Rabbis have, throughout Jewish history, spoken often of community, and the importance of each individual being an active part. The great Rabbi Hillel warns that we should "not to separate ourselves from the community." (Avot 2:4) And when we speak about community, we often look at the large, defining events; the joys and the sorrows, the celebrations and the memorials. And these are important; we all benefit by sharing in our joys and supporting one another during our losses.

But we miss an essential aspect of community if we only focus on these large, transition events. We may inadvertently neglect the smaller, more frequent ways we can connect with each other, with our tradition, and with the best within our selves. I would like to offer you one way we each can be a very important part of the part of both the Temple of Aaron community, and the larger community of active Jews.

Sandy & Elizabeth Latts are fellow members with a request to help their daughter Lisa who is in need of a live donation. Please read their letter below, and consider this as one of many opportunities we can all become more involved, and strengthen our community.

Our daughter Lisa always wanted to be a mom. Last year, we were thrilled and excited to hear she was pregnant with twins. Lisa's medical specialty is at-risk pregnancies and during her own pregnancy, she did everything right -- then everything went horribly wrong. Lisa developed HELLP syndrome and had an emergency C-section. She delivered two beautiful babies, Sophie and Daniel, and although they were early and small, they did wonderfully. After the delivery, Lisa's condition quickly deteriorated and she was rushed to the ICU where she remained near death for 5 weeks. She was intubated, sedated and given more than 100 units of blood products for massive internal bleeding. She developed kidney failure and required daily dialysis and plasma exchange. She survived unimaginable odds and recovered from everything but the kidney failure. Finally, she took her babies home and we prayed that she was on her way to full recovery; we were devastated to learn that her kidneys would not recover. Her life is now filled with anxiety, discomfort and fear for the future. Three days a week, for four hours a day, she is being kept alive through dialysis treatments. She is on an extremely restrictive diet and must take a multitude of medications to manage her heath issues. Lisa can be healed, but she needs a kidney transplant. Only a transplant will allow her to get off dialysis and regain her health and her life so she can see her babies grow.

Lisa is on the wait list for a deceased donor kidney, but that will likely take 3-4 years. It is essential that Lisa find a living donor. A kidney from a living donor will last much longer and enable her to care for her children - guide their first steps, teach them to ride bikes, and watch them graduate from high school - all while working full time as a caring physician. Because of all the blood transfusions, she has many antibodies in her blood and therefore, most potential donors will not match. Several volunteers have already been tested and they are not suitable matches. For that reason, we need a large pool of donors in order to find a match that will work.

The transplant center at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) will coordinate all the necessary testing, which can be done in the potential donor's home community. An ideal donor will be in good health, between ages 18 and 60, with no history of diabetes or high blood pressure. There is no cost to the donor for testing or any part of the transplant process, including travel.

Donating a kidney is a major decision. The National Kidney Foundation's web site http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/info.cfm or http://www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation/ are good sources of information if you want to learn more.

If you think you are interested in donating a kidney to Lisa or if you would like more information, please send a message to akidneyforlisa@yahoo.com. Little Sophie and Daniel are thriving - growing, eating and smiling. They are beautiful! Lisa is a remarkably brave and resilient woman, but every day is a challenge. The twins need their mom! Please help keep Lisa in their life by considering a kidney donation.

A rare opportunity has landed in our laps. The Dead Sea Scrolls have made the journey from the caves next to the Dead Sea to the shores of the Mississippi, and are available to view at the Science Museum of Minnesota until the end of October.

These ancient fragments of texts are a tangible connection with our past. The Hebrew letters, while faded, are instantly recognizable. The verses, some from the book of Isaiah and some from Psalms, can be found in any modern Tanach (Hebrew Bible volume.) Seeing a piece of parchment from 2,000 years ago, and knowing that it matches the books Jews across the world read from and pray with daily, is a spine chilling experience.

The exhibit space at the Science Museum in St. Paul is well designed and full of educational resources designed to engage the entire family. In addition to the text fragments, there are videos, displays, activities and models. One of the Temple of Aaron's own Torah scrolls is also on display, along with an extensive look at the newly created St. John's Bible.

I encourage everyone to view the scrolls while they are in the St. Paul. And I would be interested to hear what you think.

