Off and Flying!

Dear Friends,
I’m excited to tell you about the great response we’ve had for this December’s congregational trip to Israel. To date 54 people have put deposits down to join us on our journey, which will take place from December 20, 2012 – January 1, 2013! I could not be more excited or more proud of our congregation for the enthusiastic response to my call last Rosh Hashanah to deepen our commitment to Israel, to one another and our own Jewish n’shamot (souls), by making this trip together.
The response has been so overwhelming that we actually sold out all the tickets we were able to reserve on the flight out of Newark Airport on Thursday evening, December 20 th . Fortunately, we have now been able to secure additional seats that evening on a different flight to Israel out of Philadelphia. If you join our trip now, we will include free motor coach transportation from the Temple Sinai parking lot to Philadelphia International Airport for your nonstop flight to Tel Aviv. While the ride is about 1.5 hours longer than going to Newark, the free transportation eliminates the need for you to pay your way to the airport. For comparison, it’s about $150 round trip to Newark for a car service so this is a good deal! What’s more the flights arrive/depart at similar times so it all works out well.
We are also extending the reservation deadline to August 15th. So, while you are enjoying your summer vacations, why not discuss with your family making your winter vacation a trip to Israel with Temple Sinai? Our current group of 50+ is a very diverse, multi-generational group, ranging from pre-teens to seniors. We have individuals, couples and entire family clans journeying with us, including family members from outside of the congregation. Many participants have never been to Israel before but many others have been several times or even lived in Israel at some point in their lives. We have Temple leaders and worship “regulars” and those who rarely set foot inside our building. So, what are you waiting for? Join us on this trip of a lifetime!
Attached please find the registration form, which also contains information about how to register on-line. Also attached is our current itinerary. (If you have trouble opening the attachments, they are also included in this week’s Shavua Tov “Israel Trip” section.) It is worth noting that due to the larger turnout we are likely to go to a two bus format while in Israel which will allow us to provide multiple choices of activities on certain days. For example, we may be able to create special experiences tailored to those interested in more physically rigorous/adventurous activities, as well as other activities of a less rigorous, more intellectual variety.
Last but not least, we will be celebrating the bar/bat mitzvah together of several young people in our group. For a couple of them, this will be their only bar/bat mitzvah celebration while others will also be celebrating a bar/bat mitzvah at Temple Sinai. Let me know if you would like your child to have his or her bar/bat mitzvah in Jerusalem with us.
All this is open to you but I highly suggest registering now. While we now have additional seats, the numbers are limited. It’s time to say, “This year in Jerusalem!”
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
p.s. I am also pleased to inform you that tonight I will be giving a special blessing to Olivia Taub, daughter of Temple members, Arden and Amy Taub, who is about to depart on her own journey to Israel with the Reform Movement’s “NFTY In Israel” summer program. Join us at 7:30 pm for our Shabbat evening service to wish Olivia a wonderful journey to Eretz Yisrael.

What Are You Up to This Summer?

Dear Friends,

It is the question that is on everyone’s lips right as school lets out, graduations are celebrated, kids go off to camp and the summer season begins in earnest: “What are you up to this summer?” I will be around for a couple of weeks, then away with my family for a week, then back again before I head off for a couple of weeks at Camp Harlam in August. In case you don’t know, Camp Harlam is the Union for Reform Judaism summer camp in the Poconos, where many Temple Sinai kids have gone over the year. My kids will be campers during the second four week session. My wife and I will be camp faculty for two of those weeks. If you have kids that are not yet going to a summer camp I highly recommend Camp Harlam. It has all the sports and other activities of a regular summer camp with the added bonus that your child will get to experience Reform Jewish living in a truly fun and kid-friendly way.

What about us grown-ups? My hope and prayer for you is that you will get some genuine down time. For those who are working this is hard to come by nowadays. My other hope is that you will take advantage of some of that time to engage in some Jewish activities here at Temple Sinai that you might otherwise not do.

1. Shabbat Worship – In case you missed all the hoopla, in addition to the new playground for our young children we have a brand new outdoor sanctuary near the religious school entrance to the building. Starting on July 6th and continuing through the end of August we will hold our Friday evening/Kabbalat Shabbat services in the Dustin Drapkin Outdoor Sanctuary. Services are early and relatively brief. We will have our Oneg before services, at 6 pm, with services beginning at 6:30 pm. Join us then or join us on Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. when we will also hold our services outside in the Dustin Drapkin sanctuary, weather permitting.
2. Torah Study – I can’t tell you how often people say to me, “I hear you have a great Torah study session on Shabbat mornings; I’d really like to try that.” But, sometimes it’s hard finding the time or energy during the year to join us on Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. If you are one of those people, now is the time to give it a try. We are there every week in Founders Hall (20-30 of us). You need never have opened a Bible before to participate. Come join us!
3. Gemilut Chasadim/Deeds of Kindness – Many of the activities that the Temple offers during the year stop during the summer. But, the organizers of Family Promise, our program to shelter homeless families, are in high gear. This week we are providing shelter in our social hall at Temple Sinai to four families, including 4 Moms and 7 kids. They are wonderful families and very appreciative of our help. There are dozens of volunteers involved and we are supported as well by volunteers from St. John's Catholic Church of Leonia, Christ Church in Teaneck and Kehilat Kesher, across the street from us. We don’t need any more volunteers for this week but we do need volunteers when we host homeless families again, from August 12 - 19. We need people to cook dinner, people who will interact with the families, and people to sleep over in the Temple. Other than sleeping over you can bring your kids to play with the children in the program. It can be a very meaningful experience for them! Contact Stan Laser at 201-446-7313 orstanjean@optonline.net; or Ilene Wechter at 201871-4885 orIlenewechter@yahoo.com.

Our rabbis of old taught, “The world stands on three things: On Torah; on worship; on deeds of kindness.” Make your down time meaningful this summer by joining us at Temple Sinai.

Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan

Teens on the Cutting Edge

Dear Friends,

So, what would you say is the biggest challenge facing the Jewish community today? Anti-Semitism? Threats to Israel’s security? The economy and lack of resources? How about the sky-high number of Jews who disappear from Jewish life after they become a bar/bat mitzvah or their children become a bar/bat mitzvah?

This is one of our greatest challenges and a primary reason the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) launched its “Campaign for Youth Engagement.” I am proud to say that before the new President of the URJ, Rabbi Rick Jacobs announced this campaign as his first major initiative, Temple Sinai launched its own campaign for youth engagement. We applied for and became one of eight congregations to be part of a Reform Movement pilot project to involve young people in what is now referred to as “teen philanthropy.” Jonah Zinn, our rabbinic intern, and I designed a unique teen philanthropy program specifically for our most “endangered” group of young people here at Temple Sinai, our 8th graders.

I say “endangered” because after a year of intensive Jewish learning in preparation to lead Shabbat services as bar/bat mitzvah, 8th graders are the most in danger of becoming disengaged from Jewish life. Our High School program at Temple Sinai is excellent and many 8th graders attend those Monday night sessions during the school year. In fact, tonight we are celebrating the graduation from our high school program of eight students who have participated all the way through their senior year! Be that as it may, we know that there are many students who do not continue in our high school program after bar/bat mitzvah and others who do but can benefit from a different kind of Jewish engagement.

Our new program for 8th graders is called, “Teen Foundation.” Neither a class nor a youth group program, the Teen Foundation combines the passion young people naturally have for making a difference in the world (Tikkun Olam/social justice) with their desire to socialize with peers, and an age-appropriate informal Jewish educational component to create a year of fun, provocative and Jewishly inspiring activity. Meeting twice a month from 5:00 – 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, the ten students in this year’s Teen Foundation spent the year learning about local non-profit organizations and the importance of philanthropy through site visits to local organizations, hands-on service and group discussions. After learning about the issues facing our community, the teens selected a need they wanted to address and solicited grant proposals from organizations which work on their issues of their choice. They then reviewed the grant proposals and awarded grants both from a philanthropic pool comprised of personal contribution from the teens and additional money they raised together through a fundraising event.

The fundraising event they put together, “Party 2Fight Poverty,” raised over $2,600. Combining that money with their family’s contributions, the teens made grants of $1,500 each to three different local organizations which address poverty among children. These teens truly made a difference!

