The Month of Elul

August 29-30, 2014 / 4 Elul 5774

Shabbat Shofteem

Torah: Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9 / Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12

“The Month of Elul”

[Note:  The Jewish month of Elul began on Tuesday evening. The great rabbis of Jewish tradition have taught that because this month precedes the High Holidays, it should be observed with meditation, introspection and preparation for the New Year.  Thus, it has become a custom to study the teaching stories of the Midrash for special insight and inspiration.]

Dear Friends,

In his marvelous book The Days of Awe, the great Jewish writer Shai Agnon told of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, Poland, the founder of the Sanz Chassidim.  Rabbi Chaim used to tell this story:

A man had been wandering in a forest for days and days.  Though he tried and tried, he could not found the way out.  One day he entered a clearing and was thrilled to see another man approaching him for a long way off.  He ran towards the man certain that he would know the way out of the forest.  When they met, he said, “Friend, I have been wandering in this forest for many days.  Can you show me the way out?”

The other replied, “I too am lost and have been wandering for many days.  This I can tell you, do not go the way that I have been following, for it will surely lead you off course.  Therefore, let’s join as one and look for the way together.”

Rabbi Chaim added: “And so it is with us.  One thing we can each tell the other: the way that we have been following until now is not the way.  Come, let us join hands and look for the way together.”

As the month of Elul begins we are called to examine our lives in honesty and truth.  And if each one of us would be so honest, then we might see ourselves as characters in the parable.  For, in truth, none of us knows the way out of the forest called ‘life’.  Yet, each of us knows from our own painful experience of the ways that lead nowhere.  Some thought that industrialization would solve the world’s ills only to discover that it brought war and assembly line mass murder.  Others tried Communism and found it empty.  Still others tried following money and riches yet found them meaninglessness.  Others tried sex, drugs and rock n’ roll and are still lost.  Some thought that emulating the fashion trends of the stars would bring happiness and found it fake and wanting.  In truth, none of us knows the way out.  Yet, we do know that the way that we have been travelling is not the way.  Yet, Judaism calls us to hold hands and search together.

The High Holidays call us to join hands and return to the path of Judaism.  It is the way of T’shuva – repentance, self-renewal and personal growth.  The Jewish path is the way of T’filah – prayer and the recognition that we are partners with God in pursuing right living and holiness for all.  The Jewish path is the way of Tzedaka – reaching out to those in need here in America and those faraway caught in Japanese mudslides, Nepalese floods, African epidemics as well as so many wars, insurgencies and countless other tragic situations.

As the month of Elul begins this week, I ask each one of you to consider the wayward paths of life that you have travelled.  Then consider what you can do individually and what we can do together in the New Year to find a better course towards health, wellness, love and peace.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Dressing the Part

August 22-23, 2014 / 27 Av 5774

Shabbat Re’eh

Torah - Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17 / Haftarah - Isaiah 54:11 - 55:5

“Dressing the Part”

Dear Friends,

New research has revealed that only 6% of men wear neckties to work these days.  Tie sales now are half of what they were in 1995 and tie manufacturers are ‘tied in knots’ about it.

I enjoy wearing a tie.  It has color and pattern.  It jumps off the shirt and offers a unique style statement. Think about it.  The tie is virtually the only thing a man wears that shows some unique flair to his business wardrobe.  Without the tie, men would all dress essentially the same.  Such is the world of men’s fashion...

Well, this week’s Torah portion mentions another men’s fashion accessory that seems to have gone the way of the necktie - the tallit.  Now the Torah does not actually tell us to wear a tallit.  Rather, it tells us to wear fringes - ‘tzitzit’ - on the corners of our garments.  The Torah explains that by seeing the fringes, we will be reminded to follow our Jewish heritage of law, mitzvot, and righteousness (See Deuteronomy 15:37-41).  Thus, a garment with tzitzit tied to the four corners becomes a tallit.  Certainly the Torah expects Jewish men to wear the fringes every waking moment of every day.  Nowadays, these look like t-shirts with fringes that Orthodox men wear under regular clothing, called a ‘tallit katan’ or ‘small tallit.’  During daytime prayer services, the big tallit is brought out to go over the clothing.

For me, wearing a big tallit is like wearing a tie.  It sends a message.  The tallit says, ‘My presence indicates that this is a special moment of spirituality, formality, intention and distinction.’  By wearing the tallit during daytime prayers, we are wrapping ourselves in the Jewish tradition.  We are connecting with our fellow Jews scattered throughout the ‘four corners’ of the Earth and we are linking up with ancestors who have worn the tallit for 4,000 years.  When we wear the fringes and look at them, we are pledging to remain loyal to our Jewish heritage of holiness, justice, fairness, morality, and common decency.  When we wear the fringes and look upon them, we demonstrate our heightened intention to focus more deeply in prayer, study, and derech eretz – thoughtful behavior.

As the High Holidays approach, I encourage every adult of Shir Hadash, men and women, to not let the tallit go the way of the necktie.  Rather, pursue its still very relevant purpose and make a statement by wearing one at our Shir Hadash services.  As you know, the tallit has developed well beyond generic black and white.  The artistry and colors now available can express your individual spirituality.

You can purchase a beautiful tallit at any one of the fine Judaica shops in the Chicago area or on line.

During the High Holidays, the tallit is worn during daytime services and on Yom Kippur evening.  I look forward to seeing our tallit-bedecked congregation.

“Wrap yourself in the dreams of Israel and all the generations of our people.

Clothe yourself with this mantle of prayer and listen to the heartbeat of centuries.

