Masorti Olami

November 2006 – Kislev 5767 By Judy Dvorak Gray Jews in Cuba Celebrate 100 years By Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler, Director of Masorti AMLAT (Latin America) Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler from Chile has been a regular visitor to teach and strengthen the Jewish community in Cuba since the early 1990’s. He has played a major role in the renaissance of the Cuban Jews. Rabbi Szteinhendler was invited to attend the centennial celebration and reports: We just came back yesterday very early at 4 a.m. from Cuba where the celebrations of the Centennial were really touching. This was the first time for almost 50 years the Jewish community was in the national broadcasting and they included a special interview of me (undeserved honor). During the centennial celebration, we performed the Bar Mitzvah of a boy from Guantanamo who at age 10 didn't even know anything more than that his second last name is related to a Jewish descendant. Now he was the leader for the full Kabbalat Shabbat service and read an aliyah in Hebrew from the Torah on Shabbat morning. He is proud of his Jewish heritage. This is the challenge and this is the best explanation of what it means to be "arevim ze ba'zeh" (All Jews are responsible for one another). Everyone is proud in having their kehillot related to the Masorti Movement, which is through my presence and materials I succeeded in translating and preparing for them on behalf of our Movement years ago with the support of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism. With the commitment of members of my shul in Chile, we brought to Cuba 30 white tablecloths for the tables for Shabbat dinner and this was the first time in almost 50 years that they had Shabbat dinner and Shabbat noon meal with tables covered with white tablecloths. It was amazing how it joy was reflected in the people's eyes. We had a gala presentation in one of the national theaters in Havana in the presence of the President of the National Assembly (Ricardo Alarcon), the Foreign Deputy Minister (who when Cuba still had diplomatic relations with Israel served there as first secretary and who still speaks a very fluent Hebrew) and some other key people of the government including the Head of the Religious Affairs Department of the Central Committee. In addition, there were representatives from the International Board of the Joint Distribution Committee who has sponsored the development and revival of the Jewish life in the island since 1992, the Board members and president of the Canadian Jewish Congress who support the Cuban Jewry since the revolution by sending shipments with food for Passover, the president of the Canadian Jewish Federations who has sponsored for the past four years the participation of Cuban young adults in the Taglit birthright program, the Latin American representative of ORT, the President of the Ashkenazi Mexican Community and members of his Board, representatives of the Saltiel Foundation from Mexico, the Latin American Director of HIAS and other individuals and groups as well. The entire program was very touching and emotional. To read more about the history of the Jews in Cuba, read the article on the JTA site: http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17338&intcategoryid=2 To read more about Rabbi Szteinhendler’s involvement in Cuba, go to: http://www.jewishcuba.org/bandler3.html ________________________________________ Thank you from Kehilat Nitzan, Melbourne Jim Landau, former President of Kehilat Nitzan in Melbourne, sent a letter to a number of rabbis who were instrumental in developing their kehillah over the past six years. Rabbi Ehud Bandel is now the first full-time rabbi of Kehilat Nitzan. Dear Rabbis, At this time of the year we especially remember all the visiting rabbis who have been involved in our budding community. Each visiting rabbi has added his own unique touch to our community helping it to reach the position it is in now. We are appreciative of what we have learnt from you. I am delighted to say that we now have our own rabbi, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, from Jerusalem who as we say in Australian slang ‘fits us like an old slipper’. Our membership continues to grow and nearly 500 people attended Rosh Hashanah services. We have successfully introduced Kabbalat Shabbat services, we have an active Tikun Olam group, a singing group led by our rabbi on vocals and guitar which sings monthly at Jewish and non-Jewish local nursing homes, a monthly book club and of course regular shiurim, Ongei Shabbat and celebrations. We welcome visitors from near and far to our shul and homes. Our friendly Kiddush after services remains a highlight for our community. We are very proud of what we have achieved in a short seven years and look forward to the future. I am retiring from the presidency after three years at the helm and in the spirit of egalitarianism I am handing over the mantle of lay leadership to Judy Feiglin. On behalf of the Board and the members of Kehilat Nitzan who remember you fondly I wish you and your family and all you hold dear, a Shana Tova. With warm wishes Jim Landau President Kehilat Nitzan Melbourne Australia We are proud to announce that Jim Landau, outgoing president of Kehilat NItzan, received the 2006 JCCV Community Recognition Award in a special evening on November 13. The award, in recognition and acknowledgment to members of the