When I sat down to write my first directors column for The Reporter I couldn’t help but think
about some of the Jewish communities of
which I have been a part throughout my life, from southern California to Israel
and now New Hampshire. I thought about how those experiences shaped not only my
own Jewish identity, but how the people I met in those places used the rhythms
of Jewish life to create a sense of community, weaving together both threads of
Jewish tradition and the things that made their particular place or group
unique. Since starting as interim Executive Director of the Jewish Federation
of New Hampshire I have enjoyed seeing how Jews in New Hampshire are doing the
same thing every day, sharing their wisdom, ideas and values in conversations
in my office at the Federation building, coffee shops and restaurants. Each
person has taken the time to sit down and explain to me what makes their Jewish
community special, providing an invaluable snapshot of Jewish life in the
Granite State.
One of the most unique opportunities I have had this summer
to participate in a community event came a few weeks ago when I joined members
of Temple B’Nai Israel of Laconia for a Havdallah cruise on Lake Winnipesauke.
During the evening I had a nice opportunity to speak with members of the
community from several different towns, to learn about their interests and
connections in the Jewish world, and best of all, to learn more about the kinds
of programs and services they would like to see the Federation provide not just
in their own communities, but throughout New Hampshire. When the first three
stars appeared in the night sky, signaling and end to Shabbat, we all stood and
sang together, inhaling the sweet perfume of the spices, watching the flame of
the Havdallah candle as it blazed in the darkness, and although many of us had
come from different places we stood as one group and marked the transition from
the end of Shabbat to a new week.
The Havdallah ceremony is one of the most beautiful we have
in Judaism, and it has always resonated with me. There is just something about
the way that it symbolizes not only the separation between Shabbat and the rest
of the week, but how it ties the two together. It serves as a marker for the
transition from Shabbat, when both individually and communally we take time to
rest, reflect and restore our energy, to the hectic pace of the week when we immerse
ourselves in work, daily habits and participation in all different kinds of
activities. Havdallah also serves to pull Jews together into community one last
time, before we go back out into the world.
I have no doubt that this is a moment that will stay with
me, as so many other times like these have throughout my life. Over the coming months
I look forward to many more such moments, to getting to know what makes Jewish
life in one place across the state different from a community in another part
of New Hampshire, and most important of all, finding and strengthening the
things bind us all together.
This column originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of The Reporter.
Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.
