T orah P ortion
Present Mirrors the Past
BY RABBI NATHAN MARTIN
PARSHAT NASO
AS MANY OF US find ourselves
emerging from the forced
social isolation caused from the
pandemic, I was surprised to find
some interesting connections
to this moment in this week’s
Torah portion with the laws of
the nazarite.

A nazarite is someone who
takes a vow to set themselves
apart from society for the sake
of YHVH. (The Hebrew root
letters, N-Z-R pertain to the idea
of consecration and separation).

For the duration of their vow
they abstain from alcohol and
from cutting their hair. Both
of these actions can be seen as
ascetic or more extreme behav-
iors that potentially diminish
social interaction and physi-
cally mark oneself as different
or separate.

And just as the creation of
holiness is accompanied by
separation (Shabbat is separated
from the week), the nazarite’s
actions are also viewed as steps
of separating and dedicating
oneself to the holy.

The parallels to today’s
moment are striking. During
Pew Continued from Page 16
Jewish than those over 50 with
just one Jewish parent.

“In other words, it appears
that the offspring of intermar-
riages have become increasingly
likely to identify as Jewish in
adulthood,” according to the
Pew report.

Still, children with two
Jewish parents are overwhelm-
ingly more likely to be raised
Jewish than those of intermar-
riage. “Intermarried Jews who
are currently raising minor
children (under 18) in their
homes are much less likely to
say they are bringing up their
24 MAY 20, 2021
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
May 21
May 28
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8:03 p.m.

this time of social distancing we,
too, have had to refrain from
social interaction, to set ourselves
apart. And, like the refraining
from cutting hair (which many
of us also refrained from in the
past year!), the wearing of masks
in public has also been a way
of setting ourselves apart. And,
I would argue that all of this
behavior was in service of the
sacred, of the higher ideal of
recognizing and preserving the
value and sanctity of life (ours
and others).

So what happens when the
term of the nazarite’s vow is
complete? How do they mark
that transition? The Torah text is
very explicit: The nazarite must
bring a variety of offerings to
the sacred center of the camp,
an offering fully for the divine
(olah), one for having potentially
brought about impurity (hattat),
an offering of gratitude for their
state of wholeness (shelamim),
and an offering of unleavened
cakes (matzot). Finally the
nazarite also offers their shaven
hair, the symbol of their separa-
tion, into the flames as well.

While we may not have the
same clarity and distinction as
the nazarite of when our term
of isolation ends, there are
specific moments of demarca-
tion. It has been powerful to hear
friends and colleagues talk about
hugging a parent or grandchild,
or being able to have a meal
with close friends unmasked.

All of these simple pleasures
of connection, simply assumed
before the pandemic, take on the
air of a sacred re-encounter with
each other.

But it can be worth examining
more closely the components of
the nazarite’s transition:
Just as the nazarite’s first
offering, the olah, is dedicated
to God, how might we also mark
our transitions back from an
end of isolation with offerings
that acknowledge the sacred
work of preserving life? Perhaps
this might mean tzedakah to
some element of the health
care community, or it might be
reaching out in some way to
thank those who have risked
their lives as front line workers.

The nazarite’s second
offering of return, the hattat,
acknowledges that they may
have inadvertently impurified
the camp. This too relates to
us. We may have inadvertently
transmitted the virus ourselves.

And we know that we struggled
as a broader community to do
so and half the transmission of
the virus in the country.

Our contemporary offering
here might also be the work
of compassion: for ourselves
as we struggled in our social
isolation and for others who
also did so; even those who
chose to have more contact
than we would have opted for.

The third offering, the
shelamim, invites us to incul-
cate gratitude for our health
and well-being and to continue
to rededicate ourselves to the
task of not only taking care of
our own bodies but of those
around us. How can we strive
to repair the structures neces-
sary to provide everyone with
adequate health care resources?
And finally, the matzot,
a symbol here of purity but
also one of liberation. The
pandemic has brought to light
the deep rifts in our country,
how racism exacerbated the
pandemic in communities of
color. The matzot invite us to
continue the broader work of
building a more equitable and
fair society.

Finally, we should note that
for the nazarite to be successful
in their vow they needed the
support and participation of
the broader community. They
live interdependently with the
broader camp of Israel. At this
moment of return of many
from isolation we too must find
ways to recognize our interde-
pendence on each other, both
locally and globally.

Like the nazarite’s offerings,
we must use this moment to
offer our time and energies
to help bring more wholeness
into our communities. May
our isolation and sacrifice lead
us not only to more personal
wholeness, but to more whole-
ness in our world as well. l
children as Jewish by religion
(28%) than are Jewish parents
who have a Jewish spouse (93%),
although many of the intermar-
ried Jews say they are raising
their children as partly Jewish
by religion or as Jewish aside
from religion,” the report states.

Married Jews with one
Jewish parent are intermarried
at the rate of 82% compared
with 34% of those with two
Jewish parents. And more Jews
say it is important for their
future grandchildren to share
their political convictions and
to carry on their family name
than to marry someone who is
Jewish (64% to 44%).

Interracial and ethnic inter-
marriage is rising, according to
the report. Twenty-one percent
of Jews married between 2010
and 2020 say their spouse has
a different race or ethnicity.

Among Jews married before
2010, just 1 in 10 or fewer Jews
said they had a spouse of a
different race or ethnicity.

