Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Parshat Ki Tetze 2008

Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

We light our Shabbat candles this week at 6:51 pm.  Friday night services will begin at 8 pm, and Saturday morning services will begin at 9 am.  Melissa Rosen will become a Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat, and the Rosen family invites the entire congregation to participate in services this Shabbat.

We observed this Thursday the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.  We extend our prayers and support to the families of all those who lost their lives on that tragic day in 2001.  We also pray on behalf of all the workers who responded on that day and who worked at the site that now suffer from the toxins they breathed there.

Although seven years have passed since 9/11/2001, the memories of that day are fresh for many people.  On that day, Ernest M. Willcher, who worked for Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. died in the attack on the Pentagon.  Ernest was the father of Ben Willcher, a student who I tutored for his Bar Mitzvah when I still lived in the Washington, DC suburbs.

We all have felt the ripple effect of the violence and tragedy that happened on that day.  We were all affected by it in some way, and it is for that reason that we must continue to reaffirm the sacred value of each human life everyday.

This week’s Torah portion reminds us of this lesson in the way that it affirms the holiness of all that we possess.  The Torah teaches us that it is up to us to guard and preserve anything that our fellow human beings have lost.  We may not “remain indifferent” to these things and pretend that it is not our responsibility.  It is up to us to hold onto anything that is lost until the owner comes to claim it.

This teaching seems easy to accept in today’s world in which communication and transportation are easy.  Think, though, about this teaching in the original context of an ancient society in which communication was slow or nonexistent beyond one’s village and transportation was extremely difficult and dangerous.  Even so, God commanded the ancient Jews to respect these lost objects and endeavor to return them.

For us, even though communication and transportation for identifying and returning things are easy, we still must remind ourselves that the things that belong to others, and other people themselves, are valuable.  This teaching also reminds us that we cannot keep silent in the face of injustice, the injustice of not returning something that belongs to someone else.  We also cannot keep silent in the face of the ways that people use terror to further their religious or political aspirations.

As we approach the Jewish New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to promoting the holiness and value of life.  May the memories of those who were lost live on into eternity.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Tow

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Today is the deadline for submissions for the October GRJC Bulletin.

Sunday, September 14 is a busy day for the GRJC:
8:30 Men’s Club Whitewater Rafting participants meet in the GRJC parking lot for bagels; depart in carpools at 9 am.
9:15 am Daled Class Parents Orientation (Social Hall)
11:15 am Parents Orientation for Kitah Achat thru Gimel classes (Social Hall)
2:00 –5:00 pm.  Bob Atlas, long-time Glen Rock resident, will share his experiences as a “Hidden Child” in the forests of Poland during the Holocaust, with a Powerpoint presentation.  Everyone is invited to the program, hosted by the 50+ Club, at no charge. Refreshments served. (Social Hall)
7:00 –10:00 pm  ART FROM THE HEART: “Dream A Little Dream -- Create Your Own Visual Midrash”
Educator Bette Birnbaum and artist Harriet Finck explore the great dreamers in Jewish texts and guide participants in creating their own collages. (Social Hall)

Monday, September 15
7:30 – 9:45 pm Melton II Adult Ed (Youth Lounge)

Tuesday, September 16 and Wednesday, September 17
9:30-10:45 am Mommy & Me classes (Social Hall)

Thursday, September 18
7:30 pm Intermediate Hebrew Literacy Class with Michael Goodman (Youth Lounge)
7:30 pm High Holiday Choir Rehearsal with Cantor Goodman (Sanctuary)
8:00 pm Pre-High Holiday Class, “The Binding of Isaac,” with Rabbi Tow (Library)

Please refer to our website calendar (www.grjc.org --click on calendar link) or the September GRJC Bulletin for times, locations and other details on the following September programs and events:

Sept 20 - Selichot Program and Service with Rabbi Tow and Cantor Freedman
Sept. 21 - Men's Club breakfast / Putting Tournament 10:00 am (Social Hall)
Sept. 21 - Annual Memorial Service at Cedar Park Cemetery
Sept 22 - Men's Club Golf Outing (off-site)


Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Tow

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