D'var Torah

I hope you are excited as I am to officially welcome our newest member of the clergy team, Rabbi Alexandra Stein, at the service of Installation tomorrow evening. It’s exciting to celebrate a first for our congregation by welcoming our third full-time Rabbi. I hope you will join us, our Koleinu choir, and our lay leadership in a service that celebrates Kabbalat Shabbat, the welcoming of the Sabbath. Our focus at this service will be on the psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat, which are rarely done in full at TRS. The beauty and richness of these psalms, along with melodies that portray their majesty and grandeur, and communal spirit will help us bring in Shabbat in a new way for this service. Offering the Installation Sermon will be Cantor Rebecca Robins, the Director of Education at Temple Sinai in DC, with whom Rabbi Stein worked, and who was on our TRS staff many years ago as a student Cantor.

This weekend also features another first, a fun opportunity to join fellow members in a social event featuring a live game show in our Social Hall on Sunday evening. The Who Knows One Game show began as a virtual experiment by Micah Hart, who calls himself a “digital dreamer.” Micah’s show became a cultural hit in the Jewish community worldwide during the pandemic, reuniting old friends and creating new ones with this innovative game show that combines Six Degrees of Separation and Jewish Geography. Now, Micah is bringing the virtual game to our Social Hall for an in-person interactive version of the show. Come see how we’re all connected to each other and share a few laughs along the way – and maybe even be a part of the show yourself! You can find the reservation link below in today’s eLetter.

“Firsts” is also what is unique about this week’s Torah portion. In Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43), Jacob takes on a new name: “Yisraeil” (Israel) after wrestling with an unknown “person” on his way to meet his estranged brother, Esau. This is the first time that “Yisraeil" or "Israel” becomes associated with our people. Previously, we were “Hebrews.” But as Jacob’s family moved to Egypt and grew, the descendants (now us) became known as the Children of Israel.

The word “Yisrael” means the “one who struggles with God.” We carry that identity. As a people, we are taught to question God, study our faith, and not take anything at face value. We struggle with what God’s role is in our life. We struggle with prayer and spirituality. Religion is not supposed to be easy — it’s okay to ask hard questions of God and not get a response. That’s part of the struggle. How fitting, then, is this name that captures the essence of what it means to be a part of the Jewish community? And to be a part of the People of Israel, a name that has survived the ages, we connect ourselves with the same history to all the generations before us, as well as to our ancient homeland.

Have a Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Michael Shochet