A Letter to a Friend and Brother in The Shomron (Samaria, West Bank, Israel)

This week's column will be a little different.  I decided to publish a letter that I just sent to my dear friend David HaIvri, and Ex-Pat who made Aliyah to Israel and lives in the Shomron, in what is sometimes referred to as the West Bank.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear David... Relative to Manhigut (1) , please stick with us. We are making huge progress, and we need YOU.

I am very sorry that we did not meet while I was home this Spring. Hopefully I will have a chance to come in the Summer, and we can sit for an hour or three.

Whether or not you are aware of my situation, sufficed it to say at this moment, that I am alive today due to G-d's Rachmanut (2a) , favor and belief in me to do what I need to do.

It is my sincere opinion that this means to form a Kehillah (2b) here that will teach others how important Israel is to all of us, and why it is our DUTY to come home to Eretz Yisrael.

We are not (2c) Charedim , and many in my (2b) Kehillah  are not even (2c) "Dati" or "Masorti", but what they all agree upon is that Israel belongs to US, as given to (2d) Avraham Avinu  and to (2e) AM YISRAEL.

(3) OD LO AVDA TIKVATEINU, David. OD LO AVDA TIKVATEINU. LEHIYOT AM CHOFSHI b'ARTZEINU. And we will be. Why? Because it is G-d's will.

As I sit and write this, tears form in my forty-eight year old eyes. Tears of longing to be home, and of love for our (2a) Moledet. And, in the knowledge that if we can all just live together, as (2e) AM B'NEI YISRAEL, without the labels (Reform, Conservative, etc.), as (3) AM CHOFSHI b'ARTZEINU, we will not only rise, but we will rise with haShem leading us to the ultimate netzachon, the victory of Shalom al Yisrael.

(2f) Al haNissim, Achi. Its all in the miracles from haShem, my brother. When we BELIEVE, nobody can stop us.

I can tell you about the people that come to my Shul to daven; many of them had not been IN a Synagogue in YEARS, and believe it or not, some had never been in a Synagogue. In fact, a few weeks ago, at my Wednesday night Torah Study, at least six or seven EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS came to study (2g) Parashat Bereshit. When we were done, every one of them told me how they were so confused now, but at the same time, very clear in their comprehension. In short, they were confused how it is now so clear that EVERYTHING that they had learned relative to teh man that they call Yeshu, is now (to them) absolutely untrue, and could never BE true. Even they understand why we must rise in strength and unity. And, we must.

The time, my dear friend and brother, the time for the old BS to end is now. We are JEWS. Does it matter if we are Ashkenazim or Sefaradim? Orthodox or Reform? Really? Did the Nazis care? Does Hamas care? Why should WE? We are Jews. We are the Chosen People. To quote Manhigut Yehudit, The Jewish Leadership Movement, "A Jewish state must be absolutely faithful to the Land of Israel -- the Land that was promised in its Biblical borders to the Fathers of the Nation by the Creator of the world -- and includes the understanding of the positive connection between the Land and the ability of the Nation of Israel to fulfill its earthly goals."
 You, my friend are very fortunate. Each day when you rise and look outdoors, the street signs are in Hebrew. The store windows are too. In your ears, you are so very blessed to be able to hear our wonderful holy language. We want to join you. We NEED to join you, and we WILL. But to join you, we need your support as you need ours.

WE MUST WORK TOGETHER, no less and not much differently than we did in the Twenties, and Thirties, and 40's and so forth. We are ALL (2e) B'nei Yaacov; B'nei Yisrael. We need to get our proverbial heads out our backsides and see what is truly important: (3) Lehiyot Am Chofshi b'Arteinu, Eretz Tzion, Yerushalayim.

May G-d continue to Bless you and Keep you, my dear friend. May He shine his Grace upon you; and May He grant you Peace. For you and for All Yisrael.

Your brother in Peace and in Defense of our Moledet...

--AA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KEY as shown above in small notated numerals:

(1) Manhigut Yehudit is the Jewish Leadership Movement under the direction of MK Moshe Feiglin.  Many see Mr. Feiglin and the Jewish Leadership Movement as the future of the State of Israel.

(2a) Rachmanut: Mercy.  Moledet: Birthright.  (2b) Kehillah: Congregation or Community  (2c) Speaks to the three levels of Observance:  Charedi - Ultra-Orthadox; Dati - Orthodox; Masorti - Comfortably Observant.   (2d) Avraham Avinu: Abraham, The first Jew; Married to Sara; Father to Isaac.  (2e) B'Nei: Sons of/ Descendents of; Yaacov: Jacob; Yisrael: Israel.  Am Yisrael; Teh Nation of Israel or People of Israel.  (2f) Al haNissim is a prayer or series of prayers that thank G-d for certain miracles that He has brought to us over the lengths of history. (2g) Parashat Bereshit: The portion of Torah that describes Creation.

(3) Hatikvah (Hebrew: הַתִּקְוָה‎, lit. The Hope) is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew from Zolochiv (today in Lviv Oblast),[1] who moved to the Land of Israel in the early 1880s. The anthem's theme revolves around the nearly 2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to be a free and sovereign people in the Land of Israel, a national dream that would eventually be realized with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.  (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Hebrew                           Transliteration                               English translation



כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה            Kol ‘od balleivav penimah           As long as in the heart, within,


נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה,               Nefesh yehudi homiyah,                 A Jewish soul still yearns,


וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה,   Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah,   And onward, towards the ends of the east,
עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה;              Ayin letziyon tzofiyah;                     An eye still gazes toward Zion;


עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ,     ‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,             Our hope is not yet lost,


הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם,       Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim,   The hope of two thousand years,


לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ,      Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzeinu,   To be a free people in our land,


אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.          Eretz-tziyon vy(e)rushalayim.          The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


For this week, I leave you with the hope that you too will visit our Internet Home at http://www.emek-az.org/, and of you are able to even help us to help others even in small amounts, we will be ever so grateful.  Your tax deductible contributions may be sent via PayPal to emek@q.com or by visiting our Support Page at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/401503.


From the Emek in our Midbar that we call Arizona, I wish you Ahava u'Vrachot; Love and Blessings...


Rabbi Alan Abrams

One Nation Under G-d. Really?

One Nation Under G-d. Really?



Every day, millions of America's schoolchildren, be they Christian, Jewish, or agnostic rise from their chairs and recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One Nation Under G-d.

This week, I would like to examine the definition of "One Nation Under G-d", and explore what it really means to be a "Nation". And, what it means to be a "Nation under G-d".

Two weeks ago, we read Parshat Lekh Lekha, from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 12. In the second line of this reading, G-d promises Abram that his descendants will be a Great Nation (And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing). To me, this means that G-d has promised Abram and his descendants that they will be a "Nation under G-d". And, if we think about it, are we not all descendants of Abram? We certainly are as Jews. Those who believe in different theology, worshiping as Christians or Catholic Christians or Protestants or Mormons acknowledge this connection, and acknowledge as well that G-d, and only G-d created Heaven and Earth and all their hosts thereof.

Let's slow down for a moment and re-read: Just so I am clear with my own writing, IF we believe in G-d; and IF we believe that G-d created the Heavens and Earth and, basically, everything; and IF we believe that Abram was a person (the same guy who married Sarai/Sara, and later had his name changed to Abraham, had a couple sons, and so forth), then, we must believe that G-d promised to make Abram and his descendants A GREAT NATION; and, in turn, that nation would be a Nation Under G-d; and, if this is all the case, then are we all not One Nation Under G-d?

A few weeks ago, my friend, the enthralling author, Stephen Lewis (The Palestine Exchange, AuthorHouse (2007) ISBN-13: 978-1434334725) invited me to attend an event at Phoenix Symphony Hall called " A Night to Honour Israel". All I needed to hear that this was a night to honour Israel, and I was on-board. When he told me that the amazing Dennis Prager was to be the Key Note Speaker, I asked Steve how many extra tickets he could get me!

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a massive demonstration of alleged Christians, who carried signs depicting Israel as bad guys, of course; Christians who believe in Israel's right to exist, as bad guys; and of course, the obvious attempts to make us believe that Missile wielding terrorists who call themselves Palestinians, as the "good guys", as abused as they have been by Christian Americans. I find it strange that these yahoos outside claiming all of this hatred in the name of Christianity, while all the while, the real Christians were inside the building, helping make a case for, and supporting our little Country.

Inside, an air of almost electricity was collecting, and inside the amazing Symphony Hall, the evening absolutely rocked. My Colleague Rabbi Arthur Lavinsky helped welcome the audience and blew a masterful set of Tekiyot on his Shofar; World Class Christian singer/performer Rhoda Schultz held us all at bay with her angelic, yet powerful voice and Pastor Eddie Paul Morris reminded us time and again that we are all children of G-d, as further stated in Parshat Lekh Lecha, Genesis 12 continues, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." No matter our Theology, we all agree that we need to remember that we are all... One Nation Under G-d.

The evening continued with Holocaust survivor Helen Handler returning us to the worst time in known history with her recollections, followed by the wonderfully talented actress and voice/accent aficionado Susan Sandager who performed as the Dutch Christian Heroine of WWII, Cori tenBoom. And then, the real fun started.

The brilliant, popular and exuberant Dennis Prager carried us the rest of the way. Dennis' sheer knowledge of almost anything political, and almost everything Jewish, combined with the single most charismatic personality that I have ever experienced brought the filled room to its feet with his admission of his love for Israel, and his love for brotherhood and his love for peace. Thank you Dennis. You were, as usual, brilliant, enlightening, spiritual and educational. Rav Todot.

My next question brings us to understanding borders. Does a Nation have borders, or is a Nation merely the people who exist within it?

Parshat Lekh Lekha further reads: And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the L-RD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the L-RD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the L-RD, and called upon the name of the L-RD.

It is for this land that we live. It is for this land that we pray. And it is for this land that we fight. We live and pray and fight for this land from all corners of this great earth that G-d created; AND, we do so as... One Nation Under G-d.

Manhigut Yehudit, The Jewish Leadership Movement, led by Moshe Feiglin supports the above, and actually holds to the platform that "A Jewish state must be absolutely faithful to the Land of Israel -- the Land that was promised in its Biblical borders to the Fathers of the Nation by the Creator of the world -- and includes the understanding of the positive connection between the Land and the ability of the Nation of Israel to fulfill its earthly goals."

We, as One Nation Under G-d, must support this platform. We must support it theologically, physically and financially as we are able. We must understand and realize that Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit are not a group of fanatics dancing to their own beat, rather, they are US. Moshe is you and Moshe is me. Moshe is my brother and he is your cousin. He is your uncles best friend and the bus driver that drove you to work last week. Moshe believes that we are all One Nation Under G-d, and that the land promised to us by, and given to us by our One Creator, was, is and will always be our land.

This is easier said than done, many say. I ask why? Why should this be a difficult task if we are truly one? If we are truly one, why is it that we fight, not just against each other, but between ourselves? Why is it that Orthodox Shuls refuse to recognize Reform Temples? Why must Conservative Synagogues feel the need to compete for the affections of anyone with a large checkbook, with more and more lenient and liberal interpretation of Halakha (Jewish Law) from week to week? Why must Reform Temples, with all of their wonderful intentions to renew Yiddishkeit and bring Judaism to families, feel that a competition exists for the wealthiest families?

The answer is simple and it is also very sad. The reason that everyone feels the need to fight is because this competition, in every industry and profession was created by the "American Dream". The dream that in reality is, but a fantasy, brought on by an evil sister of Jealousy. Her name is Greed.

G-d commands us to not worship other Gods. We do, though. She is green (envy) and comes with numbers like 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 in each of her four corners. We worship her because this "American Dream" has told us that we so need her. And more of her, and more and more. Like a street drug, we have become addicted to her and her power. And unfortunately, as all addictions and diseases, she has infected even Houses of G-d.

Before I entered the Rabbinate, I once asked a cynical Rabbi friend of mine how it is that many Synagogues go so far against Halakha in the name of donations, he answered me accordingly: He who has the gold, makes the rules, he said. I wanted to cry. I asked myself then: What has happened to us?

In the Siddur, in our daily prayers, and upon rising and going to sleep, four times daily, we are told what G-d expects from us. V'Ahavta et haShem Elokeikha... "And thou shalt love the L-RD thy G-d with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

What, I ask, could be so difficult to, not just understand, but perform? How have we, collective as One Nation Under G-d forgotten the most simple of all instructions? I especially ask many in the position of making certain that we say these words daily: Why? How did we forget what we are all supposed to stand for? When did the messenger become more important than the message? We are, after all, One Nation Under G-d. Are we not?

Emek haMidbar was built with this exact purpose. To bring Judaica to those who otherwise could not afford to belong. To bring Judaica to the 75-85% of our Community who are unaffiliated. Not to steal Congregants away from other Synagogues, where they have found spirituality, religiosity, friendship and brother (sister)hood. Even though I acknowledge that this "competition" exists, I do not, nor will I buy into it.

My friends and Colleagues, Rabbis Michael Wasserman and Elana Kanter of The New Shul in Scottsdale, believe in the philosophy that selling membership into a community turns Congregants into Customers. I could not agree more.

If our Kindergartners, our third, fifth and ninth graders can remember to say it every day, we absolutely must find a way to live it every day. We are all One Nation Under G-d. Maybe if we do, we will all be able to get along better. To better support each other as opposed to using Lashon haRa in daily life; to utilize our tools to bring more Torah to more people, affiliated and unaffiliated alike; and in the end, be better people.

From the Emek in haMidbar of Scottsdale, Arizona, I wish you, Ahavah u'Vrachot.
Peace and love...


Shavuah Tov.


--Rabbi Alan Abrams

It's all about the "Do-Over"

If I were a betting man, I think that the Detroit Tigers are wishing about now that they could get a Do-Over. I believe that they would call their "Do-Over" September and October. Unfortunately for them, like the rest of us, they will be watching the Twins get beat up by the Yankees. Fortunately, their "Do-Over" is just a game. Our "Do-Overs", are not.

Today is Hoshana Raba, or the "Big Hoshana". When we shake the Lulav for the last time of the year during the harvest holiday of Sukkot, and prepare for Simchat Torah, the Celebration of Torah, which begins tomorrow night, we remember that Hoshana Raba is also the final chance that we have at that big book of life that we have all be pushing to get into and be sealed within for the past few weeks. Hopefully, we get our Do-Over.

We apologized and continue to apologize for all that we have done that may have hurt others or ourselves during the past year, and look forward to doing "better" in the coming year. The big question is: Will we?

Will the man in the brown shirt continue to yell at his girlfriend in public? Will he save his outbursts for private venues, or will he learn to better communicate? Will the gentle man who once left the East Coast of the United States to fight for Israel in Lebanon come to terms with the truth that he is indeed a Hero of Israel, a great father and a "mensch"? Will he value himself again and begin to take better care of himself? Will the mother who prefers the company of her married boss to that of her children catch herself in time, this time?

We all have done things that prevent us from becoming better. Better Jews; better Christians; better fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, doctors, Rabbis; things that would in short, make us better people.

