TORAH READING FOR CHOL HAMOËD SUKKOT SHABBAT 17 TISHRI 5785 Oct 18-19, 2024
SHAZOOM ONLY 6:30 PM Oct 18, 2024
MOADIM L’SIMCHA – Joyous Festivals!
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND ALL THE VICTIMS OF CONFLICT
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” p.178
SHALOM RAV al Yisraël amcha tasim l’olam, v’al kol yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru. Amen.
GRANT ABUNDANT PEACE to Israel Your people forever, [and all who inhabit the earth. Amen.]
PARSHA
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/chol-hamo-eid-sukkot
Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot – חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד סֻכֹּת – Intermediate Days of Sukkot
Holidays Exodus 33:12-34:26 from Pasha Ki Tisa (כִּי תִשָּׂא — Hebrew for “when you take”)
Moses said to the Eternal, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people forward,’ but You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. Further, You have said, ‘I have singled you out by name, and you have, indeed, gained My favor.'”- Exodus 33:12
SUMMARY
On the Shabbat during Sukkot, we are reminded of the age-old desire to know God. Moses implores God to let him see God. While God will not allow Moses to see God’s face, God tells Moses, “I will make My goodness pass before you…” Perhaps we experience the divine presence through the goodness we create in the world. The Torah then sets forth the thirteen attributes of God, among them that God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. By emulating these very attributes, we create the goodness which allows us to know God.
HAFTARAH – Shabbat during Sukkot
Ezekiel 38:18-39:7, [historic: 38:18-39:16], The Book of Ecclesiastes is Read
RECOMMENDED READING
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/chol-hamo-eid-sukkot
Real and Imagined: A Sukkot Balancing Act
By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH and REFLECTION
Until further notice, we will meet on Fridays for Shazoom only. Please see the NEW Shazoom schedule below. Read this week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.33.12-34.26, and Haftarah at www.sefria.org/Ezekiel.38:18-39.7.
From “The Torah / A Women’s Commentary” edited by Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D., Women of Reform Judaism/The Federation of Temple Sisterhoods and URJ Press New York 2008
וזאת הברכה V’zot Hab’rachah – Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12 [usually read at Simchat Torah]
Contemporary Reflection – Naamah Kalman, pp. 1286-7
MOSES’ FINAL BLESSING to the tribes of Israel forms the coda for the five books of the Torah traditionally attributed to Moses. Often in Deuteronomy, Moses has admonished the people of Israel, sometimes threatening or even bullying them. Throughout the book, however, he also has offered the people blessings and a vision of God’s love and potential rewards. Now, at the very end, Moses fills the people with hope and promise as he speaks to their best selves. As the greatest of teachers, Moses puts into words what they instinctively know they long for but cannot quite articulate.
Moses and Israel began together as an erstwhile prince leading a band of slaves to freedom. Now, the people Israel are not only free, but also they are about to be responsible for their own lives in their own land. As they become a sovereign people, Moses (as it were) stitches them together, tribe after tribe, weaving a dramatic finale: “Thus Israel dwells in safety, / Untroubled is Jacob’s abode” (33:28). This stunning statement confirms the Israelites’ greatest hope, as well as ours today, envisioning a time even beyond the battles that lie ahead, when they finally will live in security and safety.
This parashah contains Moses’ last blessing, indeed his last words to the entire people, one nation with many attributes and possibilities. Our Jewish religious tradition of blessings is not one of passive acceptance or recognition; instead, blessings demand action. This is why, for the most part, we recite a blessing before we carry out an action.
Some say that the Hebrew word for blessing (b’rachah) shares the same root as the word for knee (berech), as in “bend the knee.” (Although there are scholars who dispute that theory, certainly our rabbis delighted in such wordplays.) When we recite a blessing, we bend ever so slightly, diminishing ourselves so as to affirm the Other and look deep into ourselves. Through prayer, we express our gratitude, ask for more blessings, and strive to reach beyond our present limitations. Acknowledging that which is not necessarily in our control, we hope for God’s gifts of a healthy, secure, and bountiful life, a life of purpose and meaning. This is Moses’ b’rachah to us, then and now: to gather the best within and around ourselves so as to fulfill the “promise” of the Promised Land.
After Moses blesses the tribes, he then stands atop Mount Nebo and surveys the entire land. Viewing the Negev and the valley of Jericho–city of date palms–south to Zoar, perhaps Moses is able to discard all the what if’s, should have’s, maybe’s, and if only’s. Perhaps he feels some sense of closure, an acceptance of what he could and could not accomplish in a lifetime. There is a certain humility in knowing our limits and recognizing when it is time to move on.
Part of Moses’ blessing involves the ability to dream of what he will not see or experience directly. Affirming the future is what leadership is all about: knowing and accepting that our best dreams may be realized by others who come after us. Moses’ words remind us that we need to pray and work for the blessings of justice, equality, and peace in order to fulfill our promise as individuals and to build the best family, community, society, and country that we can. We learn from Moses that sometimes we have to scale mountains in order to come closer to these blessings.
The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. invoked the scene on Mount Nebo in the famous speech he delivered in Memphis the day before he was assassinated (1968). He said: “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land” (“I See the Promised Land,” April 3, 1968). This speech turned out to be Dr. King’s last. Like Moses, his final words were a blessing for justice and peace in the service of God. This legacy of hope and vision of who we can and must become urges us on, reminding us of the dreams that remain for us to actualize.
Whenever we finish a book of the Torah in the synagogue’s cycle of readings, those who are present respond immediately with three words: Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek! “Be strong, be strong [in the singular] and we will be strong [in the plural].” My late father, Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, taught: Why do we say chazak twice, when once would be enough? It is to tell us that if you and I each are strong, then together we are even stronger. In other words, this is a true “win/win” situation: I need you to be strong so I can be strong too.
My father’s lesson is especially true for the Jewish people today. As Jewish women, we need to be strong so that we can experience and contribute to the fullness of our Jewish tradition. Women’s entry into the leadership of Jewish life and their involvement in every aspect of communal, religious, and intellectual life is the blessing of the last 30 years. Women have opened new vistas, introduced innovations in every vital sphere of Jewish living, and empowered themselves and their daughters and granddaughters. The Jewish world has been profoundly reshaped; yet there is still a way to go. Future generations of women must continue to redefine family and work, renew ritual, scale new horizons of scholarship, write liturgy and poetry, and make music, all the while recreating the Jewish community and its structures. The Jewish people can only be strong when it embraces all of its members; it takes the involvement of both Jewish women and Jewish men to make our community fuller and more vibrant.
Thus, the reading of the Torah ends with blessings and the charge to strengthen ourselves and our community. Moses teaches us to reach for blessings for ourselves and others, to strive for the humility to know our task, and to dream of how to transform what is to what can be.
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.376
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL p.552
O HEAVENLY ONE, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel which marks the dawning of hope for all who seek peace. Shield it beneath the wings of your love; spread over it the canopy of Your peace; send Your light and truth to all who lead and advise, guiding them with Your good counsel. Establish peace in the land and fullness of joy for all who dwell there. Amen.
FOR HEALING – El Na R’fa Na Lah!
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.
This coming week, 17 Tishri through 23 Tishri, we lovingly remember:
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
SHAZOOM ONLY
We will meet for Shazoom ONLY this evening, Shabbat in Sukkot, Friday, October 18, 2024. Please see the NEW Shazoom schedule below.
Zoom regularly updates its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this evening with wine/grape juice for Kiddush and Challah for Motzi.
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Oct 18, 2024 06:30 PM Arizona
To join Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Passcode: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
SH’MINI ATZERET-SIMCHAT TORAH – Rejoicing of the Torah – October 23-24, 2024
Shmini Atzeret 2024 / שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת 5785
Eighth Day of Assembly
Shmini Atzeret for Hebrew Year 5785 begins at sundown on Wednesday, 23 October 2024 and ends at nightfall on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת – “the Eighth [day] of Assembly”) is a Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (first month of calendar). In the Diaspora, an additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred to as Simchat Torah. In Israel and Reform Judaism, the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined into a single day and the names are used interchangeably [underlining mine.]
We are now approaching the end of the annual High Holy Days period which began with the preparations during the month of Elul and extends through Sukkot, the third and last of the “regalim” (pilgrimage festivals). Many think of the High Holy Days as being only Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and by extension the ten days of repentance/awe in between. However, we begin greeting each other with Shana Tovah at the S’lichot Service several days before Rosh Hashanah. In addition, tradition teaches that we may still repent and receive forgiveness for our mistakes, failings and errors through Hoshana Rabah (the great supplication), which takes place on the seventh day of Sukkot.
We then cap it all off with the holidays of Shemini Atzéret (eighth day of assembly) and Simchat Torah (rejoicing with/of the Torah) – in Israel and the Reform Movement, the two holidays are combined into one. The former is mandated in Torah and the latter, a Rabbinical holiday, probably originated during the middle ages.
Among other things, the Simchat Torah celebration involves singing to and “dancing” with all the Torah Scrolls seven times around the sanctuary and sometimes spilling out onto the street – the circuits are called hakafot. We also read the last portion of Devarim (Deuteronomy) and the first of Berëshit (Genesis), ending one and beginning another annual cycle of readings from the Torah with great fanfare and joy.
Whether we believe the Torah is God’s word written by Moses, or ancient literature that reflects the times and circumstances of its compilers and editors, it is the profound and rich story of the Jewish people. It contains valuable lessons to be learned from its triumphs and defeats, its lofty ideals and miserable failings, its strengths and foibles. It ultimately represents Jewish values and ethics, and how to be in the world and repair it.
The Jewish people and Torah are one – we live! So, as we celebrate, with the same fervor that we made our resolutions, may we fully implement what we resolved to improve in ourselves and repair the world. Seek peace and pursue it (Ps. 34:14).
Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat/Gut Shabbos v’Chag Sameach!
-Ruben
PS – Some Sukkot Greetings besides Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday):
Yom Tov or Gut Yontiv (“a good [holy] day”)
Chag Sukkot Sameach (“happy Sukkot holiday”)
Chag Z’man Simchateinu Sameach (“happy ‘time of our rejoicing’ holiday”)
Chag HaAsif Sameach (“happy ‘Ingathering’ holiday”)
Moadim l’Simcha (“joyous festivals”) and response Chagim u’zmanim l’sason (“joyous holidays and seasons!” [these are used during the intermediate days]
PPS – NEW Schedule through December 2024 for Shazoom (Arizona Time Zone):
October 18, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
Shabbat in Sukkot – Chol HaMoed Sukkot
[October 23-24, 2024 – Shemini Atzéret & Simchat Torah]
October 25, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
November 1, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
November 15, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
November 22, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[November 28, 2024 – Thanksgiving]
November 29, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm TBD
December 6, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
December 13, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
December 20, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[December 25, 2024 – sundown First Candle Chanukah]
December 27, 2024 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[December 31, 2024 – Secular New Year’s Eve]
[January 1, 2025 – Secular New Year’s Day]
[January 2, 2025 – Chanukah ends at nightfall]