Message from the Rabbi
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rabbistudy to templeisraelnyc period org
VALENTINE'S DAY:
What's Love/Judaism Got To Do With It?
Should a Jewish person celebrate Valentine's Day? Things are not always as they seem to appear. July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, President's Weekend, no problem! Christmas, Easter, Ramadan and more, we know are not ours. But, Valentine's Day? And what's love/Judaism got to do with it, anyway? Did you know that about 25% of all greeting cards of the year are sweet Valentines? Over a billion cards and countless emails are sent annually.
You're right if you remember that Valentine's Day was originally called "St. Valentine's Day," but usually only referenced as St. Valentine's Day when referencing Al Capone's St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929. But many of us grew up thinking that February 14th was about St. Valentine, a Catholic martyr and thus a "not Jewish" holiday. Because of a handful of stories, priests used to say Mass wearing red vestments, so clearly this is Catholic. Nu? Should Jews celebrate Valentine's Day? It depends if the question is pre or post 1969! Before 1969 it was supposed to be a Christian holiday. But the Second Vatican Council disowned the holiday because it seems that Valentine never really existed. So we're left with lots of cards and chocolates, good wishes, flowers, dinners and hopefully sincere and meaningful expressions of the love that we share with one another ... and lots of red and hearts, too.
Our Jewish tradition loves love! Dodi li ... I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. (Song of Songs 2:16)
Set me as a seal upon your heart. (Song of Songs 8:6)
I have betrothed you to me in love (Hosea 21:22)
Two are better than one because they can accomplish more. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
Enjoy life with the one whom you love all the days which God has given you. (Ecclesiastes 9:9)
Or as I often share in special sacred moments beneath a chuppah or in blessing on a special anniversary:
May you ever plant in the spirit of your partner, your joy and your love.
May you ever plant in the soul of your lover, your happiness and your love.
Loving is the perfect way of living.
Real love is a taste of Divinity, a blessing from God.
May your lives remain blessed together in commitment;
May you be blessed always with the warmth of comfort and support.
V'erastich li l'olam b'tzedek - May you remain committed in honesty and integrity.
V'erastich li l'olam b'rachamim - May you ever go together in kindness and gentleness.
V'erastich li l'olam - May you be joined together forever as one.
May you continue to share with each other your joys and your fears.
As the days turn into years, may your lives be eternally entwined.
May your two hearts be always as one,
Always, forever and completely ...
At the end of each day and in the dawn of the next, love's got everything to do with it: Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and every day!
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Rabbi David J. Gelfand