SEPTEMBER 2013 | TISHREI 5774
High Holy Day Schedule of Services at area synagogues Allentown CHABAD OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY
Rabbi Yaacov Halperin, Chabad Lubavitch 4457 Crackersport Rd, Allentown 610.351.6511 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:15 p.m. Evening Services 8:00 p.m. Community Dinner ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar Blowing 6:00 p.m. Tashlich Service 7:30 p.m. Evening Services Friday, September 6 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar Blowing EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 7:00 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:30 a.m. Yizkor (memorial service) 5:45 p.m. Afternoon Services 6:45 p.m. Neilah Closing Service Fast ends at 7:55 p.m., followed by light refreshments SUKKOT Thursday, September 19 10:00 a.m. Morning Services Friday, September 20 10:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV SHEMINI ATZERET Wednesday, September 25 6:45 p.m. Evening Services SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, September 26 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:30 a.m. Yizkor (memorial service) EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, September 26 7:00 p.m. Evening Services SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, September 27 10:00 a.m. Morning Services
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CONGREGATION AM HASKALAH
Tamara Cohen, student rabbi Reconstructionist Unless otherwise noted, holiday services will be held at: JCC of Allentown 702 N. 22nd St., Allentown | 610.435.3775 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 6:00 p.m. Family-Friendly Service ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 9:00 a.m. Morning Services, followed by tashlich and potluck picnic at Cedar Beach Friday, September 6 9:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 12:00 p.m. Yizkor (memorial service), followed by Creative Avodah service 6:00 p.m. Mincha 8:30 p.m. Break-the-fast
7:30 p.m.
Evening Services
ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 10:00 a.m. Youth Services for 2-5 graders 4:00 p.m. Tashlich Service at Cedar Beach SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE Sunday, September 8 3:00 p.m. Keneseth Israel Cemetery EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 1:30 p.m. Meditation Service 3:00 p.m. Afternoon Service 4:30 p.m. Yizkor Service 5:30 p.m. Neilah Service 6:30 p.m. Break-the-Fast EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, September 18 6:00 p.m. Sisterhood pizza party & crafts 7:30 p.m. Sukkot Worship Service
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CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL
Rabbi David Wilensky, Orthodox 2715 Tilghman St., Allentown 610.433.6089 S’LICHOS PROGRAM Saturday, August 31 1:00 a.m. Selichos 8:00 a.m. Selichos EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 6:00 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis 7:05 p.m. Mincha 7:10 p.m. Candle lighting 7:30 p.m. Maariv ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 8:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing 5:30 p.m. Mincha, followed by Tashlich 7:30 p.m. Maariv 8:10 p.m. Candle lighting, before* Friday, September 6 8:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing 7:00 p.m. Mincha/Maariv 7:07 p.m. Candle lighting, before* SHABBOS SHUVAH Saturday, September 7 9:00 a.m. Shacharis followed by Shabbos Shuvah drasha 6:50 p.m. Mincha 8:06 p.m. Shabbat ends FAST OF GEDALIAH Sunday, September 8 5:24 a.m. Fast begins 8:15 a.m. Selichos, Shacharis 6:50 p.m. Mincha 8:05 p.m. Fast ends Monday-Thursday, September 9-12 6:00 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis (M&Th) 6:05 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis (T&W) 6:55 p.m. Mincha/Maariv EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 6:30 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis 3:00 p.m. Mincha 6:55 p.m. Candle lighting 7:00 p.m. Kol Nidre 7:11 p.m. Fast begins
CONGREGATION KENESETH ISRAEL
YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 8:00 a.m. Shacharis 11:00 a.m. Sermon and Yizkor 5:00 p.m. Mincha 6:30 p.m. Neilah 7:55 p.m. Maariv and Children’s Havdalah Processional
EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4
EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, September 18 6:40 p.m. Mincha 6:41 p.m. Candle lighting, before* 7:00 p.m. Maariv
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Rabbi Seth D. Phillips Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled, Reform 2227 Chew St., Allentown | 610.435.9074
SUKKOT Thursday, September 19 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 6:45 p.m. Mincha, Class 7:10 p.m. Maariv 7:46 p.m. Candle Lighting, after* Friday, September 20 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 6:40 p.m. Mincha, Class 6:43 p.m. Candle lighting, before* 7:05 p.m. Maariv SHABBOS CHOL HAMOED Saturday, September 21 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 6:25 p.m. Mincha 7:43 p.m. Shabbos ends CHOL HAMOED SUCCOS Sunday-Tuesday, September 22-24 6:15 a.m. Shacharis (M&T) 8:30 a.m. Sacharis (S) 6:35 p.m. Mincha/Maariv HOSHANA RABBAH Wednesday, September 25 6:00 a.m. Shacharis 6:35 p.m. Mincha, Class 6:35 p.m. Candle lighting SH’MINI ATZERES Thursday, September 26 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:45 a.m. Yizkor (approx. time) Tefillas Geshem 6:30 p.m. Mincha 6:55 p.m. Maariv, Kiddush, Hakafos 8:04 p.m. Candle lighting, after* SIMCHAS TORAH Friday, September 27 9:00 a.m. Shacharis, Hakafos, Torah readings, Kol Hane’arim, Mincha after Mussaf 6:32 p.m. Candle lighting, before* 6:50 p.m. Kabbalas Shabbos * from existing flame
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TEMPLE BETH EL
Rabbi Moshe Re’em Cantor Kevin Wartell, Conservative 1305 Springhouse Rd., Allentown 610.435.3521 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:15 p.m. Memorial Plaques dedication 8:00 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 8:30 a.m. Shacharit 9:45 a.m. Torah Service and Musaf 9:45 a.m. Traditional Service 9:45 a.m. Children and Teen Services 7:45 p.m. Ma’ariv Service Friday, September 5 8:30 a.m. Shacharit 9:45 a.m. Torah Service 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Family Service EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 6:45 p.m. Kol Nidre Services YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 8:30 a.m. Shacharit 9:45 a.m. Torah Service, Yizkor & Musaf 9:45 a.m. Traditional Service (Torah, Yizkor & Musaf services) 9:45 a.m. Children and Teen Services 4:15 p.m. Healing Service 5:15 p.m. Mincha 6:45 p.m. Neila 6:45 p.m. Jewish Family Program 8:00 p.m. Shofar Blowing
SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, September 27 8:30 a.m. Morning Services
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TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM
Cantor Ellen Sussman, Reform 610.820.7666 Unless otherwise noted, holiday services held at: The Scottish Rite Center 1533 Hamilton Street, Allentown EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:30 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 9:00 a.m. Family High Holy Day experience with Meidan Keidar 10:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:00 a.m. Family High Holy Day experience with Meidan Keidar 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 1:00 p.m. Meditation Service 3:00 p.m. Afternoon Service 4:30 p.m. Yizkor Service 6:00 p.m. Neila EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, September 18 7:00 p.m. Sukkot Services at home of Cantor Sussman SIMCHAT TORAH Wednesday, September 25 7:00 p.m. Evening Services at The Swain School
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Bethlehem CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM
Easton BNAI ABRAHAM SYNAGOGUE
Rabbi Daniel Stein, Conservative 1545 Bushkill Street, Easton | 610.258.5343 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:00 p.m. Evening Service ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar blowing 11:30 a.m. Jr. Congregation Service 4:00 p.m. Tashlich (Home of Rabbi Stein) Friday, September 6 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar blowing SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE Sunday, September 8 12:00 p.m. South Side Cemetery 12:45 p.m. Forks Cemetery EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 6:45 p.m. Performance of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidre by members of the Pennsylvania String Ensemble 7:00 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:40 a.m. Yizkor 11:45 a.m. Jr. Congregation Service 5:45 p.m. Mincha 6:45 p.m. Neila 7:30 p.m. Maariv 7:45 p.m. Break-the-fast SUKKOT Thursday, September 19 7:25 a.m. Morning Services, breakfast in the sukkah to follow Friday, September 20 9:30 a.m. Morning Services, kiddush in the sukkah
Rabbi Allen Juda, Conservative 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem 610.866.8009
SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, September 26 7:25 a.m. Morning Services 8:00 a.m. Yizkor
EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:30 p.m. Evening Services
EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, September 26 7:30 p.m. Family Service
ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 8:00 a.m. Morning Services 6:00 p.m. Tashlich 7:00 p.m. Afternoon/Evening Services
SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, September 27 9:30 a.m. Morning Services
Friday, September 6 8:00 a.m. Morning Services
TEMPLE COVENANT OF PEACE
EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 6:30 p.m. Afternoon Services 6:45 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 5:15 p.m. Afternoon/Evening Services EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, September 18 7:00 p.m. Evening Services SUKKOT Thursday, September 19 9:00 a.m. Morning Services Friday, September 20 9:00 a.m. Morning Services
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Rabbi Melody Davis Cantor Jill Pakman, Reform 1451 Northampton St., Easton 610.253.2031
EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 4 7:30 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 5 9:15 a.m. Children’s Service 10:30 a.m. Morning Services 12:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah tea 2:00 p.m. Tashlich Friday, September 6 10:30 a.m. Renewal-style Service
SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, September 26 9:00 a.m. Morning Services/Yizkor
SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE Sunday, September 8 1:30 p.m. Graveside service at Easton Cemetery
Friday, September 20 9:00 a.m. Morning Services
EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, September 26 7:00 p.m. Family Service
EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, September 13 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service
SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, September 26 9:00 a.m. Service - Yizkor
SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, September 27 9:00 a.m. Morning Services
EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, September 26 7:00 p.m. Evening Services
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YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:15 a.m. Children’s Service 10:30 a.m. Morning Services 5:00 p.m. Afternoon Services/Yizkor 7:00 p.m. Neila 8:10 p.m. Break-the-fast
SUKKOT Thursday, September 19 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 10:00 a.m. DOR L’DOR Program
l’shanah tovah
5774 from the board and staff of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley
2 SEPTEMBER 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5774
‘What we do for others.. ‘
HOLIDAY READING A CALL TO ACTION
By Mitch Lenett Special to HAKOL As we approach the holidays this year, and most every year, we find ourselves reflecting on what it means to be a Jew. Do we have certain responsibilities that go along with being Jewish? How would G-d feel about us if we fall short? Is it about just one day of atonement if perhaps we fell short, and then we move on, business as usual? As we welcome the Jewish year 5774, and wrap our hearts and minds around the passages from the book of Isaiah, we come to understand that forgetting does not appear to be what G-d expects of us. As Jews, we are a curious and learned people. In the particular portion from the book of Isaiah that will be read during Yom Kippur, G-d seems to be commanding us to learn the true meaning of atonement, the spirit of atonement. We are challenged to understand what fasting represents and perhaps even to fast with our hearts and minds. But perhaps most timely, this portion of the Torah speaks of G-d’s hope for us to take care of one another -- to help the weak, needy,
and afflicted. Social justice, we are reminded, is every Jew’s concern. It is this message that resonates with Bob Black, who has read from the Torah and delivered a d'var Torah during holiday services at Congregation Keneseth Israel for the past 22 years. On this, his 23rd year, Black will speak from the heart on his interpretation of, and passion for, the “social justice” and social action commitment required of us through these readings. In anticipation of the d’var Torah, Bob reflected on some of his greatest “call to action” memories. He recalled the time, in the late 70s, when Jews in Russia were unable to practice Judaism, and yet were unable to obtain visas to leave. They were, for all intents and purposes, prisoners. American Jewish communities, including the Lehigh Valley, worked diligently to help get as many of those Jews as possible to the United States. The sense of pride in Black's voice as he recalled this effort was moving. For Black, other service has been more hands on. He spoke fondly of a Habitat For Humanity effort about 10 years ago in which over 100
congregants from KI worked long hours, for 15 months, to remodel a dilapidated row home in downtown Allentown, and how grateful and moved the owners of the home were upon completion. Black is certainly not alone in his passion for and sense of obligation to make this world a better, more cohesive and harmonious place. In a d’var Torah delivered by Rabbi Label Lam, entitled “We Need Lots of Help,” Lam speaks of the Ribnitzer Rebbe (Chaim Zanvl Abramowitz, z”l) who he said was widely known for his ability to facilitate miracles. So much so in fact, that while living in the U.S.S.R. under Joseph Stalin’s rule, the KGB officers would bring their wives and children to him for blessings, and were said to experience miracles as a result. It was said that after counsel from the Rebbe, the deaf could suddenly hear. Rabbi Lam goes on to tell a story of how, many years later, the Rebbe, who was experiencing hearing loss himself, sought the help of a doctor. The obvious question quickly arose: ‘Why couldn’t the Rebbe, who made miracles happen, heal himself of
his own hearing problem?’ The Rebbe referred to the Talmud wherein it says, “A prisoner cannot remove himself from prison.” Further, Rabbi Yochanon was said to relieve others of their pain but yet required the help of others to relieve his own pain. Rabbi Lam concludes “what we do for others often we cannot even do for ourselves. Sometimes a doctor needs a doctor, a lawyer may need a lawyer, and a psychiatrist may need a psychiatrist.” He goes on to state “so great is the ten-
dency for a person to gobble up credit and cut G-d out of the deal whenever anything goes well, an entire history lesson is in order to remind us repeatedly of what we know already, though it’s hard to admit. We couldn’t have gotten out of Egypt or high school on our own. To reach this place and time we needed, and we continue to need, lot’s of help." May we all take this message to heart, as Black has, and do something to help others this holiday and throughout the year.
There is a place for everyone at a Lehigh Valley congregation. From Allentown to Bethlehem to Easton, synagogues of all denominations work to meet the needs of our community. CONSERVATIVE: Bnai Abraham Synagogue Easton
REFORM: Congregation Keneseth Israel Allentown
Congregation Brith Sholom Bethlehem
Temple Covenant of Peace Easton
Temple Beth El Allentown
Temple Shirat Shalom Allentown
ORTHODOX: Congregation Beth Avraham Palmer Township Congregation Sons of Israel Allentown
RECONSTRUCTIONIST: Congregation Am Haskalah Bethlehem CHABAD: Chabad Lubavitch of the Lehigh Valley Allentown
TO LEARN MORE, VISIT WWW.SHALOMLEHIGHVALLEY.ORG.
Join a synagogue. Get connected. Be inspired. NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 3
FROM THE LEHIGH VALLEY CLERGY
Student Rabbi Tamara Cohen Am Haskalah
With Rosh Hashanah so soon after Labor Day, it’s easy to feel that the holidays are too early this year. Why is it so compelling to focus on the holidays coming too early (or in other years, too late)? We live in a culture that is saturated with products and systems aimed to help us change ourselves and the things around us. The High Holidays, too, spur us to think about changing our lives and our world. But before we can change, we need to stop and greet reality as it is. The last verse of Avinu Malkeinu, one of the most evocative prayers of this season, can be inclusively translated as “Our Parent, our Sovereign, be loving and fair with us, for we have no deeds.” Whether we understand this Parent as a part of ourselves, as God, or as some external force, what we are asking for here is to be approached, and to approach ourselves and others, with love and compassion for who we are, stripped of accomplishments and deeds, good or bad. This acceptance is what makes change possible. It is a starting point that roots us in a compassionate awareness of what is. So let’s begin by appreciating things as they are. The holidays when they come, each year, are coming at the right time. And we, however our year has been, are as ready as we need to be to greet them. May we embrace the opportunity to wake up and see more clearly who and where we are. And may that seeing lead us to new possibilities for ourselves and our world. Shanah Tovah!
with others. By sharing it, you may encourage someone else to take a similar step. It may also serve as the proverbial tzitzit around your finger. As we usher in the Jewish year 5774, let us to take a moment to appreciate the many blessings and miracles in our lives. May the coming year be filled with joy and happiness, peace and tranquility, good health and success, abundant livelihood and continued spiritual growth. Shanah tovah u’m’tukah! May you have a good and sweet year!
