As many of you read this I will be in Washington D.C. as part of the AIPAC Policy Conference.  While this is my first time attending, this annual event attracts thousands of participants from around the country who gather together in our nation’s capital to learn directly from the specialists and leaders in the Middle East, show solidarity for Israel, and engage in grassroots meetings with every congressional representative on the Hill.

This year in particular, I felt the need to be there.  Prime Minister Netanyahu will be speaking in person, as he has many times during his terms as Prime Minister.  His trip to D.C. for the AIPAC appearance has obviously been overshadowed by his speech to Congress the next day.  His invitation and the dustup since, has brought the relationship between Israel and the US to its tensest point in years.

Partisanship and political maneuvering aside, some facts cannot be ignored, the implosion of Syria, and the continued pursuit of Iranian nuclear capabilities have put Israel in a very dangerous situation.  On this, nearly all Israelis agree, and they very rarely agree on anything.   There are indeed vast differences of opinion in Israel on how to deal with these harsh realities, but make no mistake about it, they must be dealt with.

The day after the AIPAC Conference concludes participants, including Jews from every denomination and political affiliation, will return home to their communities and we will be confronted with the story of Esther as we celebrate Purim.

Underneath the masks, and below the farce we are confronted by the existential threat that emanates out of Persia nearly 2500 years ago.  The chilling geographic coincidence does not go unnoticed to Jews around the world.  The courage of Mordecai and Esther, who represent a powerless diaspora community at the risk of their lives, have inspired us for centuries.  Their situation, and tragically Jewish history for most of the last 2000 years, was one of fragile existence.  It is a far cry from where we are today, but we do not dare go back.  

With a nation of our own rebuilt in Zion, and Jewish communities like the one here in the US, of immense strength and power, we live in remarkable and wonderful days, but as we have seen too often recently, on the streets of France and Denmark, our enemies are not fictional creations or myth.

Purim is a yearly reminder that we have enemies, and that our enemies, in the end, cannot triumph. Jews in times of peace forget the first point. Those in trouble must not lose sight of the second.


We are asked what the theme of Purim will be, year after year.  I can’t tell you, but a clue… if you like the TV show Glee, now in its final season, you will love this year’s theme.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday night, March 4th at 7 pm, as we celebrate Purim with our special Spiel, a musical celebration featuring Wendee and some very talented, or at the very least, well intentioned TBA players.  Everyone is encouraged to come in costume and let loose.

Be Joyous, It’s Purim!

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
(Joyce Kilmer)

The 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat is also known as Tu B'Shevat. It is designated as Jewish Arbor Day or the New Year of the Trees.  This year this festival begins the evening of Feb. 3.

The "New Year of the Trees" was not merely a poetic phrase. It had profound bearing on Jewish law. In order to observe certain laws it was necessary to know how old a tree was. In days when the Holy Temple in Jerusalem still stood, tithes and offerings had to be set aside from all new fruit and crop produce. Fruit gathered from the previous year's produce could not be used for tithes due on fruit gathered in the next year. Tu B'Shevat was the official "birthday" for all trees and this day was the official deadline. Fruit that had been gathered up to Tu B'Shevat was considered last year's income, while fruit picked after Tu B'Shevat constituted a new crop, hence, the new year's income

Even after the Temple was destroyed the Jewish people clung to memories of the land of Israel, while searching for new ways to give expressions of their love. Tu B'Shevat. deprived of its tangible content, now emphasized the spiritual longing of a people to its land and the fervent hope for a return to its borders.

Hundreds of years ago the custom of eating fruits on Tu B'Shevat arose. By the end of the 17th century Jews living in various countries developed their own rituals and traditions. One celebration of the holiday included a festive meal where thirty fruits associated with the land of Israel were eaten.

One hundred years ago the Zionist movement brought the Jewish people back to the land of Israel.  But the land bore the marks and scars of hundreds of years of neglect.  Swamps, deserts and hills strewn with rocks, presented the early pioneers-with a seemingly insurmountable challenge. These pioneers took up the life of farmers, road builders and foresters. They built kibbutzim, cities and schools. The Jewish National Find (JNF) provided them with the material means, the land and machinery, to accomplish the task.

Through the contributions of people throughout the world, the JNF has planted over 250 million trees throughout Israel. Forests and parks have been established in honor of America's Bicentennial; to remember world heroes, such as President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and in memory of the children of the Holocaust. Tu B’Shevat is a time to commit funds for this ongoing reclamation of the Holy Land. Visit: www.jnf.org.

Today Tu B'Shevat is also a time to consider our more general connection to the earth and our obligation to take care of it. The tradition of 'tikkun olam' repairing the world--can be taken in an ecological as well as a spiritual sense. On this day, then, we can renew our commitment to this philosophy by taking matters into our own hands.  For example, we could commit ourselves to planting a garden, lobbying our politicians to protect our natural resources, or by planning a family recycling project.

It is our sacred duty to protect the earth, to appreciate God’s presence in nature.

As the Bible reminds us:

“How great are Your works, Lord;
in wisdom You have fashioned them all,
the earth is full of Your creations.” (Psalms 104: 24)

Or as Kilmer wrote:

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Sunday morning, February 1, at 9 AM all religious school grades celebrate our special Tu B’Shevat Seder.