bethelco

I hope this finds you all well.

As I write this, I cannot help but cry for all our brothers and sisters, Jew and Gentile alike, our fellow Americans, who have lost their hearths and homes, priceless valuables, and life’s works in the devastating wildfires out in California. My heart especially breaks for a fellow Rabbi, a classmate of mine from my first year of Rabbinical school who, together with his wife and three young children, lost his home in Pacific Palisades. I simply cannot fathom what they are going through nor the pain they are feeling. I know at this point all I can do for them is pray, cry for them, listen to them, and offer a helping hand or whatever assistance that they both request and I am able to muster.

As I write this, the grief of those in California is joined by those in western North Carolina who were so tragically affected by September’s Hurricane Helene, those impacted by the July 2023 floods in Vermont, those who suffered so greatly in the 2023 Maui wildfires, and all others who have felt and experienced the full force of nature’s fury. As the Talmudic expression goes, “ha’mavein yavein…those who understood will understand.”

I pray that a powerful and enduring image from this week’s parsha of Shemot* brings, if not consolation or comfort, at least a glimmer of tikvah- hope, to all those who are grieving and in pain.

We read: “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”[1] This, of course, is the famous burning bush.

Moses’ reaction: ‘I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.'[2]

In life, the physical can be destroyed – drought can kill crops, ice can crack foundations, floods can wash away bridges and roads, and fire can destroy homes. But perhaps the lesson of the burning bush is that there are some things that are just too holy, too sacred, too strong to be demolished by nature- among them faith, resiliency, fortitude, charity, community, friendship, family, and love. These values, these elements, are stronger than anything in the natural world. And why? Because these values and relationships come from God and likewise connect us to the Divine. No force of nature can destroy them; only we can. They are ours to build, nurture, grow, and strengthen. If we do so, then just like the burning bush, nothing can consume them.

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s help, may we all commit ourselves to helping those who are suffering in California.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a peaceful weekend.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

“Run to do even the slightest mitzvah.” – Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot 4:2)

Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year!

First and foremost, I pray that this new year of 2025 is filled with good health, great fortune, abundant blessings, happiness, and peace for you and yours.

Without a doubt, one of my favorite movies is 1992’s Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, and Wes Studi.[1] In a famous scene, an Englishwoman Cora Munro (Stowe) is about to be burned alive at a Huron village. The hero Hawkeye (Lewis) and the British Army Officer Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) intervene and both offer themselves up in place of Cora as they are both madly in love with her. Hawkeye declares to the Huron Sachem, “I am Le Longue Carabine! My death is a great honor to the Huron, take me!” In the end, Heyward sacrifices himself for the woman he loves.

In this week’s parsha of Vayigash* we see a very similar act. As a quick recap: in last week’s parsha of Mikeitz**, an adult (and unrecognizable) Joseph, who his brothers have not seen since they sold him into slavery at the age of 17, tests them to see who they are now. In other words, are they still the jealous and hate-filled siblings who threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery, or have they changed their ways? Having planted his silver goblet in Benjamin’s grain sack (Benjamin being his only full-blood brother, Jacob’s favorite after him, the youngest of all the siblings, and the only brother who did not play a role in Joseph’s enslavement), he demands that Benjamin remain his slave as punishment for this “theft.”

Fast forward to this week, Judah cries out to Joseph, “…please let your servant [me] remain as a slave to my lord [you, Joseph] instead of the boy [Benjamin], and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father [Jacob/Israel] unless the boy is with me? Let me not be witness to the woe that would overtake my father!”[2]

It is a selfless and noble act. Judah has placed the safety and security of Benjamin and the heart and health of his elderly and saddened father Jacob before his own needs. Judah’s demonstration of integrity and moral fiber in this critical moment leads Joseph to reveal his true identity to his brothers and tells them not to fear him. Judah has passed this most fundamental test of character.

The German-Jewish poet of the Medieval era, Susskind of Trimberg penned, “Who acts nobly, him will I account noble;” Maimonides declared, “No pedigree as noble as virtue, no heritage equal to honor;” finally, the Judeo-Spanish philosopher and poet of the 11th century Solomon Ibn Gabirol wrote, “What is the highest pedigree? Loving kindness to men.”[3]

Judah’s actions serve as an inspiration. And in this new year it leaves each and every one of us with an enduring question and an overt challenge: how will you act nobly, selflessly, and for the sake of others in 2025?

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s love and help, may we all act with the same altruistic nobility that Judah displayed before Joseph and Benjamin not only in this new year so full of promise, but indeed all the days of our lives.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos, a wonderful weekend, and a happy and healthy new year.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

“Run to do even the slightest mitzvah.” – Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot 4:2)

I hope this finds you all well.

Nisim – Miracles. They are one of the great beauties and treasures of the Jewish faith- whether it be God’s splitting of the sea as Pharaoh’s chariots closed in and all seemed lost, God providing manna to the Children of Israel in the austerity and harshness of the wilderness, and of course, most apropos to this season, one day’s worth of oil lasting for eight, thus showing that HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Blessed One Be He, had ordained the Jewish victory over the cruel and tyrannical Seleucid empire.

Like I said, miracles are wonderful. They are wonderful because they are extraordinary, literally out of the ordinary, and quite frankly out of place. And that is what gives them their revered and holy status. The problem is not with miracles but often with us. Many people come to depend and rely solely on these divine wonders, rather than on own their gifts, talents, and responsibilities.

In this week’s parsha of Miketz*, the Pharaoh at the time of Joseph’s life in Egypt dreams of seven scrawny head of cattle devouring seven robust cows, and seven scrawny, sickly ears of corn/grain likewise enveloping seven good ears. When Joseph tells Pharaoh that this means that the land will see seven of prosperity and plenty followed by seven years of famine, Pharaoh gives Joseph untold power as well as the responsibility to handle this looming national crisis.

Joseph immediately gets after it. He establishes a national system of food collection that allows the Egyptians to ride out the famine.

Here’s what Joseph doesn’t do. He doesn’t get on his knees, wring his hands, and pray – waiting, standing idly by for a miracle. Rather, he proactively gets right to work/ Why? Because the miracle has already happened. Pharoah’s dream was the divine miracle. Joseph’s prophetic ability to interpret dreams was the holy miracle. The rest is within Josephs’s capabilities and faculties.

Too often in life we discount the strengths, abilities, and talents that  HaShem has implanted in each and every one of us. These include khokhmah (wisdom), oz (strength), ometz lev (courage), vinah(understanding), koakh y’tzirah (creativity), sablanut (patience), ahavah (love), and chesed (kindness). So often, the keys to our success are either within us or right in front of our noses.

By praying first, foremost, always and exclusively for signs and wonders without consulting our bodies, our minds, and our neshamot, our very souls… this goes against all the matanot (gifts) and brachot(blessings) that God has bestowed upon each and every one of us.

As it is written in the 1602 Dutch Jewish work Ma’asehbuch, “God performs many miracles…but he doesn’t grow corn in the houses of pious.”[1]

Ken y’hi Ratzon, may it be God’s will that in this sacred and joyous season in which we remember the miracle of the Chanukiyah as well as the heroism tenacity, skill, and sacrifice of Judah and the Maccabean warriors, that we all recognize the signs, wonders, and miracles that are all around us and most importantly, within our grasp because God has given each of us that sacred spark.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a Chag Urim Sameach!

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

“Run to do even the slightest mitzvah.” – Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot 4:2)

I hope this finds you all well.

There’s this man, and his passion is restoring and building boats. Fair enough, it’s a nice hobby. One day the man decides to build his dream boat, his magnum opus, something he’s always envisioned. He buys the finest lumber and parts, and spends hours locked away sanding, shaping, coating, and sealing the wood, building the engine, and crafting the bilge pumps. He blows off date night with his wife, forgets his daughter’s dance recitals and his son’s hockey games, and skips visiting his folks. Day after day, night after night, week after week, year after year, he labors on that boat. Even his conversations focus entirely on his project. Well, as one might expect, his wife divorces him, his children become estranged, and his friends give up on him. Finally, one day, his boat is finished. But when he looks at it admiringly, his happiness is shattered as there is no one to celebrate with him.

