faith

Celebrating Our Past and Celebrating Our Future

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

          So wonderful to see so many of you this morning as we celebrate our congregation as well as volunteer extraordinaire Melanie Cohen’s 80th Hebrew birthday, for which our Kiddush lunch is dedicated. As Rabbi Taff’s return from Israel was delayed, I will start out according to his example. Hopefully he will be back in time to join us for tomorrow night’s Gala.

We are blessed to have reached our 125th anniversary. 125 is no insignificant number. In gematria 125 is represented by the word חזקי, or “my strength.” This is the root that we will say next Shabbat when we complete the Book of Leviticus-be strong, be strong and we will be strengthened. In other words, our collective strength as a congregation comes from each and every one of you.

Parshat Emor reflects this strength. God tells Moses “Instruct Aaron and his sons to be scrupulous about the sacred donations that the Israelite people consecrate to Me…”[1] Each gift or donation, whether monetary, in kind, of time or of resources, is not to be taken lightly. After all, this is God’s home-each synagogue being a מקדש מעט, or miniature sanctuary, resembling the Temple in Jerusalem. There is much to celebrate and much to give this year to reaffirm our commitment to Mosaic Law Congregation.

          What does the term “Mosaic Law” mean? No it is not the law of Rabbi Moses, who we are blessed to have with us today. Our synagogue’s unique name is not to be taken lightly. In fact, one of the reasons given for our being saved from the 1999 firebombing is that the brothers who committed the egregious acts thought that we were a law firm.[2] What is a strange term today was par for the course in the late 19th century. When I teach comparative Judaism in my Intro to Judaism class, I bring the Reform Movement’s Pittsburgh Platform from 1885, which uses phrases such as “Mosaic legislation” and “Mosaic and rabbinical laws.”

          125 years is a long time, and I want to highlight 3 of the leaders of our congregation over those years. I hope these individuals will become household names. The first is Moses Warhaftig z”l. The Warhaftig family was one of 7 who founded Hevrat Torah Moshe-the Mosaic Law Fellowship, incorporated on February 27, 1900. Moses Warhaftig was the driving force behind our congregation. The centennial video even says that during the early years there were times when he was the only member!-though this seems a bit farfetched. Nevertheless, Moses was literally the glue that kept our synagogue together in its early years. As secretary, he signed many synagogue documents MS Warhaftig, NOT “miss” but Moses Solomon.[3] Moses’ dedication, and of course his wife Irma’s, is part of the reason that we are still here today as a congregation.

          Another person I want to highlight is AJ Markowitz z”l. Randy Pollack is one of the few presidents we have had who took on a 3rd year. A select couple have even done multiple stints as president-and one will begin his 2nd stint as president in July. However, AJ Markowitz takes the cake. AJ served as president of our congregation from 1915 to 1940-from World War I through the beginning of World War II. As Executive Director and Past President Caren Rubin said, “he must have had a death wish.” Being President of a congregation is a thankless job. When things go wrong you get blamed; when things go right you rarely get credit. That is why we honor AJ’s dedication to our congregation today.

          The third congregant I want to highlight is Arlene Pearl z”l, the first female president at any conservative synagogue. What a challenge to be the first! In a movement which was not egalitarian (though starting to become so) which did not allow female members of the clergy, we had a female president-and boy she was strong! While I was not privileged to meet Arlene during her lifetime, as she passed away the week following my interview at MLC, I did learn about her from her daughters Sheri and Robin and officiated at her unveiling. She had a dynamic personality and was a trailblazer for all the women following her and all those to come.

          I will not highlight the MLC clergy in the same fashion. With that being said, as your 18th, or “Chai” rabbi (have to keep the gematria going), I am most blessed to preside over our congregation during this auspicious anniversary. I want to do so by not only celebrating our past but by also celebrating our future. This Shabbat we are blessed to celebrate the students in our Mercaz Religious School, for all they have learned and for all they will continue to learn-after all, learning never ends. Today our students led Barchu, Shema/V’Ahavta, Avot and Gevurot, the Torah Service, blessings before and after Haftarah and Ashrei. They will also lead concluding prayers. The past two weeks combined we have been blessed to welcome 7 Torah readers trained by Cantor Rachels-another example of celebrating where we are at and what is to come. Thank you Cantor for having trained so many new readers over your 2 years here. We are blessed to have you and we are all going to miss you.

