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Kohelet., Amichai and Wisdom for this Simchat Torah

As soon as the shofar is blown after Neilah, there’s one thing I’m typically thinking about (in addition to my break-fast meal): Sukkot. After an intense month of selichot, teshuva, and literally praying for our lives, I look forward to the lighter holiday of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, which symbolize fall, family, feasting, and fun. But this year, like countless other people, I’m conflicted. How do we celebrate Sukkot — zman simchateinu — the holiday that is synonymous with unadulterated joy, when it is now connected to perhaps the darkest day in Israel’s history? It can be no coincidence that we find some guidance in the very megillah we read on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot, Kohelet, attributed to Shlomo HaMelech. Chapter 3 famously opens with:  לַכֹּ֖ל זְמָ֑ן וְעֵ֥ת לְכׇל־חֵ֖פֶץ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם  עֵ֤ת לִבְכּוֹת֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂח֔וֹק עֵ֥ת סְפ֖וֹד וְעֵ֥ת רְקֽוֹד׃  עֵ֤ת לֶֽאֱהֹב֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂנֹ֔א עֵ֥ת מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְעֵ֥ת שָׁלֽוֹם׃    There is a time and a season for everything, a time for
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Disorienting Tears: A Biblical Trio and the Shofar in 5784 (2024) For months, I have been dreading Rosh Chodesh Elul. Up until now, each year, I eagerly awaited this day. As crisp fall air would gradually make its presence felt in the early mornings, Elul would be a time to cue up my special Playlist on Spotify, take out my Yamim Noraim sefarim and await the first sounds of the Shofar. Yet, this year, the thought of those first sounds fills me with angst. While the shofar’s first blasts have always brought me to tears, the tears of this Elul, Elul 5784, will be painfully and dramatically different. These will be tears of loss, of heaviness and of a world that seems stuck in sadness. . I was not sure I could be ready for this shofar moment until I thought of the lives of three Biblical figures, Noach, Daniel and Iyyov, and realized that if they could face catastrophe, so must we. The Torah mentions Noach three times in one pasuk (Bereshit 6:9) נח ו, ט: אֵ֚לֶּה תּֽוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ
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A Pshat Tisha B'Av Companion: 25 Psukim in Eicha that Speak for Themselves  Every year, we all have our traditions that we turn to as Av arrives. And, for me, turning to Midrash Eicha Rabba to hear how Chazal related to the text has always resonated.  But this year, as I opened Eicha, there was no need to read midrash and no need to read interpretations.  The psukim, one after the other, jumped off the page.  They are descriptive of today’s events and emotions and, to put it clearly and simply, the texts need no interpretation and commentary. They describe the day of destruction, the tears, the displaced, the murdered and ripped-apart souls.  Attached here are 25 psukim that stood out for me in studying Eicha this year. While in learning groups and classrooms the psukim could be accompanied by stories, snapshots or videos, in the end, those feelings and images should be left to the reader.  The psukim speak for themselves. They evoke images to our minds and hearts that we know all
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Perek of Prayer for Our People: Beginning our Third Cycle with Zechut Avot and Imahot Tomorrow, we will conclude the second round of learning Tehilim in the hopes of peace in Israel, safety on our borders, protection for our soldiers and a return of our hostages.  When this project began, it was on day 74 of this crisis, in December of last year. In those days, it was not imaginable that we would be heading to day 300, but here we are. I have been thinking a lot about beginning the next round of learning and different ways to frame it. In this search, I have been heavily influenced by R. Shimshon Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on Tehilim and, most recently, Walter Brueggerman’s Spirituality of the Psalms. However, in this coming round, I want to call upon the zchut Avot or more accurately zchut Imahot. This term literally means “the merit of our ancestors”, the idea that the positive actions of those who came before us can have influence on our lives and our destiny. Hashem refers to the
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The Blessings of 24-Graduation Speech Ramaz Upper School Bzchut Rabbi Lookstein, Mr Cannon, Members of the Board, Faculty, Parents, Friends, and of course, the Class of 2024! Before I begin I want to acknowledge the administration,faculty and staff of the Upper School.  Our entire school community is blessed to have your guidance and support each day. Thank you. I would also like to extend our appreciation to our Senior Management Team and all teachers and staff, from nursery to elementary and middle school. This graduation is a tribute to each and every one of you who have impacted this special class.  Mark Twain said that there are two most important days in someone’s life. The first is the day they are born and the second is the day they figure out why.  While 2024 may or may not be the year you figure out why, it will certainly be significant in how you count time.  2024 will mark the beginning of your journey into adulthood — leaving home and beginning a new chapter toward explora
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When We Feel LIke We’ve Been Counting Forever: The Chinuch, Rav Mirsky and the Omer in 2024 This year, we don’t have to remember to keep counting. Because it seems like we have never stopped.   For 31 plus weeks, with tears, frustration and broken hearts, we have taken out our sharpies and taped on a number representing the days since the dreadful day that changed us forever.  During this time after Pesach, we have always asked ourselves questions about the Omer. And yet, just like everything else since October 7, these questions look different for our people as we see things through a different lens.(1) Why count days and weeks?  The Torah points out two mitzvot related to the counting of the Omer. We are told to count days and also count weeks(2) : הַכָּתוּב אָמַר תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְאָמַר גַּם כֵּן שִׁבְעָה שָׁבֻעֹת תִּסְפָּר לָך The Sefer HaChinuch quotes the Rambam who points out that one may think that these are two separate mitzvot. However, as we know, the mitzvah is
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  We Are All One Human Embroidery: Message for Yom HaZikaron Aaron Frank-Ramaz Upper School 2024 When I die, something of mine will die in you כשאמות, משהו ממני, משהו ממני ימות בך. כשתמות, משהו ממך בי, משהו ממך בי ימות איתך, ימות איתך. When you’ll die, something of yours in me, will die with you כי כולנו, כן כולנו כולנו רקמה אנושית אחת חיה For we all are one living human embroidery, one human tissue. These words from the song by Moti Hammer and made famous by Chava Alberstein resonate now more than ever. People in this room have lost friends, relatives, and each year they cry, and each year they connect with that soul and remember. And they also connect with the part of them that died along with their loved ones.  This year, when we are all commemorating an unimaginatively, painful Yom HaZikaron we are all sort of lost. We are all numb a bit. And this year more than ever, maybe more than any Yom HaZikaron in history, we need each other, that huge human connection of which we are all a
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