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Dear Coalition Community,
April – with the real start of Spring in New England – is also the time of Passover. This is not
just a spring holiday. It celebrates our birth as a nation and invites us to retell our story of
redemption from slavery in Egypt.
Jewish tradition says makes it clear that God’s intervention does not mean that the
Israelites were more deserving of freedom, or better than the other peoples of the world.
Instead, it is a reminder for us of our obligation to be a messenger of God’s presence in the
world. In the contemporary world, that obligation continues both within the Jewish
community in the United States and now in Israel.
This year, that need to reflect God’s presence in the world is more important than ever. We
are living in a world that is divided, and where the hate and Antisemitism that has been
bubbling under the surface of society has become more public and more widely accepted.
It is frustrating, hurtful, and scary. In particular, the world since October 7th has pushed
forward Antisemitic messages that are showing up in schools, on college campuses, and in
our communities in ways that a year ago would have been unthinkable.
The ADL in Connecticut recently released their data of Antisemitic incidents within the state
and noted a 17% increase from the previous year, which already was the highest on record.
That is a growth of more than 115% since 2021. Included in that is a 30% increase in
Antisemitic propaganda, largely buoyed by the Patriot Front and online messages regarding
the War in Israel and Palestine.
Why do I share this information at this time? Because Passover is about freedom, and
about not backing away from the call to action. With freedom comes an obligation to work
to ensure that no person experiences the kind of hatred, violence, and oppression that is
described in the pages of the Haggadah. We, as a Jewish community, have an obligation to
stand up and say confidently that hate has no place in our community – regardless of
where it comes from. And, even if we will not entirely rid the world of hatred, the seders
call us back into the story of our oppression so we can gain inspiration to continue the hard
fight toward justice.
May the holiday season inspire us to action, and may we gather around the seder table
together to celebrate not just our freedom from Egypt, but our freedom from hatred. And,
may we be inspired to serve as messengers of God’s presence in the world, and to bring
justice where there is oppression.
I wish you a sweet and joyful Pesach holiday!
Kol Tuv (Be Well),
Rabbi James
TZEDAKAH APPEAL:
During this desperate time for many, we think of and reach out to the many who are struggling.
HIAS : “Welcome the Stranger. Protect the Refugee” The oldest refugee agency in the world, established in 1902 as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. http://hias.org
American Jewish Committee: addressing challenges Jews are facing worldwide, defending Democratic values for all. ajc.org
YOUR ASSISTANCE, PLEASE:
The New Milford Historical Society & Museum is beginning work on a new exhibit entitled The Jewish Experience in New Milford. David Cohen, a trustee of the Museum and Coalition member, is spearheading this initiative. The team is also reaching out to those in surrounding towns as well.
If anyone would like to be interviewed or has any historical information, photos or other artifacts relevant to this project, please contact David on behalf of the team at: davidxxcohen@gmail.com or 917.902.0864
JEWISH News and Culture:
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/the-shmooze
ENLIGHTENMENT and ENTERTAINMENT FROM YOUR SITE LIBRARY…
Go to“Learn” tab, scroll down to “Jewish Resources” and click “MY JEWISH LEARNING” (or go directly to MyJewishLearning.com).
Here you’ll find an aggregator that is regularly updated with a huge breadth of content and all sorts of goodies and surprises!
For example, the“Daily Guide to Zoom Events, Livestream and Other Online Resources.” Among the wide range of subjects, programs and activities you’ll see here are: “The Only Jewish Miss America” (Museum of Jewish Heritage), “Mindfulness Melodies” (Jewish Life in Maine), “Art as a Spiritual Practice,” A Midwives, Musicians, Soldiers and Rabbis: Whose Stories will Become History?,” “Bioethics During a Pandemic,” etc., etc.
And other treats too! Recipes for the holidays and everyday: “Potato Chip Schnitzel, Shwarma Chicken Kabobs, Roasted Butternut Squash with Orange Tahini, Briskett Tacos, Ethiopian Red Lentil Soup,” etc., etc…
Come visit and linger, you’ll be glad you did!
https://marketplace.jewishtogether.org
OTHER RECOMMENDED MEDIA
“The Swimmers,” on NETFLIX.
MEMBER PICKS…
FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE
“A Pigeon and a Boy,” by Meir Shalev
Review: “A powerful novel of two love stories, separated by half a century but connected by one enchanting act of devotion — of how deeply we love, of what home is, and why we, like pigeons trained to fly in one direction only, must eventually return to it…”
“My Russian Grandmother and her American Vacuum Cleaner,” also by Meir Shalev
Review: “A charming tale of family ties, over-the-top housekeeping, and the sport of storytelling in the small village of Nahalal…”
“The Baron,“ TYCOON Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831-1896) by Matthias b. Lehmann
Review: “Philanthropy combines genuine compassion with the display of power”
In his lifetime, Hirsch was a giant of the “gilded age of Jewish philanthropy.” He was a German-born Jew who lived in a palace in Paris and kept his office in Vienna. He cut his biggest deal, a railway, with the Ottoman sultan. (When Hercule Poirot took the Orient Express, his train ran on Hirsch’s tracks!)
Hirsch funded schools and vocational training for Jewish communities not only in the Ottoman cities, but the Russian Pale, the French colonies of North Africa and in large areas of Argentina. The Jewish Colonization Association, the vehicle for his Argentine settlements, was the largest charitable organization in the world at a time when philanthropy was the principal form of Jewish political action…”
Visit LINKS OF INTEREST (on this site under “For Members” tab) to read an excerpt of an essay on Baron de Hirsch, his vision and involvement with Jewish farming in Connecticut.
ACTIVITIES TO CONSIDER
The Great Courses, learn a language, instrument or subject; create something new or master a skill… and more. www.TheGreatCourses.com
jigsawplanet.com — Jigsaw puzzles. Be forewarned, (mildly) addictive!