Rabbi's Ramblings...... 

 

Shalom Congregants and Friends.....    

 

Congratulations again to the Howell family on Joe's bar mitzvah last Shabbat. It was a meaningful service, and Joe gave an excellent d'var torah. His "mitzvah project" was voluntering at the Hebew Home.

 

This Friday night I will be sharing some thoughts, on the anniversary Shabbat of Iris and myself, about love and the Song of Songs. It will be a good evening gto use our "Likrat Shabbat alternative siddur. Shabbat morning the portion is Mishpatim (and Shekalim) and we begin reading into the detailed laws and regulations of life and the Tabernacle that are the content of the Torah now for several weeks. Shabbat afternoon we have our next Hav-deli... come and enjoy!

 

As I wrote in our Chai-lites, Iris and I will be away Sunday through Wednesday celebrating our 15th anniversary. Rabbi Lazowski has graciously agreed to cover for any emergency situations. Next week's e-shul may not come out until Friday!

 

Thanks to Myrna Kahan and her wonderrful group of volunteers for organizing the food part of our TuBishevat seder. It was an enjoyable evening and learning experience. It was good to have members lof Bnai Tikvah Sholom sharing it with us.

 

Again, I am very happy that Beth Hillel has restarted its Hesed Committee. Read about it further down in  this e-shul! 

 

Hartford Stage will be presenting, starting next week, a play with a Jewish theme... "The Whipping Man." They have distributed flyers to the synagogue, invited attendance, and are announcing two special "buy-one / get-one ticket free" evenings, Feb 26 and March 1 (buy tickets before February 23). I'll be attending a special program for clergy in relation to the play and will share my thoughts with the congregation one upcoming Shabbat. 

 

A reminder again..... Have you ever seen "kosher hams?" Well, they're a bunch of rabbis enjoying being  on stage and entertaining. The Hebrew Academy is holding a fundraiser, "My Rabbi's Got Talent," on Saturday evening February 25. Come "cheer me on" as I participate along with a number of other rabbis in the commmunity -- and have a fun evening! The program will be at Beth David Synagogue starting at 7pm. Flyers are available in the synagogue with more info.

 

You may have noticed some subtle changes in the chair arrangement of the chapel... the "advantage" of non-fixed seating is that we can try different configurations. Our current arrangement is meant to give a better "connection" with the services being led at the central reading stand. Share any thoughts with the Ritual Committee. And, speaking of services,  please read the important section below re minyan schedule changes as decided by our Ritual Committee.....

 

 Shabbat Shalom u'm'vorach......

 ...... Rabbi Gary and Iris Atkins

Why belong to  a synagogue?........ to help you

 "To Learn, Live, and Love Jewishly...."

The B eth Hillel Synagogue Mission Statement.....
 

Beth Hillel Synagogue takes its mission statement very seriously:

 

"Beth Hillel is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue rooted in the ancient traditions of the Torah while growing to meet the changes and challenges of our world. Its core are the many people of different ages and backgrounds who have chosen to make it their spiritual home, joining together for prayer, learning, and celebration. The many branches of Beth Hillel's community provide support to its congregants, reaching out to each other and welcoming our neighbors as together we learn from the past and teach for the future."

 Services & Candle Lighting Times

   

Friday, February 17,  8:00P.M. (CLT 5:06 EST) 

Saturday, February 18, 9:30 A.M.; Mincha, Maariv 5:00 P.M (plus Hav-deli!)

 Minyan Schedule Adjustments

    

As decided by our Ritual Committee at a meeting February 13, 2012......

 

Especially in these winter months, there has been difficulty having an actual minyan at our daily "minyan" services. This becomes increasingly discouraging to our "regulars." And yet Beth Hillel Synagogue is conscious of and believes strongly in its mission of providing a minyan for congregants whenever necessary and requested.

 

Our Ritual Committee has therefore approved the following adjustments to our minyan calendar, effective Monday, February 20.

 

Throughout the year, Sunday evening minyan will only take place if there is a shiva minyan or if a family with a yahrzeit has called the minyan captain at least a week in advance to request it. Minyan captains for each night are listed in the Chai-lites.

 

During winter months -- until April 1 -- regular weekday morning minyanim at 7am will only be held on  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. We will endeavor to make those minyanim as attractive as possible by providing breakfast after each service. Sunday morning minyan will continue at 9am. Those wanting a morning minyan on Monday or Thursday will need to call the daily minyan captain at least a week in advance to try to arrange a minyan.

