“For the Love of a Glove” Musical is a Comedic Revisionist-History of Michael Jackson

As a massive Michael Jackson fan, it may seem unlikely that screenwriter and stage director Julien Nitzberg would dare create a musical that mocks some of the King of Pop’s oddest quirks and alleged misconduct. But Nitzberg ached to understand why Jackson was the way he was. His solution was to create a musical about it: “For the Love of a Glove: An Unauthorized Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson as Told By His Glove.” And the resulting revisionist history is at Carl Sagan-Ann Druyan Theater in the Echo Park through July 1st.

The production’s premise is that Jackson was controlled by aliens who looked like gloves and forced him to do the bizarre things that baffled his fans. Nitzberg first came up with the idea for the show after being asked to write a television movie about Jackson’s life. “I could not make sense of all the bizarre things that Michael did,” Nitzberg told the Journal. “Why did Michael have sleepovers with kids, adopt a chimp named Bubbles and try to buy the Elephant Man’s bones? None of it made sense. I came up with the idea that Michael was controlled by an alien who looked like a glove and gave Michael his talent. The alien forced him to do all these bizarre things. The TV network thought it was hilarious but wanted a normal version.”

Audiences will see Michael Jackson’s life told with a mixture of real actors and life-sized puppets. The first act focuses on the Jackson 5 years — and the Jackson 5 members are puppets designed by renowned puppet artist Robin Walsh. And Nitzberg is in awe of his cast.

“Not only are every one of them an amazing singer, but they are equally talented as comedians and dancers,” Nitzberg said. “This show requires them to do all three while operating life-sized puppets.”

The show takes swipes at cultural appropriation and racism. It’s also a dirty puppet musical that will remind audience members of the best moments from “Avenue Q” or “The Book of Mormon.”

“A major part of the show deals with the Amadeus-Salieri rivalry between the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds,” Nitzberg said. “The Osmonds were shaped to be the white version of the Jackson 5. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say there is a very bizarre moment when Michael and Donny meet and Donny tells him about Brigham Young’s teaching that at the end of days all black people will turn white. This is done in a song called ‘What a Delight When You Turn White.’”

“For the Love of a Glove” is not Nitzberg’s first foray into a production about odd artists. In 2009, Nitzberg directed the documentary, “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.” It tells the story of the family of “D. Ray” White and his criminal family who are also accomplished mountain dancers. The documentary was produced by MTV Films and “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville.

“When I finished making ‘The Wild and Wonderful Whites,’ I decided to delve deep into researching Michael Jackson’s life,” Nitzberg said. “I wanted to tell a story that no one had told before, mixing the fantastical elements I had come up with along with telling the true weird parts of Michael’s life that most people did not know about. After a few years of research, the story came together when I discovered the true story of the rivalry between Michael and Donny Osmond. I decided that this was the key to understanding Michael’s life.”

“We mock American racism with a savage yet comical approach that allows us to laugh at the horrors of the world we live in.” – Julien Nitzberg

Nitzberg said the aliens in the show are based on The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello. The head alien is an annoying, bossy blowhard while the other aliens are comic archetypes as well. There is also a love story between Jackson and his glove, which Nitzberg modeled after the Ginger Rogers – Fred Astaire musicals where they fall in love, have a big falling out and then fall in love again.

Nitzberg said his taste for comedy comes from his late mother. “My mom had a very wicked sense of humor and loved weird comedy,” Nitzberg said. “I wish she was around to see [the show].”

The arts run in Nitzberg’s family. His maternal grandfather Hans Knauer was a composer and conductor from Vienna. Knauer and his wife, along with their daughter (Nitzberg’s mother) survived a concentration camp in Slovakia. After World War II, Knauer returned to Vienna and helped organize concerts for the Jewish community, including a symphonic adaptation of the Kol Nidre.

“I inherited from [my grandfather] this belief that art can help process and heal from trauma,” Nitzberg said. “[My grandfather’s] love of music was passed down to me. But an equally important influence was seeing Mel Brooks’ ‘The Producers’ as a kid. Watching it, I realized that one of the ways to fight antisemitism and racism was mocking it. People who see ‘For the Love of a Glove’ get the Mel Brooks influence. We mock American racism with a savage yet comical approach that allows us to laugh at the horrors of the world we live in.”

