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85th Anniversary of Kristallnacht:

On November 9 – 10, 1938 a series of Pograms happened to the Jewish people
through Germany; Austria; Suentenland (in Czechoslovakia) which was recently
occupied by German Troops. It has come to be called: Kristallnacht, literally, “Night of
Crystal,” is often referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass.” The name came from
shards of broken glass which lined the German streets, windows from Synagogues;
Jewish Homes; Jewish businesses. This was instigated by Nazi Party officials and
members of the SA (known as Storm Troopers – Sturmabteilung); and Hitler Youth.
Hundreds of Synagogues throughout Germany were destroyed. It was exceptionally
violent in Vienna and Berlin, which were home to two of the largest Jewish
communities in the German Reich.
As we remember this tragedy to our people in 1938 it is hard not to draw parallels to
October 7 th in Israel of this year, where terrorists went into homes and butchered
people, not soldiers, but mothers; fathers; grandfathers; Holocaust survivors; children;
and babies. For those who have survived Kristallnacht and the Holocaust it is hard not
to look at our current day and see this happening again.
We see Jewish College students being bullied, we see Synagogues throughout the
world being attacked including one recently in Montreal which was fire-bombed. The
rise in Anti-Semitism seems to mirror what happened on Kristallnacht. Instead of Hitler
we have Hamas and their degenerate leaders pushing for this, utilizing Social Media to
push their Propaganda. We say NEVER AGAIN! And yet here we are in 2023 – just
85 years later and it is happening again.
We need to not stay silent. We need to reach out to our Representatives in the House
and the Senate, we need to let them know that this is not right and should not happen.
We need to be vigilant and watch out for each other. We should take the lessons of
Kristallnacht and keep that memory alive. We need to use the tools Hamas and the
BDS movement is using – Social Media to not stay silent – we need to fill the feeds of
every X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Tic Toc, Thread, Whatsap and any other Social
Media platform that is available, and post NEVER AGAIN. Let’s fill those platforms so
that Hamas’ and the BDS messages is buried in our posts, and people will see the
truth.
Let us remember Kristallnacht and let us feel the hope that we do have the power to do
something today and not let history repeat itself.


Cantor Steve Hevenstone

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My Sermon on Ki Teitzei August 21, 2026

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Ki Teitzei is one of the most challenging portions in the Torah.  It contains more mitzvot than almost any other parashah—laws about marriage, family, workers, business practices, lost property, the poor, the stranger, and the treatment of animals.

At first, these laws can seem like a long list of unrelated instructions.  But I believe there is a thread connecting many of them.  It is a simple idea:  Do not look away.

In Deuteronomy we read:

“If you see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it. You must take it back to your fellow.”  The Hebrew expression is particularly powerful: lo tuchal l’hitalem—”you shall not be able to hide yourself.”  The Torah is telling us that once we see something that needs our attention, we have a responsibility.

  • We cannot simply say, “It’s not my problem.”
  • We cannot pretend that we didn’t notice.
  • And perhaps most importantly, we cannot convince ourselves that someone else’s suffering has nothing to do with us.

Seeing creates responsibility.

Think about how often we encounter situations in everyday life where we have a choice.

  • We see someone sitting alone.
  • Do we walk past—or do we say hello?
  • We know someone is going through a difficult time.
  • Do we wait for them to call—or do we call them?
  • We notice that someone in our community has quietly withdrawn.
  • Do we assume that someone else will take care of it—or do we reach out?

These may seem like small things.  But Judaism teaches that small things are often where our values become real.

Ki Teitzei tells us that holiness is not confined to prayer, Torah study, or the synagogue. 

  • Holiness can be found in returning a lost object.
  • Holiness can be found in paying a worker on time.
  • Holiness can be found in using honest weights and measures.
  • Holiness can be found in helping someone whose animal has fallen beneath its burden.
  • And holiness can be found in noticing the person who is carrying a burden that we cannot see.

There is another remarkable teaching in this week’s parashah.

The Torah says that a worker must be paid on time because “he is needy and urgently depends upon it.”  The Torah could simply have said, “Pay your workers.”  Instead, it explains why.

