Dear Friends,
When we say “Dayeinu!” each year at the seder, do we mean it? It’s a lot easier to say, “It would have been enough for us, had God parted the sea for us yet not brought us through to the dry land," when we know that indeed our ancestors did end up safely on the far shore. It’s a lot harder when we don’t know the outcome of the story.
Yet that is our challenge, to immerse ourselves in each stage of the story. As we move through the holiday of Passover, we're invited to recall the Israelites' anxiety and relief as they burst out of Egypt (which we did on the first two days of the holiday) and again recall their anxiety and relief as they gathered at the Sea of Reeds (whose crossing we celebrate on the seventh and eighth days).
Here’s what lies ahead as we approach the conclusion of this holiday:
Tomorrow,
Friday
,
Yom Tov Shevii Shel Pesach
(7th Day of Passover) Shacharit (morning) services begin at 9 am. We’ll daven Shacharit, recite the joyful psalms of Hallel, and then read the Biblical prose account of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and the "Song of the Sea," the songs that Moses and Miriam led the people in singing upon reaching safety on the eastern shore.
On
Shabbat
, we’ll gather for the
8th Day of Passover.
Services will again begin at 9 am. After Shacharit, we’ll again chant Hallel and then read one of the Biblical calendars of Jewish holidays. During the Torah service, we’ll honor and bid
Nesiyah Tovah
(
Bon Voyage
) to several of our young people who will be traveling to Israel in the coming weeks. We’ll then chant a portion of the
Song of Songs
(read publicly during Passover) and recite
Yizkor
(the memorial service recited at the conclusion of the three pilgrimage festivals). After services, we'll join together for our final, festive Pesachdik kiddush!
Following kiddush, I'll be leading the first of six study sessions on the wonderful Talmudic tractate known as Pirkei Avot (The Wisdom of Our Sages). This year, I'll be sharing insights from the commentaries that appear in the newly published
Lev Shalem Pirkei Avot,
published by the Rabbinical Assembly. Please join us, even if you've never studied Pirkei Avot before. No Hebrew reading ability necessary.
Passover will come to a close on Saturday night at 8 pm. If you sold hametz through the synagogue, please allow an extra hour before consuming any of it.
Looking ahead, let me remind you that the observance of
Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day)
begins next Wednesday evening (April 11th) at 7:30 pm. Following a brief Ma'ariv service and the lighting of six candles to signify the loss of the six million, we’ll hear from our own
Sam Stern,
who will share some of the challenges of “Surviving Survival.” Sam was incarcerated between the ages of two and six in a number of concentration camps. He was liberated from the infamous Bergen Belsen camp by the British in the spring of 1945. Following Sam's words, we’ll hear from his son, Dr. Alan Stern, who will share a few of his own reflections as the son of a survivor. Many thanks to our Men's Club for organizing the distribution of the yellow Yom HaShoah Yahrzeit candles and for assisting with this program. Please join us.
One week later, we’ll commemorate
Yom HaZikkaron (Israel Memorial Day)
and
Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day)
on April 18th and 19th. We’ll celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut here at Temple Aliyah on Sunday, April 22nd with a street fair. Please join us.
What a lengthy, difficult journey! Out of Egypt; through the Land of Israel; out again into exile; living, for centuries in often inhospitable communities in Europe, North Africa, and Asia; repeatedly being maligned, targeted and condemned by our hosts, ... culminating in the catastrophe we call the Shoah; returning to the Land of Israel and establishing, against all odds, a modern state. We don't have to ask ourselves whether we would have been grateful had we survived only some and not all of those stages. We can now say, "Dayeinu," because, improbably, we have managed to endure them all.
Yet it isn't enough to say, "Thank you." We are called upon to recall, to commemorate and to celebrate. Please join us, as often as you can over the next several weeks, as we do just that.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Carl M. Perkins
