*Click on the Link & move the cursor over each Service or Event for more information, including time(s).

Tikvah Times Staff: Alene Schonhaut - Editor at Large, Madeleine Wolf - Assistant Editor, and

Jay Beber - Cover Design & Consultant

Photograph Credits: Paola Cohen, Michele Gold, Sharon Kahn, Lisa Lupo, Meryl Root, Alene Schonhaut & Cheryl Stern

Rabbi Randy Sheinberg

How Free Are You?

As the daylight hours lengthen and the flowers bloom around us, we turn to the holiday of Passover. In just a few weeks we will sit around our Seder tables and tell the familiar tale of liberation. We will recall how our people, once slaves in Egypt were beaten into submission by a cruel Pharaoh and how they were ultimately saved by God and our own leaders Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

The Haggadah from which we read this story asks us not to read it passively, as if it is only a tale of a distant time. Rather, we are supposed to personalize the story, to feel as if we too are enslaved and can become free. Yet this is not always easy to do. After all, we do not feel like slaves. We live in a democracy and we enjoy freedoms of speech and self-determination. Most of us do not experience backbreaking labor and if we do, we are paid for it. We are free.

Or are we? - As it turns out, slavery comes in many forms…

The primary theme of the Exodus story is that of the Israelites’ enslavement. However, our tradition suggests that they were not the only ones in chains. The Egyptian people also suffered under Pharaoh’s rule. One story from the classical Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 1.18) explains it as follows: When Pharaoh commanded the Egyptians to destroy the male babies who were born (Exodus 1.22) he did not specify only the Israelites’ sons. The Midrash suggests that Pharaoh wanted all male children destroyed, both Egyptian and Hebrew, because he did not trust his own people not to empathize with their Hebrew neighbors who were being oppressed. By destroying the male Egyptian babies along with their Hebrew counterparts thought Pharaoh, he could prevent the birth of a non-Hebrew savior who might take it upon himself to save the Jews.

The story in the Midrash continues: The Egyptians of course are horrified by the prospect of losing their sons. They refuse to go along with the ruling. Instead, they strike a bargain with Pharaoh: If Pharaoh will rescind his decree and save the Egyptian babies, then the Egyptians will comply with Pharaoh’s demand to murder the Israelite sons.

In a wonderful essay about this story, Rabbi Daniel Kirzane argues that in making this bargain with Pharaoh, the Egyptians enslave themselves. He writes, “Rather than protecting their Hebrew neighbors from Pharaoh’s xenophobia - the Egyptians willingly comply in the murder of the Israelite boys…Where once they had the power to depose and defy their ruler, by now they have sanctioned Pharaoh’s total control over their lives. Motivated by their own greed and lust, the Egyptians threw their lot in with a tyrant who would, in the end, consume them utterly.” (Daniel Kirzane, “The Sin of Self-Slavery”, CCAR Journal: Spring 2019)

Pharaoh did not directly enslave the Egyptians; they did it to themselves. This was done by surrendering their own moral compass and sense of outrage to a tyrant’s will, by giving up their ability to think and act for themselves.

This year, I plan to share the Shemot Rabbah Midrash as part of my Passover observance, for it forces me to confront some questions. Am I really free? Am I playing a part - by my silence, inaction or approval - in keeping oppression in place for others? In all the communities of which I am a part - home, congregation, nation, and world - am I exercising my right to think and speak up for what I believe in? Can I do more?

The Babylonian Talmud teaches: “Whoever can prevent her household from committing a sin but does not is responsible for the sins of her household; if she can prevent her fellow citizens, she is responsible for the sins of her fellow citizens; if she can prevent the whole world, she is responsible for the sins of the whole world. “ (Talmud Shabbat 54b)

I wish you everyone a liberating and sweet Passover season!

An Invitation To My Lunch and Learn Mini-Course

My Course will begin on Saturday, April 27th at noon and conclude on Thursday, May 2nd at 7:00pm. It is about the mesmerizing opera: Salome. The story of Salome and John the Baptist from The New Testament was brilliantly adapted into a play by Oscar Wilde and composed by Richard Strauss. It takes place in the second century CE and most of its characters are Jews. However, there is a vast difference in the way Judaism is practiced by each character. One similarity, however is the obsession that the characters hold that lead to an inevitable explosive end...Salome is poetry at its best. It is electrifying and stirring, but it is the only musical piece I know in which anti-Semitism is portrayed in the music itself. We will examine this rare example and discuss the difficulty of enjoying music with a most disturbing context. We will discuss the fascinating historical facts in the opera and analyze the musical elements that make this opera a masterpiece.

Judas

My February and March articles were dedicated to the Israeli author Amos Oz, who passed away on December 28th. Oz’s novel Judas was inspired by The Gospel of Judas, a forgotten gospel from the second century CE, showing that Judas was rather following Jesus’ request to assist in his crucifixion.

In Judas, Jesus was encouraged by Judas, who believed wholeheartedly that he was the Messiah; there to perform in Jerusalem, in the presence of the whole nation a miracle such as had never been seen…to drag himself down from the cross.

Here is what happened next - “...Perhaps Jesus himself was waiting for some sign from above, some revelation or illumination, some divine answer to his doubts: Am I the man? Judas was relentless: You are the man. You are the Savior. You are the Son of God. You are God. You are destined to save all men. Heaven has laid this charge upon you, to go to Jerusalem and to work your wonders there. You will perform the greatest miracle of all in Jerusalem, you will come down from the cross safe and sound, and the whole of Jerusalem will fall at your feet. Rome itself will fall at your feet. The day of your crucifixion will be the day of the redemption of the world. This is the last trial to which your Father in heaven is subjecting you, and you will endure it because you are our Savior. After this trial the age of the redemption of mankind will commence. On that day the Kingdom of Heaven will begin ••• After many tribulations Jesus went up to Jerusalem with his disciples. But there he was again beset by doubts. And not only by doubts but by the fear of death pure and simple, like any mortal man...Jesus prayed to God in Jerusalem at the time of the Last Supper, ‘remove this cup from me.’ But Judas strengthened and encouraged his spirit: would he who walked on water and turned water into wine and healed lepers and drove out demons and raised the dead be unable to come down from the cross and so make the whole world believe in his divinity? ••• And because Jesus continued to fear and to doubt, Judas Iscariot took it upon himself to manage the crucifixion. It was not an easy thing to do. The Romans took no interest in Jesus, because the land was full of prophets and wonderworkers and crazy dreamers like him. It was not easy for Judas to persuade his priestly colleagues to bring Jesus to trial: they did not consider him any more dangerous than dozens of his doubles in Galilee and other out-of-the-way regions. Judas Iscariot had to pull strings, to exploit his connections among the Pharisees and the priests, to win over hearts and minds, perhaps to pay some bribes, to arrange for Jesus to be crucified between two petty criminals on the eve of the sacred festival ••• ...Judas Iscariot was therefore the author, the impresario, the stage manager, and the director of the spectacle of the crucifixion. In this his detractors and calumniators down the ages were right, perhaps more right than they imagined. Even when Jesus was dying in terrible torment on the cross, hanging hour after hour in the blazing sun, the blood flowing from all his wounds, and the flies swarming on them, even when they fed him vinegar, Judas’ faith did not waver for an instant: it was surely coming. The crucified God would arise and shake himself free of the nails and descend from the cross and say to all the people falling on their faces in astonishment: love one another. And what of Jesus himself? Even in the moments when he was dying on the cross? At the ninth hour, when the crowd was mocking him with cries of “Save thyself if thou canst and come down from the cross,” the doubt still nagged: Am I really the man? And yet he may still have tried in his last moments to hold on to Judas’ promise ••• With the last of his strength he pulled on his hands, which were fixed with nails to the cross, and he pulled on his nailed feet, suffering torments as he pulled, crying out with pain, calling out to his Father in heaven as he pulled, and he died with the words of the psalm on his lips, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ - that is, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ Such words could only have come from the lips of a dying man who had believed, or who half believed, that God would indeed help him to pull out the nails, to work the miracle, and to descend whole from the cross. And with these words he died from loss of blood like a man, like flesh and blood. And Judas, the meaning and purpose of whose life were shattered before his horrified eyes; Judas, who realized that he had brought about with his own hands the death of the man he loved and adored, went away and hanged himself. So died the first Christian. The last Christian. The only Christian.”

Temple President, shari rotstein

A Tribute To My Mother & Traditions

For as long as I can remember, my family has always conducted two Passover Seders. Both Seders were always held on the first two nights of Passover. Growing up, it never would have occurred to me that not everyone celebrated this way.

It was not until I was older that I learned more about our culture and how some of our holidays are celebrated differently, in different parts of the world. It was interesting for me to hear that in ancient times the messenger took so long to let the people know about the new moon and the start of the Yom Tov, the festival day and that the rest of the land wanted to catch up with the others. The word did not always come in time, and so communities outside of Jerusalem developed the practice of an extra Seder to make sure they were in sync with Jerusalem.

The explanation that I had heard up until this point was "That's how we've always done it!" "That's how our parents and grandparents did it!"

I am proud to say that for 20 years or so I have taken over and continued the tradition of making two Seders in my home. I set the table with my special tablecloths and my finest china. I prepare a festive meal complete with Passover symbols and plenty of wine to go around. I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite holidays and I am proud to hear my daughter say the same thing.

I am slightly worried about this year's Seders and how my family will all react without my Mother's presence. In particular, when we get to a certain page in our Haggadah, my Mother of blessed memory, every year - every time without fail, used to ad lib and make a little joke at a certain silly sounding word. I am pretty sure that we will all be heavily thinking of Mom/Grandma all evening, but definitely at that particular moment. We will probably get a bit melancholy; maybe we will cry and maybe we will laugh…(who am I kidding, it will most likely be both.)

The Rabbi recently told me that in the first year a loved one dies; it is especially hard, because everything you do, everything you go through that first year is without that person in your life. It is exactly with that in mind that I have some trepidation about Passover this year. It will be my first Passover ever, with out my Mother.

Of course, like everything else...we will get through. We will celebrate the liberation of slavery in Egypt and we will recount the story of the Exodus. We will use our Manischewitz Haggadot that are starting to turn yellow, the ones that I have been using since my earliest memories! We will turn page by page and when we get to that certain page…I will say a special prayer to remember my Mom and then after we have finished our crying/laughing session, I will remind everyone that this holiday is about freedom and what we do with it.

Here is the thing...we are so blessed to have the freedom to continue our wonderful traditions and so lucky to have the freedom to link those wonderful traditions with beautiful memories. Which reminds me of a special memory…I distinctly remember my Mom making us laugh and saying this or something similar…"Can we please stay on track, keep focused on our Haggadot so that we can finish and get to this wonderful meal that I have prepared for you!"

Great memories…Missing you so much, Mom!

L'shalom

brian chirel's

Temple Tikvah Eagle Scout Project

Sharon Fricano - Education Director

We Ask & Answer Questions Together To Learn

March was another busy month for our religious school students. Our 2nd and 3rd Graders and Parents performed the Mitzvah of Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) by creating “Birthday in a Box” for needy children to help them celebrate their birthdays.

MAZEL TOv Madilyn Silverman

Bat Mitzvah - Saturday, April 6th 2019

Since I was little, I have been looking forward to my Bat Mitzvah; the day when I am recognized as an adult in the Jewish community. However, before I talk more about my Bat Mitzvah, let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is Madilyn Silverman and I am thirteen years old. I live with my 2 brothers, Ethan and Zachary and my parents, Jill and Stuart. I also have a dog, named Lillipup. My favorite subject in school is science. I am currently studying biology - I find it so interesting to learn about the things occurring in the human body. Something that many people know about me is I love music and theatre. I have been singing and acting since I was seven. I have been in several shows and I believe, the level of my performances proves my commitment and passion for musical theater. I hope to pursue a career in the performing arts in the future.

