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Dear Temple Sinai Members and Friends, In order to train for a Century bike ride (100 or more miles), training was always necessary. I did ride over a dozen of such rides, my longest was 125 miles, which I accomplished in 13 ½ hours, including stops along the way. One of the ways I trained for these rides was by going to the local gym and participating in a Spinning class. Spinning is riding on a stationary bike in a Spinning room with other bike riders. There is an instructor who while playing very loud music, which must have a strong beat, takes the class through various leg strengthening moves on the bike. One such class was the most amazing one I had ever ridden, it was a Spinning meditation. The class mounted their bikes, started spinning and were told to close their eyes. In the visualization, we were asked to see a goal to be reached by Spinning. For the next hour and a half, we rode through various kinds of terrains including up mountains and down into valleys. It was a memorable and wonderful Spin. It was an incredible journey that occurred inside the mind. I will never forget when the instructor yelled out, “You made the goal,” and we all opened our eyes and screamed out a shout of joy for this accomplishment. This coming Shabbat we will begin the fourth of the five books of the Torah, Bamidbar/Numbers. As written in the Hertz Chumash’s introduction to Numbers: “In contrast with Leviticus, which is almost entirely legislative in character, Numbers, like Exodus, combines history and law. The greater portion of the Book is devoted to the vicissitudes of the Israelites in their wanderings after the exodus till, thirty-eight years later, they are about to enter the Holy Land.” (p. 567) In other words, Numbers will take us, the Torah readers, through the journey of our ancestors on the way to their goal which is the Promised Land. Like my Spinning meditation class, they went through many challenges, ups and downs, along their journey but when they reached that goal, I would have to believe they too, as was I, were filled with great joy, even if this is not recorded in the Torah All of us are on a journey, the journey of our lives. Yes, as has been said by many, we are all headed to the same goal, the end point, death. However, the many shorter journeys we will be making to get to that point are the journeys that make life exciting, challenging, and at times frightening. As we begin Numbers this Shabbat, I hope to give some time to reflect on our life journeys to take this book of the Torah and to personalize it, thereby making it most special and meaningful. I am excited to announce that so far, we have had over 40 people showing interest in Temple Sinai’s trip to Israel in the fall of 2027. We will have another meeting on Sunday night, May 17th at 7 pm to review itineraries and to discuss the next steps needed to make this happen. Please let the Temple office know if you have not yet notified us that you are interested. This meeting on the 17th will be streamed on YouTube, so you can hear the meeting if you cannot make it. Also, this coming Thursday at 3 pm will be the last of my Adult Education classes before summer. This class should prove to be most interesting as I am titling it: Puzzling Biblical Facts: Are they Fact or fiction? I am looking forward to preparing for the class, so I hope you are anticipating attending. Last Shabbat’s Sisterhood Service was a wonderful celebration of women in the Armed Services. Our speaker, Rabbi Major Ret. Sarah Shechter, was so informative and personable. The involvement of Sisterhood Board’s members was inspiring. The ice cream sundae Oneg was terrifically delicious. I want to give a special thank you to Hannah Klingsberg and all the work she put into organizing this service. Shalom, Your Rabbi Steve P.S. I have been told that tonight, May 11th, on the 6 pm News, ABC, the interview I gave regarding the ALERT system the PBSO will be offering to county houses of worship should be on. If it is, let me know what you think of my interview.
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