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Parents have let out a collective sigh of relief.  The new academic year has started and, thank God, the kids are back in school.  It is amazing that, at the end of the school year, parents are so grateful to have a reprieve from supervising homework, making lunches and driving carpools.  By the end of the summer, however, they are all too happy to resume those duties and have their kids back in a structured, productive and learning environment.

While we mostly think about the end of summer as a time that kids go back to school, Judaism teaches that it is specifically this period of the year that all of us, adults, kids, men and women are encouraged to return to learning, studying and personal growth.  Learning is a lifelong endeavor and its mission is never complete.  

Over the past few weeks, I attended two siyumim, the celebrations over completion of a major body of learning, that deeply inspired me.  During the nine days, our member, Jeff Silkin made a siyum on an entire mesechta  (tractate) of gemara.  Remarkably, when Jeff and his family first moved to the circle he would classify himself as a beginner with little background or learning skills.  Yet, by committing to study one night a week with his chavrusa (R. Mayer Englander), something he considers totally ordinary, he was able to achieve an extraordinary feat.  

Last Shabbos at Seudah Shlishiet, another of our members, Dan Waldman, made a siyum on Shas Mishnayos, having completed every single mishna in the six orders.  He told the story of how, as a survivor, he tried to learn about his murdered ancestors so he could visit their graves.  When he recognized that, tragically, he could not locate much information, he decided he would study the entire mishna and dedicate it to them.   Through this process of study that took several years, he became their monument.  Ask Dan how he completed this rigorous project and his answer is simple – one mishna at a time.

Like our many children and like Jeff and Dan, this Elul, let’s all go back to school.  Challenge yourself to complete an area of study, to read a challenging book, to attend an inspiring lecture or to engage a regular study partner.  Participate in the Beis Midrash program nightly or Shabbos afternoon in the Senders Library.  If you need a chavrusa, feel free to contact me any time.  

May we all use Labor Day to return to school for a labor of love – Torah study, and may we attend each other’s siyumim and celebrations for many years to come.

The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed many beautiful buildings, homes and other magnificent structures. Toward the end of his career, a reporter asked him, “Of your many beautiful designs, which one is your favorite?” Without missing a beat, Frank Lloyd Wright answered, “My next one.” If we focus too much on the challenges, the obstacles and the problems, we will become paralyzed, apathetic and stagnant. The challenge in life is to be firmly rooted in realism, but inspired by a healthy dose of optimism. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, one must always believe that the best is yet to come in our marriages, parenting, spiritual ambitions, professional aspirations, health consciousness, and more.

The BRS team has been hard at work this summer planning an amazing year ahead. Our brand new, state of the art website will be fully functional within a few weeks allowing you access to everything you want to know about BRS in addition to a member section to pay your bills, sponsor a siddur, make a donation, etc. As Rabbi Broide writes, we are working hard to expand our outreach efforts to bring the beauty of our Torah to thousands around us, and to bring the beauty that those thousands have to offer, to our community. Our Welcome Committee, Chessed Committee, and Hospitality Committees have come up with innovative new ideas to encourage participation in their critical work.

We eagerly look forward to welcoming fantastic scholars in residence this year including Nobel Prize winner Professor Yisroel Auman, Award winning actress Mayim Bialik, Rabbi Daniel Gordis, Charlie Harary and many others. This Elul we will be launching our ‘Giving is Getting’ initiative including service learning trips throughout the year and disaster relief work if God forbid necessary. Under the leadership of the dynamic Rabbi Uri and Aliza Pilochowski, our youth and teen departments have incredible new programs planned.

With all of the challenges, rest assured that there is a lot to look forward to at BRS in this coming year. With your help, partnership and support, I am fully confident that together the BRS community will have its’ best year ever!

Shabbat Shalom

A shul is a place to attend classes, davening, events, programs and activities. A community is so much more. It is a family that celebrates with you, mourns with you, provides support, love, and a sense of mission. BRS’s mission is to invite Jews of all backgrounds, levels of knowledge, observance and diversity to participate in our modern orthodox, Zionist community committed to the study and observance of Torah, to outreach and to contributing to the world around us.

We feel deeply honored and proud that our community is not limited to Montoya Circle. Firstly, there are individuals and families that identify with our mission and our sense of community and therefore attend BRS despite the distance from their home. But secondly, our community transcends Montoya Circle because of our wonderful satellite, BRS West.

Since its inception, BRS West has provided its members a ‘small community’ feel, while at the same time being part of a larger mission, vision and affiliation. BRS West members are full partners in the BRS family, participating in our programming, leadership and activities. We are profoundly proud and feel indebted to the BRS West families who through their commitment to BRS’s sense of community and mission have expanded our border and our reach westward. We are also grateful to Hillel Day School and their leadership who have been gracious hosts and generous sources of support in hosting BRS West on their campus.

