Our President's Passover Letter, 5773

Nisan 5773

March 2013

Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds you and your families well. 

The Haftarah for the second day of Passover recounts an ancient story which at first glance seems arcane, but in fact has a powerful lesson for us today. During the fifty-five year reign of King Menashe, idolatry was promoted throughout the kingdom of Judah. Shortly after Menashe’s death, Josiah, his grandson, ascended to the throne. Seeing how the Beit Hamikdash had been grievously neglected, he ordered his workmen to repair the deteriorating structure. As the work was carried out, a scroll of the Torah was found. This created a sensation since during the reigns of Josiah’s father and grandfather knowledge of the Torah and even the physical scrolls had vanished. The Torah was brought and read before Josiah. When he heard the words, he rent his clothes and resolved to do teshuvah. The King had articles of pagan worship removed from the Beit Hamikdash, and then he removed the idolatrous places of worship throughout the kingdom of Judah.  He then read the Torah to the people, and renewed the covenant with them and God. Finally, Josiah ordered the entire nation to bring the korban Pesach, which had not been brought since the time of the Judges, centuries earlier.  

For the Jewish people in Egypt, Passover marked the beginning of their renewed relationship with God. For Josiah and for us today, Passover is not the starting point, but rather the culmination. After planning, cleaning, and cooking, sometimes for weeks or more, we are able to sit at the seder and enjoy the transition from being slaves to Pharaoh, to being servants of God; from being physically enslaved to being spiritually liberated. In Josiah’s day, the Jewish people were in a very bad way, and much effort was needed to bring them back to a life of Torah. Nevertheless, after many decades, they were successful. However far we are, we are never too far. If we put in the sometimes significant effort, we too can return to Yiddishkeyt and infuse our lives with holiness. This is an ongoing process but is intensified in the weeks leading up to the holiday. The more we prepare, the more we can appreciate God’s care for us, both when we were in Egypt, and now. It is this divine closeness that Passover joyfully celebrates.

We have been working hard to continue to build our shul as a makom Torah. We have been energetic in inviting guest scholars to teach and learn with us. These include Ben Elton from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Roy Feldman from Yeshiva University, Rori Picker Neiss from Rabbis without Borders (CLAL) and Noah Levitt from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Daniel Fridman continues to give his excellent shiurim on Sunday mornings, and many of these are now posted on YUTorah.org. The Tot Shabbat program has also been going strong as has the Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group.  As a result of our efforts, I am pleased to say that we have also attracted new families and individuals to our kehilah.

Now that we have replaced the roof and that our boiler has passed inspection by the city, we are turning our attention to repointing the exterior of the building. Some of this work was done in 2003 and in 2010, but we still have about $60,000 more of work to do to complete the exterior. In January, we submitted an application to the New York Landmarks Conservancy for a Jewish Heritage Fund matching grant. If awarded, this grant would pay for up to fifty percent of the cost of the exterior restoration. The rest of the money we need to raise ourselves. We will need your help! 

Our community was saddened to note the passing of Lily Plaks, the mother of Eric Plaks. We are also saddened to note the passing of Johnny Weber, brother of Gloria Plaks. May their memories be for a blessing.

We are delighted to extend a mazel tov to Seth Chalmer and Rachel Rosansky on their engagement and upcoming wedding and to Benjamin Waldman and Bracha Rubin on their engagement and upcoming wedding.

Although Rabbi and Mrs. Kret are no longer with us, we strive to maintain their spirit of welcoming newcomers, warmth, and Torah. We are also working to keep our building safe and usable now and for future generations. Please continue to support our efforts. With your help the Old Broadway Synagogue will continue to be a very special and holy place for years to come.

Warm wishes for a happy and kosher Passover,

  

Paul Radensky

President

Passover Message, 5771

Nissan 5771

April 2011

Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds you and your families well.

We often take for granted Passover’s connection with spring. The holiday always takes place in the spring, and of course the Seder includes spring symbols such as the karpas and the egg. That Passover should take place in the spring is not a forgone conclusion. If we had a pure lunar calendar, Passover would start about ten days earlier each year, and over a few decades, would actually take place in every season of the year. Our sages created a calendar with a lunar foundation, but with the provision of an additional month (Adar sheni) added seven times in a nineteen year cycle. Why all the effort? The Torah states explicitly that God brought us out in chodesh ha-aviv, “the month of spring.” Rashi explains that God treated us with special kindness by bringing us out of Egypt at a time that was “neither hot nor cold nor rainy.” It has been a long and hard winter here in New York. I am grateful, at long last, to feel the warmth of the new season, the trees beginning to the flower and to see the sun finally coming out. As we enjoy spring, we should remember that this too is a kindness from God and we should use it to recall how God rescued us long ago, but ultimately, enabled us to be here today.

We are proud to report that thanks to your generous response to our emergency roof appeal and the help of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, which has agreed to loan us the reminder of the money on favorable terms, the work on the new roof is almost done. We are thrilled that the new roof will protect the shul for the next generation and will allow us to continue restoring the building.  Our next projects are installing emergency exit hardware on all the doors in the sanctuary and repairing and repainting the tin ceiling. After that, we hope to take down the paneling, upgrade the electrical system, rebuild the plaster walls and restore the decorative stenciling.

We have had an impressive array of learning programs this year. Daniel Fridman a rabbinical student at Yeshiva University, continues to give his excellent shiur every Sunday morning, and since the fall, we have been fortunate to have had a series of thoughtful Shabbos lectures given by Wendy Amsellem of the Drisha Institute, Mishael Zion of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Raphy Rosen of Columbia University, and Professor Rabbi David Flatto of Pennsylvania State University.

Under Rhonda Taylor’s leadership, we now have women’s group that meets every month on the Sunday before Rosh Chodesh. Funded by a grant from New York State, and led ably by Dr. Eliott Kahn, we are hosting a phenomenal Jewish music series. The most recent program was a wonderful concert with the Avram Pengas Ensemble, which featured Sephardic and Israeli music. We look forward to future events.

This year is the one hundredth anniversary of our founding, in June 1911. We are organizing a gala anniversary dinner, which will take place, G-d willing, on October 30, 2011. I am proud to announce our honorees: Gloria Landy, Dale Brown, Avi Terry, and myself. Please save the date for the dinner. We hope you will join us.

As you may know, Mrs. Chana Kret passed away in November 2010. She was a wonderful person in her own right – warm, outgoing and optimistic - and also a true ezer kenegdo, a partner with Rabbi Kret in everything that he did. Together Mrs. Kret and Rabbi Kret led our congregation, officially for forty eight years and also informally for many years after Rabbi Kret’s retirement. They are both deeply missed.

Although Rabbi and Mrs. Kret are no longer with us, we are striving to maintain their spirit of welcoming newcomers, warmth, and Torah. We are also working to keep our building safe and usable for generations to come. Please continue to support our efforts, and with your help the Old Broadway Synagogue will continue to be a very special and very holy place for years to come.

Warm regards for a happy and kosher Passover,

Paul Radensky

President