Volume 2 Issue 10

Jewish History Today, with Its Question Mark

Chodesh Av 1

After 500 years,Passover returnsto southern Italy

3

IFR Rabbis NEWSand Schmooze

5

Finding the Ideasof Forgivenesswith the Act ofGiving

6

Kol Ha’nisiya 6

Spiiritual Judaism 8

Inside this issue:

IFR News Shevat 5766

IFR Mission

Statement

The IFR is a professionalorganization of rabbisunited by a commitment toJewish tradition and a de-sire to facilitate the Jewishspiritual growth and lifecycle needs of all.

IFR provides a progressive,pluralistic forum, linkingmember rabbis in a spiritof friendship and a sense ofcommunity.

IFR provides support formembers in their profes-sional endeavors and offerscontinuing education. IFRencourages professionalrelationships with rabbisand other rabbinic organi-zations.

Rabbi David Rabeeya

By Dr. David Rabeeya, Ph.D.

Statistical data cannot decide if oneshould be realistic or optimistic in his orher approach to life. They are there todescribe facts on the ground and some-times to demonstrate possible trends infuture developments. It is also true thatstatistical data can be easily manipu-lated by establishing specific indicatorsin advance in order to reach the desir-able results based on political consid-erations. Nevertheless, no one candoubt the decreasing number of Ameri-can Jews and the increasing number ofMuslims in the United States. It isdoubtful if, at the present, more thanfive million identify themselves as Jews.This qualification may be needed sincesome American Jews wish to keep theirJewish identity but they prefer to hide itfor a variety of reasons. Furthermore,the majority of American Jews do notbelong to any synagogue, temple, or anypolitical or social organization. It is notan exaggeration to state that their inter-est in the destiny of Israel is either neg-ligible or marginal. While acculturationand assimilation are sometimes neededto pursue the illusive and the realAmerican dream, the final result is thatthe majority of American Jews are notproducing many Jewish children in or-der to ensure their survival in the futurewith its many radical changes, in theworld at large, and in Israel in particu-lar.

For many young American Jews, thetragic events of the Holocaust ceased tobe a factor in their identity and they are

seeking new ways to preserve theirproud heritage. Indeed, many estab-lished synagogues are failing to attractthese youth to their door. These youngpeople do not live in a vacuum and thesecular American world, with its finan-cial promises of success is always intheir dominant reality. The traditionalconduct of the synagogue cannot appealto them anymore.

The rise of radical Islam, in manyplaces in the world, is now adding evenmore anxieties and fears for Jewish whofind themselves once again targets ofintensive and brutal antisemitic andanti-Zionist propaganda. It seems tothem that in Jewish history, there isalways a question mark about the fu-ture, without a question mark to assurethem of their security in the physicaland psychological realms.

While most American Jews needed to bealarmed by radical cultural and demo-graphic changes in America, no one candoubt anymore that new ethnic and reli-gious groups are gaining new politicalpower based on their legitimate partici-pation in American democracy. The riseof the Hispanic political influence in in-ternal and external American policies,together with the projection of new po-litical strength by American Muslims,can offer ample opportunities for Ameri-can Jews to form new political coalitionsin the days to come. In addition, newstrategies in the building of new coali-tions with the raising power of the Afri-can- American population and leadersmust also be on the agenda of AmericanJewry. New economic and politicalforces in the United States cannot be

continued

Volume 2 Issue 10Page 2

IFR News Shevat 5766

ignored anymore in order to secure the continuoussupport for Israel, which is being slowly delegitimizedas a state by many forces in the intellectual communi-ties as well as in some churches and Christian socialorganizations. There is also a need now to reevaluatethe traditional loyalty of many Jews to the Democraticparty of the past must be reexamined in order to seekinfluences in the new centers of political power. Inother words, voting and acting on behalf of the Repub-lican party must not be seen as negligence of liberaland progressive values but as a way to bring thesecore social commitments to the two political establish-ments in America. There is also an urgent need to re-evaluate the often elusive Jewish education in Americaby honestly discussing the old formula of Bar and BatMitzvah preparations. People who are constantly de-creasing in numbers, without professionalism in theirJewish education, may survive but they cannot live aJewish life without altering the financial prioritiesmaking real Jewish education, serious and real. Idoubt if the messiah will ever come, but it is my con-viction that it is time to do something ourselves to liveand perpetuate our dear Jewish heritage. We do notface only question marks!