  • Because there is a human being on the other side of the transaction.
  • Behind the paycheck is a family.
  • Behind the bill is a person.
  • Behind every economic decision is a human life.
  • That is an important lesson for all of us.
  • It is easy to reduce people to categories.
  • Customer.
  • Employee.
  • Neighbor.
  • Stranger.
  • Member.
  • Visitor.

But Judaism insists that before a person is any of those things, that person is a human being created b’tzelem Elohim—in the image of God.

The Torah asks us to see the person, not merely the circumstance.

There is another phrase that appears repeatedly in Ki Teitzei:

“Remember that you were a slave in Egypt.”  Why does the Torah keep reminding us of Egypt?  Because memory is supposed to change behavior.  We were strangers.  Therefore, we should understand the stranger.  We were vulnerable.  Therefore, we should protect the vulnerable.  We suffered.  Therefore, we should not become indifferent to the suffering of others.  Jewish memory is not meant to remain in the past.  Memory is supposed to become morality.

That is an extraordinary Jewish idea.  We don’t simply remember what happened to us.  We ask what that memory requires us to do.  And perhaps this is especially important today, when we are surrounded by so much information.

Every day we see photographs and videos of suffering around the world.  We hear stories of people experiencing poverty, war, loneliness, displacement, and fear.  The danger is that we can become overwhelmed.  We see so much that eventually we stop seeing.

The Torah’s message is different.

It says:

  • You don’t have to solve everything.
  • But don’t look away from everything.
  • You may not be able to change the entire world.
  • But you can change someone’s experience of the world.
  • You can make the phone call.
  • You can make the visit.
  • You can invite someone to sit with you.
  • You can offer a ride.
  • You can listen.
  • You can notice.

And sometimes the most important thing we can give another person is not an answer.

It is the assurance:

“I see you.”

There is one more difficult teaching at the end of Ki Teitzei.

The Torah tells us to remember Amalek—the nation that attacked Israel from behind, particularly targeting the vulnerable.  It is a difficult passage because we are asked to remember hatred and violence without allowing hatred and violence to consume us.  But perhaps that is another form of “do not look away.”  We must not forget evil.  We must remember history.  We must remember what happens when the vulnerable are abandoned and when cruelty becomes acceptable.

But remembering is not the same as living in hatred.  Our task is to transform memory into wisdom.  We remember so that we can build a world in which such cruelty becomes less likely—not so that we perpetuate the cycle of hatred.

So what does Ki Teitzei ask of us this Shabbat?

Perhaps it asks us three questions.

  • What do we see?
  • What do we choose not to see?
  • And what will we do about what we see?

Those questions are not merely philosophical.  They are deeply Jewish questions.  When we see someone in need, Judaism says: Don’t look away.

  • When we see injustice, don’t look away.
  • When we see loneliness, don’t look away.
  • When we see a person who has become invisible to everyone else, don’t look away.
  • And when we look in the mirror and see our own shortcomings, don’t look away from those either.

Because the same Torah that asks us to recognize the dignity of others asks us to become better people ourselves.  The world does not need us to be perfect.  It needs us to be present.  It needs us to notice.  It needs us to care.  And it needs us to act.

Perhaps that is the real lesson of Ki Teitzei.  A Jewish life is built one moment at a time.

  • One person notices.
  • One person cares.
  • One person reaches out.
  • One person helps carry the burden.
  • And one small act of kindness becomes part of the work of tikkun olam—repairing our world.

May we have the courage this Shabbat not to look away.  May we have the eyes to see those who need us.  May we have the hearts to care.  And may we have the strength to turn what we see into action.

Shabbat Shalom.

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Can Music Enhance Memory (From a newsletter article Summer of 2025 at North Shore Synagogue written by me)

Can music enhance memory?  Go back to your first experience you can remember of being in a Synagogue.  It could be one of the High Holy Days, a Holiday like Purim, Chanukkah, or Passover, Religious School, and even Shabbat.  What do you remember?  When asked that question, my response is always the music, how the prayers were sung.  Those melodies touch something deep inside of us.  Not only in the Synagogue do these songs, these melodies resonate, but also from Passover Seders, Chanukah, even in our secular lives. 

