Dear Temple Sinai Members and Friends,
This Shabbat we will offer the prayer for the next new Hebrew month, Nisan, which is observed Saturday night – Sunday, March 29th and 30th. This allows me to wish all of you a good month of Nisan filled with God’s blessings. However, as Nisan is also the first of the ancient biblical calendar’s months, I can also wish all of you, loved ones and friends, our beloved State of Israel and yes, America, a good New Year, also filled with God’s blessings.
These past few weeks and the forthcoming weeks are very special as each one has a distinct Torah reading marking some event in Jewish history or Jewish tradition. March 1st was the first day of the month of Adar. That Shabbat was designated Shekalim, for the biblical Shekel tax that was described in that week’s Torah portion. March 8th was designated Shabbat Zachor as it was the Shabbat before Purim when we are commanded to Zachor, that is to remember the evil Haman, the protagonist in the Esther story. March 22nd was labeled as Shabbat Parah, as we read from the Book of Numbers of the ancient ritual of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer, which was used to purify any person made impure by touching a corpse, while at the same time the Heifer and its mixture used to heal made the healer impure. This coming Shabbat, the 29th, is the new month Shabbat for Nisan and then finally, April 12th is Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Sabbath, before the great holiday of Pesach.
I hope you love Judaism and its teachings and traditions as much as I do. All of them teach us so much and involve us in a process of learning and putting what we learn into practice. You could ask, how did I know everything I just wrote in the above paragraph? Of course, I could say I learned this by going to rabbinical school for five years after graduating NYU, but it is 1) because I never stop learning and 2) I looked at a Jewish calendar.
Let us continue learning together as I invite all of you to join me this Thursday, 3 pm, at the Temple to learn the history of the creation of our Siddur, the Jewish prayer book, and the structure of its services. In an hour and a half, I guarantee you that you will learn more than you can imagine. Then join me on the following Thursday, same time, and place, to delve into the Haggadah. I will teach you how to do a Seder within 1 hour, but also, we will look at those parts of the Haggadah you probably skip over. Finally, on April 10th, as we anticipate the beautiful and meaningful ritual of Sefirat HaOmer, the Counting of the Omer, I will explain the ritual and teach the very special kabbalistic meditations that can be offered each of the 49 days. By the way, you can purchase on Amazon my book of the forty-nine poems I wrote as reflections for each of the 49 days. The book is titled, A Poetical Journey Through Sefirat HaOmer. It is selling for $11.99. If you purchase it, I will be honored to sign it.
Let us remember the famous words of Ben Bag Bag as found in the Sayings of the Sages, Pirkei Avot: Turn it over, and again turn it over, for all is therein. And investigate it; And become gray and old therein; And do not move away from it, for you have no better portion than it.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Month and New Year.
Rabbi Steve