We hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! It is that wonderful time of year when it is still daylight until 8:00 p.m. and will just keep getting longer for another month! This is also a great time for reflection, in this case related to an event that is both potentially catastrophic and yet instructive at the same time. For the past month bitter debates have raged in the nation’s capital about the conditions for raising the debt ceiling and avoiding economic meltdown. Remarkably, this is happening even though no one wants to actually breach the debt ceiling because everyone knows the devastation that would ensue. And although a solution may yet be in sight, it can still boggle the mind that leaders would even consider flirting with such disaster. Nevertheless, the Tanach provides a similar type of lesson in the saga of the Judgment of Solomon. As the story goes in 1 Kings Chapter 3, Solomon was confronted by two women who both claimed to be the mother of a newborn baby. He decided to order the baby cut in half so each woman could have half the child. Faced with this horrifying order, one of the women promptly begged Solomon to give the child to the other woman. At that point, Solomon handed the child to the first woman, knowing that the real mother would never let harm come to her child. In this case, the prospect of a horrifying result brought out the truth and justice prevailed. Legend says that the band Van Halen used this same idea in the 1980s when they famously demanded in their contracts that all brown M&Ms be removed from the bowls of candy in their dressing rooms. The idea was that if Van Halen found any brown M&Ms, they knew the venue managers did not read the contract carefully and so the band members would need to be extra careful in the set up of the venues for their concerts. As a result, whether through terror or humor, the seemingly insane can sometimes lead to a positive outcome as long as there is a long term benefit. We can only hope that leaders in Congress can take this lesson to heart and not flirt with disaster just for the sake of doing so.
And as we head toward summer, our major events are about to wrap up for the season. We invite everyone to come to our Annual Membership Meeting on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. You can meet the Board members, enjoy some nice treats, and see the plans for the upcoming year. A few weeks later, on June 27, we have our annual trip to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s play their Jewish Heritage Month game! If you would like to join us, please contact our office manager Brandy for information about tickets.
The next Shabbat Service will be held this Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult Education class with Rabbi Dean will continue its regular schedule and we will also have Torah Study on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. And those who wish to join Tefillah services at the Religious School are welcome starting at 9:30 a.m on June 4 and June 11. Thanks everyone!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel
From the Presidents – June 2, 2023
June 2, 2023 by tbhrich • president
We hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! It is that wonderful time of year when it is still daylight until 8:00 p.m. and will just keep getting longer for another month! This is also a great time for reflection, in this case related to an event that is both potentially catastrophic and yet instructive at the same time. For the past month bitter debates have raged in the nation’s capital about the conditions for raising the debt ceiling and avoiding economic meltdown. Remarkably, this is happening even though no one wants to actually breach the debt ceiling because everyone knows the devastation that would ensue. And although a solution may yet be in sight, it can still boggle the mind that leaders would even consider flirting with such disaster. Nevertheless, the Tanach provides a similar type of lesson in the saga of the Judgment of Solomon. As the story goes in 1 Kings Chapter 3, Solomon was confronted by two women who both claimed to be the mother of a newborn baby. He decided to order the baby cut in half so each woman could have half the child. Faced with this horrifying order, one of the women promptly begged Solomon to give the child to the other woman. At that point, Solomon handed the child to the first woman, knowing that the real mother would never let harm come to her child. In this case, the prospect of a horrifying result brought out the truth and justice prevailed. Legend says that the band Van Halen used this same idea in the 1980s when they famously demanded in their contracts that all brown M&Ms be removed from the bowls of candy in their dressing rooms. The idea was that if Van Halen found any brown M&Ms, they knew the venue managers did not read the contract carefully and so the band members would need to be extra careful in the set up of the venues for their concerts. As a result, whether through terror or humor, the seemingly insane can sometimes lead to a positive outcome as long as there is a long term benefit. We can only hope that leaders in Congress can take this lesson to heart and not flirt with disaster just for the sake of doing so.
And as we head toward summer, our major events are about to wrap up for the season. We invite everyone to come to our Annual Membership Meeting on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. You can meet the Board members, enjoy some nice treats, and see the plans for the upcoming year. A few weeks later, on June 27, we have our annual trip to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s play their Jewish Heritage Month game! If you would like to join us, please contact our office manager Brandy for information about tickets.
The next Shabbat Service will be held this Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult Education class with Rabbi Dean will continue its regular schedule and we will also have Torah Study on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. And those who wish to join Tefillah services at the Religious School are welcome starting at 9:30 a.m on June 4 and June 11. Thanks everyone!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel