D'vareinu

Hadassah Magazine: Shlomo Carlebach The Music Man

An article from a past issues of Hadassah magazine has finally been posted online and I've been waiting to blog it for a few weeks now.  It's a story about Shlomo Carlebach.

Rabbi Carlebach has become associated with some controversy which is not to be ignored (and must be acknowledged) and now that we've done that we can move on to the rest of his legacy because I think that -- overall -- the good that he put into the world probably outweighed the bad. 

Rabbi Carlebach was as connected to the Bay Area as he was New York.  But his musically legacy connects him to the entire world.  Several of the niggunim we use during the High Holy Days were written by him.  

Here's an excerpt form the Hadassah article:

Carlebach devoted himself to reinvigorating Jewish spirituality and pioneering a model of rabbinic activism, espousing the cause of blacks in South Africa, for example. Historian Jonathan Sarna writes in American Judaism (Yale University Press) that after the Holocaust, “Ju­daism appeared desperately unwell, racked by assim­ilation, emptiness, and an epidemic of tormented souls. The loss of six million...made it especially imperative to nurture every spark and...save every Jew who survived.” Carlebach defined Judaism as a religion of happiness and love, said Sarna recently in an interview. “Before there was such a word as outreach, he was doing it.”

One of the many things I love about being Jewish is joy and knowing that if I'm not feeling joy in my life, in my heart and all around me, then I must be doing it wrong.  Because we have been blessed with so much, our hearts must be brimming with joy. 

From Rick Altman...

Greetings from Beth Emek Communications, where we, like the rest of the world, watched as our country made history last night. Senator John McCain said it best, in gracious defeat, when he congratulated President-elect Barack Obama for creating a mood and spirit that had not been felt in recent memory. Irrespective of political disposition or sentiment, we can all be proud of what last night said about the journey our country has taken.

We speak a lot about community at Beth Emek. We regularly discuss in committee meetings about the importance of creating that special feeling of extended family, welcomeness, ruach, and kehillah kedosha. Last night, those feelings were felt around the world, and two groups in particular underscored this point: 1) President-elect Obama's opponents, who were among the most vocal last night in crediting him with creating a new tone and feeling in politics; and 2) Celebrants in other countries. This editor received a phone call from Holland at 4:30a local time, where a friend was driving home after an all-night election and victory party, attended by over 500 Dutch citizens.

Response around the country and the world tranformed our election into something bigger and more important than mere politics. It celebrated a quality that Beth Emek congregants value highly. It became about community. And that is a source of encouragement and inspiration to all.

History of the Yiddish Language, Max Weinreich

Yesterday, I received a triple-helping of good stuff in the mail.  The postman brought my the new issue of the New York Review of Books (1) and it has an article in it by Harold Bloom (2) about a book that might be the best history on the Yiddish language (3). 

Max Weinreich’s History of the Yiddish Language was originally published in 1973 in Yiddish by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.  This new edition is co-published by YIVO and Yale, where from Bloom declaims. 

Harold Bloom is one of my favorite writers / thinkers and is consistently able to put together a few words that sweep a huge arc of history / ideas / civilization.  This article is no exception.  Here's one paragraph from his review: 

Hebrew rose again, but Yiddish will not. Resurrection is blocked by English as by Israeli Hebrew. Neither American nor Israeli Jews are now a text-centered people, any more than American Gentiles are. Deep reading wanes, and bilingualism is a vanishing phenomenon. Israel's geographical isolation, surrounded by enemies, has helped compel it to adopt a Hebrew-English bilingualism, a pragmatic reminder that the Zionist nation remains part of the Exile while American Jewry increasingly does not, another paradox that somehow seems Kafkaesque.

