Page 4rThe Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, September 20, 1984
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RabbiBorak
By
RABBI MOSES J. BURAK
QUESTION: Could you give-me the origin :| I and the rneaning of each month of the year? |i -r Mrs. Denise Perron, Verdun, Que. g;
I : The names; of the ;;; Hebrew months are not I of Hebraic origin. We I are told, in the Jerusa-I lem Talmud, Chapter I 1:1, 6A, that they were I brought to Israel by I those who I'eturned I from the Assyrian -I Babylonian captivity. I Thus, the names are of I Assyrian origin. And it
is very strange that the I Jewish sages, who did \ their best to keep impurities from entrance into if ;i Judaism/ should have permitted this wholesale |;i I adoption of foreign names for our months.
It is tempting to say that since the Pentateuch ;| I knew of no names for the months of the year, other || \ than calHng one the First Month and yet another |: i; the Second Month, we needed names for our |; j: months and took them regardless of! Where they |;: \ came from. However, the Bible did know of some |^
Hebraic names for the months as we Cian see in First ill ii Kings, Chapter 8:2: "And all the men of Israel as- || \ sembled themselves unto King Solomon at the || j; feast, in the month of Ediariim, which is the seventh I month.'' There you have a good, meaningful ||
Hebrew name. Why was it given up? ; Nachmanides, the Ramban, was aware of the |? i problem; Here is the way he solved it: "At first Ji;:;
their calandar was a memorial to the Exodus from % I Egypt." The"first month was the month in which :|: ''■ the Jews left Egypt. All other months took their
number in relation to it. ii;
People overwhelmed
"But, when we came up from Babylon, and the words of Scripture were fulfilled (as we read in Jeremiah, Chapter 16:14-15);. . 'And it shall no more be said: As th^ Eternal liyeth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but: As the Eternal liyeth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north . . .'From then on we began to call the months by the names they were called in Babylon," That's how overwhelmed the people were by this second redemption.
Despite this, human ingenuity has found Hebrew meanings galore for some of the names of the months. Elul, the month of prayer, penitence, and return is universally taken to be an abbreviation for anni le-dodi, "I to my beloved, and my beloved unto me." As for Tishri, the Tahnudic work Pesikta Rabati, section 41, states that it means release, i.e. forgiveness of sins. On the other haind, the Chassam Sofer, an expert in belles lettres as well as halacha, would open or close his letters during this season with the words, "tishri allon shatta tavta,'* meaning, may Hashem grant us a good year."
While discussing this theme in the Roth Library of Shomrai Shabbos Synagogue, the learned gab-bai of the synagogue, Charles Krohn, suggested another authoritative meaning for Tishri. He pointed out that in the piyut of the morning 'Amidah of Rosh Hashanah there is a reference to Tesher, which means a gift. The reference there is to Isaac, who was conceived at that time.
The month Marcheshyon was se^n by the great Holy Zaddik, Rabbi Yisroel of Rishin z.l. tomean "the lips move," from the word ml=achesh. He stated that its meaning conveys the thought that as a result of praying so much oh all the holy days of Tishri, our lips continue to move in prayer even in the next month-when there are no special holidays.
Adar and lyar are both seen as abbreviations for the words "I, the Almighty heal thee." Nissan is seen as blossom time, and there are even some ; dates that ripen during that month. See Jastrow's i A Dictionary . . . page 906.
The strangest name of air the months is Tam- i muz. This is the name of a pagan deity. Why should j the name of a pagan idol be in the Jewish calen- i dar? Tammuz is in the Bible, and hot in a com- I plimentary way. Ezekiel, Chapter 8:14-15 gives i us this picture: "And behold, there sat the wom- \ en weeping for Tammuz. Then said He unto me: Has thou seen this, O son of man? Thou shalt again \ see yet greater abominations than these." This i; makes my question all the stronger. The answer, ji it seems to liie, lies in the fact that it was in_diis month that our ancestors worshipped the golden j; calf, in the wilderness, and the Teh Command- \ ments were shattered.
Let the wayward heart return to faith. Then the i; New Year will be truly a year of life and happiness.
■■■■ By, ■ SHELLEY KESSELMAN
WINNIPEG -
The cardboard cartons lined up neatly across one wall of the 2nd floor office convey the image of harried tenants with so much to do that the starting point is buried beneath the lists.
Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs does not have much time these days to reflect upon her position as the first full-time rabbi of Winnipeg's Temple Shalom. Equally, there is little dwelling \xpon her historic appointment as the first female rabbi to lead a congregation in Canada.
Through all the curiosity, interest and parallel crush of duties, the firmly-spoken object of all this attention alludes only slightly to the "weighty challenge" before her and even less of the "fanfare" being joyously trumpeted by the small Reform congregation bursting with pride.
"My congregation is so excited because I'm the first woman t6 head a synagogue,' ' Klirs said in an interview. ' 'But I'd just as soon not make so much of it.The important thing for me is to serve my congregation the best I can and bring people closer to Judaism."
Interest in Klirs' appointment has extended beyond Winnipeg's Jewish community, with articles in both the Winnipeg Sun and Winnipeg Free Press, and a large crowd on hand to wimess her investiture by Toronto's Rabbi Gunther Plant on r Sept. 12 in Winnipeg.
Klirs, 29, rarely hesitated during a 45-minute interview, admittedly time that could have been better spent by a woman who is starting at almost the bare-bones basics for the 60-family congregation, which recently purchased a rambling old house as its first building.
