The service: basic elements

People often ask why High Holy Day services are so repetitive. It sometimes seems as if we say the same words over and over again.

Repetition is indeed an aspect of Jewish worship. As in other religious cultures, where the same words are chanted over and over again, repeating the same formulae is not meant to be boring, or deadening, but to open us up to new experiences of the same words.

Every morning and evening service, for example, will include the Shma: Listen, Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one. Each time we recite these words, a different aspect might speak to us: Listening, belonging to a people, belonging to a God, oneness. . . Sometimes it is not the meaning of the words, but their sound and rhythm which opens something in us.

Sometimes, the same prayers are repeated regularly because their message is so important. The following are prayers that appear in practically every service, on weekdays, shabbat, and holidays.

SHMA: This is not a prayer, per se, but a teaching about God from the Torah. The Shma consists of several paragraphs from Numbers and Deuteronomy whose regular recitation helps us internalize the Torah’s teaching about God’s closeness. These paragraphs mention other ways we are to take God’s teaching to heart: Wearing tzitzit fringes, keeping the words of the Shma in mezuzot on our doorposts, teaching Torah to our children.

Blessings surrounding the Shma: Surrounding the Shma are several blessings in which we describe and acknowledge the ways God works in the world. God is the mover behind creation, the source for Torah, a maker of freedom, and our protector.

AMIDA (standing up prayer), also known as TEFILA (prayer): If the Shma and surrounding blessings open a conversation about God, the Amida initiates a conversation with God. In ancient times, we gave offerings to God in the Temple. The Amida is understood as a replacement for those offerings—we offer up our words, a set series of blessings, as a gift. In these blessings, we offer praise and thanks to God, and also make requests—for wisdom, for freedom, for plenty, for healing. On shabbat and holidays, there are fewer requests, and instead, we mention the special occasions.

The set blessings of the Amida are the blueprint that our tradition gives us for worship, but beyond this structure lies an open space where we are invited to make our own prayers to God. The silent time during the recitation of the Amida is a time for personal prayer and meditation.

KADDISH: Many Jews revere the Kaddish as a way to remember and give honor to relatives who have died, but the Mourners’ Kaddish is just one form of this prayer. Traditional services are sprinkled with several versions of Kaddish: a half Kaddish, a full Kaddish, a scholars’ Kaddish, and the Mourners’ Kaddish. Whatever the version, the Kaddish is a formula of praise for God, recited in Aramaic (our ancient sages’ vernacular.) The function of the Kaddish is to separate between the various sections of a service. One early reform by the founders of Reform Judaism, was to reduce repetition within services, and so liberal and Renewal services at Beth Shalom include fewer recitations of the Kaddish than do our traditional services.

The prayers above are the keva, or structure for most services. They are meant to support our kavana, our prayerful intentions, thoughts, feelings, and yearnings. Components of shabbat services as well as High Holydays, these prayers are central to services here, and everywhere, on Friday night and Saturday morning.

High Holy Days

Preparation

Elul—Elul is the final month of the Jewish calendar, and is a special season of preparation for the new year. So as to start the new year fresh, during Elul we are to commit ourselves to reviewing our past actions--to making amends-- to trying to heal broken relationships-- to reconnect with God. Throughout these days, it is customary to blow the shofar (ram’s horn) each morning, and the blast serves as a reminder and wake-up call. The special reading added to each service is Psalm 27, which captures our yearning for reconciliation, and for strength. Elul begins on August 9. 

Selichot—Our efforts toward Teshuva (Return) intensify, as the month of Elul draws to a close. From the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashana, there is an old custom of offering special prayers each midnight until the new year, and then continuing until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement.) These prayers are called Selichot (poems of forgiveness), and are appeals to God to answer our yearnings with forgiveness and renewal. Midnight is considered a special hour of grace.

At Beth Shalom, our Selichot are offered up earlier in the evening. Even as Selichot meditations help us attend to a transformation within, this is the time when we transform our sanctuary as well, cloaking our Torah scrolls in the white which is customary at this season.

