Local Synagogue Attacks

Dear Friends,

Contrary to popular belief anti-Semitic incidents have not been on the rise in America in recent years, according to the statistics on hate crimes compiled by the FBI.  Unfortunately, they haven’t disappeared or abated either. 

Just this past week Bergen County witnessed two deeply disturbing incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism.  One was perpetrated against Temple Beth Israel of Maywood.  The other occurred on Tuesday night, the first night of Chanukah, at Temple Beth El of Hackensack.    Our thoughts and prayers are with these two synagogues as they heal from the emotional and physical damage done to their synagogue communities.

Joy Kurland  (director) and Rabbi Neal Borovitz ( chairman) of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Northern New Jersey told me that both synagogues reported nearly identical markings: swastikas, the numbers ‘14/88’, and the phrase “Jews Did 9/11.”  Police believe that the perpetrators in both cases are the same people.

According to the JCRC, “The use of “14/88” is significant because it is a coded term used by white supremacists.  It combines two different white supremacist concepts.  The “14” is shorthand for the so-called “14 Words,” a slogan used by white supremacists worldwide to justify their acts (“We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children”), while “88” stands for “Heil Hitler” (because “H” is the 8th letter of the alphabet; therefore “88” stands for “HH” or “Heil Hitler”).  White supremacists frequently combine the two as “14/88” or  “88/14.”  While swastika graffiti is often the work of malicious juveniles rather than extremists, the appearance of “14/88” strongly suggests an extremist connection on the part of the vandal(s).”

I tell you about these incidents this not to arouse the “Purim Jew” in you or make you anxious.  While we do need to be vigilant and keep an eye out for anything or anyone suspicious I don’t believe we have anything to fear as a community.  Why?  Because of something else that happened last Tuesday night.

Last Tuesday night a special interfaith Chanukah menorah lighting service was held at the Temple in Maywood in which the mayor, civic leaders and clergy of many denominations came together under the auspices of the Interfaith Brotherhood and Sisterhood Committee of Bergen County.  In addition to Rabbi Jarah Greenfield of Temple Beth Israel, Rabbi Neal Borovitz and Dan Kirsch of the JCRC of Northern New Jersey spoke.  Most importantly Reverend Pitches, the President of the Bergen County Council of Churches spoke.  Even as the bigots and anti-Semites were plotting their attack that night in Hackensack, we and our non-Jewish neighbors stood side by side in Maywood in a moving protest against that very evil.  This is how we fight anti-Semitism in America.  This is the American way. 

And this is the modern story of Chanukah.  I offer each of you two the opportunities to show this Chanukah spirit:

1. Please join us tonight at our community Chanukah menorah lighting in front of Temple Sinai at 7:15 p.m., when we will demonstrate that bigotry and hatred will not deter us from publicly proclaiming our pride in our identity and commitment to the faith of our ancestors.  (Those who have made a reservation for dinner and our indoor Chanukiyah lighting come at 6:00.  Shabbat Chanukah service in the sanctuary at 7:30.
2. On Tuesday night, December 27^th, there will be an 8^th night of Chanukah interfaith menorah lighting service at Temple Beth El in Hackensack, 280 Summit Avenue, Hackensack at 7:00 p.m.  I invite you to attend and show your solidarity with our fellow Jews and with people everywhere who recognize that the best way to fight anti-Semitism and bigotry is to join together with people of all faiths in common cause against it.

One of my favorite Chanukah books is called The Christmas Menorahs:  How a Town Fought Hate, by Janice I. Cohn.  While written for children, it is based in the very adult, true story of an outbreak of racism and anti-Semitism in Billings, Montana, in 1993.  Skinheads and other white supremacist groups had increased in the town of Billings and as Chanukah approached Jews increasingly became a target.    Windows in Jewish homes displaying Hanukkah menorahs began to be smashed. Jewish families were advised to remove their menorahs until the perpetrators were caught, but they resisted. The Christmas Menorahs focuses in on the bravery of one boy, Isaac Schnitzer, and his family as they stood up against anti-Semitism after a brick was thrown through his bedroom window while the family displayed its Chanukah Menorah. 

