May the sound of the shofar mark the beginning of the new year, 5771, filled with health and happiness. L'shana Tova U'mitukah.  May it be a good and sweet year for you.

Educator's Message: No matter our age, September reminds us of new beginnings. September represents new friends and new opportunities.   There is an air of excitement as the new school year approaches because everything is starting once again. 

As the final weeks of summer vacations draw to a close, we each try and soak up as much rest as we might before school, sports, holidays and every other manner of fall activity sets upon us. Or Chadash, though, has been buzzing with activity, all summer long, as behind the scenes work for the New Year takes shape.

This morning I was among the first to see the film Eat, Pray, Love. It's not that I am a Julia Roberts fan, but more a supporter of famous authors who live in my community. I've had the pleasure of meeting Liz Gilbert and her dad, chatting about cycling and the magic and pain of owning an historic house - she lives in the former church that I had considered purchasing for my home. But those stories are for another time.

I know that during these hazy, hot and humid days of summer we often seek to refresh our wilted bodies with some manner of relaxation. Sometimes, though, we need also to refresh our spirits. I encourage you to join us for our first Jewish meditation program next Thursday at OC. It might just be the perfect antidote to the wearying heat.

I hope all of you are having a relaxing and enjoyable summer - despite the intense heat we are experiencing.    Tonight, Kabbalat Shabbat services are again at 6pm. I will be sharing a bit of the remarkable story of the Jewish family who created Curious George.

Happy summer everybody and mazel tov to our graduates listed below. (If you have a graduate please let me know.) Now that summer is here we move to our summer schedule and services this Shabbat through Labor Day will begin at 6 PM. Please join us this Sunday, June 27, for our Delaware Water Gap Hike as part of our Summer Fun at Or Chadash!

It's a Guitar Shabbat!! This Friday, June 18th, we will have a very special Shabbat service.  I am very excited that Seth Mandel, a professional guitarist and instructor, will be joing us.  Seth will be offering an opportunity for all of our members who play and/or enjoy guitar music to join him for a "master" class.  All interested guitar players are invited to study with him from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. (Dinner will be provided for our guitar students.) All abilities and ages, children to adult, are encouraged to join us.

The late Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, in describing a congregation, wrote the following:  "Our congregation is more than a congregation.  It is more than a collection of people.  It is a community of friends, an alliance of believers.  We are engaged in shared work. We are moved by shared ideals. There is a solidarity of purpose, a union of goals. When we celebrate, we celebrate together.  And when we need support, we support each other.  Our congregation is more than an institution.  It is more than a casual assumption.  It is a family of choice, a fellowship of like-minded people. Our bonds are more than convenience and tradition.  We have chosen to be here because we want to be here.  We have chosen to be here because we need to be here -- because standing alone is never as inspiring as standing together."

It doesn't feel as though it's time for our annual meeting, though another year has passed. I see so many wonderful things happening at Or Chadash. A most recent Shabbat weekend included a Bar Mitzvah, a farewell to our student cantor, Faryn Kates, and a book reading and signing by author Michael Rosen.

Together with the Religious Practices Committee we are pleased to announce our Summer Activity and Service Schedule.  We hope you join us for our 3rd Annual Hike to the Delaware Water Gap and lunch at Sunfish Pond, take in the Curious George exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York City, cycle with us on the roads of Hunterdon County, or read along with Or Chadash Reads.   Or Chadash Cares year round, and the food pantry has critical needs during the summer months.  Please help stock the pantry's shelves by contributing non-perishable foods to our food basket each time you stop by the synagogue.  

This has been an extremely busy week at Or Chadash as we celebrated the Confirmation of our students as well as held another successful Mitzvah Day.  If you were unable to participate in these programs, I hope that you will be able to experience some of the emotions through the photo albums 

This past year, our educator, Betsy Zalaznick, Rabbi Gerard, one of Religious School faculty, and I shared the privilege of teaching our 8th, 9th and 10th graders. With your support and encouragement and their untiring enthusiasm, we culminated an event-filled year of learning and doing with a visit to a Middle-Eastern restaurant in Lambertville. I invite you to peruse the photos and taste some of the fun we experienced this past year.

