I’m newly-home from a few days in Texas, spent celebrating the wedding of one of my cousins (and also the general joy of sharing my son with my extended Texas clan, especially my parents, whom many of you have met at Rosh Hashanah services over the years.) It was lovely to go, and it is lovely to be back.

Some of you may have noted on your calendars that rabbinic student David Markus had been planning to co-lead this coming Shabbat’s morning service with me. Unfortunately, Reb David is not able to join us — though he will be co-leading with me on March 17, and we are both looking very forward to that! Meanwhile, this coming Shabbat will still be a special one; as a previous email noted, Bob and Barbara Bashevkin have offered to help us celebrate the 100th birthday of Hadassah by sharing some of their own stories about the organization.

I hope to see you at CBI — if not this Shabbat morning, then sometime soon!

Many blessings,

Reb Rachel

During Shabbat morning services on this coming Saturday, February 25, we will be celebrating the 100^th birthday of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. Barbara and Bob Bashevkin will be donating flowers to decorate the bimah in honor of the occasion, and will be speaking briefly about the organization.

Bob will talk about his experiences (both serious and humorous) as a surgical patient at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem last spring, and Barbara will focus on the history and mission of Hadassah, which is the largest women’s, largest Zionist, and largest Jewish membership organization in the United States.

Among its many accomplishments, Hadassah created the network that became the foundation of modern Israel’s healthcare system.  Its hospitals treat a million patients a year, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, both from within Israel and from the Palestinian territories (including Gaza) and other nearby countries, and its medical research and trauma care are known worldwide. Among Hadassah’s other activities are a technical college, programs for Children at Risk, and Young Judaea programs.

Please join us to celebrate Hadassah’s 100^th birthday, a major milestone in Jewish life, and also to celebrate the weekly joy of Shabbat, a day of rest and rejuvenation for our hearts and souls.

This week’s meeting of the Northern Berkshire interfaith clergy group focused on the work of a lay-led group in our area — an association of people of various faiths who seek to serve our community through the Friendship Center food pantry and through a system of vouchers (for food and emergency housing) made available to those in need.

The group doing this holy work is called the Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative. Right now, there’s only one CBI member who’s directly involved with that group, and he’s away for the winter; I’m writing now in hopes that other CBI folks might want to get involved, as well. The commitment of time is minimal, but the benefit to our community is tremendous…and, I might suggest, the benefit to our own neshamot, our own souls, which arises when we give a little bit of ourselves to the task of helping the hungry to be fed.

If you’re interested, please consider visiting the Friendship Center food pantry at 43 Eagle Street during their next open house. The Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative is planning to hold an open house from 2-4pm on Wednesday, March 21; the food pantry is open each Wednesday from 11-2 and 4-6 for people to come in, so the 2-4pm window is a time when the food pantry isn’t actively in use but we can stop in and see what the community is like and what the work is like.

(Find the Friendship Center on Facebook, if you’re so inclined; you can also check out their blog, and/or  reach out via e-mail to northernberkshireinterfaith@gmail.com.)

The work of the Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative arises out of the commandment which is at the very heart of the Torah: v’ahavta l’reakha camokha, “you shall love your neighbor / your other as yourself.” Thanks for considering this mode of putting that commandment into action.

Many blessings,

Reb Rachel

The next day, Moshe sits as a magistrate among the people all day long. By nightfall, Yitro counsels him: you can’t do this alone — the task of leadership is too heavy for you. Instead, Yitro advises him to establish a system of judges who can share the burden, and Moshe does exactly as his father-in-law suggests.

Immediately after that comes the passage we read in shul today, which tells how on the third new moon after the Israelites went forth from Mitzrayim, they enter the wilderness of Sinai. In that wilderness, they prepare themselves for revelation, and then God speaks the Ten Commandments — tradition says, not only to those who were there that day, but to all of us throughout time.

But before the commandments, before that mystical Sinai moment, God says:

If you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)

וְעַתָּה, אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ בְּקֹלִי, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-בְּרִיתִי-וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, כִּי-לִי כָּל-הָאָרֶץ
וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ

The earth and all its inhabitants are God’s, but Torah says that we are something special. If we live in covenant with God, then we are God’s סְגֻלָּה / segulah –  precious possession or treasure; we are מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹ / mamlechet kohanim v’goy kadosh — a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

What can we make of this, and how does this relate to the story of Yitro with which the parsha began?

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of what would become the state of Israel, interprets these verses to mean that our community has two communal missions.

