Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Parshat Vayikra 2007

Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

We light candles this evening at 6:53 PM. We celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Jessica Bell this Shabbat beginning with our Friday evening service at 8 PM. Saturday morning services will begin at 9 AM. We wish a Mazel Tov! in advance to Jessica and all her family and friends.

We begin the book of Vayikra this Shabbat, the Book of Leviticus. Vayikra is the third book of the Torah and it is named after the first word of the parasha, “Vayikra el Moshe/And God called out to Moses…” The name “Leviticus” comes from the Levites, of whom a subset was the kohanim, the priests. Both the Levites and the Kohanim facilitated the rituals and sacrifices for the Israelites.

The book teaches the Israelites about the sacrifices they must make. There are many types of sacrifices that include offerings for repentance and offerings for thanksgiving. 

Sacrifices have a double meaning for us. On the one hand, sacrifices represented a way of giving something valuable to God as a way of atoning for our sins or thanking God for a blessing. By giving up the animal to God, we reaffirmed that we were not in control of the universe. We were also demonstrating that there continued to be a distance separating God and ourselves. The sacrifice came close to God’s presence, while we remained in the human realm. On the other hand, sacrifices were called korbanot, from the root meaning, “to come close”. By giving the sacrifice, we affirmed a belief in God and in the traditions of the Jewish people. We came close to God by following the path of the Torah that taught us to share what was most valuable to us with God. We know from everyday experience that anything, any experience, is more special when we share it with those whom we love.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Last call for shoes! The Bogrim class will be organizing shoes for delivery and distribution to those in need this coming week. Please bring any shoes you would like to donate ASAP.

2. PREPARING FOR PASSOVER – Passover is just around the corner! This Sunday at 7 PM, in the 3^rd floor GRJC library, we will have a session about the meaning of the holiday and its traditions. We will talk about how to enhance the Seder both for adult and child participants. And we will discuss any questions you would like to bring to the table. There will be take-home materials for use at your Seders.

3. SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE for High School students applying for college. The deadline for the Hildegard and Sidney Schonfeld College Scholarship Fund application is May 18, 2007. For information and applications, contact Debra Turitz, LCSW at 201-569-7900, ext. 305. Applications available at www.jccotp.org.

Shabbat Shalom u’mevorach/A peaceful Shabbat full of blessings to all,

Rabbi Tow

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