For my Bat Mitzvah Project I am donating blankets, food, toys, and other necessities to dog shelters. In addition, instead of sending paper invites to my Bat Mitzvah, I will be using that money to make donations to several Long Island dog shelters. Having a dog has sparked my love for animals, especially canines. It is important to me that dogs living in shelters are not just trapped in their cages, but have the opportunity to run free and have things to keep them entertained and safe.

My Torah Portion is very important to me; it is about differences. Specifically, it says that if a woman gives birth to a male child, they are considered impure for a week. If she has a female, however she will be impure for two weeks. When I first read this portion, I was immediately interested. I remember when I was in 5th grade I watched a video where a group of teenage boys and girls were asked what it looked like to “run like a girl.” The boys portrayed the girls with flailing arms and ran very slowly; they hardly tried. Then the girls were asked to do the same thing. Instead of making a joke about the running, they tried their hardest. Since then, I understand how underestimated females are in this world. I am glad that this is my parshah (portion of the Torah chanted or read each week) so I can draw attention to these differences in my Bat Mitzvah speech.

Another section of my Torah portion talks about how a priest can diagnose you with an illness, even though you might not have it. After being diagnosed, people may not look at you the same way; you are stigmatized. This relates to me personally. My brother, Ethan has autism and people have looked at him differently his entire life, without even knowing he was autistic. However, even though he has lived his life with stares, he chose to stand up in front of the entire 9th grade and read a very personal poem he had written about being on the autism spectrum. Being different is not bad or good. It is just different.

April is here and that means Passover is near. Spring-cleaning, pulling out family recipes and looking for new ones, freezers full of matzah ball soup, and deciding how to prepare a table for too many guests is probably on some of our minds. Whether you are hosting the annual Seder or sharing the meal with friends or family, all of us have memories of the holiday that celebrates the freedom of Jews so many thousands of years ago…Listening to our loved ones read from the Haggadah, singing the happy songs, dipping for the plagues, and finally enjoying a delicious feast together are just what our ancestors wanted us to do. It is the passing down of traditions from generation to generation that keeps our Judaism alive!

Sisterhood wants to invite the entire Congregation to our Annual Sisterhood Shabbat Dinner and Service on Friday, April 5th starting at 6:15pm followed by Services beginning at 8pm. Our Sisters will lead this very moving Service to celebrate the strength and devotion to our faith. Please rsvp ASAP if you are going to attend the dinner.

The Sisterhood Weekend continues on Sunday, April 7th when we will be holding our Annual Women’s Seder. Please join us for an afternoon of song and festive participation to make this very special Seder one to remember. Bring your daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends to share the experience.

We also want to give our biggest thanks to Lisa Lupo and volunteers who made our 2019 Mishloach Manot Project so successful! The Purim holiday felt sweeter for our Temple community and it was nice to share our spirit with others as well.

We hope all of you will enjoy a terrific spring and add to the warm memories of your Passover traditions this year!

Sisterhood would like to thank all those Temple Members who generously supported our Mishloach Manot Fundraiser this year. Everyone’s donations are instrumental in helping Sisterhood fulfill its mission to support Temple. Sisterhood and Temple appreciate your contributions!

Sharon Adler • Ann Arkin • Maureen & Steve Berman • Birnbach Family & Sue Hurwitz • Elaine Brooks & Anthony Kolios • Arline & Jack Cazes • Terry & Michael Cutler • Lori Domeny • Nancy Eschemuller • Barbara & Fred Fleisher • Sharon Fricano • Marc & Michele Gold • Marlene Gussin • Debbie & Herb Hochrad • Phyllis & Joe Horne • Lois & Richard Howard • Mindi & Justin Jacobs & Andy Wax • Robin & Bob Jacobson • Kane/Mosten Family • Andrea & Doug King • Joe & Judy • Klig Family • Gloria & Larry Konstan • Rachel Kupferberg • Rachel, Nicole, Ellis & Carson Lavoie • Terry & Ira Lepzelter • Cheryle & Steve Levine • Sandra Lichtenstein • Rochelle Lillien • Lisa Lupo & Family • Barbara & Joe Massey • Joyce & Joel Mensoff • Lynn Moser • Joanne & Mary Neff • Sandy & David Peskin • Sandy Portnoy • Shari, Roni, Josh, Zach & Rachel Rotstein • Burt & Susan Schall • Susan & Irwin Schneider • Alene Schonhaut • Barbara, Ron, Melissa & Justin Schreiber • Rabbi Randy Sheinberg, Marty Cohen & Paola • Barbara Silberman • Maralyn Sion & Madeleine & Michelle Wolf • Susan & Marty Siroka & Family • Elaine & Howie Weiss • Irene & Stanley Zorn

an invitation

our community

lifelong learning - Meryl Root

Lunch & Learn - The Opera, Salome

Guest Columnist, Cantor Guy Bonné

My Course will begin on Saturday, April 27th at noon and conclude on Thursday, May 2nd at 7:00pm. It is about the mesmerizing opera: Salome. The story of Salome and John the Baptist from The New Testament was brilliantly adapted into a play by Oscar Wilde and composed by Richard Strauss. It takes place in the second century CE and most of its characters are Jews. However, there is a vast difference in the way Judaism is practiced by each character. One similarity, however is the obsession that the characters hold that lead to an inevitable explosive end...Salome is poetry at its best. It is electrifying and stirring, but it is the only musical piece I know in which anti-Semitism is portrayed in the music itself. We will examine this rare example and discuss the difficulty of enjoying music with a most disturbing context. We will discuss the fascinating historical facts in the opera and analyze the musical elements that make this opera a masterpiece.

Prior to Lunch & Learn, our Clergy will lead us in another Contemplative Service at 10:15 a.m. in the Sanctuary. The Contemplative Service offers a chance for each of us to go beyond the words of the traditional prayers and really feel them through moments of meditation, reflection, and chant. Please join us for a unique take on Shabbat Morning Services.

Torah Study:

Friday Night Torah Study with Cantor Guy Bonné will meet on April 12th at 6:00 p.m. & Shabbat Morning Torah Study continues every Saturday at 9:00 a.m. in the Loretta & George Cohen Library with Rabbi Randy Sheinberg. We are in the midst of “Sefer Vayikra”, The Book of Leviticus. We will be continuing on our journey through the wilderness to learn the word of G-d though Moses’ speeches. There are special readings for Pesach. Join us as we continue journeying on into 2019. We will read anew and learn all about the priests in Leviticus and see how this ancient book is still relevant today. No experience or prior knowledge is required. All are welcome!

Adult Hebrew Class:

Adult Hebrew Class continues to meet on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. with Cantor Guy Bonné. The Cantor is delighted that the class has grown and we also welcome you to join us. If you are interested in having some fun while learning Hebrew and about Israel, then this is the class for you. We watch Israeli television. We review and review. We even bake! The atmosphere is relaxed and there is plenty of reviewing! Speak to Cantor Bonné for more details.

Yom HaShoah

We will be commemorating Yom Hashoah on Friday, April 26th at Shabbat Services this year. Join us to hear Robin Savitt share her family’s story.

JEWISH A CAPPELLA

Click on the link below to order tickets!

