Passover FAQ’s: Four Questions on How to Observe Passover

 

1. What is Passover?

 

Passover or Pesach is a week-long biblical Festival of Freedom held every spring (8 days in Conservative/Orthodox diaspora practice). It begins with one or two Seders, meals with symbolic foods in which we retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

 

The Seder text is found in the Haggadah (plural: Haggadot), of which there are countless versions, some downloadable! Many Jewish households have a Seder at home or with friends the first night (April 3 this year) and participate in the community Seder on the second night (April 4 his year). 

 

2. Which foods are passed up during Passover?

 

On Passover, we abstain from eating chametz or leavened foods. (“Ch” as in  “Bach” or “Challah”) Chametz is simply defined as one of five grains: wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt, once moistened and beginning to ferment. That means no regular bread, cakes, crackers, cereals, pasta, cookies, or even grain-based alcoholic drinks or vinegars during Passover. Traditional cooks came up with many ingenious substitutes to provide plenty of holiday delicacies. Many 

from Ashkenazic (Northern and Eastern European) background also abstain from “kitniyot” (legumes) and rice during Passover, although these are not expressly forbidden, and there is something of a movement to include them in the menu. 

 

3. How does one prepare for Passover?

 

Chametz should be removed from the home during the holiday. A thorough “spring cleaning” is the first step to removing stray crumbs. Traditional Jews “kasher” the kitchen and usually have special dishes and pots just for this holiday. It is a memorable ritual to search for crumbs of chametz on the eve of the holiday and burn them in the morning. Instructions can be found in most Haggadot and here: http://bit.ly/1HWE40j

 

 

Since we should not own chametz foods over Passover and may not be able to give them all away, it is also an old tradition to symbolically “sell” any remaining chametz for the duration of the festival. To sell your chametz through CBI, contact Rabbi Danan, rabbi@cbichico.org, and she will include you in the sale. The food should be placed in a closed area during the holiday.

 

4. Why is Matzah different from all other breads?

 

Matzah is made of flour mixed with water and cooked at a very high temperature within 18 minutes, before it can become leavened. It can be regular or whole wheat (higher fiber). Make sure that Matzah purchased says, “Kosher for Passover,” because some varieties are made for year round use and not for following holiday laws. Locally, you can find Passover matzah and some other holiday foods at Raleys and Safeway, and individual boxes of mitzvah at Trader Joe’s.

 

Go and Learn!

 

For everything you would like to know about Passover, including the Seder, food, laws, and 

deeper meanings, visit: http://bit.ly/1xsClvQ

 

Or check out books on Jewish holidays in the CBI library.

 

 

 

 

Cleaning Out the Hametz (Leaven)

 

 

This post is excerpted from Rabbi Dr. Julie Danan's book The Jewish Parents Almanac.

 

Spiritually, the hametz has been explained as symbolic of puffy human pride and ego, while the flat, simple matzah represents humble faith in God. The liberation of Pesah is really the freedom to serve God rather than a false taskmaster: "Let my people go, that they may serve me."  We become free  not for selfish purposes, but to live the life of a "holy nation."

 

As hands clean together and the house is transformed, spirits

can awaken with the spring to new learning, new growth, new directions, and new opportunities to serve. Can we do this without the demanding physical mitzvot, the concrete rituals? Of course... sometimes, when we're inspired, when circumstances are right. The genius of Judaism is to institutionalize this chance for liberation into an annual process. Moreover, the traditional Passover preparations, followed by the seder and the holiday week, create a vehicle, a kli, for passing on important teachings to the next generation. 

 

Hametz: A Lot of Hot Air

 

Before we can observe Passover, we must rid our house of hametz, all the fluffy leavened foods. Although a certain amount of drudgery is involved in the task, it is also often exhilarating to give the house a thorough cleaning, to throw out lots of old junk we don't really need.

 

The puffy hametz could symbolize all the "hot air" in our lives, all the overinflated business that takes up so much of our time and energy. Just as the crumbs of bread may often be found in every nook and cranny of the house, "Crumbs" of overblown nonessentials may have invaded every facet of our lives. 

 

Cleaning out hametz and subsisting on matzah the most basic food -- gives us a chance to reflect on the essentials versus the extraneous parts of our lives. Are important things like the family crowded out by "hot air" tasks?

 

Sometimes we must clean out a lot of fluff, even to live on "the bread of bare basics," in order to be really liberated. 

 

Experiences at the OHALAH Rabbinic Conference 

 

By Rabbi Dr. Julie Hilton Danan

 

From January 11-14, 2015, I was at the annual OHALAH Rabbinic Conference in Bloomfield, Colorado, with a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains. The conference is a gathering of rabbis, cantors, and rabbinic pastors (chaplains) dedicated to Jewish Renewal. About 200 attendees came from all over North America and also from other countries around the world. Some come early for the pre-Conference Shabbaton, led by the Rabbinic students. I have been going to this conference for many years and watching it grow as the interest in Jewish Renewal has increased and attracted rabbis from all backgrounds as well as those, like me, who got their semichah (rabbinic ordination) in the ALEPH Rabbinic Program.

 

The theme of this year’s conference was Integral Tikkun Olam: Exporing New Visions. Here is the official description: “Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi pioneered “Integral Halachah,” an approach to Jewish praxis that focuses on including and transcending what went before. Similarly, our conference theme invites a focus on including and transcending both traditional and contemporary concepts of Tikkun Olam.  What does repairing the world really mean in its fullest expression?  What has the past taught us?  What needs healing now and into the future?  What are the social, moral, historical, and mystical avenues of exploring and expanding Tikkun Olam?  Through this theme, OHALAH continues to bring together present and emerging generations of leadership to explore common concerns and new visions in all Four Worlds – the worlds of doing, feeling, thinking, and being.”

 

The Keynote speaker was Ruth Messenger, the amazing (75 year old) president and CEO of the American Jewish World Service, the leading Jewish human rights and development organization working to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world. We also heard from several rabbis who are leaders in Tikkun Olam: Uri Regev, of Hiddush, which works for religious freedom and equality in Israel, Rebecca Sirbu from CLAL and Rabbis Without Borders, Justus Baird, dean of Auburn Theological Seminary, Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, and Michael Lerner, founder of Tikkun Magazine.

 

After my long trip from Chico, I arrived just in time to catch the very emotional peak of the Semichah (ordination ceremony) for nine rabbis, two hazzanim (cantors) and one rabbinic pastor (chaplain). That really took me back to my own ordination and I could feel the energy emanating from the bima coming all the way from Mt. Sinai. You can read more about it here: http://kolaleph.org/2015/01/13/largest-aleph-ordination-ever/

I also attended sessions on topics ranging from Hassidic texts on prayer, to alternative dues and participation models for synagogues, to rabbinic ethics. There was a session on contemporary issues in Halachah (Jewish Law). There were all kinds of davening (prayer, meditation, and chanting) options, a shuk (marketplace) for books and products, and as always great music and energy. There was programming some days from 7:30am to 11pm, including through most meals (with a non-programmed dining room in case your brain entered over-drive). But we also had some fun (at least what rabbis think is fun J). Imagine a bunch of rabbis and cantors hanging out in the hotel lobby singing Hebrew songs; yes, it is like summer camp for grownups. The hotel also has a nice fitness area and spa where weary clergy can relax in the hot tub while watching snowflakes waft through the mountain air.

 

This was the first OHALAH Conference since Reb Zalman’s passing (although I was at the same hotel in August for a Shabbaton in his memory). I wondered how the conference organizers would handle that, and they did a wonderful job. I felt that Reb Zalman’s memory was continually honored, without the conference becoming just a memorial to him. Rather, it was a tribute to his legacy in the coming generations. A room was set up like a quiet sanctuary with artwork, meditation cushions, the Rebbe’s empty chair and rainbow tallit, dim lighting from candles, tzedakah box, memory journal, a place to leave stones to be put on his grave, and a recording of Reb Zalman singing some quiet niggunim (Hassidic melodies). The conference used to always close with a talk by the Rebbe. This year, there was some planning for a final talk, but in the end we had a wonderful prayer service and a joyful song and blessing to send us on our way.

 

Finally, at the close of the conference I was able to realize my goal of visiting Reb Zalman’s grave, on a beautiful hillside in Boulder. It has not been a year yet, and the headstone has not been set, but the kever (grave) was clearly visible from the many stones that had been left on it, including some with words inscribed on them. There was also a purple yoyo left in tribute by a famous rabbi (ask me if you want to know the story behind that!). After days of fog (impenetrable tule fog on our way to the Sacramento airport, snowy mist during the conference), a bright sun had come out and the air was clear and beautiful, the vista inspiring. I felt the depth of the heritage Reb Zalman has given us, and the inspiration to stand on his shoulders and carry forward the work of Jewish Renewal for generations to come. Ken Yehi Ratzon, in accordance with the divine will, may it be so.

