Rabbinic Reflections: Issue 222cb2
August 23, 2024 - 19 Av 5784
Parasha Eikev - Remembrances of Times Past
Guest author - Craig Basset
Dear Friends,
We are between rabbis for the month of August, so instead of the regular Rabbinic Reflection articles, we will instead share some reflections, even if they are less than rabbinic.
This Shabbat, we are pleased to welcome Rabbi Joshua Shorr back to the Bimah to lead services. Rabbi Shorr will also lead services next Shabbat, on August 31.
Rabbi Joshua Strom joins us as our new rabbi right after Labor Day, so please plan to be with us on September 7 for his first service. We will hold a special “welcome” Kiddush after the service, so come for the service and stay for the Kiddush to welcome him to the synagogue.
Celebrating Shabbat morning is a lovely way to start your weekend, as is sitting around the Kiddush table with friends after the service. We would like to thank Marj Goldstein for making this week’s Kiddush special by sponsoring it in honor and memory of her late mother. Sponsoring the Kiddush in someone’s memory is a wonderful Mitzvah, so please join us at the Kiddush table to share in Marj’s Mitzvah.
The High Holidays are still several weeks away, but time is flying by quickly, so please send in your ticket requests and your greeting card and Yizkor book order forms. If you don’t have them, be sure to scroll down in this email or call the synagogue office.
This Shabbat, we will read Parsha Eikev, which begins with Moses continuing his review of the Torah and telling the people that they will live long and prosper if they follow the Mitzvot. Then Moses reminds them of the sins of the Golden Calf and the spies, but also reminds them of Hashem’s forgiveness after they repented. Moses goes on to remind them of the Manna that Hashem provided during their wandering in the desert and that they are about to enter a land “flowing with milk and honey.” As I like to say in the weekly phone message, this is just a small part of the Parasha, so to hear more about it, you will have to join us for our service. And, you’ll be glad you did!
As in the Parsha, the past several weeks have been a time of remembrance for me. This past Sunday, I drove my son, Martin, to Rochester, NY for the start of his college career at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The five plus hour ride to the campus gave us a lot of time to talk about his hopes and dreams for the next chapter of his life, as well as a chance to reminisce about our journeys together over his eighteen years.
Martin and I have shared the joy of many road trips together. Whether they were to Cape Cod in the summer to visit friends or to various parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I always cherished the time in the car with him, talking and listening to whatever type of music he was enjoying at the time. Our adventures included tours of caves, museums, and an old coal mine, fishing and the beaches in Cape Cod, and we even dropped in on the building in Scranton, PA, which is featured in the opening credits of the TV program The Office, only to be surprised to see that it is also a paper company, like the fictional Dunder Mifflin!
Like the Manna that our ancestors ate during their wandering, food was always a big part of our adventures. Our trips to Cape Cod always included a stop in New Haven, CT for brick oven pizza at Sally’s or Pepe’s. (We have since decided that we prefer Sally’s.) In Lancaster, PA, where we stopped to buy fresh corn, we had to go into the field to pick our own when the farmer’s stand ran out. And, there was always ice cream… lots of ice cream!
The time in the car was also spent discussing Martin’s interests and aspirations be it when his dream was to be a fireman, or more recently, to become an engineer for the Red Bull Racing, Formula One team. In my role as dad, I always tried to give him advice to help guide him and allow him to make good decisions.
Martin was eagerly awaiting the start of college throughout his senior year in high school, as if going off to college represented a land “flowing with milk and honey” to him, so the drive to Rochester was bittersweet for me, knowing that he wouldn't be with me on the way home. Martin has since settled into his dorm and is now making new friends and awaiting the start of classes, next week. I am happy for him and excited about his future. Now, when I am driving in the car by myself, I will fondly remember our road trips as I look forward to the ones yet to come.
Have a healthy, peaceful, and relaxing weekend!
Shabbat Shalom,
Craig Bassett
Executive Director
ed@cbiotp.org / 201-947-1555
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August 23, 2024 - 19 Av 5784
Parasha Eikev - Remembrances of Times Past
Guest author - Craig Basset
Dear Friends,
We are between rabbis for the month of August, so instead of the regular Rabbinic Reflection articles, we will instead share some reflections, even if they are less than rabbinic.
This Shabbat, we are pleased to welcome Rabbi Joshua Shorr back to the Bimah to lead services. Rabbi Shorr will also lead services next Shabbat, on August 31.
Rabbi Joshua Strom joins us as our new rabbi right after Labor Day, so please plan to be with us on September 7 for his first service. We will hold a special “welcome” Kiddush after the service, so come for the service and stay for the Kiddush to welcome him to the synagogue.
Celebrating Shabbat morning is a lovely way to start your weekend, as is sitting around the Kiddush table with friends after the service. We would like to thank Marj Goldstein for making this week’s Kiddush special by sponsoring it in honor and memory of her late mother. Sponsoring the Kiddush in someone’s memory is a wonderful Mitzvah, so please join us at the Kiddush table to share in Marj’s Mitzvah.
The High Holidays are still several weeks away, but time is flying by quickly, so please send in your ticket requests and your greeting card and Yizkor book order forms. If you don’t have them, be sure to scroll down in this email or call the synagogue office.
This Shabbat, we will read Parsha Eikev, which begins with Moses continuing his review of the Torah and telling the people that they will live long and prosper if they follow the Mitzvot. Then Moses reminds them of the sins of the Golden Calf and the spies, but also reminds them of Hashem’s forgiveness after they repented. Moses goes on to remind them of the Manna that Hashem provided during their wandering in the desert and that they are about to enter a land “flowing with milk and honey.” As I like to say in the weekly phone message, this is just a small part of the Parasha, so to hear more about it, you will have to join us for our service. And, you’ll be glad you did!
As in the Parsha, the past several weeks have been a time of remembrance for me. This past Sunday, I drove my son, Martin, to Rochester, NY for the start of his college career at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The five plus hour ride to the campus gave us a lot of time to talk about his hopes and dreams for the next chapter of his life, as well as a chance to reminisce about our journeys together over his eighteen years.
Martin and I have shared the joy of many road trips together. Whether they were to Cape Cod in the summer to visit friends or to various parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I always cherished the time in the car with him, talking and listening to whatever type of music he was enjoying at the time. Our adventures included tours of caves, museums, and an old coal mine, fishing and the beaches in Cape Cod, and we even dropped in on the building in Scranton, PA, which is featured in the opening credits of the TV program The Office, only to be surprised to see that it is also a paper company, like the fictional Dunder Mifflin!
Like the Manna that our ancestors ate during their wandering, food was always a big part of our adventures. Our trips to Cape Cod always included a stop in New Haven, CT for brick oven pizza at Sally’s or Pepe’s. (We have since decided that we prefer Sally’s.) In Lancaster, PA, where we stopped to buy fresh corn, we had to go into the field to pick our own when the farmer’s stand ran out. And, there was always ice cream… lots of ice cream!
The time in the car was also spent discussing Martin’s interests and aspirations be it when his dream was to be a fireman, or more recently, to become an engineer for the Red Bull Racing, Formula One team. In my role as dad, I always tried to give him advice to help guide him and allow him to make good decisions.
Martin was eagerly awaiting the start of college throughout his senior year in high school, as if going off to college represented a land “flowing with milk and honey” to him, so the drive to Rochester was bittersweet for me, knowing that he wouldn't be with me on the way home. Martin has since settled into his dorm and is now making new friends and awaiting the start of classes, next week. I am happy for him and excited about his future. Now, when I am driving in the car by myself, I will fondly remember our road trips as I look forward to the ones yet to come.
Have a healthy, peaceful, and relaxing weekend!
Shabbat Shalom,
Craig Bassett
Executive Director
ed@cbiotp.org / 201-947-1555