Rabbi

February 2022 В  Keeping Connected

As I sit to write this letter, we are all expecting another “bomb-cyclone” which seems to be the new dramatic terminology for a huge blizzard. By the time this newsletter arrives in your inbox we will all hopefully have fully dug out and have power. Also, for those of us who like football, we will now know who we will be watching on February 13^th in the Superbowl!

During the High Holidays, I spoke about the spiritual and emotional power of having a sense of purpose. Since then I have tried to be more intentional about some of the choices I have made with my time. What activities could I participate in that would bring me a deeper sense of meaning, as well as knowing that in some small way I had made a difference in someone else’s life? Perhaps these ideas will spark your desire to get involved in a similar vein or motivate you to reflect on what new opportunities and goals you might pursue.More

December 2021 В  Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

This week, as we have been celebrating Chanukah, I have been thinking a lot about the symbolism of light and the power of illumination. The Torah opens with God’s first act of creation. “God said, ‘Let there be light.’” God needed the light to separate light from darkness. God observed that this primordial light, this first act of illumination, was good. Later, in the Talmud, there is a debate about how to light the chanukiah. It is written in Tractate Shabbat 21b:5-7, “Beit Shammai say: On the first day one kindles eight lights and, from there on, gradually decreases the number of lights until, on the last day of Hanukkah, one kindles one light. And Beit Hillel say: On the first day one kindles one light, and from there on, gradually increases the number of lights until, on the last day, one kindles eight lights. The reason for Beit Hillel’s opinion is that the number of lights is based on the principle: We increase holiness, we do not decrease.”

Beit Hillel’s insight feels both profound and simple at the same time. As we go into the darkest days of winter, it seems obvious that we would want to increase illumination and to diminish some of the oppressive darkness of the shortest days of the year. Perhaps this is why winter festivals of light are so universal across religious and cultural traditions. We feel moved to bring the light of hope to our spirits when the days are dark and cold. Rabbi Larry Milder understands that the act of kindling light has more significant moral and spiritual overtones as well. He writes, “Adding one candle each night represents the deeds that we must undertake to restore healing to our world. In matters of sanctity, we do not diminish our efforts. We increase our commitment, we redouble our efforts, we do all that we can to keep ourselves and others safe, and to work toward a brighter day.”More

November 2021 В  В Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

As we enter the month of November, during which we celebrate the secular holiday of Thanksgiving, I am feeling a huge amount of gratitude. Let me share with you why I am feeling this way. But first a story….

Jewish tradition tells us about an old man who is planting a fruit tree. A passer-by  named Honi wonders why he would bother to plant a tree that won’t bear fruit until decades after the man is dead. The old man responds, “As my father planted before me, so do I plant for my children.” This Talmudic story teaches us about the Jewish ethical teaching of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that means loosely, “repair the world.” There is a traditional Jewish belief that everyone has an obligation to leave this world better than they found it. Jim Friedman, who works for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati writes, “What we give is not so much for our own enjoyment, but to sustain and improve the world for the current as well as the next generation. It is really not a choice, but rather a requirement, to make our entire community a better place for everyone.”

Congregation Shalom is blessed to have many people who take this teaching to heart and have shared their time, gifts and financial resources with our community so that future generations can benefit. Recently, our congregation was blessed to receive a gift to establish a new fund: The James and Carol Herscot Fund to Enhance Jewish Life in the Greater Lowell Community. Mr. Herscot grew up in Lowell and although he does not live in the area anymore, he and his wife want to help the Jewish community of Lowell and the surrounding area thrive in the future. In particular they want to help those people who have difficulty finding a doorway into Jewish life find that welcome. This year we will be able to use some of the monies in this fund to sponsor monthly programs for Jewish families in the greater Lowell area. Our next event will be on Saturday morning November 6^th at 10:30 am. Please see the publicity that is in our weekly updates. One does not need to be a member of Congregation Shalom to participate in these events.More

October 2021 В  Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

I remember learning in rabbinical school that every Jew is commanded to write their own Sefer Torah (Torah scroll). The Talmud teaches that this commandment is actually the last mitzvah found in the Torah and the Talmudic scholar Rava, (3^rd-4^th century sage) based this on a passage from Deuteronomy 31. In this text, Moses and Joshua were commanded: “So now write this song and teach it to the children of Israel. Set it in their mouths, so this song will become a witness for me among the children of Israel.” (Translation by Richard Elliott Friedman). In time, this mitzvah came to be interpreted in many ways and most people fulfill this mitzvah by either helping to pay for the actual writing or purchase of a Torah scroll for their synagogue.

When I learned about this mitzvah I was very inspired and imagined that at some point in my life I would learn the traditional Hebrew calligraphy of the Torah scroll as well as the many rules that guide the scribal artist in creating a scroll. This past summer I had the opportunity to put my big toe into this process when I studied with a soferet named Rachel Jackson. In addition to being a bookbinder, designer and artist, Rachel is a full-time scribe and wonderful teacher. Below my letter you can learn more about her and see some of her work at the links provided.

A Torah scroll should be checked every few years to make sure that it is in good condition. In this way, small repairs can be made before any larger problems develop that might make the scroll unkosher. This year, I am excited that Rachel Jackson, will be coming to our community at the end of October and early November, to review our scroll and make any necessary repairs. She will also be leading education programs for the students in our school as well as the adults in our community. Keep a look out in the weeks ahead for more information regarding her visit to our congregation. I hope you will join us for this amazing opportunity.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Shoshana Perry

http://www.binahdesign.com

https://www.instagram.com/binahdesign/

https://www.stamscribes.com

September 2021 В  Keeping Connected

It has been hard to watch the news these last few weeks. Images from Afghanistan are heart-breaking. In particular I want to honor our fallen service members who were engaged in a truly heroic effort of saving lives. May their memories be a blessing and may their families find comfort in knowing that they were serving their nation and working to preserve the lives of innocent people.

Most of us have listened to interviews with veterans and active duty military professionals over the last week. All those I heard strongly believed that as Americans we are obligated to help the Afghanis who bravely worked with American troops over the last 20 years. They believe that not only is it the moral thing to do, but that it is in our national interest to demonstrate that we will protect those who help us during time of war.More

August 2021 В  Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

There are some truths in the world: the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, this has been amongst the rainiest summers in the history of the Northeast, people will debate about the quality of their favorite ice cream stand with a fierceness that is unbending….AND any newsletter article I would have written a week ago is already out of date AND any newsletter article I write today may have information that will need to change in a week’s time. Even with the survey we sent out, those who answered at the beginning of the week had a different sensibility than those who responded on the last day of the survey. I am sure you can all relate to the sense of vertigo we are feeling with the emerging Covid recommendations, restrictions and concerns. Most of all I want to share that we received over 150 responses, which was excellent. Thank you for participating. Because the survey was anonymous, we cannot tell if folks answered one reply per household or if two people responded. We were able to get a general sense of where the community is at and we will integrate your ideas and concerns into our decision making in the next couple of weeks.

Usually in my August newsletter I am able to write about the upcoming holidays. By this time of the year I would know the schedule for services exactly, who is doing what parts and more. Even last year, knowing as we did by the end of June that we would be completely remote, I was able to share details about our holiday season in August. This year, with 5 weeks to go, there are still great uncertainties and our Re-Opening Committee continues to evaluate our synagogue’s procedures. When I talk with other rabbis around the country I can assure you that the word most on people’s mind is “pivot”! How can congregations pivot and adapt their plans on short notice if needed? Thank you for your flexibility as we work through these next weeks.More

JUNE 2021 В  KEEPING CONNECTED

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share with you all information about a staffing change and update in Congregation Shalom’s B’nai Mitzvah program. After many years of helping to train our students, Barbara Rennert has decided to say good-bye to our community in order to pursue other interests. It is with incredible gratitude that I thank Barbara for all she has done to help our students and families during this important life journey. Barbara has been a deeply committed and conscientious teacher to our students, and she has passed on a love for Torah learning and respect for our ancient tradition. I have been honored to work with her during her tenure at Congregation Shalom and would like to say, thank you Barbara. Good luck with your future endeavors.

It is also with enthusiasm that I would like to introduce you to my new colleague who will be taking over the role of B’nai Mitzvah coordinator/tutor at Congregation Shalom. Cantor Rachel Reef-Simpson has been serving at Temple Emanuel Sinai in Worcester, MA for the last few years and has now moved to York, Maine to pursue a chaplaincy training program. Yes, she is a friend of Sue Horowitz’s and they will enjoy being neighbors when Sue in on the east coast! Some of you may have met Canto Rachel earlier this year when she helped to lead a havdallah service for our community.

Cantor Rachel will continue to work in a very part-time position as a cantor in the greater Boston area. She loves working with B’nai Mitzvah students, however, and is looking forward to teaching the students in our community through the amazing technology of Zoom. Cantor Rachel received her investiture as a Cantor in May 2016 at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR in New York and received a Cantorial Arts Certificate at Hebrew College in Newton in 2007. Before that she served congregations as Cantorial Soloist for in the Greater Boston area for many years. Welcome Cantor Rachel.

Warm regards,

Rabbi Shoshana Perry

April 2021 В  Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

The book of Exodus shares many insights about the Jewish understanding of leadership. Exodus opens with a story we are all familiar with. A new Egyptian leader arises; one who is threatened by the Israelites seeing them as the “other” and a risk to Egyptian society. As a leader the king is guided by fear and animosity and as a result decides not only to persecute the Hebrews but to actually engage in a genocide. Pharaoh’s first command of violence towards the Israelites, however, is met by another model of leadership.

Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all the baby boys that they deliver. My rabbinic thesis was about these two women and I have always been in awe of their bravery and integrity. The Torah says, “The midwives, fearing Go, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them: they let the baby boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?’ The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are chayot , like animals and are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them they have given birth’.” The text of the Torah tells us that Shifrah and Puah were rewarded by God for their heroism and resistance to violence; even though they were standing up to the leader who had the power to take their lives.More

March 2021 В  Keeping Connected

Dear Friends,

Just over a year ago I signed onto a Zoom gathering and said to a screen filled with little boxes: “Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh…? Why is this night different? To these two rhetorical questions I offered some answers.

• “We are not wondering about opening day and Fenway”
• “We are not with family and friends in a physical sense”
• “We are not celebrating the second night seder in our synagogue building for the first time in over 40 years”
• “We may or may not have all the traditional Passover foods in front of us”
• “We are feeling strong emotions and experiencing personal challenges that are new to many of us”
• “We are all learning to use a technology that is new to us”

Ironically that night, I was quickly booted off the internet and could not sign back on without rebooting my router; thereby experiencing a new kind of panic. It was not long after that that I added a new word to my pandemic vocabulary: ethernet cable!More