How were the white supremacists and anti-Semites defeated? First, the small Jewish community in Billings was not cowed into silence.  At the same time many members of the largely Christian community spoke out against the attacks.  The Billings Gazette, in an editorial, called on everyone to put menorahs in their windows in solidarity with their Jewish brothers and sisters.  Ten thousand paper menorahs decorated the windows of homes in Billings that Christmas. 

Let us remember this Chanukah story along with the story of the Maccabees as we light our menorahs tonight at Temple Sinai and throughout this Chanukah and Christmas week.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Urim Sameiach – a joyous Festival of Lights to you all.

Rabbi Jordan Millstein   

Hineini from Washington

Dear Friends,

It was a moment like no other.  This afternoon over 5000 Reform Jews from all over the U.S. and Canada gathered together in one hall to hear the President of the United States speak for the first time to a Union for Reform Judaism Biennial convention.  "Hineini," he said.  "I am here."  The President was quoting our ancestor Joseph in this week's Torah portion.  He delivered an excellent D'var Torah, as a matter of fact, as part of his address to the assembled crowd.  Among other highlights of the President's speech was a discussion of our Reform Movement's deep, historic involvement in civil rights,  the fight for equality for all Americans and tikkun olam, the repair of the world.  All of this was in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Religious Action Center, the Reform Movement's office in Washington, which is so respected on Capitol Hill.  He also included a hilarious riff on his daughter attending one bar/bat mitzvah after another, echoing the very same concerns and talks we have with our kids going through the same experience.  It was a privilege to be present for such an electric and historic moment for our Reform Movement.

"Hineini," we are here.  Fifteen members of Temple Sinai are here in D.C. for the URJ Biennial, a historic moment for our congregation and its leadership.  There hasn't been a delegation even close to this size from our congregation at a Biennial in at least a generation, if ever.  We are learning an enormous amount about how to make Temple Sinai a more vibrant congregation, more effective at serving your needs, more passionate and connected as a community.  And we are making a statement that we are proud to be part of a vibrant and powerful Movement, the Reform Movement in Judaism.

Attached is a photo of our delegation.  We will share many more with you when we return.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah!

Jordan

Ps – If you would like to see and hear President Obama’s speech, it and other selected sessions from the Biennial are available online at www.urj.org/biennial11/webcast. The following sessions will be webcast live at urj.org/biennial11/webcast and on JLTV (find your local listing):

•           Friday 6:15-7:15pm Kabbalat Shabbat Services

•           Saturday 10am-12:30pm Shabbat Services and Rabbi Yoffie's farewell sermon

•           Sunday 8:45-10:30am Closing Plenary

The Coca Cola Salesman in Israel

I enjoyed this and hope you will too. Thanks to Dan Sherman for sharing it with me. To view a larger version, simply click on the image.

Right?

Dear Friends,

The problem with democracy is the people. If only people would vote the right way everything would be alright. Unfortunately, they often don't so things are not right. What is the right way to vote? Well, whatever you think is right, right? In America, if you're conservative then right is right. If you're liberal then right is left, but make no mistake, it is right.

In Egypt it turns out that right may be a lot more to the right than many of the ostensibly right-minded protestors in Tahrir Square, who started the recent democratic revolution, think is right. It also seems to be a lot more to the right than is right for the United States or Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood appears to have taken 40% of the vote in the first round of elections for the new Egyptian Parliament. As if that wasn't right enough, Salafi parties may have taken an additional quarter of the vote. That is not alright. Salafists are ultra-conservative, right wing Islamists who oppose women's rights and want the state to follow strict Islamic law. If those two groups join together to form a government,Egypt could easily pursue policies that tilt strongly to the Islamic right, including a foreign policy that opposes the U.S. and undermines the Camp David Peace Treaty. That would not be alright at all.

In conclusion, democracy may be right but people are often not right, so things are not alright. It's too bad, too. For years most Americans have believed that if only the rest of the world would embrace democracy then everything would be alright. At the moment it appears we may have been wrong.

Oh, and one more thing: If you don’t think I’m right or even if you do, I would welcome your comments on my blog: rabbimillstein.blogspot.com.

