February 2020

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March Madness

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March Madness

Beth Israel – The West Temple’s March Madness @ Hoboken Gardens | PenBay Pilot Purim-style!Easy as 1-2-3! #1 — Sunday, March 8th Food!  Fun!  Frolic!  Felicitous flippancy! Free Purim Cliparts, Download Free Clip Art, Free Clip Art ...             Princess Bride - Opening scene - YouTube
9:45-10:30 a.m. – High School Purim Schpiel & Costume Parade – fun for all!10:30-11:00 a.m. – Students & Teachers in their classroomsParents and Adults stay around to kibbitz 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Purim Carnival* and Queen Esther’s Café*& Hamentaschen galore! *Fund-raiser for community and social projects for WESTY and BIC, our Senior and Junior Youth Groups…  #2 – Monday, March 9th  6:30 p.m. – Monday Hebrew7:00 p.m. – Congregational Family Purim ServiceMegillah Reading, and Costume ParadeJoin Rabbi Lader and Rabbi Lettofsky and Sarah Bedrossian and our Hebrew Studentsfor fun and laughs  “A cast of thousands…” Hamentaschen to follow!  #3 – You are cordially invited to join Rabbi Lader and Friends for… Best Middle Eastern Food Illustrations, Royalty-Free ...          The Unlikeliest Heroine « Jewish HistoryLunch ‘n Learn with the RabbiTuesday, March 10th at Noonat Beth Israel – The West TempleCatered Luncheon from Aladdin’s with Hamentaschen DessertsA History of the Purim Schpiel AND “The Book of Purim” (Purim Parody of The Book of Mormon)
RSVP to the temple office – 216-941-8882

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Terumah – Ex. 25:1-27:19 (Feb. 28/29)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Terumah – Ex. 25:1-27:19 (Feb. 28/29)

This week, our Torah turns to Terumah – Ex. 25:1-27:19.  Artist, Caroline Rothstein, comments: “In Parshat Terumah, we find our crew of Israelites rocking out in the desert after liberating themselves from slavery in Egypt. Here they are — a disparate band of former slaves — beginning to reckon with their identities, their purposes, their selfhoods, their truths. Both individually and collectively. Who are they? What are they doing? How shall they live? And then God assigns them an art project. God says, in Exodus 25:8:  ‘They shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I shall dwell amidst them.’ That’s it. That’s the Tweet. The tabernacle is God’s art project for the Israelites to find a common purpose and cause by collaborating, by co-creating, and by taking their scattered voices and molding some kind of harmony amidst the cacophony of wandering in the desert.” That’s the power of communal art.  That’s the power of working together, focusing on a common goal; each person asked to bring their own gifts and special skills to the task. Next time you are at temple, please walk down the hallway by the first-floor classrooms and enjoy the lovely wall hanging made by all the participants in last year’s congregational retreat; each one – from babies to bubbes – brought their own gifts to the process.  Walk into Ratner Hall and enjoy the amazing art piece that celebrates the opening words of Torah, made by participants during our Winter U this past January. But… these art pieces did not just happen! There were very specific instructions and steps to follow, as were God’s instructions for the Mishkan/Sanctuary.  Yet… even with specific instructions, there is leeway for each person’s creativity… leeway for each person’s vision of what their piece of the project can look like. There is indeed a “harmony” amidst the various voices that will bring the project to completion.  That is the power of art.  And that is the power of sacred community. Of course, the Children of Israel will come up with their own art project, asking Moses’ brother Aaron to help them… But that’s another story…

From Previous Weeks

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Antisemitism

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Antisemitism

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BI-TWT’s Antisemitism Conversation continues…NEXT Tuesday, February 25th – 7:00 p.m.Special Guest – Alana Bandos, Education Director for the Anti-Defamation League, Cleveland RegionMs. Bandos will join us and share the work of the ADL, listen to our concerns, and help us plan our next steps… If you cannot join us in person, you can join us through Zoom:Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/585099073 Meeting ID: 585 099 073 Julian Ross, Chair, Lifelong Learningjross@bw.edu

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Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18 (Feb 21/22)​

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18 (Feb 21/22)

