Category: Torah

What Is Haftarah and How Do I Chant It?

12/31/2020

Rabbi Milder of Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton recently share this description of Haftorah. You'll see that he is offering a class on how to chant. The cost to non-members of Beth Emek is $60. Take a look at the details.

The highlight of Shabbat morning is the chanting of Torah and Haftarah.

What is Haftarah? In spite of the similarity of the words, Haftarah has nothing to do with the word Torah. Torah means instruction, from a root meaning “to aim.” Haftarah, however, comes from a root meaning “conclusion.” It refers to the reading from the Prophets, which was implemented by the Rabbis as a conclusion to the Torah reading.

Haftarah was introduced in order to emphasize that the books of the Prophets are sacred. Unlike Torah, however, we only read selections from the Prophets over the course of the year. These excerpts are usually related thematically to the week’s Torah portion, but for certain weeks of the year, the Haftarah has to do with the season and its holy days.

One of the things that distinguishes the Haftarah reading from the Torah reading is that they are chanted to different melodies. The “trope” signs used to indicate the melody are the same signs, but they are sung differently when applied to Haftarah. Most of Torah reading can be thought of as being in a major key, while most of Haftarah can be thought of as being in a minor key.

Learning to chant Haftarah is like learning a set of musical patterns, and then applying each pattern (2 – 6 notes) to a word. It is fascinating, musically expressive, and a wonderful way to communicate the meaning of the text.

Anyone who has a basic Hebrew reading ability can learn to chant Haftarah. One of the advantages of Haftarah over Torah chanting is that the Haftarah may be sung from a printed text, including the vowels and trope signs, unlike Torah, which is chanted from a handwritten scroll. It’s a whole lot easier to remember!

I invite you to enroll in this winter’s adult ed class, Learn to Chant Haftarah. In seven sessions, I will teach you this beautiful melody. You’ll be able to chant a Haftarah passage when you are done!

Class begins on Sunday, January 10, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm online. We will meet on Sundays when there is religious school.

Enroll now at Learn to Chant Haftarah.

Rabbi Larry Milder

NOTE: You must be able to read Hebrew enough to recognize letters and pronounce words.

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A Modern Lesson from Sodom & Gomorrah

11/9/2020

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(Portion of the painting Sodom and Gomorrah by Jacob de Wet II)

Rabbi Daniel Stein shared a teaching with his congregation that I want to share with you.

I wanted to share an idea that especially relevant to the period of uncertainty in which we find ourselves.

In The Beginning of Wisdom (2006), University of Chicago ethicist Leon Kass puts forward a critical claim about the book of Genesis: unlike later sections of the Torah, which explicitly put forward right conduct and behavior in terms of law, Genesis asks the reader to discern moral actions from the deeds of our ancestors. We learn from Adam, Even, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and the whole cast of characters what it means to lead an ethical life. Reflecting on the Interactions of God and Abraham at the trial of Sodom and Gomorrah, which we read this week, Kass develops an idea that is speaks to our current moment:

“Abraham, the founder of a great nation, must do righteousness and justice, and command his children after him to do likewise, for only in this way can Abraham bring the Lord's righteous ways to the entire world, and thus be a blessing to all nations of the earth. Although he has shown himself to be personally righteous, Abraham, because he is to be a political founder, needs also some instruction in political justice, that is, in justice regarding whole communities—cities or nations. God, the teacher, not only wants Abraham, the student, to know about the judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah; he also wants him to understand its rightness. More importantly, God also intends that Abraham share responsibility for the punishment as a result of his participation in the judgment. To this conversation, which is revealed to be far more than merely a master class in political science, Abraham is become God's partner, as it were, in executing political justice....

For Abraham, the lesson could not be more pointed: his excessive preoccupation with God's personal promise, with his own merit and its reward—that is, with personal justice—is in fact odds with the fulfillment of the purpose of God's promise that he become a great nation, steeped in righteousness and doing justice, to become a blessing to all others. The implication could not be plainer: because a community once founded will stand or fall together, and because one man's virtue is not sufficient, there is urgent need for education and transmission, beginning with a well-ordered house and with political measures to secure justice in the community and this lesson could not be timelier.”

Rabbi Stein

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Living under Quarentine

4/1/2020

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EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

A friend of mine who works at a local church AND at my synagogue said he was amazed by how quickly the synagogue adapted to the Shelter-in-Place orders with services, Torah study and classes now online. He said his own church has been slower to make the changes. I too have been impressed by how quickly all the synagogue e-newsletters began sending out links for Jewish life activities. Those communities who accept the use of electronics on Shabbat have been holding Shabbat services, either with Facebook or Zoom or both. The Orthodox synagogues have done things like Havadalah from the rabbi's home and his Facebook page.

I've attended services and even shiva online. As an extrovert this is not my preferred method of socializing. But as a person who doesn't want to endanger others or myself, I have embraced looking for the good in this weird new way of life.

Take a look at our page What's New Page to see some of the online ideas you can access. We'll keep adding to the page.

Be strong, be brave, be safe and remember that Pikuach nefesh, saving lives, is the primary directive of Jewish tradition.

