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Jews enlightening Jews. Jews mentoring other Jews. Jews spiritually enhancing their own lives. COMPACT's mission is to aid in Jewish self-growth, which affirms the covenant of the Torah's commandments, a brit mitzvah, within each Jew.

DVAR TORAH: SATURDAY THE RABBI WAS HYPNOTIZED
Rabbi Elliot Pachter, Congregation Bnai Moshe, Bloomfield, Michigan

Yes, it's true. Recently my family and I attended a friend's Bar Mitzvah party. Included in the entertainment was a professional hypnotist. The hypnotist explained that he would select members of the audience whom he determined to be the best candidates for hypnosis. The next thing I knew, he had chosen me, and there I now sat in front of everyone, alongside five teenagers, my fellow panelists.

I have been in the audience of a hypnotist from time to time. Like everyone else, I always wondered if it really works. Do the volunteers really go into a trance? Are they really compelled to do what the hypnotist tells them? Do they really respond to the clap of a hand, the sound of a voice, the snap of a finger.

So now I had the chance to find out firsthand.

The hypnotist told us to close our eyes, as he proceeded to talk us into a state of relaxation. Then he went through his routine - telling us to laugh, feel the cold, feel the heat, drive a car, go to the beach, feel a bee sting our noses, dance like Elvis Presley, lie down at the sound of a soft whistle.

I confess I knew what was happening at all times. I felt I could stop at any time and "ruin" the act. But I didn't. I went along with everything, all the while listening to the roaring laughter of my family and friends who were watching. And I'm beginning to understand why it all "works."

After all, what did I really do? I was afforded the opportunity to relax and even to escape from reality for a short time. True, I willingly followed the commands of someone to do silly things, but I went along with it because it was all good fun. The fact that I was aware of my actions at all times, at first made me a skeptic, but now I see that's the whole point.

From my lay experience, I see that hypnosis isn't magic; it's not supernatural. It doesn't take us away from the real world. It helps us to relax and better enjoy (or cope with) the issues we face.

And then it dawned on me - that's what Judaism also seeks to do. On Shabbat, we allow ourselves to be the hypnotist's volunteer - to just relax and see the world a little differently. When three stars appear in the sky Saturday night and we "re-open our eyes," the world hasn't changed, the problems haven't disappeared, but we had that chance to escape in a healthy, conscious way, and even to laugh a little bit more than usual.
 

When we observe the mitzvot - accepting limitations on what we eat, how we behave or heeding the command to carry out sacred tasks in the midst of a busy day - it is not unlike following the instructions of the hypnotist. No one is forcing the mitzvah observant Jew to follow God's world. He/she can choose at any time to disobey. But like the way I felt as part of the act, living according to the commandments turns out to be a pleasure for the person involved.

COMPACT thanks Rabbi Elliot Pachter for his insights.
 

OR LA-YEHUDIM ADAR I 5763
(A Light to Our Fellow Jews in the Month of Shevat)

1.  ACT AS A JEW TO IMPROVE THE WORLD
The Gift of Giving - Zipporah Marans
(Originally printed in AMIT Magazine, Winter 2003)

If there is any needy person among you.do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsmen. Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs. (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

As Jews, we thank God everyday for what we have and for what He has given us. In return for His generosity, we have an obligation to support those who are less fortunate. Tzedakah is a positive commandment, incumbent upon all Jews.

Many passages found in the Torah and in rabbinic sources mandate the financial obligation of a man to his fellow man. The importance attached to the mitzvah of tzedakah can be understood from Rav Assi, "Tzedakah is equivalent to all the other commandments" (Talmud Baba Batra: 9a). If all the mitzvot a person performed were to be weighted on one side of the scale of justice, the single mitzvah of tzedakah would weigh just as much. However, it is important to remember that it is the needy person who is essentially helping us fulfill this commandment by accepting the charity.

Since the beginning of time, the Jewish community has taken care of its disadvantaged members. Jewish have pioneered charitable associations and institutions for the community including the chevra kadisha (burial society), bikkur cholim (visiting the sick), hekdesh (local hospital or poor house for transients). Other organizations include hashnasat orchim (welcoming visitors), hachnasat kallah (providing for the needy bride), halva'at hen or gemach societies (interest free loans), talmud Torah (Jewish education).

In the modern world the Jewish community has established local, national and international organizations that help people fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedakah.

The Rambam (1135-1204), in his magnum opus, Yad Chazakah, outlines the eight ways in which one should give tzedakah. He stressed the importance of preserving human dignity, showing respect for the needy, truly caring about someone and genuinely wanting to help that person move above his poverty and restore his self-pride.

