The Candlesticks

This was a letter sent to Rabbi Dan...

On Rosh Hashannah I read the book, and on Yom Kippur, I mentally wrote this story, which is completely true. I had been wanting to write it down for along time, and finally put it on paper.

I met them in Philadelphia many years ago, about 1962. I was in the hospital. When they walked into my room, I was flabbergasted. The older woman looked exactly like my late Great-Aunt Bessie, who had passed away years before. I was thinking “I don’t believe in ghosts,” and “I am not hallucinating.” What came out of my mouth was “You can’t be Aunt Bessie”

She was Bessie’s sister, Sophie. Her daughter Gertrude was with her. They were both very nice, and I enjoyed talking with them for several hours. I didn’t know how they knew I was sick. Unfortunately, no one in our family seemed to know their address or phone number, and I was never able to see either of them again.

Two years later I got married. And several months after that, a package arrived in the mail from Gertrude – Shabbos candlesticks made of solid brass. The note said simply that she hoped I would light them on Friday nights, which I do to this day.

My mother’s cousins, Lil and Freda, were my Great-Aunt Bessie’s daughters. When they visited our home, they stopped in the doorway, stared at each other in amazement, and said in unison: “the candlesticks” They were the very same candlesticks that had belonged to my Grandmother’s Grandmother, who brought them from Russia. The family is large, and my own Grandmother had never seen them before I got them. Lil and Freda were the only family members to recognize them.

I am writing this down for my family. I can only imagine how much my great, great grandmother was able to bring from Russia. She must have considered the brass candlesticks to be a great treasure, as I do.

Doris Stamper

A Creative Ritual

After reading the first chapter in God’s To-Do List, I decided to create a new ritual. Here's how it goes. I have a beautiful little bowl, which I've now dedicated to this ritual. Every morning I fill it with water and say the Yotzer prayer [the prayer which follows the Borechu in the morning service and has the theme of creation]. I leave the bowl on the window sill until the end of the day, when I'm getting ready for bed. Then I say the Maariv Aravim prayer [the prayer which follows the Borechu in the evening service with the theme of creation] and pour the water out. It helps me think of each day as a precious cup of time and space, to be filled only once, and the beautiful prayers (which, I must admit, I never before said on a daily basis) have brought me closer to the Creator of all.

** From a CBI congregant who prefers to remain anonymous

Welcome to the God's To-Do List Blog Spot!

Everyone has a to-do list. Whether it’s a shopping list or a project for work, they help us manage our time, make us more productive, and guide us to prioritize. But how many of us put God’s work on our to-do lists? What are the ways we can become God’s partner in the ongoing work of creating the world and repairing its brokenness? What are the simple everyday ways we can make a difference in the lives of others?

This past Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Alexander initiated a project to help us think about these questions. To this end, we have distributed hundreds of copies of Ron Wolfson’s, God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth. Hopefully you received a copy at High Holiday services. If not, additional copies are available in the CBI office. We, the CBI educational staff, encourage you to read the book and take part in the synagogue-wide conversations and programs which we will be suggesting each month. Our hope is to promote a concept of community learning and doing as we learn from each other’s stories, share ideas, and deepen our sense of connection to one another and Jewish tradition.

“What on earth are you here for? To do the tasks that God has for you,” writes Ron Wolfson in the introduction of the book. “You can call someone who is lonely. You can visit a friend who is sick. You can read a book to a child. You can comfort a mourner. You can volunteer your time. You can make a difference. You can give of your self—a self that is infused with godliness.”

God’s To-Do List is a guidebook to repairing the world. It derives its enumeration of themes from the biblical accounts of what God does rather than, what God says: God creates, rests, calls, blesses, encourages, forgives, provides, visits the sick, and comforts the mourner. For each of God’s characteristics, Jewish tradition extrapolates God’s to-do list for us, the many ways we can make a difference in the lives of others and find meaning in our own.

In November and December we focus on the first chapter, Create. There will be a special display in the synagogue lobby for you to add your personal stories and thoughts around the theme of creating. There will also be a God’s To-Do List blog with a link on the CBI website, as well as suggestions for contemplation and activity throughout each month.
We also want to hear from you. If something in the current chapter touched you or your family or inspired you or prompted a personal story, please let me know. For questions or more information about this program, please contact Shelby Apple, CBI’s God’s To-Do List Coordinator at shelbyapple@yahoo.com.

Mezuzzah Creation

This past Sunday, CBI's 1st grade Sunday school class got their hands dirty and CREATED beautiful hand-made mezuzzot out of clay. The class talked about the mitzvah of the mezuzzah and the Shema blessing inside.