2020 – February
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February, 2020 TEMPLE JUDEA Todd Chizner, Rabbi Deborah Jacobson, Cantor Abner L. BergmanZ”L, Rabbi Emeritus Eugene J. LipseyZ”L, Rabbi Emeritus Richard H. Berman, Cantor Emeritus Douglas Weigler, President 333 Searingtown Rd., Manhasset, NY 11030 516-621-8049 www.Temple-Judea.com [email protected] a message from Rabbi Chizner Happy Tu B’Shevat! Actually, February 10th is Tu B’Shevat. It is the 15th day of the month of Shevat and it is the day we celebrate the birthday of trees. You may be wondering what is the best way to celebrate trees? One thing to do is to eat fruits that grow from trees, especially fruits grown in Israel, such as figs, dates and olives (all part of a healthy plant-based diet). An- other way to celebrate Tu B’Shevat is to contact JNF and donate money to have trees planted in Israel. And allow me to suggest one more way-- albeit a bit surprising way to celebrate trees--to cherish one another. To think of the ancient rabbis caring for trees helps each of us to nurture the seeds of justice within us. Interestingly, the tree, in Jewish ethical law, has many of the same rights shared by animals and humans. It is a living thing. It has the right to exist. It plays a valuable role in society. And, it can only be killed if it is justified. In one of the most progressive passages in all of ancient scripture, we learn in Deuteronomy 20 that the tree is even more important than the wars waged by people. “When in your war against a city you have to besiege it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding an ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down.” Then the Torah asks one of the most significant rhetorical questions: “Are trees of the field like humans, able to withdraw before you?” To me, this is brilliant. In this context, trees are not only anthropomorphized, they are also pictured as in- nocent bystanders. The ancient rabbis used an expression to help us learn from verses like this, ‘Kal v’cho- mer, how much more so it is for us than it is for trees?’ In other words, our task is to internalize this and understand if we are to take such care not to harm these trees, how much more so should care be devoted to not harming, or better yet, to helping, actual other humans. May we all nurture the seeds of tolerance, love and mercy within our own souls and of all living things. February Calendar of Events Tuesday, February 4th Monday, February 17th Grades 8-10 Rabbi’s Class, 7:00-8:00 pm Presidents’ Day Office Closed Wednesday, February 5th Rabbi’s Torah Class, 10:30-11:30 am Wednesday, February 19th J-Tech Classes, 3:30-6:15 pm Rabbi’s Torah Class, 10:30-11:30 am No J-Tech Classes Friday, February 7th Shabbat Shira Friday, February 21st Dinner, 6:15 pm Shabbat Services, 7:30 pm Shabbat Shira Service, 7:30 pm Saturday, February 22nd Sunday, February 9th Challah & Blox, 9:30-11:00 am Bagels & Blox, 9:30-11:00 am Lifelong Learning Program: Tuesday, February 25th Dr. Christine Stamatos Speaks on Strategies Lifelong Learning Class with Rabbi Chizner, 7:30 pm to Deal with Arthritis, 10:00 am Wednesday, February 26th Tuesday, February 11th Rabbi’s Torah Class, 10:30-11:30 am Book Club Meeting, 1:30 pm J-Tech Classes, 3:30-6:15 pm Wednesday, February 12th Friday, February 28th Rabbi’s Torah Class, 10:30-11:30 am Shabbat Across America J-Tech Classes, 3:30-6:15 pm Shabbat Services 6:00 pm Grades 11-12 Rabbi’s Class (Offsite), 6:30-7:30 pm Dinner 7:00 pm Friday, February 14th Shabbat Services, 7:30 pm a message from Cantor Deborah Jacobson Dear Friends, I so look forward to seeing many of you on Friday February 7th as we celebrate a special moment in our history, Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song. This Shab- bat has a special title because it is the time when our Torah portion tells how we crossed the sea to freedom singing the oldest Song (Shir) in our history; this song is referred to as ‘Shirat HaYam’, the song of the sea. The infamous song is one of only two sections in the Torah with a different layout and has many well known verses, including our Mi Chamocha prayer- “Who is like you, Adonai, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working won- ders?” We will join many synagogues around the world in highlighting this Shabbat with wonderful music, musicians, our choir, and our youth. Please join us at this festive service, which will be preceded by a buffet dinner (call the office by Feb 5th to RSVP), where we’ll sing a few songs together, and enjoy a festive dessert Oneg following. B’ahavah U’B’shira, with love and song, Cantor Deborah a message from Irving Roth, Holocaust Resource Center Has Anti-Semitism Crossed Another Threshold? etrated even into the American academia and is poisoning the minds and hearts of the next The shooting, stabbing, assault and murder of generation of leaders. Jews in the U.S. in 2019 reached unprecedented proportions. To state that it is a result of the One of the most recent assaults on the Jews is meteoric rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. and the infiltration into the International Criminal in the world is to state the obvious. This rise of Court (ICC). anti-Semitism is the result of the propaganda machines of three specific ideologies/theolo- One of the basic tenets of the Israeli Defense gies: the resurrection of the Nazi-based ideas – the ultra Forces (IDF) is to minimize civilian enemy casualties right, the Jew as the economic oppressor and occupier – during any military conflict. The compliance of the IDF the extreme left and Islamic fundamentalism. to this principle has been examined by military experts of multiple nations and found that the IDF completely This increase of anti-Semitic acts is being achieved adheres to this policy and beyond. through the infiltration of their ideas into all spheres offeducation, international politics and institutions, The Palestinian Authority, (PA) on the other hand pays religious groups and into social and intellectual spheres terrorists who are in Israeli prisons (or to their families if of influence. They employ the same lies, fabrications and they are killed) a monthly stipend and names streets for techniques that have worked for the past twenty centu- their heroic acts against innocent Jewish civilians. The ries. Though the three groups have opposing ideologies same PA has brought war crime charges against the Jew- and religious believes the one thing they have in com- ish State to the ICC. The ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda mon is “the hatred of the Jew”. stated, “I am satisfied that there are reasonable bases to proceed following a thorough investigation of the The “red green alliance” (extreme left and political reliable information available”. Islam) is one that is most difficult to understand and most disturbing. One normally associates the left with Prosecutor Fatau Bensouda wants us and the world to promoting equality and liberal causes, whereas the believe that the Jews are guilty of war crimes based on political Islam is an oppressive system of governance the accusation of a government that pays terrorists to adhering to 7th century theology. Their commonality has murder Jews on the streets of TelAviv, Haifa or Jerusa- been achieved through the lie that the Jews oppress the lem. This is nothing more than the desire on the part of Islamic world and that their objective is to fight Islam. As the ICC to delegitimize and thus eliminate the Jewish an antidote to this they have created a method to thwart State from existence. The fact that Israel is not a mem- this invasion by Jews by “Boycott, Divestment and ber of the ICC and as such is not bound by any decisions Sanctions,” thus attempting to destroy the economy of that they might come to, nevertheless the PA will have the Jewish State and eventually the state and the Jewish achieved a propaganda victory. people everywhere. They have painted the Jewish State as an apartheid entity, similar to that of the South Afri- The worldwide Jewish community must unite in spite can regime that had to be destroyed. of its ideological, political and theological differences against this corrosive assault on the Jewish State of and This fabrication is the basis of the new left that has pen- the Jewish people. 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