A prayer,New Year's & Shabbat Thoughts-Parshat Sh-mote

 Here we stand on the cusp of a new year. Opportunity awaits us; there is excitement in the air. For many, the emphasis is upon celebrating, whether in a small group or at some grand event. 2015 passes in review. News summaries of the past year will include war, violence and loss of life. Great sadness nearly overwhelms us upon being reminded of such great loss.  Inside ourselves we desperately hope that 2016 will be different than 2015; that’s why we celebrate! We celebrate in advance for the possibility that 2016 will be defined by happiness, love, sharing, beauty and goodness! We celebrate in order to begin a year with the hope that the year can continue with goodness as long as possible.  We wish each other HAPPY NEW YEAR loudly so that the echoes of our greetings will resonate as deeply into 2016 as possible; negating in a minuscule manner negative news which is most likely just around the bend. Our emphasis on Happy New Year showcases an optimistic yearning for a better world. And our voices are shared with others.

     A prayer for 2016-

God of all life, as all of your children, prepare to mark time in celebration, let them remember that life is the greatest of all gifts. Let our daily individual and communal choices reflect this awareness. Teach us, one by one, to live life in gratitude and appreciation. Let us not steal life from others. Enter each of us in mind and spirit to motivate us to care for others and when truly angry, may we have the strength to simply walk away. Bless our loved ones with peace and keep our enemies far away from us. Let the year shared by the entire human race be a year of which we can all be proud when reviewing it in 2017.

Let there be shalom for all.

     This week’s Torah reading (Sh-mote) catapults one individual into a role which he wished to avoid. Named Moses by his adoptive mother after he was weaned and his original name unknown to us, he responds to a minority’s daily sufferings and transforms a society which brutalizes people considered ‘other’. Reluctantly, Egypt inexorably and begrudgingly begins to move in a new direction –only to be stymied by one man’s (Pharaoh’s) personal stubbornness. A lesson for us all is that one man can change a nation for the better or for the worse.

May we all grow in our abilities to make our world better.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Steve Silberman

 Reminder-“The writing’s on the wall”. This expression enters the English language and literature from our Hebrew Bible. Come and join us as we check out the Book of Daniel- a secretive and strange book –Mondays from Noon to 1:00p.m.This scene becomes revealed on Jan. 4,2016.

     Tonight- How exciting that Alabama is in the Cotton Bowl! Roll Tide! (and for our Shul members who are not Bama fans- let’s be excited that the SEC is represented!)

January 2016 Bulletin

Shabbat Thoughts- Tonight, A Jewish Holiday!

You are invited to witness the concluding passage of the first volume of Torah on Saturday Dec. 26. Beresheet (Genesis) is concluding and we begin to read Shemote (Exodus) next week! Please help us as a congregation fulfill this ancient ritual!

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     We tend to prioritize special events over ordinary gatherings and holidays over regular days. For us, extraordinary time stands out as being more meaningful than any given Tuesday. It's understandable because Tuesdays come every week but an anniversary, a birthday or a graduation does not. When investing a great deal of energy into special experiences we sometimes forget that every day is equally important. By way of analogy, a pianist plays a great many notes but without the pauses between the notes, the sounds would be less melodic. Pauses give the notes significance. Similarly, ordinary days allow special dates to gain depth and breadth.

      In this week’s Torah reading Father Jacob offers his final words to 12 sons and two grandsons. Each recipient most assuredly gave heed as he stood in the presence of the patriarch aware that future words would not be forthcoming. Grandfather Jacob-Israel famously says  “By you Efrayim and Menasheh shall Israel offer blessings with these very words: ‘May God make each of you like Efrayim and Menasheh.’ ”

     Patriarch Jacob-Israel is bequeathing a verbal inheritance to his descendants. As a grandfather distanced from his son Joseph and Joseph’s own children, Jacob-Israel sets down words which are nearly unrivaled in Hebrew and successive translations. 3,700 years later, Jewish parents today still invoke these famous words; blessings inherited from a grandfather who may have first coined this expression because of his own inability to offer them closely and routinely.

