From the Rabbi·S Study Schedule of High Holy Day by Jerome P
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From the Rabbi·s Study Schedule of High Holy Day by Jerome P. David, D.O. Senior Rabbi Services - 2005-5766 Erev Rosh Hashanah am writing this message immediately Monday, October 3 8:00 pm following the horrific London terror at I tacks. My response is by way of a true Rosh Hashanah Day story, which I learned from Rabbi Sam Wein- Tuesday, October 4 gart. , Early Service 9:00 am On November 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, Late Service 12:15 pm the violinist, came on stage to give a concert *Family Service 3:30 pm at Avery Fisher; Hall at Lincoln Center in New 20d Day Rosh Hashanah York City. If you have. ever been to a Perlman Wednesday, October 5 10:00 am concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on Erev Yom Kippur both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. Wednesday, October 12 To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and Kol Nidre Family Service 6:15 pm slowly, is an unforgettable sight. Still he walks majestically, until he Yom Kippur Day reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the Thursday, October 13 floor, undoes the braces on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends Early Service 9:00 am the other fobt forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, Late Service 12:15 pm puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play. By Afternoon Service 3: 15 pm now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he Yizkor Service 4: 15 pm makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently Followed by Ne'ila Service silent while he undoes the braces on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play. Family Havdalah Service 6:30 pm But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first Concluding with light refreshments in the lobby few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it *This service is signed for the Hearing Impaired. snap-it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do. People who were there that night thought to themselves, 'We figured that he would have to get up, put on the braces again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one." But he did not. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to playa symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before. When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. Everyone was on their feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything they could to show how much they appreciated what he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet the audience, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." Maybe that should be the way of life - not just for artists, but for all of us. So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, turbulent, dangerous, violent world in which we now live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left. by Joyce C. Hoff President, Education Vice President, and to my most re s Temple Emanuel's new cent position as House Vice President. As you can see, I president, I would like to have had valuable experience in many of the aspects of take this opportunity to tell A Temple life. you a little about my family and myself. Now I have been entrusted with the awesome task of leading the congregation. I will work alongside a dedi My husband Matt and I have cated team of staff and lay leaders who are committed to been members of Temple providing programs and opportunities to enrich the lives Emanuel for 15 years. My par of our congregants. We want to be your family's other ents, Art, of blessed memory, and family. We want our Temple to feel like a home away Selma Solomon, joined Temple from home, a place you can come to, and people you Emanuel in 1969 for the reason can turn to, to share life's amazing journey - the good many people join synagogues ... my brother was to have and the bad. his Bar Mitzvah. I would become an adult Bat Mitzvah in 1998, making clear my interest in lifelong Jewish learning As I begin my presidency, my prime focus will be at and involvement. My mother's membership spans 36 tracting new members by making them aware of all that years, almost four decades of life and the changes that our synagogue has to offer. We have the staff and pro come with raising a family and aging. My grandmother, grams to be "the best place to be in Reform Judaism" Helen Blau, of blessed memory, was also a member of and count on you to pass the word. our congregation. So, our family has had the privilege of being part of the Temple Emanuel synagogue community • Invite unaffiliated friends to join you for Shabbat Ser for four generations. vices. Matt and I have three sons, David, 21, Brian, 19 and Philip, 15. David and Brian attended our religious school • Let them know we have an Open House on th from Kindergarten thru ELITE graduation in 1ih grade. August 15 at 7 pm. Philip has been at Temple Emanuel since he was 2- years old and is a member of Temple Emanuel's first • Encourage them to meet our wonderful Rabbis and Pre-School class. He will be confirmed next June. Our staff. sons' religious education has always been a priority for us and we are proud that they value the importance of If you know of families with pre-school age children, continuing to learn about Judaism well beyond their Bar tell them about our Pre-School. Have them call Jill Sava, Mitzvahs. We believe that the years they spent post Bar our director of early childhood education, and chat with Mitzvah have had an enormous impact on their lives. her about our school's philosophy and curriculum. She will also be happy to provide a tour of our spacious class As I begin my presidency, I can only hope that our rooms. sons will continue the tradition of affiliation as they move on through their lives. Our family is truly part of a "family Please be my partner in outreach to the community. of families" and it is my goal to have your family join in our family's tradition of making Temple Emanuel part of In closing, I invite you to share your hopes and dreams what happens "from generation to generation." for our synagogue with my terrific Executive Board, Board of Trustees members and me. We are also inter I became involved at Temple Emanuel shortly after join ested in your concerns, so make sure we hear from you ing the congregation. I received a letter from Rabbi David about opportunities we may have to make your syna inviting me to a meeting for the re-vitalization of the Sister gogue experience better for you. We are the ones who hood. The Sisterhood was at a critical juncture. It was about can help initiate change or explain to you why and how to become extinct without some new energy. A group of 30 certain things are done. I am always interested in your women met and went about the process of reorganizing feedback. and breathing new life into the organization. Two years later, I became President of Sisterhood. That position still I look forward to serving as your president and hope holds a special place in my heart and I'm proud that Sister that you will find new ways to make Temple Emanuel a hood remains a vibrant part of our synagogue. meaningful part of your life and the life of your family. My journey in leadership positions continued from there ... Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Ritual Vice 3 Memo from s a congregation, we are here for each other. In times of joy as well as sorrow, we can reach out with the help of our Jewish tradition to celebrate, to commemorate A and to comfort. At Temple Emanuel our vibrant community is brimming with formal and informal op portunities to come together. We meet to pray, to celebrate, to study, to do mitzvot and to express our spirituality.