Do you remember the illustration on your child's Simchat Torah flag?

Shalom from TBD Religious School

Shabbat newsletter compiled by Gal Kessler Rohs, Education Director

Jews of 16th century Eastern Europe grappled with the question of how to involve the children of their communities in their Simchat Torah celebrations. Hebrew University’s Shalom Sabar explains in this video ,that the celebration was focused on children because they were the ones who were responsible for carrying on the heritage. Community adults designed a symbolic item which fit the children’s dimensions – the Simchat Torah flag. Thus, and as some of you experienced last Friday at our temple, the Simchat Torah celebration is characterized by children waving flags as they dance with adults and post B’nai Mitzvah teens holding the Torahs, typically for seven Hakafot (turns) around the synagogue.

Images on flags, also in the Diaspora, have undergone stylistic changes, in parallel to, and reflecting the changes within Israel’s society. Renaissance and Medieval art (not necessarily Jewish) used flags to depict soldiers and victory in battles. Jewish historians believe that this inspired the first Jewish flag illustrators in the mid 19 ^thcentury. Heroic animals like the lion, or Moses and Aaron who were strong prominent figures in our Bible, and other images from our 12 tribes too, depict heroism. Waving the flag on the holiday showed not only victory over a Medieval war, but victory in being able to carry the Torah. This was the image on the Simchat Torah flag until the rise of Zionism.

Images of Moses and Aaron where then replaced by Max Nordau and Theador Herzl . At times there were images of the connection between the Bible and Eretz Israel (Land of Israel) , but with a heavier dominance towards the Land. Thus, the Chalutzim , or pioneers, were highlighted on flags, boys wore shorts, and as time progressed, not all wore kippahs. Pictures of holy sights in Israel were complimented by modern, non religious institutions like the Hebrew University.

Then there was yet a sharper change in the ultimate Chassidic vision of the flag, inspired this time by the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars- pilots, a liberated Wailing Wall, fighter planes, army officers and generals replaced Herzl and modern Israeli sights. Flags in the 1980’s were for the most part secular. Rare were flags with sacred religious objects, contemporary cartoon characters were drawn, and surprisingly (?), also political modern figures who were striving to make an entrance into the Knesset leadership.

And where are we now, in terms of the flag? That depends on where we are in society, and Israel's societal norms. This 2012 Masorti flag below depicts a similar image to our TBD Simchat Torah celebration as was last Friday night. The image includes an array of flags, and harmonious dancing of Jews from all walks of life, including those from Orthodoxy and Liberal Judaism. Much like TBD’s celebration, we see a melting pot within the sanctuary, ours representing our men’s club, sisterhood, book club, religious school, and more, while the flag presenting much the same- a liberal, contemporary, welcoming celebration for all!

A belated Chag Sameach, and Shabbat Shalom,

Gal Kessler Rohs, Education Director

Torah Portion of the Week

Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית Genesis 1:1–6:8, and a note for students in preK-1st grade

Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית – Hebrew for "in a beginning," the first word in the parashah) is the first weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah consists of Genesis 1:1–6:8.

In the parashah, God created the heavens, the world, Adam and Eve, and the Sabbath. Pictured here is a Throw Back to when our students created their world with shaving cream, plastic animals, food color, and other objects they found on their TBD nature walk.

Please note that our preschoolers, and TK-1st graders will be creating their worlds this Sunday, using shaving cream, food coloring, sand, mud, and other organic objects they find. This will be a messy and fun activity. Students are required to come dressed in OK-to-be-stained attire.

Coming up at Temple Beth David

featured dates to note:

Nov 2 Sukkah take down, please reach out to Bill Joseph if you would like to help

Nov 3 Adult Bagel Breakfast with Jason Moss about the Rise of Anti-semitism

Nov 4 Sisterhood meeting

Nov 6 TOV CHAI meeting

Nov 10 Sisterhood Game night

November 13 Jewish Food Festival's The Food Explorer with Daniel Stone

December 1 Adult Bagel Breakfast with Scott Davis about Jewish Yiddish Writer Scott Dinezon

December 8 Hanukkah Boutique

RSVP

Thanks so much

Toda, Rav Todot, Grateful and in Appreciation

Thanking the Jewish Federation and their Youth Orchestra who enriched our Simchat Torah learning with freilach klezmer music. Please let us know if your children play an instrument, and would like to join the youth orchestra.
To Lindy Bornstein and Mickey Adelman for the fun Torah food art made with Susan's students
To Jan Robertson for the flag craft before our Simchat Torah service last Friday night.
To Rabbi Lachtman and Cantor Orly for a wonderful Sukkot and Simchat Torah service.
To Ellen Feldman for leading Israeli folk dancing after services last Friday night
To Jan and Ron Roberson for hosting the Men's Club BBQ
To TOV CHAI's Lauren and Joey for organizing a Havdalah and dinner in the Sukkah.

Useful Shabbat Reading

to keep you informed

Shabbat, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Shmini Atzeret and Consecration (and tzom Gdalia?) are all related to last Friday's service. How so?
Sept/Oct David's Word, TBD's Newsletter
The Founders of Judaism
How is Maim Maim Maim related to Sukkot
The Jewish Youth Orchestra played Freilach Klezmer to our kids last Sunday at religious school.
The evolution of the Simchat Torah flag
October's Breast Cancer awareness month
We have several Torah shapes and sizes at TBD, from this miniature one pictured here, to a relatively small one that survived Nazi Germany, and then again an arson attack at TBD in the early 1980’s. Rabbi Lachtman was interviewed by JLife Magazine about the loss, redemption and survival of our Torah
When we see flags alongside the flags created in Israel, starting in the 1940s, the distance made by the flag is emphasized, pointing to its very deep layers.
The safest way to handle a scroll is to have washed, clean, and dry bare hands.
El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin welcomed 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Marthe Cohn and her husband Major Cohn to Israel.

Out and About

in our community

Shabbat Shalom and Have a Look

at these pretzel Torah scrolls our little ones made with Lindy and Mickey!