From our early years we all remember the melody to the “A, B, Cs”; “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and others.  Many of those melodies have made it into our Prayers.  Those melodies continue to resonate with us every Shabbat and Holiday.

“Since earliest times, music has universally been a part of G-ds’s creatures’ worship of their Creator.  From the very beginning of our national existence, the worship pf G-d with Prayer and sacrifice has been accompanied by music (noted in Exodus 15: 12, 20) and music played an important part of the Temple service as well.” (source: A Guide to Jewish Prayer pg. 370) In Chronicles, David commands the priests to sing to the Lord with instruments of music, with trumpets and cymbals and harps.

“Sing to G-d a new Song…”(Psalm 96)  The sounds and tones of music weave through Jewish life as a thread through a tapestry.  This tapestry is rich and vibrant, much like Joseph’s coat of many colors.   But instead of colors, we have tones and harmonies which can lift us up and raise our spiritual identity, helping to fill us with sweet sounds.  We only have to listen, and let ourselves be carried away by these sweet sounds. 

Growing up going to Shul I would look forward to attending services along with the Cantor and the Congregation.  There truly was and still is something very spiritual that happens when we all join together singing the prayers.  That sense of our community, not only here at North Shore Synagogue, but the entire Jewish community coming together through the words of our Prayers utilizing music.  Sometimes our melodies differ slightly from Synagogue to Synagogue.  Sometimes the melodies might be completely different.  However the result is still the same, as we join together in song.  Our spirits are lifted, and no matter how you enter our Friday night service, our joyous praise lifts us all up.  

“Clap your hands, all peoples!…” (Psalm 41)Today, many of the melodies for our prayers represent our differing cultures, blending together different musical Minhagim (traditions).  Throughout our services here at North Shore Synagogue you can hear the Ashkenazic melodies which many of us grew up with.  You can also hear strains of Sefardic melodies.  There are also the melodies from Contemporary Composers like Debbie Friedman (z”l), Dan Nichols, Rick Recht, and many others.  Etz Chaim,which we sing prior to the closing of the Ark at the end of the Torah Service, is sung to the melody of HaTikvah.  And as stated above some nursery rhyme music has entered our services, or is it Mozart?!

Many times we introduce new melodies into our services.  These melodies might take a little bit to grow on us, but those melodies bring a fresh perspective on the Prayer. 

Our music is another way we represent L’dor Vador – Generation to Generation.  We pass on these melodies to our children and others, and the next generation takes those melodies to heart.  As each generation grows into those songs, many come up with new melodies for the Prayers, taking their own personal perspective and becoming a new part of the tapestry of song.  “Make music to G-d…with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn …! (Psalm 98)

Whether you’ve had a good week or one of challenges, come join us on a Friday night this summer and experience 60 minutes of food for your soul.  Who knows? Maybe you’ll be humming all week!  May we all continue to be a part of that musical tapestry that is our tradition, new and old. Type / to choose a block

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Kol Nidre: The Gift of Forgiveness

There are few moments in the Jewish year as powerful as the opening of Kol Nidre. As the congregation gathers on Erev Yom Kippur, the familiar melody begins, the Torah scrolls are held before us, and the words of Kol Nidre fill the sanctuary. It is a moment that touches something deep within us.

Kol Nidre literally means “All Vows.” At its most basic level, the prayer concerns vows and promises that we may have made and failed to fulfill. But its emotional power reaches far beyond the technical meaning of the words. It reminds us of something profoundly human: we are not perfect, and neither are the people around us.

Yom Kippur gives us an opportunity to acknowledge our mistakes, seek forgiveness, and begin again. Yet Jewish tradition makes an important distinction. We cannot simply ask God to forgive us for hurting another person. If our actions have caused pain, we must make the effort to seek forgiveness from the person we have wronged. The Mishnah teaches that Yom Kippur does not atone for sins between one person and another until forgiveness has been sought.

That teaching can be challenging. Sometimes saying “I’m sorry” is difficult. Sometimes we believe the other person should apologize first. Sometimes an old disagreement has gone on for so long that we cannot even remember how it began.