      Ironically, these words bear incredible power precisely because they are now made routine; offered ritualistically every Friday evening by Jewish parents the world over. Once-in-a-lifetime words are now quoted by descendants of Jacob; parents who choose to sanctify their children with their own blessings added to Jacob’s parental charge. With our words, each of us bears the power to alter someone’s perspective on life and to influence the behavior of a family member or friend. Shall we not use our ordinary words to the fullness of their power?

     May this Shabbat Vayechi, concluding the first volume of Torah and standing upon the edge of a new year, inspire us in how we use our ordinary speech and how we view our extraordinary events.

Shabbat Shalom. 

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Shabbat Thoughts -Rabbi Steven Silberman -Vayigash

  

We call ourselves Jews but the Torah names us “Children of Israel.”  Like descendants of siblings we are cousins to each other. Like families, we may experience conflict and disagreement even as we also share love and affection. We are a family. If we take the time to look deep within ourselves we hopefully see the common roots from which we all emerge and conduct ourselves accordingly. Strikingly, the labels ‘religious’, ‘liberal’,‘secular’, ‘ Conservative’, ‘Reform’, ‘Shabbas-observant’,  ‘leftist’, ‘’AIPAC’ , ‘JStreet’ , ‘kosher-eating’ and ‘trayf-eating’ do not appear in Torah. The only words which do appear in Torah are Children of Israel or individual member of Israel. Ever since we began 3,800 years ago we have defined ourselves as family and we view the world through the lens of loyalty, obligation and need to care for each other in spite of our potential differences. Mull over the myriad elements of Tzedakah and you will realize our ties which hold us together. Essentially, we are all one extended family.

     This week’s Torah reading brings home the power of family reconciliation. Joseph is now Viceroy of Egypt. Seeing his brothers, he remembers their cruel mistreatment and has it in his power to return the favor. But as he is about to imprison Benjamin on a trumped-up charge, his older brother Judah breaks down in contrition and humility. He offers himself in exchange for his younger brother who has done no wrong. Joseph also breaks down and reveals himself to his astonished brothers. They weep and they pledge to mend fences; all as a result of the drama between Joseph and Judah. If not for Judah (for whom we Jews are named) we might all still be in an Egyptian prison.

     Perhaps one man’s willingness to accept personal responsibility did not literally preclude all of our still being imprisoned. But Torah, not concealing the misdeeds of our ancestors, highlights all behavior-good and bad-and offers us a sacred perspective whereby we may evaluate our own conduct.

    May we have the power and courage to reconcile with our own families.

 Shabbat Shalom.

Remember Musical Shabbat  with Sammy Rosenbaum ( Musical service tomorrow evening  from 6-7:00p.m.) and Concert onSaturday Dec. 19 @ 7:00p.m! Please join us for the gift of music!

Last Chanukah Meditation 5776

 Like you, I have kindled Chanukah candles these past eight nights. Like you, I have taken a moment to place an increasing number of candles in the Chanukiah-sometimes making a pattern of colors and sometimes allowing randomness to take hold. But in the main, the bringing of light into my home during the many hours of darkness has uplifted my spirits- connecting me to something much greater than myself.  Connected to God, bridging my immediate family to its Ashkenazic roots, linked to Jews who fought for religious freedom 2,000 years before the brilliance of sacred American ideals emerged- I am rooted in the present by the lights of the Chanukah Menorah born out of the past.

      As the darkness of evening descends I find myself looking at an empty Chanukiah, tempted to bring one additional measure of light into 5776. I miss the blessings which have become part of the routine which you and I have shared, albeit in different homes. What can I do to fill a small void left by the Menorah bereft of candles?

      In my mind’s ear I hear the blessings which you and I have sung together this past week; “You are blessed God by making us holy through the kindling of the Chanukah flames.”  I think of the implication of our shared behavior- becoming holy by lighting a simple flameholder. And if we can become sanctified through such behavior, all the more can each of us become sanctified by visiting sick friends, calling someone who is lonely, listening to Israeli music, donating Tzedakah, coming to a special musical Shabbatthis Friday (Dec. 18, 6:00-7:00p.m) or concert Saturday Dec. 19 at 7:00p.m. at Shul, or once per week studying some Torah. The opportunities for you and me to become holy are as limitless as all of human experience-starting with love of humanity and God at our center. With these thoughts in mind, I don’t miss the candles so much. Now I can wait a year until I light them again.