It is written in the book of Joel (3:2-3): "The old shall dream dreams, and the youth shall see visions." Next week we have a wonderful opportunity to gather as a community to reflect on life, to share in the joy of family and friends, and to celebrate the youth of our synagogue. On Friday, May 14th at 7:00 PM, it is my pleasure to invite the entire Or Chadash community to the Festival of Shavuot and Service of Confirmation.  Confirmation marks not only the culmination of a decade of religious education, but the development of a more mature understanding of one's religious identity.

Shabbat, I'm sure I've mentioned to all of you, is a time to reflect on life, a day to find some quiet time, engage in pleasurable activities and be with family and friends. I haven't changed my mind about that idea. It has kept our people together for millennia.

On Sunday, April 25th, we are taking a congregational trip to Jewish Philadelphia and everyone is invited to join us for this amazing journey into the city and Jewish history of the 5th largest city in the United States. We will be leaving the Or Chadash parking lot at 8:30 AM on a bus to Philadelphia and will return sometime around 7:30 PM.  The cost for adults and guests is $60 per person and the cost for 8th, 9th and 10th grade religious school students is $30. 

This Sunday the Jewish world commemorates the Shoah, or Holocaust - the systematic extermination of six-million Jews. The Torah portion for this week, Shemini, tells the following related story of unspeakable death. "Now Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and laid incense upon it, offering to God an offering not demanded of them. And fire came forth and consumed them, and they died. Then Moses said to Aaron: "This is what God meant by the words: Through those near to me I show Myself holy and assert my authority before all the people.' And Aaron was silent." (Leviticus 10:1-3)

As the warm air of March thaws, and the new buds and flowers of spring beckon us outdoors to play, the Jewish calendar - tied both to our history and to the cycle of our seasons - reveals that Passover will soon be here. This is a time of rebirth, of re-emergence from the cloistered places of our winter days. For some, preparing for Pesach initiates a series of rituals of renewal. Often this is expressed by the annual cleaning of our homes. As we sift through our possessions we discover lost or hidden items and can't even remember where we got them nor the last time we used or wore them. For some of us, the annual pre-Passover cleaning includes at trip to the kitchen as we plan meals to use up pasta and cereal and crackers before our holiday begins. For others, Passover is a time reminiscent of the Days of Awe, as we look within ourselves to see what remnants of the past need discarding and which parts of our souls need renewal.

Being a rabbi has been richly rewarding for me as I have been blessed to teach and to learn, to share the lives of so many of you and discover the limitless creativity of our ancestors and our current generation.  For the past several days I have had the great privilege of serving on the admissions committee of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Rabbinical school and meet with individuals who seek to join the rabbinate.  I sat with eager young men and women who not only possess a passion for the richness of our sacred traditions, but also who deeply desire to become future leaders of our Reform Movement, shapers of our Jewish community and K'lei Kodesh - holy vessels - who comfort, guide and sustain our people.  It was a great learning experience for me as I learned from them their hopes for tomorrow and the challenges which they see as looming largest for the Jewish future. 

This week I am thrilled to share with you the details of a remarkable weekend members of our congregation experienced in Washington D.C. at the Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism and at our nation's Capitol. Please take a few moments to read what they and our students have written. If you are interested in participating in this event next year, please let me know. I would welcome your involvement in this transforming program.

This week Or Chadash launched our new Facebook page. I was so excited about this new development that I wanted to share a little bit about this in my weekly article. I thought to myself: Before I write this week's article on our new Facebook page, I should do a little research on Jewish social-networking media. Perhaps, I hoped, I might discover some wisdom about Facebook and how it is being used by other congregations. I promptly Googled "Jewish Social Networking Reform Synagogues".

This week Or Chadash launched our new Facebook page. I was so excited about this new development that I wanted to share a little bit about this in my weekly article. I thought to myself: Before I write this week's article on our new Facebook page, I should do a little research on Jewish social-networking media. Perhaps, I hoped, I might discover some wisdom about Facebook and how it is being used by other congregations. I promptly Googled "Jewish Social Networking Reform Synagogues".

