Shabbat Thoughts and Shavuos

  

We are all pulled in many directions. Like you, there are days when I am literally running. Time has a way of getting away from us. In a few hours Shabbat begins. According to a mystical tradition each of us is granted an additional soul on Shabbat. How dramatic! To be doubly spirited! On those days when I am feeling out of breath, I pause and look forward, anticipating gaining an additional soul.  This centers me. For this reason and many others I alter my behavior and I step out of ordinary time and what has recently become ordinary American practice. I refrain from email, phone use and computer work.

     During Shabbas, I pose a question to myself. How does my behavior respond to my spiritual reality? This question never gets old!

      Tomorrow night immediately, after Shabbos, we begin the holiday of Shavuos. It is our anniversary of standing at Mount Sinai and experiencing unparalleled transformative words whose significance have the greatest potential in our world.  I invite you to join me at Shul tomorrow evening for an ice cream social at 8 PM.  We will have Havdallah, sing a bit and study briefly. Feel free to drop by anytime between 8:00- 9:30 PM.

       Our Shul is having a Torah cleaning party Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m! What could be more traditional and chivalrous in terms of caring for our Torahs! Please exercise your prerogative as a descendent of Moses and ancestor of Jews yet to be born by taking hold of a Torah scroll. Help us clean a Torah and dedicate a few minutes of Sunday morning to sacred purpose.

      Please remember that Monday is Yizkor. We will have a short Torah study and Yizkor from Noon-1:00 p.m.  on June13. The office will be closed in observance of  Yomtov.

       Always remember that your soul receives a twin every Shabbat. How will you care for these two souls which are entrusted to you every weekend?

  Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach  (Happy Holiday!)

P.S. You might take a few minutes tomorrow evening and Sunday evening  to make Kiddush after sundown in honor of our Jewish holiday Follow along with the melody from this website and the text. Transform your home by pausing and listening to this prayer and drinking  a bit of wine.

Kiddush for Shavuot Eve:

Yomtov Kiddush Melodyhttp://www.herjc.org/cantor/Shavuot%20Kiddush.mp3

http://www.herjc.org/cantor/ShavuotKiddushtrans.pdf

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p'ri hagafen. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, asher bachar banu mikol am v'rom'manu mikol lashon, v'kid'shanu b'mitzvotav. Vatiten lanu Adonai eloheinu b'ahavah moadim l'simcha, chagim uz'manim l'sason, et yom chag hashavuot hazeh, z'man matan torateinu mikra kodesh, zeicher litzi’at mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta v'otanu kidashta mikol ha’amim, umoadei kod'shecha b'simchah uv'sason hinchaltanu. Baruch atah Adonai, m'kadeish yisrael v'haz'manim. Baruch atah Adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higi’anu lazman haze.

**Feel free to light candles as well, Saturday and Sunday evenings after sundown.

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel yom tov.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to light festival candles.

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam sheheheyanu v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us life, and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.

Shabbbat Thoughts- End of Passover April 28

Six days have passed since we convened at Seder tables. Whether in large or small groups, whether Hebrew or some other language graced our table –we all assembled to mark ourselves by the history of a beleaguered nation of slaves, yearning to leave behind the abuse of 2 centuries in order that future generations grow up in a culture espousing liberty and human dignity. The foods and the rituals drive home our mindset of simultaneously being slaves and despising slavery; of identifying with Israelites and championing the rights of all oppressed peoples; of finding a path to God and improving the world.

     The climax of the Seder is the opening of the door for Elijah- the herald of the Messiah. Traditionally, we sing L’shanah Ha-ba-ah bee-Yerushalayim (Next year may we be in Jerusalem) for it is the Haggadah’s view of redemption that we are to be free from tyranny and living as Jews in Israel. But Jewish tradition does not remain seated only in Seder chairs and reading from the Haggadah. Later Jewish tradition does not frame redemption as exclusively for Jews. Isaiah expands the focus of freedom and justice to include people of all nations, without regard to ethnic, tribal, political or religious label. The Messiah* becomes a global experience. The Haftarah we read onShabbat morning in two days as Pesach concludes, comes from Isaiah, and views redemption as universal.

      Having just welcomed Elijah into our own homes the next step ,after Passover, is thinking beyond our own individual and familial concerns and directing our thoughts and efforts to the needs of all people in crisis. Isaiah echoes the demands of Pesach’s final Torah reading which requires us to uplift the fallen, assist the homeless, share our meals with the lonely and hear the plight of the poor, Israelite and GER alike.

     In the observance of Passover we remember those who came before us and helped to define our identity as Jews and as people. Ancestors of millennia ago and our own loved ones who have died more recently have contributed to our singing the songs, hearing the words, committing ourselves to Tzedakah and helping our neighbors- all acts which fulfill the dream of Pesach. May we all hold their memories close

Shabbat Thoughts -Parshat Acharei Mote May 5

  On such a glorious day with the skies so blue and a beautiful sunset it is easy to be uplifted. Over the past few weeks with incessant storms our moods were easily affected. Now we have come out from under the gray skies and we feel a bit more renewed and settled.

