Join Us for A Musical Salute to Molly Picon, Star of the Yiddish Theatre!

Join us this Sunday, June 2nd, at 3 PM 

as Congregation Adas Emuno presents…

“A Musical Salute to Molly Picon, 

Star of the Yiddish Theatre!”

featuring Diane Cypkin

Dr. Diane Cypkin has appeared in many Yiddish language musical productions spanning more than two decades.  In a “Musical Salute to Molly Picon, Star of the Yiddish Theatre!” Dr. Cypkin tells—through English narration—the life story of this exciting First Lady of the Yiddish Stage through the countless songs she sang and often wrote during her many, many years on the Yiddish stage.  Indeed, the concert is a cornucopia, a beautiful bouquet, of tangos, waltzes, and fox-trots, that will have you humming for days.  In sum, the concert is a tribute to a legend!

Suggested donation: $10 at the door. 

Lite refreshments served.

Sponsored by

The Edward M. Cramer Musical Programming Fund

&

The Adas Emuno Adult Education Committee

All Ages Welcome

Dr. Diane Cypkin has appeared in many Yiddish language musical productions spanning more than two decades. She was Sheyne, opposite Joseph Buloff in Ossip Dymov’s Yoshke Muzikant (Joseph the Musician) at the Folksbiene Playhouse; Beylke, David Opatoshu’s daughter, in Sholom Aleichem’s Dos Groyse Gevins (The Big Winner) at the Eden Theatre; Gitale in Ben Bonus’s production of Light, Lively, and Yiddish at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway; and Tsirl in the Mary Soriano presentation Di Yidishe Tsigaynerke (The Jewish Gypsy) at Town Hall in New York. 

 Dr. Cypkin has done a great deal of concert work. Some highlights: in New York, in conjunction with her exhibition at Lincoln Center entitled, Molly Picon: Yiddish Star, American Star; she presented a lecture/concert on “Molly Picon and Her Yiddish Music”; in Washington DC, she gave a concert of her father’s—Abraham Cypkin’s—songs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum when the museum presented an exhibition on the Kovno Ghetto of Lithuania. Diane is a child of survivors. In 1981, she sang at the World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Cypkin has worked in the English-speaking theatre as both singer and actor in shows at the Soho Repertory Theatre, the New York Theatre Workshop, the Jan Hus Playhouse, and the Three Muses Theatre. In addition, she has directed productions of The World of Sholom Aleichem, The Theatre of Peretz, and Green Fields. 

On the academic side, in 2007, she curated the aforementioned exceptionally well-received exhibition at Lincoln Center, New York on Molly Picon. For almost ten years she was Yiddish Theatre Consultant at the Museum of the City of New York and curated the highly successful exhibition, A Celebration: 100 Years of Yiddish Theatre in New York. For the past twenty years, Dr. Cypkin has reviewed books for Martyrdom and Resistance, a newspaper published by Yad Vashem. Dr. Cypkin is presently Professor of Media, Communication, and Visual Arts at Pace University in New York. She has been there twenty years. She is a recipient of the Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence and the Pace University President’s “Extra Mile” Award. 

In a “Musical Salute to Molly Picon, Star of the Yiddish Theatre!” Dr. Cypkin tells—through English narration—the life story of this exciting First Lady of the Yiddish Stage through the countless songs she sang and often wrote during her many, many years on the Yiddish stage. Indeed, the concert is a cornucopia, a beautiful bouquet, of tangos, waltzes, and fox-trots, that will have you humming for days. In sum, the concert is a tribute to a legend!

The Story of Hatikvah

In observance of Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day, and in celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, we are pleased to share this moving video on Hatikvah:

Hatikvah, Hebrew for The Hope, is Israel's national anthem, and as this documentary explains, the story of Hatikvah, like the story of Israel, and the story of the Jewish people, is complicated. But the sentiment it expresses is simple, and straightforward. Here are the lyrics:

And while we're on the subject, here is a video from 1978, featuring Barbra Streisand in telephone conversation with Golda Meir during the network broadcast of The Stars Salute Israel at 30, followed by Barbra singing Hatikvah:





And so we say, Yom Huledet Same'ach to Eretz Yisrael, to the State of Israel, 65 years old now! 

