Rabbi Ashira's Reflections
May 2025
Dear Chevre,
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about transitions and endings. In my last year of rabbinical school, one of my classmates kept a countdown to ordination on a whiteboard in the beit midrash where we studied and prayed. I felt very anxious every time I saw the countdown or when my classmate would loudly and excitedly announce how many days we had left until ordination. I had become very comfortable as a rabbinical student. I knew what to expect, whether at morning t’fillah, in class, or just hanging around with classmates. Although I was beyond happy about becoming a rabbi at long last, I was especially aware of the unknowns of the future, and I knew I would miss a lot about the experience of rabbinical school.
Two years have passed since my ordination, and I find myself in another transition. Like so many of you who care about Temple Emanu-El, I feel anxious and sad about the congregation’s closing. Although I firmly believe that joining Temple Emanuel of Andover will bring our members many blessings and wonderful opportunities to grow spiritually and emotionally, I will miss being a part of Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill.
Jewish tradition offers us some support for times of transition and for acknowledging endings. When we complete reading a book of Torah, we recite “chazak, chazak, v’nitchazeik,” be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened. This phrase acknowledges the strength Torah has already given us with the book we just finished, and it recognizes that we also need strength as we leave a book behind and enter a new one.
A perhaps less well-known practice for endings, a siyyum, happens when finishing a tractate of Talmud or other sizable learning project. This practice dates back at least to the Talmudic era, when the sage Abbaye said, “when I see a young Torah scholar who has completed a tractate, I make a celebration for the rabbis." At a siyyum, those who have completed the tractate share a little of what they learned about the text, read the last few lines of the tractate, recite a text called Hadran, and enjoy a festive meal together.
The traditional Hadran text opens by stating that we and the tractate will return to one another, and that we will remember and not forget it. It also hopes that, “May it be your will, Adonai my God, just as You have helped me to complete this tractate, so too may you help me to start other tractates and books, and to complete them, to learn and to teach, to observe and to enact and to fulfill all the words of the teaching of your Torah with love.”
When we complete a significant project, we usually feel a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction. We also might feel some anxiety about what comes next and the consequences of finishing the project. The Hadran text affirms our achievement and hopes for more learning and growth in the future.
As we approach the end of the enormous and wonderful project of Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill, we can support one another and bring holiness into our experience using the wisdom of these ancient practices. Just as we acknowledge and promise to remember our learning in reciting the Hadran, we will honor and remember our Temple Emanu-El community when we gather on May 16 and 17 for three events to celebrate 88 Years at 514. Throughout that weekend, we can find and offer strength to one another as we embark on new spiritual journeys.
In the coming month, I look forward to seeing you at services and these other importance congregational events:
- Sunday May 4 at 10:00 am in Starensier Assembly, Annual Meeting
- Friday May 16 at 6:00 pm, 88 Years at 514: Lag Ba’Omer Potluck and Kabbalat Shabbat
- Saturday May 17 at 9:30 am, 88 Years at 514: Shabbat Services with Special Kiddush
- Saturday May 17 at 6:30 pm, 88 Years at 514: Havdalah and Celebration
Please let us know when you’ll be joining us on the weekend of May 16–17 with your RSVP, as well as what food or help you can contribute to the celebration on this signup. We also invite you to share a fond memory or experience in the booklet for the weekend.
I also encourage you to attend the Hebrew College commencement and ordination ceremonies, on Sunday May 25 when our rabbinic intern Elisheva Pripas will be ordained as a rabbi. If you would like to make a gift to Hebrew College in honor of her accomplishment, you can donate to the Hebrew College Class of 2025 Scholarship Fund. Both ceremonies will be at Hebrew College, 1860 Washington Street, Newton, Massachusetts 02466. Commencement will be from 12:00–1:15 pm; ordination will be from 1:45–3:15 pm, with a reception to follow.
May this season of transitions and endings bring us closer together as we give thanks for our community, and may we be strengthened to share the lessons of our time together as we step into the future.
Bivracha, With blessings,
Rabbi Ashira