In this week's Torah portion, Terumah, we learn of the materials that are needed to decorate the Temple--gold, silver and copper (bronze)!  During these remaining days of the Olympics, I hope you will consider watching this short video about Terumah.   God asks the Children of Israel to donate gifts (terumah) for the building of the Tabernacle so that God may "dwell among them." (Exodus 25:1-9)  Instructions for the construction of the Ark, table, and menorah are provided. (Exodus 25:10-40)   Detailed directions are given on how to build the Tabernacle. (Exodus 26:1-27:19)

Having grown up in Norfolk, Virginia, I can show you around historic Colonial Williamsburg or relaxing Virginia Beach and introduce you to the best grits you can find. But I lack the personal New Jersey history that some of you and your grandparents might have experienced. So it was rather special for me to spend a day exploring the old Jewish neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey.

This week, in addition to our celebration of the birthday of George Washington,  we mark the concurrent birthdays on February 12th of two great men: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.  One emerged from the humblest of backgrounds in Kentucky to become one of the greatest leaders in American history.  The other, an heir to great wealth, chose to travel the world in a passionate search of support for his theory of evolution.  While the devotions of both men no doubt changed the world we inherit, there remain many in our world who still do not accept the equality of all humanity (black and white, Northerner and Southerner, and by extension, all people) nor the humbling notion that we humans are a part of the evolution of all species on earth.

This past week during Religious School and Shabbat services I told the story of Honi the Wise One, who is also known as Honi the Circle Maker. In the Mishna there is a story of Honi drawing a circle and stepping inside of it. There he would recite special prayers for rain during a drought, sometimes even arguing with God. The legends of Honi relate that his prayers were answered and the rains would come. As wise as he was, Honi sometimes saw things that puzzled him. He would ask questions so he could unravel the mystery.

This week at Or Chadash our congregation will be celebrating the holiday known as Tu B'Shevat -- literally the 15th of the month of Shevat, but more commonly known as the birthday of trees. In the dead of winter, when snow and ice frequently cover the ground, Jewish tradition has us plant trees to affirm our faith in the future even as lifelessness is all about us.

Most of us -- myself included -- have probably played musical chairs at one time in our lives. This week Or Chadash is playing a modified version of this game as we say farewell to our white fabric covered metal chairs and and grey plastic and metal chairs. We await the arrival of our new sanctuary chairs next week. I want to express tremendous appreciation to Carol and Brian Coriell who many years ago provided those chairs to Or Chadash. We have enjoyed them and I am happy to report that the Coriells have found another fortunate home for them. We very much appreciate the Coriells thinking of Or Chadash and want to say thank you.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest leaders in our nation's history. While there were many who bristled at his message, there were more who knew that it was rooted in the universal truths preached by the prophets of Israel centuries earlier. Dr. King's sermons were influenced by his friendship with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel whose yahrtzeit occurred this past month. When Dr. King marched in Selma, and on many other occasions, Rabbi Heschel marched along side him.

hope all of you had a happy and healthy New Year celebration. This winter we have several exciting opportunities to join together as a community. At the end of January we will be working at our Habitat For Humanity site -- stay tuned for more details. In February, we are having a Shabbat morning service for our community with lots of members participating, reading Torah, playing music. Again, more details will be arriving soon. I also encourage you to attend our URJ Regional Shabbaton on January 30. Yep, more details to follow.

