Celebrating - Holy Blossom Temple

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8 Youth Engagement One sukkah for the world: a metaphor for our community and a place within it for every youth. We are taught, by our sages, that it is fitting for all of Israel to sit in one sukkah. This is derived from Leviticus chapter 23 verse 42, which reads: “For seven days…all who belong to the people of Israel shall live in Sukkot.” In this verse, the word sukkot, which is the plural of the word sukkah, is spelled without the letter vav. This means that the word can also be read as sukkat, “the sukkah of” in the singular, implying, as says the Talmud, that “the entire nation of Israel may, and ought to, dwell in a single sukkah of [the people].” Obviously, no sukkah is large enough to hold the entire Jewish people. So what, then, is the meaning of this seemingly absurd vision? Our tradition provides at least two ways in which to derive meaning from this incongruous idea of a single sukkah for all the Jewish people. First, according to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, rabbi of pre-modern Israel, “as long as we are plagued by pettiness and other character flaws, we cannot attain true collective unity. But after experiencing the unique holiness of Yom Kippur, we merit an ever-increasing harmony among the diverse sectors of the nation. During this special time, it is as if the entire nation is sitting together, sharing the holy experience of the same sukkah.” “It is our obligation to make our congregational community a place for all, including our youth” According to the Hasidic master Rabbi Nathan, in his work entitled Likutei Halachot, “One should concentrate on being part Rabbi Karen Thomashow kthomashow@holyblossom.org of the entire people of Israel, with intense love and peace, until it may be considered as if all of Israel dwells together in one sukkah. While Rabbi Kook believed that after the high holidays we are naturally more akin with one another, Rabbi Nathan believed that while we may be more naturally akin with one another, we still need to work at kinship and community. And that effort we make is what will lead to unity—the type that makes one feel as if he or she is dwelling in one giant Jewish sukkah. “as long as we are plagued by pettiness and other character flaws, we cannot attain true collective unity” In approximately one month, at the URJ Biennial in Washington, our Reform movement will launch and embrace a call to action, reprioritizing human and financial resources toward the end of wider engagement of the youth of our movement. It will be a 2020 vision, re-energizing our own congregation’s emphasis on youth engagement. One of the proof texts that speaks to me of a place for every youth within our congregation is this profound text which calls for all of our people to unite under one sukkah. It is our obligation to make our congregational community, which the sukkah may be a metaphor for, a place for all, including our youth. Rabbi Karen Thomashow, member of the URJ Campaign for Youth Engagement Vision Team. For more information and to participate, please email kthomashow@holyblossom.org Holy Blossom Temple
Go Big and Come Home! A H i g h H o l y D a y T h a n k Y o u This fall has seen Holy Blossom bustling with holiday preparations and celebrations. Countless congregants have contributed their unique talents to make the Tishrei festivals as joyful and robust as they were. Such generosity of the spirit speaks to the strength of our congregation. Throughout the High Holy Days 15,000 people attended our 28 services! We thank Jill Hertzman and her team of 23 Gabbaim. We thank our Head Ushers, Gerry Prendegast and Jeff Levy, and their corps of 62 ushers and greeters. 52 Temple Singers and 15 Shofar Blowers rang in the new year in joyous chorus. Special thanks to Michael Cole, Jeff Denaburg, Dr. David Greenberg, Harry Hochman, Mike Morgulis, and John Sweet, Temple members who joined our Rabbis and Cantors on the bima to lead the congregation in prayer. And 43 teens and adults brought honour to our sacred texts by chanting Torah and Haftarah on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Yael Splansky ysplansky@holyblossom.org Sniderman, Susan Speigel, Arieh Waldman, and Paula Warren. Judy Hirsh took the lead this year to ensure that our Sukkah and three bimas were beautiful for Sukkot. We thank our 20 teen volunteers for decorating our Courtyard Sukkah. More than 30 Pre-school, Religious School, and Leo Baeck Day School classes visited the sukkah throughout the week to wave the lulav and etrog. Thanks, too, to Jackie Mamott for wrapping up the festival season with our Simchat Torah celebration. Our 70 Consecration Students, their parents, and 70 more Torah carriers danced our 10 precious Torah Scrolls throughout the sanctuary for a total of 7 Hakafot. And Judy and David Gershon’s Klezmer band with a guest appearance from Rabbi Noam Katz had us dancing the night away. Reflections Our Rabbis and Cantors lead from the bima, but so many details need attention in advance of our services. They are: Sophie Alman, Our Maintenance and Benjamin Applebaum, Administrative Staffs and Charlotte Axelrod, our Executive Director, Sabrina Brodkin, Ari Benjamin Applebaum, Burkes, Sonya Ben-Ishai, ensure all goes smoothly. Levi Cassidy, Dorothy And the Chair of the Charach, Alexa Coleman, Steven Davidson, Jeff Department of Worship, Sarita Dotan, oversees Denaburg, Danya Firestone, Randi Garfinkel, the fall holyday season with tremendous care and Cynthia Good, Jonathan Gordon Chow, Rachel grace. Gotlieb, Madi Grubert, Margot Grubert, Mathew Hacker Teper, Joanna Harris, Melissa Herman, Yes, these numbers are impressive. But, of course, Suzanne Hersh, Jill Hertzman, Danille Hoffer, we cannot quantify the impact these holydays have Rebecca Howard, Daniel Kaplan, Gail Kerbel, on our people. How many prayers were prayed, Max Kopstein, Marc Levy, Brian Lidsky, Leah how many loved ones remembered, how many Liederman, Mike Morgulis, Eric Petersiel, memories were made – these are what we are really Joeley Pulver, Joanne Roher, Brenda Saunders, after and they are beyond measure. & Jackie Shiner, Lesley Shiner, Jill Smith, Robert Bulletin • December 2011 9
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