* * *

In the meantime, one thing I know is right for us as Jews is to support the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. This Friday night, December 2nd, our Temple, along with many, many others is celebrating the vital role our Federation plays in supporting the Jewish community locally, in Israel and around the world. Carol Silberstein will share a brief talk entitled, “Super Sunday – It’s Not About Football.” Carol is Vice-President (and Past-President) of Temple Sinai, as well as the current Campaign Chair of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey (formerly known as the UJA of Northern New Jersey). She recently chaired the Israel and Overseas Allocations Committee of the JFNNJ. Carol and her husband, Alan, have been members of Temple Sinai for over 30 years.

Please come to our services at 7:30 p.m. on Friday to listen to Carol and worship with us. Then on Sunday, which is the Jewish Federation’s “Super Sunday,” please answer the call that comes to your home from the JFNNJ and support the Jewish community!

L’shalom.

Jordan

p.s. And don’t forget to “get trivial” with the Brotherhood on Saturday night. This Saturday night is the always fun “Brotherhood Trivia Night” at 7:30 p.m. Please rsvp to the Temple Office at 201-568-3035 or email brotherhood@templesinaibc.org. See below for more details.

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving can happen every day...

Not the feast in which so many of us are about to indulge – our waist lines and cholesterol counts could never afford it – but the original meaning of giving thanks:  showing gratitude for what we’ve been given.  Our ancestors would make pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem on the harvest festivals.  They would stand before the kohen, the priest, in the Temple and recite, “My father was a wandering Aramean.  He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there…The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us….Adonai freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand…bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, Adonai, have given me.”  Our ancestors would then give the first fruits of their harvests to the Templeas an offering to God.

Giving thanks means giving back.  This evening at my family’s Thanksgiving feast I will be asking everyone at the table to make a donation to the Center for Food Action in Englewood.  But, our giving should not stop at Thanksgiving nor need it come only in the form of tzedakah, financial support.  It can come in the form of giving time to organizations in the community, many of which really need you in order to do what they do. 

Temple Sinai needs you to volunteer your time with us. Your fellow members have created the attached information to identify ways for you to participate – addressing the needs of our religious school, helping members in need, planning social action, community projects and lots more.

So let us know about where you would like to participate. Reach out to our Membership Chair David Klein, our Executive Director Jeff Katz or me to get started.  Let this Thanksgiving be a beginning of a lifetime of giving thanks by giving back.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Jordan

Giving Thanks Together

Dear Friends,

Our Jewish tradition teaches that we should give thanks each day, and at numerous times during the day (e.g. when we eat), for what God has given us.   Ironically, the holiday we call, “Thanksgiving,” comes but once a year and it is not a Jewish holiday.  Be that as it may, there is no reason not to celebrate Thanksgiving and when we do so, to make it an opportunity to spend a moment actually giving thanks.  For prayers you can say, go to:  http://blogs.rj.org/reform/2011/11/thanksgiving-prayers-service.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rjblog+%28RJ+Blog%29

The other thing I highly recommend is to attend the Tenafly Interfaith Thanksgiving service this coming Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at The Church of the Atonement, 97 Highwood Ave. at Engle Street in Tenafly.  We have been joining together with several churches and representatives of the Islamic community in Tenafly for this service for several years now and I can say it has been a real treat.  Cantor Nitza works on the music and several of our Temple members participate. 

Joining together in prayer and thanksgiving is especially important at this time in the life of our community and our nation.  As you know, our civil society has been severely challenged in recent years and positive experiences in the public square are few and far between.  This service (and the wonderful reception that follows) is a great opportunity for us to take a stand against this trend by building positive relationships with our neighbors of other faiths.  Many of our neighbors came to Temple Sinai a few years ago when we hosted this service.  I hope you can find the time to reciprocate and join us at the Church of the Atonement this year.

If you are planning to attend and it is at all possible please bring a donation for the Center for Food Action of any of the following items:  dry milk, 100% juice, peanut butter and jelly, toothpaste, toothbrushes, supermarket gift cards, bar soap, baby formula, diapers size 4, 5, or 6, canned vegetables or canned tuna.  Also, checks can be made out to “The Center for Food Action”.