With the workload — from redesigning the religious school curriculum to organizing and conducting regular services to hurried preparations for the High Holidays — the din of constant traffic outside her office window fades to mere background.
Klirs, who comes across as a woman whose mind is never at rest, is candid about her "agnostic" background and the fact that the decision to enter the rabbinate came relatively late in life.
She was born in British Columbia and the family moved to California, eventuailly settling in Seattle, Wash. There, she says, she grew up in an atmosphere with a strong sense of Jewish identity, but an environment minus the trappings of traditional religious observance. The family attended a local synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, occasionally" Succoth or other holidays. Chanukah candles were lit, appropriate foods were consumed with each holiday, kid-^ dush was made each Shabbat.
Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs. [Brian Donough photo]
"We didn't have a deep ahd intensive Jewish practice in our home, but the feeling and identity were always there."
Today, Klirs says her decision to become a rabbi was not triggered by any one event; instead, very simply, she refers to it as the ''logical endpoint of a long process that had been gong on since I was a child.
"I became increasingly interested in Judaism, Jewish and Hebrew studies, Israeli, Jewish culture. I found there was so much to offer within Judaism, I knew I'd feel most fulfilled if I could have a career with a very high Jewish content."
In college, Klirs examined traditional careers within the. communitiy: teacher, social worker, Jewish agency positions — but found those jobs limited in their offerings.
"Then I looked at the: rabbinate and realized here was a career that combined all the different things I wanted to do."
Klirs says her family was not surprised by her decision, but adds, "Religiously , I don't think they fully understand it because they're not religious people.
' 'But they are very supportive of my career choice."
Of her decision to become a Reform rabbi, Klirs laughs and explains she did not actually choose it. "It was a more a matter of falling into it.
'' 1 was very dedicated to the idea of becoming a rab-
bi and told myself I would do it through any means I could. What kind of rabbi didn't really matter to me at the time."
Klirs investigated rabbinical schools to discover at the time, only two in the Western Hemisphere — Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College — accepted women.
Incidentally, Klirs says four rabbinical schools now admit women. She estimated that 50% of the
first year class at HUC this year were female.
"I see a trend in the future, where in another five to six years, there will be many more women. And why not? There are centuries of pent-up desire suddenly unleashed and women are flooding rabbinical schools."
Saying she was amazed to receive acceptances from both schools, Klirs chose HUC, citing its academic and educational facilities and a campus. location in Cincinnati.
Klirs graduated last June
MONTREAL-
Three members of the Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry of Canadian Jewish Congres participated in die World Praesidium on Soviet Jewry in London this week.
This international conference has been held regularly since the first Brussels Conference on Soviet Jewry in 1971. "It is the only international forum devoted to sharing concerns of issues of Soviet Jewry," says Barbara Stern, chairman Qf„. the Canadian Committee.
Over 40 people represented Jewish communities and organizations at the conference from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Latin America,
Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Israel, Australia and other countries.
Also attending the Praesidium was Martin Penn, executive director of the, Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry, and Alan Rose, CJC's executive vice-president.
Rose dealt with the international experts meeting on human rights to be held in pttawa_-next May. This forthcoming meeting will be concerned with the recent Madrid review of the Helsinki Final act. The Helsinki Final Act isanin-ternational agreement with specific provisions for human rights, signed by 35 countries, including Canada and the Soviet Union.
after the 5-year course, to find herself in a position new graduates look to with great envy. There are more positions for Reform (and Conservative she says) rabbis than there are candidates to fill them.
While her classmates applied for assistahtships, Klirs had firmly set her sights upon a solo congregation.
"I'm somewhat independent. I like a small atmosphere where people can get to know each other on a personal level. I was looking for that kind of intimacy from my congregation."
However, Klirs says due to the demographics of the Reform movement, there is heavy competition for positions in the ' highly-populous American east coast, while jobs in small, often southern U.S. towns, go begging.
"Most people who enter the rabbinate do so because of a love of it and Judaism. In order for them to feel nourished, they need constant contact with other Jews who share those feelings.
"When you're in a small town, you have a handful of congregants who, generally speaking, are not that knowledgeable or intensely active Jews. A Rabbi who needs to maintain this type of contact, can very easily feel Jewishly isolated."
While Klirs said she may one day make the small town coinmitment, she isn't willing to make the sacrifice at this stage of her Hfe. With 21-month old son Lior keeping Klirs and husband Elisha, a University of Winnipeg psychology professor, juggling schedules, she says she would not consider that kind of move until her children were grown.
"i applied for nine jobs and got five callbacks. Of the five, I had three interviews and the two I turned down were sure job offers.
"Ideally, I wanted to settle right from the beginning with a small congregation located within a larger Jewish community. Of all the pulpits I applied to, Temple Shalom was the only one that fit that bill."
In Winnipeg suice July, Klirs says she is impressed with the "thriving" Jewish community, adding, "it offers much more than a typical Jewish community of its size."
Polite paper shuffling indicated the allotted time had expired. Klirs faces a great challenge in her first pulpit. Yet, at the same time, she has a unique opportunity to leave her personal stamp on a congregation that has never had a full-time rabbi to provide continuity, direction and growth.
"Nervous? Am I nervous?" she answers with a definite shake of her head. "The only thing I feel is slightly overwhelmed by all the work I have to do. I didn't come looking for this kind of challenge."
There is a slight pause and a hint of a smile"*" emerges. "But then, I've never been one to shrink from a challenge."