For Rav Kook, the phrase mamlechet kohanim (nation of priests) refers to the aspiration to uplift the entire world. It’s our job, says Rav Kook, to act in a way which will help all the peoples of the world to fulfill their purpose and to live out their highest selves. Of course, in his paradigm, that meant: it’s our job to teach the world God’s ways. To ensure that everyone cares for the widow and the orphan, shows compassion to the stranger, acts justly and righteously as Torah describes.

But Torah also tells us that we’re meant to be a goy kadosh, a holy nation. Rav Kook interprets this as the flipside of the coin: on the one hand we’re meant to teach the whole world how to be righteous, and on the other hand we’re meant to focus inwardly, to live out holiness in our own lives. Being a holy people means tending to our own spiritual growth.

Yitro is a Midianite priest, an outsider to the Israelite community. But when he shares his spiritual wisdom and his management insights with Moshe, Moshe takes them to heart. Given the Torah’s generally negative stance toward the other nations of the Ancient Near East, I’ve always found it remarkable that Yitro is so obviously respected and trusted despite being a foreign priest. But this year, I see a connection between the Yitro story and this verse which asserts that we are God’s treasure, a nation of priests, and holy.

Torah reminds us that all the earth is God’s, but asserts that our community has a special role. In Rav Kook’s interpretation, our community’s task is both outward-facing and inward-facing. It’s our job to help everyone in the world live up to their best and most righteous self, and it’s also our job to care for our own souls.

As a “nation of priests,” we’re obligated to tend to the entire world. As a “holy nation,” we’re obligated to tend to our own selves. The Torah balances these two callings within the same verse. If we only tend to our own selves, we’re falling down on the job of caring for all creation; but if we don’t tend to our own selves, we can’t heal the world.

This is, I think, part of what Yitro taught Moshe when he urged him to find righteous men who could serve as magistrates. If Moshe tried to adjudicate every single disagreement and dispute in the entire community, he would burn out! But once he’d appointed judges, he was able to tend to his own spiritual needs, which in turn allowed him to continue tending to the community.

Yitro is an outsider, not part of our covenant with God, and yet he still clearly has spiritual wisdom. Not only that: it’s spiritual wisdom which Moshe really needs. We, too, may find valuable spiritual wisdom outside of our own gates. Our task is to integrate that wisdom-from-outside with our spiritual tradition and our spiritual path, so that we can truly be a mamlechet kohanim and a goy kadosh.

What does it mean to you to imagine us as a nation of priests? If a priest’s job, in those days, was to connect the people with God, how can we live out that responsibility now?

What does it mean to you to imagine us as a holy nation? Not “the” holy nation, not the only holy nation, but a community which is collectively holy. If, as Rav Kook says, this means that we are a nation which tends to its own spiritual sustenance, then how might we live that out in our own day?

Join Heather Levy, David Lane, and local artist Kate Krolicki in an afternoon of puppet-making! The puppets we make on Sunday will be used in our Purimspiel in early March. All are welcome!

Purim puppets.

Dear friends and members of CBI,

David Lane and I just met to begin planning for our annual Purimspiel, and this year we’re doing something at once exciting, new, and ancient and time-honored: puppetry!

Puppet shows were a popular form of entertainment in many ancient Mediterranean civilizations. After the fall of the Roman Empire, theatrical traditions continued in Europe through puppet shows, many of which dramatized scriptural stories. (During the Middle Ages, puppet shows with religious themes became popular attractions at fairs and in village marketplaces.) Religious puppetry has an ancient history in India, Japan, and Bali, as well.

Judaism, almost alone among world religious traditions, doesn’t have a longstanding tradition of puppetry — though we know of Jewish puppetry arising in the 1700s (Portugese puppeteer Antonio Jose da Silva) and extending into the 20th century (primarily as a vehicle for Yiddish theatre and for stories about the wise fools of Chelm.) Puppets and marionettes were used to lift the spirits of children and adults alike in Theresienstadt, where at Purim-time the inmates told the Purim story using puppetry although such entertainments were strictly forbidden. Now Jewish puppetry is coming to CBI.

We plan to gather kids (and parents) on a few weekends in February (Sunday Feb 12, in the afternoon; Sunday Feb 19, in the morning) to make the puppets (out of dowels and papier-mache) and decorate their costumes. David will teach our young puppeteers how to manipulate the puppets. And then on March 7 at 7pm, we’ll gather in the sanctuary here (costumes welcome) to watch the dramatic story of Esther, Mordechai, Achashverosh, and the evil Haman unfold before our eyes.

We’ll need six puppeteers to work the main character puppets; if more kids want to be involved, there are scenes which can involve “extras,” so we’ll find a way to use all of the puppets our kids want to make. If you’re interested in being a part of this fabulous creative endeavor, let me know (rebrachel at cbiweb dot org) asap. Don’t miss this chance for hands-on creativity as we create this year’s communal Purim celebration!

