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Another Great Purimshpiel

Thanks to a devoted cast of congregants this year’s Purimshpiel was our best ever! I want to thank all of the participants for throwing their “talent” into our production! We had many first-timers this year, and I wanted to share with you one of their musings on the experience:

“I hadn’t been in a theatrical performance since 1974 at Camp Ta-ri-go in Fleishmanns, New York. But there was something about Purim to the Beatles that inspired me to join the cast of Temple Isaiah’s Purimshpiel and break this streak. And I’m really happy I did. Joining the cast of a Purimshpiel at Isaiah is not a huge time commitment given that we only meet three times, and this year many of us only made it to two of those meetings. The script was all ready for us to run through the first time we met. That was fun and challenging, and Cantor Korn really proved his musicianship. He rolled with the key changes just like the pro that he is, and he kept it lively to boot. Then the fun began—casting. Quite different than what you might see on Fame or Glee! Parts were called out, cast members volunteered and the show was cast in about three minutes. The next time we got together we worked out the kinks, the time after that was some staging and then - voila - we created the performance for the congregation during Purim. Costumes are up to each cast member and I was blown away by the creativity shown by my fellow players. I wore a wig and very heavy 1960s makeup and several congregants could not identify me, which felt really freeing. It turned out to be a very memorable experience and a great way to get to know fellow congregants. I encourage anyone who’s feeling like it’s been too long since they experienced the stage lights to join the Purimshpiel cast next year!”
—Karen Marriner

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What is Shemini Atzeret?

If you’re confused every time you hear about the holiday called Shemini Atzeret, you’re not alone.  Twice in the Torah we read that God wants the eighth (shemini) day of Sukkot to be marked and set aside as a ‘holy occasion’, and an atzeret.  The problem lies in the mysterious meaning of that Hebrew word, atzeret, often translated as ‘solemn gathering,’ but that is just a best guess.  It could also come from the Hebrew ‘atzar,’ meaning to stop, e.g. ceasing from work—an appropriate way to celebrate a holiday!  I personally like the suggestion of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a nineteenth century German rabbi, who interprets atzeret as ‘gather, or store up.’  As Sukkot comes to an end, Rabbi Hirsch posits, we need to store up the gratitude and faith gained through the Fall month of holy days, because we will not celebrate a holiday again until Hanukkah.

We have, this past month, rejoiced together to enter a New Year, searched with serious purpose to root out past sins on Yom Kippur, expressed gratitude for our abundant blessings on Sukkot, and now anticipate the joyous dancing with Torah scrolls this Saturday night as we complete one year of Torah study and begin the next without pause.  That certainly is a complex set of emotions and a substantial amount of prayer to store up and utilize to enrich and add meaning to our everyday lives for the next two months. This Shabbat, which this year is also the Atzeret, is indeed a good day to stop, to catch our breath, to rest and to gather ourselves, to reflect and consider what we have learned, as we move forward now into the fall and winter months.

We are blessed to be part of a community here at Temple Isaiah that eagerly embraces the opportunities for the sacred given to us by our ancestors and enhanced by every generation’s new understandings.  Come pray with us this Shabbat and dance with the Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah as we close out one month of holy days and look ahead to a year of life imbued with meaning and joy.  Use the Atzeret to reaffirm the good resolutions you made on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to be more active at TI, to study Torah or Hebrew, to be part of our regular Friday night Shabbat crowd or Torah study.  Choose one or many ways to bring the New Year into the every day—filled with joy and moments of God’s presence.

Hag Sameyach and Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Judy Shanks
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