Rabbi Yaacov Halperin Chabad of Lehigh Valley
Nowhere in the five books of Moses does it tell us that Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the year. And, there is but one biblical reference we have for our tradition that we are to sound nothing else but a ram’s horn. So, how can we be sure? The answer is simple. We have always known. Even before Moses, we knew about Rosh Hashanah through wisdom originating from Adam who was formed on that day. Rosh Hashanah then, is not just a Jewish holiday, it is the birthday of humankind. As we sit down to dinners with family and friends, hear the call of the shofar, and partake in the sweetness of apples dipped in honey, we know -- and feel -- that our actions are justified. Just as we did last year, and as our ancestors did centuries before us, we celebrate and pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.
Rabbi Melody Davis Temple Covenant of Peace
Rabbi Allen Juda
The genius of Judaism is its fundamental belief in a person’s ability to change. Throughout the entire year, we sing at the conclusion of the Torah Service: “Hashiveinu Ado_ai, elecha v’nashuva, hadesh yameinu k’kedem” -- “Help us turn to you, Merciful One, and we shall return, renew our lives as in days of old.” However, as anyone who has tried to modify their behavior is aware, change is difficult. We find comfort in our established practices. It is awkward to have to stop our normal routine, consider a new path and then follow it. Life can be hectic, sometimes moving at a dizzying pace, and one may feel isolated and overwhelmed at the prospect of the work involved in returning to our best selves. One way to do this is to begin -- or restart -- a ritual, practice or helpful habit that adds meaning to our lives, and to share it
I remember being a little boy and walking to grammar school. I remember junior high and participating in the science fair. I remember high school and being in the dramatics club. I remember my childhood and always attending Shabbat and holiday services. I remember my undergraduate years and the Columbia University riots. I remember rabbinical school and organizing Shabbat programming. I remember coming to Brith Sholom and 38 years of people and events. In college, I sometimes visited a great uncle and aunt in Brooklyn on Shabbat. When I arrived at their apartment, my aunt usually was watching her favorite soap opera, “Days of Our Lives” which is still on television. “Almost unmodified since the show’s debut in 1965, the title sequence of “Days of our Lives” features an hourglass, with sand slowly trickling to
4 SEPTEMBER 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5774
Congregation Brith Sholom
the bottom against the backdrop of a partly cloudy sky, and the trademark voiceover, “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” Having recently received my Medicare card, I feel the sands have moved very quickly through the hourglass. It seems that only a few days ago, my children were all at the Jewish Day School and now I am playing with my grandchildren. The Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays, remind us of life’s brevity and encourage us to make the most of each day. That is the challenge. Both G-d and each of us must judge our success, annually and daily. Shanah Tovah.
Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled Congregation Keneseth Israel With husband Matan and newborn twins Noam and Shai, Cantor Jenn wishes the entire Lehigh Valley Jewish community a Shanah Tovah!
Rabbi Seth Phillips
Congregation Keneseth Israel As Sons (and Daughters) of Israel may we ever sing a Song of Peace and strive to live by the Covenant of Peace. As People of Enlightenment, may our wisdom, understanding, and knowledge enable us to open the doors of the House of Abraham to all the Children of Abraham (and Sarah). May Jacob’s heavenly ladder turn all our abodes into a House of G-d that as the Assembly of Israel we may bring blessing and joy to our people and all the world. May our lives center on community and wellness, may our family service those in need, and may we be schooled in Jewish values, day and night. Rabbi Shimon said, “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood and the crown of kingship. And the crown of a good name is superior to them all.” (Avot 4:13) The various Jewish organizations in the Lehigh Valley have their own history and resonance. Their good names and success depend on each of us. As Hillel said, “That which is hurtful to you, do not do to others.” (Shabbat 31a) May the New Year of 5774 find us, more and more, devoting the work of our hands to the community we hold so dear and thus earning the crown of a good name in our own right.
Rabbi Moshe Re’em Temple Beth El
There are many names for Rosh Hashannah. One of the more common ones is Yom Harat Olam, the day on which the world was conceived. This reference to Rosh Hashanah being the birthday of the world is commonplace and highlights the universalist theme of the holiday. In truth, the opposition of universalism to particularism misses an important truth about the day; we are all connected, we are all one. Although the Talmud clearly states that the world was created in Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah 11a), the midrash claims that Rosh Hashanah celebrates not the first day of creation, but the sixth day of creation, the day on which humankind was created. Clearly, the choice is not between the world and humankind. Both are interdependent. The Oneness of the Divine runs through all of creation, all of humanity. Rosh Hashanah serves as an annual reminder that we are all linked in a common destiny and we ought to be wary of the tendency to retreat to isolationism and parochialism. This year that message is particularly significant as we mark 50 years since Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. King was deeply influenced by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. He used to refer to Heschel as “my rabbi.” With regard to our social responsibility as Jews, Heschel writes, “What begins as the inequality of some, inevitably ends in the inequality of all.” Implicit in that statement is this notion that not only do Jews have a mutual responsibility for one another, but that kol haolam kulo gesher tzar meod, the entire world is a very narrow bridge on which we all stand. This year as we hear the sound of the shofar let us be mindful of the Hassidic drash that connects the Hebrew word “shofar” with the verb “l’shaper,” to improve. Let us use the coming year as a way of improving not only our own community, but the world community of which we are a part. L’Shanah Tovah!
Rabbi Daniel Stein Bnai Abraham Synagogue
“How radiant,” the Yom Kippur liturgy exclaims, “was the face of the High Priest when he left the Holy of Holies! It was like the rainbow descending from the clouds after a storm.” For many years, I have cherished this poem because it captures something deeply true about emotion: that to be forgiven feels exquisite. And yet, the pathway to forgiveness and reconciliation is seldom an easy one. In fact, as psychologist Michael McCullough notes, when we are wronged, we have two competing instincts in our brain: one for revenge and one for reconciliation. We are biologically programmed to seek revenge; the same instinct that drives us to pursue life also motivates us to protect ourselves from perceived wrongs. Our drive toward revenge is meant to help us protect our families and communities from danger. When we are hurt, our instincts call out for revenge as much as they would for water on a hot day. But with that drive for revenge comes a price -- anxiety, worry, discomfort. Animals who are in pursuit of revenge often quiver; small children might be more inclined to suck their thumbs. It is only with forgiveness and
reconciliation that these emotions pass and that comfort is restored. Our tradition teaches that our priesthood was devoted to peace; in the morning liturgy, we pray to be disciples of Aaron the High Priest, to love peace and pursue it at all costs. This High Holiday season, let us do our part to promote peace and reconciliation. May we have the courage to forgive and enjoy the radiance of pardon.
