Saturday Morning Service, Central Synagogue - September 11th, 2021

[Music] [Music] they know [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] there are [Music] [Laughter] [Music] he [Music] m [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] remember us remember [Music] good delights in life [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] me [Music] one [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] me [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] careful [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] me [Music] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] the light of torah shines forth from zion adonai's teachings flow from jerusalem this scroll has nurtured our people from sinai to today it teaches us love and justice hope and peace [Music] oh [Music] [Music] we'll invite the parents and grandparents of our mitzvah that are here to come forward the rest of the congregation may be seated [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] samantha and noel you stand next to your beautiful families here today and we also feel the presence of generations that have come before you we feel the presence noel of your grandfather norman cantor a blessed memory and also uh your grandparents who couldn't be here because they're not feeling 100 so uh so lauren and andrew you're your grandmother and grandfather we're feeling their presence here as well we're about to pass these tours into your arms we talked just a few days ago about what what it might be like to describe what this tour is all about to your friends and there's a well-loved story that tells of a sage of old his name was hillel and there was a young student who came up to him wasn't someone who studied with rabbi hilo and said hey rabbi hillel i'll study with you if you tell me everything that's in this torah while standing on one foot this is kind of a a spunky guy so rabbi hello could have dismissed him and said get out of here but instead rabbi hillel stood on one foot and he said what is hateful to you do not do to another person that is the entirety of the torah everything else is commentary and the teenager was stunned and so moved by this idea of kindness and goodness that is inherent in this tradition that he signed up right away to study with rabbi hillel but noel and samantha this is not a surprise to you i know because you are students of kindness you know how important it is to be good and you take time in your lives with your family your friends to do just that and as we pass this tour into your arms from your family passing it down from your family to you we just hope that you'll continue to embrace the important teachings and lessons of goodness and blessing that are part of what it means to be a bar mitzvah and a member of this community so we passed these scrolls to you with so much love [Music] you are gifts and you are blessings [Music] you are learning to be stronger [Music] these lips will praise your name [Music] in my torah portion moses is 120 years old and god summons him and tells him that he will not be allowed to lead his people over jordan to the promised land instead god has chosen joshua to lead his people into the promised land moses accepts his fate and tells joshua to be strong and resolute moses advised joshua not to be afraid of the massive responsibility because it is god that is truly leading them into the holy land moses tried to provide as much guidance to joshua as possible initially i had some trouble understanding why moses accepted his fate so willingly why did god why didn't god allow moses to go into the land of israel it doesn't make any sense to me it is like if i baked a cake for 40 years and then my brothers threw it out that would not be fair scholars offer some possible explanations such as moses struck a rock when god had instructed him to speak to it it is possible that after 40 years of leadership that he did not always follow god's instructions it is possible that god felt that moses had become power hungry and arrogant god may have wanted to re-exert his power over the jewish people by finding a new prophet clearly god was tired of moses arrogance and independence from god having said all that it seems unnecessary and overkill to not allow moses to lead his people after he had spent his entire life preparing his people for this moment in modern day times i could see god taking away moses's phone for a few days but why did god punish moses by taking away his life's work the punishment does not seem to fit the crime i would have been very angry if i were moses but moses was a very good sport he seemed to accept his fate regardless of how unfair with respect and good sportsmanship he even offered advice and support to his successor joshua my torah portion teaches a lesson about being gracious when we lose or we are disappointed putting our community above ourselves and focusing on what we have gained and not what we have lost how do we deal with things that are unfair and more specifically how does one move on when they have lost something that they covet or care about last january we as americans experienced a very different situation from moses and joshua our leader at the time president trump lost reelection and was very angry about it he was so angry that he refused to acknowledge his loss and prevented a peaceful transition of power it gets even worse when congress was certifying the results president trump incited his followers to storm the capital because he felt that his loss was unjust and unfair people were hurt and died and our democratic process was disrupted trump could have prevented so much death and destruction if he had acted more like moses i get it it's very hard to do the right thing when you feel slighted or wronged the last year and a half has been a trial for all of us many people have truly suffered and even died but for most of us it's just been frustrating and unfair vaccines and mass have been politicized and we are being asked to make