Rosh Hashana

Services on Rosh Hashana are long, and demand a special level of spiritual attentiveness. Rosh Hashana is the start of a new year—our challenge is to make our services during these days truly feel like a beginning, even as we return to prayers and rituals which come around each year. Rosh Hashana services include all the prayers of an every day or shabbat service (see last month’s column), and also special prayers and rituals, which distinguish the holiday, and punctuate our worship. Here are some of the heights of a Rosh Hashana service:

Torah Readings: The Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashana include the colorful, troubling stories of the first Jewish family: Father Abraham, Mother Sarah, Stepmother Hagar and her son (with Abraham), Ishmael, and Isaac. Echoes of Abraham and Isaac’s life stories reverberate through the special poems and prayers of a Rosh Hashana Service.

 Musaf: Most of the distinctive prayers of Rosh Hashana traditionally come during this additional service, which usually occurs late in the morning, or around noontime here at Beth Shalom. In many Reform congregations which do not have musaf, all of the following prayers are inserted elsewhere in the morning service.

Hineni: “Here I am” This is the word with which Abraham told God he was ready to listen, and this is the word which opens the cantor’s special prayer. The Hineni is a piece in which the cantor humbly declares her intentions to represent the community in prayer. This is why the cantor recites the prayer from within the midst of the congregation. It is a time for each worshipper to ask himself: am I open and available to connect, to pray? At Beth Shalom, the cantor recites the Hineni at the start of Rosh Hashana, on the first evening of the holiday, and again during Musaf on Rosh Hashana’s second day.

Unetaneh Tokef: This solemn prayer is named for its opening words which mean, “Let us give gravity to the sanctity of this day.” The prayer is grave indeed. In other prayers we imagine God as nurturer, redeemer, protector—here, we address God as Judge. The familiar image of God pondering our futures and inscribing us in a book is developed in this prayer. Led by the Beth Shalom choir, it is meant to move us to trembling before God.

Malkhuyot, Zichronot, Shofarot: These are three units added into the Musaf Amida on Rosh Hashana, and they highlight three central themes of the holiday by bringing together verses from Torah, Prophets, and Writings that deal with their themes: Malkhuyot-- God’s sovereignty and majesty; Zichronot—How God remembers us, and how we remember God; Shofarot—The shofar’s call to repentance and redemption. Each section also includes shofar blasts.

Shofar: The ram's horn calls us to attention with a series of specially prescribed blasts twice each morning of Rosh Hashana. When services drag, the shofar calls us to attention. More profoundly, it calls us to hear the experiences of our ancestors—Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, and all the Israelites who stood at Mt. Sinai—echoing in our own lives. In keeping with tradition, we do not sound the shofar when Rosh Hashana falls on shabbat, as it did for the past two years, and as it will again next year. So this year is an especially good time to stay through musaf and hear the shofar’s call.

Why are there two days of Rosh Hashana?

Tashlich: Hebrew for “cast away.” In the afternoon of Rosh Hashana, one visits a natural body of water, and casts bread crumbs—symbolic of one’s misdeeds—into the water. After a morning of intense prayer in nice clothes for the new year, it feels especially good to get outside and give physical expression to feelings of regret. Each year, when we join students and staff from Hillel at Tashlich, I enjoy the chance to catch up with people in a relaxed atmosphere, and also seek some quiet time in nature—perhaps the best place to celebrate the world’s birthday.

Torah Service

From week to week, the Torah service on each Saturday morning is our time to mark significant moments in the lives of our members. In the presence of our open scrolls, we pray for loved one who are ill. We thank God for healing and for our safety after close calls. We name our newborns, celebrate our bnai mitzvah, anticipate weddings and commitment ceremonies, pray for safe travel to Israel and around the world, and honor those who have formally joined the Jewish people.

In 5763, during the Torah service on the first morning of Rosh Hashana we will mark all such significant passages in the lives of our members this past year. Rather than calling individual honorees up to the Torah by name, seven invitations will be made to community members to come up for special honor and blessing. This is a chance to share our lives with one another, and to participate as a community in honoring those who have marked special moments this year. If your circumstances match those being celebrated, please do participate. Groups to be honored include: Those who have celebrated a birth or adoption, commitment ceremony or marriage in their families; new Jews by Choice; new bnai mitzvah; those who have been to Israel this year, or have close family in Israel; those who have survived or are surviving illness or accident; new members of our community; and our community’s leaders and teachers.  If you belong to one of these groups, we would like to acknowledge your journey this past year by calling you to the Torah.

Yom Kippur

Kol Nidre: Perhaps the most celebrated piece of liturgy in Judaism, as stirring as the music is each Yom Kippur eve, the words are not. Kol Nidre is a legal formula releasing us from our vows. While I continue to wonder at its religious power over us, my best explanation for its spiritual force is that it offers something we all seek at this time of year—release.

