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October/November 2002
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The Shofar is a bi-monthly newsletter from Congregation
Beth Ahavah.
Previous editions of the newsletter are available in the
Shofar Archives.
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Articles from this issue of the newsletter:
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From Susan Falk
There is a time and a season for every experience under heaven.
A time for being born and a time for dying
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted...
A time for tearing down and a time for building up
A time for weeping and a time for laughing...
A time for seeking and a time for losing...
A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones...
A time for loving and a time for hating…
A time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
Every year on the holiday of Sukkot, we Jews read these words from the book of Kohelet; or Ecclesiastes. Sukkot may be over, but what can we learn from these words that will carry us through the year until next Sukkot?
Before I answer this question, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Susan Falk, I am a third-year student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and I am your rabbinic intern for the year. I feel honored and delighted to have been offered this position, and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, working with you, and learning with you throughout the year. Let this be my personal invitation to you to attend Friday night services at Beth Ahavah, to come to our new monthly Saturday morning Torah study, to enroll in our adult b'nei mitzvah class, and to come to any other BA events, such as those sponsored by the Women's Chavurah or the Men's Club. A new year has begun and now is a great time to be-come more involved. In addition, if you need or want to speak with me privately for any reason, please call me at the synagogue office at (215) 923-2003, extension 5.
Now back to the words of Kohelet: We, as Jews, have just emerged from a long season of chagim, or holidays -- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. On the last of these holidays, Simchat Torah, we read the final verses of Deuteronomy in our Torah, verses that recount the death of Moses. Then, we roll back the Torah scroll to its beginning and read the opening verses of Genesis, an account of the creation of the world. Simchat Torah marks both an end and a beginning. As we come full circle in our Torah, so too we move from death to life. This very act of rolling back the Torah scroll teaches us that, in the immortal words of Kohelet:
"There is a time and a
season for every
experience under
heaven."
Simchat Torah also signals the conclusion of a long intense period of reflection, prayer, ritual, fasting, atoning, celebrating, of building sukkoth, and then tearing them down. This year, we as a nation also marked the anniversary of September 11th with ceremonies and prayers and music and ritual. And so, the question for all of us becomes, after this long intense period of reflection is over, after the anniversary of September 11th is over, what are we left with? After all the ritual and prayer and fasting and celebrating are over, how can we remain reflective all year long?
I can only answer that I pray that we as Jews take seriously the words of Kohelet. Words that teach us that life is not complete without the full range of human experience. That paradoxically, we cannot feel whole without first feeling broken. Words that help us to understand when is the time to erect solid boundaries around ourselves, around our hearts, around our communities, and around our country, and when is the time to tear down those boundaries. Words that help us to know when it is time for love and when it is time for war. And so, I pray for each and every one of us a year filled with a sense of wholeness and completion.
Keyn yehi ratzon. May it be so. I hope to see you soon.
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Be a Mensch
It's often written that health isn't just about the body -- it's also about the mind and spirit. One of the best ways to nurture the spirit and exercise the mind is to give back to the community, our community, our synagogue.
Volunteering exemplifies Jewish teachings; it reflects the values of social justice and human rights that define the Jewish people. Whether you know it or not, when you volunteer, you are observing the Torah's mitzvot. When you reflect about things that are important to you, you resolve to spend more time with people you love and engage in activities that are meaningful. In that spirit, I urge you to get involved. Congregation Beth Ahavah is your community. The things that we can accomplish together are limitless, but they can't be done by just a few hardworking, committed individuals.
We need you, each and every one of you, to find some time to give a little bit back to the community that gives so much to you. Working together, we can be sustained by shared values and energized by mutual concerns, and have some fun, too! If you were at High Holy Day services with us, you already made some financial investment in Congregation Beth Ahavah. Now, follow through. When you are called upon to volunteer some of your time, just say YES!
Congregation Beth Ahavah can continue to grow and be a vibrant community with your help. Start the new year off the right way: share your skills, get to know new people, live your Jewish values, be a mensch, and volunteer.
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Of Book Tours, Christie Balka, and the Women's Chavurah
BA's ongoing Speaker's Series took an interesting turn when we sponsored the Philadelphia stop of the book tour for the new book, Queer Jews. The editors, Caryn Aviv and David Shneer, read sections of their book and answered questions. They spoke of their relationship to the ground-breaking book, Twice Blessed, the 1989 book of essays by GLBT Jews. Then, they introduced one of its editors, Christie Balka, who has an essay in the new book.
As Christie talked about the impact and legacy of Twice Blessed, I realized the last time she spoke to a Beth Ahavah audience was at the very first Women's Chavurah, at the YM/YWHA at Broad and Pine Streets. She came in 1989 with Andy Rose to promote their new book, Twice Blessed.
The First Women's Chavurah
Thirty or more women met on that Friday night, in a circle at the Y, BA's home of sorts before we moved to 8 Letitia Street. The Chavurah had guest speakers almost every month, such as someone from the Linda Creed Foundation talking about breast cancer, to Rabbi Leila Brenner talking about marranos in New Mexico.
Carole Smith, then BA's co-president, created the BA Chavurah of the 90's by moving it into women's houses on a rotating basis. Add a potluck dinner and speaker, and there was our evening (plus of course, shmoozing)! It's hard for me to think about those days without remembering the wonderful night when Carole's partner, Marj McCann, and I stood and stared at the enormous table, filled with the potluck offerings of 25 women, and realized there wasn't a main dish on the table. Twelve large pizzas later, we had dinner!
The Chavurah of the 90's
The Chavurah of the early 90's was the path through which most of the women at BA first became involved. It was a time of tremendous growth at BA, as membership almost doubled between 1990 and 1992. Early on, Susan Goldstein took over as chair of the Chavurah, continuing the same model as we rotated through houses from Upper Darby to Media to Ambler to Cherry Hill and South Philly. Bean and Sharon Meles took over from Susan, helped transition the Chavurah to Saturday nights, and added a beautiful Havdalah service to the evenings.
In the late 1990's, a new group of women came to Beth Ahavah. For the first time, we had women members with connections to other synagogues, and the larger Reform movement.
Today's Chavurah
Under the able leadership of Abbe Forman and Shelly Komito, the Chavurah became the second lesbian chapter of the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), proving what had been said since the very beginning -- this isn't your mother's sisterhood!
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Amazingly Low-fat Latkes
3 pounds peeled potatoes (preferably Yukon golds)
3 T chopped parsley
1 medium onion
Salt & pepper
2 cup matzo meal or flour
2-3 T canola oil
1 tsp baking powder
No- or low-fat sour cream or applesauce
1 cup egg substitute or 2 eggs & 4 egg whites
Preheat a large non-stick baking sheet in a 450-degree oven. Shred potatoes & onion in a food processor. Squeeze tightly to wring out liquid. Add matzo meal, baking powder, egg, parsley, and plenty of salt & pepper. Pour the oil on the hot baking sheet, spreading it around with the back of a wooden spoon. Spoon small mounds of potato mixture onto the baking sheet to form 2.5 inch pancakes. Bake until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once with a spatula.
Makes 50 to 60 small latkes. Serves 8 to 10.
246 calories per serving; 7.4 g protein; 6.3 g fat; .6 g saturated fat; 40 g carbohydrate; 66 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol
(From Healthy Jewish Cooking by Steven Raichlen : Viking Press, 2000.)
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Ho, Ho, Ho, It's Chanukah!
During my first year of college, a non-Jewish friend of mine from rural Indiana asked me what my family did for Christmas. "We don't celebrate Christmas," I told her. "We're Jewish." My friend had a fit. "You don't celebrate Christmas?" she blustered. "Why not?" "Well, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah, so it's not such a big holiday for us."
This did little to console my friend. "So you don't have a Christmas tree and exchange presents, and get together with your relatives? Well, I think that's terrible. I mean, Christmas is such a wonderful holiday. Plus, if you don't see your family at Christmas, when do you see them?"
Apparently, the idea that Jews could have their own holidays when they saw their families didn't cross her mind. For better or worse, it is in the shadow of Christmas that Chanukah falls. Christmas gets a permanent date on the calendar that we are most familiar with, as well as heavy advertising beginning in late October. Chanukah, in contrast, leaves us scrambling to figure out when it falls (this year, it starts on November 29th) and stretching our budgets in an attempt to satisfy the eight-present haul that Hebrew schools promise our youngsters.
In spite of these disadvantages, it is important to note the benefits Chanukah brings with it. Because the holiday name itself is a transliteration, you can spell it any one of 27 different ways, unlike the stale, rigid spelling of Christmas. Moreover, unlike Christmas, which requires the purchase of a SEGA or Sony Play Station 2 for gaming action, Chanukah comes with its own built-in diversion of dreidel (which, again, lends itself to a number of different "proper" spellings).
Perhaps most importantly, Chanukah takes us back to a time of macho Jewish leaders, a band of Judaic Arnold Schwarzeneggers, so to speak, who in some ways fill our modern concept of hero better than any other figures in the Bible. It encapsulates the belief that, in the face of overwhelming odds, miracles can happen on both a national and personal level. All in all, in spite of the omni-present advertising, television specials, and ho-ho-hoing associated with That Other Winter Solstice Holiday, Chanukah has more than enough to offer us.
Just don't tell my friend from Indiana. She'll be very upset.
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