Dear members of Or Chadash, Plans for programming in 2010 are already underway. One event you won't want to miss is our April 25th trip to Jewish Philadelphia. We will be visiting two neighboring congregations in Elkins Park: Keneseth Israel with its remarkable stained glass windows and the historic synagogue of Beth Shalom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I encourage you to check out the article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about this architechtural landmark. Shalom, Rabbi Joseph M. Forman

Despite the ice and rain, so many of you volunteered to help out with our Hanukkah celebrations on Friday and Sunday. In acknowledging so many, a few were forgotten. My apologies to all. Once again: THANK YOU!! Shir Chadash, our community choir Our 5th grade students, teachers and families Religious School families and teachers Shabbat Evening Latke & Applesauce Cooks Hanukkah Squares Participants Special Hanukkah Projects Leaders Susan Albrecht Rachel Albrecht Nancy Altshuler Audrey Belkin Jeff Berg Ray Blumenfeld Ira Breines MaryAnn Breslow Scott Breslow Ruby Erkkila Craig Erkkila Jason Feldman Phil Harvey Faryn Kates Bob Kaufman Susan Knapp Darren Loew Amy MacIsaac David Orlans Rita Orlans Susan Parilis Nisim Parliyan Ellen Rosen Steve Sinoway Victor Sloan Cindy Stoter Liz Tracey Rachel Weil Paul Weil Ross Weinick Mark Witzling Kristina Witzling Caryn Tomljanovich Betsy Zalaznick Donna Zubek Naomi Zwerling And I am sure many more!!

Or Chadash is preparing for the celebration of the holiday of Hanukkah! FIRST NIGHT OF HANUKKAH On Friday, December 11 at 7:00 PM (note the service time) we will gather as a community to light menorahs(don;t forget to bring yours!), enjoy the sounds of Shir Chadash, our community choir led by Student Cantor Faryn Kates, and be captivated by reknowned Storyteller Rebecca Kelly, in a program entitled "Tales that Illuminate Hanukkah." Our 5th grade will be leading portions of the service, and our religious school students will be participating in the service. Everyone is encouraged to attend. We will have a special celebratory oneg on Friday December 11th with lots of latkes.

It is no secret that the last printed edition of the bi-monthly Or Chadash Newsletter was published quite some time ago. You should know this is not due to any delays caused by our wonderfully talented and able editor, Sharon Katzman. She has in fact, produced two newsletters electronically for us in recent months. Change however, is one constant. In his presidential address to the URJ Biennial last month in Toronto, Rabbi Eric Yoffie stated: "Remember: from the time of Ezra, who rewrote the Bible in a new script, we Jews have always adapted to our environment and taken advantage of the latest technologies. To encode our conversations and sacred texts, we moved with ease from stone tablets to parchment to paper, and we will move with equal ease to the electronic word. In fact, we should see the Web as one of the most wondrous developments of all time...."

Yesterday's New York Times (11.24.09) featured an article about interfaith understanding that I wanted to share with you. Entitled Three Clergy, Three Faiths, One Friendship it is an inspiring article and timely as tonight at 7 PM I will be participating in an interfaith dialogue at the Hunterdon County Library (Main Branch, Rt. 12.) I hope you will join me as we recite the Shecheheyanu prayer, a prayer we say to give thanks for allowing us to share this special occasion.

Last night I had the opportunity to teach the history of Judaism to a group of students at Raritan Valley Community College. Addressing an interfaith assembly and responding to questions about our faith reminded me how fortunate we are to live in a nation that embraces diversity and has allowed Judaism to flourish.

"What is required of us?" asked the prophet Micah. "Only to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God." (Micah 6:8) It sounds simple enough. Doing it, though, is challenging work. Not to mention that finding time for such lofty goals amidst all the quotidian tasks of life is difficult, and the work is never complete.

Mark Kurlansky's book Salt teaches more about salt than one ever thought could be written about such a simple topic. Did you know that salt is the only rock we eat? That is probably a good thing. And to be considered the "salt of the earth" is to be characterized as one of the best in our society. Such a designation refers to someone genuine, unpretentious, noble in every way. This phrase derives its origin from the days when salt, rather than gold or oil, was the most prized commodity on earth.

It has been estimated that nearly half of all Americans today can trace their famiy history to at least one person who passed through the port in New York at Ellis Island. On November 15th, Or Chadash is going to explore the life of these immigrants at the turn-of-the-century with a congregational trip to New York. The day begins at Ellis Island, after which we will ferry to Lower Manhattan and travel slightly north to Orchard and Delancey Streets. We will eat at Katz's Deli, founded in 1888 by a Russian immigrant family.

What does it mean to be Jewish? This past week our 8th, 9th and 10th graders experienced the joy of making Challah -- with master Challah baker Shelly Weller. Mixing, rolling, braiding and the wonderful aroma of fresh challah have all been a part of Jewish identity for centuries. This week our 11th and 12th graders will be attending a program on Jewish Identity on Sunday, October 25, with more than 40 other students from five local Reform Congregations. New York based performance artist Vanessa Hidary will speak with our students and discuss the ever-changing meaning of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.

As our 8th, 9th and 10th graders discovered in class last week how they are all connected to each other (literally and figuratively!) I wonder how many connections our members might find if we completed this same exercise. We asked our kids: What language did you study? What Jewish holiday is your birthday closest to? What Torah portion did you read at your Bar or Bat Mitzvah? What countries did your family come to America from?

In Pirkei Avot, the Wisdom of the Sages, Rabbi Ben Bag Bag states: "Turn it and turn it again, for everything is contained within (Pirke Avot 5:22)." This Shabbat coincides with our celebration of Simchat Torah, the holiday on which we read the final verses from the Book of Deuteronomy and turn (and turn and turn) the Torah scroll back to Genesis and read the very beginning of our sacred text. We are reminded that the cycle of life is unending, and every point along the way provides opportunites for discovery and growth.

This week we prepare to celebrate the fall Chagim (holidays) with Sukkot (the fall harvest festival) and Simchat Torah. I hope you will join in the many activities surrounding these special holidays - Our Sukkah build this Sunday morning at 8 AM - Kup O Joe resumes this Sunday at 9 AM - "Sundaes in the Sukkah" on Sunday at 11:30 AM for everyone - Consecration with with our 15 new students: next Friday, October 9th at 7 PM - Simchat Torah and our the unrolling of the entire Torah:next Friday at 7:30 PM. As part of our Simchat Torah celebration we will be dedicating our new Torah Mantles.

Rosh Hashanah 5770 - September 18 and 19. L'shana tova tikatevu. May you be inscribed for a good year. Or Chadash Clergy, Officers and Board of Trustees. See bottom of this page for High Holiday Service Schedule.

In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's lovesick duke remarks, "If music be the food of love, play on." Come to Or Chadash this weekend and you will hear music in many forms. On Friday night, Faryn Kates, our Student Cantor, will join me on the bimah for Shabbat Services, beginning at 7:30 PM. The following morning, during Shabbat services, Ben Parilis will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah and chant his Torah portion, Nitzavim. On Sunday morning Faryn Kates, our student cantor will join with Shir Chadash, our community choir as it prepares for the High Holy Days (9 AM). Another choir, our Shofar Choir, will be practicing at 12:30 PM. Sandwiched between our community choir, and our shofar choir, we are delighted to welcome back Sruli and Lisa to Or Chadash. The Klezmer Concert begins at 10:30 AM, followed by Israeli dancing and an End of Summer Picnic. Please register for the cookout so we know how much food to grill! I hope to see you enjoying the music this special weekend.

For those of us prone to academic calendars, Labor Day weekend is often considered the unofficial end to summer. However, this weekend at Or Chadash is a weekend of new beginnings. During Shabbat services this Friday evening, September 4 at 6 PM, you will have the opportunity to experience both a life-cyle event and the welcoming of our new student cantor.

Or Chadash is blessed with a diverse community of members. We come from a huge spectrum of backgrounds. We are fortunate to be able to worship together as a community to celebrate many life-cycle events at Or Chadash. Our sanctuary has been the home to life-cycle events including baby namings, consecrations, Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, confirmations and marriages. It is the place that we have both welcomed and said farewell to special friends of Or Chadash.

As the New Year approaches, I want to let you know of a few events that are planned for the end of the summer. I hope these warm days of August are relaxing for all of you. Save the Date! Sunday, September 13, 2009 10:30 AM. Family, Friends and Neighbors are invited to celebrate the New Year with OC. We are having a Klezmer Concert with Sruli and Lisa; there will be Israeli Dancing and a delicious End of Summer Cookout.

Or Chadash, along with 900 other Reform synagogues, is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). The URJ provides many resources and services to clergy, educators and lay-leaders including publishing and music. I am delighted to share with you the Fall issue of RJ magazine, featuring The Insider's Guide to College Life, new book reviews, recipes, weathering the economy, and more. I look forward to seeing you at Or Chadash or at one of our summer events.

Summertime often hints at a season when "the livin' is easy". For kids, that is frequently true. But for the rest of us who are devoted to those same kids, we are often working diligently so they might enjoy a break from the rigors of school. And so it is with the staff at OC. As the warm days and the rains of summer linger, we are hard at work getting ready for the new year. This Shabbat, though, we are all taking some time off to relax a truly enjoy a weekend of rest. There are wonderful events being planned for the fall -- and even for the remainder of the summer. I hope you will join me for Tot Shabbat or a post Shabbat service discussion of one of the books we are all reading. I look forward to seeing you at Or Chadash, and I wish you all an early Shabbat Shalom.

A synagogue has many names--a House of Worship (Beit T'filah), House of Study (Beit Midrash) and House of Community (Beit K'nesset.) In this issue of This Week at Or Chadash, you will discover opportunities to worship with our Kabbalat Shabbat services, to learn and study together as we discuss Away and Everyman, and to join as a community by participating in a build with Habitat for Humanity or a meeting of our Social Action committee. This week's Torah Portion is V'Etchanan which contains the Shema: Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one. These are perhaps the most well known verses in the entire Torah. I invite you to join me at our early Kabbalat Shabbat service and read the Hebrew words of the Shema this week directly from the Torah. I look forward to seeing you at Or Chadash or at one of our summer events.

We hope you will join us for our summer services which are called Kabbalat Shabbat Services--literally "Welcoming the Sabbath." These services begin earlier in the evening, and are shorter in length, to allow for a relaxed Shabbat dinner experience at home or together with friends. As always we invite you to bring other Jewish families to experience the beauty and richness of a Shabbat service at Or Chadash....

Together with the Religious Practices Committee we are pleased to announce our Summer Service Schedule for the months of July and August. Our Summer services are called Kabbalat Shabbat Services--literally "Welcoming the Sabbath" These services begin earlier in the evening, and are shorter in length, to allow for a relaxed Shabbat dinner experience at home or together with friends. As always we invite you to bring other Jewish families to experience the beauty and richness of a Shabbat service at Or Chadash.

Each Shabbat when we join together in prayer, we recite the words of the Avot, the prayer that acknowledges the patriarchs (and now matriarchs) of our faith.  Even as we see ourselves as descendants of the Biblical Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so, too, do we each consider  - especially this Sunday -- the father of flesh and blood who gave us life. I wish everyone a Happy Fathers' Day as they honor their fathers and remember them with kindness.

The late Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, in describing a congregation, wrote the following: "Our congregation is more than a congregation. It is more than a collection of people. It is a community of friends, an alliance of believers. We are engaged in shared work. We are moved by shared ideals. There is a solidarity of purpose, a union of goals. When we celebrate, we celebrate together. And when we need support, we support each other. Our congregation is more than an institution. It is more than a casual assumption. It is a family of choice, a fellowship of like-minded people. Our bonds are more than convenience and tradition. We have chosen to be here because we want to be here. We have chosen to be here because we need to be here -- because standing alone is never as inspiring as standing together."

