What's the Spiel? - Shabbat Mevarchim

What's the Spiel?

29 Tishrei 5784 - October 14, 2023

Shabbat Mevarchim - Parshat Bereshit

Rabbi's Reflections

-How Can We Dance?: Thoughts on Simchat Torah and the War in Israel -

On the eve of Simchat Torah, I struggled to find a way to bridge the vast emotional chasm between rejoicing in the Torah on the one hand, and grieving the loss of innocent Israeli life, fearing for the welfare of Israeli captives and praying for the recovery of Israeli injured on the other. Some people asked me earlier in the day if we would even perform the traditional hakafot, parading the Torah around the bimah accompanied by exuberant singing and dancing, due to the horrific news coming out of Israel. Honestly, I did not know what was going to happen. After all, how could we express even a modicum of joy when our brothers and sisters in Israel are under siege? However, how could we not express any measure of joy over completing the Torah? What would that joy even feel like at a time like this? I felt suspended between two cliffs, torn between two contradictory realities.

Before we began Maariv, still unsure of what would be, I recalled the following teaching: “During the seven festival days, the people of Israel rejoiced with the festival commandments; sukkah, the four species, the water-libation, and the aravah with which the altar was circled. Upon the advent of Shemini Atzeret the people of Israel say before God: Today, we have neither sukkah nor lulav, we have neither the water-libation nor the aravah – we have left only this Torah with which to rejoice. And this joy is greater than all other joys, for it is constant, and it never ceases or is diminished in the least” (Sefer HaToda’ah). What is the joy we are meant to express on Simchat Torah? It is not frivolous, carefree, excessive revelry. Rather, the true joy we are meant to express and experience on Simchat Torah is the joy of simply knowing that the Torah is our eternal inheritance, as it says, “When Moshe charged us with the Torah, as the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov” (Devarim 33:4). Unlike everything else in the world which is transient, which has its time, place and fleeting relevance, the Torah is “constant, and it never ceases or is diminished in the least.” Thus, if the Torah is eternal, so too is the nation God chose to entrust it with, as it says, “If these laws should ever be annulled by Me – declares the Lord – Only then would the offspring of Israel cease to be a nation before Me for all time” (Yirmiyahu 31:36). By rejoicing in the eternality of the Torah, we rejoice in the eternality of the Jewish people. That is the real joy of Simchat Torah, and that was the thought I shared to help frame the festival before we began Maariv.

The only thing that could bring our souls the slightest relief on that strange, heavy and dissociated Simchat Torah evening was the knowledge that the Jewish people, our people, will succeed – that the Jewish people, our people, will triumph – that the Jewish people, our people, will continue to march forward towards our spiritual and national destiny with God’s help, while our adversaries will be swept to the dustbin of history. The joy of Simchat Torah is simply knowing that you are a Jew, and because God gave you His Torah, He gave you eternity. With that in mind, we did dance, we did sing, albeit in a more muted way and at a brisker pace, but feeling the joy of knowing we will triumph in the end gave me, and all of us, the strength to open laptops and phones after the Yom Tov ended, and look at the extensiveness of the horror we had only heard about over the holiday.

As a people, we are broken, we are grieving, we are frightened and we are angry. We firmly stand with our Israeli brothers and sisters, and we pray for the souls of all those innocent Israeli men, women and children who have been murdered in cold blood by those monstrous hordes who know nothing but hate, who understand nothing but death and who can do nothing but evil. We pray for the speedy and safe rescue of all those innocent Israeli citizens taken captive by those malevolent forces. We pray for the recovery of all those innocent Israeli citizens injured in the unprovoked invasion, and we pray for the welfare of all Israel’s people. The Jewish people will triumph as good must triumph over evil. Together, we will prevail, as light must prevail over darkness. Together, we will claim our eternity, because just as God gave us a “Torah of life,” “Am Yisrael Chai,” “The people of Israel live!”

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Shabbat Morning Drasha: "Confront the Root and the Branch: Evil in Our Day, Hope for Our Future"

Schedule of Services at B'nai Abraham

Friday Night

Candle Lighting

6:44PM

Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

6:45PM

Shabbat

Shacharit

9:00AM

Youth Services

10:30AM

Mincha

6:35PM

Havdalah

7:38PM

Sunday

Simchat Torah

Shacharit

8:30AM

Monday - Friday

Shacharit

7:05AM

CTI Announcements

Thank you to the following members and friends of CTI who have donated and/or pledged to this year's High Holiday Appeal. If you have not already pledged or paid, we are including the link to the High Holiday Appeal page for your convenience.

Altman, Arthur & Barb

Carroll, Reese & Sherry Fishman Carroll

Chapin, David & Rita

Clifford, Sean & Meredith

Davis, Mitch & Patti

Dollinger, Adam & Elena Tsanko

Gerstenhaber, Gary & Karin

Glassman, Sampson & Steinberg, Beth

Goldberg, Rick & Paz

Goldstein, Leo

Gordon, Elan & Karine

Gould, Vicky

Groveman, Bernard

Guariguata, Andres

Humble, Marshall

Iken, Daniel

Lonsdale, Joe & Tayler

Kamen, Mark & Rhonda

Klein, Efraim

Kron, Jennifer

Magill, Loretta

Marciano, Lionel

Millner, Rabbi Dan & Yael

Newberg, Stuart & Suzanne

Pompa, Alana

Price, Marty & Katie

Rahimi, Erik & Lindsay

Raschkovsky, Isaac & Angela

Refaeli, Jehoda & Hana

Robbins, Reuven & Rosemary Klein Robbins

Rosenberg, Joshua & Kendra

Rosenthal, Davida

Roth, Ester Malkah

Rubin, Jay & Carol

Schumer, Karina

Selig, Edward & Cathy

Shapiro, Eric & Beth

Shavit, Offer & Ilana

Shavit, Yuval

Stone, Louis

Sultan, Solomon & Devorah

Tatham, Henna

Van Keer, Julie

Welter, Samantha

Wolfson, Jake

Woloszko, Jean & Eveline

Thank you Louis Stone for sponsoring Kiddush in thanks to CTI for warmly welcoming him into the CTI Family.

A BIG THANK YOU to the CTI Community for stepping up to sponsor a Kiddush! It is a special way to help our Chevrah while honoring a loved one for a special event or to commemorate a Yahrtzeit. Your sponsorships have been filling up our kiddush calendar nicely, and we are booked many weeks out at this point.

If you would like to sponsor a kiddush in November or December, please take a look at our calendar and reserve your spot as the calendar continues to fill up quickly! And THANK YOU for supporting CTI and our community with your sponsorship!

Sponsor A Kiddush

Mazel Tov!

Elie Ledeen on October 15th (Birthday)
Eyal Refaeli on October 17th (Birthday)

Yahrtzeit Remembrances

Bernard Giller, Father of Carol Rubin, on Sunday 30 Tishrei
Morris Weinberg, Father of Madeline Rosenberg, on Friday 5 Cheshvan

May their souls be bound up in the bond of life.

Volunteer Opportunity

CTI is looking for a man or woman to serve as a backup shmira coordinator, to help manage shifts and communicate with the shomrim. Please contact Larry at 512-923-3964 or by email if you are interested or would like more information.

Torah Classes at CTI

Take Your Tanakh Series

Tuesday Night | 7:00pm - The Book of Isaiah

Wednesday Morning | 8:15am - The Book of Job

Click Here for more information on how to join these exciting classes.

Donations

Thank you to Eric and Beth Shapiro for their donation

In Honor of Raz Ezra, Shai Kivity and all of the other

brave chayalim who are moser nefesh fighting for

the Jewish people and our Homeland.

Thank you to Jay and Carol Rubin for their donation

in appreciation of Jay's Chatan Torah honor in support