 

As of April 1 we will return to a full daily morning minyan schedule.
 
We make this decision reluctantly, but it is up to the congregation to support our daily minyanim if they are to continue. Mike Cohen has provided the following words:

"I said last year during our Annual Congregational meeting,"The Beth Hillel family voted to remain at the present location. During  the installation of the officers and the new board, I had the privilege of being one of the speakers.I indicated that in order to save our Synagogue every able person would have to step up to the plate and help in various ways." It is apparent at this juncture that a majority do not care, or say to themselves let the others  do the necessary things to keep us alive.

One of these areas that is essential and the primary reason for the existence of a synagogue are minyons for services, particularly when an individual has a yarzeit or is in a period of  mourning for a loved one.

This lack of our members not stepping forward has necessitated  the Ritual Committee to curtail the number of services.

Save our Synagogue ! We need people at morning and evening services to continue to serve the needs of  our Congregation, there is a small core that is trying to fulfill its commitment.We need help! Where are you?"
The Chinese and Jewish New Years..... 
by Rabbi Stephen Parnes

   

Actually, the Jewish, Roman, and Chinese calendars all had the same new year at one time or another. Various religious, economic, scientific, and political factors led to changes, bringing us to where we are today. You will see this in regard to the Chinese calendar in the following passage from the Wikipedia description of the Chinese calendar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar; Although tradition holds that in the Zhou, the year began on the new moon which preceded the winter solstice, the Spring and Autumn Annals seem to indicate that (in Lu at least) the Yin calendar (the calendar used in Shang dynasty, with years beginning on the first new moon after the winter solstice) was in use until the middle of the 7th century, and that the beginning of the year was shifted back one month around 650 BC....

 

Four years ago a colleague inquired as to why Adar was chosen to be the month that was doubled in order to adjust the lunar cycle to the solar cycle. In my answer at that time I mentioned that this was also characteristic of the early Roman calendar.

 

Both Adar (as other colleagues have mentioned) and February are the months that mark the closing of the year before the next year begins. Adjustments to the calendar are therefore made to the year at the point the old year has fallen back too far from the beginning of the next solar year. The old Roman calendar had a system of intercalation reminiscent of that of the Jewish calendar. Here is a description of the Roman system from Chronology of the Ancient World, by Elias J. Bickerman:...... 

 

Bickerman's comment about the relationship of the agricultural year and the names of the months should bring to mind that "Nisan" and "Aviv" are both agriculturally connected names and that Nisan/Aviv are the calendrical equivalent of Martius/March......

 

Obviously there were further adjustments made to calendar calculation over the centuries, and the current civil calendar is based on the Gregorian reform of the Julian calendar. But the early history of the calendar shows the origin of and the clear relationship of the position of the intercalary periods of the Jewish and civil calendar systems.

 

An interesting fact: the year 46 BCE was 455 days long. This was an extra-long year to enable the year 45 BCE to begin January 1 at the proper time and thus the year 45 BCE was the 1st year of the calendar under the Julian system.. Of course they didn't call that year 45 BCE or 45 BC. That year was 709 AUC [ab urbe condita--from the founding of the city (Rome)].

Humor for the Week  
How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb? 
Two. One to screw it almost all the way in and the other to give it a surprise twist at the end.
Torah Commentary of the Week  
by Rabbi  Matthew Berkowitz of the Jewish Theological Seminary  
   

After legislating the multiplicity of laws in what has become known as sefer habrit, the book of the Covenant, Parashat Mishpatim concludes on a pessimistic note-a warning to the Israelites. Once they enter the Land of Israel, they are not to tolerate the practices of idolatrous nations. Exodus 23:24 declares, "You will not bow down to their gods in worship or follow their practice, but will tear them down and smash their pillars to bits." More than that, the Israelites are told to be "on guard." God will not displace the native nations suddenly, but over an extended period of time. Ultimately, however, a promise is made: "They will not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me; for you will serve their gods-and it will prove a snare to you" (Exod. 23:33). How are we to understand this divine fear and to what extent is it grounded in reality? Are the Israelites so weak as to be seduced by their surrounding cultures?

