spirit
PLEASE JOIN CONGREGATION T’CHIYAH
torah portion
FOR HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES
Please visit
www.tchiyah.org
for information about
our High Holidays
schedule and locations
The Blessings In Life
A
CONGREGATION T’CHIYAH STRIVES TO BE A WARM,
WELCOMING, AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY,
COMMITTED TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE
PRINCIPLES OF RECONSTRUCTIONIST JUDAISM.
SHOLEM ALEICHEM
INSTITUTE
Established in Detroit over 90 years ago, we are an organization focused on our
cultural heritage. We celebrate the holidays with reflections, stories, music and
prayers in English, Hebrew and Yiddish
We invite you to join us at our
SECULAR HIGH HOLIDAY ASSEMBLIES
to be held at
Steinway Piano Gallery – Recital Hall
2700 East West Maple Rd, Commerce Twp MI 48390
(SE corner of M-5 and Maple)
ROSH HASHANA
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 TH 10AM – 12 NOON
KOL NIDRE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 TH 7:30PM – 9:30PM
YOM KIPPUR
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 TH 10AM – 12 NOON
No Ticket Required
Membership inquiries welcome. Call Institute Office (248) 865-0117
40
August 30 • 2018
jn
2118860
CALL US AT (248) 823-7115 IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
friend of mine recently
moved to Flatbush. He’s
doing comedy in the city, but
Manhattan apartment prices have
pushed him deep into Brooklyn, so
now he’s surrounded by yeshivahs
and delis rather than upscale bou-
tiques and … well, I guess still delis.
He grew up in a secular Jewish
home, so it’s taking some
lies before this new guard
time to get used to the
with some rather unpleas-
religiosity of his new digs.
ant certainties: that the
But all in all, he’s embrac-
Promised Land will be
ing it and loving the fact
occupied, that war will be
that he gets to experience
inevitable, that people will
a Judaism so different from
die and that autonomy will
the one in which he grew
come with great challenges.
up.
Rabbi
Yoni
And yet, the intention,
But there’s one small
the
prayer given to the
Dahlen
thing that really bothers
Israelites
during Moshe’s
him that he’s noticed when
great
speech
is of fruit, of
in conversing with his many
nourishment,
of life.
new frum neighbors. In his
The
mitzvah
of bikkurim
own words … “I can’t stand
( first fruits) asks our ancestors and,
this ‘Baruch HaShem’ business.
therefore, asks us not for a great act
Everything is ‘Baruch HaShem.’
of submission or some statement of
How’s your day? ‘Baruch HaShem.’
power and might. It asks us to take
How’re your studies going? ‘Baruch
the first fruits of our trees and to
HaShem.’ How was the air condi-
say, “thank you.”
tioning on the subway? ‘Baruch
As we travel together to the awe
HaShem.’ Are we thanking God for
and
splendor of the High Holidays,
air conditioning now?”
it is crucial that we remember
His point is well taken. Baruch
those small moments of gratitude
HaShem, literally translated as
because they are what keep our
“blessed be God,” is a staple phrase
story alive.
of religious Judaism, especially in
We say thank you because we
Brooklyn. It can be heard as often
have
come a long way. We have
as the singing of birds or the honk-
seen
unspeakable
horrors. We have
ing of car horns. It is said in refer-
traveled
from
the
tethers
of slavery
ring to air conditioning on the F
to the orchards of this moment. We
train just like it’s said for myriad
have fought amongst ourselves; we
other moments and situations that
have gone astray; we have lost …
might seem overzealous to some
Oh, God, have we lost …
because it’s an acceptable response
But before us lies the fruit of
to almost any aspect of daily life.
potential
waiting to be harvested
And this important nuance is exact-
and
savored.
We will savor it
ly the reason why I love it.
because
tomorrow
it could all spoil
This short and simple phrase is,
without warning. So we say thank
in its essence, a mantra of mindful
you for it all. For the fruit of our
living, an intentional meditation of
ceaseless gratitude. It’s a decision to lives, no matter how big or small,
how seemingly trivial that fruit
see life in all of its complexity and
might be.
to reply with thanks. In a world of
For our health, for our families,
chaos, gratitude is a prayer of order.
for
our friends, for shelter and food,
Our Torah portion this week
for
peace and security, for each
celebrates that order. Here, the
moment of our days, for the minu-
Israelites have wandered the desert
tiae of our lives and, yes, for the
for 40 years. They have seen mira-
cles but also unspeakable tragedy. A air conditioning on the F train …
Baruch HaShem. Blessed be God. •
full generation, with the exception
of some paragons of righteousnes,s
have been wiped out, and the future
Parshat KiTavo:
Deuteronomy 26:1-
29:8; Isaiah 60-1-22.
Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen is a rabbi at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.