Vidui: Literally, “confession.” Each service during Yom Kippur offers us an opportunity to confess our sins, both sins of omission and sins of commission. It is customary to gently beat one’s chest as one recites each sin as an expression of remorse. The text of the Vidui is set: That is, we recite the full litany whether we feel guilty of a particular act or not. In confessing, we speak as a “We.” Our tradition recognizes that feelings of guilt and shame can be overwhelming, and there is a danger of slipping into an isolating depression. All of us feel some guilt, and so all of us stand together, encouraging one another as we recite the whole list together. Last year, we began a new tradition of supplementing the set text with a more personal one. PLEASE, SLIP YOUR ANONYMOUS CONFESSION (no more than one line) INTO THE ENVELOPE ON THE DOOR TO THE RABBI’S STUDY before Rosh Hashana.

Neilah: The closing service of Yom Kippur, “Neilah” means “locking” because at this time, we imagine the gates of prayer closing for the year. Seldom in life does one enjoy the sense of closure, of resolution, that one feels when the final shofar blast closes Neilah. The time for looking past has gone; now is the time for looking forward.

Yizkor

Yizkor is the service of remembrance which offers those bereaved of relatives and friends an opportunity to remember and grieve for loved ones at holiday times on Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, Passover, and Shavuot. For decades, a moving custom of Yom Kippur Yizkor services at Beth Shalom has been a solemn reading of all the names of members and relatives of members who have died. Two matriarchs of our congregation, Fran Weinberg, and the late Sydell Lewis (may her memory be a blessing) read the names of our dead with dignity and love. It was an especially meaningful tribute to Sydell when Barbara Hoffman took her place on the Bimah beside Fran last year.

The passing of Sydell marked a passage for our entire community. When Sydell and Dr. George Lewis (may his memory be a blessing) were alive, they would often remark upon the growth of the Bloomington Jewish Community. Other founding members, too, wonder at how the little building they struggled to build has become a home for such a vibrant, engaged Jewish community. We have grown a lot, and we continue to grow. This is good, and exciting. And with the growth come other changes, for better and for worse. Oldtimers tell me all the time how strange it is that there are so many new and unfamiliar names and faces here.

For some years now, I’ve been considering whether the reading our long Yizkor list remains the best way to give honor to our dead. I’ve spoken to many of you, and heard different things. Some have looked forward each year to hearing the names of relatives and friends from the community. Others feel that the list distracts from the experience of reciting Yizkor. As our congregation grows, so does our list. While individual names hold great meaning for their survivors, the sheer time expended on reading the list means that a good amount of our communal time is spent listening for names rather than in active worship and remembrance. In 5763, we will do things differently.

Members, relatives, and friends of community members who have died this past year will be mentioned by name from the bimah. Participants will then be invited to themselves voice the names of those they remember, to themselves or to their neighbors. All these loved ones will also be memorialized in a special booklet that will be distributed during the time of the Yizkor service. After voicing our names, and sharing a memory or two, we will observe a long period of silence during which worshippers will be invited to read the names in the booklet, pray, meditate, and remember. This open, quiet time will be an invitation to every participant to call to mind the names, and the stories of all those they mourn.

It is my hope that this custom, new to Beth Shalom, will be stirring and meaningful to all participants. As one senior member I spoke to said, “It’s nice to hear the names, but I have these people in my heart anyway.” This year, Yizkor will offer more time for us to listen to our own hearts.

Sukkot

Sukkah: Here at Beth Shalom, members build a communal sukkah behind our synagogue for all to enjoy, but building a sukkah remains a mitzvah that falls upon all households. As you think about building your own sukkah next year, consider some of the ways local sukkah-builders do it:

For walls, use wooden lattices, or fabric stapled to wooden frames. It is kosher to lean your Sukkah against one wall. If you’re not a carpenter, there are several sukkah-kits available on the web.

For decorations: Others might call them Christmas lights, but they work as sukkah lights too. Strings of cranberries and popcorn are established traditions. Some families hang up the new year’s cards they received. In my sukkah, we use a Jack o’ Lantern for a centerpiece—we call him Yaakov.

