Men's Club

A message from Men's Club President.....Martin Solway

Kristallnacht

Sunday, November 8th at 10:30 AM, a brief virtual program followed by an open discussion. The zoom link will be sent via email. See the Tidings for program details.

JOB REVISITED

Job feared the Lord, was upright and whole-hearted. For these traits he was blessed with a large family, and much wealth and prosperity. One day, the sons of the Lord presented themselves before the Lord, and the Lord was quelling about the faithfulness of his servant Job. One of the sons of the Lord was Satan, who posed a scenario to the Lord, that the Lord had insulated Job from any meaningful adversity, and if stripped of that wall of security, would he remain faithful to the Lord. So the Lord took the children and all his wealth and possessions from Job. Job was afflicted with physical discomforts, and suffered recriminations from his friends, accusing him of sinning and provoking the Lord. Job never lost faith in the Lord, and was blessed with even more children, greater wealth and prosperity, and a long life. Fast forward until the present time, and Satan has reappeared, in the form of the Covid 19 pandemic. We have suffered the abatement of our personal freedoms, our mobility has been severely curtailed, and our ability to socially gather has been limited. Another biblical reference is Jonah. A beautiful tamarisk tree was given for shade, while Jonah contemplated executing the Lord’s mission. The next morning the tree withered and died. Jonah was deeply saddened. What is the connection of commonality between ourselves, Job, and Jonah. We have all experienced a profound sense of loss.

To more vividly illustrate this deep seeded sense of loss, I borrow from Rabbi Berman’s High Holy Day sermon. In Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone episode, where the man wishes he had more free time from his daily obligations to read books, he is entrapped in a library during a nuclear holocaust. The ironic twist is his glasses fall from his face, and in the process of looking for them, he steps on the glasses and breaks them. Let us change the dynamic. A worse case scenario occurs if he does not break his glasses. He has no person to share his knowledge, gained by reading the books. Can you envision the thought of there being no Temple Beth Emet. Loss of community is a much more devastatingly horrendous contemplation. To stave off this sense of loss, we must develop a strong sense of mental fortitude. This shield will see us through this crisis. Why is this important? After the Egyptian and Babylonian exiles, the people of Israel returned to the Lord, and were gathered to be brought back to the land of Israel and Jerusalem, in a heightened place of peace, prosperity, and security, never experienced before.

We are in the midst of a modern day test of faith. I urge you to pass the test, stay healthy and safe, and look forward to seeing all of you at Temple Beth Emet, in a much better place and experience.

Shalom!!!