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We are a Reform congregation serving Ramat HaSharon, a town of 45,000 just north of Tel Aviv, as well as neighboring areas. Darchei Noam is affiliated with the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Darchei Noam now numbers 400 members who participate in prayer services and many other events throughout the year. All these activities currently take place in a local high school auditorium! As a result of the lack of proper facilities, Darchei Noam has not been able to fully develop its potential within the community, nor even to meet the needs of its existing congregants. We are currently in the process of building our new synagogue. Click here for more details. Our synagogue serves an important function in this overwhelmingly non-Orthodox community, attracting hundreds of local residents during the High Holidays and other Jewish holidays. Our Bat and Bar Mitzvah program is very popular and we are proud to host Bat/Bar Mitzvah celebrations almost every Shabbat.
In addition, we organize numerous activities for our members, including a monthly "rosh hodesh" event, usually featuring outside speakers, and weekly Judaic Studies classes, as well as pot-luck dinners, cultural events and trips.
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Weekly Parasha - Rabbi Stacey Blank |
My son Yaron, who is now 11 months old, likes to take the door stopper and stick it in his mouth. I used to say, “Yaron, no! Don’t put that in your mouth!” He would just smile or laugh at me and continue shoving it in his mouth. Lately, I tried a new method. When he put the dirty door stopper in his mouth, I said, “Yaron, you’re such a good boy! You want to give the door stopper to Mommy!” And sure enough, he took it out of his mouth and extended his hand to give me the door stopper. I said, “Thank you! You are such a generous and giving little boy!”
This vignette brings up the neverending question of how to discipline and how to bring about good behavior. There is the “tough love” method where you punish a child for bad behavior. There is the Pavlov method of positive reinforcement where you praise a child every time he does something appropriate.
And then there what I like to call the “Bilaam method.” And this is what we learn from this week’s Torah portion,Balak. This week, we read about Balak, the Moabite king who having heard the tales of their other battles, perceives Israel as a threat. He hires Bilaam, a prophet, to curse the Israelites. God makes it clear to Bilaam that he is not to curse Israel, whom God has blessed. But, after a number of approaches, Balak makes Bilaam an offer he cannot refuse. God permits Bilaam to go, but only with the knowledge that Bilaam will have no control over the words that will come out of his own mouth. Finally, Bilaam reaches his destination and opens his mouth to curse Israel. But instead of curses, words of blessing are spoken. |
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