Clergy Blog

Shabbat Shalom,

As I walked into the building this morning, I ran into Peter Klein, past-president of B’nai Abraham and keeper of the in-house archives. Amidst boxes of files, pictures, and everything in between from the past 100+ years, Peter pulled for me a document from a B’nai Abraham Weekend Seminar in 1955. In it is the “creed” of B’nai Abraham, as agreed upon by the congregation, which concludes thusly:

We are neither ashamed of customs so old that their origin is lost in the gray past of our great-grandfathers, nor are we afraid to change the unacceptable and to add the new. This is why we call B’nai Abraham a traditional progressive congregation. 

Despite the 70 year distance between us and the authors of this text, the sentiment is alive and well in our community. That which is ancient does not scare us, but it also does not bind us to bygone eras which no longer speak to our hearts. 

This Shabbat is our 6th grade retreat. Over the next few days we will learn, eat, pray, and gather with 44 kids and their parents as they take their first steps toward preparing for the b’nai mitzvah, a rite of passage so old that the origin is lost, yet so alive, present, and bursting with meaning in our modern world. 

A b’nai mitzvah here looks different than it did in 1955, and even more different than its form 70 years prior to that, in 1885. Yet while ritual changes from the unacceptable to the new, the heart and soul of this momentous occasion—responsibility for one’s own actions, the ability to be counted in community, and an insertion of nachas (unbridled joy) in watching your children grow up—will always remain. 

Speaking of the b’nai mitzvah, Mazal Tov to Mason Rheingold and his family, as he is to become a bar mitzvah this Saturday evening at 5:00pm. 

A few upcoming events in and around the building: 

Representative Mikie Sherrill will be speaking here on Feb. 9th at 11:00am, the perfect time to let your chicken wings marinate before the Eagles win the Superbowl (sorry Chiefs fans). Register here and submit any questions here.

On Wednesday, Feb 5th at 7:30pm, join Rabbi Vaisberg and Donna Ellenbogen, LCSW. for: In the Wilderness, They’re driving, how do I navigate this (for parents of new drivers or soon to be drivers). Please RSVP to tbainfo@tbanj.org

Views and Schmooze is on Wednesday, February 5th at 10:00am. Topic: The state of antisemitism today.

Cantor Fox will be teaching on Thursday, Feb 6th at 7:30pm: Being a Mensch: The Halacha of Interpersonal Relations

Rabbi Vaisberg will be in Boca on March 4 at 5:00pm for a happy hour with B’nai Abraham snowbirds at the Farmer’s Table in Boca. Please RSVP to tbainfo@tbanj.org. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Max