Shabbat Parashat Emor Omer Count: Day 28 Back From Israel

Dear Friends,

Each day is a miracle.  Counting the Omer reminds us of that.  Each day counts.  Each day of my Sabbatical was a miracle.  Each day of being in Israel is a miracle.  Each day of being part of Jewish community is a miracle.  Each day of being back is also a miracle.  My time here is precious, as is your time!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers and staff who put in so much time and effort to keep services and events happening at RST during my Sabbatical – to the service leaders, torah readers, dvar Torah people, minyan and Shabbat and holiday service leaders and daveners [prayer participants], leadership and committees and more…Thank you!!!  You are all amazing!

As we count the Omer from the second night of Passover and onward, we look forward to the light of Torah which we will celebrate right after we conclude the 49 days of counting the Omer.

One of the highlights of my time in Israel was visiting the new Anu [We] Museum in Tel Aviv.  This is a complete overhaul and renewal of what used to be known as the Museum of the Diaspora.  In its new iteration, the museum is truly amazing!  On your next trip to Israel, be sure to pencil in time to go through this multi-media, interactive, exciting presentation of who we are as a people in Israel and in the world at large.

I am not a museum person, but I spent 4 hours in that museum and each time I thought I would call it a day, I found myself drawn into yet another part of the museum….Jewish music and Jewish musicians, Jewish art and Jewish artists, Jewish actors, directors, writers, Jewish humor, synagogue architecture, prayers, history and more.  And, finally, when I saw our very own Siddur Lev Shalem displayed, along with pictures of people that I know…I realized that I really need to come back and see more next time.

Visitors to the Anu Museum are invited to enter information and photographs about themselves and about their own congregation/s.  Think of how exciting it will be for us to be added to the glorious array of Jewish life presented in the Amu Museum!

As we continue to count our days toward Shavuot, Chag Matan Torah, the holiday of the Giving of the Torah, let us remember to keep moving toward the light of the good that is yet to come, toward the light of the ultimate redemption, and most especially, toward the light of joyous Jewish living.   We are all a part of that light!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Gilah Dror