March 2020 Bulletin
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MARCH 2020 / ADAR–NISAN 5780 BULLETIN But here’s where the story A STORY OF ANGELS AND gets even a bit more HUMAN EVOLUTION interesting. The philtrum in humans is vestigial; it serves Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, no biological function. In Alexander Grass Rabbinic Chair other mammals, though, the philtrum is an essential There’s a midrashic teaching he had witnessed and component of the animal’s (Tanchuma Pekudei 3) that everything he knew. Why sense of smell. In other “…every soul, from Adam does the child cry out upon word this etiological tale, to the end of the world, leaving his mother’s womb? this lovely myth about why was formed during the six Because the place wherein we have an indentation days of creation, and that he had been at rest and at under our noses and all of them were present ease was irretrievable and what Carl Jung called the in the Garden of Eden and because of the condition “collective unconscious,” is at the time of the giving of the world into which he actually a story of human of the Torah.” Each soul is must enter.” evolution. We had, and placed in the womb to be A second version of the story then indeed lost, the born at a particular time to (Bavli Niddah 30b) has Lailah capacity to smell like dogs a particular family. While not striking the child with or other mammals who use the fetus is in the womb, a candle but tapping the their olfactory senses to the angel Lailah teaches baby’s lips with her fingers, interface with the world. the child everything there “causing him to forget the Humans, though, are is to know about the world, entire Torah.” This accounts inclined to eyesight over a candle lit above its head, for the indentation under smell. In this way, the two illuminating “one end of the our noses and above our midrashim become one: world to the other.” lips. That feature, called the a candle is extinguished, One version of the story says philtrum, is the fingerprint plunging the child into the child resists entering of an angel, a reminder of darkness, compelling it the world, preferring the all that we’ve forgotten to seek a new light at the womb to the world beyond. and all that we must end of the birth canal. But For the baby to emerge, the reclaim from the recesses there’s also a reminder angel strikes him with the of our consciousness. we are evolving beings, candle that was burning Learning, in this paradigm, bearers of vestigial features at his head. “Upon going is reconditioning, recovery that remind us of all that out,” says the midrash, “the not of muscle memory but we’ve lost and must regain. infant forgot everything of the memory muscle. Passover Schedule of Services and Seder hosting info top of page 6 In this Issue: In every Issue: 3 Preparing For Pesah 5780 1 Message from the Rabbi 5 Celebrate Purim at Beth Am! 9 Open Doors Annual Fund Campaign @BethAmBaltimore 10 Addiction & Overdose in the Community BethAmBaltimore.org March 2020 Bulletin 1 BETH AM BOARD OF TRUSTEES Preparing for Pesah 5780 | Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg RABBI STANDING COMMITTEES Daniel Cotzin Burg Continuing Ed Chair Aaron Zelinsky Goals of Preparation Alexander Grass Rabbinic Chair Continuing Ed Co-Chair Robert Lieberman Among other things, keeping kosher for OFFICERS Finance Chair Bob Wittenstein Finance Co-Chair Phil Symonds Pesah means that by 10:57 am we have President Jonathan M. Fishman Kiddush Chair Desireé Robinson eaten our last hametz and that by 12:03 1st Vice President Adina Amith Membership Chair Karen Sugar 2nd Vice President Sally Scott pm on April 8, we have no hametz in our Religious Services Chair Jodi Segal Secretary Bonnie Guralnick possession, in any space we control. We Social Action Chair Evan Serpick For detailed information on shopping, Treasurer Bob Wittenstein do this by: Social Action Co-Chair Natalie Spicyn food items and kashrut, cooking for the TRUSTEES THROUGH 2020 Youth Education Co-Chairs Brenda Serpick holiday, etc., please visit: 1. Cleaning our homes of all hametz. James Jacobs Karen G. Sugar Ariel S. Winter Arthur Shulman Brian Whippo https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/ 2. Donating, throwing out or burning all AD HOC COMMITTEES Here you will find the Rabbinical hametz which would not keep until TRUSTEES THROUGH 2021 Annual Fund Chair Becky Eisen Assembly’s comprehensive Pesah Guide after Pesah. Annual Fund Co-Chair Lisa Akchin Carol Berkower Jodi Segal which is true to Conservative Jewish Adam Kutcher Ariel Winter Balto. Jewish Council Rep. Joanne Gold 3. Moving all remaining hametz in our Building Task Force Chair Ed Hord practice and current for the year 5780. homes out of sight until after the TRUSTEES THROUGH 