 

I am also happy to share that I have had three recent publications you might enjoy:

 

“Be Happy. Yom Kippur,” an essay that appeared in Kerem: Creative Explorations in Judaism. There are many references to Yom Kippur at CBI in the article. You can read it online here: 
http://kerem.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/K14-danan-5-FINAL.pdf

 

I also published an essay in a new book, Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation on Rabbinical Education, edited by Rabbi Hayim Herring, Ph.D. and Ellie Roscher. You can learn more about the book or order it here: http://ktfrabbi.avenidabooks.com/

 

Finally, a Devar Torah that I gave at last summer’s memorial Shabbaton for Reb Zalman was posted and can be read on Kol Aleph, the Jewish Renewal Blog: 
http://kolaleph.org/2014/08/19/a-simple-dvar-torah-by-rabbi-julie-danan/

 

Invitation to My New Website

December 30, 2013

I want to invite everyone to visit my new website, Wellsprings of Wisdom: http://wellspringsofwisdom.com/

You are invited to “immerse yourself in the Torah of mother earth” through creative experiences, shared stories, and ancient wisdom.

 

When I did my graduate study about Rabbinic Aggadah (lore, legends) at the University of Texas, I was especially intrigued by its deep and meaningful symbolism, especially related to nature. Jewish symbols are much more than a Magen David. For example, what does a tree, a mountain, or a well symbolize in the Bible and Midrash, and in our inner experience? A couple of years ago, I made Jewish Symbols the study of our Shabbat morning adult class, and the topic was enjoyed by the students, who also contributed a lot from their personal lives.

 

Then I looked for a way to share these treasures with the rest of our congregation and with a wider audience, and came up with the idea of building a website, which I started during my Sabbatical. I built the site myself using Squarespace, and there has been quite a learning curve involved! Presenting the material on a website, I can use photos, videos, recordings, and music. And most important to me, I have set up each content page so that visitors can respond and interact with me and with one another. It really has been a labor of love, and I hope you enjoy it.

 

The resulting website, Wellsprings of Wisdom is designed as a site for your soul, “an island of quiet contemplation in a sea of noisy information.” At this “virtual retreat center,” ancient Jewish symbols from nature become gateways designed to promote  personal growth and action. Several Gateways (my name for content pages) are already open for exploration and more will continue to be added.

The site, rooted in teachings from the Bible and Jewish tradition, welcomes spiritual seekers of all backgrounds. The wellsprings of Torah are the inheritance of the Jewish people, no matter your denominational background or style of observance. And the Torah was given in the wilderness to demonstrate that it is open for everyone (of any faith) who wants to receive it.

 

I hope that you will visit the site and I especially appreciate if you will comment in the Sharing Spaces on the site. Feedback is welcome to make the site better. It would be wonderful if you share the site with your friends!

 

The Miracle of Gratitude

 

December 9, 2014

 

Some Sages have asked the question: why don’t we celebrate Hanukkah for seven days instead of eight? Sure, Talmudic lore has it that the little jug of oil last for eight days instead of one, but then the first day was not a miracle; there was enough oil there for one day!

 

My favorite answer to this is that we celebrate the first day to show our gratitude for the miracle of the natural world. It’s a miracle that oil can burn and give a clear light, and that we had the G-d-given intelligence and curiosity to figure that out. Miracles are not only supernatural occurrences. The following quotation has been attributed to Albert Einstein: “There are two ways to live. You can live as if everything is a miracle or as if nothing is.”

 

One of my greatest teachers ever on the miracle of gratitude was our late member, Ted Zuckerman. When I went to see him in the hospital, and later when I visited him at home with Chaplain Loretta Steinke a few days before his death, he couldn’t stop thanking me and expressing his amazement that I had taken time “from my busy schedule” to come and see him. He also showered the same thanks on Loretta’s friend and colleague Will, who drove us up to Paradise, repeatedly saying in awe, “You don’t even know me and you came to see me!” All of us were profoundly moved by our encounter with this dying man whose only thought was to thank us for the simple act of being at his bedside. Later Ted’s family told me that Ted has always been this way. He was diagnosed with a chronic illness in young adulthood and never took his life for granted, but was extremely grateful for each day of life and every person he encountered.

