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

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

COMING HOME TO YOUR BIRTHRIGHT

At this new Jewish year, 5774, I invite you to come home to your birthright. And what is this birthright? I’m glad you asked. Simply put, it is Torah. The famed novelist Chaim Potok said it well:

Torah is a Jew’s sense of self; the beginning of it, the foundation stone of it. Then you can pick and choose, quarrel with it, discard this, accept that; but at least know where the shoreline is before you begin to row away from it. If you are rowing and there is no shoreline at all, then you are navigating blind, and to navigate blind is to live in dread.

Or as my friend David Lerman, the immediate past-president of The Jewish Publication Society once wrote: 

Torah is, effectively, our genetic code. Torah explains who Jews are, why we behave as we do, and why we are perceived by others in the world as we are. Whether we embrace Torah and live it, reframe it and live informed by its values, we always react to it—and that is the defining element of our experience on this planet.

Torah explains why we are called The People of the Book. Torah explains why we celebrate the Sabbath and holidays the way we do. Torah explains why our synagogues are constructed the way they are. Torah explains the way we pray. Torah explains our veneration of the written word and reverence for education. Torah explains our moral empathy and passion for social justice.

My friend David describes himself as “a reasonably educated but largely secular, non-spiritual Jew who attends shul weekly in order to have the privilege of reading and studying Torah.” I invite you to do the same, on a weekly or monthly basis:

Weekly:  Our Shabbat morning Torah study (10:00-11:30 AM) has become a big deal. Now is the perfect time to join, as we begin a new year. Our theme: All in the Family—Biblical Portraits. The Torah is great not only for its lofty ethical pronouncements, but because of its truly insightful portrayals of family life. We can all relate to the issues of spouses, siblings, and children. This year we will read the family life stories of the Bible, and enhance our discussion with a commentary written by a leading psychotherapist.

Monthly:  At every Shabbat Family Service we read from the Torah and relate the story to our lives. Making this commitment with your family keeps you anchored to the Jewish year. So while I have your attention, here are the Family Service dates for this year:

• October 18
• November 22
• December 20
• January 24
• February 7
• March 7
• April 4
• May 16
• June 8

The family service is for everyone, not just the class that may be honored at a particular service.

Of course, the Torah is also read at the holidays. And speaking of which, our celebration of Simchat Torah (Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7:00 PM) will be extra special this year. Thanks to the extraordinary mitzvah project effort of two of our recent b’nei mitzvah cousins, Julian Pecht and Oliver Racciatti, our primary reading Torah has been restored to top condition by a scribe and will be rededicated at this festival.

The poet Heinrich Heine called the Torah, “the portable homeland of the Jews.” The Hebrew Bible is our contribution to the world even as it remains our guiding light. This year make the pledge to become reacquainted with the Torah…  and reclaim your birthright!

Communities of Practice

Did you see the article, URJ Unveils ‘Communities of Practice’ in this week's Jewish Standard (dated January 18)?  Written by Lois Goldrich, the article begins with the following pargraphs:

While many synagogues generate creative ideas for growing their membership, they often lack the resources to implement them. 

To address this issue, the Union for Reform Judaism has created the “communities of practice” program, bringing together 37 congregations around the country to share ideas and experiment with new strategies. Two of them are local — Temple Beth El of Northern Valley in Closter and Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia.

Before focusing on our congregation, Goldrich first focuses on our sister shul in Closter. We'll skip over that part, but if you're interested, you can read the article in its entirety on the Jewish Standard website.  And here's how it looked in the print version:

And now for the relevant section of the article:

Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia has been selected for the young families initiatives. Its rabbi, Barry Schwartz, is excited about his congregation’s participation in the project. 

“I think the URJ has come to realize that they need to put congregations that share the same needs and same challenges together,” he said. “That’s what this is about. Small congregations like ours have one set of challenges; large congregations have another.”

While Adas Emuno, founded in 1871, is what Schwartz calls “a wonderful little congregation,” with some 100 member units, it nevertheless embraces members of all ages, including 70 children. 

But with no preschool—and with what the rabbi described as “demographic challenges”—it is not easy to attract young families with children.

“We have a declining number of young families because the Jewish population in this part of the county is diminishing,” he said. Still, membership has been steady, “and we want to keep that base. We’ve been around 140 years. We want to make sure there’s a generation to take our place.”

Noting that his synagogue serves people beyond the immediate neighborhood, Schwartz said the congregation is eager to attract families that are not yet affiliated with the community, including interfaith families.

School director Annice Benamy and congregational leader Rebecca Kind Slater will represent the synagogue in URJ meetings, traveling to Chicago later this winter to participate in the inaugural conference. Both, he said, are professional teachers.