Happy Independence Day!  

Autumn Religious School News

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News from

Annice Benamy, Religious School Director

I love autumn.  I love seeing the leaves change color, the briskness of the air, football season, and the smell of wood burning from fireplaces.  There is just something about the autumn months that give me a sense of calm.  

Each week I produce an on-line newsletter called “What’s New at Adas Emuno Religious School?”  I email it to all the religious school families.  If I know about an event or news, I will include it.   

• If you are a religious school family, please take the time to read the information in the newsletter. There is a lot of information about religious school and activities for you to read.

• If you would like to receive an on-line copy of the newsletter, please email me at adasschool at gmail.com so I can add you to our contact list.  There is a lot of information about general Temple activities including Social Action, Adult Education, and Beginning Adult Hebrew.

The following article was included in a recent “What’s New?” newsletter.  Every month we celebrate Rosh Chodesh–the new moon–and this month is Cheshvan.  Typically, women get together in groups to celebrate the new moon with readings, song, and prayer.  How much do you know about Cheshvan?  Here are facts about Cheshvan taken from: Sourcebook for Leaders, written by Rabbi Rachel Gartner and Barbara Berley Melits, Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!  

Fast Facts

1. Cheshvan is the eighth of the twelve months on the Jewish calendar. 

2. Cheshvan comes at the same time as the secular months of October/November. Pumpkins, squash, and gourds have arrived, reminding us of the cycle of planting and harvesting. Nature begins to hibernate, and mirroring this process, we too slow down and turn inward 

3. The constellation for Cheshvan is Scorpio מזל העקרב
(mazal akrav–the scorpion).

Features  

4. Cheshvan is often referred to as מר mar Cheshvan, "bitter." Cheshvan is also referred to as “bitter” because the month contains no holy days, and because it often coincides with the arrival of colder weather. מר "Mar" can also mean a drop of water. According to a מדרש midrash, more rain falls in "watery Cheshvan" since it marks the beginning of the great flood during the time of Noah. We can also think of Cheshvan as a quiet time to reap the benefits of the spiritual growth of the preceding month of Tishrei.

Fabulous Females of Cheshvan 

Cheshvan contains the yahrzeits of many important women in Jewish history including: 

1. Rachel Imeynu (our foremother) who, along with her sister Leah and their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah, gave birth to the twelve sons who were to become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. Deeply loved by her husband Jacob, Rachel, like her son Joseph, is celebrated for her remarkable beauty. And like Sarah, Rachel was barren for many years. Ultimately she accomplished her goal of childbearing through her courage and persistence. Sadly, Rachel died in childbirth with her second son, Benjamin.Tradition teaches that Rachel died on the 11th of Cheshvan and that she is buried in Kever Rachel (Rachel's tomb), outside of Bethlehem, where she is said to weep for all of us, her children. Our foremother Rachel is remembered for her compassion, perseverance, and devotion. 

2. Poet Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) wrote the famous sonnet welcoming new immigrants to America that is engraved on the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus' paternal ancestors were among the first twenty-three Jews to settle in New York in 1654. Her yahrzeit is the 19th of Cheshvan.  Emma Lazurus teaches us to welcome people from all backgrounds, to help those less fortunate than ourselves, and to pursue our artistic passions. 

3. Author, Zionist and war hero Hannah Senesh (1921-1944) was born in Hungary and made עלייה aliyah (immigrated) to Palestine. Senesh was captured and executed while courageously trying to save Hungarian Jews from the Nazis.  Her yahrzeit is the 20th of Cheshvan.  Hannah Senesh's poem “Halihah Lekeysaryah” became popularized as the lyrics to the beloved song Eli, Eli.  Hannah Senesh is a model of bravery and righteousness whose allegiance to the Jewish people and Israel surpassed everything else in her life. 