Jewish community who have given of themselves beyond the call of duty, was presented to Jim and other recipients by The Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretzer AC. ________________________________________ News from Prague Masorti Wedding in Prague Reported by Tereza Gafna Folt?nov?, Coordinator of Masorti Czech Republic A very exciting event took place on November 20-- the wedding of two members of the Czech Masorti community, Zden?k Kalvach and Mariana Spevakova. Kalvach, the chatan (groom), is president of our kehillah. It was a very joyous event! Mazal Tov! Letter from a Visitor to Masorti Czech Republic, Prague By Judith Edelman Green Judith is a member of the Masorti kehillah “Hod v’Hadar” in Kfar Saba, Israel and was the former director of the Bar/ Bat Mitzvah program for the Special Child. Beit Simcha of Prague and Masorti Olami Rabbi Ron Hoffberg held a joint Yom Kippur service in Prague. Rabbi Hoffberg said, "We may be one of the only communities in the world to have joint Reform and Masorti services with the blessing of the Orthodox community." A poster announcing the joint services was hung throughout the Jewish Quarter, announcing the Orthodox services, along with the Masorti and Reform services, all as community options. The services were held in the Pinchas Synagogue, a favorite site of the Jewish Museum in Prague because names of 70,000 deportees from this area are inscribed on the walls. This synagogue, built in the 14th century, was flooded in 2001, and the names had to be repainted and restored after the building was pumped out and dried. This synagogue was in operation when Rabbi Loew was in Prague, together with his Golem. I have a personal connection in Prague. My father's first cousin, Prof. Kalman Gajan, aged 89 this year, lives in Prague. He was a partisan and was in hiding during much of WWII, but was caught six months before the war ended, and was sent to four concentration camps and survived two death marches. Two brothers made aliyah, six siblings perished in the camps. As a widower with no children, he lives alone. I try to visit once or twice a year, and have made warm connections with the Jewish community over the years. I wrote to my friends in Prague and offered to help over the holidays. I am a 2nd year rabbinical student at HUC in Jerusalem and there is no place to learn like on the bima. Rabbi Hoffberg was most generous in sharing the bima! Sylvia Wittman brought in an amazing professional singer for Kol Nidre, lots of volunteers and helpers, a very well organized community, especially Gafna of Masorti, and Katka of Beit Simcha. Over one hundred people including Czechs, students from abroad and tourists filled up every available chair with standing room as well. The harmonies sung as Jews from all over the world found a common language in prayer seemed to have echoes of the 70,000 names. There was translation from English to Czech, and the prayers were done in Hebrew. The book of Jonah was read in Czech and Hebrew. As I walked in for Kol Nidre, Kalman pointed to the names of Concentration Camps on the wall, I was in Kaufering, he said, and Bergen-Belsen, which was terrible, and Sausenhausen and Dachau. What was it like from the bima? I faced the names of those camps, with the names on the majestically high walls, all sounding familiar. I saw names of people I know today, Edelstein, Ettinger, Hahn, Singer. The building was ancient, the floor of cobble stone, the bima, a cage of stone and iron work. I feel that it added something to have both a male and a female presence on the bima. My voice is not very strong, but in that building it reverberated and rang out. The topic which I addressed in my d’var torah was about Shema, about Hearing. I asked what the names on the walls would say to us if they could say something. A suggestion was that they would say, quote Deuteronomy 30:19, "I have put before this day life and death, a blessing and a curse, therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed after you, to tell of the works of God."* A message which addresses the balance of life and death of Yom Kippur. I was simply awed to be worshipping with these people who work so hard to keep a Jewish identity in a difficult world, and to be in a place that tells the story of life and death, blessings and curses, and where, throughout the centuries, the same prayers have been sung in this sanctuary. Thank you to my friends in Prague for doing the mitzvah of receiving guests. ________________________________________ News from the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues UK By Michael Gluckman, Director We had an exploratory meeting for a potential new Masorti group in Elstree and Borehamwood. I am pleased to report that 20 people attended the meeting. It was decided to hold an inaugural event on Shabbat Chanukah - a Havdalah and Chanukah tea. This will take place on Saturday 16th December at Alum Hall 5.00-6.30pm. The steering group has already set dates for Friday evening services every three weeks commencing January, a Purim Party and a Matzo ramble. AMS Chairman Michael Burman and I have been taking part in informal meetings with our opposite numbers in the Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism. They have been very useful in understanding and respecting our relative positions. While I was in Israel last month, I had the pleasure of taking out the Drachimnikim (UK gap year in Israel students) for coffee and chips. They all look really well and are having a great time. They are currently enjoying the Machon programme in which they participate alongside all the other youth movements. At the beginning of January they then move on to the volunteer part of the programme. It is such a valuable year. From a movement point of view these young people return, fired up with enthusiasm, having received some excellent training in Hadracha [Leadership]. From a personal point of view they acquire skills and strengths, which serve them throughout their lives. From a parent's point of view they are having an excellent gap year, which is not totally unfettered – they are guided and looked after! Our movement was well represented at the Reception to mark the 350th Anniversary of re-admittance attended by the Queen and Prince Philip. Barbara and Michael Burman, Naomi Russell, Rachel Davies, Barbara and I, all had the opportunity to recite the bracha on seeing a Monarch [New Singers p.751]. In addition, there was a good number of other Masorti members invited for their involvement in other organisations. The group exploring the possibility of a Masorti Primary school have completed their survey. They have had an excellent response with 250 replies representing a response rate of 20%. Of these 80% were interested in sending their children to a Masorti Primary school. 52% were interested even if it were a fee-paying school. The group will now use these figures in their planning of this important project. For further information about activities in the UK, contact: mg@masorti.org.uk or visit our website: www.masorti.org.uk ________________________________________ Tisha B’Av in Lisbon By Rabbi Jules and Navah Harlow Since September 2005, Rabbi Jules and Navah Harlow have been involved with Kehilat Beit Israel, a community of Bnai Anusim (Crypto-Jews) in Lisbon, Portugal who are interested in returning to their Jewish roots. The Harlows have made several trips to Lisbon this past year to teach and celebrate Shabbat and holidays together, thanks to an allocation from the WorldZionist Organization’s Pluralistic Religious Funding. This letter was written in September. We arrived in Lisbon in time to observe Tisha b’Av with Kehillat Beit Yisrael. This was a first for them. Rabbi Jules had e-mailed suggested reading and study materials before our arrival and requested that some of our chevra prepare remarks to share with the group, linking the observance of Tisha b’Av with the time of the Expulsion from Spain, which is supposed to have occurred on the 7th of Av in 1492. As usual, they took their assignments very seriously and were well prepared. We arranged the reading of Eichah, to be held while sitting on the floor of their new synagogue space, by the flickering lights of Yahrtseit candles. Shabbat was spent together in prayer, learning and camaraderie. On Sunday, we had an informative afternoon with the ambassador of Israel to Portugal as well as other dignitaries of the Lisbon Jewish Community in our new “shul “. Each evening throughout the week we met for additional study. As a change of pace, one lesson was devoted to studying and analyzing an Agnon story. This was their introduction to Hebrew literature. They had wonderful insights and thoughtful comments. As always, the time spent with this outstanding group was most inspiring. We look forward to returning during Chanukah when the kehillah will hold a “Chanukat Bayit” (dedication) of their new premises. Marom Shnat Programs By Avigail Ben Aryeh, Educational Coordinator for Marom Olami A year in Israel, known as "shnat" for the age group of 18-19, is an extremely influential year in one's life. We at MAROM Olami recognize this and it is one of the highest goals on our educational agenda. We encourage all young Jewish participants from across the world to join us through the many programs that we offer for a year full of experiences and personal growth. We believe that this group of young adults is the next generation of leaders within their communities. Their Zionist and Jewish growth acquired during this year continues with them throughout their lives. All programs are in full cooperation and with support of MASA, the Jewish Agency initiative of long-term programs in Israel. From Latin America, we currently have shnatnikim from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Mexico. Their program includes three tracks: Four months at the Machon or Megamot, which are schools for leadership development-- both include Jewish and Zionist studies, touring and knowledge of current events and Israeli culture. Both programs develop leadership though hadracha (counseling) skills and training. This program includes a trip to Poland, which allows the participants to gain the important experience of seeing these difficult sights and understanding the impact of the State of Israel today. The next track includes a month and a half of community volunteering which ranges from across the country in cities such as Kiryat Gat, Karmiel, Nitzana and more. This significant period includes volunteering and intertwining with the community to get a better glimpse of different aspects of Israeli society. The participants are no longer 'tourists' within the country, but live local lives with significant work. The next aspect includes three and a half months at Kibbutzim such as Keturah, Revivim and Ashalim. Kibbutz life is extraordinary in its unique life style and community life. The participants experience various work opportunities from picking fruit to milking cows. Throughout the year there are seminars on various themes, including hiking, cultural experiences and interactive sessions on current issues. The overall year contributes to the participant's identity and significantly strengthens their Jewish identity. The shnat year and its experiences take time to process and internalize and it is critical that the various MAROM staff across the world follow up with the young adults on their return and continue the momentum of Jewish growth. 