5782 High Holiday - Building a Future Together

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Building A Future Together

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havath Achim cultivates a Jewish community of purposeful belonging. We inspire and support spiritual journeys by deepening relationships with one another. We believe it is at the crossroads of our spiritual paths that life’s purpose and God might be found.

Ahavath Achim creates a vibrant, inclusive, spiritual community that empowers individuals to connect Jewishly beyond themselves.

f AhavathAchimSynagogue l @aasynagogueatl t @AASynagogueATL y Ahavath Achim Synagogue D www.aasynagogue.org V 404.355.5222 ] 600 Peachtree Battle Ave NW Atlanta, GA 30327

CLERGY Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal Rabbi Sam Blustin Rabbi Arnold Goodman Senior Rabbinic Scholar

STAFF

AA embraces interfaith families who desire to be part of our Jewish community. Our spiritual community serves all who wish to connect with us. Learn more about our interfaith values at 18doors.org.

WEEKLY SERVICE SCHEDULE Morning Minyan (Monday - Friday)

7:15 am

Morning Minyan (Sunday)

9:00 am

Evening Minyan (Sunday - Thursday)

6:00 pm

Shabbat Evening Service (Friday)

6:00 pm

Shabbat Morning Service (Saturday)

9:30 am

Barry Herman Executive Director Miriam Habif Director of Outreach & Engagement Sharon Graetz Director of Education Jackie Nix Director of Youth & Family Engagement Chris Carr Director of Facilities Investigator Joe Jones IV Director of Security Beth Arnold Helmey Ahava ELC Director Emily Kessler Serafin Ahava ELC Assistant Director Lauren Dube Marketing Coordinator & Graphic Designer Catherine Ficke Executive Assistant to the Executive Director Jill Rosner Executive Assistant to the Rabbis Stan Vogel Finance Manager Fern Schorr Receptionist Wesley Coney Facilities Anika Johnson Facilities Ken Johnson Facilities Marcus Thomas Facilities Heidi Herman Ahava ELC Administrator Susan Goff Ahava ELC Bookkeeper

OFFICERS OF THE BOARD Gerry Benjamin President Gary Alembik Executive Vice President Michael Plasker Financial Vice President Nikki Crohn Vice President Allen Soden Vice President Betty Sunshine Vice President Allison Feldman and Rachael Joseph Sisterhood Co-Presidents Zamir Norry and Avram Eli Rosenthal USY and Kadima President

1 • Building A Future Together

Thank You! Thank you to all the contributors and editors for helping crafting this publication.

A Message From the President

By Gerry Benjamin

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ecall the candid message I felt compelled to share with you last year in connection with the very real challenges we faced because of Covid-19. I suggested that, notwithstanding the emotional and economic impacts of the pandemic, I sensed that each of us had been abruptly reminded of the importance of family, friends, personal interaction, and our faith, and I was cautiously optimistic that we would together rise to meet the many challenges presented and eventually emerge as a stronger and more cohesive Congregation.

Through the generosity of the members of our extended AA family, I am proud to share that we (rather miraculously) balanced our AA Operating Budget during the past fiscal year, notwithstanding the impact of the Pandemic. As highlighted in the periodic video messages that you have recently been receiving, I am gratified to observe that, at the AA, we are building our future together.

At last month’s Congregational Annual Meeting, we celebrated the prior years’ extraordinary efforts of our Clergy, Professional Staff and our many lay leaders, each going above and beyond to address the needs of our extended AA Family.

We presented both the Goldstein Volunteer of the Year Award and the Cantor Isaac Goodfriend Award for Exemplary Leadership to fabulously deserving volunteers, Adam Hirsch and Sara and Mark Papier, and Irene Aronin, respectively.

As I read a long list of names of committed volunteers who had each made a special difference to the workings of our Synagogue and the various needs of our AA family members, I feared that I would undoubtedly fail to recognize each volunteer deserving of mention.

For years, our AA Cemetery Committee had been led by Don Reisman and Leonard Bock, of blessed memory. This Committee works tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring that the sacred needs of our Congregants and their loved ones are attended to in a fashion that provides peace of mind, often at a time when most needed. We are indebted to the members of our Cemetery Committee, including Dave Adelman, Cookie Aftergut, Phillip Mendintz, Ivan Millender, and Don Reisman, for their devotion to AA and to all the members of our extended AA family.

Likewise, the work of our Chevra Kadisha Committee, under the direction of Delcy Pardo Harber and Bob Tepper, the holy society that prepares our dead for burial according to Jewish tradition, with the fulfillment of tahara (the ritual cleansing and dressing of a body) along with other rites and rituals, that delivers these vital acts of loving kindness without recognition or fanfare to ensure that the loved ones of all AA family members are cared for in appropriate fashion.

Please join me, along with our officers and directors, in extending our deepest gratitude to the above-named committee members, all unsung heroes, whose jobs have been complicated in untold ways because of Covid-19.

To be certain, these continue to be challenging economic times for our congregation. With neither the ability to fully gather in-person, nor pray and experience the High Holidays together in our sanctuary, we are forced to, once again, adjust to these uniquely challenging times. As I shared with you last year, our annual dues cover only about two-thirds of the Synagogue’s annual operating budget. Simply stated, we cannot balance our Synagogue budget this year without your support. Thus, I once again respectfully ask for your special consideration and financial support in response to this year’s Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Campaign.

As was the case last year, we are extremely fortunate to a few AA families who recognize the special challenge brought on by Covid-19 and are Building A Future Together • 2

helping us to balance the Synagogue’s budget.

They have, together, generously agreed to match the first $100,000 of new or increased gifts raised from this year’s Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Campaign.

Each of you should have received a customary Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Campaign card in the mail with check boxes to indicate the level of support you are comfortable extending to the Synagogue. Before checking a box, I ask you to reflect upon the importance of our AA family and to dig as deep as you are able this year, to allow the Synagogue to meet its obligations.

For over 134 years, the AA has been here to provide you and your family with spiritual support and caring. From facilitating simchas, to providing pastoral care, to engaging in social justice programs, to providing cultural and

educational programming, to caring for our most vulnerable members and the special needs of our deceased and their loved ones, we are building our future together.

I ask each of you to challenge yourselves and step up to do just a bit more in response to this year’s Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Campaign than you may otherwise feel comfortable.

On behalf of my fellow AA officers and directors and our entire AA community, I thank you in advance for your generosity and continued support. I wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

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5782 Yom Kippur Appeal Chai Campaign  $100  $360  $1,800

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$180 $540 $2,500 $5,400

 $250  $1,000  $3,600

Name: Email:

Phone:

To make a donation, please complete this card and mail it (with check enclosed) to Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30327. Donations can also be made online at https://aasyn.org/donate.

3 • Building A Future Together

A Message From the Executive Director

By Barry Herman

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f the year is a train, the High Holidays are its engine. A delicate blend of joy and solemnity, feasting and fasting, and prayer and inspiration make up the spiritually charged head of the Jewish year. The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, actually means “head of the year.” Just like the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year. It is a day of prayer, a time to ask the Almighty to grant us a year of peace, prosperity, and blessing. It is also a joyous day when we proclaim God King of the Universe.

During the times of the Temple, every seven years, the ceremony of Hakhel was performed during Sukkot, a holiday which itself is an extension of the High Holidays. During that time, all Jewish men, women, children, as well as “strangers” assembled to hear the reading of the Torah by the king of Israel. The primary message of the Hakhel ceremony was one of community. We know from experience that a person can lift and carry a much larger load when another person helps him/her lift it. As part of a kahal (congregation), we can accomplish things that could not be done by the individuals, as individuals. One simple example of this is that we require the presence of a minyan to say Kaddish. By merely being part of a minyan and enabling people to say Kaddish for their loved ones, we effect a change in everyone present in that one becomes part of a “sacred congregation.”

tickets to attend our in-person services, nor are we requiring payment for access to our virtual service experience. However, registration is required for anyone who wishes to attend inperson services, primarily to ensure the safety of everyone inside the building. Part of the registration process includes furnishing proof of vaccination. In an abundance of caution, masks will be required at all times when inside the building.

In order to make things simple, all information related to the High Holidays can be found on our 5782 High Holiday Hub (aasynagogue.org/highholidays). This page will include: a full schedule of services, updated Covid-19 protocols, a link to register for in-person services, links for virtual participation in services (which will become live closer to the holidays), and everything else you need to know regarding the upcoming High Holidays. It will continue to be updated as new information is made available.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all Leshanah tovah tikatev vetichatem - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.

Rosh Hashanah is not only the beginning of the New Year but also the “head” of the year, influencing each and every day of the upcoming year. In order to set the tone for the New Year and in the spirit of continuing to offer spiritual upliftment and comfort to our community during this transition period, we are not requiring Building A Future Together • 4

The Spirituality of Wisdom

By Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal

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Where can wisdom be found? Where is the source of understanding?” (Job 28:12)

the passions that energize a purposeful life. Let’s return to the verse from Job, “Where can wisdom be found?” For us, it is in the hearts of those around us – we need only ask.

Last Passover, we sought out wisdom by inviting members of our spiritual community to share a One of the great piece of their knowledge. We were amazed at the pursuits of humanity is response and know that you will enjoy reading the search for wisdom. their heartfelt, meaningful, and wisdom-filled It was not long ago expressions. As we share with each other, I that education was know that the words from the Biblical Book available to the few in of Proverbs will ring true: “Acquire wisdom, a privileged class. Our acquire discernment; do not forget and do not current civilization invests heavily in educating swerve from my words. Do not forsake her, and its citizens, and, even with this investment, we she will guard you; love her and she will protect are in the midst of a vibrant (and sometimes you” (Proverbs 4:6). rancorous) cultural conversation about the need for more education, better education, and the May our sacred High Holy days be filled with pursuit of wisdom. meaning, purpose, and wisdom.

We Jews have a special love for wisdom. Once upon a time, Jewish civilization centered around a Temple worship experience that took place in Jerusalem. With the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, our people shifted to prayer, study, and deed-focused experience. Animal sacrifices became prayers; our first fruits became our directed heart; our most perfect livestock became our focused and devoted mind. Our relationship with God became dependent on learning and knowing God’s words (i.e., the Torah). Once the kingship and sacrificial services were lost, wisdom became the Jewish path towards the divine, and our rabbis made that journey the obligation of each person. The great medieval physician, theologian, and philosopher, Maimonides, understood the highest level of spiritual enlightenment and the afterlife to be one and the same, stating: “[the] afterlife does not contain in it eating and drinking, rather only wisdom and knowledge. In fact, it is the ultimate level that a Torah scholar can achieve in this world.”

Ahavath Achim seeks to inspire and support spiritual journeys with an aim of uncovering purposeful belonging. Knowledge is the greatest driver of spiritual journeys. Wisdom can stoke 5 • Building A Future Together

Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah Personal Wisdom Initiative

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n Rosh Hashanah, it is written and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed. “It” is our fate in the coming year. But we are told, teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah (repentance, prayer, and charity) avert the severe (or the severity of the) decree. The Yomim Nora’im (Days of Awe) between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are times for reflection and efforts to improve our behavior. Likewise, sefira (the counting of 49 days between Passover and Shavuot) is a time of reflection as we move from the jubilation of being freed from slavery to accepting the responsibility of observing the Torah. Last Passover, as Rabbi Rosenthal mentioned in his essay, members of our spiritual community were asked for their thoughts on how to acquire wisdom. Their responses appear below and contain many thoughts on the meanings of “Repentance” (more than saying “I’m sorry”), “Prayer” (more than reading from the Siddur), and “Charity” (more than giving money).

