May 19, 2022

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

Next week at this time, my wife Lori and I will be on a plane to St. Louis to meet our new granddaughter, Emi Lou. It really is so exciting for us. A longtime friend and colleague of mine recently told me that when one becomes a grandparent, they go from being a descendent to becoming an ancestor. I actually thought that was a pretty interesting concept.

Speaking of our precious children, this week I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking at and attending three wonderful preschool graduation ceremonies for the Levis JCC Betty & Marvin Zale Early Childhood Center, the happiest place to be on a daily basis! Our devoted teachers care for and teach our community’s children and grandchildren the values, traditions and fundamentals that are the foundation for their futures. I can’t thank them enough for all that they do. The love they have and express for the children shines through in their efforts and in their results. They are our heroes!

This week’s Torah portion is Behar (On the Mountain) in the book of Leviticus, the third in the five books of Moses. In it, we are told that in the Jubilee year (50th year) of cycles, all ancestral estates in the Holy Land that have been sold revert to their original owners.

The tie in for me is the connection to our ancestors and those that come after us. On a personal level, I feel so blessed to now be a grandparent. On the communal level, seeing and experiencing our preschoolers’ graduations gives me so much joy. It is the continuity of our people over 3,500 years (and counting) that I find so very intriguing and I hope you do as well.

Light candles on Friday evening at 7:45 pm.
Shabbat ends on Saturday night at 8:42 pm.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marty