A Bissel to Nibble #10

A Short Shabbat Reflection from the Weekly Parsha by Rabbi Mark Melamuth

Parshat T’rumah (Exodus 25-27:19)

Following a long list of mishpatim, laws, and Moses’ mountaintop stay for 40 days and 40 nights upon Mt Sinai, we now learn the blueprint for the first portable, Israelite sanctuary, or tabernacle.  The plans for its construction and measurements are shared.  Also revealed are the valuable materials needed, which are to be provided by the people themselves, by their t’rumah, their gifts or offerings.  Once these are brought forth, then sacred space, a space that includes the presence of the Divine, enters physical and spiritual reality.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:   What materials, gifts, or offerings do we deem valuable to us in the process of creating sacred space?  Where is your sacred space, and how is the presence of the Divine revealed there?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mark

Bookgroup reads “Jew Store”

By Bonnie Gratch Lindauer

The B’nai Emunah Book Discussion Group thoroughly enjoyed “Jew Store” by Stella Suberman.  Set in rural Tennessee in the early 1900′s this memoir captures the fabric of small town life as seen through the eyes of a Jewish family from the Bronx who moved there to open up a dry goods store.  All of us felt the story was heartwarming, with the characters so well developed that we all had our favorites.  Some of our members could definitely relate to the isolation this Jewish family felt at times, since they also had lived in both northern and southern small towns with hardly any Jews.  The story also provoked some interesting questions, such as:  how much of a Jewish life does one need to maintain in order to preserve his/her Judaism?

A Personal Exodus From Egypt

By Bonnie Gratch Lindauer

Today, Congregation B’nai Emunah hosted a special event for JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) .  JIMENA speakers Joe and Remy Pessah shared their personal stories about growing up in privileged circumstances in Egypt and what life was like for Jews in the time period before Nasser and WW II and aftermath. Before they spoke, a film made by JIMENA depicted the situation with other Mizrachi and Sephardi Jews who had to flee their homelands and become refugees in Israel and other countries.

Joe and Remy described the richness of their lives before things changed during and after WW II.  Private schools, abundant cultural opportunities, and rewarding commercial options were the norm for the educated Jewish population in Cairo.  All of this gradually disappeared after the war and Nasser’s changing policies towards Jews.  A large number fled in the last 1950s, but many remained.  Joe and Remy’s families stayed on until the early 1970s, when Joe’s father and other males in the family were imprisoned.  Joe was also later detained and imprisoned,  but fortunately he was released and he and Remy fled to France and then the U.S.

The 40 attendees were captivated by their experiences and many questions followed the presentation.  One of the congregation’s members shared his family story as Iraqi Jews who fled to Israel.  A wine and cheese reception allowed for more informal exchanges with the speakers.

A Bissel to Nibble #9

A Short Shabbat Reflection from the Weekly Parsha by Rabbi Mark Melamut

*Bissel: (bis-sel) Yiddish. Meaning: “a little.” “Give me a bissel lox on my bagel, would you, darling?” A biselleh is even less. (www.bubbygram.com)
Served each Friday afternoon, noonish.

Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21-24:18)

On the heels of the 10 Commandments, we receive a long list of mishpatim, laws. These extend and govern a wide range of areas of life from ethics and food to animals and religious life. We also learn of the three original agricultural and pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. The people of Israel acclaim “na’aseh v’nishma/we will do and we will obey,” before Moses ascends Mt. Sinai. This time he remains on the mountaintop for 40 days and 40 nights.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: While the burning bush must have been a spiritual experience for Moses, we have to imagine that his long stay on the mountaintop topped his previous experience. Thinking of Moses at the summit of his spiritual experience – what does your “spiritual summit” look like? Where do you imagine it might occur, what might its content be, and how do you hope it leaves you feeling?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mark Melamut

A Bissel to Nibble #8

A Short Shabbat Reflection from the Weekly Parsha by Rabbi Mark Melamut

*Bissel: (bis-sel) Yiddish.  Meaning: “a little.” “Give me a bissel lox on my bagel, would you, darling?” A biselleh is even less. (www.bubbygram.com)
Served each Friday afternoon, noonish.

Parshat Yitro (Exodus 18-20:23)
Before the dramatic experience of the ten commandments, Moses learns some good advice from his father-in-law, Jethro.  Namely, that he should learn to delegate in order that he doesn’t wear himself out.  The Israelites now find themselves in the wilderness of Sinai, camped out near the mountain.  And then, it all begins.  On the third day, morning dawns, thunder cracks, lightning darts, a cloud moves over Mt. Sinai, and the sound of the shofar rings out.  Encamped at the foot of the mountain, the people tremble, as smoke and fire appear, and the entire mountain trembles.  God then speaks those very important words, known in hebrew as aseret ha-dvarim, or aseret ha-dibrot, the ten statements.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: The experience of God’s presence at Mt. Sinai clearly caused a lot of trembling.  What really causes us to tremble today, either out of awe or fear?  How can this experience guide us to be better prepared to hear the important and sacred words of our families, friends, and neighbors?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mark

Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for Trees

Why do trees celebrate their New Year so much later than Rosh-Hashanah? It has to do with the rainy season in Israel, which commences with the festival of Sukkot. It takes four months for the rains to saturate the soil, nurture the trees and coax them into producing fruit. This is important to know if you are planning to give your tithes of fruits, as is done in the Land of Israel, because the required tithes vary from year to year. It’s also important if you are a tree and looking for something to celebrate.

We humans can also celebrate along with the trees. After all, the Torah says, “Man is a tree of the field.” We are nurtured by deep roots, as far back as Abraham and Sarah; we reach upwards to the heavens while standing firmly on the ground; and when we do all this right, we produce fruits that benefit the world—namely, our good deeds.

Things to do:

Eat some fruit on this day. Best if you can get some of those fruits for which Israel is famous: olives, dates, grapes, figs and pomegranates. The seven species, which also represent attributes in our lives, are humanity (wheat), passion (barley), joy (grapes), intimacy (figs), action (pomegranates), struggle (olives) and tranquility (dates).

A Bissel to Nibble #7

A Short Shabbat Reflection from the Weekly Parsha by Rabbi Mark Melamut

*Bissel: (bis-sel) Yiddish. Meaning: “a little.” “Give me a bissel lox on my bagel, would you, darling?” A biselleh is even less.

Parshat B’shalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16)

Now that we’ve learned to memorialize our leaving Egypt through the ritual of our annual Passover seder, we are ready to pack our bags and head out into the wilderness. On the way out, the Israelites must first encounter the Sea of Reeds. In front of them, all they can sea is water, and behind them, Pharoah’s army is in hot pursuit. And then, the Sea splits, and the rest is history. As Israel arrives on the far shore, they are led by Moses and Miriam in song, “shirah,” hence this shabbat’s special designation, shabbat shirah.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Can you identify a “sea-splitting moment” in your life, one in which, at a certain point, your life changed, forever? Israel responded to this moment in their lives with song. How was your Jewish life affected by this moment? How can this moment inspire you and others on a daily basis?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mark Melamut