Gathered Together, Then and Now
Torah commentary published in the Arizona Jewish News for August 30, 2013 by Rabbi Magal

 

This double portion  - Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30) and  Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30)  -  brings us a continuation of Moses’ third farewell speech to Israel.  Nitzavim opens with “You are all assembled here today…” as Moses emphasizes to the Children of Israel that they are all gathered together, from those in the highest  leadership positions to the lowly water carriers, old, young, male, female, and even the yet-to-be-born of future generations, all receiving the Covenant, and all connected as if neither time nor space would separate them from the immediacy of the message Moses is relaying.  It goes on to affirm that we should choose life, choose blessing, choose mitzvot, and choose to see ourselves as part of a community throughout all time.

Vayelech tells of the appointment of Joshua by Moses to be his successor as leader to bring the Children of Israel into the Promised Land.  “Be strong and of good courage!”  Moses says, first in the plural to the people, and then in the singular to Joshua.  Rabbi Albert Plotkin, of blessed memory, who served as a beloved spiritual leader in Phoenix and in Sedona for so many years, used to conclude each of his sermons with that ringing refrain, Hazak v’ematz!    

What fitting readings to be studying during these last few days before the Jewish Year!  During this month of Elul many of us have been preparing for the Days of Awe by reviewing our year, our words and deeds, our “missing the mark,” and doing our best to ask for forgiveness from others, as well as to grant forgiveness to others.

Just as Moses foresaw that Israel will break the Covenant, imitate the ways of other nations, be misled, and suffer with harsh exile, and yet will always have the doorway of repentance through which to re-enter, and will again enjoy the blessings of the Covenant, so we too are comforted by the assurance that if we make a sincere step toward living with the values of our tradition, we too will share in the blessing conferred on our ancestors.

In our synagogue, the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, we prepare a small “Book of Life” for people to fill out at home during the High Holy Days, in which they ask themselves what kinds of goals they had set in the past year, how they fulfilled them, and what still remains to be accomplished.  We provide a sticker with which they can “seal” the little folded booklet, metaphorically like the “Chatimah,” the sealing of the Book of Life at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. While we cannot know how long we will live, we do know that our words and deeds of the past year form a record, and it is as if our actions of compassion and generosity are indeed written in the Book of Living Fully, of making each day count.

Just as we are to feel that each of us came out of Egypt in the Exodus, and that each one of us stood at Sinai to receive Torah, this week in our Torah readings we are thrust back again into the dramatic scene as, at the end of the 40 years’ trek in the wilderness, we are reminded by Moses of our inclusion in the journey of the Israelites up to our own day and on into the future. You and I are really there!

May the shofar blasts awaken us and reconnect us with our ancient roots. May our kindest, most generous deeds be recorded, and may we make efforts to repair and heal any mistakes or misunderstandings.  May we be granted the gift of another year, as sweet as round challah with raisins.    L’Shanah Tovah.

Preparation for High Holy days: Elul Workshop and Selichot service

Invitation from Rabbi Magal to join us at an Elul Workshop, Sunday, August 25, 2013, 2-4 pm,
and our Supper and Selichot service on Saturday, August 31, beginning at 6:30 pm and ending at Sedona midnight (9 pm!!) at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley in Arizona.

The power point presentation was so well received by over 120 people - a cross-section of Sedona - that I was exremely moved!  I felt like I was speaking from my heart about the most important factors in forming my appreciation for life.  I showed photos from my book "From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival, about my mother's dramatic stories of survival from one seeming dead-end to yet another open door.  Then I showed recent photos of our trip to Poland this past June, when my mother and I spoke to various atudiences, young and old, Jewish and Catholic, about her experiences during the war, and her message to the next generation.  She spoke about how important it is to develop one's talents and skills because literally everything else of a material nature can be taken away from you at a moment's notice.  We attended a re-emerging Reform synagogue in Warsaw, visited the newly opened Museum of Jewish History in Poland, had a very moving reunion with the children of the Catholic Polish piano teacher who saved my mother's life, and so many more adventures and interactions.  Rather than focus on the horrors and losses my mother emphasized resilience, hope, the healing power of art, and the preciousness of life.  She is now the matriarch of a new family line of children, spouses, and grandchildren, like a new shoot from a nearly cut-down tree. I feel that this chapter is now complete. Neither she nor I feel the need to speak about the past anymore but rather to look to the future.  I do not know what new adventures await me, but I feel that I am on the threshold of a new and expansive journey as I continue to serve as rabbi of my community.

Alicia giving presentation at Warsaw synagogue "Bejt Warszawa"

 

 

Nika Fleissig putting stone on Warsaw Ghetto monument

Never Lose Hope; Story of Survival PRESENTATION JULY 28, 2013

 

Rabbi Alicia Magal, spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, and author of “From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival" feels very lucky for the gift of life. Her mother, Nika Kohn Fleissig, was the sole Holocaust survivor of her family. This story will come to life in an interactive presentation by Rabbi Magal on

Sunday July 28 at 4 p.m.at the synagogue, 100 Meadowlark in Sedona.

Explore this bitter time in history--you may never take life for granted again.

 

The Rabbi's mother has an amazing story to tell: her large family was decimated during the Holocaust. Nika, a Sedona winter resident, survived the Second World War as a young Jewish woman in Poland and Germany and began a new life in America in 1946.  Nika, together with her daughter, Rabbi Magal, recently returned to Krakow and Warsaw in Poland, not as tourists, but to make presentations based on their book which had just been translated into Polish. This past week, Nika was honored at the 10th annual Mary Magdalene Celebration Sedona with a presentation of their Soul Sister Courage Award.

 

All are invited to come for this stirring story. The presentation will also provide historical information about the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and liberation in 1945 which set the backdrop for Nika’s miraculous survival and message of hope, with discussion to follow.  Admission is free. You will be able to purchase a copy of the English version of “From Miracle to Miracle” during a book signing by the Rabbi. For more information, call 928 204-1286.

 

Rabbi Alicia Magalwww.jcsvv.org

 

 

 

 

Rebirth of Judaism in Poland

 

Seventy years after the Holocaust, who could have imagined a rebirth of Jewish life in Poland?  Certainly not my mother, Nika Kohn Fleissig, who survived the Second World War as a young woman in Poland and Germany, and began a new life in America in 1946.  I returned to Krakow and Warsaw in June together with my mother, not as tourists, but to make presentations based on our book “From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival” which had just been published in Polish.

 

We spoke in Krakow, my mother’s hometown, at the developing Center for Dialogue to Catholic Polish graduate students in Judaic studies, at the Galicia Museum in Krakow to high school students, at the bustling Jewish Community Center to adults and seniors, and then in Warsaw, at the Progressive Jewish congregation, akin to Reform Judaism in America, before their Friday evening Shabbat service.  My mother spoke in elegant Polish, adjusting her words and message to each audience.  I spoke in English, stopping after each group of sentences for translation into Polish by young volunteers.  I began each presentation showing slides of my mother’s large family before World War II, decimated during the Holocaust, and gave some historical information about the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and liberation in 1945, as the backdrop for her miraculous survival.  I also showed photos of our synagogue and congregational celebrations in Sedona, ending with a photo of my mother as the proud matriarch of a new family including her children, their spouses, and five grandchildren ranging from 7 to 37!

 

At our talks in Krakow venues, we were delighted to have present the children of the beloved Polish Catholic piano teacher of my mother who helped hide her at the early critical moments of the war when her parents and brother were taken away, and made it possible for her to survive.  We spoke about how their mother, Zosia Pozniak,  had been honored through my mother’s sponsorship with a medal as a Righteous Gentile, and had attended a ceremony in 1979 when a tree was planted in her honor at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Israel. Her granddaughter told us that she had visited Israel and was very moved to locate that tree and see a plaque at its base with her grandmother’s name inscribed on it.

 

We had such positive reactions. People who weren’t Jewish cried and were moved because of Nika’s story. Somehow it triggered memories of war losses from their own families. There were always hugs at the end of our presentations.

 

We had really no idea that there is re-emerging Jewish life in Poland. From a population of about 3 million before the War, there are maybe a couple thousand now.  Under Communism from the 1950’s through the 1980’s, religion of all kinds was suppressed, and only in the past twenty years has democracy begun to flourish, and with it, a renewed interest in Jewish themes, music, food, and contributions to Polish life over the past thousand years.  Tourism to Jewish sites has become a big business.  I was shocked to see tour trolleys with large signs advertising “Tours to the Jewish Quarter, Ghetto, Auschwitz,”   sites that represented horror and death.  The tours also visit Schindler’s Factory, where over a thousand Jews were saved by being on “Schindler’s List,” including many of my mother’s schoolmates from her unique school in Krakow, where the students learned Hebrew as a modern language in the ‘20’s and ‘30’s along with their required Polish subjects. 

 

We met graduate students, Catholic Poles, interested in Jewish culture. There are concerts of Jewish klezmer music, plays in Yiddish, restaurants with Jewish menus, kosher-style… all prepared by non-Jews! We were introduced to several people who were in the process of  converting to Judaism. Apparently there are many adults who had found out in their twenties, in post-Communist Poland, that they were part Jewish and were now learning about their Jewish heritage.  My mother, who clearly remembers the anti-semitic jokes and slurs, and the dangers of being a Jewish minority in Poland, was amazed by this new positive attitude toward Judaism, and openness to inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.  She described how one always had to be careful as a Jew... not belonging really although Jews had lived for centuries in Poland and felt very Polish..but were treated as a tolerated, but discriminated against minority. Certain professions and opportunities were closed. Then during the War there was constant danger of death if one was found out to be a Jew.  The idea that now there are people who want to convert is amazing to her. She heard how they are attracted to the sense of community, of study and questioning, or being rooted in an ancient tradition.  There is still anti-semitism… It has not disappeared, but there is also a young generation searching for a more human understanding of people and refusing the old patterns of stereotyping and discrimination. 

 

As we walked through the cobblestone streets of parts of old Krakow, I came upon views that I had seen in my mother’s paintings when I was a child.  I excitedly pointed out the perspective of a narrow street with houses in perspective leading to the Brama Florienska, the medieval Florian Gate, and exclaimed, “Isn’t that the view in one of your earliest paintings that I remember from our house in White Plains, NY?” My mother was thrilled that I recognized it.  That moment for me was like seeing a still, dark scene suddenly come to life with bustling people on the sidewalk.  Throughout this trip I felt like I was bouncing back and forth between the 1930’s, 40’s and today’s reality.  I stepped into the painting of the past and brought our life story into the present.

In Warsaw, my mother said it felt so unreal. In 1944, after the Warsaw Uprising, before she was taken to Prisoner of War camp with 2000 women – a whole other story -  she had left a totally bombed out city, all rubble, and now we came to a totally rebuilt modern city. Past and present continued to merge.

 

For my mother this was a very healing and satisfying trip.  Young and old approached her and thanked her for her inspiring message of developing one’s skills and talents and using them for good. She has no room for hate or blame, but rather looks for human connections with people of all backgrounds.  She asked young people, “What is your passion?” and challenged them to treasure their unique gifts and not waste the precious gift of life.  Every day for my mother is another adventure, another miracle.

 

I will give a more in-depth presentation about our odyssey for the Sedona community on Sunday, July 28 at 4 pm at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, 100 Meadowlark Drive, Sedona, AZ. 

Getting ready for this emotionally-laden journey to Poland with my mother who is a 93 year old Holocaust survivor. I will be posting my journal entries from there to help me process the encounters.

Tikkun Olam

Each synagogue service is a journey through the Four Worlds, rising from our concrete world of Action – Assiyah,  through to the emotional world of Creative Formation – Yetzirah, to the realm of the mind and intellectual understanding in the world of Thought – Briyah, up into the spiritual element of Atzilut – Closeness to Divinity; and then we climb back down the mountain bringing all the gifts of the insights and emotional connections we have gained.  We return to our regular surroundings grounded, refreshed, enlivened by the journey.  Near the end of each service I feel that switch from elevation and inspiration to a focus on application of these ideals to daily life situations when we sing Aleinu, one of the closing prayers.  

That prayer includes verses describing a time when idolatry will be abolished and all will call upon God’s name, and we will all be One.  The verse “le-taken olam bemalkhut Shaddai, to fix the world under God’s Kingdom,” as well as the repetitions of the phrase “Al-ken – therefore it is up to us….” Help us strengthen our resolve to act on the inspiration we have just received from the Torah portion, Rabbi’s message, and the prayers offered during the service.  We are not to leave those feelings of compassion and caring at the door, but carry them with us “when we lie down, when we rise up, when we sit in our house or walk by the way” as it says in the Va’ahavta prayer of love following the Shema. 

 How can we possibly “repair the world” when it is so overwhelmingly broken?  Kabbalistic mystic Rabbi Isaac Luria in 16^th century Safed, Israel, taught that when God contracted to make room for the creation of the world, God poured energy into vessels of Divine light. Those vessels shattered, and the fragments scattered as holy sparks infused into all of creation.  Our task is to retrieve those holy sparks from every aspect of our life, and thus repair, heal, and help complete the world.  Ways to repair the world, according to Luria, are through prayer, Torah study and the performance of mitzvoth – acts of loving kindness.  Thus we become God’s partners in creation.  

 “In a sense, tikkun olam expands God’s original covenant with the Jews at Sinai by adding a metaphysical and spiritual dimension to our ethical and moral obligations,” according to Howard Schwartz, a scholar of Jewish folklore at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

 Tikkun olam is now included in the mission of nearly all synagogues, and is often understood to mean doing projects of social action in the community.  This concept is seen as transcending Judaism and including humanity, in its far reaching goal of offering helping hands to the needy.   Funds are collected in synagogue not only to aid in local communities or to assist programs in Israel, but often for relief at the site of earthquakes, floods, famine and disasters in far-off countries.

The JCSVV Social Action Team, with Karen Schudson as Chair, has been involved in the Back Pack Program to bring food from the local food bank to school children who otherwise might be hungry over the weekend.  Other projects like the Men’s Club involvement in preparing hot meals at the Community Hot Supper served at St. Andrews, the Women’s Havurah support of the local Verde Valley Sanctuary for Women and Children, our leadership in the annual Mitzvah Day, and other outreach programs in which our members are involved, enable us to put our prayers into practice, and in some small measure to repair and heal the world. 

Come take the journey together during our uplifting services, and come back “down to earth” with renewed strength and resolve so that each one of us can pick up the holy sparks and do our part to repair our world.  

  

Blessing for the month of Tamuz (June 8 – July 7, 2013)

May we feel grounded in our tradition and teachings which should lead us to reach out in compassion to those in need.  May our hearts fill with love that leads to action that is healing and repairing, to tikkun olam, in our immediate circle and expanding to the wider arenas of the world. 

                                            -Amen.