But Kol Nidre invites us to take the first step.

Forgiveness does not mean pretending that nothing happened. It does not mean saying that hurtful behavior was acceptable. And forgiveness does not always mean restoring a relationship to exactly what it was before. Rather, forgiveness can mean choosing not to allow anger, resentment, or an old wound to control our lives any longer.

There is also another side to forgiveness: forgiving ourselves.

Many of us carry regrets into the High Holy Days. We remember words we wish we had never spoken, opportunities we wish we had taken, relationships we wish we had handled differently. We may look back and think, “If only I had known then what I know now.”

But that is part of being human. Jewish tradition calls us toward teshuvah—turning, returning, and changing our direction. We acknowledge what we have done, make amends when possible, learn from our mistakes, and try to become better people.

Perhaps this is one of the deeper messages of Kol Nidre. We enter Yom Kippur recognizing our human frailty. We know that we have failed in ways large and small. We also know that others have failed us. Yet we gather together as a community and say, in effect: we will not give up on ourselves, and we will not give up on one another.

Immediately following Kol Nidre, the congregation traditionally proclaims the biblical words, “May the entire congregation of Israel be forgiven,” emphasizing that forgiveness belongs to the whole community. The message is one of inclusion: there is room for all of us, even with our imperfections, mistakes, and shortcomings.

As we prepare for Kol Nidre this year, perhaps we can ask ourselves three simple questions:

Whom do I need to forgive?

From whom do I need to ask forgiveness?

What do I need to forgive myself for?

We may not be able to resolve every hurt or repair every relationship. But we can take a step. We can make a phone call. We can send a message. We can say, “I’m sorry.” We can say, “I forgive you.” Or perhaps we can simply make the quiet decision in our own hearts to let go of something we have carried for too long.

When the Kol Nidre melody rises through our sanctuary along with our quartet, the cello, and our accompanist Zvi Klein, may we hear more than the words of an ancient prayer. May we hear an invitation—to release the past, to repair what can be repaired, to forgive where we can forgive, and to enter the New Year with lighter hearts.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah. May we all be sealed for a year of peace, health, kindness, and forgiveness.

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Daily Minyanim

I earned my stripes this morning! I got here at about 6:40 AM, put on my T’fillin, and joined with a Minyan for Shachrit. Minyan, whether the morning or afternoon/evening, is a wonderful way to start your day and finish your day. One thing I notice, in most Synagogues people think the daily Minyanim are only for those saying Mourner’s Kaddish. They could not be more wrong. It is true, that one can-not say the Mourner’s Kaddish without a minyan, however this should not be the only reason one goes to a weekday service.
There truly is something very uplifting about praying together with a group to start your day. It is invigorating, it helps put things in perspective. Not only are you doing a Mitzvah by becoming a part of a daily Minyan, but it is also a wonderful experience. Over the years, I have been involved with several Synagogues. I am proud to say that the last two Synagogues I worked in – B’Nai Torah in Boca Raton, FL and now Dix Hills Jewish Center in Dix Hills, NY both have vibrant daily Minyan services.
Unfortunately this is not the case in many other Synagogues throughout the United States and other parts of the world. You can-not turn around and say that this is an Orthodox tradition, I know several Orthodox Synagogues that do not get enough for a Minyan on a daily basis. On the other spectrum, I know of many Reform Synagogues that have daily Minyanim. So why is it that some Synagogues have the support of the community and some don’t? Why is it that even the ones which do have active daily Minyanim go under the presumption that it is only for the saying of the Mourner’s Kaddish? Is this a symptom of our busy culture? Are we as a people too involved with our own daily activities to start and end our days with prayer?
I don’t want to get into a theological discussion with this yet – though eventually, as I begin to not my thoughts on a weekly basis on this and other topics through facebook I might.
For me, before becoming a Cantor, I have always found daily Minyan a comfort. It is not that I went every time, however the times I went to the Minyan in the mornings I found myself energized and able to handle the challenges that faced me during the day. And when I went to the afternoon/evening Minyan I found myself able to let go of any pressures or concerns I had during the day and able to come home to my family with an open heart.
Though this brief discussion (and I hope it does beget discussion) is focused on the Minyanim in a Synagogue, it does not just stay in Judaism. I think it is very important that all people should start their day with prayer and meditation and end the day the same way. This is not just a “Jewish” or “Religious” thing, it is something that we as human beings need and should do. And not just alone. It should be done with a group, done with your community, or other communities.
Over the next few months I will post weekly thoughts on various topics. For the first several months I will be focusing on daily prayers – and why it is important that people should be open to prayer and meditation in the mornings and in the evenings.
If you wish to add to this discussion your thoughts please do. I look forward to reading your responses.
Cantor Steven Hevenstone