Shelly Dollar

struggles furthering the civil rights movement.

This nobility of endurance is followed by the love of humility. Humility is often thought of When Rabbi Heschel as weakness, when in fact, it is simply knowing returned from Selma, he where you stand in the world. We each need to was asked, “Did you determine if we are fighting for an outcome or find much time to pray if we are standing in solidarity with others who when you were in are actually the oppressed. The chesed of hod Selma?” Rabbi Heschel emboldens us to find our path and act according responded, “I prayed to what we often refer to as “our lane.” with my feet.” How does this relate to the Using love as our motivator, do we march, counting of the Omer? donate money, give an encouraging word Well, one step after expressed in humility? I don’t have the answer another is a form of for anyone but myself. I know my lane and in counting. (Those who context, the actions I need to take. Each of us use a Fitbit to track has this responsibility - to determine our actions 11,000 steps know what I’m talking about.) and to pray with our feet.

I am speaking on the cusp of malchus of netzach, the nobility of endurance, and chesed of hod, the love of humility.

I believe “praying with our feet” is at the intersection of these two spiritual goals - the action prayers we perform before our spoken prayers.

The endurance necessary to find your action prayer is powered by a form of nobility. When we speak for those unable to speak for themselves or when we stand in solidarity with people who struggle, we are praying with our feet. Is this not what Heschel did when he marched in Selma?

He used endurance to stand side-by-side with well-known civil rights leaders in their noble

Nancy Levine One problematic question in Parashiyot Va-era and Bo is, “Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart?” At the beginning of Va-era, before Moses goes to Pharaoh, God tells Moses that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart.

If God hardens Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh is not truly free to make his own Building A Future Together • 6

decisions, and, therefore, he is not guilty and should not be punished. If, however, Pharaoh hardens his own heart, he has a genuine choice.

Jordan River: the Galilee in the North and the Dead Sea in the South.

It is only during the last five plagues that the Torah says, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”

Why is one sea so healthy, vibrant, and brimming with life while the other is so barren, uninhabitable, and dead? I think the reason is simple: the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea, but it never flows out; the Dead Sea keeps all the water for itself. By contrast, the Sea of Galilee, which is much smaller than the Dead Sea, shares its waters; it receives water from the Jordan River and also allows it to flow out!

The Sea of Galilee: In Va-era and Bo, we read about the plagues that • It supplies most of the drinking water in God inflicts upon Egypt. In the first five plagues, Israel. the Torah states that Pharaoh himself, not God, • Many types of fish live in this sea and “stiffens” or “hardens” his own heart. For fisheries flourish. example: • Birds live and fly around it.

• After the Nile turns to blood, “Pharaoh’s • Crops surrounding it are healthy and heart stiffened” (Exodus 7:22). abundant.

• After the plague of frogs, “Pharaoh became • The Jordan River flows from it into the Dead stubborn” (Exodus 8:11).

Sea. • After the plague of vermin, “Pharaoh’s heart stiffened” (Exodus 8:15).

The Dead Sea, by contrast: • After the plague of insects, “Pharaoh again • It is extremely salty – nine times saltier than became stubborn” (Exodus 8:27). normal ocean water.

• And after the plague of pestilence afflicts • No fish live in it. the Egyptians’ livestock, “Pharaoh remained • No birds fly above it. stubborn” (Exodus 9:7).

• The area around it is desolate.

Our rabbis interpret this to mean that, in the beginning, Pharaoh did have a choice. In choosing between sympathy to the plight of the Israelites by letting them leave and hardheartedness by refusing to let them go, Pharaoh chooses the latter; he chose this not just once but five times, even as the plagues became increasingly harsh against his advisors and the Egyptians.

Pharaoh chose hard-heartedness so often that he ultimately became incapable of opening or softening his heart. Pharaoh realized he would have been seen as weak, powerless, or impotent if he chose to soften his heart after refusing to budge over the course of five plagues. By that time, Pharaoh had, in effect, lost the freedom to make a different decision. He sealed his own fate.

The important lesson for me in these parashiyot is that each of us has the power to open or close our hearts to the needs of others. We can be concerned and sympathetic to the suffering of others and respond with gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) or we can be indifferent to their plight and do nothing.

I want to share one of my favorite stories about the two seas in Israel that are connected by the 7 • Building A Future Together

I think this parable characterizes two types of people: 1. Those who are sympathetic to the suffering of others and feel a responsibility to help 2. Those who have turned away from the pain and suffering of others and who focus only on their self-interest, giving nothing to others.

The important lesson here is that every choice we make affects us, our future choices, and the kind of person we ultimately become. If we walk away from others’ suffering and pain, then our own hearts harden. The cost of turning away is high – we become estranged from God and from becoming our own holiest selves.

The good thing is this situation is never permanent. We can do the work of goodness in the world by performing Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) right here in our own synagogue. Our Chesed volunteers do this every day when they deliver a meal to an ill or recovering congregant or contact members

who are grieving. By reaching out to others during their times of need, we become part of something greater than ourselves.

If you are ready to open your heart to the needs of others in our congregation, then we welcome you to the Chesed Committee. The acts of loving kindness you perform will change you, the person you touch, and it will transform our synagogue. Shabbat Shalom!

Mark Papier For those who don’t know me, I’ll start by saying, “My name is Mark Papier.” When you don’t see me on your computer screens for AA events, I’m often on another screen in your home, working as a Storm Specialist and On-Camera Meteorologist for The Weather Channel.

It may not be immediately listed in the job description, but I consider this job to be intrinsically Jewish. Let me give you a couple examples. When Cain asks “Am I my brother’s keeper?” the Torah does not explicitly give the answer, instead leaving it for us to decide if we should be accountable for others’ actions.

While working, I try to answer, “Yes. I am my brother’s keeper.” Most of my day is spent talking about different weather events that could kill someone and trying to move people out of harm’s way. While I may not know exactly where you are when severe weather is approaching, I absolutely know where you shouldn’t be. “Where is Abel, your brother?” I never know exactly how many people are watching at any moment from that dangerous spot, or how many lives have been changed because of my words, but I do recognize the power they hold.

Through this work, I see the destructive force that God, or Mother Nature, or the environment, can bestow on humanity. Just the other night, I was on for 45 minutes straight without commercial breaks when a tornado ripped through Newnan, GA. Humanity forever changed

by weather. But, the opposite is also true.

Weather can be changed by humanity. People have already had a profound impact on the weather and continue to do so. Somehow the science of climate change became something political and thus, debatable, as if it had campaign slogans. Here’s the thing. The science of climate change is actually really simple and something that has been in the scientific literature since at least 1896 when a Swedish scientist began calculating the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) on global surface temperatures through the Greenhouse Effect. While science doesn’t usually speak in 100% certainties, the consensus on climate change is overwhelming.

I urge people to ignore the loud minority who try to tell you that this isn’t happening, or that, even if it is happening, it isn’t a big deal, or that, even if it is a big deal, there isn’t anything we can do about it. They are wrong on all points. At times, this may seem difficult, but it shouldn’t be any more difficult than ignoring the loud minority who claim the world is flat. I don’t spend any time convincing the Flat Earthers of the science of our globe. And I will be spending less and less time on the science of climate change. Because it just is. Like gravity. Like a round earth. The science is in.

The science is simple. The implications are serious. Sea levels are rising, droughts last longer, flash floods and fires are more abundant, hurricanes move slower and stronger, cold air outbreaks across the lower latitudes are more intense while the poles warm faster, temperatures are hotter overall, desertification [including areas near the Negev (and we know the long history of issues surrounding Israel over water and water rights)] is increased, and food and water resources are changing, leading to climate refugees. It’s a serious list. But, Judaism tells us that this can be a solvable problem.

The need for action can be summed up in one word: “unless.” “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.

It’s not. “So ‘CATCH’ calls the Once-ler. He lets something fall. It’s a Truffula seed. It’s the last one of all. You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water and feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.

Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come Building A Future Together • 8

back.” Dr. Seuss in The Lorax knows that we are indeed our brother’s keeper. You are in charge of the last seed. And everyone needs the trees.

Still, it’s up to you. But if he’s not enough of a classic Judaic scholar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught a parable: Some people were on a ship.

One of them took a drill and started drilling underneath him. The others said to him, “What are you sitting and doing?!” He replied, “What do you care? Is this not underneath myself that I am drilling?!”

immediately get involved. You can join me in supporting AA’s amazing Greening Group. The Greening Group can be found beautifying our grounds, working towards renewable energy at our shul, and ensuring that our meals together are as environmental friendly as possible by composting and removing plastic and waste. I, along with several other AA members, am also involved in JCAN-GA, a subset of the Jewish Climate Action Network. This group hosts community-wide events and helps synagogues and individuals work towards their own Jewish Climate change works in many of the same climate solutions. Climate change is serious. But, ways. Our pollution doesn’t stay in our backyard, it’s also very solvable. And it’s all so very Jewish. and China’s pollution doesn’t stay in China. This is, indeed, a global issue and will take global solutions. The impacts, however, are local. It’s easy to think that this is a problem only for polar bears and only in the future. But we can A Parent’s Reflection look here and now already. In Atlanta, when it rains, it pours. The average rainiest day in 1950 “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But was under 3 inches. Today, it’s over 3.5 inches. if I am for myself alone, what am I? If not now, It’s baseball’s opening weekend. Since just 1970, when?” Rabbi Hillel (Pirkei Avot 1:14) the baseball season in Atlanta is now 3.1 degrees warmer. So, what should we do?

When I was near Jacob’s age, near first grade, I received a shiny pamphlet in Sunday School Judaism does not explicitly tell us what to do with the week’s lesson. On the front were these to keep the Earth’s temperature in a specific questions from Hillel. Perhaps because of their range, but it does give a moral compass. We contradictory simplicity, I latched onto them are taught not to stand idly by when our as important. While I did not contemplate the neighbor’s life is threatened. My work within meaning beyond learning the words, I still this science has clearly shown that our neighbors found them powerful enough to hang them are threatened. Coastal neighbors, global over my bed when I was in middle school. As neighbors, and, eventually, next door neighbors an adult, these questions continue to pursue too. First though, climate change affects the me, to challenge me in where I stand or where I poorest countries and the poorest people in rich act. The meaning and intimations change every countries disproportionately. This here is where single time I consider them, whether individually climate change becomes a moral problem. It or in concert. Sometimes they empower, is a justice problem. And Judaism has a long sometimes they chastise, but for this moment, history of providing answers to problems of that they connect. nature. The Jewish people, time and time again, proudly stand up and say “Hineni”… “here I I knew these would be the words I would share am.” Without that, this problem won’t fix itself when I was offered the opportunity to participate on its own; In fact, it will likely keep getting in this community siyum. What I did not know worse. Unless. “Whatever that meant, well, I was exactly how I would connect the words just couldn’t guess… But now says the Oncein this moment. They are certainly questions ler; Now that you’re here, the word of the Lorax I will pursue with Jacob as my obligation to seems perfectly clear.” teach “these words” to our children. But it was yesterday, Yom Hashoah, that this year’s Mip’nei tikkun ha-olam, “for the sake of repairing connection became evident. I read with him the world.” Today, tikkun olam, “repairing the the story of our cousins, tracing our history world,” includes recognizing and repairing in Lithuania and finding the daughter in a the climate crisis. If you are ready to say righteous gentile family who hid a cousin of “Unless, I am here,” there are several ways to ours during the Holocaust. Along with the story

Erin and Jacob Thaler

9 • Building A Future Together

and its inherent power, I took a close look at a picture I hadn’t internalized before – a picture of my great-grandparents’ Passover table in 1920.

The connection of more than one hundred years to now. A time in which we read Pirkei Avot, a tradition that certainly happened in the house of my great grandfather, a “rabbinical scholar with a Torah in his house.” The words of our tradition are turned over hundreds of times in our lifetime – if we let it happen. The words of our tradition connect our generations thousands more times – if we let it happen.

May we hear the questions in the individual ways that help us change ourselves and the world for the better. May we feel the strength of our ancestors who ensured that these words would reach us this day. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am for myself alone, what am I? If not now, when?” - Rabbi Hillel (Pirkei Avot 1:14) Sunday morning thoughts:

for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind. Rabbi [Judah the Prince] said: What is the right path a person should choose for himself? Whatever is honorable to one who chooses it and honorable in the eyes of others.

Pirkei Avot 1:13 - He [also] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; one who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away.

Doris Goldstein This is the 48th day making six weeks and six days of the Omer.

There is only one day remaining.

What is an Omer? It is a measure of new barley grain, approximately nine pounds. During the time of the Temple, an Omer was offered Pirkei Avot 4:18 - There are four types among on the day after the those who attend the House of Study: (1) One first day of Passover; who goes but does not practice [what he learns] an additional Omer was offered each day until receives a reward for going. (2) One who Shavuot. After the destruction of the Temple, practices but does not go receives a reward for the Sages ordained that the custom of counting practicing. (3) One who goes and also practices is should continue in memory of the practice. pious. (4) One who neither goes nor practices is wicked.

Do you remember anticipating your birthday or the last day of school? Marking red X’s on a “Ben Zoma said: Who is strong? One who calendar until a graduation, a special vacation or masters his evil impulse, as it is said, ‘He who is a wedding? The anticipation was integral to the slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he enjoyment of the actual event. who rules over his spirit is better than he who conquers a city.’”

So what event are we waiting to celebrate? In our religious life, we are counting the days from the Pirkei Avot 3:19 - “All is foreseen, yet freedom Exodus until the Revelation at Sinai, the Giving of choice is given. The world is judged with of the Torah, a period of 50 days. Maimonides goodness, but all depends on the majority of wrote that the object of the freeing of the slaves one’s deeds.” was so that they could receive the Torah. This massive trove of laws and the customs and Pirkei Avot 2:1 - Same thought, different practices which have evolved over the centuries translations. Both read specifically for the have shaped Jewish life for the past thousands of contrast in translation. Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] years and continue doing so into the present. would say: Which is the right path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious But we are not the first or only ancient people Pirkei Avot 6:1 - Rabbi Meir said: whoever engages in Torah study for its own sake merits many things; moreover, the whole world is worthwhile for his sake alone.

Building A Future Together • 10

to develop a code of law. A well-known example comes to us from Hammurabi, the 17th century BCE ruler of Babylonia. His code consists of 282 short vignettes of real-life situations and how they should be resolved. “If such and such happens, this is what should be the outcome.”

It covers many aspects of society… family, commerce, property, and criminal activity. It was engraved in 4,000 lines of cuneiform text on a seven foot tall, black stone and is now displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris. It is still an object of scholarly interpretation but has no connection and little influence on the daily lives of people in present day Iran.

In contrast, our Torah is not only lived but studied every day by someone somewhere in the world. Without it, ancient Israel would surely have become yet another entity destroyed and long forgotten except in history books.

As the 4th century CE Greek historian, Herodotus, observed, “For those cities that were great in earlier times have now become small and those that were great in my time were small in the time before… Man’s good fortune never abides in the same place.”

A number of years ago, I had the unique opportunity to climb what Christianity accepts as Mt. Sinai. The Torah never designates the specific location of the mountain; it’s just somewhere in the vast, unforgiving Sinai Desert.

After a strenuous climb in the pre-dawn hours of the morning, I staggered to the top. I hoped that being atop this precipice, I would have some quasi revelation myself. The sun slowly rose, lighting the landscape in stripes of orange and purple against a dove-grey sky. What a beautiful sight! Was this expansive appreciation of nature my religious experience? Not really; I had seen many beautiful sunrises before.

So where is the truth in the account of clouds of smoke, thunderbolts, and lightning as recorded in Exodus, verse 19? Did a man called Moses climb some daunting mountain twice and receive tablets of stone? Did he almost see God in a cleft of the rock? Did someone record all of these laws and guides for a moral society sitting around a campfire in the wilderness? Do I really believe all of this, verbatim? I have to admit, I do not.

Sitting alone, away from my fellow climbers in 11 • Building A Future Together

the unending silence, surrounded by the stark beauty of the mountain peaks, I realized that the answers to these questions didn’t matter. What is essential to my Judaism is that something remarkable happened sometime and someplace thousands of years ago that continues to this day. The words of the Torah have sustained us and enabled us to flourish in the face of impossible odds and been a positive force in the world. Have we always lived up to the Torah’s high standards: the essential God-given dignity of each individual, equal justice for rich and poor, honest dealings in business, care for the most vulnerable and so much more? No. But there are always words of Torah to remind us to do better.

