Dear Temple Sinai Members and Friends,
Last week demonstrated the resiliency and strength of the members of Temple Sinai, as well as me, to ride the roller coaster of life. In one week, we went from the exciting and fun-filled evening of “At the Hop” to the loss and funeral of our beloved member Howard Kohn, then to Shiva for Howard and then the Sisterhood’s Fashion Show with more laughs and just a good time. In between all this, Judy and I drove down to North Miami and experienced the heart-wrenching Nova exhibit retelling the tragedy of October 7th (which will be experienced by almost 50 people from the Temple on Thursday February 6th).
In many ways, these ups and down are descriptive of the life of a Rabbi. I remember one weekend when I officiated at a baby naming, a Bar Mitzvah, a wedding, an unveiling and a funeral all in 24 hours. For so many of our congregants, however, to be riding this up and down journey shows how incredible Temple Sinai is, in that its members are filled with a true love of community that enables them to celebrate both the joys and sadness of life together as one true family.
This past week was also the conclusion of my seven-week class on Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith. With almost 50 participants, either in person or by Zoom, the class became a wonderful experience by which its students began thinking about Jewish philosophy, theology and life in a way they never thought of before. I would like to hear from you as to what you would like the next class to be delving into.
I am thinking of a 6-part class which would go into the prayerbook for Shabbat, the Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I would take the class into the creation of the services, how they are set up and how to use them. What do you think? I will be asking Rabbi Marci Bloch of Trustbridge Hospice to teach a session, not included in the sessions of the prayer book, during the coming months.
For those of you who want some form of home study, Daf Yomi, or a page of Talmud a Day, is a wonderful and interesting way to learn. Let me recommend Mercaz Daf Yomi. Rabbi Eli Stefansky is truly a delightful teacher with a great sense of humor and a very down to earth approach to Talmud. Go to either https://mercazdafyomi.com/ or search on YouTube for Rabbi Eli Stefansky. By the way, there is no charge.
This week’s Torah portion is Bo and it takes us through the eighth, ninth and tenth plagues and the movement of our people to the Red Sea on the way to their freedom. There is a lengthy presentation of the observance of Pesach, which is quite different from ours, especially because the Haggadah hasn’t been invented yet. The conclusion of the portion deals with the redemption of the firstborn. Using this as my kick-off, I will present not only its tie-in to the ritual of Pidyon HaBen but also what God asks all of us to give up, where and when, and how!
Have a good and calm week. Also, let us give thanks to God for the release of the first 7 hostages. May they keep on coming and may all of this, in some miraculous way, lead to peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Your Rabbi Steve