May all of your days be filled with internal light.

Chanukah 5776 Eighth Blessing

Tonight we kindle 8 flames. Tonight our tables will bear great flame.

Flame can destroy; flame can warm.

Flame can consume; flame can cook.

Flame can drive animals away; flame can bring people close.

For what shall we use this great flame as we go forward in our lives?

How shall Chanukah continue to be part of our awareness?

May you look back on Chanukah 5776 as a season of light and growth, warmth and happiness, fulfillment and shalom.

Chanukah Sameach!

Like many people I have been kindling Chanukah candles in front of my window. In how many countries are Jews afraid to publicly demonstrate their Jewish identity? In how many countries are people of varied backgrounds afraid to express their religious identities? Let us all appreciate our everyday freedoms which are far from ordinary! 

Did you know that these two well-known expressions ‘Feet of clay’ and ‘writing’s on the wall’ both come from a Jewish biblical book?

Please consider joining our Tanakh (Bible )study class. Every Monday atnoon; we just began studying DANIEL and you have much to gain and contribute.  Come add your voice and perspective.  There is no charge for the class and it is open to all shul members.

Shabbat Thoughts- Fear builds walls

  Rabbi Dr. Professor Mordechai Kaplan, one of the premier intellects of 20^th century Jewish life keenly observed the rapid integration of Jewish people into American society and culture. Kaplan, a Conservative rabbi, wanted to reconstruct Jewish life and society-developing a cohesive Jewish community unafraid of being part of American society. Not intending to create a fourth denomination, he wanted to foster an understanding of Judaism as being much more than a religion. He called it a civilization. From Kaplan’s perspective, fear would have impeded our individual and communal growth.

     I wonder how Rabbi Kaplan would assess the current political climate in Europe and beginning to touch America. Extremist Muslims are bombing, murdering, detonating, beheading and stabbing people of all religious backgrounds and any observer of the European press sees threats to European Jewish life. How would Rabbi Kaplan view the slide of Europe into a spiral of fear and mistrust even as it clings to the ideals of humanitarianism borne out of an ethic based upon respect, charitable giving and concern for the suffering? How are we, Jews, who have immigrated to these shores and been welcomed by Lady Liberty (“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” -words written by Jewish poet Emma Lazarus), to act when we hear loud voices calling for us to close the gates of our free society; close the shores to which 2 million impoverished and desperate Jewish immigrants fled just 3 generations ago?

     Fear builds walls which bar the light (Baal Shem Tov).We have much to fear in these current days. Perhaps the greatest fear is that we shall lose ourselves.

     In this week’s Parsha (Miketz) Viceroy Joseph secretly returns money to the 10 brothers who bought food. Upon returning home and unpacking their bags they discover the money and they are very afraid. Paralyzed by fear, these adults have no idea as to how to proceed. Only much later when the current food runs out and they face an extreme crisis of death by famine, do they decide to communally confront their fear. What will it take for us to come together as a community to face our fear?

The lights of Chanukah burn tonight to teach us the lessons of the Hasmoneans; to fight for freedom and security; to not give in to hopelessness and to stand up for those who have no advocate.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Volunteers are needed for Christmas Day at Providence Hospital. You would be helping out in the Transportation Department from 8:00 AM- 12:00 Noon. If you can help, or have questions, please call Sheri Weber (633-3153).Let us support our Christian neighbors who wish to be at home with their families. 

3) Please remember the Special Shabbat featuring Sammy Rosenbaum on Friday Dec. 18 and a concert on Saturday Dec. 19 at 7:00p.m. featuring Sammy and his band. Bring your friends!

Meditation 5th night of Chanukah 5776

A Brief history of Israel in honor of Chanukah—

   

Stage 1 ( Lasting 300 years)-12 tribes conquered Canaan and it becomes known as Israel.