There is a modern prayer that beautifully expresses the aspirations of every congregation: "May the doors of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, and all who are lonely for fellowship. May it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express, hopes to nurture. May the doors of this synagogue be narrow enough to shut our pettiness and pride, envy and enmity. May its threshold be no stumbling block to young or straying feet. May it be too high to admit complacency, selfishness and harshness. May this synagogue be, for all who enter, the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life." (The New Mahzor)

I hope you will join us this weekend as we celebrate not only the arrival of Shabbat on Friday evening and the joy of Shabbat on Saturday morning, but also the conclusion of Shabbat with our brief service of Havdalah. Havdalah, which literally means separation, marks the separation between the sanctity of Shabbat and the secular realm of the workweek. Havdalah is a beautiful and dramatic ceremony touching upon all the senses. On Friday night, our services (7:30 PM) will be led by our 7th grade class. The next morning, Craig Tiber will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah; Saturday afternoon, Megan Kahle will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah. Joining us this weekend will be Faryn Kates, our new student cantor for next year. She is substituting for Zoe who is away. Faryn will be celebrating Shabbat with us and leading us in music and song. We will officially welcome her in September and hope you will have the opportunity to greet her this weekend or in early September.

This has been an exciting week in Israel and around the world for the Reform Movement as the Israel Supreme Court moved toward greater recognition of Reform Judaism.  I encourage you to go to IRAC.org and read the details of this landmark case.  Here are some hightlights: “On Tuesday, May 19, 2009, the Israeli High Court of Justice, in a ground-breaking case, awarded equal funding to Reform and Conservative Jewish conversion programs.

It is written in the book of Joel (3:2-3): “The old shall dream dreams, and the youth shall see visions.” Tonight we have a wonderful opportunity to gather as a community to reflect on life, to share in the joy of family and friends, and to celebrate the youth of our synagogue. It is my pleasure to invite the entire Or Chadash community to the Festival of Shavuot and Service of Confirmation. Confirmation marks not only the culmination of a decade of religious education, but the development of a more mature understanding of one's religious identity. Please join us as Jeffrey Erkkila, Sean Esterkin, Leah Lewy and Dorian Richards are called to the Torah as Confirmands. We will hear them read the Ten Commandments and their own reflections on what Judaism means to them at this point along their ongoing Jewish journeys.

Zoe Jacobs has served as our Student Cantor for two years learning from each of us and teaching us as well. So it is with great pride that Betsy Zalaznick and I join her at her investiture. It will take place this Sunday, May 3 at Temple Emanuel in New York City, and therefore we will not be at Religious School. (Jeff Berg has graciously agreed to take the helm for us this weekend.)

This evening the Jewish world commemorates the Shoah, or Holocaust – the systematic extermination of six-million Jews. The Torah portion we read this past Shabbat, Shemini, tells the following related story of unspeakable death. "Now Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and laid incense upon it, offering to God an offering not demanded of them. And fire came forth and consumed them, and they died. Then Moses said to Aaron: "This is what God meant by the words: Through those near to me I show Myself holy and assert my authority before all the people.' And Aaron was silent." (Leviticus 10:1-3)

Last week, the Torah portion from the Book of Leviticus was Tzav. Tzav shares the same Hebrew root as a word familiar to most of you: Mitzvah. We often translate mitzvah as "good deed." But its actual meaning is "commandment." For anyone who struggles with the Biblical ideas that an invisible divinity is the source of our commandments, the 20th century Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas offers us an alternative. For Levinas, a modern concept of the source of mitzvot is none other than "the commanding presence of the face of the Other." That we walk among other living beings, Levinas suggests, obligates us to them -- and to a host of behaviors that link us as individuals.

Dear Members of Or Chadash: "In every generation let each one feel as if he or she came forth out of Egypt" (from the Haggadah of Pesach.) Each year the Jewish people throughout the world gather around the Seder table, united in our collective memory of the passage from slavery to freedom. It is my pleasure to invite you and your family to join me for our Or Chadash Congregational Seder on Thursday, April 9 2009, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. The deadline for registration was extended to April 2, and now to an absolute deadline of this Sunday at noon.

This week is a week of beginnings. Spring began this week. We welcome the beginning of the first Hebrew month - Nisan - and anticipate the arrival of Passover. We began reading a new book of the Torah this week - the Book of Leviticus. Or Chadash begins its pilot program of occasional Shabbat afternoon services. This Saturday at 5:00 PM we celebrate a Bat Mitzvah concluding with Havdalah, the ceremony which separates Shabbat from the rest of the week. Our former student cantor, Ross Wolman, begins a new chapter of his life. On Sunday Zoe and I, along with several of our colleagues, will be officiating at his wedding in Chicago. These are just some of the highlights of our week at Or Chadash. I hope that during this week of beginnings you might find an opportunity to begin something new. Hopefully, I will see you during the week at Or Chadash.