The story is told about a new rabbi who comes to a congregation, and a the first ser-vice he notices that half the congregation stands up for the shema, and half the people sit down for it. At the Kiddush following services, a loud argument breaks out between those who sit and those who stand. Frustrated, the new rabbi seeks the council of the rabbi emeritus, asking: “What’s the tradition at this synagogue? Half the people stand and half the people sit, and everyone fights about it!” “That” replies the rabbi emeritus “is the tradition here!”

The word tradition means different things to each of us. For some it is a word of com-fort, for others it feels like a blunt instrument used to keep us in line. And, when we point to something and call it a tradition, there is often disagreement as to both it’s origins and level of authority. Do we follow it simply because it is a tradition, or do we dismiss it out of hand. In order to better answer these kinds of questions, I want to explore three aspects of tradition as I see it.

Tradition as Evolving
The single most important thing that we must remember about “tradition” is that it is a moving target. What we call tradition has changed over the years adapting to what will help each generation to connect to their Judaism. It is not that there are different traditions, but that, at different times in our history we can see and understand different aspects. We are not to blindly follow a tradition as one would for assembling a bookshelf from Ikea. We are to engage the tradition with all our modern sensibilities and knowledge, allowing the interaction of them to guide us.

Tradition as Inheritance
While a bit awkward to say, it may be more accurate to refer to tradition as “Our Jewish Tradition.” This emphasizes the fact that the tradition is ours, handed down from our ancestors, and traceable all the way back to the encounter with God at Mt. Sinai. If our family has been Jewish for generations, if we just joined the Jews people last month, it is equally ours. At some times of our lives, this can feel like a heavy, confining burden. At other times it is a comfortable place to return to when we feel lost. In the sweep of Jewish history, it is both. No matter how we are relating to it, the essential key is that we do relate to it.

Our Jewish Tradition calls us “b’nai Yisrael” Not just “children of Israel” as a literal translation would have it, more significantly, those who wrestle with tradition as Jacob did with the angel just before he received the name Yisrael.

Tradition as Toolkit
I am amazed, every time our handyman comes to the house to make a repair, just how many tools he brings. While each time he only uses a fraction, he never knows just which he will need. Even when the job is clear and simple, it seems that some-thing always comes up that requires he go to his truck for a different tool.
It is the same with our Jewish life. If we look upon Our Jewish Tradition as a toolkit then we can approach it with a variety of needs, and always return with just the right tool. If we are in pain, our tradition can help, when we are celebrating, our tradition can help, when we seek answers, guidance or connection, our tradition can help.

The Bottom Line
The thing of it is, it is not so important that we all mean something different when we talk about “tradition,” because Jewish tradition is broad and deep enough to encompass all our meanings. We have at our hands an inexhaustible resource of creativity and guidance just waiting for us to claim and to utilize. The Temple of Aaron is here to help. That’s our tradition.

There is an old joke, well worn, but still worth repeating. It involves a Jewish man stranded alone on a desert island for many years. When a Coast Guard ship finally rescues him, he shows the captain around the island. He shows him how he collected rainwater to drink, how he made nets to catch fish, and how he made a safe place to live. He also shows him the two synagogues he built. When asked by the captain: “Why two synagogues when there is only one of you?” the man replies: “This is the one I pray in, and this is the one I would never set foot in.”

Despite being an exaggeration, this joke contains truth. It gets to the heart of the difficulty we, as Jews, seem to have with prayer. Despite it’s centrality to Jewish identity, prayer is difficult. It is difficult for us to work with the Hebrew to find meaning. It is difficult to find the necessary time and discipline, and it is a struggle and a challenge to let our-selves go enough to find meaning and connection.

But we cannot let the difficulty get in our way. Prayer is ours. We can shape it and restructure it to meet our needs. If we are not being deeply moved by our praying, then we should be fundamentally changing the way we pray.

We at the Temple of Aaron are in the process of reviewing how we currently pray, and exploring new and more meaningful ways. We are lucky enough to stand at the crossroads of several forces: we are in the middle of the congregant led strategic planning
process; we live in modern times where the gates of prayer are open to new and innovate elements; and we are at the point in the lifecycle of our synagogue community where these elements are necessary to engage us in the wonders and power of Jewish prayer.

For the life of the synagogue; for us as individual Jews, it is time for a radical reinterpretation of how we pray.

