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Tag: Reform movement

The supporting cast in our lives

Shabbat, Dec. 21
Vayeishev, Genesis 37:1-40:23

I am a rabbi because of a game of catch I played at camp with a rabbi more than three times my age. I found love and happiness and my partner in life because my best friend and my family helped me through a very difficult time. I survived the social pressure cooker of high school because my woodshop teacher took a personal interest in my well-being. I am alive today, I truly believe, because an anonymous man pulled me back from the curb as I was about to step into oncoming traffic in Manchester, England. (I was looking in the wrong direction for British traffic patterns.)

We have all sorts of names for these people in our lives. Some call them guardian angels, some call them heroes, and our tradition calls them shlichim, “messengers” or “emissaries” from God. I call them supporting actors. A rabbi, a friend, family, a teacher and an anonymous man in the movie that is my life: these are the people who have enabled me to play a starring role!

These are the people who, intentionally or not, gave the trajectory of my life a nudge at just the right moment and kept it on track, or steered it in a new and better direction. If awards were given to supporting actors in life as they are to movie actors, then they would each deserve an Oscar for the roles they played and for how their playing of their roles enabled me to play mine.

Who are the supporting actors in your life? Who are the people, past or present, who, at critical crossroads in your life’s journey, gave you directions, held your hand and walked a bit of the way with you? Who are the people who, upon reflection, were it not for them, everything would be different and so much would not have been possible?

Consider for a moment the story of Joseph and his coat of many colours in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeishev.

Here, we meet Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, great-grandson of Abraham, who, by all accounts, is a leading man in the story of the Jewish people. Joseph, in my estimation, is the second most pivotal person in Jewish history. The most pivotal one is a man whose name we don’t know and the Torah doesn’t record, but whose role as a supporting actor in one scene of Joseph’s life changes the arc of Jewish history.

In this week’s portion, Joseph goes out searching for his brothers, who are supposed to be in the field tending the flock. He searches in all the usual places but can’t find them. Along the way, he meets a man whose name we never know: the Torah refers to him simply as ha-ish, “the man” who saw Joseph wandering in the field (Genesis 37:15).

There is an allusion here to the nameless man or angel that Jacob, Joseph’s father, wrestled with in the previous parashah, Vayishlach. We note that, sometimes, when the Torah does not name a character, that character comes to play a pivotal role in the unfolding story. Such is the case in this instance. The man sees that Joseph appears to be lost and approaches him. He asks: “What are you looking for?” Joseph responds, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me please where they are tending the flock?” (See Genesis 37:15-16.)

The nameless man remembers seeing Joseph’s brothers, he overheard them talking about heading toward a place called Dothan. On the anonymous man’s advice, Joseph seeks his brothers there and finds them. Shockingly, they are not happy to see him. They conspire against him, abuse him, threaten to kill him and, eventually, sell him into slavery to a band of traveling nomads who are headed to Egypt. Through a series of events, Joseph, the boy who looked for his brothers in a field, becomes the chief advisor to Pharaoh and ascends to the second-most powerful position in all of Egypt.

Meanwhile, a famine occurs in the Land of Israel and these same brothers are sent by the leader of the Israelites, their father Jacob, to find food. They travel to Egypt and, this time, it is they who are surprised to find their brother – not only alive, but also in a position to help them. After a series of encounters, Joseph embraces them, asks after his father and makes all the arrangements for the entire nation of Israel to immigrate to Egypt. His position and power save the Jewish people and, for many years, they live well in Egypt and thrive.

Then, a new pharaoh comes to power and forces the Israelites into slavery. A prophet named Moses rises up from among them and, through plagues of frogs, lice, boils and so on; the splitting of the Red Sea; and, ultimately, the giving of the Torah, the people return to the Land of Israel. And that’s pretty much the story of our people.

But what about this nameless man? Who or what was he?

The commentators offer a variety of answers. The 11th-century scholar, Abraham ibn Ezra, reads the text of Genesis 37:15 with a p’shat, a “straightforward” interpretation and concludes this was a passerby. Rashi, on the other hand, delves further and concludes: “This [the man] was the angel Gabriel, as it says (Daniel 10:21), ‘and the man Gabriel.’” (Rashi on Genesis 37:15) Rashi draws inference from the definite article that is used to identify “the” man.

Ramban explains that he was an ordinary man (a passerby), yet he was unwittingly fulfiling God’s design. He was actually “sent” by God to guide Joseph, though he himself was not aware of the significance of his actions. In Hebrew, the word malach means both “angel” and “messenger,” because every malach, human or supernatural, is one of God’s messengers, activated to implement His will on earth. (See Ramban on Genesis 37:15.)

Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, known as the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859), goes in a completely different direction: “The angel taught Joseph that, whenever one is straying in the ways of life, when one is downtrodden or downcast, one should speak to oneself and clarify for oneself what one is really asking for, looking for, seeking, and what one really desires, so that one can return and first explain to oneself what one needs.”

The Kotzker Rebbe seems to disagree with Ramban, Rashi and Ibn Ezra, saying, it’s not a passerby, God or an angel that points the way. Rather, he says that the supporting actor in this unfolding mystery is Joseph’s inner voice and that, sometimes, our inner voice can be our own supporting actor.

Whatever or whoever he was, were it not for ha-ish, the man Joseph met along the way, the man who told Joseph where to find his brothers, how different it all could have been.