Shake the Lulav: The lulav is a palm branch, and it is bound to branches of myrtle and willow, and held together with an etrog, or citron. The lulav and etrog remind us that Sukkot originates as an agricultural holiday—a festival of thanksgiving for the fruits and grain God helps us grow. Most Lulavim and etrogim come from Israel (though the family of former student-rabbi, Rabbi David Wilfond grew citrons in Florida), though we order ours from a distributor in New York. They are fed-exed to us just in time for the holiday. Worshippers at Sukkot morning services will have an opportunity to hold the lulav and etrog, and to utter the appropriate blessings. Gan Shalom and Religious School students have opportunities to carefully shake the lulav during school.

Simchat Torah

Rejoice with the Torah: On Simchat Torah, we read the final verses of the Torah, and then we roll our scrolls back to the very beginning, and read the story of creation once again. In between, we sing and dance with the Torah scrolls. Simchat Torah night is also the occasion on which we celebrate the Consecration of our third graders, as they commit themselves to more intense schedule of learning Torah in religious school. Here and in traditional synagogues throughout the diaspora, Simchat Torah is celebrated nine days after Sukkot begins; in Israel and in many liberal synagogues in the US, it is celebrated on the eighth day. Adding an extra festival-day in the diaspora is one way traditional Judaism highlights the sanctity and centrality of the Land of Israel.

Birkat Hamazon

Birkat Hamazon means, a “blessing over food,” and it is a long prayer traditionally recited after any meal that included bread. The tradition traces back to a statement in the Torah, “You shall eat, and be satisfied, and offer blessing.” From this, our sages learned that the time to thank God for food was not just before eating it, but after having our fill. Birkat Hamazon can be recited silently, but in groups of people it is generally chanted in joyous song. Jews who were active in youth groups or in Jewish summer camps often have happy memories of raucous renditions of Birkat Hamazon.

The opening paragraph of the blessing praises God for “feeding the whole world.” Are such words appropriate so long as we live in a world plagued by hunger and famine? I think the prayer bids us remember the responsibility which comes with having food to eat. There is indeed enough food produced in the world to feed all the world’s inhabitants. It is up to us to make sure it is distributed fairly.

At Beth Shalom, we always recite Birkat Hamazon after communal meals, and we use several versions. At Shabbat Torah Study, we use a “bencher” or “birkat-booklet” (“benching” is Yiddish for “blessing”) that was specially prepared for our community by Rabbi Larry Bach. It reflects both the traditionalism and egalitarianism of our traditional Saturday morning minyan. The blessing appears in its entirety, includes mention of our matriarchs as well as our patriarchs, and speaks of the covenant of our hearts (a kind of “circumcision” both men and women can participate in). Recently, Erna Rosenfeld laid out these benchers with transliteration, so that everyone can follow along.

On Friday nights and after some family simchas (celebrations) we often do a shorter version, standard among Reform Jews, that some know from NFTY youth group. In recent years, many new and shorter Birkat Hamazon chants have been composed—we might have a chance to practice one at the retreat.

The message underlying every version is the same—a message appropriate for this season of Thanksgiving.

Hanuka

The most important ritual connected with Hanuka is performed at home, not at synagogue--the lighting of the Hanuka menorah (lamp), or "Hanukiya." We will light Hanuka candles at Beth Shalom before Shabbat evening services, and during our Hanuka party, but lighting them at home conveys the meaning of the ritual most effectively.

The rabbis of the Talmud understood candle-lighting as a way to publicize the miracle of Hanuka, and taught that one should therefore put one’s candles in the window for all to
see. The more light, and the more beautiful the light, the better. The custom of adding an additional candle each night means that the drama builds to a glittering array. Always use your Shamash, or helper candle, to light the others. The first night, light the candle that is farthest to the right, and each successive night, fill in the candles, moving to the left. Each evening, the newest candle is lit first.

As you light, recite these blessings:

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu lehadlik ner shel hanuka.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who makes us holy with mitzvot and commanded us to kindle the light of Hanuka.

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, sheasa nisim lavotenu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who made miracles for our ancestors in days of old during this season.

On the first night, include the following as well:

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam shehecheyanu vekiymanu vehigianu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who gave us life and sustained us and allowed us to reach this season.

Kosher for Passover

The biblical basis for food restrictions on Passover is very explicit—on Passover, a special diet helps us to re-live our ancestors’ miraculous escape from slavery in Egypt. In their haste to flee, the Israelites did not have time to allow their bread to rise, and so throughout the days of Passover (also called Hag HaMatzot--the Festival of Matzohs), we eat no leavening, or Hametz.