“For the Love of a Glove” is showing through July 1st at the Carl Sagan-Ann Druyan Theater at the Center For Inquiry West, located at 2535 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, 90026.

For tickets, visit https://fortheloveofaglove.com/

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JVS SoCal Dinner, Tower Cancer Research Foundation Gala, Birthright Cohort

Movers & Shakers / Ryan Torok

On June 1, JVS SoCal’s 24th annual Strictly Business Awards Dinner, held at the Skirball Cultural Center, honored outstanding individuals and corporations in the community who have set the standard for social responsibility and philanthropy.

JVS SoCal presented this year’s Corporate Partnership Award to RadNet, a national leader in outpatient imaging, delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions at its 375 centers.

“RadNet has been an outstanding partner in our mission to empower people through sustainable employment,” JVS SoCal’s Chief Executive Officer Jeff Carr said. “We are delighted to recognize an organization that takes a chance on our program participants by hiring them upon graduation.”

Additional honorees included Barbara and Tom Leanse, steadfast leaders and active volunteers in the JVS SoCal Women’s Leadership Network and the JVS Scholarship. The two received the Founder’s Award.

JVS SoCal also recognized Laura Behary, a program participant who launched a second career after raising children; Shantell Polk, a mother of six who battled economic hardship to pursue a career in healthcare; and Ernesto Sanchez, a client who came to JVS for support in re-entry after being impacted by the justice system. The three individuals were Inspiration Award recipients.

Hosted by local broadcasting icon Fritz Coleman, the recent event raised $1.5 million for career and workforce development.

Formerly known as Jewish Vocational Service, JVS SoCal is a nonprofit, non-sectarian social service agency, providing job training, career services, mentoring and placement assistance to diverse and multicultural populations. The organization has 20 locations across Southern California.

From left: Birthright Israel Excel Chair Yoram Tietz; Executive Director Idit Rubin; Steinhardt Family Foundation Executive Director Tova Dorfman; entrepreneur Heli Bennun; and Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark. Photo by Or Doga

The 2023 cohort of Birthright Israel Excel, which includes six students from Los Angeles, kicked off with an opening cocktail reception at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Birthright Israel Excel is a prestigious lifelong fellowship in business and technology. This year’s cohort features 64 extraordinary college students from around the world who will be spending the summer in Israel. Students from 11 countries are participating. Nearly 45 participants are from the United States.

According to Birthright Israel, about 30 percent of the students in this year’s cohort are visiting Israel for the first time, which meets one of the program’s goals: connecting with less-affiliated Jewish students.

The initiative aims to cultivate the next generation of Jewish business leaders. Each year, the fellowship carefully selects top students from hundreds of applicants for summer internships with leading business and tech companies in Tel Aviv. Students receive hands-on work experience interning throughout each Israeli workweek, Sunday through Thursday. They also enjoy weekend trips as a group traveling throughout the country.

The opening cocktail reception event was held June 18.

Tower Cancer Research Foundation President Dr. Solomon Hamburg with TCRF Past Chair Nancy Mishkin. Photo by Tiffany Rose Photos

On May 11, the Tower Cancer Research Center (TCRF) held its 21st annual “Tower of Hope” gala at the Beverly Hilton.

Actor, director and producer Jonathan Silverman emceed the lavish affair, which brought together more than 300 guests to recognize two distinguished leaders in the Southern California medical community: Dr. Martin Hopp and Dr. Carey Strom.

The evening included moving and inspirational stories of cancer hope, healing and survival, recognized several scientists who received grants for their research from TCRF earlier this year and raised more than $1 million for TCRF.

The organization’s mission is to advance groundbreaking cancer research and support people affected by the disease.

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Temple Aliyah Celebrates Hazzan Mike Stein

Community / Debra L. Eckerling

On June 25, Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills will be hosting a celebrity concert to honor Mike Stein, who will become Hazzan Emeritus at the end of June. Stein has been the cantor there since 2000.

