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  • October 11, 2022 1:21 PM | Lance Strate (Administrator)

    TO LIFE, NOT DEATH

    Kol Nidre, 5783

    Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

    Is this the last Pandemic sermon I will give? I certainly hope so. This is the third High Holidays under the still lingering shadow of the plague. Two years ago, I spoke to a completely empty sanctuary. Last year I spoke to a masked congregations at 50% capacity, with no one allowed on the bimah save the cantor and myself. This year you are still masked and bimah restrictions have eased a bit but are still present. Our lives have returned to normal… but not completely. Synagogue life has returned to normal… but not completely.

    As I approached this High Holidays, I thought to myself⏤another pandemic sermon? Is that what we need? Then I said to myself⏤one million Americans have died of Covid, and more are still dying. How can I not talk about it⏤again?

    Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ed Yong wrote in the Atlantic, in a widely noted piece in March:

    The sheer scale of the tragedy strains the moral imagination. On May 24, 2020, as the United States passed 100,000 recorded deaths, The New York Times filled its front page with the names of the dead, describing their loss as “incalculable.” Now the nation hurtles toward a milestone of one million. What is 10 times incalculable?”

    The full title of Yong’s article: "HOW DID THIS MANY DEATHS BECOME NORMAL?" The tagline: "The U.S. is nearing 1 million recorded COVID-19 deaths without the social reckoning that such a tragedy should provoke. Why?"

    Yong notes the slow-motion nature of the pandemic, unlike natural disasters or terrorist attacks, that have a quick shock and aftermath. He notes how so much of the illness and death is hidden from pubic view. He notes public weariness and the almost desperate need of people to move on with their lives, and so to accept heightened risk.

    And Yong makes the unnerving point that, "America is accepting not only a threshold of death but also a gradient of death." So long as the victims are primarily old rather than young, primarily poor rather than rich, and disproportionally black and brown rather than white… we tolerate the mortality.

    Yong makes a final and equally provocative point. He quotes Richard Keller, a medical historian, who says that we are treating COVID deaths, like gun violence, overdose, heart disease, and smoking, [so that COVID] becomes increasingly associated with behavioral choice and individual responsibility, and therefore increasingly invisible.” COVID, it seems, is now inevitable and its deaths, dismissible.

    When I first read Yong’s piece back in March I just sat there. I remember seeing the names of the 100,000 dead, page after page. But a million? How thick would that book need to be? If we read a million names, fast and around the clock, it would take… 23 days!

    What more can we say, should we say, one million lost lives later?

    I’m not here to criticize. So much of that has been done already. But it certainly did not help when our president said the week before last that the pandemic is over.

    With 400 people still dying every day in this country?

    With 30,000 new cases every day in this country?

    With 1/3 of the population still unvaccinated?

    With COVID remaining the third leading cause of death?

    With Omicron still mutating?

    Really, the pandemic is over? And it's time to call it quits?

    (Oh, and welcome back, Cantor Joe. We’re glad you and your family experienced mild symptoms, because you were vaccinated!)

    I am here to convey two simple but profound truths from the 3000-year-old wisdom tradition that is Judaism:

    The first teaching is called kavod hamet⏤the dignity of the deceased. Judaism teaches that the dead should never be forgotten. We are taught to remember them in prayer; to recite their names before the Kaddish; to inscribe their names on memorial plaques. What are the two things in this sanctuary that we have brought with us from Hoboken and anchor our sanctuary 150 years later? The Torah scrolls in our ark, and the memorial plaques on our walls. The Torah keeps alive the names of our biblical founders and the plaques keep alive the names of our congregational founders (as does the wonderful history book written for our sesquicentennial by Michael Fishbein).

    Who will tell the story of the greatest tragedy of this century? How will we remember the million Americans, the five million worldwide?

    The second teaching is called pikuach nefesh⏤the paramount significance of saving a life. The foundation of this life-affirming ethic is the belief that every life is precious. Every life is in the image of God. Every life is of infinite value⏤be it young or old, rich or poor, black, brown, or white.

