Message from the President
Lief D. Rosenblatt
Chanukah & Heroes
December means that dreidels and potato latkes are near at hand, and so in recent days I have been thinking about the blessings of Chanukah. It is a holiday that is rooted in Jewish heroism; in the story of the Maccabees.
Undoubtedly each of us has been touched by an inspirational or heroic figure that has motivated us, given us a sense of purpose, and helped us to believe in ourselves and in what we can and should achieve. In my Kol Nidre address to the congregation, I shared a few vignettes about some of my own personal heroes, and so I thought it apposite to reprint those comments here.
Good evening on this Erev Kol Nidre. If we weren’t sure prior to the service tonight, by now we know that Kol Nidre is all about reflecting on the promises we make. Just like you, I have been looking inward and thinking about why I commit to doing what I do as President of Temple Israel, and more broadly as a Jewish activist. So I tried to list the reasons that motivate my involvement and concern for Jewish well being, and I want to share a small sampling of these with you. So in no particular order, here goes:
(1) When I think of all the generations of Jews, of our forebears, who suffered and sacrificed so that all of us could be here tonight and be free to practice our Judaism, I simply cannot bear to break faith with hundreds of prior generations and their monumental struggle against all odds.
(2) We all have heroes or role models that we respect and want to emulate. I have several, including my childhood family physician, Dr. Morris Shlansky. He lived in Borough Park, and was probably the smartest person I have ever known. He was a graduate of medical school in Czarist Russia at a time when it was next to impossible for Jews to do so. He was a scientist, a supremely rational man, a healer and humanitarian, a perfectionist, and a committed Jew and Zionist.
Dr. Shlansky would visit Israel every year and return having given away the contents of his suitcases to poor Israelis. At the age of 90 he took Mrs. Shlansky to Israel to make aliyah. Oy, poor Mrs. Shlansky! In Israel, the good doctor hired an architect to design his home, one that would take about 5 years to plan and build. That's optimism! As a youngster, and to this day, I have wanted to follow in his example. I failed to become a doctor, but I know that I succeeded in my love of Judaism and Zionism.
(3) Another hero was my grandfather, Harry Rosenblatt. When he died at age 102, he was the oldest surviving person in North America who had served in the Jewish Legion, helping the British under General Allenby defeat the Ottoman Turks in World War I. A Russian émigré, he was moved to enlist after hearing a fiery speech by Jabotinsky right here in Union Square. He was with the first group of Jewish soldiers to march into Jerusalem in over 1000 years! Grandpa Harry used to say that only three things really mattered deeply to him: his family, America, and Israel and the Jewish people.
(4) Some of my Jewishness comes from the practical considerations of good parenting. When my son, Andre, was young I decided to start going to Friday night services so that he might see me “walk-the-walk” and not just “talk-the-talk” of being Jewish. To my surprise, I actually quickly grew to enjoy and appreciate Shabbat. What started as an exercise in good parenting became something that has enriched my life and connected me further to my religion. Similarly, my involvement in the leadership of Temple Israel, the AVI CHAI Foundation, the National Yiddish Book Center, and AIPAC stem in large measure from my attempt to model Jewish communal commitment to my son. And I am very happy (and proud) to report that he's worked hard to become conversationally fluent in Hebrew; maybe these parenting techniques actually work!
These are just a few, of more than a dozen reasons, I had on my list. Maybe some of my reasons will resonate with you. Doubtless each of you will have yet other reasons as well. But whatever shows up on your list or mine, I believe that there is a foundation underlying all of these reasons, and one that isn’t totally rational but that has an irreducibly emotional component. And that is the notion of preferential love.
Recently I read a fascinating book, “IMAGINE: John Lennon and the Jews” by Ze’ev Maghen. He argues that while we might aspire to love all people equally, that is impossible. Normal people love their own family preferentially, no matter how much they may love others. You might want to be a universalist, but doubtless you love your loved ones more (or more specially) than other individuals.
Maghen then extends this concept to a preferential love of the Jewish people. As he puts it, “I, too, love the Jews. Love ‘em something fierce. Tried meditation, hypnotism, reflexology, Tai-Chi—nothing helps. I’m a basket case. And since love is the world’s greatest all-time motivation, I am proud to proclaim…I love my people so incredibly damn much that I want them to be around forever.” Well, I couldn’t have said it better.
Our connections to each other extend not only geographically, to Jews in other places, but also temporally, to Jews of other times. We stand tall on the shoulders of those who came before us. But also, we look forward to young, and even as yet unborn, generations of Jews to leave a precious legacy; to keep our promises to them. This connectivity through both time and space links us to something larger and more important than just ourselves and our own lives in the here and now. It links us to a shared and great Jewish destiny.
At Temple Israel we are on the cutting edge of creating a meaningful 21st century Jewish life for our community. We are looking to enrich your lives, you, our congregants and especially our children. Our goal is to provide, time and again, something for everyone in terms of services, programs, events, and a comforting and warm welcome. So that when you’re ready to engage in any aspect of Jewish life, not only will we be ready to fulfill your expectations, but together we’ll be able create new and even greater possibilities, not only for today, but for tomorrow.
I do what I do as President of Temple Israel, and more broadly as a Jewish activist, because I have a deep and abiding love for the Jewish people, and because I believe we have a magnificent destiny still to fulfill. I invite you, one and all, to please join me in that quest.
Kol Nidre is here to remind us that we have promises to keep. Let us go forward together, hand in hand, into this New Year with a renewed commitment to build a better future both here at Temple Israel and beyond!
People who inspire and motivate us are our heroes. They catalyze our preferential love so that we are driven to make choices that affirm our values, and that reflect our desire to be a part of a community marked by shared dreams and hopes. These heroic people guide us and inspire us even as the years go by. They shine with the brightness of Chanukah candles, and their light leads us through even the darkest moments of our lives. Their glow illuminates all the seasons of our lives, and especially at times of joy and celebration. So this December/Kislev, as we enjoy the Festival of Lights, let’s remember our role models and our heroes, not only the Maccabees, but also those who inspired us to share our blessings, and to create brightness in our world. Happy Chanukah!
Lief D. Rosenblatt