The Bulletin Digest provides a selection of website posts in the same format as the old Bulletin. This digest  is mailed to congregants who do not have access to our website, but will also appear online for readers who prefer a printer-friendly format for reference.  The digests generally will appear every other month, depending on Temple events. Please continue to check the website regularly for complete postings, updated information, and calendar listings.

Click this link for the September Bulletin Digest.

I enjoy my e-mails from Maqom and Rabbi Judith Z. Abrams, who is helping adults experience the joys of studying Talmud, especially the lesser-known Jerusalem version of this epic text.  According to scholars of Jewish literature, the Jerusalem Talmud predates the more widely studied Babylonian version by about 200 years.  There are some similarities between the two versions.   However, it is the differences that often peak our interest as we delve into the lives of the two Jewish communities, the one that remained in Judea after the destruction of the First Temple, and the other that had been exiled.

We are about to begin another new year in the Jewish calendar.  For many of us, September 8 seems awfully early for such things, coming on the heels of  Labor Day and the start of school.  The truth of the matter is that Rosh Hashanah comes each year exactly on time, on the first of Tishrei according to the cycle of the moon.  (By the way, next year Tishrei begins at the end of September because this is a leap year in our calendar, in which we add an extra month of Adar to keep the Pilgrimage Festivals in their proper seasons.  Seven times out of a cycle of 19 years we insert an extra month to our year.)

Regardless of the date, there is a sense of excitement about the High Holidays. People are preparing their menus, arranging in their minds the seating around the table, what to do with the leftovers, what they should wear to the synagogue.  We anticipate seeing our friends and acquaintances, and the awe and wonder of the services. The holidays also evoke some feelings of dread, including the ones in which we think that the services will never end.

A Talmudic passage supports this feeling. Even the sages of long ago “wish the whole thing could be shorter,” to quote Rabbi Abrams.  Perhaps the most tedious passage is the Shofar service that is part of the Musaf Amidah.  All morning long we wait in anticipation of the blowing of the shofar, only to wait even longer for the chazzan to chant verse after verse of Tanach (Torah, Prophets, and Writings). Three times we wait – first Malkhuyot, God’s Kingship;  then Zikhronot, God’s Remembering of the promises made to each of us and to Israel as a community; and finally Shofarot – the voice of that ancient instrument that pulls at the heartstrings.  So many verses!  Is this all necessary?

Here is what the sages of the Yerushalmi had to say on the matter.  We read in Y. Tractate Rosh Hashanah 4:7:

“Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said:
If one recited three (verses)
he has fulfilled his obligation.
We used to think to say:
three verses from each [part of the Tanach, i.e., 3 from Torah, 3 from Prophets, 3 from Writings].
But it was found to be taught (T. Rosh Hashanah 2:12):
Even three from all of them, [i.e., 1 from Torah, 1 from Prophets, 1 from Writings],
he has fulfilled his obligation.”

Sound off if you will on the topic. It appears as though the sages are trying to say “fewer words and more shofar music.” Do we “get more” from hearing the shofar being blown than from reading a bunch of words on a page?  Is less talk more meaningful?

If the goal of being together in prayer is to support each other in our vulnerable moments and to celebrate with one another in moments of happiness, how would you restructure the service so that we don’t lose the majesty and the mystery created by the addition of piyyutim, liturgical poems that are designed to help us focus on the theme for the day? Please feel free to share your comments.

Kiddush to follow services

Register to host an open sukkah at your home by contacting Julia Rubin, jdrubin@comcast.net or 978-468-3516.

During the early part of the summer I had the opportunity to visit with my parents on the Cape. No matter your travel route, there is no avoiding the Bourne or the Sagamore bridges that connect Cape Cod to the rest of Massachusetts. I like to gaze at the canal and admire the sailboats in the water as we cross the bridge. It reminds me of the awe and wonder of the world from God’s perspective on high, which is something that we rarely have the opportunity to see, considering we spend most of our time on the ground, underneath a canopy of trees, looking upward.

One of the songs that comes to my mind from my perch on the bridge is the words that Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav wrote several centuries ago, words of inspiration for those who are troubled by their lives and need something to help them cross an uncertain threshold.  He wrote:

Kol ha-olam kulo, gesher tzar meod,
v-haikar lo lefacheid klal.

The whole world is a very narrow bridge,
And the essence is to not at all be afraid.

As I write these words, how profound they become when we apply them to the bridges that we create in the course of our own lives, and the lack of work we have done on a daily basis to maintain and ensure their durability.

When you think about the technology and the wisdom that goes into building a physical bridge, it is an amazing thing. Even when ancient peoples strung rope bridges across cliff faces, they had to take into account the strength of the materials and the weight that was transported between the two points. Writing for the Salantar Foundation (June 7, 2010), June Silny begins her own observations with similar sentiments:

“Bridges are part of our everyday life. Engineers, through the science of precise calculations and the study of environmental conditions design a structure to allow crossing over an obstacle. They design and create bridges. We usually walk or drive over them without even noticing their intricate structure. As bridges provide safety and stability to withstand any weather condition, they also provide support for every person and all vehicles that use it.”

A bridge that is familiar to most of us is the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge along I-93 that spans a piece of Boston Harbor. The water is hardly visible below, but the towers that shoot upward are certainly an engineering feat to be admired. I have a profound respect for engineers whose knowledge of the forces of nature as they apply to various building materials enable us to go from here to there and from there to here in relative ease, without fear of falling. I have recently learned that the word engineer is connected to the Latin word for ingenuity. Ingenuity is what defines a person’s innate character, their talent, or their nature. In the case of our beloved Leonard Zakim, z’l (may his memory be for a blessing), building bridges in the world of heated human relations was no easy task, either.