In order to do this, I want to clear up a common misconception. There is a perception that prayer is so holy we cannot touch it, that it is either too powerful or so far beyond us that we cannot engage it and mold it.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes, prayer is holy; but only in so far as it is a gateway into bringing holiness into our lives. And the truth is, everything can be holy, every moment has a gateway, and every moment is potentially holy.

Prayer is not a static entity, and it never has been. There are structures and words passed on by our tradition that are here to help us, not hinder us. The texts of the prayer book should be a solid rock that we can launch ourselves from, not a stone that weighs us down. But these words and forms must be combined with our needs today. Both must give to support the other. Just as there are many ways to be Jewish, there are many ways to pray Jewishly.

That is why we are so lucky to be a part of the ToA at this time. We have the
opportunity to shape our prayer experience. There are several places you can join in:

The L’Atid Strategic Planning has a focus group working just on prayer;

Our Ritual Committee is always concerned with improving the prayer experience;
Come to Shabbat services or daily minyan, and then speak with clergy afterwards about what worked and what didn’t;
Or simply make an appointment and share your thoughts with us.

By being a part of the conversation, we can transform prayer in our own lives right now, and at the Temple of Aaron for the future.

Sinai 2.0

In the beginning, there was the Torah, given to the Jewish people at Sinai with sound and fury, lightening and smoke. With Moses at the summit, and the rest of us surrounding at the base, we all were able to hear the voice of God. This encounter left the entire nation with a sense of purpose and direction; it was at Sinai that a rag-tag group of former slaves became the people Israel. It was at Sinai that we became a community.

History is about to repeat itself.

The Temple of Aaron is unveiling a new website whose purpose is to help you stay on track with the events at the synagogue, learn about new programs and services, and to connect with each other as a community. Even as we unveil this new site, we will continue to improve our other forms of communication, like fliers, phone calls and the Aaronian.

The site is entirely redesigned, with new features and updated technology. I want to thank Karen Engelbretson who as a member of the congregation and a professional web designer for her hard work, vision and patience.

A few of the new features are outlined below, but the best way to see all that it has to offer is to visit often. As with all our programs, services and classes, we are always interested in your feedback, please don't hesitate to call or email me with thoughts and suggestions.

Accurate Information

The centerpiece of our website is accurate information. It will be the one stop source for detailed information about all the events, classes, and worship opportunities at the Temple of Aaron. To help ensure this, we have a new interactive calendar, which you can view by day, week, or month. In addition there will be links built into that calendar for more detailed information on each event. Or, you can use our new search feature to find an event. The temple's new Clergy Assistant, Kathy Berg, will be working with the entire staff to ensure that updates are made on a daily basis.

Brighter Faces

The cornerstone of the Temple of Aaron is a community of people. The new site reflects this very clearly, both visually and in text. On almost every page, we have pictures of people both in an around the temple. Visit often, as the pictures will change, and you will likely see people you know. In addition, we have a page introducing our staff members, so you will know better who you are calling or meeting with when you are here. We have big plans for expanding these efforts to include many others in the congregation, so keep an eye out.

More Communication

You don't need to visit the site to say connected to it. You can subscribe to the calendar as an RSS feed and sign up for emails that will connect you with events, classes, and synagogue news. We look forward to expanding these efforts into the realms of social networking and podcasts.

We recognize that no matter how cool, compete and up-to-date it is, no website will, by itself, sustain a community. But this improvement is just one of the many ways we are using to stay in touch with each other; making sure you always know what is happening at your temple, and how you can be involved. It's no Sinai, but I do believe that Moses would be proud.

--Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein

In the beginning, there was the Torah, given to the Jewish people at Sinai with sound and fury, lightening and smoke. With Moses at the summit, and the rest of us surrounding at the base, we all were able to hear the voice of God. This encounter left the entire nation with a sense of purpose and direction; it was at Sinai that a rag-tag group of former slaves became the people Israel. It was at Sinai that we became a community.

History is about to repeat itself. Temple of Aaron is unveiling a new website whose purpose is to help you stay on track with the events at the synagogue, learn about new programs and services, and to connect with each other as a community. Even as we unveil this new site, we will continue to improve our traditional forms of communication: letters, flyers, posters, service announcements, postcards and the monthly Aaronion.

