Rabbi Aft’s Corner

Dear Friends,

As I sit and write this newsletter article, I am getting ready to go on the March of the Living for the seventh time. What makes this trip different is that there will be 12 of us from the congregation on the trip either traveling with me or with BBYO. I am also very excited that after this year’s March, each of our children and Sue and I will have participated in this sacred pilgrimage.

I hope that as we commemorate Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Commemoration Day) on May 1, Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) on May 7, and Yom Haatzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) on May 8, we will realize the impact of these days upon the psyche of our people. These are serious days which remind us of the horrors of Nazi Germany, the sacrifices made for us to have and maintain the state of Israel, and the pride which celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary should give us.

I hope that many of you will join us in Israel as we celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary with our first congregational trip on July 28 - August 10. Please look for the flyer on our website or contact Phyllis Schwartz or Ellen Simonoff for more details. I believe that it is an important mitzvah for us to travel to Israel and show our support for our brothers and sisters who live there. The ongoing threat of terrorism, attacks from Gaza, and other acts of violence only remind us of the importance of supporting a strong state of Israel where our people can be safe. If you want to ask me questions about the trip, please let me know after May 11 when we return from the March.

I want to mention that the concert to aid the Victims of Genocide in Africa was a major success and raised over $2,000. There were over 150 people present and the event proved that a group of concerned young people can make a difference. There were many adults, who provided support, and I am grateful for your interest and help in making this significant event happen. I particularly want to thank the teenagers who helped make this program happen as part of their college credit course through Baltimore Hebrew University. Yashir Koach to Michael Aft, Elon Daghigh, Greg Selz, and Emily Sherman for responding to the crisis in Africa and doing their part in performing an act of tikkun olam, repairing the world.

I look forward to talking with you more about our trip and urge you to attend the May 19 Book Review of The Zookeeper’s Wife when I will talk about not only this book, but our pilgrimage to Poland.

Finally, please save the date of June 1 to participate in the Israel at 60 major event on the National Mall which is suitable for all ages.

B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce D. Aft

Dear Friends,

I will be attending this year’s March of the Living between April 28th and May 11th.

For those of you who don’t know, The March of the Living is an international, educational program that brings Jewish teens from all over the world to Poland on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, to march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built during World War II, and then to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron, Israel Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day.

I look forward to sharing with all of you my stories and impressions of this very special trip when I return.

Shalom,

- Rabbi Bruce Aft

Dear Friends,

As we get ready to celebrate Passover this year, I hope that each of us is able to rid ourselves of a bit of the hametz that has accumulated in our lives. Each of us is to feel as if we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and each of us is to enjoy the gift of liberation.

We know that we live in a world where many do not enjoy the blessings of freedom and I hope that we can alert our local politicians, become more aware, and do whatever we have the connections and capabilities to do to help others know the gift of freedom. Recently, when the benefit to aid victims of genocide in Africa was held, we saw how a small group of committed teenagers could raise over $2,000 to make a difference in our world. Let us be like the wise child at the seder who includes ourselves in the reality that we have a responsibility to help those in need.
As we tell the story of our people, let us also remember that each generation writes a new chapter to the Haggadah by the special ceremonies and rituals we bring to our own seder. We are providing memories for our children that will inspire the continuity of our people and our traditions. Share and treasure the unique traditions we have learned from our ancestors and tell the stories of our family members to our children so they will enjoy the gift of inheriting the rich traditions of our families and our people.

I hope that each of you will take seriously the suggestion “Next Year in Jerusalem” and consider joining us on our congregational trip to Israel this summer. The brochure should soon be posted on our web site and you will also be receiving a copy of it.

Enjoy a healthy, joyous Passover. Please don’t forget to join us for Yizkor at our 7th day of Passover and Shabbat Service on April 26. It is customary to light a yahrzeit candle on either Friday night, April 25 before one lights Shabbat candles or on Saturday night, April 26 after havdalah, depending on whether you observe the 8th day of Passover. Also, please join us at Shabbat services on Friday night, April 25 when we celebrate our religious school and honor Sharone Weizman and belatedly welcome her officially as she completes her first year as our Educational Director.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Bruce Aft

In the spirit of the Purim spiel, which is a custom of poking fun at sacred issues and people, please accept this in the Purim spirit….
As many of you know the congregation recently adopted a strategic plan for our future…I hope you have all seen it or will be sure to get a copy of it…In case you missed the highlights or, as Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story,” please note the following:
In order to define what a progressive conservative congregation is today, we have decided that it would be appropriate for us to no longer read from the Torah on Saturday mornings. We will be having weekly conversations with the Pope by satellite as he gives us his top 25 homilies. Although they will be in Latin, no doubt they will make more sense than most of the rabbi’s sermons, be less boring and, thankfully,will contain.