 

I have been truly overwhelmed with gratitude at recent events in our community, both sad and joyful. When Ted passed on, a team of CBI members came to do shemirah, saying Psalms at the funeral home in Paradise throughout the entire night. A team of male volunteers came to do Taharah, washing and dressing his body while saying prayers. Others helped out in generous and amazing ways. Each and every act was behind the scenes, not expecting any thanks and in fact, seeking anonymity. It is said that the Hevra Kaddishah is hesed shel emet, the truest kindness, because it can never be paid, even in thanks from the recipient. The satisfaction of this mitzvah is completely internal, and it is profound.

 

L’havdil (to make a separation), at the joyful occasion of Cai’s Bat Mitzvah, a spontaneous team of friends just poured forth their love and support for the Jackson family to make it a huge happy community Simchah in every aspect. Once again, my heart was bursting with gratitude for the members of our community.

 

Sometimes after the intensive communal project of the fall Holidays, it’s natural for us to feel a little fatigue or even a shade of burnout after all we have been doing and giving to others. This is a wonderful time to pause, to nurture ourselves and count our blessings. It’s also a time to emulate Ted, to think of all the many things that our family, friends and community do for us every day and then take a moment to thank them from the heart. Todah Rabbah!

 

The winter gives us time to recharge our energy, symbolized by the glow of the menorah. May we remember that not all miracles are supernatural. Just being grateful for life and loved ones lets us know that everything is a miracle. 

 

Notes of Sorrow, Notes of Hope

 

November 18, 2014

 

Today was a very sad and tragic day for the Jewish people and humanity when two terrorists brutally killed innocent men at prayer in a Jerusalem synagogue: Rabbi Moshe Twersky (head of a Yeshivah), Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, Rabbi Kalman Levine, and Aryeh Kupinsky. These davenners were American Jews and a British Jew, and so it struck particularly close to home, as most of them were friends of my friends, and one was related to our own Rabbi Zwiebel of Chico Chabad. I was also heartbroken by the photo of a vibrant young Israeli Druze police office Zidan Sayif, pictured in a happy moment with his infant daughter. This brave man was mortally wounded rushing to defend the victims and later died.

 

Where is the end of this violence and bloodshed? There have been many losses on both sides of the conflict in recent months, and there is a great burden on both sides to work for a solution, but there is simply no justification for such wanton and cruel murder.

 

Will our local peace demonstrators in downtown Chico dare to protest this terror attack? Those who commit terrorism don’t just want to kill people; they also want to kill peace, and they have almost succeeded.

 

I can’t forget that there are so many people who are working to bridge the divides and bring peace and healing to our holy land. I try to celebrate and promote every group and individual who works for peace. But on days like today, I can just stop and mourn.

------

On a more hopeful note, I was very thankful for our Shabbat with Scholar-in-Residence Danny Siegel. It was wonderful to spend time with this Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam legend. Thank you to everyone who helped with the food: Carol Edelman, Fran Halimi, Cheryl Jackson, Leanna Rawley, Victor Mlotok and many board members, and to our musicians David Frankel, Scott Pressman and Victor Mlotok. Thank you to the Pressmans and the Millers for generously hosting events in your homes. Thank you to Sharone Edelman for driving him to the airport in Sacramento.

Danny’s visit made me realize how many incredible mitzvah people we have in our congregation. When he taught about responding to homelessness and poverty, I thought about Nancy Evens, Maureen Knowlton and our countless volunteers who have made meals every month for three years at the Torres Shelter. I thought of Loretta Steinke walking with the Downtown Ambassadors and feeding people at the Torres Shelter. I started to tell Danny about all the many mitzvot that members of our congregation do for local and global health, education, peace, helping the disabled, and the environment, and how much people volunteer for the synagogue. I know that he was impressed and it made me really proud to be part of our community.

That very week I had extra reason to be awed at the work of our all-volunteer Hevra Kaddishah. Sharon Kaplan, Steve Margolin, and Robin Black led a very informative, meaningful and well-attended Taharah training. I was amazed by how much they had learned and how well they shared it, and how many people wanted to come and learn this challenging mitzvah. Members of the Hevra did shemirah (guarding, reading psalms including overnight), and taharah (ritual washing), for our precious departed member Ted Zuckerman. Ahuvah Phillips took a full long day to drive me to the Bay Area so I could lead Ted’s, and Loretta drove me to lead Oscar Dobkin’s funeral in Igo. Meanwhile Sunshine and Mitzvot chair Leanna Rawley was making sure that members who had an illness had calls, visits, and food brought to their house, often prepared by other members. Chaplain Loretta and a lot of our members visit the sick and to visit homebound elders. This is the meaning of community.

 

Danny urged our teens and young families to look at the things you like to do, the things you are good at or just enjoy, and find a way to do tzedakah and tikkun Olam with them. I hope that you took and enjoyed the Jewish texts he shared along his suggestions about personalized, hands-on tzedakah and mitzvot.

Reb Zalman’s widow, Dr. Eve Ilsen, is writing a blog, and tonight in the wake of the terrorist attack in Har Nof, she wrote, “I hear Zalman's voice reminding me, simply, ‘Tzedakah saves from death’---and I wonder what group on the ground there we can give to, that pursues peace steadfastly and effectively.” This was the same teaching that Danny Siegel shared with us on Shabbat morning. In the face of terror and extremism, let’s redouble our commitment to tzedakah, to peace,  to righteous giving and caring in the world, and to supporting all those who work for Tikkun Halev (healing the heart) and Tikkun Olam (healing the world). 

 

Judaism is Much More than Holidays:

Danny Siegel Tells Us Why

 

by Rabbi Dr. Julie Danan

 

The major fall holidays are over, and now we can focus on the other half of Judaism! Equally important to our faith are the nonritual areas. the Jewish interpersonal values and mitzvot (good deeds) we practice and pass on. So much of Jewish life today seems concerned with how Judaism will survive and who is a Jew, but Jewish values and mitzvot, by contrast, are about the existential questions of why we are Jewish.

 

Danny Siegel, our guest scholar November 7-9, will awaken us to new dimensions of interpersonal mitzvot, tzedakah, and service to others. He will speak at both Friday and Saturday services, at our Shabbat morning class, and in special member-hosted programs for teen families and younger families (for which we anticipate guests from the temple in Redding to join us).

 

Danny Siegel really is "Mr. Tzedakah" (charity) and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). So many of the values behaviors that we take for granted in our Jewish communities, from b'nei mitzvah service projects to earmarked donations, Jewish family foundations to the study of texts about interpersonal behavior, can all be traced back to Danny's groundbreaking books and teachings. His fund, Ziv Tzedakah fund, started when he collected a few dollars from friends to give away to the work of "Mitzvah Heroes" in Israel and the U.S. He ended up giving away $14 million over the years. He is also a poet and has spoken at over 500 Jewish organizations.

 

It's a rare bit of luck that we are having Danny visit our community. We had another speaker lined up who was unable to come, and Danny, his old friend, generously offered to take his place. I've known Danny since my years of involvement in CAJE, the Jewish educational organization, and used a lot of his teaching in my book, The Jewish Parents' Almanac. I hope that many of you will come and learn from this great teacher and role model.

 

Why we want to stay Jewish after 4,000 years of history cannot be reduced to a simple desire for ethnic continuity. Whether or not we conceive of ourselves as "religious," many of us believe that our presence as a small people has had a profound impact on civilization: morally, ethically, intellectually. 

Wish so many social, environmental, and health issues affect our nation and our planet, it's easy to get overwhelmed. The Jewish approach has been that every individual deed matters, and "you are required to do the whole job, but neither are you free to slack off from doing your part" (Pirke Avot). Danny Siegel helps us assume our responsibility, find our personal tzedakah passions, and have fun in the process. 

I hope to see you the weekend of November 7-9 with Danny Siegel. See the full schedule of events.

 

After Yom Kippur, Sukkot brings Heaven to Earth

 

Sukkot is the Jewish fall harvest festival and a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. We live in huts covered with branches, in emulation of our ancestors who wandered in the desert, farmed the land of Israel, and made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the festivals. 

Sukkot is a very physical holiday. On the recent Days of Awe—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur--we were in a very high place spiritually. Our task in the fall festivals of Sukkot is to gradually ground that exalted spiritual energy into our everyday world. We do this by building a sukkah, a green outdoor dwelling that engages our entire bodies, as the Baal Shem Tov said, even the mud on our shoes. 