The bridges of the past are in such disrepair that there is a great fear that they will crumble, taking lives with them. In some cases, bridges have been closed for repair.  Many, however, are closed permanently, because we are bankrupt. Not just monetarily bankrupt. We are also bankrupt in relation to our building spirit, because we, too, have been worn down in our efforts to build bridges of understanding between warring nations and people with religious differences. It is a war we battle, but with little success. It is also an internal battle, being able to bridge the fears that have been caused by global warming and industrial accidents that are destroying the world in which we live. Progress is inevitably slow.

The world indeed has become a narrow bridge for many of us who wish to see it (and us) change for the better. One thing we have to help us cross from one side to the other in relative safety is our spiritual heritage. Judaism provides us with many practices and endeavors that give us the courage, the strength, and the determination to face each day with confidence. No matter how stormy things may seem to be below us, we must trust the bridges that we build in life will do their job, especially when we maintain them on a religious basis.

Crossing thresholds both in time and in space can be a scary proposition when we do not trust the ground that we stand on as being firm. We need to secure not only ourselves, but also the bridges that we build so that we may never become separated from our sources of security. God is one of those sources that has become distant to many of us in our search for spirituality in other places.

Coming back to God can be difficult when we do not trust our Hebrew, when the prayers do not speak to us, when the English does not reflect our mood, when words are unable to express how we truly feel. Let this be the time when we overcome our fears of crossing the narrow bridges in life. Let us learn to trust what is truly in our hearts, and build upon the connections to God, to our inner selves, and to others as a way of strengthening who we are and what we wish to become in the year ahead.

The Rabbi, Ritual Committee and Board and volunteers have been busy with our annual New Year preparations.

Religious School is about to start as will our various programs including the highly popular Community Learning Days. Soon the building will once again be a very busy place.

I hope that each and every one of you enjoyed a rewarding summertime. I also hope that each of our members appreciates and values the efforts that so many make to enrich all of our collective lives at TBA. Being a member should be viewed as a distinct privilege as we are able to join together with our friends and family to build a warm, welcoming, spiritually uplifting and mutually supportive Jewish community.

The Temple is worth supporting. So why don’t we take a few moments to resolve to become even more active as Temple members; attend Shabbat or minyan services; become more engaged in the myriad of activities; more committed to lending a hand or even writing a check.

As this is my first High Holiday message as your president, I also would like to take this opportunity to briefly outline some of my plans for the upcoming year.

I plan to strengthen the connection between the officers and Board with the congregation; I want our governance to be more open and transparent.

Our Board meeting agendas now post on our web page well in advance of our monthly meetings (the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.) and all congregants are welcome to attend.

But more importantly, I and we need to hear more from you. Whenever you have a concern, an idea, a question, a suggestion, let us hear you.

I also have begun the pleasant task of calling each of you to introduce myself, to seek your wisdom and advice or to simply let you know that this is your synagogue and we want to be as responsive to your needs as best we can.

Donna joins me in wishing each and every one of you a good and sweet Shanah Tovah.

-Rabbi Hillel

I have decided to help the ING Run For Something Better program this fall ( Nov. 7,  2010) as I run the NYC Marathon in order to raise money to help their organization.

I am turning to you, my TBA community, to ask for your support in this endeavor.

Why should you give?

1) ING Run For Something Better funds free school-based running fitness programs that challenge children to get active, set goals and start a lifetime habit of physical activity. Each program is capped off with a fun culminating running event involving the school, or even the larger community.

2) In addition to fighting childhood obesity, research shows that physical activity improves a child’s self esteem, school performance and overall wellbeing.

3) ‘Tis the season

See the program in action:

Thank you for your donation and L’shana Tova to you,

Dave Kaufman

https://www.active.com/donate/ingnycmarathon2010/kaufman

Reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. Learn about events and opportunities to get involved at TBA during the year ahead.

You’ll hear from Sisterhood and Brotherhood, plus representatives of various committees including School, Membership, Ritual and Garden.

When & Where?

Please make note of the schedule for High Holiday services:

Erev Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday, September 8

6:49 P.M., Light Candles
6:45 P.M., Ma’ariv—Evening Service

First Day Of Rosh Hashanah
Thursday, September 9

8:45 A.M, Shacharit—Morning Service
10 A.M.–Noon, Junior Congregation
10 A.M.–1 P.M., Preschool Care
5:30 P.M.—Tashlich, At Dane Street Beach
6 P.M., Ma’ariv—Evening Service, At The Beach
6:46 P.M., Light Candles

Second Day Of Rosh Hashanah
Friday, September 10

8:45 A.M., Shacharit—Morning Service
10 A.M.–Noon, Junior Congregation
10 A.M.–1 P.M., Preschool Care

Shabbat Shuvah
Friday, September 10
6:46 P.M., Light Candles
7 P.M., Kabbalat Shabbat—Evening Service

Saturday, September 11
9 A.M., Shacharit—Morning Service

Erev Yom Kippur
Friday, September 17

6:33 P.M., Light Candles
6:30 P.M., Mincha And Kol Nidrei

Yom Kippur
Saturday, September 18

8:30 A.M., Shacharit—Morning Service
Yizkor prayers will be recited during the Torah service.
10 A.M.–Noon, Junior Congregation
10 A.M.–1 P.M.,  Preschool Care
5:45 P.M., Mincha—Afternoon Service
6:45 P.M., Ne’ilah—Concluding Service
7:21 P.M., Sounding of the Shofar

Break the Fast in the library after services