Dear Temple Sinai Members and Friends,
The following wonderful story is told of the Baal Shem Tov, the 18th century founder of the Chasidic movement. Keep in mind that the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar with solar corrections. This means that the beginning of each month, called Rosh Hodesh, is very holy as with the beginning of each month, with its New Moon (meaning no visible moon in the sky), the creative process of the Divine begins anew.
The Baal Shem Tov, whose birth name was Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, believed that if he was able to go outside at the beginning of a New Month and identify the beginning of the month with the observation that there was no visible moon in the sky, and could then pray for the well-being of his entire community for the month that was arriving shortly. This ritual was, of course, particularly important at the beginning of the 7th month of the year, which was Rosh HaShanah, when he would then pray for a blessed year to come.
This one month, he went outside to pray Rosh Hodesh but could not see whether it was the New Moon or not as it was a very overcast sky. He then began praying that the clouds separate so that he could offer his prayer. He truly believed that he had the spiritual power to make this happen, but no matter how hard he prayed he could not do what he needed to do that night. The harder he tried, the more despondent he became. Eventually he gave up and with tears in his eyes went into his study weeping. His students, however, assumed that their Master had succeeded with his prayer and the New Month had begun so they began joyously singing and dancing the Rosh Hodesh prayers, as this was their custom. With exuberant joy filling the air, they burst into the Master’s room and literally swept him off his feet. With this, he began singing joyously and dancing along with his students. A short time afterward, someone burst into the room to tell the Master that the clouds had parted so that he could now offer his prayer.
This story is the classic Chasidic tale letting us know that it is by joy that we can literally part the clouds and achieve so much in our lives. It is with this in mind that I hope you will join Cantor Kate Judd, our guest Cantor, this coming Shabbat both Friday night and Shabbat morning, as we will celebrate with great joy this Shabbat Rosh Hodesh Adar 1.
I would also like to ask those of you in attendance at these Shabbat services to donate to the following cause in memory of Shiri, Ariel and Kifir Bibas; the mother and children who were brutally massacred by Hamas.
On October 7, the Bibas Family, like so many others, became victims of an unspeakable tragedy. The world Jewish community through United Hatzalah will be dedicating an ambucycle, a rapid-response emergency vehicle that will help save lives across Israel, in their memory. United Hatzalah’s volunteer medics rely on ambucycles to navigate through traffic and reach those in need within minutes, often making the difference between life and death. By contributing to this campaign, you are turning loss into action, ensuring that medical responders can arrive faster, treat patients sooner, and save more lives. This ambucycle will bear the name of the Bibas Family, serving as a lasting tribute to their memory and a symbol of resilience and hope.
Please remember that on March 14 and 15, Temple Sinai will be celebrating Purim. That Friday night I will tell my version of the Story of Esther with Temple members acting out my Narrative, and on Saturday night Cantor Dan will have his annual Purimspiel. Also, DO NOT forget that Pesach is not far behind.
PS Don’t forget to rsvp to the Temple Sinai ExtravaGala on Saturday March 8th. It will be truly magical night to remember as we honor three special Sinai people, Steve Young, Joan and Stan Rieger, and yes, Millicent Rudolph. Don’t miss it!
Shabbat to all and Shalom B’Yisrael.