We are witnesses to destruction. The overwhelming loss from Hurricane Harvey is beyond measure. While the grief is beyond description, already heroes and ordinary people have begun to rescue people in distress and to begin the clean-up, setting in motion the first of the preliminary stages of rebuilding. With flood waters still encroaching upon our friends’ homes, individuals are helping to guide the beleaguered communities of Texas, in some way, towards living one more day. Caring action will spread hope throughout the lives of many who are on the edge of despair. Communal support will take root and eventually will counter misery.
How are we to respond to such a catastrophe? Helpless to prevent a monster hurricane and at a loss for words, I turn to a strange Midrash and find comfort.
An old Jewish commentary on the nature of existence reads as follows:
God created the world and it was beautiful -but it was found wanting. Time and again God created world after world, each more beautiful than the previous. Yet, still God found each world lacking and destroyed it and then resumed creating and ultimately created many worlds { some say 1,000 worlds} and then left off of the destruction and this world is the final in creation. (Genesis Rabbah 3:7 and other sources).
This compelling Midrash does not specify why this world stood out in God's eyes as the pinnacle of all creation but I have an idea. This cryptic text does not elaborate on the contents of the world and I have a sneaking suspicion that there were no people in the prior worlds. This current world, our world, contains people and people have the compassion necessary to uplift each other in crisis; thereby making a lasting difference in each other’s lives. Kindness and concern for others differentiated our world to such an extent as to incline God to say “this is the world I shall keep”.
We are the unique ingredient, incomparable amidst all existence, because we can understand each other. True enough, we bear the technical capacity to right a capsized vessel and to rebuild dwellings. More importantly, though, we can empathize with one another and bear the hurt of the heart and the wounds of the spirit of individuals and communities.
And it is this essential component of creation which nothing else in the universe possesses.
May we lend our spirit to all - and our nation will do its part to uplift Texas and each other.
A Message From the Rabbi
Our calendar tells a story. January derives from the
Roman two-headed god Janus, representing the act
of looking forward and backward into time as people
begin a new year. September (7th), October(8th),
November (9th) and December (10th) indicate our
ancient solar calendar contained ten months until
Julius and Augustus Caesar came along and wanted
to be memorialized. Each inserted a month into the
calendar in his own honor and presto – 12 months.
Roman gods (Janus and Mars), practicality in
counting, and human ego underlie our modern
system of record-keeping.
The Hebrew calendar tells a different story.
Torah numbers the months. Passover is so important
that it imbues its month with the stature of being
number one. Because the first month falls in spring
we could read a phrase in Exodus as naming
Passover’s month ‘springtime’. No other months are
named in the Torah. Interestingly, three other
months are mentioned in the Biblical book of Kings
(Etanim, Ziv and Bul). Yet, even though these
names are recorded in Tanakh, they are no longer in
use today.
About 2,600 years ago the Jewish people were
taken captive by Babylonia. After settling in
Babylonia and learning the local language, our
ancestors adopted the names of the Babylonian
months. For them Tishri and Elul were as much part
of their daily experience as February or October are
part of ours.
We are approaching the Jewish year of 5778.
The High Holy days, which usher in a 10-day period
of personal spiritual evaluation, are the pinnacle of
Jewish individual and communal self-scrutiny.
Strikingly, our High Holiday month of Tishri is not
even a Hebrew word. Perhaps the name of the
month does not need to be Jewish. More important
than naming a month a Hebrew word is the
commitment to improve our lives by bringing Jewish
values and principles into our daily experience. May
we so live in the upcoming year.
L’Shanah Tova. May you and your loved ones be
inscribed for a good year.
G’mar Chatimah Tovah. May you be sealed for life
in the coming year.
Torah Tidbits and Haftarah Highlights
Sept. 2 - Parshat Ki Teitzei - pp. 1112- 1123
What does caring for a mother bird have to do with
taking a woman captive during a battle? Torah
demands ethical treatment of all creatures, human
and animal.
Haftarat Ki Teitzei - pp. 1138 - 1139
Why does God promise Israel that God will take
care of Israel using the words ’the waters of Noach’s
flood’ ? Just as there would never be another flood,
so, too, does God reassure Israel that God and Israel
will always be close.
Sept. 9 - Parshat Ki Tavo - pp. 1140 - 1146
If you and I were farmers and we struggled to bring
forth food from the earth, upon a successful harvest
we would probably brag “Look what I did!”
Excitedly we would showcase our produce. Why
does the Torah stipulate that a small portion of the
first fruits be given to the Cohen?
Haftarat Ki Tavo - pp. 1161 - 1163
Imagine naming your neighborhood ‘Success’,
‘Prosperity’ or ‘Achievement’. Imagine a foreign
king or queen volunteers to be your babysitter.
Isaiah proclaims such great light will be glowing
throughout Israel that no home will need
illumination. How would you feel living during this
experience?
Sept. 16 - Parshat Netzavim-Vayelech –
pp. 1165 - 1179
Moses delivers his concluding speech to the
Israelites. If you were Moses what would you
include in your final speech?
Haftarat Netzavim - Vayelech –
pp. 1181 - 1183
To a community beset by war Isaiah promises that
‘you will be wearing clothing of beauty and glory,
splendor and majesty’. He is not speaking of thread
or fibers. What goes through your mind when you
hear such a promise?
Sept. 23 - Parshat Ha-azinu - pp. 1185 - 1195
This entire Torah reading is a poem. Why does
Moses speak to the Israelites poetically?
Haftarat Ha-azinu or Haftarah of Shuvah
(Return) - pp. 1235 - 1238
This Haftarah has a special name. Because it is
between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it is called
Haftarah of Shuvah (Return). Why do we call this
Haftarah the Haftarah of return?
Sept. 30 - Please join us in Shul for Yom Kippur.
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