Why is it then, that with all of the "Do-Overs" that we ask for and are not offered; all the complaining that we do that "life is not fair"; all the loopholes that we seek, we seem to tend to take for granted the biggest and most important "Do-Over" that we could, and do, pray for? The "Do-Over" that G-d gives us when the Shofar is blown on Yom Kippur night.

We seem to take these "Do-Overs" for granted an continue to live with the "But First Syndrome". We will all say at some point: I'd really like to start working out, but first I need to... I really need to call my Uncle Moishe and apologize for being rude to him, but first I have to... I really should attend Synagogue this Shabbat, but first...

Does G-d listen to us on Yom Kippur and say: I really need to forgive these people, but first...?

I read this morning a tale written by a religious man, who penned about his recent experience near the Kotel in Jerusalem earlier today. He wrote that he was somehow acosted and detained by Israeli Police for "calling upon people" to ascend to the Temple Mount, which, could have incited serious objection from our Moslem cousins on the mount. Rather than simply forward us readers this news, instead he used his forum to comment negatively toward the very people who carry the job of protecting our dear little Country. Rather than walking to the Wall with thousands of others, he preferred to continue to incite, and in fact, asked others to help him to do so via a very public forum. Will this man, a religious and level headed man find a way to reconcile with himself? We he use his "Do-Over"?

As we begin another beautiful cycle of reading the Torah from beginning to end, starting at Bereishit (Genesis) from literally the beginning and to the end of Deuteronomy, Dvarim with the final Parsha, v'Zot haBracha, and This is the Blessing", let us all try to use this "Do-Over" for good and to not take it for granted. May we use it to better ourselves and to help those around us to better themselves. May we be kinder and more gentle not with just each other, but with ourselves.

From the Emek in the Midbar, the Valley in the Desert, I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom, v'Chag Sameach. A peaceful and restful Shabbat and joyous holiday.

Ahavah v'Vrachot, Love and Blessings...

Rabbi Alan Abrams

A Few of My Favorite Things - Yom Kippur Drasha and More...

As we ready ourselves to celebrate Sukkot, I would like to begin this week's column with my talk from Yom Kippur, this past Monday, and then tell you a little about how Yom Kippur went at Emek haMidbar, the new Community that I have been asked to build.

September 28, 2009

הי בתשרי, התש"ע

יום כפור

Yom Kippur 5770

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Golf on an early morning, just early enough to smell the newly mowed fairways, but late enough that the dew has evaporated; the smell of a ballpark during batting practice, before all the fans get there; the sound of the crack of each ball being whacked toward the outfield, the sound of its speed and the thump it makes against a lone wall in an empty stadium.

Parshiot (The weekly Torah Portions of) Bereishit, Noach, VaYetzeh, Yitro, Bo and others; Chanting Haftarot; a child being called to the Torah for the first time; a baby’s first wail. Watching the sun rise against the Kotel, and set over the Mediterranean, while sitting on the Tayelet at Gordon Beach in Tel Aviv. The sound of Shofar; the mumbling of silent davening, each one of us at our own tempo, rhythm, pace, and melodies.

Most of all, though, I think that my favorite thing to see and to hear, is watching the faces of my students when we take the Sefer Torah out of the Ark; and seeing their excitement when they come to Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday afternoon.

Today, Yom Kippur, is a day to reflect on all of these, and more. A day to sit back and listen to the Chazzanut, to the sounds of prayer and to introspectively remember, atone, accept and forgive.

A well known scholar in Tel Aviv, who goes by the pen name of IsraelSeen recently referred to Yom Kippur as such. He said: Yom Kippur means the “day of atonement, or rather the day of At-One-Ment. It is a day that culminates the inner-work that we Jews are asked to do especially intensively since Rosh HaShana, the “New Year” according to the Jewish calendar that is marked by the Moon cycles with some adjustment so it coincides closely with the solar calendar."

Actually, to be more precise it is from Tisha B’Av, the day when we fast and remember the destructions of the Temple past and all of the other tragedies that have befallen on us as a nation. It is from this moment that we search for the part of us that inspires forgiveness and substitutes the darkness within our souls, for the light that we are and have always been in spite of the forgetfulness of daily life.

As Einstein once said, darkness does not come from G-d but from an absence of light. For this, my friends is the world that we inherited, in much better shape than we find it now, and it is this world that we are asked by G-d to repair.

The Desiderata, a late 1700’s poem written by an unknown poet speaks to us even two hundred and thirty years later reminding us to be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with G-d, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

It is on us, Chaverai to remember these things today, and to act on them tomorrow. To ask G-d for forgiveness today, and begin living a better life, tomorrow; to say Modeh Ani Lefaneicha when we arise each day and to truly thank G-d for our presence, each and every day. To make the best use of our time, to strive for happiness through Torah, through Avodah, service to haShem, and through G’milut Chasadim, the random acts of loving kindness that we all have within us to perform.

It today’s Torah portion we just read that after his sons Nadav and Avihu had died as punishment for their improper service, Aharon was told to enter the Holy of the Holies only on Yom Kippur, at which time atonement was to be made for the sins of the community (including the Priesthood) and the Sanctuary was cleansed because it might have been entered by those who were ritually unclean. On Yom Kippur, the Kohein Godol (High Priest), dressed in white garments rather than gold ones, offered all the sacrifices.

The ritual included the casting of incense upon coal taken from the Altar, and the sacrificing of one of two male goats provided by the people for their offering. The commandment was given to us to observe Yom Kippur as a most solemn Shabbat (the Shabbat of Shabbatot), to fast and to repent for our misdeeds.

We read about the laws forbidding the eating of meat of an animal which wasn't ritually slaughtered and the forbidden intake of blood; and we read about High Moral Conduct. We continue to be reminded that Hashem expects of us a high level of moral conduct; thus, adultery and illicit marriages were prohibited, with the Torah citing examples of nations destroyed for immoral behavior.

This afternoon, during Mincha, we will learn again the Story of Jonah and what was asked of him by G-d. We will remember that we may be able to run from ourselves and our actions, but that we cannot hide from G-d. This, my friends, is not, in my opinion, meant to be a threat by G-d, nor do I believe that it is a warning, per se. I believe this to be a reminder to us that G-d is everywhere. He is above us and below us; to our right and to our left; in front of us and behind us. In every sense. G-d is with us on High and in our lowest moments; His angels sit upon our shoulders and watch over us.

Today, we promise G-d that from now, we will be the Best that We Can Be. We will strive for high moral ground, and we will love our neighbors as ourselves; We will cease from all forms of Lashon haRa, and help to make this World a better place; We will look to G- d for strength, while continuing to praise His holy name. We will love Him b’chol levaveinu, with all our hearts, u’bchol Nafsheinu, with all of our souls, u’bchol Moadeinu, and with all of our strength. We will take these words to heart and teach them diligently to our children. For as by design, our children are our future.

Yehi Ratzon Milfaneicha, haShem Elokeinu, v’Elokei Avoteinu, Sheh Tichadesh Aleinu Shana Tovah u’Metukah; G’Mar Chatima Tovah; u’Chol masheh tov b’Maaseinu. May it be your Will, O’ G-d, and G-d of our ancestors, that you will bless us with a good and a sweet year; that we will be inscribed into your Book of Life for yet another year; and that you will bring us the peace and solace for all things good this coming year.
---------------------

During Mincha, the afternoon service, my first born seventeen year old twin son joined me on the Bima. His helping me to lead our congregation was not planned. Zac is an above average Hebrew reader, but not fluent; he has a very nice singing voice, but not that of a performer in musical theatre, or in the Chazzanut, but this day was different. Very different.

When Zac joined me on the Bima, his reading, pronounciation, inflections and Chazzanut were not only perfect, but as we proceeded with Mincha, the afternoon service and into Neila, the closing service of Yom Kippur, our voices became as one. When I paused, he paused. When I started, he started. When my nusachim (melodies) changed, so did his. We were literally one voice. One voice so directly connected to G-d that by the end of the service, and blowing of the Shofar signaling the end of the holiday and the end of the fast, we were both in tears. Tears of happiness as well as pride and elation. Bar none, this Yom Kippur was the singlemost incredibly spiritual experience of my Rabbinical Career, if not my life.

As we move now to Sukkot, our "Season of Joy", we are within a week of celebrating our finishing to read the Torah, and a new beginning to the old, but very much alive book. Next Saturday night, we will finish reading the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), and begin Genesis from, well, the beginning. It is this continual reading, telling and studying that keeps Torah alive in all of us. Jews and non-Jews alike. A friend said to me just last night that the same G-d that lives in me, lives in him. He is Catholic. Isn't it nice to have friends who share this belief?

Shorts

Word came from Israel this morning that a video was made on September 14, just two weeks ago, in which Gilad Shalit speaks to the world, PM Netanyahu and his parents. Gilad appears in good health and albeit, maybe tired and thin, he does appear to be healthy. This video, in Hebrew, may be found by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqiT_xvUM2Y&feature=player_embedded.

A wonderful organization by the name of 6M for 6M is raising $6,000,000 to make a film called An Unbroken Chain based on a book by the same name by Dr. Henry Oertelt. Through his lectures and book, Oertelt’s story has been used in middle schools, high schools and colleges to educate students on the Holocaust and hate issues for over 40 years. To find out more please visit http://6mfor6m.org/.

Congregation Kehillat Emek haMidbar continues to seek a home in North Phoenix/Scottsdale. Should you come across anyone in the area that works in commercial real estate, leases, property management that might like to help a brand new Synagogue, please write to: emek@q.com.

------------------------------

From the Emek (Valley) in the Midbar (Desert), I wish you a very restful Shabbat Shalom, and Chag Sameach. May you enjoy your Sukkot holiday with an abundance of happiness.

B'ahava u'Vrachot...

With love and blessings for a restful Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful Sukkot, filled with an abundance of happiness, I wish for you all that you wish for yourself, and G-d's blessing.

--Rabbi Alan Abrams

On This Rosh HaShana, We look to our Moledet...

As we move within twenty four hours of Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur, 5770, I wish to share my words delivered on the Second day of Rosh HaShana.

September 20, 2009 - הב' בתשרי, תש"ע ראש השנה ב

On the fifth of the month of Iyar, in the Jewish year 5708, on the day in which the British Mandate over a Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved the following proclamation, declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. Our nation was founded on principles of Torah and Justice; Peace and Ahavat Chesed, the Love of kindness. On that day, David ben Gurion read the Proclamation of Independence which began with the words: ERETZ-ISRAEL was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

On Shabbat Shuva, we will read about the last address of Moshe Rabeinu.. Moses addresses Am Yisrael for the last time before the people leave for our Promised Land. Forbidden to enter the Land of Israel, Moses only is able to watch from afar and becomes probably the first of many Giborei Yisrael; heroes of Israel.

On June 7, 1985, in The Carmel Hospital, Ron and Orly Kehrman welcomed into the world their first child; a girl named Tal.

As Tal grew up, she developed an uncanny love for all of G-d’s creatures, especially cats, and not only befriended a few, but brought a few home to Ron, Orly and her little brother Dror. At the age of five, Tal began to collect camels. Stuffed camels, pictures of camels, a clock that looked like a camel, and even a sign in her room declaring “Camel Crossing Here”.

She was an incredibly friendly girl. She had a lot of friends from many different streams of life. She was sensitive to others’ feelings, and when her friends say that when she saw somebody hurt, she took special consideration in supporting and encouraging him. Because she was so friendly, she was the one who made a connection between individual friends and society. In her world of friends, there were a lot of new immigrants. Tal was a very sensitive teenager and did everything she could to avoid hurting a weaker person’s feelings. Tal loved to read both in English and in Hebrew. In addition to her appreciation of literature, she loved to watch the science and music channels. She knew all the words to numerous songs. If one picked any random song she surely knew all the words, both in English and in Hebrew. While in 11th grade, a month after the Twin Towers Terrorist attack, Tal was sent to represent “Ironi Hey School” in a delegation to Boston from the city of Haifa. She was chosen, because of her outstanding ability to connect with others.

On March 5, 2003, Tal and her friend Liz were in downtown Haifa to buy some materials for the end of school celebrations. On that day, after school she met up her friend to plan end of the school year events. They both went downtown to buy some things for this occasion. While downtown, they got a call from some other friends to come up to the Carmel. And so, as usual, Tal and Liz and around thirteen other Israelis sat comfortably on bus number 37, looking forward to graduation, the Army and the life that they had always wanted, and of which they have dreamt for years. There was only one problem that day, on bus #37. A Hamas terrorist has also boarded the bus and on Moriah Boulevard, he self detonated and seventeen people were murdered. Tal and Liz among them. Tal died just three months before her 18th birthday. Tal was, by all accounts, definitions and meanings, a Hero of Israel. Not in her death, rather, in her life. In the way that she lived her extraordinary, amazing, yet far too short life.

A truer example of Am Yisrael could not be found anywhere, in any annals of time, nor history. For the memory of Tal and other children like her, I pray daily, and through organizations like Lev Ecahd, One Heart, her memory lives on.

A baby boy named Gilad was born to Aviva and Noam Shalit on 28 August 1986 in Nahariyah. At age eleven, he wrote a story called "When the Fish and the Shark First Met", an engaging story in which a small fish and shark are able to resolve their familie's differences and live together in peace.

Early on Sunday morning, 25 June 2006, just two months short of his twentieth birthday, Gilad Shalit was captured by Terrorist Soldiers who surprise-attacked an Israeli army post on the Israeli side of the southern Gaza Strip border after crossing through an underground tunnel near the Kerem Shalom border, and has been held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since.
Shalit, a soldier of the IDF's Armor Corps, recently spent his 23rd birthday in captivity. Gilad is believed to be alive, however, Hamas authorities have refused requests from the allow visits by the International Red Cross to visit him, or otherwise confirm his health and welfare status. Several human rights organizations have stated that the terms and conditions of Shalit's detention are contrary to international humanitarian law. In exchange for his release, Hamas is demanding the release of over 1,000 terrorists held in Israel.

Manhigut Yehudit, The Jewish Leadership Movement, led by the popular Moshe Feiglin says it best when they state that: A Jewish state must be absolutely faithful to the Land of Israel -- the Land that was promised in its Biblical borders to the Fathers of the Nation by the Creator of the world -- and includes the understanding of the positive connection between the Land and the ability of the Nation of Israel to fulfill its earthly goals.

The Likud Party has unilaterally and correctly, I might add, reminded World Leaders, including the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that our nation, that Israel is a Sovereign State. As is Canada, Mexico, France, Germany...

I must ask - When last did the United States last tell Canada to split their Dominion in two and hand it to Terrorist Forces? When did Germany last tell France what to do? 1942? 1943? Was Germany not then governed by the Terrorist of all Terrorists?

And so, I ask the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this question: Since when, Sir, is it your right, since when were you granted permission by Am Yisrael to tell us what to do with OUR LAND? With the land that was given to us by Our Creator; by He who took us from Egypt with a Long arm, and Outstretched Hand?

