Temple Beth Israel, Eugene Oregon

Rabbis' Messages

A Message from Rabbi Yitzhak (Nov., 2006)

The Hebrew month of Tishri, with its abundant share of Jewish Holy Days, has come and gone. Tishri’s Days of Awe led us to look inward and to consider ways in which we can refine ourselves. Sukkot and Simchat Torah gave time for joyful celebration of harvest and renewal of Torah. Now November is here, and just as our Hebrew calendar called us to certain emotions associated with each Holy Day, Thanksgiving has its own powerful associations. Thanksgiving is dedicated to the purpose of stirring our gratitude for life’s abundant blessings.

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A Harvest of Gratitude

I hold warm memories, as I imagine many of us do, of family closeness shared at the time of year we slide into colder, darker days of winter. Not long after Thanksgiving we will return to the Hebrew calendar to find light in that darkness as we light our Hanukah candles. As American Jews, we are fortunate to have both of these complimentary cycles providing rhythm and texture to our years.

In this New Year 5767 our community will have an additional measure of the passage of time and the richness of emotional experience. We will measure time through the emergence of a wonderful new home for our community. We will experience the passage of this coming year through our progress in laying a foundation, raising walls, installing plumbing, lighting fixtures and sound system, building a bima, planting trees in our courtyards, laying carpet and the other seemingly endless details that will bring forth, G-d willing, our new home. We will also have gatherings and conversations that will inspire us to give generously of our financial resources to this rare endeavor of building a synagogue and center for Jewish life. I’m certain that we will experience many profound emotions as we engage in this new level of communal creativity. Just as each festival on our calendar cycle brings forth an opportunity for spiritual/emotional experience, so does this exceptional season of building offer rich possibilities. Shonna and I are enjoying our growing friendships with so many community members, rooted in hours of meetings and discussions, in sharing flashes of creativity and insight, in appreciation for differences of style and aesthetics. Our lives are greatly enriched through this opportunity to work with wonderful people on a project that we are all deeply committed to.

This Thanksgiving I know that our hearts will be carrying gratitude for the challenges, the achievements, and the bonds formed as we acknowledge the abundance of blessings in our lives.

Shalom,
Rabbi Yitzhak