May 2018 5778 ...page 6 ...page 7 ...page 11 ...pages 8 & 9 ...page 12 1 Main Office 408-257-3333 [email protected] Rabbis Philip R. Ohriner Senior Rabbi 408-366-9104 [email protected] Daniel J. Pressman Rabbi Emeritus [email protected] Staff Sarah Hanuka Director of Lifelong Learning 408-366-9116 [email protected] Tanya Lorien Director of Operations 408-366-9107 [email protected] Barbara Biran Director of Lifecycle Events and Synagogue Ritual 408-366-9106 [email protected] Monica Hernandez Member Account Associate 408-366-9108 [email protected] Jillian Cosgrave Front Office Associate Or get a new email address? 408-366-9110 [email protected] Be sure to let the administration office know so that your records can be updated. Lynn Crocker Mkt & Comm Associate Email your new address to [email protected] 408-366-9102 or call 408-257-3333. [email protected] Jamie Lynn Valdez Admin. Sarah Hanuka 408-366-9101 [email protected] Jewish Experience for Teens (JET) [email protected] Did you know the D’var is available online? Help us save resources and money. Stop receiving a hard copy of D’var. Email [email protected]. 2 FROM THE RABBI Rabbi Ohriner The Counting of the Omer: Spiritual Richness and Two loaves of Bread 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 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 a 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 Please share our joy as our son, Michael is called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 19 We invite you to join us for Kiddush lunch following the service. Liza and Ilya Slain Please share our joy as our son Avin is called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 26 We invite you to join us for Kiddush lunch following the service. Aurianne and Adam Dorsay Monthly Get-Togethers CBD Women Movie & Discussion Group Wednesday, May 2, 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Ladies Who Lunch Thursday, May 10, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Dames who Dine Thursday, May 24, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. SAVE THE DATE: Cards for a Cause Sunday, June 24, 1:00 - 3:30pm Make beautiful, handmade greeting cards to donate to the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. These are all great opportunities to get to know new Beth David women or to catch up with old friends. Email [email protected] for this month’s locations and details. 4 President’s perspective By Bill Beyda Fellow congregants, It’s been a busy month at Congregation Beth David. The Pulpit Committee worked diligently to prepare a rabbinic contract with Rabbi Jaymee Alpert. I am pleased to report the Board of Directors approved the contract at the April 25th meeting and it has been signed. That’s exactly one month from when you as a congregation voted to select Rabbi Alpert as our new Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Alpert will be officially “on the st job” here on August 1 . She and her husband Danny will be relocating here some time in July. Rabbi Ohriner’s last day on the bima at Congregation Beth David will be on June 16th. We routinely handle rabbinic vacations, sabbaticals, and other absences, and while this gap in time may raise concerns for some of you, I can assure you that our ritual committee has arranged coverage for all services, pastoral care, and any rabbinic needs we may have during this gap. In a typical year we handle a one month rabbinic vacation in the summer, and this gap is just a couple of weeks more. But last year we handled a 3-month sabbatical and we managed. So don’t worry, August 1st will be here soon! We’re not letting Rabbi Ohriner transition to the next phase of his life without a proper celebration! For 8 years he has been such an important part of our congregational life. We have grown to know and love him and his family and we are so thrilled they will stay a part of Congregation Beth David as members. Since there is another simcha scheduled on his last day on the bima, June 16th, we have chosen June 9th for a special celebration for him. Please join us in a special Shabbat Service, starting at 9:30am, followed by a wonderful luncheon at noon. There is no cost to attend, but so we can have the proper amount of food and seating, please RSVP for the luncheon online or by calling the office. Details are located in an advertisement in this month’s dvar. As we prepare for the High Holidays, a cantor search committee is busily screening audio clips and resumes and conducting interviews with candidates. We are also planning a broad spectrum of events surrounding our traditional services to provide you with lots of spiritual options for your Days of Awe. If you are interested in providing suggestions for our High Holiday preparations, please contact our Ritual VP Michael Leitner at [email protected] Finally, many of you have returned your Sustaining Contribution letter informing us of your planned support level for the coming year. If you haven’t already done so, please send it in as soon as possible, so we can finalize our budget. If you’ve misplaced it, contact Monica Hernandez in the office at [email protected] for a duplicate. Our fiscal year starts July 1st, and we need to prepare staffing and event plans that are aligned with our income. Your input on these forms is critical. Without input on what you will contribute, we will be guessing, and that’s not a good way to operate. Please help us plan accurately. Finally, in this issue you will see one of several upcoming articles from our security committee.