SEPTEMBER 2014 | TISHREI 5775
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 24 6:45 p.m. Evening Services 7:30 p.m. Community Dinner ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar Sounding 6:00 p.m. Tashlich Service 7:30 p.m. Evening Services Friday, September 26 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:00 a.m. Shofar Sounding EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, September 14 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 11:30 a.m. Yizkor (memorial service) 5:30 p.m. Afternoon Services 6:15 p.m. Neilah Closing Service Fast ends at 7:21 p.m., followed by light refreshments SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 10:00 a.m. Morning Services Friday, October 10 10:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV SHEMINI ATZERET Wednesday, October 15 6:00p.m. Evening Services followed by Kiddush & Hakafot SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, October 16 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:30 a.m. Yizkor (memorial service), 7:00 p.m. Evening Services followed by Kiddush & Hakafot SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, October 17 10:00 a.m. Morning Services followed by Kiddush & Hakafot
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CONGREGATION AM HASKALAH
Leiah Moser, student rabbi Reconstructionist All services will be held at: JCC of Allentown 702 N. 22nd St., Allentown | 610.435.3775 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 6:00 p.m. Family-Friendly Service ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 9:00 a.m. Morning Services, followed by tashlich and potluck picnic at Cedar Beach Friday, September 26 9:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 12:00 p.m. Yizkor (memorial service), followed by Creative Avodah service 6:00 p.m. Mincha 7:30 p.m. Break-the-fast
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CONGREGATION KENESETH ISRAEL
Rabbi Seth D. Phillips Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled, Reform 2227 Chew St., Allentown | 610.435.9074 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 7:30 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 10:00 a.m. Morning Services Tashlich immediately following EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 2:00 p.m. Meditation Service 3:00 p.m. Afternoon Service 4:45 p.m. Yizkor/Heilah Service
EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, October 8 6:30 p.m. Subs in the sukkah 7:30 p.m. Sukkot Worship Service EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Wednesday, October 15 7:30 p.m. 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, September 20 9:00 p.m. Speaker 10:00 p.m. Service (at the JCC) Sunday, September 21 8:30 a.m. Shacharis EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 6:00 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis Hataras Nedarim following Shacharis 6:35 p.m. Mincha 6:37 p.m. Candle lighting 7:00 p.m. Maariv ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 8:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing 10:30 a.m. Youth programming 5:00 p.m. Mincha, followed by Tashlich 6:00 p.m. Daf yomi 7:00 p.m. Maariv 7:36 p.m. Earliest candle lighting* Friday, September 26 8:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:30 a.m. Shofar Blowing 10:30 a.m. Youth programming 5:30 p.m. Daf yomi 6:30 p.m. Mincha 6:34 p.m. Latest candle lighting, before* 7:00 p.m. Maariv SHABBOS SHUVAH Saturday, September 27 9:00 a.m. Shacharis followed by Shabbos Shuvah drasha 5:15 p.m. Daf yomi 6:15 p.m. Mincha 7:33 p.m. Shabbat ends FAST OF GEDALIAH Sunday, September 28 5:43 a.m. Fast begins 8:00 a.m. Selichos, Shacharis 6:15 p.m. Mincha followed by guest speaker Rabbi Akiva Males 7:15 p.m. Maariv 7:31 p.m. Fast ends Monday-Thursday, September 29-October 2 6:00 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis (M&Th) 6:10 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis (T&W) 6:25 p.m. Mincha/Maariv EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:30 a.m. Selichos/Shacharis 3:00 p.m. Mincha 6:22 p.m. Candle lighting 6:25 p.m. Kol Nidre 6:38 p.m. Fast begins YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 8:30 a.m. Shacharis 10:30 a.m. Youth programming 11:30 a.m. Sermon and Yizkor Mincha following musaf 6:00 p.m. Neilah 7:22 p.m. Maariv and Children’s Havdalah Processional 7:30 p.m. Communal break fast EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, October 8 6:10 p.m. Mincha 6:14 p.m. Candle lighting, before 6:40 p.m. Maariv SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 5:15 p.m. Daf yomi 6:15 p.m. Mincha, Class 6:40 p.m. Maariv 7:13 p.m. Candle lighting, after* Friday, October 10 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 5:15 p.m. Daf yomi 6:15 p.m. Mincha, Class 6:11 p.m. Candle lighting, before* 6:40 p.m. Maariv SHABBOS CHOL HAMOED Saturday, October 11 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 4:50 p.m. Daf yomi 5:50 p.m. Mincha
2 SEPTEMBER 2014 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5775
7:10 p.m. Shabbos ends CHOL HAMOED SUCCOS Sunday-Tuesday, October 12-14 6:30 a.m. Shacharis (M&T) 8:30 a.m. Sacharis (S) 6:05 p.m. Mincha/Maariv HOSHANA RABBAH Wednesday, October 15 6:15 a.m. Shacharis 6:00 p.m. Mincha 6:03 p.m. Candle lighting SH’MINI ATZERES Thursday, October 16 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 10:45 a.m. Yizkor (approx. time) 5:00 p.m. Daf yomi 6:00 p.m. Mincha 6:20 p.m. Maariv, Hakafos 7:03 p.m. Candle lighting, after* SIMCHAS TORAH Friday, October 17 9:00 a.m. Shacharis, Hakafos, Torah readings, Kol Hane’arim, Mincha after Mussaf 5:20 p.m. Daf yomi 6:00 p.m. Candle lighting, before* 6:20 p.m. Maariv SHABBOS BEREISHIS Saturday, October 18 9:00 a.m. Shacharis 4:40 p.m. Daf yomi 5:40 p.m. Mincha, Seudah Shlishis 7:00 p.m. Maariv, Shabbos ends * 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 24 7:15 p.m. Memorial Plaques dedication 8:00 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 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 26 8:30 a.m. Shacharit 9:45 a.m. Torah Service 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Family Service EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:15 p.m. Kol Nidre Services YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 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 7:30 p.m. Shofar Blowing SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 10:00 a.m. DOR L’DOR Program Friday, October 10 9:00 a.m. Morning Services SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, October 16 9:00 a.m. Service - Yizkor EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, October 16 7:00 p.m. Evening Services SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, October 17 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 1544 Hamilton Street, Allentown EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 8:00 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 9:00 a.m. Children’s Services 10:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV YOM KIPPUR
Friday, October 3 8:00 p.m. Kol Nidre Service YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. Children’s Services 10:00 a.m. Morning Services SUKKOT Sunday, October 12 10:00 a.m. Sukkot Services at home of Cantor Sussman SIMCHAT TORAH Wednesday, October 15 7:00 p.m. Evening Services at The Swain School
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Bethlehem CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM
Rabbi Michael Singer, Conservative 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem 610.866.8009 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 6:36 p.m. Candle lighting 7:00 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 8:00 a.m. Morning Services 5:00 p.m. Tashlich 6:15 p.m. Afternoon/Evening Services Friday, September 26 8:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 5:45 p.m. Afternoon Services 6:00 p.m. Kol Nidre Service 6:21 p.m. Candle lighting
7:20 p.m. Break-the-fast (RSVP only) SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 7:25 a.m. Morning Services, breakfast in the sukkah to follow Friday, October 10 9:30 a.m. Morning Services, sukkah kiddush 5:30 p.m. Pizza in the hut SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, October 16 9:30 a.m. Morning Services 10:45 a.m. Yizkor EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, October 16 7:00 p.m. Family Service SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, October 17 9:30 a.m. Morning Services
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CONGREGATION BETH AVRAHAM
Rabbi Yitzchok I. Yagod, Orthodox 207.217.1094 | Call for location information EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 6:30 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 6:30 p.m. Evening Services Friday, September 26 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 6:30 p.m. Evening Services EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:15 p.m. Kol Nidre Service
YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 4:45 p.m. Afternoon/Evening Services
YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 10:00 a.m. Morning Services 5:00 p.m. Afternoon Services
EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, October 8 6:13 p.m. Candle lighting 7:00 p.m. Evening Services
EREV SUKKOT Wednesday, October 8 6:15 p.m. Evening Services
SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 9:00 a.m. Morning Services Friday, October 10 9:00 a.m. Morning Services SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, October 16 9:00 a.m. Morning Services/Yizkor EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, October 16 7:00 p.m. Family Service SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, October 17 9:00 a.m. Morning Services
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Easton BNAI ABRAHAM SYNAGOGUE
Rabbi Daniel Stein, Conservative 1545 Bushkill Street, Easton | 610.258.5343 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 7:00 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:30 a.m. Jr. Congregation Service 11:30 a.m. 6 and under with Dena Stein 4:00 p.m. Tashlich (Home of Rabbi Stein) Friday, September 26 9:00 a.m. Morning Services
SUKKOT Thursday, October 9 10:00 a.m. Morning Services Friday, October 10 10:00 a.m. Morning Services SHEMINI ATZERET Thursday, October 16 10:00 a.m. Morning Services EREV SIMCHAT TORAH Thursday, October 16 6:15 p.m. Evening Services SIMCHAT TORAH Friday, October 17 10:00 a.m. Morning Services
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TEMPLE COVENANT OF PEACE Rabbi Melody Davis Cantor Jill Pakman, Reform 1451 Northampton St., Easton 610.253.2031 EREV ROSH HASHANAH Wednesday, September 24 7:30 p.m. Evening Services ROSH HASHANAH Thursday, September 25 9:15 a.m. Children’s Service 10:30 a.m. Morning Services 1:00 p.m. Rosh Hashanah tea 3:00 p.m. Tashlich Friday, September 26 10:30 a.m. Renewal-style Service 12:30 p.m. Lunch 2:00 p.m. Musical mincha
SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE Sunday, September 28 1:00 p.m. South Side Cemetery 1:30 p.m. Forks Cemetery
SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE Sunday, September 28 1:30 p.m. Graveside service at Easton Cemetery
EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 6:00 p.m. Performance of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidre by members of Pa. String Ensemble 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service
EREV YOM KIPPUR Friday, October 3 7:30 p.m. Kol Nidre Service
YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. Morning Services 11:40 a.m. Yizkor 11:45 a.m. Jr. Congregation Service 5:15 p.m. Mincha 6:15 p.m. Neila 7:00 p.m. Maariv
YOM KIPPUR Saturday, October 4 9:15 a.m. Children’s Service 10:30 a.m. Morning Services 2:00 p.m. Discussion 3:00 p.m. Meditation/Poetry Group 4:00 p.m. Afternoon Services/Yizkor 5:45 p.m. Neila 6:30 p.m. Break-the-fast
AT ROSH HASHANAH There are four sounds that the shofar makes on Rosh Hashanah. The tekiah is a basic note of moderate length. Shevarim breaks the tekiah into three short notes. Teruah breaks the tekiah into nine smaller notes. Tekiah gedola takes the standard tekiah and makes it three times as long. Synagogue services, too, have varying lengths. There are short services, such as the evening service on Rosh Hashanah, and even shorter ones like the weekday afternoon service (mincha). In fact, mincha can be so short that Rabbi Randall J. Konigsburg of Temple Beth El in Birmingham, Alabama, said he has seen Israeli bus drivers “jump off the bus, daven (pray), and jump back on the bus without losing much time on their route.” The same can’t be said for shacharit (morning service) and mussaf (additional service) on Rosh Hashanah—far from it. “The Rosh Hashanah morning service is designed like the tekiah gedola,” Konigsburg said. “The theme of the day is the coronation of God as ruler of the universe. A coronation is filled with pomp and ceremony, and that is what the Rosh Hashanah service is all about.” It sounds nice in theory, but realistically, how many Rosh Hashanah services have you spent in the hallway chatting with your friends? Hannah Heller of Pikesville, Maryland, said she remembers being “frustrated as a child in shul when davening seemed endless and the people talking was such a distraction that I wondered why I had to be there all those hours.” Today, Heller said she still finds Rosh Hashanah services to be long, but they are also very meaningful for her. It was a matter of finding the right synagogue in Netivot Shalom, a modern Orthodox establishment where, according to its website, “everyone has a voice.” “Those who lead the davening do a lot of catchy, popular tunes and people are encouraged to sing along,” said Heller, who noted that the tunes make her a part of the service. Heller also finds that being prepared can make a difference. She brings—and the synagogue provides—Jewish books in English for moments when the liturgy is too heavy or she is struggling to stay focused. One book she recommends is “Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit,” by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf, but she noted that there are many others for that situation. In addition, Heller recommended that synagogues offer pre-holiday primers to assist congregants in understanding the prayers. Some synagogues offer classes in advance of the holidays to help congregants understand the service. “The real problem with all services is not that they are too long, it is that people are not engaged by the service,” said Konigsburg. “An opera is very long
YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90.
By Maayan Jaffe JNS.org
Selichot (forgiveness) prayers at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on August 31, 2013, prior to Rosh Hashanah that year.
with lots of singing, unless you have read in advance the story and know what musical highlights to pay attention to. When we understand the service and are engaged by it, we don’t really consider the passage of time. When we don’t understand the music or the words, then yes, it seems to drag on and on.” Konigsburg said that rabbis and cantors can work hard to engage their members, but ultimately, “each of us is responsible for our own spirituality.” Andrew Lavin attends Temple Beth Israel in Port Washington, New York. He said he also used to find the length of the High Holiday prayer experience challenging, but as he has gotten older, he finds synagogue to be “one of the few places in the world where I can get peace and quiet and solitude and get into my own thoughts.” Lavin, however, said he does not judge others who feel differently: “No one says you have to get there at the beginning of the service. I think you should go the length you want and feel comfortable with that. If you can be spiritually fulfilled in just a few hours, then that’s good. … It’s a new year, so let go of the meshugas (craziness) and be hopeful for the future.” Konigsburg concluded, “The Rosh Hashanah service is not a marathon, but an appropriate entrance to a Jewish New Year.”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 9 p.m., JCC of Allentown
Join the community for selichot services and a program open to all. Judge Dan Butler will present on: “My Son Has a Half Hour to Live and They’re Towing My Car: Making the Most of a Bad Day.” Services will begin at 10 p.m., followed by a coffee and dessert reception. (There will be separate Orthodox services conducted by clergy at the JCC.)
l’shanah tovah
5775 from the board and staff of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley
NEW YEAR 5775 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2014 3
FROM THE LEHIGH VALLEY CLERGY
4 SEPTEMBER 2014 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5775
NEW YEAR 5775 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2014 5
AND OTHER REFLECTIONS ON FOOD FOR THE HOLIDAYS
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Pomegranate is one of the fruits traditionally eaten at Rosh Hashanah, considered “new,” or in season, at this time. Here, Alice Level shares some of her favorite pomegranate recipes.
pomegranate seeds and apple in a large bowl. Combine in small bowl mustard with lime juice, cayenne, salt, pepper and oil. Pour over salad. Serve immediately.
POMEGRANATE-SHAPED CHALLAH
POMEGRANATE CHICKEN
A typical Rosh Hashanah challah should be sweeter than usual (one can even add raisins) and sprinkled with sesame seeds or poppy seeds (a symbol of the number of merits we wish for). The shape of the challah should also be round (a symbol for the circle of life).
