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December 7, 2023 by •

  • As a Jew, I feel personally violated by October 7. For much of my adult life, I have tried to understand what it must have been like to be a Jew in America around 1900, while our brothers and sisters were suffering pogroms in Europe, or while the Holocaust was happening in the 1930s and 1940s, or when the SS St. Louis was not allowed to dock, and all its Holocaust refugees were returned to Nazi Europe. What could we have done to help?  I don’t have to wonder any more. I now know what it means to be helpless.
  • Israel has become “united” by this war. The anti-Netanyahu-establishment demonstrations ended as soon as Hamas attacked us on 10/7.  Former opponents are working together closely to retrieve all our hostages and to dismantle Chamas.  They have a common purpose.
  • But many Israelis still want to hold “someone” responsible for October 7, just not till the war is over and all hostages are released.  Expect to see big hearings taking place in Israel when this is all over.
  • At the UN and worldwide, there is denial of Hamas’s crimes, and especially its sexual crimes, despite video proof and now testimony from released hostages.
  • The UN and the rest of world fail to support Israel’s right to self-defense, a natural response by any sovereign nation.
  • October 7 has been characterized as worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Much of the world and social media deny the nature and facts of the attack, which is Holocaust denial writ large and current.
  • Hate speech and concepts are ramping up in most media: Israel is called a “settler colonialist state”, “performing genocide on Palestinian children”, “open air prison”, “targeting Palestinian children”, “river to the sea”.   Just another “South African-style apartheid state.”
  • I am so proud of ADL, JCRC and other organizations and key Jewish leaders for really stepping up the past two months. We need them like never before.
  • I am really disappointed how we have failed in American Jewish young people in their education. So few American Jews, adults, college students can speak to our indigeneity and relationship with Israel.  Few know anything about our history – ancient or modern.
  • I am disappointed in our absence of any real “control” over media or message, despite how people accuse us of controlling the media.
  • We have done a terrible job about promoting the many great and important things that Israel does in the world. Or getting any of the truth out there.  So many groups deny the right for the Jews to have our own nation.
  • Or perhaps no amount of positive press can offset the lies that Hamas and its supporters plant in every medium.
  • We have allowed the pro-Palestinians and antisemites to define all the issues and create false truths.
  • It is especially meaningful that this is all happening in the days leading up to Chanukah, as it was at this very time of year, on that land, that the Maccabees were waging a war against those who sought our destruction.  Their victory reminds us of the miraculous nature of Jewish history, and the faith and resolve that has defined our people to this day.
  • It is also a time when we reflect on the beauty of the Chanukiyah and the idea that, together, we can increase light in the darkest of times. This is what the Maccabees were able to in their time after the war, and that is our hope for our brothers and sisters in Israel, and all the people of the region.

    Hag Urim Sameach! 

Best wishes to you and your family from me and Renana for a joyous Chanukah!

Rabbi’s Remarks – November 29, 2023

November 28, 2023 by •

 

 

 

Shabbat Shalom!

Friends, Renana and I return to La Crosse this week, in time for Shabbat morning services. We hope you will join us now that our two-week vacation in Arizona is coming to an end. What a pretty place! Of course, our bluffs are beautiful year-round and hard to beat. So are the opportunities for hiking and biking, except for winter! On the other hand, Tucson and Phoenix had record highs for the summer, reaching up to 116 degrees or more. Yuck!

There is nothing like a long vacation for recharging one’s spiritual batteries.  We got to see what other congregations are doing – activities, communications, celebrations – and get new ideas for our own shul.  We went hiking in northern Arizona with members of Prescott’s B’rith Shalom, attended a Bat Mitzvah at our “sister” congregation Anshei Israel in Tucson, and enjoyed an Oneg Shabbat and birthday celebration in Oracle.

Although we have been gone for a while, we have been following closely each day the news from Israel, where 81 number of hostages have been freed, as I write this. These 81 innocent Israeli and other civilians were abducted during a horrific terrorist attack on October 7.

None of the 180 Palestinians released from Israeli jails were “innocent” victims of anything. Every one of them had been convicted in a court of law of committing violent crimes against Israelis and others, and are in Israeli prisons for a reason.

However, Israelis and Jews value each and every life much more highly than any possible political gain. They are doing what they must do to get our people back, and a substantial part of the world is supporting them. Others in the world are clamoring for Israel to continue the ceasefire, or even withdraw entirely from Gaza, instead of their stated goal of dismantling Hamas and preventing future wars and murders from happening. We must continue to support Israel and to encourage our senators and congressmen to do so as well.

In this period of extra gratitude, we are so grateful for this “miracle” that these innocent people are being returned to their families. One of the greatest mitzvot is (from Wikipedia) “Pidyon shvuyim” (Hebrew: פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים, literally: Redemption of Captives) There is a religious duty in Judaism to bring about the release of a fellow Jew captured by slave dealers or robbers, or imprisoned unjustly by the authorities. The release of the prisoner is typically secured by a ransom paid by the Jewish community. It is considered an important commandment in Jewish law.

We pray that this hostage swap continues until they release ALL the rest of the hostages, and for Israel to achieve its objective of ending Hamas’s control of the Palestinians and of Gaza. Instead, the ONLY way a two-state solution is going to work is if both Jews and Palestinians can live in peace, and Israelis can no longer be attacked, raped, murdered or abducted from their homes. This very concept of safety and security for its citizens is the only way two nations can live next door to each other.

I have been asked to speak at local churches and other organizations about our response to the huge increase in antisemitism here in the U.S., and how we are dealing with the aftermath of the horrific October 7 Hamas attacks.  I have been stopped 3 times by people in the aisles of Woodman’s or Festival Foods who want us to know they are praying for our community and for the Israelis.  I am so grateful to hear that.  I get voice mails and e-mails from so many neighbors in our interfaith community here in La Crosse with the same message.  This is so gratifying to hear.  We are fortunate to live among so many supportive neighbors.

We look forward to seeing you this week at services and in coming weeks, but especially at our big annual Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, December 10 at 4:15 PM.  Please be sure to respond to the invite you received, so you can register for the gala event!

Rabbi’s Thanksgiving Message

November 21, 2023 by •

Brian & Renana Saddlebrooke

Friends, I can predict what I will see in your refrigerator on Friday.

Leftover turkey.

As a food writer once wrote in The New York Times: “Leftover turkey is a ghoulish reminder on the morning after Thanksgiving. Roasted, dismembered and carved, remnants of big bird tweak the guilt of all who dare crack the refrigerator door.” 

Leftover turkey is Thanksgiving’s unavoidable by-product. By Friday at lunch, it might be turkey casserole. One evening this weekend, it will become turkey tetrazini. Saturday afternoon, it will become turkey sandwiches. On Sunday afternoon, many of us will munch on leftover drumsticks.

And so it goes, until that turkey carcass is completely spent.

This is the lesson of the days that follow Thanksgiving.

Anyone can make turkey. The art is in how to use the leftovers.

When I think of leftovers or remnants, I immediately turn to the Torah.  In the story of Jacob and Esau, there is that moment when Jacob is preparing to meet his brother once again. For many years, they have endured a painful separation – a separation that was caused by Jacob’s deception in receiving their father’s blessing.

As Jacob prepares to meet his brother, he divides his family and possessions – thinking that should Esau attack part of his family, a remnant will survive. Leftovers.

Much later in the Bible, in the story of Job, we read of the destruction of Job’s home, and his possessions, and his children.

Messengers come to Job with a series of devastating reports:

The oxen were plowing and the she-asses were grazing alongside them, when Sabeans attacked them and carried them off, and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you… God’s fire fell from heaven, took hold of the sheep and the boys, and burned them up; I alone have escaped to tell you... A Chaldean formation of three columns made a raid on the camels and carried them off and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you... Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother when suddenly a mighty wind came from the wilderness. It struck the four corners of the house so that it collapsed upon the young people and they died; I alone have escaped to tell you. (Job 1)

“I alone have escaped to tell you.” I am a remnant.” A leftover.

Jews are often called the “remnant”.  Holocaust survivors were referred to as שארית הפליטה, Sh’erit ha-Pletah, meaning surviving remnant. 

A number of synagogues throughout the U.S. have the name of Shearith Israel, the remnant of Israel.

Where is the artistry in life? It is in how you use what you still have — what is left over. It is in how we bear witness to fragility and hope, even hope beyond hope.

How can I even write these words, as we mourn with those families who lost loved ones on October 7 and beyond; in the presence of American families who are thinking of their loved ones who are hostages in Gaza?

The story of Job is now, once again, the Jewish story. We are a nation of Jobs. We are a deeply traumatized people, and we cling to the leftovers: leftover faith, leftover hope, leftover vision.

How do I deal with what is left?

This is what I know. I represent a people that has been dealing with the leftovers for its entire existence and history.

We are those who have taught ourselves —  and the world —  how to use history’s leftovers. This is the great theme of Jewish history: survival and creativity, even and especially in the midst of tragedy and trial.

The ancient sage Hanina ben Dosa – a first-century pupil of Yochanan Ben Zakkai – taught that when Abraham sacrificed the ram in place of his son, Isaac, not a single part of that ram went to waste. Part of the carcass became the coat for Elijah, the prophet. The sinews became the strings of David’s harp. One horn became the shofar blown at the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, and the other will be blown when the Messiah comes. All leftovers.

The ancient Sages tell us that in the aftermath of the Golden Calf, Moses burnt the Calf and used its ashes to construct the desert tabernacle. The remnants of our people’s greatest spiritual failure would become the cornerstone of the place where we would meet God in the wilderness. The tabernacle was built from the leftovers of faith.

Later, in the wilderness, Korach led a rebellion, challenging the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  He and his followers were swallowed up by the earth, but their fire pans, used to bring incense into the Holy Tabernacle, were incorporated into the holy construction. Leftovers.

In the year 586 Before the Common Era – BCE – the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple. We had to learn how to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. In exile, out of leftover stories, laws, and legends, they created the Torah and Rabbinic Judaism, which ensured our permanent survival. They used the leftovers of faith.

In the year 70 of the Common Era, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. The Jews were left without a way of making offerings to God. The ancient Sages constructed a Judaism around prayer and worship, around commandments and covenant. They re-built. They used the leftovers of faith.

In the year 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Jews from Spain. And so, the Spanish Jewish exiles turned inward. They taught that just as they were in exile, the world itself was in exile. They taught that whenever we do a mitzvah, we bring the world closer to God. They re-built. They used the leftovers of faith.

In 1648, the Cossacks destroyed the Jewish communities of the Ukraine and Poland. A generation later, Jews learned how to find God in the midst of joy and holy intimacy . Out of the darkness of pogrom, Hasidism was born. They re-built. They used the leftovers of faith.

Out of the very ashes of the Holocaust, a people destroyed became a people re-born. Millennia ago, the prophet Jeremiah uttered these words, even as the Babylonians were deporting him and his people from the Land: “And I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will bring them back to their pasture where they will be fertile and increase.”

That is Zionism, and that is Israel. Today’s Jews are the saving remnant of a people reduced to carcasses on the table of history. We are the remnants.

It is true of American Jewry, as well — those of us who cling to our ancient faith, and renew it, and rebuild it. The prophet Isaiah so deeply felt his life intertwined with the life of his people that he named his son Shear-yashuv, “a remnant will return.” We, we who take seriously Scripture and prayer and the poetry of the spirit: in the words of Isaiah, we are the saving remnants. We are the sacred leftovers.

I am not a very good cook. But, I know something about using leftovers.

If the left-overs are fresh, go for it.  You can reheat them, and they can be as good, or even better, the second time around. 

But, I have learned that there is a difference between left-overs that are ready to eat and left-overs that are, or should be, history.

If spoiled left-overs are ever to be used again, they need to be composted. They need to be completely broken down into their biological building blocks. You need to start fresh from scratch.

May you know when to eat the leftovers, and when to make the compost pile, and may God give you the wisdom to know the difference.

This is also the time we are especially motivated to feel gratitude – for all the blessings we are given.

As I write this, a deal has just been announced for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, with Hamas offering to release 50 of the Israelis held as hostage in Gaza. 

We pray for the release of ALL the hostages, and the end to the war.  But this is a very happy step, which is scheduled to take place on Thanksgiving Day.  Certainly something to be grateful for!

Renana and I want to wish you and your families the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

Rabbi’s Message November 11, 2023

November 10, 2023 by •

ב”ה

Message from Rabbi Brian

As I was thinking about my message for this Shabbat, I was tormented by something. Have we Jews of America been living in a dream for 75 years? A state of self deception, perhaps? Seeing the huge uptick in anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric reported from all around the country, I’m reminded how 19th century German Jews tried so hard to fit in and to become just as German as their neighbors. They dressed like Germans, held services on Sundays instead of Saturdays.

For them, this period lasted from the late Enlightenment until the early 20th century. For us in America it lasted from the 50s until now. The Jew hatred never really went away, did it? The difference between now and early Nazi Germany is that the Jew hatred is not official government policy, rubberstamped by a complicit judiciary. This is different. The ability of every single human being to have their own giant public megaphone- a soapbox that spreads all over the world, via social media.