2022 Building Task Force Co-Chair Jonathan M. Fishman In addition, we will include this link holiday. Heather Ashbury Anne Moss Congregant to Congregant Joyce Keating electronically in our e-newsletter several 4. Making the declaration which nullifies Steve Koenigsberg Ben Kelley Development Chair Lainy LeBow-Sachs weeks prior to the festival. Our office staff Development Co-Chair Cy Smith any minute amount of hametz which PAST PRESIDENTS AND LIFE MEMBERS is happy to supply a hard copy of the RA In, For and Of, Inc. Chair Jackie Oldham we could not find or extract. Past President Lisa Akchin Res. Hill Improvement Council Don Akchin Guide upon request. Past President Julie Gottlieb USY Representative Isabel Lunken 5. Selling hametz which will keep until Past President Scott Zeger Please note the beautiful introduction after Pesah. A form for selling hametz Past President Cy Smith from my teacher Rabbi Elliot Dorff who Honorary Life Member Lainy LeBow-Sachs is included in this Bulletin. It must be writes: in the office before Tuesday, April 7. BETH AM OFFICE “Passover is really important - a central Office Hours Tuesday – Thursday 9am – 4pm | Friday 9am – 3pm feature of what it means to live a The Particulars Ph 410-523-2446 | F 410-624.7124 Jewish life. Its very meaning, though, is B’dikat Hametz - [email protected] | bethambaltimore.org completely undermined if the dietary The search for hametz. After sunset on rules of Passover lead people to treat Tuesday April 7, after the house has been Daniel Cotzin Burg Becky Roberg each other with disrespect…. made kosher for Pesah, one member of Alexander Grass Rabbinic Chair Executive Assistant to Rabbi Burg We fervently hope that they will the household places an agreed-upon 410.826.6589 (direct office number) 443.334.8854 instead function as they are supposed number (usually 10) pieces of bread in 443.202.0912 (cell, urgent matters only) [email protected] to - namely, to serve as graphic various rooms. A candle is lit, the lights office ext. 1114 OFFICE STAFF EXTENSIONS: are turned off, and the following blessing [email protected] reminders throughout the holiday Jamie Aaron, Program Coordinator, ext. 1130 of the critical lessons of Passover, of is made: Rabbi Kelley Gludt Devora Cohen, Administrative Staff, the need to free ourselves and the Director of Congregational Learning ext. 1111 world around us of all the physical, 520.248.9541 (cell) Dana Livingston Snyder, Marketing intellectual, emotional,and communal office ext. 1115 Communications Coordinator, ext. 1116 straits that limit us and others in living Barukh ata Ad-nai Elohaynu, melekh [email protected] Norm Weinstein, Accounting, ext. 1117 a life befitting of people created in the haolam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav David I. Rothenberg image of God.” v’tzivanu al bi’ur hametz Executive Director Rachel Weitzner, Annual Fund and Capital Campaign Coordinator, ext. 1120 Praised are you, Eternal our God, Ruler office ext. 1121 It is in this spirit I hope we will engage in of the Universe, who has made us holy [email protected] NEED TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE? the mitzvot of preparing ourselves for through your commandments and Abby Woloff Contact Joyce Keating at this ancient and relevant Jewish festival. commanded us to burn hametz. Hag kasher v’sameah! Ba’alat Tefilah (prayer leader) [email protected] or 410.358.5477 (continued on page 4) 2 Beth Am Synagogue March 2020 Bulletin 3 Preparing for Pesah 5780 | Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg (continued from page 3) After the blessing, the search is preferably On Wednesday morning, April 8, all done in silence. The pieces of hametz are hametz is burned. The burning is pushed onto a paper plate, frequently completed this year by 12:03 pm. The Bitul with a feather and a wooden spoon. After Hametz declaration is made as follows: all the pieces are collected, they are put in a paper bag to be burned on Wednesday morning. The following Bitul Hametz declaration is recited: Said in Aramaic: kol hamira vahamiya d’ika vir’shuti dahazitay u’d’la hazitay, dahamitay u’d’la hamitay, d’viartay u’d’la Said in Aramaic: kol hamira vahamiya biartay, libateil v’lehevay hefker k’afra COSTUME! IN COME d’ika vir’shuti d’la hamitay u’d’la vi’artay d’ara. u’d’la yadana lay libateil v’lehevay hefker k’afra d’ara. Or English: May all leaven in my possession, whether or not I have seen Or English: May all leaven in my ENJOY UNLIMITED GAMES, FACE PAINTING, MITZVAHPALOOZA AND MORE! it, removed it, or burned it, be hereby possession of which I am unaware - which nullified and ownerless as the dust of the $5/child (age 2-10) should have been burned or removed - be Skip the line and pre-purchase your family’s tickets >>> earth.