May you have a Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Jordan

Trip to Israel Meeting THIS Sunday

 Dear Friends,

A visit to the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism…a bar mitzvah at the South Wall of Herod’s Temple…a swim in the Dead Sea…wine tasting at a Golan winery…a pilgrimage to Yad Vashem, Israel’s unparalleled Holocaust museum…spelunking in the caves of Beit Guvrin…a night out on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv…a day walk through the narrow alleyways and art galleries of mystical Safed…

What do you want to experience on YOUR trip to Israel?

Come and tell us this Sunday at 10:00 am at an introductory meeting about Temple Sinai’s first congregational trip to Israel in over 25 years!  The trip will take place during the school break at the end of December in 2012.  But, we must start planning now.  The meeting Sunday will be held in the conference room, which is across from the kitchen, behind the social hall, upstairs from the religious school wing.  It will last approximately 45 minutes.  The meeting is for anyone who is considering going, whether you are sure or just thinking about it.

If you can’t attend please reply to this email and let me know about you and your family’s interest. 

Join Temple Sinai’s congregational trip to Israel and say, “Am Yisrael Chai!” – “The People of Israel Lives!”

L’shalom,

Jordan

Evil Inclination

Dear Friends,

This week the headlines were ablaze with two very different scandals. The first, the sexual harassment scandal of presidential candidate ofHerman Cain. The second and more disturbing, the scandal at Penn State surrounding former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky that has toppled legendary coach, Joe Paterno, and accomplished university president, Graham Spanier. The actions of the two perpetrators, Mr.Cain and Mr. Sandusky, cannot really be compared. Herman Cain’s behavior was sleazy and wrong. Sexual harassment is a terrible thing and should never be allowed or condoned. The child abuse and pedophilia of Jerry Sandusky, on the other hand, is so thoroughly depraved that one cannot think about it without getting nauseous.

Despite these differences, the behavior of the two men do have a couple of things in common that point us to similar lessons. The Talmud teaches, “The greater the man, the greater his evil inclination.” (Tractate Sukkah 52a) That is, as a person’s prominence, power or wealth grows so does their temptation and tendency to engage in acts that are inappropriate or worse. Power, fame and fortune multiply one’s opportunities to take advantage of and harm others. At the same time, they can also distort a person’s ego giving him or her a sense of entitlement or feeling of invincibility. Moreover, there is a connection between sexuality and power, sexuality and charisma, fame and fortune, that can drive those with it to do things that are deeply troubling.

Cain and Sandusky were in many ways “great” men. Sandusky was a brilliant defensive coach; some thought he was the genius behind a lot of Coach Paterno’s success at Penn State. He was a huge figure in State College, a small town, where he was treated, in many ways, like royalty. Herman Cain was a great entrepreneur and budding political star. His charisma helped him outshine many of his opponents and drew many followers. I know I need not remind you of a recent President of the United States who had similar qualities and was also unable to control his libido, engaging in sexual harassment and worse. For the record, I believed at the time of President Clinton’s scandal that he should have resigned and I believe now that Herman Cain should end his candidacy. Their behavior was shameless and people who commit such acts, who use their power to take sexual advantage of others, should not be allowed in positions of power. As far as Sandusky is concerned, they should lock him up and throw away the key. He is beyond the pale.

Also troubling is the behavior of those who witnessed or were aware of these acts. Sports fans, like myself, who have followed the Penn State story carefully cannot understand why Joe Paterno and President Spanier did not act clearly and forcefully to stop the sexual predator and child molester in their midst. They have rightly been dismissed from their positions. In the case of Herman Cain, it is those who were harassed by him who were also the witnesses to those acts. By keeping quiet for all these years, by accepting settlements from the National Restaurant Association, “hush money” in exchange for keeping quiet, they, too, are complicit in allowing Mr. Cain to continue his behavior with others. The Talmud teaches us that those who witness a person committing a sin are obligated to take action to try to stop them. If they have the ability to stop the perpetrator and they do not then, our tradition teaches, the sin belongs to the witness as well. Paterno may not be legally guilty of a crime under American law but morally he committed a grave offense.