          As our celebration continues this weekend with Musaf, Kiddush, a special Torah Study on what it means to be holy and the Gala, I want each of us to think about 1 or 2 new things that we can contribute to Mosaic Law Congregation. For some it might be offering to host a first meeting for one of the Dor Hadash Havurot I continue to set up; for others it could be to volunteer to make Kiddush lunch a few times during the year; for others perhaps joining the leadership of our Men’s Club or Sisterhood; others might find joy volunteering in our Mercaz Religious School or Sisterhood Gift Shop; others could be inclined to help greenify our campus or join with Kayamut to have a more sustainable campus. We are as vibrant as the sum of our parts, and each of you is an integral part of what makes Mosaic Law Congregation great. Thank you for your dedication-חזקי-may each and every one of us be strong.

[1] Leviticus 22:2

[2] Other reasons I have heard are that they had the wrong phone number and that they didn’t get down to M alphabetically in their list of synagogues. For more information on the firebombings, see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AZz5UPZ-wYWhHe3PJoIPeA9JtrRqvOWG/view?usp=drive_link

[3] Thank you to Judy Persin, Chief Archivist of MLC, for her help with this.

Creatures of Light

Rabbi Ben Herman , ,

With Appreciation to Rabbi Mitch Chefitz[1]

          Is there a doctor in the house? This is what I think of when I read Parshat Tazria-Metzora. Who among us loves learning about rashes, discolorations, pus, and scabs besides the dermatologist? However, there is something spiritually moving going on here. It is like when the Israelites complain about the lack of water three days after witnessing the miracle of the Sea of Reeds! God’s reply is כׇּֽל־הַמַּחֲלָ֞ה אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֤מְתִּי בְמִצְרַ֙יִם֙ לֹא־אָשִׂ֣ים עָלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה רֹפְאֶֽךָ׃-“If you will heed your God יהוה diligently, doing what is upright in God’s sight, giving ear to God’s commandments and keeping all God’s laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I יהוה am your healer.”[2] God is not a רופא in the physical sense of directly treating afflictions but rather a רופא in the spiritual sense.

          This is the lesson from the Sfat Emet, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger. Whereas other rabbis use Tazria-Metzora to talk about lashon hara, the “disease” of evil speech, as I have done previously, the Sfat Emet goes in a different direction. He bases his comment on the following verse:

אָדָם כִּי־יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ־סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת וְהוּבָא אֶל־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אוֹ אֶל־אַחַד מִבָּנָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים׃

When a person has on the skin of the body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly affection on the skin of the body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.[3]

          On this verse the Sfat Emet comments:

This verse concerns itself with plagues (afflictions) of the skin. It relates back to when the Holy One commanded Adam to make for himself a garment of skin (עור /o’r). In the Midrash you find it written as a garment of light (since the word for light (אור /o’r) is like the Hebrew word for skin-עור). As is known, it was because of the transgression (of eating the forbidden fruit) that it was necessary that Adam be clothed in such a coarse garment. This is the source of all base corporeality. [4]

            There is a pun here between the word אור, or light, and the word עור, or skin. When God finds out about Adam and Eve’s transgression, the first thing God does is dress them in כתנות עור,[5] garments of skin, as opposed to the כתנות אור, garments of light that they naturally have. Sfat Emet understands Adam and Eve as being creatures of light. He continues:

That’s why Moshe, our teacher was described (as descending from Sinai) with his skin radiant. He had refined the very nature of skin until it shone like a resplendent mirror. But we did not remain at that level (because of the sin of the golden calf). Therefore, the plague (of coarse skin) returned. It is written in the midrash, because of that sin, defects returned.

          Moses descended from Mount Sinai with great light which was covered over upon approaching the golden calf. Sfat Emet concludes, however,

It is also known that there are holes and holes (pores) in the skin. This is so you

should know it is possible for the light to shine through these imperfections. It is

only because of our sins that these pores are clogged, and that darkness covers

the earth. That’s why it says of the plague of tzaraat that it clogs things up.

Therefore, Aaron the priest and his sons were given the power of purification to

atone for the sin of the golden calf.

          Each of us is a creature of light able to bring more light into the world. The pores might be clogged by tzaraat because of our transgressions but we have the opportunity through teshuvah to restore some of the light that was there in the first place.  When we go off track, we can return to our original intention-to bring light into the world and emit light in whatever we touch. We always have the opportunity to do so-no one is too far gone.