“They’ll be talking to congregational staff and leaders with expertise in this area,” he said. “Why not learn some of the best practices?”

The rabbi said discussion of the issue has already begun, and the congregation has initiated a series of tot programs, including offerings on Shabbat and holidays as well as field trips. He said that young families particularly enjoyed the shul’s recent Chanukah party, at which he played guitar, “did a Chanukah rap, and showed them my dreidel collection.

“We’re trying to develop family-friendly programs,” he said, pointing out that the shul is employing different communications strategies, including social media, town listserves, local newspapers, and parenting publications.

“We have to grow more sophisticated,” he said. “We have to go out to where the people are.”

This year, the congregation’s Hebrew school launched a series of family enrichment activities. Once a month, the rabbi chooses a different grade and leads a discussion.

“Last Sunday I met with third-grade parents to do a Jewish family inventory,” he said. “I listed 20 material objects and 10 observances and each family did an inventory exercise. They scored themselves and compared scores. It led to a provocative discussion of what distinguishes a Jewish home.”

Schwartz said the URJ initiative will “help us come up with a comprehensive strategy [to be] an inviting institution for young families. But whether it will lead to the establishment of a preschool or day care or ‘mommy and me’ program remains to be seen. I’m supportive of the URJ’s efforts.”

The URJ's Communities of Practice program involved a competitive application process, and so we proudly congratulate our Religious School Director Annice Benamy and Trustee Rebecca Kind Slater for their successful efforts, and look forward to the fruits of their endeavor!

Celebrate Hanukkah at Adas Emuno

Hanukkah begins Saturday night! Our Leonia community menorah lighting will take place outside of our synagogue at 7:00 PM, so please join us as we light the first light and sing songs, and then head inside for our annual Hanukkah party, with latkes and other delicious treats! All ages are welcome. This event is free and open to the community. 

On Sunday, December 9 at 4:00 PM, join us for our Hanukkah Party for Young Families. Come partake of latkes, music, stories, and games. This Hanukkah party is geared for families with children ages 2-5, but older and younger siblings, grandparents, and other members of the family are welcome too! This party is free and open to the community.  

On Friday, December 14 at 7:30 PM, come join us for our Hanukkah Shabbat Family Service. Congregation Adas Emuno has a family service every month led by a class from our religious school. These services are open to families with children of all ages, and to all members of our community.



And with eight nights of gifts, don't forget to do your Amazon ordering through our portal on this blog, over on the left, or if you're looking for some ideas, please come visit our new online Judaica store by clicking on the image above, or right here:




Adas Emuno will receive 25% of the revenue on all purchases, and the store will remain open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year!  You don't have to be a member, or reside in the area, to visit our store or make purchases, so please encourage family and friends to try our new service.

And have a Happy Hanukkah ✡ We hope to see you soon!

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

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

THE THREE PILLARS OF ADAS EMUNO

 The Talmud teaches that our Jewish lives rest on three pillars: Torah (learning), Avodah (prayer), Gemilut hHasadim (kindness).

The synagogue has evolved to fulfill these crucial functions. Indeed, the three Hebrew names for synagogue (which is a loan word from the Greek) are Beit Midrash (House of Study), Beit Tefilah (House of Prayer), and Beit K’nesset (House of Assembly).

Here at Congregation Adas Emuno, we strive to fulfill these three responsibilities. Education, worship, and social action are at the heart of what we do. As we return from summer and gather for the holidays, I invite you to consider how you can “upgrade” your commitment in each of these endeavors.

Education: Take the Torah study plunge! We gather every Shabbat morning (10:00-11:15am) for lively text study and discussion. This year (starting Sept. 8) we are beginning a whole new study of the Mishneh Torah—the magnum opus of Moses Maimonides, arguably the greatest sage in Jewish history. Every session stands on its own; you are always welcome.

Worship:  Nurture your spiritual life! Beautiful music and thought provoking words fill our sanctuary every Shabbat evening (7:30 PM). Bring children of all school ages to our monthly family service (generally the third Shabbat of the month). The family service is not just for the grade being honored! We read from the Torah at this service so that everyone can join in that experience. On Sunday mornings our joyful Religious School service will now begin at 9:00 AM (at the start of the day) to give parents an opportunity to sing and learn with their children.

Social Action: Live generously! A social action committee has been revived this year; ideas are flowing freely. Keep an eye out for details on how you can lend a hand to make our congregation, our community and our world a little bit better place. Our Jewish bumper sticker is not “random” acts of kindness, but “regular” acts of goodness. 

To say that our lives are busy is an understatement. But isn’t it true that the busiest people seem to find the most time? Not everyone may see the “value added” dimension of enhancing their demanding lives with learning, prayer and activism. But Judaism has long insisted that it is imperative that we nurture our intellect, our spirit, and our communal engagement. These are the pillars of soulful living. Rosh Hashanah is a time of promise and possibilities. From my house to yours: Wishing you a sweet and soulful new year!

It’s The Connection

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







A Message from our President, Dr. Alan Spector



It’s The Connection



Although I was not in attendance, leaders of Reform congregations gathered together at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial convention in Washington D.C. last month and returned home feeling energized, and determined to meet the challenge set by the movement’s leadership: to double synagogue participation by high school seniors by the end of the decade. Our own Rabbi Schwartz attended the biennial, as did President Obama who spoke at the convention [see our previous post, Obama at the URJ]. With more than 6,000 attendees, this Biennial was the largest ever, the first to be sold out, and one of the largest indoor gatherings of American Jews ever.


With its new “Campaign for Youth Engagement”, the URJ is focusing on the statistic that “80 percent of the children who become b’nei mitzvah will have no connections of any kind to their Jewish community by the time they reach 12h grade”. The goal of the campaign is that by 2020, we increase the number of young people who will stay involved throughout high school from 20 percent to 50 percent.


The youth engagement campaign is about helping congregations ask intentional, challenging questions about themselves, about whether everything is as excellent as it can be.


As President of Adas Emuno, I have the responsibility of asking these questions of you, specifically: Is everything as excellent as it can be? More concrete questions are: What can we do to make it better (whether we focus only on the Campaign for Youth Engagement or something additional that we can help with)? Do we, as just one small congregation that is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, have to take responsibility for this grim statistic or do we, as parents, grandparents, extended family and/or friends of our 13-18 year olds who are the focus of this statistic, have to take some responsibility as well?


Do you have your own Jewish traditions such as Shabbat dinner, weekly candlelighting, Friday night challah (and having your kids look forward to having “daddy’ s french toast made with the leftovers on Sunday morning)? Do your children attend Jewish-based pre-schools, Jewish-themed day and sleep-away camps? Do they become involved, along with yourselves, with Jewish-based causes and social justice, celebrations of any and all Jewish holidays? Do we go out of our way to have our “at risk” youth continue to connect with the Jewish counterparts that they have met along the way? As Rabbi Schwartz asked us at the High Holidays, “are you making Jewish memories”?


As a parent of three young adults, I am aware that it is not always so easy to always raise our children “Jewishly”, to give them a sense of Jewish pride and identity, particularly as Reform Jews who are being raised in a mostly secular environment. But we have to begin somewhere, and we do: with the celebration at a Brit Milah or a baby naming; with attendance at Religious School; with becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah; and hopefully, with Confirmation. Maintaining a family affiliation with the synagogue after Bar or Bat Mitzvah is also crucial; it demonstrates a commitment to Judaism long after the celebrations.


So it’s not so easy to make all this happen, but there is help along the way if you need it: be it emotional, spiritual, financial, or otherwise. And for many of our interfaith families, it is even more crucial that they be given the resources and guidance they need to make sure that the partners who were not born Jewish, but either are Jews by choice or have chosen Judaism for their children, feel welcome in the community, and their children feel secure in their Jewish identity.


We need to ask our young people what their positive Jewish memories are, both in and out of the synagogue. With this knowledge, one would hope that a greater percentage of our high school seniors will move on to universities and associate with Jewish organizations such as Hillel and/or Jewish-based fraternities and sororities. That on a spring break, a greater percentage will take advantage of a Birthright Israel program. And yes, that they will eventually choose a lifestyle informed by their own childhood Jewish memories, a life where they will create new memories for the next generation.


The new leader of the Reform movement, Rabbi Richard Jacobs said, “We should not be talking about the unaffiliated; we should talk about uninspiring congregations. We need to look at what’s inspiring people.” Clearly, we need to hear from you. It is up to each and every one of us, our members and friends of our Jewish community, to be of help, to feel comfortable seeking help. As parents, grandparents and guardians of Jewish children, it’s the connection to our Jewish heritage that we presently share that will make it happen. It’s all about the kinderlech.

Shalom,

Alan

Rabbi Schwartz's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Morning 5772

MEMORABLE JUDAISM

ROSH HASHANAH MORNING 5772

RABBI BARRY L. SCHWARTZ

When I was growing up, my family made the two hour trip from Peekskill, New York to Brooklyn, New York once a month. It was not an especially pleasant drive from suburb to city.  Each trip had its share of potholes, crazy New Yorkers, and traffic jams.  Yet we made the trip every month, every season, every year.  The reason, quite simply:  Grandma and Grandpa.

