APRIL 1, 2016 22 Adar II 5776
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TheAaronion 616 S. Mississippi River Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55116-1099 • (651) 698-8874 • www.TempleofAaron.org Vol. 91 • No. 8 APRIL 1, 2016 22 Adar II 5776 Temple of Aaron Hires New Engagement Director Adam Bender Adam is originally from Chicago and A New Passover Story moved to the Twin Cities to attend the One of my Rabbis in Rabbinical School told my class University of Minnesota. In high that we should buy ourselves a new Haggadah every school, Adam was very involved in his year. While many of us use the same Haggadah (you USY chapter and CHUSY region before know the broken down Maxwell House version in your heading to Nativ, a college leadership closet), this Rabbi felt there is no better way to engage program in Israel, where he found his in our Sedarim then with a brand new shiny Haggadah. passion for Israel and love of Jewish This is a tradition I have kept up and have found useful. learning. Since then, Adam has served Retelling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, along with as the youth advisor at Beth Hillel the traditions of the seder, is something that we should Congregation B’nai Emunah in re-examine every Passover. A new Haggadah brings Wilmette, IL, and is the current youth new perspective into the story we have been dissecting advisor and 7th for generations. grade teacher at Temple of Aaron. Rabbi Jeremy Fine This year I found the new Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 651-698-8874 x112 Adam will be Email: Haggadah. The beautiful beige and red book will sit graduating from [email protected] with me throughout both nights for personal reflections the University of Twitter: and sporadic teachings to our guests. Already Rabbi @RabbiJeremyFine Minnesota in Sacks has brought new insight into my learning. He May 2016 with a notes that the opening announcement of the Seder is a business degree. fifteen-word summary of the evening. The number fifteen is an important number in While in school, Judaism highlighted once again during the Passover evening with the number of verses Adam was active we recount in Dayeinu. The word Dayeinu translates to “it would have been sufficient” at both Hillel and his fraternity, AEPi. telling us that the miracle itself would have been sufficient, but the privilege that we get to He looks forward to being our sit together to celebrate with these rituals is a blessing of freedom. Engagement Director and continuing The privilege to share a table with friends and family is a true testament to the Exodus from his involvement in the Twin Cities Egypt. Temple of Aaron has had a long-lasting tradition of a Second Seder for many Jewish community and a part of the reasons. First, it is an opportunity to come together as a community. Second it gives a Temple of Aaron family. space for everyone, with or without family nearby, to be part of a seder. Over the years we have used creativity to enhance our experience. Last year our centerpieces were toys donated to the JFS, we hosted a Deviled-Egg bar and a make-your-own Charoset table, and a ten plagues carnival for children. This year, aligned with our theme of art, we will have an art exhibit for people to experience (and we are keeping the Charoset and Deviled-Eggs). I encourage you all to continue to enhance and add excitement to your Sedarim. Whether it is more youth activities, new food attempts, or bringing a new Haggadah to the table, it is important to add perspective to our gatherings and to open our creative minds to our most important holiday. I encourage us all to make the story unique and fun while at the same time adding layers of depth and activity. I want to wish you all a Chag Sameach. I hope to see many of you at the Second Seder where we can celebrate together. See you in shul, Rabbi Jeremy Fine St. Paul JCCCCC is ExpandingExpaandingandindinngg with TemplTemTempleple of Aaronron Enroll your 4th, 5th, and 6th And You’You’re in Luck!ckck!! graders in Temple of Aaron religious school and get 50% off St.St PaulPaul JCCJCC isi approved 4-week summer camp. pleasedpleasepl d to Judaism 365 helps everyone; it announceanannounnounce itsits firstfirirstst is not tied to merit or need. ever satellitesatelellite Contact Rabbi Fine at daycare programraram [email protected] or 651-698-8874 for details. Childcare of 2-3 year old (turning 2 by July 1, 2016) at Temple of Aaron. Mon-Fri. 7:30am-6pm, begins June 20, 2016. St. Paul JCC provides the best state-licensed, NAEYC-accredited, nationally- acclaimed childcare program in the Twin Cities. 