Rabbi Robert Scheinberg's page

Thoughts I shared with my community today by email: Today is being observed in Israel and throughout the world as Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.  I have pasted below the comments that I made at the Jersey City Yom HaShoah commemoration yesterday.  Our Learning Center students in grades 4-7 will participate in a Yom HaShoah educational program tomorrow. Also today, we are focused on the fact that one of the most fearsome people our world has known since Hitler has been killed.  After 9/11, I remember thinking - and sharing with this community - that whereas comparisons between contemporary figures and Hitler are always overblown, in the case of Bin Laden the comparison is not inappropriate.  It seems oddly fitting that he was killed by American special forces not only on the day of Yom HaShoah on the Jewish calendar, but also on the anniversary of the date on the secular calendar when Hitler killed himself.   Thinking back to thos...

At many Jewish weddings, the recitation of the Sheva Brachot (Seven Wedding Blessings) is done not by the wedding officiant but by family and friends. Here is a copy of the Hebrew / English / transliteration of the Sheva Brachot , together with sound files (which can be downloaded one by one, or all together in one zip file). If you find these resources useful and are not from the United Synagogue of Hoboken community, please go to www.hobokensynagogue.org and send me a quick note -- and mazal tov! http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_english_hebrew_and_translit.pdf http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_mp3s.zip -- all the mp3s below in one zip file http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_1_borei_pri_hagafen.mp3 http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_2_shehakol_bara_lichvodo.mp3 http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_3_yotzer_ha-adam.mp3 http://www.scheinberg.net/rabbi/sheva_brachot_4_asher_yatzar.mp3 http://www.scheinberg.net/ra...

This is a modified version of an email that I sent to my congregation yesterday. The news reports of the damage from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan just keep going from bad to worse to unimaginable -- with the death toll now revised at over 10,000, several villages and cities reduced to rubble, and the possibility of nuclear disaster. David H., a member of our synagogue, has numerous direct connections to this tragedy and asked me to send the following reflections to you.  David lived and worked for many years in the town of Shichigahama, in the area that was hardest hit by the tsunami.  This town of more than 20,000 inhabitants is now mostly destroyed.    David's words help to communicate in very personal terms how devastating this situation is.  Below David's remarks are some suggestions for how we can assist.  (If you wish to contact David, you may contact him through me.) Friends, By now, I am sure you have seen the horrific...

What messianic graffiiti on the Kotel can teach us about Egypt delivered Sat., February 5, 2011 / 1 Adar I 5771, United Synagogue of Hoboken Who in their right mind would think of writing graffiti on the Kotel, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, the last remnant of the Temple that stood in Jerusalem thousands of years ago?! This is a question that is asked by many tourists to Israel when they visit the part of the Kotel referred to as “Robinson’s Arch.” This is a section of the Western Wall of the 2nd Temple plaza that was buried in rubble for thousands of years. If you visit Robinson’s Arch, you can see a large Hebrew inscription carved into one of the Western Wall’s stones.  It’s actually a quotation from the Haftarah we read this morning, the Haftarah designated for the confluence of Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh [the first day of a Hebrew month].  It’s from the Book of Isaiah, 66:14:   Ur’item, ve-sas libchem; va-atzmoteichem ka-deshe.   “You shall see, and ...

My note to our congregation on January 9, 2011, in memory of Debbie Friedman, and out of concern for the victims of the shooting in Tucson: Whether or not the name of Debbie Friedman is familiar to you, you are likely to have heard (and probably sung) her music.  For the last twenty-five years or more, she has been the most outstanding composer and performer of contemporary American Jewish synagogue music.  Sadly, she died today, in her late 50's, after a bout with pneumonia, and after many years of serious health challenges. Debbie Friedman's music has been like a soundtrack for many important moments of my life.  At age 15, the first time I ever conducted a choir, we sang her  "Dodi Li."   When Naomi and I got married, her  "Lechi Lach"  was played during our procession.   We sang songs from her album  "Renewal of Spirit"  as we approached the birth of each of our children.   Most Shabbatot of my adult life have concluded...

The old man asked me, “Will you do my eulogy?” I don’t understand, I said. “My eulogy?”  The old man asked again.  “When I’m gone.” His eyes blinked from behind his glasses. His neatly trimmed beard was gray, and he stood slightly stooped. “Are you dying?” I asked. “Not yet,” he said, grinning. “Then why - “Because I think you will be a good choice.  And I think, when the time comes, you will know what to say.” This was a dialogue that took place between two men, one of whom was a rabbi. But probably not the one you would guess. I just read to you the opening words of Mitch Albom’s book, “Have a Little Faith,” Published earlier this year. And these words are a transcript of a conversation that Albom, the best-selling author of “Tuesdays with Morrie” and other books, had with his childhood rabbi in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Rabbi Albert Lewis of blessed memory. Rabbi Lewis was a giant among contemporary rabbis. There are actually a number of people in o...

One long blast. three short blasts. nine very short blasts. and again, one long blast. Why do we blow the Shofar in this peculiar pattern? There are pages and pages of traditional Jewish writings about ‘ why do we blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah.’ It’s an alarm to wake us to our task of repentance; it’s God’s coronation clarion; it reminds us of Abraham’s sacrificial ram, along with dozens of other explanations. but none of these answer the question: What is the meaning of the blasts of the shofar? Why that particular number of blasts, in that particular order, over and over again? When we blow the Shofar, we blow it in patterns of 3 or 4 notes. We start with a Tekiah - one long blast. followd by Shevarim - a set of 3 small blasts / or Teruah - a set of 9 very short blasts - or sometimes both - 3 blasts followed by 9 blasts. And then to round out the pattern, we have Tekiah - one long blast again. It was the 17th c master, the Shnei Luhot Habrit [Rabbi Isaiah Horo...