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Jewish Music Continues into 2024

This past May I had the pleasure of attending the 77 th Cantors Assembly Conference in Minneapolis, MN. It was an amazing experience to join with my colleagues from across the country, Canada, and South America. At the conference I was able to participate in concerts, teach, and speak. It truly was an opportunity for renewal of music and spirituality and to get to see what my Colleagues from other places are doing and singing within their communities. It also was an opportunity to hear old “traditional” melodies in a new way and to learn new music together. One would ask why is it important to create new melodies or even reinvigorate older melodies? We can find the answer to this in our Torah and in the teachings of past Rabbis and Hazzanim.

Shiru La-Doshem Shir Chadash – “Sing to G-d a song that is new” (translation from Sidur Simhat Y’Hoshu’a – the Schottenstein Edition Page 64). Throughout the Torah and in all of our prayers the Hebrew Word Shir ( or Shirim plural) is translated as “song(s)”. The torah tells us that it was important for us to sing praise to G-d, whether it be the Hazzan singing on behalf of the Congregation, or as a community, joining the Hazzan (Ba’al T’fillah – the leader of prayer) in praise.

We find examples of music throughout the history of Jewish worship. Even the chanting of our sacred texts is done in a melodic, sweet way to convey the message of G-d to the people and turn our thoughts, prayers, hopes, and desires to G-d. You may wonder where some of the music came from in our synagogue liturgy. In early times it was based on what the Temple choir would sing in Jerusalem. “The earliest synagogal music was based on the same system as that used in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Talmud, Joshua ben Hananiah, who had served in the sanctuary Levitical choir, told how the choristers went to the synagogue from the orchestra by the altar…..” (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_religious_Jewish_music) .

During the time of the first and second Temples, temple music was the center of all music in our society. After the fall of the Temples and the removal of Jews from the promised land, it was decided that all music would be banned. Though eventually this ban was lifted for religious purposes and music was added back into worship services. Eventually music (including instruments) was allowed at various celebrations including weddings and other simchas that were not on Shabbat or Holy Days.

When liturgical poems (Piyyutim) were added to the worship service, fixed melodies used on a regular basis began to appear in Synagogue music and prayers which helped people to learn the prayers of the services. The Ba’al T’filah (the Cantor / Hazzan) would lead communities in prayer, helping each person learn each prayer and gain a deeper understanding of the service.

Singing has always been vital to praising G-d. We see this in the Torah, notably in the Song of the Sea, when, after crossing the Sea of Reeds and the waters rush over the Egyptian Army, the Israelites are led in song praising the triumph of G-d. Even in the N’Vi’im (HafTorah), our prophets encouraged singing to G-d for the great things that he has done for us. King David was known as the “Sweet Singer of Israel” for his talents with music, lyrics and musical instruments. “Music is the most immaterial and ephemeral of all art forms. We can’t see music, we can’t grasp it in our hands, but we can feel it working through us and the world. As such, music represents our connection to the divine, to each other, to everything.” (source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/why-music-is-fundamental-tojewish-prayer/). If we look to the Gematria, the number value for song (Shirah) and prayer (tefillah) are identical. One could say that to make the most of our prayers they should be sung. In the Talmud in section Berakoht 6a it is noted “Where there is song, there is prayer…” (ibid). Prophets like Elisha were able to prophesize when music was played. When we teach our children the Sh’ma, we teach it with a melody. This simple tune has two functions. First, the idea that music helps the human brain by reaching areas that we rarely use and secondly, it helps make us better, deeper, thinkers. When we sing a prayer, we deepen it’s meaning and it becomes something more, something holy, something spiritual that puts us into a more thoughtful frame of mind as we pray.

