february 2018

Rabbi’s message
Many of us were introduced to the word “Crypto-Jew” when we welcomed the Brazilian artist known as Jonatas as a guest speaker to our Shul. He explained to us that a ”Crypto-Jew” was a descendent of families forcibly converted to Catholicism by the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. He described his experience growing up, where he and his family very privately followed half remembered fragments of Jewish custom and practice. He also described the difficult process of returning to the full practice of Judaism and living openly as a Jew. I was moved by his recounting of how precious he and his family regarded their heritage, and by the great sacrifices they made to maintain whatever remnants of it that they could for 500 years. All of this was done without synagogues, schools, rabbis, or even as much as a Jewish book. They were able to do this because they treasured what Judaism gave them. We are blessed with so much. A rich Jewish life is available to us, with so many opportunities to learn, to experience and to enjoy the richness of the Jewish culture and faith. Do we take advantage of the opportunities we have? Or are we in a sense “Crypto-Jews” whose Jewishness consists of fragments of practices and memories? Our Jewishness is a strong part of our inner identities, but how does it translate into actions and activity beyond the recesses of our hearts and minds? At the very end of the month, we will celebrate Jewish survival with the joyful holiday of Purim. Today, our survival is endangered from without by anti-Semitism and within by apathy. It is my hope that all of those who realized the great value of our Jewish heritage and were willing to sacrifice for it will inspire us to action so that we can overcome both anti-Semitism and apathy and continue the miracle of our survival.
Happy Purim.
Rabbi Sussman