Pew added a question in its
2020 survey about participation
in Chabad activities after “taking
heat” for not including a separate
question about Chabad in 2013,
said Cooperman.

The study found that 16% of
Jewish adults in America often
or sometimes participate in
Chabad programs or services.

Of those, 24% are Orthodox,
26% are Conservative, 27% are
Reform and 16% are not affiliated
with any particular branch.

Other findings in the survey
include the political divergence
of the American-Jewish popula-
tion. While 71% of Jews are
Democrats or lean Democrat,
75% of Orthodox Jews are
Republican or lean Republican.

Almost all Jews (90%) say
there’s at least some antisemi-
tism in the U.S., with one third
saying they have experienced
antisemitic remarks in their
presence. The depth Pew was able to
go in exploring antisemitism
was valuable, Weicher said. The
local report had limitations in
questions asked because of
sheer length.

“There were some areas they
were able to dive a little deeper
and get a little more nuance,”
she said, adding that the
ongoing pandemic impacts will
require additional socio-eco-
nomic research long after the
pandemic itself is over.

All in all, the survey offers
a good benchmark 1,000-foot
view to compare to local data,
she said.

“We can go back to local
data and re-evaluate what
we’re seeing based on this new
research,” Weicher said.

Toby Tabachnick is the
editor of the Pittsburgh Jewish
Chronicle. l
JEWISH EXPONENT
Nathan Martin serves as the
associate rabbi at Congregation
Beth Israel in Media and chairs the
board of Pennsylvania Interfaith
Power & Light, a nonprofit focused
on interfaith action around climate
change. 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.

agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



C ommunity / mazel tovs
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DYLAN MICHAEL RUBENSTEIN
Rena and Hal Rubenstein of Pembroke
Pines, Florida, formerly of Philadelphia
and Margate, New Jersey, announce the
March 6 bar mitzvah via Zoom of their
grandson, Dylan Michael Rubenstein
Dylan is the son of Eric and Shawna
(née Lahn) Rubenstein and brother of
Jordan of Forest Hill, Maryland. He is
the grandson of Jeff Lahn of Montreal.

Courtesy of Rena and Hal Rubenstein
J E W I S H E X P O N E N T . C O M /
S U B M I T - M A Z E L - T O V
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Einstein Healthcare Network Appoints
Ken Levitan as President and CEO
EINSTEIN HEALTHCARE NETWORK’S board of
trustees named Ken Levitan as president and CEO.

Levitan has served as the network’s interim
president and CEO since Jan. 1, succeeding Barry
Levitan also worked for Einstein between 2005-’15
before leaving to become executive director in the
health care provider practice at Ernst & Young.

Einstein, which was founded in 1865 as the Jewish
Hospital, counts about 1,000 beds and more than
8,700 employees in Philadelphia and Montgomery
County. Moving Traditions Founder and CEO to
Step Down Next Year
Moving Traditions co-founder and CEO Deborah
Meyer announced that she is stepping down at the
end of March 2022.

“Together, for more than two decades, and during
the challenging last 14 months, we have nurtured the
wellbeing, resilience and compassion of more than
28,000 Jewish youth, within Jewish community,”
Meyer wrote. “We have trained and coached more
Ken Levitan
Courtesy of Einstein Healthcare Network
Freedman, who retired in December.

Levitan most recently served as chief administra-
tive officer, with oversight of strategic partnerships and
alliances and responsibility over human resources,
information services, strategy/planning and perfor-
mance improvement and government relations.

He will lead Einstein through completion of the
merger with Jefferson Health.

“We believe that Ken’s leadership qualities, intimate
knowledge of Einstein and insights will greatly benefit
Einstein as we integrate with Jefferson Health,” said
Lawrence S. Reichlin, chair of the board of trustees.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM From left: Moving Traditions Board Chair Rabbi Darcie
Crystal and co-founder and CEO Deborah Meyer
Courtesy of Moving Traditions
JEWISH EXPONENT
than 2,200 adults to mentor youth.”
“Now we are helping Jewish clergy and educators
to support Jewish preteens and teens as they leave
social isolation and navigate the return to in-person
activities, in this profoundly changing world.”
The organization’s board of directors formed a
transition committee that will search for Meyer’s
successor. “It has been an honor to work closely with such
a talented and visionary leader,” said Rabbi Darcie
Crystal, who chairs the organization’s board of direc-
tors. “This is a bittersweet moment for all of us
connected to the organization.”
Moving Traditions says it “emboldens youth by
fostering self-discovery, challenging sexism and
inspiring a commitment to Jewish life and learning.”
The organization said that, to date it has worked with
more than 28,000 preteens and teens and trained
more than 2,300 adults as family education program
leaders. Scholar-in-residence at Congregation Beth El
to Discuss ‘Plagues, Libel & Suspicion’
Congregation Beth El of Yardley will host at 1 p.m.

on May 23 its virtual scholar in residence, Tzafrir
Barzilay, a Kreitman Postdoctoral Research Fellow at
Ben Gurion University, on the topic of “Plagues, Libel
& Suspicion.”
Barzilay, who is the author of the forthcoming
book, “Poisoned Wells: Accusation, Persecution, and
Minorities” by the University of Pennsylvania Press,
will talk about how the aftermaths of plagues —
such as the pandemic — historically have unleashed
social unrest, wars, famines and waves of violent
antisemitism. Visit bethyardley.org to register on Zoom. l
MAY 20, 2021
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