4. Author Anzia Yezierska (1883-1970) wrote novels and short stories that vividly depict immigrant life in New York's Lower East Side. Her yahrzeit is the 22nd of Cheshvan. Perhaps her most famous book, The Breadgivers, takes us inside an early 20th-century American immigrant Jewish family in which Sarah, the narrator, struggles to find fulfillment through education, work, and love.  Anzia Yezierska teaches us about the power of observation and the joys of storytelling.

To learn more about Rosh Chodesh or the month of Cheshvan, visit www.ritualwell.org.             

L’Shalom, Annice

Reform Judaism's Gold Medal Gymnast Aly Raisman

Olympian Aly Raisman's Rabbi Says Her Gold Medals Inspire Jewish Community reads the headline of an article written by Jaclyn Reiss for the Boston Globe on August 8, the day after Aly won two Olympic Medals, one Gold and one Bronze, for her spectacular showing in women's gymnastics.

The article begins with the Raisman's Rabbi, Keith Stern:

The rabbi of the Newton synagogue where Aly Raisman attends said he and the Jewish community have been proudly looking on over the last few weeks as she has made her way to Olympic glory. 

The Raismans joined Temple Beth Avodah, a reform synagogue, in Newton about 15 years ago, and put Aly through Hebrew school starting when she was in pre-school all the way up until her Bat Mitzvah at age 13, said Rabbi Keith Stern, who has been at the temple for 16 years.

 "I would say her family is a very proud Jewishly-connected family, in terms of their sense of who and what they are," Stern said in an interview Wednesday. "It reflects on what they do in the world and on their basic values."

Stern said that he has known Raisman since she was a little girl, and praised her caring personality. 

"Truly, from pre-school on, she has always been a sweet, confident, very focused person, who always comes through and who cared about other people," Stern said. "She has a natural inclination to make sure people are okay and to make sure they're happy." 

He also said that Raisman's personality traits shone as she served as captain and led the American gymnastics team to gold.

Before continuing on with the article, the exceptional personality traits that Rabbi Stern refers to can be seen quite well in the following short video on Aly Raisman's Olympic Workout produced by Yahoo Sports posted last month:

And now, to return to the article, Reiss continues with another quote from Raisman's Rabbi:

"Watching her during Olympics, she is the perfect captain because she has this ability to look at the group and make sure everybody is okay, and does it in a way that’s so natural for her," Stern said. "I think it significantly reflects the idea that being a Jew is worrying not just about your own immediate family, but also the people you’re with - their welfare, their needs. That’s a significant reflection of a Jewish upbringing." 

Stern said he liked Raisman's choice of "Hava Nagila," a popular Hebrew folk song associated with celebrations, as the background music of her floor routine.

And here is some amateur footage of her doing her individual all-around routine to Hava Nagila on July 29th:





She tied for 3rd place, but lost the Bronze Medal on the tie-breaker, coming in fourth on that event, although she did receive a Gold Medal as part of the USA's fab five winning the Women's Gymnastics Team event (where she also did a floor routine to Hava Nagila).  But on August 7th, she won the Bronze Medal in the balance beam final, and then went on to win a Gold Medal in the floor final, once again to the tune of Hava Nagila! NBC isn't allowing us to embed the video, but you can watch her amazing performance on their Olympic coverage site.

Back at the article, Reiss returns once again to Rabbi Stern:

He said the version Raisman used "rocked the way she needed it to rock," and speculated that Raisman might have used it to pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of the 1972 terrorist attack on 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. 

"In a way, it indicates Aly’s Jewish life is so integrated into her entire soul, that I don’t think she was looking to make a statement as a Jew," he said. "I think it was so natural to her that it's more like, why wouldn’t she use the Hora? It shows again her confidence and tradition in a really fundamental way." 

Stern said he thinks Jewish Americans feel connected to Raisman, and have been cheering her on at the Olympics. Rabbi Jay Perlman of the Temple Beth Shalom in Needham hit a similar theme in a recent blog post, mentioning the song she chose and her connection to the community. 