One of my favorite moments during the High Holy days is when Marty Abram reads Torah and translates is into Yiddish.  For some of us, even some of us who are so "young" in Judaism, Yiddish is an important element of our Jewish life.  My first job in New York City was across the street from the Workman's Circle and my first boss in New York was Lois Shapiro, zl, who was born and raised in New York and was very generous when she gave me a job.  I had anticipated that NYC would be very different from the hills of the Ozarks but I didn't know that I would be so flummoxed by the language.  Once, when Lois reappeared in the office very late in the afternoon, she declared, "I'm sorry to be gone so long, but I've been schmoozing with Harvey Shapiro."  Shapiro was the editor of the New York Times Review of Books and I didn't know whether I should offer Lois my congratulations or a tissue.  Soon thereafter, I purchased a copy of The Joys of Yiddish and kept it in the lap drawer of my desk so I would be prepared if someone stopped by my desk to kvell about their new grand-daughter or haken a chainik about their commute on the RR. 

President’s Address Rosh Hashanah 5769

By Carrie Arndt
September 30, 2008

L’shanah Tovah! I’d like to welcome all of you here on this beautiful morning.

Over the past year, we completed a long-range planning process to guide us in the coming years. There are four principal objectives of our plan, which are now starting to implement. We strive to enhance our efforts in growing a caring and supportive congregation, fostering a tradition of life-long Jewish learning, finding personally fulfilling worship and meaning, and committing to lifelong connection and affiliation. We greatly appreciate the candid input and encourage you to continue this dialogue in the coming year.

Constantine's Sword

In January 2001, I read a book review in the New York Times written by Andrew Sullivan.  It was a review of a book written by James Carroll called Constantine's Sword. 

In the review, Sulliivan writes...

What Carroll wants to show us above all is that the relationship with the Jews is not merely one issue among many for the modern church. It is the central issue in church history and inextricable from the core of what Christianity is about. To make his case, Carroll has to go back to the very beginning and show an alternative history -- a history of what might have been, a history in which the followers of Jesus were neither hostile to Judaism nor threatened by it.

...

In Carroll's reading, in other words, Jesus came not to supplant but to renew. The love he proclaimed was the unconditional love that God also displayed throughout the Hebrew Scriptures -- a covenant that could never be broken, since it was unconditional. There is no dichotomy between the God of Law of the Old Testament and the God of Love of the New. The message is seamless, made more whole by the witness of Jesus. The notion that Christian anti-Semitism began with Jesus is therefore meaningless. He would not have even understood such a term. It was Jesus' followers who reshaped Christianity by defining it less by what it was than by what it was not. Carroll somewhat unconvincingly exonerates Paul on these grounds, placing his occasional extremism with regard to the supersession of Judaism in the context of his belief that the end-time was imminent.

Carroll's book has been made into a movie and I think it's quite a good effort.

The book made a tremendous difference in my life and led me to ask questions that led me to arrive where I stand today. 

Following up on the Rabbi's Sermon about Men

This year, Rabbi Winer preached a sermon about the role of men in the synagogue.  (You can read it here.)  Coincidentally, Reform Juadisam Magazine's current issue features a story about this very topic.  The article, written by Art Grand, is titled Holiness at the Poker Table. 

There are many names for God, such as Adonai and the Holy One. But Community and Connection are also names for God. There are times when poker is about more than playing cards—moments when we admit that our lives are broken, and that without the help of our fellow Jews and God, we’ll never make it.

At these moments, poker is a name for God. The games are merely rehearsals for the times when we need each other—rehearsals for sacred moments where God is present.

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The Forward: A Shriveled Etrog, a Little Spark

This article is from the current issue of The Forward and is all about the Etrog and the certain traditions concerning the pitom. 

In certain precincts of Jewish tradition, the pitom held value beyond accentuating the citron’s aesthetic virtue. In a once popular custom, pregnant women would ingest the pitom at the conclusion of Sukkot, believing it had medicinal properties that could ease childbirth. Some commentators have suggested that the famed apple in the Garden of Eden was actually an etrog.

By waiting until the end of Sukkot to eat the pitom, Jewish women were attesting that, unlike Eve, they had resisted temptation until the citron was permitted to them. Recall in the Torah how God says Eve will experience pain in childbirth as a consequence of eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:16).

