Dear Friends:
If ever there was a time to feel thankful for all of my many blessings,
it is indeed now. Though we live on eastern Long Island and are immersed
in a coronavirus hotspot, Beverly and I are healthy, I am still
employed, and we have no problems getting groceries
or other necessities. Indeed, we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to
eat three meals a day together and often take a walk to the ocean or to
see the trees blooming.
Sadly, so many have lost their livelihoods, their support network, their
health, their friends and family, or even their lives. May their
memories not only be a blessing to us, but may they spur us to combat
this disease and discover therapeutics and vaccines
as swiftly as possible. Keyn y’hi ratzon – so may it be G_d’s will.
Beverly and I spent a week in Israel just as the virus was gaining
attention outside China; I was involved in a meeting at Soreq Nuclear
Center south of Tel Aviv and visited a colleague at Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev in Be’ersheva. We enjoyed spending
time with Beverly’s relatives and experienced Shabbat services in
Shohom and Tel Aviv. My Hebrew improved slightly but not nearly enough
to follow the lyrics of the many Israeli songs that Beverly has danced
to via Zoom in our living room of late (that song
list has mercifully NOT included the old classic from my youth, Zum
Gali Gali).
My rabbinic duties this past quarter involved a mix between live events
(adult education classes, a Tu BiSh’vat seder, Friday night and Saturday
morning services) before the stay-at-home orders went into effect, and
electronic events once we began our lives
in the age of Covid-19.
As rabbi of The Jewish Center of the Moriches and with Beverly’s help as
technical back-up, I’ve taught classes, led services and seders, read
stories to the Sunday School, and worked with Bar and Bat Mitzvah
students, almost all from the comfort of our apartment.
The electronic platforms have also allowed us to participate in Limmud
Beijing and learn about a wonderful new Haggadah created by our friend
from Kehillat Beijing, Leon Fenster (see
https://leonfenster.com/about-the-beijing-haggadah).
I hope each of you stays healthy, and as we become increasingly aware of
the importance of staying in touch with each other, please drop me a
line at physicsrabbi@gmail.com and let me know how you are doing.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Jack
Adjusting
to the stay-at-home order has taken a toll on my attention span, so
many short pieces make up the bulk of my reading list this past quarter
(*denotes favorites).
Entire Yerushalmi Tractate Eruvin in one burst of two days while traveling
Blood Covenant – Mitchell Chefitz (my first e-book, a consequence of overseas travel)
1948* – Yoram Kaniuk
Joe the Waiter – Y.Y. Zevin
Voyage of the Visionary: Commentary of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on Jonah
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?: The Four Questions Around the World – Ilana Kurshan
Maimonides on Listening to Music – translated by Henry George Farmer
Journey of the Soul: An Allegorical Commentary on Jonah adapted from the Vilna Gaon- adapted by Moshe Schapiro
Five Cities of Refuge* – Lawrence Kushner and David Mamet
God and Man in Judaism – Leo Baeck
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy (filled with wisdom though not specifically Jewish)
A Chronicle of Hardship and Hope: An autobiographical account by Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller translated by Avraham Finkel
Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish People – Menachem Kellner
Talmudic and Rabbinical Chronology – Edgar Frank
The Song of Songs: A New Translation – Marcia Falk
The Sabbath Epistle of Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra – translated by Mordechai S. Goodman
The Abarbanel on the Yom Kippur Service in the Beis Hamikdash – tr. Rabbi Elimelech Lepon
War and Terrorism in Jewish Law* – ed. Walter Jacob
