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December 9, 2022 (15 Kislev 5783) Come As You Are! Dear Holy Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. Please join us this Saturday morning at 10:30am for our Shabbat services, which will take place in our sanctuary and be simultaneously available on our regular Zoom webinar link. I would also like to thank Gary Miller for sponsoring this week’s Kiddush luncheon, in memory of his stepfather, Harry Gips. Harry was a past-president of Temple Beth El of North Bergen and is fondly remembered by many of in our congregation, so I encourage you to join us tomorrow to share in Gary’s mitzvah. Also, as we prepare for Hanukkah, allow me to remind you of our community wide Menorah Lighting, which will take place at 5:00pm on Sunday, December 18th on the green in the center of Fort Lee. Join us for blessings and songs and words of Torah as we bring new light to the greater Kehillah! In this week’s Torah portion of Vayishlach, we read in the text that Ya’akov, after being told to leave Lavan’s house and travel to Beit El, prepares to encounter God directly through sacrifice, an analog to our present-day experience of prayer. It has been decades since Ya’akov encountered God in this way, and he is now preparing for this transition back into a direct relationship. Critically, Ya’akov prepares by asking everyone to purify themselves and to change their clothes. What is the significance of changing clothes? In the Tanach, the phrase “changing clothes” is uncommon, but each time it comes, the person changing their clothes is about to encounter God or a king. Joseph changes his clothes before meeting Pharaoh (Genesis 41:14), and King David changes his clothes after mourning his son to bow before God (II Samuel 12:20). Finally, the children of Israel wash their clothes before encountering God at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:10,14). Ibn Ezra, an 11th century Spanish biblical commentator reads the text in its simplest sense by stating that when Israel goes to a set place to pray the Amidah, their body must be clean, and their clothes must be clean. On one level, clothes are an expression of respect. One would not show up to meet a king in rags, and similarly, one does not stand in prayer before God in tatters. However, the required clothing for prayer is not out of the ordinary or fancy (as it would have been worn by the Temple priests whose garb is intricately described throughout the Books of Exodus and Leviticus). In fact, most of the halakhic discussion around clothing and prayer seems to center on the clothes being one’s regular dress. The Tosefta, in fact, suggests implicitly that we need not worry about our wardrobe in the sense that God has already clothed us from birth (!). “When the Holy Blessed One created Adam, [God] did not create him naked, as it says: “When I made clouds his garment, and thick darkness his swaddling band” (Job 38:9). The verse is interpreted as follows: “When I made clouds his garment”- this is the fetal sac; “thick darkness his swaddling band” - this is the placenta. God has already clothed us, and we need only feel nourished and protected as we stand before Him. In our day and age, people often say to me, “Rabbi, I want to come to shul, but I really don’t want to dress up.” I usually reply that in Israel, people tend to dress casually for shul, so it is OK if they come that way too. The Tosefta seems to suggest that, as long as we feel comfortable enough to establish a point of contact and connection, surrounded by a sense of nurture and protection, we can stand humbly before God regardless of our dress. Keeping this in mind, I invite you to join us, in casual or formal attire or in whatever is comfortable to you. Come as you are! Bring your voice, your presence, and your open mind, so that we can continue to stand before Hashem as a dedicated, caring, compassionate, and prayerful community. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Eric Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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