The Brooks of Esther: Two Important Lessons by David Brooks to Lead into Purim Over the past number of years, I am one of the many who have learned from the wisdom of columnist and author, David Brooks. Two of his pieces in particular helped to complement my learning of the Purim story this year. The first is a graduation charge called “The Great Unmasking” and the second is his book, The Second Mountain . (Sources below) A Message for our (Almost) Unmasked Times in the Holiday of Masks As most schools recently removed mask mandates, the Jewish holiday of masking being upon us is certainly timely. Purim is a story about hiding. Esther, the woman whose name means,”I will hide,” hides her identity to the King. God is hidden as the Divine name does not appear even once in the book. And we hide on Purim – we disguise ourselves and mask who we really are. And in the past two years, mask on/mask off is sadly a reality we have all come to know all too well. Brooks...
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How to Sing our Purim Songs in Adar Alef It’s February. In my family, February is known as the “gut” of the school year. It’s dark, it’s cold and the spring seems far off. For many, finding joy is hard in the doldrums of the February routine. Last week, as we were beginning to welcome Adar Alef*, someone started singing about joy. Mi Shenichnas Adar, gets us into the spirit of welcoming Adar, the month of Purim, with happiness and simcha.. “Isn’t it a bit early?”, asked someone in the group. The “real” Adar, is Adar Bet, where we celebrate Purim and truly get into that Purim spirit. This week began Adar Alef and there are no festivities in the offing. Is the rule of increasing joy for Adar applicable to both Adars or just for the second one? R. Eval Vered insists that both Adars are ones that require us to increase our joy, yet there are two kinds of joy and each corresponds to the different Adars.. While some event...
The Gods of Doors and So Much More–Parshat Bo and the Making of the Month of January In his new book, The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are David Henkin talks about the different ways we count time and how those ways define our identities as both Jews and dwellers in the outside world each and every day. We live in 2 worlds when it comes to tracking time. On the one hand, we count time on our Jewish calendar, a calendar which runs primarily by the moon. It helps us pace our lives through the rhythms of the holidays, months, Shabbatot and seasons. And there is the way that we count time as members of the modern world using the Gregorian solar calendar. That calendar marks events in our “secular” world like we did just last Friday night when we welcomed 2022. And January has its unique feel. The winter doldrums, shorter days and lots of snow and ice are nothing to get so excited about. I often count...
From Trees to Oil - Parental Hopes and Lessons for Tomorrow As December arrives and the trees are losing their last leaves, the daf yomi daily page of Talmud, resurfaced for me one of the most famous brachot and stories in all of the Talmud -- one that is about trees that we usually save for Tu B’shvat. (Taanit 5a-6b) Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Master, give me a blessing. Rabbi Yitzḥak told him the story of a traveler in the desert. Walking for days, he’s weary and tired, when suddenly he comes upon a tree. He eats from its fruit, rests in the shade and drinks from the small brook at its roots. When rising the next day, the traveler turns to the tree to offer thanks: “Ilan, Ilan, bameh avarkheka, Tree oh Tree, how can I bless you? With fruit that gives sustenance? With branches that give shade? With water that quenches thirst? You have all of this!” In a tender moment, the traveler looks to the tree and states, “I have only one blessing. May that which comes from you be as ...
The Good of the Good is Deeper than the Happy Each and every morning, upon seeing friends, neighbors and colleagues, we wish everyone a Boker Tov, a good day. After each Shabbat we wish everyone a Shavua Tov and after a special occasion, we wish people Mazal Tov. And each year, we wish each person a Shana Tova. The word tov/ ט֛וֹב is a probably one of the first words we all learn when first learning Hebrew. While the word literally means “good,“ upon learning the Shaarei Orah, the 800 year old book by R. Yosef Giqatillah, I realized something deeper and more unique about the word tov that we can bring into our everyday lives. The word tov, is actually the word of God. It appears as something that synthesizes materials or states of being to make them whole. The first example of this synthesis is in Breishit. After many of God’s creations, the word tov appears -- displaying how God took disparate materials and created complete creation...
The Holidays are over but I am Still thinking about Sins This month, I have been thinking a lot about sins. Tishrei tends to do that to us. Sins serve a variety of purposes. At their worst, they show us how low we can fall. At their best, they give us feelings of regret, opportunities to reflect and inspire us to grow. Each year in the month of Tishrei we look to two national sins that serve as the paradigms and springboards for teshuva. The sin of the golden calf and sin of the spies both speak to the broken relationship between God and the Jewish people. Thankfully, these are also stories that end in forgiveness and repair. Words from those narratives are found throughout the Slichot and Yom Kippur liturgy in the hopes of showing God’s forgiveness and inspiring communal and individual change. As we enter into our new year this week and we begin the “after the holidays” we do so with promise and hope, reading the portion of recreation and...
Autumn Winds and our Essential Selves--The Sparks of Elul We dog sat this past month. Yes after going back and forth about getting a pandemic puppy, we went with dog sitting-- a much easier path. And as I walked the dog the other night, I felt that first Autum wind. Yes, as Simon and Garfunkel said about August, “the autumn winds grow chilly and cold.” And this year, Elul, the month of reflection before the Chagim comes early. So as the hints of fall are emerging, the hints of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are in the air. I came across an amazing book called Rimzei Elul, the Hints of Elul, by R. Eyal Vered. This sweet book has become my companion on this year’s journey. Each day, R. Vered gives a 2-3 page reflection on the journey of Elul to share. A few of his lessons… Celebrate Alone-ness, While Avoiding Loneliness Every day in Elul we recite Tehilim 27. At its end, we say, “כִּֽי־אָבִ֣י וְאִמִּ֣י עֲזָב֑וּנִי ׃ Tho...