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From the desk of

Rabbi Eliott N. פרלשטיין

A Brighter Place

How wise of religions to have a celebration of lights at the otherwise darkest time of the year in December. Now that we’ve reached February, each day has a bit more light but the days remain “short” and cold. Some, understandably deal with a seasonal depression from the lack of sunlight and benefit from some sort of a sun lamp. We all do what we can until spring and are grateful we don’t live in Minnesota or North Dakota.

February is not the most exciting months of the year. There’s not a whole lot going on. Good that it has only twenty eight days (twenty nine every four years). It can have the coldest days of the winter though we have frozen enough already. The days may be getting “longer” but not long enough to make a real difference yet. Our neighbors have long taken down their holiday lights and even practiced procrastinators have put their Hanukkah Menorahs away. We need some more light and that brings us to the Source that first said “Let there be light.”

One of the most beautiful of Jewish customs has to do with light. This light doesn’t have great wattage and doesn’t come in the new LED mode but it somehow has the power of transforming our homes, our souls and our lives. I am talking about lighting two Sabbath candles at sundown on Friday afternoon and thereby ushering in the most special day of the week, Shabbat. If you light Shabbat candles regularly or have at some time in the past, I’m sure its spiritual power and beauty resonates with you. If I can inspire you to begin to light Shabbat candles, I would bet, you will come to experience all of this for yourself.

The investment in lighting the Sabbath candles is actually relatively small and yet the return can be great. All we need are a pair of Sabbath candle holders which range from simple to beautiful works of art. Once they contain the lighted candles, they are all very beautiful. Add to that, two candles and a match and you’re all set.

This blessing is recited in lighting the Shabbat candles:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַׁבָּת.
Barukh Atah Ado-nai Eloheynu Melekh ha-olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav, vetzivanu
l’hadlik neyr shel Shabbat.
Praised are You O Lord our G-d who has made us special through the Mitzvot and has directed to kindle the lights of Shabbat.

Normally, we first say a blessing and then perform the act. We first recite Motzi and then eat the bread. No one, not even the house of Shammai would ever first eat the bread and then say the prayer. We first make Kiddush and then enjoy the wine. Lighting the Shabbat candles is the one exception. It is in a class of its own.

First, we light the candles and then say the blessing. The reason for this is that the words of the blessing have the power to have the Sabbath begin. Once Shabbat is upon us, we would not kindle a fire and so we light first and then recite the blessing. We have to do something however after reciting the b’rakha – the blessing to fulfill the meaning of the blessing. This conundrum is solved with the following. When we light the candles, it is not yet Shabbat. As soon as they are lit and the match is safely extinguished, we close our eyes and recite the blessing. Upon reciting the last word of the blessing, we open our eyes. We see the candles for the first time on Shabbat. We have been transported to a whole new dimension. We reach what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel calls an eternity in time.

So you see, it is that simple and that sublime. There is then the candle lighting time. In Jerusalem, you can hear a siren when it is time to begin Shabbat. That public service has not yet come to Bucks County, Pa. so we are on our own. In ancient days (before the smart phone), we consulted a calendar. Today, I look at an app on my iPhone and I see the candle lighting times for February for Richboro. פברואר 6, 5:06בערב, Lucky Friday the 13th in February is 5:15בערב, פברואר 20 ב 5:23pm and February 27 ב 5:31בערב. You can see the days are in fact getting “longer.” In lighting the Shabbat candles, our lives are becoming immeasurably brighter.

אתה f you presently light Shabbat candles, you will surely continue. If you haven’t or haven’t in some time, I urge you to experience it once and twice and three times. You will want to continue.

אתה hope this February is filled with all types of wonderful happenings for you and so much so, you’ll be sorry 2015 is not a leap year and we have but twenty eight days. In lighting the Shabbat candles at sundown each Friday, we will bring light into our souls,our relationships, our lives. It is not only for ourselves. We will help to make the world a brighter place.

רב

Moses and the Philadelphia 76ers

My D’var Torah this Shabbat is inspired by the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers can hardly inspire themselves to win a game though they did have a winning streak this week. Two games. How with their severely limited talent could they possibly inspire anyone else?
The Rabbis say regarding studying Torah Hafoch v’hafoch d’chuley ba. This means turn it over and turn it over and all the world’s wisdom can be found in it. Turning it and turning it means that we may see something in the Torah today because of the vantage from which we read it, our life experiences and new perspectives. The Torah always has something new and something more to teach us. My vantage comes from suffering with our home town basket ball team.

Let me pose a few questions first and you’ll see how I come to my 76ers hypothesis on this week’s Parsha. These are not new questions but I see them in a new way.

Why does G-d choose Moses to be the leader to take the Israelites out of Egypt?