Carry with you the psalms of David, the songs of Solomon and the dance of Miriam.

Hear the prophets calling out the words that reshape reality.

All this, and the future, too, is in this tallit.”

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Out of the Strong, Sweetness

August 15-16, 2014 / 25 Shevat 5774

Shabbat Ekev

Torah: Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25 / Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3

“Out of the Strong, Sweetness”

Dear Friends,

Our sages considered chessed, Hebrew for “mercy,” a divine gift that was a key component of the Jewish soul. In this week’s Torah portion, Moses makes a special statement about the nature of the Jewish personality. For it is written, ‘the Eternal your God shall keep with you the covenant and the mercy (chessed).”

A little known fact is that even as Israelis found themselves under relentless rocket fire from Gaza, they remained faithful to the Jewish principle of chessed by supplying an endless stream of necessities to the civilian population of Gaza.

When a Hamas rocket damaged a power line that supplied electricity to Gaza from Israel, Israel Electric Corporation workers braved attack to restore power to the 70,000 homes. This was just one example of Israeli efforts to provide for the basic needs of the Palestinian population despite the on-going war. According to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the outset of Operation Protective Edge on July 8th, 1,904 trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Israel carrying food, medicine and medical equipment including, 4.44 million liters of diesel for the power station in Gaza Strip, 1.5 million liters of gasoline for transportation, 2,140 tons of gas for domestic needs, 100 tons of medicine and medical equipment (antibiotics, first aid kits etc.), as well as hundreds of trucks with food and hygienic supplies.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz emphasized the importance of helping the people of Gaza. “We are entering a complex period of assistance and rehabilitation… We will assist [the people of Gaza] not because of a strategic consideration, but because of the humanitarian aspect.” Gantz noted in The Times of Israel that neither he nor anyone in Israeli leadership positions wished to deliberately inflict harm on the Palestinian people. “…We have nothing against the people of Gaza; they have a right to live just like everyone else.”

Hamas rained rockets on Israel’s civilians, yet Israel continued to uphold the innate Jewish attribute of chessed, providing for the basic needs of the Gazan population suffering under the brutal fist of Hamas’ terrorists.

Likewise, we at Shir Hadash reach out to provide help to those in need in our community.  Tikkun Olam, restoring acts of compassion and social action, are our way of assisting and making life better for all.

The following poem, found in our Shabbat prayer book, notes how we Jews have our own history of hardship and persecution.  Yet, rather than getting lost in self pity, we have always found a way to rise above it all and help those less fortunate.

Out of the Strong Sweetness
by Charles Reznikoff (1894-1976)

Out of the strong, sweetness;
And out of the dead body of the lion of Judah,
The prophecies and psalms;
Out of the slaves in Egypt,
Out of the wandering tribesman of the deserts
And the peasants of Palestine,
Out of the slaves of Babylon and Rome,
Out of the ghettos of Spain and Portugal, Germany and Poland
The Torah and the prophecies,
The Talmud and the sacred studies, the hymns and songs of the Jews;
And out of the Jewish dead
Of Belgium and Holland, of Rumania, Hungary, and Bulgaria,
Of France and Italy and Yugoslavia,
Of Lithuania and Latvia, White Russia and Ukrainia,
Of Czechoslovakia and Austria,
Poland and Germany,
Out of the greatly wronged
A people teaching and doing justice;
Out of the plundered
A generous people;
Out of the wounded a people of physicians;
And out of those who met only with hate,
A people of love, a compassionate people.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

Seeking Consulation

August 8-9, 2014 / 13 Av 5774

Shabbat Va’etchanan

Shabbat Nachamu (Shabbat of Consolation) –The Shabbat after Tish'a B'Av

Torah: Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11 / Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1 - 40:26

“Seeking Consolation”

Dear Friends,

Comfort you, comfort you My people (Isaiah 40:1)

Through these famous words, the prophet Isaiah was reaching out to the people of Israel 2,700 years ago during a time of military threat and defeat by the Assyrian armies from the north. Commentators have suggested that actually Isaiah foresaw all the difficult times that would confront the Jewish people and sent his message of consolation forward through time to all those who would experience oppression, exile, and persecution.

Isaiah’s words continue to comfort us even today. Following the observance of Tisha B’av this past Monday eve and Tuesday, a day commemorating the destruction of the great Temples of Jerusalem in antiquity, Shabbat Nachamu reminds us that a bright future is right around the corner. Today, nowhere is that more true than in Israel, which is experiencing an investment boom—even as war rages.

While the citizens of Israel have spent the past month running to bomb shelters, foreign companies, rather than being frightened, remain confident in their investment in the Jewish state. According to Bloomberg News, “Since the conflict [in Israel] escalated six weeks ago…investors have kicked $598 million into the country's tech startups. During the time between June 12 and July 24, investing has actually accelerated…” Rather than disrupt Israel’s tech economy, the rocket attacks may indeed have had the opposite effect, instilling a sense of resiliency and toughness, two qualities critical for successful companies. The conflict has also drawn companies together as they support each other during a time of war. According to Israel21c, Israel’s ability to withstand the rocket attacks has bolstered Israel’s image. “Oppenheimer Israel co-CEO Avivit Mannet-Kalil said that the Iron Dome defense system is reinforcing Israel’s tough image. ‘People see a country with dozens of missiles exploding every day that is successfully defending itself. That is arousing a wave of admiration for Israeli technology.’”

Even before the destruction occurred, Isaiah offered words of consolation, promising the nation redemption. Today, as Israel endures the challenges and struggles of war, signs of better times offer consolation and hope.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow