News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community |
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024
Just like that, another year is beginning its slow retreat into history. The year 5781 will be one for the records, one of much uncertainty and disarray, and very soon we will welcome the New Year of 5782. The season of the New Year is upon us, a time of stock taking and introspection. The last month of the year on the Jewish calendar is called Elul. It is a month that connects the past year with the coming year—a time when we reflect on where we stand, and where we should be going. Rosh Hashanah is on the horizon. Time to get prepared.
The Jewish people have been blowing the Shofar, a simple hollowed out ram's horn, for thousands of years in celebration of Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish New Year – also known as the birthday of humanity. According to Jewish law, one must hear the blasts directly from the shofar itself. No medium will do, not a microphone, not a computer, not even a slight echo. Intrinsically, the Shofar is not just a sound. It is a cry. A prayer. A soul-awakening, personal, meditative and rousing experience. Hearing the shofar blast is the main commandment associated with celebrating the Holiday.
As High Holidays 5782 roll around very soon, many are planning where to attend services. Yet, there is another aspect to this special season. Just like spiritual preparation is needed as we approach the High Holy Days, holiday meal preparation simultaneously remains an important feature of our traditions. Jewish people are known to be major foodies (our friends and neighbors still can’t believe that we prepare Thanksgiving-worthy meals every week for Shabbat!), and we wear our chef badges with pride.
I recently happened upon an article that busted the myth that we only use 10% of our brains.
Moran Rosenblatt (Wedding Doll, Fauda) stars in this delightfully subversive comedy that mines interfaith and cross-cultural relationships against a specifically Israeli backdrop.
We are excited to announce that Moon Bishop will be the next Director of The Temple Preschool. Since agreeing to serve as our Interim Director last December, Moon has provided steady leadership, skillfully guiding our school through an unexpected transition and ongoing COVID-19 challenges. We are grateful for her unwavering dedication to the TPS mission, staff, families, and children. We are proud of Moon’s commitment to the school and the strides she and her team have taken this year. She has strengthened the staff by implementing a professional development program, increased enrollment, and created several new policies and procedures essential to the daily operations of our school. Moon also was a critical part of the recent TPS assessment and will be working to communicate her plans to implement recommendations from that process. We are excited about the passion, energy, and vision that Moon brings to this role and are thrilled that TPS will be under her skilled leadership moving forward. Moon says she is excited to be chosen for this position and looks forward to bringing her unique experiences to continue building a solid foundation for the youngest learners, “Although I’ve been an educator for thirty years, there is still nothing more exciting to me than watching a child’s eyes light up when they “get” something for the first time; it is what feeds my soul. My passion for learning and educating, along with my belief in children’s innate capabilities and strengths, inform everything I do and provide the guiding light for my work with children, families, and educators. I am excited to lead this already amazing preschool and can’t wait to see how we continue to grow and thrive.”
For many Jews, the idea of text study evokes memories of long afternoons spent in Hebrew School classrooms reciting the aleph bet and rote learning the Shabbat prayers. Upon completion of Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Jewish learning often falls off the schedules of busy teens and young adults. Keeping the connection to organized Jewish life and study is even more challenging during the college and post-college years. Nearly 50 years ago, a young immigrant to Israel, Michael Swirsky, conceived an idea of an institute of Jewish learning designed to be accessible, inspiring and inclusive of all denominations. The goal was merely to study and learn with no agenda and provided the foundation for today’s Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Rabbi Mark Schiftan of The Temple says it is the straight forward nature of the approach that is unique. “The Pardes rubric is to start with the simple meaning of the text and gradually peel back the layers. It is concise enough that the average person, with an average Jewish background, can come away with an understanding of how a page of Torah works.” The appeal of Pardes led Rabbi Schiftan to partner with the institute and bring a class to the Nashville Jewish Community. “Pardes is good at taking other than Orthodox Jews and helping them see the gift of their own tradition,” he says.
It has been several weeks since the East Champlain Tower collapsed in Surfside, Florida. It has been several weeks of anxiety, heartfelt prayers, and an unending wait hoping to finally hear some good news. Families have been waiting to hear the outcome of the search and recovery effort. I personally know a family that lost both of their parents, in this most horrific building collapse in Surfside, Florida. There was a young couple who signed a lease for a condo in that very building on Wednesday, the day before the building collapsed. Thankfully they hadn’t yet moved in, although tragically his parents are still among the missing.