Page 3

IFR News Shevat 5766Volume 2 Issue 10

After 500 years, Passover returns to southern ItalyBy Rabbi Barbara Aiello

This article first appeared Venice Gondolier Sun (FL)

When the long arm of Chief Inquisitor Torquemadareached into Southern Italy, humiliating, torturing andkilling the thousands of the Jews who had alreadyfled similar persecutions in Spain, finding any Jews inSicily or Calabria would be nothing short of a miracle.But miracles are things that we Jews have experi-enced over and over again throughout our history.Pesach 5765 was no exception. Maybe it wasn't asdramatic as the parting of the Sea of Reeds, but itseemed so. After 500 years, Passover seders re-turned to Sicily and Calabria.

Organized in Milan by the members singoga LevChadash, the first Progressive (Reform) synagoguein Italy and led by me, the first Progressive and firstwoman rabbi in Italy, the seder experience proved tobe a fascinating combination of ancient Sephardictraditions shared by people who joyfully celebratedthe rebirth of their Jewish roots.

Monday evening, April 25, 2005, is Italian Independ-ence Day, and what better way to honor the ideals offreedom and unity than to welcome Jews and friendsof the Jewish community to Sicily's Passover seder.Held high on a mountain at a restaurant in the smallvillage of Piano Battaglia, tables were set with tradi-tional seder plates, along with the "Haggadah," ortraditional story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt, and,of course, baskets of unleavened bread called mat-zah.

Older members of the Jewish communities of Pal-ermo and Messina delighted in seder symbols theyhad heard about as children. In addition to the shank-bone at the leader's table, individual seder plates usethe "bietola," (blood-red beet) to symbolize the lamb'sblood on the doorposts that saved the firstborn inJewish families. There were other examples ofSephardic Jewish influence, which differs from whatis generally found at the American Ashkenazic sedertable. Romaine lettuce (more bitter than the Ameri-can variety) replaced horseradish as a symbolic re-minder of the bitterness of slavery. Pieces of celerystalk, rather than parsley, serve as "karpas," orgreens, dipped in vinegar, rather than saltwater, bothsymbolizing the tears shed by our people. The tradi-tional egg on the Italian seder plate is a rich brown incolor because it has been roasted for hours with on-ion skins, vinegar and saffron.

The seder meal begins with a "primo piatto" of ricesteamed with vegetables, because, in the Sephardictradition, rice as well as other legumes are consid-ered kosher for Pesach. Roasted lamb is a mustalong with "mina," a layered lasagna-type meat andmatzah pie.

As rabbi and service leader, it was Four Cups, ForQuestions, Four Sons and Four Seders, the last ofwhich was held in Serrastretta, the small Calabrianvillage where my father, Antonio Aiello (of blessedmemory) spent his childhood. Two buses, "Pullman"as they are called by the locals, brought CalabrianJews from as far away as the villages of Palmi andGoia Tauro. Here, at the beautiful restaurant at ParcoPingitore, an interfaith group including not only Jew-ish families, but Catholic and Protestant churchmembers, joined in the seder celebration.

Pesach traditions, Italian-style, continued with thepassing of the matzah plate shoulder to shoulderamong the guests, a symbol of the heavy burden ofslavery. The singing of the traditional Dayenu in-cluded "whips" of green onions, used to mimic thebeating of the Jewish slaves. Pentecostal choir mem-bers demonstrated their gratitude and their love forIsrael, by singing a beautiful selection of Jewishmelodies, all in Hebrew.

Thanks to dedication and generosity of my local Jew-ish community, I was able to pack a giant suitcasefilled with more than a dozen boxes of matzah. Forsome Jewish families, who trace their roots back toJewish grandparents or great grandparents, the Mil-anese matzah was their first taste of this traditionalPassover staple. Following the seder, there wasenough matzah to give to individual families so theycould continue the tradition by keeping kosher forPesach in their own homes. For most of these fami-lies, it was their first opportunity to obtain "local" ko-sher food.

Journalists from local newspapers and a crew fromRAI 3 Italian TV, documented the festivities. Newsarticles that appeared several days before the sederincluded an interview with Professor Vincenzo Vil-lella, author of a new and extremely important bookfor Italian Jews. "La Judeca di Nicastro, e la storiadegli Ebrei in Calabria" (The Jews of Nicastro andthe history of the Jews in Calabria), recounts the his-tory of many Jewish families, my own ancestorsamong them, and emphasizes the little known and

IFR News Shevat 5766Page 4

After 500 years, Passover returns to southernItaly-continued from page 3

less appreciated fact that, prior to the Inquisition,more than 40 percent of the entire populations ofSicily and Calabria were Jewish. Professor Villellaalso included an exhaustive list of Italian-Jewishsurnames, along with ideas for discovering anddocumenting an Italian Jewish family tree.

As I stood before the 62 Calabrian participants, Ifound myself whispering a prayer of gratitude forwhat was the most emotional experience in my rab-binic career. Recalling my own family's history, Iwas able say, "When my Nonna carried candles tothe cellar to kindle the lights of Shabbat, I realizedthat fear and prejudice nearly extinguished our heri-tage.

This year, in Calabria and in Sicily, we Jews whowere nearly robbed of our religion and our tradi-tions, brought the light of Pesach out of the cantinaand into the hearts of fellow Jews, who, after 500years, now have a new opportunity to do as Torahcommands and be "a light unto the nations."

The seder concludes with the traditional wish, whenwe say, "Next year in Jerusalem." For me and forthe nearly 100 returning Jews who shared Passovertogether, we add, "Next year in Sicily," and "Nextyear in Calabria," too.

Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the rabbi of sinagogaLev Chadash, in Milan, the first Progressivesynagogue in Italy.

For more information, visit rabbibarbara.com orwrite to her at rabbi@rabbibarbara.com

Volume 2 Issue 10

IFR Officers 2004-2006

President: Rabbi Suzanne H. Carter

Vice President: Rabbi Gary Golbart

Vice President and Membership Chair:Rabbi Roger Ross

Treasurer: Rabbi Richard Allen

Secretary and Membership:

Rabbi Lisa M. Bensinger-Bushnell

IFR Board

Rabbi David Degani

Rabbi Judith Epstein

Rabbi Jeff Lipshultz

Rabbi Howard Meridy

IFR Advisors:

Rabbi Buz Bogage

Rabbi Joseph Gelberman

Legal Advisors:

Cantor L. Jerry Cohn ESQ

Rabbi Lewis Solomon

IFR News EditorRabbi Suzanne H. Carter

rabbis@bellsouth.net

IFR Board meeting minutes can be viewedon the IFR web site www.intfedrabbis.org

Enter the protected portion and click onthe IFR Board minutes located on themenu on the left side.

IFR Rabbis News & Shmooze

IFR News Shevat 5766PageVolume 2 Issue 10

IFR rabbi in Augusta Ga, Rabbi DavidSirull and his wife Stacy on the birth oftheir third child, Sidney Isaac Sirull bornJune 21, 2005.

It’s official!IFR Conference will be Tuesday April 4-Thursday April6 2006 in sunny Delray Beach, Florida

Lets see how we have all “changed” and grown since2000 & 2001! (photos below)

IFR Conference 2001 Duncan Center-Delray Beach

IFR Conference 2000 Duncan Center-Delray Beach FL.

Bruchim Ha’Baim to new IFR members

Rabbi Arthur Rosenberg

Rabbi Dr. Raphael Pazo Jr. Ph.D.