If you have a child who will be in 8th grade next year, I urge you to encourage him or her to be a member of our Teen Foundation. Email me atrabbimillstein@templesinaibc.org to let me know your son/daughter is interested.

We will meet primarily on Sundays from 5:00 – 6:15 p.m. about twice a month starting in October, after the High Holy Days. In lieu of a registration fee each student is asked to contribute $250 to the Teen Foundation philanthropic pool (i.e. a “tzedakah collective”). Teens who may need assistance with the financial commitment please speak with me. Special funds are available for this program; no one will be excluded because of an inability to make this contribution. If you find this program as inspiring as I do and want to make a contribution to help us provide these funds, please send your check made out to Temple Sinai with the words “Teen Foundation Contribution” in the memo line.

There are a limited number of spaces in this year’s Foundation class, which will be filled in order of when registrations are received. We will send you a registration form shortly after you contact us. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Jonah Zinn at jonahzinn@gmail.org.

Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan

Did You Hear the Big News?

Dear Friends,

It’s not that the unemployment ticked up and the economy may be stalling again (ugh!). Nor is it that the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, ruled unanimously Thursday that the federal law declaring marriage to be a union solely between a man and a woman discriminates against married same-sex couples (hooray!).

No, the big news for us as Reform Jews is that this Monday the attorney general of the State of Israel released his consent to recognize Rabbi Miri Gold as the first rabbi of a non-Orthodox congregation in the history the state. This decision paves the way for dozens of other Reform and Conservative Rabbis in Israel to receive a salary from the government for their work in the same way that about 4000 Orthodox rabbis currently do. And the first non-Orthodox rabbi to receive such a salary is a woman, to boot!

As Americans we may find it surprising and improper that the Israeli government pays the salaries of rabbis at all. Indeed, the lack of “separation between synagogue and state” is a very significant problem in Israel. It has led to the establishment of Orthodox Judaism as the religion of the state. That is why this decision of the attorney general is so crucial. For the first time the State of Israel is recognizing the legitimacy of Reform and Conservative rabbis. It is a major step on the path towards religious equality for our Movement and religious pluralism in Israel.

To be clear, while this is an important step, there is still a long, long way to go before our Movement and the Conservative Movement are on equal footing with Orthodoxy. The Orthodox rabbinate still has full control over marriage, divorce and other critical personal legal matters. The non-Orthodox rabbis will not have any say over matters of religion and Jewish law. Orthodox rabbis and institutions receive $400 million to $600 million in state financing each year, while Reform and Conservative institutions combined get less than $200,000. Moreover, the non-Orthodox rabbis will be paid by the Ministry of Culture and Sport not the Ministry of Religious Services.

But, rather than be insulted by that slight, we should celebrate. And I do mean “WE”. This victory came after a seven year battle in the courts waged by the Israeli Religious Action Center (IRAC), an arm of the Israeli Reform Movement. IRAC’s bills are paid by ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of American. ARZA gets its funding entirely from YOU. Specifically, those of you who include the $36 payment for ARZA dues in your Temple dues statement can take credit for this important change in Israeli society.

So, on behalf of my Israeli colleagues and our fellow Reform Jews in Israel: Thank you for supporting ARZA. You really make a difference. For those who have not yet become members of ARZA, all you have to do is include ARZA dues on your Temple dues statement when it comes in the summer. Or, better yet email hhans@templesinaibc.org and let Hilary know that you want to be a member of ARZA and to include ARZA dues in your next bill statement.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

P.S. Tonight at Temple my father will be reading Torah and will receive a special blessing in honor of the 50 th anniversary of his ordination from the Reform seminary, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. As it happens, back in the late 1950s my father was among the very first group of Reform rabbinical students to study in Israel. This was before HUC-JIR even had a program for rabbinical students to study in Jerusalem, and long before there were any Israeli Reform Rabbis. My Dad was a pioneer in building the relationship between the Reform Movement and Israel. Mazal Tov, Rabbi Ronald Millstein, on the 50 th anniversary of your ordination. May you go from strength to strength!