Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

As we begin to look back at Pesach this year, the metaphor of Maror mixed with Charoset is one of celebration mixed with sorrow. As the guarantors of a 4000 year tradition, it was our responsibility to celebrate Pesach in its fullness as the season of our freedom. At the same time, our cup of wine was diminished this year for reasons other than tradition with the sorrow of illness and death surrounding us during this pandemic.

Our Torah portion this Shabbat, Shemini, is also celebration mixed with sorrow. The Parsha begins with the eighth and last day of a festive inauguration ceremony, culminating with the public affirmation of religious worship in the Tabernacle supervised by the Kohanim. Soon after reading the fervor of the celebration, we read the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron's four sons, who brought a strange offering which God had not commanded them. While commentaries abound on what actually transpired, the Torah text focuses on the grieving parent and the community's response.

This Monday, April 20, will also be a mix of celebration and sorrow. At nightfall, we begin to observe Yom Hashoah, the 27th of Nisan, the date designated by the Jewish people to ritualize the memory of the Holocaust. I encourage us to participate in our shul memorial on Zoom following evening services. I also encourage us to light a yahrzeit-yizkor candle at home. This year, we commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

For me personally, the morning of April 20 will be filled with joy. A Bar Mitzvah, originally scheduled for this Shabbat at Beth Emeth, has been rescheduled to a Monday morning service with a few attendees at home and others participating on Zoom.

The combination of a Bar Mitzvah taking place on the same English date as Yom Hashoah is instructive. One lesson following the worst chapter in modern Jewish history is to continue celebrating joyous lifecycle moments like a Bar Mitzvah. Neither the memory of the Shoah nor the contemporary pandemic will halt the affirmation, joy, and celebration of Jewish life.

On this Erev Shabbat following Pesach, I wish everyone a healthy and meaningful Sabbath.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison