Parashat Emor includes a complete listing of the holidays in the Jewish calendar.  Included in the descriptions is the injunction to “…Count for yourselves from the morrow of this festival [Pesach]…you shall count fifty days.” (Lev.  23:15-16).  This is s’firat ha-omer, the counting of the omer, and it connects the holiday of Pesach to the holiday of Shavuot.

An omer is a unit of measure. Each day an omer of barley was brought to the Temple.  Over time the offering itself became known as the omer.  The ritual is usually done in the evening, starting the second night of Pesach, and begins with a blessing. Then each day is counted off (“today is the ___th day of the omer”).  The ritual closes with a plea that counting the omer will help us overcome our failure to observe fully the Torah’s commandments.

Rabbi Abraham Twerski (1930-; an American chassidic rabbi and a psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse) observes that s’firat ha-omer does more than just keep track of how many days are left before Shavuot. It reminds us of the importance of living life one day at a time.  The Israelites who left Egypt are abused, oppressed, and spiritually bereft, yet 50 days later, at Mt. Sinai, they achieve an unprecedented spirituality. This is because Moses guides them each day to a new level of spirituality, which enables them to take another step the next day.   Over time, the steps add up and bring them to a state of readiness to receive the Torah. This day-by-day approach to spiritual growth (or mastery of any challenging task) is as applicable in today’s “hurry-up” world as in Moses’ time.

Good Shabbos/Shabbat Shalom,

David

Visit their website: JCC of Southern Nevada

Please feel free to e-mail us suggestions regarding any JCC sites that you feel deserve recognition during the upcoming months and we will take their content and design under consideration. Thank you.

Alexis Brewer finished sixth place over all in the 50 year freestyle; Ryan Bugianesi earned twelfth place finish in the 200 butterfly; Evan Kott qualified for finals in multiple events and took ninth place overall in the 50 yard freestyle, seventh place in the 100 yard butterfly, fifth place in the 200 yard breast stroke, third place in the 100 yard IM and second place in the 100 yard breaststroke, earning the team an impressive 74 points at the meet. Doug Quagliato set a new team record in the 13-14 boys 100 breaststroke.

The JCC Bridgewater Tide Swim Team, located at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Bridgewater, offers a year-round competitive swim team program. For further information, contact Bridgewater Tide Swim Team Director Mike Yearwood at 908-725-6994 x252; jccswimteam@ssbjcc.org.

We read two parashot (portions) this week because of the way the Jewish calendar is calculated.  Months are determined by the moon’s cycle, but the year is determined by the sun’s.  Therefore, a Jewish year can have from 50 to 55 weeks.  Since the number of parashot doesn’t change, some years require certain parashot to “double up” on a given Shabbat.

Parashat Kedoshim (kedoshim is the plural of kadosh, holy) is the central part of Leviticus’ Holiness Code (known as such because of all the times the word holy is used).  It begins with a list of instructions:  be holy, revere your parents, observe Shabbat, and stay away from idols.  (Lev. 19:2-4) In each case, the specific injunction is followed by the words, “I am your God.”  Since the Torah doesn’t waste words, finding meaning in the repetition of this phrase is classic commentator’s sport.

The Magen Avraham (~1635 –1682; Rabbi Avraham Gumbiner, a leading religious authority in 17^th century Poland) reads the repetition of the phrase as a testimony to God’s steadfastness.  To those who live a completely holy life (in the Magen Avraham’s time this meant observing commandments), God says, “I am your God.”  To those who observe only basic principles (honoring your parents, or keeping Shabbat), God says, “I am your God.”  And to those who don’t observe rituals, but maintain a basic belief, (stays away from idols), God says, “I am your God.”

Many people assume you must be ritually observant to speak authoritatively about God.  The Magen Avraham reminds us a relationship with God is a birthright of every Jewish person, one that God never ignores.  It is the experience of that individual relationship and not the level of ritual observance that gives every Jew the authority to speak to, and about, God.

