April 13, 2017

• THIS SHABBAT:  Song Leaders on Friday, Chant/Contemplative Service on Saturday
• PJ Library at CBH:  Passover "Yoga for Families" with children ages 3-8+ THIS SATURDAY 
• CBH Bat Mitzvah Celebration Weekend invitations have mailed - has yours arrived?
• Office CLOSED THIS MONDAY for last day of Passover 

• Shabbat and Ritual
• Rabbi Greg's Corner
• General Announcements/Deadlines
• Special Events/Recent Events
• Religious School/Young Families/Teens
• Adult Education, Spirituality and Israel Programming
• Tikkun Olam/Social Action

It’s that time of year, Pesach time, when we start hunting frantically for where we stashed the haggadahs from last year’s seder and all of the various ritual items that will be needed to create the annual retelling of “our exodus from Egypt” with our friends and family gathered round the table.  Shank bone? Check. (We keep ours in the freezer from year to year). Cup of Elijah and Miriam? Check. Seder plate? Check. As we assemble all of the items, we often find that we retrieve more than the physical objects themselves; gathering, in addition, a host of memories, stories and family traditions that cling like thick Sephardic charoset to fresh matzah.  Sometimes, however, the items are so familiar, the stories so well-known, that we don’t even give them a second thought and on to the table they go without a question.  This is particularly true of the symbolic foods that we place every year on the seder plate.  Sometimes an egg is simply an egg.  But, as is generally the case in our Jewish rituals, if you poke a bit at that radish or peel back the shell on that roasted egg, you will discover that our tradition reveals a whole host of deeper meanings that help connect the essential teachings of the seder to our lives today.

I recently learned--from the teachings of Reb Zalman, Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Rabbi Reuben Modek--that each of the symbols on the seder plate, according to our mystical tradition, represents one of God’s divine qualities, emanating through the kabbalistic spheres, that can shine through us into our own lives, as well. These divine qualities may also just be the very building blocks we can use for strengthening and deepening our relationships to one another in our Bet Haverim community. May we grow together from strength to strength.

The Zero’ah, or shank bone of a lamb, traditionally recalls the Passover sacrifice brought by our ancestors and is a reminder of the lamb’s blood placed on the doorposts of the Israelite homes so that the Angel of Death would “pass over,” thus sparing the lives of those inside.  For the Kabbalists, the Zero’ah, symbolizing the outstretched arm of the Holy One, corresponds to the divine quality of chesed (loving-kindness).  As we reflect on the deeper meaning of the Zero’ah for us this year, we might ask ourselves where we are stretching ourselves to help others and our community? How might we build bridges and extend ourselves even a bit further to be that loving and supportive presence in another’s life? How have others reached out to us and how have these acts of chesed impacted us? Passover is a time to step up and make a difference in someone’s life.

The Beitzah, or roasted egg, represents the festival offering and is linked by the Kabbalists to the divine quality of gevurah (strength and structure). The egg has a hard shell on the outside to provide the necessary container for new life to emerge.  The egg calls us to reflect on tough decisions we have made so that we can protect what is important to us. We might ask ourselves how setting limits have actually nurtured us and where we could use even more support in our lives. What is nascent and emerging in us at this time that needs a stronger sense of gevurah, guarding and special nurturing? Passover is a time to take a stand for what is important to us.

The Maror, or bitter herbs, are well known to evoke the bitterness of slavery and oppression. So it might seem strange that the Kabbalists associated Maror with the divine quality of Tiferet (harmony and balance). Tiferet stands at the intersection of gevurah and chesed, strength and kindness, and must find a way to balance and harmonize these opposing forces.   The Maror of Passover challenges us to consider how to incorporate

and make peace with the difficult, bitter experiences in our life. We might ask ourselves how we want to choose to respond to the bitterness in life? Can we find a way to respond, and not simply react, so that we can be with what is and learn even from life’s challenges?  The sting of the Maror calls us to pay attention to the suffering of others, as well, so we can be with them. Passover is a time to bring opposites together.

The Charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts and wine or dried fruit and honey) represents the mortar, the symbol of our servitude and hard labor, that the Israelites used to build the pyramids for Pharaoh.  The mystics saw Charoset as the divine quality of Netzach (endurance, that which lasts and sticks).  The Charoset might stimulate in us questions about what is lasting in the things that we are doing with our life.  What would we like to endure from our lives into the future? What do we hope our legacy will be? How will we build something of lasting value with the days that we have?  Passover is a time to devote ourselves to something that will stick around.

The Karpas (the green parsley) represents the new growth of spring and the hope that emerges from desolation of winter.  The Kabbalists imagined Karpas as connected to Hod (beauty and splendor).  Hod is also related to the word Hodaya, a sense of thanksgiving.  Is not our gratitude rooted in a sense of awe at the beauty of the world?  The Karpas might evoke in us questions about where our gratitude is rooted. What experiences cause us to feel appreciation? What are we thankful for at this season? How do we show our gratitude to those whom we treasure? Passover is a time to appreciate what we have and say “Dayenu!”

