Our Confirmands

In our previous two posts, we brought you Hannah Weinstein's Confirmation Speech and Sydney Labombarda's Confirmation Speech, both delivered this past Shavuot, June 7th.  Here now are two lovely photographs, courtesy of Robyn Labombarda, with (from left to right) Cantor Shapiro, Hannah Weinstein, Sydney Labombarda, and our Religious School Director, Jennifer Katz-Goldstein.

And yes, that is our beautiful new Ark that they are posing in front of!  The Ark, a gift from our Conservative cousins in Leonia, Congregation Sons of Israel, will be featured in a future post here on our congregational blog, so keep an eye out for it!  And one more time, congratulations Hannah and Sydney!

Sydney Labombarda's Confirmation Speech

Another of our religious school students participating in our June 7th Confirmation ceremony, in conjunction with the festival of Shavuot, was Sydney Labombarda.  Here now is Sydney's Confirmation speech:

On March 8, 2008, many of you sitting here thought that I was ending my Jewish education when I was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah.  In fact, on that date, I decided to continue my studies in order to become a responsible adult in the Jewish Community.  In order to do so, for the past three years, I have been attending confirmation class.  In confirmation class, we studied how issues that the youth of today are facing are viewed by the Jewish community based on the Talmud as well as Rabbinic texts. We also learned how our faith and our personal beliefs influence the choices we make when faced with tough decisions. By applying what we learned in confirmation class, we can become more responsible teenagers. Confirmation class gave all the students attending a safe-haven to discuss our views on topics that varied from cross-dressing and tattoos and piercing, to controversial and eye-opening discussions such as online harassment and life after death. By attending confirmation class, I was able to think freely as a Jewish adult and make better decisions in my life.  

On Shavuot, students who have completed confirmation class become confirmed members of the Jewish community.  This ceremony is held on this holiday, because Shavuot is when   G-d gave the Ten Commandments, his rules for society, to the Jewish community.  It is also when Jews around the world, read from the Book of Ruth, from the sacred scrolls.  What makes confirmation important to me is, unlike my Bat Mitzvah, when I, as an individual, became a daughter of the Torah, the completion of confirmation affirms my beliefs and faith in my Jewish community.  Unlike my Bat Mitzvah, where I was up here alone, as an individual, I am up here today, with Hannah.  We stand before you, as part of the community, like Ruth was part of her community when she stood by Naomi, like the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai when they received G-d’s Commandments.  We stand here now able to fully apply all that we have learned in class, all that we have learned from the Commandments, and all that we have learned from our families to our lives so that we can continue to be responsible, respectable and productive members of both our Jewish community as well as our home community.  

Amen, Sydney, Amen!  And on behalf of Congregation Adas Emuno, a hearty congratulations to you and your family!

Hannah Weinstein's Confirmation Speech

Hannah Weinstein was one of our religious school students who participated in the Confirmation ceremony this past Shavuot, which took place on June 7.  Hannah was kind enough to share her Confirmation speech with us:

Before I became a member of Adas Emuno, I did not know there was such a thing as a Confirmation after a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. I chose to continue my Jewish studies and to become Confirmed. Confirmation with Jennifer was very different than other classes because we got to talk about horoscopes, cyber-bullying, cross-dressing, Sydney’s favorite, piercing, life after death, and much more. Confirmation helped me take a stand on these topics by relating them to everyday life and by talking about Rabbis’ points of views. Confirmation class was a place where we could voice our opinions without the fear of being judged. I would like to thank Jennifer Katz Goldstein for guiding me further in my Jewish studies. Jennifer has always made Confirmation class interesting, fun, and I have always looked forward to them. I am so glad that I got to spend time with you in my last years of official learning at Adas Emuno. I would also like to thank my two wonderful parents for supporting me in everything I do. I made the choice to go to Hebrew School, to become a Bat Mitzvah, and to go on to being confirmed, and my Mom and Dad never hesitated or questioned me in my decisions. And a very special THANK YOU to my wonderful, amazing, extraordinary, one and only Dad, David Weinstein, who is the best dad on the face of the Earth. Lastly, I would like to thank our amazing Cantor Shapiro for all that she has done for this congregation and me. Cantor has made this congregation very special and I will miss her very much.

This night is not only about celebrating Confirmation, but also is Shavuot. This Torah portion is about the Ten Commandments. It is said that G-d asked all of the different people of the Earth if they would accept the Ten Commandments but only the Jewish people said yes. The Jewish people vowed to follow the Ten Commandments as their law and practice. And just like the Jewish people many years ago, I promise to continue following Judaism for the rest of my life, and to pass it on for generations to come.
Thank You.

Well said, Hannah, and congratulations, on behalf of the entire Adas Emuno community, to you and your family!

A Song for Shavuot

In celebration of the Festival of Shavuot, here is a song about the Ten Commandments, courtesy of YouTube.  Here's the write-up:

Join Naomi Less for a rockin trip through the Ten Commandments. We've brought the decalogue to life with the amusing exploits of some villagers and their mischievous ways. Created in honor of Shavuot, the holiday when the Jewish people commemorate receiving the Torah (Law) at Mount Sinai.

Wishing everyone a chag sameach, and a special congratulations and mazel tov to our confirmands for tonight!

What To Do With All That Left Over Matzoh

There always seems to be quite a bit of matzoh left over at the end of Passover, and maybe not so much inclination to continue eating that "bread of affliction" after a week of being weighted down by the great unleavened.  And so, the question is posed, what to do with all that left over matzoh?


By way of an answer, here's an amusing and creative music video called, "20 Things To Do With Matzah" that might help you out:






Over on http://jewishrobot.com/work/matzahsong, it says the following:

Title: 20 Things To Do With Matzah (2008)
Client: Streit's MatzosMusic: "20 Things To Do With Matzah" written and composed by William Levin, lyrics by William Levin and Michelle Citrin, performed by Michelle Citrin and William Levin
Video: Directed by William Levin and Michelle Citrin, camerawork byJesse Epstein, edited by Simon Weaver, starring Michelle Citrin and William Levin, tee-shirts provided by PopJudaica

Passover music video sponsored by Streit's Matzos. The video was featured on Yahoo! Video in the Butterfinger Comedy Network and the Yahoo! front page where it received over 100,000 views in the first 48 hours.
The video has now received over 1 MILLION views on YouTube for Passover 2009.
Mentioned on the Time website, April 9, 2009: So You Think You Know Matzo?New York Times Arts Beat, March 3, 2010: Road to Broadway Is Paved With ‘Matzah’
View the website: MATZAHSONG.COM

And, if you have some more ideas of what to do with your matzoh, let us know!

Pharoah Gets a Bad Rap

As we come to the close of another Passover season, here's a Pesach-themed rap song to remind us of the redemption from Egyptian bondage:

Over on YouTube, the write-up goes like this:

www.12tribefilms.org/mosesrap
www.bibleraps.com
Rap By: Matt Bar
Beat and Music Production: James "Jamo"mims and Ori Salzberg
In Partnership with: 12Tribe Films Foundation
Film By: Giving Tree Productions www.givingtreeproductions.com
*****
MOSES: THE DAYS OF 10 PLAGUES
Chorus: Moses at the red sea, like "who's gonna follow me?" Phoarah's in the tide, we gonna ride, to our destiny, In back of me, so sad to see, them bodies in the red sea chariots get buried, b-b-buried in the red sea Pharaoh sat and laughed when a staff became a snake, too long we've been your slaves, just let us go and pray, said "don't make this mistake," no pardon his heart was hardened, so started what we regard as: the days of 10 plagues...

one: blood in the river gonna shiver, gonna freak out
lips take a sip now there's blood in your mouth

Two: frogs in your house on your beds on your plate
don't matter what's for dinner better like frog legs

Three: knats buzz buzz watch the dust turn to bugs
itch itch hard to think with all the lice in your mugs

Four: beasts roam your streets when you step outside
there's a tiger on your tail nowhere to hide

Five: death of your livestock, flesh dries up
b-b-bodies in your barn pharoah when you gonna wise up?

CHORUS

Six: boils on your flesh no less than torture
careful of the ash in the air it'll scorch ya

Seven: hail rains down beats your brains down
like a message from the heavens better lay our chains down

Eight: locusts from the coast you can hear their wing click
eating crops eating trees til they're used as toothpicks

Nine: darkness, dispatch, 3 days pitch
remember when this started and you thought it was just witchcraft

Death of the first born how did it come to this
ten is what it took so we all would remember this

I like the way they incorporate the Negro spiritual, "Go Down Moses," into the mix, which serves as an excellent reminder of the contemporary struggle against prejudice and racism that made for common cause during the Civil Rights movement, and continues to do so, as we pursue social justice, to this day.

In honor of this great legacy, let's listen to a rendition recorded by the immortal Paul Robeson:

There is no mistaking Robeson's gravitas, but for a lighter, jazzier, more celebratory version, who can match the brilliance of Louis Armstrong?

So, as we go forth from this sacred time of year, let us remember our songs of liberation, and the promise of freedom!

Every Easter weekend, network television treats us to a showing of the Passover story, in the form of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 motion picture, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston.  Did you catch it last night?  I did.  I just love seeing Edward G. Robinson, best known for his gangster roles, playing the villainous Hebrew, Dathan.


Here's an old trailer for the film:





But I am also very fond of the 1998 Dreamworks animated version of the Exodus, The Prince of Egypt.  Here is the scene where Moses encounters the burning bush.  As I recall, the voice of God comes from Val Kilmer, the same actor who plays Moses, the idea being that God is, as the prophet Elijah described it, that still, small voice within:





And here is the film's musical rendition of the exodus from Egypt.  This is what the fan write-up on the YouTube page says:

"When You Believe" is the Official Movie Soundtrack of Prince of Egypt.


In the film, this song of inspiration is performed by the characters Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Miriam (sung by Sally Dworsky). The protagonists of this ballad recall tough times that have them questioning their faith: they have prayed for many nights to God but those prayers seem to remain unanswered, and they wonder if they are wasting their time. Nevertheless, they realize that although times may be difficult, "there can be miracles when you believe" in God.

It's a sweet song for a sweet holiday, and I love how they work the Hebrew prayers into it.  And what better way to sum up the spiritual message of Pesach, than the simple statement:  There can be miracles.