Caring Community - Sharon Kahn & Helene Schonhaut

Never Be So Busy As Not To Think Of Others

With Love & Caring

PRAYERBOOK DEDICATION:

Barbara Silberman in honor of Jake Levitan, Andrew Horowitz & Isabel Comerchero becoming Bnai Mitzvah

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND:

Sandra Lichtenstein in honor of Dr. Marty Cohen & Rabbi Randy Sheinberg upon the birth of their granddaughter, Isadora Lilyann Cohen-Orren

SPECIAL EDUCATION FUND:

Sisterhood in honor of Jeanette & Charles Golden upon their 65th Wedding Anniversary

TEMPLE TIKVAH FUND:

Arline Riordan, Margot & Herbert Anker, Shari & Rony Rotstein, and Andy, Naty, Ushi & Beni Weissfeld, Monica & Michael Weissfeld, and Sheila & Louis Martin in honor of Gerda Weissfeld’s 100th Birthday! • Ruth Gelb and Shari & Rony Rotstein in honor of Isabel Comerchero becoming a Bat Mitzvah • Muriel Gorochow in appreciation of Shabbat Across America Dinner • Lora, Gary, Maria & Rayna Byala in appreciation of Paint Night • Shari & Rony Rotstein in honor of Jeanette & Charles Golden upon their 65th Wedding Anniversary

TEMPLE TIKVAH MEMORIAL FUND:

Sharon Adler in memory of Edith Adler and Jennie Kornhauser • Ann Arkin in memory of Louis Kaufman • Marian & Seth Baskin in memory of Mildred Cohen • Sheila & Martin Bokser in memory of Isa Bokser • Terry & Michael Cutler in memory of Adam Cutler • Gayle & Joel Feinstein in memory of Frances Rubin • Lynn Frank & Family in memory of Dorothy Frank • Judy Klein Gilbert in memory of Marian Klein • Deborah & Michael Golob in memory of Sophie Golob • Yvette Greiff in memory of Marshall Blumenfeld • Helene & Howard Hecht in memory of Rachel Berenfeld • Ronni & Charles Hollander in memory of Dr. Arthur Hollander, Julius Kirschbaum, and Alexander Warantz • Robin & Robert Jacobson in memory of Irene Jacobson • Carole Kaplan in memory of Irving Abzug, Max Kaplan and Hilda & Joseph Sorblum • Laurence Lande in memory of Rhoda Lande • Terry & Ira Lepzelter in memory of Lori Schonfeld • Rochelle Lilien in memory of Gertrude Kass • Bonnie & Robert Love in memory of Louis Berland • Lisa Selkin Lupo in memory of Bernard Selkin • Barbara & Joseph Massey in memory of Elaine Freeburg • Lynn Moser in memory of Charles Okun • Sandra & David Peskin in memory of Marvin Witt • Sue Plastfik in memory of Samuel Markus • Barbara & Milton Rosenberg and Cynthia Kronenberg in memory of Alwine Einstein • Shari & Rony Rotstein in memory of Ilene Roth • Rabbi Randy Sheinberg & Marty Cohen in memory of Dr. Monroe Sheinberg and Samuel Cohen • Susan & Irwin Schneider in memory of John Cavaliere • Marilyn Schwartz in memory of Joseph Schwartz and Nathan Schwartz • Ruth Selig in memory of Beth Mills Gardner • Claire Shapiro in memory of Lena Linzer • Marie Warshaw in memory of Richard Warshaw • Linda & Jack Zaffos in memory of Robert Lustig •Irene & Stanley Zorn in memory of Jim Grenman, Rose Riegelhaupt, and David Zorn

Elaine Feinstein (1930 - ) is one of England’s most honored and prolific Jewish writers, and a skilled practitioner of ekphrasis, the description of a painting or other work of art in a poem. Since the 1960s she has published over twenty novels and books of poetry, as well as translations and studies of Bessie Smith and the writers D.H. Lawrence, Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetayeva and Ted Hughes.

The Tate Gallery in London commissioned Feinstein to write a poem about one of its paintings, R.B. Kitaj’s Isaac Babel Riding with Budyonny (1962); itself a work of ekphrasis in its depiction of an episode from novelist Babel’s Red Cavalry stories.

R.B. Kitaj (1932 - 2007) was born to a Hungarian Jewish family in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He described himself as re-born on a Norwegian cargo ship in 1950, and born again and again as a Jew throughout his stormy career. Much of his fame – and ultimately his despair – came from his years in England, where he was part of the influential arts circle that included Lucian Freud, Leon Kossoff, and Francis Bacon.