The site is entirely redesigned, with new features and updated technology. I want to thank Karen Engelbretson who as a member of the congregation and a professional web designer for her hard work, vision and patience. The only thing not changed is the address: www.templeofaaron.org. A few of the new features are outlined below, but the best way to see all that it has to offer is to visit it yourself. As with all programs, services and classes, we are interested in your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me with thoughts and suggestions.

Accurate Information
The centerpiece of the website is accurate information. It will be the one stop source for detailed information about all events, classes, and worship opportunities at the Temple of Aaron. To ensure this, we have a new interactive calendar, which you can view by day, week, or month. In addition there will be links built into that calendar for more de-tailed information on each event. Or, you can use our new search feature to find an event. The temple’s new Clergy Assistant, Kathy Berg, will be working with the entire staff to ensure that up-dates are made on a daily basis.

Brighter Faces
The cornerstone of the Temple of Aaron is a community of people. The new site will reflect this very clearly, both visually and in text. On almost every page, we have pictures of people both in an around the Temple. Visit often, as the pictures will change, and you will likely see people you know. In addition, we have a page introducing staff members, so you will know better who you are calling or meeting. We have big plans for expanding these efforts to include many others in the congregation, so keep an eye out.

More Communication
You don’t need to visit the site to say connected to it. You can subscribe to the calendar as an RSS feed and sign up for emails that will connect you with events, classes, and synagogue news. We look forward to expanding these efforts into the realms of social networking and pod casts.

We recognize that no matter how cool, compete and up-to-date, no website will, by itself, sustain a community. But this improvement is just one of the many ways we are using to stay in touch with each other; making sure you always know what is happening at your Temple, and how you can be involved.

It’s no Sinai, but I do believe that Moses would be proud.

When it comes to the story of our people, the Torah, there are as many stories about it as there are in it. One of the most popular is also one of the most radical:

During a rest period while Moses is on Mt. Sinai receiving the Torah, he sees God affixing crowns to many of the letters in the scroll. Moses asked, “Lord of the universe, why use crowns to hint at what you are saying. What could hinder You from writing out clearly all of Torah’s precepts?” God replied, “At the end of many generations there will arise a man, Akiva ben Yosef by name, who will infer heaps and heaps of laws from each notch on these crowns.”

“Lord of the Universe,” said Moses, “permit me to see him.” God replied, “Turn around.” Moses found himself in classroom and sat down behind eight rows of Rabbi Akiva’s disciples and listened to their discourses on law. Not being able to follow what they were saying, he was so distressed that he grew faint. But when they came to a certain subject and the disciples asked Rabbi Akiva, “Master, where did you learn this?” and Rabbi Akiva replied, “It is the law given to Moses at Sinai,” Moses was reassured …

The radical nature of this traditional midrash lies in the idea that there is wisdom hidden in the ancient text of our Torah that is only available to latter generations. We have the ability to find meaning in the text that previous generations could not. And this leads us to the creation of the sermon.

According to Studies in Judaism, by Solomon Schechter: “The language of the Bible was little understood, which leads to the introduction of the Targumim, (translations into Aramaic) written down at a very early period. But these Aramaic translations no longer satisfied all the religious needs of the time, because not only the language of the Bible, but also its contents became obscure in the course of the centuries. The legal part of the Pentateuch also proved insufficient for altered circumstances. These facts gave birth to the sermon, or lecture, which, interpreting and completing the Bible, soon became by the side of the reading of the Law and the translation, an essential part of the prayer service.” (Translation by Rabbi Jacob Chinitz.)

Like so much of the rest of Judaism, the honor and responsibility for interpreting the Torah falls on all of us. We are all participants in a conversation with the texts of our tradition that stretches over time and is unaffected by space. We are only the latest link in an exchange that began with Moses at Sinai.

Our active role in this conversation is fundamental. We are not merely passive observers at the table, listening to the received wisdom of our ancestors. We as modern Jews, living in Minnesota in 2008, have insights and wisdom that were unavailable to our ancestors. For all of the wisdom and piety of our great rabbis, our views are equally important as we continue to find meaning in our Judaism today.

I invite each of you to participate in this process by giving a D’var Torah during Shabbat services. It is a powerful experience, and we have resources to guide and assist every step along the way. Already several members of the congregation have taken advantage of this opportunity, sharing what they learned with the congregation, and learning a great deal in the process. More than a wonderful opportunity, it is the right and responsibility of each and every Jew to contribute to the conversation with and about the Torah. I look forward to hearing from you.