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A Mitzvah, a Blessing, and You in This Issue: by Rabbi Allan Berkowitz

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A Mitzvah, a Blessing, and You in This Issue: by Rabbi Allan Berkowitz Early summer 2016 5776 A Mitzvah, A Blessing, and You In This Issue: By Rabbi Allan Berkowitz Allow me to share with you a bit of my personal philosophy and theology From the Rabbi of life. In this chaotic world, and amidst our daily grinds, we should be Page 3 open to moments that can transcend the burdens and challenges we face. And so…. ….if someone offers you a blessing, take it! President’s ….if life gives you the chance to do a mitzvah, just say yes! Perspective Let’s face it, we can never have too many blessings in our lives, and the Page 5 world needs us to do as many mitzvot as we can. Here is a mitzvah opportunity that each of us can embrace with very little effort. Calendars There is a time-honored tradition that links the giving of tzedakah with May, June & July prayer. Our tradition teaches that the gates of heaven, as well as our Pages 24 - 29 hearts, are particularly open during prayer-time. And so we open our wallets, too. Synagogues facilitate this easy mitzvah by having a tzedakah box available during daily minyan. At CBD we instituted this daily mitzvah opportunity two years ago. Our Anniversaries humble tzedakah box makes an appearance at every weekday minyan. May, June & July Some people drop in paper currency. Some people empty their pockets of Pages 39 & 40 whatever coins are hanging around. No one checks to see who donated or how much. We just know that the box is there for those who need or want a mitzvah. Birthdays What impact does it have on the world? Our simple tzedakah box is like May, June & July the little train engine that could….and does. In the two years since we Pages 41 & 42 instituted it, we have collected and allocated nearly $2,800. The recipients of our donations, voted on by anyone who attends the minyan on the night we do our semi-annual allocation exercise, have included: Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley, Hadassah Medical Organization, Second 100% club Harvest, Magen David Adom, Hatikvah House, Joint Distribution Committee, and two donations to benefit CBD (a menorah for the new Pages 43 & 44 Beit Midrash and scholarship funds to send USYers to a convention). Five times each week our minyan is open for business. Five times each week our tzedakah box is open for business. contributions It is true that the minyan and tzedakah box need you. Pages 44 - 46 But perhaps it is more the case that you need them? Remember…. ….if someone offers you a blessing, take it! ….if life gives you the chance to do a mitzvah, just say yes! 1 Main Office 408-257-3333 [email protected] Rabbis Philip R. Ohriner Senior Rabbi 408-366-9104 [email protected] Leslie Alexander Rabbi of Community Engagement and Outreach 408-366-9105 [email protected] Daniel J. Pressman Rabbi Emeritus [email protected] Staff Tanya Lorien Director of Operations 408-366-9107 [email protected] Barbara Biran Director of Ritual 408-366-9106 [email protected] Monica Hernandez Member Account Associate 408-366-9108 [email protected] Jillian Cosgrave Front Office Associate 408-366-9110 [email protected] Lynn Crocker Mkt & Comm Associate 408-366-9102 [email protected] Iris Bendahan Director of Jewish Education Program 408-366-9116 [email protected] Andrea Ammerman School Admin. Assistant 408-366-9101 [email protected] Jewish Experience for Teens (JET) [email protected] 2 From the Rabbi By Philip Ohriner Counting the Omer: From Matzah to Hametz, from Spiritual Impoverishment to Richness In the afterglow of Passover, we now find ourselves in the period of the counting of the omer. The Torah teaches that for 49 days we count the omer each night, as our ancestors did when they left Egypt. Midrash tells us that when our ancestors left Egypt, Moses told them it would take 49 days to reach Mt. Sinai. In their excitement to receive the Torah and become truly free from the shackles of enslavement, the Israelites counted the days until the 6th of Sivan, Shavuot, the day God gave us Torah. The counting of days to Mt. Sinai became a counting of daily barley offerings from the second day of Passover to Shavuot. This counting represents an extended religious journey we still embark upon today, reciting a blessing and counting for 49 nights. The counting of the omer is a from enslavement to freedom, symbolized by the difference between Hametz and Matzah. Let me explain: Our tradition teaches that no offering made to God in the tabernacle or Temple