Sinai Update – Week of February 22-28, 2009
Parashat Terumah (Exodus 25:1 – 27:19)
Reflections on the Torah Portion – Paul Jacobson, member of Temple Sinai
Often, when a group of people struggle for freedom, their common cause helps them overcome great hardships, but it is their children who reap the fruits of their labor.  In Terumah, G-d instructs Moses to request gifts from the Israelites, in order to build a holy tabernacle.  The Israelites, struggling in their exodus from Egypt, respond and give much that they had.  Perhaps the taste of freedom opened our forefather’s hearts to give unselfishly? 
     

Lincoln famously wrote, “this nation, under G-d, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Today, as free people, we should remember that it is “us the living, [. . .] dedicated here to the unfinished work” of those who sacrificed before us.  It is our responsibility to see that their effort does not perish.
-       Paul Jacobson, member of Temple Sinai

This d’var Torah is one of a series written by Temple Sinai members who have studied a particular passage from the Torah and now serve as our teachers by sharing their learning with our congregation.

Sinai Update – Week of February 8-14, 2009
Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:26)
Reflections on the Jewish World – Rabbi Andy Vogel
Yesterday’s Knesset elections in Israel have yielded a complicated result:  a virtual two-way tie between Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party (27 seats) and Tzipi Livni’s centrist Kadima party (28 seats), with 99% of votes counted.  In another country, perhaps, Kadima would be proclaimed the winner, even if by an inch, but because Israel is still bogged down by an unstable electoral system, the leader of Israel’s next government will be determined by coalition politics.  Whoever is able to form a coalition of 61+ seats out of the 120-seat Knesset will become the prime minister.  Because the smaller right-wing parties, including the ultra-Orthodox parties and the hard right-wing “Yisrael Beiteinu” party, gained more seats than the center-left parties, they may point to Likud and Netanyahu to lead the government; but other scenarios are also possible, including a center-right coalition linking Kadima and Likud together.  Thus, now a few weeks of horse-trading begins over which parties will be given control of which ministries, and we will only find out who will lead the next government in a few weeks.
     

As I wrote last week, my own hope is that Israel’s leaders will choose a progressive path, one which actively and honestly pursues peace with Palestinians, although, for now at least, this possibility has dimmed.  A government that includes nationalists and hard-liners, in my opinion, can only lead to continued hostilities in the Middle East and a challenging future for Israel.  As progressive Jews, even those who live outside Israel, we have a role to play in making our voices heard within Israel.  We who support Israel can also express our hope that Israel adopt policies that lead her toward progressive values.  Whoever leads the next government in Israel should know that Israel’s American Jewish brothers and sisters are with her, and that we also have a clear vision for a peaceful, tolerant, pluralistic, generous and secure Jewish society.  This remains our dream, especially at this pivotal point in Israel’s history.
    

To stay up-to-date with current Israeli news about the elections, I recommend you read the website of Israel’s leading newspaper, Ha’aretz:  http://www.haaretz.com . 

-          Rabbi Andy Vogel

Sinai Update – Week of February 1-7, 2009
Parashat B’Shallach (Exodus 13:18 – 17:16)
Reflections on the Torah Portion – Rose Mandelbaum

This week’s Torah portion recounts the Israelites’ experiences after leaving Egypt, including the famous crossing of the Red (more properly Reed) Sea. I was reminded of the joke about a little boy whose father asked him one day what he’d learned in religious school. The boy answered that they’d learned how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. “Moses got the people together and ran towards the sea. Then he ordered the Corps of Engineers to build a pontoon bridge. Once they were all on the other side, Moses had the demolition team blow up the bridge while the Egyptians were trying to cross.” The father was shocked. “Is that what the teacher taught you?” The boy replied, “No. But if I told it the way she did, you’d never believe it!”
     

We’re faced with this little boy’s problem all through the Torah. How can we reconcile our understanding of the laws of nature with the seemingly impossible occurrences that are often described? Many people have attempted to find logical explanations for events like the crossing of the Reed Sea. Perhaps shifting tides or sudden winds created conditions that allowed the Israelites to escape. But this explanation differs from the little boy’s only in the absence of anachronism. Substitute tides and winds for pontoon bridges and demolition teams, and a joke is transformed into serious commentary.
      

But there might be another way to look at this. People need miracles. The recent emergency water landing of a US Airways jet has been dubbed “the miracle on the Hudson.” It brought into our lives joy, a new-found hero, and, indeed, a sense of the miraculous. And if it wasn’t a miracle at all, but rather a combination of luck, pluck, and skill, does that really matter? Perhaps our need for a miracle can actually create one out of a more prosaic event, providing an infusion of sorely-needed faith during difficult times.

-          Rose Mandelbaum
This d’var Torah is one of a series written by Temple Sinai members, who have studied a particular passage from the Torah, and now serve as our teachers by sharing their learning with our congregation.