President's Column - November 2023

Dear TBT family,

I can’t believe it has only been one month since I wrote my last shofar column. It feels like years ago. A month ago I had no idea that Hamas was planning a deadly terror attack on Israel that would launch our homeland into a war. I didn’t know I would be helping to organize a vigil of solidarity for our community. I never thought I would have to rush to the synagogue after we received a threatening email or that I would be meeting with tearful preschool parents who were frightened about the safety of their children. It never occurred to me that antisemitism would erupt on our college campuses. I didn’t anticipate the need for security guards and police to protect us in our holy space. I feel like we have been living through a nightmare and I just want to wake up back in September.

I always try to keep these columns positive, and I’m sorry, but I just don’t have it in me today. This weekend was really hard. It was supposed to be parents’ weekend at my daughter's college in Maine. Instead, she came home after being in lockdown in her dorm for two days. She was traumatized. And then today, I wake up to find out that there was a violent threat against Jews at Cornell, the university my son attends. There are now armed guards outside the center for Jewish living and the Jewish fraternities. This is what our children are living through; this is what we are living through.

Sometimes we will be strong and forge ahead with gratitude and hope. But other times, we will just feel exhausted, frightened, and hopeless. This is when our Jewish community is so essential. It was such a comfort to come to the wine tasting last night and get hugs and support from my friends and my TBT family. Thank you, it made a difference to me. I want TBT to be able to provide that for you as well. This is what it means to be a true, genuine, sacred community.

B’Shalom,
Karen Goldberg

Rabbi's Column - November 2023

Dear Friends,

I was on the Guilford Green yesterday evening when I heard a man speaking English in what sounded to me like an Israeli accent. I approached his bench, and said s’licha (‘excuse me’ — this excessively polite gesture instantly outed me as an American). We began to converse.

Ech atah mistader, I asked — how are you holding up?
Ko’ev, ha lev koev, he replied — hurting. My heart hurts. Machzik ma’amad — But I’m holding on.

I nodded. I put a hand on his shoulder. As I looked at his face I noticed a cap was obscuring his kippah Hashem Itanu, he said. God is with us.
God is with us.

The response was classic Israeli. We’ve been through tough times. We’ll make it through this, too. I didn’t have to ask this man whether he had lost anyone to the violence; whether he had any family members or friends serving in the IDF, facing imminent danger. I didn’t have to ask.

As Israel fights for its very right to exist (what other country has to do this?) battles are being waged both in Israel and abroad. Here in the USA, we’re seeing the rise of hateful protests and violent antisemitism on college campuses. A recent Harvard poll found that 51% of 18-24-year-olds found Hamas’s terrorist carnage “justifiable” given the Palestinians’ grievances. A Cornell professor called Hamas’ brutality “exhilarating.” Angry protests at the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin targeted Jews with hateful rhetoric. Neo-Nazis joined in the fray. At Cooper Union, Jewish Students were locked in to the library to protect themselves from protestors banging on the doors, screaming, “Long Live the Intifada.” There are too many others to mention here.

It used to be that college was where our young people learned to think broadly, critically. Now our elite institutions are harboring one-sided, hate-fuelled propaganda. One thing we can do is reach out to all of the college students in our lives, and see how they are doing. This week, I hosted an open Zoom space to process, grieve, and respond. I’ll schedule further sessions as is helpful.

As I write this, we are reading parashat lech lecha, the Torah Portion when Abraham and Sarah leave their home in search of our promised land. God tells them along the way, “I shall make your name great. And you shall be a blessing.” (Gen 12.2) My childhood rabbi, Rabbi Mark Shapiro z”l, loved to point out that this phrase is grammatically imperative. “Be a blessing,” says God. There’s no other option.

A Midrash on this portion has Abraham questioning God:
“Master of the Universe, You made a covenant with Noah that you would never destroy his children. Then I came along and pleased you better, so my relationship with You overrode his. Perhaps someone else will come along and please you better than me, so that his relationship with you overrides mine? God replied, “Among Noah’s children there are no righteous people who intercede for others, but among yours there will be.”

We Jews are a nation of helpers— a people who hate the suffering of all innocents, regardless of borders or life circumstances. You’re continuing to ask how to intercede, how to help. Here are three additional worthy causes you may wish to support:
• Assuta, a hospital in Israel near the Gaza border
• Educare IL, a non-profit organization founded in order to promote resilience and prevent violence in Israeli society, through the research and implementation of empirically-based training programs for therapists, educators and parents
• New Israel Fund Emergency Safety Net Fund is working in several key areas: 1. Basic care for vulnerable groups; 2. Combating violent speech and incitement online; 3. Preventing inter-communal violence in mixed Arab and Jewish cities; and 4. Mental health and trauma counseling.

I thank you to everyone who has reached out to help, pray, and care for our siblings in Israel and here at home. Together, we will make it through this. We will be a blessing.

Shalom, Shalom, fervently and soon,
Rabbi Moss

Rabbi's Column - October 2023

Dear Friends,

At Sukkot we consider: What makes a house a home?

We are taught to treat the spartan Sukkah as our permanent home during this period, humbling us to remember the vulnerability of displacement.

Many of you have been a part of the TBT Family since before the renovation. You patiently awaited returning to our own space while meeting just about everywhere else on the Shoreline. You came with your children — everyone with smiles and a can-do attitude— to our gravel parking lot for our weekly Religious School T’filah! You put up with zoom and in-person; and came masked and then unmasked and back again — over several years. And to those who are new to TBT, welcome! We know how much you love our new space, as well! We won’t subject you to Torah-in-the-trunk anytime soon.

Finally, we are home. We have a gorgeous, comfortable, accessible building and a beautifully landscaped campus. What can we say other than Modim Anachnu (we are so grateful!). The wait was well worth it. I’d like to thank you all for your patience and resilience in the last few years. I’d like to offer a heartfelt todah rabbah (thank you very much) to all who helped with the renovation and contributed to our Capital Campaign to build our TBT home.

The truth is that this work is not yet done. In order to complete the project and plant the seeds for TBT’s flourishing financial future, we need your help. Please consider a gift to our Capital Campaign so that we can cover the full cost of the most ambitious, critical project in TBT’s modern history. If you haven’t yet given, this is the time when we need you. If you’ve already given, thank you for considering another gift. Since announcing our matching gift challenge (through October 8), we have already raised $275,000 in new donations and pledges! Won’t you add your support? Please contact Karen Goldberg, Suzy Frisch, or Kim Romine for more information. And again, Todah Rabbah!

I hope you will join us as we say “thank you” to everyone who brought this project to fruition. Our weekend of gratitude (November 3-4) will include a special Shabbat evening service in appreciation of leaders and volunteers at TBT and throughout the broader community. The following night is our gala — bring your dancing shoes! Stay tuned for signup information coming soon.

Every minute in the Sukkah reminds us of the gifts of safety, security, family, and future. In a word, TBT. I feel so blessed to share this Sukkat Shalom (peaceful home) with all of you.

Bivracha (Blessings),

Rabbi Moss

President's Column - October 2023

Hi Friends,

What a magnificent High Holy Day season we just experienced together. As many of you know, I broke my wrist right before Kol Nidre so I am currently typing with my left hand. I will therefore cheat and share with you an abridged version of my president's address from Rosh Hashanah.

This season of reflection and renewal calls us to explore the essence of our faith and our values. So, I will take this opportunity to ask you about our synagogue’s values. Here is my question. If you had to pick one thing that our temple should provide, what would it be?

For me, it is connections. Connections to each other, connections to our creator, connections to our heritage. The Hebrew word for connections is Kesher.

In a world where technology is dominating more and more of our lives, I often wonder if this brings us closer together or further apart. Did you know that Snap Chat has a new feature called a virtual friend. You can ask it questions about trivia, it can offer you advice and can help plan what to make for dinner. It gets to know you over time and changes its responses based on your likes and dislikes. That’s kind of cool? Maybe kind of scary? My perspective, as a pediatrician, is that despite how technologically linked we are, teenagers are more lonely, more anxious, and more depressed than ever. I don’t believe that the answer is more medicines or more therapy (although these often do help). I think the answer is more KESHER.

In this ever-changing world, it is our connections that provide us with stability and meaning. They remind us that we are not alone on this journey, and they give us the strength to face whatever challenges lie ahead. This is what our children need, and this is what WE need.

We at TBT want to help forge these connections, so this year, we are forming small interest groups that will meet monthly. We are calling this new program, you guessed it, Kesher. There are so many other ways to experience connections at TBT. Come to a Shabbat service and then stay to shmooze at the oneg. Come inside when you drop your children at religious school and join us for T’filah. Help our wider community through our social justice committee.

Come join Kol Ami on our hikes, movie discussions, wine tasting, or the book club. Join Haverim for whatever it is they do. Come meditate Saturday morning, and then you can be nice and relaxed for Torah Study.

So please take a moment during these High Holy Days, to reflect on one thing that you can do to deepen your connections to each other, to Temple Beth Tikvah, and to our broader Jewish community.

Our synagogue stands as a testament to these enduring connections. Over the last three years we have adapted, learned to pivot, and we have remained flexible and strong. Our commitment to our values, and to our community, has never wavered. We are here in our new sanctuary because so many of you share this love for TBT and realize the importance of supporting our Jewish community on the shoreline. We are here, more specifically, because we were able to raise over $7 million through your donations. So, I would like to say a sincere and heartfelt Todah Rabbah. However, our work is not done.

During Selichot we heard Rabbi Offner ask for forgiveness for the delays in this building project. On Rosh Hashanah, it was my turn to ask for forgiveness. Many factors contributed to making this project more expensive than anticipated 4 years ago. We now have a bank loan that accrues interest every day. It is my goal to pay it back fully over the next two-three years. I am asking you all to help us meet this goal. If you are able, please contact me about an additional donation, or a first-time donation, to our ongoing capital campaign. As Theodore Herzl said, “if you will it, it is no dream.”

My dream for all of us at this High Holy Day season is to achieve deep reflection, sincere repentance, and profound connection. May the bonds that unite us as a congregation grow even stronger and may the connections we form today continue to guide us on our spiritual journey in the days, weeks, and years to come. Shana Tova.

Karen Goldberg, President

President's Column - September 2023

Dear TBT friends,

This is a time of great transition for me and my family, as well as for all of us as a TBT congregational family.

My youngest child just left for college, and as the saying goes, we now have an “empty nest.” It is a challenging transition. Phil and I certainly feel great loss when we return each night to a clean, quiet, and calm (boring) home. However, it is intensely rewarding to see my three children pursuing their dreams, and to know that the foundation we helped them create has contributed to their sense of purpose.

This reflection is similar to how I feel about our High Holy Days this year. The sacrifice and the work we put into creating our sacred space while continuing to build community, is finally coming to fruition. This year, we are blessed to celebrate the High Holy Days in our synagogue after three long years of exile.

First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the incredible sense of unity and resilience that our TBT community has displayed throughout the last three years. Despite many challenges, your unwavering commitment to our shared faith and values has been a source of inspiration.

The High Holidays are profoundly significant in our tradition, offering us the opportunity for introspection, renewal, and reconnection with our spiritual roots. I look forward to sharing these experiences together in our beautiful new building. So, please join us for Selichot on September 9th, when we will consecrate our Sanctuary and bring our Torahs home.

In closing, I must admit that I don’t really like the empty nest metaphor. I prefer to think of my home as a fun, exciting retreat center, or even as a serene, replenishing spa. A place where my kids can come when they need some TLC, want to reconnect, or simply need a place to think, to relax, and to grow. This year may Temple Beth Tikvah also be such a place for all of you.

Karen Goldberg

Rabbi's Column - September 2023

Dear Friends,

In Judaism, community matters. The ideal way to enjoy a meal is with at least three people. We need ten adults to form a minyan. It’s certainly permissible to study alone, but learning with a chevruta (‘study partner’ — from the same Hebrew root as ‘friend’) is among one of the most fulfilling paths in the spiritual life of a Jew.

To be Jewish is to share meaningful Jewish experiences with others. That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce a new initiative called Kesher - רשק, which means ‘connection’ in Hebrew. Kesher offers a way to connect with fellow TBT folks in small affinity groups. Each group will meet at least once each month throughout the year, and will be facilitated by a member of TBT! Some groups will form around general interests; and others are Judaically focused. You can learn to cook delicious modern Israeli recipes, hit the slopes in a Jewish ski group, find support and guidance if you are caring for a loved one, sing new and classic Jewish music, and much more!

Why are we doing this? Well, you may have participated in one of our small-group parlor conversations last year. A common theme emerged: people who described their involvement at TBT as particularly rewarding often felt connected first through a small circle of friends. Often, these friendships blossomed while their kids were little or growing up through Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Some of these groups continue to meet after many years! Kesher is our effort to create fun, relational opportunities more proactively, across age and stage. And it just starts with having fun getting to know other TBT folks, once a month. Won’t you join one of our pilot groups? More information can be found here: http://www.tbtshoreline.org/kesher-groups.

Hineh mah tov u’mah naim
Shevet achim v’achayot gam yachad

How pleasant, how perfect, when friends gather together as one (Psalms 133)

Bivracha (Blessings),
Rabbi Moss

Rabbi's Column - August 2023 High Holiday Shofar

Dear Friends,

As we enter the Hebrew month of Elul, we find ourselves once again within Judaism’s central season of renewal. This period of Jewish time revolves around two primary spiritual technologies: Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh (an accounting of our deeds and goals); and Teshuvah (repair, reconciliation, return).

That feeling of renewal courses throughout our entire community this year, too. Together our hearts turn to our beautifully renovated synagogue home as we prepare to return for the High Holy Days at TBT for the first time in several years. We will consecrate our gorgeous sanctuary and welcome back our Torah Scrolls to the ark at Selichot (September 9th). If you do not often join for this beautiful, contemplative evening service, I especially encourage you to experience it this year. Our wonderful choir will be presenting special musical pieces for the occasion, and our very own Noah Stein has composed a new piece of congregational music just for the occasion.

And there’s more homecoming to look forward to this fall! Please save the date for a festive weekend of gratitude: November 3rd and 4th. That Friday night we will say todah — thank you — to all who have helped us to arrive in our beautiful renovated space. Then on Saturday night, we will party!

Hashiveinu Adonai Eilecha V’Nashuva - Help us to turn back to you, God, and we will turn: to one another, to our beautiful synagogue home, and to a new year filled with joy and endless possibilities.

Bivracha (Blessings),
Rabbi Moss

President's Column - Summer 2023

eaar TBT Family,

As Independence Day approaches, I would like to share my background. I was born in Santiago, Chile. My father had the opportunity to go to New York City to train in Kidney Transplantation. The plan was to spend three years in the United States, then go back home. While we were in New York, there was a military coup in Chile and Augusto Pinochet took control as a violent dictator. He ruled from 1973 to 1990. Even though my grandparents missed us very much, they warned us not to come back. It is with this backdrop that I truly love this country and appreciate the freedoms that many take for granted. On July 4th, we will celebrate the birth of a nation built on the principles of freedom, equality, and justice for all. We know that our country is not perfect, and we still have work to do, but this is our inspiration, this is our goal.

For us, as Jews, Independence Day, and our commitment to freedom, resonates deeply. Rabbi Sharon Brous said, “The idea that it’s possible to move from slavery to freedom and from darkness to light and from despair to hope – that is the greatest Jewish story ever told.”

Independence Day should be a reminder that we must continue to uphold our democracy. As Jews we understand the importance of supporting our religious and cultural differences while also embracing our society’s diversity.

I am proud to say that TBT is doing that. We have a strong relationship with our interfaith community. We continue to sponsor Afghan refugee families. Our Kulanu group is leading us in fighting hate and antisemitism. We are supporting Madison PrideFest and literally raising the roof for people in poverty. We are proud of our big tent, and we acknowledge that the diversity in our synagogue makes us better. In this light, I will end with a quote from Nelson Mandela: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Shalom and Happy Independence Day,
Karen Goldberg

A note from Dr. Cassorla - June 2023

Dear TBT Family,

One of my chief joys in the last week has been putting my winter blanket up and taking out my summer “cooling cover.” While there is a sense of coziness that comes with the winter blanket, I find a sense of freedom with the summer cover. Meanwhile, it feels like the porch is calling my name in the evenings as the sun takes its sweet time setting over the hills. And the beach beckons each Shabbat.

Our lives are marked by recurrences in time and season that nonetheless are not truly a circle, but rather a spiral, in which the return of the familiar sounds more like a harmonious echo than a repetition.

The rabbis recognized this sense of not-quite-recurrence. After the flood receded, God promised to never again upturn the laws of nature, but God also gave us a way to step out of the regimented time we, as humans, seem to need. Shabbat, a weekly vacation from the clock, is that space.

Rav Yehuda HaLevi, a medieval Spanish rabbi, poet, physician, and philosopher put this into words in his poem Avdei Zman (Slaves to Time), writing “Slaves to time are slaves to slavery /only those who work for God are free.” On Shabbat, we let go of our metered labor and instead welcome in an extra “ensoulment” of rest and repose in the presence of the holy.

What this looks like is different for each person who practices it. For some, lighting candles with the family on Friday night as Shabbat comes in is the moment of separation from the week. For others, it can be as simple as choosing not to listen to the news on Saturdays. Rabbi Zalman Shalomi Schachter famously explained that if walking around the mall was one’s way to let go of the weight of the week and reconnect to the inherent Shalom of God, one should get in the car and drive to the mall on Shabbat.

I encourage you to find your special Shabbat space this summer. We will continue to enjoy our Shabbat evening services each week—both in our new sanctuary and on our airy veranda. We will celebrate Clara Calvert later this month as she is called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah. And our choir has already begun to prepare for our Board Installation Shabbat Service that same weekend (June 23-24).

We would love to see you there.

Kol Tuv,
Dr. C