Tonight, before sundown, we will light the Chanukah and then the Shabbat candles. Not only are we celebrating Shabbat and Chanukah, but tonight also begins Rosh Hodesh, the new Month of Tevet. Chanukah straddles two months, Kislev and Tevet. This never held too much significance for me until this year. Like us, Chanukah begins in one place and ends in another. Like every part of life, we start a journey with a certain set of expectations, we tell God our plans, and God inevitably laughs and throws us something different.
This holiday represents much of life. Our community has gone through many changes throughout the years. I think of our members who signed their students up for Hebrew School in one synagogue and will be celebrating their graduation in another. Life goes in mysterious directions.
Chanukah reminds us what to do when this happens. We must remember our values and choose to light them up every day, even when the world shifts beneath our feet. There are so many forces pushing us in directions. There are pressures from friends, the greater culture, memes, and viral videos. Even desires inside of us push us in directions that do not jive with our deeper truths. Chanukah tells us that we must make conscious choices every day in order to both embrace the movement in our lives, and also maintain the dignity of our values and what we want to uphold.
The Jewish community, the tradition of our grandparents and great great grandparents is strong and sturdy. It has withstood assimilations and persecutions in the past, all because there have been people who decided to light their Chanukiot while juggling the distractions and pressures not to. This metaphor must carry out into the rest of our year. While the world shifts beneath our feet, while we start in one place and end in another, let’s rededicate ourselves to our core values and commitments and choose to increase light every single day.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Bernstein
SERVICES
Friday, December 27 - Thursday, January 2, 2020
Friday 8:00 PM Kabbalat Shabbat
Saturday 9:00 AM Nosh and D'rash 9:45 AM Shabbat Service
Sunday 9:00 AM Minyan Monday 6:30 AM Minyan
Thursday 8:00 AM Minyan
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Our Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry needs Increased membership contributions as well as ideas for other sources of income. We are now serving 15 to 20 families per week. While a lot of food is contributed to our pantry from supermarkets and other synagogues, it is still necessary to purchase needed food items.
Checks can be made out to the Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry or made out to CBO with an indication that the funds go to the pantry account.
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