Besides his enormous output of paintings and drawings, Kitaj wrote three major books that chronicle his trials as an artist and his quest for the meaning of Jewish life. (In a word, his answer would be “Kafka.”) His First Diasporist Manifesto (1989) is a relatively conventional, if Judeo-saturated, artistic manifesto that stakes broad claims for what is (almost everything) and is not (very little) Diasporist art. (Kitaj should be credited, by the way, for inventing the term Diasporist.) His Second Diasporist Manifesto: A New Kind of Long Poem in 615 Free Verses (2007), is an almost phantasmagoric series of aphorisms, observations, and pronunciamentos larded with conversations and quotes from ancient and modern rabbis, mystics and historians. Confessions of an Old Jewish Painter: Autobiography (2017), published posthumously, contains over 200 illustrations plus a preface by painter David Hockney and an epilogue by art historian Eckhart J. Gillen. Brilliant, thought-provoking, dogmatic, and overpowering; each of these books is like stepping into the artist’s studio while he is in midst of an obsessive painting spree propelled by too much alcohol and caffeine (and too many books!). Kitaj made friends with many prominent people and alienated even more. If he were a Seder, he would be all the elements from the Charoset and the Orange on the Seder plate through the disputatious Rabbis through the Four Sons, the Father, the Little Goat, the Cat, the Dog, the Stick, the Butcher, the Angel of Death, and God himself. He would be Elijah and the Door. 613 Mitzvot? Kitaj needs more. His last word: “As I make to die, here’s my 615th: EASEL PAINTINGS ARE NOT IDOLS, so, JEWISH ART IS OK to do without consulting your Rabbi, so do it! It's good and universal!” (© 2007, Yale University Press.)

In the spirit of the prolific Feinstein and Kitaj, and with a tip of the kippah to the long-winded Rabbis of the Seder, I encourage you to recline at your Seder table and talk all night about the Exodus from Egypt – and about the poetry and art of the Diaspora.

SOCIAL ACTION - Elaine Brooks, Judy Kirschner & Elaine Weiss

Chag Sameach!

At our March 10th Meeting we reviewed our efforts to support immigration justice this year and also discussed plans for an upcoming event: On June 1st there will be a Social Action Lunch and Learn. Planning is under way. Save the date!

The upcoming Passover holiday, when we remember the exodus of the Jewish people as they fled Egypt in search of a new home and faced an uncertain future, is a very appropriate time to reflect on issues of immigration and refugee status in our own era…At the Social Action Shabbat on October 20th Julie Schwietert-Collazo and Francisco Collazo, co-founders of Immigrant Families Together and members of a Guatemalan family they helped reunite, joined us at the Services and Oneg. Susan and Andre Louis sponsored another reunited family, Bety and her young daughter Vanessa, by most generously opening their own home to them for several months before Immigrant Families Together placed them in an apartment in East Rockaway. Bety and Vanessa have left New York for South Carolina. Other families are taking their place. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to our appeal for funds for this family and the others Immigrant Families Together is helping. In the spirit of Passover, think of the mandate to love the stranger, because we were strangers in Egypt.

PASSOVER DRIVE

This year the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), which has been primarily a national organization, decided to establish a New York State Branch. Temple Tikvah has joined as a participating Congregation. The RAC is lobbying for passage of “Driver's Licenses for All NYers” (or the Green Light NY Campaign.) The legislation would allow adults to get “standard” driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status and without the need for a social security number. This type of license allows a person to operate a motor vehicle legally, but does not meet federal standards for identification and cannot be used to board a plane, for example. However, immigrants would not have to fear that any routine traffic stop while going to work, school or a medical appointment could result in a charge of driving without a license (or insurance!) and increase the risk of deportation.

According to the Green Light Campaign: “Expanding access to driver’s licenses would improve public safety and our state’s economy. An estimated $57,000,000 a year in combined annual revenue would enter into our State’s economy.” Check out their website at greenlightnewyork.org.

We wish you and your loved ones a very happy holiday!