Saturday, April 30, 2011
Support for Jews By Choice
Just doing a shout-out to my friend and congregant Kathy, who started http://www.jewishconversionsupport.com/. Go there and hit the 'like' button!
Friday, April 29, 2011
We go to church so you don't have to. - Year of Sundays
It is so interesting to see ourselves through other people's eyes. This blog went to Congregation Beth Israel (aka CBI) in Portland. It's an irreverent discussion (aren't all blogs?) but breathtaking in how they experience Shabbat. It's breathtaking and very much worth reading. Two quotes:
The Jews put a lot of emphasis on the passage of time. They count the days of the calendar and the holy days of Passover and Hanukkah and other holidays, too, I’m sure. I love it because what they’re really doing is living in their days, making them count, never letting time get away from them. It’s no surprise, given their history of oppression, that they embrace gratitude as a way of life. Staying in the moment – in the day, so to speak – is my goal for this whole spiritual journey anyway, so as I looked around the sanctuary, which is round and cozy and embraces the congregation like a rib-crushing hug from your Bubbe, I tried to stop yearning for the present and just be in it instead.
As far as I’m concerned, Judaism is what religion is supposed to sound and feel and taste like and I’ll be honest: I wish I could be a Jew. It has everything I want – a strong sense of community and culture, none of the answers, all of the questions and ridiculously good deli meat.
Here's a thought: we spend a lot of time in our congregations gnashing our teeth and wringing our hands and shrying gavult (and I admit I do a lot of this--A LOT OF THIS) over the future of movements and synagogues and how we should pray and what does this all mean etc. Perhaps we're doing better than we think, and perhaps we do best when we stop worrying and stop obsessing over new programs and special speakers and all kinds of bells and whistles. Perhaps it's enough to be authentic, to try to be our best selves, to be fully present and in the moment, to be welcoming and kind, to not expect too much from others except what we expect of ourselves, and to find reasons to be joyous. Maybe, more than awesome sound systems and gizmos and programs, that's all a community needs to be successful, to be holy. After all, this week, in Kedoshim (Lev. 19) we read that we should be holy, and they way to holiness is all about our personal interactions, including (famously) to love our neighbors as ourselves.
To be sure, Rabbi Cahana and Cantor Schiff are both AMAZING clergy, and they set a very specific tone, and are fortunate to have a healthy and thriving congregation that embraces that tone, that culture. And we rest on whatever laurels real or imagined we may have at our peril. But I think it's worth remembering that sometimes, sometimes we get it right.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Parenting Podcast: What Summer Camp Means for Jewish Families - Reform Judaism
Thanks to Lisa Bieber David for the head's up on this podcast!
by Wendy Grinberg, RJE
URJ Parenting SpecialistParents routinely describe the experience as "life changing" and their returned child as "more independent," "stronger" and "confident" as a result of the experience. Their children learned "leadership skills" and gained an "increased sense of self-esteem" and a "strong sense of self." Children learned how to live with others and how to be part of the group. Parents observe that their children return home more mature in their relationships and in their behaviors. ... Parents say that their children acquired new skills, largely because the experience allowed them to try new activities and build on strengths.
These observations are taken from the recently updated study "Limud by the Lake Revisited" about the effects of Jewish summer camp on children. I can hardly imagine a better description of the educational and growth experiences parents wish for their children. And yet, sending our kids away seems counterintuitive. How can our young children thrive without our loving, caring presence?
It strikes me that birth is just the first in a long process of gradual separation. First children physically separate, and in young adulthood we talk about cutting the proverbial umbilical cord so that our children can become independent adults. The Hebrew tzimtzum describes the contraction of the Creator so that the creation could exist; if God once filled everything, God needed to contract in order for the world to have a space to be. In that space, there is simultaneously an absence and a strong sense of an enveloping, loving presence. Both are required for individuation and actualization. In this parenting podcast, you can hear camp director Jonathan "JC" Cohen talk about how the freedom of sleep away camp gives children the chance to blossom while still in a safe, loving and supportive environment.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Poll: Over half of Egyptians want to cancel peace treaty with Israel - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Dear Egyptians, our friends: this is not exactly what we had in mind. Can we talk?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Hadar's Popular Egalitarian Yeshiva Grapples With Sex Before Marriage – Forward.com
Great Article on the Progressive (?) Egalitarian Orthodox Yeshivat Hadar and how they're dealing with the issue of premarital sex...
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/137147/#ixzz1KUkESaQa
The questions, he said, are about, “‘How does this Halacha, this text, apply to me?’ That’s how this deep analysis will often lead to diverse conclusions. That, ideally, should emerge not from a person’s own personal preference but from a real, honest assessment.” Loeb said that examining issues of sexuality in a nuanced way has led her to confront the question of whether she can live a halachic life.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/137147/#ixzz1KUkESaQa
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
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