1 whole chicken salt and pepper 4 T. olive oil 1 c. pine nuts 3 small onions, minced 5 pomegranates, or 1 pomegranate and 3 c. pomegranate juice 3 pinches ground cinnamon 1 pinch ground saffron or turmeric Juice of one lemon 2 T. honey
Serves 6
4 c. of good quality flour 1 oz. fresh yeast or 3 t. dry yeast 1/4 c. oil 1/4 c. sugar 1 1/4 c. lukewarm water 1 pinch salt 1 egg yolk Sesame seeds or poppy seeds
Hakol 4x4_MuttsGoneNuts_Layout 1 8/7/2014 11:24 AM Page 1
Preheat oven at 400°F. Combine in a large bowl or a mixer flour with salt, sugar and oil. Dissolve yeast in water and add to flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading (you may need to add flour or water). Work dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover with wet towel and let rise until doubled in size. Form 12 to 15 two-inch balls and the exact same number of half-inch balls. Place one half-inch ball on top of one two-inch ball and press very gently. Renew operation until there are no balls left. Using scissors, divide (but not completely) smaller ball into four parts, and slightly spread each apart. Brush with egg yolk, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Reduce heat from oven at 350° F (180° C, th.6), and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
ROSH HASHANAH POMEGRANATE SALAD Serves 6
If you don’t know what to do with the pomegranate you bought for Rosh Hashanah, fear no more! This salad is an easy and tasteful recipe that your guests will love.
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6 SEPTEMBER 2014 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NEW YEAR 5775
2 Belgian white endives 5 oz spring mix or mesclun mix 1 pomegranate 1 apple 1 t. Dijon mustard 1/2 lime 1 pinch of cayenne pepper 4 T. canola oil Salt to taste Rinse mesclun mix. Cut end of endives and remove any damaged leaves. Cut endives into big slices. Peel pomegranate and reserve seeds. Peel and dice the apple. Combine mesclun mix with endives,
Serves 6
Pre-heat oven to 380°F. Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub with salt and pepper. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large oven-safe pan. Add chicken, saute on all sides until browned. Roast chicken in the oven at 380°F for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven (but don’t turn off the oven yet). Chop two-thirds of the pine nuts. Add with the remaining pine nuts in a pan, and roast until golden, stirring constantly. Heat 2 T. olive oil and saute onions until golden. Squeeze juice from four of the pomegranates, or use the 3 c. of juice, add to the onions. Peel and seed the last pomegranate, add to onion mixture with cinnamon, pine nuts and saffron. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add onion mixture to chicken. Return chicken to oven. Roast for 45 minutes, turning chicken from time to time. When chicken is done, cut into halves. Combine lemon juice and honey into onion mixture and brush chicken with it. Serve immediately.
ORANGE & POMEGRANATE FRUIT SALAD Serves 4
3 c. orange sections (about 6 oranges) 1 c. orange juice 3 mandarin oranges 2 T. pomegranate seeds 4 fresh mint leaves 1 T. Grand Marnier 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional) Juice mandarins. Combine mandarin juice with orange juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, add sugar, Grand Marnier and cinnamon. Reduce heat and let simmer for three to four minutes. Place orange sections in individual bowls or plates. Pour juice over oranges, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with mint. Chill for one hour before serving.
IS JUDAISM By Alice Level Special to Hakol I recently attended a class regarding food and its influence on civilizations. The topic of the day was ancient Judaea, and as the lecturer was talking about the laws of kashrut, I was struck by how much we, Jews, are obsessed by food. Think about it: Not only does the Torah give us the laws of kashrut and regulate what we as Jews are allowed to eat on a daily basis, but it is also full of food references. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden because of a forbidden fruit. Cain killed his brother Abel because G-d favored Abel’s food offering (fat from an animal) over his (fruits of the soil). Isaac favored Esau “because he did eat of his venison” (Genesis 25:28). Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of lentil stew in exchange for his birthright and Esau agreed. Jacob and his sons travelled to Egypt to buy grains because of a great famine in Canaan. While in prison, Joseph explained the dreams of Pharaoh’s cup bearer and baker. Later he saved Egypt from famine by solving Pharaoh’s dream and having him store vast quantities of grain. The story of Passover explains how the Hebrews had to leave Egypt in a hurry, and had to take with them bread that was still unleavened. In the desert, they were fed manna for 40 years. Even our promised land is referred as “the land of milk and honey.” I could go on and on because food is just everywhere in the Torah. But it goes deeper than that. Have you noticed how every holiday has a food theme? Passover, of course, has its own food rules. On the seder plate, all our
WITH FOOD?
