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

A Message From Our President

Dr. Lance Strate

Author, Author!

I have often been struck by the fact that the most sacred object in our sanctuary, the Torah scroll, is a book. Sure, we dress it up nicely with our finest fabrics, decorated with lovely embroidery, and further adorned with silver breast plate and crown, as well as the silver yad or pointer, the silk sash or girdle that binds the scroll and keeps it closed, and the wooden shafts that the scroll is wound around. But it's still a book, a fancy book sure, a sacred book most definitely, but a book nonetheless.

Our worship is centered around the book, as we repeatedly face the Ark that holds the Torah scrolls during our worship services, show our respect by standing whenever the Ark is opened, and show our love by kissing the scrolls when they are carried down to the pews, albeit indirectly by kissing our prayer books. Reading from the Torah is one of our most sacred rituals, and our rite of passage from childhood to adulthood.

Our veneration of books extends to our printed prayer books and bibles, and in our tradition whenever one such text is dropped or falls to the floor, the person picking it up also kisses the book. And these books that contain the name of God are never destroyed when their usefulness is at an end, but rather buried as we would a loved one that has passed on.

Judaism is not the only religion that is centered around a sacred text, and in fact it was the Moslems who referred to Jews and Christians alike as people of the book. But there is something unique and special about our relationship to books, so much so that here in the United States, Jews purchase 23% of all hardcover books published, while we constitute only about 2% of the population.

As a people, we are bibliophiles, booklovers. And we are bookmakers, writers, authors. The Torah features Moses, who took dictation from God, and the Tanach ends with Ezra the Scribe. We gave the world the Bible, including the Christian version, which may be considered the all-time bestseller. More recently, of the 110 Nobel Prizes in Literature given out since 1901, 15 have been awarded to Jews including Henri Bergson, Boris Pasternak, Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Elias Canetti, Joseph Brodsky, Nadine Gordimer, Harold Pinter, Patrick Modiano, and Bob Dylan. (It's often cited that we Jews constitute less than 0.2% of the world's population, while accounting for over 22% of Nobel Prizes awarded in all categories, 11,250% above average.)

It should come as no surprise, then, that we have more than a few published authors among the membership of our Congregation Adas Emuno, not the least of them our own Rabbi Schwartz. As you may know, his new children's book, Adam's Animals, was published this past summer, and his newest book, Paths of the Prophets: The Ethics-Driven Life, is due out this March.

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Have you published a book or article, essay, story, or poem? Let us know, and let us celebrate together!

We express our love of books during services, Saturday morning Torah study, adult education programs, and especially through our religious school. We are the people of the book, and our houses of worship have always been houses of learning as well. The secret of our survival and our success is intimately linked to our religious tradition being wrapped around the Torah scroll, revolving around spirituality and schooling, and a love of books. On Rosh Hashanah we ask God to write our names into the Book of Life, and as readers and writers ourselves, we become authors of our own destiny. For this reason alone, we should never forget to write our shul into own book, the book that we all write, the book of our own lives, and those of our family, friends, and community. May it be so.

Jacob Galperin's D'var Torah

Jacob Galperin was Bar Mitzvah on December 3rd, 2011, and as you can imagine, it was an occasion of great happiness and pride for his family, and for all of us at Congregation Adas Emuno. In the photograph here you can see Jacob (center) with Rabbi Barry Schwartz (left) holding the Torah, and Student Cantor Luke Hawley (right), standing in front of the Ark.  And we are very pleased to welcome Jacob as a Guest Blogger here on our congregational blog, as he was kind enough to share with us his D'Var Torah. 

D'Var Torah

Jacob Galperin 

I

Torah Portion

My Torah portion is the famous story of Jacob's, Vayeitzei,  which means, and he went out.  This is when Jacob left Beersherba for the city of Haran, Rebekah's birthplace.

Jacob stops to rest his first night.  He places a stone as a head rest and then dreams of a ladder set upon the ground reaching heaven, with angels climbing up and down.

When Jacob awakens he makes a pact with God. If God kept him safe, Jacob would make him his God.

Jacob continues his journey to Haran to find his mother's brother, Uncle Laban.  In no time at all, Jacob was united with Uncle Laban, Leah, and Rachel. 

Jacob tells the story of his dream.  Laban was so happy about all that had occurred. Jacob was in love with Rachel, the prettiest and youngest of the two girls. 

Jacob asks Laban to marry Rachel, and that night Laban brought the bride to the tent.  The next morning Jacob finds out it was Leah along with her maid.

OMG! as we would say... Someone told a lie!

Jacob marches over to Laban's tent for an explanation and Laban tells him, "Not to worry...  The oldest daughter must be married first, however, so if you still want to marry Rachel, work for me seven years and she will be yours, with her maid."

He takes the deal.

II 

Theme 

The theme I have chosen is dishonesty, and the lack of bravery that is needed to tell the truth.

Rachel's father was dishonest with Jacob by sending Leah to Jacob's tent.  He then rationalized his lie with the truth that he was not brave enough to communicate beforehand. Perhaps like many of us, he was afraid Jacob would have said no, and his first child would be considered an outcast. Thus, Laban was willing to sin because he saw God's will directing him to care for his first born before his own soul.

We also know that Leah and her maid gives Jacob ten children and Rachel and her maid blesses Jacob with two children.

III

Discussion

According to my study, dealing with dishonesty is a question for us to ask ourselves. What is the Torah telling us,  how should we treat a person who is dishonest and may be stealing from us? 

Jacob investigated Laban when it came to Leah. He asked many questions, and he kept his dignity.  He did not yell, he did not lose his temper.  He did not attack Laban, and kept his emotions in check. Some commentators would say Jacob's handling of Laban is a good way to handle a situation like this.

Also, the Torah teaches us lessons in human conduct and self control, and anger is the emotion that should be used only in the last resort and then only in a controlled, thought out, and constructed form of communication versus an outburst.

I picked this theme because I find this part to be fascinating, and I can relate to being not brave enough to tell the truth at times, and obviously I have lied for the same reason.  I lied to my mother a long time ago because I didn't want to do my homework, and if I told her the truth, she would make me.  The part that is different here is that I was lying for my own selfish reasons, unlike Laban who lied, let's say, for the greater good.  And perhaps God said it was okay by blessing Leah with ten children, while Rachel had only two children.

  

IV

My Mitzvah Project

My Mitzvah Project will be occurring after my Bar Mitzvah due to a situation beyond my control.  They say there are no coincidences.  I have chosen to help the Cantor help the new Bar Mitzvah  students on Sunday.  I would like to thank all of you for being here, and just being awesome. I would also like to especially thank my Mom, Cantor Luke, and Rabbi Schwartz.  Without them. I wouldn't be here today.

    

V

My Preparation

My preparation has changed my view of Judaism. I have learned that it isn't so easy to become Bar Mitzvah. A lot of time has to be spent to make sure that everything sounds right and that everything goes perfectly. I have learned that now is my time to show that I can lead a service, and that I am a child of Jacob. Preparing has also shown me that although now I may be reluctant to come to synagogue and to return to religious school, I know that it's the best thing for me to do. God will always be there for me and I will always be there for Him, so I know that I would love to sacrifice the hour long services on the weekends for him.

And with that we offer our gratitude to Jacob and his mother Susan Galperin for sharing his D'Var Torah with us. And on behalf of Congregation Adas Emuno, we extend a warm and joyful Mazel Tov to the entire Galperin family!

Rabbi Schwartz's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Evening 5772

BEFORE WHOM YOU STAND

ROSH HASHANAH EVENING 5772

RABBI BARRY L. SCHWARTZ

Modeh ani, I am truly grateful, to be standing before you on this Rosh Hashanah, as your new rabbi.

I am grateful to be in partnership with our Cantor, Religious School Director, Board of Trustees, and all of you. Together we are engaged in the sacred task of creating kehillah k’dosha , holy community, or in the words of our 19^th century founders, adas emuno, a community of the faithful.

When I had my first telephone conversation with Beth Ziff, Chair of the Search Committee, all the questions she asked were thoughtful, but predictable…  until the last one. “Rabbi,” she said, “if you were to end up here, what would be your first sermon?”

Thinking on my feet, as a rabbi must often do, I responded that the sermon should contain three elements:

1. It should be grounded in Torah.

2. It should be welcoming and affirm community.

3. It should offer a vision of the future.

Although I began on August 1^st and have already delivered several sermons, this is my first High Holy Day sermon, and I would like to keep my word to Beth.

I stand in gratitude in this humble but beautiful sanctuary. I will try to affirm the holiness of this place each time I am present. As often as I enter, I will try to avoid making it routine.

When I visited for the first time, I searched for the words inscribed above the Ark. I smiled. They are the same as my previous congregation. They are one of the two most common verses found in sanctuaries throughout the world. I know them by heart, but do I take them to heart?

Da Lifnei Mi Atah Omed—Know Before Whom You Stand.

 

I am sure this is not the first sermon at Adas Emuno to be framed by these majestic words, nor the last. But on this new year I would like to take them to heart as an affirmation of faith and of community

The words themselves are Talmudic. The Tractate Berachot (28b) relates that when the famed sage Rabbi Eliezer fell ill, his disciples came to visit. “Master,” they said, “teach us the ways of life whereby we may be worthy of the life of the world to come.”

Rabbi Eliezer replied with some advice about childrearing and guarding one’s reputation.  Then he adds, “and when you pray, know before whom you stand.”

He elaborates no further. Rashi, the most esteemed of commentators, offers the traditional interpretation. The teaching, he notes, is connected to the act of prayer, and thus speaks of standing before God, B’Yirah U’Bkavvanah, with reverence and with integrity.

Rabbi Eliezer’s famous injunction does not say:  Know before what you stand, but rather, before whom you stand. In a nutshell, one could argue that this one word change encapsulates the difference between a primarily secular worldview versus a predominately religious worldview.

After all, it was Socrates who said, “the unexamined life is not worth living,” while the prophets would have rejoined, “the uncommanded life is not worth living.”

The humanism of Athens sought, above all, truth, while the theism of Jerusalem pursued, above all, holiness.

As the great Reform scholar, Solomon Freehof, put it:

The Greek is interested in nature’s law,

The Hebrew in nature’s lawgiver.

The Greek is interested in peace of heart,

The Hebrew in progress of character.

The Greeks said: Seek harmony and you will find serenity;

The Hebrews said: Seek holiness and you will find nobility.

The traditional understanding of the words above our Ark is to know that we stand before God, in all that we pray, say, and do.

On this Rosh Hashanah, I want to explore what other meaning “know before whom you stand” might have for us.

Whenever I bring young children in for a “sanctuary tour”, which I love doing, I show them everything that is special, and then conclude by asking: what is the most important thing in this sanctuary?

Often they point to the Torah scrolls, and I say they are important, but not the most important.

They point to the eternal light, and I say the same thing. They point to the Ark, to the inscription, to the plaques, to the windows, and I reply the same.

They are often stumped, and this is not a trick question, not really.

Then I have them point to themselves. And then they get it. They are the most important thing. Not an object, not even the Torah.  People are most important. As the book of Exodus teaches, V’Shachanti B’Tocham, “and I shall dwell…  among them.”

Without us, a synagogue remains a building, and a sanctuary a very nice room.

 With living, breathing, praying people, a synagogue becomes a community, and a sanctuary becomes a holy place.

In this spirit, let me suggest that to “know before whom you stand” points not only to the Holy One, but to the Holy Community, the Kehilla K’Dosha.

We stand before God, as we stand before each other.

Indeed, the very Torah passage that we read on Yom Kippur morning in the Reform tradition, Deuteronomy 29:9 begins: “Atem nitzavim hayom, You stand today, all of you, before Adonai…”  But then the verse describes the community gathered, in all its diversity, “your leaders, your tribes, your elders, your officials, every man, woman, and child in Israel, the stranger in the midst of your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the ones who draws your water. ”

These are the questions that I want to pose on this Rosh Hashanah.

What does “all of us” mean today? 

What does “every man, woman, and child” mean today?

What does “the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water” mean today?

In truth, the Jewish people is more diverse than ever before, and I dare say that the American Jewish community is the most diverse in Jewish history.

Consider the following:

·      The traditional family (two first time married adults with children at home) now constitute only a quarter of all family units in the Jewish community!

·      The year 2000 national Jewish population study revealed that barely half (54%) of Jewish adults 18 and older are married.

·      A quarter have never married, 9% are divorced, 4% separated, and 7% widowed.

When we stand before our community we must know that we stand before single individuals and single parents.

·      One out of every seven American Jewish adults has been married a second time.

When we stand before our people we must know that we stand before blended families.

·      One out of every seven American Jewish adults was born outside the U.S.

When we stand before our people we must know that we stand before Jews from the former Soviet Union, from Iran, from Israel, and around the globe.

·      Five percent of the American Jewish community is non-Caucasian, and a fifth of children being adopted by Jewish families are non-white.

When we stand before our people we must know that we stand before adults and children who may share in Asian, African, and Hispanic descent.

·      And as we well know, almost half of all adult American Jews marrying since 1990 are intermarried.

·      Before 1970, the rate was a bare 13%.  Dramatic change began in the seventies, when many third generation American Jews married. Intermarriage grew to 38% in my generation, which married in the eighties, and rose to over 40%  in the following decade.

When we stand before our people we must know that we stand before many “Jews by choice” and before non-Jewish members of Jewish families.

A popular Jewish prayer reads, “may the door of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for fellowship.”

The one who hungers for love in our community today might very well be a single person or a single parent.

The one who is lonely for fellowship in our community today might very well be a Jew by choice, or an interfaith couple.

Despite the progress we have made as a movement in recent years, are the doors of our synagogues open wide enough for all to enter?

This portrait of the changing Jewish American family is our coat of many colors.  In our small congregation of Adas Emuno, shall we wear this coat of many colors with pride? What further work needs to be done?

Hineni. Here I am. Standing before God and standing before you. Standing with you.  

Let us continue our journey together.

Let us continue our journey as a welcoming community, a diverse community, a down-to-earth community, a haimish community, an inclusive community.

Let us continue our journey as a spiritually audacious community, an intellectually searching community, and a justice committed community.

Let us continue our journey recognizing that just as the German Jewish founders of this congregation had the holy chutzpah to offer a new form of worship and organization a century and a half ago, it is time for us to put new wine in old flasks.

On the application for a new rabbi, this congregation wrote that, “we know who we are, honor our traditions, but are not afraid of new ideas.” Let’s go for it!

  

The words above this Ark will remain our guide. Standing before our God and our people will illumine our way.

Then indeed the doors of this synagogue will be wide enough for all who hunger for love, for all who are lonely for fellowship.

Then indeed we shall be adas emuno, a community of the faithful.

May it be…  and to this we say, Amen.

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!