From the Rabbi's Desk...
 
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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June 24, 2010
FROM THE RABBI’S DESK…
We at CTI are currently experiencing a period of growth.
But how did we get there?
The answer is that, to a great extent, we have arrived here on the shoulders of long time member families, some of whom have been part of CTI for more than a century.
This Shabbat morning, we will acknowledge many of these families who have been part of this congregation for more than fifty years by calling them to the Torah, providing them with a special certificate, and honoring them at a special Kiddush.
CTI was founded by a unique group of families, many of whom had small stores, shops, and businesses in the downtown area.
While those businesses have closed or have changed hands, we will honor many of these pioneer families and others this Saturday. We hope everyone will come and learn more about CTI’s roots.
We’ll start our prayers at 9:30am, with the heart of our service beginning at about 10:00am.
Programming Notes
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I wanted to call your attention to a telephone/web seminar dealing with breast cancer and the Holocaust to be held Wednesday, July 14 at 8:00pm. This “webinar” will discuss a recently released study which identified a higher incidence of breast cancer among Jews living in Europe during the Holocaust, and the issues around the testing of subsequent generations. You can register to either participate on the telephone, or observe on the Internet by contacting Sharsheret at teleconference@sharsheret.org, or by calling 1-866-474-2774.
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CTI’s popular Shabbat Under the Stars will be held on Friday, July 23.
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On Sunday, July 19 at 10:15am we will be joined by terrorism expert Dr. Anat Berko, who has written extensively about her prison interviews with unsuccessful Arab terrorists and those who have dispatched them. We ask you to spread the word about this important program.
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Shabbat at the Beach
Families with young children are invited to our second annual Shabbat at the Beach, to be held this Friday (June 24), 4:30 pm at Tappan Beach in Sea Cliff.
You don’t have to have young children to attend, but the program will be tailored to pre-nursery school children, with songs, blessings, and a picnic dinner.
All families of all religious backgrounds are warmly invited to attend.
Funerals and the Cycle of Life
Dr. Regina Sandler-Phillips will return to CTI this Sunday morning for the second of her series on Jewish Funeral Rituals.
Her Sunday talk will cover Shmirah, the ritual of friends and other members of the community reciting Psalms and other writings in the presence of the deceased prior to a funeral.
She will explore what Shmirah is, and how we as a community can begin this sacred practice.
It is my hope that our community will gradually begin this ritual as we move to reclaim many of Judaism’s life cycle rituals.
Whether you wish to participate in Shmirah, or want to know more about this ritual to make good decisions in the future, I strongly encourage you to attend.
Rabbi Sander-Phillips is a wonderful speaker who has a deep interest in these ancient and sacred rituals.
We will begin at 10:15am with a bagel breakfast.
Asking You
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With staff vacations and the High Holidays coming up, CTI is in desperate need of volunteers to help answer phones on week days, in particular in the afternoon. We are asking for a number of people to take on two hour shifts once a week. Please contact me or Kim Schweitzer if you can help. We want to make sure that there is a warm, friendly, and “live” voice on the line when someone calls CTI.
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The Rabbi and Cantor maintain a discretionary fund to assist struggling families, and to provide other support. Any donations to this fund would be extremely appreciated at this time.
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CTI is currently accepting donations for its August 8 Yard and Rummage Sale. In order that volunteers can begin sorting and pricing, it would be helpful if we could begin receiving donations now. Items received will help provide low cost clothing and furnishings to members of the wider community, while raising money for the synagogue.
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CTI is also interested in lightly used “high end” clothing. Our Social Action committee makes regular donations to an organization on Long Island which provides “office appropriate” clothing for women re-entering the workplace who can not afford an extensive wardrobe. It would be helpful if “high end” clothing could be separated out, and tagged to the attention of Elaine Schwartz.
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Lessons from the Torah’s “Mr. Ed”
Increasingly, we live in tough and competitive times.
Not only do many families face financial challenges, but in many cases these stresses have overlapped into our personal relationships and our overall patience with our family, friends, and beyond.
So how do we live with these pressures and try to improve our lives? Do we curse others and perhaps even God, or do we look for solace and support in other areas?
This week’s Torah portion, Balak, provides a bit of comic relief from stresses of daily life. In the aftermath of the deaths of Aaron and Miriam, it tells the story of a great sorcerer, Balaam, and his talking donkey.
In a scene which is reminiscent of the 1960’s TV sitcom Mr. Ed, Balaam is asked by Balak, king of a desert tribe, to curse the Jewish people as they pass through on their way to the Promised Land.
As the pagan religions of those days maintained, if Balaam asked the gods of the high heavens to curse the Jewish people, the cosmos would comply and cause the Israelite people untold grief.
But as Balaam, the king’s “curser for hire,” embarks on his journey, his donkey refuses to move. The donkey sees an angel blocking the way, but the angel is invisible to the sorcerer. Once, twice, thrice, Balaam strikes his donkey who refuses to budge.
Finally, the donkey turns around to Balaam, and in perfect Hebrew exclaims “stop hitting me, what did I ever do to you?” And in that moment Balaam notices the angel, realizes the error of his ways, and decides to bless the Israelites rather than curse them.
The story teaches us two obvious lessons. We as human beings are supposed to be smarter than animals, but sometimes we act so foolishly that even a donkey can realize when we are making an ass of ourselves.
The other lesson comes from the rabbinical source, Beit Ramah, which notes that, there’s less to be gained in life by cursing others, and more to be achieved by blessing those around us. We also need to acknowledge and give thanks for what we have.
We as human beings have much work to do in this life. Therefore, suggests Beit Ramah, it may make more sense to work on our own sense of patience and kindness, than to blame or curse others.
The great Conservative rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his poem No Religion is an Island wrote.
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“...Should we hope for each other’s failure, or should we pray for each other’s welfare. Let mutual concern replace remnants of mutual contempt as we share the precarious position of being human...”
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Although these important words should be obvious to us, we sometimes forget that all humanity is in this together—whether we are descendents of Abraham or Balak.
Sometimes, we need to slow down and focus on patience, kindness, and blessings rather than on the alternatives. This from the mouth of a talking donkey.
There will be additional words of wisdom from more distinguished sources this Saturday as we read from the Torah what I consider the punch line of the entire Jewish religion.
It will convincingly answer the question, “what does God really want from us?”
Please join us on Friday night at 8:00pm sharp for our Musical Kabbalat Shabbat, and please be with us on Saturday morning as we honor our congregation’s pioneer families.
Shabbat shalom to everyone. May your Sabbath be one of peace and reflection.
Kol tuv (with all goodness),
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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