This Sunday, under the outstanding leadership of Rabbi Mordechai and Hadassah Smolarcik, BRS West together with BRS will be celebrating a major milestone, the dedication of the BRS West Beit Midrash in the new middle school building at Hillel Day School. Shacharit will take place in the old Beit Midrash at 8:00 am after which the Sifrei Torah will be accompanied into the new Beit Midrash. A light brunch will follow.

Please join me in attending this momentous occasion and showing our full support to the BRS West branch of our family. May we celebrate many more milestones together, in partnership, for years to come.

Shabbat Sholom

There are multiple layers to these tragedies and their impact on our people. Of course there is the loss of precious life, the potential that can now never be realized, and the impact of these individuals that will no longer be felt. There is the tragedy of the murderers and how they have forfeited their Godly spirit by having engaged in acts that are the epitome of evil.

But it occurs to me there is yet another tragedy and loss – there is the loss of our innocence, replaced by feelings of fear and dread. Leiby’s murder has inspired parents of young children around the globe to wonder should we let our children walk around alone? Beginning at what age? For what distance? At what time of day? Rabbi Abuchatzeira’s murder has already motivated Rabbis to ask questions such as “can I meet with people one on one anymore? Am I safe even around congregants and students whom I thought I knew well?”

Some may argue that asking all of these questions is a good thing and will yield greater safety in the long run. Others believe that harping on these questions will produce a culture of neuroticism, paranoia and unnecessary worry and fear. After all, these were isolated incidents carried out by deranged, psychotic individuals and in no way reflect a real danger. I personally don’t know which attitude is correct, but I do know that prior to a few weeks ago we were not struggling with these questions and that too is a great tragedy in my opinion.

As we rapidly approach Tisha B’av and please God conclude this inauspicious period of mourning and heartache, let us look forward to the time that the Navi (Prophet) predicts in which men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem and watch as children play freely in perfect safety with unbridled joy and happiness.

Shabbat Sholom

Each visit to Israel increases my love and connection to this remarkable country, land and people. When in Israel, it is impossible not to feel that Jewish destiny is unfolding here and that those in the diaspora, while great sources of support, are essentially spectators.

To be a serious Jew one must be serious about a commitment to Israel. The Torah and our tradition are replete with statements that place Israel and Yerushalayim as central in our lives. When I return, I look forward through sermons and classes to articulating some of the many reasons that Israel is such a blessing and gift in our lives, but for now, allow me to share just one.

I was walking today in the vicinity of the tragic funeral of R. Elazar Avuchatzera who was brutally murdered just last night. The streets were congested, the traffic was heavy and the police where doing their best to keep things under control. One driver was particularly frustrated that the officer had closed off a certain street and he left his car, walked up to the policeman and was not shy in voicing his objection.

Observing this aggressive exchange, my first thought was that in America, a civilian would never speak so freely to a member of law enforcement. And then I realized that while his tone was inexcusable and wrong, there was something paradoxically beautiful about it. You see, in America, a policeman is a total stranger, unfamiliar, distant and imposing. In Israel, absolutely everyone, policeman or civilian, is a member of the family, a brother or a sister with whom there is an implicit comfort level. Essentially, this driver was saying, ‘achi,’ my brother, why are you stopping traffic here, it’s inconvenient to me.

Ten years ago, my sister and her family made aliyah to Modiin. Just this week, my brother and his family arrived on a nefesh b’nefesh flight to their new home in Alon Shvut. That leaves me as the only child in my family not living in Israel, a feeling that is awkward, upsetting and in some ways lonely. I am deeply grateful to the BRS community for the commitment you have shown me for the next ten years, and rest assured you have my family’s commitment back for that long and beyond. But wouldn’t it be great, if we could realize our mutual commitments to one another by bringing our entire BRS family on aliyah.

My friends, as I often say, while there are many legitimate reasons not to move to Israel right now, there are no legitimate reasons not to struggle with how and when we can make aliyah a reality. May our collective migration to Israel be hastened and expedited by the arrival of Moshiach, speedily in our days.

When that animal terrorist attacked Itamar and murdered many members of the Fogel family, memorials were held, monies were raised and the statement that we will never abandon the surviving Fogel children was pledged. But in truth, the Fogels became yesterday’s tragedy and now the Jewish community, perhaps correctly so, is obsessed with the murder of Leiby Kletzky. Projects have been initiated in his memory, funds are being collected on his family’s behalf and a baby was even named for him this week. But how long will it take until the Jewish community forgets about the Kletzkys and moves on to the next crisis, emergency or tragedy?

As the three weeks have begun, we would do well to remember that a commitment to unity, an effort to be part of one big close knit Jewish people, means never forgetting or moving on from both those that have caught our nation’s attention and those that suffer in anonymity.

Over five years ago, a young soldier, Gilad Shalit was taken captive by our evil enemy dedicated to our destruction. One shudders to think under what conditions Hamas is housing Gilad. We said then we won’t rest until he is home and yet, here we are over five years later with no meaningful progress made.

This week, my family and I visited with Gilad Shalit’s father, Noam, outside the Prime Minister’s residence where he sits in vigil for his son. Though only the return of his son will bring true comfort, our goal was to communicate that a synagogue in Florida has not stopped thinking of Gilad and his plight.

May we merit a time in which we only share good news and move from one happy event to another.

Shabbat Shalom from the Holy Land

There are no silver linings to episodes like this. There are no positives to take, no messages to derive. We simply bow our heads in submission that we can’t understand and we can’t comprehend. We are finite, limited and incapable of grasping how the infinite God runs His world. The age old question of “Why do bad things happen to good people” rears its ugly head and the impact of its punch to our gut is as strong as ever, knocking the very breath out of us.

All we can do is hug our children a little tighter. We must shower greater affection upon them, take better care of them and recommit to do whatever is necessary to protect them and secure their wellbeing.

While the majority of focus and attention are correctly being placed on Leiby and the profound pain of his loss, I personally can’t stop thinking of the tragedy of Levi, his evil murderer as well. How could a person become so deranged, so disturbed and so wicked in his judgement and behavior? How could a person forfeit and expel their tzelem Elokim, their Godly spirit, to such an extent that they could perpetrate such an atrocity?

The gemara tells us that the Jewish people are distinguished as rachamanim, bnei rachamanim, compassionate, kind and generous of spirit and deed. We were all overwhelmed by the discovery of Leiby’s death but who was not devastated by the news that the perpetrator was a so called observant Jew, a member of our family, one of our own?

An innocent life has been taken and I would submit that the identity of the perpetrator has taken our communities sense of innocence that ‘our family’ is incapable of this. We must remain vigilant and scrupulous protecting our children from the evil people that threaten them both from without and tragically, from within.

In contrast to the pain of Leiby’s passing, our community is excited to celebrate a few joyous occasions this week. In Israel, my family and I had the privilege of sharing in the joy of Yaakov Shmuley Kaskel’s bar mitzvah at the Kotel this week. We are also celebrating the bar mitzva’s of Yoni Peritzman and Ben Amsalem at BRS this Shabbos. Seeing them daven, layn, and grow so beautifully strengthens our faith in the Jewish future and the bright young men who will fill it.

Shabbat Shalom from the Holy Land

What explains the contrast? The Talmud in Berachos makes an incredible statement. The suggestion is offered that the story of Bila’am attempting to curse the Jewish people that we read this Shabbat, be an obligation to recite twice daily like Shema. Ultimately, the suggestion is rejected, but one is pressed to imagine what the consideration was in the first place.

Shema contains two fundamental axioms of the Torah – unity of God, and acceptance of His Mitzvos. What ties the two together, what binds them, is the Jewish people. The themes of Shema are only meaningful through the recognition of the eternal nature of the Jewish people as well.

Bila’am declares that the Jewish people lie down like a lion. We are the strongest in the Kingdom and confidently close our eyes to sleep because we know we are eternal and immortal. Our Rabbis considered that we read the story of Bila’am and Shema together to remember that in a world of variables, there are two constants – God and the Jewish people.

It is prudent to be concerned and to act against the enemies and forces that threaten Israel. But, we should draw inspiration from the people of Israel who nevertheless seems to live with profound faith and deep confidence in our people’s future.

Shabbat Shalom from the Land of Israel

Yocheved and I feel so blessed, honored and privileged to be spending this summer in Israel as NCSY’s Scholars in Residence for their summer programs. Hundreds and hundreds of teens benefit greatly from the diverse programs and tours that NCSY offers. Kollel and Michlelet are serious learning programs for boys and girls respectively. TJJ, led in part by our own Rabbi Broide, is bringing 10 busses filled with public school kids. Camp Give combines chesed with touring. I look forward to sharing my experiences with these incredible programs over the summer.

But for now, a general observation. I have been reading “The Prime Ministers,” by Ambassador Yehuda Avner, which recounts the behind the scenes history of the modern state of Israel from a man who witnessed and contributed to it. I can’t recommend this extraordinary book enough for the appreciation it provides of what a blessing Israel is and please God will continue to be.

As my family walked through Sha’ar Yafo (Jaffa Gate) today heading to the kotel, I shared the following story from the book with them. At 4 in the morning a few days into the 6 day war, then opposition leader Menachem Begin awoke with a premonition and turned on the radio. He heard on the BBC that a vote was occurring at the UN to pressure Israel into a cease fire with its enemies whom had been swiftly decimated. In the middle of the night, he called the Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, and begged him to call a special cabinet meeting to approve going into the Old City and conquering the remainder of Jerusalem to unite it. The meeting was called and Begin argued this could be an unique moment that history will not provide again. They must reclaim Jerusalem from the Jordanians before the international community pressured Israel to a cease fire.

A unanimous vote approved of the military operation and just 3 hours later, the now famous statement, “har ha’bayit b’yadeinu,” “the Temple Mount is in our hands” was uttered.

How fragile this precious and sacred gift is and how great is our obligation to appreciate our ability to freely visit the Kotel and enjoy all of Yerushalayim.

On behalf of my family, from the Holy City – Shabbat Shalom