During our Torah service this Shabbat, we will read the Decalogue, the 10 commandments, and as a community, we will stand to reenact that pivotal moment. This act of physically rising is an echo through time and space of our ancestors who, themselves, physically stood at Sinai to receive this great and sacred obligation. It is also a nod towards the rabbinic teaching that every Jewish soul, created and yet to be, Jew by birth and Jew by choice, all of us stood at Sinai to receive the Torah together.
This ‘timelessness’ and also the bending and breaking of time is known in the Talmud as “אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה /Ain Mukdam oh Mei’uchar bah Torah.” or “In the Torah that is no early or later.” Many of our great rabbinic sages argue that one should not understand the Torah in chronological order; that there is a natural fluidity that comes from this being a text infused with divine wisdom. It can exist within, and outside, of our understanding of time. For instance, according to the Midrash, at the very beginning of time, God looks in the Torah for guidance on creating the universe. Similarly, the rabbis argue that when Moses received the entire Torah on Mount Sinai that revelation included his eventual tragic fate; destined to never enter into the land of Israel. And what was Moses’s response? To scribe those words with his own tears.
A far less dramatic example can be found in this week’s Torah portion, away from the hustle and bustle of the Decalogue- when Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, arrives and reunites Moses with his family. Moses, as we know, was a workaholic trying to treat every element of Israelite society as his own responsibility. Jethro tells him “It is not good! לא־טוב. Lo Tov! This thing you have done!” And this phrase “It is not good!” is found only one other time in the Torah; at the beginning of creation when God looks at the lonely, singular, human and declares “It is not good for people to be alone.” And the Rabbis understand that this is Jethro giving his son-in-law Moses not only a bit of warm fatherly advice but also using the very words of the Torah to try and break through to our weary prophet.
But here comes the anachronism. Torah has not yet arrived in the world, Moses is still days away from receiving it! And furthermore, Jethro has not yet chosen to join the Jewish people! How would he know this quote? So, we return to that first idea that “There is no early or late in the Torah.” Torah is, inside itself and in every generation that follows, timeless. Not all of its wisdom needs to be understood with the hard logic of our minds, sometimes we understand it best with our hearts.
While every Shabbat is special, this week is an especially good time to come and be part of our Holy Blossom Temple Community as we read from our Torah and celebrate our ancient heritage, responsibility, and gift. I hope to see you there!
By Shelley Birenbaum
On Wednesday, January 18, the Women’s Advocacy Group was honoured to welcome Dahlia Lithwick, in conversation with Rabbi Yael Splansky and the Honourable Justice Rosalie Abella. The Mishkan was full and the event was livestreamed to more than one hundred others.
Dahlia Lithwick, a Canadian-American lawyer, award-winning journalist, author, and podcast host, discussed her 2022 New York Times bestseller, Lady Justice – Women, The Law, and the Battle to Save America. Lady Justice celebrates the tireless efforts, legal ingenuity, and indefatigable spirit of women lawyers fighting injustices across the US and seeking social justice.
In the wake of a barrage of assaults on the fundamental tenets of democracy in the United States, from the ban on immigrants from Muslim countries to the reversal of Roe v. Wade and abortion rights for women to interfering with the voting rights of U.S. citizens, Dahlia highlighted the depth of commitment and courage of women lawyers to protect equality and democratic rights for all. Dahlia highlighted the work of Sally Yates, the acting attorney general of the United States, who refused to sign off on the Muslim travel ban, Roberta Kaplan, who sued the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and Stacey Abrams, whose efforts protected the voting rights of millions of Georgians. Her message was clear – it is up to each of us to ensure that democratic rights are protected – we cannot rely on the other – it is an obligation that each of us carries, to repair the world. She believes that women have a special approach that fosters the protections of the law.
The Honourable Justice Rosalie Abella, who was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004 and recently retired in 2021, reminded the audience of some of the key differences between Canada and the US legal systems, including the independence of the judiciary in Canada as opposed to the election of judges in the United States. She spoke to the need for an ethos of democracy. For example, what Hitler did was permissible at law (he changed the law to permit discrimination against Jews and other groups). It is not a question of merely respecting the rule of law, but rather ensuring that the law continues to reflect and protect democratic principles and the progress made to date in recognizing and respecting the equality, autonomy, and diversity of all people.
Rabbi Yael Splansky hosted the conversation with insightful questions, and her teaching and words from Rabbi Joshua Heschel encouraged the panel and audience to think about the balance of justice with love, and love with justice. The panellists noted that law is both the cause of and potential solution to, many problems. The law must reflect a commitment to democracy, moral behaviour and respect for the autonomy and diversity of all individuals. Each of us must do what we can to protect the rights and freedoms of others – to participate in tikkun olam.
This event was generously sponsored by The Women of Holy Blossom. If you would like to view the event, the recording can be found here.
From the Archives: Choirs, Cantors and Organs
By Susan Cohen
Collection of Religious and Popular Israelite Songs, with historical essay by composer Samuel Naumbourg; published 1874, found in Holy Blossom Music Archives
You can explore Holy Blossom’s archives through many lenses such as people, events, liturgy, or social action. Michael Cole and I have been reviewing musical archives prior to sending Cantor Emeritus Benjamin Maissner’s musical material to libraries in Israel and Germany.
It took 70 years to firmly establish the role of cantor at our synagogue. Our first ‘cantor’ (in 1879), Joseph Glueck may have been the first musically trained chazzan in Toronto, but he was also a teacher, baal koray, shochet, mohel and dues collector. No wonder he only lasted 3 years.
As the synagogue grew, the leadership looked for more distinguished clergy. Reverend Herman Phillips, a well-regarded and trained cantor from Europe, joined us next. Blessed with a rich baritone, he fulfilled the roles of teacher and spiritual leader as well as cantor. But music became a bone of contention between the orthodox and reformist wings of the synagogue. Feelings reached such a pitch in 1890 that dissident congregants dumped the synagogue’s portable organ outside and the board demanded its return. The use of the organ made Cantor Phillips resign, and a rabbi was hired that year who was not averse to the instrument.
Four years later the synagogue created a separate cantor’s position, filled by Cantor Sol Solomon. He came from Paris, the Rue de Nazareth synagogue, famed as the musical home of Samuel Naumbourg whose compositions we still sing today. Solomon likely brought Naumbourg’s choral and organ works to sing here; we have found some music books of that era in the archives. Entirely in keeping with Cantor Solomon’s background, our new synagogue on Bond St. (1897) made room for a permanent pipe organ and choir loft. Emma Yoemans took on the role of organist.
Cantor Solomon’s position was never entirely secure and he left in 1901. In letters we have in our archives, he told Holy Blossom President Alfred Benjamin that the synagogue had not treated him well nor was he appropriately compensated. There was even some dispute about whether he had properly taken music with him. Jewish newspapers of the time said that Holy Blossom could not afford both a cantor and a rabbi.
From 1901 until 1943 the synagogue employed no cantor at all, a not-unusual feature of Reform synagogues of the time. When our Bathurst St. building opened in 1938, there was space for a choir and organ, but none for a cantor, not even a cantor’s lectern. Still, the choir had many talented professionals in it, and some took on chazzan-like roles including Sam Stolnitz. He had been taught cantorial skills by his father and was a gifted singer formally trained at the Toronto Conservatory. In 1949 Rabbi Abraham Feinberg told the board that Stolnitz would share the “chancel” with him at services. We have been served by exceptional cantors ever since.
You may wish to visit the Archives Committee displays at the far end of the Temple Atrium honouring Rabbi Marmur z”l and The Pioneering Women of Holy Blossom, as well as the Living Museum in the Atrium by the elevator.
If you have any items of archival interest to contribute to the Holy Blossom archives, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Founded in 1856, Holy Blossom Temple is Toronto’s first synagogue with a rich history of tradition and modernity in our religious and spiritual expression.