There is a famous question: “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”

In other words, was the result or reward worth the effort, the pain, and the tribulation.

In this week’s parsha of Vayishlach* we see two examples of this. First, after wrestling a strange man (many argue an angel) throughout the night and coming out victorious, Jacob is blessed with a new name, Israel.[1]However, during their contest, the stranger dislocates Jacob’s hip socket, leaving him with a permanent limp.[2] Second, Jacob and his favored/beloved wife Rachel have a second son together, Benjamin. Benjamin becomes Jacob’s favorite child, second only to Joseph.[3] Tragically, Rachel dies from childbirth.[4]

Was the blessed name Israel worth the limp? Was the birth of Benjamin worth the death of Rachel?

The great Rabbi of the 10th century Saadia Gaon wrote “The more valuable the thing, the more effort it demands,” and “The good attained by effort is twice as precious.”[5]

On the other hand, late in his life, when Pharoah asks Jacob how old he is, he replies, “The years of my sojourn [on earth] are one hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been the years of my life, nor do they come up to the life spans of my ancestors during their sojourns.”[6]

Perhaps the lesson here is that we have to individually decide if the end result is worth the effort that gets us there.

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s love and guidance, may we all have the judgement, discernment, and wisdom to determine when the juice is worth the squeeze.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

“Run to do even the slightest mitzvah.” – Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot 4:2)

Jewish Word of the Week – Parshat Vayeitzei

Shalom, all:

I hope this message finds you all well.

This week’s word is Vayeitzei (Hebrew: וַיֵּצֵא), which means “and he went out.” It is the name of the Torah portion that tells the story of Jacob’s journey to Haran, his encounters with his wives, Rachel and Leah, and his complex relationship with his uncle, Laban.

This parsha is a pivotal point in Jacob’s life. He leaves his home, fleeing from the consequences of his actions, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and transformation. We witness his dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven, a powerful image of connection between the earthly and divine realms. We also learn about his wrestling match with an angel, a struggle that leaves him with a new name, Israel, and a deeper understanding of his own strength and resilience.

Jacob’s journey is filled with challenges and triumphs, love and loss, deceit and reconciliation. It is a mirror to our own lives, reminding us that the path to growth is often winding and unpredictable. We may encounter obstacles and setbacks, but through perseverance and faith, we can emerge stronger and wiser.

In this parsha, we are called to reflect on our own journeys. Where are we going in our lives? What are the challenges we face? How can we draw strength from our faith and our relationships to overcome adversity?

I encourage you to engage with this week’s Torah portion and share its wisdom with those you serve. Let us all strive to embody the resilience and determination of Jacob as we navigate the complexities of life.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend.

AATW!

All the best,

Scott I. Klein, Ed.D.

Chaplain (CPT) / Rabbi

407th BSB, 2nd BCT, 82nd ABN DIV

Fort Liberty, NC 28307

Cell: 773-547-3822

NIPR: scott.i.klein.mil@army.mil

Jewish Word of the Week – Parshat Toldot

Shalom Shabbat!

I hope this finds you all well.

This week’s word is Toldot (Hebrew: ְלֹדתוֹתּ), which means “generations” or “history.” It is the name of the Torah portion that tells the story of Isaac and his sons, Jacob and Esau.

In this parsha, we learn about the rivalry between Jacob and Esau, and how Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing that was meant for Esau. We also learn about Jacob’s journey to Haran, where he meets his wives, Rachel and Leah, and his uncle, Laban.

The story of Jacob and Esau is a complex one, full of twists and turns. It is a story about family, betrayal, and reconciliation. It is also a story about the power of blessings and the importance of making the right choices.

As we read Parshat Toldot, we are reminded that our actions have consequences, both for ourselves and for others. We are also reminded that God is always with us, even when we make mistakes.

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s loving help and guidance, may we all learn from the mistakes of our ancestors and make choices that will lead us to a better future.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend.

