Congregation B’nai Tikvah
www.bnaitikvah.org
HaKol: The Voice of CBT The JCC of North and South Brunswick
THE RABBI’S DESK
Inside
BY RABBI ROBERT L. WOLKOFF The period between Passover and Shavuot is a time of great transition. We begin with the physical and political liberation of Passover and head toward the spiritual liberation that comes with the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot. A crucial part of that transition is to recognize the ways in which the agony and oppression of slavery remain within us. This is embodied in one of the most striking lines from the Passover Haggadah: “this year we are slaves, next year free.” If we take that sentiment seriously—and we certainly should—then we need to think seriously about what, exactly, is oppressing us. My personal sense of oppression these days comes from the near universal atmosphere of cruelty that has pervaded our society, and that denigrates it—indeed, desecrates it—so profoundly. I am only marginally impacted by this cruelty in any concrete sense, but my heart breaks for those who have been.
Index of Advertisers
2
Cantor’s Corner
3
Falafel Ball
5
Social Action
8
Presidents’ Podium
11
Director’s Digest
14
Teacher Tidbits
16
Men’s Club
18
Sisterhood
23
Bikur Cholim
25
Pickleball
26
Birthdays
30
Israel Bonds
31
Member News
32
May Calendar
33
Donations
34
Schedule of Services
40
[CONTINUED ON PAGE 4]
May 2025