This week’s Parsha, VaEtchanan, contains two of the Torah’s most central texts: the Ten Commandments and the Shema. The Ten Commandments opens with: "The Nation saw the burning mountain, the flames and darkness, thunder and shaking. They heard G-d’s voice but there was no form to be seen." With the cataclysmic din of the smoking mountain, combining an earthquake with a firestorm with a whirlwind, how could the People of Israel possibly have heard the voice of G-d?
There are two sources of perception, of information: the external and the internal. Our Parsha goes on to remind us to say twice each day: Shema Yisrael- Hear O Yisrael: Adonai is our G-d, Adonai is One. The spectacle of the mountain is seen: the focus is on the external. But the Shema is heard. Hearing is internal. “Hear O Yisrael”- Listen to the Israel that is within you and you will hear the truth, the essence. Nurture the ability to connect with your innermost self, the Israel that is within you. Saying Shema, morning and evening, helps us become accustomed to entering into the inner world- if we can do that, then no matter the tumult, stress, sound and fury that we may encounter, we will be able to find our path forward.
Bruchim HaBa’im- Welcome to our teens from Ofakim!
The adventure of the summer arrives next week when fourteen teens from the Amirim School in Ofakim, Israel, arrive for a week with their peers and pals from our 8th grade class with whom they’ve been corresponding and connecting with for the past two years. The Adath Shalom families will be hosting our guests as they attend Camp Deeny Riback, visiting our synagogue and sites in New Jersey and joining them for a day in New York City. Please join us next Shabbat, August 16th for a “Second Bar/Bat Mitzvah” on our Bimah as the two groups celebrate their connection and solidarity. Let us pray for the return of all of our hostages, the welfare of innocents on both sides of the border, the peace and co-existence that has been the dream and hope of Israel since before its founding and that our teens can reciprocate next summer and travel to Ofakim to visit their new family in the Negev! Many thanks to Jeri and Hal Kimowitz, Ilyssa Tepperman, Jessica Wolff, Deborah Berlinsky, the 8th grade parents, the Metrowest Global Partnerships Bridges Project and the Jewish Agency for Israel for helping us realize this dream.
Raoul Wallenberg Commemoration
Last Shabbat, the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, the National Day of Jewish Mourning, was Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision. Even as we grieve the destruction of the Temple and all of the other catastrophes of Jewish history, we are granted a vision of a better world. Maybe there was a glimpse of that better world last Sunday when the Township of Parsippany honored the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, the great rescuer of the Holocaust whose efforts saved as many as 100,000 innocent souls from the death camps.
It is not enough to just remember. This year, a small group of faith leaders resurrected the Wallenberg Scholarship, recognizing the work of high school students not in academics or sports, but in kindness. High School Juniors Gabbi and Emma and recent grad Chris were among the recipients of the scholarship for their work in advocacy, standing up for others and compassion, sharing the legacy of Wallenberg and learning about the results of hate and bigotry and the need to act to stop evil from taking root. Hearing them speak at the event filled me with hope. We have already heard from several additional clergy and community leaders who have asked to be included in the scholarship committee for next year when we hope to bring in more school districts to this initiative.
Chris, Gabbi and Emma- the three winners of the Wallenberg Scholarship for standing up for the other, resurrected after twenty years. This is more relevant and needful than ever. The teens are seen standing by the sculpture, “Courage and Compassion”, dedicated in memory of Raoul Wallenberg.
We also received proclamations from the Morris County Board of County Commissioners and Parsippany Township dedicating the day to remembering Wallenberg and his incredible example of compassion and caring. Many thanks to Holocaust Chair Meyer Rosenthal, Deacon Len Deo of St. Ann’s Catholic Church and Cantor Bruce Ruben of Temple Beth Am.
Declaration from the Board of County Commissioners
