3-2-2012, Brotherhood Shabbat Service

Tonight’s Torah portion encompasses five topics.

First:  The children of Israel are commanded to bring pure olive oil for the constantly burning light above the sanctuary.

Second:  Aaron and his sons are chosen to serve as priests.

Third:  God instructs Moses to make special clothes for the priests.

Fourth:  Aaron and his sons are ordained in a seven day ceremony.

And Fifth:  Aaron is commanded to burn incense on an alter every morning and evening.

What is the historical meaning of the above acts of service and what is the relevance for modern times and for today’s Brotherhood service? As I pondered each of the topics I was reminded of Brotherhood activities over the past year.

Let’s take the first topic for example, involving the children of Israel and olive oil. This Torah topic reminded me of this year’s Chanukah party.  It brought to mind images of brotherhood working in teams preparing potatoes, mixing, and cooking latkas in oil. What a wonderful memory of so many helping hands in and out of the kitchen to serve the children a holiday meal to compliment the fun activities planned by Donna Iorio and others.  It was an outstanding and memorable day when the children lit-up our temple with their bright smiles.

When I read about the second topic about Aaron and his sons chosen as priests, I reflected on our first Brotherhood meeting in the Bastian’s home this past August where we laid the ground work for the future of Brotherhood and delineated our role in supporting the Temple.  At our first meeting we defined our Mission statement, Objective statement, Leadership and Committee structure and brainstormed an entire year of events and activities.  Did I mention we accomplished all this while consuming hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and a few glasses of wine?

The third Torah topic dealing with God instructing Moses to make clothes for the priests brings to mind instructions provided by Cantor for Brotherhood regarding Friday night set up of ritual objects. The Torah portion goes into great detail about the clothing with the vestments of the High Priest as the main concern. Did God focus so much attention on the clothes to create a holy environment? Was the purpose to remind us to observe his commandments and be holy to our God?

 

Nowadays, only the Torah scroll is dressed with a breastplate, a mantle, a sash and a headdress. We become holy through Torah, through wrestling with what it teaches us about living lives of justice and compassion.  Cantor’s detailed instructions to Brotherhood on how to properly set up the religious objects help to foster a holy environment, to direct our attention on Torah and what it teaches us. Setting up the religious objects on Friday nights converts the Swain School into a sacred place of worship, and I am thankful Brotherhood is involved.

Did you know that the suitcase with wheels used to transport the TSS religious objects is affectionately called our ‘holy roller’?

The fourth Torah topic where Aaron and his sons are ordained in a special seven-day ceremony brings to mind Brotherhood ushering during our recent and special High Holy Day services at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.  Thanks to a lot of planning and scheduling that went on behind the scenes by many Brotherhood members, our 300 plus congregants and visitors were welcomed and ushered in and out of services with care, compassion, efficiency and safety in mind.

The fifth Torah topic involving Aaron commanded to burn incense on the altar was a difficult topic to relate to modern day circumstances and/or Brotherhood.  For some unexplained reason this brings to mind Mitzvah Day where TSS Brotherhood joined the Jewish Federation Meals on Wheels project the Thursday before Christmas.  Maybe it was the pungent meals and soups transported on my car’s back seat that brought this topic to light.  Anyway the Plotnicks and Bastians represented the congregation and I found it very rewarding and appreciated.  There are a lot of people with special needs right now and I would love to see Brotherhood focus more attention to these types of Mitzvah projects in the future.

In summary, I’ve attempted to connect the dots from this week’s Torah portion to Brotherhood services.  While these thoughts were abstract at best, I hope you agree that Brotherhood offers a direct road into the heart of Temple Shirat Shalom by providing many opportunities to meet, greet, volunteer and work together with fellow congregants.

Shabbat Shalom.

 

“Terumah,” meaning donations or gifts was the D’var Torah Portion sermonized superbly by Terry Schettini at last Friday’s Shabbat Service. In this parasha, God instructs the Israelites on how to build a Tabernacle, an Ark, a Menorah and other things that are needed in order to worship God during their travels through the desert.