The following are the Rambam's eight levels of giving tzedakah.

* Unhappily;
* In good humor but less than is proper;
* Only after having been asked to;
* Before being asked;
* In such a way that the donor does not know whom the recipient is;
* In such a way that the recipient does not know whom the donor is;
* In such a way that neither the donor nor the recipient know the identity of the other;
* By helping a person help himself.

FROM THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
It is with much sorrow and a deep sense of commitment to the legacy of Israeli Astronaut Ilan Ramon and his fellow Columbia crew members that we send you this e-mail.  It seems unbelievable that only one week ago we e-mailed you with Mr. Ramon's request to have "13 or 14 million new trees planted in Israel exactly one year from now, on the anniversary of the [Columbia] launching."

To fulfill this dream and the requests from any of our supporters worldwide, JNF is coordinating a global effort to plant trees throughout Israel, including on Airforce bases.  JNF is also establishing a memorial in American Independence Park in Jerusalem in memory of all seven astronauts who were aboard the space shuttle Columbia.  American Independence Park was developed more than 25 years ago as an enduring symbol of the partnership between the United States and Israel.  A memorial for the crew of the Challenger is also located in this Park.

If you would like to plant trees in Israel or to donate toward the memorial, please use our toll-free number or website: 800-542-8733 or www.jnf.org.  We will be obtaining the addresses of the family members of crewmembers Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon should you wish to send them a tree certificate directly.

Many congregations and schools have inquired about taking part in the memorial project.  If you or your congregation or school would like more information on the memorial project, please contact your local JNF office at 888-JNF-0099 or congregationrelations@inf.org.

Let us join together to memorialize these seven remarkable individuals, who were taken from us much too soon and much too tragically, with a gift that gives life - trees.  Let us meet this catastrophe with the perseverance to fulfill the aspirations of Ilan Ramon.

May all of the families of the astronauts be comforted among the mourners o f Zion.  We pray for the strength of the families and the people of the United States and Israel.

THEBRAVE@USCJ
TheBrave@USCJ is a new listserv established and hosted by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism for the families of the Jewish active duty military.  Our servicemen and women face the uncertainties of the coming months.  Those who love them are discovering the need to be brave, just as those who serve.  This listserv provides a place for family to feel connected to others who understand this unique challenge.

To subscribe to the list, simply send an e-mail message to listserv@uscj.org with NO SUBJECT (some providers demand one so use a "," or a SPACE) and type "subscribe thebrave Your Name" as the message.

Or join the list via the web at: http://uscj.org/archives/thebrave.html.
 

2.  LIVE THE CALENDAR AS A JEW
THE FOUR "MEM" MITZVOT OF PURIM
(In 2003, Purim begins the evening of March 17 and continues all day March 18.)

There are four mitzvot incumbent upon every Jew on Purim.

1.  Mikrah Megillah - the hearing of the reading of the Megillah of Esther
2.  Mishloach Manot - the sending of ready-to-eat foods to at least one friend
3.  Matanot L'Evyonim - gifts to the needy (tzedakah)
4.  Mishte Seudat Purim - a complete Purim meal

HOW PURIM IS OBSERVED
1.  The Megillah (Scroll of Esther) is read in the synagogue at the evening and morning service of Purim. It's the custom to use noisemakers (groggers) during this service. Every time Haman's name is mentioned, the children use the groggers to drown out the mention of his name.
2.  A three-cornered Purim delicacy known as a hamantash, is, according to custom, eaten on Purim. The hamantash, a German word meaning "Haman pocket," is usually filled with poppy seeds, dates, nuts, raisins, jams or prunes.
3.  A short prayer is inserted in the daily prayers on Purim. This prayer is called Al Ha-Nisim. It is part of the Amidah and the Birkat Hamazon.
4.  Mishloach Manot and Matanot L'Evyonim, gift giving and special remembrance of the poor are customary on Purim. On an occasion of joy, it is natural that we should want to share our happiness with others, yet we must also remember those less fortunate.
5.  The carnival spirit rules on Purim. Everyone is expected to make this day one of feasting and general merriment.

TRADITIONAL LAWS
Me'she-nech-nas Adar, marbim b'simcha. As soon as Adar arrives (in a leap year, Adar II), one should increase in one's joy and happiness.

Before Purim has set in, it is customary to give half of a standard coin to commemorate the half shekel our ancestors were accustomed to give for the buying of the public offerings. It is given in the evening, before the Megillah is read and the money is distributed to the poor.

