Religious Committee

Dear Congregational Family, Community and Friends,  

This weekend’s Shabbat Bamidbar in which we begin the 4th book of the Torah, flows seamlessly into the Festival of Shavuot following Havdalah on Saturday night. We proceed from one holiness into another. Our tradition encourages us to stay up all night studying Torah with some breaks for Cheesecake, in anticipation of receiving the Divine Law in the morning.  

We were worthy to receive the Torah because at that point in time we were totally United as a nation in body, heart, mind and spirit. We loved and respected each other and in merit of our unity we were “gifted” with the Torah. The Festival is also called Matan (gift) Torah. The tribe of Levy remained most steadfast to G-d and Moses even during the episode of the worshipping of the Golden Calf, and not only refrained from it but literally rushed to Moses’s side to support him during the Korach rebellion.  

All Jews are responsible for each other and indeed all of Humanity is as well. We just concluded the book of Leviticus, the handbook for ethical living, with the Golden Rule as it’s centerpiece. We cannot be bystanders when action must be taken to do the right thing in life, and we learned a very powerful lesson from the recent tragic massacre at the elementary school in Uvalde Texas. Even without knowing all of the details yet to emerge of the police failures at the scene, the consensus is that the incident commander was wrong in his decision to stand down and wait, but perhaps more troubling is the fact that none of the group of officers in the hallway “broke rank” and insisted that they storm the classroom!  

It was reported that one mother actually defied the police and managed to enter the school building saving her 2 children.  

The Torah is our manual for life and the one and only symbol of the Shavuot Festival, the climactic Festival on the Jewish calendar yet sadly the least observed. Perhaps we just take this great gift for granted even though we love our blintzes and cheesecake.  

Let us never take the gift of Torah for granted but rather let us emulate the courage and fortitude of the Levites in taking definitive and decisive action to ensure that justice will be served and G-d’s will be fulfilled on earth.  

Chag Shavuot Sameach!!  

Rabbi Stephen and Nancy Texon.

por Ali Ferrer

TZEDAKÁ significa justicia social y solidaridad, representa uno de los valores esenciales del judaísmo. Es la restitución del derecho de un semejante a vivir con dignidad. Es una mitzvá a través de la cual se adquiere mérito, felicidad y paz espiritual. Desde este punto de vista se entiende que quien ayuda al otro, se está ayudando a sí mismo. 

El célebre sabio judío RamBam (Maimónides) explica que existen ocho niveles para poder crecer gradualmente en la Tzedaká, a fin de ir alcanzando el grado más alto en el amor al prójimo. Para establecer las jerarquías de la Tzedaká el RamBam aplicó varios criterios:

• El grado de voluntad con que se da

• La espontaneidad

• El grado de anonimato de quien da

• El grado de anonimato de quien es beneficiado

• La función final de la ayuda

Los ocho niveles son los siguientes:

1. El nivel más elevado en el ejercicio de la Tzedaká es ayudar a una persona a mantenerse por sus propios medios antes de que ésta lo necesite o empobrezca. Esto se hace ofreciéndole una ayuda concreta en forma digna, otorgándole un crédito adecuado o ayudándolo a encontrar un empleo o establecer un comercio, de manera que no se vea obligado a depender de otros. 

2. En el segundo nivel el donante no conoce al que recibe y a su vez, el que recibe no conoce al donante. El caso más claro de esta forma de hacer Tzedaká es cuando se contribuye a un fondo de recaudación. Fondos comunitarios administrados por personas confiables entran también dentro de esta categoría. 

3. En el tercer nivel, el donante conoce la identidad del que recibe, pero el que recibe no conoce la identidad del donante. 

4. El cuarto nivel es el de la donación indirecta. El que recibe conoce al donante, pero aquel no conoce la identidad del beneficiado. 5. El quinto nivel es cuando se ofrece y se da la ayuda aunque quien la necesita no la haya pedido. 

6. El sexto nivel es ayudar al necesitado sólo cuando éste lo solicita. 

7. El séptimo nivel consiste en ayudar en menor medida de las posibilidades que uno realmente tiene, pero haciéndolo con alegría. 

8. El octavo y más bajo nivel - aunque igualmente válido - es cuando se hace a desgano.

La pobreza no es una maldición inexorable. Su ampliación o reducción depende de la voluntad de los seres humanos y del modo en que organicen sus sociedades. Los judíos a lo largo de su historia han considerado la insensibilidad frente a ella como una falta de gran gravedad. No se trata de un tema meramente material, sino que tiene las más profundas implicancias espirituales.

Dear Congregation and Friends,

I had the pleasure and duty to attend a very powerful Interfaith Rally against Anti-Semitism held at the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach this evening June 3rd. This rally was sponsored by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation with more than 65 participating organizations and Synagogues coming together as a unified community against fear, hatred, violence, racism and particularly Anti-Semitism. Several elected Miami Dade officials spoke brilliantly especially our own Mayor of Miami Beach Dan Gelber, who took the time to discuss privately the current political situation in Israel with me. The new Israeli Consul  to Miami also spoke very well to a crowd of well over 2,000.

Am Yisrael Chai!!

Rabbi Stephen Texon

Dear Congregational Family and Friends,

Yesterday 5/26/21, our  Executive Director, Becky Cohen and I on invitation, had the great pleasure to meet with Congresswoman Maria E. Salazar and staff. A large gathering of other local Rabbis were present together with many representatives of Jewish partner organizations which took part in a very productive and passionate discussion on the urgency of joining forces and uniting in strong support of Israel, combatting antisemitism and racial division. It was extremely gratifying to hear Congresswoman Salazar’s rock solid support of Israel and Judaism expressing that we are “the chosen people” and what that means. She asked for a timeline of all the recent antisemitic acts in this country and around the world since the start of the Gaza War that she plans to present before the Congress. It was truly energizing to be present and to feel the solidarity and determination of all!!

… and the Journey Continues 

As April, begins, we are concluding our most transformative time of Passover. We celebrate breaking out of the narrow confines of slavery to experience the journey of the wilderness. The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot, which commemorates the receiving of the Ten Commandments, are meant to remind us of a spiritual journey that leads to commitment, promise and special relationship with God. The journey includes many challenges, and the destination – The Promise Land – provide even more challenges. Our journeys continually offers us way to grow in our knowledge, our spiritual well-being, and our commitment to making the world a better place, day by day.

The modern calendar is trying to remind us that we still have a long way to travel. We continue to remember the harsh times when enemies, Ancient Egypt, the Crusaders or Nazi Germany, seek to destroy us. And we continue to celebrate our persistent resilience, maintaining strength despite the challenges. We stand to remember; we stand to celebrate; and we continue our journey to preserve our identity. It isn’t always easy, it isn’t supposed to be. It requires dedication, commitment and learning. Survival demands us to fulfill traditions and create new ones and make our time enjoyable and stimulating. With every hurdle we jump over, a new challenge can get in our way. The challenges make life exciting, and our ability to preserve energizes us to re-creating new ways to be touched by deep meanings.