Cantor Ellen Sussman Temple Shirat Shalom
It is Yom Kippur afternoon and the doors of the Aron Hakodesh, the Holy Ark, are closing; How do we get our prayers said in time? This is the moment in which we feel God’s presence, perhaps the strongest feeling for the whole year. We can choose to approach the gates of prayer in a new way so that we do not feel disappointed at that awesome moment. We can get our prayers ready before this sacred moment and we can affirm our prayers the whole season and ultimately the whole year. In preparation for the High Holy Days this year, let us go back to our tradition to find ways to compose our own prayers. There are four kinds of prayers that can inspire us during the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days. First is hallel, prayers of praise: Remember the year and all the large and small miracles that inspired us to feelings of praise and wonder. Hoda’ot are prayers of thanks: What opportunities, relationships, gifts, ideas, even failures inspired us to thank God? Bakashot are prayers of request: The High Holy Day season is the time to ask God’s presence to overcome challenges. It is a time to pray for assistance in love, health, energy, change, depression, stability or finding meaning. Then there is selichot, forgiveness: This is the moment to find a way to forgive yourself or to forgive others. Let us search our souls and find our own prayers so that as the doors begin to close we feel a sense of preparedness and a renewed sense of spirituality as the New Year begins. Shanah Tovah um’tukah.
Cantor Kevin D. Wartell Temple Beth El
Dear Lehigh Valley Jewish community: As chair of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Clergy Group, I want to wish you a happy and healthy New Year season. The beginning of our Jewish New Year affords us an opportunity to reflect upon our past communal accomplishments and to begin anew our constructive work at creating a Jewish community of which we can all be proud. I feel blessed to live and serve in a community where discord is rare and co-operation is the watchword of our relationships. Imagine what the world would be like if it could model our behavior … the decisions we make and the tone of our discussions mirror understanding and co-operation. Yes, we disagree on some things, but we do so in a spirit of camaraderie. Let us continue to forge ahead sustained by our communal beliefs and a bond, which cannot be torn asunder … our love for one another. L’Shanah Tovah.
Rabbi David Wilensky Congregation Sons of Israel
In a year that features Thanksgiving falling on Chanukah for the only time in history, you know that something very different and special is latent in the coming Jewish year. It will be a year unlike any other. It will be remembered and talked about; analyzed, discussed and relished. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we had one other remarkable reason to look back and talk about this year? Wouldn’t it be exquisite if we could look back on this year and say, “The year that Thanksgiving fell on Chanukah -- that was the year I reached out to cousin Jim and we started talking again,” or “The year that Thanksgiving fell on Chanukah -- that was the year our family started going to synagogue for the first time!” or “The year that Thanksgiving fell on Chanukah -- that was the year Mommy and Daddy took us to Israel and we saw Jerusalem for the first time in our lives!” The beauty of this year’s Jewish calendar is that it impresses upon us the fact that out-ofthe-ordinary, life changing moments are not beyond our reach. Extraordinary occurrences do take place. Sometimes they just happen, but other more significant times they are the result of our tenacity, drive and idealism. With wishes for an extraordinary year and a ketiva v’chatima tovah.
Rabbi Yitzchok Yagod Congregation Beth Avraham
Hello and greetings for a sweet New Year from your friendly kosher inspector/rabbi. I’d like to share with you some of the (virtual) fruit of my weekly travels. My route stretches from Pine-Bluff, Ark., right through our Keystone state all the way to Nova Scotia, Canada, and beyond, covering some 100-plus American and Canadian food manufacturing plants on behalf of more than 10 agencies. A sweet topic in honor of the upcoming New Year: honey. Everyone is buying some honey for the High Holidays. Why is honey so important now? It is true that it is connected to the universal Jewish New Year’s custom to wish one and all “a sweet year”; however, that’s not all. Honey is the only food that never spoils. It has been reported that scientists even found edible honey in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. The symbolism of honey at the New Year is a powerful one: Our sweet connections to G-d and our sweet tradition will never spoil and vanish. Despite the ups and downs of history, the Jewish traditions still endure, just like honey. Honey is surprising. It has an origin that is not immediately obvious. If you ask any kid, “Do you know where honey comes from?” The answer will be, “Of course ... from honey bees!” Really? Well if you just look at the bee you can pretty much see it is not kosher to eat, so why is its honey kosher? Upon deeper examination we discover that nectar of flowers and fruits are the true origin of honey; nectar is kosher and therefore the honey is indeed kosher. A splendid surprise indeed! Thus, we look toward a New Year containing sweet surprises. So don’t dismiss this friend or that neighbor with quick repartee, in a sense writing them off, for you may find a “sweet surprise” in spending time with the person. Don’t be superficial, including in regards to yourself. Instead, do that journey or this course of study or that exercise class. Thus will you desist from taking things as they appear and avoid writing off anyone. NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 5
NEWS AND VIEWS OF AMERICAN JEWS Chinese violin, Chineseand and violin , technology technology andand art.art. Because Bright young minds deserve a feast of opportunities.
Nashville, Tennessee Interview by Jennifer Lader Editor, HAKOL
Mark S. Freedman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, speaks to us about the Volunteer state and what he wishes would make the national news.
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Q. What do you love about Jewish Nashville? If you want to live a Jewish life in Nashville, it’s easy to do it. The people here are very warm and welcoming; there’s the Federation, the congregations, the local branches of Jewish organizations like Hadassah. There’s always something cooking … [and a lot of] activity around trade groups and networking. There’s a fairly thriving high tech industry here and an entrepreneurial center. It’s also where people in their late 50s and early 60s come because of the climate; you get a little snowfall but overall the weather is decent and there’s a cultural life. Q. Is the number of Jews in Nashville growing? Our best estimate is that there are about 8,500 to 9,000 Jews here. That’s double what it was 30 or 40 years ago. We have 4,500 households. People are drawn by a brisk and substantial healthcare industry; HCA Hospital Corporation is headquartered here. Over the last 15 years, Vanderbilt University has experienced tremendous growth in students and in Jewish faculty. Of 7,000 undergraduates, about 20 percent are Jewish. Q. Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State. Is there something different among volunteers there compared to other places you’ve worked? Volunteerism is changing. People with previous experience volunteering in organized Jewish communities want to be involved; they come looking for us. The younger people might volunteer with a Jewish organization, but they are active in the broader community as well. We’ve got something [for them] called NowGen, patterned after a program that began in Detroit originally. In the spring we had something patterned after March Madness, called Mitzvah Madness, a different mitzvah every day.
Real Estate
6 SEPTEMBER 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5774
Q. Tennessee has been in the news lately because of an anti-Muslim Facebook posting by a county official and the disastrous open meeting that followed, there’s a Congressional representative with troubles, and I recently heard a Tennessee frog being beaten to death with a spiked stick on a national news radio program. Yet, Tennessee gave us “Paper Clips,” the eighth grade public school project to understand the number six million as it relates to the Holocaust. What do you wish would make the news about Tennessee? What’s on the Internet is just that: Anyone can put a camera on their computer and record something. Tennessee is a big, diverse state, surrounded by eight other states. Nashville is very different from Memphis, which is very different from Chattanooga. I just finished Leadership Nashville, the oldest, most successful city leadership program in the country. It’s not to teach leadership, it’s to expose you to the broad range of diversity of the city. In some respects, Nashville is very unique in working hard to build a strong, solid community … We’ve had our problems; there was a pitched battle to add English-only to the city charter. It was rejected -- overwhelmingly. Nashville has so many cultural and economically different groups and it’s a leading city in terms of handling immigration. There’s a huge Kurdish population, also Somalian and Hispanic. There are more than a hundred different languages in the schools. There’s also a good comprehensive plan to build for the future and -- even though there are only 8 or 9,000 Jews here -- of the 40 individuals on the city council, three members are Jewish. One them is the first Hispanic/Latino ever to be on the council, originally from Argentina.
Israeli teens visit Nashville from the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee’s Partnership2Gether city of Hadera. Here, they are sitting on the bench of Nashville’s National Hockey League team, the Predators, in Bridgestone Arena.
