|
Service Schedule
August 30th - September 5th |
| Wed & Thurs Mornings |
7:00am |
| Mon - Thurs Evenings |
6:00pm |
| Sunday Mornings |
8:00am |
| |
| Friday, September 3rd |
| Kabbalat Shabbat Services |
6:00pm |
| Candlelighting |
7:06pm |
| |
|
| Saturday, September 4th |
|
|
|
| Starbucks Shabbat |
9:00am |
| Shabbat Services |
10:00am |
| Shabbat First Services |
10:45am |
| Havdallah |
8:06pm |
| |
|
| Upcoming Events |
| 8/30 |
Israeli Dance |
| 8/31 |
Meditation Group |
| 9/1 |
Kadima Kafe |
| 9/1 |
Limmud |
| 9/2 |
Lunch & Learn |
| 9/2 |
Adult Hebrew with Judy Holzer |
| 9/4 |
Starbucks Shabbat |
| 9/4 |
Shabbat First |
| 9/4 |
Selichot |
| 9/5 |
Men's Club Minyan |
| 9/8 |
Erev Rosh Hashanah |
| 9/9-9/10 |
Rosh Hashanah |
| 9/12 |
Community Memorial Service |
| 9/12 |
Tashlich |
| 9/17 |
Pre-Fast Dinner |
| 9/17 |
Kol Nidre |
| 9/18 |
Yom Kippur |
| 9/23 |
Sukkot Begins |
| 9/24 |
Drum Circle |
| 9/25 |
Night Without a Home |
| 9/25 |
"50 is the New 30" Sukkah Hop |
| 9/26 |
Congregational Sukkot Dinner |
| 9/28 |
Game Night |
| 9/30 |
Erev Simchat Torah Celebration |
| 10/1 |
Simchat Torah |
To assist our flood ravaged neighbors in Nashville, please visit JEWISHNASHVILLE.ORG and look for the NASHVILLE FLOOD RELIEF DONATIONS button in the upper left corner of the home page.
Archived Articles:
Good and Evil
Psalms On Our Tongues
Memorial
Torah
Ties That Bind
Happy Birthday Rabbi!
Sderot Journey
Shabbat Hachodesh
Seder 09
June 20, 2009
July 4, 2009
July 18, 2009
August 5, 2009
August 07, 2009
August 14, 2009
August 28, 2009
September 4, 2009
October 22, 2009
November 4, 2009
November 15, 2009
November 19, 2009
November 24, 2009
December 4, 2009
December 10, 2009
December 17, 2009
December 24, 2009
December 31, 2009
January 8, 2010
January 15, 2010
January 21, 2010
January 29, 2010
February 5, 2010
February 12, 2010
February 18, 2010
February 25, 2010
March 5, 2010
March 11, 2010
March 19, 2010
March 26, 2010
April 2, 2010
April 9, 2010
April 14, 2010
April 22, 2010
April 30, 2010
May 7, 2010
May 13, 2010
May 21, 2010
May 28, 2010
June 3, 2010
June 9, 2010
June 18, 2010
June 25, 2010
July 6, 2010
July 9, 2010
July 15, 2010
July 22, 2010
July 29, 2010
August 5, 2010
August 13, 2010
August 19, 2010
August 27, 2010
September 2, 2010
|
A FEW PRE-SHABBAT WORDS FROM RABBI AARON
Shoulder to Shoulder
Ths opening words of this parasha -" Atem nitzavim hayom - You all stand today before the Lord your God..." lured so many commentators over the centuries to spill an ocean of ink in order to respond to poetic writing. The verb Nitzavim demands a translation into something much bolder than "standing." I offer you three sightings of this root in order to suggest something stronger and more compelling than the Israelites merely standing together before God.
nun-tzadi-vet נצב
1 Lot's wife (way back in Book 1) becomes a Netziv Melach - a Pillar of Salt.
2 Modern translators of our siddur rendered the phrase (right after the morning sh'ma) Emet v'Yatziv as "True and Certain."
3 As God is about to appear atop Mount Sinai, we read: vaYityatz'vu b'Tachtit haHar - (the people) stood [too weak for a good translation...] at the foot of the mountain. What's better? Perhaps: "the people stood fast, encamped at the foot of the mountain." Or - if you go for the surrealist midrash that has God holding the mountain over the heads of the people (just a tad menacing, no?), then the people were under (tachat) the mountain! How would the people hold the mountain up? With heroic unity and devotion to God and to each other!
Timing
OK - lots of wordplay surrounding the root of this parasha's title...and the point is? Elul is drawing to a close. Each year on Shabbat we revisit these words each year in the shadow of Rosh HaShannah. The Day of the Judge Remebering will yield to the Day of Judgement & Atonement. The High Holy Day timing serves to reframe the text. God is talking to us - all of us - famous leaders, anonymous laborers, young, old, healthy, ailing, contented, troubled - everyone. Equal before God. Standing together? Good, but not enough, I say. This year has exacted a heavy toll of sorrow, and it has also graced us with great joys.
What do this parasha's opening words teach us? That we commit to the covenantal relationship together? Of course! We really do need each other. The love and support are like emergency oxygen for our emotional and spiritual well-being. We stand like pillars. How do pillars stand? They are rock solid, undaunted, unbending. Are we certain (yatziv) like the siddur phrase emet v'yatziv? I doubt it. Our experiences have a brutal habit of shaking loose our facade of certainty. So how do the pillars stand despite uncertainty? For some pillars there's faith in God. Other pillars find strength in knowing that the pillars around them are reliably stationed, ready to shore up anyone who is bent over from a crushing burden.
Something else about this parasha. Moshe really is a humble leader. He keeps the focus on the people, by reminding them: this is not about me or the guy after me. Leaders come and go. Some leaders are great, some are weak - but the people, the community is the House of Israel; solid, enduring, passionately devoted to tradition, to healing broken hearts, to repairing the world - all of this makes for the translation of "Atem Nitzavim hayom kulchem, lifnay Adonai Eloheichem." All of you, together, standing tall; shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, a solid wall, a shelter from the storm - all of you, all of us make it possible for each other to stand accountable, to take an honest measure of who we are and where we are going. We are all of part of the House of Israel, standing within the Covenant, ready to greet the New Year.
May it bring us joy and consolation and strength and learning, mitzvot and a greater love for our fellow human beings everywhere.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Aaron
Click any of the images below to view as (larger) pdf
Please click image above to view as separate pdf
|