We never know in the present tense which people or events will be the most instrumental and transformative in our lives but, in hindsight, nothing is clearer. Upon reflection, the pieces of the puzzle and the paths of our lives are perfectly clear, even if they may be filled with uncomfortable observations.

This week’s parashah is a reminder to all of us to recognize the supporting actors who have guided us on our path and pointed us to our direction. It compels us to acknowledge, honour and thank them – even to give them awards – for the important roles that they’ve played, for doing so teaches us something greater still: in recognizing the transformative influence of supporting actors in our lives, we become keenly aware of how important we are in the lives of others. And we come to appreciate the capacity each of us has to help our friends, neighbours, even strangers achieve wholeness in life and find what they are seeking.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz is senior rabbi at Temple Sholom and author of The Men’s Seder (MRJ Publishing). He is also chair of the Reform Rabbis of Canada. His writing and perspective on Judaism appear in major print and digital media internationally. This article originally appeared on reformjudaism.org.

Posted on December 20, 2019December 18, 2019Author Rabbi Dan MoskovitzCategories Op-EdTags Judaism, lifestyle, Reform movement, Torah
Outside of British Columbia

Outside of British Columbia

Jewish summer camp combines land and water activities with learning about Israel and Judaism. (photo from Camp BB Riback)

When summer comes to the Pacific Northwest, it’s the best time to head into the great outdoors and, of course, for kids, into the summer camp experience. For Jewish kids in British Columbia, there are not only great local camps – Camp Hatikvah and Camp Miriam – but a few out-of-province options worth considering.

When Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) was established in 1954, on the shores of Whidbey Island, there was a vision born out of the camp’s now-common catch phrase, “Where Judaism and joy are one.” Sixty-one years later, now located on private, protected lakefront property on the outskirts of Olympia, Wash., the camp is looking to the future again, with the combination of Judaism and joy still central.

A Conservative movement-based summer camp, CSS launched a capital campaign in 2014 called From 60 to 120, with a focus on supporting the next 60 years of growth. In an informational social gathering hosted in Vancouver by the camp on Jan. 10, director Sam Perlin shared plans for the campaign and the new facilities that would be born from it.

photo - Jewish summer camp combines land and water activities with learning about Israel and Judaism
(photo from Camp Solomon Schechter)

Already halfway to reaching their $12 million goal, Perlin said that if they reach $8 million on time, construction would begin as soon as the summer. New dining and covered sports facilities with programming space are in the works, along with health and welcome centres, all built while preserving and enhancing the camp’s unique wetlands.

The new developments will be a welcome addition to the approximately 120 Canadian campers CSS gets in any given summer, a number Perlin says he hopes will continue to grow. “We have full Canadian buses coming from Canada,” he explained. “We even moved Aleph (First) session to accommodate the Canadian school schedule.”

With several matching grants approved, Perlin noted that Canadians can participate in the matching program to maximize their contributions. He also pointed out that a Canadian donation will be matched with the same number in U.S. dollars, regardless of the exchange rate.

For more information on CSS programming or the campaign, visit campschechter.org or from60to120.org.

* * *

Across the Rockies and into Alberta, Camp BB Riback (a B’nai B’rith camp) is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Pine Lake.

Camp director Jerrod Henoch said they’ve been building up their waterfront program to include learn-to-ski and wakeboard sessions. “Our professional-level ski boat and boom, combined with the expert attention of our waterfront staff, sees even many of our youngest campers get up on water skis for their first time at camp,” he explained.

Of course, with the Alberta-based location, Camp BB also features a horseback riding instruction program.

Camp BB will also be building new camper cabins this spring as part one of their facility enhancement plans.

Although the majority of Camp BB’s participants are from Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon, Henoch said they do get several B.C. families every summer as well.

“Camp BB is famous for its inclusive and open camp community and we are especially good at helping new campers from out of province or across the world feel included,” he said. “With one of the largest arrays of activity areas in Western Canada, we have something that every camper will excel at and something that will challenge each camper.”

Henoch said there are several staff and even senior management studying or living in British Columbia with whom a consultation for any interested local families could be set up.

More information on the camp can be found at campbb.com.

* * *

One of the newer Jewish camps in the region is Camp Kalsman. Affiliated with the Reform movement, the facilities are located off the Interstate 5, between Mt. Vernon and Everett in Washington.

photo - learning Torah at Camp Kalsman
(photo from Camp Kalsman)

Entering their 10th summer, director David Berkman said this summer will be one big birthday celebration, highlighted by a community-wide party on July 31.

In its first decade, Berkman said the camp’s sense of community has stood out more than anything else.

“The two things that most distinguish Kalsman from other Jewish summer camps are our staff and the community we form with all our participants,” he said. “The Kalsman staff are extraordinary and their dedication to the campers and the camp is amazing. We all work hard to create a sense of family and home away from home. More often than not, campers refer to camp as their home.”

In addition to a heated pool, Camp Kalsman also features a 50-foot tower, a giant swing, a speaking garden and even a petting zoo. With sessions ranging in length from three days to three weeks, the camp serves participants from Grade 2 all the way through high school.

Berkman said Camp Kalsman usually sees three to four dozen campers from north of the border, but he is looking forward to seeing that number grow.

For more information on Camp Kalsman, visit campkalsman.org.

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

 

Format ImagePosted on January 22, 2016January 21, 2016Author Kyle BergerCategories WorldTags Camp BB Riback, Camp Kalsman, Camp Solomon Schechter, Conservative movement, CSS, David Berkman, Jerrod Henoch, Pine Lake, Reform movement, Sam Perlin, Whidbey Island
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