Jewish Life - Des Moines, Iowa

Shana Tova! - Happy New Year - Now What?

In just a few hours we'll celebrate Rosh Hashana.  God willing!  Over the next two days friends and family members will gather together and celebrate this wonderful holiday.  What will we discuss?  Will our hearts and minds be on God?  Or will we keep an eye lingering on Wall Street?  Will we cleave our hearts to God?  Or, will we focus on "The Bailout"?

These are troubled times, no one can deny.  But, what should be our priority our purpose? 

Over he past few weeks we've read, several times, about choosing. We've been told to choose life over death, blessing over curse.  Might it be that our focus on the fleeting has gotten in the way of our choice?

Might it be said these "corrections" are reminders of who is in charge?  Maybe a reminder that we have been worshiping our own "Golden Calf"?

God gives us the opportunity to return.  Return to the true essence of our job on earth.  By living a positive lifestyle and spending our time in praise of God...we're doing exactly what we've been called to do.

And, it's not that hard. 

May you and yours have a fantastic holiday.  May you and your family be written into the Book of Life.  May you have a healthy, happy and Torah filled New Year.

See you in Shul!

Program Fund Golf Day for Beth El Jacob

A dozen golfers showed up at Willow Creek Golf Course for a wonderful day of fund raising and golfing.  We'd like to thank the sponsors of the 5th Annual Program Fund Golf Day, Bankers Trust, Dunn's/Ile's Funeral Home, G&L Clothing, Great Western Bank, Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications,  Peoples Trust & Savings Bank and the individual sponsors, Jerry Bassman, Steve Bassman, Sidney Jacobson and Ben & Sue Khan.

We had an excellent time and raised some money for the Program Fund of Beth El Jacob.  For those of you who may not know, the Program Fund is what we've used to pay for special event meals, outings, visits to the Shul from our friends at Scranton Yeshiva...frankly just about all the programs out side of the Sisterhood.

We're grateful for the support of our sponsors as we continue to offer an Orthodox/Traditional choice to Des Moines and the Jewish Community.

On a personal note...it was the first time in 13 years I got to play golf with my son!  What a thrill to have Aaron with us.  He moved back to Iowa from Texas and you can imagine how happy we are to have them back in the state!  We're sorry we didn't get everybody's photo...we got to the course late (what else is new?) so we missed the other flights.

  Thanks again to our sponsors and thank you for supporting Jewish Education and Orthodox Programs here in Des Moines!

See you in Shul!

We've Got Some Work To Do...

Welcome to the regular publication of Beth El Jacob - The Orthodox Congregation of Des Moines and Iowa.  Thanks for coming by and if you've got a question or a comment don't be bashful.  Send us a note or comment right on this site.

If you are looking for something to do I've got two short stories for you that might motivate you to "get in gear".  They might even motivate you to pack your bags and come to Des Moines to give us a hand.  Here we go:

The other day I volunteered some time to work in the Beth El Jacob office.  It gave me an opportunity to make some calls and do some shul work.  A fellow Beth El Jacob member walks in and makes a donation.  He sat down and we talked a bit.  I'd never met him before, but that's not unique, we've got several members who come only a couple of times a year.  His was an interesting story.  A lifelong resident of Des Moines who had fond memories of the city and its people.

As he was leaving he asked me to write for him, in English, the blessing for bread.  The motzi.  I did so, gave it to him and he said, "No, I need the Hebrew too.  You know, printed in English, so I can say it at an event.

Even though I was stunned by this request I did what he asked and then we talked about why the motzi is such a central blessing for our meals.  That discussion went into hand washing and some of the laws of Kosher living he marveled at the rational.

How is it that a man who has spent 60+ years in Des Moines, a member of the Orthodox Congregation doesn't know the motzi?  What about his family?  His children...his grand-children?  Where was it that we failed and, more to the point, what do we need to do to do outreach among our own "Orthodox" congregation?

We've got some work to do.

The other story was about a local college and a "Comparative Religion" class.  The young lady who called had five questions about "The Jewish faith".  They were pretty simple but one really struck me, "Tell me, what contribution has your faith offered to humanity?"

Once again, I was stunned.  What, she didn't know?  This wasn't about "being Jewish" it was about the "Jewish Contribution to Humanity" and she had no clue.

We've really got some work to do.  I was able to answer her questions and give her some solid information about "the Jewish contribution" but it all goes to show us how poorly, as a faith, we've run our public relations efforts.  Some people can dislike that which is marginalized.  We've done a pretty good job.

Want to join up and do a little work?

See you in shul...

So, What Are We Doing?

Thanks for coming by the publication of the Orthodox Jewish congregation of Des Moines and Iowa.   We're glad you're visiting.

So, that is the question:  "What in the heck are we doing?"  "What is our purpose in life?"  "How can we come to grips with our place in the world?"

They are all great questions and something that each of us wrestle with on a regular basis.

For those of us who have come to understand, by even a simple reading, the Torah we learn that our job is to praise and glorify God. 

We get to do that through many ways.  For example we've been given 613 Commandments and while we can not fulfill each one (some of us do not live in Israel, some of us are not Kohan, some of us are not Leviam, some of us do not employ people) but we can learn the laws and then start to follow one, then two and maybe even three.  Before you know it being "mindful" of the mitzvot is a daily benefit to our lives.

For example we're told not to eat shellfish.  Pretty simple right?   We just don't head out to Red Lobster.   But what about other things?

Got a mezuzzah on your door-posts?  If not, why not?  It's an easy commandment to do and when you truly understand that it is God telling us to write these words on our doors...following the law become just a simple as not eating at Red Lobster.

How about learning?  Hey, the fact that you're reading this must mean you are interested.  We're told to set aside some time to learn and to pray.

Look...the bottom line is that we are all called to be mindful of the commandments and by doing just one more...this week...we come closer to our purpose in life.

If you would like to learn more...visit us or send us an e-mail.  Being observant isn't something to fear it is something to be grateful for.

See you in Shul!

The Case for Orthodoxy In Des Moines

I picked up Abraham Foxman's book Never Again? - The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism. It is a compelling read.

As he discusses the issues facing Jews today he made several pleas for education.  In particular I found this line critical to Des Moines, Iowa.

"...If Jews are to make intelligent choices about the future of their faith, the first requirement is education and knowledge.  You can neither accept or reject Judaism, its history, and its values unless you've been taught about these things and have a serious understanding of what they mean."

And he went on:

"Orthodox, Conservative, Reform - Whatever form of Judaism you believe in, you need to understand its roots.  After all, in order to reform something, you need to know what you are reforming.  Otherwise, your actions will be based on ignorance."

What struck me was the issue of "default Jews".  Folks who know nothing about Orthodoxy but decide, based on either fear or lack of knowledge, they want nothing to do with the faith of their grandparents or great-grandparents.  An example?

I was at a gathering of Des Moines Jews not long ago when I heard a fellow say to another, "Orthodox?  Observant?  Nah, not us.  We're modern, nothing like my grandparents."

And this decision was based on what?

See you in shul!