Terry draws many similarities from the parasha to our own situation when he states, “Members of our fledging congregation might be able to relate in some small way to what lay before the Israelites. And perhaps ask similar questions. A people in a state of transition, building a new community … or perhaps more accurately re-inventing a long-term community in a new context … teaching and worshipping in new places and in temporary spaces- with the hope of evolving and growing — in body, in spirit, in community.”

How true this statement is. In building this new community, we are asked to give or donate our time and resources … as much or as little as we can. Routine tasks that we may have taken for granted at our previous place of worship are now responsibilities assigned to an army of willing volunteers. Patience and perseverance become the new norm as we pioneer our way through each new and sometimes difficult roadblock. Generosity of wisdom and experience guide us through paths not yet taken. There are many ways we give and donate to this new endeavor.

In this spirit of giving, we learn just what we are capable of achieving. We not only build a Temple of worship, we sustain stronger ties to old acquaintances, develop close, personal relationships with new friends and we grow ever nearer to our religion and culture which ultimately defines the character of our spiritual community.

And in the giving we find a gift. The many blessings of a community coming together each Shabbat knowing that we all have a stake in the future of Temple Shirat Shalom.

Over the last few weeks, I have been reading through a book call “Vision of a Better World”, A Peace Messenger Initiative Dedicated to the United Nations. It is really a compilation of extraordinary stories, advise and quote from people from over 120 countries, ranging from leaders of states and countries to children and teachers, famous people and ordinary people, all with the same vision – peace. One of the better know responses was A Million Minutes of Peace which was part of the International Year of Peace (1986) declared by the United Nations. It seems timely, with the ongoing and escalating situation Israel faces, and that we as Jews are a part of, to share some of the quotes and poems from the book. What is so interesting, is that what is being said, has been said and written in so many different forms of text. We are fortunate enough to be able to look to the Torah the sermons given by our own congregants, guest and Cantor Sussman to relate so many of these exceptional quotes to our own lives.

We are the flowers of a single garden,
The fruits of a single tree,
And the waves of one sea.
Visitor to Global Cooperation “Art for a better world” exhibition
……………………..

There was a very special moment that took place at Friday’s Shabbat Service. Debi Nelson beautifully chanted the Torah portion, “The Song of the Sea,” which describes God’s deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt. This is one of the most recognized texts in the Torah. Moses is leading the Jews to the banks of the Sea of Reeds with Pharaoh and his army at their heels. God splitting the Sea of Reeds for the Jews, who arrive safely to the shore, while Pharaoh’s men drown in their pursuit.

This story is unforgettable. And thanks to the Torah, we will never forget. It is a written account of our Ancestors and their evolving relationship with God. Much more than that, it is the focal point of the Jewish religion. The Torah kept a people, their religion and their culture alive for thousands of years. Even after the destruction of the second Temple, the Torah survived. And even after the great Diaspora, the Torah survived.

Burt Schaffer gave a Sermon demonstrating the importance of the Torah and the midrash written by the Rabbis. Knowing that different people interpret all things in the Torah differently, the Rabbis helped to give meaning to the writings. Spending time to read the midrash can be challenging, comforting and deeply spiritual. These interpretations by the Rabbis are timely as well, demonstrating that our religion is an evolution of thoughts and ideas that are firmly grounded in the teachings of the Torah.

There is no other book that has endured the test of time. Not only time, but also the tumultuous journey of the Jewish people and their unending struggle to live a Jewish life.

It’s Jewish Music Month at Temple Shirat Shalom and we are celebrating by learning and singing beautiful Jewish music at each of our Shabbat Services. Music has been and always will be an important aspect of the TSS worship service. Our name is the Hebrew translation for Songs of Peace. So much of who we are begins and ends with song.

Every Shabbat evening, Cantor Sussman leads us in song and prayer. Before each song, Cantor explains the meaning it holds for us today and what it meant to ancient Hebrews of long ago. In this context, the music is not only a means by which we pray, it serves as a conduit to our ancestors. The songs we sing are an echo of their enduring message of hope and peace.

Understanding our past through Jewish music is another delightful benefit of our worship service. Everyone is invited this Friday to help us celebrate Shabbat as Debi Nelson, a member of our congregation, will chant the Torah portion,” The Song of the Sea” which describes God’s deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt.