Exodus1verse8's Blog

March 29, 2010 / 14 Nisan 5770

One-Shelf-A-Day-Until-Passover-Preparation-Log
A.K.A. The Dayenu Log

D-log Motto:  Okay, that’s enough for today.

Today: Monday, March 29, 2010
14 Nisan 5770
A clean shelf is all about making a fresh start.  A fresh start, teshuvah, is how we make amends for things we’ve done that have gone wrong.  Our tradition has four new years.  At Rosh Hashanah we dip apples in honey and chant Yehi Ratzon; we hope to increase our merits, and sweeten the judgement on all our actions of the past year.  At Passover we dip matzah in maror and charoset, and we sing bittersweet songs of slavery and freedom;  we hope to transform our world into a place of freedom for all people.
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High Holidays: Yehi Ratzon – Ramon Tasat
A Rosh Hashanah prayer sung by Ramon Tasat, Hazzan of Shirat HaNefesh, an independent D.C. Area Jewish community.  For more info visit www.shirathanefesh.org
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From “Trees and their New Year in Rabbinic Judaism,”
by Stephen Hazan Arnoff:
“The first of the month of Nisan is the new year for kings and festivals; the first of Elul is the new year for the tithing of animals; the first of Tishrei  (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for calendar years, sabbatical years, jubilee years, planting, and vegetables; and the 15th of Shvat – (Tu Bishvat) is the new year for trees (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 2b).
The primary role of a new year for agricultural items is determining what products are certified for tithing.  It thus essentially represents a tax on assets that is paid through sacrifices to God and direct offerings to priests and the poor.  In the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple, the system of four new years remains as a marker of the central role that Temple worship and tithing played in the relationship between the Jewish people and God.  Each new year marks a key component of this relationship.”
You can read Stephen Hazan Arnoff’s whole article at
My Jewish Learning

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Tu_Bishvat/Ideas_and_Beliefs/Rabbinic.shtml

Stress Relief Tip:
Learning is very good medicine for stress.  So read this picture book with some children, and really listen to their questions.:
“Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky,” c. 1992 by Faith Ringgold, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York.

http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/book02.htm

Spring Lookout News:
Every autumn my congregation holds High Holiday services that are free to the public.  In order to accommodate the overflow of people, who join us then for services between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we rent the large sanctuary of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.  We convert their sanctuary into a Jewish prayer space by draping quilts and wall hangings and other beautiful works of art.  This church houses a pew that was a prayer refuge for President Abraham Lincoln, just a short walk from the White House.  I imagine he found brief moments of solace there in spring, and throughout all the harsh seasons of the Civil War.   For information about Fabrangen services for High Holidays, Passover, Shabbat, and year round, please contact Clare Feinson, Coordinator:
Clare.Fabrangen@gmail.com

Hard Core Treatments for Relief from Oppressive Cleaning Issues:
From p. 183-184, ” Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom,” c. 2004 by Catherine Clinton, Little, Brown and Company, New York, Boston.
“[Sojourner] Truth doubtless knew of [Harriet] Tubman’s work among the soldiers in the Carolinas, and her exploits before and during the war..  Equally, Tubman would have been curious about Truth, the compelling speaker whose lectures always opened with her singing spirituals.  The article on Tubman in “The Commonwealth” in July 1863 suggested that “her religious experiences are as startling as those of Sojourner Truth.” (39. “The Commonwealth,” Boston, July 10, 1863) Thus it was not uncommon for these two women to be linked in the public imagination.
Little is known about their first encounter, except that it allegedly took place in Boston,  At the time the women had conflicting views on Lincoln,  for whom Truth was stumping.  The topic of the president and his policy toward blacks surfaced during their discussions.  (“The Commonwealth,” Boston, July 10, 1863) Harriet had witnessed the second-class status of African American soldiers fighting in the Union army, and blamed the commander in chief for this failing.
When black men in blue were first recruited, they were offered a lower pay scale than white soldiers and asked to buy their own uniforms out of pocket, while white soldiers were given a clothing allowance on top of their higher wages.  This was an enormous sacrifice, especially for many of the soldier’s families, who needed money to survive once husbands and fathers left for the army.  When black soldiers protested by refusing to draw any pay, they continued to perform their military duties.  They demonstrated their loyalty but rejected discriminatory wages on principle, thereby humbling the U.S. Government into pay equity.  Tubman fumed that these brave soldiers had to fight the enemy on two fronts.
Tubman became embittered over the fact that white soldiers injured at Fort Wagner were sent to Hilton Head while black soldiers were transported to Beaufort.  The separate evacuation plans for handling the wounded, not to mention burying the dead in segregated graves, added insult to injury.  She could not reconcile these injustices.  She blamed Lincoln, even as Truth sang his praises.  Tubman told Truth that she had no interest in meeting Lincoln — something she came to regret in later years.  (40. One story mentions that Tubman visited Mrs. Lincoln, but there is no corroboration of this.)  Their disagreements may have prevented them from cementing a deeper bond with each other — as sisters committed to a common cause.”

Go and Study:
Clergy Beyond Borders
Conflict Resolution
Education and Training
Empowering Voices for Justice
“One Ark, One Humanity”

http://clergybeyondborders.org/

I thank Elaine Reuben and Josh Kornbluth; their work inspired me to write the Dayenu Log.  All the people mentioned in this log are my teachers; I’m grateful to them, and to all my teachers who haven’t been named here.  Please forgive the mistakes I’ve made while sharing these teachings.  All the material of other authors quoted and shared in the Dayenu Log is for educational purposes only; please be careful to respect the rights of all authors.

‘A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
Vayakam melekh khadash al mitzrayim asher lo yada et Yoseyf:’
- Exodus 1.8
- Translation, JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh, c. 2000 by The Jewish Publication Society, Second Edition, Philadelphia 1999 – 5759

A sweet Pesach,
Amy Brookman
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