Parshat Shemini by Rabbi Nathan Alfred
Dr. Philip Bliss
| Friday, April 09, 2010 | 25 Nisan 5770 |
 |
What’s happening in the global community of Reform Jews?
Find out in WUPJnews – the e-newsletter of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
From breaking news to developing stories, WUPJnews will keep you informed with weekly bulletins about liberal Jewish communities in all corners of the globe, linking you with others around the world who share your values and beliefs.
To sign up for WUPJnews, simply click on the link below to send a blank e-mail (no text or subject) to: wupjnews-...@wupj.org.il
Torah from around the world #13
Parshat Shemini by Rabbi Nathan Alfred
Parashat Shemini has special relevance for me as it
was my bar mitzvah portion. Although a barmitzvah so soon after Pesach caused
many headaches for my mother, who was already baking and cooking lunch for the
guests several weeks in advance, I was determined that this was the portion for
me. Well, when the alternatives were menstrual purity or leprosy (from the
following week’s portion Tazria Metsora), perhaps the story of Nadav and Abihu’s
zapping suddenly became very appealing to my teenage mind!
Many of you will be familiar with the 35’s Women’s
Campaign for Soviet Jewry. They were one of a number of organizations who worked
tirelessly in the 1970s and 1980s to help free Jews who were living in the
Soviet Union.
For many years the 35’s group
in my synagogue (Bromley Reform) organized the twinning of bar and bat mitzvahs
with children in the Soviet
Union who were unable to celebrate ceremonies of their
own. In 1993, I was the last child in my shul to participate in this twinning
scheme, and was paired with a boy from Leningrad.
Having a bar mitzvah twin entailed me writing
letters to Leningrad, learning about life there, and being
told never to expect a reply. Imagine my delight one morning when through the
letterbox came a reply – written in English – from the Soviet Union, and I could learn a bit more about my “twin”!
After the fall of the Berlin
Wall and the collapse of the Soviet
Union, Jews were finally able to leave, and they moved to
countries all over the world. Many went to Israel, where there are
now more than one million Russian-speakers. Progressive communities all over
Germany have seen a
rebirth, thanks in great part to this new demographic. And there were many who
moved to Canada, the United
States and elsewhere. Later I heard
that my bar mitzvah twin had moved with his family to California, though as typical
teenagers, we soon lost touch.
Back then we were both turning 13, and now with the
age of 30 fast approaching, I wondered again what my twin was doing today.
Luckily Facebook brings the world together now very easily, and a quick check
put us swiftly back in touch. And I was so very pleased to see my twin’s
successes. He has gone on to study at the University of California, Berkeley and
Harvard Business School, and he now works as a senior associate at a private
equity fund, specializing in investments in the Former Soviet Union.
We now plan to meet next month
in London, when
finally we can celebrate our bar mitzvah together!
***
Rabbi Nathan Alfred is the rabbi and spiritual leader of the International Jewish Center in Belgium and Or Chadash Liberal Jewish Community in Luxembourg.
For previous issue of Torah from around the world
© 2010 The World Union for Progressive Judaism | Terms of use | Site map | Contact us
T 61 3 9822 2691
F 61 3 9824 8163
E phili...@blissdentistry.net.au
www.blissdentistry.net.au
20 Anderson Rd, East Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, 3123