“It was the perfect shidduch set up by Craig Taubman,” Stein, 71, told the Journal. “I was playing fiddle in his band and working part-time as a cantor in Washington, D.C. when he told me that Aliyah needed a cantor. The rest is history.”

In addition to singer and composer Taubman, who is known for both his Jewish liturgical and contemporary music, guest performers include Peter Yarrow from folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and award-winning singer, songwriter and teacher Neshama Carlebach.

What excites Stein most about this concert is that some of the most important players in his musical/artistic life are part of this event. Much of his musical journey began with Taubman, and Yarrow was his significant musical influence. Then, there’s the Carlebach family.

“As I journeyed into the world of Jewish music, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l was a massive part of my growth,” Stein told the Journal. “His daughter Neshama will be in the concert. It was her CD with her dad that still affects me emotionally to this day.”

“I am delighted and moved to be a part of this incredible event honoring Cantor Mike Stein, his beautiful family, his incredible work, his generosity and kindness and his next great adventures,” Carlebach told the Journal. “This will be a truly epic day.”

Added Yarrow, “It is time for us to sing songs that demand a better world. We will join in song, hand in hand.That is what the world needs now.”

Stein is thrilled to have these artists at the show.

“Neshama will sing my favorite Carlebach melodies, and Peter will sing the songs of the 60s and 70s struggle for freedom and social justice,” he said. “We will urge the audience to sing with us songs like ‘If I Had a Hammer,’ ‘Blowing in the Wind’ and ‘Light One Candle.’”

For Stein, this concert marks the end of a journey. When he was a young man, he performed on Broadway and traveled with the rock opera, “Tommy,” and the company of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” He saw a “whole new world outside of NYC, where I grew up,” he said. “I wanted to create music and art that meant something to me.

After working in Washington, D.C., for the NEA, he stayed there, wrote new music and started a band. When he met his wife, Kelley, and had his first child, Stein joined The United States Navy Band, where he played fiddle for four presidents.

“After my Navy career, I found meaning in becoming a cantor and returning to my Jewish roots,” he said. “This journey ended up in Los Angeles, where I became the full-time cantor of Temple Aliyah.”

Stein’s wife and three sons, Jacob, Justin and Jared, immediately became involved in singing and performing at the synagogue. “It was often remarked that Aliyah got five for the price of one,” he said.

While at Aliyah, Stein became involved in interfaith and social justice work, while composing an entire library of Jewish music, including Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Bluegrass and African services.

Among his many career-long accomplishments, Stein performed on Ella Jenkins 1992 Grammy-nominated album, Dreamosaurus,” and he was one of the performers, alongside Seeger and Sweet Honey in the Rock, on “cELLAbration,” a 2005 tribute to Jenkins. He’s appeared on “The Grand Ole Opry” and “Nashville Now” many times, as well as season seven of “The Voice.” Stein is also the recipient of the coveted Samuel Rosenbaum award for Scholarship and Creativity from the Cantors Assembly. He directs a choir he created for differently-abled youth and young adults, Kolot Tikvah, Voices of Hope, sits on the board of the Interfaith Solidarity Network and is the creator of the Afro-Jewish Alliance.

With his retirement from Temple Aliyah, Stein has many meaningful projects to pursue. This is in addition to spending tons of time with his grandchildren; he has five, with another on the way.

He plans to finish writing, recording and publishing “The Mike Stein Songbook,” complete a musical he started 30 years ago and do musician in residence/concert weekends at other shuls. He also wants to work with other writers and create new music, as well as play music with his wife and sons. Stein will continue his work for social justice and give a voice to those that need to be heard.

“As I become Hazzan Emeritus, I will still be involved in the community,” Stein told the Journal. “It has been an honor to serve Temple Aliyah, and it is hard to leave my second home.”

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Judge Your Fellow Favorably, Even Ruth Porat, Alphabet / Google CFO

Blogs / Rabbi Yonah Bookstein

My experience of trying to cancel a non-existent YouTube TV subscription has felt like navigating a harrowing labyrinth with no exit.

“We understand from the complaint that Mr. Brookstein alleges….”

Let it be known that this humble rabbi in Los Angeles named Jonah Bookstein, aka Yonah Bookstein, does not know anything about Mr. Brookstein.

