CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL
Shabbat Shalom
10/22/2021
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Friday, 10/22 at 4:45pm, Nursery School shabbat program and dinner for those with reservations.
Saturday, 10/23 at 10:30am Chavurah Family service with Judy Kane & musician Brian Gelfand in the chapel. Open to all.
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A CHANCE TO SCHMOOZE! Let's usher in Shabbat together by starting at 5:30 pm with "bring your own" hors d'oeuvres and drinks.
Services will begin at 6pm. Candle Lighting 5:46pm
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10 Minutes of Torah
with Rabbi Kane
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LIVE STREAMING , SATURDAY 10/23 at 9:10am.
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This Week's Torah Reading
Vayera: Genesis 18: 1 - 22: 24
The parasha begins with a visit to Abraham & Sarah by three "men" (angels?), who announce to them that Sarah will give birth to a son within a year. As an elderly couple they are both astounded by the news! Sarah reacts as Abraham did when God told him they would have a son, with laughter. Later they will indeed have a son, whose name, Yitzchak, is taken from the Hebrew word for laughter, tza-chak. Following the visit of these strangers, Abraham is told by God that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are to be destroyed. Abraham proceeds to argue with God. "Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? Far be it for you to do such a thing...shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Gen 18:23 - 25). God agrees with Abraham that the innocent should not be killed, but it turns out that only Abraham's nephew Lot and his family were innocent, and so they left the cities before they were destroyed.
Once again we read a story where Abraham claims Sarah is his sister and not his wife, but this time with a local chieftain named Avimelech, not Pharaoh, as occurred in last week's parasha. We then read of the birth of Isaac and the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael to the wilderness.
Vayera concludes with the incredible story of the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac. Got puts Abraham "to the test" and tells him to take his son Isaac (who had been promised to Abraham at the beginning of the parasha) on a three day journey to an unknown mountain, where he will be offered as a sacrifice. As Abraham is about to follow through on this "test", an angel of the Lord stops him and shows him a ram caught in a thicket to sacrifice in place of Isaac.
The Talmud lists ten items that were the last acts in God's creating the world. They were all created "at dusk, on the eve of (the first) Shabbat" (Pirke Avot 5:9). They include such items as Noah's rainbow and the manna given in the wilderness. However "some say" that this list of items should also include "the ram (of the Akedah, that was caught in a thicket and was sacrificed in place of Isaac) of Abraham."
This list includes miraculous moments that were built into creation. They are all solutions to problems that God anticipated we would need. That begs the question, why did some rabbis want to include the ram in this list and others did not?
It seems to me that the rabbis were arguing whether or not God would inevitably put Abraham to the test, commanding him to bind Isaac for a sacrifice. Those who say the ram of Abraham was not created at dusk understood that this test of Abraham was not inevitable, and therefore no solution needed to be added to the final acts of creation. However those who say the ram was created at dusk view Abraham's test as a part of an inevitably unfolding of history, and that ram was created in anticipation of this.
I agree with the rabbis who hold that the binding of Isaac was inevitable, and the ram was created to help Abraham meet the challenge before him. While the test was inevitable, passing the test was not. The rabbis are saying that "at some point in history God would challenge human beings regarding worship and sacrifice". God did not know though how humans (in this case Abraham) would respond. However God created the solution to the problem in advance, and it was up to Abraham to discover it. Fortunately for all people (especially Isaac) he did, and he passed God's test.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Kane
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SERVICES
Friday, 10/22, at 6pm, Kabbalat Shabbat, Zoom Link
Saturday, 10/23 at 9:10am, Shabbat Morning Service,
when we celebrate the Bar Mitzvah of
Ethan Rotter, son of Rhona Golubock & Andrew Rotter
10:30am CHAVURAH FAMILY SERVICE
with Judy Kane & musician Brian Gelfand
in the small chapel.
12:00pm The Hazzn's Tish.
Sing along with Cantor Shiovitz
during Kiddush.
Sunday, 10/24, at 9:15 am, Minyan, on site and via Zoom link
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Life Cycle:
Mazal Tov to: Rhona Golubock and Andrew Rotter on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Ethan.
Condolences to: Julie Peskoe on the loss of her father, Richard Cantor.
Condolences to: Beth Levine on the loss of her mother, Arlene Ditchek.
ADDITIONAL VIRTUAL SHIVA FOR JOEL KAZIN:
Saturday 6:45 to 9 pm, service at 6:45 pm, during White Meadow Temple havdalah service:
Sunday 7 to 9 pm, service at 7 pm, White Meadow Temple:
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Monday, 10/25, at 11:30am
Women's Torah Study with Rabbi Jan Uhrbach via zoom.
Talmud with Rabbi Kane, Monday, 10/25, at 8:45pm at CSI and via zoom.
Tuesday, 10/26 at 11:15am
Jews in the News with Rabbi Kane
HaMishpacha Discussion Group with Shari Baum, CSW.
Thursday, 10/28, at 10:30am.
Contemporary Issues and the Talmud
with Wendy Segal. Thursday, 10/28, at 11am via zoom.
NOTE: Poetry with Neil Schluger has been postponed.
The next session is 11/11 via Zoom
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Vaccinations are required for those 12 and over who attend classes, programs and/or services at CSI. Please have proof of vaccination to show, if asked. Masks are required for those aged 2 and over. |
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Rabbi Kane: 914 671 4301
Cantor Shiovitz: 914 980 4328
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Rabbi Steven C. Kane
Cantor Jeffrey Shiovitz
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