sacrifices for the health of the country and the world and some of us have been up to the challenge others have not recently with the delta variant it has been less clear about how to protect the health of those around us three weeks ago my parents sat me down and told me that we were delaying my bat mitzvah party until the spring they felt that it was better for our friends family and community not to have an indoor party at this moment it was not a clear-cut decision since many others were having party safely i obviously was disappointed just like moses was disappointed about not being able to enter the holy land and trump was disappointed about not being re-elected i aspire to be more like moses and that meant focusing on the health of our community and less about my desire to have a big party moses advised joshua to be strong and resolute as a leader most of my bar mitzvah studying has occurred during the pandemic and i have wondered what advice moses would give us now i think that he would tell us to think about our community and not just ourselves to not be judgmental of others choices and to try to understand others points of view mogu moses focused on his 20-year 120 years of service and not on his need for 121st year he prioritized the jewish people over himself his words have helped me to manage the pandemic in my bat mitzvah i feel so fortunate to look out at all of your mass faces even if i can't see your braces or your new shade of lipstick i feel so lucky to celebrate with you here in the synagogue today i hope that we can all focus on what we have gained during the pandemic and not what we have lost thank you you can turn to the next page by the way uh samantha i'm wearing a light pink shade of lipstick right here okay uh go ahead my my portion is taken from parashat vale from the book of deuteronomy chapter 31 verses 1 to 8. for my first dalia i call upon my grandparents robert and rachelle gold my aunt stephanie gold my uncle thomas card and my cousin sophie and bailey card for my second aaliyah i call upon my parents jody gold and mitch jacarusso and my brothers jackson gold and carter gold so invite all the honorees up now the first group is going to stand just to the right of samantha against the number second come to the middle first [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] you can see start up here one two three [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] all right i'm going to give you a chance method to step down give a squeeze or maybe a tap to your beautiful family and once you get hello from the spa mitzvah you can you can sit down the actual co-op and mazel tov to you all all right i want you to stand up here and listen to cantor janna a few words for you and then you're going to do the blessing so just turn towards her there we go samantha in a moment you will be called up to the torah for the very first time by your hebrew name a very special hebrew name as it translates to happiness and joy and from our interactions over the past few weeks it's very apparent that you bring such a level of happiness and joy to everything that you do um you bring this joy to your passions you mentioned you love all things concerned with art painting and drawing whenever you can you're also from what i hear always eager to try new and unique things as you shared with me that you've joined a squash team which is just so cool and you bring that joy as you learn a new sport as well and you bring all these great qualities to your relationships as well as you are so close with your older brothers your parents and you say above all your friendships are what is most important to you as you begin this new school year and chapter so it is my absolute honor uh because of who you are as a person and what you will add to our jewish community to call you now up now to the torah for your third aliyah meets the [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] amen i will i will continue with chapter 31 verses 14 through 23. through my first yeah i call upon my parents felicia and john and for my second aliyah i call upon our dear friends lauren and stephen cook invite you up at this time thank you oh yes please [Music] bless out an eye who is blessed blessed is adonai who is blessed now and forever blessed are you adonai our god sovereign of the universe who has chosen us from among the peoples and given us the torah blessed are you adonai who gives the torah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] blessed are you adonai our god sovereign of the universe who has given us a torah of truth implanting within us eternal life blessed are you adonai who gives the torah [Music] [Music] rp [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] they are [Music] he oh [Music] i'll give you a chance to give everyone a squeeze up here take a step down for a moment no well you are about to be called up to the torah for the very first time by your name which is naomi who is a strong female figure in our torah someone to be admired as she is seen as a caring mother within her story and someone who rises above challenges before we call you to the torah however we get to brag a little bit about you to your loved ones here who also get to share in this moment with you and it is clear from our meetings together that your family is so proud of all that you put into the learning and the study for this day your mom tells me that you're an amazing intelligent baker making substitutions in the kitchen without using google at all just you know seeing what works and it always works out and she remarked on the time you made a delicious apple honey challah very appropriate for the time of year for everyone sounds delicious your passions include swimming painting and drawing and maybe you guys can do an art collaboration one day i'm just putting that out there um and you put a lot of stock in your relationships as you are extremely close with your brother you told me um always looking out for each other and always caring