It’s possible that one of our relatives, when they left Zyradow, then under Russian control and technically Russia, but really Poland, changed their name to Brookstein at Ellis Island or some other entry point.

But I doubt it.

My grandfather came through Galveston, Texas, and changed the name from Buksztajn to Bookstein, never considering adding an “r.”

I wonder what my grandfather, who went by the name of Hy and worked with his father in the furniture business in Detroit, would think about the world today. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was two years old. I recently visited his burial place in Detroit to pay my respects and thank him for serving in WWI with the British Jewish Legion in British-controlled Palestine and settling in America. Żyrardów Jews didn’t fare well in WWI and were exterminated by the Germans in WWII.

We regularly find the extra “r” added to our name, especially when dealing with customer service situations. A linguist may help explain the urge to add the different consonants to our made-up last name transliterated from Polish.

We — and I speak on behalf of many Booksteins, well, not that many as we aren’t a big family — have no idea why people keep adding the “r” in our name.

But I do know the feeling that most Americans have when they feel powerless, victims of mega-corporation like Google, and unable to seek redress because they cannot afford lawyers to represent their interests against illegal dealings.

I also know that in the letter from The Google Team, they refer to me as “Mr. Brookstein” but later as “Mr. Hayes.” Which I also am pretty sure is not me.

But before a good coffee in the morning, I might answer to being called “Mr. Hayes.”

Most of the letter dated June 08, 2023, is legal gibberish, referencing Google support pages. They are likely pages put up in response to complaints from people frustrated with criminal Google charges.

I managed to do a master’s degree at Oxford University in Jewish Studies, with a thesis comparing pilgrimage routes of Israelis and Chasidim in contemporary Poland. But I could not figure out how to cancel something like a Google Subscription that doesn’t exist.

The “Google Team” — that’s how the letter is signed — wanted the attorney general of California to know that if Mr. Brookstein had just visited https://support.google.com/youtubetv#topic=7071745…. he would understand the reason that Google has been charging him for services that he never signed up for.

Ironically, I never even saw the Google letter. The Office of Bob Bonta, the California Attorney General, forwarded me the Google Team form letter. A sincere woman named Rosa McElroy at the Public Inquiry Office had the courtesy to write to me, spell my name correctly, and include a photocopy of the Google letter.

The Google Team form letter sent to Mrs. McElroy was in reply to my complaint letter, also sent to the offices of the Public Inquiry Unit, detailing a complaint about unauthorized charges from Google.

As I wasn’t prepared to take a loan to hire a lawyer, I figured the easiest way to find out how to get a refund from Google — as I had exhausted many other efforts — was to Google how to get a refund from Google. A website from a consumer affair non-profit suggested that I write to the company’s CFO and the California Attorney General.

So that’s what I did.

I sent my letter on May 2, 2023, by USPS Priority Mail to Roth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet / Google. I spent $9 on the priority envelope letter hoping it would at least get into Ruth Porat’s office and have a chance of being seen.

And because, in general, I want to support the Post Office, where the people are always friendly to me.

In a rash moment of foolish idealism, I thought Porat might see the letter written by a rabbi in Los Angeles and do this rabbi the courtesy of replying.

Porat, #18 on the Forbes 2022 Power Women List with a net worth substantially more significant than mine, did not reply.

The Torah teaches us to judge others on the side of merit. “Do not do injustice in judgment- do not favor the poor, do not honor the great — judge your fellow justly.” (Lev. 19:15).

The Book of Mitzvah Education explains, “The commandment to judge your fellow justly: And also included in this commandment is that it is proper for every person to judge their fellow favorably, and only to understand their deeds and words for the good.”

So while I may be frustrated being called Mr. Brookstein and Mr. Hayes, having spent $9 at the post office and many hours trying to solve this issue for over six months, I assume Porat never saw my letter.

I also assume that if Porat had seen my letter, she would have instructed her office to investigate my claims asking them to get back to her within a couple of days. Then she would have a team meeting dedicated to discussing the rabbi’s letter, getting reports from different departments about the issue, performing a Google search about the rabbi, and determining that he is likely not the kind of person to flagrantly claim money from others, and decide that it was in the best interests of the company, the office of the CFO, and America to refund the rabbi.