One person who did so over the course of his life is David Flax z”l, father of our member Dana Kurzrock, whose first yahrzeit is this week. As I learned at Shloshim, David had a zest for life. One of the words he added in to Kaddish, which Dana added in his memory, is חיים טובים that we should have goodness in life. In striving to do so in his Long Beach Jewish community, David brought much light into the world, and we remember him fondly on this auspicious occasion. My prayer is that in David’s memory, we shake off the course garments of transgression so that, like David, our natural light will brightly shine through. Ken Yhi Ratzon, may it be our will to do so.

[1] https://mitchellchefitz.substack.com/p/my-rosetta-stone?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2146687&post_id=162257184&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1npmze&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

[2] Exodus 15:26

[3] Leviticus 13:2

[4] Sfat Emet Tazria 1881

[5] Genesis 3:1

Pekudei: What Does It Mean?

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

      The meaning of words is very important to me. While I’m not as much of a Hebraist as my teacher, Rabbi Art Green, I value finding out what words precisely mean. That is a question with this week’s Torah portion Pekudei.

          A common origin of the term pakad according to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew English Dictionary and Lexicon is “to pay attention to, observe with care.”[1] We see this on the first day of Rosh Hashanah when God took heed of Sarah as he had promised (פקד את שרה כאשר אמר) and has her give birth to her son Isaac. Similarly the פקודי המשכן appears to be the accountings of the Tabernacle. In the fifth and final portion of the Tabernacle, we make sure that each of the accoutrements of the Tabernacle are accounted for.

          With that being said in opening 3 different texts I got 3 different translations for Pekudei. In our Etz Hayim Humash it says, “the records of the Tabernacle”[2]; in the Stone Humash it reads “the reckonings of the Tabernacle”[3]; Richard Elliott Friedman translates פקודי as “the accounts of the Tabernacle.”[4] One might say they are all close enough in meaning-we are talking about the entire kit and kaboodle of the chart of accounts of the Tabernacle to show that every detail was noted.

          Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno, a 16th century Italian rabbi, has an interesting comment here. He writes “all the individual components described previously are the ones concerning which the Torah wrote ובשמות תפקדו את כלי משמרת הקדש…ביד איתמר, ‘you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks.’[5] The meaning of the line is that each and every one of these items was important enough to be known by its specific name. In other words, one did not refer to it only by the name of the category of utensils it belonged to, such as “fork,” but one had a name for each fork. This method of naming each item individually contributed to their being of permanent significance.”[6] In other words, don’t underestimate the importance of an item or say that it has been ‘used up’ or ‘outlived its usefulness.’[7]

          This is the lesson we should take from concluding the Book of Exodus with Parshat Pekudei. Rather than merely viewing it and Parshat VaYakhel as carrying out the blueprint that had been previously established in Parshiyot Terumah and Tetzaveh, we should strive to find significance in each of the items listed. For some that might be to examine why some things are listed in one place and not another; for others it might be to see is there something new here-the school of Rabbi Akiva-or is this the same as what came before-the school of Rabbi Ishmael. For others it might be leaving the details, the individual trees, behind and seeing the forest, everything which comprises the mishkan, and how these items parallel those found in Mosaic Law Congregation. For others the focus might be to ask the metaquestion “What does God want from me in this moment?” Wherever we are at, as we enter the eve of the new month of Nisan, it is my hope and prayer that we can imbue whatever we do with meaning and purpose. Ken Yhi Ratzon, may it be our will to do so.

[1] BDB Page 823.

[2] Page 564

[3] Page 531

[4] The Bible with Sources Revealed, Page 185

[5] Numbers 4:32-33

[6] Ovadiah ben Yaakov Sforno, ד”ה אלה פקודי המשכן

[7] See Babylonian Talmud Yoma 71

Strengthening our Relationship with God

Rabbi Ben Herman , , ,

          On Sunday we will get to say “Happy New Year!”  It will be Rosh Hodesh Nisan-the first day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. We learn in the Talmud that there are 4 new years: the first of Nisan, the new year for festivals; the first of Elul, the new year for tithing animals; the first of Tishrei, the new year for years; and the fifteenth of Shevat, the new year for trees.[1]

          Parshat Pekudei also references this Sunday, the first of Nisan. God spoke to Moses saying, “On the day of the first new moon, on the first of the month, you shall erect the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.”[2] The date that the first House of God is set up is also the new year. The Mishkan represents a new beginning: no longer will Israel be wandering with an intangible God-now God will have a permanent home in the Mishkan, a tangible structure to which we can connect.

