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March 29, 2024 - 20 Adar-2 5784 Parashat Tzav - Celebrate? Yes! Yes!
Dear Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. We are still recovering from last weekend’s action-packed Purim 5784, which featured a beautiful Sephardic Megillah chanting by our talented friend, Dr. Avi Yakobi, followed by our Shul hosting the N.J premiere of the (Chinese) Budaixi Purim Puppetshpeil on Sunday morning. It was an amazing holiday and we were thrilled that so many of you were able to join us during our festive celebrations. CBIOTP is always the place to be! This Saturday morning, we will gather for Shabbat services at 10:00 am in our sanctuary, which will be followed by our Kiddush luncheon. As many of you know, I like to encourage people to try to do one extra Mitzvah in the course of their daily lives. Today, I would like to ask the community to perform one small Mitzvah that could have a big impact. In this week’s Parasha, Tzav, we hear about the meal offering that was brought by the Kohain Gadol twice every day. While their offering was made to Hashem, it highlights the significance of making gifts of food. It should also make us think of the many in our area, who are struggling with food insecurity. The March Mega Food Drive, which is being coordinated by Jewish Federation of Northern NJ, ends on Sunday. I would like to ask everyone reading this message to bring one non-perishable food item to the synagogue, so we can work together to fulfill the Mitzvah of Maakhal Revi'im (feeding the hungry). This week, I took the opportunity to review virtually many of the Purim events that took place around the world. It was fascinating and inspiring, if not complicated and unsettling, to see our Jewish brethren singing, dancing, parading, and celebrating. This Purim, more than any other in recent history, many anticipated the central Pesach inquiry, “Mah Nishtana?” (What makes this night different than all others?) For Purim 5784, there were two questions. First, what makes this night (Purim present) different from all others (Purims past)? Second, is it appropriate to celebrate in the face of the existential crisis of Kierkegaardian alienation in which we are presently engulfed? In Israel, the people most directly affected by the events of October 7, answered the question with a definitive “Yes!” Jerusalem Adloyada, a huge Purim parade in the city center, was held this year for the first time in over 40 years. According to city officials, “The parade spotlighted the ‘little heroes’ in our lives, namely our children, who are coping bravely with the current situation and demonstrating resilience and fortitude.” According to its website, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality “will hold Purim events with a variety of activities throughout the city and in community centers amid the shadow of the war.” Events included parades, performances, and dozens of activities in community centers. Modi’in resident Tzipora Lifchitz said, “I think joy is transcendent, not indulgent. It’s a way to access reality beyond rationale. It’s a sign of resilience in the face of adversity. “I’m generally not into Purim, but feel like it’s imperative this year to affirm Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live) in all ways.” “The commandment is to observe the Chagim (Jewish holidays). It’s the correct thing to do. And the themes of Purim have a special resonance, since they’re about Haman the Jew-hater directing the Persian (Iranian) empire to wipe us out, and we, with the help of God, turning the tables on him and his plan, just as we today are taking down Hamas, the Jew-haters who, at the behest of Iran, crave our genocide,” said Beit Shemesh resident Mark Bernstein. Another resident channeled other dark moments in history by suggesting that, “Nothing could be more relevant. And don’t forget, there were Jewish inmates who secretly baked matzah in Auschwitz for Seder night and Jews in Mauthausen, who would trade their bread ration to borrow a Siddur (prayer book).” The limited sources on celebrating rabbinic holidays in light of tragic circumstances seem to indicate that not only should we celebrate, despite the current situation in Israel and with Jews around the world, but we should also celebrate specifically because of it! The rabbis in the Talmud appeared to indicate that events affirming life take precedence over those involved with death. In Ketubot 17a, we find: תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲבִירִין אֶת הַמֵּת מִלִּפְנֵי כַלָּה. וְזֶה וָזֶה מִלִּפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. The Sages taught: One reroutes the funeral procession for burial of a corpse to yield before the wedding procession of a bride. And both this, the funeral procession, and that, the wedding procession, yield before a king of Israel. Here, the Talmud indicates that a personal celebration trumps a personal tragedy and national events of joy trump both. Hence, our national celebration of God saving us in the past (as will invariably happen again now) should indeed take place. Arguably, the greatest Rabbinic thinker of our generation, Lord Jonathan Sachs (of blessed memory) taught, “The Jewish response to trauma is counterintuitive and extraordinary. You defeat fear by joy. You conquer terror by collective celebration.” Indeed, as I have quoted numerous times, the Psalmist challenges us by proscribing, “Serve God with Joy!” (Psalms 100:2). And finally, the Chassidic master Rebbe Nachman of Bretslov shared in his best-known work, Likutey Moharan, that we must strengthen ourselves always to push aside thoughts of doom, and sadness. To escape difficulties, we must constantly bring joy into our lives and into the lives of others, even all the people of Israel. מצווה גדולה להיות בשמחה תמיד It is a great Mitzvah to be happy always! As we welcome Shabbat, may we find joy, share joy, create joy, and radiate joy to all in our mystical and physical sphere. May our happiness, laughter, and Simcha, crash open the heavenly gates of judgement and bring the smiles of redemption to the hostages, the wounded, the suffering, and all our brothers and sisters around the globe! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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