E-KI
April 14, 2005 Vol. II No. 15
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027 215.887.8700
Torah Time Online
Shabbat Metzorah – Leviticus 14:1 – II Kings 7:3
Spiritual Leprosy
This week’s Torah portion, Metzora (“Leper”), continues last week’s discussion on the diagnosis and treatment of various skin diseases broadly referred to as leprosy in English translations of the Torah. Like the disease itself, this portion is often avoided by Bar and Bat Mitzvah families when picking a date three or four years in advance of their simcha. Even in classic rabbinic literature, some of the anomalies of the “leprosy” portions are connected to the apostasies of Korach, the great mutineer who rebelled against Moses by slandering him and the Torah. Indeed, the rabbis of the Talmud broadly viewed leprosy, both metaphorically and physically, in moral terms. “Metzora,” in their view, was shorthand for a larger equation, “Metzora motze shem ra,” or “Leprosy (and other afflictions) is punishment for slander.”
At face value, the idea of slander as a moral parallel to leprosy is persuasive. Both are pathologies, one social, the other physical. Both also destroy individuals and communities. However, when the connection between slander and leprosy becomes causative, we enter into a different, albeit unacceptable realm, namely, the idea of “we get what we deserve.” All you need to do is live for a few moments to realize that “reward and punishment” in this world are not always connected. The good often suffer and, sometimes, the evil prosper. The Book of Job teaches us that all our speculation on divine compensation for good and bad is futile.
It seems to me the Haftarah for this week (II Kings 4:42) was yoked to the Torah portion to break the reward-punishment nexus between leprosy and slander. In the Haftarah, four Israelite lepers slip out of the besieged city of Samaria only to find the enemy’s siege camp abandoned. Instead of keeping the food and booty for themselves, they ultimately decide to go back to Samaria and share the bounty with their fellow citizens. In short, they were “moral lepers” who helped validate the predictions of the prophet Elisha. Far from connecting leprosy with unethical behavior, the Haftarah demonstrates that a medical condition is not always a reflection of moral performance. We, too, need to give thought about who we ostracize or shun or quarantine for medical or cosmetic reasons and what are the true grounds of moral or even spiritual leprosy in our own day and age.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph.D.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES AT KI
Worship & Study Opportunities
This Week – Friday, April 15 – Blue Jeans Shabbat at 7:00 p.m. in the Youth Lounge; Shabbat Evening Service at 8:00 p.m. in the Chapel – Rabbi Maslin will speak: “The Menace of Religion in Israel and Elsewhere.” Saturday, April 16 – Torah Study Havurah at 9:00 a.m in the Library; Shabbat Morning Service in the Chapel, when we will celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Dara Rae Lazarus, daughter of Shari and David Lazarus; Shabbat Services at 2:00 p.m. at Rydal Park Retirement Home.
In the Week Ahead – Friday, April 22 – Brotherhood Shabbat at 8:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary, with guest speaker, Reverend Keith Hayward, and the gospel choir of LaMott A.M.E. Church. Passover Begins Saturday Evening, April 23. Congregational Seder on Sunday, April 24, by reservation only.
Coming Up -- Friday, May 13 – Shabbat Evening Services at 8:00 p.m. with guest speaker, Barbara H. Bergen, of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.
3rd Annual Super Get Ready for Passover Day – on Sunday, April 17. Rabbi Sussman will teach at 9:30, “Did the Exodus Happen and Does It Matter?” Workshops at 10:15 a.m. to noon: Rabbi Peter Rigler will discuss making your Seder meaningful; Cantor Lefko will teach traditional Passover songs; parents and grandparents are invited to attend craft workshops with their children to create Passover projects for the Seder table.
Dayenu! A Family Seder—on Sunday, April 24 at 6:00 p.m. in K/G—complete Passover Seder led by Rabbi Lance Sussman and Cantor Amy Lefko. Four-course traditional kosher meal—vegetarian available. $45/adult, $25/children 14 and under. Reservation deadline extended to April 14. Checks payable to KI, Attn: Brotherhood.
