Dear Friends,

The parashah this week, Hayyei Sarah, opens with the story of a famous real estate purchase, as Avraham, still mourning the loss of Sarah, acquires the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite, securing a burial site for his family for several generations to come. There are a variety of midrashim, both halakhic and aggadic, that emerge from the narrative of their negotiations, all of them confirming Avraham’s final acquisition of the cave as a momentous occasion in the mythical prehistory of the Jewish people. 

One of the central themes in the midrash is the question of why Avraham was so keen to acquire that particular burial cave as opposed to another, a reasonable subject of curiosity and not something on which the Torah itself sheds much light. My favorite answer (developed in a few different places and over a few thousands of years) is the idea that the cave of Machpelah, mysteriously, alluringly, offers a portal–or at least a window–into the Garden of Eden, into a kind of primordial perfection that Avraham sought to recover. (Not to be be missed though it is somewhat tangential to what I’ll write here) is that the whole complex of ideas surrounding caves in rabbinic thought, this cave and others, is a very definitive and almost certainly intentional rejection of Plato’s cave parable; as Jews, so say the Sages, we seek illumination not by ascending into the light but by traveling down into the depths.)

In any case, regarding the tradition linking the cave of Machpelah to the Garden of Eden, I am particularly partial to the version that appears in the Zohar, which describes how Avraham had wanted to purchase the cave long before Sarah’s death, ever since he ventured into the cave years earlier and discovered that it was in fact the burial site of Adam and Eve. I like Zohar’s presentation of this (considerably more ancient) tradition, because it explicitly asks the question, “Well, how did Avraham know?” “When, exactly, did he visit the cave previously?” The Zohar answers, remarkably, by quoting a verse from last week’s parashah, “And Avraham ran to the herd, and took a tender, choice calf…” which he means to include in the feast that he and Sarah will prepare for the three mysterious guests. In the Zohar’s version, the poor calf, trying to escape, runs off into the cave of Machpelah, and Avraham–apparently so inspired by the prospect of welcoming strangers that he is willing to ignore the pain from his recent circumcision–hurries in after it. It is then, and only then, that he catches a glimpse of Eden, a moment of illumination that was sparked by his desire to feed guests. 

Not a bad thought, the week before Thanksgiving, whether you're hosting or being hosted. 

In a similar vein, there is a marvelous story in the Talmud about a bunch of rabbis who are on the road together and who decide to take a break from traveling in order to share teachings about the value of hospitality. Curiously, instead of sharing lessons about welcoming guests, they talk for an entire page about the value of Torah, before finally returning to the subject at hand. In commenting on this episode, the Baal Shem Tov taught that sometimes we mistakenly believe that it is the host who offers substance to the guest; in reality, he teaches, it is the other way around. It is the guest who offers revelatory sustenance to her host, which means that Torah secrets, deep truths, windows into perfection can only be accessed when we let others in. 

Happy Thanksgiving–

Rabbi Benjamin Resnick 

Ben

It was Yizkor time on the eighth day of the Festival of Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret. The walls of the Sanctuary were open, and all the little remembrance lamps on our Memorial boards were lit. Their light was reflected on the leaves of our beautiful Etz Hayim (tree of life) mosaic sculpted on the PJC Ark. I hadn’t realized this, until Rabbi Resnick briefly mentioned it to the lucky people who were attending services on that beautiful Fall morning.

Rabbi Resnick said that the shining reflection of the memorial lights on the leaves of the tree on our Ark reminded him of the kabbalistic notion that our ancestors illuminate our lives and are embedded in our gleanings from the Torah. 

It connected me with a sensation I always have when called for an Aliyah and standing on the bimah. I have this distinct feeling that my ancestors are standing right there, behind me. They are looking right through me, towards the other side of the Sanctuary - towards the congregation sitting in front of me. I feel my ancestors’ presence, and the weight of their eyes on my shoulders. From now on, I will start to feel that it’s their radiance that emanates through the tree of life on our Ark. Not only our family's ancestors, but also beloved members of our PJC community who are no longer here with us. I can feel their radiance shining throughout our Sanctuary everytime I close my eyes. Their faces and voices are embedded in all that we do. What a powerful image to accompany each one who comes up for an Aliyah at the PJC!

On a distant fall day, seventeen years ago, I had the privilege to celebrate my Adult Bat Mitzvah at the PJC. Standing on the bimah, I felt something that made me tremble and shake so vigorously that a bracelet I was wearing kept knocking the wood under the Torah. I can’t forget that feeling. I could not stop shaking. I felt centuries of Jewish women were standing right there with me. And every year, when the fall season comes, I am reminded of that day, and how special it made me feel. I wish everyone in our community could have that experience. Having an adult bar/bat mitzvah at the PJC is a privilege and a blessing, one that I cherish to this day.

Sitting on my seat on a Shabbat morning, I couldn’t take my eyes off the shining fall-colored leaves I spotted through the window. The autumn breeze gently pushed through the leaves, and they trembled through the sunlight. I was hypnotized by their brilliance. My gaze moved from the real leaves outside to the leaves on our ark. The congregation's voices revered creation and all creatures on Earth. And my thoughts kept going back to the Rabbi’s allusion to how the brilliance of our ancestors shine through the leaves on the Tree of Life on our Ark.

On Rosh Hashanah I spoke about how each one of us has a unique star inside and how the light of that star is also the light of the Star of David that unites all the Jewish people under one idea- to bring light into the world.

That light shines across the generations, across time and space. It shines through the voices coming together in prayer and through the amen we say after someone recites the Mourner's Kaddish. It shines when one of us stands on the bimah for an aliyah and when a bar or bat mitzvah is taking place. It shines when we are naming a baby or when we are showering a new couple with blessings. And it shines when our little children run around the Sanctuary giggling and mumbling about dinosaurs and superheroes.

When we say the blessing after the Torah reading, we recite the words,

Baruch ata adonai, eloheinu melekh haolam, asher natan lanu Torat Emet v’chayey olam nat’a betocheinu…"]

meaning, Blessed are You Adonai our G-d, for giving us a Torah of truth, and planting everlasting life inside of us”. Every time someone symbolically kisses the words of the Torah with their tallit, stands in front of the Ark and says this blessing, I think how our life transcends time. The light that comes through each time that blessing is said and new lessons are learned together in community strengthens each one of us and impacts the future in ways we can never fully comprehend.

I am so proud of our President, Lisa Neubardt, who bravely decided to engage in this incredible experience and will be having her adult Bat Mitzvah before Thanksgiving weekend. I am so happy for her and hope her experience and the loving embrace from our community, from her ancestors and the future generations will stay with her for many years to come.

I feel grateful for having this community to share those moments and pray that the next generation of PJC goers, those who now run through the pews and giggle around, continues the legacy of our ancestors, as their lights will continue to shine through them right into the tree of life and across time and space.

Mazal Tov Lisa 

And

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ana

“That’s why New York is so great…

Everyone you care about can despise you and you can still find a bagel so good, nothing else matters.

Who needs love when you’ve got lox?

They both stink, but only one tastes good.”

–Midge Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Speaking of Kiddush…

Every Saturday morning, our PJC Shabbat Service is followed by a Kiddush. Beyond the beautiful lunch, there is the lingering, schmoozing and spending time together.

All this adds to the feeling of Shabbat being

different from other days of the week when we watch the clock and run from activity to activity. It allows us, and I can’t stress how meaningful this is, to get to know each other. This is how we create community.



We had our November Board meeting last week and the issue of Kiddush

came up. The bagels and lox and everything that goes with them come with

a cost and this is where we your need help. We need to rely on all congregants

to take a turn and help sponsor these weekly gatherings. It is a time-

honored tradition to sponsor a Kiddush in memory of a loved one, in

celebration of a birthday, in honor of a special event or just because it

makes people happy. Hosting or sponsoring a kiddush is a very hamisha

thing to do.

Once you say yes to sponsorship, your job is done. The office takes care of

every other piece of it. The buying of the food, the setting up of the space

and cleaning and putting everything away.

The Sabbath is meant to be a delight. Sharing nosh together embodies

this. From personal experience, I can tell you that when I have sponsored,

people make a point to find me and say thank you. It is so unnecessary yet

the gesture moves me every time. It is another reminder of why I am so

proud to be part of this community. Next time you receive an email or call

asking to sponsor a kiddush, say yes. You might find yourself delighted that

you did.

Lisa

Dear Friends,

November has been a difficult month. We've lost an hour of daylight. Drought is threatening our state. And for better or worse, our government is going through an unprecedented overhaul while Israel continues to fight on multiple fronts without an end in sight. We all need to find ways to restore our sense of stability. Creating supportive relationships is one answer.

One congregant, Larry Cohen, took advantage of November's crisp Fall days to plan a PJC hike to the Storm King Art Center - an hour's drive up the Hudson. On a glorious Sunday, sixteen congregants and the two Teitelbaum children joined together to traipse around modern sculptures and rolling hills. We saw the climbing wall, Mai Lin's waves of grass, a reflective fence, a brick look-out shaped like a shoe and more abstract works artfully placed on the spacious grounds. There was lots of shmoozing and laughter. It was a great get-away.

Let's make an effort to seek out friends at the PJC. There are many opportunities. Stay for Kiddush, join Women's Group or the PJC Book Group on line. Take an adult education class with Rabbi Resnick or request a one-on-one chevruta. Form hiking groups with PJC members. Or volunteer to read a book to children in the Learning Center. Attending PJC services on Friday evenings or Shabbat mornings can be soothing, spiritual or just social. I find that chanting together lifts my spirits. And,

Rabbi Resnick's sermons can help us use the tradition to navigate our lives.

Each one of us can find his or her own way to engage with others as the days get colder, darker and unpredictable.

Barbara

In That Sleep of Death

by Jonathan Dunsky

Jonathan Dunsky's characters and plots just keep getting better and better. His latest Adam Lapid mystery, In That Death of Sleep, is a case in point.

I found the title intriguing. We learn from the character, Hannah, that the line is from Hamlet, "For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come." For detective Adam Lapid and Emmanuel Feldbaum, survivors of Nazi concentration camps both, this line is haunting.

The story takes place in Israel, 1952 - Adam discovers a dead man in a city park, with his head bashed in. No witnesses. No clues. The police abandoned the case, but private investigator Adam Lapid is determined to catch the killer because he empathizes with the victim's concentration camp experiences. Hired to investigate the murder, Adam begins digging into the victim's life and discovers that the victim had knowledge of a terrible crime that occurred in pre-WW II Poland.

You may remember Adam Lapid and the resourceful cafe owner, Greta from Dunsky's previous novel, Ten Years Gone. Their bond is unflagging. The plot twists and turns but is ultimately satisfying. There are many subtle clues dropped, but you will be surprised by the direction the story takes. Hannah Goldman, Adam's love interest is feisty, intelligent and beguiling. Ami Rappaport, a soul with a conscience and his bitchy wife, Batya are among the well-drawn characters.

Jonathan Dunsky will join our PJC Book Group on Zoom from Israel on Sunday morning, November 24th after a half hour discussion.



Barbara

Pirkei Avot

A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics

Ben Zoma said,

"Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone, as it is said, 'From all who would teach me, have I gained understanding.' [Ps. 119:99]

Who is mighty? One who controls one's (natural) urges, as it is said, 'One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty and one who rules one's spirit than one who conquers a city.' [Prov. 16:32]

Who is rich? One who is happy with what one has, as it says, "When you eat what your hands have provided, you shall be happy and good will be yours.' [Ps. 128:2]

Who is honored? One who honors others, as it says, 'Those who honor Me, will I honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.'" [I Samuel 2:30]

Shimon ben Zoma lived in the second century and studied under Yehoshua ben Chananyah. An outstanding scholar, ben Zoma was regarded as a disciple of the sages. However, he was never ordained as a rabbi.