    You’ve heard the Biblical command before (and you will hear it again during the Torah reading tomorrow morning): Choose life! You’ve heard the Talmudic verse before⏤to save one life is to save an entire world. And you’ve heard the ruling of Jewish law, that to save a life, the Sabbath can be violated. Yom Kippur can be violated.

    Can we not do more to save lives?

    To relentlessly continue the campaign to educate and vaccinate?

    It’s estimated that 2/3 of current Covid deaths are among the unvaccinated.

    In March, Scientific American reported that, “unvaccinated people 12 years and older had 17 times the rate of COVID-associated deaths, compared to people vaccinated with a primary series and a booster dose.”

    Four hundred people still dying a day and we’re giving up the fight to convince people to roll up their sleeves?

    In August we learned that the average life expectancy of Americans fell precipitously in 2020 and 2021, the sharpest two-year decline in nearly 100 years.

    In 2021, the average American could expect to live only until the age of 76. The figure represents a loss of almost three years since 2019.

    What a stark reminder of the toll exacted on the nation by the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

    One of the leading experts in the field has called our catatonic response to the loss of human life, “psychic numbing”. Dr. Paul Slovic has written, chillingly, that after all his research he has concluded that “The more who die, the less we care.” That too, stopped me in my tracks.

    Others call the phenomena “compassion collapse”.

    Judaism refuses to acquiesce in this numbing. This collapse.

    Every life is a world unto itself. Every soul is infinitely precious.

    On this Day of Atonement let us bow our heads in remembrance.

    Kavod ha met. When we recite Yizkor prayers later this afternoon let us remember the departed, though their names are too numerous to be recited.

    On this Day of Atonement let us raise our heads in resolve.

    Pikuach nefesh. The fight against the pandemic must go on. The fight against the creeping apathy must go on.

    If every life is indeed a world unto itself, a universe of souls is at stake.

    Is this the last sermon I will give on the pandemic? I hope so. But our work of remembrance and rebuilding is not done.

    Our tradition also teaches, “It is not up to you to finish the task, but neither are you free to desist from it”.

    May we be inscribed, by the work of our own hands, in the Book of Life!

    L’chayim! To Life!

    Shanah Tovah.


  • October 11, 2022 1:05 PM | Lance Strate (Administrator)

    LETTER TO MY GRANDSON

    Rosh Hashanah Morning, 5783

    Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

    According to tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. Happy Birthday, world! How old are you? 5783 years, give or take a few billion. That’s old, but I am told you are young, as planets go. You could live a few billion more years… if we don’t mess things up… and so we wish you many good millennia and eons, ahead.

    But how about this? Today is also the birthday of my grandson. Happy Birthday, Adin. How old are you? Two! That’s not old, you are indeed very young, with your radiant smile and gleam in your eyes. And we wish you many good years, and decades, ahead.

    So how am I to respond to the amazing coincidence that today is the birthday of the world and the birthday of my grandson? With a sermon of course. A Letter to My Grandson. You might remember a few years back; eight to be exact, that I offered a series of sermons, Letter to my Children. What a privilege and pleasure to now offer one to the son of my son.

    I realize, Adin, that given your “developing” attention span I should be concluding my message just as I am getting started. And I realize you probably won’t read this… until your bar mitzvah. But here we go.

    Dear Adin,

    We love you, and being your grandparents is the best thing Savta (Debby) and Saba (me) can imagine right now.

    But this is not a mushy kind of letter. It’s a serious one. Your Saba loves playing with you, and with your amazing assortment of toys. But your Saba is more serious than mushy, and after all, this is not a few words at your birthday party but a sermon on Rosh Hashanah!

    One more personal word before the serious stuff, though. You were born two years ago today in the heart of the pandemic. Only immediate family could attend your brit here at Congregation Adas Emuno, and your parents rightfully insisted that we be tested and masked. It was before the vaccines and it was a dark and scary time. But you were such a burst of light. The celebration of new life. The celebration of being welcomed to our people. The celebration of hope⏤because the birth of every new child is a great act of hope, that you will add your light to the sum of light in the world. You remind us of those wonderful times when your father was a baby and toddler, before he was a teen, and the same for your aunt and uncle. You remind us of the wonder of growing up: first words and first steps, first smiles and first laughs, first cuddles and first hugs. You remind us of the enchantment of story time and the magic of the playground.

    Hold on⏤I said I’m not going to be mushy… so here is the challenge: What message should I share with you today? What wisdom that will hold true when you read this⏤years from now? What insight that will help ground and guide you through the journey of life ahead?

    As I thought about what brief teaching could encapsulate what I wanted to say, I realized it was very close to me. Actually… around my neck, on my tallit. Inscribed on the atarah, the collar of this tallit, is my favorite saying from the Hebrew Bible. The timeless words of the prophet Micah, chapter 6, verse 8:

    He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what God requires of you: Only to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.


    Justice, kindness, humility. The big three. That is what I want to talk to you about today.

    Adin, as you grow older, you will find that the world is often an unjust place. You will find that it is often an unkind place. Too often we are just resigned to what we see.

    Yet our tradition, our Torah, teaches that every human being is unique and precious and holy; and that we are to, “love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

    “For you were strangers.” We have been there. We know what it is like. We were oppressed. We were outcasts. We know the heart of the shunned and the exploited. We can more than sympathize; we can empathize because we, through our people, through our historical consciousness, lived through it.

    I really loved having you at our seder this year, Adin, keeping it short and playing guitar, so you would be engaged, which you were. The whole point of the Passover seder, arguably Judaism’s most important ritual, is to reenact the experience of liberation from slavery. And what is the single most important line of the Haggdah?

    B’cal dor hayav adam lirot et atmo k’ilu hu yatza m’mitzrayim.

    In every generation each person must see himself as if he went out from Egypt.


    K’ilu. As if. As you get older, Adin, use your imagination; your moral imagination. Put yourself in your ancestor’s shoes. Don’t forget your roots, your origins. They explain where you came from, where you are going, who you are, and what you can be.

    V’atem yadatem et nefesh hager”, for you know the nefesh, the soul, the deepest feelings, of the stranger, “having been strangers yourselves in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9). Adin, may you always stand with the vulnerable. The voiceless. The forgotten and the defenseless.

    Adin, you come from a family of readers. And since I know you will take after your Saba and Savta and love to read all kinds of books⏤read the Torah.

    Because the best way to learn about kindness, besides following the example of kind people in your family, is to read wonderful stories of compassion. So read about the kindness of Abraham and Sarah opening their tent to strangers, and open your heart and home to others.

    Read about the kindness of Rebecca giving water to the man by the well, and to his camels, and share of your bounty with all who hunger and thirst.

    Read about the kindness of Joseph to his brothers, even after they were so unkind to him, and be a man of reconciliation and peace.

    Read about the kindness of Ruth, who left her home and land, to care for her mother-in-law, and recognize that compassion is not weakness but strength.

    While you’re reading those stories of kindness, consider the tales of justice as well.

    Read about the justice of Abraham willing to question even God over the loss of innocent life, and be ready to challenge injustice anywhere you see it.

    Read about the courage of the Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Puah, who defied Pharaoh’s decree, and be ready to stand up and stand out when few will do so.

    Read about the justice of the prophet Nathan, who rebuked the great king David, and know that no one is above the law and we are all accountable.

    Finally, read about the humility of Moses, the liberator and law-giver, yet called the humblest of men. The humble walk is the most challenging of journeys. Cultivate an “attitude of gratitude”. For if you stay thankful you will stay humble.

    Adin, your Hebrew name Reuven, bears the name of your great grandfather Rudy, who rallied to celebrate at your father’s wedding, but did not live to see your birth. Do you want to know what it is to be a just and kind and humble man? Learn his story too.  