Purim falls midway through the lunar month of Adar. There’s an old Jewish saying: “When Adar enters, joy increases!” Here’s to an Adar filled with puppets, togetherness, and joy.

Reb Rachel

Tu BiShvat Seder

Join us at CBI for one of our three seders
celebrating the New Year of the Trees!

Hand in Hand seder: 10am, 2/5/12

Seder for adults & teens: 6pm, 2/8/12
(bring a veg/dairy dish to share)

Avodah seder: 10am, 2/11/12

Come celebrate the Four Worlds, four seasons, delicious fruits & nuts, and the beauty of the trees.

(If you want this information in a format you can easily print and hang on your fridge, feel free to download this year’s Tu BiShvat flyer. Hope to see you at CBI!)

I’m writing to invite those who have participated in our Chevra Kadisha — our volunteer burial society — to save the date of March 1 for a 6pm supper in your honor.

It’s customary in many communities to hold a dinner in honor of the members of the chevra kadisha on the 7th of Adar, which this year falls on March 1. If you have ever lent a hand on the chevra kadisha — whether with the task of taharah (preparing someone’s body for burial) or shmira (keeping the deceased company in the funeral home until the funeral) — you are cordially invited to join me at 6pm on March 1 for dinner, companionship, and conversation.

We will have a light supper at CBI (we will order a bunch of vegetarian Thai or Chinese food) and savor having the chance to break bread together and to celebrate the joy we find in performing this service together for our community.

Why the 7th of Adar? That date is Moses’ yahrzeit, the anniversay of his death, and it is traditionally associated with the chevra kadisha for two reasons. When Moses led the Exodus from Egypt, he carefully tended Joseph’s bones and brought them out of Mitzrayim. And in return for that kindness, tradition says that when Moshe died at 120, God Him/Herself served as the chevra kadisha for Moshe, preparing his body for burial with loving care.

When we do this holy work, we walk in divine footsteps. Please come together and enjoy a meal together with your chevra kadisha colleagues.

(Please RSVP to the synagogue office so I know how many people are coming and how much food to order. Thanks!)

And, of course, if you’ve never been a part of the chevra kadisha but would like to join, you are always welcome. Reach out to Darlene and Len Radin and they will welcome you and orient you to this mysterious and beautiful work.

Blessings,

Reb Rachel

The original chant was written by Tony Wrench, and was translated into Hebrew by Shimon Lev Tahor.

Adamah v’Shamayim (Earth and Heavens)

Adamah v’shamayim
Chom ha-esh
Tzlil ha-mayim

Ani margish zot b’gufi.
beruchi, b’nishmati.

Heya, heya, heya, heya
Heya, heya, heya ho (2x)

Ani margish zot b’gufi.
beruchi, b’nishmati.

Love the earth, love the sky
Heat of fire,
Drop of water

I can feel it in my body
in my spirit, and in my soul

Heya, heya, heya, heya
Heya, heya, heya ho (2x)

I can feel it in my body
in my spirit, and in my soul

Listen online, or download the file to listen to at home:
Adamah V’Shamayim

We’ll use this song in our Shabbat morning worship this month, and also at our various Tu BiShvat seders. Enjoy, and chodesh tov — a good month to you!

I’m writing to let you know about a new initiative which is happening in northern Berkshire county — the Northern Berkshire Interfaith Youth Group.

We are a small community and it can be difficult to muster enough critical mass to have a really active youth group. It turns out that many area churches are in a similar position. A group of local clergy (including me) has been meeting for a few months to brainstorm ideas for a joint youth group which we could do together.

This group is explicitly inter-faith and is open to kids of all faiths (and none.) There will be no proselytizing, period. The group is designed to be a safe space where kids in grades 7-12 can come together, discuss issues of faith and doubt, learn about one anothers’ traditions, do meaningful community service work, form friendships, and generally be part of a supportive community.

The launch party will be held at St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary in North Adams at 6pm on Sunday, February 12. There will be some icebreakers and then a chance for kids to brainstorm together about what they want this youth group to be and do — while parents are hanging out together in a different room, doing their own learning and talking about what they hope this group might provide. We’re hoping to have an interfaith seder at CBI in April as the youth group’s second event.  A flyer is attached.

I hope that some CBI kids will choose to participate! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me. And if your child is interested in attending, please call Pat Kriss at 413-664-0386 to let her know.

If you’d like to learn more, you can download the flyer for the launch party: InterfaithYouthGroupFlyer

Thanks and take care,

Reb Rachel