symbols regarding our sojourn in Egypt as slaves are food: bitter herbs, shank, eggs. Even the mortar Pharaoh made the Hebrews make has become charoset -- and delicious. With Chanukah, there are fried foods, Shavuot features dairy products, and we eat sweet food for Rosh Hashanah. For Purim we offer food baskets to our friends and family. Even Yom Kippur is about food -- or should I say the lack of -- the focus of it being the fasting, preceded and followed by a very nice meal. And before anyone frowns and reminds me that Yom Kippur is about forgiveness, I would reply that although that’s true in theory, let’s face it: a lot of us during that day think mostly about … food. What about Shabbat? Our blessings are on bread and wine. We bake challah, a kind of bread invented specifically for the occasion. After the weekly service at the synagogue, a nice kiddush is offered for all the congregants to share. On top of that, we have to have three nice meals before Shabbat is over. I think you get the idea. That’s not all. We Jews are so obsessed by food that we managed to bring food to every occasion of our lives. All our joys and pains are accompanied with food. A birth, a bris, a bar mitzvah, a wedding – all are occasions for us to share food, and on a level that no other religion can match. Even a death: Not only do friends and family do bring food to people in mourning, some types of food, like hard boiled eggs, are symbolic to mourning. There is a special relationship between all human beings and food. What makes the relationship special to the Jews is that
no other religion or country makes it an obligation, a religious duty. While the Italians can stay Italian even without eating Italian food, there is no way people can practice Judaism religiously or culturally without food. You can’t celebrate Passover without eating matzah, nor can you observe Yom Kippur properly without fasting. Every celebration of every Jewish holiday is through a meal. The famous joke -- “They tried to kill us, we won, now let’s eat” -- is really not far from the truth. Are the Jewish people obsessed by food because it is central to Judaism or is Judaism obsessed with food because the Jews look for any occasion to share food? I think both. Contrary to many religions that associate
spirituality as a state of mind that rises above the preoccupations of everyday life, Judaism seeks to raise the ordinary activities of everyday life to a higher level. And what could be more ordinary than food? So when we discover so many references to food in our sacred texts we learn that even so mundane a thing as eating can be made holy. Yet, Judaism never asked us to make the food so delicious! It is our forefathers and mothers who made us appreciate those holiday meals and recipes, nurturing our love for food … and Judaism. Alice Level writes about food and family. Her recipes and stories can be found at www.traditionsandrecipes.com.
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NEW YEAR 5775 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | SEPTEMBER 2014 7
GOING TO THE SOURCE OF ROSH HASHANAH
Here’s the buzz about Rosh Hashanah: Beyond a congregation or family, it takes a hive to have a holiday. You may have your tickets, new dress or suit and High Holidays app, but without the honey in which to dip a slice of apple, where would you be? We wish each other “Shanah Tovah umetuka” “a good and sweet New Year.” To further sweeten the calendar change we eat honey cake and teiglach, little twisted balls of dough boiled in honey syrup. Little do we realize that to fill a jar or squeeze bottle containing two cups of the sticky, golden stuff, a hive of honeybees must visit 5 million flowers. For most of us, the honey seems a somehow natural byproduct of the cute, bearshaped squeeze bottle that we pick up at the store. But for beekeeper Uri Laio, honey is like a gift from heaven. His motto, “Honey and Beeswax with Intention,” is on his website, chassidicbeekeeper.com. “Everyone takes honey for granted; I did,” said Laio, who is affiliated with Chabad and attended yeshiva in Jerusalem and Morristown, New Jersey. Not wanting to take my holiday honey for granted anymore, I suited up along with him in a white cotton bee suit and hood to visit the hives he keeps near the large garden area of the Highland Hall Waldorf School, an 11-acre campus in
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DANNY PEREZ PHOTOGRAPHY CREATIVE COMMONS
By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Northridge, California. After three years of beekeeping — he also leads sessions with the school’s students — Laio has learned to appreciate that “thousands of bees gave their entire lives to fill a jar of honey.” In the summer, that’s five to six weeks for an adult worker; in the winter it’s longer. It’s been an appreciation gained through experience — the throbbing kind. “It’s dangerous. I’ve been stung a lot. It’s part of the learning,” Laio said. “The first summer I thought I was going into anaphylactic shock,” he added, advising me to stay out of the bees’ flight path to the hive’s entrance. Drawing on his education, Laio puts a dab of honey on his finger and holds it out. Soon a bee lands and begins to feed. “Have you ever been stung?” he asked. “A couple of times,” I said, as Laio used a hand-held bee smoker to puff in some white smoke to “calm the hive.” After waiting a few minutes for the smoke to take effect, and with me watching wide-eyed, he carefully pried off the hive’s wooden lid. Half expecting to see an angry swarm of bees come flying out like in a horror flick, I stepped back. “They seem calm,” Laio said, bending down to listen to the buzz level coming from the hive. “Some days the humming sounds almost like song.” The rectangular stack of boxes, called a Langstroth Hive, allows the bee colony — estimated by Laio to be 50,000 — to efficiently build the waxy cells of honeycomb into vertical frames. As he inspected the frames, each still holding sedated bees, he found few capped cells of honey. The bees had a way to go if Laio was going to be able to put up a small number of jars for sale, as he did last year for Rosh Hashanah.
According to Laio, hives can be attacked by ants, mites, moths and a disease called bee colony collapse disorder that has been decimating hives increasingly over the last 10 years. Pesticides contribute to the disorder as well as genetically modified plants, he said. Underscoring the importance that bees have in our lives beyond the Days of Awe, Laio calculated that “one out of every three bits of food you eat is a result of honeybee pollination.” Laio practices backwards or treatment-free beekeeping; so called because he relies on observation and natural practices and forgoes pesticides or chemicals in his beekeeping. The resulting wildflower honey — Laio gave me a jar to try — is sweet, flavorful and thick, tastier than any honey from the store. “Honey is a superfood. And it heals better than Neosporin,” Laio said. “In Europe, there are bandages impregnated with honey.” He said it takes a certain type of character to be a beekeeper. “You need to have patience. Be determined. Learn your limitations. Be calm in stressful situations,” he said. “People are fascinated with it. I can’t tell you how many Shabbos table meals have been filled with people asking me about bees.” On the Sabbath, Laio likes to sip on a mint iced tea sweetened with his honey — his only sweetener, he said. “In the Talmud, honey is considered to be one-sixtieth of manna,” Laio said, referring to the “bread” that fell from the sky for 40 years while the Israelites wandered in the desert. “The blessing for manna ended with ‘Min hashamayim,’ ‘from the heavens,’ and not ‘min haaretz,’ ‘from the earth.’ ” With the honey-manna connection in mind, especially at the Jewish New Year, Laio said he finds that “all the sweetness, whatever form it is in, comes straight from God.”
this Rosh Hashanah rary Blog
The PJ Lib
SPEND TIME WITH THE FAMILY this year by preparing for Rosh Hashanah with tashlich, the ceremony of casting off ones sins before the coming New Year. Tashlich, which literally translates to “casting off,” is a ceremony performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah. During this ceremony, Jews symbolically cast off the sins of the previous year by tossing pebbles or bread crumbs into (typically fish-filled) flowing water. During this ritual, we think of all the things we’ve done wrong in the past year and then “throw them away,” promising for improvement in the coming year. FAMILY TASHLICH TIME Use the ceremony of tashlich to come together as a
with the family
family. There are a myriad of ways to do this. Here are just a few: • READ BOOKS — PJ Library, of course, values the “laptime” children spend with parents, enjoying the words and images associated with children’s stories. For tashlich, we recommend “New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story.” This Falafel (6 to 7 years) Age Group book, written by April Halprin Wayland and illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, tells the story of Izzy, who’s finding it hard to apologize for a certain mistake. Thankfully, tashlich provides Izzy with a way to both understand and make amends for her mistake. • MAKE ART — Art is a great way to get children involved in hands-on, detail-oriented projects that entertain while they educate. Before tashlich, have your children write or draw several of the mistakes that have made over the year on small pieces of paper. Glue these pieces of paper onto a large piece of construction paper and hang it up a few days before tashlich. Then, on tashlich, cover the construction paper in colorful cellophane (especially blue!) to symbolize washing or covering their mistakes in water. The result is a beautiful mural of colorful drawings. • FEED THE DUCKS — Spending time outdoors is a great way to spend time together as a family. Go for a walk or a hike. Bring along a bag of stale bread. Although feeding the ducks isn’t a goal of tashlich, it can be a great way to keep kids interested and involved during the ritual. • IMPROVISE — Don’t have running water near your home? Instead use whatever you have around, like a kiddie pool or even a bowl or tub of water. While having a discussion about tashlich’s values, have your children write/draw some of their transgressions on pieces of white copy paper in washable marker. Float the papers in the water and have them watch as their sins and mistakes disappear.
Learning to forgive in time for the High Holidays The PJ Library Blog Forgiveness is a two-way street. While it is important for us to ask for forgiveness from those who we have wronged, it is also important to forgive others. As the High Holidays approach, why not think about forgiveness within your own family? What does it mean to forgive? What does it entail? And, most importantly, why should we forgive at all? WHAT IS FORGIVENESS? Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at UC Riverside. In her book, “The How of Happiness,” she puts it simply. “Forgiveness, at a minimum, is a decision to let go of the desire for revenge and ill-will toward the person who wronged you.” Granting forgiveness has biblical origins. In Leviticus, God tells the Jewish people: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart … You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people … You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17-18). WHY FORGIVE? Bottom line: Forgiveness is good for you. Parenting.com writer Lori Erickson quotes in her piece, “Forgiveness 101,” psychiatrist Richard Fitzgibbons, who lays down some key health benefits of forgiveness. “New studies show there are concrete and longlasting benefits to forgiving,” Erickson quotes Fitzgibbons as saying, “including reduced stress, improved physical health, and better relationships.” The Mayo Clinic concurs, reporting in its blogpost, “Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges
and Bitterness,” that forgiveness can lead to “less anxiety, stress and hostility” as well as "lower blood pressure, fewer symptoms of depression and lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse.”
year free of animosity and resentment and full of compassion and closeness.
REMEMBER: It’s never too late to forgive.
