Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway

By Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway 

Time is always moving, leading our way forward. We live from one event to the other, from one holiday to the next. It’s human nature, and so the Jewish calendar does not differ from it. We just celebrated Passover, one of the three biblical festivals, and started the journey to the next festival, Shavuot, by counting the 49 days of the Omer. In between these two, however, there are three special days to observe. These were added to the Jewish calendar only recently, when the State of Israel was established, 76 years ago.  They are called: the National Days, hayamim haleumi’im and include: Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day for the IDF soldiers and victims of terror attacks, and Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel’s Independence day. 

Why were these three days placed during this time of the year? The answer is different for each of them. 

The easiest one is Yom Ha’atzmaut. The modern state of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, which was the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, and so, Israel’s Independence day is usually celebrated on its Hebrew birthday (unless it falls on Shabbat).  

The state of Israel was reborn in the midst of a bloody war, the war of Independence. Two weeks into that war (December 1947), Dr. Chaim Weitzman, the future first president of Israel, wrote in a daily newspaper: The Jewish state will not be given to the Jewish people on a silver platter. Four days later, Israeli poet Natan Alterman wrote a poem in response to Dr. Weitzman called: The Silver Platter. 

…And the land will grow still
Crimson skies dimming, misting
Slowly paling again
Over smoking frontiers
As the nation stands up
Torn at heart but existing
To receive its first wonder
In two thousand years

As the moment draws near
It will rise, darkness facing
Stand straight in the moonlight
In terror and joy
…When across from it step out
Towards it slowly pacing
In plain sight of all
A young girl and a boy.

Dressed in battle gear, dirty
Shoes heavy with grime
On the path they will climb up
While their lips remain sealed
To change garb, to wipe brow
They have not yet found time
Still bone weary from days
And from nights in the field
Full of endless fatigue
And all drained of emotion
Yet the dew of their youth
Is still seen on their head.
Thus like statues they stand
Stiff and still with no motion
And no sign that will show
If they live or are dead.

Then a nation in tears
And amazed at this matter
Will ask: who are you?
And the two will then say
With soft voice:
We–
Are the silver platter
On which the Jews’ state
Was presented to you today.

Then they fall back in darkness
As the dazed nation looks
And the rest can be found
In the history books.

In order to remember the painful price, the silver platter on which the Jewish state was presented to the Jewish people, the early Israeli decision-makers chose to mourn Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism right before celebrating independence and statehood. And so, in the state of Israel, only 60 seconds separate Israel’s memorial day, the saddest day of the year, from Israel’s Independence Days, the happiest one. 

The International Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated around the world on January 27th – the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest death camp on European soil, was liberated by the Red (Soviet) Army. Yom Hashoah, however, is commemorated seven days after Passover and seven days before Yom Hazikaron, on the 27th of the Hebrew month Nissan, during the three weeks duration of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The full name is Yom Hashoah Ve-Ha-gevurah – remembrance day of the Shoah and heroism. 

This year, after October 7th and the ongoing war, these three days feel for many Jews in Israel and around the world suffocating and almost impossible. Eight decades after educating ourselves and others on Never Again, we sadly live a reality in which 2,500 Holocaust survivors in Israel lived through the October 7th massacre. We recognize that 2000 of them lost their homes and became refugees, 86 of them have died since the beginning of this war, a 91 year old survivor Moshe Rindler was murdered in Kibbutz Holit, and a 86 year old survivor Shlomo Mantzur was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kissufim and is still held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. 

There are no words, no logical explanation and yet, here we are. 

Let us find comfort by Etty Hillesum, a 29-year-old Dutch Jewish woman, who perished in the Shoah. In her darkest hour, she wrote these words: Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself that is its due, for if everyone bears their grief honestly and courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate. One day we shall build a whole new world. Against every new outrage and every fresh horror, we shall put out one more piece of love and goodness, drawing strength from within ourselves.

Let us also find comfort in one another and in our community. 

Join us at 7pm tonight (Tuesday, May 7th) for a special gathering to mark Yom Hashoah, next Monday (5/13) night to commemorate Yom Hazikaron at Valley Beit Shalom (Encino), and next Tuesday (5/14) again at Or Ami to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Never again is now.

By Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway

Here we are on the last day of Passover, getting ready to celebrate Mimouna tonight and eat lots of Chametz — you are coming, right? But the Jewish Calendar does not stop. Time continues to move forward, reminding us about what is about to happen next. 

Every year, we count 49 days from the first day of Passover, all the way to the festival of Shavuot, which is celebrated fifty days after Passover, commemorating the Israelite liberation from Egypt culminating with the giving of the Torah. 

The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people. Studying the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah was given to the Israelites by God almighty at Mount Sinai, in the presence of all the Jewish people at that time. It was given first to our great leader Moshe (Moses), who then gave it to the elders, who then gave it to the people. 

From walking through the parted sea of reeds to Mount Sinai, our ancestors needed to prepare themselves for the revelation of the Torah. That was a spiritual journey of forty-nine days, called the Omer. 

Omer means a sheaf. It refers to the measure of grain that was once offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. Counting each of the days of the Omer is a biblical commandment (Mitzvat Aseh) as it is written in the book of Leviticus 23:15-21:

“From the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering the day after the Sabbath, you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete. You must count until the day after the seventh week fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to God. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering. On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a law for all time in all your settlements throughout the ages.”

Jewish people have been following this commandment for 3500 years, all over the world. As we walk from our own parted sea of reeds to Mount Sinai, we receive an opportunity for introspection and personal development. In order to help us do that, the Kabbalists, in the 16th century, assigned each week and each day within that week with different middot (virtues/values). 

Today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the Omer. 

The Chesed (overflowing loving kindness) within the Gevurah (judgment, justice, rigor). The love inside the judgment. 

Intrigued? Want to explore more? This year, Valley Rabbis have embarked on a counting journey together. Every day, a different Rabbi from our area shares an insight about the day’s count. You can join the journey and follow this beautiful initiative on Instagram and Facebook. One of these days, you might find your own Rabbis there. 

https://www.instagram.com/boardofrabbis/

https://www.facebook.com/BoardofRabbis

The counting of the Omer serves as a link between Passover and Shavuot.

It reminds us of the liberation we celebrated during Passover and just how easy it is for us to slip back into slavery. Let each day bring us a moment of meditation to work on our best selves and prepare ourselves for receiving the Torah on Shavuot. May we learn how to make our lives easier yet more meaningful as we celebrate in a small way each day, focusing on the important moments of life.

Happy counting!

by Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway

The Jewish calendar is a smart calendar. It resembles wise grandparents, who have spent many years on this planet. They’ve seen it all, they know it all, and they know that history, as is nature, always repeats itself. There is a time for everything and a season for every purpose under the heavens, said Kohelet (Ecclesiastes 3:1) in the Bible three thousand years ago. 

Our calendar is connected both to nature and to Jewish time. It contains the stories we tell ourselves and others about who we are. It announces the seasons and the upcoming holidays, sometimes even before we are ready to celebrate them. 

If you haven’t yet noticed – spring has sprung. The weather is acting out. Maybe mirroring the behavior of this world and its inhabitants. Some days are bright, sunny, and warm, while others are gray, cloudy, and cold. 

This Shabbat we are finally saying goodbye to the month of Adar, which was double its usual length this year, because it is a leap year. We are getting ready to welcome the month of Nisan, which, among many things, invites us to explore and reflect on the theme of freedom. 

In a few weeks, we will gather with beloved friends and family members around the Passover Seder table. We will retell the story of our Exodus from Egypt all over again and teach it to the next generations. We will recite: In every single generation, one should see themselves as if they came out of Mitzrayim (Egypt).

Mitzrayim in Hebrew means “a narrow place.” 

What does it mean to you to come out of Mitzrayim this year? From a narrow place to a wide place? From slavery to freedom? How do we celebrate our own freedom when not all people are free?

I want to share with you a beautiful poem by my Israeli friend Rabbi Amnon Rivak, written many years ago. I read it every year around this time, and it always offers a new perspective. This year, as we mark six months of terrible war between Israel and Hamas, while 134 hostages are still held in the most narrow of evil places, this poem resonates more than ever before. 

Want to learn and experience more? Join us on so many beautiful opportunities during the month of Nisan: tonight’s Freedom Shabbat Service, next week’s celebration of Rosh Chodesh Nisan, Wisdom Wednesday, all-ages friendly ideas for a fun family Seder, our pre-Seder gathering with the Or Ami Village, and for the first time ever – a communal Mimouna celebration at the end of the month.  

Every Person needs to have a certain Egypt / Rabbi Amnon Rivak

Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
to be as Moshe themselves inside it,
with a strong arm,
or with grinding teeth.
Every person needs terror and great darkness,
and comfort and promise and redemption,
That they would know to look up at the sky.
Every person needs one prayer, that would
constantly be on their lips.
A person needs to bend one time –
Every person needs a shoulder.
Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
to redeem themselves from it,
From the house of slavery,
to go out in the middle of the
night to the desert of fears,
to march straight into the waters,
to see them open before them to both sides.
Every person needs a shoulder,
on which to carry the bones of Joseph,
Every person needs to straighten their backs.
Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
and a Jerusalem,
and one long journey,
that they will forever remember in their feet.

By Lana Zilberman Soloway

The Jewish people are known to the world as Am HaSefer, which means, People of the Book. The term actually originated in Arabic as Ahl Al-Kitab. It is first found in the Holy book of Koran, describing Jews but also Christians, Zoroastrians, and other religious groups considered to possess divine books.

We Jews are the People of the Book because our genius is connected to books. First we received the Torah (Five Books of Moses), referred to as the written law, then we added other books to the cannon of the Tanakh (the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible), and then later on, the Mishnah and the Talmud joined our shelves, uniting the oral laws and other traditions. 

In every generation of Jewish People, books were written, books are continuing to be written and hopefully this tradition will never stop. Our collection of Jewish texts is definitely one of the most important, richest, and  impressive libraries in the history of the world, with a unique combination of old and new, of tradition and renewal.

Books inspire us with exciting ideas. They influence us, challenge us, and help us grow. Books have the ability to transfer us from one place to another, to different places and times. They allow us to learn, to dream and to imagine. They complete us and help form who we are. 

The Siddur, (the prayer book), is one of our most important books. 

The siddur, is the most utilized and the most held book, is second only to the Torah in its importance. The siddur is written mostly in Hebrew, but some prayers are in Aramaic, the language used by the Jews in their everyday life in ancient Babylon and ancient Israel. Since modern times, the siddur also contains the language of the country where it is read, so in America it contains English translations; in France, French, and so on.

The word siddur comes from the Hebrew word seder, which means order. The book was created as a guideline to help people navigate during the service/prayer time. The siddur contains special prayers according to the order of the Jewish calendar. It is the instrument of synagogue worship and includes prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, New Moon, all the festivals and fast days, together with the relevant guidelines preceding each section. At the end it contains blessings and special prayers for special occasions such as marriage, circumcision and the burial service. It also contains passages from the Talmud and the Hebrew Bible, and selections written by rabbis and poets through the middle ages and the modern times. 

The siddur is more than just a prayer book. It is a record of the great victories and tragic defeats Israel has experienced during its long history. It is a testimony to the aspirations and hopes of our people throughout time. It provides insights into daily Jewish living and all life cycle events in the calendar. It provides a record of Israel’s relationship with God.

The siddur as we know it today is based on the one compiled by Rabbi Amram Gaon in Sura, Babylon, about 1200 years ago. It is the end product of a slow historic process. The siddur has always remained open to new prayers to meet the needs arising from new situations. This gives it the added dimension of timelessness, and suits it admirably to the spiritual needs of the Jewish people.

Hundreds of new Siddurim were written since the first one by Rabbi Amram Gaon, including Mishkan Tefila, the American Reform movement’s Siddur that we use at Congregation Or Ami. On Friday, January 19th, we will give our youngest learners their own new siddur during a very special dedication ceremony. Please join us tonight at 6:30 pm PT, for this unique L’dor Vador (from generation to generation) moment. 

By Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway

Moses received the Torah at Mount Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua,
Joshua [transmitted it] to the elders,
The elders to the prophets,
The prophets to the people of the great Assembly.
They said three things: Be patient in the way of justice, raise many students, and make a fence around the Torah.

– Pirkei Avot Chapter 1 (from the Mishnah)

These words were written in the land of Israel by a group of male Rabbis, approximately eighteen hundred years ago. For thousands of years, the Torah was transmitted from generation to generation until it reached every single one of us. 

Actually, for thousands of years the Torah was shared mainly, if not only, with men, and not with all people. Don’t think for a moment that this custom of keeping Torah for men is mentioned anywhere in the Torah. This was a decision both made by and manifested by men. 

Luckily for us, we live in a different world. As Reform Jews, we believe in full equality between men and women, including regarding learning, interpreting, and teaching Torah.

In the new Israeli Reform siddur (prayer book) produced by the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), the above quote is read as we take the Torah from the Ark. Next to this ancient text from the Mishnah appears a modern composition by Rinat Sefania, a young Israeli woman Reform Rabbi. Rabbi Sefania’s addition to the ancient text invites women to participate in reading, learning, and interpreting Torah by reminding all of us about the numerous important and famous female figures in Jewish history. She writes:

Miriam received the Torah at Mount Sinai, and transmitted it to the daughters of Zelophehad,
The daughters of Zelophehad transmitted it to Deborah,
Deborah to Ruth and Ruth to Beruriah.
They said three things:
Speak up your mind, raise many students, and interpret the Torah. 

One of  the many metaphors in Jewish tradition to the Torah, is water. The Midrash of Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) explains that just as we cannot live without water, our lives will lose their vitality and become empty without the study of Torah. Water is an instrumental part of this world, one of the fundamental building blocks of life and creation. In a real, tangible way, the world would cease to exist without the elegant molecule H2O. Isn’t the same true for the Torah?

What is the meaning of Torah to American Reform Jews in the twenty-first century? Is it important to be grappling with the moral and religious complexities of modernity? Is it interesting to strive and bring holiness into every moment of your life? Can the study of Torah affect our daily routines and become an existential part of our lives, just like water?

If these questions awaken your curiosity, please consider joining our every other week, exciting Torah learning session on Shabbat morning.

The Torah was received by Moses and Miriam at Mount Sinai, and now it is being transmitted to you! It is yours to be read, learned, interpreted, and discovered. Come learn and experience!