43 of our participants from AMLAT have recently finished the program and our next Shnat will begin in February. Currently in Israel we have 10 participants from the UK in the Drachim program. We are currently developing a program from Sweden due to start September 2007 and we are eager to develop the Shnat programs from across the world. Come join us in this life changing experience! For more information, contact Avigail at avigail@masortiolami.org ________________________________________ New Home for Budapest Marom Adam Schoenberger, Marom Coordinator in Budapest, reports that the offices of Budapest Marom are now located on the second floor of a new cultural center called “Siraly” on Kiraly Street, in what was once Budapest’s Jewish ghetto. In an article entitled “Budapest Ghetto Gets Facelift”, Nathaniel Popper from the Jewish Week writes about the new phenomenon of young Jewish adults in Budapest who have revitalized the area of the ghetto, exploring their culture and heritage. Schoenberger is quoted a few times in the article. It’s a worthwhile read: http://www.forward.com/articles/budapest-ghetto-gets-facelift/ Join the Masorti Olami Mission to Spain, Portugal and Prague MThe past will come alive in Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic May 10- 21, 2007 on the World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues' "Mission to the Past, Present and Future" highlighting these exciting Jewish destinations as seen through the eyes of local Jewish religious leaders who are also experts in the history and heritage of these important Jewish communities . Rabbi Chaim Weiner, noted English rabbi, lecturer, educator, and world-wide authority on Spain and Portugal, as well as Director of the European Masorti Beit Din, will provide an “insider’s view of the past,” bringing the Golden Ages of Spanish and Portuguese Jewry to life before our eyes. Among the unique aspects of the mission will be an opportunity to meet, personally, with Conversos, those Jews who hid their Jewish backgrounds for hundreds of years since the Inquisition to preserve their lives but who secretly kept up a remnant of Jewish practice “behind closed doors” and in the basements of their homes. Many are beginning to reclaim their Jewish past. In the Czech Republic, Jewish Theological Seminary of America graduate Rabbi Ronald Hoffberg, who has been serving the Czech Republic as Masorti rabbi for over five years and is a much sought after guide and lecturer, will introduce the Mission to both the oldest continuous Jewish community and the newest emerging post-communism Jewish community of Prague. He will also lead the mission to fascinating, rarely visited outlining communities of the Czech community, as well as the magnificent Czech countryside, where Jewish life once flourished. The May Mission will include visits to Lisbon, Tomar, Castelo de Vide-Abrantes, Madrid, Valencia, Sagunto and Prague. In addition, the former Nazi Concentration Camp at Terezin and the Holocaust era secret synagogue of the Danish Jews will be visited. In Lisbon, the Masorti Mission will join the Masorti Beit Israel Community for kosher Shabbat meals and services. In Prague, Shabbat services will be celebrated in the historic 19th century recently restored Jerusalem-Jubilee Synagogue and with the dynamic Masorti community which Rabbi Hoffberg leads. You will meet exciting local personalities and come to know figures from our ancient past. Coordinated by The World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues and ITC Tours of Livingston, New Jersey, this is a not-to-be-missed mission of discovery and Jewish vitality. For further information and prices, contact Rabbi Richard Hammerman, Sr. Vice President of the World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues at rahammerman@gmail.com or call ITC Tours 1-800-247-7235 or 973-535-2575. ________________________________________ November Printed Newsletter The “Masorti Olami News” was published in November in English, with a shorter version in Spanish. Copies were sent to our kehillot around the world. It will also be available on our website. If you would like to receive your own copy (or multiple copies to give to people you know who may be interested), please contact mail@masortiolami.org and send us your mailing address. ________________________________________ Announcement to Visitors to Masorti Kehillot in Europe If you are planning to visit a Masorti kehillah on your travels, it is advisable to get in touch with the leadership ahead of time. Often the security is extremely tight and restrictions may require one to fax a passport or come ahead of time in order to be admitted. ________________________________________ Mazal Tov to Schechter Institute A ground-breaking ceremony for the new Schechter campus in Jerusalem took place on Tuesday, November 28 in the presence of Yuli Tamir, Minister of