May 2025
Letter from the Rabbi
Dear Temple Israel Community,
As we begin the month of May, along with Jewish people around the world we are in the period known as Sefirat haOmer, when we count one day at a time from Passover, the season of our freedom, until Shavuot, the season of the giving of the Torah. Though this Spring season is naturally a season of joy, Jewish tradition prescribes a variety of mourning practices that limit our celebration, such as refraining from weddings, concerts, or even haircuts.
Why is this the case and what might it mean for us? Based on a tradition recorded in the Talmud Bavli Yevamot 62b, we limit our joy as a remembrance of thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva who died in this season from a plague which was brought upon them as a result of their inconsiderate and disrespectful treatment of one another. In other words, as we prepare for the season where we receive the Torah, we are encouraged to remember the danger that can result
from disrespectful discourse.
The work of building and strengthening community requires us to continue to choose to be in relationship with other people who see the world differently than we do. We must be able to speak with each other about what matters to us, listen to each other with compassion even when it is difficult, and strive to learn from everyone, as Ben Zoma teaches in Pirkei Avot 4:1: “Who is wise? One who learns from everyone.”
This stance towards others is especially difficult in polarizing times like the ones in which we find ourselves, a time of uncertainty on a national and global scale for the U.S. and Israel. Yet, precisely because remaining open to each other can be so difficult, it is so important. An attitude of curiosity about the perspectives of others is essential to be able to truly receive Torah, to learn from the wisdom of our tradition which is both timeless and rooted in an ancient context so different from our own.
On the other side of May, beginning on June 1st we will celebrate Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah in a new way for our local community! We will host our own version of an increasingly popular kabbalistic practice known as a Tikkun Leil Shavuot, which involves several opportunities to learn Torah from different members of our community interspersed with dairy desserts. This will be a fun, exciting, spiritual, and intellectual celebration of Shavuot in addition to a traditional service with the reading of the 10 commandments on Monday and a Tuesday afternoon minyan service with Yizkor! If you are interested in leading a short exploration of a Jewish text, idea, or practice as part of the Tikkun, you are welcome to! Please, reach out!
In June, we will also celebrate two B’nei Mitzvah, Zohar Friedman on 6/7 and Micah Yarkoni on 6/13! These are joyous occasions for the whole community to look forward to celebrating as two young members take on responsibility for our Torah and tradition. As we continue to grieve recent deaths of longtime members and to support each other in this season of loss in our community, we need to also look ahead to occasions for simcha!
Along the journey of the Omer in May, we will have a couple more special events to celebrate together! On Friday May 16th, we will celebrate Lag Ba’Omer with an Erev Shabbat cookout dinner and activities for all ages. Please RSVP to Tammy in the office and look out for more information coming soon!
Finally, in the final week of May, Rav Talia and I will get married outside Washington D.C. On the following Shabbat, we will bring our celebration back to Binghamton by hosting a festive Kiddush lunch with the traditional 7 Blessings made under the huppah and for the week following the wedding. We are looking forward to sharing our joy with you and hope you can join us on May 31st!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Micah R. Friedman
הרב מיכה שמחה פרידמן
