Who will answer my questions?
At Touro Synagogue
April 19-20, 2019
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Who will answer my questions?
On Friday, April 19th, I joined 60 people for the CJI seder. We had services in the Levi Gale house in the Avas Achim chapel. Rabbi Mandel made a point of not dallying so people who were going home for their seder could get off to an earlier start. The rest of us decamped to the basement.
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| David Jolley |
There was a good mix of visitors and locals. I had to make a difficult choice. At which table should I sit? I picked the one that was nearest to the door. At my table were repeat visitors Marc and Carol from Long Island. They were happy to learn that our member David Jolley and Marc both teach at Stony Brook University. David teaches at many places, helping students learn how to toot their horns.
At our seder, Rabbi Marc Mandel kept things moving. The seder is an opportunity for a wide ranging discussion about Judaism. In the haggadah we read about a seder in Bnei Brak almost two thousand years ago. Rabbis Eliezer, Elazar ben Azaryah, Yehoshua, Akiva and Tarfon continued their discussion until dawn. In a bit of Jewish humor, their students hinted to their masters that maybe they went on a little too long, “Nu, why don’t you get up and look out the window? It’s time already to daven Shacharit.” In Judaism, no one is exempt from having their balloon punctured.
A couple of people told me that our seder was too short. I replied, “Rabbi knows best!”
Under the leadership of Marcia Cohen, we were well fed with food prepared by Zayde's Market and Paula. Our chairs were decorated with white covers along with a blue sash for 2019, which made us feel like we were in a new venue.
The next day, we had a guest speaker deliver the sermon. As usual Rabbi Mandel managed to pull a rabbi out of a hat. The reason this time was that Rabbi Mandel‘s voice was a bit hoarse.
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| Rabbi Cary Friedman |
Rabbi Cary Friedman had almost 12 hours warning. He has written six books, and is particularly interested in prisons. After he gave a lecture about Musar, he was invited to create a course by the FBI for its agents. People who join law enforcement are very idealistic, and the reality can hit them hard. Rabbi Friedman shares the lessons of Judaism in language that is universal.
In his d’var Rabbi Friedman began by saying how overwhelmed he was by Touro Synagogue’s rich history.
He divided Jewish holidays into two groups, biblical (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) and rabbinical (Purim, Hanukkah, Tisha B’av). In the biblical holidays, everything is about God. The Jewish people are passive and go with the flow, sometimes under duress. God redeems us (Passover), God gives us the Torah (Shavuot) and God safeguards us during forty years of wandering (Sukkot).
For example, the Almighty said, “Hey guys, I have this wonderful Torah for you. Hope you like it.” While he waited for a response, the Almighty suspended a mountain over the Israelites. They took the hint, and, glancing skywards, said, “We accept your generous gift.”
In rabbinical holidays the jewish people take an active role. The Hasmoneans rebelled against the Syrian Greeks, and sacrificed their lives to make it happen. We celebrate their success during Hanukkah. During Purim we learn that Esther risked her life to put her people’s case before her husband, King Ahasuerus. Tisha B’av highlights the our suffering and our actions when the second Temple was destroyed.
Rabbi Friedman said Sukkot was related to Hanukkah, Shavuot to Purim, and Passover to Tisha B’Av.
The Talmud tells us that Hannukah was a delayed Sukkot, delayed because the Hasmoneans had not yet seized control of and purified the Temple.
Shavuot and Purim each feature books. After he descended from Mt. Sinai Moses read us the Torah. On Purim we are commanded to listen to the Megillah.
The mutual theme of Passover and Tisha B’av is redemption. Passover celebrates our redemption from Egypt. Tisha b’Av, the destruction of the Temple, was a nadir for the Jewish people. Although we were brought low, we look forward to redemption, as took place in Egypt. There are other connections. The Pesach sacrifice that became the Passover meal and ultimately the seder and haggadah, took place at the Temple. The Temple was built on Mt. Moriah, where a ram took the place of the sacrifice of Isaac. This set a pattern for the future; no human sacrifice, and worship of the Holy One. The Akedah, Passover, and Tish’a b’Av all relate to Mt. Moriah, to Zion, and to God and are seminal moments in our history. They are all about how to worship God in our own way.
During the seder, we learned about the four sons...really about four different kinds of people, and how to respond to their curiosity, or lack of curiosity. Sometimes it is not only hard to know what question to ask, but who to ask.
My sister Beth suggested I say kaddish on the yahrzeit of our aunt, Sadie Ginsburg Green. I was near Temple Beth Shalom in Roslyn Heights, New York. Their page for daily services gave two different times for morning minyan. It was already Monday evening. I emailed Associate Rabbi Uri Allen and got an immediate response. When I went to Shacharit at 6:30 AM, the greeter told me to follow the person behind me. Someone greeted me upon entering the chapel. Then I was gently told that tefillin were optional.
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| Cantor Ofer Barnoy |
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| World Wide Wrap at Temple Beth Shalom Chapel |
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| World Wide Wrap at Temple Beth Shalom Chapel |
May you be welcomed wherever you go!
Gut Yomtov
Thanks to Beth Ginsburg Levine for editing
