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Dear Friends of UTJ,
As the High Holiday season has come to a close, we hope that the season was meaningful, happy, and safe for all. We write to remind you to join the UTJ for 5781 if you have not already done so and also to share some Torah created by UTJ Rabbis over the high holiday season. To become a member for 5781, please go to utj.org/join-us. To make any other contribution, please go to utj.org/donate/. Information for mailing a check is below.
5780 was, for all of us, a very trying year. Rabbi Jeffrey Miller finds inspiration for the future in the last words of the Torah, which we completed on Simhat Torah, as well as from the words traditionally recited after the Torah is completed – Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek. “Be strong, Be strong, and Let us strengthen others.”
Yad chazakah is not merely a catchphrase for God or epitaph for Moshe. It is the raison d’etre of Torah. Yad chazakah does not mean that win we every tug of war in life. But it does mean that life consists of constant struggles and challenges. It means that we must have the strength of character to carry burdens that are often too great, and to balance competing forces that pull us apart. It means that we must lift our arms high and be counted even when those arms are weary. And it means that we must help others carry their baggage even as we struggle to carry our own burdens
Read more of Rabbi Miller’s d’var Torah “Vezot Haberachah – Tug of War” on UTJ Viewpoints here.
Rabbi Moshe Grussgott’s d’var Torah “Adam 1, Adam 2, and COVID-19” explores Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s concept of Adam 1 and Adam 2 and its implications for how we should face the challenges of the pandemic.
So perhaps Adam 1 hasn’t been completely wrecked; but he’s certainly been brought low and humbled. The greatness and the grandeur of Man; this year we’ve been reminded how precarious that is. I would suggest that this is the perfect opportunity to recommit to our responsibilities as “Adam 2”.
Read more on UTJ Viewpoints here.
In “What Does It Mean to Rest on Shabbat and Holidays?” Rabbi Steven Saks explores the meaning of Shabbat/Yom Tov “rest” as well as the halakhic and practical challenges related to online Shabbat and holiday services.
[I]f we allow electricity, our oasis which is not a place, which is a time, which is Shabbat, will be intruded upon constantly by work and it will damage that oasis. What is at stake here is the nature of Shabbat for us moderns. Every time the phone vibrates that Shabbat menuhah, that Shabbat rest will be intruded on.
Watch the video below or read a rough transcript of his remarks on UTJ Viewpoints here.
Finally, Rabbi Noah Gradofsky talks about the need to remain socially connected in his d’var Torah “Physically Distant, Spiritually Close”
We’ve heard a lot about “social distancing” now for months. But coronavirus does not require us to be socially distant from anyone. Rather, the only thing it ever requires is physical distance. In fact, our social and emotional closeness, our caring deeply for each other, is a vital tool that will help us find our way through this pandemic.
Watch the video below or read his d’var Torah on Viewpoints here.
This will be our last message to remind you to become a member for 5781 and we hope you will join us! Please go to utj.org/join-us to become a member. To make any other contribution, please go to utj.org/donate/. You can also mail your membership or general donation to:
Union for Traditional Judaism
82 Nassau Street #313
New York, NY 10038
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year.
The Union for Traditional Judaism
Rabbi David Novak, President
Rabbi Gerald Sussman, Executive Vice President