This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18.  Rabbi David Finkelstein, Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Waltham, MA, sees in the text inferences to “Blindness We Cannot See.” Among the Morning Blessings, recited each day, is the one in which we praise God for giving sight to the blind, poqe’ach’ ivrim. This blessing is striking in its simplicity. All sight comes from God as a gift, except, of course, to those who are born blind. The latter thought can be troubling. Does a Jew who was born blind still say this blessing? But maybe this blessing isn’t exclusively about sight. Could it be that blindness stands in here for all the senses, even non-physical ones? In this week’s portion, Mishpatim, the first portion in the Torah that is comprised mostly of laws, the above phrase from our morning blessings gets turned on its head: “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who can see and perverts the words of the righteous” (Exodus 23:8). In Hebrew, the phrase “blinds those who can see” is ye’ahva’ir piq-chim. The idea that God gives sight to the blind is not original in our morning blessing. We see that notion in Psalm 146, which is probably the source for our morning blessing. The one who takes a bribe, then, is doing the opposite of what God does. The mistake that the verse from our portion warns us against is even more than a matter of failing to imitate God. One who takes a bribe still was made in God’s image, but they turn away from imitating God and their behavior is a perverse inversion of God’s will. In Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Shofetim, 8, we find the following explanation: “As soon as a judge has given away her heart for a bribe she becomes blind in judgment and is no longer able to judge the case truthfully.” The verdict of the case is not the only value here. There is another value, judging truthfully, which must be upheld.

This other value is the value of unbiased judgment. Even a judge who is biased can deliver the right verdict, but such a judge cannot judge truthfully. Freedom from bias is a crucial aspirational value of all justice systems, and it is also a value for all people, whether we sit as judges or not. Rabbi Avraham of Sochotchov, the student and son-in-law of the Kotsker Rebbe, explains why bias is such a serious matter: “When a person is blind, he realizes it and will ask someone who can see to help him. But if a person has a bias, the bias blinds him to such an extent that he does not even realize that he is blind. He feels that what he perceives is reality and will refuse to listen to others” (Growth through Torah, by Zelig Pliskin). Whether we serve as judges or not – most of us not – bias is a distortion of reality that distances us from the truth. We might pray for God to open our eyes. Even when we bless God for being the One who gives sight to the blind, poqe’ach ‘ivrim, we might think of truth and our desire to stay close to it. We might combine two of our morning blessings and say, “Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who releases us from our biases, making us aware of the truth.” And maybe, if we’re really serious, we might take a little time to examine our own biases, our own blind spots.

From Previous Weeks

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Yitro – Ex. 18:1-20:23 (Feb 14/15)​

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Yitro – Ex. 18:1-20:23 (Feb 14/15)

Our Torah portion this week is Yitro – Ex. 18:1-20:23, and includes our amazing experience standing at Sinai.  “On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain… God spoke all these words saying, I am the Eternal your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage…” (Ex. 19:16-17, 20:1-2) In Midrash Rabbah on the book of Exodus, Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Johanan: “When the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah, no bird called out, no fowl flew, an ox did not roar, the angels did not fly, the seraphim did not call out, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy!’, the sea was motionless, the creatures did not speak. Rather, the world was quiet and silent. And a voice emerged: “I am the Eternal your God…”

 Our Torah text sets the stage with a light and sound show on full volume… and then there is silence… an unusual silence that enveloped the world at the time of revelation.  Only in silence, could God’s voice be heard; hearing the Ultimate depends on careful listening and concentration.  As Doug Cotler wrote in his song, “Listen” – “… When the wind and the thunder finally disappear, there’s still a Voice that you will hear if you listen… listen… to our God…” This seminal incident testifies to the power of silence, focus, and deep listening in human communication as well.  Making room to stop and silence one’s own thoughts to really listen to another, can create the important space for a thoughtful and respectful relationship.

