Newsletter Chodesh Sivan 5778
In this Newsletter
Note from the President
News
A Word from the Rabbi
Holiday Notes
Closing Words
Note from the President
Sivan is the month in which we celebrate the giving of the Torah. In the community we celebrate this by gathering and studying all night on the first night and then hear the 10 commandments read from a Torah scroll during the daytime service. In prison the experience of Jewish prisoners is quite different. If there is night time study they will be doing it in their cells, on their own, with what books they have available. In some prisons, with a large enough Jewish population and volunteers who can help supervise, they will be able to gather to read from a Chumash for the daytime service. In other prisons with smaller Jewish populations they will be reading the ten commandments by themselves in their cell, again.
In a conversation I had in this past month I realized that many people have assumptions about what is available to Jewish prisoners in prison. While obviously this varies from state to state, and country to country on the whole not all prisons have chaplains. And in the prisons that do have chaplains, most are not Jewish (just as most of the population is not Jewish.) One of the services that JPSI provides is helping the chaplains and the prisons understand and know what the Jewish holidays are and what the requirements are - which ones have work restrictions (such as Shavuot) and which ones don't (such as Chanukah). The Washington Department of Corrections works very hard to try to meet the needs of the Jewish prisoners, but there are limits to what can be provided. By working with them and other institutions JPSI strives to enable Jewish prisoners to be able to observe Judaism to the greatest extent possible.
Your support helps make this happen.
Wishing you a good receiving of the Torah,
Golda-Rochel Rosencrantz
JPSI President
News
This past month we met with the Chaplains and Administration at the Washington State Reformatory of the Monroe Correctional Complex. (WSR-MCC). We discussed the needs of Jewish prisoners and how we can address the need for volunteers to supervise Jewish gatherings (such as Shabbat and Holiday services) given the restrictions on travel for someone who is Shomer Shabbat. We also discussed the resource needs that the Chaplains had, such as grape juice for kiddush and other supplies, and we sponsored the enhancement for the annual Jewish Family Event.
On Monday May 14th the President, 1st VP/ Rabbinic Authority, and Secretary/Treasurer attended the Annual Jewish Event at the WSR-MCC. We meet with the Jewish Inmates and shared food, thoughts, and Jewish teachings with them. We were honored to be invited.
A word from the Rabbi
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?..........almost, maybe.
For the last 6+ weeks, many of us have been counting the Omer. The question is: have we been making every day count.
The Sefer HaChinuch writes that a reason and purpose of counting every day is like a servant whose master plans on releasing him soon. The servant counts until the arrival of his day of freedom. In the same way, every year we count from when we left Egypt until our ultimate freedom – the receiving of the Torah on Shavu’os.
HaRav Shlomo Brevda points out that just counting days and weeks will fulfil the mitzva of counting, but what is the point of counting if we do not yearn for the eventual gift of Torah? How are we preparing ourselves for the receiving of it? He points out that we are taught that every year HaShem gives the Torah anew, and every Jew receives the Torah according to how he has prepared himself.* Many synagogues spend lots of money to have a beautiful Aron Kodesh (Ark for the Torah Scroll(s)). How much do we toil to make ourselves a beautiful housing for the Torah we will receive?
As I read and wrote the above, a few thoughts ran through my mind; too many thoughts for this one article. Please allow me to share one or two of these thoughts with you.
Rav Brevda taught us two things – anticipate and prepare to receive the Torah anew. For those who are incarcerated, they may not be receiving a physical freedom this year, but they could receive a spiritual one. For a couple of our clients, their release dates are quickly approaching. Planning and work are needed for both sets of prisoners to assist them.
As we know, during the days of the Counting of the Omer, thousands...
Click to Continue
Are we there yet? I’ll let you answer.
I wish you all a Chodesh Tov and eventually a Shavu’os with meaning,
Aryeh Blaut
Rabbi,
Congregation Shaarei Teshuvah
JPSI
Direct phone: 206 929-1912
Direct confidential email: rabbi@jpsi.org
*Inspiration for these ideas came from Inyan Magazine; 21 Mar 18; page 20.
Holiday Notes
Shavuot
Sunset May 19th - May 21st
Shavuot is a two day holiday (outside of Israel) who's date is determined by a count, rather than by a date. Most Jewish holidays are established on a specific date, such as "the 10th day of the 7th month". Shavuot is the day after completing counting 7 weeks from the day after the first day of Passover. It is the date that G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish People at Mount Sinai. We celebrate by staying up studying the Torah during the first night and hearing the 10 commandments in synagogue the next day. You can read more about the holiday here or here.
Closing words
For the next 30 days we will be raising funds to supply Jewish Educational DVDs to replace the VHS tapes in the prisons that are no longer usable. Your donations will further the Jewish education of Jewish Prisoners.
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