One of the things I remember about my grandparent’s home was this:  It was small, but it was full of pictures. There were photographs everywhere.  In fact, I still marvel at how many photos could be displayed in such a small space.  My grandparents had one picture each of their own parents, a handful of themselves, and several of their two sons.  The lion’s share of photos, however, were of us, the grandchildren.

In one sweep of the eye I could see my great grandparents, grandparents, and parents all on their wedding days.  I could see my father in knickers, at his high school graduation, in his Navy uniform.  I could see myself as a baby, as a Bar Mitzvah.

The visits were timed to include major Jewish holidays.  So there were also pictures of us lighting Hannukah candles, and celebrating Pesach.

The memories of those visits are still vivid, some forty years later.  I can still see my grandparent’s home like it was yesterday.  Their faces and their embrace.  I can still smell the food, still hear the stories, still sing the songs, still speak the Yiddish (a bissel), still picture the neighborhood.

On the way home, we always stopped for fresh bagels.  I mean real Brooklyn bagels.  Are there good bagels on this side of the river?

Zicharon.  Memory.  This sermon is about memory.  And here is my thesis:  The secret of Jewish continuity is family, and the secret of family continuity is memory.  Put another way:  what keeps Judaism alive is the bequeathing of our heritage from generation to generation, and what motivates one generation to pass on its values and traditions to the next, is memory.

Without memory, we become orphans in history.  Without nostalgia, we lose touch with our past.  Nostalgia, from the Greek nostos, a return to home, and algia, pain.  A desire to return home so strong, it hurts.

In a positive sense, nostalgia is a yearning for feelings so dear that we are moved to perpetuate them.  If our Jewish memory is joyful, we receive it as a gift and want to share it with those who come after us.  If our Jewish memory is hostile, or simply indifferent, then it will come to an end, with us.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artzon recalls that when he was a child, he and his sister loved to look through their parent’s photo albums.  He writes, “we loved the pictures of their ski trip to Tahoe, of their wedding, of their first apartment, or moving into their first house.  We would gather time after time to see the albums.  Somehow, we never tired of looking at those pictures, reveling in memories and the love.”

Then Rabbi Artzon continues:  “Those albums brought us great joy until the day our parents got a divorce.  Once my parents separated, my sister and I stopped looking at those pictures.  They had become too painful for us to see.”

Rabbi Artzon concludes with a larger point:  “Divorced from the Jewish heritage, memory albums no longer inspire; they accuse.”

And so, permit me to ask you a personal question. Regarding your own Jewish memories: Do they inspire, or accuse? Are they nostalgic, or alienating? Do you summon them with enthusiasm or trepidation or indifference?

I began by sharing my visits as a youth with my grandparents. My paternal grandmother and grandfather were both immigrants. My maternal grandmother (I never knew my paternal grandfather) was native born, but in the totally Yiddish world of the turn of the century lower east side. They were joyfully and proudly Jewish and to this day it brings a smile to my face.

Take a moment, if you will, and summon a Jewish memory that brings a smile to your face…

Now, a follow up question, inspired by an old adage that I cherish so much that I use it at every baby naming I do.

 “Let us consider our world not so much as inherited from our ancestors but as borrowed from our children.”

What memories do we want to create for our families?

What legacy do we want to leave for the next generation?

What shall we do today that will bring a smile to our children tomorrow?

Judaism sanctifies time.

Are we celebrating Shabbat in ways that summon a smile?

 

Do we make time for a special Shabbat evening meal, complete with white tablecloth, candles, Kiddush, challah, blessing of the children, good food, good conversation, and everyone home?

Is our Seder a joyful and meaningful affirmation of peoplehood and history, or a rush to the food?

Judaism sanctifies space.

Are we celebrating our holy places in ways that summon a smile?

Do we make time for the joyful experience of synagogue, camp, retreats, heritage tours, israel?

Judaism sanctifies people and relationships.

Are we celebrating the milestones of life, and extending a helping hand to those in need, in ways that summon a smile?

If we seek greater rootedness in our dizzying world, have we deepened our ties to community and tradition?

If we seek greater family unity in a fractured society, have we taken a second look at venerable rituals that bind the generations ?

If we seek indelible memories in a disposable culture, have we done anything out of the ordinary?

What might we do, as a congregation, out of the ordinary? Innovative and compelling enough that in the end we will say: that was special? That was transformational? I will always remember that?

I welcome your ideas and your passion.

A Shabbaton at the synagogue?

