Reflections on Ritual

Shalom aleichem and b’ruchim haba’im. Welcome to TBH-BA’s renewed website – and welcome to the space where we’ll be discussing Jewish ritual.

Let’s begin our discussion of ritual with observations of two giants in Jewish thought, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Ahad Ha’am.

Heschel wrote: “The world presents itself in two ways to me. The world as a thing I own, the world as a mystery I face. What I own is a trifle, what I face is sublime. I am careful not to waste what I own; I must learn not to miss what I face. (Ch. 5, Who is Man?)

Heschel’s words eloquently dare us to discover the beauty and mystery right in front of us that we often miss, among which are rituals. Heschel challenges us to open ourselves to joy and meaning, not just to what is shrouded in mystery, but also to seemingly commonplace things, such as ritual.

Ahad Ha’am famously said “More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews,” expressing how our culture, both religious and secular, have held our people together. Implicit in this statement is the essential role ritual has played in our survival as a people.

So what do we mean when we talk about “ritual?” There’s actually no exact Hebrew equivalent for the word “ritual.” There are t’kosim, “ceremonies,” and minhagim “customs,” many of which are the ways in which we observe mitzvot and carry forward tradition, but at the most basic level, rituals are the things we do as Jews. It has been said that ritual is the choreography of how we live, the poetry through which we express our identity. Rituals and being a Jew are inseparable.

Ask any Jew – from the most religious to the most secular – to name Jewish rituals. The answers form a picture of the Jewish life cycle, cradle to grave: Weddings, bris, how we name our children, candle-lighting, covering one’s head, kiddush over wine, mourner’s kaddish, reciting Shema, Mi-shebayrach, dietary laws, Seders, eating matzo, fasting, tzitzit, tefillin, tzedakah, prayers on waking up and lying down, Torah reading. aliyot, sukkahs, lulav and esrog, shiva and rituals honoring those who have died. The list goes on and on. Of course, there are differences in how Jews do or don’t observe them, but each ritual is a behavior that expresses much about who we are as Jews, both as individuals and as a community.

Our beloved Rabbi Bleefeld, of blessed memory, often reminded us that being a Jew doesn’t have so much to do with a particular required set of beliefs, other than a belief in one God, but does have almost everything to do with how we live our lives. He was referring to more than just rituals, but it is ritual that centers us and expresses our Yiddishe neshome, our essential Jewishness.

In these posts, I’ll discuss the spiritual and emotional aspects of various rituals, their history, and how observance differs among Jews. From time to time, I’ll venture into lesser known rituals, a few teasers being the Yemenite minhag of translating each line of the Torah reading into Aramaic, the practice of reciting techines (prayers specifically for women) and feldmestn, the Ashkenazic ritual where women measure a cemetery.

Community is central to Judaism, so the ritual I’ve chosen for this inaugural post is the minyan, one of the best-known of all rituals: the requirement for a quorum of 10 adult Jews to recite certain prayers. Where did it come from? You might be surprised that the minyan itself is not in the Torah, but comes from a Talmudic interpretation. The sages in the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah, 23b) based it on the story of 10 spies (Numbers, chapter 13) who, after scouting out the Promised Land, showed such a profound lack of belief in God’s promise to help the Israelites conquer the land, came back with a report that fatally exposed their bias and fears. They said: “We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. In our eyes we seemed like grasshoppers, and so were we in their eyes.” As we know from parshat Shelah Lecha, the 10 spies perished, and the Israelites were condemned to wander in the desert for 40 years.

But wait, you might ask. Why would the rabbis in the Talmud go out of their way to have us remember the 10 faithless spies with the ritual of a minyan? Why couldn’t they have just talked about the importance of praying as a community, and left it at that? Were the sages having a bad day? Actually, the Talmudic interpretation isn’t as counter-intuitive as it might seem. The sages wisely understood that the requirement of 10 Jews for prayer would serve two purposes: first, it’s a lesson about what happens when our fears and biases negate our faith in a greater power. Second, there’s a not so subtle message: that any 10 Jews count, no matter if they seem to be those who dismiss God’s promise, or appear not to embrace their special destiny, or even if we profoundly disagree with their beliefs. And so, the ritual of a 10 person minyan has been in place for 2000 years, and continues strong to this day.

An even greater message is that our rituals do not exist only for the most pious among us, or for just one kind of person. They are relevant to the righteous, but equally to the skeptics, and the alienated. And if we’re honest with ourselves, each of is capable of being any of these things – skeptic, righteous, alienated – from moment to moment. Rituals belong to everyone, and allow us to express ourselves in a uniquely Jewish way. To channel Ahad Ha’am once more, they have kept us together as a people. Just as all are welcome in a minyan, no one is excluded from our community, and our tradition invites and encourages each person to participate, explore, question, challenge, marvel, learn and find meaning and beauty in ritual that is right in front of us. To me, the minyan is an example of Rabbinic Judaism at its finest.

I invite questions and suggestions for future topics, and, of course, comments on these posts. Until next time. L’hitraot. Zeit gezunt. Stay healthy.