“Who is mighty? One who controls his evil inclination,” Pirkei Avot teaches us. For a Jew, true power lies in one’s ability to control one’s destructive urges, whether one is “great” or ordinary. True greatness lies in the extent to which one lives a righteous life, including one’s willingness to stop those who lack such control from harming others.

Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan

The BIGGEST, BESTEST Gathering

Dear Friends,

Can you imagine what it might be like to join with thousands of other Reform Jews at a life-changing Shabbat service?

Have you ever wanted to have a chance to be in the audience when the President of the United States, Barack Obama, speaks about topics that matter to you as a Jew?

Are you curious to discover more about Judaism?  More about Reform Judaism?

Here’s your chance! Join with Jews from around the country and with a growingTemple Sinai contingent to attend the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial (national convention) being held this year in Washington, DC from December 14 – 18. I will be there and more than ten congregational leaders and members are already planning to join me at this remarkable event.

Through November 11, discounted registration is available.  To read more about the convention, the programming, and the attendance options, please click on the following link: http://urjbiennial.zerista.com/.

We are excited by the many programs, presentations, seminars, music and services and are reaching out to invite you to attend and to share in the experience.  The biennial is very special and everyone who has previously participated has universally enjoyed the experience.

If you have any questions or if you would like to express interest in attending, please contact David Klein who has additional information and can help to answer your questions. Contact David at 917-836-4646 or via email at hh608@aol.com. Of course, you can also contact me or reach out to our Executive Director, Jeff Katz.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

Storm follow-up + New Opportunities

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the staff and leadership of our congregation I want to let you know that we are thinking of all of you who continue to suffer without power or are struggling with significant damage to your property.  I have been touched by the many stories I have heard and am glad that the Temple has been able to lend a little help to a number of our members.  If there is anything else we can do to help, or if you have heard of people who are having a particularly hard time, please let us know.  We want to be there for all of you.

In the meantime, for those of you whose lives have returned to near normal or for those whose lives have not but are looking for a place to come in out of the cold, I want to highlight some of the terrific new opportunities we have lined up for this week at Temple Sinai.  Don’t blink or you’ll miss these great new programs:

1. Wednesday evening, Nov 2nd, 7:30 p.m – The opening session of an “Introduction to Judaism” course sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism and hosted by Temple Sinai.  Have you always felt that you don’t know the basics of Judaism that others seem to know?  This class is for you!  Rabbi Leana Moritt, an outstanding teacher in our community will be teaching.  This course is for adults of all ages, Jewish and not Jewish, who would like to learn about our faith.  One need not be a Temple member to participate.  Come to this opening session to learn more. 
2. Thursday evening, Nov 3, 7:00 p.m. – Steven Simon, long-time member of Temple Sinai, will be telling his story of surviving the Holocaust as a refugee and hidden child in France.  This program is sponsored by Temple Sinai’s Renaissance group.
3. Thursday evening, Nov 3 – “ECC Mom’s Night Out”.  Contact Sage at eccoffice@templesinaibc.org for more information.
4. Friday evening, Nov 4, 6:00 p.m. -  Tot Shabbat . at 6:00 p.m. followed by Shabbat Dinner for young families at 6:30 p.m.  We will be welcoming all new ECC families to our community.  Contact Sage at eccoffice@templesinaibc.org to rsvp for dinner.
5. Sunday, Nov 6 – “God Talk,” a new discussion series that I am leading starts this coming Sunday at 11:00 a.m.  Come for the free bagels or for the discussion or both.  Bring your thoughts, doubts, and questions about God.  No thought too heretical, no question beyond the pale. 
6. Sunday, Nov 6 – Mitzvah Day!  Come to Temple Sinai to donate blood between 8:45 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; register by going to www.jfnnj.org to participate in renovation projects with Bonim Builders or **NEW** do craft projects with residents of Buckingham in Norwood, a rehabilitation and nursing care facility.   This will be a wonderful opportunity for our volunteers to interface with residents of their Korean wing. Fostering relationships with the Korean community is one of the goals of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Northern New Jersey this year.  Also, please bring the following to TempleSunday or sooner for our Mitzvah Day collections: 

School supplies – New pens, pencils, crayons, markers, rulers, notebooks, highlighters, scissors, erasers, folders, glue sticks, glue or any other unused classroom supplies. 