Listen to Most recent Shabbat evening sermon – click on this link! http://www.kenesethisrael.org/Sermons/ShabbatService.htm
Social Action Opportunities
Mitzvah Day is coming – on Sunday, May 1. Blood Drive in the Rothschild from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Join your fellow KI members in serving our community: visit residents at Sunrise of Abington; visit, feed and walk the greyhounds at Greyhound Rescue; spring cleanup at Pennypack Ecological Trust; and more choices. In addition, each Religious School grade will have its own project. You can complete and return the form you received in the mail to KI or e-mail the information to Kevin Parker, kpcyclist7@aol.com.
Help the Homeless – KI needs you. We are committed to help displaced families staying at St. John’s Lutheran Church (Old York Road & Melrose Avenue), May 15-22. Are you available to provide assistance with dinner meals, daytime transportation, evening childcare, or laundering linens? We’d like to build on this program and host families ourselves next year. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend training session at St. John’s, either Wednesday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. or in May (date as yet undetermined). If you are interested in helping with any part of this project, contact Rabbi Peter Rigler (215-887-8702 or prigler@aol.com) or Marjorie Curtis-Cohen (215-884-6169 or margie7610@comcast.net). Sponsored by the Interfaith Housing Alliance and the KI Social Action Committee.
Cook for Sharing Is Caring –Help assemble meals in the K/G kitchen for clients at Newman Senior Center (Klein Branch JCC) from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on May 24 (last Tuesday of the month). (No cooking in April due to Passover.) Info: Gladys Segal (215) 635-5815.
Pic”KI”nic—on Tuesday, May 24 – barbecue supper at Alvethorpe Park. Fun run/walk to benefit Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Mark your calendar!
Adult Education
Rabbi Sussman and a British Kiddush—at Gam Yahad Model Seder and program on Sunday, April 17, at 2:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Information: Ann Rappoport (215) 884-4155.
Free Tay-Sachs & Canavan Screening – during May at area locations. Information: (215) 887-0877 or ntsad@aol.com or www.tay-sachs.org. Sponsored by National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association of Delaware Valley.
Dr. Irene Reiter reviews “The King & I: The uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti’s Rise to Fame. . .“on Monday, May 9, at 7:00 p.m. Free to WRJ members; $4 for guests. Book is available in the KI Library. Refreshments. Sponsored by WRJ. RSVP to Joan Kamen by Monday, May 2 (215) 947-5926.
Aaron Lansky Speaks at KI – on Sunday, May 15, at 7:00 p.m. Lansky, recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Award, is founder and president of the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. The Center has created special programming, translated Yiddish titles into English, enlisted Steven Spielberg to digitize the entire collection of Yiddish books, and helped foster a Yiddish renaissance in this country. He is the author of Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books. Event is co-sponsored by KI’s Library Committee and the Meyers Foundation of Philadelphia.
News from the Meyers Library— Library hours are: Sunday 9:30-12:15, Tuesday 4:30-6, Wednesday 10-3:30, and Friday before 8:00 p.m. services. (You can also visit the bookcarts at the Oneg.)
Cultural Opportunities
KI Men’s Softball – KI plays Temple Sinai Men’s Club at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 14 at Mondauk 4 Field in Dresher (Dillon & Susquehanna Rds, behind Temple Sinai). Everyone is invited to come support our team. Next game is Tuesday, April 19, against Ohev Shalom at Ridgeway Field.
STAR at KI – Meeting on Thursday, April 21, from noon to 2:00 p.m. at KI. Community educators, nurses and social workers will present a program on sustaining freedom and independence while living in your own home. This month the program focuses on exercise and nutrition. Transportation available. Information: Michele Kramer (215) 673-7741 x. 227.
Yom HaShoah Observance – on Wednesday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m., at Beth Am. Cantor Lefko and our Adult Choir will participate. Sponsored by the Kehillah of Old York Road.
Mother’s Day Brunch – sponsored by the Brotherhood on May 8, at 10:00 a.m. Cantor Amy Lefko is the guest vocalist. $10/men; $5/women. Send checks to KI, Attn: Brotherhood. RSVP by May 3.