There’s a big difference. The antisemitism has gone total mainstream. All of a sudden, we don’t need to fear just organized groups – Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, and local white supremacists in our midst. They have lots of supporters now and not just tacit ones.

I also wanted to talk about Kristallnacht this week. November 9 marks the 85th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom. On November 9, 1938, the Nazi paramilitary forces, along with German civilians, burned and vandalized over 1,400 Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. They also murdered 91 Jews and arrested 30,000 Jewish men, sending them to concentration camps. Kristallnacht marked a turning point in the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

This week we also mark 30 days since the horrific Hamas terror attack on Israel, killing 1400 people, mostly civilians, and taking over 240 hostages, among them children, elderly, men and women.

Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas resulted in a wave of severe antisemitism around the world – a sharp rise of over 500% antisemitic attacks on Jews and Jewish communities was reported globally. These waves of antisemitism included physical violence, calls to kill Jews, using Nazi Germany rhetoric, and intimidation of young Jews on campuses and of Jews in the streets. And the murder the other day of an elderly Jew in California at a pro-Israel rally.

This Shabbat – November 11 – is also our day to honor our American veterans. We can never forget the sacrifices they have made for our liberty and freedom.

We pray for the rapid release of the hostages held by Hamas. We pray for the families of the hostages, and those that lost their loved ones in the massacre. We mourn these lost innocent souls.

With prayers for peace and healing,

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Brian Serle

Introduction to Judaism

November 6, 2023 by •

We are pleased to offer Introduction to Judaism. This is an engaging course for adults interested in exploring a modern approach to Jewish life. In our weekly classes, we will explore a wide range of topics covering many aspects of Jewish life including holidays, life cycle, core beliefs, prayer, the Bible and other sacred texts, history, antisemitism and the Holocaust, Israel, the North American Jewish experience, and the diversity of the Jewish people today.

Read our detailed course overview..

The next class is this Monday, December 4 at 7:00 pm on Zoom – here is the Zoom link.

Introduction to Judaism online is designed for you, whether you are in an interfaith relationship, an adult raising Jewish children, a spiritual seeker, considering conversion, or a Jew who wants a meaningful adult learning experience.

Wherever you are on your journey with Judaism, this class is designed to be a safe and welcoming place for you to explore. Our programs affirm people from all backgrounds and are LGBTQIA+-friendly.

Each class will last approximately 90 minutes: 30 minutes on the weekly Torah portion, and 60 minutes on the topic of the week.

I have attached the updated schedule of classes, so you can get an idea of the curriculum.

Classes will incorporate written texts, along with videos and music.

Some of you will be more advanced in your studies than others. We are glad to adjust our schedule to meet the needs of our students.

All classes will be recorded and posted on our YouTube channel, in case you miss one, or want to watch it again.  Here is the link to the recording of our October 31 class.

There is no fee for the class. However, over time you may want to purchase various books to build your Jewish home library, including our siddur (prayer book) and Torah book. Some of you already own these books. I will also be sharing materials online, in case you do not have the books.

If you are interested in attending, please let us know by reply e-mail.

If you don’t want to join the class, please let us know if you want to continue to be on our e-mail list for classes and events.

Let’s have some fun, learning about Judaism!

Rabbi Brian Serle

 

Rabbi’s Message 11/4/23

November 5, 2023 by •

ב”ה

Message from Rabbi Brian

Friends, it’s hard to believe that I have just completed my fourth year on the Bimah here at CSOA. Where does the time go? We had an extremely successful turnout for all the holidays this year, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Shemini Atzeret even! It certainly didn’t hurt that they almost all fell on Saturdays and Sundays this year. I will try to arrange that again in a future year!

This is also the time of year that my own personal Bar Mitzvah portion – Vayera – shows up again in the rotation of our weekly Torah reading. This is especially meaningful to me, because my time on the Bimah in those days – a scant 59 years ago – led directly to my time on the CSOA Bimah today.

So much has happened in those 59 years. At that time, Israel was recovering from the influx of 1 million Jewish refugees from all the Muslim countries that rejected and deported them, often with little but the clothes on their back, losing their homes, their assets, their livelihoods, after a thousand years or more of relative safety and security in all those countries. Israel emerged stronger from all the new immigrants, greatly diversifying their population, and adding a whole new generation of chalutzim – pioneers – willing to work hard to build their adopted country. It also changed the entire music and cultural scene in the country. Just three years later, Israel’s very existence would be tested once again, as it survived the 6-Day War.