But the reality is that Porat is a busy woman with a stellar career, many employees, and many things to do. Her office likely has dozens of people answering letters from others who have unauthorized Google charges. Thousands of these letters must be filling up her mailbox, and she can’t possibly reply to each one.

Then there is the class-action lawsuit against Google for unauthorized YouTube subscription charges. That must be very distracting too!

I went to the post office and sent Porat another priority letter on June 12, 2023, when I hadn’t heard back after the first letter. I wrote that I might write a blog article in a Jewish newspaper detailing my frustrating experience seeking redress for an actual consumer complaint if I didn’t get a response.

Ruth, if you are reading this, please be in touch. A letter or a phone call would be great so we can figure out how to resolve the $1,254.80 in unauthorized charges.

If you don’t know my phone number or address, you can always Google it!

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A Moment in Time: “I Couldn’t Do What I Do if She Didn’t Do what She Did….”

'A Moment In Time', Blogs / Rabbi Zach Shapiro

Dear all,

My teacher, mentor, and friend, Rabbi Denise Eger is retiring from her position as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood. She was the founding rabbi of the synagogue 30 years ago. As as pioneer of “firsts,” Rabbi Eger’s legacy is nothing short of inspiring. She teaches by example how to mark a significant moment in time by action, prayer, and transformation. The following is a note I recently shared with her.

Ron and I are so very honored to celebrate you. We could not do what we do had you not done what you do.

Never for a second do we underestimate the battles you fought for the sake of LGBTQ+ equality.

Never for a second do we take for granted the freedoms we enjoy because of your tremendous voice.

In my early years as a rabbi, in those times when I was afraid to introduce Ron as my boyfriend, you stood as a pillar of inspiration.

When the CCAR convened in Greensboro in 2000 to make our statement on Same Gender Wedding officiation, you got on the phone to ensure that I would be there to vote, to mark my place in history. “Zach, you can’t sit this one out. Get yourself on a plane, even if you are just there for 2 hours.”

You celebrated multiple times with me at Temple Akiba.

You invited me to lead services at Kol Ami.

You inspired me to be courageous. You encouraged me to use my voice. And you reminded me how to balance what it means to both lead and serve a community.

To you and to Rabbi Eleanor Steinman (Rabbi’s Eger’s wife), may this next chapter be one of goodness, love, and life!

MAZAL TOV!!!

Rabbi Zach Shapiro

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Your Fancy Monogrammed Staff – A poem for Parsha Korach

Judaism, Poetry, Torah / Rick Lupert

Speak to the children of Israel and take from them a staff for each father’s house from all the chieftains … and inscribe each man’s name on his staff.
–Numbers 17:17

When I’m not writing poems
or preparing food and eating food

or telling my son about the thing
he needs to do that he forgot to do

or hoping other people will sing along
or thinking of hilarious things to say out loud

or worrying about inconsistent line lengths in my poems
I’m taking direction from the people of the world

who need their things graphically designed.
So it speaks to me that each of the chieftains

got their staffs personalized.
It’s like when we get business cards

or our name on the office door
or even a water bottle with our logo on it.

It’s one of the perks of the job.
It says we have arrived and this is worth

spending money to print our name on things.
It’s like we’ve been given a physical tenure.

Use your swag wisely, oh chieftains of Israel.
The people are looking to you and saying

let’s do what he says, his name’s on the stick.
You’ll avoid future indictments if you

take this responsibility seriously.
Play your cards right and, someday,

blossoms may sprout. It happened to Aaron.
It could happen to you.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick Lupert Los Angeles poet Rick Lupert created the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 27 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “I’m a Jew, Are You” (Jewish themed poems) and “Feeding Holy Cats” (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently “The Low Country Shvitz” (Poems written in Georgia and the Carolinas – Ain’t Got No Press, May 2023) and edited the anthologies “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah”, and “The Night Goes on All Night.” He writes the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He’s widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.