    There it is, Adin. Be just. Be kind. Be humble.

    Let me say it in Hebrew, which I hope you will one day learn: asot mishpat, vahavat hesed, v’hatnea lechet im eloheicha.

    This tallit of mine, that was made for me by a weaver in my first congregation… I’ve worn it at every significant occasion for the last thirty-six years.

    Someday it will be yours.

    May you take its words to heart.

    Happy birthday, and shanah tovah!

    Love, Sabah


  • October 06, 2022 8:50 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Oct. 6, 2022

    Dear Friends,
      With two holidays celebrated, two more to go!
      Up next- Sukkot:
      We'll get ready for the holiday at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
      We'll relate to themes of the holiday at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM)
      We'll build our Sukkah on Sunday (10:00 AM)- "handy" able-bodied helpers welcome!

      We'll enjoy free Subs-in-the-Sukkah and our Sukkot Sing-a-Long on Sunday (5:00 PM)- weather permitting on our new patio!

       And looking ahead to next week:
       We'll celebrate our Shabbat Sukkot- Simchat Torah Family Service, Friday, Oct. 14 (7:30 PM)

    Shabbat shalom and Hag Sukkot Sameach,
    Rabbi Schwartz

    For Livestream Services:
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live
  • September 29, 2022 8:40 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Sept. 29, 2022

    Dear Friends,
      Our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM)  this week is an especially significant one known as Shabbat Shuvah- the Sabbath of Repentance, which features many of melodies and themes of the holidays.

        Consider taking the plunge and joining us this new year at our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM). This year we are probing the weekly Torah portion with the help of a wonderful new book, The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary.
     
        
    We hope to see you in-person at our Yom Kippur Services: Evening (8:00 PM),  Morning (10:00 AM),  Children's (2:00 PM), Afternoon-Yizkor- Neilah (4:30 PM).

         And mark your calendar now:
    1. Subs-in-the-Sukkah and Sukkot Folk Concert, Sunday, Oct. 9 (5:00 PM)
    2. Shabbat Sukkot- Simchat Torah Family Service, Friday, Oct. 14 (7:30 PM)
    3. 150th Gala Weekend- Shabbat Service, Friday Oct. 21 (7:30 PM)
    4. 150th Gala Weekend- Cantorial Concert and Gala Reception, Sunday, Oct. 23 (3:00 PM)

    It's the happiest (and busiest) time of the year!

    Shabbat shalom and Shanah tovah,
    Rabbi Schwartz

    For Livestream Services:

    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live
  • September 22, 2022 8:55 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Sept. 22, 2022

    Dear Friends,
      On the last Shabbat of the Jewish year let's end on a positive note!
      We'll discuss an article that argues that, all in all, our world is better than it was before, at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

        We have resumed in-person Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM). This year we are probing the weekly Torah portion with the help of a wonderful new book, The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary.

         Ready to read the next novel for the Adas Emuno Book Club (meets Nov.14)? The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is set in modern NYC and pre-war Poland, when a 14 year old girl sets out to discover the author of a book her mother is translating.

       Religious school is on break on the eve of the holiday on Sunday. You are welcome to come by from 10-12 to pick up a holiday prayer book for those who will be joining us via livestream. 

       Of course, we hope to see you in-person at any or all of our Rosh HaShanah services: Evening (8:00 PM),  Morning (10:00 AM),  Afternoon- Children's (2:00 PM) and Tashlich (3:30 PM).

    Shabbat shalom and Shanah tovah,
    Rabbi Schwartz

    For Livestream Services:

    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live
  • September 15, 2022 8:12 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    Sept. 15, 2022
    Dear Friends,
      Across the river Yeshiva University just appealed a ruling to the Supreme Court. It's an intriguing case about religious freedom, which I'll discuss at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

      We have resumed in-person Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM). This year we are probing the weekly Torah portion with the help of a wonderful new book, The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary, and you are welcome any time.

