rosh hashanah »
continued from page 46
HONORING THOSE WHO SHAPE US
P
irkei Avot 6:3 states, “One
who learns from his fellow
a single chapter or a single
law or a single verse or a single
word or even a single letter, he
must treat him with respect.”
In Pirkei Avot 6:6 we learn, “One
who says something in the name of
its speaker brings
redemption to
the world.”
To credit our
teachers is a
sacred obliga-
tion.
It is something
to remember
Rabbi Ariana
as we enter the
Silverman
new year. None
of us would be
where we are, who we are or know
what we know without those who
shaped and taught us.
I am proud to be the first rabbi
of Downtown Synagogue in 15
years and am grateful that I have
this opportunity because of the
hard work and commitment of the
synagogue’s lay leaders and staff.
Among the many things they have
taught me is what it means to be “a
beacon for the entire Jewish com-
munity of Metropolitan Detroit,”
and I will remain devoted to that
mission.
I am the first woman to serve as
a pulpit rabbi in the city of Detroit,
and I know I did not get here
alone. Amy Bigman became the
first female congregational rabbi
in Metro Detroit in 1992. Rabbi
Dorit Edut taught at and advised
the Downtown Synagogue. Alana
Alpert has joined me as a rabbi
and Detroiter teaching this genera-
tion of Jews living in the city. They
have taught me what it means to
be trailblazers and activists.
I am the first woman to serve
as a rabbi of Temple Beth Israel
in Jackson, and I was installed by
the woman who made my rabbin-
ate possible. In 1971, TBI hired a
female student rabbi. When she
THE SYMBOL OF THE RAM
gummy at different points through
the meal and make their own
blessing for the year to come (for
a gummy coke bottle, my children
might say to me “may you fizzle
and not pop at us when we misbe-
have”).
May we all take the time over the
holiday season to reflect on who
we are and where we want to go in
the coming year. At the same time,
let us think about the blessings we
want for ourselves and those we
wish to bestow upon others. There
will be blessings in synagogue and
blessings in our homes. However
you celebrate this holiday, I hope
that you find it me aningful and
filled with blessings for goodness
and positive growth for the year to
come.
Shanah tovah u’metukah.
Blessings for a good and sweet
year.
Rabbi Shalom Kantor
Congregation B’nai Moshe, West Bloomfield
Rabbi Brent Gutmann
Temple Kol Ami, West Bloomfield
Rabbi Ariana Silverman,
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, Detroit
Temple Beth Israel, Jackson
AND YOU SHALL BE A BLESSING …
T
hroughout the High
before the meal, can be
Holidays, we will
a lot of fun and offer an
say many blessings.
opportunity to offer fun
Some of the most important
blessings for ourselves
blessings we will say when
and our loved ones.
we express our wishes and
Each of the chosen
dreams for ourselves and
foods — generally a
our loved ones. These bless-
pomegranate, date,
Rabbi Shalom
ings are opportunities to
string bean, beet, pump-
Kantor
figure out where we are in
kin, leek and fish head
our lives and where we want
— symbolize a wish or
to be. While this is a serious part
blessing for prosperity and health
of the holidays, it can also be fun
in the coming year. The food’s sig-
that can be shared with the entire
nificance is most often based on a
family.
Hebrew pun of that food’s name.
As we gather in our homes for
During the Rosh Hashanah meal,
our holiday meals, there is a tra-
we traditionally hold up each food,
dition of eating symbolic foods
make a blessing and eat as if to
that represent specific blessings
personally ingest or take in those
for the year to come. Apples and
good wishes.
honey may be the food stars of
While my family has a few of the
Rosh Hashanah, but for some
traditional foods, we have taken
Jewish families, they are just the
to expanding this tradition. We
beginning. The custom of holding
spread different shaped gummy
a Rosh Hashanah seder, where a
candies around our table. We then
series of symbolic foods are eaten
encourage everyone to raise up a
48 September 29 • 2016
T
he fog lingered well into the morning in
the remote Inner Hebrides off Scotland.
Seeking solitude, I decided to set out
alone that day toward the Old Man of Storr.
Gentle rain made the heath-covered ground
especially slippery to climb. I scrambled up
until I heard a thump. I cautiously pulled myself
over a ridge and realized I had inadvertently
encroached into the territory of
a large ram. I was nose-to-nose
with two menacing horns; it
charged, and I retreated. My
heart pounded with excitement
and trepidation. After catching
my breath, I scurried to the
other side and quietly pulled
myself up. This time the ram
Rabbi Brent
didn’t
notice, and I admired it
Gutmann
with prayerful wonder.
Rams have inspired our sages
throughout the ages. The Kotzker Rebbe told of
a primordial ram, so tall that the tips of its horns
reached the heavens. And we know the story of
Abraham, who encountered a ram and offered it
as a substitute sacrifice for his son, Isaac. We tell
this story each Rosh Hashanah to give special
significance to the shofar that calls upon us to be
better human beings and upon God to grant us
atonement for our faults.
The sound of the shofar is magnificent, but
what of the animal that produced it? Rams pos-
sess a wild spirit that cannot be tamed. They
charge without hesitation when threatened. Yet,
when allowed to exist undisturbed in their ele-
ment, they exude serenity — like a lake without
a ripple perfectly reflecting the sky. The blast of
the shofar, sharp and proud, may be intended
to awaken us on Rosh Hashanah, but whenever
I hear that sound, a part of me always thinks of
the ram — the majestic animal who donned that
horn.
The human condition is to forget our physi-
cal embodiment in our desire to transcend
it. Hearing the crisp, pure blast of the shofar
should remind us that we are not our external
accomplishments and accolades. Rather, we
are limited; we are mortal. We were created,
just like every other creature on this planet. We
just are. So, too, when we hear the shofar, let us
learn to emulate the ram — to see ourselves in
the moment. Certainly to charge ahead when
trouble demands change, but to remain inter-
nally undisturbed so that our calm reflection
might touch the heavens.
Thank you for welcoming me and my new
colleagues so warmly to Southeast Michigan.
May we all have many happy, sweet new years
together.
was ordained the following year,
she became the first female rabbi
in North America. Since the ordi-
nation of Rabbi Sally Priesand in
1972, approximately 1,000 women
have become rabbis, including
12 who currently serve in Metro
Detroit.
I share these teachers and teach-
ings not as an exhaustive list but as
a step toward fulfilling the obliga-
tion of acknowledging those who
shaped me.
I hope we all will do the same.
Our worship services afford us a
sacred opportunity to thank God
for our blessings. In addition, as
we reflect on the year that has past
and on our goals for the year yet to
come, may we take the time to rec-
ognize the people who enable us to
be our best selves. And may we, in
turn, share their wisdom with the
world.