What do we know so far about Moses. He can rage impulsively to the point of taking another’s life. When Moses sees the Egyptian taskmaster beating the Hebrew slave, Moses kills the Egyptian and buries his body in the sand.
G-d tells Moses that his mission will be to speak before the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh telling the Egyptian ruler “Let My People Go!” Moses tells G-d that G-d has the wrong guy. Moses says “I have uncircumcised lips.” That is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Moses is saying to G-d that he has a severe speech impediment. The Israelites don’t listen to him. How could Pharaoh be moved by his words.
Moses’s statement is recorded in the beginning of chapter six of Exodus. The chapter then goes on and at the very end, when G-d again commands Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh, Moses again tells G-d “I am of impeded speech, how then should Pharaoh heed me?” Why does the Torah make a point in repeating this verse to conclude the chapter? Because, at this point, G-d knows G-d has his man. It is a man who can’t speak his way out of a paper bag who is given the mission of bringing a people out of bondage. He’ll never do it. He’ll never convince Pharaoh!

What does any of this have to do with the Philadelphia 76ers? First another classical question.

Why does it take ten plagues for the Israelites to be freed?

Why does G-d harden Pharaoh’s heart; Pharaoh being the first recorded case of coronary artery disease.
Why doesn’t G-d go for a swift and easy Exodus? Why keep the Israelites in servitude any longer and why make the Egyptians suffer as they did?

The classical rabbinic response is that G-d wanted this to play out slowly with ongoing signs and wonders so that both the Israelites and Egyptians would know that G-d directs the whole process of liberation. Had it happened in the blink of an eye, people might have missed G-d intervention.

This point can surely be debated. Does the long, drawn out process show G-d’s involvement any more than a quick goodbye and we can debate the morality of such a position where people were left to suffer for G-d to look great. This, nevertheless, is the classical rabbinic response to the question.

And now to the inspiration of the 76ers, the most uninspired team in basketball and perhaps in all of sports today or ever. If you haven’t been following the Sixers saga this year and last year, you are the happier for it but here is the story. The brilliant general manager Sam Hinkie put together a team destined to …….. lose. There is a direct correlation between the number of losses and the higher you are on the list for a draft pick or picks the following year. The Sixers have been brilliantly successful in their failure. Hinkie is a real genius. It brings back memories of Mel Brooks’ “The Producers.” Its got to bomb to make money.

So here is the Midrash. G-d is in fact looking for a man who will not succeed. James Earl Jones would not get the job ( a little known fact that this actor stuttered as a child). James Earl Jones would melt the hardest heart. Pharaoh would have let the Israelites out after the first round of “Let My People Go!” Not so with Moses. G-d needed a man who he knew would not succeed. Not only could Moses in no way be convincing but after a few times of Pharaoh’s Nos, this man who uncontrollably killed an Egyptian would most likely lose his cool.

I propose the above with some discomfort. It is not easy to present Moses our leader and teacher as the biblical version of the Washington Generals who perpetually lose to the Harlem Globetrotters. What was G-d planning to do with Moses once the people left Egypt and truly needed a real leader to show them the way?

This makes me think of the verse in the Book of Psalms “The stone that the builders reject has become the cornerstone of the building.” One who is totally counted out becomes the one who is most integral to the whole structure. There are examples of this in history. Translated into plain English Don’t Count Anyone Out! Don’t Ever Count Yourself Out! Everyone Has It In Them To Be A Cornerstone!

Janie and I are reading the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand also the author of Seabiscuit. The author seldom leaves her home inflicted for many years with a debilitating disease that keeps her chronically exhausted. Yet, she writes books for which other authors would spend hundreds of hours in the field doing research, travelling to speak to varied sources. Ms. Hillenbrand can do none of this. She would be immediately rejected as the candidate for writing a suitable work of this type. With all of her disabilities, Laura Hillenbrand has so many other amazing abilities, her books stay on the Best Seller list for years and other authors praise her work. The movie adaptation has so far grossed over one hundred million dollars.

The subject of Unbroken, Louis Zamperini started out life as a first class mess. He was a juvenile burglar and the only running he did was running away from the scene of the crime. He smoked and drank before becoming a teenager and when he had to run in his first race in the schoolyard, he came in dead last even behind the girls. He was the exemplar of the rejected stone. His brother Pete was on the track team and after a number of tries, Pete got his brother Louis involved in running. To make a long story short, Louis Zamperini represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics. That was just the beginning of his greatness.

On the eve of the national observance of Martin Luther King day, Dr. King may have felt like the rejected stone as he sat in the jail in Birmingham, Alabama. On a deeper level he knew that he was the cornerstone of building a future where we would be judged by our character rather an our color.

Who knows what G-d had in mind for Moses. What we do know is that Moses had a mind for leadership and truly being G-d’s partner in the liberation of a people from slavery to freedom. Maybe Moses was indeed chosen for having all of the qualities for failure and perhaps G-d did indeed see in Moses the potential for greatness,. G-d’s chosen rejected stone would become the cornerstone of a freed people. Yes, Moses is our leader and teacher as he grew from a person unfit to speak to the one who conveys G-d’s greatest commandments. That is real inspiration for all of us.

I am sure we have all dealt with different types of rejection over the years. We can all relate to the stone the builders reject. A mission of life is to find the cornerstone in each of us, hew it, polish it and have it shine as brightly as possible.

I’m not so optimistic about the future of our 76ers. There is something inherently wrong in a league whose rules make possible future success contingent upon being the biggest loser today.

In a choice of Larry Brown or Sam Hinkie, I go with Brown. But I do thank our hapless Sixers for inspiring me to see something I otherwise would never have seen in this week’s Torah Portion.
Hafoch v’hafoch d’chuley ba. Turn the Torah around again and again. All the world’s wisdom is contained in it.
שבת שלום,
רב

Ohev Shalom celebrates uniqueness and welcomes diversity within our sacred community.

החוצפה בחנוכה

אתהnevitably, יהיה קטע קצר בחדשות המקומיות של כתב שואל רב מהי המשמעות של חנוכה. (H הוא להיות מבוטא כמו מכתב עברית הגרוני Het או חת) The rabbi will briefly tell the story of the Temple light having enough oil to last a day and miraculously lasting eight days and we are set for another year.

Tהאף לא למהדורת חדשות מקומיות, a similar and most interesting question is what does the Hebrew word Hanukkah mean.

Soon אחרי שעברנו לבית החדש שלנו אז ב 1999, חגגנו מה שידוע כסיעת בית Hanukkat, חנוכת בית חדש. מרכז לטקס הזה הוא הפרזול של המזוזה בתוך שלושים ימים מחיים במעון חדש. מילת החנוכה פירוש הקדשה. הוא משמש בפעם הראשונה בתורה בעניין חנוכת המזבח במקדש הנייד במהלך המסע שלנו ממצרים לישראל. במקרה שלנו, החנוכה מתייחסת לחנוכת בית המקדש בירושלים ב 165 לפנה"ס, לאחר שחולל שלוש שנים קודם לכן על-ידי הכוחות הפולשים. זה יכול להתייחס גם לחנוכת המכבים וכל היהודים שכל כך מוקדש ליהדות שלהם, כי הם סרבו להיכנע לכוונת כוח הרבה יותר גדולה על הטלת הדרכים הפגאניות שלהם על אנשי יהודה. זה לקח הרבה חוצפה לאותם יהודים לחשוב שהם יכולים להתנגד לכוח כזה חזק,f חוצפה והקדשה. אני מוצא בזה, משמעות רלוונטית במיוחד לעצמנו היום. חיים יהודים באיכות כמיעוט לוקח מידה טובה של מסירות מודעים. Hanukkah comes as a welcome annual check up for us to take the pulse of our own dedication to all that the Macabees held so dear.

אתהn התנ"ך, אנו מוצאים שימוש אחר של חנוכה בצורה של פועל שבו זה אומר להתאמן או לחנך. משלי 22:6 מדינות חנוך לאנה-ar לחנך את ילד בדרך (של)הוא צריך ללכת ו (של)הוא לא יסור ממנה. חנוכה היא החג בו אנו חוגגים את החשיבות של חינוך היהודי לילדינו ולמידה יהודית לכל הגילים. המילה מאוד לחינוך בעברית היא Heenuch, קשור באופן הדוק לחנוכה שלנו. חינוך יהודי הוא לא עניין אקדמי. מטרתה היא לא פשוט לזכור עובדות ותאריכים של ההיסטוריה, יכולת לדקלם תפילה על ידי שינון או לשנן רשימה של מונחי עברית. מטרתה היא לעשות את כל זה במטרה לפתח הקדשה אישית לעם היהודי, לאלוקים, לתורה, לישראל. אני לא בטוח אם זה לוקח כפר אבל זה בוודאי לוקח שותפות של בית הכנסת ובית להשגה מטרה זו. We are grateful for all those who entrust their children’s Jewish education to us and are ready to partner with us in this sacred endeavor.

אתהn תחילת נובמבר, ארחנו את מנהל מחנה הרמה בPoconos. תמיד מחנה בסדר, הרמתה הפכה מחנה קיץ מדהים בניהולו של הרב יואל זלצר. אם אתם מחפשים מחנה עם ספורט גדול, יש ידידותי זה. דרמה, יש ידידותי זה. Arts, יש ידידותי זה. שייט בסירה, שחייה, קמפינג, טיולים, יש הרמתו וחיים יהודים שמחים ויש לו הרמתה למידה באופן שאין מחנה אחר עושה. הרב זלצר השתמש במונח עברית עבור חניכים, חניכים, אשר מגיע מאותו השורש כמו החנוכה שלנו. חניכים חוזרים הביתה מהחוויה ברמה שלהם עם מסירות מצאו חדשות, אהבה, connection with so much that is Jewish.

אתהf דרך אגב, אתה בחיפוש של שם בעברית שמתחיל באות ח ', אתה יכול למצוא חנוך קשור קשר הדוק לחג שלנו. בתורה, חנוך היה בנו של ראובן ונכדו של יעקב. It is a name still in use today and perfect for a boy born during the holiday.

Coming חזרה לעוגני כתב חדשות וחדשות שלנו, לא יהיה להם שוב מתקשה לבטא את שמו של החג בצורה נכונה. הם בדרך כלל ליפול על גב אנגלית H הפשוט. במקרה רע,, הם מבטאים את Ch כמו בסין. זה כמו שאחרים מנסים לבטא חוצפה כפי שהפך להיות חלק מהלקסיקון האמריקאי במקומות מסוימים. בשנת שלי Dictionary.com חוצפה מופיעה בתור סלנג. המשמעות שניתנה היא 1.chutzpa. נסה כפי שהם, it still takes a member of the tribe to get it right.

Maybe זה סופו של הדבר מה היא החנוכה על כל. אנו חוגגים להיות חברי השבט. בעוד שאחרים עושים דבר חג המולד שלהם, אנו שמחים עם המנורה שלנו, הנרות שלנו, הנפט שלנו, הלביבות שלנו, הסופגניות שלנו (סופגניות), המפגשים המשפחתיים שלנו והמחויבות שלנו לחיינו היהודים. להיות פחות משני אחוזים מכלל האוכלוסייה האמריקנית, זה לוקח כמות מסוימת של חוצפה. נִיחָא. אנחנו יודעים איך לבטא את זה. זה בטוח יהיה שונה אם זה שנה, the rabbi interviewed said this to the reporter.

חנוכה שמחה!

רב

עקוב אחרי בטוויטרEliottPerlstein

 

A Day of Beauty, Joy and Love

יום ראשון, יוני 22 was a day of pure beauty, joy and love. Samara was married to Jordan Hirsch. The wedding was held at The Lake House Inn on Lake Nockamixon.

The spectacular venue and the imported Kosher Caterer made for an unforgettable day.

Jordan is going into his final year at Yale Law School. He has had a number of pieces published in The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs. More importantly, he has a wonderful Neshamah and loves Samara dearly. Yes, indeed, no one is perfect and Jordan is a Cowboys fan having grown up in Dallas. Samara is teaching autistic children at a New York City Public School in the Bronx and getting her Masters in Special Education. They will be living on the Upper West Side of Manhatten, a vibrant Jewish community and Jordan will be commuting to New Haven for the year.

In this picture from left to right is Jordana (Samara’s sister) Jordan and Samara, Janie and myself, Elana and Chanan (Samara’s sister and brother in law) with their twin daugthers Dalia and Maytal and Orli soon to be four.

 

Wedding 1

Words like glorious were used by weather forcasters. As the outdoor wedding processoin began, it started to rain a bit and a bit harder. Samara said “What do we do now?” I thought pray. I said, hoping I wouldn’t be wrong, “its going to stop in a couple of minutes” and by the time we walked down the aisle to the Huppah overlooking the lake, the rain did indeed stop.

Wedding 2

Prior to the ceremony, the men gathered at the Hasan’s Tisch where there was singing, dancing, drinking too and Jordan gave a D’var Torah repeatedly interupted by more singing and dancing and drinking too as is the custom.

The woman gathered together separately to be with Samarah

Wedding 3

Immediately following the ceremony, all of Jordan and Samara’s friends danced them from the Huppah to the Yichud:

Wedding 4

It was important to Samara and Jordan that Janie be part of every aspect of the day. You can be part of a joyful Hora even while seated:

Wedding 5

It was indeed a day filled with beauty, joy and love and reason for us to be so fantastically grateful.

Wedding 6

We, along with the whole family and many friends who love them both dearly wish Samara and Jordan much love and joy for many, many years to come.

Janie and I are happy to share a bit of the beauty, joy and love of the wedding with you.

Now, looking to the future, we are planning to leave for Israel on Sunday, יולי 6. We have not been in Israel since 2008. Beginning in the winter, we visited Janie’s doctors who were all enthusiastic about Janie taking this trip. We plan to be in Jerusalem for a bit more than two weeks. If you or your children have any plans to be in Israel during that time please let us know. We would love to get together.

My best to you for a good, enjoyable and relaxing summer.

רב

Rabbi Eliott N. פרלשטיין
Ohev Shalom
944 שנית הרחוב פייק
Richboro, Pa. 18954
215 3229819
www.ohev.org

 


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