          This is a lesson for us as we approach Passover, or Pesach. Throughout the year we might struggle to find a tangible connection with God: on Passover, however, we have so many tangible symbols of God’s presence. For example, the shank bone, זרוע, represents not only the Paschal lamb but also God bringing us out with an outstretched arm, ובזרוע נטויה. Passover, and our special Haftarah HaHodesh, which we will read on Shabbat, come to symbolize that we are at an inflection point, or liminal moment, when we should strive to strengthen our relationship with הקדוש ברוך הוא, with God. That is our task not only for Rosh Hodesh Nisan, but also for the upcoming Passover holiday and the counting of the Omer-that we be centered and grounded as we seek God’s presence in our lives.

[1] Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1

[2] Exodus 40:2

Turning Towards Each Other

Rabbi Ben Herman , , ,

One of the challenges with Parshat Ki Tisa is that it deals with turning away from the proper path rather than turning towards it. After our ancestors made the golden calf, G-d said to Moses “They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I enjoined upon them.”[1] Because they turned away from G-d, G-d turned away from them, proclaiming “I see that this is a stiff-necked people. Now, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them…”[2] Moses, however, intervenes, refusing to let G-d destroy Israel. He says words which we repeat every fast day: שוב מחרון אפך והנחם על-הרעה לעמך; “Turn away from Your blazing anger and renounce the plan to punish Your people.”[3] In so doing, Moses makes two very important points: Israel remains G-d’s people as opposed to a “stiff-necked” people independent from G-d, and G-d does not need to turn away from Israel just because they have turned away from Him at this particular moment.

The term “turn away” struck me because of the work done by marriage therapist Dr. John Gottman. Dr. Gottman writes that the married couples he see who turn towards one another at times of conflict stay together 86% of the time, whereas those who turn away from each other stay together only 33% of the time.[4]  In our tradition, G-d and Israel are a couple, bound together by a ברית, or covenant, just as a married couple is bound by a Ketubah. In our portion because Israel has forsaken its end of the bargain, worshiping other gods, G-d is going to follow suit and strike them from the earth-that is until Moses intervenes. He says to G-d, ‘calm down; take a chill pill,’ and he gets G-d to refrain from forsaking the covenant. וינחם ה על-הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו, “G-d forsook the evil that G-d had said he would do to His people.”[5]

There are two reasons to speak about this today. First we are celebrating the milestone 60th anniversary of Ed and Gail Fishkin. This power couple always turns toward each other out of love and affection. Of course like every couple, especially good, old-fashioned New Yorkers, they argue with each other as well as with me at Shabbat Torah Study. However, that’s what makes things entertaining. We should all learn from Gail and Ed to be selfless, generous and of course have an acerbic sense of humor and not be afraid to challenge others.

The second is to celebrate the baby naming of Leona Eli McCracken, daughter of Sara Harbarger and James McCracken. Today Leona was given the Hebrew nameדבורה  סימא, after Sara’s maternal grandmother Elsie and great aunt Dotty. The name Sima means precious, or treasure. Your little 3 month old is truly a treasure who blesses you each and every day with her smile and her cooing. Every time you are stressed, please turn towards this beautiful little face; it should put you at ease. Devorah is the name of our people’s greatest prophetess, who foresaw the defeat of the Canaanites and their general Sisera. In modern Hebrew it means bee. James and Sara, we hope and pray that your little bee will showcase her feistiness and strength, in the example of prophetess Deborah.

Ed and Gail-I know that your love for one another will continue to grow stronger. James and Sara-I know with the new addition of סימא דבורה that your love for one another will blossom in new ways and your family life will flourish.

My prayer for you, Gail and Ed, Sara and James, is that you always turn towards each other and towards your loved ones, recognizing that your family bond and your partnership supersedes any specific issue at hand. Mazal Tov on the celebration of your anniversary and your baby naming. As we celebrate here at Mosaic Law Congregation, let’s sing siman tov u’mazal tov.