about one another as you go through life together um and it's for all these reasons that we are so proud to call you up to the torah for the very first time by your hebrew name [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] please rise [Music] [Applause] is [Music] i i am [Music] the portion i just read is at the very end of the torah it describes how moses is very old and has been told by god that he will not be leading the people into israel as a reminder the israelites have been wandering through the desert for 40 years god then called joshua to be the next leader and moses promised to the israelites that god will not abandon them at the end of this week's portion moses prepares to recite a poem to the israelites that is to remind them of everything that they have been taught as my late grandfather norman like to say be a shepherd not a sheep which means be a leader when i read my torah portion it reminded me of this it reminded me of how moses was the shepherd and the israelites were the sheep moses's goal was to lead them to israel the land of milk and honey to me a leader is someone who also takes others opinions and ideas into consideration a leader doesn't treat the followers like they are less than them moses showed his passion and drive for leading the israelites in preparation for this teaching i read a commentary that thought moses didn't want to give up his role it said moses was worried and in distress that the next person was going to do something that he wouldn't do or something he thought was wrong even if this commentary was telling the truth about moses's inner mind the actual text of the torah shows moses supporting joshua the next leader joshua knew how to lead and understood that he was going to have tremendous power and responsibility this portion made me think of leaders i've studied or know and admire such as my older brother william to me william is a leader because he leads his boy scouts to do things that they sometimes don't want to do william is a patrol leader for troop 662 he guides them in activities such as cooking dinner building tents and getting organized for a hike williams leading of his scouts reminds me a bit of how moses led the israelites one of the leadership qualities i most admire in william is his comfort in sharing his opinions he is not afraid to be honest about what is going on in our country our world or our world when there is something he is concerned about or passionate about he talks about it he talks about his his feelings and his side of the issue to me william resembles moses because william isn't afraid of a challenge and isn't afraid to speak up two other leaders i admire are president joe biden and vice president kamala harris by definition our president and vice president are called upon to be leaders it is clear president biden has taken on the challenge of fulfilling his campaign goal of having one of the most diverse cabinets the country has ever seen he is driven and passionate about hiring people who reflect all of america and not just one demographic while his cabinet are all immensely qualified it is still incredible to see that our vice president is a black woman our chair of council of the council of economic advisors is a black woman our administrator of the small business administration is a mexican woman and the secretary of transportation is an openly gay man biden resembles moses because he shows his drive and passion for leading our country and biden is leading by example and making a change in the world as i said earlier i believe leaders help others achieve their objective and also take others ideas and opinions into consideration being a leader doesn't always require being in front of the whole group one can also follow responsibly everyone can be a leader i believe it is important for each of us to take stance for what we believe in when we do this we're leading by example and sometimes we may also find it important to take a more public leadership role i am passionate about the environment and climate change through my conversations with others i want to teach others about climate change and open their eyes to something very serious and problematic that is going on in our world i also hope to provide ways to help our planet here a few ways you could help do not litter and if you see litter pick it up and throw it away be conscious of how you dispose of items recycle items that are easily biodegradable and use less fossil fuels walk instead of driving and turn off the lights when you're not in the room ask me more about this and together we can help protect our planet in the torah god teams up with moses joshua and other leaders to help our world when we take on our leader on a leadership role and help others and our world we are also teaming up with god i want to do my my part and partner with god and help and make a difference with climate change i hope you'll join me noel amazing job i'm telling you we're all joining you right now we're in because you've inspired us to do so the haftarah for this week is taken from the book of hosea i will be reading from chapter 14 verses 2 to 5. adonai [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] new i will i will continue with chapter 56 verses seven to eight from the book of isaiah ba baja team [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] noel back up here and i just want you guys to pause in this moment and reflect on everything that you have just yeah everything that you guys have just accomplished over the past couple months and this morning and we are all so proud of you i'm proud of you your rabbis are proud of you are you guys proud oh my gosh it's amazing so just look out and see all the beautiful faces that love you and supported you through this whole process and um we want to just celebrate you together so let's rise and do that as we join in semento [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so please be seated you so do you remember at the beginning i said uh