Rabbi's Ramblings...... 

 

Shalom Congregants and Friends.....    

 

Last Saturday evening was fun at the "rabbi talent show"... I sang three songs, one Gilbert and Sullivan, one by Cantor Doug Cotler, and one contemporary love song. Thanks to all the congregants attending, who were my "cheering gallery!"

 

So it's March and now we have some snow again! I know that spring isn't officially here for another three weeks, but it's always good to hope! And Purim is next week! "Mi shnichnas Adar, marbim b'simcha," tradition teaches us... when the month of Adar comes, our joy increases!

 

And a lot of joyful events are indeed occuring this coming week. Wednesday night is Purim. As you have read, we are joining with Emanuel for a joint service Wednesday evening. It will be be good celebrating with lots of people and children... and seeing lots of costumes! Thursday morning, we will read the megillah, assuming a minyan, here at our morning service! Iris and I have made it our tradition for many years to prepare shalach manot, bags of hamantashen and other goodies for distribution.... as one of the special mitzvot of Purim. They are in boxes outside my office door. Pick one up and enjoy (until they're all taken!)

 

This will be a very special Shabbat at the synagogue... celebrating the simcha of the Bat Mitzvah of Jamie Waldo! Jamie will be at services Friday night with her family; she will help to lead the service and the Waldo family will contribute to the oneg. At service  Friday night I will share my thoughts on seeing the play, "The Whipping Man," currently appearing at Hartford Stage. Shabbat morning services will be in our sanctuary as Jamie continues to celebrate her special day. 

  

Joel Neuwith and Iris are continuing their mitzvah work of organizing our renewed synagogue Chesed Caring Committee. Give either them (or the office) a call if you are interested in this special mitzvah.

 

So see you at services....... and Purim Sameach!

 

 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, March 2,  8:00P.M. (CLT 5:22 EST) 

Sat., March, 9:30 A.M.; Bat Mitzvah Jamie Waldo, Mincha, Maariv 5:15 P.M.

Humor for the Week  

HOW TO STAY SAFE IN THE WORLD TODAY:

  • Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20 % of all fatal accidents.
  • Do not stay at home because 17 percent of all accidents occur in the home. (that's 37 % already)
  • Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14 percent of all accidents occur to pedestrians.(now that's 51%)
  • Avoid traveling by air, trains or buses, 16 percent of accidents involve these forms of transportation. (that's 67%)
  • Of the remaining 33 percent, 32 percent of all deaths occur in hospitals. Above all else avoid hospitals.

You will be pleased to learn that only 0.01 % of all deaths occur in a synagogue, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is in Synagogue.


Torah Study is even safer. The number of deaths during Torah Study is too small to register.


For safety's sake, go to shul as often as possible, and attend Torah Study. It could save your life!

Torah Commentary of the Week  
by Rabbi  Matthew Berkowitz of the Jewish Theological Seminary    

 

At the beginning of Parashat Tetzaveh, Moses is commanded to instruct the Israelites, "bring clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. Aaron and his sons will set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over the Ark, to burn from evening to morning before the Lord. It will be a statute for the Israelites throughout all time, throughout the ages" (Exod. 27:20-21). The verse explicitly refers to setting up the ner tamid (the eternal light). How may we understand the significance of this commandment, especially in a post-Temple era? What symbolism does the ner tamid hold for the people of Israel?

 

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments that the charge is directed at Moses, who is the transmitter of Torah. It is the learning of Torah that is represented by this care of the lights. The sages in the Talmud remark that the expression, tetzaveh, "you will command" is used where there is special emphasis to be laid on the seriousness and importance of a duty which is incumbent immediately and also for all time, and above all, where it is a question of sacrificing material wealth for spiritual ends, the profit of which does not seem to be immediately apparent . . . The oil of the nation is to be offered for the light of Torah; the menorah represents the tree of the national spirit, not solely that of the priests. It is highly characteristic that it is only the daily provision of the means for obtaining light, and the conditioning of the lamps and wicks to produce a clear light that is the realm of the priests. The actual lighting might, if necessity arose, be performed by a layman. (Hirsch, Commentary on the Torah: Exodus, 510).

 

Hirsch's metaphor is illuminating. Reading the opening of our parashah allegorically, Hirsch compares the symbol of light and the menorah to that of Torah. In doing so, Hirsch makes this commandment relevant to all generations of Israelites and Jews-not simply the ones who lived at the time of the Temples. More than that, the import of the expression tetzavveh and its rabbinic commentary is striking. Learning Torah often does require the sacrifice of material wealth, and its meaning may not be readily apparent; however, its value is revealed over time. Finally, Hirsch accentuates the democratization of the ner tamid-that is to say, all may kindle this flame. And so is this the case with the study of Torah. Learning Torah is not bound to the intellectual or spiritual elite, but is a gift given to the entire nation. Truly, it is our learning Torah which is the eternal light shining upon Israel. May this erudition continually illuminate us and all of humanity.
Chesed Caring Committee  

 

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come,

but small ones surround us every day."

 

The Hebrew word "chesed" does not have a precise English equivalent but is probably closest to "loving-kindness." In the Jewish moral tradition, "Chesed" is associated with love, giving, and altruism. The Beth Hillel Synagogue community has the opportunity to reach out to those in need. We ask your help in providing support in even the simplest ways: phone calls, visits, and cards to congregants who are ill, bereaved, disabled, or isolated. Whether through get-well and stay-in-touch cards; delivering challot and grape juice before Shabbat; arranging rides to synagogue services and programs; to visiting congregants in nursing homes, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers ---- reaching out with compassion is a mitzvah that many of us can perform.

 

You will also be providing a service by informing Rabbi Atkins (860.242.5561; [email protected]) of congregants in need of support or assistance. Privacy will always be protected.

 

Joel Neuwirth    /  Iris Atkins

 

Remember: We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

Beth Hillel Synagogue Library    

Lots of new books and videos......  

 Read contemporary newspapers and magazines!!
Social Action News    

 

Beth Hillel will participate in the Greater Hartford Seasons of Service -- day of volunteering --

by serving dinner at the "Peters Retreat" soup kitchen, 123 Retreat Avenue (near Hartford Hospital,) on Sunday April 1. Volunteers  needed!  Contact the office or Len Swade

 

MAZON - Help the hungry - envelopes at the synagogue

In the News...... Mormon ritual is no threat to Jews
 By Jeff Jacoby ... Boston Globe
 
       IN A COLUMN many years ago, I described how I once attempted to chart a family tree. Most of my father's family had been killed in Auschwitz, and my efforts to trace their genealogy left me, I wrote, with a family tree that "has stumps where branches ought to be'' and "gets narrower, not wider, as it grows.''

        A woman phoned me the morning that column appeared. She said she was a Mormon, and wanted to add the names of my father's massacred relatives - the column had mentioned about 18 of them by name - to the Mormon Church's vast genealogical archives. I told her that I certainly had no objection. Indeed, I was grateful for any gesture that might help preserve some remembrance of these family members whose lives had been so cruelly cut short.

        At the time I knew nothing about "baptism by proxy,'' the ritual that Mormons believe gives even souls in the afterlife a chance to accept their faith and thus enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only later did I learn that some Mormons, eager to save the souls of dead Jews, had taken to submitting the names of Holocaust victims for posthumous baptism. 

      The discovery didn't trouble me at all. In Judaism, conversion after death is a concept without meaning; no after-the-fact rites in this world can possibly change the Jewishness of the men, women, children, and babies whom the Nazis, in their obsessive hatred, singled out for extermination. I found the Mormons' belief eccentric, not offensive. By my lights, their efforts to make salvation available to millions of deceased strangers were ineffectual. But plainly they were sincere, and intended as a kindness.

      Other Jews, however, were offended. There was a commotion over the issue in the 1990s, and in response the Mormon Church formally barred proxy baptism for Jewish Holocaust victims. As a rule the ban is respected, but there are occasional violations of church policy, and the issue is back in the news following reports that Anne Frank, who died at 15 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, was recently baptized by proxy at a Mormon temple in the Dominican Republic. Relatives of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and the parents of the late Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal were also submitted for proxy baptisms.

      So now there's a whole new commotion, with some prominent Jewish voices once again loudly expressing indignation. "Holocaust victims were killed solely because they were Jews,'' fumes Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "And here comes the Mormon Church taking away their Jewishness. It's like killing them twice.'' The Simon Wiesenthal Center, pronouncing itself "outraged,'' declares that the latest proxy baptisms "make a mockery'' of Jewish-Mormon relations. Wiesel himself insiststhat Mitt Romney, as "the most famous and important Mormon in the country,'' has a moral obligation to tell his church: "Stop it.''  But if anyone should be told to "stop it,'' it's men like Foxman and Wiesel, whose reactions to this issue have been unworthy and unfair.

