A Jewish Idea- Leap!

  

Perhaps you know someone born on Feb. 29. The joke is that he or she only has a birthday once every 4 years. A third grader might be only two years old, which would be frustrating to a child who wishes to fit in with peers. As a senior citizen of 24, definitely youngest among peers, the bones still creak and the dexterity may not be what it used to be. Adding one day every four years (or one month of 29 days as a second month of Adar in the Jewish calendar) makes a difference in how we calendar dates. Yet, do we actually feel different during that extra day or month?

      Judaism views time as important because time gives us an opportunity to achieve. We all know that Shabbat is super important but we tend to forget that Judaism views the work week as being important too. Physical and spiritual rest are essential in order that we have the capacity to positively and constructively effect change in our world. One extra day every four years (and one extra Hebrew month 17 times every 19 years) only keep us operating in terms of record keeping. True differences in our lives are made not by counting minutes or hours, but by using and appreciating those hours. Let us learn to enjoy and celebrate our time; effectively using these precious gifts which shall never be granted to us again.

Shalom and Happy Leap Day!

(Happy Leap Year- we are in Adar I  and approaching Adar II in the Hebrew year of 5776),

1)  Family Shabbat dinner March 4, 6:00-6:45 p.m. Eggplant Parmigiana for adults, spaghetti for kids. $5 per person, kids under 9 eat free. RSVP by THURSDAY, March 3 by calling the office or emailing me. PLEASE remember to bring your check with you.

2) BRIEF Shabbat service, March 4, 6:45-7:15 p.m. introducing our guest from ISJL- Ali Duhan.

3) Special guest, Mr. Alan Hall, speaking about his experiences of outwitting the Nazis during our lunch on Saturday at noon, March 5. PLEASE RSVP for the free lunch by calling 343-6010 !

4) If you are joining us for the free comedian, Benji Lovitt, please call the MAJF office at 343-7197. The performance is Sunday March 6 at 7:00 p.m. We would love to have you join us!

Shabbat Thoughts -Ki Tissa

Wherever you grew up you probably heard that Jews were/are thought to have horns. For centuries, we have been accused of being different and the charge of a genetically transmitted deformity would go a long way to reinforcing  negative attitudes against Jews. Some authorities trace this allegation to the famous statue of Moses, crafted by Michelangelo, wherein two horns are plainly evident. Obviously, we are not horned and our human bodies are the same as all human bodies;

(If you prick us do we not bleed –Act 3  The Merchant of Venice- another artistic source contributing to European anti-Semitism).

      It is this week’s Parshah (Ki Tissa) which bears a cryptic passage referring to Moses’s appearance after descending from Mt. Sinai.  “And the children of Israel saw that Moses’s face was KEREN OR  PANAV and they stood away from him.” (Ex 34:35).

‘Keren’ can mean horn or beam. It is obvious that in some places in our Hebrew Bible, ‘keren’ refers to a horn because the passage refers to animals. But the Hebrew word ‘keren ‘is attached to ‘or’ which means skin and ‘panav’ which means face. Thus, the phrase has something to do with Moses’s face’s skin.  Other contexts plainly point out that light can be conveyed by ‘keren’.

     The issue arises because a Latin translation of the Tanach known as Vulgate, renders ‘keren’ as horn. It is plausible that the Vulgate which was widely available led to Michelangelo’s inclusion of horn in his famous sculpture. How else could Michelangelo have conveyed the effect of a halo within a marble statue?

     To maintain the offensive and insulting assertion that Moses (and therefore his descendants) are horned reinforces centuries-old antipathies which only serve to brook racist paranoia. Rather than appreciating the symbolic power of a mortal’s appearance being transformed by a deeply spiritual encounter, there are those who seek to perpetuate stereotypes for the sole purpose of delegitimizing people who are different.

How contrary this bias is to the episode described in this week’s parshah—wherein we learn of Moshe’s interaction with the Creator of the universe for the purpose of presenting principles of law and justice to be shared with all humanity.

Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Steve Silberman

A Jewish Idea- Never Forget

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly dazzlingly yellow.

     Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone…

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly ‘way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world goodbye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,

Penned up inside this ghetto

But I have found my people here.

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut candles in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don’t live in here,

    In the ghetto.

June 4, 1942  Pavel Friedmann  Age 23

This poem  was written by a young man who was initially imprisoned in Theresienstadt and later killed in Auschwitz. About 15,000 children passed through Theresienstadt  between 1942-1944. About 100 survived.

The Holocaust was unprecedented, in scope, in enormity, in wickedness, in sophistication, in brutality and in efficiency. We Jews, and people of good heart and conscience of all backgrounds, are still struggling to come to some understanding of the Shoah and many are still tormented by their memories and their losses.

One man is no longer tormented. Samuel Willenberg died two days ago and was buried in Israel today. Samuel was the last survivor of Treblinka.

OUDIM (ISRAËL) (AFP) - 

Hundreds of people attended Monday's funeral in Israel of Samuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the World War II Nazi Treblinka death camp, who has died aged 93.

Willenberg was buried in the cemetery of the farming village of Oudim in central Israel, with hundreds of mourners including President Reuven Rivlin in attendance.

"I stand here as president of the state of Israel, beside the grave of the last witness of Treblinka, and before me are -- together with you -- 850,000 Jews," Rivlin said.

"Only 67 people survived Treblinka. You were among them, the last witness," the President said. "Every month, a thousand survivors (of the Holocaust) pass away. The number of first-hand witnesses is dwindling," Rivlin said.

Born in Poland, Willenberg was 19 and living in the town of Opatow when its Jewish inhabitants were sent to Treblinka. He was one of the instigators of an August 2, 1943, revolt at the camp when he joined another 200 inmates who broke into an SS armoury, opened fire on their captors and torched camp buildings.

Shot in the foot, Willenberg nevertheless escaped and joined the Polish underground.

      In 1944, he fought in the Warsaw Uprising by Polish partisans against the Nazis, surviving yet again to serve in the post-war Polish army and immigrating to Israel in 1950.  He became a noted sculptor, creating 15 scenes from Treblinka which have been exhibited in Israel, Poland and Germany. A public speaker with a booming voice, he wrote a book which was translated into 8 languages and led dozens of youth trips to Poland to educate Israeli teens of the atrocities done by the Nazis.

       According to the Yad Vashem Holocaust institute, approximately 870,000 Jews were murdered during the 13 months the Treblinka camp was in operation, from July 1942 to August 1943.

*************************************************************

     Samuel Willenberg is the last survivor of Treblinka and already people are doubting his existence, his testimony, his torment and the atrocities done against him and all of us and those who will never be born.

     We must never forget!

     On Shabbat, Saturday March 5, we are welcoming Alan Hall into our spiritual home for lunch. He is a survivor and will be speaking to all interested in hearing him. While we eat lunch after Shabbat services, he will address us. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and to become acquainted.

     We are grateful to the Gulf Coast Holocaust Center for arranging Mr. Hall’s’ visit. He will be addressing various audiences over the course of his visit to Mobile.

     At one point Mr. Hall’s family hid in the Nazi headquarters building in Lvov, Poland, two floors below the command center of the German Luftwaffe! Please join us to hear a remarkable story.

     In too short a time, there will be no more witnesses for us to hear and we will all say “I should have listened”.

     I look forward to seeing you in Shul on Saturday March 5.

Please RSVP in order to receive a complementary lunch. Those so inclined are encouraged to attend Torah Services beforehand.

     Shalom to us all.

Shabbat Thoughts- Terumah

  

Last night I noticed a very small crescent moon and I realized that the new Hebrew month had begun. Welcome to Adar! But unlike most years, our Hebrew year of 5776 which began on Rosh Hashanah  is actually a leap year (sheer-coincidence and no connection to 2016) and has an additional  29 days. Whether you reckon time in 2016 and you gain an extra day or 5776 and you gain an additional four weeks; we are blessed with extra time this year! What shall we do with this bonus? After all, it seems that we are constantly running out of time. This year we have more!

     Will we visit someone in the hospital a bit more frequently, become a bit more active in a charitable organization, perhaps attend a Torah on tap class at the Alchemy Tavern? Opportunities abound. I hope that all of us seek to find  and to bring meaningful tasks and meritorious deeds into our two Leap years.

     

     This week’s Torah reading, Termuah, describes the beginning of the first Jewish fundraising effort. Ancient Israelites were to contribute gifts of gold, silver and beautiful fabrics in order to construct the Tabernacle. The first phrase in this Torah reading reads as follows: Let every person contribute something from his or her own heart.

    

     It was up to the individual to share of his own possessions so that the community might have a beautiful and inspirational worship site. Each individual chose to add meaning to his community by sharing of his or her own wealth. So too, may we all choose to add meaning to our community, not only by the contributions that we make but also by how we spend our time.

Shabbat Shalom,

 Rabbi Steve Silberman

Torah on Tap

Please join me at theAlchemy Tavern on South Joachim Street on Wednesday, February 17^th from 5:30 PM- 7:00 PM. Bring your IPad  or phone with the free app. (Pocket Torah), buy a beer, study and schmooze.

Campus Map

On Thursday, February 18^th at 7:00PM, What does Judaism say about the Messiah? On February 18, I will be addressing the Trialogue and explaining the Jewish perspective of Messiah. Christian & Muslim perspectives will also be shared. Feel free to enjoy some refreshments.

Shcedule for Limmud

Shabbat Thought -Mishpatim

  

Yesterday was the anniversary of the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester. 73 years ago, this vessel was torpedoed by a German submarine. Within 20 minutes, the ship sank below the North Atlantic's icy waters. Hundreds of soldiers were killed immediately. Amidst the chaos, lifeboats were jettisoned from the ship and soldiers jumped into the frigid waters in vain attempts to enter some of the boats. As panicked soldiers struggled, four army chaplains moved about the sinking vessel, directing the soldiers to the few remaining lifeboats and handing out lifejackets. They did their best to calm the frightened and tend the wounded while guiding the disoriented and terrified soldiers to safety.

     Petty Officer John Mahoney tried to reenter his cabin. He was very concerned about the Arctic conditions and explained he was looking for his gloves. Chaplain Rabbi Goode gave him his own gloves and escorted him to safety. As the lifejackets were depleted, these chaplains removed their own lifejackets and gave them to four frightened young men. These chaplains need to be remembered not only for giving life to four soldiers but for bringing hope to hundreds who survived and support to hundreds as they perished. They are George L. Fox (Methodist minister), Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America minister), John P. Washington (Catholic Church priest) and Rabbi Alexander B. Goode. These four chaplains stood arm in arm and prayed as theDorchester sank. 672 people died, leaving 230 survivors. All who saw the four chaplains going down with the ship, remembered that scene for the rest of their days. This remarkable expression of love is utter righteousness, transforming the hearts of those who lived and those who died. 

     In this week's Torah reading known as Mishpatim, God commands us to imbue our ordinary lives with special meaning. We are not expected to be extraordinary. Nowhere in the Torah are we told to sacrifice our lives for someone else. Simply put, by caring for others even as we care for ourselves we bring holiness into our world. Holiness is extraordinary meaningfulness in ordinary contexts.

     Imagine not needing a life jacket but simply needing a cloak or blanket in which to take shelter and to stay warm. According to Torah, a debtor who owes money to a creditor must surrender collateral if the money cannot be repaid.  An exception is made in this week's Torah reading. If a poor person only possesses a cloak in which to find shelter and he has not repaid the loan, the creditor must still return the cloak to the debtor because the person in trouble needs shelter. Humanity trumps law. And in a Torah which has no punctuation marks a phrase of Hebrew words serves as a large exclamation mark for God states ”Whoever screams out to me I will hear because I am loving and compassionate.”  God will heed the cry of the person who cries out.

     Most assuredly, did God hear the voices of the 4 chaplains as they spoke, prayed and sang during the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 1943.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steve Silberman

P.S. In 1988 Congress established February 3 as "Four Chaplains Day”.