When we use our voices and instruments to pray, we become united as a group of people sharing in not just the notes and the words, but in a collective spiritual elevation. Think of how you feel when you sing the Sh’ma out loud, or how much fun it is to sing a chorus of “Hava Narisha, Rash, Rash, Rash!” to the Chag Purim song during Purim.. Each of our responses to music is individual to us, however through music we have the ability to connect with each other. We also connect with G-d, through the melodies of the T’fillah and the notes of the song which are sung. As a Hazzan, I try through the artistry of my profession to help create a feeling of meditation and of the majesty of the moment. Each community develops a distinct voice over time and as I have gotten to know and understand the voice of our community we have been able to create moments in prayer that are truly spiritual and authentic.
May the summer months bring us all a sense of calm and peace, and may our voices join together in spiritual song and harmonies.

Musically Yours in Peace:
Cantor Steve Hevenstone

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What is going on with violent protests?

So I am seeing and unfortunately reading all of these negative things on social media and the news. When did our society become so close-minded that they feel that theirs is the only opinion that matters and anyone else’s perspective is “evil”? I don’t get it.

I believe that actions can be deemed as negative or bad. However there is zero discussion or debate any longer. Look at what is happening at our college campuses around the country. When did colleges, especially Ivy League Universities become a “circus”?

When October 7th happened I was devastated beyond belief. I began proudly wearing my Magen David outside my shirt, my Kipah on my head. However when someone says to me that Israel is evil, to me they are becoming close-minded.

My heart goes out to the innocent Palestinians who are stuck in the middle of this – however lest us not forget that when September 11 happened and the towers fell the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank were literally celebrating in the streets the destruction (yes that is the word they used) of America. They were led by Hamas, Hezballah, Isis, etc.

How quickly we forget – today everybody reads one set of news and that becomes their reality – I am willing to bet that if someone posted on social media with utter conviction that on a clear day the sky has always been red, never blue, and blue was a political way of people controlling what others see, that these same supposed “protesters” would be out enforce with red shirts on stating that the true color of the sky is red. They would not believe any other stance.

Another hypocrisy that I have seen is when the police finally came to remove students from Hamilton Hall in Columbia, at NYU and even City College – the students publicly stated that they never gave them a chance to leave!!? Wait a minute – have they suddenly all gone deaf, forgot how to read? Notices for weeks have gone to them, school officials have publicly and even to a point respectfully asked them to disband and not to disrupt the goings on at said Universities. So why was it suddenly a surprise when the police show up and force them to leave? Sorry but you were given plenty of notice.

I am all for peaceful (stress the peaceful) protests – but when someone suddenly utilizes the protests to tear down flags, yell death to Israel and death to America and destroy property? That is not peaceful protest. That is just blind rage. And does nothing to further your cause.

I am not just talking here about those protesting on behalf of the Palestinians and Hamas, but even those who are suddenly violently protesting on behalf of Israel? Demonstrating violence with violence is not the way.

The way is through education – proper education, without political spin from either side. If another nation gives an Ivy League University a ton of Money to create a program and then force that University to hire their agreed upon educators and students to continue to fill young minds with propaganda, that should not be allowed. I get it – we are a capitalistic country and the old saying money talks is strong. However there should be restrictions.

If you want to create a program on Middle East Studies then you should have all sides of the situation taught so that our young people can learn that there are different sides to a situation. The same can be said about any issue we face in the world.

We need to stop, take a breath, and go back to peaceful discourse. These protests do not help either side – they only help cause more hate and anger. Also – why are non-students protesting on the college campuses? Those people who have zero connection to said Universities should be immediately arrested.

Some of them are literally “paid protesters” who make a salary from organizing protests all over the country. Since when has this become a career path?

To me we have all lost our sense of what is right and what is wrong. We have completely lost our sense of respect for each other’s opinion – even if we don’t agree.

