Pesach, Blessing the Sun, & More

April 7, 2009 by rabbiheifetz

I imagine that many of you are busy getting ready for the first night of Passover tomorrow evening.  However, in the meantime I’m writing to remind you about a special opportunity tomorrow morning. On the morning before the first night of Pesach, many Jews around the world will observe Birkat ha-Chammah, the Blessing of the Sun. We say this blessing only once every 28 years, when the sun returns to the position where our ancestors believed it stood at the moment it was created.

Birkat ha-Chammah offers an arcane yet relevant, rare yet timely, odd yet fun and memorable chance to do something once, this generation. It encourages us to celebrate the wonders of nature, and particularly to focus on the twin dangers and opportunities posed by the sun at this time: the danger of global warming, and the opportunities of harnessing the sun’s rays for clean, sustainable solar energy.

You can say the blessing any time you like in the morning. You can say it with others or on your own. It offers a perfect time to spend a moment outside to feel and observe the sun’s power. The central blessing is quite simple. You simply say:

Baruekh atah Adonai, eloheinu melekh ha-olam, oseh ma’aseh bereishit

Or in English: “Blessed are You Eternal, mover of the cosmos, creator of the works of Creation.

Of course, feel free to paraphrase or to create your own blessings, in addition to or instead of the traditional brachot. If you observe the occasion in some form, I’d be very happy to hear about the experience!

Please also note the following upcoming events at Oseh Shalom this week and this Shabbat:

–We’ll hold a Passover holiday service this Thursday morning at 10 AM. Emily Blank will chant Shir Ha-shirim, the biblical earthly love poem of the Song of Songs. Vaughn Winchell will chant from the Torah, verses from the story of the Exodus. There will be time for Torah study and discussion.

–Our Friday evening Shabbat service begins at 8 PM. I’ll discuss interethnic solidarity, based on the story of the Midwives in the Book of Exodus.

–Our Shabbat morning service begins at 10 AM on Saturday. We’ll be celebrating the aufruf (pre-wedding celebration) of our own Jessie Bacharach and her fiancee Michael Goldberg. The service will also include time for Torah study and discussion.

I hope to see you soon at Oseh Shalom. In the meantime, best wishes for a sweet and wonderful start of the Pesach holiday. May your seders bring a taste of freedom and hope fora better world.

Chag sameach!

Manna: Stimulus Package & Dissent in the Wilderness of Lean Times

February 11, 2009 by rabbiheifetz

Have you been thinking about the economy and the proposed federal government stimulus package? If so, you’re not alone: our weekly Torah readings in the Book of Exodus have much to say on the topic.

This Friday evening I’ll speak about “Manna: Stimulus Package & Dissent in the Wilderness of Lean Times”. We’ll have a brief time for discussion following my talk during the service, and more time to continue the conversation afterwards during our Oneg Shabbat. The service begins at 8 PM. All are welcome. Please bring friends!

Please note the following additional upcoming programs at Oseh Shalom:

  • We’re holding a Snow Tubing trip for Teens (grades 7-12) this Sunday, February 15th (President’s Day Weekend). We’re planning to leave Oseh Shalom by bus at 11:30 AM and return at 7:30 PM. We’ll drive to White Tail Ski Resort and enjoy two hours of snowtubing, followed by a pizza party at the ski lodge there. The cost of the trip is $32. Please contact the synagogue office to sign up. Oseh Shalom teens and their friends are welcome.
  • On Saturday morning, February 21st, we’ll hold our next Shabbat B’yachad (‘Together Sabbath”) program from 10 AM – 1 PM, with elective activities, prayer services for different age groups, and lunch. Electives will include yoga, a kids’ drama workshop, an adult Torah study session, an interior decorating workshop, and a session on backyard medicinal plants. The Torah service will include an interactive, intergenerational program on “The Bigness of Little Laws”, related to the weekly Torah portion of Mishpatim. Lunch will follow. There’s no charge to participate, and all are welcome.
  • Come discuss the future of our synagogue at the final Oseh Shalom Vision Forum on Sunday, February 22nd from 10-11:30 AM in the social hall. At this forum, we’ll discuss tikkun olam (social action) and adult education. The event was mistakenly listed for March 1st in my recent Shalom article, but the correct date is February 22nd.

Through these programs and many others which help to build the connections between our members, I’m confident that we can share and sustain a rich community life even in the leanest and most uncertain of economic times. I hope to see you soon at Oseh Shalom.

G-DCAST: Parshat Va’eira

January 22, 2009 by rabbiheifetz

Here’s a geat video about the weekly parasha (Torah portion), Va’era.  It’s narrated by my friend and colleague Rabbi Katie Mizrah, with great animation.  It’s a good intro to this week’s parasha, good for your seder table once Pesach arrives, and good for the Jews.  And others.

