| Dear Friends: Our hybrid Friday evening service was interrupted recently in the middle of the silent, standing prayer, the Amidah, by a voice emanating from the computer speaker querying repeatedly, “Can anyone hear me?” Although my solitude was momentarily broken, I quickly realized that this question is precisely the question that many of us ask when we pray – can anyone hear me? I also suspect that many Jews who elect not to attend worship services in a synagogue believe that the answer is a resounding and emphatic, “No!” Leo Baeck says, “The purpose of prayer is to allow us to be alone with God” (The Essence of Judaism, p. 144). Even for those who doubt God’s existence, however, we have the opportunity in prayer to be alone with ourselves. It has often been pointed out (though this thought may not be quite correct) that the Hebrew word for prayer is written in the reflexive form, suggesting that prayer involves self-evaluation and introspection. In that spirit, perhaps the real question to ask is “Am I listening to myself?” This past quarter, in addition to leading worship services at the Los Alamos Jewish Center and HaMakom in Santa Fe, I had the privilege of conducting the first service following the Chanukah rededication of the newly reconsecrated and historic synagogue in Las Vegas, New Mexico (see https://apnews.com/article/religion-new-mexico-las-vegas-united-states-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-c5cc1de15c9274eeb35017e39fefc8cc). The story of the repurchase of that building is amazing and moving and was captured internationally. Beverly and I also traveled up to Trinidad, Colorado, where we led a third seder on the Saturday evening during Passover at the historic synagogue there. This magnificent building, also built in the 1880s, was miraculously spared from being lost to the Jewish community as the Jewish population of Trinidad dropped over the years (see https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/colorados-oldest-synagogue-refuses-to-fade-the-miracle-of-temple-aaron/article_a338feee-a7e1-11ec-a279-67dc4733dd6c.html). I can connect you with Neal Paul if you’d like to help support that effort. Beyond those activities, I had the pleasure of reading (of course! – last quarter’s list below), delivering several talks (titles listed below as well), attending the first Rabbis United conference under the auspices of Stand With Us, Zoom-leading a Shabbat service for the Thailand Progressive Jewish Community (despite the nasty time difference!!), officiating at a congregant’s extended family celebration which included a Bat Mitzvah reprise and an 80th birthday, conducting community seders in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, and, sadly, guiding mourners through the funeral service for Gloria Starner – may her memory be for a blessing. I hope that those of us who choose to participate in a worship service over the next few months use some of that silent prayer time to listen carefully, to ourselves and/or to God. And perhaps those who’ve not been regular synagogue attendees will find the upcoming services a chance to reflect internally. B’shalom, Rabbi Jack Last quarter’s reading and presentations lists are below Rabbi Jack Shlachter Judaism for Your Nuclear Family physicsrabbi@gmail.com www.physicsrabbi.com |
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Recent talks: Jews in the Manhattan Project for the Santa Fe Distinguished Lecture Series – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehxFELPrRhg&t=28s) The Grapes of Roth: Three Literary Giants (Joseph, Henry, and Philip Roth) for both Oasis Albuquerque and Limmud eFestival Jewish Bible and Commentary for the Los Alamos Methodist Church Little Yellow Creatures in the Synagogue – or What is a Minyan? – for the Los Alamos Lenten series The Essence of the Passover Seder – for the Albuquerque JCC Jewish Humor – No Joke!: The Evolution of Jewish Comedy from the Bible to Today – for the Montecito retirement community in Santa Fe Recent Reading List with highlights designated by *: Wandering Jew: The Search for Joseph Roth – Dennis Marks Rabbi, Mystic, or Impostor – Michal Oron Beyond Prayer – Mitchell Chefitz Rebellion – Joseph Roth Big Questions Brief Answers – Rabbi Raphael Zarum and Maureen Kendler QED: A Play – Peter Parnell Shlomo’s Stories – Shlomo Carlebach with Susan Yael Mesinai Eliezer Eilburg: Ten Questions and Memoir of a Renaissance Jewish Skeptic – Joseph Davis By George: A Kaufman Collection – George S. Kaufman Let’s Talk: A Rabbi Speaks to Christians – Michael E. Harvey From the Jewish Provinces – Fradl Shtok; tr. Jordan Finkin and Allison Schachter Jewish Comedy: A Serious History – Jeremy Dauber A Christmas Present for Chanukah – William Dicker; tr. Daniel Kennedy The Trump Passover Haggadah – Dave Cowen Further Up the Path – Daniel Oz; tr. Jessica Cohen Let There Be Laughter – Michael Krasny On the Scaffolds* – Samuel Isban; tr. Daniel Kennedy Filled With Laughter – Rufus Learsi Jewish Ethics and the Care of End-of-Life Patients – ed. Peter Joel Hurwitz, Jacques Picard, and Avraham Steinberg The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America – Lawrence J. Epstein Chasing the Ghost: Nobelist Fred Reines and the Neutrino – Leonard A Cole Pioneers of Religious Zionism – Raymond Goldwater Click here for a recording of part 1 of a 2-part class entitled “Jewish Perspectives on Termination of Pregnancy,” presented at the Los Alamos Jewish Center. |