T orah P ortion
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
Are You What You Wear?
BY RABBI ABE FRIEDMAN
Parshat Tetzaveh
MEL FEYNMAN, the father of
Nobel Prize-winning American
physicist Richard P. Feynman,
worked as a uniform salesman.

In his memoirs, Feynman
describes how his father’s profes-
sion led to one of the defining
lessons of his life:
“One of the things that my
father taught me besides physics
— whether it’s correct or not
— was a disrespect for certain
kinds of things … One time we
were looking at a picture of the
pope and everybody bowing in
front of him. My father said,
‘Now, look at those humans.

Here’s one human standing here,
and all these others are bowing
in front of him. Now what’s the
difference? … this difference is
the hat he’s wearing.’ (If it was a
general, it was the epaulets. It was
always the costume, the uniform,
Feb. 11
Feb. 18
the position.) ‘But,’ he said, ‘this
man has the same problems as
everybody else ...’” (Richard P.

Feynman, “What Do You Care
What Other People Think?”, 18)
This week’s Torah portion,
Tetzaveh, which describes
in minute detail the various
garments worn by the kohanim
(priests) during their service,
seems likely to provoke the same
question: Why all the fancy
clothes? Is there anything truly
special about these kohanim, or
is it just their special outfits?
Even as God designates the
Levites and kohanim to serve in
the Mishkan, the Israelites are
just weeks out of Egypt; the same
people who now take on a central
leadership role were, not too long
ago, toiling in the sun along with
everyone else. By what right do
they now separate themselves
from the rest of the Israelites,
living by a higher standard of
purity and religious devotion?
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah
Berlin (Russia, 1817-1893) answers
this question with a powerful
insight into human behavior:
The way we dress and the way
we act are closely related to one
another. If the kohanim — until
recently, ordinary Israelites just
like everyone else – were to start
holding themselves to a different
measure of religious piety, they
could quickly come to believe
that their status was somehow
inherent in them, rather than
granted by God’s decree. They
would become arrogant, aloof,
perhaps even abusive — qualities
that go against the most basic
values of spiritual leadership.

Donning the uniform, an
external signifier of the role they
were to play, served to remind
the kohanim at all times that
their role as leaders is actually
a responsibility they take
on — an act of service for the
collective good — not personal
aggrandizement. Around this time last year,
before BZBI reopened for those
who want to attend in person, I
mentioned in a d’var Torah that
not only was I wearing a suit and
tie each week, which everyone
on the Zoom meeting could see,
but I had also put on proper
dress shoes — which remained
off-camera, even when we stood
for the Amidah. Why bother?
What difference did it make if I
wore oxfords, sneakers, flip flops
or fluffy bedroom slippers?
The shoes themselves
certainly made no difference to
the congregation — but they had
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a strong influence on my spiri-
tual and mental frame. My sense
of presence and focus, my aware-
ness of a rabbi’s responsibility to
lead and guide, to comfort and
support, were indelibly shaped
by my choice to “dress the part.”
I am the same person
wherever I go, but I understand
my role differently wearing a
suit to a wedding than when I
wear swim trunks at the beach.

I’m going to enjoy myself either
way, but they are definitely not
the same situation.

Parshat Tetzaveh offers all of
us a reminder that we choose
how we want to show up in each
of life’s encounters — and we
must choose deliberately and
thoughtfully. l
Rabbi Abe Friedman is the senior
rabbi at Temple Beth Zion-Beth
Israel in Philadelphia. The Board
of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia
is proud to provide diverse
perspectives on Torah commentary
for the Jewish Exponent. The
opinions expressed in this column
are the author’s own and do not
reflect the view of the Board of
Rabbis. Kiddush HaShem
Bob was evacuated by helicopter from up-state New York to HUP.

His wife and adult daughter drove through the night, arriving Friday morning.

They were lodged by a couple who were members of Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

“Thank you both for your hospitality. Sharing your Sabbath meal Friday night
was a wonderful experience. I am strong in my faith and
sharing your faith with me brought me much calm and peace.”
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C ommunity / mazel tovs
B I RTH
MAR R I AG E
COLBIE BLAIR ARCH
Sara and Mitchell Arch of
Conshohocken announce the
birth of their daughter, Colbie
Blair, born on Dec. 13, 2021.