Gardening supplies – Seeds, potting soil, small pots and gardening tools.

Arts and Crafts Projects – Not supplies, but art projects sold in the store for children that can be done in bed, e.g. Pixos, Mosaics, Crayola Explosion, etc.

May we all be safe, warm and engaged in Jewish living.

Take care,

Jordan (Rabbi Millstein)

Urgently Needed

Dear Friends,

If you’re like me almost every day something comes at you by email or snail mail or Facebook announcing yet another collection drive for something or other. I get them from my kids’ school, organizations galore, friends and acquaintances who send me (or “friend” me) the things they or their favorite charities are working on. And, of course, the Temple! We are one of the major producers and proliferators of collections of all sorts. So, I apologize for what I am about to do by adding to your collection of collections. But, we really need your help.

You see, Mitzvah Day is coming up on November 6th, and our collection boxes are bare. We made a commitment as a congregation not only to run a blood drive that day at Temple but to collect school supplies for the Paterson public schools and garden supplies for senior citizens who plant indoors in the winter. We are also collecting arts and crafts projects for Chai Lifeline, which helps children who have been diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. The Temple office sent you a notice – and quite possibly the religious school and ECC as well – but perhaps due to the collection din you have overlooked our collection bins.

All kidding and rhyming aside, we really do need your help. For us these collections may feel like a nuisance but for those who receive the items we collect they can be a godsend. As I said on Yom Kippur, tzedakah matters. It changes lives.

Specifically, please bring the following to the Temple on or preferably before November 6th:

School supplies – New pens, pencils, crayons, markers, rulers, notebooks, highlighters, scissors, erasers, folders, glue sticks, glue or any other unused classroom supplies
Gardening supplies – Seeds, potting soil, small pots and gardening tools
Arts and Crafts Projects – Not supplies, but art projects sold in the store for children that can be done in bed, e.g. Pixos, Mosaics, Crayola Explosion, etc.

And don’t forget to come to Temple Sinai, 1 Engle Street, between 8:45 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on November 6, Mitzvah Day to donate blood! (Contact Ilene Wechter to sign up: ilene5656@gmail.com).

Last but not least, on Mitzvah Day Temple Sinai is joining with other members of the Northern New Jersey Jewish community to help renovate and fix up buildings in need of repair through “Bonim Builders.” Bonim Builders, a project of Federation’s Synagogue Leadership Initiative, performs home renovations and modifications for low to moderate-income families, seniors, the physically challenged, and local Jewish agencies. Participants should be age 16 and up; 16 – 18 year olds must be accompanied by an adult and there must be 1 adult participant for every 4 teens.

Hope that through all the “collection clutter” and “bin din” you can hear the call to help those in need. So many of you responded by donating clothes for the homeless before the youth groups’ “Midnight Run” program. Thank you! Please bring your donations for Mitzvah Day to Temple Sinai. To register for Mitzvah Day, go to www.jfnnj.org/mitzvahday. Mitzvah Day is a project of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. Join in this occasion to give – and keep your eyes open for future opportunities which we will share with you. Remember, YOU can make a difference!

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jordan Millstein
rabbimillstein@templesinaibc.org

p.s. Don’t forget that my informal adult education class, “God Talk” begins this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Come and join us for bagels, coffee and some “God Talk”. No belief in God ort pre-registration required!

Temple Sinai Congregational Trip to Israel Info Meeting

On Rosh Hashanah morning I spoke about our relationship with the State of Israel in a sermon entitled, “Purim Jew – Pesach Jew.” In the sermon I announced a Temple Sinai congregational trip to Israel to take place during the December 2012 holiday vacation period (school break). An informational meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2011. I hope you will be able to make the meeting. If you and your family are interested in participating but can not make the meeting, please contact me at rabbimillstein@templesinaibc.org.

"Gilad Shalit’s Release: A Heavy Hearted Celebration" by Rabbi Avi Weiss

Dear Friends,

I found this piece on Gilad Shalit’s Release by Rabbi Avi Weiss very meaningful. Rabbi Weiss is the Founder of the modern Orthodox Rabbinical School, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Senior Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. I share his view and look forward to hearing your thoughts on this topic.

