Page 12-The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, April 2, 1992
]ewish Life ^
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RABBI DEBORAH BRIN
TORONTO -
"The land renews itself ewryyear, so why shouldn't we have an annual spring? Ha-adaman mitchadesh col shanah umaduah ayn la-adam a\iv b'chol shanah?" — Jacob Klatdcin, writer, philosopher and Zionist (1882-1948)
The month of Nissan is upon us. It was during the month of Nissan that -the spiritual journey, which led us away from slavery, took us into the wilderness where we learned about" the choices and responsibilities of freedom. It is the beginning of spring. What would happen for us if we imitated the earth and had an annual spring;? I think it could certainly do us all good to open the windows of our souls, get the dust out, bring in some fresh air and feel ourselves become energized in ever>' cell and pore
of our being: physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.
Many roads lead to the same destination. For some the route to rcjuven-atioii comes through renewing their commitments to social justice work and political action (tikkun olam). Or perhaps it comes through taking seriously what it means to act toward others with caring and compassion: taking care of the sick, sitting with mourners, housing the homeless, and feeding the hungry (g'milut hassa-dim). Some may think more about what it means to give of one's resources, bodi human and financial, in order to increase justice in the world (tzedakah). Others may find that rejuvenation and connection come through developing a personal spiritual practice of daily walks, meditation, and prayer.
Society teaches us to cope with life and its demands by disconnecting. How many times have you caught yourself sitting in front of the television flipping endlessly through the channels via remote control? The goal of a spiritual spring cleaning is to throu' open the doors and windows so that we can connect with life, our-,:selves. other people, with the natural worid. ideas and'Vith God.
There are two traditional techniques that may be helpful in achieving that sense of connectedness to ourselves, our world and to God. These are teshuvah, turning oneself around and making repentance, and cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting or examining of ourselves and our actions.
These are both methods which help us to look ourselves in the eye and see how oiir actions and attitudes have af-fected others as well as ourselves. The basic idea of teshuvah (repentance) is that a deep change comes through some kind of movement, by turning away from that which is negative and turning toward that which is positive. We "make" teshuvah or "do" teshuvah, because introspection is only the first part of it. We are required to acton our insights, to make apologies; repair relationships, repay old debts, and rectify difficult situations.
The act of cheshbon hanefesh, examining ourselves and our actions, has two parts to it: the daily inventory of examing our actions and our attitudes, and the periodic review. We can get so absorbed in our daily lives that we forget to take time to dream dreams, make plans or chart a course to steer by. Spring offers us a great opportunity to step back and gain a broader perspective on our lives.
Let us find ways to maximize the creative and healing powers of spring to make our world a safer, more just and more beautiful place in which to live.
Hillel taught us: "If I am not for myself who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I?" — Pir-kei Avot 1:14. ^ ^
Adrienne Rich adds: If not together, how?
Rabbi Deborah Brin lives and works in Toronto.
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JERUSALEM (JTA)-
The Ethiopian community in Israel is facing a "marital bottleneck" because the only rabbi, prepared to conduct marriages between them ; is embroiled in a kashrut controversy in his city and has ceased performing marriages for the past two months.
Rabbi David Chelouche. Sephardic chief rabbi of Neianya, says the Seaside resort is being infiltrated by large quantities of non-kosher meat from nearby Arab villages, and he has his hands full battling this development.
"All my appeals" to Israel's Chief Rabbinate "have gone unheeded." he says. : ■
His suspension ofiEthiopian marriage rites is apparently intended as a way of bringing pressure to bear on the Chief Rabbinate to come to his aid over the kashrut problem, in which Chelouche is squared off against the chairman of the Religious Council in Netariya.
Until this began to be a problem. Chelouche had been marrying some 15 Ethiopian couples each month.
"I've told community leaders to prepare the paperwork and stand by for when.I can free myself up to see to " them." the rabbi said. <"
Other Orthodox rabbis in Israel —: who are by law the only rabbis licensed.to conduct marriages ht-■ tween Jews — have been reluctant to . marry the Ethiopians unless they first undergo a ''giyur lechumra" conversion, a procedure "just to be siire," performed even though a person is considered Jewish by definition. -
Rabbis require this procedure, because until recent times, the Ethopi-ans had been cut off from the established Jewish community for centuries, dating prior to Talmudic times.
But the Ethiopians object to such conversions, which they regard as a challenge to the authenticity of their Judaism.
. Meanwhile, former Absorption Minister Yaacov Tsur, a member of the Labor Party, has attacked the present government's policy on Ethiopian absorption, which he
claims is creating ghettos of mobile homes populated only by Ethiopian families.
Recent Ethiopian immigrants, confronting a culture entirely different from their native one, tend to prfefer the privacy of the mobile homes to the communal atmosphere of absorpr tion centers located in former hotels.
In recent weeks^ groups of Ethiopians have: le:ft their absorption centers in Jerusalem and Arad and moved into mobile home sites in Beersheba and-near Raji#v.said to have not been ready for habitation.
The move has been forcing absoip-tion authorities to acquiesce even though the sites had not been completely prepared.
Tsur criticized the whole policy of directing the Ethiopians to such sites. He said it meant they would not intermingle with the general population.
Tsur added that most of the Ethiopians were unemployed and there did not seem to be plans afoot to teach them useful trades.
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Beth Tzedec Congregation 1700 Bathurst Street
I
cordially invites you to the
victor & renee topper cantorial shabbat
Shabbat Hagadol 11,1992 - 9:00 a.m.
with Guest Cantor
Shimon Farkas
from Sydney, Australia; Cantor of the Concord Hotel, New York for the High Holy Days and Passover
Cantor Farkas will join the Beth Tzedec Choir In chanting the Sen^ice
2 Simonston Blvd.. Thornhill/Ontario L3T 4L1 889-4975
Come celebrate with us at a traditional
Community Pesach Seder*
led by Rabbi Howard Markose, Spiritual Leader of Shaar Shalom Synagogue
on Friday night, April 17, 1992.
Services begin at 6:30 p.m., seder to follow.
Registration fee: only $36.00 for adults -^24.00 for children under 10.
Space is limited to 150 participants.
Reserve now by calling 889-4975.
This Pesach Seder is being underwritten through the generosity of caring members of Shaar Shalom Synagogue.
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Sj^^gQgue fecMities axe also available _     JK^ pri^te fimsQy sedei:s. ,
&r ts^dmx     Shaar JMoe dt^, !brijtaailscali^94975.
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'Ihder the supfrmton cf ihe Koihmth-CMinal. JfH'idi trdrnuiono^ I