Ordinary people like me, my descendants, and my fellow Jews everywhere are the bearers of these concepts which have shaped most of Western Civilization. Individually, we did not find a cure for disease,invent an important machine, or discover a new universe, but, collectively, we have set a standard of behavior for all of humanity that will endure as long as there are Jews who continue to observe Shavuot.

Barbara Feinberg For the most part, wisdom comes in chips rather than blocks. You have to be willing to gather them constantly and from sources you never imagined to be probable. No one chip gives you the answer for everything. No one chip stays in the same place throughout your entire life. The secret to wisdom is to keep adding voices and ideas and moving things around as you put your life together. “If you’re lucky, putting your life together is a process that will last through every single day you’re alive.” - Ann Patchett “What now?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?” These are terrible questions.

Personally, I don’t have an answer to them. A better question is, “How do you want to be?”

It’s a Jewish question that our Torah addresses; how to be with our families, our neighbors, even the strangers among us. Our tradition encourages curiosity, debate, and exploration of ideas. Likewise, where is the “up” in “growing up?” I haven’t found it yet. I hope I’ll never stop growing wiser, deepening my compassion, and finding wonder in this world. I still marvel that

I can meet a person and discover a new friend, someone who makes me feel as if we’ve known each other forever. This year, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. In English, I’ll be able to say “I am 75 years old.” However, I prefer the French, “J’ai 75 ans,” “I have 75 years,” a grand accumulation of memories and experiences from early childhood through adolescence, from student to businesswoman to wife and mother.

No one stage had its hard edges; life morphed from one stage to the next with few limitations.

My life is richer for all the currents that run through it, the people who are my friends and teachers, and the diverse communities in which I thrive. I’m grateful, too, to live a Jewish life because our tradition encourages renewal every day, every month, every season, every year - a process that can last every single day you’re alive.

Larry Gold Guiding Lights This is a written version, as best I can recall, of the remarks I made at a Friday night Shabbat service in March 2021 as part of the communal Torah Project of Ahavath Achim Synagogue. I gave a reflection on what core principles have guided me during my life and career, as a Jew, a lawyer, and a

for oneself – not in a self-aggrandizing or egotistical way – but knowing oneself and accepting the awesome responsibility of being a human being. I must “be for myself” not because others won’t help me but because I cannot live in this world and take on the responsibilities of living in this world unless I devote the time, expend the energy, and accept what and who I am- the good as well as the bad.

But Rabbi Hillel added a corollary responsibility, too. He shrewdly carved into the block of human awareness the equally demanding responsibility to care for others, be for others and share one’s humanity with others. And one must do this now, right now.

As I understand Rabbi Hillel, I must be for myself, but I can’t really do that unless I accept that knowing myself also requires that I explore the dimension of living alongside others. So, I must look inward, but I also must look outward.

My humanity, my self, my personhood is both unique to me and connected to the wider world.

The second core principle that has molded me is honor. Some might choose to call it character, but I want to focus on its ethical aspects and I call it honor. Honor means much more than hewing to a set of ethical principles and concepts of justice. It means doing the right thing when things get hard, when things get tough. Honor requires more than acting in a way that denotes adherence to the rule of law and justice.

Honor requires that one must stand up and speak up when he or she sees evil in the world.

To act honorably means, among other things, to not stand idly by as wrongs go unpunished; as lies and slander ring out as if they were caring person. truths; as the crux of behavior is “just don’t get I didn’t have to think too long about this because caught.” It is easy to mouth the words and talk the main, core ideas came pretty quickly to mind of justice when there is no injustice or when it seems “safe” to do so. It is much harder, and since I think of them often, almost every day. much more necessary, to speak words of truth There are three things that I believe are at the and justice when the scent and stench of evil core of who I am and what I do. seem ascendant and few people are willing to First, there is Rabbi Hillel’s famous statement of combat evil with the transparency of truth. individual responsibility: “If I am not for myself, The third core principle in my life is best who will be for me, but if I am not for others, expressed in a poem written by Rudyard Kipling, what am I? And if not now, when?”

If. I first heard this poem in the ninth grade, and it has stuck with me ever since. It provides Those few words express for me, and stand simple yet universal advice for becoming a for, a central ethos of knowing oneself, being Building A Future Together • 12

“man” (pardon the gender reference - that’s the way the poem was written, but it applies to all genders of people). I could recite the entire poem, but that would take longer than the time I have. However, I will share its essence. The poem speaks of how a young person can act and feel in a way that exhibits the traits and character I’ve already spoken about. I’ll just quote a few verses: If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watched the things you gave your life to, broken And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools If you can dream and not make dreams your master, If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with triumph and disaster, And treat those two imposters just the same, If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And – which is more – you’ll be a man, my Son! I read this poem as often as I can. I read it because I find new meaning each time I do. I read it because it holds for me the essence of humanity. I read it because it reminds me of the responsibility I have to my fellow human beings.

Rhoda Margolis Some thoughts about counting: As Jews we are often referred to as the “people of the book.” You can also say we are people of many numbers and counting. One of the meanings of the book of the Torah, Bamidbar, is Book of Counting or Numbers.

Twice at Sinai, God commanded Moses to count the Israelite adult males. We count the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - the ten days of repentance, aseret yomei teshuvah.

We count the days of the week until we get to Shabbat. We count the days from the birth of a boy to the Brit Milah. We give seven blessings to the bride and groom. We count the years we can plant and the years when the field is to be left unplanted. We count the days and months following a death. We are advised to count to ten when we need to quell our anger.