Good Shabbos/Shabbat Shalom,

David

The Merrin Teen Professional Fellows will arrive on May 3 for an intense week-long learning experience. Supported by the Merrin Family Foundation, the Merrin Fellowship’s mission is to give those working with Jewish teens the skills to better serve this critical sector of the Jewish community, to enhance the profile of those working with teens in their respective organizations, to deepen the Jewish identities of the participants, and to build a stronger professional network of teen service providers.

Since 1999, more than eighty professionals have completed this 18-month program and many are now in executive management positions.  “The Merrin Fellowship has proven itself to be a powerful executive development platform,” said Lonny Friedman, assistant vice-president, Merrin Center for Teen Services & Camping.  The current cohort of Merrin Fellows will also spend significant time with Fellowship alumni, further cementing ties within the movement.  “This fellowship has given me a network of professionals that has already provided support and will continue to do so as I progress in my career,” said Rachel Rustin; director, adult & family services, Barshop JCC of San Antonio.

Another group of young professionals at Biennial are JCC Association Graduate Scholars. The JCC Association Graduate Scholarship Program provides merit-based financial aid for students to use towards an advanced degree that will lead to or enhance professional careers in the Jewish Community Center Movement. There are scholarships for both full-time and part-time students, with the latter already working at JCCs.  Many current JCC executive directors were JCC Association graduate scholarship recipients.

The newest program to train JCC professionals is JELI, the Jewish Experiential Learning Initiative. Funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation and planned in conjunction with the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Mandel Center of Jewish Education at JCC Association, JELI is designed as a Jewish educational leadership program for middle- and senior-management professionals in Jewish Community Centers throughout North America to enhance their personal growth, Jewish leadership abilities, and professional skill sets. “We want the most skilled and dynamic people working in environments of experiential education,” said David Ackerman, director of MCJE, “to make those experiences even more powerful for participants.”

All three groups will be meeting with Dr. Erica Brown, renowned Jewish educator and scholar-in-residence at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, on Monday, May 7. They will also participate together in a hands-on service project through Beacon of Hope to rehabilitate homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.

Another group of emerging leaders at Biennial come from the volunteer sector. The Esther Leah Ritz Emerging JCC Leaders Institute is designed to assist emerging leaders in developing the skills they need to assume top leadership in JCCs. Coming together at the Biennial is a starting point in a long-term relationship among the future leaders of the JCC Movement. The dedicated program for the Esther Leah Ritz Emerging Leaders s begins on Saturday evening, May 5, and continues through Tuesday morning, May 8, with ample time to attend the overall Biennial sessions.

According to Dori Denelle, JCC Association vice-president and staff for the ELR Institute, “This year, all participants have been asked to take on an additional leadership responsibility back in their home communities, to put into practice the ideas they’ve learned and skills they’ve honed through this program.” Additionally, the group will participate in a series of learning opportunities throughout the year following the Biennial.

We read two parashot (portions) this week because of the way the Jewish calendar is calculated.  Months are determined by the moon’s cycle, but the year is determined by the sun’s.  Therefore, a Jewish year (including leap years, which add an entire month) can have from 50 to 55 weeks.  Since the number of parashot doesn’t change, some years require certain parashot to  “double up” on a given Shabbat.

Parashat Tazria-Metzora discusses the laws of ritual purity and impurity and describes tzara-at, a supra-natural plague which afflicts people, clothes, and homes.  The Talmud assumes the metzora (someone with tzara-at ) is afflicted because the person spoke lashon hara, evil speech.  The ritual for purification includes collecting a hyssop plant (along with two clean birds, cedar, and crimson) to be brought to the priest (Lev. 14:4).  Rashi (an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the pre-eminent 11^th century Jewish commentator) explains the hyssop is chosen because it is a very low-growing plant, symbolizing humility, the opposite of the vanity that often leads to lashon hara.  If a person becomes truly humble, all sins are forgiven (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17a, b).

The Sfat Emet (1847-1905; Yehudah Leib Alter, a child prodigy and the 2^nd Rebbe of the Gerer Chassidim) adds an interesting insight.  He explains the priest does not lecture the metzora on the evil of vanity.  Instead, the metzora must collect the hyssop.  This is because the symbolic act (lowering yourself to the ground) offers a personal experience of humility.  That experience is far more likely to trigger true introspection, which is necessary for authentic and lasting change, than a lecture.  The Sfat Emet understands that real learning comes from the insights we generate ourselves, rather than the ideas that others preach at us.  JCCs know it too, using experiential learning as their primary mode of Jewish engagement.

