It was a concert of clanging and clapping. Each night at 7:00 pm, New Yorkers (and people around the world) would show their appreciation for our health care workers; Lisa hung a banner in our window thanking them. It was a spontaneous show of gratitude for our heroes, and for a moment, we recognized what a real hero looked like. Instead of idolizing celebrities or athletes, people were thanking doctors, nurses, and orderlies, and sending meals into the hospitals to support them as they fought the pandemic. At a time when everyone was locked in and isolated, we connected nonetheless; a reminder that if our hearts are connected, no distance is too far. Musically, the 7 pm salute was a cacophony; but the loud clang of pot banging was actually a symphony of the soul in which you could hear the best of the human spirit.
Chaim Steinmetz Every year on Hanukkah, we get together, we celebrate as families, friends, and a community. This past year many of us could not be with our family and friends, and the light of the holiday seemed dim. With some creativity, we realized we had an opportunity to connect the community and bring everyone into each other’s homes virtually, by celebrating together and sharing the warmth of the holiday. We launched a contest in the KJ Sephardic WhatsApp chat and encouraged families to submit a video of their children lighting nerot Hanukkah, the Hanukkah candles, singing Maoz Sur, and sharing a Hanukkah message. To our surprise, thirteen families, including twenty-three of our youth, participated. Each family posted their video in
We closed KJ on the evening of Wednesday, March 11, 2020. I remember the multiple conference calls with other rabbis on Thursday and Friday discussing synagogue closings. Many were extremely resistant to closing; there were long debates about how one assesses the risk, and whether synagogues should close while the subways were still open. By Friday afternoon, several major rabbis issued a ruling that all synagogues should close, and in the Modern Orthodox community, all synagogues closed. While we knew we had to close, it was upsetting to do so; several of my colleagues cried. But as painful as the decision was, it was a holy decision. We closed our synagogue because in Halakhah, preserving life is the most important commandment. Maimonides writes that when we must violate Shabbat to save a life, the leaders of the community should be the first to act; this emphasizes that in this case, it is a mitzvah to violate Shabbat. We must never forget that life is sacred, a true gift from God. And although I hope we never, ever, have to close again, I also hope this lesson remains with us as well: there is nothing holier than embracing life.
Chaim Steinmetz When I had dinner with my father in February 2020, while at a conference in Florida, I had no idea that would be the last time I’d see him. Soon after that trip, we were all in lockdown and we only spoke on the phone. His death had nothing to do with Covid; he had been ill for over a decade, but the world situation made both his death and the ensuing mourning much worse. By the time he passed away in October, I had already (sadly) officiated many
A reimagined year of silver linings and pivots. There are countless buzz words that capture the realities endured over the past 18 months. Zikhronot, our memories, whether historical, cognitive or subconscious shape and tone our perspective and experiences. I had the extraordinary privilege to learn through the 19 books of Nach together with our daughter as she prepared to become a Bat Mitzvah. A two year journey, learning a chapter a day, delving into the recesses of our history, uncovering memories, looking back so that we can look forward. As doors closed, chapters opened, isolated from the outside, the ancient words of our holy texts insulated us from the inside. The relevance of these age-old prophecies, lessons, wisdom, and guidance were alive and vibrant, breathing purpose and meaning into each day, transforming our National memories into personal memoirs. And while marking her Bat Mitzvah celebration was not as was planned or imagined, her entry into the role of a Jewish woman, accountable and responsible to and for the Jewish community, was marked by Zikhronot, echoes of our powerful past guiding us on a path to the future. Corona offered a circumstance and teaching moment providing a meaningful and moving tribute to the truth that lies in our stories, in our muscle memory, and in our consciousness; and it is there, in the secrets of these stories that lies a profound roadmap for the future.
Rachel Kraus
holidays together with you. Mostly, we are inspired by the warmth, camaraderie, and commitment to each other and to the community we have already seen at KJ; there is so much we can achieve together. We are ready not only for the Shofar; we’re ready for the Tekiah Gedolah.
Roy Feldman Rav Soloveitchik, in a musical analysis of the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf service, pointed out that the nusach for the Shofarot b'racha is primarily in a major key as opposed to the nusach for Zikhronot, which is mostly in a minor key. The reason is that the Shofarot b'racha has two glorious, upbeat themes: the Shofar sounded at the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai and the Shofar that will be sounded to announce the arrival of the Mashiach and the ingathering of the exiles, in the time to come. How appropriate a message for Rosh Hashanah 5782, as we gradually move from the gloom of an isolated and restrictive life in a pandemic, and optimistically look forward to the joys and fulfillment of returning to a lovely life that we took for granted until it was suddenly taken away from us. That life begins with the structure and commitment of the Torah from Sinai and leads us, slowly but surely, to a better and more blessed time of redemption. This Rosh Hashanah, may we all celebrate together, and thank God: "Who listens to the sounds of His people Israel's shofar in compassion."
Haskel Lookstein