[more]

Next year, you might want to take advantage of a service Congregation Beth Emek offers and purchasing your etrog and lulav for Sukkot. And, by the way, if you're interested in reading the best Jewish periodical published in English, subscribe to The Forward. 

About Yom Kippur Yoga: The Reviews Are In

The reviews are in. 

The yoga session sponsored by Congregation Beth Emek's religious committee was a success.  The class was completely filled and this prompted Sharon Cohen to decide that next year, the class will be held in a larger room.  Beth Fox, a local yoga instructor known to several congregants and introduced to the  Religious Committee by Rabbi Laura Novak-Winer, lead the class. 

Beth had this to say about the class: 

"I was very pleased with the yoga class and enjoyed presenting it. I was happy to connect with the congregation at Beth Emek, bringing some of my gifts to share with others.  I left with a  good feeling!"

Melony Bravmann, a Beth Emek congregant and a certified yoga instructure, had this to say about the class: 

"It was wonderful to have a yoga class during Yom Kippur to work out the stress and strain of fasting. I thought the teacher was very sweet and attentive, and communicated quite clearly to everyone. Her poses were challenging and direction was good. It is not easy to enter a new environment with students you have never taught and just do a class. She did a great job of that. She brough a bunch of mats and straps, which was quite helpful. And the room was full to capacity. It was a very popular class and I would highly recommend doing it again. I loved it!"

If you took the class and have a comment you'd like to make, please email it to me, Brian D. Johnson,

Ushpizin - The Movie

Last year, my family watched the movie Ushpizin because it was very much in the buzz of things and, honestly, how many movies about Succoth can you name?  The movie was a bit a challenge because it is Israeli and sub-titled in English and not all the members of the family are "into" watching movies with sub-titles.  Nevertheless, we all enjoyed it very much. 

Here's a one paragraph description of the movie from The New York Times: 

Ushpizin is a love story rooted in faith and set in a society famously closed to outsiders. It tells the story of an impoverished and childless couple, Moshe and Malli, who wait for a miracle during Sukkot, a weeklong harvest festival when observant Jews eat outside in huts. ... When a pair of career criminals show up on their doorstep, the couple take in the freeloaders as welcome guests - the ancient Aramaic word is "ushpizin" - and view them as a test of their faith by God.  [link to NYTimes story]

One of my favorite moments in the movie comes when the main character, Moshe, discovers that his Very Nice sukkah he bought has a rather problematic provence, i.e. it was kind of stolen from a wealthy man who was thinking about throwing it away because he has acquired an even nicer sukkuah but hadn't quite made up his mind.  Moshe goes to the man and begs forgiveness.  Moshe is mortified when he learns this and rushes off to the rich man's home and begs him, three times, for forgiveness.  And Moshe receives it.  What I especially like about this scene is watching the effect the act of forgiveness has on the giver and the receiver.  Beyond forgiveness, the movie has much to say about faith and love and hope.  As the movie's public relations person wrote, Ushpizin is the Hasidic version of It's a Wonderful Life.   

I highly recommend this movie. 

Here's a link to a trailer for the movie and if you're interested in buying the DVD, click here: Ushpizin

The Gifts of Our Hearts

Yom Kippur Morning, 5769
Congregation Beth Emek
Rabbi Richard Winer

I have to tell you. I don’t really like spending time writing sermons. Alright, maybe that’s no surprise. I’d much rather spend my time actively engaged in Tikkun Olam. That’s the essence of my Judaism. In all the breadth of what Judaism has to offer, it’s that hands on engagement in making the world a better place, that most speaks to me. There are certainly other avenues that I enjoy… study, music and community, but I would like to take a few minutes to look at the Judaism that most grabs me. I share my passion as an example. As a rabbi, it is my goal to help each of you find your connection to Judaism, the way that most engages you with the depth of our Tradition. It is my hope that each and every one of us will find an avenue within Judaism that grabs you as powerfully as this particular avenue grabs me.