I say to everyone – when you are ready to remove the hate and anger and be open-minded to other people’s thoughts and beliefs – and this goes for each and every side of the issue, regardless of where you stand, then we can join together and have a discussion – peaceful. We might not leave agreeing with each other, but at least we can hear each other, listen, and all be open-minded.

Thanks for reading.

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Confused about Protesters and what they are stating as fact.

So on April 30th I was watching the news and a reporter (not sure which station) was interviewing several protesters at Columbia University. First off several of those he interviewed were not even students of Columbia, so not sure why they were there. I agree with Peaceful Protests, but when one calls for the death of another or violent acts than that to me is no longer free-speech but inciteful, hate speech. That is over the line.

However, what I am getting at is that to a person everyone interviewed, from College students to non-college students stated that “Israel has no right to exist”? This confused me, what confused me even more was when they stated that the land was “… occupied by Jews who were fanatical Zionists and stole the land from the Palestinians.” They even went so far as to state that “historically the land has always belonged to the Palestinians and that even the western wall was the wall to a former Palestinian Castle and never was there a Temple for Jews in that spot.”?

OK I am utterly confused – what is being taught to these students and non-students alike? If they are Christian or even Muslim then do they completely disregard the Torah or Old Testament as they call it? They state their Religion comes from the Old Testament, so does that negate the New Testament and the Koran? One person noted that “The Old Testament is just a fable and the true religion started with Muhammed”.

I really feel we need to adjust our education and properly teach history – world history. When I went to school I learned about the Balfour Declaration, I learned about the history of the Middle East, I learned the long before Islam Judaism was the religion in a land called Judea and Israel. When archeological digs are done and they find ancient Hebrew, and Torah texts, not ancient Aramaic.

I feel that a lot of the problems we face are a lack of proper education. If we can properly educate the next generation without bias then I believe that the world can become a better place.

Let us learn to respect each other for who we are and not just judge others. Let us not let hate get in the way of our thought processes. And if we still wish to protest, keep it peaceful without violence, without taking over a building, without stopping classes, but instead get our messages out with respect.

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Pesach Message 5784 / 2024

A Zissen Pesach to All! 

During the Holiday of Passover, we remember the time we were slaves in Egypt and how G-d delivered us from slavery through Moses and his brother Aaron.  During this holiday we sit together at our Seders, reading the Haggadah, and having a sumptuous meal with family and friends.  We retell the story and state that we will never forget that we were slaves and we had no rights.  As we come upon our season of Freedom from slavery we must take the time to remember those who are not free.  Israel tells us that more than 130 hostages remain and about a quarter of those are believed dead.  This travesty in modern times should not be forgotten during the joy of our Seders, but instead should be an opportunity for all of us to remember the hostages, and remember that though we are free, there are those who are not.  We ask during our Seders for families to have an empty chair at the Seder table with a picture of a hostage.  We mention their name so that in our celebration we do not forget.  To see a list of hostages you can go to this link: https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/12/04/who-are-hostages-still-being-held-captive-gaza/

We also must be aware that antisemitism is rearing its ugly head once again.  Violent antisemitism and hatred did not end with the Holocaust and are on the rise.  We must ask the question Why won’t antisemitism die, or at least die down? 

Not only should we remember the hostages taken on October 7, 2023, but we should also be aware of antisemitism in our schools, our universities, in politics, in public places.  But even through this hatred surging around us we will still have our Seders, we will still go to Synagogue, many of us proudly wear our Magen David, and many are proud to wear a Kippah.  We should make sure that even with the negativity that is around, we are proud that we are Jewish, we are proud that our people have stood the test of time, and that we continue with our traditions, L’Dor VaDor, from generation to generation. 

When we break our middle Matzah, and put the larger half away for the Afikomen, the other half traditionally has been called the “Bread of Affliction” that our forebears ate due to the bread not rising.  That smaller half should now be called the “Bread of Courage and Strength” – that even as antisemitism rises and we pray for the release of the hostages, we have the strength and the courage to be who we are and stand proud and strong. 

May your Seders bring you joy, peace, family, friendship, and song.

Chag Pesach Sameah! 

Cantor Steve, Kathy, Nathan, and Aaron Hevenstone

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