This seems to be a season of anniversaries. My reading list (below) includes Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosney, which recounts the horrific Vélodrome d’Hiver roundup in Paris on July 16, 1942. Over 10,000 Jews were arrested, the majority being women and children; almost none survived the death camps. July 16 also marked the 73rd anniversary of the Trinity atomic bomb test in southern New Mexico, and Los Alamos has been observing the 75th anniversary of its establishment as the lead site for the Manhattan Project. The Oasis Lifelong Adventure program provided me with a venue in Albuquerque to present a talk on the Jews at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project era, and I enjoyed catching up with some of our ex-patriate Los Alamosans who’ve moved “off the hill” to enjoy Albuquerque’s warmer climes.
In anticipation of a production of Dr. Atomic in Santa Fe, an opera which depicts Los Alamos as it prepared for the Trinity test, I served as emcee for the showing of a documentary called The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer, conducted under the joint auspices of the Los Alamos Jewish Center and the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society. I chose to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel at that showing (which fell on the secular calendar anniversary) by reading from Ben-Gurion’s Declaration of State of Israel. The Manhattan Project and its Jews were also the subject of a recent article in the San Diego Jewish Journal by Judie Fein (http://sdjewishjournal.com/sdjj/june-2018/jews-and-the-atomic-bomb/) in which I am quoted extensively.
At HaMakom where much of my rabbi-ing takes place, I offered a blessing and wishes for Chazzan Cindy as she celebrated a birthday anniversary by conducting a “Beatles Shabbat”. I also led a Bet Din to welcome two new members into the Jewish community; their conversion to Judaism will forever be celebrated on the eve of the anniversary of our receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai on Shavuot. In two synagogues separated by over 1300 miles, my brother Ted and I each had the 3rd Aliyah on Shavuot and got a close look as the Decalogue was chanted. That day was bittersweet; it also marked the anniversary of what would have been my Dad’s 94th birthday.
I continue to share a story each Friday night that I lead services in Los Alamos. During this past quarter, I gave a talk on Judaism and Immigration entitled “Jews Are No Strangers to the Strangers in Our Midst” and a mini-lecture and demonstration on tefillin at a Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, a late-night study session on the holiday of Shavuot. I also conducted the funeral for Evelyn Frank Krems who knew many of the great physicists associated with Los Alamos and I spoke at a memorial for long-time New Mexico resident Frederik Weindling. Balancing those sad events was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a synagogue, when one of our HaMakom congregants proposed to his now-fiancée at a Shabbat morning service. I hope the couple will soon have a date they’ll want to mark as their wedding anniversary. Which reminds me – September 2 and/or 15 Elul are coming up soon, so not only are the High Holidays around the corner, but I need to buy a wedding anniversary gift for Beverly!
B’shalom,
Rabbi Jack
Reading list of the past quarter (special mention for those with an asterisk):
The Art of Loving – Erich Fromm
Moshe Dayan – Israel’s Controversial Hero – Mordechai Bar-On*
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out – Richard Feynman (honoring the 100th centennial of his birth)
Snapshots – Michal Govrin
Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit – Shimon Apisdorf*
Loving and Beloved: Tales of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev – Simcha Raz
The 188th Crybaby Brigade – Joel Chasnoff*
Kaddish for a Child Not Born – Imre Kertesz
The Gaon of Vilna – Immanuel Etkes
Tamara Walks on Water – Shifra Horn
What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East – Bernard Lewis
Paper Bride – Nava Semel*
On Being Funny: Woody Allen & Comedy – Eric Lax
Eve: A Biblical Play – Zalman Schneur
Modern Research in Jewish Law – Bernard S. Jackson
Boom and Crash Musician: A Percussive Memoir – Sam Denov
The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion – Herman Wouk
Who Will Lead Us? – Samuel Heilman
Maimonides on Human Perfection – Menachem Kellner
Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosney
The Ruined House – Ruby Namdar