All the best, From the desk of

Scott I. Klein, Ed.D. Chaplain (CPT) / Rabbi (filling in for Rabbi Aaron while he’s deployed)

407th BSB, 2nd BCT, 82nd ABN DIV

Fort Liberty, NC 28307

I hope this finds you all well.

I was once watching a documentary about the service academies.[1] It focused on everything from the military training to the academics to cadet/midshipmen life, and everything in between.

One scene I’ll always remember is the admissions process where a group of civilian professors and military professors decide on who they want to admit into next year’s class. They carefully go through each packet: GPA, extracurricular activities, sports…and letters of recommendation.

One of the applicant’s references (a teacher or a coach) writes in his letter of recommendation that he has so much confidence in the applicant as being a man of character that he would trust him to date his daughter! Wow! Think about that for a minute. After the initial laughs and chuckles, it’s honestly hard to think of a more impressive vote of confidence that a middle-aged person can have for a teenager.

Trust is one of the most sacred words in the human experience. It is the intertwining and confluence of responsibility, power, humility, confidence, secrecy, openness, intimacy, knowledge, awareness, strength, and vulnerability, all wrapped up into one.

Perhaps there are few better examples of trust than in this week’s parsha of Chayei Sarah*. After the death of his beloved wife Sarah, Abraham tasks the head of his household to go to his family’s lands and find a wife for his son Issac.[2] The amount of responsibility that he is placing in his servant is enormous. He is literally entrusting not only the future of his family, but indeed the future of the Jewish people, into the hands of this servant. Well, the servant meets Rebecca and the rest, as we say, is history.

Hopefully, the beautiful and heartfelt story of Abraham and his servant can make us all take stock of our lives and relationships. What does trust look like to you? Who do you trust in your life and what do you trust them with? How do you safeguard this trust?

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s love and guidance, may we treat trust as the holy gift that it is, never to be given out freely and recklessly, nor to withhold it from those who have earned and truly deserve it.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.

Bivrakha

From the desk of: Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

Beth El Congregation | 520 Fairmont Ave, Winchester, VA 22601

(540) 667-1889 (office)

Shabbat Shalom!

I hope this finds you all well.

Who or what is most important to you?

It’s a “simple” enough question…or is it?

If you had to choose among them – your spouse, family, friends, hobbies and passions, career, country, God – how would you stack them? Which one would win out over the others?

This concept is nothing new. The concepts of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, prima facie, pro tanto, “values”, “precedence”, and “priority” all address this in one form or another.

In this week’s parsha of Vayeira*, God says to Abraham:

“Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.”[1]

Abraham does not protest, obeys God without question, and almost sacrifices his son until his hand is stayed.

This nutshell of the Akeidah**, the binding of Isaac, doesn’t even scratch the surface of how significant this is.

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, believed that she would not have any children as she was too old. To this end, Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant Hagar with whom he had a son, Ishmael. When Sarah is informed that she too will have a son with her husband, she laughs because of her advanced age. However, a year later, at the age of 90, she gives birth to Isaac. This is nothing short of a miracle.

Why then would Abraham obey this command if his son Isaac, the son he loves, is a gift, blessing, and miracle in both his and Sarah’s lives? Because, at the end of the day, he prioritizes God over all – everything and everyone else in his life. Abraham’s priority in this case is abundantly clear.

Our sage and teachers give us plenty of advice on prioritizing our values. Rabbi Jacob ben Hayyim Tzemah penned, “It is more important to study Torah than to fast;” Abba Saul taught, “Morality is more important than learning;” and Judah HaNasi declared, “Action takes precedence over study.”[2]

In life, our priorities are as unique as our fingerprints, DNA, and signatures. What we value, how we value, and how we prioritize what matters is a unique expression of ourselves and belongs solely to us.

The question begs, what’s most important to you?

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s loving help and guidance, may we all come to realize and be proud and at peace with what matters most to each of us.

Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.

Bivrakha

From the desk of: Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

Beth El Congregation | 520 Fairmont Ave, Winchester, VA 22601

(540) 667-1889 (office)