contained hametz. Apparently, God is fan of flatbreads! Furthermore, during Passover we remove all hametz from our environment. Yet, oddly enough, there is an exception to the hametz-free sacrifice rule— the two loaves of bread brought by our ancestors and offered on the altar in the tabernacle and Temple on Shavuot. During Passover we embody a hametz-free home and mindset, but by the time we reach Shavuot, we actually embrace hametz! Some academic scholars believe the transition to matzah on Passover to Hametz on Shavuot was derived from the common custom of throwing out the sourdough starter each spring and making a new starter, feeding it everyday to keep it growing. This is essentially what we do in the process from Passover to Shavuot. We start again, building ourselves back up religiously and spiritually, shedding the mentality that has enslaved us and kept us from serving God. Each day we move step by step back towards a holy existence. The kabbalists took this notion and made it into an art, relating each of the 49 days of the omer to 49 different aspects of character. Each day of the omer is an opportunity to focus on one facet of our life, personality, and character. If we seize that opportunity, we can receive Torah again this coming Shavuot truly renewed. Matzah symbolizes the beginning of the redemption process. As bread at the beginning of the process of production, Matzah serves as a reminder that Passover and the exodus from narrow straits is just the beginning of a long hard journey through the wilderness. That journey is marked day-by-day, with the counting of the omer. Each day of the omer, we move closer to a higher level of existence, we move away from matzah and towards hametz until we reach Shavuot and mark the completion of the transformative process. The period of counting the omer is the journey from Egypt to Sinai, from Passover to Shavuot, from matzah to hametz. Whatever the paradigm, the message is the same: living a Jewish life requires constant tending. Raising our commitment to live a life imbued with a sense of holiness requires more than desire and well-intentioned words uttered just a few weeks ago at seder. It takes work every day. The omer is an opportunity to elevate our level of spiritual sophistication, symbolized by the two loaves of bread brought on Shavuot. There are many apps available to assist you in counting the omer. Two that I particularly like are Sefiros Grow (available for ios) and MyOmer (for ios and android). Both contain insights and reflections to assist you on your spiritual journey from Passover to Shavuot, from Matzah to hametz, from feelings of impoverishment to the richness of living a Jewishly committed life. Start the journey today! L’shalom, Rabbi Philip Ohriner 3 4 President’s Perspective Ask What You Can Do For Beth David It is a great time to be a member of Beth David! We function or program at Beth David. They might not have experienced new growth in our membership and come if someone from the membership committee have one of the most progressive Sustaining called them, but they will come if you call. Everyone Contribution Models of any synagogue in the Bay wants to feel wanted and welcome. Lets show them Area. Our programming is award winning, and we the great new things our kehillah has to offer them. have great alternatives to traditional prayer that run concurrently with our services. We have a new If you see someone you don’t know that is sitting at building coming that is renovated from top to bottom an event or services, please go up and introduce and designed by our members and optimized for our yourself and welcome them. Don’t be afraid that you programming needs. We have one of the best might offend someone that might be a long time, religious schools in the Bay Area, and a very active active member. Your warm welcome and introduction Tot Shabbat program that brings young families will make them feel great about being at Beth David too. together in play. One of the things we want to add to Beth David to make it a better place, is your Help us grow and thrive with your friends as friends. members. Make it a personal goal to call at least 5 We need every member to think of themselves as friends to come join you at various Beth David recruiting ambassadors. We would like to grow our events this year, or maybe even join you at High kehillah, and your friends are the perfect members to Holy Day services. This is the best year to help us add to the community. They are great people and you expand our membership. It is easy when we have so many great new things to offer.
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