Sharon Wolman will all be participating in a 3 day, 60 mile walk to raise money for breast cancer research. Their walk, ending as it does on the 18th, coincides with our Mitzvah Day. In this case, though, we need you to do the mitzvah in advance.

All you have to do is contribute a small amount to Tzedakah. For a minimum donation of $10, you get the satisfaction of knowing you made a difference in helping to save lives, and you get to enjoy a spaghetti dinner (thanks to Lou and Marilyn Apostolico) as well. Everyone is invited, bring your friends from elsewhere in the community, celebrate the start of the new Hebrew School year. Please see the attached flyer for details.

Nearly 2000 years ago, the Talmud taught us that one who saves a single life is as if he saved the entire world. We make a donation and eat spaghetti, our Shaarai Shomayim team of four walks 60 miles each, and perhaps there are many lives that can be saved. Can I really expect that my $10 will make the difference? I don’t know. I do know that Pirkei Avot teaches us that even if we cannot complete the task, we still have to do our part. Let’s enjoy the evening and the meal together on September 9th. Please make your donations payable to the Mitzvah Fund marked for Spaghetti Dinner. I’ll see that the donations are then made to our individual walkers who have minimum donations they must reach.

In addition to this project, please see attachments for the major efforts being undertaken by our congregants, Andrew Godfrey and Melissa Bloom Eby to address other diseases. I invite and encourage your acts of tzedakah.

Don’t forget Yuri’s Bar Mitzvah tonight, and First Friday 6:00 service on the 4th.Shabbat Shalom u’m’vorach. Have a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.

Sincerely,

Jack P. Paskoff,

Rabbi

August 21, 2009

Dear Friends:

For all of you who have said, “I really should try Torah Study,” this is the time. Join us for study and services tomorrow morning. We will celebrate the conclusion of Exodus and begin Leviticus. 9:00-11:00. Please enter through the glass doors on Duke Street.

Sometimes those of us in Temple leadership put out lots of ideas and information and we are not really sure where it goes. I have been gratified over the last week at the response from those of you who want to continue receiving Ari’s e-mails from Israel. I was also gratified at the response I got to my e-mail last Friday. It seems that I touched on something as I received a significant number of responses from those who regularly ask, or were motivated to ask, “Where am I in my life?” While I would like to say that you were moved by my writing, I know the truth is that the upcoming Yamim Noraim, Days of Awe, just 4 weeks from tonight, have a timeless message for us. We have to remember that the question, “Where am I?” has two corollaries. The first is, “Where have I been?” and the second, “Where am I going?” With such weighty concerns, the Sephardic Jews actually understand something on a much deeper level than those of us who are Ashkenazic. With the start of the month of Elul today, they understand that it takes a whole month to prepare.

Asking “Where have I been?” might mean facing some pretty difficult realities about places where we have fallen short over the past year. Have I done my best within the context of family and community? Have I been fully present in my work? Have I added in some way to the good in the world? Did I meet some of the goals I set for myself? Have I challenged myself to grow intellectually and spiritually? Have I done anything to take better care of myself physically? Some may look at these questions and despair, wondering if we really accomplished anything at all over the past year, or if we have gotten stuck. Some may decide that this is a good time for self flagellation. As Jews, though, as much as we beat ourselves up over the holiday season, we know that the ultimate message of this time of year is one of hope.

Remember, the holiday season doesn’t end with the spiritual and physical hunger of Yom Kippur. It ends on Simchat Torah two weeks later. We sing and dance, we celebrate, we welcome new students to Jewish learning, and we read the story of creation from the beginning of the Torah. Here’s the bottom line. In Jewish life, every year, we begin again with creation. So what is it about me that I would like to be able to create again as if I were brand new?

Of course, there are things that are beyond my control. I will never have a full head of hair again. It will never be blond again. (Yes, it was until I was about 7 years old!) And I will never be 20 years old again. I can, however, be more loving, more generous, and more understanding. I can examine my relationships with other people, and I can ask how I can strengthen (or create) a relationship with God. Moreover, just as on the holidays we consider the sins which we committed as part of the collective of the Jewish people, we can also consider how we can look positively and cheerfully to the future, with confidence and determination, with the support of our community. Tomorrow morning, as we finish Exodus in Torah Study, we will say the time honored words, Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek, be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen each other. I count on all of you to help strengthen me in this High Holy Day endeavor, even as I offer my help and support to you. That’s where I hope to be going in the year ahead.

There’s a lot to think about at this time of year. Let’s spend the time together in prayer and study, and in connecting as a community.

Shabbat Shalom u’m’vorach. Have a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.

Sincerely,

Jack P. Paskoff,

Rabbi

August 14, 2009

Dear Friends:

Earlier this week, I exchanged e-mails with a congregant. She indicated that she had arrived at a point in her life where she never expected to be and wasn’t necessarily happy about being there. I responded with a rabbinic platitude: “Sometimes we’re not where we expect to be, and sometimes we’re not where we want to be, but for some strange reason we may never understand, is it possible that we are where we are supposed to be?” As with many platitudes, I then had to figure out if I believed it myself.