today is shabbat shiva it's traditionally the day where in uh actually in days of old i would say it was the one of the few days that our sages would would teach our community in the form of a sermon and i told you we have really good teachers for you today so now you know i was not fabricating that statement because we have the best teachers uh this this very special morning congratulations and thank you both i want to add a few words to those that you so impressively taught us i actually want to add two words and those words are emats in english is there a few more words it means be strong and resolute or be strong and courageous and it's interesting both of your torah portions it's very rare for this to happen when you when you chanted and you chanted you chanted these words kazakh torah quiz time there's a few times it said in the portion but who says these words to someone else in this portion what did you say what would you say moses says them to joshua god also speaks them to moses and joshua the portion but in the exchange moses says them to joshua be strong and courageous and and what's the context do you do you know or does anyone know what's the context that moses is doing this he's transitioning the leader right so is it i guess what i'm saying you know do you remember or samantha remember is he doing this privately like in moses's tent or is he doing it somewhere else he's doing it in front of all of israel he's saying to them khazak his successor and he both spoke uh really just i'm not just being nice to you you're supposed to look so thoughtfully and impressively about this this dynamic that's going on between moses and his successor so he says to him be stronger in front of all of his you know i've i've seen this portion many times and i've always thought it was a very nice part of the story like isn't this really this is the way it should be like moses is supporting his successor he's saying be strongly resolute and go forward but for some reason this year i had a different sense of what was going on and and that is that it struck me that moses is being very vulnerable at this point that he's sharing something very intimate with joshua and and with all the people and that is that even though you're accomplished joshua was very accomplished he had already done some pretty courageous and strong things that's why he was selected to be the new leader but even that was the case he was saying to joshua this job is going to be so tough that it might cause a massive amount of fear and anxiety and moses knows this of course because he himself had experienced such stress and and challenge so in passing the torch to joshua he's he's he's being opened about that and he's explaining to to joshua that even though that tough choices will be a part of this responsibility and his life nonetheless you you can be strong and you can be resolute and and you can lead these people by the way we've seen this with uh you mentioned past presidents it's not an uncommon um conversation that people say if you look at a president before they joined uh or took on the responsibility of president and and four years later their hair turns gray and it's not only because they're getting older it's because of this challenge that that happens even if the the president-elect is a very accomplished experienced leader it's so demanding that they physically change because of the demands of the work so just to be clear it's not very much be strong and courageous it's not because you are strong and courageous that you don't have anxiety and fear it's when you have anxiety and fear which are part of life and leadership dig deep for the strength and courage that exists in each of us and you'll be okay and this is a key quality of of successful leaders and moses tells us in front of all the israelites and god she's god's there too because moses wants them to know this too that he wants them in on the reality of how hard it's going to be for joshua that joshua's going to need them to support joshua as as he goes forward as the leader that it's not just a cakewalk just because you're the leader and he tells the people too because they too are going to experience times of terror and they too can be hazak vermats it won't be easy in fact he's guaranteeing it's going to be hard for them and yet that they will be able to be resilient and persevere so nicole sorry noel and samantha here's a shabbat gift for you we have a teacher at our seminary rabbi noah norman cohen who who likes to say on shabbat that the tradition gives us a gift so noel samantha here's a here's a here's a shabbat gift for you just like moses used this wisdom just like joshua joshua was given this wisdom you can use it it's true for all of us but i especially want to speak to both you and your your bar mitzvah day when it's hard when it seems extra terrifying or intimidating it's not because you're weak it's because you're human it's it's a part of what all of us will face during our lives and and you each of you has tremendous capacity to be strong and courageous in the face of it all you can you can honor and be true to the challenge and then find a way through it because you have the ability within to do just that you can you can lead yourself you could lead others it's possible it's within you this this this teaching of hazak i have a bonus gift for you on this day that you become ba mitzvah the special shabbat which happens to fall on the 20th anniversary of the attacks on our city and on our nation this this september 11th and no doubt it's a day of mourning and and memory and more rabbi josh davidson who is now the senior rabbi at temple manuel up the street our friend and our neighbor was the assistant rabbi here at central synagogue 20 years ago and he tells the story of a 15 year old who went to school at stuyvent which is in the shadow of the former world trade center and right as the attack happens they told the students of stevenson to to leave the school and go home and he lived uptown and he he headed uptown he he said he mostly ran uptown and um it was a tough day a lot of us were here that day um phone lines were jammed he couldn't get in touch with his family so instead of going to his family home where he couldn't be sure where he you know if you see his family he came to his other home he came to this home the synagogue and he found his rabbis and his cantors and they embraced and they found a way to get in touch with his parents and he wound up going soon after to his family home so the second gift which i i mentioned to you which is a gift i think you know of already is that we want this be your your other home your additional home you're lucky you have the most tremendous families i mean i know your families and uh and listen you got lucky you have this most incredible beautiful loving people around you and you to them i know as well and we want to be an additional home for you for for days when you're scared or frightened or or sad or or joyful and celebrating something magnificent or just it's a regular day and you and you want to be here with your community we we will be here for you and we will stand by you and your families and uh and like you did today we know you'll stand by us and and together we'll be this this sacred community where we love each other and care for each other and mourn with each other and and celebrate with each other and um i want you to know that's true today and that'll be true for your whole life we will be here for you and um and i hope uh you'll you'll come and you'll you'll take advantage of that that beautiful gift which which again i know you've already done and look forward to us continuing to do together well congratulations it is a spectacular morning thanks to you and this is very very sweet for all of us you've given us an additional meaning to september 11th because it is also now a day of joy and inspiration and and celebration it doesn't mean that the memory and mourning that we feel for 20 years ago doesn't exist this also exists alongside it and complements it which we need we need you and we talked about it you're bot mitzvah now that means that we count on you to be a young adult in our community to take on the responsibilities which you spoke about in your devery torah so thoughtfully where we know those aren't just words for you we know you mean it that you're a blessing for us you want to continue to be a blessing and so it is and i have some additional blessings to share with you some private blessings that i'll share with you at the ark and as i do so i know all of us have blessings for these beautiful young women as we rise which we'll do in a moment i'll invite you to share those blessings in your mind and in your heart and then you can share with them privately after the service concludes please rise [Music] [Music] on your journey i will bless you and you shall be your blessing you shall be your blessing you shall be your blessing the [Music] and i shall make your name great [Music] to the place that i will show you listen foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] you shall be your blessing you shall be your blessing you shall be your blessings [Music] oh [Music] do you want to [Music] may you be blessed as you've gone your way may you be guided in peace may you be blessed with health and joy may this be your blessing amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] your blessing amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] may you be sheldon by the wings of peace may you be kept in safety and in love may grace and compassion find the way to every soul may this be your blessing army we're going to conclude our prayers with the words of elena on page 282. [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] god we're still we're still at the tail end of this pandemic i i i want to squeeze you i want to hug you um you have to be careful but we're all embracing you this morning on this special day and and we're also embracing those members of our community who have suffered loss recently who are mourning a dear one who have died in recent days and i'm going to name those dear ones at this time before we say the mourner's coddish prayer arlene august gail cohn paul glosser michael b gordon doris gross ephraim kamara cynthia levine morgan l miller jeffrey newman we have others that are connected to our community that we're seeing cottage for because it's the anniversary of their passing if you are remembering a loved one this morning i'll invite you to say their name out loud at this time if you would like or in your heart if you choose that option as well and of course on the sacred 20th anniversary of september 11th the attack in our city and our nation we keep in our hearts and remember the too many we lost on that day warner's cottage is on page 294 eat gaddafi kadash [Music] me [Music] i [Music] this evening jenna what time uh this evening uh are you gathering uh for a september 11th memorial p.m it will be live stream to our facebook page so if you want to go to the central synagogue facebook page uh there'll be a memorial havdallah service that we're doing and then we're joining in a community uh observance of september 11th memory so you're welcome to join us for that i also want to say something which i didn't say that uh for the past year and a half we haven't had two students come together to lead us at a service and you are the first to since we had to suspend that process and you're also the first two benelux of our of our fall and uh could we have better but no mitzvah than these most remarkable young women lead us today so thank you for inspiring us and leading us this morning we're going to end with a closing song if you could tell us that oh jesus very good choice [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] shalom [Music] you

Channel: Central Synagogue

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Length: 76min 31sec (4591 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 11 2021