Tonight begins a two-day Rosh Hodesh celebration ushering in the month of Tevet, the tenth month on the Jewish calendar. In synagogue tomorrow, three Torahs will be taken out of the ark and read. It is a rare and awesome sight. Rosh Hodesh Tevet always coincides with days 6 and 7 of Hanukkah and gives me pause because I am reminded that Hanukkah will soon be over, leaving me with a tinge of sadness and displacement as I come to terms with the hybrid life I lead as an American Jew. It also coincides with the cycle of Joseph stories found at the end of the book of Genesis and I often wonder if Joseph, the 11th son of our patriarch, Jacob, was the prototype of someone who navigates the tension that so many of us feel, particularly at this time of year. I was touched by this short drash offered by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, in which he touches upon this reality in a personal way. Rabbi Jacobs was raised in, of all places, Tustin.
Joseph lives his entire adult life not as an Israelite, but as an Egyptian and a successful one at that. He wears Egyptian garb, takes on an Egyptian name, an Egyptian wife and fathers Egyptian children. And yet, when he reunites with his brothers, he is reminded at a most fundamental level who he truly is – the son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Though we may look and act like everyone around us, when each of us lights the hanukkiah and places it in the windowsill of our homes, we remind ourselves and announce to the world who we truly are. For an in-depth exploration of Joseph and his dual identity, I invite you to watch this edition of Sipurei Reishit with Rabbis Nico Socolovsky, David N. Young and me discussing Parashat Miketz.
December will be JCoOC’s busiest month in 2021, with two in-person Friday night celebrations (December 3 and 24), four Havdalah Together programs, two “Let’s Get Reel” film events along with our regular ongoing learning, recovery and grief programs, daily minyanim and more. One of this month’s highlights will be the concert we are hosting on Saturday night, December 18 with Chamber Music OC titled An Evening of Memory, Music and Promise. The performance will feature the Violins of Hope currently touring through southern California. I attended the opening night gala at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz featuring the extraordinary group Delirium Musicum, whose current artistic director, Etienne Gara, is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. Click here to read about Violins of Hope Los Angeles and its passionate director, Susanne Reyto, in the December 2 issue of Beverly Hills Weekly, featured on the cover and page 7.
Susanne will be speaking at Orange County performances on December 17 at University Synagogue, December 18 at JCoOC’s event in Lake Forest, and January 13 in Santa Ana. Click here to learn more about the upcoming performances and programs in OC and LA featuring these precious instruments that will remain in California until the end of January.
As we prepare to enter 2022, I am grateful that the Collaborative is a part of your life. I hope some of our programs brought you joy in 2021 and pray that we can do so even more in 2022.
Hag Urim Sameah, Hodesh Tov and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin
