D'var Torah by Rabbi Aaron Weininger
November 3, 2018—25 Cheshvan 5779

Etz hayim he l’mahazikim bah v’tomkheha me’ushar…“It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and all who hold onto it are blessed. Its ways are pleasant, and all its paths are peace.”
 
Each time we return the Torah to the ark, as we just did, we chant these words from the third chapter of Proverbs. But this week, reeling from the terror attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, how do we proclaim the tree of life, for those who grasp it, are blessed? Its ways are pleasant? All its paths are peace?

Yesod (or Foundation) is built upon the knowledge and skills a leader needs to be effective.

The Minneapolis Jewish Federation, in partnership with the Harry Kay Center for Leadership Excellence, is hosting a fall leadership development program—Yesod—for 20 Jewish professionals in the Twin Cities community, which will be taught by Sally Abrams.

As we approach the end of our third year of the Giving Circle, we would like to celebrate our victories and spread the word about the Giving Circle so that we can do even more next year.

Since the Giving Circle’s inception 3 years ago, we have significantly increased the amount of help we have been able to give our 3 partner food shelves, PRISM, ICA and STEP, as well as our partner organizations Our Saviour’s Shelter and Loaves & Fishes. Just this past year, our Giving Circle members donated enough funds to provide generous checks to all 3 food shelves in March, for MN Food Share month, and we will be able to do that again in November. We also provided funding for Loaves & Fishes and, with the help of the congregation, monthly dinners to Our Saviour’s Shelter. Our congregants have donated 160 bags of clothing and household items to PRISM’s Shop for Change. So many people have benefited from your help.

Adath Jeshurun is privileged to welcome the President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel to Minneapolis from November 14 to November 18. In addition to his leadership role in the Masorti movement, Rabbi Mikie Goldstein is also the congregational rabbi at Kehillat Adat Shalom-Emanuel in Rehovot. Rabbi Goldstein will be hosted for Shabbat by Beth El Congregation, where he will speak from the bimah on Shabbat morning, November 17.  Rabbi Goldstein, who speaks English and Hebrew, is a sought-after guest on Israeli television and radio, addressing the concerns of the Masorti movement.

Rabbi Goldstein will meet the Adath Jeshurun community at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening, November 15 in the Social Hall. His topic is: “Pluralism & Pride: Judaism of Tradition and Change.”  Rabbi Goldstein will discuss LGBT, marriage, and Jewish conversion issues in Israel.  All are invited to attend this event.

D'var Torah by Rabbi Harold Kravitz
Yom Kippur—September 19, 2018

One of the difficult things we have been confronting the last few years, in almost daily revelations, have been public accusations against powerful men accused of crossing boundaries of sexual propriety. Though not a new development, these aggressions are finally receiving the attention they deserve in the Movement that has been named (hashtag) #MeToo. I want us to take time to reflect on this disturbing phenomenon for the lessons it teaches that are central to the theme of Yom Kippur. The principles of repentance, forgiveness, and atonement can guides us here, whether applied on the grand scale of #MeToo, or to less dramatic, but still important instances of how we relate to each other. 

D'var Torah by Rabbi Harold J. Kravitz
Rosh Hashanah, Day 1—September 10, 2018

The last year and a half has been an emotional roller coaster for our family.

I lost my mom Mildred last year and was saying Kaddish until May. In late June Cindy’s dad Irv died, so this year she is saying Kaddish. It is a lot to lose two parents in a short time. As we reflect on these losses, we are both deeply grateful for the support we received from our community, both the community here at Adath and the community we have with friends and colleagues that extends far beyond MN. We are so thankful for the many contributions, the notes of support, the meals, all kinds of people who checked in on us.

D'var Torah by Rabbi Aaron Weininger
Rosh Hashanah Day 2—September 11, 2018

I remember where I was when… For many here it may be, “I remember where I was when the Halloween Blizzard hit.” Or, “I remember where I was when the Twins last won the World Series.” Both date back to 1991. Sorry Twins fans—maybe next year. My parents would say they remember where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, or where they were when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon.  

By Sheri Steinman

The year was 1978, and Lorraine Astren was President of the Midwest Branch of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism and attending a National Women's League Convention in New York. Lorraine, along with branch delegates from the three synagogues of Minneapolis (Adath, Beth El and B’nai Emet) brought up a motion that the Conservative seminaries should allow women to be trained as rabbis, cantors and educators—but their motion was tabled. However, two years later at the next National Convention, the same motion was brought up, and this time it was unanimously passed. It was then sent to the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) where they subsequently passed the motion and the Conservative Movement’s seminaries became open to women.

D'var Torah by Rabbi Aaron Weininger
on June 2, 2018


I’d bet most people here know how to complete this sentence, so please fill in the blank with me. The cold weather in Minnesota keeps out the ______.  We know the cold weather keeps out the riffraff.
 
If you’re not from Minnesota, welcome.
 
Our Torah reading Behaalotekha introduces us to the Hebrew word for riffraff in chapter 11. First we read about the bitter complaining of the people before God and the fire that God sends, incensed at them, “ravaging the outskirts of the camp.”

The board of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and a group of rabbis from around the country were on Capitol Hill Wednesday lobbying against the House farm bill on the grounds that the nutrition title will make some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants lose benefits while not helping needy military families get food they need.

For several years, MAZON has pointed out that counting a service member’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) as income when determining eligibility for federal nutrition assistance keeps needy families from qualifying for SNAP and said that excluding the BAH would help thousands of low-income military families put food on the table.

The House farm bill contains a provision that excludes the first $500 of a service member’s BAH from counting as income for SNAP eligibility determination, but MAZON maintains that amount is too low to make much of a difference.