  

 Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains,

 

"Far from admitting the potential benefits of living among other peoples and cultures, Hirsch and Parashat Mishpatim seem to embrace a pessimistic view of Israelite impulses. Perhaps such a view derives from the relative power (in numbers and in practice) of the nations that were then resident in the Land of Israel. Alternatively, Torah could have been cautious because of the weakened state of the people. Having only been recently freed from the bonds of slavery, these same people could easily be seduced into servitude once again. Only through a process of acclimating one's self to freedom and maturing in that sense of identity, sovereignty, and power could the Israelites gain their place of honor and security in the world. Rabbinic Judaism (see especially Mishnah Avodah Zarah 3:4) and successive generations of Jews attest to a radically different worldview from the one expressed in Parashat Mishpatim. Judaism has survived and flourished because of its rich and sustained interaction and accommodation with surrounding cultures. Wherever we have lived-be it the "idolatrous" cultures of Greece, Italy, or India-we have acculturated, building bridges between the Jewish world and outside cultures. That delicate balancing act-between remaining true to one's identity and borrowing from other peoples and cultures-will remain one of the greatest challenges and blessings of Judaism."

Hesed Committee  
 
At every funeral I have conducted, those present may remember that I try to end the service the same way. I tell them that they have done the true mitzvah of "Hesed shel Emet," true lovingkindness, in accompanying the deceased to his/her final resting place, as there is no way that person can "repay" the kindness in this world.
 
However, there are many acts of "Hesed," kindess, that we can do for those who are alive in this world. We can reach out to the ill, the elderly, those recuperating from hospitalization, the homebound, etc., with (for example) phone calls, visits, cards.
 
Beth Hillel Synagogue is renewing its "Hesed" Committee, guided by Joel Neuwirth and Iris, to carry out these meaninful mitzvot, and thus help us live out our mandate to be a "caring congregation." We invite all  of you who are interested in sharing in this mitzvah work to contact Joel, Iris, or myself. The only requirements are a caring heart and the abillity to maintain confidentiality..
Beth Hillel Synagogue Library    

Lots of new books and videos......  

 Read contemporary newspapers and magazines!!

Upcoming Synagogue Events    

 

* Feb 18 - HAV-DELI - please rsvp NOW!

 

* Feb 23 - Prophets Class

    

* March 3 - Bat Mitzvah of Jamie Waldo
 
* March 7 Purim Evening Services at Emanuel Synagogue
 
* March  8 - Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Atkins
 
* March 10 - Saturday Sundaes
 
* March 16 - Congregational Shabbat Dinner

Community Events...    

Tuesday, March 6, Vashti's Banquet... A Celebration of Women.....Emanuel Synagogue, 5:30-9pm. Flyer available in synagogue 

 

Wednesday, March 14 - Women's Seder with Julie Silver... at Emanuel Synagogue

News From Israel

Masorti Leadership Mission Makes History:
Davens Mincha in Egalitarian Service in Knesset Synagogue
by David Lissy

 

Dear Friends,
I am just back from Israel where our Masorti Leadership Mission made history. Our group of 21 Conservative rabbis and lay leaders from North America davened mincha together at the synagogue at the Knesset-and did so without a mechitza and led by Rabbi Jennifer Gorman. It was a thrilling and spiritually uplifting occasion for all of us.

The historic nature of the event did not go unnoticed by the Israeli media. It made news in Hebrew and English on Ynet, the biggest and most important website for news in Israel. A story also appeared in the Jerusalem Post.

Our davening at the Knesset followed a series of one-on-one meetings to discuss issues of religion and state with Ministers Dan Meridor (Intelligence and Atomic Energy, Likud) and Uzi Landau (Energy and Water, Israel Beiteinu) and with MKs Yohanan Plesner (Kadima); Orit Zuaretz (Kadima); and Isaac Herzog (Labor). The evening before, Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni was the keynote speaker at our mission's opening dinner. Among the messages that we voiced are that Israel must become committed to religious pluralism and democratic values and end discrimination against non-Orthodox practice.

We also met with the former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, and were honored to meet at the U.S. Embassy with Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, who told us how he had been welcomed into our kehilla in Kfar Saba.

The four-day Leadership Mission also brought us around Israel to visit with leaders from more than a dozen of our Masorti kehillot. I have led a number of prior Masorti missions and, even for me, it was exciting to witness the vitality present in our communities and to connect with so many Israelis committed to the Masorti values of democracy, Zionism, tolerance and pluralism.

I came home from my two January visits in Israel never feeling more positive about the Masorti movement and its leadership and never more worried about pluralism and democratic values in Israel.

We have made enormous progress. Certainly, holding the first egalitarian service in the Knesset was good, but we need substance to go with the symbols. Please help us continue to build momentum. Visit our website today -- at http://www.masorti.org/ donate.php to make a donation to the Masorti Foundation.

David Lissy is the Executive Director of The Movement for Masorti Judaism