Stage 2 (Lasting 200 years)-Civil war and schism between the Northern 10 and the Southern  2 Tribes. North becomes known as Israel and South becomes  known as Judah.

Stage 3 (long time)- Northern region is destroyed and the term ‘10 Lost Tribes’ originates. Only the South remains. Region remains called Judah.

Stage 4- (1,870 years ago) Wandering Jews live without a national homeland as guests in other lands throughout the world. Our homeland is called Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) but the people are called Judahites or Jews because of the South’s name.

Stage 5 –(1948) After almost 19 centuries the land is ours but the name Israel is restored, symbolically harkening back to the original time of all  the tribes being united. The name of Israel tells a story and conveys a message of hoped-for unity.

Tonight we light 5 candles and we remember Chanukah’s origination in ancient Judah. What began as a local holiday commemorating local independence has become transformed into an international holiday celebrating spiritual freedom. What began as a holiday demonstrating Jewish refusal to assimilate now offers us a message of pride in our unique identity. What began as a specifically Jewish holiday now represents aspirations of many diverse peoples, all of whom desire to live freely and celebrating religious liberty.

Stand in pride with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East; a modern nation offering much to the entire world!

Happy Chanukah!

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Chanukah Meditation #4 5776

It’s the fourth night Chanukah, already? How the days have flown by! Turn back the clock one month to remember your hopes for this year’s Chanukah. The anniversary of religious freedom, our ancient holiday, did not originate to bolster merchants hawking wares. Our ancestors stepped out of their comfort zone, risking their lives and their security so that we,their future descendants, might live Jewishly and freely. Four days remain; how shall we step out of our customary Chanukah practice and promote religious freedom for ourselves and for others?

Chanukah Sameach!

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Chanukah Meditation 5776

A meditation on miracles as we kindle the second flame of Chanukah:

 The role of miracle is as critical to us as ever, perhaps more so, reminding us that the force for  the transformation of one person or one people still remains within our universe. Miracles do not inspire a faith which is destructive. Miracles inspire true faith in order that we have the strength to persevere in the face of great individual challenge and collective adversity and the courage to beautify our world even when our hearts may be plagued by doubt over our abilities to make a difference.

Chanukah teaches us to see the miracles before us and to never lose faith for us, the Jewish People and all humanity.

For that, we celebrate!

 When we take hold of someone’s fingers and feel their warmth we become aware of someone outside of ourselves. By gently grasping someone’s wrist we can detect the heartbeat of a living being! A simple touch between hands opens our minds to the miracle of life. It may seem to be a small miracle but it is a miracle nonetheless.

2,200 years ago a small flask of oil miraculously sustained the Menorah until new oil was obtained.  Similarly, a small band of Hasmonean fighters sustained the Jewish community and restored spiritual and political freedom to the Jewish nation.

     Small miracles can change our world –one day at a time and one person at a time. As we kindle the 3^rdcandle of Chanukah 5776 may we see the place of miracles in our own world and may we act upon them! Let us appreciate the miracles in our own world at this season of time!

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Shabbat Thoughts- Thanksgiving

A Hebrew pun for Thanksgiving:
Toda means 'Thank you' but the ancient and more formal word of thanks could be HODU. But HODU is also the Hebrew noun "turkey". So Hodu means both thanks and turkey.

Happy Yom Hodu=Happy Day of Thanks and Happy Day of turkey.
Please offer a moment or a word of gratitude as you gather today with your loved ones. 

Families come in all shapes and sizes. Not all families celebrate time or mark occasions as joyously as yours may. Some families experience anguish known only to their own members and some are recovering from wounds from many years ago. Our nation is celebrating Thanksgiving and many are happily gathering with loved ones; others may be alone or marking loss which you and I do not understand.

     On this national day of giving thanks remember someone outside your own home and reach out –send a text, make a phone call or drop by for a short visit. Share a moment of giving thanks with someone whom you normally do not include in your own experience. It will make this day more meaningful for you and for others as well.

