EnjoyTorah Sparks: Creative commentaries on the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings written by Conservative Yeshiva faculty.
Tickets to the Israel Philharmonic perform in Orange County are now on sale. Click hereto learn more.
Dear Friends,
Today is T"u b'Av- the 15th of Av, a day celebrated during the 2nd Temple period with rituals that encouraged equality and fewer barriers to finding true love. It was on T"u b'Av in 2016 that The Jewish Collaborative hosted its first Friday night service and dinner at Mozambique Restaurant in Laguna Beach. Happy Anniversary to us!
Rabbi Louis Pollison wrote a thoughtful d'var Torah linking T"u b'Av with Parashat Vaethannan and this sacred year of sh'mitah.
As We Begin to Return and Remember… The journey between our two day-long annual fasts – Tisha b’Av and YomKippur – has begun, and with it, an opportunity to embrace the challenges in our lives and turn them into growth opportunities. “Hashiveinu Adonai Eilekhah v’nashuvah, hadesh yameinu k’kedem” Take us back, O LORD, to Yourself, and let us come back; Renew our days as of old!
This well-known pasuk found at the end of chapter 5 in the Book of Lamentations that we chanted on Tisha b’Av offers an insightful window into a key component of the human condition. At the time of its composition, “Take us Back” referred to the city that was the dwelling place of God’s Name so that we could “Come Back” to worshipping God as in days of old. And yet, when we study the First Temple period (roughly 950-586 BCE) objectively, we are talking about centuries fraught with infighting, bloodshed and corruption. What about that time were the Babylonian exiles longing to recapture in the aftermath of the Temple's demise?
The distinctive feature of any great piece of scriptural wisdom is that it speaks to the hearts and minds of those who hold it sacred in every generation. That is the eternal power of Torah: All readers – past, present and future - see themselves and their lives reflected in the text. This verse from Lamentations that we recite every time we put the Torah back into the ark highlights our natural inclination to long for earlier times that feel familiar, even if they were less than ideal. Generational memories often shed darker truths about a given time to elevate an idealized versionof what was. It is a great coping skill. We know it’s not possible to truly return to what has passed. When we long for times gone by, we are actually expressing a deep desire to replicate the feelings we had during those times in our lives.
On the occasion of his 100th birthday, TV icon, Norman Lear, wrote the following: “Those closest to me know that I try to stay forward-focused. Two of my favorite words are “over” and “next.” It’s an attitude that has served me well through a long life of ups and downs, along with a deeply felt appreciation for the absurdity of the human condition.” I understand Lear’s wisdom this way: No matter when a person lives on the historical timeline, there will always be elements of a time gone by that can never be recaptured and that will always be missed. At the same time, there is always new information to learn, understand and utilize to enrich the here and now. Most importantly, history has shown us time and time again that many of today’s blessings currently enriching our lives will likely create a chain of unanticipated challenges for future generations to wrestle with as they nostalgically express longing for a time when these blessings were enjoyed in innocence.
Every human being is a world unto themselves. We have family lore passed on to us as children. We are a collection of all the personal struggles and triumphs experienced in infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and so on… At this time of year, as we begin to focus on t’shuvah - returning to ourselves and to God - it may be helpful to embrace Lear’s suggestion of “over” and “next.” Trying to hold on to that which is over leads to unresolved regret. Embracing the potential of what is before us today helps us live in the present and look forward to tomorrow.
“Yameinu k’kedem – the days of old” that we long to return to are the here and now. We each come to every High Holiday season as a collection of historical and personal memories that shape the life choices we make at every stage of development. Reconciling the challenges of the past - from yesterday, last year, a decade ago or even longer - is an essential step in the process of “returning” to our purest selves and to God.
I wish you all a meaningful seven-week journey toward a blessed new year.
Shabbat Shalom and T"u b'Av Sameah,
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin
Friday, August 12 at 6:00pm SHABBAT BY THE SHORE
Join us this evening for Shabbat by the Shore, featuring singer - songwriter Susan Lipson. RSVP here to join us in-person.
