Does God Still Speak to Us?

Dear Friends,

The festival of Shavuot, which begins one week from this Saturday evening, celebrates the moment when our people stood at Mt. Sinai and, according to tradition, heard God speak the eternal words of the Ten Commandments.  It is considered the greatest moment in our people’s history, the moment when we as a people entered into a covenant with God.  Since that time Jewish thinkers have grappled with the question:  Was that moment of revelation a one-time experience?  Or does God still speak to us?  If so, how?  This is more than merely an academic question to be pondered by theologians.  It goes to the very heart of our spiritual lives, our sense of God’s presence, of connection and purpose. 

On Saturday evening May 26^th I will lead a discussion on this topic together with our rabbinic intern, Jonah Zinn, a student at the Reform Movement seminary, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.  We will do so as part of what is called a, “Tikkun Leil Shavuot,” a late night (traditionally, all night) study session held on the evening of Shavuot.  This observance was created by the Kabbalists, our ancestors who practiced Jewish mysticism back in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  They developed the “Tikkun Leil Shavuot” (literally:  the repairing that takes place on the eve of Shavuot) as a way to spiritually prepare themselves to receive God’s revelation, the Torah, as our ancestors did so many centuries ago.  In recent years this practice has gained in popularity in the Reform Movement as our members have recognized the value and personal meaning of engaging in Torah study.  Jonah and I will be bringing a distinctly modern twist to this ancient practice by focusing on the work of modern and contemporary Jewish thinkers who have addressed this issue.  As part of this discussion we look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

The evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. with a dairy dinner, as is traditional on Shavuot and include Havdalah, a brief evening service, and our discussion.  Please RSVP by Monday to Sally Collins at scollins@templesinaibc.org or 201-568-3035 x214 to let us know that you will be attending.  We hope it will be a memorable part of your Memorial Day Weekend. 

For those who are in town we will also be having a Festival Morning/Yizkor service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 27^th.  I also hope you can join us on Monday morning, May 28^th at 10:30 a.m. when we will confirm 15 young people who have spent their 9^th grade year studying with me and Jonah.  They are certainly worthy of all of our support and appreciation.  Hope you can be there.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

To The Day!

Dear Friends,

For some time now it has felt by many Jewish residents of this area that a Reform-Liberal-Progressive Jewish Congregation was necessary to provide for the religious needs of many families presently unaffiliated with any congregation and many others who find it inconvenient to go to congregations at some distance from homes.  Accordingly, a group of us are calling a meeting to consider the formation of a Reform Jewish Congregation. 

May we take this opportunity of inviting you to attend the meeting to be held on WEDNESDAY EVENING – May 21^st – at 8:15 o’clock, in the MARY ELIZABETH TEACH ROOM, 96 Engle Street, Englewood, New Jersey.  We shall have the pleasure of hearing from RABBI DANIEL L. DAVIS, Director of the New York Federation of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.  He will discuss with us the ideas and programs of a Reform Congregation, and will be prepared to answer questions that may be put to him concerning the organization of the new Congregation….

…May we invite you to join with other interested mean and women in this creative undertaking to the end that we may form a Congregation, modern in spirit, dedicated to the liberal interpretation of Judaism, and providing a program for effective Jewish living on the American scene….”

           

The above is excerpted from a letter signed by “the Committee of Sponsors,” made up of 5 founding families of Temple Sinai:  Mr. and Mrs. George S. Grabow, Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mannes, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Rosalsky and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur R. Wecker.  The date of this letter:  May 12, 1952.

Tomorrow evening, sixty years to the day from when this founding document was written we will be celebrating the anniversary of the congregation formed as a result of this auspicious letter, Temple Sinai of Bergen County.  Believe it or not, Jane Gellman, co-chairperson of our celebration at the Palisadium tomorrow evening, told me today that when the date was chosen for this 60^th anniversary celebration neither she nor anyone else involved knew that it was to be exactly 60 years from the date of this letter.  “There must have been some Hidden Hand at work.”  I’ll say.  That is the definition of b’shert!

There have also been a lot of unhidden hands at work, i.e. a remarkable committee led by Jane and her co-chair, Freyda Simon, to make for what promises to be a spectacular evening.  Two-hundred and twenty people are coming, the largest group to attend a Temple gala in years.  Twenty-two past presidents of Temple Sinai and Congregation Beth Am will be there.  The “Party Dolls,” a female singing group will serenade us with sixties songs.  Co-President Jack Reich will lead a group playing at the cocktail hour.  There will be a DJ “spinning” 60s tunes.  The bar will even feature a drink in our honor, the “Sinai Sling.”  The dress – as so many are asking – is “Sixties Optional.”  I will be wearing jeans and a tie-dyed shirt with a jacket over it. 

If you have somehow neglected to rsvp, email Jane Gellman at janegellman@me.com. 

I look forward to seeing so many of you tomorrow night!!!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Jordan Millstein