From the Rabbi's Desk...
 
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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April 3, 2009
Healing Service: Special Guestt
CTI’s second healing service will take place on Saturday evening at 7:00pm as we focus our individual and community kavanah (soul intention) on those in physical and spiritual need.
We will also be joined by a special guest. Noted drummer Akiva Wharton ("Akiva the Believer") will be participating in the service.
We will be adapting the traditional afternoon service to include music, meditation, reflection, and song.
The service has been developed for those in need of healing. This is also an opportunity to give thanks to God for overcoming a serious obstacle.
There are so many in need of our prayers. Let us join together.
Feeding Those in Need
Thank you to the many who have brought supermarket gifts cards to CTI to assist those suffering under the current economic climate.
Over $200 in gift cards has been donated, and some are already on their way to individuals and families.
As we watch or read the news regarding the economy, it is so easy to feel helpless. This is a concrete way to make a difference and to assist those who are affected.
As has been mentioned before, the word Tzedakah does not mean charity. It is more accurately translated as "redistribution in a just way."
With Passover around the corner, we are reminded to ensure that "all who are hungry come and eat." It is a time to ensure that anyone who is enslaved can taste freedom.
Second Passover Seder
There are still places available at CTI’s third annual Passover Seder which is set for 6:00pm Thursday, the second night of Pesach.
Please join Cantor Gustavo and me for songs, stories, and lessons.
There is no cost for members, although a $36 donation would be appreciated. However, this is not about the money, and no one will be keeping track. We have received a number of major donations to ensure that cost will not be a factor. The important thing is that we celebrate this festival of freedom together.
This will be a full Seder which will feature many songs, melodies, readings, and explanations. You will also be encouraged to share your own family traditions.
Please join us by e-mailing the office at tiferethisrael@optonline.net or by calling 676- 5080 and leaving a message.
Selling of Chometz
The synagogue is currently open for the
selling of chometz.
that have made their way into our tradition.
In today’s rational world, this practice may seem ancient and a bit odd, but as Tevya says in Fiddler on the Roof, "It’s a tradition."
This is the time of year when we clean our homes of chometz (bread or yeast related products.) But there are some homes which have large quantities of food.
So in order to ensure that, legally speaking, no one has chometz in their house, non-Passover food is blocked off and, technically, sold to a third party prior to the first night of Pesach. That person for the duration of Passover is the owner of your food, and ownership reverts back after Pesach. I will sell your chometz to that third party, who is outside the community.
There is a form that you’ve received in the mail, and the very small fee involved is donated for charitable purposes.
You can read more about this old tradition of
Matzo Baking
The CTI kitchen will be turned into a matzo factory this Sunday.
On that morning, we will hold a family program in conjunction with our Hebrew school to bake matzo in the traditional way. We will also be holding a model Seder.
Please join us at 10:00am for this pre-Passover program.
As a footnote, the matzo produced will be baked prior to the koshering of the shul kitchen for Passover, and is not kosher for Pesach.
Here Comes the Sun
Wednesday morning at about 8:00am, weather permitting, we will be holding a ritual that is observed once every 28 years.
We will be reciting the "blessing over the sun." I will be sending an e-mail later this week with more information, and books are available at the synagogue office regarding this service for $10. We will also have books on hand.
The blessing over the sun (Bikhat Ha’Chammah) is recited because, according to a surprisingly accurate calculation performed about 1,500 years ago during Talmudic times, on Wednesday morning the sun will be in the exact location it was 5,769 years ago.
Fast and Breakfast of the Firstborn
This Wednesday, prior to the sun blessing, the Udell Family will continue a tradition that it has been observed at CTI since this synagogue was built.
On the morning before the first night of Pesach, those who are Bichorim (first born) mark the fact that they were spared during the Tenth Plague, the Plague of the First Born. It is customary for Bichorim to fast during daylight hours, however this requirement can be bypassed by attending morning services.
Wednesday services will begin at 7:15am, followed by the sun blessing. Afterwards, we will be treated to a deluxe bagel and lox breakfast.
A Note of Clarification
Cantor Gustavo and I have officiated at a number of funerals during the past few weeks, and may we as a community be spared any additional sorrow.
Since I arrived in Glen Cove, there has hardly been a funeral where I haven’t been asked whether "following the service is it okay to visit the grave site of a relative or friend?"
Indeed, there is no reason why, after giving your full attention to the funeral service and to the mourners, you may not visit the graveside of anyone you choose.
Indeed, Judaism is a religion of compassion, lovingkindness, and sensibility. Visiting our ancestors and friends is one of the most comforting and respectful things we can do.
There is no prohibition.
Hebrew Classes
CTI Hebrew classes will resume on Thursday, April 23 at 6:00pm. This is the time when our Hebrew teacher, Liliana Halac, completes work with our Hebrew School students.
Please let me know if you would like to participate in this next round.
Liliana is showing real results with adult learners. Cost of $60 for the five week session.
Synagogue Tour
Have you ever wondered "what’s what" in our synagogue sanctuary?
What are those shiny things? Why do those things we place on top of the Torah "jingle jangle" when we carry the scrolls around the sanctuary?
All this will be revealed on Sunday night beginning at 8:00pm.
We will be holding our regular Journeys class at 7:00pm for those wishing to convert or learn more about the basics of Judaism. And at 8:00pm we will be entering the sanctuary and go item to item and explain the purpose of the Judaica that you see in or around the sanctuary.
Again, the regular class begins at 7:00pm and the tour will begin at 8:00pm.
The "Great" Shabbat
In the classic Jewish tradition, rabbis would only speak from the pulpit twice a year.
Rabbis were seen primarily as teachers, and their value was measured by their teaching in a classroom or private setting.
The only two times of the year when rabbis would deliver a sermon was on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the Shabbat before Pesach: that is, Shabbat Ha’Gadol (The "Great" Sabbath).
Whereas these rabbis would speak on these occasions for hours, I will limit myself this Saturday to the usual ten or fifteen minutes.
My message will center around two greetings we hear around this time, "A Zissen Pesach," and a "Kosher Pesach."
What do these greetings mean and why, if we focus on these two concepts, do we risk skirting the inner meaning of Passover?
Indeed, perhaps Pesach’s most important task is to clear the chometz from our hearts.
This will be the theme of tonight and tomorrow’s messages for Shabbat Ha’Gadol as we prepare for the Jewish festival of freedom.
We begin at 8:00pm tonight. Let us usher in this Great Shabbat with music, dance, and joy.
Best wishes for a Shabbat shalom and a Chag Sameach, a happy holiday.
And please don’t hesitate to contact me or Cantor Gustavo if you or someone you know would like to join us or another CTI family for Pesach. We have many offers of hospitality.
Shabbat shalom, v’kol tuv (with all goodness)
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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