     This week’s Torah reading, Vayishlach, reminds us of two brothers who had gone different paths and after 20 years came together. Jacob and Esau, bearing grudges for “he said this” and “he should have acted that way” came to an understanding. They reconciled! But, it was not a storybook ending. They chose to settle apart. They recognized that as different people they were unable to live side-by-side. However, they did patch up old wounds and start a newer life of appreciation for each other.

     Perhaps this is a message for us. Not all families look or act like the Thanksgiving commercials so prevalent on TV at this season. But all family members do possess the power to initiate a new way of understanding one other.

May we be reminded of what truly matters.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman

A Jewish Idea- Humanity

Our Jewish names tell a story. Mendel BAT Avi  v’ Rachel  nearly shouts a familial connection between Mendel and parents Avi and Rachel. BAT means ‘daughter of’ and BEN means ‘son of’. Our names immediately demonstrate that no Jew lives in isolation. Every person is part of a greater whole. Our own names describe a fact too common to consider but never to be ignored; we all come from someone else. Without parents we would not be. In a broader framework –without each other we would not experience the significance which emerges from relationships. Relationships with others are as essential to our personal identities as are our own names (which remind us of our interconnectedness).

     In last week’s Torah reading, Forefather Jacob flees from his controlling father-in-law (Lavan) but Lavan pursues, overtakes and complains that he did not get the chance to properly say goodbye to his daughters and grandchildren. “All of these daughters and sons are mine and the sheep are mine too.” (Gen. 31:43)

     It seems to me that Lavan is more concerned with property and quantity than he is with feelings and relationships. He lumps daughters and grandchildren into

the same category as sheep and goats; property. Rather than seeing the children as part of his identity he views them as goods to value. They are only important because the bigger numbers testify to his own importance. Value grows or diminishes dependent upon volume alone.

     Sadly, we see a dramatic diminution in the worth of humanity by and through despicable acts of terrorists. Life is no longer cherished. Terrorists only desire to eliminate as many infidels as possible. Extremists only view the world through the lens of how large is our group and how small is their group.

     How terribly cruel and myopic it is to view people as disposable and valueless, only as a result of beliefs gone amok. Narrowness of mind begets true fear of others and sets the stage for destruction. Those who are more open-minded can appreciate the beauty and value which exist in our world due to the complexity of human life and belief. It is this very appreciation of others which is apparent in how we name ourselves and those who will follow us. May we continue to take stock of those around us thereby granting and receiving a true sense of meaning in life.

Shalom.

Rabbi Steve Silberman

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Shabbat Thoughts- Freedom

Some people like to camp and hike in the great outdoors. They find camping to be a means of connecting to God, nature or unlocking something deep within the self. Instead of seeing camping as a pleasure, though, imagine that you faced catastrophe and had to evacuate your home. Picture striking out in search of a new home, hoping against logic that the new home would be safer than the one you were leaving. Alone in the middle of enemy territory without modern conveniences, you would be at the mercy of the elements and perhaps hostile forces. You would like to believe that strangers might be inclined to help you but the need for self-preservation overrides hope and you continue on your own way.

     What a dreadful experience it would be to not trust passersby!  Yet, just hours ago a Jewish teacher walking near his own neighborhood in Marseille, France was stabbed and injured by three passersby.  One of the attackers had a T-shirt expressing support for the Islamic State. All three of them shouted anti-Semitic phrases as they attacked him. He was stabbed three times, not critically, and managed to get away. Thankfully, he survived.

     We are not supposed to live in fear. We are supposed to greet each day and imbue it with meaning, purpose and life.  For the past 2,000 years, even as we survived the Roman destruction of our Temple and our society, we have recited a small, daily blessing of appreciation of freedom.  In our own minds we see ourselves as created by God to be free! It is fundamental to our very makeup as humans.

     Freedom is a core Jewish principle (think of the importance of Pesach and Chanukah) just as it is a bedrock principle of American life and society. How are we to respond when we feel alone in the wilderness, bereft of shelter?

