June 2024 / Iyar - Sivan 5784

Rabbi's Message

by Rabbi David Komerofsky

In September 2001 I was a young rabbi, just two years out of school, but still at the rabbinical school as an administrator. I was also a young parent, with two toddlers turning our house upside down and helping me to learn what life is really all about. On September 11, I watched with the rest of the world as tragedy unfolded. My wife was on a plane from Cincinnati to New York that morning, my boss was out of town, and I had a lot to do. It was right before the High Holy Days, and I was responsible for sending students to their pulpits. Besides the logistics (there was no air travel for several days) I was at a loss for what message to share to inspire them to help others find meaning and comfort. Once the immediate crisis faded, I was left wondering – what is an appropriate Jewish response to this? My answer was to look backward to other catastrophes; I focused on the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century of the Common Era and two distinct reactions – Masada and Yavneh. Masada was the retreat of the zealots to Herod’s desert fortress, refusing to yield to Roman rule. Masada ended in death for its Jews. Yavneh was the response of the sages, and birthed rabbinic Judaism that gave us the Mishnah and the Gemara, the Talmud that continues to inform Jewish life to this day. Masada or Yavneh, tragedy or triumph.

I think of these responses often. And they are just as relevant today as they were in 2001, and as they were in the second century. What path do we choose, physical violence or spiritual victory? How do we process and recover from a collective trauma in a distinctively Jewish way? Our calling as the Children of Israel is to be distinct and to live with a sense that we are called to something holy and elevated. We are, whenever possible, to choose Yavneh over Masada.

This is especially difficult when we face crises that challenge our very existence. As the Jewish world commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Indpendence Day) and as parts of the rest of the world demonize Jews and the Jewish state, we face another choice. What defines us as a people, our trauma or our texts, our crises or our covenant?

Noted Orthodox scholar and philosopher Rabbi David Hartman (1931-2013) in his 1982 essay “Auschwitz or Sinai” wrote:

One of the fundamental issues facing the new spirit of maturity in Israel is: Should Auschwitz or Sinai be the orienting category shaping our understanding of the rebirth of the State of Israel?...

Israel is not only a response to modern antisemitism but is above all a modern expression of the eternal Sinai covenant that has shaped Jewish consciousness throughout the millennia. It was not Hitler who brought us back to Zion, but rather belief in the eternal validity of the Sinai covenant.... It is dangerous to our growth as a healthy people if the memory of Auschwitz becomes a substitute for Sinai.

The model of Sinai awakens the Jewish people to the awesome responsibility of becoming a holy people. At Sinai, we discover the absolute demand of God; we discover who we are by what we do. Sinai calls us to action, to moral awakening, to living constantly with challenges of building a moral and just society which mirrors the kingdom of God in history.

Sinai creates humility and openness to the demands of self-transcendence. In this respect, it is the antithesis of the moral narcissism that can result from suffering and from viewing oneself as a victim...

Sinai requires that the Jew believe in the possibility of integrating the moral seriousness of the prophet with the realism and political judgment of the statesman. Politics and morality were united when Israel was born as a nation at Sinai. Sinai prohibits the Jewish people from ever abandoning the effort of creating a shared moral language with the nations of the world.

The rebirth of Israel can be viewed as a return to the fullness of the Sinai covenant—to Judaism as a way of life. The moral and spiritual aspirations of the Jewish tradition were not meant to be realized in Sabbath sermons or by messianic dreamers who wait passively on the margins of society for redemption to break miraculously into history. Torah study is not a substitute for actual life, nor are prayer and the synagogue escapes from the ambiguities and complexities of political life.

The Jewish world will have to learn that the synagogue is no longer the exclusive defining framework for Jewish communal life. Moral seriousness and political maturity and wisdom must come to our nation if we are to be judged by the way we struggle to integrate the Sinai covenant with the complexities of political realities...

Hartman’s wisdom from 1982 is just as important today as it was when he wrote “Auschwitz or Sinai.” What defines us? What guides us? What brings the Children of Israel to the Land of Israel and what covenant do we actively renew everywhere that we live?

Masada and Auschwitz are parts of our story; they are not the complete history of the Jewish people. We are a people that endures because of a covenant made at Sinai, renewed at Yavneh, and kept relevant throughout our wanderings. We must be more than what others have done or will do to us. We are too resilient to be defined by anyone or anything other than what binds us together with our Creator as a people with a unique destiny among the nations.

Worship Services - June 2024

All services are in-person and streaming live via Temple Israel’s YouTube channel.

Watch our website and Temple Tidbits for updates and more information.

Friday, June 7

5:30 p.m. Oneg Shabbat

6:15 p.m. Kid-dish Shabbat Service

www.templeisraelcanton.org/kid-dish

Saturday, June 8

10:00 a.m. Stollen Moments Torah Study

Friday, June 14

5:30 p.m. Oneg Shabbat

6:15 p.m. Shabbat Service

Anniversary & Birthday Blessings

Saturday, June 15

10:00 a.m. Stollen Moments Torah Study

Friday, June 21, 2024

Celebration of Rabbi Komerofsky’s 25th Anniversary of Ordination

RSVP at www.templeisraelcanton.org/25th

5:30 p.m. Oneg Shabbat

6:15 p.m. Shabbat Service

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Celebration of Rabbi Komerofsky’s 25th Anniversary of Ordination

RSVP at www.templeisraelcanton.org/25th

10:30 a.m. Brunch and Learn

Friday, June 28

5:30 p.m. Oneg Shabbat

6:15 p.m. Shabbat Service

Saturday, June 29

10:00 a.m. Stollen Moments Torah Study

Please let us know if you think we have a wrong e-mail for you or if your e-mail has changed recently. It is very important for Temple Israel to keep our records updated. Call Debbie at the Temple Israel office at 330-455-5197 to verify or change your information.

Sunday, June 23, 2024 - 11:00 a.m.

This meeting will be in-person at Beit Ha'am. A Zoom option is available for members who cannot attend in person.

BROTHERHOOD

Thank you to all those who continue to support our annual Brotherhood Reverse Raffle. Congratulations to all our winners. See you next year!

PERPETUAL YAHRZEIT

Lock in the current price by June 30, 2024.

A perpetual yahrzeit at Temple Israel ensures that Kaddish will be recited every year on the anniversary of your loved one’s passing. For the week prior to and one week following the date of death, your loved one’s name and date of passing is displayed on the electronic yahrzeit board in the Beit Ha’am lobby. The name of your loved one is also included in the Temple Israel Book of Memory and will be included in any future programs that honor those on whose shoulders we stand.

Cost for a perpetual yahrzeit at Temple Israel is $300. You can purchase a perpetual yahrzeit at any time following a death or you can arrange an advance yahrzeit for yourself or a loved one, providing peace of mind for you and easing the burden on your family. 

On July 1, 2024, the cost for a perpetual yahrzeit will increase to $360. Arrangements made by June 30, 2024 can spread payments across 2024 at the $300 rate.

More information is available at www.templeisraelcanton.org/perpetual-yahrzeit. 

ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Temple Israel has a variety of endowment funds that support our mission and vision. CLICK to see the full listing.



If you are interested in contributing to an existing endowment, simply CLICK here.

To establish a new endowment, contact treasurer@templeisraelcanton.org or president@templeisraelcanton.org

OUR TEMPLE FAMILY

Congratulations to the following Graduates and their Parents:

• Alyssa Garfinkle - Daughter of Dr. Paul & Carolyn Garfinkle
• Isabella Sanchez - Daughter of David & Jennifer Adler
• Madison Woofter - Daughter of Jeremy & Melissa Woofter

The Temple's Sympathy is extended to the families of:

• Robert Friedman
• Michelle Watson

Contributions

Temple Israel Endowments

Rabbi John Spitzer Endowment for Social Justice

In Memory of

• Arthur Rubenstein, by Debbie & Vito Sinopoli

Robert & Shelley Schweitzer Temple Youth Group Endowment

In Memory of

• Dr. Stanley Brody, by Laraine & Stewart Levine
• Joanie Levine, by Laraine & Stewart Levine
• Dr. Louis Schaner, by Laraine & Stuart Levine, Shelley & Rob Schweitzer
• Robert Friedman, by Shelley & Robert Schweitzer

Bilha Ron Religious School Fund

In Memory of

• Dr. Louis Schaner, by Randi & Bill Smuckler

Community Relations Fund

For Recovery of

• PJ Wells, by Diane & Bob Friedman

Hunger Relief Fund

In Memory of

• Dr. Louis Schaner, by Linda & Arnie Rosenblatt
• Sid Savage, by Karen Olden
• Hershel Smuckler, by Harlene Smuckler
• Elaine Tenenbaum, by Harlene Smuckler
• Minnie Shifman, by Harlene Smuckler
• Betsy Sachs, by Sarah Robbins

For Recovery of

• Bob Friedman, by Harlene Smuckler, Karen Olden
• PJ Wells, by Marilyn & Paul Feldman

Kiddush Fund

In Memory of

• Kathy Ross Nielsen, by Steve & Denise Nielsen
• Florence Landau, William Landau, Paulette Landau & Philip Landau, by Estabelle Landau

Rabbi's Discretionary Fund

In Appreciation of

• Rabbi David Komerofsky, by David Goe, Kael Clark

In Honor of

• Rabbi David Komerofsky's 25th Anniversary of Ordination, by Harlene Smuckler, Marcia & Jay Berke

In Memory of

• Dr. Louis Schaner, by Bob & Susan Narens, Lyn & Blake Myers, Alicia Rozenbom, Joyce & Jerry Ortman, Ellen Finkelstein, Gail & Ted Goldman
• Sherry Kitzen and Leonard Kitzen, by Jerry Kitzen
• Robert Friedman, by Rita Schaner, Dayna & Dan Charlick, Janet & Greg Luntz, Shirley Lockshin & Family, Janet & Ed Diamond, Jim Barnett, Harlene Smuckler, Maryl Jonas, Bob & Linda Greene, Alicia Rozenbom, Karen & Stan Bertman, Joyce & Jerry Ortman, Barb & John Spera, Shelley & Kathy Arkow, Jay & Carol Rubin, Peter Leeds, Laraine & Stewart Levine, Bill & Randi Smuckler, Charles Tyburski, Judy Pollock, Iris & Steve Ossakow, Hannah Jolly & Family, Rick & Susie Grossman, Diane & Bill Blocker,Paula & Jon Stein, Edgar Encisco, Ellen Finkelstein, Daryl Sponseller, Charles & Ann Harrison, Rebecca Kamen, Alexis Maharam, Alan Meshekow, Patti & Les Becker, Black McCuskey, Denise & Steve Nielsen, Linda & Gary Sirak, Debbie Spetich, Linda Winger, Brian, Kessem, Mila & Benny Winger, Myra McCoy, Gail & Ted Goldman, David & Terry Katz, Jerry & Sandy Miller, Denny & Sherry Fulmer

Jewish Family Services list has changed and they are in need of the following:

Toilet Paper

Kleenex

(Paper products can be bought in bulk)

Please feel free to drop off your donations to the Temple Office.