Temple Torah

Rabbi

From Rabbi Geoffrey Botnick, Mara D'Atra
March 2010

What is your Passover story? Let me tell you a few of mine: I remember playing with a board and hazel nuts with the other kids at Pesach at my grandparents’ home. I guess that we would do a contest to make the nut roll the longest on the kitchen floor. I, also, remember the times that my grandfather would look over to see if I was following in the Haggadah as he chanted the text at the Seder, while those who couldn’t read any Hebrew sat there or talked quietly, until a next song. I cannot forget my grandfather driving over to our home to deliver a jar of my grandmother’s freshly made gefilte fish for Pesach or his homemade wine.

Everyone loves to hear a story. I wonder: is the power of a story its way of connecting us to someone else’s story, or is it a way of pulling us into our own story? When we sit around our Seder table this year, think about how we all carry the stories of our past Seder experiences. Sometimes, we re-tell amazing stories in our tradition of how some kept a Passover observance in the most challenging of times. My father in law, for instance, had described how he attended a Seder in Sudan during WWII.

Also, take, for example the account of the Jews of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944, who created their own brave meditation which is found in our Conservative Movement Haggadah “Feast of Freedom”. They declared that they could not obtain and eat Matzot for Pesach, and would have to eat leavened bread during Passover. They proclaimed that their own enslavement prevented them from fulfilling the commandment that they sought to fulfill. And they then further prayed that God “would keep them alive, and save them, so that they might yet observe the commandment of Pesach.” We get pulled into that story, because it is an uplifting story. It is especially instructive for those who complain how hard it is to keep Pesach. It really isn’t easy to prepare for Pesach in our homes. This story of Bergen-Belsen, however, can inspire us toward the mean-ingful observance of Passover.

The Passover Seder is certainly more than the food we serve at the Seder table. In our tradition, some of the foods that are displayed and eaten before we eat the actual meal go along with legendary stories, Midrashic tales. These are the ways that our people kept the momentum of Jewish history going. Remember those unusual interpretations of verses in the Haggadah of Pesach? Because of these interpretations that were heaped on some of the verses of the Bible, and even occasionally, the Haggadah also says, “Another interpretation on this verse.” The Seder explains and transmits our history.

Do you remember these words of the Haggadah, “and the more that one tells the story of the going out of Egypt, the more one is to be praised?” These are very important.

Part of the impact of the Seder experience is to read, study, and tell around the table from the pages of the Haggadah the ways that God showed compassion in delivering us from slavery. In the important verse, “And God saw our affliction” the story embedded in the Midrash comment is: What did God see when He saw our affliction? He saw His people, the Israelites, having compassion on one another. When one of them finished his quota of bricks, he would help others. So, you see, the Seder doesn’t only explain and transmit our history; it also transmits our Jewish values.

Try to refresh your memories as you approach the coming Seder nights. I hope you find stories filled with inspiration for you and the family members as you re-tell the family accounts of Pesach. As you remember those who used to be with you at Seder night, tell your family about them. And in the spirit of the Haggadah, the more that you tell of the stories of the family at Pesach, the more you deserve to be praised for preserving a family oral tradition.

May you have a great Pesach with stories, memories, and lasting ties to your family through Passover. From Annette and me, Leora, Josh and Daniella, and Malka and Shai,


From Rabbi Rose
February 2010

At the end of this month we celebrate the holiday of Purim. It is a time for joy and frivolity. Some congregations actually have the custom of publishing a “Purim edition” of their bulle-tin filled with corny jokes and puns to get everyone in the spirit of the holiday.

We here at Temple Torah would never take part in such frivolous and silly behavior. It is beneath our dignity as a congregation. We always make sure to address meaningful issues.

One such issue is the problem many synagogues face during the current economic down-turn. We are NOT EXEMPT. This issue requires creative thinking and new approaches.

Recently there have been some discussions, usually during the Kiddush on Shabbat morn-ing, about certain inappropriate behaviors that take place during our services. A special committee was formed, and has decided to issue oral citations with fines for specific of-fenses. These fines will be as follows:

All fines are due within 10 days of being notified by the Ushers. Failure to pay will result in all synagogue board and committee meetings being held in your living room for a full year, and YOU MUST PROVIDE REFRESHMNETS. We hope this will help to ensure better decorum in our sanctuary, however due to our current financial condition, we hope you don’t behave your-selves too much.

I wish to thank Rabbi Fressen Krepalchesser for his help with this article.



Rabbi Nathan Rose