August 5th, 2016 1 Av, 5776
Dear Friends,
It’s been a very full month of July – nice to be back home after a few trips away.
Plans for High Holidays are already underway, along with our slew of adult ed, holiday, and assorted other programming. We’ve got a lot to look forward to. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about the Olympics of late.
I always enjoy watching a few minutes of the Olympics every few years.
I am impressed by the talent and dedication of the athletes.
I can’t even imagine how hard they must all have worked to earn a right to compete at the world’s biggest sporting event. How do they feel when they win the coveted medals? How do they feel when they come up short and their dreams of Olympic glory are dashed?
Inevitably, there are always emails and facebook posts that circulate as to who are the Jewish and/or Israeli athletes to watch for at the games. While I’m always happy to read about them and cheer them on, I’m happy with the Olympics as long as the competition is legitimate. We know that too many scandals have emerged at the games over the years. I hope these games will be scandal-free.
I was pleased to see that the International Olympic Committee finally organized a ceremony in memory of the 11 slain Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed by Palestinian terrorists in 1972, along with the German guard who also died in the attack. The families of the victims had been urging the IOC for many years to officially recognize the tragedy that happened, and had always met with refusal. I’m glad that even after 44 years the IOC finally honored the memory of those athletes. Two of their spouses were in attendance, and described it as very meaningful and providing a sense of closure for them. IOC President Thomas Bach said the attack was “not only on our fellow Olympians but also an assault on the values the Olympic Village stands for.”
A few months ago you may remember I was on a panel at the JCC with other Rabbis, talking about the value of Ruach HaSport, or Sportsmanship. We were all in agreement that true sportsmanship only exists when we all support each other’s growth and development. Attacking others – whether verbally or emotionally, or as in the Munich tragedy existentially – harms the goals of working together towards greater sportsmanship and peace. I can only hope and pray that no other tragedies of this kind will ever befall the games again. How lovely it would be to live in a world where all dwell in peace and lift each other up even during competition. Obviously, we have a long way to go to get to that place. Hopefully the Olympics will assist (or at the very least just entertain us!).
Tomorrow morning Starbucks Shabbat returns at 9 am for coffee and nosh and 9:15 for Torah study. We’ll be talking about the Torah of promises and vows.
Who can make vows? What would one make a vow for? What happens if you make a vow that you can’t keep? Are women’s vows different from men's? Where does Kol Nidrei fit in to the conversation?
These and other questions will inspire us in the morning.
We’ll also take time during the service tomorrow to give a special blessing to Fernand Qvyjt before he heads off to college next week. My teacher Reb Zalman, of blessed memory, used to say that we are an under-blessed people. If you’d like a special blessing in front of the Torah on the occasion of a milestone, please let me know – we’re happy to accommodate!
Wishing you all good air-conditioning to survive the heat.
May we all have a Shabbat of comfort and peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ilan
