WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

The simcha continues! Each day of the intermediary days of Sukkot involve enjoying food and drink in the Sukkah and shaking the Lulav. Additionally, there is a celebration called Simchat Beit Hosheiva that commemorates the water libations that accommodated the sacrifices offered throughout the holiday. As such, in many Jewish communities throughout the world, special Sukkot parties are held to enhance the rejoicing, albeit in the context of our closeness to the Almighty.

We thank the many who were instrumental in making this Sukkot a huge success:

Robert Blakeley for his supervising the assembly of the front sukkah along with Scott Symon and Zach Epstein-Peterson. Amy Cappell and Susan Blakeley did a beautiful job decorating the Sukkah and our staff has worked tirelessly to make our premises ready for all the action!

Plans for the conclusion of the holiday are in formation; a bulletin will be issued tomorrow.

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This week is Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath of Penitence, which falls between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. We read Parshat Vayelech which presents the last mitzvah of the Torah called Hakhel, which means congregate. At the conclusion of the Sabbatical year, on Sukkot, the entire populace was expected to gather in Jerusalem to hear the king read the book of Deuteronomy. The Torah is very specific in mentioning every demographic, even small children.

This reading is especially timely as Yom Kippur is the occasion that brings out the biggest numbers of a community and while this year Rosh HaShana had very encouraging attendance, Yom Kippur will bring our biggest numbers in 2 years. And this is also directly relevant to the season of repentance as there is strength in numbers. When we cast our lot with the community, our judgment is tempered by their collective merit. 

We are extremely pleased with our Rosh HaShana experience as all went smooth even against unprecedented challenges. We must thank those who worked so hard to make it happen with the utmost of caution to ensure our safety:

Nancy Aaronson, Perry Parker, Dolores Wine and our staff were superb in all they accomplished. The children's area was amazing thanks to Deborah Gutierrez and the food was incredible thanks to our sponsors Toby Turkel, Abe Dweck, Robert Levine and the Board of Directors.

Today is the Fast of Gedaliah which commemorates the assasination of Gedaliah ben Achikom which was the event that was the catalyst for a much bigger catastrophe after the destruction of the First Temple. The fast ends at 7:49pm.

Additionally, this Saturday is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. As the primary synagogue of that difficult time we will commemorate the event with an Interfaith Ceremony hosted by the Lower Manhattan Clergy Council. This will begin at noon, after services, and introduced by former Council Member of the 1st District, Alan J. Gerson. Participating clergy will include Dr. Marc Rivera of the Primitive Christian Church, Imam Abdoulaye Abalde of the Masjid of Manhattan and Rabbi Glass.

Kiddush will follow, generously sponsored by Laura Florman and Alan Gerson. 

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The first topic of Parshat Ki Tavo is the mitzvah Bikkurim, the first fruits, which the farmer was obligated to bring to the Temple in Jerusalem on the occasion of Shavuot. He makes a declaration of thanksgiving but also includes a reference to our suffering in Egypt. Rabbi Munk explains that even in times of intense joy and accomplishment like this, it is important to remember that there are no guarantees in life so one's pride should be held in check.

How many of us were riding high not so long ago and then kicked to the carpet in a relatively short period? Thus, with God's help, as we emerge whole again we should never forget how quickly things can turn around.

Friday night the Gutierrez family and the Konigsberg family will sponsor a mezze platter as Robert Konigsberg will observe yahrtzeit for his father and Deborah Gutierrez welcomes her parents from Mexico City.

Saturday, Chava Chalom will sponsor a sweet table for the upcoming yahrtzeit of her father Mayer Chalom. At Kiddush, Tehillim will be recited. She is also sponsoring security for the month of Elul and a gala breakfast Monday morning when we will recite the memorial prayer for Mayer ben Eliyahu HaLevi V'Esther Z"l. Mayer would often say, in his beautiful accent, "You're living, eh!" "Enjoy!"  It would be great if we could exchange those greetings this Shabbat. 

Next week we begin reciting Selichot, every morning at 7am.

RESERVE YOUR HIGH HOLIDAY SEATS NOW!!

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Much has been proposed to explain the double expression צדק צדק תרדוף Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue which is the keynote of our parsha Shoftim. Rabbi Munk seems to have the most essential explanation that both the process as well as the final result have to be just. In other words, when it comes to the judicial matters, we don't say the ends justify the means. Everything has to be both just, and righteous.

Security for the month of Elul is generously sponsored by Chava Chalom in loving memory of her father, Mayer Chalom ben Eliyahu HaLevi. May his memory be for a blessing. It is hoped that this will lead to communal feelings of happiness and conviviality throughout these special Shabatot.

Important information regarding policy and the High Holidays will be forthcoming shortly.

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Beautiful photo of "a synagogue in the diaspora"

by Marcelo Duek.

In our portion of Ekev, we have the 2nd paragraph of the Shma which concludes with a promise of long life למען ירבו ימיכם. And although this promise seems to be connected with living in the land of Israel, the Talmud says it extends to those who frequent the synagogues of the diaspora. The Maharsha explains that this is because there is a connection between a synagogue and the Temple in Jerusalem, as the Talmud further states: at the redemption, all the synagogues of the diaspora will be transplanted to Israel.

What a merit it is, therefore, to attend synagogue and we hope to see you all as we enter the days of awe which are right around the corner!

Please renew your membership or consider becoming a member. Contact the office for details.

A communication to the general public will be forthcoming next week. 

Starting this Tuesday: With the completion of the Book of Proverbs we will start back at the beginning of Tanach with the Book of Joshua!

There will be periodic archaeological presentations by Harvey Herbert, relevant to the particular text.

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In Lamentations the first chapter is a study in contrasts: " How she sits desolate, a city that was great, has become like a widow, great among nations and a prince among provinces is now just a tributary." This is the formula for the entire first chapter which at first glance has the objective of increasing our pain focusing on the great things that we lost. 

There is another perspective developed by Diane Koletch of YUHS for Girls in which she posits that Jeremiah is hinting at somewhat the opposite. Keep in mind that right before we became this great nation inhabiting a great land, we were slaves in a foreign land and that is where we were headed in the aftermath of the destruction. As such it would be easy to deemphasize the golden era between these two dark periods but Jeremiah doesn't let us. 

We are suffering now but we are strengthened and enriched by the glory of what preceded this, which can never be taken away and further, will be with us at the final redemption, במהרה בימנו!

This Shabbat we begin Dvarim and also is called Shabbat Hazon after the haftarah taken from the beginning of Isaiah. 

Tisha B'Av begins Saturday night with the fast starting at 8:24pm and ends Sunday night at 9:10pm.

Please help make our minyanim!

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When the Talmud discusses what should be considered the most important verse, surprisingly there is an opinion that it is in this week's portion, Pinchas. At the end of the portion it presents all the holidays but begins with the Tamid sacrifices brought twice daily. Chapter 28:4 reads "One lamb you shall bring in the morning and the second lamb you shall bring in the afternoon" and yet there is an opinion that this is a more important concept than the Shema or the golden rule.

What we see from this is the incredibly important characteristic of consistency and constancy. The temple never failed in this responsibility for hundreds of years and indeed, one of the reasons we fasted on Sunday was to mark the incredible tragedy of the interruption of the Tamid because of the lack of supply of animals due to the siege of Jerusalem. 

As such, we made it a priority to restore as soon as possible the full fabric of Jewish life at TriBeCa Synagogue against the challenges we faced this past year. There is a beautiful rhythm of daily activity here and along with the virtual life that has blossomed over these many months. All of us have to struggle to regain the consistency and constancy of our previous lives and we hope to be a part of that effort by having the synagogue available to you in whatever capacity will help you achieve that goal.

We continue to pray and hope for the victims and their families of Surfside. The RCA recommends Psalms 20, 130 and 142.

As we enter the summer months please try to help with our weekday and Shabbat minyanim whenever possible!

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In Chukat we have one of the more sad stories involving Moses being told that he would not be going to the land of Canaan. It was the result of the conflict he was having with the Israelites regarding the lack of water. His reaction was deemed inappropriate enough by the Almighty that he lost the privilege of living in Israel. While there has been much discussion about what went wrong in his dealing with the difficult situation, not enough emphasis has been made on how things got to that point to begin with.

Looking back a bit we note that first Miriam passes away and then shortly after there is an issue with water. From this the sages conclude that indeed, their water was directly connected to the merit of Miriam from which is derived the phrase באר מרים (the well of Miriam). But even more than that, the sages note that whether it was with the passing of Aaron, which was to take place later, or with Moses, at the end of the Torah, much mourning took place on the part of all the Israelites, something not mentioned here with Miriam.

Perhaps, the sages suggest, their lack of mourning indicated a lack of appreciation of Miriam and hence they were to learn the hard way how important it is to appreciate the people one has in life. 