When Sir, were your children forced into Bomb Shelters to escape missiles fired from elementary schools by masked animals hiding behind toddlers and infants? When was the last time, Mr. Resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, that you sent your daughter off to school never to see her return? When, Sir, was your Country facing destruction on a daily basis?

Why, Sir, does it appear to your citizenry, and to ours, that you are more interested in where we build our towns and cities, than you are with the rising unemployment, homeless, and collape of the economy in your own Country? Why is it that while you claim to be in a war against "terror", do you continue to recognize a non-government from a non-existent place that is comprised mostly of admitted Terrorists?

And why, why do we as Jews care? We care because we were together in the sand pits of Egypt; We were together at Sinai. We were together when G-d gave us Torah, and we we were together when a mad man tried to destroy us sixty five years ago. We care because we know that our place is not here. We care because we know, deep down, that our place is in Jerusalem; in Tel Aviv; in Beer Sheva; on Kibbutzim and on Moshavot; On the west side of the green line and on the east. In the north of Galilee and in the Negev. In Rosh haNikra and in Eilat.

Every year on Pesach, we say l'Shana Habaah b'Yerushalayim. Let us all do our best to make this a reality, as a United people, a people living as Am Chofshi b'Arteinu, as a Free Nation in our Land, we cannot be, and we will not be bullied. Together my dear friends, we can support our Birthright and stand together with the words of David Ben Gurion and Moshe Feiglin and be absolutely faithful to the Land of Israel.

Chaverai: We are faced with dilemas every day, if not every hour of every day. Many of them problems to which we have little or no control, but must face them regardless. We do, however, have control of choices that we have. How we face these challenges and how we respond to the outcome. How do we face life? Do we continue to be brought down by the negative, or do we look the world dead on, and remember the words Modeh Ani? Do we get upset about the morning drive traffic, or do we thank G-d that we are alive to BE in the traffic? Should we be upset that we have to sit in the traffic, or do we thank G-d that we have a job, and are healthy to be able to perform the job?

Maybe, Chaverai, maybe my friends these are more challenges from haShem. Clearly, G-d asks of us one thing, and one thing only: VeAhavta et haSmem Elokeicha, You shall love the L-rd your G-d, B'chol levavecha, ub'chol Nafsheicha, ub'chol Meodeicha, with all your heart, all your soul and with all your strength. Yes, we have Six Hundred and Thirteen Mitzvot, 613 Commandments that make up this love, but if we can remember just one, that of loving our neighbor as we do ourselves, this alone will help us to be better people. This alone will help us repair our damaged world. This alone will stop all war and agression. This alone, will bring Peace.

During these Aseret Yemei Tshuvah, these Ten Days of Awe, of Repentence and Atonement, May G-d Bless you and Keep You; May G-d shine his face upon you and guide you; May be gracious onto you and bring you Peace.

Yehi Ratzon Milfaneicha, haShem Elokeinu, v'Elokei Avoteinu, Shetikadesh aleinu Shana Tovah U'Metukah. May it be your will, haShem, our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, that you bless us with a New and a Sweet Year.

And let us say, Amen.

Shana Tovah, u'G'mar Chatima Tovah, B'Ahava u'Vrachrot..

.
Rabbi Alan Abrams

Some Words for Rosh HaShana

September 18, 2009
א בתשרי, תש"ע ראש השנה א

Modeh Ani Lefaneicha, Melekh chai v’Kayam. I bow before you, my living King, in gratitude of your returning my soul to me.

This prayer is usually recited once daily. Upon awakening in the morning, we thank G-d for being alive to live yet another day in this wonderful world that He created for us. For the last twenty months, I find myself uttering this prayer more than once daily; sometimes even numerous times in any given hour.

On this Shabbat, on This Rosh HaShana, as we gather here, some of us meeting for the first time, as a new Kehillah. As a new Community. A Community dedicated to Tikun Olam, to repairing the world, one Mitzvah at a time; One Commandment at a time; One Act of Loving Kindness at a time. A Community dedicated to each other. A Community in which we may live, laugh, love and pray, as one.

We continue to remember that this amazing, this incredible world was created by HaShem, in six days, and on the seventh day, G-d rested from all his work which he had made, and He hallowed that day, and He sanctified it as a day of rest, because on the seventh day, G-d rested.

As many of you know, I am a card-carrying, died in the wool, certified Shabbat-a-holic. I love everything about Shabbat. I love the smells of Shabbat; I love the songs on Shabbat; I love the Shabbat table guests, and the chicken soup; the matzo balls and the Tzimis; the longer Birkat haMazon and the Zmiros afterward, sitting long into late in the night with my kids. I love my 3rd graders on Friday afternoon most of all. Just when the week appears to have eaten me up, they pick me up and with their little eight year old voices and smiles, bring Shabbat to me. Right into my heart, not that I couldn’t find Shabbat by myself, but they help start bringing in Shabbat on… On Thursday morning.

On this Shabbat, I hope that we are able to, all of us, become Shabbat-a-holics. On this Rosh HaShana, I hope that as a Community, we are able to come together as only a Community can, and for the next ten days, at least, remember the little things that third graders still find so amazing. Whether it is a bird flying high up above, or an insect disappearing into the ground below; whether it be the blowing wind or the wetness of the rain or the warmth from just standing in the sun. These things, all things amazing to them, used to be amazing to us. In truth, we used to be them.

Two years ago, exactly tonight on the Jewish calendar, I was not thanking G-d for being alive. I had even asked him to not allow me to wake up a week before and five days later, he honoured my wish and two days later, took me for a little ride. For two months.

While my family spent their time praying for my improbable return, they also prepared themselves for the certainty of new lives and new beginnings without a husband, without a father; without a son and without a brother, I spent the 10 Yemei Teshuvah, the ten Days of Atonement, feeling that I was at the bottom of a box, a box with wet dirt walls, and prayed. And cried. And prayed some more. I spent my ten days of Teshuvah doing mamash, Teshuvah. In the end, after more than sixty days, G-d did in fact, return my soul to me.

Tonight, I recall that time spent at the bottom of the box, even though the memory is faint. I share the memory with you as not just your Rabbi, but as your friend, and ask that together, over the next ten days, we find ways to do more Teshuvah. That together, we find ways to return. To return not only to our heritage and beliefs, but that together, we as G-d to return to us our souls, and return to us the faith and the hope; the belief; the emuna, that we can help repair this earth that G-d so beautifully created 5,770 years ago today.

I try again and again to think of what creation might have been. I try to imagine viewing creation on a large IMAX screen; Dolby Digital Surround Sound:

A flash of light; The wind blowing and waves of water spread over this globe of nothing; A sky forming above, blue in colour and of grandiose expanse; Land forming from under the water and separating the oceans, Continent by Continent. All the while, beautiful classical violins and wind instruments play never-before-heard music in the background, while G-d does his work. Seedlings of grass, and trees and fruit; vegetation and bright green earth; Flowers of all kinds in all coulours followed by stars in the sky; the sun and the moon and the formation of moving time, all just exactly according to G-d's divine plan.

I try again and again to imagine if this is what it was really like. I try again and again in my mind, to rebuke science and non-believing spokespersons who wish to convince me (us) that this could have ever been; that a "big bang" took place Gazillions of years ago and that everything that we see somehow came from that. Maybe the "big bang" was G-d's creation of light? Honestly, I believe the Book of Bereishit. It's easier; It's more spiritual; It's more believable, to me anyway.

I believe that G-d caused the world to flood and that Noah saved living creatures as he was to asked to do by G-d; That G-d had a Covenant with Abraham and that today we continue to live by that covenant; That we all received Torah at Sinai; and that the world is based on three things, Torah, Avodah (service to G-d) and Gemilut Chassidim, acts of loving kindness. I believe that together, as a Community, we can do Tikkun Olam, we can fix and change the world simply by being good, nice and honest people.