Movin’ Out at the Merriam Theater on Sunday, May 22. This dance musical, which won a Tony in 2003, is choreographed by Twyla Tharp and features 24 of Billy Joel’s classics. $128/person includes brunch (at KI at 10:30 a.m.), transportation (bus leaves at noon) and a seat in the orchestra for the 1:00 p.m. show. Send checks payable to KI (with WRJ Theater Trip on the memo line and envelope) to KI. Limited space available. Questions: Barbara Bronstein (215) 673-1435.
Yale Reisner – “Raising Atlantis: Restoring Jewish Memory in Poland” – on Monday, May 23, 7:45 p.m, at Gratz College (Old York Road & Melrose Avenue in Melrose Park). Reisner is Director of Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Genealogy Project at the Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw, Poland. $5 at the door. Sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia and Gratz College. Information: (610)363-7956 or JGSGP@comcast.net.
Ruth G. Kahn Concert: The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia – Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Music Director and Conductor, and Leila Josefowicz, violin soloist – in music of Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Hersch, and Schuberg, on Saturday, June 4, at 8:00 p.m. at KI. $30 admission includes dessert reception. Send check (payable to KI) to KI, Family Concert Series. Tickets will be held at the door. Seating is limited. KI Music Arts Committee. Information: (215) 887-8700.
Preschool and Religious School
Help the Religious School Reach Accreditation. We need several families who would be willing to answer some questions about their family’s Religious School experience. We also need volunteers of different ages (both kids and adults) to complete the following sentence in any creative or traditional way “My synagogue is like a home because. . .” or “My home is like a synagogue because. . .” If you are willing to be a part of this exciting process please email Rob Staples (rstaples13@comcast.net ) or Rabbi Rigler (Educator@kenesethisrael.org ).
Do you know someone who might be interested in KI’s Preschool or Religious School? We are enrolling now for next year. Please contact either Kathy Goldenberg at (215) 885-2425 or Rabbi Stacy Rigler at (215) 887-8704. We are always happy to speak with and welcome prospective students and their families.
Super get ready for Passover day – Join your kids for a special program to help your family celebrate Passover on Sunday April 17, 2004. Preschool community invited. See “Worship & Study Opportunities” above for more information.
Mitzvah Day - Each grade in the Religious School will be working on its own mitzvah project in school on Sunday, May 1. Parents who are not involved in other mitzvah projects are encouraged to join their children in their classrooms.
Kehillah Celebrates Israel at KI — on Thursday, May 12, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to sing, dance and jump (moon bounce) for Israel at the community’s fourth annual celebration of Israel’s Independence Day. Israeli dancing with Rak/Dan. Proceeds go directly Israel. Contributions from last year’s event purchased computers for Netivot, our sister community in Israel.
Ways To Get Involved
Human Resources Expertise? Could you offer limited assistance to our congregation? We are in the process of forming a personnel committee and we would very much appreciate your input and participation. Please contact Evan DuBro at edubro@kenesethisrael.org or Carey Roseman at croseman1@comcast.net.
Shabbat Pulpit Flowers --You can now sponsor the Shabbat pulpit flowers in honor of a birthday, anniversary, baby naming, safe travel, recovery from illness, or any other happy occasion. You can also sponsor the flowers in memory of a recent passing or a Yahrzeit anniversary. An acknowledgement will be listed in the weekly Shabbat folder recognizing your generosity. Please make your check for $45.00 payable to KI, Attn: WRJ Sisterhood.
Do you Love KI?—KI’s Membership Committee is looking for current members to partner with our new members and help them become integrated into the KI family. This is a great chance to discuss with new members all the cultural, religious and social action opportunities available at KI. Or volunteer to come to an event and help recruit new members. Call Andy Brookman at (215) 887-0777.
Sharing Our Simchas – Share your happiness with our congregational family. Consider underwriting our beautiful Oneg Shabbat. Contact the Administrative Office, (215) 887-8700, for further details.
Sisterhood Gift Shop –will be open on Sunday mornings during Religious School hours and by appointment. Special Passover hours: Monday, April 18, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 19, 10:00 a.m. to noon, 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.; Thursday, April 21, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Friday, April 22, 10:00 a.m. to noon. For more information, call Joan Kamen (215) 947-5926 or Administrative Office (215) 887-8700.