Rabbi Dr. Harris Brody

Rabbi Anne White

IFR DUES 2005-2006

Now is the time to renew your membership inthe IFR. Please make your check for $150.00payable to:The International Federation of RabbsYou may also pay your dues in two payments,$75.00 now and a postdated check for $75.00

Send your check (s) to the IFR treasurer

Rabbi Richard Allen, TreasurerInternational Federation of Rabbis1647 Edge Hill Rd.Abington, PA 19001215-657-3737www.IntFedRabbis.orgallen@rabbiallen.com

IFR News Shevat 5766Page 6

Finding the Ideas of Forgiveness with the Act of Giving Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz

The month of August has left us and for many it isthe end of summer lightheartedness. We put awayour summer clothes and file away our summermemories and begin thinking about the importantelements of the New Year which will be comingshortly. As we enter September we begin prepara-tions for the new ideas within the shift from easy go-ing life of summer to the seriousness of the comingyear. We do this by putting our minds into the modeof forgiveness. We establish this by saying the sli-chot prayer which begins on September 24th whenour minds and hearts try to cling to the ideas of for-giveness and hope for a change in heart as we pre-pare for Rosh HaShannah.

Slichot prepares our mind and soul for the inspira-tion and initiative to change so we can stand withGod on Rosh HaShannah. The change comes fromhope and also actions of our relationships to oneanother. On Slichot we recite the beginning of theHigh Holiday liturgy and look to the words we recitein hope that it can prepare us for judgment. Theprayers signal for us to search within our heart andgive of ourselves not only to God, but to our fellowhuman beings searching for our inner quality of for-giveness.

On September 24th we begin the liturgy of the HighHoly Days in which we search introspectively withinour daily actions at our relationships to others. Onboth on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there is aprayer which concludes, "Repentance, prayer, andcharity or tzedakah may avert the evil decree.”

Our tradition teaches that tzedakah has a significantimpact. The Talmud in Yurasalmi Peah tells us thattzedakah is the equal of all of the commandments ofthe Torah combined. That is a strong statement ifone looks at all the laws, including the ones relatingto God and man; it is the charity of man to man thatseems to outlast everything. All seems to comedown to the word tzedakah, the Jewish concept ofgiving.

In trying to understand tzedakah one needs tosearch in our textual history for the meaning of giv-ing and receiving for love and forgiveness. We findthat the book of Deuteronomy states, “If there be aneedy person among you, you shall not harden yourheart nor shut your hand.” The Hebrew begins with“patoach tiftach”, you shall "open, open" your hand.

Rabbi Suzanne H. Carter

Shalom Chevrei IFR,

This is my second year as president of the IFR,and am very pleased to be part of this expandinggroup of wonderful men and women.

We will be having our 5th IFR Conference sincethe year 2000 on April 4-6 2006 . The conferencethis year is in South Florida (third time) at TheDuncan Center in my hometown of Delray Beach.

I encourage all of you to make an attempt to bewith us. Delray Beach is a beautiful quaint villageby the sea, which reminds me of Natanya Israel,where I lived during the 1970’s.

Delray Beach is within 30 miles of Fort Lauderdaleand Palm Beach airports.

The Duncan Center is approximately 3-4 milesfrom the beach and is run by the Episcopal Dio-ceses, their Chef John, made a point of serving allvegetarian meals, and at our next conference, wewill give our attendees an option for Kosher mealsor vegetarian.

During the conference the IFR Board will meet andthere will be an election for new officers and Boardmembers. Nominations for new officers and Boardmembers will be opened up to the IFR member-ship in late January 2006, which will give all IFRmembers an opportunity to nominate a new board.

Those of you who will be attending and would liketo make a presentation or lead a workshop, pleasecontact me at rabbis@bellsouth.net or call me at561-498-4020.

I am looking forward to meeting many of you“panim el panim” .

Kol Tuv

shosh

קול הנשיאה

Volume 2 Issue 10

Kol Hanisiya

The verse continues with “naton, titayn” you shall"give, give" saying it twice and “your heart shall not

be grieved”. Opening your hand means giving fromall elements of yourself, not just money but your time,even a kind word. The term is also said twice so wewill give and not turn away from the opportunity toallow others to give to us.

Tzedakah is more than just giving, it is a state ofmind that we put ourselves into in order to preparefor standing before God. When we approach Godduring the holidays we appear as a humble individ-ual, a person pleading for justice and righteousness,but we are not always humble when we relate to oth-ers. We need to recognize our relationships with oth-ers as we prepare our hearts for the prayers of Sli-chot. We pray not asking for something for nothingbut for a second chance, the ability to make ourworld and our souls better simply through our self-motivation of giving to individuals and our commu-nity. We want to change ourselves as well as theperson who is affected from our gifts through the actof giving; this is how we understand the gifts thatGod has bestowed upon us. We allow the giving toact as a catalyst for forgiveness.

Tzedakah is rooted in a basic Jewish principle thatall people are responsible for each other. We are ob-ligated to share our physical possessions with thosewho are in need and we need to be proud of theseactions when doing it. The righteousness of charitycomes not from how much we give but the simpleidea that giving is our responsibility. The notion thatwe are connected through our actions is what bindsus as a community. We are to change our heartswhen we give and thus the giver is truly the one whobenefits from this action. The giver is changed by thesimple act of giving.

As we approach this month it is not a time for us tolook at the world and say, “You are on your own, youshould pull yourself out of your problems by your ownwill, don’t lean on me, work it out for yourself.” Weshould be saying that we are stronger when we aretogether, we lean on each other, and we are respon-sible for each other. That is why the prayer fortzedakah during the High Holidays is an essentialelement of our faith. We stand together becausewith one voice we stand with God and offer our sup-plication.

As we prepare to embrace God with our prayers forforgiveness we are given the opportunity to change.The acts of asking for forgiveness are to put our bod-ies into action and this is why giving is so important.When we embrace the love of God we see that thegreatest gift that can be given is often the gift of for-giveness. Now is the time to give the tzedakah offorgiveness to those around us and try to start ourlives with a new heart.

This year our New Year comes later than previousRosh HaShannahs, so we have extra time to prepareour minds and hearts for the judgment of Rosh Ha-Shannah and Yom Kippur. This unique month ofSeptember we are given this extra time to set asideold angers and make peace with old enemies and tryand find our charity to finally forgive. On Slichot weask God to forgive our mistakes but first we must for-give others.

This is the final act of tzedakah that we can give theworld, a second chance for a relationship with us.We ask God to give us another year so we begin thisby taking it upon ourselves to give others a new op-portunity to come back into our lives. We come to-gether as a community to pray, so let us do it out oflove and not spite, let’s rebuild bridges that havefallen and build new relationships that seem distantfrom us. This is the greatest act of giving a personcan do, rekindling a flame in someone that had ap-peared burnt out due to bad feelings.

Let us stand together andcling to God as Jews and hu-man beings united throughthe act of giving. Take thistime to connect with othersand build and create some-thing positive for the NewYear.

Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz is the spiritual leader ofTemple Beth Sholom in Chula Vista. He wel-comes your thoughts at dvjewish@rof.net

IFR News Shevat 5766 Volume 2 Issue 10 Page 7

Finding the Ideas of Forgiveness with the Act of Giving Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz

They Seek and FailToday’s Jews hunger for spirituality and are hopingthat Judaism will be able to provide a framework thatwill give meaning and purpose to their lives. Someof them are reaching outside of Judaism only be-cause when they reach inside, their own faith fails toprovide what they need when they need it.

They expect a religion, any religion, to help themanswer the “big questions” of life and death and themysteries of existence, as well as to give them com-fort in times of pain and distress. When they realizethat something is missing in their lives, they turn totheir rabbis for guidance on their spiritual quest orfor counseling in developing a personal relationshipwith God. They turn to their congregation for help inwelcoming them into a sense of community and fordirection in filling the gap left by social isolation.Many of them come away from the experienceempty handed and broken hearted.

They are often met in these attempts by what theyperceive as disingenuousness, unresponsiveness,or ineffectiveness. This is not done intentionally, butrather comes as a result of impersonal and institu-tional style behavior practiced by rabbis, synagoguestaff, and even other congregants. Thus, the proc-ess of alienation begins and these Jewish seekersbecome increasingly distanced from their God, theirPeople, and their own Jewish identity.

Spiritual Judaism is at the Center

Rabbis are sorely distressed by this syndrome andsuggest that it is one of the most damaging cancersto threaten the body of Judaism today. How do wetreat the disease? How do we cause this “exodus”to go into remission? As Jewish leaders and teach-ers, we feel compelled to find a cure and to then putthe remedy on the market for distribution to our spiri-tually suffering Jewish family.

Given the sum of the wisdom derived from our com-bined personal experiences, the encyclopedicknowledge gained from our teachers and texts, and

the collected understanding gleaned from the sechel(intuitive knowledge) gifted to us by our students, weurge the development of Centers for Spiritual Juda-ism to aid in the healing of our faith and of our peo-ple. We firmly believe that Judaism’s new frontierlies in an exploration and evolution of Jewish spiritu-ality. Spiritual Judaism is a dynamic force that willultimately propel ongoing development in all areasof Jewish thinking.

The Search for Shalom

Seeking the “spiritual” meaning of a given ritual, cus-tom, or belief is not a new idea in Judaism. It is oneof the most pervasive elements in Jewish culturalhistory and has been part of the Jewish thought sys-tem since its origins. It is widespread in the Biblicaland Talmudic commentaries, in the Midrashic leg-ends and Aggadic folklore, as well as in the mysticalteachings of Kabbalah.

Finding the path to enlightenment and achieving“mystical transcendence”, linking one’s finite self tothe infinite and eternal, is a basic need of every hu-man being. Spiritual Judaism seeks to revitalize andrecapture the hearts, minds, and souls of disaffili-ated Jews who have been too long without faith intheir faith, without belief in their beliefs, and withoutinspiration in their spiritual search.

Jewish spiritual seekers want and need help in theirquest. They must be taught how to use what wehave called Spiritual Judaism. Those searching fora Jewish anchor in the secular world need assis-tance with their spiritual tools, such as personalprayer, meditation, imagery, and relaxation tech-niques.

This apparatus can in turn be used for self-discovery, spiritual development and transformation,and energy direction; the goal being to facilitatecompleteness in healing (refuah sh’leimah), whichwill thereby enable them to attain a wholeness(sh’leimut) of mind-body-spirit. With this complete-ness or wholeness comes a harmony of the energyof being, which we call shalom - peace.

When a believer turns to their spiritual support sys-tem in times of dire emotional need and they receiveno succor, no comfort, no direction or hope – what

(Continued on page 9)

IFR News Shevat 5766 Volume 2 Issue 10 Page 8

The Jewish Spiritual Quest

Rabbi R. Zev Wellins, D.D.

good is it? It is bound to become alien to them andtheir hearts are no longer bound to it! We pray thatSpiritual Judaism will endow these Jews with a sys-tem of practice and belief that will truly become a partof them. We hope that it will penetrate to the inner-most reaches of their hearts, and afford them a deepwellspring of spiritual strength with which to face theirjourney in the world.

Dr. Wellins is staff Rabbi and Jewish Spiritual Coun-selor for Hospice Care of Southeast Florida, Rabbi ofCongregation Kol Ami in Boca Raton and ExecutiveDirector of: The Center for Spiritual Judaism, basedin Miami, Florida. You can reach him at: (305) 385-4353; email: rebzev@bellsouth.net.

The Jewish Spiritual Quest continued from page 8

IFR News Av 5765 Volume 2 Issue 10Page 9