Nashville is a blend of high tech, high energy, cultural enlightenment with good old Southern tradition. Q. Can you give us the lay of the land? I’m driving to my office and I just passed, on one road, a Conservative shul, next to the Church of Christ. There are mega-churches and the old Belle Meade Plantation, which has produced many of the best racehorses, then there’s the West End Conservative synagogue and a Reform synagogue, all within a mile and a half on the same road. And you haven’t even asked me about music yet. For someone brought up to appreciate country-rock-bluegrass – The Byrds, Emmylou Harris -- I am in heaven. I’m a huge bluegrass fan. There are some wonderful Jewish musicians – banjo players, mandolin players. At the Station Inn, I saw a group from Asheville called Red Jim and the woman playing the fiddle, I said, ‘She’s gotta be Jewish.’ I went up to her after the show – you can do that at the Station Inn – and said, ‘I have to ask your name.’ She said, ‘Natalia Weinstein.’ She was from Massachusetts, her grandfather played klezmer music and he taught her. Do you know who Ricky Skaggs is? I saw him at -- get this -- a Vanderbilt Hillel and Christians United for Israel [rally] during Pillar of Defense last November. He spoke, which was really neat. You run into this all the time here.
AT HOLIDAYS AND BEYOND
COURTESY DOUG FRIEDLANDER
Jewish newcomers bring optimism to South
The May 2013 wedding of Doug Friedlander and Anna Skorupa, the first Jewish nuptials in Helena, Ark., since 1989.
By Josh Lipowsky Jewish Telegraphic Agency Standing beneath the chuppah during his wedding in May, Doug Friedlander said he felt a “magical moment,” and it wasn’t just because of his blushing bride. Theirs was the first Jewish wedding in Helena, Ark., in more than 20 years. An ailing Mississippi River town of 12,000, Helena once was home to a Jewish community of 150 families. Today, fewer than a dozen Jews remain, most of them 85 or older. By 2006, the community could no longer support a synagogue, and Temple Beth El was turned over to the state,
which remade it as a community center. Friedlander rented the facility for his wedding, which still has a Star of David on the glass dome above the former sanctuary and Hebrew passages inscribed in the doorways. Helena’s story is a familiar one in the South, where many once-thriving, small-town Jewish communities have all but disappeared, their young people drawn away to better opportunities in bigger cities. But Friedlander’s recent wedding is among a number of signs of new Jewish life in the South, which, while perhaps not enough to reverse long-term demographic trends, has injected a dose of optimism into towns accustomed to a narrative of
decline. “We understand one family can truly make a difference for the world and certainly for these small towns,” said Rabbi Marshal Klaven, director of rabbinic services at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which provides resources to small Jewish communities in the region. In 2010, Klaven was asked to lead a holiday service by members of the Upper Cumberland Jewish Community, a small havurah of fewer than 20 people in Crossville, Tenn., a city of about 11,000 people east of Nashville. When Klaven showed up, he was surprised to find 70 people there. The community now holds Friday night services every other week for about 20 people; up to 75 may show up for holidays services, according to Nort Goodman, the community president. An interfaith Passover seder earlier this year drew about 150. In Dothan, Ala., a program that provides $50,000 grants to young families or retirees willing to stay for three years has attracted six takers since 2008. The program, which drew national headlines when it was first launched, has helped reverse the fortunes of Temple Emanu-El, which by 2008 was down to 50 families from 110 in the 1970s. Jewish life in the South has
been helped along by a trickle of young, college-educated newcomers drawn to the area by the small-town vibe and the opportunity to do the kind of meaningful work that’s much harder to find in a big city. But in towns like Helena, which has managed to continue holding prayer services in a private home after giving up the synagogue, it’s unlikely the arrival of a young newcomer is going to restore the community to anything like what existed
decades ago. A New York native, Friedlander came to Helena in 2004 as a science teacher with Teach For America. Today, he heads the county’s chamber of commerce, where he is focused on bringing new business and opportunities to Helena, which he believes is ready for its Cinderella moment. “For me,” Friedlander said, “it’s a place ready to be picked up, dusted off and taken to the ball.”
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NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 7
For century-old ADL DAVID KARP
CURBING ONLINE HATE PROVES A MODERN-DAY DILEMMA
Abraham Foxman, left, and Christopher Wolf, co-authors of “Viral Hate,” at the ADL Centennial Summit in Washington on April 29, 2013. By Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency How do you confront hatred when it has no fixed address? Abraham Foxman, the AntiDefamation League national director, attempts to pin down an answer to the question in his latest book, “Viral Hate.” Co-authored with privacy lawyer Christopher Wolf, the book chronicles the complications of countering hate on the Internet. The takeaway? It’s up to us. “Let’s take back responsibility for our culture -- both online and off” is the book’s main conclusion. “Public involvement,
concern, action, and, when necessary, outcry are key.” Calling on the public to be alert and reactive to the dangers of bigotry is not new terrain for the ADL, which throughout its 100-year history has coupled behind-the-scenes suasions with public appeals to lobby leadership and engage with peers. Yet while many of the book’s accounts of broad, spontaneous action against Internet hate speech end in triumph, Foxman’s reliance on more traditional ADL tactics in the digital age are less successful. Efforts to engage with the powers that run the Internet -- indeed, Foxman’s attempt to
8 SEPTEMBER 2013 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5774
discover who those powers even are -- peter out in frustration. Such dead ends do not mean the public is powerless, however. Foxman and Wolf cite the example of JuicyCampus, a gossip website brought to heel after direct appeals to the website went nowhere. As the authors tell it, the website, established in 2007 as a clearinghouse for campus gossip, quickly devolved into speech replete with misogyny and race hatred. The site’s founding pledge to ban “unlawful, threatening, abusive, tortuous, defamatory, obscene, libelous or [invasive] of another person’s privacy” was honored mostly in the breach. Efforts to ban its usage by the student government and administrators at Pepperdine University in Southern California -- one of seven schools initially targeted by the site -- kept rubbing up against First Amendment protections. Ultimately, what led to the site’s demise was an independent campaign launched by a student at Pepperdine, a Christian school that does not allow alcohol on campus, urging boycotts of the site. The campaign went viral, advertisers abandoned the site and by February 2009 it folded. Foxman and Wolf conclude the anecdote by contrasting the success of the student initiative with the impotence of administrators hobbled by the
need to balance free speech with their desire to curb online hate. “Viral Hate,” which comes out this month, recommends an array of countermeasures. They include an emphasis in schools on educating kids on reliable sources, and parents encouraging their children to adopt responsible Internet practices. Consumers, according to the book, should report hate speech to social media and Internet providers using tools made available for such protests. The ADL’s role is less clear. In its centenary year, the organization is grappling with the role it can play in an age when everyone is a publisher. The question was featured in a number of sessions at the ADL’s 100th anniversary conference in Washington in April. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a political communication expert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication, told JTA that 20th century institutional arbiters like the ADL still had a role to play in the shifting landscape, noting their capacity to publicly shame peddlers of hate who might otherwise escape notice. In the interview, Foxman acknowledged the anomaly of an organization like the ADL, which has striven for the mantle of authoritativeness, delegating authority to, well, everybody.
“The paradigms are changing,” he said multiple times. Among the changes is the sheer volume of hatred pervading cyberspace. Another is the anonymity afforded by the Internet, a shield that Foxman likened to the masks that white supremacists wore until the 1950s, when the ADL led the effort to pass laws banning their use. “It used to be if you wrote a letter to the editor, the newspaper would check your name,” Foxman said. “Today on the Internet you don’t have to provide identity.” Last year, the ADL established a working group on Internet hate comprised of technology executives, academics and other like-minded groups. However, the fact that the providers lack the same permanence of the authoritative media of yore also poses a problem; an Internet giant today may disappear by tomorrow. “You can close a door,” Foxman said, “and it will come through the window.” The ADL Cyber-Safety Action Guide, available at www.adl.org/ cybersafetyguide, features tabs where visitors may access information on submitting complaints and reporting hate speech to the major online companies, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The ADL is a beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley's Campaign for Jewish Needs.
on the inside
WE ARE ALL THE SAME
Dr. Ray Singer, in the operating room. ‘We are all the same on the inside,’ he writes.