"Aly, not surprisingly, was exceptionally gracious following (as she was graceful during) yesterday’s individuals competition. She celebrated her teammates. And she expressed appreciation for all that she had accomplished and for those who have supported her,'' Perlman wrote. "We are so happy to see Aly shine as a role model of dedication, hard work, and team work. And I know that we all look forward to – soon – welcoming her and her family home to Needham.''

In his blog post, Rabbi Needham also said that "a number of people have commented that they found it refreshing that Aly chose 'Hava Nagila' for her floor routine….. that Aly so proudly shared her Jewish identity with the world."

 Aly's choice of Hava Nagila was was especially poignant in light of the International Olympic Committee's refusal to observe a minute of silence in memory of the Munich 11, the eleven Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists, with the aid of German neo-Nazis, forty years ago at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany (see our previous post, One Minute of Silence for the Munich 11).  In a New York Post article by Leonard Greene dated August 8 and entitled Jewish Gal Shows Up IOC with a Gold Salute to Munich 11, he opens with a quote and a reference to IOC President Jacques Roggue:

“I can only imagine how painful it must be for the families and close personal friends of the victims.”

But by refusing to hit the pause button for a measly 60 seconds, Roggue and other organizers have committed a sin nearly as grave as denying there was ever a Holocaust.

Were it not for young Aly and her wedding dance/bat mitzvah accompaniment, the Munich dead may have never gotten their due.

“I am Jewish, that’s why I wanted that floor music,’’ Raisman said.

“I wanted something the crowd could clap to, especially being here in London.

“It makes it even much more if the audience is going through everything with you. That was really cool and fun to hear the audience clapping.’’

The significance of Raisman's musical statement was driven home by Meredith Bennett-Smith in a piece written for the Huffington Post, also date August 8th, under the title of Aly Raisman, Olympic Gymnast, Honors 'Munich 11' And Her Jewish Heritage After Winning Gold:

Aly Raisman was not alive when the Black September Palestinian militant group infiltrated the Olympic Village at the 1972 Munich Games, but on Tuesday, the 18-year-old gymnast said she would have supported a moment of silence in their honor.

 In light of the 40th anniversary of the tragedy -- which resulted in the death of 11 athletes and coaches -- relatives and supporters of the Munich victims had redoubled their efforts to have a moment of silence observed during the opening ceremonies in London. 

But in a decision that drew widespread criticism, International Olympic Committee President Jaques Roggue refused to allow any such remembrance, announcing in May that the "IOC has officially paid tribute to the memory of the athletes on several occasions," and would not be doing so in London, according to USA Today.

However, after Raisman mounted the podium to accept her individual gold medal in the women's floor exercises Tuesday, she showed maturity and poise as she addressed the Munich controversy head on.

Bennett-Smith goes on to reference Green's New York Post article:

“If there had been a moment’s silence,” Raisman said, “I would have supported it and respected it," the New York Post notes.

For many, the gymnast's routine, which was performed to the traditional Hebrew folk tune, “Hava Nagila,” added an extra layer of poignancy.

“Having that floor music wasn’t intentional,” Raisman told reporters. “But the fact it was on the 40th anniversary is special, and winning the gold today means a lot to me.”

The Jewish community has rallied around the young star, much as it has other athletes who have found their own ways to honor their fallen peers.

The next paragraph makes reference to a survivor of Auschwitz, Max Goldschmidt, who moved to France after the war, and married Fabien Gilot's grandmother:

Fabien Gilot, a French swimmer, made headlines with his own moving tattoo tribute. The Hebrew lettering on his arm: אני כלום בלעדיהם, meaning, "I am nothing without them," was a tribute to a Jewish grandfather figure, Gilot said.

The article continues, citing the Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

The Italian delegation also made its own moving gesture of solidarity earlier in the games, holding a minute of silence with a number of Israeli representatives inside the Olympic Village, Haaretz reports.

The Haaretz article, filed July 30th with the title, In Solidarity with Israel, Italy Holds Munich Olympics Memorial, relates the following:

The Italian delegation to the 2012 London Olympiad made an emotional gesture at the Olympic village on Sunday by holding a minute of silence together with a number of Israeli representatives for the 11 victims of the 1972 Munich massacre. 

