Lekh Lekha...

As we read this week's Torah Portion, Parashat Lekh Lekha, we read of Abram being sent by G-d to go on his way.  Granted it wasn't G-d sending me out to California to participate in my "fellows" program, but it definitely feels a little like lekh lekha'ish as I sit here at Brandeis Bardin in Simi Valley (the largest Jewish owned piece of land outside of Israel) while school and "home" is still going on back in sunny Scottsdale.


That being said, I wanted to thank all of the dads, granddads, and "stand-in" dads who helped make this past Saturday evening's 2nd Annual Dad's Club Camp-Out such a tremendous success.  Thanks also to our Dad's Club Chair specifically, Bryan Kort, who planned and coordinated this incredible evening, and who without such great leadership we wouldn't have the involved and "connected" group of dads that we have.


Looking forward to next year's 3rd Annual!!!

Simhat Torah

There is a wonderful Midrash (rabbinic interpretation) explaining the connection between the reading of the last few verses of the Torah followed by the immediate recitation of the first few verses.  This "connecting" of the two halves at the end and beginning draws our attention to the very last letter of the Torah (the lamed) and the very first letter (the bet) from the words Yisrael and Bereisheet respectively.  If we then combine these two letters together we create the word "lev" which means "heart". It is this unexpected connection between the end and the beginning which possibly suggests that the heart of the Torah is not "in" the Torah itself, rather it is in the act of concluding it and once again beginning anew.

Last week our middle school students considered the possible message in this connection, and thought about how the gap between finishing something and then immediately starting it over again could relate to the "heart" of the matter.  The critical thinking and high level discussions that ensued where the perfect way to prepare them for their afternoon's celebration and hakafot (rotations) as they then went on to celebrate with great fervor and joy, dancing and singing with the Torah during our school Simhat Torah celebration.

It is at moments like this where the true essence of our school comes out.  It is the beauty of seeing our children's minds stretched in order to contemplate these ancient and rabbinic abstract ideas and concepts, while only a few hours later providing these same children with the tangible joy and happiness of kissing and dancing with the Torah with "all their heart".  Or as the Shema so eloquently puts it "You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4) 

I'd like to thank all of our guests who came to our school celebration, and to specifically thank the dads who carried the Torah and led the grade-level groups in their respective hakafot around the sanctuary and multipurpose room.  Additionally, I want to thank Rabbi Allouche for not only bringing two additional Torahs (one Sephardic and one Ashkenazic) to provide our children once again with another opportunity to help them understand that there are many ways of expressing our traditions and customs as well as ways of practicing our rituals, but to also thank Rabbi for chanting the final aliyah of the Torah (v'zot habracha - "and this is the blessing") for our students to hear and enjoy.

What a great way to wrap last week and begin our new week...immersed in honoring G-d with our minds, bodies, and souls.  Shavuah tov!

Sukkot, Zman Simchateinu

 (photo above taken at last year's Dad's Club Campout
- save the date for this year's overnight on 10/24/09)

As we celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, eating our meals in the temporary booths built in backyards, on balconies and rooftops, school playgrounds, and other communal locations; and as we fervently shake the lulav and etrog signifying G-d’s all-encompassing existence and transcendent relationship between this world and the realm of spirituality; and as we conclude our High Holiday Season with the celebration and conclusion of this holiday and Simhat Torah specifically, we are left physically and spiritually exhausted and almost needing a holiday from our Holy Days.

It is believed that because of the intensity of the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when every Jew cleanses his or her soul of their errors and wrongdoings and starts the new year fresh with a “clean slate”, that the holiday of Sukkot, also known as Zman Simhateinu (“The time of our joy”) is specifically because we have nothing to “bring us down” and should therefore only be happy and joyous.

Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as the Arizal, a great Jewish thinker and recognized leader of the Kabbalistic movement of Tsfat (Safed), Israel, taught his disciples that the first step in developing a spiritual connection with G-d was through joy and happiness. Rabbi Luria interpreted the message of Psalm 100 Verse 2 “Serve Hashem with joy” (which in turn was believed to have been based on “And ye shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d”, Deuteronomy 12:12) that if a person was not happy his prayers were not reaching their desired destination.

Rabbi Luria believed that Sukkot was the time to create a positive outlook and happy persona for the rest of the year, and that Simhat Torah specifically offered us the opportunity to connect to our history, our ancestors, and to G-d by once again starting to read the weekly Torah portions from a place of happiness and joy.

I wish you all a festive and very happy Sukkot holiday; and remind you that there is nothing more joyous than seeing our children sing and perform together on the stage and taking pride in their Jewish identity. Therefore, I hope to see you all this Wednesday at the “Sukkot Under the Stars” program.

Chag Sa-me’ach!