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All this counting reminds me of my grandmother (z”l), who each year sat down with a calendar right after Purim and counted the weeks until Passover. She did this every year. She knew it never changed, but she needed this counting ritual to gear up for the massive amount of work it took to prepare for Passover in a small New York City apartment.

Right now, we are in the middle of counting the Omer - the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot or the days between the Exodus and receiving the Ten Commandments.

Today is day 33 of the Omer, Lag B’omer, traditionally a day of celebration, picnics, and weddings. It is now a tragic day of mourning for those who lost their lives in Israel’s largest civilian disaster.

Psalm 90, verse 12 from the Rosh Chodesh service tells us “teach us to number our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom.” This counting is unlike the actual counting of Moses’ counting the Israelites. Rather, it is a more existential form of counting. It reminds us that life is fleeting. No matter how long a life we are blessed with, it will ultimately come to an end.

What purpose will we make of this fleeting time?

O God, teach us to number our days so that we may use each day fully.

Let us count all the things that are important, but, most importantly, let us make every day count!

Myrtle Lewin I want to start with the story of Noah – in Genesis, B’reishit 8:21, we read: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man.” Yes, you may well guess where I’m going with this – but give me a few minutes.

And in B’reishit 9:13, we read, “I have set my bow in the clouds,

and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth” (L’ot brit beini u’vein ha-aretz). It strikes me as really important that this covenant is between Hashem and the Earth, Ha’Aretz, not with humankind.

I hope you noticed that Thursday, April 22 was Earth Day. The 51st. Last year was the Yuval, the Jubilee Earth Day. And Earth is Adamah, so let me finish with something about Adamah.

There’s another covenant between Hashem and Long after we (humans) may have selfthe earth; in Va’yikra (Leviticus) 25: 1-2 we read, destructed or, alternately (hopefully), learned “And the Lord spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai, how to alter our behavior, this lonely planet will ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them continue with its rhythms: day and night, winter - ‘When you come into the land that I give you, in the north while there is summer in the south, the land shall observe a Sabbath of the Lord.’’” tornadoes and hurricanes, wildfires and glaciers This is a commandment. From Hashem. On melting. Yes, the coal-ash pollution may cease, Mount Sinai. To observe the Shmita year. along with the slaughter of whales and bottomtrawling in our oceans, but flowers will bloom, We are guardians, at the AA, of several acres of seeds will plant themselves, trees will grow, Adamah. Adamah that has not been well-tended. microbes will reproduce in the soil, and species I am deeply conscious of my role in this. We will evolve. need to try, more intentionally, to do better.

And the Shmita year, that mystical seventh, Looking at this through 21st century eyes, that sabbatical year, that year of release, is coming, lonesome biblical ark, which floated for more starting on Rosh Hashanah. than a year with its load of humans and animals and more, is a metaphor for this lonesome Yes, Shmita is also part of the rhythm that planet, floating in space, and on which we have Judaism has embedded in our lives. Just imagine been living, in some form of lock down, for more – Shmita was practiced, over and over, every than a year. And we have been living on it for seventh year, for probably hundreds of years. much, much longer without acknowledging a It must have left its imprint on who we are. clear responsibility to care for it in the way we It must have molded our people and its land. were commanded to – L’uvdah u’l’Shumrah – to Let’s try to dig deep into our collective cultural till and to tend it. memories and reclaim Shmita’s spiritual purpose. For us. Here. Now. As a community.

Given the current growing awareness that we (the peoples of this floating, spherical ark) You may ask, “But how? Why me? Release have of our plight, we might be lost in despair. what?” Let that be a challenge – acknowledge But hope is a deeply-rooted Jewish value, so that the Adamah needs to heal. For then, you how do we embed hope into this? What is our may find some answers. olive branch? After all, we are pretty selfish in our goals – not to save the planet, but to save ourselves, our progeny.

Charles Hacker

So, I must look to Jewish sources to heal my eco-grief. I learned years ago that I need to see my work (mostly digging in the earth) through a Jewish lens. This gives it meaning. Purpose.

Kavanah. Gevurah. Why do this, day after day, if there is no purpose?

The fact that we are each here at this Mincha Ma’ariv Havdallah service is testament to our awareness of the role of Jewish rhythms in our lives – rhythms of time, rhythms of practice.

They move us away from a 24/7 mentality that denies our vulnerabilities, denies our need to listen to the rhythms of nature.

When I was given the opportunity and privilege to participate in our personal Torah sharing initiative, I knew immediately what I wanted to share. You will probably recognize the first line of this prayer. It’s the same as the first line of the Hashkiveinu that we recite daily as part of the ma’ariv service and also of the nighttime shema. But unlike the Hashkiveinu, this prayer goes on to suggest that if we are to be granted this peace that we seek from God, a large part of the responsibility falls on us. And it describes some of actions that will help us achieve real peace.

Building A Future Together • 14

Peace Means More Than Quiet: Help us, O G-d, to lie down in peace; But teach us that peace means more than quiet.

Remind us that if we are to be at peace at night, We must take heed how we live by day.

Grant us the peace that comes from honest dealing, So that no fear of discovery will haunt our sleep.

Rid us of resentments and hatreds Which rob us of the peace we crave.

Liberate us from enslaving habits Which disturb us and give us no rest.

May we inflict no pain, bring no shame, And seek no profit by another’s loss.

May we so live that we can face The whole world with serenity.

May we feel no remorse at night For what we have done during the day.

May we lie down in peace tonight, And awaken tomorrow to a richer and fuller life.

