Ki Tavo 5774

There is a fascinating rabbinic tale that is told about the most moving verse in this week’s parasha:

Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessed shall you be in your goings (Deuteronomy 28:6). 

In the Talmud (Ta’anit 5b-6a), we are taught: When Rabbi Nahman and Rabbi Isaac were about to part, Rabbi Nahman asked Rabbi Isaac to bless him. Rabbi Isaac replied: “Let me tell you a parable. To what may this be compared? To a man who was traveling in the desert. He was hungry, tired, and thirsty, when suddenly he came upon a tree whose fruits were sweet, its shade pleasant, and a stream of water was flowing beneath it. The man ate of the tree’s fruits, drank of the water, and sat in the tree’s shade. When he was about to continue his journey, he turned to the tree and said: ‘Tree, O tree, with what shall I bless you? Shall I say to you may your fruits be sweet? They already are sweet. That your shade be pleasant? It already is pleasant. That a stream of water flow by you? A stream of water already flows by you. Therefore, this is my blessing, ‘May it be God’s will that all the shoots planted from you be just like you.’” “So it is with you” [Rabbi Isaac said to Rabbi Nahman]. “With what shall I bless you? Shall I wish you Torah learning? You already have learning. Wealth? You already have wealth. Children? You already have children. Therefore, this is my blessing: May it be God’s will that your offspring will be will be like you.”

Similarly, Anshe Emet is blessed with so many things: a community that looks out for one another, a community with great adult education, an outstanding religious school and youth program, various types of tefillot (services) for people of all types, and more. So what blessing can we possibly add? That our children will receive those blessings and pass them on to others.

We are lucky to have two people who recently joined our team to help transmit our passion for Jewish education for children. Rabbi D’ror Chankin-Gould just began this past week as our synagogue’s youth director. He is a brilliant and caring person, and we are so excited to have him on the team. We also have Shaqued Gavriel, who just arrived from Israel as our shinshinit, which stands for shnat sherut, meaning year of service. Shaqued will be bringing her passion for Israel and Jewish life to all of our youth programming over the coming year.

I hope that you will join us this week at Shabbat is Awesome, September 13th, so that you can meet Rabbi Chankin-Gould, and spend time with Shaqued, as we bless our community with the gift of transmitting Jewish values to our youth.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo

Ki Tavo 5773

The Perspective that only Time can Offer

This past summer, Janet and I had the privilege of spending a few weeks in Israel. It was a glorious experience. On one of the Friday nights we walked to the Kotel, stood in the plaza and watched as the area pulsated with the full spectrum of the Jewish people.  Young and old, representative of every religious stripe, and location were bringing in the Sabbath today.  Janet and I stood together and sang the Kabbalat Shabbat service and then went and offered our own personal prayers standing before the Wall.   The emotions that were generated and the sense of gratitude that we both felt in that moment touched us more deeply than words can adequately describe.

How different was my first visit to the Kotel in 1976.  That summer I traveled to Israel to begin my Rabbinical studies as part of a group of students.  When we landed in Israel the first place that we were taken was to the Kotel.  I remember standing in that very holy place somewhat bleary eyed from the trip and feeling nothing.  Getting back on the bus and hearing some of the other students talk about the power of the experience made me feel even worse.

There is a verse in this week’s Torah reading that speaks to my experience at the Kotel 37 years ago.   The people are preparing to enter the land and Moses was preparing them to go forward.  At one point Moses was reflecting on the miracles that accompanied the Israelites as they left Egypt and added these words: Yet until this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear (Deut. 29:3). In other words, while the people witnessed the signs and wonders that God performed in Egypt, they could not fully appreciate what had happened to them.  There are times when we can only fully grasp an event after the fact.  Time offers us the perspective that is needed for our “hearts to know, our eyes to see and our ears to hear”.  Certainly that was the case for me at the Kotel.

As we prepare for a New Year we are given the opportunity to reflect on the happenings of the past year.  All of us would do well to take Moses’ words to heart and reflect on our experiences since last Rosh Hashanah so that we might fully appreciate their meaning for our lives.  Often times we can only gain that “heart to know” with time and experience.  May we all have the wisdom to gain a deeper appreciation of the past so that might gain a fuller appreciation of our present and future. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Michael Siegel