     It is the tail end of Yom HaShoah. There is a sense of slowly settling down. The memorial service concluded last night. Some of us here in Mobile kindled memorial candles. In communities throughout in Israel and Europe people gathered in cemeteries and those ceremonies have concluded.  People are beginning to look towards the future. After Shiva and Sheloshim (30 days after burial) and hopefully with ongoing communal support, mourners begin to slowly see a new and different path. We walk forward shakily, perhaps losing our balance, relying on the guidance of others and the support of our loved ones, but we slowly begin to make our way along a new path.

     This week's Torah reading is called ‘After the death’ (Acharei Mote). It refers to a tragic event wherein Aaron the Kohane lost two sons. Surely, he, their Uncle Moses, the rest of the family and the community were shocked, distraught, terrified and angry.

     

We do not know exactly how the community responded. We do not know if they had their own version of Shiva. We only know that a community for which ceremony was critical stood by Aaron as he initiated a protocol which took root and endured for 1,300 years. It was the symbolic presentation of two goats associated with the removal of group error and the striving for group and individual reconciliation and personal growth. Perhaps it was the awareness that life is fragile that led to this ritual’s being associated with Yom Kippur. But, the community stood by Aaron as he grieved.

     Even today, as modern people, we struggle with the challenges before us and the fragility of our lives. We seek support from loved ones and the reassurance of community, anchored in tradition, testifying to the assertion that we are far from being alone.

     May we be blessed to offer support to each other in times of crisis and fear. May we be humble enough to accept the encouragement of others when we are in need. May our hearts be open.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Steven Silberman

Shabbat Thoughts -Parshat Kedoshim May 13

"I'm only human, I'm not perfect” is a familiar refrain heard by many, adults and children alike. We might offer these words out of embarrassment or as a way of justifying behavior. Perhaps, privately, we recognize our failure to measure up to certain standards; those of others, our own or those of some higher authority and exclaim that we are not perfect.

      Of course no one is perfect. It is important to remember that Judaism does not expect us to be perfect. But, Judaism does expect, if not demand, that we seek to be holy. What is the difference between being perfect and holy? Perfection is impossible; holiness is within reach and alters our personal spiritual selves.

      In this week's Torah reading, named Kedoshim (holy ones), 51 mitzvot are enumerated!  No distinction is made in the Torah between mitzvot, even though some modern Jews might be tempted to artificially label some mitzvot as either ritual or ethical in nature. The only apparent difference between the mitzvot is that some are positive (shall dos) and others are negative (shall nots).

      It is easy for us to say that we will follow ethical mitzvot such as ‘not over charging consumers’, ‘not placing a stumbling block before the blind’, and ‘showing respect to senior citizens’. Who among sane people would object to any of these behaviors?

     But some Jews find it difficult to believe that there is a Supreme Power permeating the universe which cares about what we eat for lunch or how we spend our free time.

      I openly admit that I have never heard a Divine voice audibly call out to me and stipulate rules of Kashrut and Shabbas. But just as I have heard an inaudible voice directing me to care for my children and honor my wife, I have heard a whisper carried over the millenia that  compels me to transform my behavior in a unique way. No other nation on the face of our globe eats food in the same way for the same reasons; transforming eating into an act of worship, demonstrating respect for animal life and emphasizing the opportunity for spiritual purity through diet. The tastiest fare from an exceptional restaurant fails miserably.

      It was our ancestors, inspired by hearing a word echoing from heaven through mountaintops to the earth below who discerned the majesty of stepping out of normal time and entering spiritual time. Ex-slaves, formerly controlled by earthly men, took hold of the profound message of mastering time to emulate God as opposed to being mastered by time and task.  For the modern man who runs exhausted through the day, captive to many  labor-saving devices, but constantly behind schedule- who is the master? The individual or the schedule?

       The bottom line is that holiness enhances the entire self; enriching spiritual dimensions by simultaneously attaching ourselves to people in ordinary ways and to the ULTIMATE ONE which is beyond the ordinary reality of our universe. Entering any relationship requires loyalty to the other party; entering into a relationship with the creator of Time-Space requires self-discipline in terms ofShabbat, prayer and other behaviors, even as observing the mitzvah of paying bills on time also requires self-discipline.

      Parshat Kedoshim spells out some of the steps by which we can become more closely attuned to strangers, relatives, friends, neighbors and even those people whom we can’t stand. And when we prioritize others by not holding a grudge or God, by curtailing some of our activities on Shabbat just to BE, we will have arrived at the starting point of this week’s Torah reading, becoming Kedoshim (holy ones).

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Steve Silberman

Shabbat Thoughts -Parshat Emor May 19

Our lives are continually shaped by our families. Whether born into a family or chosen by a family, whether large or small, the forces at work from youth until adulthood and beyond are colossal. Our identities are shaped in incalculable ways, dramatically affected by parents, siblings, spouses, children and other relatives; these are the primary influences of our psyches, our behaviors and our minds.