Early Jewish sages prohibited the following ingredients during Passover, because they are all subject to the leavening process: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. The only baked goods allowed are matzohs, and items made from matzoh meal. To these strictures, Ashkenazic rabbis (the authorities for communities originating in Germany and Eastern Europe) added a prohibition against rice, corn, and legumes such as peanuts and beans. Sephardic Jews (Jewish communities originating in Spain and the Middle East) allow rice, beans, and other legumes on Passover.

Traditionally, keeping the Passover laws means one:  

1) does not eat anything containing forbidden foods

2) does not use utensils that have had contact with forbidden foods   

3) does not own or derive any benefit from forbidden foods

To meet these strictures, traditional Jews clean their houses with a vengeance in advance of the Passover holiday, use specially designated sets of dishes, and take special care to buy only those prepared foods marked as Kosher for Passover. While liberal Jews tend to observe fewer strictures, many avoid leavened bread, eating only matzah.

If you are not sure whether a given food is kosher for Passover, or need more information about how to make a certain utensil appropriate for use during the holiday, please contact me. Also, those who wish to formally sell their hametz are encouraged to use the form included in this Bulletin.

At Beth Shalom, we maintain a level of Passover kashrut that allows our whole community to eat here comfortably.  From that point on and until the end of the holiday, no outside food is permitted in the building, except by special arrangement with me.

On Passover, the way to a meaningful holiday is through our bellies. May these Passover mitzvot bring us to greater holiness.

Kashrut--Keeping Kosher at Beth Shalom

Kashrut is the Jewish discipline of restricting our diets, rooted in the Torah’s commandments to refrain from eating certain animals, and from certain mixtures. The Torah specifies that the following animals are Kosher: animals that chew their cud and have split hooves; fish that have fins and scales; birds that are specifically identified. Birds and mammals must be slaughtered in a particular way, which is intended to avoid undue pain to the animal. The biblical injunction not to seethe a kid in its mother’s milk was later expanded by rabbinic sages into a prohibition against all mixing of meat and dairy foods. Rabbinic law also instructs us to maintain separate dishes for meat and dairy.

Though some have argued that Kashrut originates as an ancient system for heatlthy eating, in today’s world, keeping Kosher is a religious act. Some feel that keeping Kosher sensitizes them to the ethics of eating animals. Some appreciate Kashrut as a discipline of moderation. For many, keeping Kosher is an every-day expression of closeness to God, pursuit of holiness, and acceptance of God’s commandments. Others keep Kosher so as to maintain a connection to family and to Jewish history and culture.

In the nineteenth century, as Reform Judaism emerged, leaders of the Reform movement criticized Kashrut as an archaic ritual. They felt that attention to the details of keeping Kosher distanced Jews from the essential teaching of Judaism: ethical monotheism. Generations of Reform Jews eschewed Kashrut as “pots and pans” Judaism. It has only been in recent years that Reform rabbis have begun encouraging congregants to reconsider Kashrut as a meaningful expression of our connection to God, Torah, and the Jewish People.

Among those who keep kashrut, there is a wide range of practice. In keeping with the strictures of Jewish law, traditional Jews require that all packaged food be certified kosher—a “heksher” means that rabbinic authorities have observed the preparation of the food. Such products are marked, and sometimes even identified as dairy or Pareve (neutral—no meat or dairy) Less stringent is the practice of checking the ingredients listed on the package. Other Jews today have embraced vegetarianism as a meaningful expression of the values of holiness and compassion that Kashrut teaches. Some Jews have initiated a new custom of eco-kashrut—avoiding foods and products that cause ecological harm. Is gefilte fish served on styrofoam Kosher?

Here at Beth Shalom, our policy aims to allow the greatest number of Jews to eat comfortably on the premises. No meat products are allowed on the premises (except on Passover, when I supervise the ‘kashering’ of the kitchen, and no dairy or outside food is allowed at all). Though we do allow foods that are kosher “by ingredients,” it is always safer to choose packaged foods which carry a heksher, because meat products are often used as ingredients where one wouldn’t expect it. When preparing foods for potlucks and other events, congregants may only use dairy or pareve (vegetarian) ingredients, and the food should be prepared on surfaces and with utensils that are clean of any other food substances.

When in doubt as to whether a food may be brought into Beth Shalom, please ask me!