     In this week's Torah reading we learn that Jacob runs away from a vengeful brother. With nowhere else to go he must fend for himself, avoiding his brother's wrath and many other potential threats.  At one point, with nothing of his own, Jacob uses a stone as a pillow.  Later on, after working hard for 20 long years, it appears that he will lose his long-delayed wages. At his lowest ebb, he encounters God and it is during this exhausting struggle that his new name emerges; Yisrael –‘struggle with God and man and prevail.’  This name becomes our shared name.

     We are children of immigrants-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as Hirschel, Chanah, Harry, Annie and the names which adorn the Yahrzeit alcove in our Shul. Collectively, we are named after this man and called the children of Jacob and the children of Israel.We bear the imprint of ancient and recent immigrants within us. As we witness our modern world contending with the dilemma of welcoming migrants and preserving our security I ask "How did our immigrant ancestors survive?"

     When they didn’t have a pillow, they used a rock. They did what was necessary to survive and  flourish. So shall we all. May we continue to be blessed with the ability to differentiate between the helpful and the antagonistic passersby. 

     May we and the people of Paris be blessed with Shalom. Please include a silent prayer for all of the people of France in the quiet and private prayer of your own Shabbat.

    Shabbat Shalom.

    Rabbi Steve Silberman

Shabbat Thoughts- Play Nice

When I was a young boy, my baby sister wanted to follow me around.  To my young mind she always seemed to be a pest. When she didn’t get her way she scratched and pinched. In self-defense, I would hold her tightly. I explained my rationale and complained when I was told to not pick on her. Poppa, my grandfather, used to say “two wrongs don’t make one right,” and instructed me to play nicely, to share and to behave better. I parroted the phrase, nodded and made myself scarce.  Over the decades I have mentally heard his words countless times. Adults struggle to impart fairness to children. Having learned the hard way, adults view family through a very different lens than do children.

    We expect adults to set proper examples for their children. Perhaps that expectation is the basis for my disappointment in Isaac and Rebekah. Parshat Toldot opens the door into one of the most famous family dramas in the Tanakh (Bible). Father Isaac favors Esau and designates a blessing for him while Mother Rebekah favors Jacob and encourages him to masquerade as Esau in order to illicitly obtain the blessing (designated for Esau) from Father Isaac. Father Isaac is enamored of his outdoorsman elder son and Mother Rebekah dotes on the more domestic Jacob. Each adult, focusing primarily on one child, forgets the primary responsibility of parenthood; lovingly guiding all children into mature adulthood.  

     As years go by, I find myself talking to Rebekah and Isaac every year at this season. As I read and re-read this Parshah I nearly ask aloud how each parent could have been so blinded by love of one child as to discriminate against the other. It is unfortunate that they never get it right in terms of rearing their twins. At least we have a chance to learn from their parental misjudgements.

     May our children learn fairness and kindness, patience and mutual respect from our daily behavior.  May we be mature enough to NOT instruct our children in the ways of jealousy, lying and deceit.  Let each of us recognize our capacity for improving our world through the contact we have with all of our children.

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Steve Silberman

~Veterans Day Service Fri. Nov. 13, 6:00-7:00p.m. Oneg to follow – Please join us and honor our veterans!

~If you are like most Jews you have never studied Daniel on an adult level. Please join us for a Bible study of a very intriguing book. Mondays (beginning Nov. 16) from Noon to 1:00p.m. (No charge). Enjoy refreshments and a bit of fellowship too!

~ Proudly brought to you by Sisterhood, on Sunday Nov.15 @ 9:45 a.m. at the Shul. Please RSVP by Friday, Nov.13at 3:00 p.m. Supplies need to be purchased. There is no charge to participate. Call the shul office. ~More Info~

~Please bring small LEGO sets which will be donated to the Special Needs program at Camp Ramah. This LEGO collection drive will be an ongoing Sisterhood project. Bring them to the challah baking session or at any other time!

~ New Book in the Monday Bible study (NOON). Daniel calls out to us. No cost to join. Drop by for an hour. Open a Bible which you have never studied.  The origin of the phrase “Feet of clay” may surprise you.

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