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4 Iyar 5768   May 9, 2008    Torah portion: Emor Lev. 21:1-24:23

Dear Friends:

           I was so pleased to see so many of you at our various events this week that began with the burial of our books at our cemetery on Sunday. Please remember that our celebration of Israel at 60 lasts through Sunday morning. While you are coming into the building this weekend, don’t forget your bags of groceries or your checks made out to the Lancaster County Council of Churches, with “Food bank” in the memo line. Checks can be left in the office, and the bags of food in the lobby in front of the office.

           The book burial was a first for me, and I assume for most of us. As long as I have been a rabbi, I am always amazed at the things that will capture the imaginations of our congregants. The book burial was such an event. Our school had a delightful day to walk over to our cemetery, and they were met there by many adults. Most of the people there had never been to the cemetery, which gave me the opportunity teach a little about our history, going back to Joseph Simon and the purchase of the cemetery in 1747. The service itself was short, but something very interesting happened. Many of the students looked at the books in the grave and asked if they could have one. After reminding them that these books were to be treasured and placed with care in a special place, the children took a number of the books, some even approaching the grave to take a book as the hole was being filled.

          I don’t know what motivated each child, but I like to think they were seeking connection to something old, something of our people and our community that goes back a significant number of years. For a number of years now we have spoken with fear about the future of the Jewish people and the weakened connection between Jews today and our faith, people, and traditions. Without being prompted by parents, these young people, through the simple act of asking for a book, restored my faith. They wanted something tangible from the past to bring into the future.

          I had a similar sense watching people of all ages, from 2 or 3 years of age up to our senior members, who wanted to do their part to help fill in the grave, as is traditional at a funeral for a person. There was quite a line waiting to help symbolically by placing 2 or 3 shovels of earth into the open grave, but then there was a small group ranging in age from 8 years to people in their 60’s, who were committed to helping fill the entire hole. When our patriarch, Jacob, was facing his death, he asked his son Joseph to treat him with Chesed v’emet—true kindness—when it came time for him to die. Our books were buried with such kindness by the members of our congregation. They were buried in a corner in the shade of some trees, a reminder that the greatest of all of our books, the Torah, is our Etz Chayyim, our Tree of Life. It was a day of learning and connection for all of us.

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

Sincerely,

Jack P. Paskoff,

Rabbi