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A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI

When Sammi was growing up, we had a tradition in our house. When we returned from the Megillah reading on Purim evening, I made the following pronouncement, “Passover is coming! Stop buying Hametz and finish whatever Hametz is in the house!” Some years we were more successful in this endeavor than others, but the point is that Hametz is a big part of Pesach. More precisely, we are not supposed to eat Hametz or even have it in our homes (or cars!) on Pesach. Thus, on the night before the holiday (Sunday, April 21^st), after having fastidiously cleaned our homes, we perform a ritual called Bedikhat Hametz (Search for the leavened bread). During this ritual, we go around our homes looking for hidden Hametz, collect it, and then burn it the next morning in another ritual called Bior Hametz – The burning of Hametz. 

But what is Hametz and why do we need to rid ourselves of it? The simple answer is that Hametz is leavened bread; it is bread that has had the time to sit and puff itself up. But why prohibit it? Most of us may be familiar with two quick answers: 1) “Our ancestors were in such a rush to leave from Egypt that they did not have the time to sit and play pinochle while the dough worked its puffing magic to become bread”; and/or 2) Matzah was seen as the bread of affliction, the bread of slaves, while Hametz was seen as the bread of luxury.

These are great answers and both are correct. But, as in most of our traditions, there is more. We need to peel the fruit a bit to get to the sweet part. While the symbolism inherent in “haste” and “poverty” helps us to eat Matzah and feel as if we were slaves in Egypt, which is one of the requirements of the holiday, how does this relate to who we are today? How does the Passover holiday inform us about how we should live our lives? 



The answer is quite nice. The Rabbis saw Hametz as symbolic of the Yetzer Ha-Rah – the evil inclination that they believed is contained in each of us. Rabbi Moses Alsheikh, the Chief Rabbi of Safed in the 16^th century, said that Hametz represents that which has become leaven in us – arrogance, hubris, and pride. Philo – a Greek-Jewish philosopher said that Hametz symbolizes “pride” because leavened bread is puffed up. 

Thus, when we remove Hametz from our homes, we are symbolically freeing ourselves from the impurity of the Hametz that lies within each of us.  We are ridding ourselves of self importance in an attempt to better enable us to connect in a loving way with those around us. Thus, Passover becomes a holiday which asks us not only to remember being delivered as slaves “from”, as in “being delivered as slaves from Egypt”, but also of being delivered as slaves “to”, as in “being delivered as slaves to our prideful or arrogant selves or thoughts”.

CLICK HERE for a sheet that will guide you how to the “search for hametz” which, this year, should be done on the evening of Sunday, April 21st:

As Passover approaches (in 25 days) and we prepare ourselves for our journey out of Egypt, may we each recognize those bits of Hametz within us that would be better left in Egypt. 

Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay

RITUAL NEWS

.....starting this Monday - April 1: our morning Monday-Friday Shacharit Services will begin at 7:45 AM instead of 8:15 AM - The Zoom Meeting ID: 835 5920 8195 and Passcode: 437484 will remain the same - This is a trial run to see if this new time is more convenient for everyone

....starting this Monday - April 1: the reading out loud of Me Shah'bay'rachs [the prayer for the recovery and comfort of family and friends who are ill] will be publicly pronounced only on the days that the Torah is read, namely: Shabbat, Jewish Holidays, Mondays and Thursdays - It is noted that in the daily praying of the Amidah [the silent prayers], there is a Me Shah'bay'rach paragraph that daveners can privately recite the names of family and friends who are ill

....Please know that there will not be a Sunday Evening Ma'ariv Service unless someone has a Yahrtzeit or is in Shiva - For these exceptions, we please ask congregants to contact the Rabbi or Stu W Lehrer, Ritual Chair a week prior so we can provide and ensure a Minyan for that Sunday Night

Thank you

Stu Lehrer, Ritual Chair

We are very blessed to have interesting programs and classes available to our members and friends. This last week was no exception.

Sunday afternoon, as part of the WAX Lecture Series, Rabbi Jack provided us with a comprehensive picture of The International Court (ICJ) and the current ruling regarding Israel & Gaza. Please reach out to Rabbi Jay if you want to receive the recording.

Thursday morning's Torah class will be studying the Hagaddah in preparation for Passover. This morning's class studied the ever popular Dayenu song. The discussion not only included the 15 original verses but also the addition of more current issues. It was suggested that at our Seders we might ask those sitting around the Seder table what Dayenu verse they might want to add. (SEE TWO VERSIONS BELOW)

Tonight's Thursday evening's PJP program about Schindler's List was fabulous. Our narrator, John Kenrick, took us through the story of Oscar Schindler, of those who helped make the film and of course the genius of Steve Spielberg. It was great to see so many JCC folks on Zoom.

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO ASK..

WHAT YOU DOING NEW YEARS? NEW YEARS EVE?

SPEND IT AT THE JCC!!!!!

Friday, April 5

10:00 AM

Signing Class

Thursday, April 11

8:30 PM

PJP Program

“Jewish Philosophy and Feminism”

Friday, April 12

1 - 3 PM

WAX Luncheon

Sunday, April 14

2:00 PM

WAX Lecture Series

Chuck Sidwa, PA

"Aging, the Sun and your Skin"

Wednesday, April 17

4:00 PM

WAX Book Club

Friday, April 19

10:00 AM

Signing Class

Friday, April 19

12 - 4 PM

CPR Class

JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION

 WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM

NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING

Thank you to Sondi Pripstein for so skillfully leading the March discussion.

Wednesday, April 17

"The Genius of Israel" by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

Discussion Leader: TBA

Why do Israelis have among the world’s highest life expectancies and lowest rates of “deaths of despair” from suicide and substance abuse? Why is Israel’s population young and growing while all other wealthy democracies are aging and shrinking? How can it be that Israel, according to a United Nations ranking, is the fourth happiest nation in the world? Why do Israelis tend to look to the future with hope, optimism, and purpose while the rest of the West struggles with an epidemic of loneliness, teen depression, and social decline?

Dan Senor and Saul Singer, the writers behind the international bestseller Start-Up Nation, have long been students of the global innovation race. But as they spent time with Israel’s entrepreneurs and political leaders, soldiers and students, scientists and anti-government activists, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Tel Aviv techies, and Israeli Arabs, they realized that they had missed what really sets Israel apart.

Moving from military commanders integrating at-risk youth and people who are neurodiverse into national service, to high-performing companies making space for working parents, from dreamers and innovators launching a duct-taped spacecraft to the moon, to bringing better health and climate solutions to people around the world, The Genius of Israel tells the story of a diverse society built around the values of service, civic engagement, and belonging.

Widely admired for having the world’s highest density of high-tech start-ups, Israel’s greatest innovation may not be a technology at all, but Israeli society itself. Understanding how a country facing so many challenges can be among the happiest provides surprising insights into how we can confront the crisis of community, human connectedness, and purpose in modern life.

Bold, timely, and insightful, Senor and Singer’s latest work shines an important light on the impressive resilience of Israeli society in the face of external and internal challenges—and what other countries can learn.

PJP Series "What Jews Think”

2023-2024

Thursday, April 11 @8:30 PM Dr. Andrea Dara Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Jewish Philosophy and Feminism”



In this talk, we’ll consider how scholars and theologians have attempted to find a feminist space within the Jewish interpretive tradition. How can contemporary approaches to gender analysis allow us to understand the use of gendered terms in Judaism, and in what ways can Judaism be both challenged and revitalized by these approaches? Andrea Dara Cooper is Associate Professor and Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Scholar in Modern Jewish Thought and Culture in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches a range of courses on religion and culture, the history of Judaism, gender, and philosophy. She is the author of Gendering Modern Jewish Thought (Indiana University Press, 2021).

CONGREGATION NEWS

LOOK FOR NEXT WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES IN A FRIDAY UPDATE

GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

PAVERS

Inscribe a paver at the front entrance to the building

8" X 4", 8" X 8" and 12" X 12"

SEE UPDATED ORDER FORM:

PAVER FORM

Become a permanent part of the JCC landscape.

Purchase a personalized paving stone

in honor of your family or in memory of a loved one.

Please contact Diane Hoffman

with your order or with any questions:

dihoff1@aol.com

PRAYER BOOKS

There are still High Holiday Prayer Books and Chumashim available to be purchased in memory or honor of someone or something. The cost of a Prayer Book is $72 each and $120 for an Eitz Hayim Chumash. The donation includes an affirmation sticker in the book and an acknowledgement letter or letters.

See Order form here: Prayer Book

TRIBUTES

SEND ONE OF OUR TRIBUTES IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF

See order form here: TRIBUTES

TREE OF LIFE

Add a leaf (leaves) to our beautiful Tree of Life located in the Social Hall. See the order form here: TREE OF LIFE

Bronze Leaf $90

Silver Leaf $126

Gold :Leaf $180

ENDOWMENT FUND

Herb z"l and Selma z”l Shapiro established the first individual Endowment Fund in memory of his father, as part of the JCC’s Endowment Fund portfolio.

Since then, three additional individual Endowment Funds have been established. Other members are encouraged to also provide for the future of our JCC by establishing similar funds. Please consider adding to this number.

A donation of at least $50,000 to the endowment fund will allow the donor to name one of the funds as the donor wishes. All such named funds will be joined together to be part of the Endowment Fund portfolio.

Endowment funds are necessary to ensure the continuation and well being of our congregation. All members are encouraged to help this important effort by contributing to this portfolio, whether as a specific named individual fund, or as a general donation. The donation can be spread over one, two, or three years, and can be paid via check, donation of appreciated stock, wills, or from the RMD of your IRA or 401K account. Your gift to the fund can be sent to the JCC Office. Please mark your check accordingly. 

YAHRZEIT PLAQUES

Space is available for memorial plaques on the yahrzeit boards in the Sanctuary. 

Here is the order form: 

YAHRZEIT

KOL HAKAVOD

Please consider being a part of this campaign to supplement the clergy needs of our congregation. This is a separate, voluntary commitment and is additional to our low annual dues obligation. HERE IS THE LINK TO BRING UP THE DONATION FORM KOL HAKAVOD

2023 MEMBERSHIP FORMS

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