     The moments of our lives and our loved ones’ lives and deaths are interwoven, giving rise to a tapestry of souls entwined with others. No thread stands alone; easily removed. Like a carpet which may fray at the edges, death takes a toll upon family life.

     Interestingly, the references to mourning rites in this week's Parshah are made in terms of life and the impact of the death of loved ones upon the living relatives. Reading Leviticus chapter 22 we learn of the responses by the mourners as opposed to describing the person or persons who have died.

    Center-stage are the mourners, not the deceased.

     Jewish tradition has always focused on the here-and-now. Jewish tradition is this-worldly. Strikingly, the emphasis in the Torah is on how the mourners will respond to the deaths of their loved ones and how they are to continue on in their daily lives.

     In no way do we consider the deceased unimportant. All who are reading this email know the emphasis given to honoring deceased relatives, rapid burial, Shemirah (watching over the deceased until burial), attending the funeral, the responsibility to observe seven days of Shiva. All of these elements speak to the significance of honoring the deceased but the focus is how it plays out in terms of the living, not the dead.

    Paraphrasing verses in both last week’s Torah reading and this week's Torah reading- the best way of sanctifying God and of being holy is by treating people in a sacred manner. For us, holiness is a challenge within our grasp. Holiness (Kedushah in Hebrew) is an opportunity to connect to God via first connecting to each other, during daily life, in celebrating birth and mourning our loved ones.

     May each and every loved one be remembered for a blessing-Zichrona l’vrachah.

    Shabbat shalom.

Shabbat thoughts-Parshat Bamidbar

My teeth are on edge as I share with you the news of a vicious attack by two Palestinian terrorists in a Tel-Aviv restaurant yesterday. Four people were killed. The terrorists had the audacity to eat in the restaurant and then after concluding their meals they shot innocent civilians.

To eat in a restaurant is to break bread with others; the basis for countless attempts over the ages at establishing a personal connection with one another and representing the longing for harmony between brethren. To maniacally murder people after eating in their midst is twisted and macabre.

Only the carnival atmosphere in some Arab towns where people celebrated and handed out candy is there an equivalent disregard for human life and a  mindless and soulless championing of terror and cruelty.

It must be that we Jews operate on a different frequency than some Arab community leaders, spiritual leaders and PLO officials who openly encourage violence and the pursuit of martyrdom. The last well-known Jewish experience of autonomous martyrdom took place 1,946 years ago when Jews fled Jerusalem as Rome was burning the temple and took shelter on a mountaintop named Masada.

Rather than give the Romans the satisfaction of raping, torturing, mutilating and killing ,these Jewish people committed suicide. Their martyrdom did not include killing other people. Other cases of Jewish martyrdom are too numerous to recount in this essay; suffice it to say that the innumerable episodes of Jewish martyrdom were carried out by enemies of Jews against Jews and not the other way around.

To celebrate murder of civilians by handing out candy as if it were a festival or party is sickening and depraved.  For Hamas to publically praise shooters in a restaurant as heroic (and Fatah does not decry such praise) should alert the world as to the potential peace partners Israel is expected to welcome and trust.

This week we begin to read the fourth volume of Torah,known in Hebrew  as Bamidbar which means ‘in the wilderness’, and by the English name Numbers from a census herein. Whether we read the Torah in Hebrew and and call it Bamidbar or in English and call it Numbers,the opening sentence is a very significant.

God calls to Moses in the tabernacle and commands Moses to count the people. Normally the tabernacle is a place for worship. Why would the command to take a census which is an administrative task be associated with worship? We must realize that counting every person is like praying. Each person is a Divine expression. When we attend to people we are praying! Contrast the wickedness of a culture which embraces murder of civilians and lauds terrorists in the eyes of children by distributing candy.

Just Yesterday we marked Yom Yerushalayim, the day Jerusalem was reunited after 1,897 years of division,of being divided ,of being "separate and unequal". Have you ever wondered why the Temple Mount, which is just above the Kotel, is owned and administered by Arabs?The Israelis won the Six-Day. War. Moshe Dayan recognized the importance of respecting various religious and cultural traditions and understood the practical need of accepting the reality of the Arab population in East Jerusalem.  He enthusiastically urged the government to return ownership of and control of the Temple Mount Plaza to the Muslim religious authority (named Waqf).

In our own history we see Jewish and Israeli values of respect by returning Temple Mount to Arab control. In our sacred Torah we see regard for human life. As Jews we are commanded to share our values with the world;values of life and respect and law. This Shabbat have  a conversation with someone and share these thoughts.

And remember to celebrate with ice cream, blintzes and friends on Saturday eve at 8:00 p.m. in shul. We celebrate the Ten Great  Words from Sinai. What a contrast I see with the Palestinians who celebrate murder.

Shabbat Shalom,

 Rabbi Steve Silberman