We live as much as possible in the sukkah all week, eating or even sleeping in it. We wave the lulav (branches of palm, myrtle, and willow) and etrog together as another way to connect with nature and ask God's blessing over the earth. 

Sukkot is capped off with an additional holiday, Shemini-Atzeret/Simchat Torah during which we dance with the Torahs and embody the energy that we want to bring into our lives in the year to come. We take that light of Yom Kippur all the way down to our dancing feet making contact with the earth. And so it is with Judaism, a religion that bridges heaven and earth. Our vision may be in the heavens, our minds may be soaring through the holy books, but ultimately we must bring the vision and the learning down to earth by employing our hands, and feet and physical energy to do mitzvot, good deeds, acts of kindness, giving tzedakah, and repairing the world. 
 

Sukkot is the season of our joy, a time that combines the energy of the High Holy days with the sensory joys of the harvest and nature. We will have wonderful holiday experiences nearly every day of the festival. You can find the full schedule on the Sukkot story and Shabbat & Holidays page. I hope to celebrate with you this holiday week at CBI.
 

How to have an easier Yom Kippur fast (starting now)

 

Yom Kippur is a full day fast (sunset to dark the next day), which includes abstaining from food, drink, sexual relations, anointing the body, and wearing leather shoes. It is observed by healthy adults above Bar/Bat Mizvah age. Preteens can start to fast for part of the day, to get used to it. (We must not fast if it would create a risk to our health.)

I’ll use the Kabbalistic “Four Worlds” model to give some quick tips for an easier fast:

 

1. Physical: The number one way to have an easier fast is to reduce caffeine in the days prior to Yom Kippur. Gradually mix in decaf until by Yom Kippur you are off caffeine. This will help to avoid the caffeine withdrawal headache. Also, be sure to eat well the day before Yom Kippur—it’s a mitzvah! We are required to eat a good meal before fasting, but don’t just stuff yourself at dinner. Instead, eat well throughout the day, and stay very well hydrated.
   
   Avoid spicy or salty foods at dinner, and eat fruits and vegetables during the day that contribute to hydration (such as grapes and cucumbers). Avoid too much sugar prior to fasting which can cause an energy slump. Some recommend “carb loading” the day before (as before a distance race), others say to eat some extra fat the day before.
    

2. Emotional: Do the emotional work of Yom Kippur by making amends with friends, remembering departed loved ones, giving tzedakah (charity), and getting into the spirit of the day. The real purpose of the fast is to resolve to help others less fortunate.
    

3. Mental: Consider how you understand the fast. Rather than see it as an ordeal or punishment, see it as a kind of vision quest, a day of spirituality and community, and a way to increase our sensitivity to others. Read and learn about the holiday (You can start with myjewishleaning.com and the notes in our own holiday prayer book, and we have many books on the holidays in our CBI library that you can check out).
    

4. Spiritual: Staying at services most of the day will make the day more meaningful, and also make the fast pass more quickly than going home and thinking about food. Definitely devote the day to spiritual pursuits, to your Yom Kippur vision quest, and leave any mundane chores or cares aside, for it is a “Sabbath of Sabbaths,” the holiest day of the year.

 

Wishing everyone an easy and meaningful fast!

 

Let Rosh Hashanah be your excuse

By Rabbi Dr. Julie Hilton Danan

Recently several people have spoken to me about different situations in which they have had a falling out with a friend or family member. They aren’t quite sure who started it, or what to do. I’ve made the same suggestion: let Rosh Hashanah be your “excuse” to reach out!

 

Rosh Hashanah is traditionally the time to mend fences and ask forgiveness. But sometimes it’s hard to know how to open up the conversation, and it’s not always a clear and simple matter of “fault.” Sometimes we lose out on long term friendships because we have decided it’s easier to keep our defenses up and not reach out to the other person. As a rabbi, I have heard many stories of families, friends, and fellow congregants who have given up on relationships for years because neither side can take the first step. Sadly, sometimes people wait until it’s too late and are left with only regret.

 

The beautiful thing about Rosh Hashanah is that you can start by saying, “It’s that time of year when we reach out to one another… I just wanted you to know that I value our relationship and I’ll always be there for you even if we don’t agree on everything.” (This works even if the person isn’t Jewish; I just did it myself!) Obviously, tailor your message to the situation. Ideally you can offer to get together to talk, or it may just be appropriate to offer your support. The main thing is that Rosh Hashanah has given you the “excuse” to mend fences in a natural way. By the way, you can also use this handy holiday excuse to freshen up your generally healthy but neglected relationships—just get in touch to wish someone a Shanah Tovah! (Good New Year)

 

Here are ten other traditions that help get ready for a good New Year:

1. Tefillah (prayer): Take some time for extra prayer and meditation at this season, at home and synagogue. Come to Selichot at the Zeichick home on Saturday night, September 20. Get the holiday schedule on this newsletter site (under “Shabbat and Holidays”) and make your plans to come and join the community in prayer and learning.
   
   It is traditional to read Psalm 27, a hymn of confidence in God, each morning from Elul throughout the holiday season
   
   CBI congregant Shlomo Phillips has joined with others to promote an international “Worldwide Simultaneous Shema” project on Facebook. Say the Shema at 9am Pacific Time through Rosh Hashanah and you can know that thousands around the world are saying it with you for the merit of Jewish unity, safety for Israel’s young men and women in uniform, and peace.
    

2. Tzedakah (charity): The Days of Awe are a time for extra charity and righteous deeds. (It’s handy that the Annie B’s campaign is in full swing, which increases your local donation-power.) You might also decide on a volunteer job or kind deeds to take on in the coming year. For Yom Kippur, we will be collecting food for the needy in our community. I also promote our CBI Torres Shelter Meals (local) and American Jewish World Service (international) as ways to help the truly needy in the spirit of Yom Kippur.
    

3. Teshuvah (repentence): This is the classic time to set things right, ask forgiveness, and decide on some bad habits to eliminate or good ones to adopt.
    

4. Do a “Heshbon HaNefesh” (accounting of the soul, personal stock-taking), and decide on some actions for personal growth. I will lead an exercise on this topic at Shabbat services on September 19. I also strongly encourage you to sign up here: http://www.doyou10q.com/ for 10Q, a program that will email you a personal question for each day from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. Your answers are then locked away and sent back to you a year later!
    

5. Blow the shofar, or if you don’t have a shofar, you can listen online: 
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-3JyKgt7pw
    

6. It’s traditional to remember departed loved ones, if possible by visiting their graves and also by thinking of them and giving tzedakah in their honor (and send in the Yizkor form to have them included in our Yom Kippur Yizkor service).
    

7. Get inspired with some spiritual reading. Check out our “Pearls of Elul,” thoughts for reflection and meditation, on the Congregation Beth Israel, Chico Facebook Page. (Elul is the Hebrew month prior to Rosh Hashanah.) Consider joining our Shabbat morning adult study group. The topic this year will be the teachings of Reb Zalman, of blessed memory. After the holidays, we will start to discuss his book, Jewish With Feeling, so order it now.
    

8. Send your rabbi a Rosh Hashanah card! Seriously, it’s nice to send Rosh Hashanah cards to family and friends. Ecards are nice and real, old-school paper cards are extra-special (and can later be used to decorate the sukkah).
    

9. Greet people and sign cards with “Shanah Tovah” (a good year) or the full “L’shanah Tovah tikateyvu ve-tehateymu” (may you be written and sealed for a good year).
    

10. Get ready to celebrate: shop for holiday clothes, bake a round challah or a honey cake, purchase some apples and honey, buy a new fruit for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, invite friends for a holiday meal.

 

 

Mideast conflict spreads to Chico?

 

Before I went on vacation, I decided that one of my goals for the coming year would be to establish an “Israel Matters” group at CBI, to focus on learning, teaching, dialoguing, and where need be advocating for Israel in our community. (I got the name from a group at congregation Bet Haverim in Davis, who got it from the Union for Reform Judaism.) I like the name because it implies not only that we are we dealing with “matters of Israel,” but that no matter our political leanings, Israel matters to our CBI community.

 

I recognize and honor that we have many viewpoints on Israeli policy within our own congregation. My personal outlook for more than 25 years has been to support all efforts for peace, dialogue and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians (including starting a Palestinian-Jewish dialogue in Texas that brought the first Palestinians to the nation’s largest conference of Jewish educators). Ironic then, that I must respond to some very strident anti-Israel voices in our local community by advocating the obvious, that Israel has a right and obligation to defend its own citizens like any other nation.