From Previous Weeks

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SOCIAL JUSTICE OPPORTUNITY

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SOCIAL JUSTICE OPPORTUNITY

  NCJW/Cleveland February E-Bulletin We’re looking for a minyan (10) to join Rabbi Lader at the Criminal Justice Action on February 27th, 7:00 p.m.atOlivet Institutional Baptist Church8712 Quincy Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106 What is an Action? An Action brings together people – and their collective power – across lines of race, religion, neighborhoods and suburbs to make their self-interest on a specific issue known to public officials and others with the power to make sustainable change. What is happening at the February 27th Action? The past three years Greater Cleveland Congregations has been pushing for the creation of one or more offsite pre-booking mental health and addiction crisis centers in Cuyahoga County. These centers:* Keep people out of jail * Save lives * Save public money * It’s time to gather people in one place, including public officials, to focus on the work accomplished and the work that still needs to be done. Mark February 27th on your calendar and plan to attend the Action.Help recruit others to attend. Expect to have fun. Actions are exciting and inspiring! RSVP to Rabbi Lader – eclader@aol.comWe can meet at temple and carpool!Let’s make this happen and show our support of Cleveland & GCC!

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Lunch ‘n Learn with Rabbi Lader & Friends

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Lunch ‘n Learn with Rabbi Lader & Friends

  Welcome To My Kosher Home               16 Shevat Greeting Pictures And Images Tu B’Shevat Seder & Potluck Lunch with Rabbi LaderTHIS Monday, February 10th at Noonat BI-TWT  Celebrate Tu B’Shevat with an exploration of the mystical side of nature… and the environment…Enjoy a variety of fruits and nuts from the land of Israel…Followed by a potluck lunch (dairy and/or parave) RSVP to the temple office 216-941-8882

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Beshalach – Ex. 13:17-17:16 (Feb 7/8)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Beshalach – Ex. 13:17-17:16 (Feb 7/8)

This week’s Torah portion is Be’Shelach – Ex. 13:17-17:16. Rabbi Len Levin, Professor of Jewish Theology and Philosophy at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR), explored the inter-relationship between God and human action, relative to this week’s portion. “This week’s joyful song at the crossing of the Sea is ensconced in the daily liturgy, morning and evening: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the celestials; who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working wonders!” (Exod. 15:11) [The blessings that surround the Shema] utter three ringing declarations about God: God creates, God reveals Torah in love, God redeems. [Perhaps a simple] understanding would have it that God is active and we are passive in these three actions. But a more sophisticated approach asks: Does God act unilaterally? Can anything happen in human history without human participation and cooperation? The longing for redemption is a major theme in Jewish historical experience. In Moses’s day, the people of Israel were enslaved and yearned for the liberation of the Exodus. In the time of the Judges—Deborah, Gideon, and Samson—the people were subjugated to neighboring powers and longed for independence. In the time of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah, they were in exile in Babylonia and longed for the first return. From the defeat of Bar Kokhba through the Crusades and pogroms, Jews longed for the second return to Zion, which came about after the tragedy of the Holocaust with the establishment of the State of Israel. Not only Jews have longed for redemption in history. In 1776, the colonists of America declared a new nation guaranteeing its citizens the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the nineteenth century, northern Abolitionists and southern black slaves united in invoking the narrative of the Exodus to inspire a new liberation and end to slavery. In the 1940’s those oppressed by Fascism throughout Europe united to liberate themselves from the newest, cruelest modern tyranny. The rabbis expressed the idea of human participation in redemption through a story. As the Israelites were arguing whether it was feasible to move forward in the face of the watery barrier before them, Nachshon took action and jumped into the sea. Whereupon Moses, at God’s command, took his rod and struck the sea, bringing about its division, and the Israelites walked through on dry land. (Mekhilta on Exodus 14.22)  

… In the early twentieth century, traditional Jews and Zionists debated whether the redemption was supposed to come by divine action or human action. The Zionists had the better of the argument; without human action, there would be no State of Israel. But religious Zionists like Rabbi Abraham Kook, suggested that in the long view, maybe it is through our actions that God works in the world. Twice the Talmud says that humans are partners with God in the act of creation—when they perform justice, and when they inaugurate the Sabbath as a memorial of creation. (Talmud Shabbat 10a, Shabbat 119b).  It would be equally true to say that for redemption to occur, humans must be partners with God in the work of redemption.” We stand at the shores of the sea together. Like Nachshon, let’s walk forward together, assisting God in the work of redemption. Albert Einstein captured the importance of community and justice as he wrote*:  “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however,there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men — above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”

From Previous Weeks

Beth Israel – The West Temple

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