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Video on How to Have an Aliyah

7/16/2019

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Members of Netivot Shalom in Berkeley created a video showing you how to have an aliyah at their shul. It is primarily for the use of their members. But it is very useful to anyone wondering about how an aliyah works.

Please remember that this video includes elements that are unique to the Conservative movement and even some that are unique to Netivot Shalom. In general however, this is how an aliyah is performed in a synagogue. Women are not called to the Torah in Orthodox synagogues. Women don't always wear kippot (or yarmulkes) in Reform synagogues. The chanted blessings are the same in all synagogues.

View the video here.
Thank you to Robin Braverman and her fellow members for making this video!

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Speak up! Be part of your own learning

6/14/2019

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This week Rabbi Avi Shulman of Temple Beth Torah in Fremont sent out a this message to his congregation.

One of my favorite passages in Pirkei Avot consists of three couplets by Hillel. Here they are interspersed with my own comments:

“A boor does not fear sin,
And the ignorant cannot be models of piety.”

It’s striking that the English word for an oaf echoes the Hebrew word ‘bor.’ A ‘bor’ is an empty pit, which is synonymous with someone who is empty-headed.
Above all else, Hillel valued knowledge of Torah. Yet he esteemed knowledge not merely for its own sake but so learning would lead to righteous behavior.

“A bashful person does not learn,
And the short-tempered cannot teach.”

I can recall many students who would sit quietly in class while others did most of the talking. Yet Hillel reminds students to speak-up. Productive learning takes place when students are engaged. Just as importantly, it is vital for teachers to welcome class in-put and participation. Instructors who are short-tempered intimidate their students, deteriorating the learning environment.

“Not all who succeed in business are wise.
In a place where there are no people* strive to be one.”

Hillel reminds us not to give undue deference to people who are successful in business. Tevye in Fiddler in the Roof may long to be a rich man, singing “When you are rich they think you really know.” Hillel informs us that material success is not synonymous with wisdom.

In the concluding verse, Hillel admonishes us to act morally even when others are behaving inhumanely. He encourages us to strive for virtue, even when others are not. No matter the circumstances, Hillel inspires us to be our best selves, to aspire to be a mensch.

This is a message that I want students to take to heart.
SPEAK UP
DON'T STAY WITH A TEACHER WHO IS INTIMIDATING

Jewish tradition values study, questions, and argument (for the sake of heaven). Don't be silent. Participate in your own learning.

*The original, as you can imagine, says “man” or mensch – a good person. Where there are no good people, strive to be one. You can read the original text here.

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The Torah's Happy Endings

11/10/2015

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This week Beth Sholom in San Francisco shared this bit of information in their weekly email.

If you've attended shul on Shabbat more than a handful of times, you're probably aware of the fact that the weekly Torah portion, or parsha, is divided into seven sections. These sections correspond with the number of aliyot meaning "calling up." For each aliyah, a reader is called to the bimah to recite a blessing for the gift of Torah.

So, sure, you know all that...but have you ever noticed that each reading ends on a positive note, even those in the midst of a dismal parsha? This is no accident.

As this recent article in J Weekly explains, the Shulchan Aruch, our most widely consulted halachic code, cautions that "one should aim to always begin reading [each aliyah] on a good note and end reading it on a good note as well."

Rabbi Yonaton Cohen, the author of the J Weekly article, believes that the rabbis elected to break up each parsha this way to demonstrate what might be described as the power of positive thinking. "Time and time again," he writes, "those who divided the Torah chose blessings over curses, life over death, hope over despair."

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Why Blood Sacrifice?

1/20/2014

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We received this question from a reader and felt that it should be answered by a rabbi. Rabbi Adar kindly supplied an answer.

Question:

I have a question: why blood (sacrifices) at all? – since G-d forgives whenever people repent (teshuvah). There are numerous examples in the Tanach which proves that G-d forgave people without them having to bring a sacrifice.

It seems that teshuvah is the condition, necessary and sufficient meanwhile.

Answer:

You are a careful reader of Tanakh - very good!

In fact, God does indeed forgive people without blood sacrifices. The sacrifices described in Leviticus were given to us because of our need to make sacrifices; God never needed them. With the destruction of the Temple in the year 70, we moved to a better kind of sacrifice, sacrifices of prayer. Today we pray on the same schedule that once was the schedule for the sacrifices. That is why we say the Amidah prayer several times a day; it is our "sacrifice."

This is also the reason that we in the Reform Movement of Judaism do not look for a rebuilding of the Temple. We believe its work is complete; there is no need for blood sacrifices today.

And yes, teshuvah is what we need in order to be forgiven. The prayers within the Amidah move us towards teshuvah. In fact, one of them (in the weekday prayer) is very specific about teshuvah, but the other prayers in the great Prayer work to make our hearts more inclined to make teshuvah, to turn to goodness.

Thank you for an excellent question. L'shalom, Rabbi Ruth Adar

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What Is Haftarah and How Do I Chant It?

A Modern Lesson from Sodom & Gomorrah

Living under Quarentine

Video on How to Have an Aliyah

Speak up! Be part of your own learning

The Torah's Happy Endings

Why Blood Sacrifice?

Thoughts from our Email List

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