This “physicsrabbi” quarterly missive explores some positives that have emerged as a result of the ongoing pandemic. In 2019, Beverly put many of our belongings into storage in Santa Fe and packed other items for shipment to New York based on a best guess of what we’d need during this Long Island adventure. Among those things we had shipped were two that had received limited use previously, a shtender and a shoji screen (Japanese folding room divider). Amazingly, these have both become invaluable over the past year.
A shtender is a small (usually wooden) frame that holds a book, and it is most often associated with religious study. I now realize that when I daven (pray) in a shul (synagogue), unconsciously I must be resting my siddur (prayer book) either on a podium (when I am leading a service) or on the back of the chair or pew in front of me. Now that I am worshiping via Zoom, I place my book on the shtender and seem to alleviate some strain on my body. My davening is conducted largely in my cloffice (a wonderful pandemic-inspired neologism combining “closet” and “office”), and to provide some privacy, we often put the Japanese screen in place behind me. That screen was purchased years ago and never used until this past year, and it’s become invaluable as a room divider.
The shtender and the Japanese screen are simply two examples of things we never knew would be so useful when they were acquired, and the same holds true for knowledge and experience. We may not know at the time why there is value in some nugget of truth we learn or novel situation we face. Yet down the road that piece of information or that lived experience can perhaps provide comfort. The next time I learn something new which appears unnecessary or live through some episode that is difficult, perhaps I’ll consider that the value will only appear years later. The ways of G_d are truly mysterious.
Aside from conducting the usual Zoom Shabbat services this past quarter, I led Tu BiSh’vat and Passover seders, a Purim service, a Yizkor service, Yahrzeit minyans for my Mom, a study session to override the fast of the firstborn, taught at the Sunday school once a month, and gave newly prepared talks on (1) Aleph Bet: Stories and Teachings from the Hebrew Letters, and (2) Seder Customs Around the World, as well as reprising a slide show on the (3) Jews in China, which we held on the Chinese New Year.
Last weekend, Beverly and I took an excursion from Long Island into Brooklyn and got to see an art installation by a young woman we met at Kehillat Beijing who is now in New York. Amalya Megerman showed us her Super Cleanse exhibit which explores deep questions, including the role of Jewish ritual. You can also view some of her stained glass Judaica (and non-Judaica) pieces at http://amalyamegerman.com/shop.
At a Zoom Shiva session for a friend and colleague from Los Alamos, Karina Yusim, I marveled that friends and relatives currently living in Russia, Israel, and across the United States were all able to participate simultaneously. Zoom has also been one of those positives to emerge from the pandemic, and I appreciated the respectful tone of the Shiva – everyone stayed focused on Karina and took their turn speaking. To quote Ecclesiastes (3:7), there is a time for silence and a time for speaking. Shiva provides us with the opportunity to support the bereaved through our presence, not through our chatter. Yet the recent observance of Yom HaShoah reminds us that there is also a time to speak up and speak forcefully, particularly when the lives of other human beings are at stake.
May we all have the wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent, and may our masks soon become unnecessary.
B’shalom, Rabbi Jack
Last quarter’s reading list, with highlights denoted by an asterisk*
Light and Shadow – Herz Bergner, tr. Alec Braizblatt
Jewish Theology in our Time – ed. Elliot Cosgrove
The World As I See It – Albert Einstein
And the Bride Closed the Door – Ronit Matalon, tr. Jessica Cohen
21 Lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Harari
Stan Lee: A Life in Comics* – Yale Jewish Lives series – Liel Leibovitz
Honey on the Page – Miriam Udel
Faith After the Holocaust – Eliezer Berkovits
Printing the Talmud: From Bomberg to Schottenstein* – ed. Sharon Mintz and Gabriel Goldstein
Diary of a Lonely Girl – Miriam Karpilove, tr. Jessica Kirzane
Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Leviticus – Francis Nataf
Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice – Judith Hauptman
King David’s Harp: Autobiographical Essays by Jewish Latin American Writers* – ed. Stephen Sadow
Selected Plays – Hanoch Levin (Vol. 1), tr. Jessica Cohen, Evan Fallenberg, and Naaman Tammuz
Reimagining the Bible – Howard Schwartz
A Mother’s Kisses – Bruce Jay Friedman
Wisdom of the Heart: The Teachings of Rabbi Ya’akov of Izbica-Radzyn – Ora Wiskind-Elper
Houdini: The Elusive American* – Yale Jewish Lives series – Adam Begley
The Name – Michal Govrin, tr. Barbara Harshav
None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933-1948 – Irving Abella and Harold Troper