HOW TO FORGIVE “One does not decide what happens to him; one decides what he wants to do with what happens to him.” These words come from Rabbi Eliezer Shemtov in his Chabad.org writing, “The Art of Forgiveness.” In this piece, he lays out not only the reasons why we should forgive, but he also offers methods for doing so. In essence, Shemtov says, there are two ways a person can acquire the ability to forgive: • Ignore Negative Feelings for Revenge — “By overcoming your desire for revenge and to ‘even out the score,’ and behaving as if nothing happened,” he writes, “you will weaken or even eliminate the negative feelings that you have [toward the person in need of forgiveness].” • Remember the Big Picture — Shemtov suggests would-be forgivers can bring themselves peace with a little humility. He writes, “Once I am aware that everything that happens in the world in general, and in my life in particular, is by divine providence and hence for my benefit, I have no reason to get angry with anybody. No one can choose to do me harm if it wasn’t decreed beforehand by G d.” FORGIVING FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS Learning to forgive is an appropriate undertaking any time of year, but it is especially apropos in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. At the beginning of the New Year, we want a clean, fresh start, a
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From the archives World War II Jewish chaplain fought hard for his religion, soldiers Jewish Telegraphic Agency After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Herbert Eskin of Detroit wanted nothing more than to serve his nation as a Jewish military chaplain. However, the Committee for Army and Navy Religious Affairs of the Jewish Welfare Board, the body that endorsed Jewish clergy for the military, thought Eskin lacked the right stuff. He was a Russian immigrant, spoke with a bit of an accent, lacked a college degree, had no permanent congregation and, above all, was Orthodox. Military chaplaincy requires rabbis to conduct services for Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews alike; in some circumstances, they must minister to all personnel regardless of their religion. In the committee’s view, rabbis in uniform had to make a good impression on non-Jews, and Orthodox immigrants like Eskin made committee leaders apprehensive. But Eskin would prove them wrong. For two years, the committee rejected Eskin’s appeals for endorsement. Finally he wore them down with a heartfelt appeal. “When human blood runs in streams, when our form of government is endangered, and when tens of million Jews are fighting for their very existence, I as a Jewish spiritual leader with competent ability, single, young, and physically fit, must take the initiative” in “maintaining the high morale of the men who are fighting barbarism and paganism,” he wrote. His eloquence apparently worked. A few months later, the committee
endorsed Eskin’s application. The army trained him and, in late August 1944, Eskin joined the 100th Infantry Division in the battle for France. In January 1945, in an unspecified French village, Eskin discovered a synagogue that the Germans had used as a prison. He found the sacrilege unbearable. “I requested the Burgomeister, in no uncertain terms,” Eskin reported, “that the synagogue be thoroughly cleaned, washed and locked in order to safeguard it from any further demolition and desecration.” By spring, Eskin’s rage at German treatment of Jewish sacred spaces boiled over. “At Fenetrage, France, the local Nazis used Jewish tombstones for a sidewalk in front of the Catholic church,” he wrote. “I drove all the way from Heilbron, Germany to Fenetrage. “When I asked the priest why he permitted such an atrocity to exist in front of his church eight months after the town was liberated, he could not give me a reasonable answer. I took him to the mayor and ordered both of them to have the tombstones removed to the Jewish cemetery within 24 hours,” Eskin wrote, or he would come back with “a truckload of soldiers” and “blast the town with hand grenades.” According to Eskin, “the tombstones, including the fragments, were placed in the Jewish cemetery by the specified time.” Eskin received his discharge from active duty in August 1945. He returned to Port Huron, Mich., where he was hired permanently by a Conservative congregation. The military asked him to stay on as a stateside chaplain working with wounded GI’s at three hospitals in the Detroit area. Eskin later served at the Dearborn Veterans’ Hospital and Selfridge Air Force Base until he reached mandatory retirement age. The Jewish community center in Stuttgart, Germany is named in his memory.
IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS
By Seth J. Frantzman Jewish News Service Every year, when most Israelis withdraw into temples and homes to observe the High Holy Days, a select few soldiers remain on patrol to ensure their safety. These are some of their stories. The IDF closes the West Bank on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur each year. In order to protect Israel during the holiday period, the army continues its policy of patrols and takes special precautions. In order to provide some semblance of the holiday spirit, the IDF tries to make its members feel at home. The
ensuing oddities seem to be what soldiers remember best. Ben, 23, a former officer in the Givati Brigade recounts how the army specially prepared a dinner with real plates and silverware for the soldiers who remained on base for the holiday. “One less happy moment, I found myself at Rosh Hashanah washing dishes until 3 a.m. because we were in the Golan…and no one could go home because of the tension with Syria over the bombing of their reactor,” Ben said. “That was a less favorite moment of mine,” he said. “The funny part is that we had all these fancy dishes that they had given us for the
holidays and I tried to just throw some of them out to hurry up with the washing…I got caught.” Moshe, who completed his service in June 2011, recalled a particularly odd incident. Palestinians in the area between Jenin and Umm al Fahm (literally “mother of coal”) are experts at making charcoal, Moshe explained, generally by burning wood and other chemicals out in the open—thereby releasing noxious smoke. The greatest issue he encountered during the holidays, he said, was that his unit had to be moved around frequently to reduce the soldiers’ exposure to the fumes. The army feared that over time, the soldiers could develop cancer or other illnesses. Moshe added that, “the craziest thing I ever did was a three-day mission to catch a terrorist who had been wanted for 13 years.” His unit consisted of 400 men who entered the houses of the terrorist’s friends, using flash bang grenades and screaming for them to come out before going in. After two days, “we didn’t find [the terrorist], but in the end another unit got in a gun battle with him and he ran off and turned himself into the Palestinian police,” he said. According to Ben, the army juggles the priorities of providing soldiers with a pleasant holiday experience and retaining the manpower it needs to secure Jewish communities. That means soldiers might be asked to shoulder up their weapons and patrol for six hours at a moment’s notice. “In terms of the holidays, especially in combat units, you have religious guys and there is a minyan to be had and special preparations to make the holiday feel like a holiday in adverse conditions,” Ben said. Seth J. Frantzman is a writer, journalist and scholar residing in Jerusalem.
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WHY DO WE FAST ON
MAURYCY GOTTLIEB VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
AND WHO SHOULDN’T?
A depiction of Jews praying in synagogue on Yom Kippur.
By Deborah Fineblum JNS.org Herut Shitrid vividly recalls the first Yom Kippur she fasted. She was only 10, but somehow she was able to make it through the whole day. “I felt proud,” she said, now nearly two decades later. “I was so proud that I could do it.” These days, Shitrid spends much of her time serenading with her harp the passersby at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. But back when she was growing up in the southern Israeli city Beersheba, fasting on Yom Kippur was one way to emulate the adults’ process of teshuvah—to repent, or to return to your faith and your highest self.
“If we’re asking God to delete our sins, we have to show Him we’re willing to sacrifice a little bit,” Shitrid said. Indeed, that sense of overcoming our own bodily needs to invest every moment of the day in the act of repentance is one of the mainstays of the fasting experience. But afflicting ourselves comes in a number of forms. In addition to not working and eschewing food and drink, Jews on Yom Kippur traditionally don’t wear leather shoes or any other leather garment such as belts and coats, etc.; don’t bathe, swim or wash; don’t use perfumes or lotions; and avoid marital relations. Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in Israel, with no radio or TV, buses or trains, and
certainly no shopping. (History buffs may recall that one Yom Kippur did see a broadcast: during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, to alert the Israeli citizenry to Egypt and Syria’s attack). In today’s heavily secular Israel, along with bicycling on the (nearly empty) streets, fasting is one traditional observance that is stubbornly clung to—nearly three-quarters of Israelis planned to fast last year. No wonder Israelis of all stripes wish each other a “Tsom Kal” (easy fast) or “Tsom Mo’iil” (beneficial fast). Israelis, of course, are not alone in this practice. Regardless of what they do the rest of the day, many Jews fast on Yom Kippur. But why? “When we walk around with a full belly, we develop a sort of haughtiness, a sense of self-satisfaction,” said Rabbi Avi Moshel of Jerusalem. “So in the 25 hours of fasting, we actually put ourselves in a state of humility.” “Being hungry and thirsty reminds us that all we eat and drink, in fact, all we have in life, comes directly from God,” he added. “The goal of the day is to bring ourselves down enough to sincerely ask for forgiveness, increase our awareness of God in our life and our commitment to hands-on Judaism, the religion of action.” The idea is that the prayers and spiritual and emotional tasks of the day are so compelling that they wipe food (more or less) out of our minds. Rabbi David Aaron of the Jewish education organization Isralight likes to tell the story of the old-country rabbi who was asked by his students how many times a year he fasts. When he answered that he never fasts, they were shocked,
asking, “You mean you eat on Yom Kippur? “Eat on Yom Kippur? Of course not!” the rabbi shot back. “On Yom Kippur I am far too busy doing teshuvah to even have an appetite!” The point, Rabbi Aaron said, is that “when we are truly in the spirit of these days, the desire for food just falls away.” But who exactly should fast? Youngsters start fasting for real at bar/bat mitzvah age, but also beginning as young as age 9, Jewish tradition encourages children to postpone their meals a bit and skip the candy and ice cream treats. Judaism insists that life comes first, and gives guidelines for the sick to take in needed sustenance while respecting the spirit of the fast. After checking in with their rabbi and doctor, they typically restrain themselves to small amounts of water or food to prevent dehydration and weakness. It’s usually suggested that they focus on simple high-protein foods which have more power to strengthen than empty calories. In the case of required medications, rabbis and doctors make provisions on a case-by-case basis. In fact, Jewish tradition is ready for them. An ancient High Holiday prayer book provides this blessing for someone sick before eating on Yom Kippur: “Behold I am prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of eating and drinking on Yom Kippur, as You have written in Your Torah: ‘You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances, which a man shall do and live with them. I am God. In the merit of fulfilling this mitzvah, seal [my fate],
and [that of] all the ill of Your nation Israel, for a complete recovery. May I merit next Yom Kippur to once again fulfill [the mitzvah of] ‘you shall afflict yourselves [on Yom Kippur].’ May this be Your will. Amen.” But with the vast majority of Jews fasting, there is another, less spiritual benefit to hosts and hostesses everywhere: the break-fast, when the most humble hard-boiled egg is lauded for its luscious perfection. You will never have such appreciative guests at any other time during the year!
TIPS FOR AN EASIER FAST CARBO LOAD. Don’t overeat the night before, and focus on complex (whole grain) starches and fruits and veggies to give you energy on the big day. A GOOD SOAK. Stay well hydrated in the days leading up the fast, as this reduces weakness during Yom Kippur. JUST SAY NO… To alcohol, coffee, and sodas in the two days before the fast, since these actually dehydrate you.
l’Shanah tovah!
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