Over 30 members of the Italian delegation - headed by Sports Minister Piero Gnudi, Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Petrucci and International Olympic Committee member Franco Carraro - held the ceremony near the Israelis' quarters. 

Israel was represented by Zvi Varshaviak, chairman of the Olympic Committee of Israel; Efraim Zinger, head of the Olympic delegation; shooter Sergey Richter on behalf of the athletes; and Guy Strik on behalf of the coaches. 

Varshaviak said the gesture was beautiful and moving. "It's a brave sign of solidarity and friendship between the Olympic family of Italy and that of Israel, which has continued for many years," he said. 

Zinger thanked the Italians and explained to them that his committee is doing everything to memorialize the 11 Munich victims as Israelis. However, he said, it is important to remember that they were also Olympic athletes, coaches and judges who were murdered during athe Olympics. 

"Therefore they are children of the Olympic movement and in our opinion it is the moral obligation of the International Olympic Committee to find a suitable way to perpetuate their memory," Zinger added.

To Italy, we send our most heartfelt grazie tanto, grazie mille!

And back at the Huffington Post, Bennett-Smith ends her article by noting

Before the start of the games, a petition with more than 107,00 signatures, including that of Barack Obama, was presented to Roggue in London, asking that he reverse his decision and allow the moment of silence to be observed. 

Roggue, however was unmoved.

Now, returning to Raisman, did you happen to see the front page of Wednesday's New York Post? If not, have a look:

And let's return to Leonard Greene's New York Post report:

Raisman’s eyes opened as wide as the gold medal she would win when the judges announced her score of 15.600 points after her mistake-free routine.

Her top finish was the first by an American woman in the Olympic floor exercise, and the win gave Raisman her second gold medal. Raisman admitted the 40th anniversary of the Munich Games made her “hora” gold even more special.

“That was the best floor performance I’ve ever done, and to do it for the Olympics is like a dream,’’ Raisman said. 

Raisman did not go to the Games with the star power of her teammate Gabrielle Douglas or the résumé of world champion Jordyn Wieber.

But those who know her best said she works as hard as anyone, and, more importantly, her heart is in the right place.

‘’I’m so happy for Aly,” Douglas, the first African-American to win the all-around title, said after the floor competition. “She deserves to be up on that podium.’’

Greene went on to quote Rabbi Stern as well:

She is a focused person,” said Rabbi Keith Stern, spiritual leader of Temple Beth Avodah in Newton Centre, Mass., where the Raisman family are members.

“She’s very proud and upfront about being Jewish. Neither she nor her family explicitly sought to send a message. But it shows how very integrated her Jewish heritage is in everything that she does.”

Stern said he remembers picking up young Aly from preschool, and never imagined she’d be some sort of megastar.

He described the US team captain as a big sister-type who is a mother hen to all her younger siblings.

“I can’t wait to have her at the temple to talk about her experience,” he said.

“I know her sister’s bat mitzvah is coming up, so maybe I’ll catch up with her then.”

Stern said that he, too, was stunned by the IOC’s refusal to hold a moment of silence.

“I’m happy to hear any other explanation,” Stern said. “But short of some racist grudge somebody is holding, I can’t figure out why it would be a terrible thing to do.”

Stern said he watched the routine and was blown away. Even so, he said he is more proud of Raisman’s gold mettle than he is of the new jewelry around her neck.

“I have to say, the statement just warmed me to the very depths of my being,” Stern said.

He compared it to the iconic black-power, raised-fist protest made by track stars John Carlos and Tommie Smith on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

“They’re not going to forget that,” the rabbi said. “I certainly won’t.”

Finally, getting back to the Boston Globe, let's hear from Rabbi Stern one more time:

Stern, in an interview Wednesday, added: "I think we’re all puffing out our chests as far as we can go - we’re all so proud of her," he said. "Jewish people often do this - if something happens to another Jewish person, it becomes personal, and now every Jewish family feels related to Aly in some sort of unique way, and feels pride in her success."

"The idea of a highly-trained, highly-successful athlete really reflects a kind of pride of who and what we are as Jews living in the world today, particularly as American citizens," Stern said.

And when Raisman finally steps off the plane from London next week?

"I’ll be in line to greet her with Wheaties and Sports Illustrated," Stern laughed. "We’ll be waiting at the temple whenever the Raismans are ready to join us."

And there she is, showing us her Gold Medal, Alexandra Rose Raisman, one of America's, and Reform Judaism's, finest atheletes!  Mazel tov, Aly, mazel tov!

Hannah Arendt, Jewish Philosopher

Hannah Arendt was a 20th century German-Jewish philosopher who managed to escape from the Nazis and immigrate to the United States, where she became famous for, among other things, her writing about the trial of Adolph Eichmann, the Nazi in charge of the concentration camps and one of the principle individuals who organized the Holocaust (the trial was held in Jerusalem, and remains the only exception to Israel's ban on the death penalty in the history of the Jewish state).  

Arendt's famous phrase for describing Eichmann, whose defense was that he was only following orders, is the banality of evil.  It serves as a chilling reminder of the ease with which ordinary people can slip into a situation where they freely engage in acts of cruelty and violence, acts that they would otherwise condemn as immoral, and evil.

Of course, there is much more to Hannah Arendt's life and work than this, and there is a center devoted to her thought located at the institution where she taught for many years (and where she bequeathed her papers), Bard College in nearby Annandale-on-the Hudson, New York.  The Hannah Arendt Center there hosts their own blog, and I was honored to be asked to be a guest blogger for them last month.


The title of the post I produced for them is Violence, Power, Technology, and Identity, and it being a somewhat lengthy essay, as blog posts go, I won't reproduce it here.  But I will share the first few paragraphs of the post, as they include some items of Jewish interest:

Last week I attended a public lecture at Fordham University given by Richard Bernstein, a philosopher on the faculty of the New School, the subject of the lecture being "Hannah Arendt on Power and Violence" and the sponsor being Fordham's Philosophy Department. 

The lecture began with some discussion of who Hannah Arendt was, e.g., German-Jewish intellectual, had an affair with Martin Heidegger when she was an 18-year-old student and he was a married professor in his 30s, wrote her dissertation on St. Augustine, escaped from Nazi Germany before things got really bad, met and became friends with Walter Benjamin in Paris, unlike Benjamin was able to escape to the United States, and famously wrote about totalitarianism, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann (architect of the Nazi concentration camps) and the banality of evil (which sums up my own previous encounter with Arendt's thought).  Of course, that's just a cursory summary of a rich and eventful life. 

I joined a few of my colleagues from the Philosophy Department at Fordham and met with Bernstein prior to the lecture for some discussion, and he mentioned that, although Arendt was not a practicing Jew, at the end she asked that someone say Kaddish for her at her funeral. 

Admittedly, it's not all that unheard of for folks to suddenly get religion when the end is near (no atheists in foxholes, as the saying goes), and for individuals who have been disconnected from their traditions to suddenly want to reconnect.  But what I found poignant about this request is that she asked for someone, rather than someone specific, which I take to be a sign of isolation in that typically it would be the immediate family who would say the prayer.  No doubt, there were many who said Kaddish on her behalf, not the least on account of her significant work during and after World War II on behalf of Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and in general as a political philosopher with a strong sense of social justice.

The remainder of my post is a discussion of Arendt's essay, Reflections on Violence, written for the New York Review of Books back in 1969, and which can be found online in case you'd like to read it.  And if you'd like to read my commentary on her essay, Violence, Power, Technology, and Identity, you have the link to that as well.


And let me end this post with a quote from one of Hannah Arendt's major work, The Human Condition:  


"What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing."

Paul McCartney's Yom Kippur

An interesting news item from JTA, the "Global News Service of the Jewish People":

McCartney attends Yom Kippur services, marries next day 

October 9, 2011 

(JTA) -- Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney reportedly spent the night before his wedding at Yom Kippur services.

