More Than a 1000 Words

Dear Friends,

I was just going to tell you about it, but it’s much more fun to send you a picture. 

Construction has begun on the Sol and Margaret Berger Playground and Outdoor Sanctuary and Learning Center!  Today Risa Tannenbaum, the teachers of our ECC and Paul Nielsen, our project manager, showed the children in our Early Childhood Center what was happening right outside their classrooms.  As you can see they are ready to build the playground themselves! 

Please mark your calendar now so you can join us at the official groundbreaking on Sunday, April 1st at 1:00 p.m.  This is a special moment for our whole congregation.  You do not need to be younger than five years old to attend. 

Many, many thanks to Michele Harris, Risa Tannenbaum and their committee for the enormous amount of work they are putting in to make this happen.  A huge thanks as well to the Berger family and all of you who have contributed to this meaningful project.  It will make an enormous difference to our congregation to have such a beautiful, multi-use outdoor space.  But, we continue to need your support to complete this project.  Go to http://www.templesinaibc.org/ecc/SentryPlaygroundOrderForm2.pdf  to see how you can help.

The prophet Isaiah looked forward to a wonderful future when, “All your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the happiness of your children” (Isaiah 54:13).  In a word play on the Hebrew in the verse, the rabbis of old instructed, “Don’t read it as simply ‘banayich,’ (‘your children’); read it as well as ‘bonayich’ (‘your builders’).”  As you can plainly see in this picture, our children are our builders.  We build for them so that they can build for the future.  May we merit having the words of the prophet be fulfilled through us.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

Gold Standard

Dear Friends,

Greg Smith may have won a bronze medal in table tennis at the Maccabiah Games but when it comes to menschlicheit he deserves the gold. 

Like the rest of the world I read Mr. Smith’s Op Ed piece in Wednesday’s New York Times with great interest.   It’s not every day that those of us outside of the financial industry get to read the resignation letters of managers at major Wall Street firms, let alone a manager who resigned in protest over the ethics practiced at his company.   And like the rest of the world I found what Mr. Smith said about Goldman Sachs distressing.  But, when I read the part where he mentions winning a medal at the Maccabiah games I had to smile.  Maybe it’s the fact that so many Jews have been caught in Wall Street scandals; maybe it’s just the rabbi in me.   But, it’s great to see a Jew do the right thing.  It’s great to see a Jew do the menschlich thing and live by Jewish values.

The word “mensch,” means “man” in German.  In Yiddish, though, it means much more.  It means a person who embodies the Jewish ideals of compassion and generosity, righteousness and integrity.  It means a person of character.  One Temple member commented to me that if Greg Smith was such an ethical person and the culture at Goldman Sachs was so bad why didn’t he leave sooner?  I can’t answer that question, obviously.  None of us can.  Smith says that the culture changed while he was there.  Is this true?  Again, I have no idea.  I am not writing to pass judgment on Goldman Sachs.  What I do know is that Greg Smith came to the conclusion after working at the firm for 12 years that the culture of the firm had become thoroughly unethical and he had the guts to blow the whistle.  In so doing he has sacrificed a very lucrative position, left the only company he has every worked for and did something that could make it hard to find an employer willing to hire him.  Whether or not Goldman Sachs is really that bad and whether Smith’s depiction is accurate I leave to others to judge.  It’s the fact that he believed it to be the case and was willing to act that wins him menschlicheit gold in my mind.

Every week I teach a group of 9^th graders we call the “confirmation class” where we discuss Jewish values.  As it happens this year’s confirmation class has many students who are heavily involved in athletics.  I can imagine one or another of them participating in the Maccabiah Games one day, maybe even winning a medal.  Who knows?  If so, I will be incredibly proud.  But, what would really make me proud is if they grow up to be menschen, people who, whether they reach for the gold or not – in athletics, on Wall Street, or in whatever endeavor they choose – will live by the gold standard of Jewish values.  To his credit Greg Smith did.  May all of us teach our children and grandchildren to reach for this gold.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

p.s. For those interested in traveling to Israel with our congregation there is a meeting with Rabbi Bill Berk, our trip organizer with Keshet Tours, on March 27^th at 7:30.  Please let us know if you can attend or if you cannot attend but are interested in the trip by RSVPing to rabbistudy@templesinaibc.org.  It is helpful to us to hear from you now even if you have attended earlier meetings about the trip or mentioned your interest to us in the past.  I hope you can make it on March 27^th!

I Just Can't Quit You

Dear Friends,

There were many very significant, life or death issues in the news this week. This email isn’t about any of them.

There was the whole Bibi and Barack at AIPAC thing. I must have read 50 articles on that and I still don’t know which one of them is right on Iran. There was the whole Super Tuesday thing. I must have read 50 articles on that and have nothing enlightening to say about that either.

But, there was one piece in The Times today that caught my attention and really made me think: David Brook’s column entitled, “Hey, Mets! I Just Can’t Quit You.” OK, so those of you who know that I am an avid Mets fan are now LOLing all over the place. And “laughing out loud” is really what I should be doing about the Mets if I wasn’t so bitter. “The Mets have suffered a pair of bone-crushing late season collapses that have changed the personality of the franchise. The team is mired in financial turmoil. It is expected to be mediocre for the next several seasons at best,” Brooks writes. I think that’s about the nicest thing that’s been said about the Mets in months. The Mets are talentless and broke, with little hope for improvement unless the franchise is sold. But, the Wilpons (is there a financial reason, is it just ego or something else?) refuse to sell. Like David Brooks I would love to quit the Mets.

And like David Brooks, I can’t. Not that I’ve really tried. Brooks describes how he tried to become a Washington Nationals fan. Feh. That may be the only thing sorrier than being a Mets fan. (OK, maybe being a Cubs fan is more pathetic. How many years has it been since they’ve won?) Actually, the Nationals have a lot of young talent and seemingly a promising future, so they’re not a bad choice. But, as Brooks correctly points out it’s not about choice. When one is a true fan of a team one is not capable of changing allegiances, no matter how bad the team becomes. One can go to games less often or watch less often on TV, become more distant and even act disengaged. But, like many a Knick fan who experienced “Linsanity” a couple of weeks ago, just get a whiff of success and you’re back in your seat, excited and joyful like you were as a child.

There’s a core American debate between “On the Road” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Brooks writes. “’On the Road’ suggests that happiness is found through freedom, wandering and autonomy. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ suggests that happiness is found in the lifelong attachments that precede choice [my emphasis]. It suggests that restraints can actually be blessings because they lead to connections that are deeper than temporary self-interest. “ Brooks goes on to say that the happiness research suggests that ‘‘On the Road’ is an illusion and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is correct.

Huh… I thought about that for a while and realized: Is this not what being Jewish is all about as well? We develop our allegiance to the Jewish People early, experiencing it with “youthful enchantment,” as Brooks describes becoming a fan. Or we become Jewish as an adult, adopting our faith enthusiastically through conversion. Through these experiences, “the team crystallizes in your mind, coated with shimmering emotional crystals that give it a sparkling beauty and vividness. And forever you feel it’s attraction.”

Sure, we can become disillusioned as Jews, become angry, behave apathetically, stop going to the “ballpark,” so to speak. Most of us do, at least for some periods in our lives. But, it is folly to think that you can let it all go and find a better team to root for. It is foolish to quit. “Happiness is found in lifelong attachments that precede choice.” So, I will continue to be a Mets fan, no matter what the score. And I will continue to be a loyal Jew.

Fortunately, the Temple is doing a lot better than the Mets. We’re having a fantastic year. If you were here on Purim for our Purim shpiel you experienced our version of “Linsanity.” What an incredible night. With all the new, exciting things happening it feels a bit like spring training!

Shabbat Shalom,

Jordan

Announcement of No Announcements!

Dear Friends,

When I have sent a message to you on Friday to date it has usually been followed by announcements about things that are happening at Temple Sinai. This message, however, is announcement free! In fact, all of my pre-Shabbat messages will be announcement free from now on. So, from here on out when you see an email with the subject line “Rabbi’s Message,” that is all you will find when you open it (for better or for worse!).

Does this mean you are going to get away without finding any announcements from Temple Sinai in your inbox? Of course not! We have decided to send out a weekly overview of Temple happenings in a new more readable and engaging format to replace the listing of announcements.

On the Jewish calendar, the week begins on Saturday evening after sunset. So, this is when you will be receiving our new weekly communication. We are entitling it, “Shavua Tov,” which means “a good week” or “have a good week,” the greeting one traditionally offers on Saturday evening after the Sabbath ends. Some of you may be familiar with the Havdalah ceremony with which we traditionally end Shabbat when we sing, “Shavua Tov” and wish each other a good week.

May you all have a Shabbat Shalom and then, when Shabbat ends, may you find “Shavua Tov,” our new Constant Contact message in your inbox, guiding you on how you can have a good week by participating in the many wonderful things at Temple Sinai!

Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan

P.S. As Reform Jews we believe in being flexible and not rigid in our application of the law. So, I hope you can forgive me when I include announcements of some important items and programs within this email message, as I have done in the past. For example, SFTY, our senior youth group, desperately needs donations of clothing to give out to the homeless in New York City this Saturday night when they participate in Midnight Run. Specifically, if you can bring new or gently used men’s coats, long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts and pants or new underwear and socks to Temple before 6 p.m. tomorrow/Saturday evening you would be doing a great mitzvah. Indeed, at Purim time it is a special mitzvah to give tzedakah to the poor (in Hebrew, matanot la’evyonim, “gifts to the poor”). This is a great opportunity to fulfill this mitzvah before Purim arrives this Wednesday evening. And … watch for your “Shavua Tov” email for details about this Wednesday night’s spectacular Purim celebration at Temple Sinai!