Stephen Freed, TBH-BA Ritual Committee, stephen409@yahoo.com

What A Remarkable Journey

In 1986, a group of young Jewish couples in the greater Vineland area, were worshiping at their respective Congregations in Carmel and Rosenhayn, for the High Holidays. We all had children who joined us for the traditional services, polishing it off with the Yom Kippur Tekiyah G’dolah, wishing for a sweet and healthy New Year, followed by a break the fast meal.

Our children were all about the same age. We were convinced there was a better way to practice our faith and initiated discussions of committing to a way to educate and train our kids to be better Jews. Little did we realize how much of an impact it would have on us adults too.

An interview with the head of the Reform movement out of Philadelphia resulted in a couple things that would guide us to the remarkable Congregation that has evolved since our inception in 1986.

Rabbi Richard Address became the pied piper of our group in 1986 as did our Cantor Marlena.  We educated our children in our own Hebrew school, and merged our congregations in Carmel, at the formerly historic Orthodox schul, Congregation Beth Hillel, built in 1908.

And so the journey began.

Our children were Bar/Bat Mitzvah, our women’s group did a B’NotMitzvah to celebrate this late in life celebration. We had marriages, funerals, celebrations and grew from a group of 8 families to over 86 family units today.

In 2008, we merged with the Bridgeton Beth Abraham synagogue. They had money and few people. We had people and little money, and so this shiddach led to a remarkable “Kehillah Kedushah” ever since. The larger crowds and the Beth Abaham dawry, enabled us to build Stotter Hall, to better accommodate our needs. We never looked back and have not had any regrets.

In 2001 we hired a great Rabbi, Bradley Bleefeld, who, for the next 23 years, led us in prayer and inspired us to practice our faith and traditions with great enthusiasm and wisdom. He led us on two missions to Israel in 2016 and 2019. In 2024 he decided to retire.  We honored him with Emeritus status.  He recently passed. May he rest in peace.  Shortly thereafter, our Cantor since inception in 1986, Marlena Taenzer, was recognized for her marvelous service and dedication and became Emerita as well.

The most extraordinary thing about our congregation is the feeling in our family that we all belong.

We are a group of mostly non-traditional Jews who all believe in the tenants of our faith, in each other and have a great to desire to help humankind.

We have been most fortunate to hire a new spiritual leader. Since 2024, Rabbi/Cantor Rhoda Harrison has continued all of our traditions and has added a new dimension to our faith. We updated our prayer book, we do traditional Torah study, we meet regularly for Shabbat services and Holidays in person as well as by ZOOM.

We have just launched our new website and will hopefully attract people interested in practicing their faith amongst non-judgemental fellow congregants, who thoroughly enjoy each other’s company and help one another thru the ups and downs of life.

Come and join us in prayer and practice our beautiful traditions. No commitments necessary. If you like what you see, you’ll come back and want to be a part of our “Kehiilah Kedushah”

Feel free to reach out to me, your President or Merle Silver, our membership chair, if you have any questions by phone or email. If you want to speak to our Rabbi, she would be pleased to accommodate you.

B’Sha lom

M, Jay Einstein President  856 9827707 JEinstein@FT.NewYorkLife.com

Merle Silver Membership Chair 609 364 3164 MZSilver414@gmail.com

Rabbi Rhoda Harrison Rabbi/Cantor 443 286 705L  RhojHarrison@gmail.com

Temple Beth Hillel-Beth Abraham (TBH-BA) in Carmel, Cumberland County, announces that Rabbi-Cantor Rhoda Harrison, Ph.D. is the congregation’s new spiritual leader following the retirements of Rabbi Bradley Bleefeld and Cantor Marlena Taenzer.

Rabbi Harrison was ordained as Cantor by the Hebrew Union College Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Later, she was ordained as Rabbi while pursuing a Ph.D. in Jewish studies from the former Baltimore Hebrew University, now housed at Towson University. She has worked in Reform synagogues in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Baltimore as both a Rabbi and a Cantor joining TBH-BA in July 2024. Rabbi Harrison has worked as a Spiritual Care provider (chaplain) in Level 1 trauma centers in New York City and Philadelphia. She is also a licensed social worker and currently works in the field of palliative and hospice care at Samaritan in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

Rabbi Harrison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trenton State College, now The College of New Jersey, a Master’s degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-New York, a Ph.D. in Judaic & Rabbinic Studies from Baltimore Hebrew University/Towson University, and an MSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work in New York City.

Among the professional organizations in which Rabbi Harrison is a member are the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network and National Association of Jewish Chaplains. 

Rabbi Bleefeld, who joined TBH-BA in 2001 officiated his final service on June 28, 2024 and Cantor Taenzer’s was held on November 8, 2024. Cantor Taenzer joined the congregation in 1986. A ceremony, known as “Passing of the Torah” – the Holy Scriptures – was held on September 20, 2024 as a formal Installation of Rabbi Harrison. Rabbi Bleefeld passed away on February 20 after a lengthy illness.