Rabbi’s Update 9/5/2025

Last night we had a Town Meeting to discuss various options as we move forward once the sale of our building on Apple Ridge Rd. closes. I began with a brief d’var Torah looking at a teaching from Avot d’Rabbi Natan, one of the minor tractates of the Talmud which dates to some time between the 7th and 9th centuries of the Common Era. The two figures in this unit are Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and his disciple Rabbi Joshua. It is important for the purpose of understanding this unit to know that when Jerusalem was besieged and on the verge of being conquered by Rome, Rabban Yohanan cut a deal with the Romans which allowed him to move the Sanhedrin to Yavneh, a town on the coast near what is today Tel Aviv.

Here is the text:

Once Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai and Rabbi Joshua, his disciple were walking near Jerusalem and they saw the ruins of the Temple. Rabbi Joshua said, "Woe to us that the place where the atonement for the sins of Israel was made has been destroyed!" But Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai replied, "Do not be grieved, my son. Do you not know that we have a means of making atonement that is as good as this? And what is it? Gemilut hassadim - acts of loving-kindness, as it is said, 'For I desire hesed - loving-kindness - and not sacrifice!'" (Hosea 6:6). 

Rabbi Jessica Minnen of the Pardes Institute writes:

This brief exchange in Avot de Rabbi Natan 4:5 holds a quiet but radical question: Will our life be defined by what we’ve lost, or by what we choose to build in its place? Rabbi Yehoshua sees loss. Rabban Yohanan sees possibility.

As your rabbi I have been filled with pride by our Town Hall meetings, focus groups, board and committee meetings we have held over the last couple of years as we grappled with the reality that our community is simply no longer able to support our building on Apple Ridge Rd. While there have certainly been disagreements, our discussions have been marked by mutual respect and a recognition that “we are all on the same team.” The discussions have been very level-headed with a sense of realism, that there is no perfect answer but we are determined to stay together as a community. 

The challenge of the destruction of the Second Temple led to the creation of rabbinic Judaism. Our Judaism is centered not on a land and a building (although the Land and State of Israel are always in our thoughts and in our prayers) but on the three pillars identified by Shimon haTzadik in Pirkei Avot 1:2: Torah study, prayer, and acts of loving-kindness (as cited by Rabban Yohanan above). Wherever we are located, may we remain a community devoted to these three pillars.

As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building. Please note that I will not be having drop-in hours on September 11 since I will be attending a rabbis’ meeting in the District.