Funerals

The Talmud quotes the following ancient teaching (baraita) regarding the appropriate use of synagogue space: “One does not behave with levity in synagogues: we don’t eat in them, or drink in them, or dress up in them, or stroll about in them; we don’t enter them to escape the heart of the sun, or because of rain; we don’t perform private funerals in them.  But we do read Scripture in them, and study Mishna, and perform public funerals.” (B. Megilla 28a-b)

With this teaching as a guide, throughout Jewish history, funerals were performed in synagogue only on rare occasions.  Rashi explained that a public funeral was a funeral for a sage—the larger space that the synagogue offered was necessary to allow the large crowds who wished to pay their respects to participate. Communal leaders were also often buried from synagogues—as a show of respect, also to allow the whole community to take part.  For years, the practice of minimizing the use of synagogue sanctuaries for funerals, shaped Beth Shalom’s unwritten policy of not bringing caskets into the building.

Recently though, we have had good reason to re-visit the policy.  On several occasions when our members have opted to have a memorial service at Beth Shalom, because the familiarity, sanctity, and Jewishness of our sanctuary was comforting, we have left the casket of the deceased outside with a shomer, or watcher.  On these occasions, we have realized that by bringing the casket into the sanctuary, we can offer more comfort to the mourning family, and more respect to the deceased.

The presence of the dead does not contaminate the sanctuary.  Though according to biblical purity law, dead bodies are a source of impurity; these laws have been in abeyance since ancient times.  Some traditional Jews of priestly descent (kohanim) maintain the practice of avoiding contact with the dead.  These kohanim could choose not to attend a funeral at Beth Shalom; neither would they attend a funeral at a funeral home.

When the Religious Observance Committee met to study the issue, they pointed out that the distinction the tradition makes between public and private funerals can scarcely be applied to our Jewish community.  Here, the vast majority of our members are at some time leaders at services, on committees, or on special projects.  Our very membership implies leadership.  Indeed, when one of our members or the loved one of a member dies, it is a loss we all participate in.  In a very real sense the, all our community’s funerals are public funerals.  All of our members’ funerals can then appropriately be performed in our sanctuary.

Why should a mourning family choose to hold a funeral at Beth Shalom?  As Rashi pointed out centuries ago, synagogues tend to offer more space than home, or even than our local funeral homes.  But beyond this is the comfort of honoring the dead in the same space where we will remember them in our prayers—the same space in which we welcome our babies, converts, and bnai mitzvah, and observe all the rhythms of joy and sadness in the Jewish cycle of time.

We will only perform traditional funerals with closed caskets at Beth Shalom, for Beth Shalom members, and for their closest circle of relations. Since the funeral home would provide transport and staff, this is not a financial advantage.  Families may, of course, choose not to take advantage of this new policy, and to hold a funeral in a funeral home.

It is said that as the Israelites made their way through the wilderness, they carried two aronot (cabinets, or caskets).  One carried the body of Joseph, and the other carried the tablets of the law.  By what right was Joseph’s body afforded the same respect as the sacred tablets?  Our sages pointed out—The one contained in this aron upheld all the teachings contained in the other.  This is a reason to consider bringing our dead into the sacred space where we keep our Torah scrolls.

Sefirat Ha’omer

The counting (sefirah) of the Omer refers to the count of 49 days that links the start of Passover to the Festival of Shavuot. While Passover recalls the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot recalls our receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. During these forty-nine days, the mood is one of somber expectation, as we look forward to the gift of Torah as the culmination of our becoming a free people. Tradition teaches us to recite a blessing each evening as we formally make our count.

Several important Jewish moments, bequeathed to us from more recent centuries of Jewish history, occur during this time:

Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed this year on April 9. We join the Hillel student center in observance of this day of mourning.

Yom HaZikaron—Israel’s Memorial Day, April 16—A somber day of remembrance for Israel’s fallen soldiers and civilians.

Yom Ha’atzmaut—Israel Independece Day, April 17—A joyous day of celebration. Plans are still in the works—details tba

Lag ba’Omer—The 33^rd day of the Counting—A day of celebration, recalling Jewish resistance against the Romans in the second century of the common era. We join the Chabad House for an outdooroffice  picnic, bonfire, and games.