I discovered this prayer in 1999 when my mother gave me a gift of the Likrat Shabbat Siddur. As part of her inscription she wrote, “May you find inspiration within these pages,” and, in fact, this prayer is one of the most inspiring I have found in all of Jewish liturgy. What makes this prayer so meaningful to me is that, in our family, inner peace was something treasured and something for which we continually strived. It brings back many memories of the lessons my parents taught me during my youth. For example, my father owned a grocery store, and I remember him telling me more than once that one of the reasons he was able to fall asleep easily each night was that he knew he didn’t take advantage of any customers or employees that day. In other words, he had a clear conscience. I also remember my mother reminding me that if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything. And that it takes no more energy to be kind to someone than to be mean Of course, over the years, I have come to realize that these statements from my parents were ideals to which to aspire and that following them is often not easy. After all, we are only human.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. And it certainly helps to have these lofty goals to guide us. For me, reciting this prayer each night helps me assess my behavior of that day and gives me hope that I will do better tomorrow. And that definitely brings me a sense of true peace. I wish the same for each and every one of you.

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Baruch Dayan Emet May God comfort their loved ones along with the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Exalted, compassionate God, comfort the bereaved families of this congregation. Help all of us to perpetuate the worthy values of the lives of those no longer with us. We lovingly recall the members of our congregation and other loved ones who have passed away since the beginning of 5781. They have a special place in our hearts. We pray this day that all who have sustained the loss of loved ones in the months gone by be granted comfort and strength.

We now remember:

Sara Alterman Louis Bates Ahuva Ben-David Charlene Berman Rita Bessen Abraham Besser Bea Blass Stanley Blumberg Richard Born Janice Ellen Braunstein Judy Bressler Lillian Brodey Joyce Buchman Allan Carp Helen Center Adrienne Cohen Lynette Newman Cohen Pearl Cohen Perry Cohen Sarabel Cohen Ileana Dwoskin Kathleen Eichenblatt Marshal Elovich Madalyn Eplan Leon Eplan Sonia Fishkin Linda Germain Phyllis Maslia Greenblatt Karen Hartman Edith Kates Theodore Katz

Sharon Kohen Rhona Landis Mildred Landrum Jean Lawson Elaine Levin Menachem Limor Daniel Lippitt Frank Mandel Harris Povlot Ruth Rauzin Arvin Reingold Gerilyn Robbins Carolyn Rose Hymie Sandler Barbara Schatten Roslyn Schloss Herbert Singer Lena Sisselman Jacob Spanier Stanley Srochi Evan Charles Sturm Melvin Sturm Franceen Tillem Cheryl Tuttle Carolyn Wasser Irma Weiner Marvin Wender Carole Wexler Jerry Wiesenberg Ethel Young

Building A Future Together • 16

Thank You to Our Generous Donors Donations listed below were given between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 and include tribute donations, Yom Kippur Appeal/Chai Campaign donations, and other miscellaneous donations. Donations made to the Capital Campaign, Rabbis' Discretionary Funds, and Sisterhood are not included. We apologize in advance if a name was excluded or listed under the incorrect donation level.

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Silver

($1,800 - $2,399) Lorraine (Cookie) and Fred Aftergut Judy and Joe Balaban Danielle and Jason Cohen Building A Future Together • 20

Cheryl and Jeffrey Cohen Ruth Gershon and Sanford Cohn Susan and Hadley Engelhard Stacy and Emanuel Fialkow Barbara and Kenneth Feinberg Judith Finkel Lynn Friedman Margo and Lawrence Gold Ruth and Jon Gottlieb Gail and Michael Habif Barbara and Jay Halpern Tanya and Scott Jacobson Marsha and Michael Kalson Dee and Gerald Kline Barbara and George Nathan Brenda and Leon Novak Stephen Oppenheimer Lisa and Hal Philipson Jennifer and Joel Rosenfeld Dorothy Rosenthal and William Nerenberg Marilyn and Stanley Steinberg Cathy and Richard Swerdlin Rebecca and Andrew Zager

Gold

($2,400 - $3,599) Irene Aronin Marlene Gelernter Lori and Richard Harber Celia and Donald Gilner Barbara and Alan Kaplan Judy and Martin Kogon Elaine and Alan Kolodkin Deboarh and Jay Levin Nancy and Marshall Levine Sherry and Harry Maziar Rosalie and Carl Rosenthal Joanne Singer Jill and Jeffrey Vantosh Susan Ellman-Zweig and Arnold Zweig

Leader

($3,600 - $5,399) Judith Alembik Linda and Richard Collier Dressler’s Funeral Service Heyman Family Foundation Lois and Laurence Frank Leon Goldstein Carolyn Oppenheimer Judy and Michael Orkin Harriette Oxman Susan and Ray Schoenbaum Judy and Allen Soden 21 • Building A Future Together

Benefactor

($5,400 - $9,999) Gary Alembik and Stephen Graves Phyllis and Eliot Arnovitz Nikki Crohn Marianne and Stephen Garber Jennifer Glazer-Malkin Ann Kaplan Carlyn and Barry Kriegel Lynn and Barry Prusin Sheila and Larry Wilensky

President's Circle ($10,000 - $19,999)

Dorita and Hal Arnold Ellen Arnovitz and Michael Plasker Tova and Mark Cohen Elisa and Robert Ezor Doris and Martin Goldstein Heidi and Barry Herman Gail Heyman and Lyons Heyman Jr. Beth and Gregg Paradies Betty and Alan Sunshine

Rabbi's Circle ($20,000+)

Vicki and Gerry Benjamin Marilyn Ginsberg-Eckstein Michal and Jack Hillman Stuart Harvey Hillman The Reisman Family in memory of Shirley Reisman z”l Sanford Orkin Stanley Srochi z”l

Building A Future Together • 22