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Jewish Holidays

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Coming Together in Torah

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This month, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. This holiday actually has a number of different names, including:

  • Chag HaShavuot (the Celebration of the Weeks);
  • Chag Hakatsir (the Harvest Festival);
  • Yom Habicurim (the Day of the First Fruits);
  • Atzeret (the Conclusion),
  • and Zman Matan Torateinu (the time of the giving of our Torah).

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Psalms 133:1

These different names refer to different aspects of the festival. In the days of the Temple, during Shavuot the first harvest of the wheat crop would be given to the priests and offered as a gift to God. It is the culmination of the Counting of the Omer, a period in which we are meant to examine different aspects of our own character and bring them into alignment with our highest nature.

More important than just having a mental understanding of these concepts, though, is the idea that we must put these concepts into action. It is only when we embody these ideals that we are worthy of receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

Dr. Michael Laitman teaches that, The book Likutey Halachot (Assorted Rules) writes in the chapter Hilchot Arev (“Rules of Guarantee”): ‘The root of mutual responsibility extends primarily from the reception of the Torah, when all of Israel were responsible for one another. This is so because at the root, the souls of Israel are regarded as one, for they derive from the origin of the unity. For this reason, all of Israel were responsible for one another upon the reception of the Torah,’ namely the reforming light.”

This idea of coming together as one, with the recognition that we all derive from a common source, is probably more important now than at any other moment in our history. With so much to divide us, we must look beyond the surface level of our neighbors and colleagues to see that authentic spark of light that we
all share.

My wish for us during this holy time of year is that we make the extra effort to become aware of that spark within ourselves and to see it in everyone around us.

In unity,
Todd Herozg
Cantorial Soloist

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Sefirat HaOmer

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All of this month of April and into May, we will be following the tradition of Sefirat HaOmer, or counting the Omer. Back in the days of the temple in Jerusalem, an omer was a measure of barley that was to be brought to the temple until the wheat was received at the holiday of Shavuot. It took 49 days for the wheat to ripen and to be harvested. This process has now evolved from an agricultural one to a spiritual one.

The root of the word sefirat is the same as that of the word sephirot, which are the 10 emanations of God in the Kabbalistic tradition. As such, some people choose to observe the counting of the Omer by focusing on one aspect of the 7 lower sephirot during each week of the counting. For example, the first week is Chesed: lovingkindness, Grace, compassion. Then we focus on each different permutation of that quality. The first day is Chesed of Chesed. The second is Gevurah (strength, discernment) of Chesed. The third is Tiferet (beauty, balance) of Chesed. And so on.

The 7 lower sephirot are as follows:
1. Chesed (lovingkindness, Grace, compassion)
2. Gevurah (strength, discernment)
3. Tiferet (beauty, balance)
4. Netzach (endurance, victory)
5. Hod (glory, splendor of physical forms)
6. Yesod (foundation, basis)
7. Malchut/Shechina (indwelling Presence,
manifestation)

By striving to improve ourselves in each of these different categories, we are making ourselves worthy to receive the Torah on the holiday of Shavuot. We count the days because it helps us to remain present and conscious as we journey on this path of self-realization. May we all work to recognize these qualities in ourselves during this time.

“You shall bring an omer of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest: and he shall wave the omer before God to be accepted for you.” Leviticus 23:10-11

Todd Herzog
Cantorial Soloist

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Antisemitism Today

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This month our thoughts turn to the Holocaust as the Jewish community commemorates it on Yom HaShoah (April 8). As we remember the horrors that antisemitism can create, we should ask ourselves, ‘what is the state of antisemitism in the United States today and how should we respond?’

First, it is helpful to ask—how do we define antisemitism? Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, a leading authority on this topic, mentions these characteristics: first, it is an irrational prejudice against all Jews. The template for antisemitism, she says, often includes these elements
A) something about Jews and money (viewing Jews as wealthy, overly interested in it, etc.)
B) Jews as smart and conniving, and
C) Jews having the ability to do harm without being detected.

The Jew, according to the anti-Semite, is to be feared, distrusted, and eradicated.

The American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) first-ever State of Antisemitism in America report, released on October 26, 2020, shows deep anxiety among American Jews and a disturbing lack of awareness among the general public about the severity of antisemitism in the United States.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) keeps track of anti-Semitic incidents. The last year that they have complete data on is 2019. For that year they say, “the American Jewish community experienced the highest level of anti-Semitic incidents since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States… The record number of incidents came as the Jewish community grappled with vicious and lethal anti-Semitic attacks against communities in Poway, Jersey City and Monsey, and a spree of violent assaults in Brooklyn.”

The report found that “the total number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2019 increased 12 percent over the previous
year, with a disturbing 56 percent increase in assaults. The audit found there were, on average, as many as six anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. for each day in the calendar year—the highest level of anti-Semitic activity ever recorded by ADL.”

We know that white supremacists and specifically anti-Semites were involved in the breach on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. These groups have felt emboldened in recent years.

What can we do about antisemitism today? Here are several suggestions:

Encourage our state legislators to pass the state bill which is currently being considered which would make Holocaust education a required part of Arizona schooling.

Report any anti-Semitic incidents to the ADL so that they can keep track and to find out any suggested response they have for the incident.

Should someone you know make an anti-Semitic remark, ask for more information on why they have that perception. Try to calmly get the offender to see the problem with grouping all Jews together and making prejudicial statements.

We need to remain vigilantly aware of and responsive to antisemitism. We need to do this for self-preservation, but I also believe that this is one way we honor the memories of those who died in the Holocaust. We hear the call—“never again will we let this happen.”

At the same time, I greatly appreciate Dr. Deborah Lipstadt’s view that we should be Jews in spite of, and not because of, antisemitism. Judaism has so much to offer us and the world. Let us not allow the anti-Semite to scare us away from being proud, practicing Jews. We know we have a beautiful and meaningful religion. Am Yisrael Chai—May we remain strong in our faith despite the needs of some people to find a scapegoat.

Rabbi Debbie S. Stiel

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Passover: A Journey of Inner Liberation

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This month, we will celebrate the holiday of Passover. Most of us will participate in some kind of a Seder, whether in person or online, and we will retell the story of our Exodus from Egypt. In Jewish mystical circles, ‘mitzrayim’ (the Hebrew word for Egypt) is a narrow place, a place of constriction. We encounter these narrow places in our everyday lives.

We encounter mitzrayim when we are waiting in line at the post office and we feel those angry impulses start to rise. We encounter mitzrayim when we’re with our families and we replay the roles we have played for years, often even repeating the same conversations. We encounter mitzrayim when we have a disagreement with a romantic partner that brings up our inner defenses. The challenge for us on a daily basis is to break free from these unconscious patterns. And we can do that by bringing our awareness into the present moment, catching ourselves before we fall into old routines and reactions.

Once we are able to move into the present, we can zoom out from our limited view of ourselves. We can remind ourselves that we are, in fact, spiritual beings who are larger than our individual personal dramas. We can apply the wisdom of the Passover story to our daily lives. Rather than being confined to the slavery of our past, we can symbolically open the door for Elijah, to the hope of a new future… which of course requires dying to our former selves.

May we take a new look at our traditions this year, and hopefully begin to see them with fresh eyes…

In song,
Todd Herzog
Cantorial Soloist