I thought back on my own life. I thought about places I had arrived at by my own volition, by apparent coincidence, and by mistake. I thought about times I ended up taking a circuitous path to a fairly simple destination. I remembered times I ended up being where I didn’t want to be, but had no choice about. I remembered times when the path was clear, but I fought against it anyway. I thought of the people I met, the lessons I learned, and the blessings I discovered. Maybe it wasn’t a platitude after all.

I frequently find myself thinking about something David Stameshkin says, quoting former F&M chaplain, Barbara Brummett. With apologies to both David and Barb for the likely mangling of this in my memory, I remember the line as, “Wherever you are, be there.” How often do we find ourselves not fully engaged in a conversation or a task? How often are we anticipating the next word or step, or analyzing the last, without fully being present in the here and now? How often do we ask how we got here rather than what am I supposed to be doing here?

The first question asked in the Torah is “Where are you?” The answer given is an excuse rather than a location (See Genesis 3:9 and 10). Only occasionally in the Torah is someone summoned, either by God or by another person, and answers Hineini—Here I am, fully at your disposable, ready for what may come. Why does it seem that we are so much better at excuses than genuine presence? How long before we lose ourselves in the process, and we’re forced to ask, “Where am I?”

Several years ago, when we started doing a service on the second morning of Rosh Ha-Shanah, I pulled together a variety of readings on different themes for a creative service. Based on a story I came across, I called the service booklet, “Where am I?” Yes, it is time to start getting ready for the holiday season. Next Friday we begin the month of Elul, the preparatory month before Rosh Ha-Shanah. Let’s use that time for the kind of introspection it deserves.

There are a number of people who are troubled by the weighty tone of the holidays, and by the message of judgment that comes across. We hear that God judges us, and in keeping with the prevailing atmosphere of the day, we reject any form of judgment, whether it is a teacher judging the work of a student a boss evaluating an employee, or God judging our morality. The slogan of non-judgmentalism keeps us from having to engage in the most frightening judgment of all, an honest judgment of ourselves. That’s what the holidays, done right, really require of us.

While Rosh Ha-Shanah is still 5 weeks away, let’s begin now. I look forward to hearing your thoughts with the hope that you might share them with me in response to this e-mail. I look forward to growing as an individual and as a community as we ask ourselves, individually and collectively, where am I, and as we learn to more readily and honestly answer, Hineini.

Shabbat Shalom u’m’vorach. Have a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.

Sincerely,

Jack P. Paskoff,

Rabbi

August 07, 2009

Ekev Deut. 7:12-11:25

Dear Friends:

Don’t forget our First Friday 6:00 service tonight.  Let’s welcome Shabbat together, wish Aaron Giaco Mazel Tov on becoming a Bar Mitzvah, and enjoy the offerings of downtown Lancaster.

Here are a few questions to consider:
1) What can we learn from our ancestors of Biblical times about how to come closer to God?
2) What are the things we would be willing to sacrifice for God and for our people?
3) What is the meaning of sin, and how do we achieve forgiveness?
4) What are the dietary laws, why might they have come about, and what might they mean to the modern Reform Jew?
5) The Torah was deeply concerned about blood—-the blood of the sacrifices, menstrual blood, and blood in the food we eat.  Why the emphasis on blood?
6) A disease (usually thought of as Leprosy, but probably not) was terrifying to our ancestors.  Why the fascination and why the fear?  Who are the lepers in our world today, and who cares for them?
7) The Torah had a lot to say about appropriate and inappropriate sexual relations.  We would agree with most of their classifications, and many of us would be offended by others.  Why would the Torah feel the need to delve into this subject, and how can these laws be applied today?
8) What does it mean to live a life of holiness?
9) How were the holidays observed in antiquity?  Is there anything of their experience that can be applied to our celebrations and observances today?

While the book of Leviticus has often been the target of my (bad) jokes and ridicule, a thorough study of this book of the Torah gives us the opportunity to explore these themes, among others.  While we have just started reading D’varim (Deuteronomy) liturgically, our Shabbat morning Torah study group is getting ready to start Va-Yikra (Leviticus,) and we would love to have you join us.  On Shabbat morning, August 22, meet with us from 9-11.  We’ll share in a siyyum (celebration marking the end of a program of study,) in this case, our two-plus year study of Sh’mot (Exodus) and begin Leviticus.

(Usually we meet from 9-10, or 9-10:30.  Our session will be extended in the 22nd to give us time to have breakfast together.  Please let me know to expect you so we have enough food!  Dress is casual.  No prior knowledge is necessary.)

Why start now, in the middle of the Torah?  Explanation to follow, but trust me that it is completely appropriate.  For those who want to start Torah study with B’reishit (Genesis,) watch for the formation of a new Torah study group in October.

Lots to learn!  Lots of good community to join with!  Be part of our Shabbat morning experience.

Shabbat Shalom u’m’vorach.  Have a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.

Sincerely,
Jack P. Paskoff,
Rabbi