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[1] Exodus 32:8

[2] Exodus 32:9-10

[3] Exodus 32:12

[4] https://www.gottman.com/blog/turn-toward-instead-of-away/

[5] Exodus 32:14

Lighting the Ner Tamid

Rabbi Ben Herman , ,

          Parshat Tetzaveh has a couple of strange features. One is that it is the only Torah portion in Exodus through Deuteronomy not to mention Moses’ name. Another is that its beginning, the lighting of the Menorah, towards, but not at the end, of a chapter (Exodus 27:20).

          Rabbi Elliott Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue gave a D’var Torah about this to the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly, for which I am privileged to begin my second year of service. He pointed out that chapter divisions come from the 13th century, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton. Langton connected the נר תמיד, the eternal light, with the accoutrements of the משכן, the tabernacle, as found in Terumah. In contrast, the rabbis had viewed it as connected to the obligations of the High Priest, so it goes in Tetzaveh.

          As Rabbi Cosgrove argued, the communal obligation of the משכן meets the priestly obligation of lighting the נר תמיד. In other words, the community needs to work together with the leadership, with the two meeting halfway.

          I think about how the rabbi meets with the congregational leadership. In a breakout session, Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue CEO Jacob Blumenthal shared that the two things that make for thriving congregations, more than demographics, are a visionary rabbi and a collaborative lay and staff culture. This makes sense: synagogues need to have their Board and staff working in concert with one another and must have a vision of where they’re going. Without these two aspects, there is confusion and tension. A rabbi without a vision is a functionary; a congregation not in harmony with its staff can breed toxicity.

          How does one achieve this? The sermon Rabbi Cosgrove said he is giving this Shabbat is the leadership of Vashti versus that of Esther: when do we need to stand on our principles versus when do we need to compromise/adapt? That is a false dichotomy-at times one certainly needs to do both. With that being said, to adapt Israel Salanter, a rabbi who never takes a stand is no rabbi; a rabbi who refuses to compromise is a fool.

          Our challenge as a congregation is to light the eternal light steadfastly holding to tradition, while recognizing that like the משכן we must move and adapt to new circumstances and new situations. Finding the balance between the two can be tricky; however, we need to put in the work to make it so. We also must remember not to fear כי אהיה עמך, for God is with us in this holy work.

From Uncertainty to Joy: My Trip to Israel

Rabbi Ben Herman , , ,

          In Parshat VaYishlach, Jacob feared the worst upon going to see Esau. He divided his camp into half, thinking if one half is murdered the other half will survive. However, he got an unexpected, good outcome-his brother hugged and kissed him, and they cried. If we put aside the midrashic take that Esau tried to bite Jacob and Jacob’s neck turned to marble (so Esau cried over his teeth being broken), the situation is a reconciliation. Esau even offered for Jacob to join him and to send men to accompany Jacob and his family.

Like Jacob, I was uncertain and anxious for my trip to Israel for the Rabbinical Assembly convention, as this was my first time in Israel since October 7th. Last time I visited was after a war, Guardian of the Walls in 2021, also on a too short 4-day trip. This time Israel is still at war, I was excited to go but nervous at the same time. I could sense Jacob’ anxiety and trepidation before his encounter with Esau. While I was not surprised by how quiet it was, I was saddened to see firsthand how hard the tourism industry has been hit. Ben Yehuda Street was empty, and the shuk wasn’t booming. It felt too quiet, and I hope tourism will return.

There were so many things during the visit that inspired me, and I will focus on my visit to the Gaza Envelope. For me this was the most important part of the trip. We began at Kibbutz Ruhama, where 70 percent of the kibbutzniks from Kfar Aza are living temporarily until their kibbutz is restored. A kibbutz of just over 800 people suddenly had to absorb 115 families, a microcosm of what Israel as a whole went through in absorbing 800,000 Jews from Arab countries in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The residents of Kibbutz Ruhama have done so with happiness, rolling up their sleeves and getting to work in building temporary housing. We joined them for one morning, making benches for the new, temporary residents. It was a sign that no matter how much destruction occurs, we will rebuild. Even in the midst of fear of terror attacks and missile strikes, this land is home to the residents, most of whom would never think of leaving.

