|
|
||
|
Dear Congregation Or HaTzafon, It is my great pleasure to be joining you this summer as your rabbinic intern! I am completing my third year of a six year program at The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, MA (Boston area). I have been working in Reform congregations over the last three years, though my rabbinical school is transdenominational and prepares us in a traditional Yeshiva style. Since we just celebrated Purim and are on our way to Pesach, I want to take this moment of introduction and share some words of Torah. Our rabbis teach us that the month in which Purim falls, the Hebrew month of Adar, and the month in which Pesach falls, the Hebrew month of Nisan, are connected to each other intentionally; this way, we are moving from one redemption to a second redemption. At first glance this idea seems simple: during Purim we celebrate the safety of our people - that we were able to escape and live on, surviving persecution. And during Passover, we are redeemed from slavery by the miraculous hand of God. And yet, we may wonder that if this is set so intentionally, why in this order? Doesn't it seem like the older story, the more ancient paradigm of redemption, should come first? Judaism is a religion which wonderfully views the world from both a cyclical and linear time perspective. There are the clear cycles we celebrate coinciding with nature and harvest. There is also great attention to the personal lifecycle, which is linear, going from birth to death. Both of these modes for understanding time are incredibly important for a complete Jewish life. Paradoxically, Purim, as indicated by the rabbis, will be the only holiday that will continue to exist after the Messianic age. In this sense, Purim is a linear holiday. It focuses us on the future, where God's Name need not be mentioned (as it is nowhere written in the Book of Esther) for us to know that God is fully present. Pesach on the other hand is cyclical. As we are constantly discovering ourselves anew, through our interactions with each other, and our world, we go through a cycle of being enslaved and bringing ourselves out into freedom. This personal approach to Pesach is nothing new, as we say at our seders, "when God brought US out of bondage." Each year we must think of the ways in which we are personally enslaved and how we can reach out for God's hand and step into freedom. As you and your family journey through this Pesach, I wish you joy and sweetness! I anticipate that during this summer at Congregation Or Ha Tzafon we will have many opportunities to concentrate on both the linear (lifecycle events) and the cyclical (spiritual Shabbatot and Torah learning). I am eagerly looking forward to getting to know the whole community, engaging in shared learning, inspiration and renewed commitment to Jewish life! B'vracha v'shalom, Elyssa Joy Auster |
|||
|
Elyssa Joy Auster is currently a student at The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. She began her studies in 2005 after finishing a Masters of Theological Studies at Boston University School of Theology where she studied alongside ministers-to-be and had the opportunity to learn from Elie Wiesel. Before that, she graduated from Brandeis University, majoring in European Cultural Studies and Latin American Studies. She wrote her senior thesis on Anti-Semitism. Over the last several years Elyssa has worked various jobs in the Jewish community. This year she has been leading family services at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, MA. She will continue working there next year as the rabbinic intern. Elyssa especially enjoys teaching and discovering new ideas and insights with her students. Elyssa's work and interest in Judaism extends also to her art. Her
work may be viewed at her website.
Elyssa is overjoyed to be joining Or |