This has been an exciting week at Or Chadash. This past Sunday over 80 people attended our Stained Glass Window Dedication with guest speaker Jim Schettino, creator of our sanctuary windows. Our 3rd and 4th grade students enjoyed making their own "stained glass" window with Mary Clare Lewy, and hopefully some of you are displaying your children's creations. Please take an opportunity to enjoy the photos of this event in our recent photos.

This week at Or Chadash we have lots of exciting activities. Tonight, our 5th - 10th graders will be treated to special musical programs from Jason Goldberg, a cantorial student at Gratz College. Friday evening Shabbat services will be held at 7:30 PM, and I will be sharing with you my perceptions of Israel from my recent visit during the annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. We thank the Rosenthal and Carr families who are ushering.

Dear Members of Or Chadash: Having returned from Israel late yesterday afternoon, I am eager to share with you much about my trip. I hope you have taken the opportunity to check out a few of my photos from Israel on our web site. I will be sharing some of my perceptions on the changes in Israel NEXT Friday at Shabbat Services. It was so wonderful to come home to a Mishloach Manot Purim Gift Bag on my door. I want to thank all of you who so graciously sent messages to me and who generously support our congregation.

In Terumah, the name of this week's Torah parashah (portion), the Israelites are to build God a sanctuary so that God might dwell among them. Terumah means "gift." It is interesting that the people are not commanded to bring gifts for the building of the sanctuary, but rather those "whose heart is so moved" to donate the specified items. There is a difference between terumah, a charitable gift given spontaneously because of an immediate need or cause, and tzedakkah, commanded giving. The rabbis saw tzedakkah as a responsibility while terumah was a freewill offering. One must give tzedakkah, but terumah is a gift of the heart. 

Dear Members of Or Chadash: As I prepare to embark on my trip to Israel to attend the annual meeting of the Central Conference of American Rabbis held once every seven years in Jerusalem I am reminded of the Tefillat Hadereh, the prayer for travelers. It says in part, May it be Your will, Adonai, our God that we journey in peace.  May our footsteps lead us toward peace, and may we reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. May we be rescued from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of calamity.  May our handiwork bring blessings to others and may we find mercy, compassion and kindness from all we encounter. These words have been spoken for centuries by those about to travel, the message is no less poignant to those who remain at home.  While I am away I hope that you will all find peace and I look forward to seeing you when I return.

This week, in addition to our celebration of the birthday of George Washington,  we mark the concurrent birthdays on February 12th of two great men: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.  One emerged from the humblest of backgrounds in Kentucky to become one of the greatest leaders in American history.  The other, an heir to great wealth, chose to travel the world in a passionate search of support for his theory of evolution.  While the devotions of both men no doubt changed the world we inherit, there remain many in our world who still do not accept the equality of all humanity (black and white, Northerner and Southerner, and by extension, all people) nor the humbling notion that we humans are a part of the evolution of all species on earth.

(2/3/09) Dear Members of Or Chadash - This Shabbat we celebrate Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song which retells the story of the ancient Israelites standing on the shores of the Red Sea as horse and rider pursue them from the Egyptian army pursue them. Dramatically, the Red Sea parts, and the Israelites triumphantly cross over to freedom with their own physical redemption, escaping the bonds of slavery that had restrained them for hundreds of years.

As the new year begins, I want to share with all of you one of the wonderfully exciting changes taking place at Or Chadash. This afternoon we launched our new website. It has all of the familiar features - plus a few enhancements to make navigating the World Wide Web of all things Or Chadash and Jewish a bit easier. When unveiling a new website, the words of Rabbi Tarfon (from Pirkei Avot in the Talmud) come to mind: "The day is short, the work is enormous, the workers progress slowly, the reward is great and the Master of the house is pressing."