By Raymond L. Singer, M.D. Special to HAKOL Note: This essay originally appeared in The Morning Call on August 3, 2013. Reprinted with permission. One of the great ironies of human diversity is the fact that for the most part, humans are less diverse as a species than most other animals on the planet. In fact, if we compare ourselves to the other eight million species that live on the land or beneath the seas, Homo sapiens -- Latin for “wise men”- have among the least amount of genetic variation.
For example, a 2012 Oxford University study showed that groups of chimpanzees living in a relatively small area of central Africa have more genetic diversity than human beings living on different continents. Needless to say, man’s best friend the dog, or even the cat for that matter, has a tremendously greater amount of genetic diversity than humans. Penguins have twice the genetic diversity of humans. Fruit flies have 10 times as much, and so on. Sure, we humans look remarkably different on the outside. Some are tall, some short. Some have blue eyes, some
brown. But these different traits are minor from a genetic standpoint and, more importantly, they are discordant, meaning they don’t match up. You cannot tell a person’s eye color from their height and you cannot tell a person’s blood type by their skin color. Perhaps most importantly, you cannot tell a person’s IQ, athletic abilities or future leadership potential from any external physical characteristic because beneath the skin, we are all genetically similar. As a heart surgeon, I have had the privilege of knowing firsthand what lies beneath the skin. After 21 years in practice and nearly 6,000 operations, I can assure you that we are all the same on the inside. Your heart, your lungs and your bones are all indistinguishable from race to race, person to person, man or woman. And yet, wars continue to be fought, fences continue to be built and children continue to die unnecessarily in the name of race, creed, ethnicity, nationality, religion and even sexual orientation. How can this continue to happen? How is it that we continue to see only our superficial differences and not our human similarities? These visual differences that we see on the surface of our
bodies tell us nothing about what lies beneath the skin, nor what lies within our hearts or in our souls. I am in awe every time I step into the operating room. To literally hold a heart in your hand is an experience that is like no other. No matter how many operations I perform, I will never cease to marvel at both the complexity and the efficiency of the human heart. And of course, even beyond the splendor of its anatomy, the heart has always represented the very essence of our thoughts -- love and hate, strength and fear, passion and calm. These metaphors are perfect. Just as our hearts are genetically similar, so are our human needs. We all just want to survive, love our families and live in peace. Mother Teresa once said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” It is undeniable that we belong to each other, not only from a philosophical or spiritual standpoint, but also because of our very DNA. I often wonder how different things would be if everyone in the world could see into each other’s hearts as I do each day in my profession. Imagine if we no longer saw each other
as different races or countries or religions … just people, all the same on the inside. If we all begin to see each other as one and the same, perhaps someday we can all finally live together in peace. As John Lennon sang, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. And the world will live as one.” Dr. Singer is a member of Congregation Keneseth Israel and is the Vice Chair of Quality and Patient Safety and the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Lehigh Valley Health Network. He is also a member of the Maimonides Society of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.
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NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 9
WHAT CHILDREN CAN TEACH US AT
Rosh Hashanah
By Dasee Berkowitz Jewish Telegraphic Agency A deep spiritual life is hard to find. While opportunities abound for spiritual connections (yoga, meditation, retreats and the like), for most of us it doesn’t come easily. The noise, unfinished to-do lists and the distractions of everyday life interfere with quieting our minds, letting go of our egos for a moment and connecting to something far greater than ourselves. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we notice just how difficult it is to connect spiritually. As we log in hours of prayer at our neighborhood synagogues, with what for some is a less than familiar liturgy and even language, we can easily let the longing for spiritual growth morph into a longing for the service to be over. But for some, the spiritual life that we crave comes naturally. This is especially true for children. Yes, they may be running through the synagogue’s aisles and “whispering” too loudly, but this time of year they can become our best teachers. We just need to slow down enough to listen to them. Cultivating a relationship with God comes easily for children. As an adult, a relationship with God has never been central to my Jewish identity. It might sound strange because I live an observant life and prayer is important to me. The weekly holiday cycle punctuates my
family’s calendar and Jewish ethics frame much of my behavior. Still, I seldom credit my observance to God. Judaism is important to me because it adds meaning to my life. And if I start speaking about God, I start to feel self-conscious, too “religious” and slightly fundamentalist. Then I notice how easily my kids speak about God. At 3, my son periodically gave a high five to God and explained to others what a blessing was. “A bracha,” he would say, “is like a group hug.” With his young mind, he experienced a level of intimacy with God and recognized that connecting to God helps one develop a sense of intimacy with others.
The Rabbis call Rosh Hashanah “Coronation Day.” In the rabbinic mind, the metaphor of crowning God as Ruler and giving God the right to judge our actions was a powerful way to galvanize Jews to do the hard work of repentance, or teshuvah. Children have a natural ability to be awestruck as one might be in front of a ruler. There is so little that they have experienced in life that it must be easy for them to experience wonder. We watch their delight as they find out how a salad spinner works, or when they find a worm squirming in the dirt, or when they observe how flowers change colors as they enter full bloom. These are not simply the sweet moments of childhood. These are ways of being that have deep theological resonance. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel recalls in “Who is Man” (1965), “Awe is a sense for transcendence, for the reference everywhere to mystery beyond all things. It enables us … to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple: to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.” Would that we could develop that sense of awe by first simply noticing our
surroundings instead of being preoccupied with what comes next. Consider the concept that Rosh Hashanah marks the birth of the world. Act as if nothing existed before this moment. Slow down, focus in, be silent and you may experience awe. Children forgive easily, grown-ups not so much. The central work of the period of the High Holidays is teshuvah, or return. We return to our better selves and make amends with those whom we have hurt in some way. Every year I recognize how uncomfortable I am about asking forgiveness from family members, peers and colleagues. “So much time has passed” or “I’m sure they forgot about that incident” are rationalizations I offer. What takes an adult days, weeks or even years to let go
of resentment takes children a matter of minutes before they are back to laughing with those with whom they once were angry. While it might be difficult to coax an “I’m sorry” from a child’s lips, they rebound quickly. It is a lesson for us. Children offer their love freely. The ecstatic joy and free spirit that children naturally exude is a lesson in being open to the fullness of what life can offer. This Rosh Hashanah, let the children be our teachers. As we do teshuvah, let’s return to a simpler time and the more childlike parts of ourselves -when a relationship with God was intimate, when awe came easily, when we didn’t harbor resentments and when the door was open wide to forgive and to love.
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NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 11
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cinnamon
THE IMPORTANCE OF
By Ruth Knafo Setton Special to HAKOL My mother gestures toward her salads: a kaleidoscope of colors, spices and textures. Mix the unexpected, she says: jam made from sweet baby eggplants and walnuts; tagines simmered with saffron and za’atar. And ma fille, remember the importance of cinnamon. I used to roll my eyes when my mother invoked cinnamon as the miracle wonder spice. Then I heard myself telling my children to sprinkle cinnamon in everything from coffee to chili to meat and couscous and desserts, and add it to a spoon of honey to cure colds, and saw them roll their eyes -- and realized not only that I’m much more like my mother than I thought, but that cinnamon is much more than a spice. The English word comes from the Greek kinnamon, which was borrowed from the Hebrew/Phoenician. Cinnamon is mentioned in the Bible: Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon and cassia in the holy anointing oil. In Proverbs, the lover’s bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. In the Song of Solomon a verse describes the beauty of his beloved, that cinnamon scents her garments like the smell of Lebanon. Ancient Egyptians used it to embalm, medieval healers used it to cure sore throats and insect bites, and chefs all over the world use it to preserve meat. As a sign of remorse, Nero ordered a year’s supply of cinnamon to be burned after he murdered his wife. Scientists have found it to be the most effective plant extract in treating HIV-1 and HIV-2. From death to life-force, this little tube, this sweet wood stick, is so potent wars were fought over it. Cinnamon is the symbol of the greatest quality of Sephardic food -- what I call the dash of it. Time passes differently in the East. It circles and bites its own tail.