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I Never Thought I Could Fall in Love with LA Traffic

Editor's Note / David Suissa

The strangest thing happened to me the other night. I had trouble finding a parking spot at the Westfield Mall in Century City, and it didn’t bother me one bit. My friend and I were running late for a screening of “Past Lives” (don’t miss it), and normally, this kind of hassle would have made me a little cranky.

So why was I OK with turning around and around looking for a parking spot? Because I’ve been desperately looking for any sign these days that people are leaving their homes.

You see, ever since that dreaded COVID pandemic (remember that?), we’ve become more and more a nation of homebodies. Instead of venturing out and engaging with the world, it’s become way too easy to just stay home and let the world come to us. This kind of physical isolation should concern us, because I don’t see it getting any better.

Ever since that dreaded COVID pandemic (remember that?), we’ve become more and more a nation of homebodies. Instead of venturing out and engaging with the world, it’s become way too easy to just stay home and let the world come to us.

There’s hardly anything right now that won’t come to our homes, from ready dinners to great entertainment to groceries to appliances to classes to prayer services to our very jobs. The radical convenience of modern technology has empowered us to craft lives where we rarely have to bump into anyone.

There was a time, back in 2020, when this had a sense of exhilaration. A once-in-a-lifetime calamity had shut the world down, and the miracle of technology enabled us to weather the devastation by sheltering safely at home.

The problem is that habits die hard, and that includes new habits. The pandemic lockdowns lasted for so long that after nearly two years of cozy hibernation, many of us got a little too comfortable.

Indeed, a recent survey of 1,000 homeowners, conducted by the Research for Institute for Cooking and Kitchen Intelligence, found that 64% of respondents have a “greater desire” to stay home now than before the pandemic.

This shouldn’t surprise us. Human beings have always had two conflicting impulses — socializing versus sheltering. Socializing, as enjoyable and gratifying as it can be, demands effort. Staying at home is risk-free. It’s all comfort.

The lockdowns further reinforced the sheltering impulse by eliminating the factor of guilt. We were staying home, we told ourselves, because we had no choice but to protect our lives.

Well, that guilt is back. The “saving my life” excuse is gone. The choices are now coming at us fast. Should we go back to synagogue? Should we go out to the movies? Should we attend this or that event? Questions that used to be easy to answer are no longer that simple.

For those who love to socialize and won’t settle for virtual substitutes, the choice to go out is not only easy but welcomed. There is a thrill to connecting in person that is irreplaceable. I feel it often. Meeting in person and seeing crowds makes me feel more alive, more human; it crushes the solitary comfort of staying home.

It’s ironic that in the movie we saw that night, there was a dramatic demonstration of this very phenomenon. Technology went from being a miracle to a curse. Eventually, the characters realized there was simply no replacement for the primal, visceral satisfaction of meeting in person.

Mark down those two words. Engrave them in your consciousness. In person. The decline of in-person interactions may well be the silent curse of our time, an additional burden to our mental health crisis. We are in a battle with brilliant technologists who have an interest in keeping us at home, physically isolated.

And they’re not slowing down. As reported recently in The Atlantic, “The metaverse has leaped from science fiction and into our lives. Microsoft, Alibaba, and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, have all made significant investments in virtual and augmented reality.”

“Augmenting” our reality, of course, is the eternal promise of capitalism, fueled by the commercial interest to influence what we buy. When it’s for a cool jean or a fancy car, there isn’t much harm. Today, however, tech companies are after bigger game. They smell the profit in keeping us physically apart, alone in a virtual world they will deliver to us like a meal from Uber Eats.

But just as tech companies have the freedom to spring on us what they like, we also have the freedom to push back and say no. We have the freedom, in other words, to make our own choices.

One of the most life-affirming choices we can make these days is simply to say, “The hell with Postmates, Netflix, Zoom and Amazon. We’re going out.”

One of the most life-affirming choices we can make these days is simply to say, “The hell with Postmates, Netflix, Zoom and Amazon. We’re going out.”

Even if it’ll be hard to find parking.

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A Bisl Torah – A Message in a Book

A Bisl Torah / Rabbi Nicole Guzik

The last few weeks, I have looked through other’s books. I was invited to look through Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz’s extensive library. Our beloved emeritus rabbi of blessed memory possessed quite a collection of seforim and contemporary wisdom. As Rabbi David Wolpe nears retirement, I have also been gifted the opportunity to look and take from his impressive study. Subjects including: Talmud, Jewish ethics, poetry, psychology, history, prayer, Shabbat, rabbinic reflections, the list goes on and on.

When you quote another scholar’s ideas, we use the phrase “bshem omro.” We share this teaching in giving credit to its owner. Gleaning insights from a previous book’s owner is different. In using the books, I won’t be directly quoting their teachings.

However, I will be indirectly gaining inspiration, knowing these books were ones that helped shape the mentors I revere.

The books I hold in my hands were held in theirs. Through the various stages of their rabbinate, personal and professional lives, these were the books that helped them grow. How meaningful that I will share in that connection.

Rabbi Yehuda HaChassid once wrote, “One should not write in a holy book that it is theirs. Rather, they should write their name without writing it is theirs.” Meaning, a holy book does not merely belong to just one person. We are entrusted with a gift of knowledge for a short amount of time. It is our obligation to pour that holiness out in the world. Book by book, we all are equal owners of God’s lessons.

My library will be an amalgamation of my teachers and rabbis. May their insight and guidance jump off the pages. As I hear their messages embedded within and share my own Torah with the congregation and beyond…I hope to make them proud.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Nicole Guzik is a rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.

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My Performance of Faith

Poetry / Gershon Hepner

Cormac McCarthy once said: “I am a pessimist,”

which is as good a reason to be just as gloomy

as, if you have a nasal problem, you are rheumy

because you’re snotty about all placebos you resist.

On placebos I, too, do not place reliance,

unwilling to take them unless you my arm twist,

not just because, emeritously, I’m a man of science

but, since clueless, I’m a hopeful in-the-closet optimist.

My optimism’s based upon a faith that’s called

Judaism, Orthodox with a big Modern twist,

a faith that can’t be by big twists of pessimism galled,

though my performance on this fiddle may by God be dissed.

In “Cormac McCarthy Was a Man of Science,” WSJ, 6/15/23. Lawrence Krauss, an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist, writes:

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of my friend Cormac McCarthy. What many may not be aware of was that while he was a superstar in the writing world, he often said his chief interest was science.

….. I met Cormac in the lunch room of the Santa Fe Institute. After some initial niceties, I asked him how, as a writer of such dark fiction, he maintained a chipper demeanor. His answer has stayed with me ever since: “I’m a pessimist, but that is no reason to be gloomy!” That sentence has helped me through many times since then, and I now take it as something of a mantra.

In “Cormac McCarthy and the Possibility of Faith,” thepublicdiscourse.com, 6/13/23, Alexander Riley writes:

Cormac McCarthy, who passed away today, gives readers reason to suspect that he did not shut the door on God before his life ended. His last two novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, offer more than just an artistic representation of reality’s inescapable brutality. They forcefully struggle with the greatest questions of human existence. Like any good work of art, these books don’t allow any reader—religious, atheist, materialist, Christian—to walk away feeling perfectly comfortable in their understanding of the world…..

These books do contain brutality, and meaninglessness haunts their pages. But they offer much more than the total bleakness that professional critics often perceive in them. To be fair, Alicia Western, whose account of reality is detailed in Stella Maris, provides evidence to support Miller’s reading. She is a solipsist who, when a young girl, read George Berkeley on the physiology of vision and concluded that the world existed only in her youthful head. Alicia often appears unrelentingly pessimistic….

Yet McCarthy gives Alicia much more complexity than most of the critics have noted. She fiercely struggles with the fallen aspects of her character. A first-rate violinist, she lovingly describes music as sacred. …. When she describes having spent her inheritance on a rare Amati violin, she recalls weeping when she played it for the first time. Tears come also when she recalls her pure bliss at the sound of Bach’s Chaconne emerging from her violin. The instrument must have originated in the mind of God, she insinuates, so perfect is its construction.

Amid this discourse on music, Alicia tells Cohen, her psychologist and interlocutor through the entirety of Stella Maris, what she believes to be “the one indispensable gift”: faith.

Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored “Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel.” He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.

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