✡ My involvement with USH started when I decided to answer an ad in the shofar to help with the
building. I thought, well I know how to fix stuff and am not afraid of dirt, so lets see where this
goes.
That is how I bet Barry Grossman. He met me in front of the building, we chatted for a few
minutes and in my recollection handed me a ring of keys, suggested I look around for things that
needed attention and to check out the basement in particular.
And now the running joke is that I am in charge the basement
A little bit about me Classic Jewish tale: grand parents and great grandparents came over from
Eastern Europe, largely observant, Yiddish speaking
Involved in Conservative Synagogue and Reform movements
Bar Mitzvah: refused to have anyone from my family there, bribed by my grandmother, and
rejected this and the golden calf parties. I wanted to read from the Torah in a purely religious
unadulterated experience.
Skipping 8-9 year, I moved to NYC, about 1.5 blocks from JTS, but couldn’t get engaged in Jewish
life at Columbia and in the area.
Fast forward another 10 years and I was standing in the Jewish quarter of Prague realizing that I
was disconnected from MY past, MY heritage, MY tradition because my friends were asking me
questions about Jewishness that I knew I should know the answers to, but didn’t
This was a little flag in my head. What was I up to?
When I returned I was wandering around the book store and came across The Sabbath: Its
Meaning for Modern Man (1951) by Abraham Joshua Heschel founder of JTS. It a short book, read
it, it will help you realize what is special about being a Jew. After reading his thoughts on
sanctification of time vs. space, it become immediately clear I had been looking for theological and
philosophical constructs that already existed. But not only did they exist they were mine already, I
knew them, I just forgot.
I began to read as much as I could, bough a new siddur, and a set from artsroll covering the major
holidays. And started to pour through Internet sites like askmoses JTS, jewfaq, myjewishlearning,
ou, chabad . They all have so much information and all contain a “start here” section.
But this wasn’t enough, because I knew that being Jewish wasn’t only a theological or academic
pursuit but we are taught that application in the real world is paramount, aka the system of mitzvot
in concrete and the Kabalistic Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – in the deeply philosophical
abstract.
I knew USH was here in my neighborhood, but I still wanted to figure out what kind of Jew I
wanted to be, I looked into Reconstructionist, Modern Orthodox, Reform, and unaffiliated
synagogues all around the area, but came back to idea that USH was in my neighborhood and I
would be able to interact with my neighbors.
I also enjoy volunteering because of deeply rooted belief that it is the only way to counteract the
personal despair and frustration created by years of destroying other nations, increasing poverty,
decreasing wages, increasing environmental distress, etc. By volunteering here in Hoboken, I can
affect positive change in what I can touch and see. USH has helped me live into action this
important personal ethical goal.
In addition to the ethical, USH has fostered my spiritual life through good book suggestions on
Messianism, of course services on holidays and Shabbat, and Tikkun l’el Shavuot where I debuted
this year with a talk on Demons and Angels in the Talmud along side presentations on Historical
Zionists Figures, Traditional Rabbinic Ordination & the Legend of Acher, Judaism’s most famous
heretic.
The most memorable moment, by far, was last Yom Kippur, my first at USH, where I felt the
weariness of fasting transition through the words of Isaiah “Then shall your light burst through like
the dawn/And your healing spring up quickly;” into joy and celebration as Havdalah arrived. It was
as if the sins of the past were physically lifted off of me and I could indeed begin a new year anew.
But more importantly, this is a place where we are afforded the wiggle room to explore the kind of
Jew each of wants to be. There are some leftward leaning Jews here as well as some rightward
leaning and all interact with a kind of respect for each other that is a model for a level of civility
that is inspiring. Now, don’t think there are not tussles and disagreement, but what family, what
JEWISH family, doesn’t have kibitzing?
I encourage you to come bring your story to USH, to find and make your special place in our
Jewish community. You are welcome at any time to any of our events, even if you have no idea
where to start. Just raise your hand and someone will help you.
If you dont know where to start, come ask, take a class, show up, dig in!!!
And if you are thinking, wow I cant start this, I have so much else going on or so much to relearn. I
leave you with the thoughts Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, great grandson of the Besht, and founder
of the Breslover Dynasty (I love that term!) “G-d doesn’t rule over his creatures with tyranny” and
“the Torah was not given to ministering angels”. Meaning G-d knew we would mess it up and
expects us to, so much so he gave us the tools to fix what we break! Rebbe Nachman goes on to
say “do not be abnormally strict to the point of foolishness, certainly do not let it make you
depressed…True devotion consists of simplicity and sincerity; pray, study, do good deeds, don’t
worry your self…”
You quoted the biblical passage that I think sums up the faith of which we are all capable. The opening five verses of Isaiah 58 basically describe the following kind of \”fasting\”: head hung low, angry, hungry, lashing out at others, and expecting to be praised for the strife… yet at the same time honoring one\’s own self-needs and pursuits. But then the author says that, no, one should see a \”fast\” from the other side:
6 This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke;
7 Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the L-rd shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the L-rd will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
10 If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
11 Then the L-rd will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.
12 The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; \”Repairer of the breach,\” they shall call you, \”Restorer of ruined homesteads.\”
13 If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; If you call the sabbath a delight, and the L-rd\’s holy day honorable; If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice–
14 Then you shall delight in the L-rd, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the L-rd has spoken.
Religious or not, I think everyone can follow these simple instructions on how to be a human being, on how to be compassionate, on how to help others. I might get some flak for using this translation, since it\’s from the New American Bible, a hotly contested translation released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1970… but I really like the choice of words in many places: \”Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the L-rd shall be your rear guard.\”
(And regarding the use of G-d and L-rd: I\’m Catholic-raised and I currently identify as Anglican, so the Judaic concept of avoiding the defacement of the L-rd\’s name is new to me. I tried to write this post in the most respectful way I know, and I apologize if there\’s something in there I missed.)
I\’m not sure how all the \\ characters got in there.
and now my name came up as my url! I give up.