L’Shalom V’reiut – Peace and Friendship,
Jordan

Events in Honor of Gilad Shalit

Dear Friends,

As I imagine many of you saw on the news Gilad Shalit was freed and returned to his family yesterday.  There are many complex and conflicting emotions that Israeli Jews and Jews in the diaspora feel right now:  relief at the end of a long ordeal; joy for the family of Gilad Shalit; fear of what the Palestinian prisoners – many of whom are terrorists with blood on their hands - might do now that they have been released; anger at the release of these terrorists; disgust at the way Gilad Shalit was interviewed by Egyptian television; even hope that the end of this ordeal will somehow sow the seeds for a renewed peace process.  

Tonight Reform Jewish congregations around the world celebrate Simchat Torah.  (It is tomorrow night for Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the diaspora; tonight for all Jews in Israel.)  The focus of the celebration of this holiday are the “hakafot,” the 7 circuits made around the sanctuary in which we parade and celebrate the Torah.  This evening at our 7:00 p.m. service we will honor Gilad Shalit by dedicating one of our hakafot to him for his remarkable courage and fortitude.  I hope that you will be able to join us.

Sunday evening there will be a gathering for our entire northern New Jersey Jewish community at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades at 7:00 p.m. to recognize the meaning of Shalit’s release to us.  For more information click on http://www.jfnnj.org/page.aspx?id=247410.

Chag Sameiach – Happy Simchat Torah,

Rabbi Jordan Millstein

"A Jewish Goodbye"

Dear Friends,

Chag Sukkot Sameiach – Happy Sukkot – and Shabbat Shalom. I imagine many of you are familiar with the term, “a Jewish goodbye”. A Jewish goodbye is when you are at a party, a gathering or some sort of social event and you say goodbye to people only to find you are still standing there chatting a half hour or more later. So, you start saying goodbye to people all over again, which leads people invariably to respond, “wait, I thought you left already.”

The Jewish holidays are like that as well. We observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. We blow the shofar announcing the end of the holiday, the proverbial “closing of the gates,” only to find that 5 days later there is another holiday, Sukkot. Sukkot then goes on for a week only to end in another holiday, Simchat Torah. I guess the message is that as Jews we never really want to say goodbye to our friends, our community, or for that matter, to God. The goal is to keep coming back.

This past Wednesday evening many Temple Sinai members did come back for a wonderful Sukkot celebration, featuring our ECC kids making Sukkah decorations, a Tot Sukkot service, dinner attended by close to 100 people and family services with music led by our 4th and 5th grade students. You have a chance to get in on the fun by joining us for Simchat Torah this coming Wednesday night, October 19th. You can sign up for our family dinner at 6:00 p.m. and/or join us at 7:00 for our Simchat Torah celebration, featuring consecration and parading with all our Torah scrolls. See the Temple web site, www.templesinaibc.org for more information. Hope you join us!

Sukkah: Photographs by Suzy Rosenberg – Now through October 26th at the JCC
Here’s another really neat way to celebrate Sukkot: Go see the exhibit by Temple Sinai member, Suzy Rosenberg, on display right now at the Waltuch Gallery Exhibits at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. This exhibit is a photographic journey through the sukkah, inspired by the beautiful prayer: Ufros aleinu sukkat sh’lomecha, which translates as “Spread over us the shelter of your peace.” This exhibit explores not only the physical construction of the sukkah, but also the intertwined spiritual essence people experience when they build and enter the sukkah with family and friends. These unique photographs examine the many elements that give a sukkah its identity: structure, texture, pattern, color, light, and the personal touch of those who build it. Rosenberg’s work has been exhibited at Fairleigh Dickinson University, the Tenafly NatureCenter, Tenafly Public Library and the Puffin Cultural Center. It will only take a few minutes to see Suzy’s work; it is terrific! So, stop by when the JCC reopens on Sunday.

Don’t Forget: Our Youth Group Needs Clothing for “Midnight Run”“Midnight Run” is a highly regarded organization which helps the homeless on the streets of New York City. This Saturday night our high school youth group, SFTY, will go into the city and hand out food and clothing to the homeless. Clothes can be brought to the Temple anytime through this Saturday, October 15th at 6:30 p.m. We specifically need new or gently used men’s coats, long sleeved shirts & sweatshirts, pants, and new underwear & socks (in unopened packages) in larger sizes.

Midnight Run is this Saturday, October 15 from 6:30pm-1am. The program will begin at Temple Sinai and is open to all high school students. Interested teens should sign up at online at http://tinyurl.com/MidnightRunRSVP. Please contact Jonah Zinn, our Rabbinic Intern, atjonahzinn@gmail.com with any questions.

Wishing you festive festivals,
Rabbi Jordan Millstein

Happy Sukkot, Gilad Shalit

Dear Friends,

We are about to celebrate the festival of Sukkot, not Passover, but freedom is in the air.  This evening the Israeli government and Hamas announced an agreement which will allow IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held captive for 1934 days, to return home.  Under the agreement Israel will be releasing over 1000 Palestinian prisoners, 280 of whom were serving life-sentences in Israeli prisoners.  The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that no prominent prisoners will be released.

“After 5 years, 1935 days and long nights, the government of Israel is returning our son Gilad to us,” Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, said minutes after the results of the vote were announced. “We bless the government for its courageous decision, despite the long stretch of time that has passed…”  Since March 2009 members of Shalit’s family had been living in a protest tent across from the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.

When I think of this tent and the long journey it represents it makes me think of the sukkah, the temporary hut we build on Sukkot.  The Torah tells us that we dwelt in sukkot during our long, difficult period of wandering in the harsh wilderness.  The sukkah is also said to represent both the fragility of life and God’s providence, God’s protection in difficult times.  I can think of no better time for us to hear the wonderful news that Gilad Shalit will finally be coming home than this festival.  For over 5 years the Jewish world has watched and prayed for Shalit, knowing how precarious his situation was.  We thank God for protecting him through this time and will all breathe a sigh of relief when he is actually (k’nu huru) back on Israeli soil.  It is a statement of the value our people places on each and every life that we never forgot Gilad Shalit and that the government of Israel was willing to release so many dangerous prisoners in order to bring home just one of our own.

I hope you can join us for our Sukkot evening celebration tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon and evening.  We begin with decorating our Temple Sukkah at 4:00, sponsored by the ECC and Sisterhood.  This is followed by a Tot Sukkot service at 5:30 and a family dinner at 6:00 p.m.  The evening culminates with a musical family service at 7:00 p.m. where we will say a special prayer of thanks for the release of Gilad Shalit.  Hope you will be able to make it.

New of Gently Used Clothes Needed Now for Important Mitzvah

It is also fitting that this Saturday night, during Sukkot, our high school youth group, SFTY, will be participating in “Midnight Run.”  Through this nationally recognized social justice program, our students will distribute food and clothing to the homeless on the streets of New York City.  The sukkah represents shelter, something all people should have but sadly some in our society lack.  I am very proud that our kids are participating in this program. 

But, in order to do this critical mitzvah SFTY needs more clothing to distribute!  Clothes can be brought to the Temple anytime through this Saturday, October 15th. We specifically need men’s coats, long sleeved shirts & sweatshirts, pants, and new underwear & socks (in unopened packages) in larger sizes. 

The parent of one student emailed Jonah and Rosie Moss, our other youth advisor, after last year’s “Midnight Run”:

Hi, Jonah and Rosie,
Just to let you know that (my daughter) was really touched by the experiences she had during the Midnight Run. She realized that the homeless are human beings, and that brand names which are so important to some people have no meaning for those who have no clothes. She told me that she wants to go each time there's a Run.

Midnight Run is this Saturday, October 15 from 6:30pm-1am. The program will begin at Temple Sinai and is open to all high school students. Interested teens should sign up at online at http://tinyurl.com/MidnightRunRSVP. Please contact Jonah Zinn, our Rabbinic Intern, at jonahzinn@gmail.com with any questions. 

Chag Sukkot Sameiach – Happy Sukkot!

Rabbi Jordan Millstein