Fiddlin in the Kitchen

 A cookbook by the Theodor Herzl Group of Hadassah

 

On November 7^th, I had the joy of baking rugelach with the Learning Center. What a group of baking super stars! Bubby’s kitchen was a great experience and I encourage everyone to participate.

The rugelach recipe I chose comes from my Aunt Rhoda Freedman who was a legendary cook and baker. When my daughter Lisa was doing research for an article about Jewish cookbooks (https://the-toast.net/2015/05/07/a-recipe-for-rugelach/), she came across the rugelach recipe my aunt submitted to her local Hadassah Chapter’s Cookbook (Hadassah is the world's largest women's Zionist organization with over 300,000 members) almost sixty years ago! Assembling and selling cookbooks with recipes from members was a common fundraising project.

To the Hadassah women who put this book together, it was more than just a fundraiser. It was creating a family heirloom, passing on recipes from generation to generation, just like Bubby’s Kitchen.

Beth

"Share a Simcha" allows congregants to share their news with our PJC community. Please submit news about family members -- engagements, births, job updates, kid achievements, community acknowledgements and any other milestones -- to the HaKol Editor, Barbara Saunders-Adams.

. Mazal Tov to our November Birthday Celebrants:

Charles Katz, Rebecca Ploski, Brenna Calles, Mercedes Castiel, Judy Fidler, James Charney, Leah Leonard, Sam Backer, Michael Owen-Michaane, Ruth Kasten, Nora Mazur, Daniel Kushnick, Ginny Herron-Lanoil, Stephen Handelman, Alycia Da'Luis-Moore, Glen Smith, Olivia Cochie, Benjamin Resnick, Michael Klein, Henry Lodhi, Bennett Kushnick, Sadie Lieberman, Maria Abeshouse, Josef Trachten, Sarah Morgan, Max Pine, Stuart Smith, Ruby Lodhi, Karen Dukess, Esther Droller, Jill Goldenberg, Alicia Malkis, Max Temes, Hannah Temes, Brittany Geller, Lisa Neubardt, Henry Kagen, Mimi Steinberg, Adam Weinstein, Caleb Owen-Michaane, Luiza Morgan, Rebecca Antar, Emmet Marcus, Lisa Levinson

. Mazal Tov to Jacqui Stein on the birth of a grandson, Sebastian Philip Levine, to her daughter Dana Wellesley- Stein and son-in-law Bradley Levine on October 3.

. Mazal Tov to Rebecca Antar on the Bat Mitzvah of her daughter, Callie Novick.

. Mazal Tov to Lisa Neubardt on her upcoming adult Bat Mitzvah on November 23.

Share a Simcha is a regular HaKol feature, so keep your news and updates coming!

Tributes

• Sybil Rosenberg in honor of Lisa Neubardt's Bat Mitzvah
• Seth and Patricia Goldman
• Mark and Linda Levine in memory of Adam Abeshouse
• Ana and Neco Turkienicz in memory of Adam Abeshouse
• David and Melanie Samuels
• Barbara and Sam Adams in memory of Adam Abeshouse
• Barbara and Sam Adams in memory of Barbara Block Adams
• Victoria and William Falk in honor of Lisa Neubardt's Bat Mitzvah
• Edward McGann and Kari Black in honor of Lisa Neubardt's Bat Mitzvah
• Sarah Gregoire in honor of Lisa Neubardt's Bat Mitzvah

Donations to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund

Billing statements are emailed monthly. 

Checks made out to the Pelham Jewish Center can be mailed to Pelham Jewish Center, P.O. Box 418, Montvale, NJ 07645. Credit card payment instructions are on your monthly emailed billing statement, or go to https://thepjc.shulcloud.com/payment.php. 

If you are interested in paying via appreciated securities or IRA distributions, please email Mitch Cepler.

It is the policy of the Pelham Jewish Center to make every effort to assist members experiencing financial challenges. Financial challenges should never be a barrier to being an active member of the PJC community. You can reach out to President, Lisa Neubardt, Treasurer, Mitchell Cepler or Rabbi Benjamin Resnick to speak confidentially concerning your ability to pay PJC dues and Learning Center tuition.