Shavuot

 Shavuot is the shortest and least well-known of three biblical festivals (Passover and Sukkot are the other two), but just as important. Shavuot celebrates the first fruits of the summer harvest, and also recalls the meeting between God and Israel at Mount Sinai, from which the Torah emerged. The following are all aspects of Shavuot observance:

--Tikkun Leil Shavuot—In the Middle Ages, the Jewish mystics of Safed developed the custom of staying up through the night on Shavuot, studying Torah. In doing so, they remembered our ancestors’ spiritual preparation and anticipation of Sinai. The mystics of Bloomington have never successfully made it through the entire night, but we do enjoy engaging late-night study and discussion.

--Torah reading—At services on the first of the two days of Shavuot, we re-live the moment of revelation at Sinai, as we read the Ten Words (or ten commandments) from the Torah.

--Confirmation—Reform Judaism introduced confirmation as a way for young Jews to formally commit themselves to the faith and ethics of Judaism. Held on Shavuot, Confirmation is an opportunity for students of Torah to affirm the commitment to a life of learning and practice that our ancestors made at Mt. Sinai.

--First fruits—In ancient times, Israelites traveled to Jerusalem from all parts of the Land, carrying first fruit offerings to the Temple. Here, we bring greenery, flowers, and fruits into our sanctuary to remember the agricultural roots of our celebration.

--Cheese cake—My favorite explanation for why dairy desserts are traditionally eaten on Shavuot is that the Torah we study and celebrate is as sweet and nourishing as mother’s milk. So go ahead, our maternal God is telling us: eat, enjoy, and be strong.

In bed!

In college, some of my friends introduced me to the custom of adding the words, "in bed," to the message one receives inside a fortune cookie. (If you try this next time you’re at a Chinese restaurant, please feel free to forget that you learned this from the rabbi.)

One of my favorite moments of Jewish traditional practice happens in bed—the custom of reciting Shema Yisrael right before going to sleep at night. When I was a child, my parents recited the Shema with me at bedtime, and when I remember these words to myself even now, it summons all the comfort of being lovingly tucked in.

At its most basic, reciting the Shema means that the last moment of wakefulness can be a time to connect with things ultimate, to remember the holiness of our lives, and our connection with a singular, caring God.

SHEMA YISRAEL ADONAI ELOHEINU ADONAI ECHAD (Sometimes translated: Listen, Israel, Adonai is our God, the one and only)

Over the years, Jewish tradition has added verses and prayers to this lone biblical verse, so that the bedtime Shema has grown into a comforting lullabye, which begins: Blessed are You Adonai our God, who casts sleep upon my eyes and slumber upon my eyelids. May it be your will that you lay me down to sleep in peace, and rise me up in peace. May my thoughts, bad dreams and worries not frighten me, and my bed be whole before you.

Then, in the morning, we can rise in thankfulness and recite the traditional prayer: MODAH (MODEH—masc.) ANI LEFANECHA MELECH HAY V’KAYAM SHEHECHEZARTA BI NISHMATI BEHEMLAH RABBAH EMUNATECHA.

I give thanks to You, Sovereign who lives and endures, for returning my breathing soul to me in great love and faithfulness.

Sweet dreams!

Tisha B’Av

"Tisha B’Av" means the 9th of Av, and refers to the anniversary of the destructions of the First and Second Temple (in 586 BCE, and 70 CE, respectively). Later in Jewish history, Tisha B’Av was remembered as the date on which Bar Kochba’s Jewish revolt against Rome failed, in 135, and the date of expulsions of Jews from England (in 1290), and from Spain (1492). For traditional Jews, Tisha B’Av is the culmination of three weeks of semi-mourning, during which the Roman siege of Jerusalem is remembered.

Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the only occasion besides Yom Kippur for a full-day fast, from sundown to sundown. Traditionally, one refrains not only from eating food, but also from bathing, and other pleasures. The customs surrounding Tisha B’Av borrow from Jewish mourning customs. At services, worshippers sit on the floor, sometimes barefoot. The biblical book of Lamentations is read, to its own lilting melody.

During the past half century, some Jews have questioned whether it is still appropriate to mark Tisha B’Av with such profound mourning. Today, they argue, the tragedy we recall on Tisha B’Av has been reversed, and Jews are free to return to Jerusalem. The majority of Jews maintain Tisha B’Av as a reminder of our ancestors’ suffering, and as an acknowledgment that however much we have recovered from the dislocations of Tisha B’Av; the world remains a broken place, for us and for others.

There are seven weeks between Tisha B’Av and the start of a new Jewish year, and these weeks are dedicated to special readings of consolation on Shabbat. During these seven weeks, we are to climb from the depths of despair, to the heights of hope and reconciliation.

We observe Tisha B’Av at Beth Shalom with an intimate service by candlelight, the traditional chanting of Lamentations, and text study.

An introduction to the three minyanim (prayer groups) at Beth Shalom

Liberal minyan: This group welcomes shabbat together each Friday night, with a lot of singing in Hebrew, some English reading and meditation, a dvar Torah (or short sermon about the weekly portion), and an Oneg shabbat (refreshments in celebration of shabbat). This is the only service during the week where I take a central role as rabbi, planning the service together with a congregant who leads the prayers, and offering the dvar Torah. The liturgy we use is the Kol Haneshama prayerbook from the Reconstructionist movement, and it is rich with readings, explanations, and meditations for those who would like to use time during Friday night services for quiet study and meditation. Services begin at 7:30 PM, and go to about 8:45.

Traditional minyan: This group meets in the sanctuary each shabbat morning, and observes shabbat with a full traditional service in Hebrew. The service includes congregational singing, time for individual prayer, and a reading of the full weekly Torah reading from the Torah scroll. A rotation of congregants lead the service and read Torah. Women and men are both counted in the minyan, and all are encouraged to participate. The prayerbook is from the Conservative movement, Siddur Sim Shalom. Services begin at 9:30 AM, though worshippers dribble in until after ten. Generally, services end at about noon, with kiddush (blessing over wine or juice) followed by a pitch-in lunch and Torah study.

Renewal minyan: Once each month—usually on the third shabbat of the month—the Renewal minyan meets in our “small sanctuary,” in our carpeted social hall. Renewal services aim to offer a new experience each time, even as they follow the traditional order of prayers. Exuberant singing, guided meditation, chanting, and movement are generally part of the experience. Each service is coordinated by one or two people, who then distribute parts among many volunteers. Generally, we rely on our own prayerbook, compiled by minyan members especially for our Renewal services. Services end in time to share Kiddush with the Traditional minyan.

At Beth Shalom, there is no one right way to pray as a Jew. Each of our three minyanim involve worshippers in an authentic Jewish experience of prayer. Each minyan follows the rhythms of the Jewish calendar, incorporating the unique themes of special sabbaths, holidays, and weekly Torah readings. Each calls for active participation and leadership by congregants.

Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about any one of the minyanim, in taking a leadership role in a minyan (or in studying in preparation for such a role), or in having a buddy to sit with as you get used to new customs of worship.

Tu B'Shevat

A seder in January??

In antiquity the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat was a minor occasion on the Jewish calendar—a tax day, on which people would calculate their obligations from the harvests of their fruit trees.

As time went by, this day of Tu B’Shevat became a day on which to honor trees, and by extension, the growth of the natural world. Among the kabbalists of medieval times, it was the symbolic resonance of the tree that was most important. For these mystics, the ten spheres or emanations that comprise God and link God to the world are pictured as a tree with roots in heaven and fruit extended into the created world. The mystics of Safed observed Tu B’Shevat with a special ceremonial meal of fruit and nuts and wine, celebrating the growth of this world and the mystery of the next.

Travel

Whether you’re traveling by car or air, it is appropriate to utter this traditional prayer for travelers before beginning your journey:

May it be Your will Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, to walk us in peace, and guide our footsteps in peace, and orient us in peace, (and fly us in peace,) delivering us to our desired destination in life, in joy and in peace. Protect us from any foe, or ambush, or bandit, or wild animal we might encounter on our way, and from all manner of suffering. Send blessing upon the works of our hands. May we enjoy grace, compassion and mercy in your eyes and in the eyes of all who behold us. Hear our plea, for You are a God who attends to prayer. Praised are You Adonai, who listens to prayer.

Are we to believe that uttering these words can literally protect us from physical danger? While I am an agnostic on that point myself, I find it incredibly comforting to have something to say with my family in the moments before a plane takes off. For me, the Traveler’s Prayer is an invitation to voice my fears, and confront them, and also to express my trust in a Protector I cannot see. The Traveler’s Prayer is a reminder that Jewish prayer does not belong to the synagogue alone. Inside, or outside, day or night, at home or away, communication lines are open, linking us to the divine.

 by Rabbi Mira B. Wasserman