TriBeCa Synagogue is thrilled to announce the birth of a daughter, Aleksandra Vera, to our members Nicholas and Volha Singer!

Congratulations to the new board elected last night at our annual Membership Meeting and thank you to all that attended. We wish them guidance from Above in all their endeavors on behalf of the synagogue in facing the challenges of the coming year.

NEW - Hebrew Reading for Beginners Starting Tonight 6pm!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87052289196

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In Shelach we have the greatest collective tragedy of the 5 Books of Moses with the sin of the spies. While the golden calf represented an enormous collective failure the consequences weren't permanent, the mission was wounded but the people marched on. The consequences of the sin of the spies was not only fatal for that generation, it embedded fissures in our nation that would eventually crack open with the eventual temple destructions and diasporas.

What is not so well known is our tradition that no female participated in this folly and as such, as opposed to the males of that generation, every female who left Egypt eventually made it to the promised land at the end of 40 years. Indeed, there is the Talmudic note that it was specifically in the merit of the righteous women in Egypt at that time which created the merit for the Jewish nation to be redeemed. And their love of the holy land was never compromised no matter the temptation or challenge. 

Thus, it is only fitting that we announce that our class in Proverbs is arriving at its conclusion and that conclusion is none other than "Woman of Valor" אשת חיל, which describes in great detail the praises of the Jewish woman and is recited on Friday nights at the Shabbat dinner table. Join us on Tuesday at 7pm when we explore in depth this critically important passage.

This week we bless the new month of Tammuz which falls next Thursday and Friday

The Molad will take place Thursday June 10th at 9:15am and 8 Chalakim

The TriBeCa Synagogue membership meeting will be held this Wednesday at 6:30pm. 

Congratulations to Dolores and Gordon Wine for the wedding of their son Ezra to Randi Sabbagh this past Sunday

Jewish soldiers killed in action during WWII are remembered in our sanctuary for Memorial Day

Additional Adult Education news: a new beginners Hebrew Reading class is in formation, please contact Rabbi Glass at rabbi@tribecasynagogue.org

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Parshat Nasso presents us with the most extreme amount of repetition anywhere in the 5 Books of Moses. In describing the gifts of dedication brought by each tribe, the Torah lists all 12 verbatim even though all 12 gifts were identical. This is highly uncharacteristic for the Torah which normally is terse to the extreme.

Many approaches have been suggested to explain the redundancy, first and foremost the tradition we have that all 12 tribes decided independently on the exact same gift with no cross consultation whatsoever. Another creative approach has it that even though the the gifts were identical, but on some level they were still distinctive to the particular tribe they came from. 

Indeed, we can say the same thing for the Judaism that we all practice. We may do the same tefilla and mitzvot, but each of us puts our own unique stamp on that practice. The richness of the Torah is that it can be the same but different all at the same time!

This Shabbat there will be 2 services with TriBeCa Synagogue meeting in the sanctuary at 9:30am and the Downtown Minyan meeting on the plaza at 10:30am. 

The TriBeCa Synagogue once again expresses its concern and full support for the State of Israel in its efforts to create for itself peace and security.

The TriBeCa Synagogue congratulates the Handfus family for the upcoming Bnei Mitzvah of their children Eve and Josh in our sanctuary this Sunday.

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In Behar we introduce the concept of Shemita and Yovel (Sabbatical year and Jubilee) wherein the people were required to leave their fields fallow every 7 years and then on the 50th year. Many misinterpret this mitzvah as practical agriculture, preventing the fields from over farming and thus leaving them barren. The commentators explain that if this was the case, the number 7 would be completely impractical. Normal agricultural procedure was to leave fields fallow once every 3 or 4 years. Waiting 7 years would completely deplete any field so there had to be another goal. They explain that the number 7 was "arbitrary" from an agricultural standpoint, rather it was to drive home that farming success was due as much to the Almighty as it was to their efforts. Indeed, they had survived in the desert for 40 years without much more than lifting a finger for their sustenance. 

In Behukotai we are instructed about when this mindset breaks down and we attribute this success disproportionately to our own efforts and diminish God's role. This is what would motivate someone to violate the Sabbatical year thinking that if they don't plant, they won't have. Thus, they were threatened with the loss of the land as that was the essential condition for their being given the land in the first place. The Torah asks from us to seek this delicate balance between faith and effort which, if achieved, will insure success in all our endeavors!

This Saturday we will celebrate the naming of the daughter of David and Samantha Braun who will sponsor kiddush for our congregation.

We will be joined again by the Downtown Minyan, so Saturday morning services will be outside. Weather will be chilly; please dress accordingly!