The reading of the Megillah at its prescribed time is a positive commandment of the Rabbis. All are obligated to read it - men, women and proselytes. Children are taught the reading. Even priests (Kohanim) who were occupied in the Divine Service should put aside their work and come to listen to the reading of the Megillah. The study of the Torah also is interrupted to listen to the Megillah. There is nothing for which the reading of the Megillah should be postponed, except for burying the dead (if there is no one else to perform the burial). We are commanded to read it in its entirety, at night and also during the daytime.

It is a custom in all Israel that the one who reads the Megillah for the congregation does not read it out of a rolled Megillah, but spreads it out and folds it folio upon folio like a letter.

It is incumbent upon each person to send at least two presents to one person. Nevertheless, it is better to exceed in taking gifts to the needy than in making a great feast for himself and sending portions to friends; for there is no greater and more glorious joy before the Holy One than to gladden the hearts of the poor, the orphans and the widows.

3.  EAT AS A JEW
In a small publication called Kosher News, produced by the UTJ (Union for Traditional Judaism), we found some "out of the box" companies and foods produced under reliable Kashrut supervision. Let us know what you find out. Let us know if your palate is pleased.

MRS. PRINDABLE'S
Chocolate covered candy apples. Each apple is a work of art in either milk chocolate pecan or triple chocolate - in brown and white chocolate or with nuts. Certification by the Triangle cRc, dairy. Located at Affy Tapple, LLC, 6300 Grosse Point Road, Niles, IL  60714. Phone: 847.588.2900. www.mrsrprindables.com

MARCO POLO FOODS
Kosher sushi, packed ten pieces to a box with soy sauce, wasabi and chopsticks. Certification by the OU and Rav Rottenberg of Paris. Located at 139 Avenue Vaillant Couturier, La Courneuve, France  93126. Phone: 33(0) 1 48377400.

BONE SUCKIN' SAUCE
Bone Suckin' Rib Rub for your chicken, beef, pasta, veggies, fish or beans!! Certification by Rabbi Mendelson of Kansas City. Ford's Fancy Foods, 1109 Agriculture Street, Raleigh, North Carolina  27603. Phone: 800.446.0947. www.bonesuckin.com

NIKKI'S COOKIES
Certified by OK, dairy cookies that taste homemade, no preservatives, all natural. Shortbread - regular, key lime, pecan and amaretto; chocolate covered key lime; English toffee; cranberry orange with walnuts. Located at 2018 South 1st Street, Milwaukee, WI  53207. Phone: 800.776.7107.

4.  TO LEARN AS A JEW
Professor Arthur Green has written in "Ehyeh": A Kabbalah For Tomorrow, that each of us must seek a path to genuine spirituality. "We understand the entire religious life as intended to cultivate an awareness that the world is filled with Divine radiance, that each moment can e a Sinai for the one whose heart and mind are open."

Rabbi Green has prepared:
A SIMPLE SERIOUS JUDAISM FOR TODAY
The Things a Person Should Do to Live by Them

1. Know that all of life is holy, all exists within the One.  There is no time or place in which God's presence cannot be found.  Meditate on this each day.  Think about it at home, while commuting, at work and back at home.
2. Take responsibility for your own spiritual life.  It is we who lock God out of our lives.  Therefore open your heart, train your heart to fill up with God's presence and God's love.  Be aware in each moment, no matter where you are or what you are doing, of the divine radiance within you and all about you.
3. Train yourself to see the miracle of each day's arrival and departure.  Celebrate the two sacred times of day, dawn and dusk, with prayer.
4. If your life is too complicated or too fast-paced to remain aware, work to live more simply and more slowly.  Keep Shabbat as a time to slow down, live in harmony with nature, and reflect.  Make room for that Shabbat consciousness to enter your weekday world as well.  Slow down.
5. Live the rhythm of the sacred calendar - Shabbat, holidays, seasons - as rich with traditional forms or as simply as your spirit desires.  Remember that it is you who has to fill those forms with God's presence.  It is the joy of your spirit that brings them to life!
6. Study Torah every day.  Choose those texts, methods of learning, classes, and study partners that make for a challenging and exciting learning experience.  If learning Torah is dull, you are doing something wrong.  If it is exciting to you, teach others.
7. Share with others the fullness of spirit that flows from your religious life.  Give to others beyond measure, just as no one has measured the great gifts you receive.  Give of yourself: give time, not just money; give directly, not just impersonally.  Above all, give love.
8. Live in community with those who most closely share your path, but live in genuine openness to learning from others who do not.  In choosing your life partner and friends, try to find those who will be open to and encourage your quest.  Make space for spiritual awareness in your marriage or partnership.  Talk about the holiness of your love, seeing it as a part of your love of God.
9. Recognize every person as the image of God.  Work to see the Divine Image, especially in those who themselves seem oblivious to it.  Seek out the divinity in those who annoy, anger, or frustrate you.  Hope to find and uplift sparks of holy light, even where it seems hardest.  Do all the work that is needed to help others to discover the image of God within themselves.
10. Learn to recognize evil, usually a creation of frightened, selfish, or otherwise distorted human hearts.  Always try to transform it, but be ready to confront it and to battle it with courage when there is no other choice.
11. Love the Jewish people, the root from which you are drawn.  Work to improve the quality of Jewish life, both in Israel, where Judaism is most fully lived and tested in our day, and wherever you are.  Contribute to the growth of Jewish life spiritually, intellectually, culturally, emotionally, in whatever way you can.  Be part of the great healing process within the Jewish people, the repair of feelings and attitudes created by centuries of persecution and by the terrible holocaust of the past century, a healing that is not yet completed.
12. Work toward the expansion of the sacred into new realms, the creation of new religious forms appropriate to our age.  Treat Judaism as a growing, dynamic tradition, one that wants to creatively engage the future as much as it wants to preserve the legacy of the past.
13. Share the witness of God's Oneness with all who want to receive it.  Witness by public prayer, by teaching, but mostly by doing.  Be willing to share in mutual witness with those of other faith paths.  Open your heart to be inspired by them, without losing confidence in the path that is your own.
14. Recognize once again that all of existence is divine.  Devote yourself to the healthy preservation of life: your own, that of people around you, but also of all creatures on our much-threatened planet.  Engage in the great collective mitzvah of our time, that of protecting this earth and its resources for generations that will come after us.  Come to see humanity as part of the greater chorus of all creatures, each one an embodiment of divinity and a vital singer in life's great, complex, painful, but ultimately joyous and triumphant song: Hallelujah!

5.  PERPETUATE JEWISH LIFE
Larry Burick, a member of Beth Abraham Synagogue in Dayton, Ohio, shared this idea in the April 2002 bulletin.  In order for Judaism to be vibrant, you must make a compact-contract-brit-commitment.  Your synagogue's minyan needs you.

ADDING TO YOUR JEWISH TO DO LIST
To do it right, it is tough to be Jewish.  To do it 100% right and comply with all 613 mitzvot is well nigh impossible.  As Conservative Jews, though, we do not feel pressured to do it all; but we should honor the exhortation to do something, get used to it, and then commit to do and then to do more.  The emphasis, then, typical of so many things Jewish, is to do - to translate words into actions - to translate good intentions into our own "Jewish to do list."

Since Dad's death last June, I have been trying to honor this exhortation to do more.  I added a new mitzvah to MY Jewish to do list.  I began to attend the daily minyan.  At first, I attended both the morning and evening services every day.  Now I focus on the evening minyan at least several days a week, if not more, depending on my professional demands.

This daily minyan experience at first was a chore, but, as I got into the minyan routine, it became a pleasure.  It has provided me comfort as I continue to deal with Dad's death.  It has provided me an opportunity to comfort others during their grieving process and to feel good at the end of a hectic day.  It has provided me the opportunity to appreciate the loyal minyanaires who regularly attend even though the are not saying Kaddish for a love one, And it has provided me the opportunity to demonstrate that we are all part of a Jewish community.

From time to time when I attend minyan, we fall a few short of the 10 required and we cannot conduct the complete service.  That is why I write this article.  If each of you who currently do not regularly participate in the daily minyan were to commit to attend a morning or evening service on a specific day of the week (or even a specific day of the month), you too could do your part to make the minyan happen.  The morning service typically lasts 30-40 minutes.  The evening service typically lasts 20 minutes.

Would you add at least occasional minyan attendance to YOUR Jewish to do list?  Would you e-mail me and tell me what day (days) of the week we can count on you?  Will you respond right now.

The minyanaires welcome your participation in our community.  Thanks for adding the daily minyan to YOUR Jewish to do list.

6.  BUILDING A BRIDGE TO ISRAEL
In the COMPACT: SHEVAT 5763, a lengthy piece entitled "Do You Remember?" by David Arenson and Simon Grynberg enumerated actions to be taken on behalf of Israel.  One of our readers, Anne Johnston of New Haven, Connecticut took issue with the statement and responded.  COMPACT reprints her insights, with thanks for her passion and devotion to Conservative/Masorti Judaism:
 

While I'm not on the COMPACT mailing list, Miriam Benson of the Connecticut Valley Region forwarded the Shevat issue to me as potential material for our congregation's Tu b'Shevat seder.  However, it wasn't the Tu b'Shevat article which I read and re-read - it was the article "Do You Remember?" by David Arenson and Simon Grynberg.

I wasn't moved by it - I was bothered by it.  I was REALLY disturbed by it.  I spent the 2001-2002 academic year living in Jerusalem with my two sons (then 5 and 13) and my husband (on sabbatical).  I spent some of my time learning at the Conservative Yeshiva.  We lived in Talpiot and listened at night to IDF raids in Beit Lechem, and the 32A bus bombing shook the walls of my younger son's school.  So it's not that I don't understand what life in Israel is like.

In fact, it is indeed BECAUSE of that intimate perspective that I so object to that article.  I understand that Arenson and Grynberg are trying to raise emotions and connect diaspora Jews emotionally to the full horror of the matsav.  What I think that they lose in the process, however, is the message that life in Israel goes on.  All diaspora Jews see of  Israel is a parade of horrors and tragedies - where are the pictures (in words as well as images) of Israeli kids going to school, Conservative Yeshiva students learning in the Beit Midrash or coaching baseball, Masorti kehillot davenning?  In short, people living their lives.  Certainly Israel and Israelis need and deserve our support - but using words like "victimization" only serves to underscore a particularly UNhealthy attitude of diaspora Jews toward Israelis: that of the comfortable, successful cousin to the poor victim, once again in need of help, financial and otherwise.

I think this is also reflected in the prioritization of the list of support activities.  Of course, I think that praying for peace is appropriately first - but what about adding to that learning (in Hebrew) the prayer for the state of Israel in Sim Shalom, along with an explanation that using this prayer would connect us with every Israeli congregation each Shabbat?  I also think it is a shame that VISITING Israel is so far down the list (only reinforcing the many trips which have already been cancelled), and that making aliyah is not on there at all!  Such a list should suggest alternatives as well: go to Israel but don't go to Jerusalem - go to the North, stay at Shorashim, with its Masorti shul, and travel by private tour bus.  Make an aliyah support collective - offer free help with packing or donations of packing supplies for those who ARE making aliyah.  Invite recent olim (or even vatikim) as speakers - there are certainly enough of them who visit here each summer.

I also found it sad that the authors chose not to include suggestions for exploring the (admittedly not so many) groups who are still doggedly pursuing coexistence activities - planning now for a future, which must come someday of at least cessation of hostilities.  Jerusalem is home to a gan and an elementary school which are binational and bilingual (my younger son attended the gan chovah at the Yad b'Yad elementary school).  These are efforts which receive little attention in the Jewish press, and thus are almost invisible to diaspora Jews (except those with ties to Habonim, for example).  Certainly we should give to MDA - but there is also something inspiring about giving to organizations that are committed to working for the future in the face of overwhelming odds.

Finally, if the point in publishing such a list is to make it a little easier for people to connect to Israel, why then is there no direct address for the Masorti movement?  Indeed, why no LIVE links for suggested websites (including the Masorti movement)?

Thanks for listening - I hope that COMPACT is inspiring a flood of emails to your box and much discussion at kiddushes around the country as well!!
 

As the current crisis intensifies, so does the danger facing the young men and women who risk their lives on the front lines of battle.  The Orthodox Union encourages the community to commence with the daily recitation of this tefillah on their behalf.  Imagine the Kiddush Hashem and the impact that these thousands of voices can have on behalf of our soldiers.  Please order posters and cards for your synagogue, school, home, or youth group - for yourself?  ORDER YOUR cards NOW!  Fax 212 613 0639 or call 212 613 8226.

TIME TO GO
This is the 12th COMPACT: ADAR 1 5763.  Enrich your life as a Jew.  Transformation is a step-by-step process of learning and questioning, of doing and inquiring, of participating and asking.

Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein welcomes your comments about COMPACT.  You can e-mail him at epstein@uscj.org.

Has your synagogue been "advertising" COMPACT in the monthly bulletin?  Wouldn't it be outstanding if every member were a COMPACT recipient?  It's up to you to speak to the President, Executive Director, Rabbi - or Bulletin Editor.  www.uscj.org/COMPACT

COMPACT is prepared by Rabbi Moshe Edelman, edelman@uscj.org.

P.S. To find out more about the Conservative/Masorti Movement in Israel, go to their website - www.masorti.com -- or call their professional, Reva Silverman at 212 870 2216.  Support is crucial.

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