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Friday, November 18, 2005
Polarities in Balance - Chancellor Ismar Schorsch
Dear Elissa and Jason,
A hearty mazal tov on the birth of your twins. With one a little boy and the other a little girl, you are a picture of polarities in balance. I would expect nothing less from a Conservative rabbi. May they both be a source of unending joy for you.
Ismar Schorsch
posted by Rabbi Jason A. Miller
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Miller Lite #2 and Miller Lite #3
With gratitude to God, we are happy to announce the birth of our son and daughter. Baby Boy came first at 12:09 p.m. and weighed in at 5 pounds. Baby Girl came next at 12:27 p.m. and weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
Mother and babies are all healthy and happy. Josh is looking forward to welcoming his new brother and sister home.
Baby Boy will be named at his brit milah ceremony and Baby Girl at her simchat bat ceremony.
Rabbi Jason, Elissa & Joshua Miller
posted by Rabbi Jason A. Miller
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Parshat Va'yera - by Rabbi Jason Miller
Be Our Guest
In this week's parsha, we learn that on the third day after Abraham had circumcised himself, he hosted three angels who appeared in human form. Recovering from this procedure in the excruciating heat of the midday sun, our patriarch still urged them to receive his hospitality. Not only that, but as soon as Abraham saw these three men standing near him, he ran to greet them (vayaratz likratam). Not realizing these men were angels, Abraham took these strangers into his home and offered them water to wash their feet and shade to rest. With his wife Sarah's help, the guests were treated to a feast of bread and meat, curds and milk. He personally served these strangers the delicacies and attended to their needs.
In tractate Bava Metzia of the Babylonian Talmud, we find a Midrash explaining that the Israelites benefit later on as a result of Abraham's kindness to these strangers:
Rab Judah teaches in Rab's name: Everything which Abraham personally did for the Ministering Angels, the Holy One Blessed be God did for God's children [the Israelites]; and whatever Abraham did through a messenger, the Holy One Blessed be God did for God's children through a messenger [Moses].
Abraham's hospitality serves as a wonderful example for us all. The parsha begins with God visiting Abraham at the entrance of his tent, but as soon as the three men appear, Abraham turned away from God to attend to these guests. In so doing, he teaches us that hospitality (hachnasat orchim) is a significant mitzvah and value for us.
There are three fall holidays on which hachnasat orchim is emphasized. They are not all religious holidays, but we learn from their message nevertheless. The first of these is the pilgrimage festival of Sukkot. On these eight holy days (seven in Israel), we invite ushpizin (Aramaic for "guests"), or distinguished individuals from our people's history, into our sukkot. Traditionally, we invite Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David to join our families each night of the holiday. The more progressive and egalitarian among us include some illustrious women who made their mark on the Jewish people as well, including Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Hulda and Esther.
In addition to these biblical guests, it is important for us to open our sukkot to others as well, and especially to those who do not have sukkot in their own backyards and those unfamiliar with the tradition. This year, my family invited any student who wanted to join us for a barbeque on the Sunday night of Sukkot. More than 70 undergraduates and graduate students, religious and secular, Jewish and non-Jewish, visited our sukkah and had the opportunity to recite the blessing of dwelling in the sukkah. I was proud to demonstrate this message of hospitality to my 2-year-old son.
While the Halloween tradition is certainly a controversial one among North American Jews because of its pagan roots, there is a positive side to its celebration as well. In today's hectic times, neighbors so infrequently visit one another. The days of neighborhood kids, let alone their parents, dropping in on one another to say hello and shmooze is long gone. Yet on Halloween, millions of children and their parents trek around the neighborhood ringing doorbells, offering greetings and sharing candy. Ideally, this ritual would encourage some to invite their neighbors inside their homes to visit and become acquainted. For many, the Halloween experience is quite likely the first time they see the inside of their next-door neighbors' homes. Therefore, for those who find Halloween a problematic enterprise, the opportunity for hachnasat orchim will hopefully serve as a positive.
Finally, the Thanksgiving holiday is inching upon us. This festive affair is an opportunity for us to gather with friends and family, consider all the good in our lives and give thanks to God for our good fortune. It is also a time for us to consider making room at our table for strangers to join us. Opening our homes to guests on Thanksgiving is a way to share the experience with others and demonstrate our value of hachnasat orchim. With a mother who works in residential real-estate, our family always had strangers at our Thanksgiving dinner table. Each year, my mother would invite those clients who had recently bought new homes and relocated to Michigan and did not have family nearby. This quickly become an annual minhag (custom) and encouraged us to be even more grateful on Thanksgiving that we were able to celebrate together with family.
The Jewish people place much emphasis on hospitality. We marry under a chuppah that is open on all sides to remind us of the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim. As we study the example demonstrated by our patriarch Abraham and our matriarch Sarah to welcome the stranger and make them feel at home, let us strive to be better hosts. Let us always be mindful to keep our tent doors open whether those doors are the doors of our home or the doors of our Hillel. Just as our people were rewarded because of Abraham and Sarah's genuine hospitality, may we all be rewarded with abundant blessings for making the stranger feel at home among us.
Prepared by
Rabbi Jason Miller
, Assistant director, University of Michigan Hillel
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Parshat Va'yera at
MyJewishLearning.com
.
posted by Rabbi Jason A. Miller
Monday, November 14, 2005
Bible Quiz - Test your knowledge!
The, free, online
Bible Quiz
, created by Jacob Richman, contains more than 3,000 multiple choice questions about the 5 books of Moses. Choose a chapter and timer seting, then the fun begins. The quiz, randomly, selects questions from its database, thus no two quizes are alike. There is, also, a database browser for reviewing and printing the Questions with the
correct Answers. Adults, as well as children will find the quiz entertaining and very educational.
posted by Rabbi Jason A. Miller
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About
Rabbi Jason Miller
is the Associate Director of the
University of Michigan Hillel Foundation
. He is a Conservative Rabbi ordained by
The Jewish Theological Seminary
with a master's degree from the Davidson School of Jewish Education. Rabbi Jason Miller has also worked at
Camp Ramah
for several summers and taught at many
synagogues
across the country. He is the director of
Adat Shalom Synagogue
's SYNergy program for Shabbat enhancement and is a visiting assistant professor at
Michigan State University
.
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