 

A group based at the Chico Peace and Justice Center that have been vocal in one-sided condemnation of Israel and supportive of the “B.D.S.” (boycott, divestment and sanctions) of Israel. The BDS movement makes it clear on their website that they view Israel as a foreign colonial power oppressing the “native people” of Palestine (implying that Jews are not native peoples of the land and have no deep ties of our own). They are not talking about compromise in the West Bank or Gaza, but the very founding of Israel as a Jewish state in 1948. Furthermore, the rest of Middle East violence, from Assad to ISIS, does not appear to interest them, as it is not connected to Israel. BDS is especially active on college campuses, including Chico State. I find this movement very disturbing and felt that Chico needs a more balanced perspective on the region. And yet, until now, it was mostly an “academic” issue.

 

Shortly after I returned to work this month, a CBI board member shared a picture of a billboard set up next to the Esplanade in Chico (just past Cohasset on the right side as you head south toward downtown). The billboard, purchased by a local woman from local company Stott Outdoor Advertising, has a picture of a child with a bloody face, and says, “U.S. Supports Israel Killing Children: Boycott, Divest, Sanction Israel.” Suddenly, the discussion was no longer academic, but right on a main thoroughfare in Chico. Needless to say, this billboard caused a great deal of hurt, pain, and alarm among many members of our community due to its inflammatory nature at a time when anti-Semitic incidents have risen around the world, with many of them tied to those who take out their animosity toward Israel on local Jewish communities.

 

This is not a matter of whether I think that the current Israeli government has done enough to promote peace. I identify with those in Israel who want to see them doing more, and want to see a more proactive pursuit of Shalom. However, Israel has not only a “right,” but an obligation to protect its citizens when they are being bombarded by rockets aimed at civilians and threatened by underground tunnels made with the express purpose of enabling terrorist attacks. My extended family are living there and living through the continual shelling and bombardment.

 

When I lived in a large city, I was pretty confident that the Jewish Federation, the Community Relations Council, the Anti-defamation League and other groups would respond to prejudicial and unfair statements like this billboard. But here in Chico, although we are connected to the Jewish Federation in Sacramento, I feel a personal responsibility to speak up and not remain silent. Most of the Chico community has been silent about this sign, and I don’t think they would have been silent if it was aimed at another nation or group. The Talmud says that silence means content. Or as Hillel said, “In a place where there is no person, no ‘mensch,” you have to be the person.” You have to take responsibility.

 

Fortunately, members of our community have responded. We had about a dozen board members attend an emergency meeting in which we spoke on Skype to Rabbi Doug Kahn, the JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) director in San Francisco. He was very supportive and gave us a lot of good ideas. In addition I heard from Jessica Braverman Birch, JCRC Director in Sacramento and Seth Brysk, Central Pacific Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League. We really felt and appreciated that we are not alone here in Chico, but actively supported by our regional Jewish community.

 

As a result of this consultation, a number of people, Jewish and non-Jewish, reached out to the sign company to explain why the billboard “crossed the line” into being inflammatory and hurtful. I think the manager finally “got it” when I asked him to imagine the effect of putting up a billboard in Chico protesting Islamic violence, and consider if that would be a provocation against the local Muslim community and make them more vulnerable. Stott’s manager decided to call the person who purchased the sign and offered to pay the cost for her to convey her beliefs in a way that would not involve violent language and images. However, she refused to change her message, and even chose the occasion to write to the ER and CNR stating that Israel alone started the war in Gaza and “every American is complicit” in civilian deaths there since America supports Israel’s defense.

 

Although the sign is still up to the end of this month, the efforts for better community relations are just beginning. Several board members joined in a sub-committee to create our own version of a Chico “CRC” (community relations council). I am working with board leaders on the “Israel Matters” project, to bring more discussion and learning of diverse points of view on Israel to our community, in the synagogue and beyond. I am also working with local ministers to create a better dialogue around the Holy Land. Hopefully as the holidays begin and the year progresses, you will be hearing more about these projects and find opportunities to learn and to be heard yourself. If you are interested in being on the “Israel Matters” committee, please let me know.

 

I affiliate with and support organizations that work for Mideast peace and understanding. I pray daily for peace in Israel, Gaza, throughout the Middle East and throughout our world. And in another saying of Hillel’s:

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

 

Shabbat Shalom,  

 

Rabbi Julie Danan