 This was echoed by our visit to Sderot, the closest city to Gaza. I had been to some of the kibbutzim bordering Gaza which are closer to the border, most recently to Kfar Aza, but never to Sderot, where you have 9 seconds to get into a bomb shelter after hearing the siren. Seeing the indoor playground, built by Jewish National Fund as a refuge for kids waiting out the missiles, reminded me of an important lesson: when there is so much uncertainty and PTSD, you need to create a sense of normalcy. We went afterwards to the Sderot police station, which had been taken over by Hamas who put a sniper on top of the building. We learned how Israel destroyed the police station on October 7th in order to take out the terrorists and a brave policeman who had been in synagogue earlier in the day got to the 3rd floor and took out the sniper. We saw the “Eternal Pillars” memorial, made out of 18 pillars, itself symbolic of the Hebrew word חי-life, The inside of the pillars spelled out the words עם ישראל חי-the people of Israel live. What was most significant to me was seeing the mural chosen by the residents of Sderot: A Torah scroll with the letters flying to heaven. It comes from the story of Hananiah ben Teradion, who upon gruesomely being burnt by the Romans while wrapped in a Torah scroll, told his students, “The Hebrew letters are flying upwards”-in other words, they are eternal and can never be taken away from us. One thing which is certain in all the craziness of life is our rootedness to Torah and to our tradition.

The most inspiring part of the trip was visiting the Adi Negev center, the only rehabilitation center in the south of Israel. It has 170 residents, 190 special education students (from toddlers to 21 years of age), an integrated kindergarten and the only rehabilitation hospital in the south of Israel. What Adi Negev teaches is that everyone, no matter what disabilities or special needs they have, is of equal worth. As founder Doron Almog used as his motto, “don’t leave anyone behind.” I learned how Adi Negev gives hands-on training to those with disabilities in gardening, taking care of the animals and innovative therapies (equine, sports and hydro, not to mention a therapeutic petting zoo), to enable people written off by society to exceed far beyond expectations. I saw a walker that grows alongside a child with frequent scans of their exoskeleton and shoe sizes-the walker expands as they grow. Some of these children were told they never could walk and yet they are able to with the walker’s help. I learned that if one is accepted by the government to Adi Negev, it is free for life. The Israeli government takes the most expensive and complicated part of life and makes it the least expensive and least complicated. I learned of the miracle in that Adi Negev, despite having only 7 people with weapons trying to guard 40 acres, got through October 7th untouched, with Hamas Humvees passing by targeting army bases in Ofakim beginning at 7am. At 6:55 am 2 vans passed with 50 Adi Negev workers entered unscathed. As the guide said, he feels they have a different Iron Dome: divine providence looking out for them because of what they do. While I’m not certain that I agree with his theology, especially as a care worker named Tina who left Adi Negev at 7:00 am was not as fortunate, I was impressed by their incredible work and hope to bring a speaker from Adi Negev to Sacramento.

Two last things which were inspiring-first davening (praying) at the egalitarian Kotel at Robinson’s Arch. This is the southern part of the retaining wall from Second Temple times. The air was fresh, and the temperature was cool, but we had the warmth of colleagues together. I have been to Robinson’s Arch numerous times, yet this time I learned that they have up to 40 B’nai Mitzvah a week and have capacity to hold up to 6 at a time. It is an option I highly recommend for those who want to do a B Mitzvah in Israel.

I also want to mention how exhilarating it was to be with colleagues and singing Aheinu (we are all brothers and sisters) interlocking arms. We did this twice: at the hostage tent outside of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) where we did a brief ceremony imploring to bring the hostages home, and at the closing event.  Being with Conservative/Masorti rabbis from all over the world was deeply moving and meaningful, and I don’t take that opportunity for granted.

Like Jacob’s story, this was a trip beginning with uncertainty and ending with joy.  I was so glad to have this opportunity to go to Israel. Next time I hope to go with you when we are able to reschedule our congregational trip to Israel. Am Yisrael Chai.

Focus on The Task at Hand

Rabbi Ben Herman , , ,

I want to welcome everyone from the newly established New Frontier Jewish Youth to Sacramento for your first ever Kinus. So wonderful to join with you for a Shabbat of prayer, learning, good food and of course fun. This experience will be as inspirational for us here at Mosaic Law as it will be for you.

Parshat VaYera begins rather strangely. Abraham, after being circumcised as the ripe old age of 99, has God appear before him at the opening of his tent at the heat of the day. All of a sudden Abraham looked up and behold-there were three men coming towards him. Abraham appears to stop his conversation with God in that moment and runs towards the men.[1] How could Abraham do this? God is fulfilling the Mitzvah of bikkur holim, visiting the sick, and Abraham is running off to greet others?

The Meor Einayim, the original Chernoblyer Rebbe, has a great teaching on this. He tells: this is what really happened to our Father Abraham. He was in the midst of “greeting the Divine (shekhinah),” as we learn from the phrase The Lord appeared to him. But when he saw the guests coming, he asked of God: “As I go out to fulfill the commandment of welcoming these guests, Pass not away, I pray You, from Your servant! May I remain attached to You in that act too, so that this not be an empty performative act (mitzvah)! Be with me so that I may perform this act (mitzvah) in such a state that it too will be a ‘welcoming of the Divine (shekhinah).'” Now Rav’s point that the welcoming of guests is greater than greeting the Divine (shekhinah) is proven by Abraham’s action. Were this not the case, Abraham would hardly have left off a conversation with God to go do something of less certain value, a situation in which he had to ask that there too the Divine (shekhinah) be present. This is especially true since “They appeared to him as wandering nomads”; to him they did not have a divine appearance. The deed (mitzvah) itself was very great even if it were not a “greeting of the Divine (shekhinah).” Abraham was seeking to fulfill this commandment with absolute wholeness. Therefore he said: “Do not pass away, I pray you, from your servant.”[2]

The lesson from Abraham’s example is that even if we are in the midst of something, we need to open our eyes to the situation around us. I want everyone here to turn to someone you do not know, say Good Shabbos, and introduce yourself. As we begin an exciting weekend together, I hope that, no matter what you are preoccupied with, you will take moments to life your eyes and to see how to respond to the moment at hand-whether it is someone in need or a moment you need to take for self-care. Be aware of the others around you and the limited time we have and make the most of it.

[1] Genesis 18:1-3

[2] Meor Einayim Text 4. Translation by Rabbi Adam Gindea.

Avraham HaIvri

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

I am honored to have signed to serve as your rabbi at Mosaic Law Congregation through 2030. Thank you for the trust you have put in me. Looking forward to many more wonderful years together.

Eight years ago I talked about the controversy regarding Sarah being Avram’s sister or wife and where the truth lies. Four years ago the election was called immediately following my sermon. This year I am going to talk about what makes Avram such an important paradigm for our people. Avram had to go off on his own to a new land to which he had never been. He had to leave whatever he knew and go to a different place. Avram is well-known for many things in Judaism: the progenitor of our people, multiple covenants with God and acquiring great standing and wealth. However, Avram is best known as ha-ivri, the Hebrew, one who crossed over from one way of life to another.  This was a process: Avram was not known as ha-ivri until Genesis 14, when a refugee told him about Lot’s abduction.[1] That was the sign that he crossed over from being one of the masses to choosing the way of life of his family.

It takes time to cross from one point of view to another. Things are a process-be patient. I want us all to try to be ivriim and cross over to others’ perspectives. If you are jubilant about the election results, try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is devastated. If you are upset with the results, try to walk in the shoes of someone who feels their hopes and dreams have been fulfilled. It’s one of the hardest things to do. I’ve had people tell me “I will never understand how someone can vote for ________.” Yet part of crossing over is trying to understand the other’s perspective.

The second lesson to learn is to be resilient and strong. In Lech Lecha, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said “Go with yourself-your beliefs, your life, your faith.”[2] The lesson here is don’t change the work you’re doing if there’s an outcome you don’t like-rather fight harder for what you believe in. In life it’s often hard to move forward; that’s where our Haftarah comes in. Isaiah says words which we recite every morning. God gives strength to the weary, vigor to the spent.[3] Whatever your position, this election season was exhausting with numerous ads, text messages and phone calls asking for donations or for “your vote.” Now that it’s over it’s time to get back to work and make the world a better place. Never forget that the very root of Judaism, being an ivri, means having the faith and fortitude to stand apart from the crowd and stand up for what you most deeply believe.[4]

The most important lesson is what I am most concerned with-bringing together our congregation with love. We need to remember that we are a Beit Knesset, a house of gathering. As Maimonides wrote, the Beit Knesset was on the highest point in the city. This reminded everyone in the congregation that we were meant to hold high standards and ideals.[5] We need to get on the balcony[6] at the 30,000 foot view rather than getting mired in the muck.

It’s fitting that we are honoring veterans today. Those who are active-duty military are not allowed to engage in any partisan activity even if they want to from the depths of their kishkes. It is similar to what many are looking for in their synagogue: a place where people go as a reprieve from politics. We often avoid these issues because of the increasing challenge of showing basic human decency and respect to one another. However I propose that we must come together and talk face-to-face, rather than engaging in Facebook posts and X-Wars. That is why I have created the Israel listening circles, and we should do the same on domestic issues. We need to talk to those with whom we disagree and genuinely hear and try to understand their point of view. I will be at the back table today at Kiddush and if you choose to join me, I look forward to hearing your perspectives.

In the days and weeks ahead, may we strive to follow the mandate G-d gave to Avram, התהלך לפני והיה תמים, walk with me and have integrity.[7] At times this involves turning from what is familiar and figuratively crossing over to a different path, putting yourself in another’s shoes. It’s not always easy to do but it is important if we want to learn from one another and grow in our connection to one another and our understanding as to what God wants from us.

[1] Genesis 14:13

[2] Jonathan Sacks Covenant and Conversation: Genesis

[3] Isaiah 40:30

[4] Hebrew: Ivri (עִבְרִי) – Survival of the Faithful – Chabad.org

[5] Thank you to Rabbi Nicole Guzik for this insight in her Parshat Noah sermon

[6] Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky, Adaptive Leadership

[7] Genesis 17:1

Kohelet and Its Lessons for This Year

Rabbi Ben Herman , , , ,

I was most blessed to learn from Rabbi Benji Siegel, who we had as our Scholar in Residence two years ago for his book on Esther about the lessons he’s learned from writing a book on Kohelet. Kohelet, the name of the speaker in the Book of Ecclesiastes, teaches us about a man’s failed search for meaning in the world. He speaks about everything that he sees ראיתי as he is a travelling observer of humanity. Kohelet teaches about the impermanence of everything, stating הבל הבלים, vapor of vapor. This means that everything is like a breath, being here for a short time before dissipating.

Why was this book chosen to read on Sukkot, the time of our joy? Some argue that this was the last Megillah, scroll from wisdom literature, attached to a holiday, and Sukkot got the short shrift. Personally I find that take unsatisfying and agree with the assertions of others that Ecclesiastes shows that, as much as we try to have joy in life, it is fleeting. We need to appreciate when it is there and recognize when it is not.

Ecclesiastes is filled with contradictions. One example is early on Kohelet teaches that joy is futile[1]; later on he says in a time of good fortune enjoy the good fortune.[2] Above all, the message of Kohelet there is faith in God “in a time of misfortune, reflect: The one no less than the other was God’s doing; consequently, man may find no fault with God.”[3] The book ends with similar sentiment The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind.[4]

Is this Kohelet changing, gaining faith from his life experience? Is it him losing the courage of convictions that nothing matters and everything is fleeting, turning now to God? I’m uncertain but I think there is a lesson to be learned to apply to this year. Kohelet says “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”[5] He can’t understand why people are suffering and what is going on under the sun. Yet Kohelet notes that there is a world above the sun, that there is a God and while he cannot understand why things happen God certainly can.

We are approaching the Hebrew anniversary of October 7th, which we will commemorate on Shemini Atzeret. We think of the terrible tortures that underwent so many of our people this past year-we will remember them again at Yizkor on Thursday. Yet perhaps we can find comfort in knowing that while everything is fleeting, our faith and connection with God can bind us together and make us stronger as people. As Kohelet lets us know, a season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven: A time for being born and a time for dying, A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted; A time for slaying and a time for healing, A time for tearing down and a time for building up; A time for weeping and a time for laughing, A time for wailing and a time for dancing; A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces; A time for seeking and a time for losing, A time for keeping and a time for discarding; A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking; A time for loving and a time for hating; A time for war and a time for peace.[6] As this has been a year of war, weeping and loss I pray that 5785 will be one of laughing, dancing and planting-and that we will see the seeds that we plant bear fruit. May we be able on this Sukkot, our zman simhateinu, to turn our sadness into joy and our mourning into celebration. Ken Yhi Ratzon, may it be our will to do so.

[1] Ecclesiastes 2:1

[2] Ecclesiastes 7:14

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ecclesiastes 12:14

[5] Ecclesiastes 1:9

[6] Ecclesiastes 3:1-8