It stands still for hours, then leaps into the future and somersaults into the past. As Jean-Luc Godard says, “Every story has a beginning, middle and end, but not necessarily in that order.” Same as a Sephardic tale, and a Sephardic meal -- sometimes eaten with the sweet first and the savory last, or more often with sweet and savory intermingled -- like dashes connecting each ingredient and course rather than periods separating them. Chicken with dates, meatballs with raisins and candied onions. Or b'stilla that mingles it all in an exquisite mixture of chicken (which Jews use, Arabs cook it with pheasant), eggs and almonds baked in flaky pastry dough like a great pie topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Cinnamon is the dash that connects sweet to savory. It also bridges past and present. Often, in another country, on a street I’ve never been, I turn the corner and breathe fresh mint leaves -- where there is no mint growing -- and see my grandfather pouring tea from on high into a tiny glass crammed with mint leaves and sugar. Or I stop hard under moonlight, press my hand to my chest, and breathe in the most powerful, pungent scent of all -- my Proustian madeleine -- cinnamon. Strong, sharp, almost unbearably sweet. I close my eyes and see my mother chopping and cooking -- as she does still today -- and farther back, evoking memories that are not even mine, but hers. I see her as a little girl walking with her family to the beach in Safi on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Her mother has cooked the traditional dafina -- eggs in their shells, meat, potatoes, chick peas, raisins or dates. They spread blankets on the heavy golden sand. While birds shriek and the Atlantic wind blows, her mother opens the pot, releasing wonderful fragrances -- a mix of garlic, cumin, coriander, chili flakes, cardamom and brown sugar. My mother waits impatiently for the most exciting part. Her mother unties the white cheesecloth in which cinnamon-scented and saffron-threaded rice has cooked overnight. The scent escapes in the air, and is immediately caught in the beaks of the birds who carry it across the ocean to the Atlantic coast of New Jersey, where I wait to catch it with my hands and rub it between my palms and on my throat … and breathe in the past. No, Mom, I’ll never forget the importance of cinnamon.
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For my honey, A LITTLE CAKE WITH APPLESAUCE
By Anita Hirsch Special to HAKOL The one food that is always found on my Rosh Hashanah table is honey. As the end of summer arrives, I make sure I have a supply of fresh honey to insure the sweetness of the coming year. It is traditional in our house to make sure we have some crisp apples to section and dip into that honey to wish everyone a sweet year. At our house we also pass the honey when the traditional round challah with raisins is blessed and passed around so that we can each dip the chunks of challah in the honey as well. Honey is added to other foods served for our High Holy Day dinners. We usually have a carrot tzimmes or carrots cooked in honey and for dessert we serve honey cake or teiglach -- a sweet dessert which is cooked in honey -- or both. The honey cake we serve is from a recipe provided by my cousin Rose Kohler Phillips, the reputed best baker in the family. Not only did she make the best sponge cake, but she made the best honey cake, too. I found her recipe in my mother’s recipe collection. Rose Kohler Phillips was part of the Glazier mishpacha in the Lehigh Valley. She was from Knoxville, Tenn., and if you heard her speak, you would detect her southern accent. She was the daughter of William Kohler and Jennie Glazier Kohler. Jennie Glazier was a sister to Charles Glazier, and he and his wife Anna had nine children living in the Lehigh Valley. One of their children, Morris Glazier, had
a furniture store in Bethlehem and Rose Kohler came up from Knoxville to visit her relatives and stayed with her cousin, Morris. Morris introduced Rose to Jack Phillips who was employed as his bookkeeper at the furniture store. Rose and Jack were married in Knoxville and they settled in Bethlehem. Jack eventually opened his own store, on Third Street in the 400 block in Bethlehem, and called it Phillips Home Furnishings. He sold pots and pans, all kinds of kitchen supplies, including linoleum and even bicycles. Rose and Jack had three children: Melvin Phillips married Elaine Cohn and they still live in Bethlehem. Shirley married Marty Sonnenfeld (now age 93) and they live in Hiawassee, Ga. Ruth married William Besser and they live in Princeton, N.J. And of course there are children and grandchildren who are scattered around the U.S. One you may have heard of: Ruth and William’s son, Dr. Richard Besser, is the medical advisor for ABC-TV. Jack Phillips had nine brothers and sisters. He had a sister, Rose, and after his marriage she was known as Little Rose and his wife was known as Big Rose. His brother Sol -- proprietor of Phillips Music Store -- married Sadie, who was known as Suzy [pronounced Suzzy] Phillips. She was a good baker, too. She was the one who made the taiglach for the family at Rosh Hashanah. Big Rose Phillips’ daughter-in-law, Elaine Cohn Phillips, remembers the raised dough that Rose made for Rosh Hashanah. “It was baked in a high tube
pan and had some cinnamon in it and raisins and she served it with butter,” Elaine said. “It was so good, I wish I had some now.”
Rose Phillips’ Honey Cake
Rose served this cake topped with applesauce. Her son, Mel, remembers that his mom “baked all her cakes in the high tube pan.” For Mel, the taste and aroma of this one brings back memories of Rosh Hashanah and his mom. 6 eggs (separated) 1 cup sugar 1 cup honey ¼ cup vegetable oil ½ cup coffee ½ t. cloves or allspice ½ t. cinnamon ½ t. salt 1 t. baking soda 2 ½ cups flour Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat the egg whites until stiffly beaten. In a large bowl with the egg yolks combine the sugar, honey, oil, coffee, cloves or allspice, and cinnamon. Combine the salt, baking soda and flour in another bowl. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet. Finally fold ingredients into whites. Grease a 10-inch tube pan. Add the batter into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is springy to the touch and brown on top. Cool. Slice and serve topped with whipped cream and some slivered almonds or with applesauce. Yield: about 18-20 servings
ENVIRONMENT POSES HAZARD TO BEES, FOOD SUPPLY By Aaron Berger Special to HAKOL Planning to celebrate Rosh Hashanah by dipping apples into honey? We depend on bees to produce the honey we enjoy at the New Year. But those bees are busily benefiting the whole planet because they pollinate the crops – and they are in crisis. According to a report released in May of this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Agriculture Department the number of bee colonies has halved since 1947 which poses a serious threat to meeting pollination service demands. That’s because bee colonies have been dying off, partly due to a problem called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which the worker bees abruptly disappear. “Honeybees are still very endangered,” said local beekeeper Susan Wild. A practicing attorney, Wild started beekeeping four years ago when friends introduced her to its simplicity and explained how vital beekeeping is to the environment. “I am an amateur beekeeper still on a big learning curve,” Wild said. “I love my garden and the hives certainly enhance it. Trees that I didn’t even know were supposed to flower suddenly came alive with blooms the very first summer I had the beehives. My flowers and vegetables are doing better than ever.” Unfortunately, parasites, modern farming methods limiting nutrients in the bees' diet, lack of genetic diversity limiting the bees ability to resist new diseases and pesticides have also hurt the honeybee. “Non-beekeepers can reduce or eliminate their use of pesticides to help keep the population steady,” Wild said, “[and] the Lehigh Valley is a great place to raise bees. It possesses good sources of pollen for the honeybee and currently has plenty of neighboring farmland. For those seriously interested, I suggest contacting the Lehigh Valley Beekeepers’ Association about how to get started.”