Chazeret (more bitter herbs, often a romaine lettuce leaf) is one of the great mysteries of the seder plate; its place on the Passover table is often left empty.  Yet the Kabbalists linked the Chazeret with the divine quality of Yesod (foundation, rootedness), which can also be connected to the Hebrew word chazarah or return. Yesod is the steady and stable platform upon which our vision for ourselves and the world is grounded.  The Chazeret might invite us to ask ourselves about our core passions and values upon which our life is founded.  Have we been living in alignment with these beliefs?  How can we better support our spiritual foundation and our ability to be advocates for the community and world of our dreams? Where are there opportunities in our life to return to what is most important to us? Passover is a time to live into what is most important to us.

And, finally, even the seder plate itself, the Ke’arah, is considered to reflect a particular divine quality, that of Malchut (manifestation). The Zohar refers to Malchut as the “mouth of God… a sacred container that holds all that has been received.” (from Counting the Omer by Min Kantrowitz, p. 205)  The seder plate invites us to imagine together, as a community of precious souls, how we can move in our lives from the narrow places that trap us into the wide open spaces of possibility where we can manifest all of these divine qualities of loving-kindness, strength, harmony, endurance, thankfulness and groundedness.  For when we live with a deeper awareness of these divine attributes within us, God’s radiant light comes shining through each one of us to brighten the world. 

Two Ways to Support STEAC  

1. STEAC Food Project:  upon a sign-up, a Neighborhood Coordinator contacts a participant to provide a reusable grocery bag to be filled with non-perishable food and left out for pick up from the front porch every other month.  Click here to register now!  Please contact CBH Partner Linda Bresnick with any questions by clicking her name.  
2. Israel Matters' 4th Annual Chanukah to Passover Food Drive for STEAC:  prefer to make a one-time food drop-off?  Want to provide a bag of non-perishable groceries each of the months that the Food Project doesn't pick-up?  Bring your donations to the CBH office.  More than 230 pounds already have been collected toward Israel Matters' goal of 700!  For more details, or to contact Israel Matters' Chair George Rooks, please click here.

• Understand the priorities and needs of our community
• Create local/national benchmarks against which to measure our synagogue
• Receive your input into the process of continuous synagogue improvement and planning

Food, Friends and Fun at Tuesday Night's Community Passover Seder

Thanks to Those Who Made it Possible!

Nearly 110 community members came together in a beautifully decorated Social Hall to celebrate a festive Seder - - sharing in a potluck feast, the musical inspiration of the Song Leaders and the highly anticipated hunt for the afikomen.  Rabbi Greg amazed the children of all ages with magical plagues and eggs, but no tricks could surpass the organized dedication of organizer Sandy Jones, without whom the journey might not have been possible!

Sandy was supported by an amazing team, to whom she sends deep appreciation:

• Rabbi Greg for leading the Seder
• Sarah Pattison and her Song Leaders:  Meryl Rappaport, Diann Kramer, Roy Kaplan, Linda Sternberg, Sharon McCorkell, Judy Leatherman, Hallie Morrow, Meredith Brownstein and Sylvia Richman
• Sally Besser for the floral arrangements
• Michael Bobell for the charoset
• Set-up crew:  Beth, Jo-el and Zoe DuBois, Sally Eckert, Diann Kramer, Sally Besser and the Jew Crew 
• Clean-up crew:  Joy and Steve Cohan, Alan Brownstein and the Jew Crew
• CBH administrative support:  Joy Cohan and Doug Walter

Next year in Jerusalem...or closer to home in the CBH Social Hall!

Sunday, May 7, 2017
 

Israel Independence Day Celebration, presented by Israel Matters

12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Redwood Grove

• Food - Israeli and American salads, falafels, BBQ hot dogs
• Music and dancing - Klezmer tunes!
• Kids' activities - bounce houses and face painting

This is a FREE event, open to the entire community!  Invite your friends and neighbors to join in the fun and learn more about Israel past and present.

For more information, contact Israel Matters' chair George Rooks by clicking his name.


ALSO, the Annual Jewish Heritage Festival,
presented by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region
1:00 - 5:00 p.m., Scottish Rite Masonic Center,
6151 H Street, Sacramento

Sample the best of Jewish life in our region, by visiting congregation and organization booths featuring Israeli culture, as well as Judaica and other vendors. Bet Haverim's booth will highlight Israeli innovation, as well as Israel Matters' related essay/art contest.  This is a free admission event; food will be available for purchase.

Questions?  Can you assist with set-up or staffing of the Bet Haverim booth for an hour or two?  Please contact Communications Specialist Joy Cohan at communications@bethaverim.org, or 530-383-1814.