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Rabbi Melman’S Office Hours at Temple Israel of the Poconos Page TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 657 Temple Israel of Drawing by Marilyn Margolies the Poconos July 2019 Sivan/Tammuz 5779 Edition 657 A monthly publication of Temple Israel of the Poconos Inside this Issue BREACHING THE WALLS (and connecting with others) Rabbi’s Message 1 © 2019 by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman Directory 2 President’s Message 3 I am fully aware that even fasting on Yom Kippur is a challenge for many! But our only "holiday" this month marks the observance Hebrew School 4 of the Fast of Tammuz, falling this year on Sunday, July 21, corre- Ask the Rabbi 5-6 sponding to the 17th of Tammuz, hence its official name, Taanit Rabbi’s Hours 6 Shivah Assar baTammuz, meaning the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz. Hevra Kadisha 7 This fast day begins the semi-mourning period called The Three Weeks, culminating on the tragic fast day known as Tisha B'Av. As High Holiday Booklet 7 Jews we mark these special occasions not only because they link us Members Messages 8 to the historical events of our ancient people's history but also be- Dance Class 9 cause they add meaning to our modern lives, infusing them with deeper spiritual significance. While the world enjoys its summer Donations 10 festivities, alas, we conspire to delve and reflect inward! Yarzheits 11 So why do we observe the 17th of Tammuz? Several reasons are Rabbi’s Classes 12 given in the Talmud, but I will choose to focus on just two, for the Birthdays/Anniversaries 13 sake of brevity. It was the tragic date on which Moses, while de- scending from atop Mt. Sinai (he ascended 40 days earlier on Oneg/Kiddush Info 15 Shavuoth), witnessed the debauched revelry as the people were worshiping the Golden Calf. In Calendar 16 his fury he smashed the two tablets. Shabbat Dinner 18 Why did the people, who so recently had beheld the miracles of the Exodus and the splitting of the Sea, seem to have such a complete moral collapse that they would suddenly come to embrace School Registration 19 a false idol? The answer given is communication. Communication is a two way street. It requires clarity in expression of thought on the part of one party. And it requires the stillness of mind to properly receive the message on the part of the other party. Moses said he would return from the mountain top on the 40th day. Fine. But while he meant the 40th day from tomorrow, when he would begin his ascent, the people thought he meant the 40th day from the day when he actually spoke the words. Hence the great misunderstanding. So when he did not appear on what they thought was the 40th day, the people panicked and took emotional refuge in the false but comforting Golden Calf, a totem of the certainty and lack of complexity defined by a life of servitude in Egypt. So I ask you, in your own life, how many flare ups and arguments have been caused by misunderstanding born of incomplete expression and of rushed, unfocused listening? This day of fasting is earmarked precisely for the healing and fixing of both faulty expression and imperfect listening. The 17th of Tammuz was also the date on which the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, marking three intense weeks of hand to hand combat culminating in the burning and destruction of our Holy Temple. Rivers of blood flowed through the streets, gore and the stench of death all around. Therefore it is customary not to engage in celebrations during this three week period. Two thousand years from now, wouldn't we want the Holocaust to be remembered by our descendants? Would they really be too busy to take pause and reflect? Would that even 100 years from now they would reflect. What about our own, personal walls? We are a holy nation, given to be role models of holiness, purity and moral probity. Examine your walls, your palisades, your ramparts. Where are they weakest? Where must you reinforce your earthworks? "For sin doth croucheth at the door," God warns Cain. "But you can overcome it. (GEN 4:7)" Both individuals and nations must understand this. So think about the spiritual value of fasting this 17th of Tammuz. It's only a minor fast (from dawn to dark), and yet its lessons are priceless. Page 2 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 657 Temple office: (570) 421-8781 Rabbi Baruch Melman [email protected] 570-534-3397 www.templeisraelofthepoconos.org [email protected] President Merle Turitz 570-223-1131 [email protected] 1st Vice President Bernie Driller 570-421-6103 [email protected] 2nd Vice President Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Secretary Marcie Rabinowitz 570-629-2994 [email protected] Treasurer Tom Wolf 973-477-6656 [email protected] Asst. Treasurer Herb Rosen 570-424-1161 [email protected] Sitting Past President Suzanne Tremper 570-588-6148 [email protected] 3 yr Trustee: Lois LaBarca 570-421-6103 [email protected] 2 yr Trustee: Ivan Margolis 570-994-5342 N/A Art Glantz 570-424-7876 [email protected] 610-864-7856 Shelly Farber 1 yr Trustee: Morris Janowski 347-524-7584 [email protected] Igor Trofimov [email protected] Stacy Rodriguez 570-588-1454 [email protected] Cemetery: 209/ Barry Tremper 570-588-6148 [email protected] Eliezer Gardens Charlie Cahn 570-424-7955 [email protected] Hebrew School Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Ritual Bernie Driller 570-421-6103 [email protected] Art Glantz 570-424-7876 [email protected] Finance Tom Wolf 973-477-6656 [email protected] Membership Contact office 570-421-8781 [email protected] Kitchen Marcie Rabinowitz 570-629-2994 [email protected] House Herb Rosen 570-424-1161 [email protected] Barry Tremper 570-588-6148 [email protected] Chesed & Wishograms Contact Temple Office 570-421-8781 [email protected] Newsletter Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Gift Shop Debbie Smith 610-751-7692 [email protected] Programming Marcie Rabinowitz 570-629-2994 [email protected] Temple Publicity Marcie Rabinowitz 570-629-2994 [email protected] Rabbi Office Hours: For appointment call Lucinda at Temple office 421-8781 Please provide Debbie with any Wednesday and Thursday without appointment 10:30 am-11 am information that is missing for you By appointments only Wednesday 10-10:30 am and 6:15-7 pm in the above grid. Thank you. By appointments only Thursday 10-10:30 am Page 3 TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS Edition 657 A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT MERLE TURITZ In these past few weeks we said our final goodbyes to two prominent, well-respected and long-time members of Temple Israel. We are supposed to be appropriately solemn and humble, sad and mournful, and then, after what is a proper amount of time, raise ourselves out of the doldrums and carry on. But what happens when we find that, in fact, the climate around us has changed because of these tremendous losses? Soldier on, as they say. But what do we do when this grief paralyzes us and we are unable to carry on? It is the elephant in the room to which we remain silent, isn’t it? So let’s talk about it. The loss of both Sam Newman in May and now, Sylvia Rosen, in June, is more than heartbreaking. It is the tumbling of a wall that was meant to withstand forever. To me, still feeling like a newcomer even after 33 years in the Poconos, they rep- resent the pillars of this congregation, and this Jewish community. Visiting the Laurelwood Cemetery, Eliezer’s Garden, to say goodbye to Sam, after the crowds left, was like walking the Hall of Fame for Jews like me. Living in Marshalls Creek, when I pass the 209 cemetery as often as I do, reading across the names on monuments, gives me the same feeling that I have passing through veteran cemeteries. Resting there are the heroes who provided the courage; the visionaries with the forethought and leaders who blazed a trail for future generations of Jews. I think about the level of anti-Semitism that permeated here in the Poconos in the last century that enabled the Catskills to blossom as the Borscht Belt. The reputation of the Poconos as a hotbed of anti-Semitism had my Aunt Bertha begging me not to move to here even in the 1980’s. Proud Jewish families, like the Newmans, the Rosens, the Cahns, the Cohens, the Browns, the Abeloffs, the Jolleys, The Bernbaums, the Effross’, the Katzs, the Krawitzs, the Schuchmans, the Rubins and so many that I don’t even know about who forged a life here, (and please forgive me if I left names out), in the face of blatant Jewish hatred that confronted them in every facet of life. They chose to remain here. They chose to bring up their family here. They chose to open businesses here. They chose to wear their Jewish pride openly. With the exception of one family that I can think of, no one even changed their name to something “less Jewish sounding.” In spite of it all, some who even chose to become Jewish, remained here in the Poconos and built this congregation. I say this often so my children and grandchildren will never forget - Jews are warriors. We descend from David, from Samson, from Judah Maccabee. These brave families are the King Davids, overcoming Goliaths. Watching them age and fill up the cemetery is emotionally overwhelming.
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