Modeh Ani Lefaneicha, Melekh chai v’Kayam. I bow before you, my living King, in gratitude of your returning my soul to me, and thank you every minute of every day for continuing to grant me life, and I thank you G-d for showing me your trust in allowing our new Community to be here together these Days of Awe in hopes of becoming closer to you, and to G-d.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tovah.


Rabbi Alan Abrams

*** Should any of you be in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area for Yom Kippur and wish to observe Yom Kippur with us, please let us know as soon as possible.***

Nines

At the outset of this week's column, I find it important to answer a few questions from readers, if for no other purpose, than to set the record straight.

When this column began, it was written as a place for me to write, about many things. Some earlier writings (if they can still be found online) screamed of politically incorrectness, and laughed at many people, places and events; many of which we observe, and even participate in on a continual basis. Admittedly, I also was somewhat politically incorrect, and as this column has emerged, so I have, and while I continue and tend to lean more on life experiences, while keeping the content both here (in writing), in our newly forming Synagogue and other public places, as well as my private life, as "Rated 'Y' - for Yiddish, as possible, I am human, and continue to choose this forum to share important pieces of my life with you. I assure you that should our new Congregation, Emek haMidbar begin to send out newsletters, and I am asked to contribute as the Rabbi and Spiritual Leader, Those Divrei Torah will stand different from these. I continue to be happy to share these moments with you, my friends, as a glimpse into my heart and my life, which, as the name reflects, is far from normal. Normal IS indeed overrated. I've been there.

Nines

My father, Steve Abrams was born in Detroit, Michigan on August (8) first (1) = 9, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty Seven (9). He left us and Olam haZeh a year and a half ago, on January (1) eighth (8) = 9. Many times over our lifetimes, my sisters and I and our collective families have lived in homes, in which the addresses added up to nine. My mother was born on July (7) twentieth (2+0=2) =9.

Last night, on 09-09-09, the new Tim Burton film "#9" was shown in theatres across the globe at 9:09pm; and at our local AMC, the movie was projected in, obviously, auditorium... nine.

Ted Williams, the greatest of all Boston Red Sox wore number 9; The Red Wings all time superstar, Gordie Howe owned number nine, as did Sonny Jurgensen from the Redskins, Reggie Jackson (before he moved on to the Yankees), Roger Maris, who held the all-time home run record before it was broken by Mark Maguire wore number nine when he broke the record in 1961.

When I got home last night from working at the theatre, I had known that all day was September 9, but had never correlated September 9 with 09-09. Two years ago, September 9 was the last day that I spent with my family before being rushed to the hospital in respiratory failure, and the worst was not even to come for another two days, on September 11, Erev Rosh HaShana. So acutely aware was I that it has now been two years since I puffed on a cigarette; two years since my old life gave out; and two years since I looked up from an Emergency Room gurney and asked: Am I going to die tonight? So acutely aware, that I thought of little else for most of the day.

On September 19, 1919, my grandmother was born. 9-19-1919 - The numbers resonate even today. Its the easiest family birthday to remember! Still, for me, one of the most important days in all of my life was always just September 9, and not 09-09. Until yesterday.

Every time that I saw the date yesterday, nines came at me, almost as if in flight; My father's nines also came flying at me in droves of emotion and despair, despite the jubilation that I survived somehow, two years ago; despite it all.

When I got home, I decided that I absolutely have to write about nines this week; and not really for those reasons either, but because in nine days it will be Rosh HaShana, our New Year.

On Rosh HaShana, over a two day period, we will stand and silently reflect in our Amidah Prayers, nine times. We will hit our hearts with our fists on nine different occasions, and we will say the memorial Kaddish prayer nine times.

We will look at the letters that make up the Hebrew word for truth, אמת "emet",and remember that when we add the Aleph, Mem and Tav together, we come up with, you guessed it: nine; and the number of days between Rosh HaShana and Erev (eve of) Yom Kippur is, of course, 9.

Nine plus nine equals 18, which of course means life. If we are all luck enough to have "life times ten", that would equal 180, which, if added together, would equal nine. And last, but not least, on each day of Rosh HaShana, we will call up nine Aliyot to the Torah.

I remember now that we all have nine more days to make apologies. We have nine days left to take out our paper and draw our vertical columns and place the names into the column in which we believe them to belong, and nine days in which to make things right with those whom we have hurt.

If I might ask please, that each of you forgive me for any wrongs that I may have done to you in this past year.

Shabbat is but a day away. The thought alone brings goosebumps to my arms.

This Shabbat, I wish for you to achieve and gain...

Rest, Health, Family, Prayer, Grace, Friendship, Holiness, Love and finally Happiness.


From the Midbar that we call Arizona, I send Ahavah u'Vrachot. Love and Blessings for the last Shabbat of the year.


Rabbi Alan Abrams

Confessions

As we are now one week into the Jewish month of Elul, and three weeks away from the Rosh haShana/Yom Kippur/Sukkot/Hoshana Raba/Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Daven-a-thon, I am excited.

The birth of a new community thrills me to no end, and I know that my dad is smiling down on us all from above, and all points beyond.

As we discussed previously, Elul is the perfect time to give and accept slichot (apologies) to and from those whom we may have, or definitely have hurt in the past year. Last year, I read a piece from R' Tvzi Freeman, a very gifted scholar, writer and Rav in the Observant world. Rabbi Freeman had an exercise that he shared with us, and I have taken a little of his exercise and combined it with a little of my own "stuff"* and created what I think works for all of us this time of year.

It matters not whether you are Observant, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Christian, Buddhist, or alien from the Planet of Xenon. Try it out, and see what you think.

Let's start off with a piece of copy or printer paper, or even loose leaf paper, and turn it sideways, so that it is facing you on the table in landscape orientation.

On the piece of paper, let's draw three diagonal lines forming 4 columns, left - to - right.

On top of the far left column, which we will call column one, write "I OWE". In the second column, write "I FEAR". In the third column, write "I COVET", and in the fourth column, write "THEY OWE".

Sit down with your paper and draft four lists. The first being those to whom you believe you owe an apology. The second, write the names of those who you fear. This could be your employer, or mother-in-law, or the neighbor's dog. The third column is used to list all those whom we covet. Are we jealous of the guy at work who just got a raise? The bimbette that received a promotion, even though you work 100 times harder? Frank on the corner who won the lottery? Or maybe, we are jealous of the couple who appear to always be so in love even after forty-seven years.

The big list, friends, is the last one, and probably the easiest one to complete. This is the list of people who have wronged US this past year. That's right. The jerk who stole that parking place. That sorry-excuse for a best friend who dated your boyfriend. Your mother for meddling in your life, or maybe, the girl at work who has no idea that you are head over heels for her and she never even says good morning. All of the people in the fourth list owe you apologies.

Now that we have made our lists, and checked them twice. Tried to find who had been naughty or nice, it is time to begin our Elul Practice.

I have found that sitting in a softly lit or dark room works best. While holding our lists to our hearts, let us close our eyes look as deeply into our Neshama, our soul, as we are able. I usually find mine somewhere in my chest area, and it appears to be a light, not unlike a "Ner Tamid", the Eternal lamp above the Ark in Shul). When we find it, we need to gaze upon it; stare at it; examine it, and dissect it. We need to respect it, be mindful of it and acknowledge it. Once we acknowledge it, and know that it is there, we need to remember how it got there. How G-d placed it there, and left this tiny light inside you when you were born, and how it grows brighter and dims lower from year to year, and month to month and day to day.

Let us now look into the light and examine each transgression of each of the people in list four. Did Billy upset me that much last week? Did my cousin really mean all those things that she said? And we continue to think about each one, and each person on the list, and begin forgiving them. One-by-one, until the list is empty. We might even remember that someone on list four, should really be on list one! If these people, our list four folks ask our forgiveness, great. If not? Well, we have already forgiven them, and forgotten. Our Neshama is clear in that department.

Moving to the right on our page, one-by-one we look into our souls and dismiss our jealousies. And one-by-one, we do what we can to dismiss our fears, for if we have faith, we know that we are protected, and that no harm may come our way.

With our page now almost empty, we need to sit down and make some phone calls. Send a few e-mails. Maybe a letter to Aunt Sadie on Long Island who doesn't hear so well anymore, and has never seen a PC. Maybe we just need to go next door and ask the neighbor for his forgiveness for not being as good a neighbor as we might have been.

Once we have done this exercise once, or twice or a dozen times between now and the First of Tishrei (Rosh haShana), we will truly be able to take the Ten Days of Teshuvah, the Days of Awe, and use our time to redevelop our relationship with G-d.

I have a confession to make. I realized this several years ago, but never had the guts to go public, so to speak. I never trusted the world to know this secret about me. I even tried a few times in my life to change, by acting differently. By acting more "mainstream" and, well, NORMAL. But as the title of this column says, and this I believe that we have all known for a very long time: Normal really IS overrated. It is boring and dull. But it is also safe. And quiet.

I think that I first discovered this about myself when I was seven or eight years old, and every Friday afternoon, my sisters and I would run up the stairs to get quick showers and change into nice clothes... I was pretty sure of this condition when, as a married man with a child of my own I would get excited to meet at my parents house on Fridays, even if it took hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic to get there.

I have struggled with my heart, and inside my head with how to "come out" as it is... What would people think? How would they react? Would I be really, really weird now, as opposed to just really weird before this announcement? Here's what I decided. If I keep this to myself, I will always wonder why I never told anyone. I might even begin to loathe myself as being untrue to myself and to others. If I tell, and spill the proverbial beans, what's the worst that could happen? Exactly.

I am a Shabbataholic. I am a true, dyed in the wool, one-of-a-kind, certified SHABBATAHOLIC.

I love everything about Shabbat. I love the smell of the house. I love the food (obviously, if you have seen me lately); I love reading Torah on Thursday morning in anticipation of being able to say SHABBAT SHALOM that evening because Friday is EREV Shabbat!

I love sitting with my kids and singing Zmirot. I love spending Kabalat Shabbat with my students in Friday afternoon. I love buying Challah and dessert and bringing home flowers and knowing that the week, no matter how good or trying it was, is over.

It is Shabbat. Absent an emergency call, the phone goes unanswered; On Friday night we sing and we sometimes dance. We are together. We are Shabbat.

On Saturday morning, we daven. We thank G-d for all he has given and continues to give, and we hallow his Shabbat as he has asked us to do. And Havdalah time on Saturday evening, as beautiful a service as it is, is also the saddest for me. Shabbat is over. But-- It will be here again in Six days, twenty three hours, fifty nine minutes, and counting.........I am, my dear friends, a Shabbataholic. And I am proud to be a Shabbataholic. Would you like to join me?

Shorts:

Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur Services for the newly formed Congregation Emek haMidbar will be held at the Clarion Hotel in Scottsdale, September 18, 19, 20 and September 27 evening for Kol Nidre and September 28 for Yom Kippur. Shofar will be blown at 7:49pm. Tickets are available by contacting me or another member of the committee. You will be receiving an e-vite just after Shabbat. I will never refuse entry to one who wishes to daven with us, but as there are expenses to cover, we are asking that a minimum donation of $100 per person or $180 for two is made. There is no charge for anyone under Bar/Bat Mitzvah age. Please contact me should you have any questions relative to tickets.

Will you be a link in An Unbroken Chain?
As you may know, we are making An Unbroken Chain, a feature film based on the true life story of a Holocaust Survivor. With a few dollars and a few minutes, you can help us make this film happen. Please visit http://6mfor6m.org for more details about how you can take action.

Thank you to Bob and Michelle Casselman for their hospitality and the wonderful Havdalah reception last week with Congregation Ahavat Shalom. I thank you, Rabbi Allouche for inviting me to participate.

From one Shabbataholic to hopefully many more, I wish you the happiest of Shabbatot. Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach. Ahavah u'Vrachot. Love and Blessings...

--Rabbi Alan Abrams

Rosh Chodesh Elul - Getting ready for a new beginning

Before I begin tonight's column, I feel an absolute need to share with you some of the events that occurred almost immediately upon publishing this column last Sunday evening. If you missed Sunday's insertion, "The Week that Was and the Week to Come", feel free to check it out, or in the event that you already have, you may wish to re-visit it after reading what I am about to relate to you.

First, I must set the record straight about a few comments made in that column:

First and foremost, comments relative to my personal vulnerability were spoke directly to my post-illness experiences of acting and feeling at times emotionally stronger than I am in real life. We are all vulnerable to a certain extent and my feelings of exemption from this vulnerability due to having recovered from death were not only unfounded, but the reality of my own vulnerability hit me like a Mac truck of late, as we approach the High Holidays and my second year without the physical presence of my father (more later).

To make this perfectly clear, I must immediately inform some of you that may be seeking my revelation of the identity of the "villain" gossip spreader, that you will be sadly disappointed. Not only will I now reveal this culprit, but I will spill all the beans at the same time. There is no, nor has there ever been any particular "villain". I was not speaking of any one individual, living or dead, that to my knowledge has ever caused me any personal pain by means of Lashon HaRa, rather, I was speaking to the multitude of people who on a daily basis feel the necessity to spread rumours, and bear false witness seemingly for sport. The existence of this 'group' became quite evident to me when my Monday morning browse through e-mail found me reading at least three e-mails (and later answering two or three phone calls), all asking me the same thing: Why had I accused them publicly in this column of committing the act of Lashon HaRa! Was someone feeling guilty?

Let's end that discussion here.

Last word about Sunday's edition: I sincerely apologize to any of you that received multiple mailings of "Normal is Overrated". I was trying an auto-e-mailer, and it obviously didn't work very well, when a mistake in one e-mail address' cause the system to send and send and send. Again, I am sorry to have overloaded you.

On to this evening's insertion.

You may remember this past April when I wrote that the Passover Season is really the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (04/07/2009). Celebrating our holiday of independence from slavery in Egypt has always been my favorite holiday, but Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year has always been very special to me personally as well.

It was a time for my father and I to spend in Synagogue together.

On the southwest corner of West Pico Boulevard and Cochran Avenue in Los Angeles, more specifically, at 5258 West Pico, a building stood that for good reason will forever hold my heart at bay and the mere recollection that that old white (later, yellow) brick structure is gone will forever break that same heart.

I do not believe this writer's heart is broken by the absence of structure that once stood on that corner, rather, by the absence of what that building stood for.

In 1961, my father purchased The West Pico Hospital for Animals. Over the years, that animal hospital became a symbol of the changing community. It was a constant during changing and at times challenging times. It was a place where owners of dogs, cats and even a few birds knew that hard times would not stand in the way of their being treated with kindness, love, respect and incredible care. Not one time in his fifty-five years of Veterinary practice did he ever refuse treatment to a pet because the owners could not afford the treatment. Not once did he ever euthanize an animal due to financial restraints. He was just that kind of man. My father's picture was in our dictionary, right next to the word Tzadik. Righteous.

My favorite times were, believe it or not, toiling away in the kennel areas back at Pico and Cochran. The lunch runs to Corey Market across the street, or the days that we would take a nice long walk to Fairfax and visit The Bagel Restaurant and Deli.

I miss my father every day more, but never as much as I seem to miss him at this time of year. The High Holidays were the most special times that we spent in Shul. I think that it is more due to the fact that it was just us. My sisters rarely sat in Shul, and my mother would come by around 11 or so to see friends and to be seen. And she would leave. My dad and I would be in a zone, though. Although we each had our individual ways of davening (praying), we were in complete sync one with another, and it was a rare occasion when we would be reading faster or slower than each other. In Shul on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, it was almost as if we were one person. One neshama, one soul, in two bodies.

You are most likely about ready to look up from your screen and ask what on earth this all has to do with Rosh Chodesh Elul. I assure you that it has everything to do with Elul, and our everlasting wish to start over from the beginning; to take a Mulligan; to get a "Do-Over". To get a new lease on life; a new beginning.

As Jews, we are conditioned to believe that "On Rosh HaShana the Book of Life is written and on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it is sealed". Who shall live and who shall die; who by fire and who by water; who shall become rich and who poor; who will be happy and who will be sad, and so forth. Rarely do many of us look at the fact that each and every day, we all have opportunity to atone. Each and every day, we have the opportunity to change our lives by virtue of just being a good person. By remembering that we are bound to not treat others in a manner which we would not like to be treated, and to live accordingly.

The first paragraph after the Shema teaches us that G-d asks us to love him with all our hearts, all our souls and all of our might. That we teach this diligently to our children, as our parents taught us.

The month of Elul is the absolute perfect month to live by. It is a time to reflect and to atone. To respect and ask forgiveness of those whom we may have hurt in the past year. Elul, in essence, is an extra thirty days to "settle up" with friends and foes alike. To both ask for and to grant forgiveness. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. We also have the ability to forgive. We should assert and utilize this more often.

The traditions of becoming more spiritual with each passing day appeals to me. How about you? What if we could... What if we could make every month like Elul? If we did, then maybe we as a people, we, as a world might have the ability to get past things like greed and jealousy; selfishness and Lashon HaRa? Maybe just then, could our world be complete.

Until that day, however, we must remember to continue to build and repair our world. This wonderfully beautiful world that G-d has so graciously given us.

During the month, let's do our best to discuss the virtues that are afforded us in Elul. A friend of mine posted just yesterday that she wished we had 12 months of Elul. To this, I say, Amen.

---Shorts---

High Holiday Services will be held at The Clarion Hotel, Scottsdale on September 18, 19, 20 (Rosh HaShana), and September 27 evening and September 28 for Yom Kippur. The Clarion is located at the corner of Chaparral and Scottsdale Road. Please check your e-mail after Shabbat, or contact me at rabbiabrams@q.com for complete details and reservations.

Stephanie Silverman Houser greatly appreciates your musical contributions, see her post: High School Grads Come Together 20 years later to Make a Holocaust Film at http://anunbrokenchainthemovie.blogspot.com/. We all need to get involved with this project. It is truly one of the greatest Tikkun Olam projects ever.

Social Networking is fast becoming the most active source of marketing anywhere. Many networking groups exist right here in the Valley of the Sun, like Austin's Who's Who, and Raven Events, among others. The best place I have found to find these groups is Gelie's NetworkingPhoenix.com. Head on over to http://www.networkingphoenix.com/ and get ready to meet some incredible people.

---Final Words---

One Thousand Days plus One Week is the length of time that our brother Gilad Shalit has been kept captive by Terrorists in Gaza. Let us please try to keep him in our thoughts and in our prayers this Shabbat.

When I was in Jerusalem in February and March, I was handed this prayer for Gilad.

May it be your will, oh L-rd, our G-d and G-d of our Forefathers, that You shall take pity, forgive and have mercy upon Your servant, Gilad, son of Aviva and Noam Shalit And You shall save him in both physical salvation and compassion, together with all the hostages and prisoners of
Israel, Your People. Amen.

May your Shabbat be restful and relaxing. May your weekend be filled with happiness and in the company of family and loved ones.

From the Midbar that we call Arizona, I wish you Shabbat Shalom, and send Ahava u'Vrachot, Love and blessings.

--R' Alan Abrams

The Week that Was and the Week to Come...

Tonight I write to you with much to say. Most of it good, in fact, some even most brilliant in-fact, and some, not so much so. To say that some of my words may be disappointing, might even be an understatement, and a gross one at that, but nevertheless, since we last visited, much has transpired, so, rather than tease you more, let's get to it.

The Week that Was and the Week to Come...

This past week, I have learned that I am still vulnerable, as are we all. I am still subject to inner and emotional pain, and even though, my beliefs are solid and true, G-d cannot shield us from feeling and emotion. If he did, we would not be ourselves, and that would be worse.

This past week, I learned that "Lashon haRa", the Jewish ethical standard for not gossiping or talking about others is really not practiced nearly as much as it is preached, and that many who preach about how to avoid Lashon haRa, and how to live without gossiping and without speaking ill of people, are at times truly the largest offenders. Many of those use Lashon haRa in the form of Omission, as opposed to out and out gossip.


In other words, one who promises to support a person, and at the same time makes a recommendation against that person, even if by means of abstention, or not commenting at all is surely as guilty as the one who is open and honest about his bad feelings toward another, right or wrong. By his silence alone, he is commenting in a negative manner. This is surely Lashon haRa. Especially if the offender carries with him great public support, admiration and respect.

A few weeks ago, in Parshat VaEtchanan, we again read the Ten Commandments. We read about keeping Shabbat, the Sabbath, and about honouring one's father and mother; and about bearing false witness. We also read the words of the "Shema", the cornerstone for all faith, that
G-d is one, and that we should love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength; and we read how to go about doing this (Deuteronomy 6). We also read what would happen if we do listen, and what would happen if we do not (Deuteronomy 11:13 - 21).

Tonight, I ask you this series of questions: Have we not followed? Have we fallen into a pattern of worshiping not G-d, but a different G-d? One who is green in colour and has different numbers in the corners? 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100? Have we become greedy to the point that G-d has taken offense and closed up the Heavens to rain, thus causing our crops to fail?

Could it be that our failing economy and lack of sustainable peace is a result of our own doing? This is not an answer for me to answer, but for us all to contemplate and do our best to repair this beautiful world that G-d has created for us. This is not a time to gossip and spread Lashon HaRa. We are only a few days from the beginning of the month of Elul. The beginning cycle of atonement leading up to the New Year and Yom Kippur.

Let us all do our best to end this year on a high note. With happiness and love in our hearts.
That said, the week is new and it really is time to move forward and to not spend so much time looking back. I need to learn to be better at this.

Tomorrow morning will bring me a new group of Third Graders and I cannot remember being this excited for the first day of school in a long time. Thank you, NI and MS for this incredible opportunity.

Plans for the High Holidays are quickly falling into place and hopes for wonderful Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur Services are being worked on constantly. We are hopeful for a new year filled with joy and love; old friends and new, and maybe even a whole new Congregation and Community to build. Remember that we are only, but five plus weeks away, so please watch your e-mail boxes this week for details. If you are in the Valley of the Sun and wish to be included in this mailing, please let me know.

More on the month of Elul and how we can put our arms around the traditions, old and new, will be published, G-d willing, within the next week.

From the dusty and blistering August heat of the place that we call Midbar Arizona, I wish you Ahavah u'Vrachot. Love and blessings for a Shavuah Tov. A good week, filled with health, happiness and abundant sunshine.


--R' Alan Abrams