We bless the new month of Sivan and the molad will be Tuesday, 8:31pm with 7 chalakim.

Monday is Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem at the conclusion of the 6 Day War in 1967.

Wednesday is Rosh Chodesh Sivan.

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Our parsha of Kedoshim only comes after the long list of prohibitions laid out in previous portions, yet it adds the requirement of holiness which is supposed to go above and beyond all the aforementioned restrictions, how so?

Our sages describe the phenomenon of מנוול ברשות התורה which refers to someone who technically observes all the commandments and yet still indulges in behavior that most people would consider inappropriate. Hence here we introduce the concept of קדש עצמך במותר לך, that one must sanctify oneself even within the boundaries of permitted behavior. 

We all are familiar with examples of people who technically observe halacha and yet on the whole they seem to live lives far from what the Almighty would find pleasing. The Torah expects more from us, that is what is meant by "Holy you shall be"!

Today is the 25th day of the Omer.

Jewish Latin Center returns Friday night.

Downtown Minyan returns this Shabbat and morning services will be outside. A light lunch will be served.

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Our parsha is called Shemini which means the 8th day. For 7 days the Kohanim were sequestered and upon the 8th day they emerged to begin their service to the Israelite nation. Rabbi S R Hirsch explains that there were 3 stages: the first 6 days represented their physical life and the 7th day represented the transition to the spiritual realm and finally the 8th day represented their melding of the spiritual and the physical-the goal of all creation.

We are now in a similar process wherein we observe the 7 weeks of the Omer culminating with the 8th week which contains the holiday of Shavuot, celebrating the giving of the Torah. Hence, the sages encourage us to view this part of the calendar as an opportunity to transition from the physical to the spiritual and then blend them in our renewed receiving of the Torah, which is the blueprint for achieving this lofty goal.

Today is Yom HaShoah dedicated to Holocaust Remembrance – Zachor!

This Shabbat we bless the new month of Iyar taking place on Monday and Tuesday

The Molad is Monday morning at 7:47am and 6 Chalakim.

Chava Chalom observed yahrtzeit for her mother this week at Shacharit and Mincha providing refreshments. In memory of her mother she will be sponsoring security for this Shabbat.

Buying back your chametz!

Here is helpful information from the RCA regarding purchasing chametz going forward:

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While the beginning of Leviticus talks about a person who is self motivated to bring a sacrifice, this week's portion is called Tzav, which means "command". The first part of the portion is dominated by a presentation of the meal offering which is called mincha; one of those "menachot" being the "toda", or thanksgiving offering. And this provides a fascinating connection to our current holiday of Passover. Indeed, one of the occasions the sages say to bring a toda offering is when one is released from prison, and there was no greater "jailbreak" than millions of Israelites escaping slavery in Egypt! As such, our seder meal is topped by the same matzah that comprised the toda offering of the temple. 

We have much to be thankful for on this holiday as a nation, but also individually and as a community. We emerge from this year cognizant of the loss and disruption, but pause on this occasion to remember all that we still have and enjoy. 

Selling of the Chametz can be done online  HERE.
The Rabbi is also available for in person transaction at your convenience.

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We complete the book of Exodus with the double portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei which discusses the implementation of all the instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan (tabernacle). But before any discussion is presented, Moses goes into a presentation regarding Shabbat which seems out of place. Rabbi Munk says that Moses was pointing out that while they failed with the Golden Calf in the area of idol worship, their Sabbath observance was unblemished. And it was their Sabbath observance that ultimately was the key factor in their surviving the ensuing punishment. Finally, the fact that they were allowed to complete this profound project of the Mishkan was almost solely due to their loyalty to Shabbat. As Rabbi Heschel famously remarked: it is not so much that the Jewish nation kept Shabbat as it was Shabbat that kept the Jewish nation!

We also have the 4th and final special reading called HaChodesh which deals with the mitzvah of proclaiming the new moon as a precursor to the mitzvah of the Passover sacrifice. Indeed we bless the new month of Nisan which will begin this Sunday with one day Rosh Chodesh.

The Molad will take place Friday night 7:03pm and 5 Chalakim.

The TriBeCa Synagogue is thrilled to announce the engagement of David Bibian and Emily Eisenberg!

More happy occasions at TriBeCa Synagogue:

Rehearsal for the Bar Mitzvah of Ari Korpus 

Bris of Simon Benjamin Mishkin

Parents married by Rabbi Glass at TriBeCa Rooftop

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