McCartney married Jewish-American heiress Nancy Shevell, 51, in London on Sunday. They reportedly attended Yom Kippur services and a break fast at a local London synagogue. 

The couple married Sunday in a civil ceremony at London's Marylebone Register Office, followed by a small reception at McCartney's north London home. 

McCartney's first wife, Linda Eastman, also was Jewish. She died in 1998 after a battle with breast cancer.

We wish the former Beatle and the new Mrs. McCartney a hearty mazel tov, and we don't think that they'll need to be reminded that...  all you need is love!

Reform Cantors Condemn Arrest of Women of the Wall Leader During Rosh Chodesh Celebration for Holding a Sefer Torah

A statement by the American Conference of Cantors, courtesy of Cantor Shapiro:

 

Reform Cantors Condemn Arrest of Women of the Wall Leader During Rosh Chodesh Celebration for Holding a Sefer Torah 

 

Chicago, IL (July 15, 2010) 

The American Conference of Cantors (ACC), representing over 450 Reform Jewish Cantors, strongly condemns the arrest of Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and chairperson of “Women of the Wall” on July 12, 2010, for the “crime” of holding a sefer Torah in the women’s section of the Western Wall during a celebration of Rosh Chodesh. Her arrest and subsequent ban from visiting the Western Wall for a month is an embarrassment to those responsible for her arrest.

Jewish women throughout the centuries have faced harsh repercussions when expressing their desire to “conduct prayer services, read from a Torah while wearing prayer shawls, and sing out loud at the women’s section of the Western Wall.” 1  The Talmudic dictum “ Kol isha erva ” has been invoked time and again to deny women the same religious rights as men, especially in  Eretz Yisrael  and even more so at the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most holy sites. The American Conference of Cantors, pioneers in embracing women into the role of clergy, began welcoming women into membership as early as 1975, when Barbara Ostfeld became the first woman to be invested as a cantor. 

 

The arrest of Hoffman for allegedly defying the Israel High Court ruling that outlaws women from holding and reading from a  sefer  Torah at the Western Wall is an act of “ hillul hashem ,” a desecration of God’s name, for the public shame and ridicule brought upon those who purport to defend Judaism. The ACC stands with other arms of the Reform Movement who have also expressed shock and revulsion regarding Hoffman’s arrest.

Created as a result of the First International Jewish Feminist Conference in Jerusalem in 1988, the members of the Women of the Wall have been gathering for prayer services and Torah readings on Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel. Having faced countless physical and verbal abuse, and in spite of a lack of protection from the police and ongoing legal battles in Israel, they continue to gather each month in public prayer. They seek the right for Jewish women to conduct prayer services, read from a Torah scroll while wearing prayer shawls, and sing out loud at the Western Wall–Judaism’s most sacred holy site and the principal symbol of Jewish people-hood and sovereignty. 

 

We praise and affirm the sacred work of the Women of the Wall, offering our deepest respect and solidarity to Anat Hoffman, a timeless model of Jews laboring on behalf of religious and cultural freedom everywhere.

We pray for a State of Israel that embraces both our ancient traditions while granting equal rights to all its citizens in their religious practice, urging our Israeli sisters and brothers who long for true religious freedom to stand up and speak out for religious pluralism in our spiritual homeland. 

 

We declare our continued support for Israel, representing the highest ideals of Judaism and democracy, whose best actions have the power to inspire Jews around the world to acts of righteousness and kindness in God’s name.

About the American Conference of Cantors

Founded in 1953, the American Conference of Cantors is the pre-eminent professional organization of Cantors in North America, currently representing over 450 cantors in North America and around the world. As clergy committed to Judaism and Jewish Music, the membership of the ACC serves the diverse needs of the Jewish people. As an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism, the ACC supports its members in their sacred calling as emissaries for Judaism and for Jewish music, providing a unique and dynamic vision of programs and initiatives that respond to the needs of the greater Reform community. For more information, please visit the ACC’s website at  www.accantors.org .