G-DCAST: Parshat Va’eira

Posted using ShareThis

Big Villain, No Name

January 21, 2009 by rabbiheifetz

In my tenth grade class at Oseh Shalom, we’ve been following the weekly parasha (Torah portion) in the Book of Exodus.  Last week we read the story of the midwives who disobeyed Pharaoh’s orders, and refused to kill the Hebrew male children.   I asked why the Torah mentions the names of the midwives—relatively minor characters who only appear once—but it never mentions the name of the Pharaoh in question.  I got a number of thoughtful responses.   One student suggested that the ruler really needs no other name.  Somebody else asserted that the Book of Exodus wants to highlight the names and deeds of those who rise to help others, but to downplay the names of those who seek to do harm on a large scale.  Another student offered a Hassidic-style insight that especially took me by surprise.  He suggested that perhaps Pharaoh’s anonymity serves to allow each reader to be in Pharaoh’s own shoes.  When we read of this anonymous villain, we recognize that we, too, are capable of the sort of evil that Pharaoh perpetrated.

What do you think?

Of Little League Coaches & Kabbalah

January 7, 2009 by rabbiheifetz

I recently read a wonderful play called Rounding Third, by Richard Dresser.  It tells the story of two little league coaches with conflicting philosophies about baseball and life.  The two men are paired together for the season–for better or worse–as head coach and assistant.  Don, the head coach, strongly believes in playing to win.  He coaches because he wants to give kids a fighting chance to succeed in a cruel world.  Michael, the assistant, wants to encourage the kids to have fun no matter what the final game score, and he wants each individual to feel unconditionally accepted.  It’s an interesting philosophical contrast.

Oh, and the dialogue between the two characters is laugh-out-loud funny.  I found myself cracking up and snickering aloud on at least every other page.

Here’s a short excerpt, in which the competitive, alpha-male head coach Don explains that his son Jimmy, the team’s star pitcher, has suddenly quit little league in order to appear in the school production of Brigadoon:

MICHAEL [assistant coach]: I had no idea Jimmy was a song and dance man.

DON [head coach]: You think you know your own kid and then…whack! You get hit in the face with a two-by-four.

MICHAEL: You know, [my son] Frankie went through this stage of wearing his mother’s shoes and scarfs and belting out old Motown songs in front of the mirror: “Stop! In the name of love!”

DON: Is this supposed to make me feel better?

MICHAEL: The point is this: When Barbara and I finally accepted that this little whirling diva was Frankie, he announced he was going out for soccer and that was it for the Supremes.

DON: Interesting personal anecdote, Michael. Much appreciated. Jimmy hasn’t sunk to the dress stage yet, but this sure as hell is a wake-up call. Here I am, trying to brace myself for when he knocks up a girl or gets busted for dope and he goes and pulls this Brigadoon nightmare out of his ass. Who could have seen this one coming?

MICHAEL: Don’t blame yourself. These kids, they’re strange and inscrutable beasts.

DON: We had it out last night. He wouldn’t cave in like he usually does. Has his heart set on the school play.

MICHAEL: So why were you late [to practice today]?

DON: Michael, I did something I’m not proud of.

MICHAEL: What did you do?

DON: I offered him money to play ball.

MICHAEL: Really? How much?

DON: Jesus Christ, does it matter how much? [Pause.] Twenty bucks a game.

MICHAEL: Wow. We have, what, six games left plus the playoffs, times twenty—

DON: Hey, it’s his identity, his future, it’s who he is. I was an athlete, that’s how everyone knew me. It got me out of final exams and into bed with girls. It got me through the endless crap they throw in your way to try to break you down and kill you. How can you put a price on that?

MICHAEL: So what did he say?

DON: He wanted fifty a game.

MICHAEL: I guess Jimmy could put a price on it.

The two coaches—through their opposing philosophies—approximately represent the Kabbalistic sefirot—or divine attributes—of Hesed (open compassion) and Gevurah (strict standards, assertiveness). According to the Zohar and the Jewish mystical tradition, our job is to balance these two forces as much as possible in our own psyches and in the world around us.

What do you think? To what extent is it possible to balance the need for competition in a cruel world with the need for sweetness and compassion? To what extent is it possible to educate children to balance these two approaches? Is one approach more important than the other?

Feel the Darkness, Celebrate the Light

December 21, 2008 by rabbiheifetz

Hanukkah began tonight!!  In this nice article, Sarah Gershman encourages us to make each night of Hanukkah special.  She offers some great family celebration ideas.  For example, she suggests that families can go on an early evening walk to see and feel the darkness that’s unique to this time of year.  She also suggests that you can give each night a special celebration theme.  You can have a party theme night, a gift-giving night, a sing-along night, a tzedakah (charity) night, etc.

So get creative, have fun, and bring some light into the world!  We all need it.

Chag ha-urim sameach–Happy Chanukkah!!

Life: Nobody Gets Out Alive

December 21, 2008 by rabbiheifetz

Much has been made about a recent study of religion and mortality rates.   According to this study, women who participate in religious worship services experience a 20% lower death rate.  Apparently religious worship tends to prolong life far more than other types of community involvement and other activities known to promote physical and emotional well-being.

I find these findings intriguing but I’m also skeptical.  A colleague pointed out that the risk of death is 100% for ALL human beings, with or without communal prayer.  Along these lines, I believe Lawrence Kushner spoke of a T-shirt printed with the salient slogan, “Life: Nobody Gets Out Alive.”

Hopefully religious life helps people to better confront their inevitable mortality, to make meaning of it and to make the most out of each living day.  I feel more confident about this positive result than about the possibility of a prolonged existence due to prayer services.

What do you think?  Does communal prayer positively impact your well being?  If so, how?

Pond Scum, Psalms & Promise for the Future

December 15, 2008 by rabbiheifetz

Today on the airplane, I read this article about the many great possible uses for algae.  Although most of us have always thought of algae as a yucky form of matter to avoid–as in pond scum–scientists and biotech innovators are increasingly experimenting with algae as a source of energy and as a basis for biodegradable plastics.
These promising innovations offer a perfect example of the statement from Tehillim (the Book of Psalms, 118:22), “The stone that the builders refused has become the corner stone.”  The lowly pond scum which we’ve mostly sought to avoid or discard may become the source of promising solutions for our global energy and climate change problems.

Mud, Muck & Wonder: This Shabbat at Oseh Shalom

December 4, 2008 by rabbiheifetz

On Friday evening, as part of our monthly Family Service, I’ll give a very brief talk on the topic of “Mud, Muck & Wonder”, related to our weekly Torah portion (Vayyetze).  As always, the talk will include a story appropriate for all ages.

Please note that, beginning this Friday evening (Dec. 5th) our monthly Family Service will begin at 7:15 PM, instead of at 8 PM as before.  This change aims to better include families with young children.

Also beginning this Shabbat, our monthly Tot Shabbat service will occur on Saturday morning at 9:15 AM, the first Saturday of each month.

Another Kind of Bailout: Risk-Taking, Jewish Tradition & My Feeble Attempts at Athleticism

December 2, 2008 by rabbiheifetz

We’ve read and heard a lot about the bailouts intended to address our economic crisis.  In case you’ve been living under a rock (the kind that doesn’t have wifi access or newspapers), read this story here for just part of the scoop.  The need for financial bolstering and repair often seems widespread beyond comprehension, and I’m grateful that President Elect Obama is putting together a strong team to help steer us through these very turbulent waters.  I’m hopeful that everyone involved will learn from the mistakes (and from their own mistakes) of the past as this New York Times editorial urges.

The other day, however, I experienced another kind of bailout–a much more visceral, physical kind.  This was a bailout involving weightlifting.  I stopped by Crossfit BWI, a conditioning and strength training gym in Glen Burnie that holds small group workouts with excellent instruction.  During this workout we were practicing the Olympic lift known as the snatch.  You use your hip strength to fling the barbell (or other weight) overhead, and catch it in a squat position.  I quickly discovered that it’s easy to loose balance during this explosive movement, and then you have to drop the weight and let it crash to the ground.  This is called “bailing out”.

I won’t say how much weight I was able to successfully snatch, because it wasn’t very much.  But I got a couple of rounds of applause from the group in response to my personal bailouts.

Fortunately, bailing out is encouraged.  When you try to push your limits—and that’s a good thing—sometimes you have to bail.  For this reason, most athletes who practice the Olympic lifts use specialized equipment that allows them to drop the weight safely.  The weight plates at either end of the barbell are usually solid rubber “bumper plates” instead of the iron weight plates which are found in most commercial gyms.  I love that bumper plates and Olympic lifting in general encourage positive risk-taking and failure as needed, and allow it to happen safely.

Along these lines, we have plenty of encouragement within Jewish tradition to try new things and fail.  For example, a midrash (commentary) points out that, in the creation story in Genesis 1, God created the world with ten utterances when one presumably might’ve been sufficient.  The midrash explains that, by means of God’s ‘extra’ utterances in the story, the Torah is sending us the strongest possible example that any great endeavor requires multiple attempts.  Along the same lines, Jewish prayer traditions also encourage us to try again and fail as necessary.  The prayers for starting off each morning include the words “The soul planted in me is pure.”  That is, regardless of what mistakes we’ve made, we’re encouraged to act as if we have a pure, blank slate for starting a new day.

So, how can we give ourselves a safe environment for failing, when the stakes in life may sometimes feel very high?  How can we put ‘bumper plates’ on our lives, when sometimes failure may negatively impact us or those around us?  Well, it helps if you can draft your own personal committee of those who will review your ideas and give their feedback.  You should be blessed with people in your life who can say to you with good humor and trust, “That’s a terrible idea!” or “Are you really sure about that?”  Multiple perspectives from trusted friends and teammates offer the greatest environment in which to try ideas which might fail—without facing serious consequences.

How do you incorporate the permission to fail into your life?  And how can we get those running the economy to incorporate the maximum range of thoughtful perspectives?