Good Shabbos/Shabbat Shalom,

David

JWB is a division within JCC Association that provides services and support to Jewish members of the military and veterans, along with their families. “We’re excited to be taking this public and prominent role at the Biennial,” said Rabbi Harold Robinson, director of JWB Jewish Chaplains Council. “It’s important for the larger Jewish community to remember that Jews have served-and are still serving-in the armed forces since the country started. Seeing people in uniform is nice, but this will give Biennial delegates the chance to study with our wonderful chaplains in a more intimate setting.”

The JCCs of North America Biennial, which takes place in New Orleans on May 6-9, is the premier convention of JCC lay volunteers, which brings together JCC presidents, board, and committee members, as well as executive directors, for several days of presentations and seminars. Among the keynote speakers are Scott Cowen, president of Tulane University, and Dr. Erica Brown, author and scholar-in-residence at the Jewish Federation of Washington.

As the leadership network of the JCC Movement, JCC Association is encouraging JCCs across the U.S. to reach out to Jews in the military and especially to the families of those deployed, according to Allan Finkelstein, the organization’s president. “We hope all JCCs-and especially those near military installations-can make the families of deployed military personnel feel welcome and connected,” Finkelstein said. “Having a child or sibling or spouse far away can be so stressful, and JCCs have many programs and services that can make a real difference. We see the outreach to military personnel and their families as part of the JCC’s role as a caring community.”

In another public acknowledgment of the long tradition of supporting Jews who serve, the Biennial will honor two people specifically for their work with the military. Noreen Gordon Sablotsky of Miami, Florida will receive the Frank L. Weil Award for distinguished contribution to the armed services field, and Rear Admiral Herman A. Shelanski will be presented with the Jewish Military Leadership Award, which is given to someone who achieves high rank while remaining active within the Jewish community.

The chaplains who are leading the seminars are:

Chaplain (Captain) Heather Borshof, U.S. Army; Captain Irving A. Elson, Chaplain Corps, U.S. Navy; Chaplain, Colonel Brett Oxman, U.S. Air Force; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Emily Rosenzweig, Chaplain Corps, U.S. Navy; Chaplain, Captain Sarah Schechter, U.S. Air Force; Lieutenant Joshua Sherwin, Chaplain Corps, U.S. Navy; Lieutenant Melinda Zalma, Chaplain Corps, U.S. Navy.

you shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45)

Parashat Sh’mini includes the first of two major collections of dietary laws in the Torah (Deuteronomy 14 is the second).  The Torah gives no reason for why a particular animal is permitted or prohibited yet it does offer a rationale for the system as a whole:  “For I the Lord am your God; you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy.” (Lev. 11:44)  Unfortunately, the “clutter” of the kosher laws often obscures the understanding of the system as a statement about spirituality.

Rabbi Sheldon Dorph, a noted educator, points out God created humans to be vegetarians (Gen. 1:27-29).  God recognizes, however, that in creating free will (and human nature) this isn’t going to happen (Gen. 8:21).   God has to figure out a system that maintains the consciousness of not destroying life, but allows humans to make their choices.  Kashrut (the system of kosher laws) is the answer.

Recognizing blood as a symbol of the life-force in every living thing is a fundamental principle of kashrut.  That is why the Torah commands, “You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.”  (Gen 9:4)  Kashrut represents a compromise:  eating animals is permitted, but only certain kinds (the permitted animals), prepared in certain ways (slaughtered ritually so as to cause minimal pain), and at certain times (no meat with dairy products).  The point is not to deny pleasure, but to mandate ongoing awareness of the impact of the choice to eat meat.

Many religions include food restrictions, either ongoing or episodic, and it is easy to see their observances only as demonstrations of ethnic identity.  In all cases, kashrut included, the real meaning is found in the ethical and spiritual statement they make.

Shabbat Shalom,

David

]]> http://www.jcca.org/parashat-sh%e2%80%99mini-leviticus-91-1147-2/feed/ 0 http://www.jcca.org/the-month-of-nisan-brings-redemption/ http://www.jcca.org/the-month-of-nisan-brings-redemption/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:46:50 +0000 admin http://www.jcca.org/?p=3742 [Continue Reading]]]> A lot happens in Nisan. Ten days ago we celebrated our exodus from Egypt; five days from now, we will commemorate the memory of six million brothers and sisters who perished in the Holocaust, and in 12 days we will celebrate the sixty-fourth anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish State. At the Seder table we recited from the Haggadah: “In every generation, a person is obligated to show himself as if he had left Egypt: for the Eternal did not redeem only our ancestors, but even us as well.” And we continue, “Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, magnify, adore, and give eternal honor to the One who did all these miracles for us and for our ancestors, and took us out from slavery to freedom, from servitude to redemption, from sorrow to happiness, from mourning to festivity, and from deep darkness to great light; let us say before the Eternal, Hallelujah!” Pesach is a holiday that celebrates the liberation of the ancient Israelites from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. It represents the universal values of freedom and liberty. The miraculous redemption from Egypt was the Israelites’ first step in becoming a nation, a people.

In 1877, Naphtali Herz Imber wrote the lyrics of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. One of the significant lines says, Lihiyot Am Chofshi B’Artzenu “To be a free people in our land.” Moses led a newborn people out of Egypt, a people that was freed not only from slavery, but also free to worship one God, and a people that began its long journey to their own promised land. Today, 3000 years after becoming a free people on our way to our land, 135 years after Imber first wrote “Hatikvah,” and 65 years after the end of WWII, there are many in the world that question these basic elements of our existence.

The Nazis challenged our right to be. For them, there was one final solution to the Jewish problem, NOT TO BE. Once again, Iran is threatening Israel’s existence and clearly announces its wishes for the Jewish State.

We are a free people today. Free to celebrate our Jewish being, and free to choose how we celebrate it. And a free nation has the right and the moral obligation to defend itself, to insure that it continues to be.

We have a Jewish land. The Jewish people built itself a phenomenal homeland, but our right to that homeland is continuously challenged.

Pharaoh’s will to enslave the Israelites led him to destruction. The Nazis’ will to solve the Jewish problem left us wounded and bleeding, but not extinct. As Naphtali Herz Imber wrote: “As long as deep in the heart the soul of a Jew yearns… ”
We are a nation. We are free and we are home, in our own land. When the darkness becomes too thick, when leaden skies block bright blue days, remembering our glorious redemption, mourning our losses and celebrating our rebirth brings us together, proud and united. And as millions of Jews will sing Imber’s words again and again in the next few days: “Our hope will not be lost.”

The ancient way of announcing the new Jewish month was to light bonfires on the hilltops, once witnesses had testified they had seen the new moon.  Because the diaspora Jewish communities lived at greater distances from Jerusalem than ever before, the news could take a while to reach them. So the rabbis added a day to holiday observances to ensure the holiday was observed on the correct day-but only for communities outside of the land of Israel.  This leads to a periodic anomaly in Jewish observance.

Pesach ends in Israel on Friday, even as it continues through Saturday night everywhere else (Reform communities follow the Israeli custom.)  This means synagogues in Israel will read a regular parasha (portion) on Shabbat, while synagogues in the rest of the world will read the special parasha for the eighth day of Pesach.  These two Jewish worlds will be “out of synch” until May 26, when everybody will read Parashat D’varim.  (The two preceding weeks Israel will read parashot B’har and B’chukotai separately, while we combine them on one Shabbat.)

The Pesach reading reminds us why we celebrate Pesach (“…for it was in the month of Aviv that the Lord your God freed you from Egypt; Deut. 16:1) and lists each of the three pilgrimage holidays in turn (Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot).   Thousands of Jews from diverse communities streaming into Jerusalem to worship together at the Temple is a wonderful image.  It also is a powerful reminder: what binds us together is not a specific practice on a specific day, but our ongoing commitment to the future and well-being of the Jewish people.

Good Shabbos, Good Yontif/Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameach,

David