Normally, each year, this week on the Jewish calendar invokes very happy but bittersweet memories for me, as I peruse the 1964 photo albums, and giggle at all the hair styles (bouffant!) and fashions – and the brightly colored men’s suits (blue or yellow “sharkskin”!) of the mid-1960s. But I’m also sad that so many of those friends and relatives are no longer with us.

However, this week other matters rest heavily on my heart. It is an incredibly difficult moment in which we find ourselves. I know that I feel completely out of sorts. I know many of you feel the same.

The ground has shifted under our feet, leaving us feeling unbalanced and unsteady. Our safety and security feel threatened by a devolving democracy, impotent leadership, and the escalation of both anti-LGBTQIA+ actions and an overwhelming growth of antisemitism.

Now, added to this is the war between Israel and Hamas.

It is now almost 4 weeks since the horrific Hamas massacres, with almost none of our hostages yet returned to their families. As the massacre unfolded on October 7 and after, like many of you, I felt so far way and so helpless. I am reminded of the many demonstrations and gatherings of American Jews during the Holocaust, like the protests led by Jewish-American leaders in Madison Square Garden in the 1930s and again during Kristallnacht, as American Jews felt totally unable to help in any way as our Jewish way of life was destroyed in Nazi Germany. Or later, while hundreds of Jewish refugees on the S.S. St. Louis almost made it to safety in Cuba or America, but were only able to see our shores, as they were shipped back to die in Europe.

At our recent Israel Solidarity meeting, some expressed the need for a forum where we might gather, simply to feel the support of our community, to connect with and strengthen each other. I am reminded of the early Zionist pioneer song, “Anu banu artzah, livnot ulehibanot bah”. “We came to the Land, to build it and to be built up by it.”

I have seen a huge outpouring of love and support by our non-Jewish neighbors. As of today, I have received almost 50 phone calls and e-mails from people all over our region, asking how they can help, where can they send money, and to let us know that they are praying for our Jewish community and for our brothers and sisters in Israel. I get stopped a few times a week in Woodman’s or Kwik Trip or Festival Foods by people seeking reassurance about the present and the future, and commiserating with all who are suffering. “Rabbi, we are praying for your community,” they tell me.

In the meantime, I’m sure you have seen so many Jewish leaders and online media who say that in light of all the antisemitic media and anti-Israel (and anti-Jewish) public messaging, now is the time to “double down” on being Jewish. Do more mitzvot, put up more mezuzahs, light Shabbat candles, they say.

One way to respond to this crisis is to take advantage of our two weekly gatherings that are already in place: Friday evening Shabbat Zoom services, and Saturday morning Shabbat services, which is live and on Zoom.

Our turnout both in person and online in recent weeks speaks to how important and personally meaningful it has been for our community to gather on Shabbat. I can’t begin to express how comforting it is for us to be in your presence in these very difficult times. I worry about the health and security of my own children and grandchildren in Israel, and the many family and friends Renana and I both have in Israel. That worry doesn’t leave us for a minute.

Being with our community on Shabbat offers us the opportunity to be with each other, to sing with each other, to share stories with each other, to comfort each other, to hold each other, and to just have a moment to close our eyes and catch our breath.

Over these coming weeks, we will respond to the war in Israel with words and conversations from the Bimah, prayers and reflections for our Israeli brothers and sisters, for the hostages, for those innocents on both sides who have been killed or wounded.

I recommend that we show our solidarity with our brothers and sisters all over the world, but especially in Israel, as we end our prayers each week with the singing of our people’s national anthem of hope, Hatikvah.

And we will, of course, continually seek ways to provide more active and needed support.

In conclusion, let me say that I could not be more grateful than to be here at Sons of Abraham in this moment – surrounded by your care, your passion and your zeal for both the future of this community and for the larger world Jewish community.

As did our ancient parents Abraham and Sarah, may we continue to move forward in the world as a source of blessing.

With prayers for peace and healing,

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Brian Serle

Resources for Judaism Course

October 29, 2023 by •

Basic Judaism Course - Bibliography

Resources for Jewish Learning

October 26, 2023 by •

Conversion study resources

Basic Judaism Syllabus

October 25, 2023 by •

Coming soon!

Shabbat Breisheet Dvar Torah 5784

October 18, 2023 by •

Genesis Dvar Torah
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