10 spots available. Contact Lisa Rosenfield, St. Paul JCC Childcare Services Director, 651-255-4758 or [email protected] 2 Join us for monthly learning at Quixotic with Rabbi Strausberg as we wrestle with faith and practice over a hot drink The Search for Hametz and great discussion. April 20th, 2:00 pm Evolving Personal Practices Quixotic: 769 Cleveland Ave. S. St. Paul, MN 55116 Rabbi Avi Strausberg Director, Congregational Learning Join Rabbi Strausberg for weekly Then, weeks before, the cleaning begins in earnest. We 651-698-8874 x111 Torah study and some morning make the list of every location that needs to be Email: cleaned: under the sink, the car, all the cabinets and [email protected] breakfast treats. Together, we’ll blog: inhaiku.wordpress.com explore midrashim, poetry, and pantry. And, item by item, we begin checking things off ancient commentary on the weekly the last. This is a chance for a truly deep cleaning. No superficial swipe of a rag works Torah portion in hopes of uncovering here. Rather, we take everything out of the drawer, really give it a good going over, and new understandings and finding new only then can order be restored. So, step-by-step, we sweep away all of our crumbs, we meanings for our lives. check off our list, and finally, barely in the nick of time, we are able to say, “No more hametz, all clean for Pesach.” And, what do we do then? The night before Pesach, we turn off all the lights, we break up ten chunks of bread, and we deliberately HIDE them in our Passover perfectly clean, hametz-free houses! The irony of this ritual! The total insanity. We then light a candle, gather our families, and begin the search for these hidden pieces of hametz Reflections that symbolize all other hametz that may have escaped the reach of our deep cleaning. Passover celebrates the escape from I love this ritual. The drama of it. The intimacy. The search by candlelight. In this game of slavery in Egypt. Every generation must hide-and-seek with the hametz as the hidden one, I feel like I’m a kid again, gleeful playing battle for freedom. hot and cold until finally, with all ten pieces in hand, I can declare our home hametz-free Matzah reminds us of the rapid and ready for Pesach. From here on out, we release any remaining crumbs of Pesach not departure from Egypt. The haggadah is a only from our possession but also from our heart and minds. All of our preparations are book designed to tell a story and we over. Our scrubbing, our cleaning, our worrying. From here, we just let go. Let go of the have modified it over the centuries to be things we have been holding to, any anger or anxiety, difficulties from the previous year, more modern and make the story more and we step into the liberation story of Pesach. understandable for younger people. The seder plate often has six symbolic foods: bitter herbs (maror), vegetable (karpas), bitter vegetable (chazeret) nut/apple mixture (charoset), roasted poultry shankbone (zeroa) and a Temple of Aaron Blood Drive February 28 A Success!! hardboiled egg (baytza). USCJ Dues The national association for conservative synagogues throughout North America is USCJ. Their highly- acclaimed work helping organize youth activities regionally, nationally and Volunteer & Donor Event Co-Chairs Richard Donor Rabbi Avi Strausberg SaDee Soderlind Strimling & Wendy Oskey internationally has stood the test of time. USCJ has also helped us train lay Event co-chairs Wendy Oskey and Richard Strimling would like to thank all 39 blood donor leaders, share program ideas and find heroes and 19 blood drive volunteers who participated in making our first American Red clergy/key staff over the years. Please Cross Blood Drive a community success. We donated a total of 42 units of blood! support the annual plea for dues We look forward to sponsoring another event next year! supporting their efforts which help us. 3 Bonfe BT Design & Dustin Truesdell My two brothers-in-law and their fathers joined me Davanni’s Pizza & Hoagies for a trip to Israel at the end of February. The Illusion Theater experiences of three first-timers added to my Pieology Pizzeria enjoyment of our ancient homeland. Michael and Polly Saxon Minnesota Timberwolves My first visit was over 20 years ago at the age of 17. Three Rivers Park District This recent trip was my fifteenth visit and reinforced ToA Sisterhood the changes in Jerusalem and in my personal growth. This private family trip rejuvenated me and provided many opportunities to daven, keep Kosher, and to deeply connect spiritually with the land and people of Israel. Joshua Fineblum, CJE Welcoming in Shabbat in Jerusalem was a beautiful Cantor/Educator experience. We started at Machane Yehuda, the 651-698-8874 ext. 103 Email: outdoor market (or Shuk), watching the city prepare [email protected] for Shabbat.