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Rosh Hashanah Dinner
BY SANDI TEPLITZ
Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients: 4 large sweet potatoes or yams, boiled, peeled and mashed 3 ripe bananas, mashed 1 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. salt dark brown sugar, to sprinkle 1/4 c. macadamia nuts, cut into bits 1/4 c. crushed cornflakes 1/4 c. Earth Balance, melted Technique: Add cinnamon and salt to sweet potatoes and bananas. Place in a greased oblong Pyrex dish. Top with the brown sugar. Mix nuts with cornflakes and spread over brown sugar. Pour melted Earth Balance on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with whole roasted chicken, stewed tomatoes, a green salad and raisin challah. Serve with white wine and finish with baked peaches for dessert.
10 etrog stories
YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
By Adam Soclof Jewish Telegraphic Agency The etrog, or citron fruit in English, is one of four species that Jews are Biblically commanded to “rejoice” with during the holiday of Sukkot. Below are 10 true and mostly joyful stories related to the etrog, shaken from the annals of the JTA Digital Archive: 10. The Dalai Lama and the Papaya (1992) If one were to show the Dalai Lama a picture of a papaya and he were to say “etrog,” there’s a perfectly good explanation. During the Buddhist leader’s first visit to Brazil, he participated in an interfaith event held shortly before a major ecological conference. When the Dalai Lama entered the event’s “Jewish tent,” he sang Hava Nagila and prayed for peace with Rabbi Zalman Shachter and Rabbi Henry Sobel, a leading Conservative rabbi in Brazil. Then, JTA reported, “Schachter, wearing a green suit and turban, held a small papaya fruit and palm leaf as an ecological substitute for the etrog and lulav.” 9. Boat named ‘Etrog’ brings German reparations (1953) Commissioned in 1950, a boat named the SS Etrog brought the first shipment of German reparations goods to Israel in 1953. The cargo included “250 tons of caustic soda and iron shipped from Hamburg.” The SS Etrog sustained heavy damage in a fire that lasted 17 hours, though another freighter by the same name was commissioned in 1964.
8. Rejected symbol of Israel (1948) The etrog and its sukkot companion, the lulav, were part of a rejected state emblem proposal for the state of Israel on the grounds that the proposed image “does not represent Israeli symbols.” 7. Salonika Jews fear Jewish-proposed etrog boycott (1931) Following a July 1931 pogrom that left the Jewish quarter of Salonika in ruins, the international Jewish community contemplated sending a message to Greece in the form of an economic boycott. One product in particular was identified: Greek etrogim. When Greek Jews caught wind of the proposed boycott, they denounced the proposed action, fearing that it would lend fuel to the fire for antiJewish propogandists. 6. Etrog man fights flogging in Palestine (1936) Under British rule, JTA reported that flogging was “the most frequent punishment meted out to young offenders in Palestine.” Joshua Halevi Horowitz, an etrog salesman, led a campaign against this practice. As an alternative, he proposed fining parents for not bringing up their children properly or for not supervising their play. 5. Palestine chief rabbi gets British mandate to back down off of lulav and etrog ban (1929) One year after British police clashed with Yom Kippur worshippers at the Western Wall, and just months after an Arab massacre in Hebron, the British government presumably sought to limit religious iconography in Jerusalem. Despite their attempts
These etrogim decorate the sukkah of the Caine family of Bethlehem. to enact a ban on lulavim and etrogim, Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook refused to enforce the proposed ban, calling the restrictions “medieval.” Torah reading at the wall, however, was limited to the first and seventh days of Sukkot, and not the intermediary days of the holiday. 4. Etrog smugglers arrested (1930) Three Jewish men were arrested for attempting to smuggle etrogim from Poland to Russia, where they were “unobtainable” for reasons not specified in our coverage. 3. Etrog marks the spot (Assorted) In Peki’in (Northern Israel), twice in Rome, and in Albania, JTA has reported the etrog as a symbol of Jewish life discovered in archaeological digs. 2. Pesticide-free Etrog (1968) In the U.S., Etrog imports were almost banned over a pesticide controversy: United States Department of Agriculture regulations had in effect, banned the import by requiring the fumigation of all citrus fruits
It’s Your Turn To Drive Your DreAm The 2013 JAguAr
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from the Middle East in order to protect the American citrus crop from possible infestation by the Mediterranean fruit fly. Because of its sensitive nature, fumigation of the etrog peel would have rendered it unfit for ritual use. The use by American Jews of Israeli ethrogim was agreed to by Agriculture Department officials after proposal of an interim plan calling for an examination of them in Israel by American and Israeli inspectors before shipment. 1. G.I. Etrog (1941-1945) In 1941, one year after the Nazi blitz on London, JTA reported that etrogim were being shipped from the U.S. across the pond. In 1944, Palestine provided citron fruits to Allied soldiers in Germany. “The soldiers even had G.I. ‘Succoth,’” JTA explained, since the combination of a fox-hole and the branches overhead provided natural huts.” In 1945, 100 more lulav and etrog sets were sent to Europe from Palestine, this time provided to Jews in DP camps in Germany and Czechoslovakia.
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MEANINGFUL WAYS TO CELEBRATE THE The PJ Library Blog The High Holidays are upon us. Whether your family attends synagogue for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur or observes the holiday in your own way, it’s undoubtedly a time for sweetness, creation, waking up and casting away. Below are some of the ways you can honor the High Holidays together as a family.
SWEET-TASTING TRADITIONS One of the themes of Rosh Hashanah is, of course, sweetness. (A traditional greeting is “May you have a good and sweet new year.”) Apples dipped in honey symbolize that sweetness. Before Rosh Hashanah, make a trip to a local apple orchard to collect several varieties of local apples. On the holiday, sample the apples using sweet recipes. If you are hosting a potluck holiday meal, ask your guests to bring a dish featuring apples or another traditional, symbolic food. For example, carrots, in Yiddish meheren, which also means “increase.” They symbolize the hope that our merit may increase. The pomegranate, with its many seeds, symbolizes, “May our merits be as numerous as the seeds of a pomegranate.”
of creation. To celebrate the completion of our beautiful world, spend some holiday time surrounded by nature. Whether it’s a hike, or a picnic at a local park, point out and enjoy the many beautiful things God created. You could even take a shofar with you on a hike, and allow your children to use it.
A TASHLICH CEREMONY Traditionally, Tashlich is a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of the holiday. Most synagogues lead this ritual, which involves tossing bread crumbs into a body of water to represent the casting off of one’s sins. Although the Rabbis preferred that tashlich be done at a body of water containing fish (meaning, it is said, that we cannot escape God's judgment any more than a fish can escape being caught in a net), since this is, after all, a symbolic ceremony, any body of water
will do, even water running out of a hose or a faucet. If the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, Ashkenazim -- Jews of European descent -- do tashlich the second day (so as not to carry prayer books to the water, which would violate Sabbath laws). Sephardim -- Jews of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent -- perform the ritual even on the Sabbath, as do a number of Ashkenaizic Jews. The ceremony can take place anytime during the holiday season through Hoshanah Rabbah at the end of Sukkot. The Tashlich ceremony is great fun to do as a family or in a small group at a favorite watering hole. These are just a few of the ways you can enjoy observing the High Holidays together as a family. For even more ideas for celebrating the holidays, visit www.pjlibrary.org.
NATURE & THE SHOFAR According to the Rabbis, Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the sixth day
NEW YEAR 5774 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2013 15
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