|
Passover Schedule:
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Erev Passover
First Seder in the Evening
Sunday, April 20, 2008
9 AM Torah Service
First Full Day of Passover
Second Seder in the Evening
Sunday, April 27, 2008
9 AM, Torah Service & Yizkr
Eight Day of Passover
Other Events:
Israeli Independence Day:
Thursday, May 8, 9 AM
Israeli Flag Raising in front of Municipal Building
Holocaust Rememberance Commemoration:
Friday, May 16, 7:30 PM
The community is invited
Sunday School Schedule:
May 4, 9:30 AM Movie "The Devil's Advocate"
May 18, 9:00 AM
June 1, 9:00 AM
June 7, 9:00 AM Services
June 8, 9:30 AM Tree planting (?) and clean-up: End of school year.
Rabbi's Passover Message
Numbers
If I were to ask you what numbers are important in Judaism, what would
come to mind?
The 6 days of Creation, and the 7th day of the week, Shabbat?
The 613 commandments?
The number "18," whose Hebrew equivalent spells "life"?
The 10 plagues that came upon Egypt?
The 12 tribes of the Israelites?
The number "13? The traditional age of responsibility, the number of
God's attributes of mercy, and Maimonides' summary of Jewish beliefs
(see the hymn "Yigdal")?"
The 4 questions, the 4 children, the 4 cups of wine/grape juice at the
Passover Seder, the 4 verses of redemption?
The 4 tellings of the story of the Exodus from Egypt which are narrated
during the Seder?
We Jews are story-tellers. Whether in our Torah or the rest of Tanakh,
whether in the classic rabbinic midrashim or the later rabbinic
literature, whether in liturgy or folk-tales, we tell our stories: what
happened, why it happened, and what it means to us. Even reading the
same words can generate new levels of meaning because how we tell the
story has changed, however slightly.
So too with the Passover Haggadah. The word "Haggadah" means "a
telling," "a narration," so when we go through that book we tell the
story of our escape from Pharaoh who had enslaved our ancestors.
One of the aims of the Haggadah is to cause us, individually and
collectively, to feel as if we ourselves had been among the Israelites
who came out of Egypt. Each year we are to journey from "narrow straits
to abundant favor, from darkness to light, from enslavement to
redemption."[1]
The four different tellings provide four different ways making this
journey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom. Rabbinical Assembly, p.
31.
The four tellings begins with the Four Questions. Traditionally recited
by the youngest child, these are the things that a child might notice on
this special night. Close reading of the text shows that this passage
is actually one question based on four observations. Whether taken one
at a time or all at once, each of these observations provides an opening
to explain the events and the importance of the Exodus from Egypt. This
explication itself can be independent of the rest of the Haggadah, or
(as I believe most of us do) the rest of the Haggadah is used to address
the observations made.
The first telling begins immediately after the posing of the four
questions, with the passage Avadim Hayinu, "We were slaves," and a
second passage Mit'chilah ov'dei cho-chavim, "Originally our ancestors
were idolators. These parallel passages reflect on the two kinds of
slavery that can exist: physical slavery and idolatry. The midrash of
the Four Children is found here and through the means of the four verses
in the Torah mandating the recounting of the Exodus story, we come to
understand that every question deserves to be answered, no matter the
nature (real or perceived) of the questioner.
The second telling works with the historical narrative of the Torah.
Although the text used is from Deuteronomy which begins with "My father
was a fugitive Aramean" and in a few sentences summarizes the events
related in Exodus. What follows is a classically rabbinic style of
commentary in which each phrase is commented upon, and the Exodus story
is retold.
The third telling is the recounting of the plagues in several midrashic
ways, ending in familiar song Dayeinu, in which we declare that if God
helped us only to a certain point in the story, it would have been
enough. In recounting the story in this fashion, the meaning is
conveyed that freedom always has a price. We remove drops from the wine
cup, the symbol of our joy, because other creatures of God died in the
process of our gaining freedom.
The fourth telling comes through the items found on the Seder plate.
Until now the Seder plate has not been used in the telling of the Exodus
from Egypt. Rabban Gamliel, a first century sage, declares that until
the basic three elements (the roasted shank bone, the bitter herbs, the
matzah) are explained, one has not fulfilled the requirements of the
Seder. Explanations are given within the text of the Haggadah, but
there is much opportunity to expand on the texts provided.
While any Haggadah can be used completely on its own, sometimes a change
of pace is needed from what we are accustomed to. Some families will
have different haggadot for individuals to use so that the various
translations or formats or imagery can spark fresh discussions and
ideas. Sometimes additional material is borrowed from other Haggadot.
The Internet also provides some wonderful opportunities to innovate in
the tellings of the Haggadah as well as materials on other Jewish
holidays and life cycle events.
http://www.jewishfreeware.org has a number of Haggadot and ancillary
materials especially in the way of songs both traditional and
non-traditional.
http://www.ritualwell.org is a wonderful source for many kinds of
rituals, especially those with a feminist outlook.
Chag sameach, Rabbi Teresa
• History of the Synagogue
Our founding fathers started
our congregation in the early 1890's. Services were either conducted
in their homes or places of business without a rabbi. In 1903,
rooms were leased in the Doolittle & Hall Block, now the Lincoln
Building, Public Square. The congregation was called Standard of Israel.
In November 1907,
the present Degel Israel was incorporated. The old Synagogue, located on
Prospect Street, was purchased and dedicated on November 13, 1907.
On March 11, 1922, a fire caused extensive damage. The building was
repaired and rededicated on July 3, 1922. This building served the
community until April 1953.
Ground was broken for a
new building on June 3, 1952 and it was dedicated August 31, 1953.
New innovations have
emerged through the years. The Synagogue Board was changed in 1984 to
include women, and, a year later, our Synagogue was changed from
Traditional Conservative to Egalitarian. Our major fundraising event is
now the annual Bagel Brunch, held each fall, and a Clean-up Day,
each spring ends the Sunday school year.
|
• For More Information
Spiritual Leader of
Congregation Degel Israel
Rabbi Teresa MJW Snyder
Phone Contact: 315-782-0806
Neil Katzman, President
315.771.3177
Anita Seefried-Brown, Immediate Past President,
Media Contact
315.782.3057
aseefried-brown@jcasac.com
|