MINYAN AM EHAD JCoOC joins Temple Beth Tikvah for their weekly Shabbat morning services followed by a kiddush lunch. All are welcome to participate in person at 1600 N Acacia Ave. in Fullerton or join online.
Saturday, August 13 at 2pm TWELVE STEPS AND TORAH Shabbat afternoon Torah study informed by the wisdom of Twelve Step recovery. Join us on Zoom. For more information and to be added to the Twelve Steps & Torah email list, click here.
Please note we are using a NEW ZOOM LINK.
Mondays, August 15, 22, and 29 at 9:30am ADVANCED LEARNING INSTITUTE Rabbi Daniel Levine of OC Hillel joins ALI for a three-part series titled Talmud to Tachlis: The Framework of the Rabbis. Click here to learn more about the class and register.
Beginning September 1st ONLINE JEWISH BEREAVEMENT GROUP The next 8-week cohort of JCoOC's online bereavement group begins on Thursday, September 1. Group meetings are two Thursdays a month at 6pm. Meetings are faciliated by a professional grief counselor. Learn more and pre-register here.
Sunday through Thursday at 6:00pm OC EGAL NIGHTLY MINYAN If you are looking for a place to say Mourner's Kaddish, observe a yahrzeit, or participate in an evening minyan, OC Egal meets online five nights a week. Click here to receive the private Zoom link. All are welcome.
Saturday, September 17 at 8pm FORGIVENESS: A COMMUNITY SELICHOT PROGRAM featuring Sam Glaser 8pm Ma'ariv and Havdalah
8:20 Program
9:00 Selichot
10:00 Dessert reception Click here to learn more. No RSVP required.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Jews Do the Blues features one of Coachella Valley’s most talented performers, Deanna Bogart, backed by a wonderful team of musicians from near and far. She joins Rabbi David Lazar in presenting you with a spiritual experience of music and banter benefiting Or Hamidbar. Learn more and get tickets here.
OCJCR's Online Book Club Begins Friday, September 9th
The focus of this series will be the American refugee and immigrant experience, with a special empahsis on the topics of assimilation and inter-generational conflict. The books selected for the series are:
September 9th Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali
October 21st The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives by Viet Thanh Nguyen
November 11th The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri
January 13th The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar
February 10th The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears: A Novel by Dinaw Mengestu
March 17th America is not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
April 14th Where We Come From by Oscar Caesares
May 19th While the Earth Sleeps We Travel by Ahmed M. Badr
ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC Tickets are now on sale for the Israel Philaharmonic Orchestra performance in Orange County on November 3rd at 8:00pm at the Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. The concert will feature and all-Prokofiev program.
Click the image to the left to view the full size flyer. Click here to read more and purchase tickets.
TheJewish Collaborative of Orange County is a creative, collaborative, and compassionate community mosaic dedicated to innovating and supporting local and national programming that enriches the landscape of Jewish life and encouraging individuals and families to connect their passions and purpose with Judaism.
Jewish Collaborative of Orange County 2200 San Joaquin Hills Rd. Newport Beach, CA 92660
November 10,17,24 and December 1
Mondays - 9:30 am PT | 12:30 pm ET Register here
When you think about biblical women, what images and words come to mind? Temptress? Victim? Women subjugated by husbands or fathers? Close textual reading reveals that these stereotypes are incongruous with the actual lived experiences of female characters in TaNaKh. In this course we will gain some new insights into the extraordinary women that populate the pages of our Holy Scriptures.
Dror Israel: Educating for Hope and Healing in Times of War
Wednesday, November 12 at 7:00pm
Sivan Bamberger, International Development Director for Dror Israel
Hosted at a private home in Orange RSVP HERE
Bringing Heaven Down To Earth: Integrating High Holy Day Wisdom into Everyday Life
Grounded in the Jewish prophetic value of Pikuach Nefesh, JQ offers free virtual monthly and drop-in support groups for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies. Learn more
ExploringJudaism.org is about embracing the beauty and complexity of Judaism and our personal search for meaning and learning. No matter who you are or your experience in Judaism there is something to learn and explore.
JCoOC is an exempt organization in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code EIN: 36-4844121