A multi-generational weekend retreat in the Poconos?

A heritage tour to Eastern Europe?

A family trip to Israel?   

At this New Year, let us challenge ourselves:

Am I living a Jewish life worthy of memory?

Is there joy in my Judaism, or only obligation?

Am I secure enough in my identity that my children will be in theirs?

Am I willing to think big?

Experiences of Shabbat, holidays, social justice work, Israel are “mishpacha memories,” Jewish family experiences that lodge in the mind and are not forgotten. Memories that will bring that smile and sense of connection…  ten, twenty, thirty years from now.

The memory albums of our lives will inspire or accuse. For sure, they take years to assemble, and years more to penetrate to the very core of who we are. Only now, for example, do I fully appreciate the impact of those monthly shleps to Brooklyn, and of course, in the broader sense, the legacy of my immigrant grandparents. So, having begun this sermon in terms of personal memory, let me then conclude the same way.

As I was mulling over this theme some years ago, I experienced a powerful moment of family continuity, right in front of my computer. I had read about a then new website: ellisislandrecords.org. I learned that from 1890 to 1922, more than 20 million immigrants came to America via Ellis Island. Meticulously recorded ship manifests chronicle each and every arrival. An army of volunteers, largely from the Mormon Church, put all these manifests on disk. When the Ellis Island website went online, the response was overwhelming. Millions of Americans began searching for their roots.

I was one of them. I began my search with my maternal great grandfather, because I knew the specifics of his arrival. He had saved the ticket that brought him to America, and he so treasured it that he passed it on to his daughter, my grandmother, who framed it. My grandmother gave it to me shortly before her passing at 100 years of age. It is on my wall, next to the certificate proclaiming my great grandfather a United States citizen. He saved that paper too.

Logging on to the website when it was not overloaded proved formidable, but then I was in, and several clicks later—there it was. Just one entry: One of twenty million. Line 21. Leo Lorber. Age 20. Ship: The Pennsylvania.  Port: Hamburg, Germany. Date of arrival: Nov.18, 1899.  Funds upon arrival: $15. The handwriting on the manifest was identical to that on the ticket. The same clerk had issued my great grandfather’s ticket and recorded his journey. A century later his great grandson, who bears his name, would rediscover the entry.

Zicharon. Memory. The secret of Jewish continuity is family, and the secret of family continuity is memory.

At this New Year, we dedicate ourselves anew to securing the link that binds the generations.

At this New Year, we dedicate ourselves to singing the song of our people, the song that will never be lost.

At this New Year, we raise the cup of thanksgiving:

L’mishpacha–to family!

L’zicharon–to memory!

L’hayim–to life!

Family

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

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

FAMILY

I am truly grateful to be with you as your new rabbi.

I am grateful to be in partnership with our new student cantor, Luke Hawley, with our veteran educator, Jennifer Goldstein, with our devoted board of trustees, and with all of you. Together we are engaged in the ongoing sacred task of creating kehillah k’dosha, holy community, or in the words of our 19th century founders, adas emuno, a congregation of faith.

At its best, a congregation represents “a family of families.” So by way of introduction in this first column, let me tell you a little bit about my family. Before doing so, however, let me add that I look forward to getting to know you and the hundred or so families that comprise our congregation. We are not large, and I hope there are opportunities to meet all of you during this coming year.

I grew up not that far from here, in the Hudson Valley community of Peekskill, NY. My wife Debby is from the mid-west (Sioux City, Iowa), but we met and married in Israel 30 years ago. Debby is an occupational therapist specializing in hand rehabilitation and travels around the world teaching therapists for Orfit Industries of Belgium. Our oldest son, Nadav, recently moved to Manhattan and works for Altfest Personal Wealth Management. Our daughter, Talia, is a speech pathologist in Philadelphia at Temple University Hospital. Our youngest, Noam, is a junior finance major at Rutgers. My parents, Barbara and Rudy, live in Cherry Hill, NJ and look forward, like my children, to being frequent visitors.

 In my continuing capacity as director of The Jewish Publication Society (the 120 year old publisher of Jewish classics),  I work the beginning of each week in Philadelphia and the balance from my new home in Leonia. We are already comfortably settled in on High Street and enjoying lovely walks through the neighborhoods of Leonia and hilly bicycle rides along the Hudson. Debby is already a regular swimmer and Israeli dancer at the JCC.

 I look forward to continuing the long journey of Congregation Adas Emuno together: as a community that is welcoming, inclusive, down-to-earth, haimish, spiritually audacious, intellectually searching, and committed to social justice.

From my family to yours, warm wishes for a new year of health, peace and all manner of blessings.