Dear Friends,

There’s so much left unsaid between this week’s parsha and last week's. There just must be. Last week’s ends with the Akeidah -- Avraham nearly sacrificing his son Yitzchak, told only at the last minute not to -- and this week’s begins with their wife and mother, Sara, dying. You can imagine the midrashim, the rabbinic commentary/fanfic on that -- Sara died of a broken heart, or she died from shock after the trauma of hearing what her husband had been willing to do.

This trauma also, of course, made an impact on Yitzchak. Some midrashim say it left him disabled in a variety of different ways. The Midrash Gadol says that he didn’t die on the altar, but it’s as if he had died, and then was revived again, thereby giving our people a sense of the possibility of life after death in some form. There’s even an 18th century Chasidic notion that Yitzchak was born with a female soul, but that something about the experience of the Akeidah changed him and gave him a male soul instead. Who knows what that means; but the bottom line is that our tradition understand that trauma changes you. Yitzchak would never be the same.

In this week’s parsha, Avraham goes about trying to find Yitzchak a wife, with the help of his servant. The servant is successful and finds Rivka, who checks all the boxes, and brings her home to meet Yitzchak. The Torah tells us, “Yitzchak went out to have some words (lasuach לשוח)  in the field toward evening, and he lifted his eyes, and behold, he saw camels coming” (Genesis 24:63). Then, it says, Yitzchak and Rivka meet, move into the family tent, and get married; and “Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death” (Genesis 24:67).

I find these lines so beautiful -- and yet again, it feels like so much must be getting left out. How did Yitzchak go from this massive trauma of the akeidah, to his mother’s death, to marrying a stranger, to being able to truly love her and find comfort in her? I would imagine that a tremendous amount of therapy of some sort would be involved in this process at the very least, and our ancestors seemed to think so, too.

They locate it in the word lasuach לשוח. It’s translated above as “to have some words,” and different commentators find a lot of significance here. According to the medieval commentators ibn Ezra and David Kimchi, this language is meant to convey that Yitzchak was meditating in, and somehow communing with, nature. There was some combination of physical movement, taking in his natural surroundings, and verbalizing, if only internally, his thoughts and feelings that made a deep impact and readied him to healthily receive his new bride.

Bereshit Rabba, an even older commentary, seems to think along the same lines. It says, regarding lasuach, that “sicha is nothing other than prayer.” It then clarifies what kind of prayer it means, quoting Psalm 102:1: “The prayer of a poor man, when he feels overwhelmed and pours out his prayer [siḥo] before Adonai.” Yitzchak hit his rock bottom, and he poured out his heart. It’s only then that he was able to meaningfully find comfort and move forward.

However you do your sicha best -- on a walk in nature, in therapy, in a deep state of emotion, in prayer services, or however -- my hope is that you’re able to find some time for it this Shabbat, or whenever you need it. Few, if any of us will ever experience the kind of trauma that Yitzchak did; but all have experienced “small t” traumas -- distressing events that shape the way we see the world – and many or most have experienced “big T” traumas as well. 

Like Yitzchak, we need the space and time to process, to have that sicha; and, like Yitzchak, we have the capacity for change, for comfort, and for love.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Hannah

To learn more about these events (including how to register, which we require for almost all events), please visit our website calendar HERE.

All events are in person and indoors, unless otherwise noted. 

Saturday, November 23rd

Charlie Levin's Bar Mitzvah

at 10:00 am

Sixth & I (601 I St., NW)

Friday, December 6th

Special Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck Dinner

at 6:30 pm

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Saturday, December 7th

Tot Shabbat

at 9:00 am

Shabbat Morning Service

at 10:00 am

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Sunday, December 8th

8th-9th Grade Teen Kulam

at 1:00 pm

at The Roost (1401 Pennsylvania Ave., SE)

Tuesday, December 10th

Jewish Kids Club

at 5:30 pm

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Saturday, December 14th

Tot Shabbat

at 10:00 am

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Sunday, December 15th

Jewish Meditation 101

at 11:00 am

at Yavneh (at Digital Pioneers Academy, 709 12th St., SE)

10th-12th Grade Teen Kulam

at 1:00 pm

at The Roost (1401 Pennsylvania Ave., SE)

Friday, December 20th

Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck Dinner

at 6:30 pm

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Saturday, December 21st

Pre-Hanukkah Program (for families with young children)

at 11:00 am

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

Saturday, December 28th

11th Annual Capitol Hill BID Community Menorah Lighting &

Hill Havurah Hanukkah Celebration

at 5:30 pm

at Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE)

.

For information about upcoming events not run by Hill Havurah that might be of interest to our community, click HERE.

Mazal Tov!

Welcome to Hill Havurah's newest member, Sophia Sloane-Barrett, and mazal tov to Lilah and John on becoming parents!

Our community has the wonderful opportunity to support the Sloane-Barrett family by delivering meals to them. You can find more information (including dietary restrictions) and sign up here.  

Thank you!

Tikkun Olam Annual Little Lights Holiday Fundraiser

Dear Friends,

Every year, Hill Havurah partners with Little Lights to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate children during the winter holidays. This year, we are asking for Havurah members to participate in our end of the year Little Lights Holiday Fundraiser. Your donation will help Little Lights provide long-term, year-round support and services for three public housing communities in Washington, DC.

Since 1995, Little Lights has built trusted relationships to provide effective ministry for children, youth, and adults with an array of programs that center academic and youth development, economic empowerment, and relational support.

Our goal is to raise $2,o00, which will be matched dollar for dollar by other generous donors. You can donate to the Havurah-sponsored fundraiser for Little Lights by clicking here.

Traditionally, Hill Havurah has donated to support Little Lights Annual Christmas store, which has enabled families in need to acquire holiday gifts. Congregants who wish to do so can still donate to the store by:

1. Purchasing a gift through our Amazon Wish List

2. Making a donation to the Christmas Store to purchase gifts

Thank you for your generous donations. Please contact Nate Allen (nate.df.allen@gmail.com) of Hill Havurah's Tikkun Olam Committee with any questions.

Join the Hill Havurah Listserv

The Hill Havurah listserv (a Google Group) is the place to let the community know about everything from cultural or social action events to new restaurants, reliable auto mechanics, spring giveaways, and carpooling possibilities.

If you're interested in joining, email Executive Director Alan Shusterman at alan.shusterman@hillhavurah.org.

Please Remember to Register for Our Events!

We very much appreciate those of you who regularly register in advance for our events (most which require registration). It enables us to know how many people to prepare for (e.g., how many seats and tables to set up, how much food and drink to purchase) and to communicate with you before the event (e.g., if there are any changes or we have special instructions).

When more people than registered show up to an event, it can cause disruption and frustration -- and it's not fair to those who did register, or those running the event.

Calling All Volunteers!

Hill Havurah was built by the community for our community.

Our generous volunteers are a key pillar in our organization and help bolster everything we do.

We are always looking for volunteers to help make our events and other activities a success!

Volunteer positions include help with set up, clean up, and door greeters.

If you are interested in volunteering, please click the below "Sign Up!" link to see available opportunities!

Celebrate Your Special Day with the Havurah

Do you or a loved one have a special occasion like a birthday, anniversary, or other milestone coming up? A great way to celebrate is to sponsor a Hill Havurah monthly Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat ($150)! We're still looking for sponsors for this month and beyond.

Email Executive Director Alan Shusterman at alan.shusterman@hillhavurah.org to sign up now and reserve your sponsorship month.

Help with the Empty Shabbat Table Initiative

A group of volunteers has been setting up an Empty Shabbat Table on the National Mall every Friday since mid-October to maintain attention to the hostages being held in Gaza. We are always seeking volunteers to help both in person and/or financially to keep this initiative going. Here are some ways you can help:

1. Sign up here to volunteer in person.

2. Join us on WhatsApp.

3. Make a donation: Go Fund Me site Empty Shabbat Table - DC, organized by Yosh Halberstam.

Migrant Solidarity Support Needs

We are continuing our migrant solidarity work, and there are so many ways to contribute to the effort -- sign up to volunteer here or click here to make a donation.

Happy 18th birthday,

Ava Poston!

Happy birthday, Dena Kolb!

Happy 7th birthday, Shoshana Sigman!

Happy 2nd birthday,

Meyer Malasky!

The following yahrzeit is coming up this week:

• Robert Weil, z"l, husband of Lynne Weil

If you've not entered yahrzeit information about your deceased loved ones in your hillhavurah.org account, you can at any time. If you need any help, you can email Alan Shusterman for assistance.

Mi Shebeirach L'Cholim -- Prayers for Healing

May the One who blessed our ancestors -- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah -- bless and heal:

Bree Cohen, Debbie Lee Gallant, Martha Fisher, Karen Anderson, Yaakov ben Moshe, Ron Levin, & Udi (Mowgly) Becker.



May the Holy Blessed One overflow with compassion upon them, to restore them, to heal them, to strengthen them, to enliven them, along with all the ill among the people of Israel and all humankind, soon, speedily, without delay, and let us all say: Amen.

If you or a loved one are in need of healing, and you'd appreciate the community keeping you in mind, please reach out to Alan Shusterman so he can add you or your loved one to our Shmoozy Nuz Mi Shebeirach list. If it's time to take a name off the list for any reason, let Alan know that as well. Feel free to include their English and/or Hebrew name. 

Please make sure to get your loved one's consent before having their name added to the list -- or, if they prefer privacy, we can instead add, "Loved One of [Insert Your Name]."