       Religious school has also resumed, and this week Confirmation Class convenes, examining some of the most prominent debates in our society today through a Jewish lens.

      Leonia's annual International Day of Peace takes place this Sunday on the lawn of the Methodist Church (4:30-6:00 PM), and I am honored to participate as I do every year.

      An important new documentary airs this Sunday on PBS (8:00 PM)- Ken Burns' The U.S. and the Holocaust. 

    Shabbat shalom,
    Rabbi Schwartz


    For Livestream Services:
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live


  • September 08, 2022 8:47 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Sept. 8, 2022

    Dear Friends,
       With the unofficial end of summer, it's back to school and much more:
       1. Friday- we welcome our new student cantor Joe Flaxman! 
       2. Saturday- the return of in-person Torah study! 
       3. Sunday- the start of a new religious school year! 
       
         At our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM) I will note a sad 50th anniversary that should not be forgotten- the tragic massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

        Everyone is welcome each week or any week to our Shabbat Morning Torah Study (10:00 AM). This year we will probe the weekly Torah portion with the help of a wonderful new book, The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary.

       
    We kick off the new school year by gathering in the sanctuary for a Religious School Service (9:00 AM), as we do each week, and parents are always welcome to join us.

         Join us for a timely discussion of Phillip Roth’s novel Nemesis at our Adas Emuno Book Club (7:30 PM) on Monday evening (7:30 PM). 

    Shabbat shalom,
    Rabbi Schwartz

    For Livestream Services:
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live
  • September 01, 2022 9:16 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Sept. 1, 2022

    Dear Friends,
      This week's Torah portion is the clarion call to justice in society, and also dramatically expresses the principle that no one is above the law.
       We'll discuss this in light of what is happening in our country right now, at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

       Although this Labor Day weekend is a quiet unofficial end of summer at the Temple, please note that next week begins with a bang:
       1. Friday the 9th- we welcome our new student cantor Joe Flaxman!
        2. Saturday the 10th- the return of in-person Torah study!
        3. Sunday the 11th- the start of a new religious school year!
        4. Monday the 12th- Adas Emuno Book Club!

    Shabbat shalom,

    Rabbi Schwartz

    For Livestream Services: 
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live




  • August 25, 2022 8:13 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Aug. 25, 2022

    Dear Friends,
      Can someone please explain to me what is going on in Israel politically?
       Israel is now facing its 5th election in 3 years!
       You are welcome to hold forth at our Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).
       I might add a few comments as well :)

         For some late summer reading, try our Adas Emuno Book Club pick, Nemesis, by Phillip Roth. Set in Newark in the late '40s during an outbreak of polio, it is eerily relevant to our pandemic present. The Book Club meets to discuss it on Sept. 12.

    Shabbat shalom,
    Rabbi Schwartz


    For Livestream Services:
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live
  • August 18, 2022 8:18 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Aug. 18. 2022

    Dear Friends,
      The week before last, while in Copenhagen, I had the opportunity to meet with the chief rabbi of Denmark.
      It was a fascinating conversation about his family and community, including details about the rescue of the Jews of Denmark during the Holocaust which I did not know
      I'll share this conversation at Shabbat Evening Service (7:30 PM).

       Thanks again to everyone who made our Gathering in the Garden such a big success- it was so good to see so many people in person!

         For some late summer reading, try our Adas Emuno Book Club pick, Nemesis, by Phillip Roth. Set in Newark in the late '40s during an outbreak of polio, it is eerily relevant to our pandemic present. The Book Club meets to discuss it on Sept. 12.

    Shabbat shalom,
    Rabbi Schwartz


    For Livestream Services:
    Find all our recorded services on YouTube at "Adas Emuno Streaming" and use this direct link once the service has started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCftctPu9pRG4bBQCR6RH4Dg/live

Cantorial Soloist

Suzy Auriel Merritt

Religious School Director

Annette De Marco

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