Colbie is named in loving
memory of maternal great-grand-
mother Claire B. Stup and
paternal great-grandmother
Beatrice Friedman.

Sharing in their joy are grand-
parents Leslie Sokolow, Elaine
and Douglas Arch; great-grand-
mother Fritzi Arch; the Stup and
Arch families; and cousins Sofia,
Sienna and Mira.
SNOW-MCKEE Photo by Sara Arch
Lori and Mark Snow of Audubon announce
the marriage of their son, Levi Evan Snow, to
Megan Elana McKee, daughter of Debra and
Michael McKee of Mission Viejo, California.

The ceremony and reception took place at
Pipers at the Marott in Indianapolis on Oct. 3,
2021. Rabbi Sue Silberberg, executive director
of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at Indiana
University, officiated.

Sharing in the couple’s happiness are grand-
parents, family and friends.

Megan, a graduate of Indiana University and Vanderbilt University, is a speech
language pathologist at Children’s Therapy Connection. Levi, also a graduate of
Indiana University, is an IT assurance consultant at Crowe.

The couple lives in Indianapolis and plan to honeymoon in Spain in the spring.

Photo by Rogue Images
COMMUNITYBRIEFS The Weitzman Announces Leadership Moves
THE WEITZMAN NATIONAL MUSEUM of
American Jewish History announced the appointment
of a chief of staff and the moves of two longtime staffers
into expanded roles.

Arthur Sandman was appointed chief of staff, while
Emily August is now chief public engagement officer
and Kristen Kreider is now managing director, business
operations. Sandman takes over for Susan Weiss, who served in
the role for nearly nine years and is now chief of staff for
the Jewish Museum in New York.

As chief of staff, Sandman, who began on Feb. 1,
will work closely with and advise the museum’s presi-
dent and CEO with a focus on governance and board
relations, as well as help to lead and align the museum
team as it grows its staff and plans for reopening and for
its future.

Sandman has spent his career in leadership roles
at Jewish organizations, including Jewish Agency
International Development, Jewish Federation of Greater
MetroWest and UJA-Federation of New York. Most
recently, he was executive vice president of Jewish Agency
International Development, where he oversaw the opera-
tions relating to the agency’s efforts to foster relations
with Jewish Federations and with individual supporters.

Meantime, August and Kreider, both of whom began
their tenures with the museum in 2010, move into
expanded roles.

August has held roles in programming and commu-
nications at the museum throughout her tenure. She
works to ensure the museum’s goals for awareness,
engagement and attendance are met through communi-
cations and programming strategies.

In addition, August has played key roles including
producing major public events, such as Supreme
Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 2019 “Only
in America” induction ceremony and serving as
program director for the annual national Jewish
American Heritage Month effort.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Arthur Sandman
Photo by Perry Bindelglass
Emily August
Since the museum’s 2010 opening Kreider has served
as creative director and administrative supervisor of the
museum store. She is responsible for curating, sourcing,
buying and merchandising the store’s 3,500 items and
maintains relationships with 375-plus vendors.

During the pandemic, Kreider transitioned to an
e-commerce model for the store.

AJC Responds to Oxford School Board
Member Remarks About Immigrants
The American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/SNJ
Latino Jewish Coalition responded on Feb. 3 to
remarks Oxford Area School District board member
Jennifer Kehs made at a Jan. 18 meeting where she
appeared to blame immigrant children for a decline
in the district’s performance.

Kehs, who was speaking about a revision to a
policy regarding homeless students, said the school
district’s rank of 369 out of 707 might be the cause,
Fox29.com reported.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Photo by Jessi Melcer
Kristen Kreider
Photo By Beth Heaney
“Those people may potentially continue on this
downward trend, as we have people coming into our
school district who don’t speak any English, who have
no schooling in America,” Kehs said.

AJC issued several responses.

“The comments by Oxford Area School District
member Jennifer Kehs blaming undocumented
immigrants for the district’s rankings is ignorant
and reprehensible,” the coalition said in a state-
ment. “Othering a group of students creates a hostile
atmosphere where hatred can fester. Creating an
unfriendly environment toward immigrants anywhere
but especially in schools cannot be tolerated.”
“My family came to this country and they strug-
gled to make a better life for me in Philadelphia,”
said Anthony Rosado, a coalition co-chair. “We
must ensure that America is a welcoming place
for everyone seeking to become part of our nation
seeking better opportunities for their families.” l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
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