We also have instructed the rabbi that unless he immediately becomes a priest, we can no longer employ him as our clergyperson. Three of his four children were thrilled to know that they no longer have to claim him as their personal father, but will still call him “Father” and Sue, his wife, has taken an ad on J-date, as she is enjoying her new found freedom since he accepted his vow not to be married.

In an attempt to maintain some sense of order at the synagogue, we have employed Glenn Sherman, Larry Kugler, Mark Sklarow, the authors of our strategic plan, and Dannie Halle as our three wise men and their able bodied assistant. There were some reservations to having a woman do the typing, but in the spirit of egalitarianism, they decided to have a token woman as part of the team.

Services will now commence only when Bruce Kaplan, alias the Hebrew Chef, makes his vegetarian cholent with ham since the men’s club officers believe that according to our ex-rabbi, ham is now kosher…

Our new educational director, Sharone Weizman, has acknowledged that she is really Sister Theresa from Los Angeles and is the understudy for Madonna. They met studying Jewish mysticism at a local spa while having their nails done.

Our pre-school director, Gail Froehlich, has acknowledged that she really never met a child she likes and is on parole for impersonating someone who cares…Our strategic plan wishes to find someone who will provide our children with candy, coca cola, and R-rated movies during school time.

Our executive director, Patricia Hoffman, had determined that members no longer need to pay dues since the strategic plan seems to indicate that we haven’t done anything in years worth paying for.

Other members of the board have decided that they will be moving with Liz Bayer to Minneapolis, which is Liz’s home, in order to work on their tans, especially during the heat of winter.

Finally, we hope that you will all join us at the Purim Service, when we read the Megillah of Esther, on Thursday night, March 20th at 7pm. This is the only serious comment in this entire article.

Sincerely,
King Ahasverous

If this has offended anyone, please forgive the rabbi! He only wanted to make you smile! Happy Purim!

Dear Friends,

I don’t know if a newsletter article is the appropriate place to share my frustrations with the ongoing controversy about steroids in sports, so please forgive me for getting on my soapbox. I believe that the steroid issue is a symptom of a larger matter that transcends sports.

We live in a world that seems to be very intent on rewarding the winner with praises, accolades, money, attention, and glory. It seems that we are part of a culture where winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing (someone reading this can tell me who said this first…I heard it was Vince Lombardi, a former football coach who should be well known in this area).

Whether it be the pressure of getting into the best college, receiving all A’s, winning a championship, or making more money, each of us faces challenges in our lives where a little extra edge often separates the “winners” from the “losers.” It is interesting that I have never heard a comment made during a simcha moment, that our simcha is that our child learned something, or gave it his or her best shot. We hear about good grades and accomplishments, but they are usually permeated with having been the best.

Now I am a strong believer in doing one’s best and working hard. I think that we need to be devoted and dedicated to our endeavors. But, I don’t believe that we need to win at all costs. I don’t believe that we need to take unfair advantage in order to be number one. Most of us are strongly critical of the use of performance enhancing drugs in order to improve our sports abilities. However, some of us believe that since everyone is doing it anyway (are they?), we might as well look the other way since our heroes only use these drugs in order to even the playing field and be competitive. There are some of us who may seek advantages that although legal, may not be as moral as they could be, and yet are very critical of athletes who use steroids.

Let’s think about our lives for a moment. Where do we draw the line in terms of using our connections in order to try to improve our lives? If we know a sports coach, do we use our influence in order to help our child make the team or get more playing time? If we know a teacher, do we use our influence to gain special attention for our children? If we know someone who is able to help us obtain something we want (a job, entrance to a university, whatever) should we not take advantage of these connections to help our children and others with whom we are close?

Can we change this culture of winning at all costs or using our connections at all costs? Or is this just good healthy competition and we should just deal with it. Please remember that I come from the Chicago-land area where we grew to love teams even though they seldom if ever won because we never questioned that they were trying their hardest.

Rabbi Hillel teaches us that “If I am not for myself, who will be for me, if I am only for myself, what am I, If not now, when?” What does this teaching from Pirke Avot (teachings of the sages) say to us in our competitive world today?

I welcome your responses to this issue which I will check each Tuesday morning and will respond throughout February to at least some of your comments which I hope will appear in the newly established Adat Reyim Blog, which this month will feature a discussion about the issue of how we measure success and whether we should win at any cost.