Disappointment and regret. Those are the feelings God expressed after only ten generations into the history of the world. God created the world with such great hope and faith that this world would be meaningful and beautiful. But all of creation turned out to be corrupted, violent and wrong. It was at this moment God decided that perhaps creation was not all that it was cracked up to be. At this moment, God looked down on creation and bemoaned how everything had “gone sideways”. In that moment of remorse, God saw a spark… Noah. The text described him as איש צדיק תמים היה בדרתיו את האלקים התהלך נח. A righteous and blameless man in his generation who walked with God was Noah. The world was pitiful and yet there was this spark that was Noah.
I would assume that in God’s arsenal there were many options to destroy the world: fire, earthquakes and so much more and yet God chose a massive flood. The question must be asked as to why. In addition to this question, there’s often an assertion made that God destroyed the first creation and started from scratch with a new one, but this is plain wrong. God didn’t start from scratch but rather restarted with the remnants of creation that survived the flood on the ark: Noah and his family and their floating zoo. For that reason, I would assert God didn’t destroy the world so much as purify it through a giant mikveh… the flood.
Unfortunately for us, evil has never been eradicated. We’ve never been able to live in a world of love and peace and joy without also living in a world with hate and war and violence. We seem fated to live in a world of these dualities and cannot have one without the other. Thankfully, the world isn’t primarily bad, and thankfully it’s primarily good, but we all recognize the bad is quite deadly and infringes on all we love and hold dear. In the Talmud we learn about a debate between Rabbi Meir and his wife, Beruriah, about some wicked people who lived around them. He prayed for them to die so they would not affect him anymore but Beruriah told him with their deaths sin would still exist. Instead, he should pray for the end of sins so sinners would no longer exist (Brachot 10a). This brilliant statement is something we still believe today, hate the sin and not the sinner, and it’s something we need to debate at length.
Today the evil in our world has been brought to the forefront once again in the group called Hamas. As so many have said “they are evil incarnate”. This group has no shame… no morals… and no redeeming qualities. They are morally depraved and will stop at nothing to destroy Jews and the Jewish State: Israel. One must ask if this is a time where perhaps the sin and the sinner are one and the same? Is it enough to end their sinning or do we need to end them all together? For those of us who still hold out hope that one day Israel can somehow remove itself from the Palestinian people through a negotiated settlement, we must first remove all of the evil and start over with people we can partner with in the future. Israel has been left with no choice but to eradicate Hamas now just as God eradicated Hamas (that is the word in this week’s Parsha, Hamas, which means evil) all those years ago.
When the flood concluded, we were treated to new-found hope through the dove and olive branch and the rainbow. The dove because after the long time the world was covered with water, dry land and life had indeed reemerged. The rainbow was God’s way of showing us a promise that the world would never be destroyed again through rain and floods. We must see there are indeed stormy days ahead of us filled with ugliness and hurt. The days ahead of us will be difficult and we’ll see things we don’t want to and we’ll mourn. But we must recognize when this is over, there will be a rainbow and there will be hope. There will be hope for a world that's been cleansed and purified of one of its ugliest and most hateful people, and from that cleansing, perhaps we will be able to finally find a new direction.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
Candlelighting time on October 20 is 6:39 pm.
Services this week are in person only.
There are no Zoom services this week.
Limited Space Still Available for Israel Shabbat!
Our guest speakers on Friday night are:
Rich Walter, Chief of Programs & Grantmaking at Jewish Federation, will discuss "Setting the Record Straight" with facts vs what we see in the news.
Anna Shteingart, Deputy Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States, will focus on "Foreign Press and Coverage from Israel".
Thank you to Sharon & Kenny Sonenshine and David & Pearline Franco for sponsoring Kiddush this week in honor of Israel.
Kiddush Sponsorship
Kiddush sponsorships opportunities are available for any occasion, happy or sad. We can help you celebrate a Simcha or commemorate a Meldado and anything in between. Donations to Kiddush start at $36.
Click here to email Ann Benator or call the office for details.
Kosher BBQ Festival This Sunday!
Support the OVS team, Or Ve 'Shmokers,at the Kosher BBQ Festival.
We'll be cooking ribs, brisket, chicken and chili.
FunRaising Trivia Night Motzei Shabbat, Nov 23rd 7:00p to 9:00p Hosted by Michelle Rich, Debbie Cohen Sobel & Leah Kaplan. Featuring NYC Trivia Host Gabe Rich. An Italian vegetarian dinner will be served. All proceeds to benefit Congregation Or VeShalom.
Community Service Projects Thanksgiving 2024 Sunday, Nov 24th 9:00a to 1:00p OVS is partnering with JF&CS to prepare Thanksgiving meals for people living in group housing and care packages for care givers.
Learn to Chant the Torah Wednesday, Dec 4th 7:00p to 9:00p Learn to chant the Torah with Rabbi Gutierrez. This series begins on Tuesday, November 12 through January. There will be no classes Thanksgiving week or during winter break. RSVP requested. Class is offered free of charge.
Town Brookhaven Holiday Kickoff Thursday, Dec 5th 6:00p to 8:30p Join Rabbi Hearshen, friends & family from OVS and the greater community of Brookhaven for this special event. There will be a Giant Hanukkiah, Dance & Musical Performances, Merchant Specials, Character Meet & Greet, and More. No RSVP necessary. Be sure to stop by the OVS table for some goodies!
Cash Raffle 2024 Sunday, Dec 8th 11:00a to 4:00p Enter to win our 50/50 cash raffle. Winner will be drawn at the end of the Sisterhood Bazaar on Sunday, December 8. You do not have to be present to win.
Hanukkah Bazaar and Food Festival Sunday, Dec 8th 11:00a to 4:00p The OVS Sisterhood Hanukkah Bazaar & Food Festival will feature food, shopping and lots of games and activities for children.
Comedy Night FunRaiser Motzei Shabbat, Dec 14th 7:30p to 10:30p Join us for a fun night of comedy featuring our very own Louis Galanti & Lily Maslia providing opening comedy sets for Atlanta legend Jerry Farber. All proceeds to benefit OVS.
Annual General Membership Meeting Sunday, Dec 15th 10:00a to 11:30a The meeting this year is being offered in person and on Zoom. We need a quorum to vote at the Meeting. Please make every effort to attend.