Education, Zeev Bielski, Chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization and leaders of the Masorti Movement from Israel and throughout the world. We look forward to the dedication of the new building in two years. At the recent Schechter Rabbinical Seminary ordination four rabbis were ordained, including Schorsch Fellow Jean Claude Suder who has served Adath Shalom Est in East Paris. Mazal Tov! For more information about the Schechter Institute and its programs, see http://www.schechter.edu/ Chanukah 5767 Chanukah is observed for eight days, beginning on the evening of the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. This year Chanukah begins at sundown on December 15, 2006 and ends on December 24, 2006 (25 Kislev - 2 Tevet). Here’s some interesting comments and observations from the Morim web-site: http://en.morim.org/Contents.aspx?id=2002 “That Chanukah falls on 25 Kislev is nothing new. But that “or” (“light” in Hebrew) is the twenty-fifth word of the Torah may come as news to you. The original light of Creation, which G-d first called into existence on the day when the universe began, is the light that is concentrated in this number 25. And obviously it is hidden. The mystics assert that this is the reason why our people’s most important declaration of faith, the Shema Israel, is inexorably composed of 25 letters. Because when we recite the Shema, a little of that light spreads out.” “Each time we light a candle, we hold the potential of sparking the light we have the capacity to be. “Everyone must know and understand that within burns a candle and no one’s candle is identical with the candle of another and there is no human being without a candle. So everyone must know and understand that one is obligated to work hard to reveal the light of one’s candle in the public realm for the benefit of the many. One needs to ignite one’s candle and make of it a great torch to enlighten the whole world.” (Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, quoted in Noam Zion, A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, 2004) You can learn about the origins and practices of Chanukah from Rabbi Isaac Klein’s “A Guide to Religious Practice” on the Jewish Theological Seminary’s web site: http://learn.jtsa.edu/hanukkah/ On the site you will also find commentaries, greeting cards, children’s activities and recipes. In a special section called “What is a Jew?” Dr. Ismar Schorsch discusses the historical and cultural background of the holiday. Jacob Richman’s website has with many links for Chanukah, ranging from laws and customs to songs, games, greeting cards, clip art and recipes. Site languages include English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Italian. The web address is: http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaych.htm The Jewish Agency’s Department for Jewish Zionist Education is a good resource for information and activities in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Hebrew and German: http://www.jafi.org.il/education/festivls/hanuka/index.html Two additional websites worth checking out are sponsored by the American Joint Distribution Committee: http://morim.org/ActiveHoliday.aspx which includes programs and resources for teachers and http://madrichim.org/ActiveHoliday.aspx with resources for counselors. There are thousands of recipes for latkes on the web, but here’s one that’s actually healthy—a No Fry Latke! Each latke has only 36 calories per latke and 1 gram of fat. Just don’t add the sour cream and spoil your efforts! http://www.gourmania.com/recipesmlym/mlnym_nofrylatkes.htm Our best wishes from all of us at Masorti Olami to all of you for a Chanukah filled with light and joy. ________________________________________ A Taste of Torah The Conservative Yeshiva, housed at the United Synagogue's Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem, is proud to bring opportunities for the study of Torah into your home: 1. Rabbi Mordecai Silverstein, senior teacher of Midrash and Talmud writes a Haftarah Commentary each and every week: www.uscj.org.il/haftarahArchive.php 2. Dr. Josh Kulp, one of the founders of the Yeshiva who teaches Mishna and Talmud, produces the "Mishna Yomit" (Daily Mishna) Study Program for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism — on line: www.uscj.org/Mishnah_Yomit6189.html 3. The "Rosh Yeshiva" of the Conservative Yeshiva, faculty members and students contribute to the "Divre Torah" page on the Yeshiva web site: www.uscj.org/israelcenter/yeshiva2005/divreTorah.php For additional learning opportunities, go to the Masorti Olami website home page or click directly on: http://www.masortiworld.org/Parshat-Hashavua/ ________________________________________ Learn Hebrew Webmaster Jacob Richman now has a web site called ”Learn Hebrew” and comes complete with audio and transliterations. It can be found at: http://www.learn-hebrew.co.il ”Learn Hebrew” is a free, on-line, educational resource to learn Hebrew words. The flash site incorporates 46 topics, along with over 1,700 Hebrew words and phrases. Each Hebrew word is presented as an image with vowels. When you click on a word or phrase you can hear it spoken. The high quality audio was created in a sound studio. The site is multilingual. The menus, transliterations and translations are in five languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish and Dutch. We hope you will find the site easy to use and very educational.