       For one thing, the Mormon Church promptly apologized for the listing of Anne Frank and the others, and firmly reiterated its policy: "Proxy baptisms of Holocaust victims are strictly prohibited.'' Leaping to take offense at something the church has unequivocally repudiated is cheap grandstanding.

        More odious by far is the accusation that a posthumous "baptism'' to which no Jew attaches any credence is tantamount to a second genocide ("It's like killing them twice''). What an ugly slander. Even to the most zealous Mormon, proxy baptism is simply the offering of a choice - it gives non-Mormons in the afterlife a chance to accept the gospel, should they wish to. You don't have to buy the theology - I certainly don't - to recognize that its message is benign.

        As a Jew, I am less interested in what other religions teach about the fate of Jews in the next world than in how they affect the fate of Jews in this world. Rafael Medoff, a scholar of America's response to the Holocaust, notes that Mormon leaders were outspoken supporters of efforts to rescue Jews from Nazi Europe at a time when many mainstream Christians were silent. For example, Utah Senator William King - among the most renowned Mormons of his day - strongly backed legislation that could have saved Anne Frank and her family.

       Outraged by proxy baptisms? Count me out. As my stunted family tree attests, the Jewish people have very real, very dangerous enemies. Mormons undergoing peaceful rituals in their own temples aren't on the list.

Upcoming Synagogue Events    

   

* 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

News from Israel.....   two interesting articles

Ethiopian Aliyah Increase  

At a meeting this evening, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) gave the Jewish Agency approval to dramatically increase the rate of Ethiopian aliyah to 250 per month. Tonight's meeting was chaired by the PMO Director-General and included representatives of the Interior, Treasury and Absorption Ministries along with the Jewish Agency. A source close to the issue told eJP that objections were raised by both the Finance and Absorption Ministries, with the latter arguing vigorously against the increase. The final decision to increase the monthly rate was made by the Prime Minister. The Jewish Agency's Chair of the Executive, Natan Sharansky, responded, "The Jewish Agency is thrilled by this decision and will do everything in our power to bring this historic aliyah to its completion as quickly as possible. We thank PM Netanyahu for his leadership on this issue." If all proceeds according to plan, those approved should reach Israel by October 2013.

 
 
The Softspoken Man Behind the "Times of Israel"
By Josh Nathan-Kazis  Published February 29, 2012

 

     When The Times of Israel, a new Web-only, English-language Israeli newspaper, hit the Internet in February, its glossy design and professional graphics moved many to wonder what well-heeled backer might be behind this latest entry into Israel's crowded media market.....

         As it turns out, Seth Klarman, another wealthy American Jewish investor, is following in the footsteps of Sheldon Adelson and Ron Lauder in acting on his belief that coverage of Israel within Israel itself is unbalanced and unjustifiably hostile - and that he can do something about it..... 
         The surprising background fact is that Klarman's involvement with Israel is basically new. He took his first trip to Israel only seven years ago. But the wealthy investor defies simple categorization. His statement on the paper's launch seems to toe a familiarly hawkish pro-Israel line. But Klarman also describes himself as an opponent of Israel's policy of establishing exclusively Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank, calling it a mistake "from the beginning." "I don't think he's ideological," said Barry Shrage, president of Boston's Jewish federation, the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, to which Klarman has been a major donor. "It doesn't pay to stereotype this man.".....

     The Times of Israel is a serious new player in a field crowded by two long-established English-language Israeli newspapers, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz (with which the Forward maintains a partnership). Klarman's paper will also compete with American Jewish outlets carrying Israel news, including the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Forward.

      The paper gains significant credibility from the involvement of its founder and editor, David Horovitz, former editor of the Israel-based English-language magazine The Jerusalem Report and, most recently, editor of The Jerusalem Post. While The Jerusalem Report was seen as center left and The Jerusalem Post as center right, Horovitz told the Forward that the new publication will be "inclusive. " He also challenged the characterization of The Jerusalem Post under his editorship as right of center. "We are independent; we're not attached

or affiliated with any political party," Horovitz said of The Times of Israel. "It's an independent, fair-minded journalistic venture, and I think it's incredibly important to give people a sense of the options that Israel faces and create an informed and constructive debate." 

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

 

Bloomfield Citizen's Police Awareness Academy...

a 12-week session educating Bloomfield residents about their police department and helping the Department get feedback on important issues. If interested, contact Sgt. Martinez at 860-242-5501 Ext. 5520

 

Tues, April 3, Identity2 - "We are all flowers of the same tree"

Bloomfield School System Concert at the Bushnell, 7pm