I'm still have trouble finding time to sit down and compose, but I have been pausing at the end of every day and thinking about what I learned.
Last Friday 4/9. We had a great Leadership Team Meeting of our CE21 project. We received the data of the Congregational Conversations of the past months. Preliminarily, we need to rethink and reformulate how we create community. What worked for the first 20 years of my rabbinate was never even 75% effective, but it may be even less engaging and empowering today. It's time for new structures and experiences to connect people to new friends, sacred community and God.
Last Saturday at the Bleich Bar Mitzvah a member of the family was an old friend who I hadn't seen in many, many years, Ray Panitz. It brought back so many wonderful memories of Camp Ramah. Also listening to his career path changes - it gives me hope that when I'm ready to retire (I don't know when) there could be a life after.
Sunday 4/11 I went to Debbie Togut's funeral. For the past decade she has been the 2nd Hazzan at Bnai Israel in Rockville. I've know her for over 30 years: She was a camper of mine (I was unit head) in Camp Ramah in New England in 1977 or 78. She was this tall, beautiful, sweet, intelligent, sweet voiced, incredible davener and torah reader. There was a joy that flowed from her in everything she did. She was wonderful, also, active in planning activities (pe'ulat erev in particular) for her fellow campers. It was devastating to think that at 46 with two young children she's gone. The only comfort I had at the grave was listening to a flock of birds near the cemetery singing in a high chirp, something not far from her voice. I thought she would have liked their singing... or maybe she was even singing with them.
Monday we had long, but good Executive Committee. I am especially happy about as we reflected on the experience people are having filling in letters in our new Torah. [It's even more important than the $100,000+ we raised in pledges] Menachem Youlus, for all the bad press he's been receiving, is really creating sacred moments for our families. People are really connecting to the spiritual nature of our holy text. It's been sublime.
Tuesday I went to a mid-day meeting through AIM with the CEO of Adventist Health Care, Bill Robertson. He's honestly one of the few people I've met in the county who is a leader. He's intelligent, well read, thoughtful, understands politics, and still is spiritual. He has a vision for his institution and the county that I rarely hear anywhere else. It nice to go to a meeting and come out energized. I hope we'll be able to work with him in the short term of immigration issues, but in the long term on housing, transportation, and education.
Wednesday the 14th I had mikvah duty. Once a year, I sit on the Beit Din in the rotation of the Conservative rabbis in the area for conversions. We receive essays from the adult candidates about their spiritual journey and spend half an hour with each getting to know them a little more and then joining them to our people through immersion in the ritual bath. It's always special. We officiated for 4 adults and two children. The stories of the journey to find a connection to God and community - were beautiful and powerful. It's sad that most adult born-Jews don't have the spiritual growth experience of our adult Jews by choice. I'm once again inspired ... hearing their stories and their commitment to our faith.
Thursday - as I prepared for Bible Study in Numbers 18, I was wondering why don't we tithe anymore? And as I reviewed this section about offerings to the priests it was finally clear why. The tithe given to the Levites and priests was for their service to the Temple. Especially crucial in the aftermath of the Korach story was their responsibility to prevent encroachment with the holy - which would lead to death. Since the Temple is not standing - there is no risk of encroachment. Since the levites are not performing the protective duties - they are not paid. No one else can receive their special portions. We do give charity (and can give as much as 20%)- but not tithe without the Temple to the priestly clans.
Today - I am finishing my drash to the Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat. The Chancellor had a wonderful piece in the JTS weekly that part of the core idea. The laws of skin diseases and infestations of clothing and houses - reflect the need not only for cure, but for spiritual healing. The ancient discussion of these issues is much less concerned about cure. But, we today don't always pay enough attention to the spiritual side of illness and property damage. I appreciate now: the way the priest visits someone everyone week when their sick or their home infested and connects a family to community and God through their presence and concern. Maybe we should have more rituals for healing and after a home is restored; to nurture our quest for physical and spiritual health and realize the degree to which the emotional and the physical are interconnected.
Shabbat Shalom
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
NEW TORAH STORY AND VIDEO IN THE GAZETTE
You can read the whole story and see the video at:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03242010/gaitnew192508_32549.php
Story:
Elisa Linowes picked up a turkey quill to write on holy scrolls her synagogue will use for generations.
"It's neat that it will be here for many years," the Germantown resident said. "Who knows? Maybe if our kids get married and they have children and they stay in the community and continue educating their children in our synagogue, they will have the opportunity to read from a Torah that we've actually helped [to write]."
Linowes, her husband, Richard, and her four children worship at Kehilat Shalom Synagogue on Apple Ridge Road in Montgomery Village. The synagogue's leaders started The Torah Project to raise funds and help build community while fulfilling a holy commandment. The Torah, or Jewish sacred text, includes 613 mitzvah, or commandments, one of which calls on Jews to write a Torah during their lifetime.
"Torah is the wellspring of Jewish life," Rabbi Mark Raphael said. "On some levels, we believe that it is God's words to us. And we search it and we interpret it for insights to how to live a good life."
In October, Kehilat Shalom commissioned a scribe, or sofer, in Israel to write a new Torah for the synagogue, an effort that costs between $40,000 and $50,000, said Carrie Ettinger, a congregant helping to manage The Torah Project. The Torah is written with more than 304,000 letters and the scribe left open almost 2,000 letters for congregants and their extended families to fill in.
Officials are still taking pledges, with plans to cover costs of the Torah and raise additional funds for Torah repairs and educational programs, Judith Kranz, executive director of the synagogue, said. Families or individuals can sponsor a word, a letter, a line or a verse. Donations range from $18 for a word to as much as $1,000 for a passage, or parcha.
The full Torah includes 62 panels and will not arrive in Montgomery Village until September, Kranz said. Congregants are now helping to complete two panels, the first and the last of the sacred scrolls.
This Torah is the fourth Raphael will dedicate in his life, and it is unique, he said. The previous three were refurbished; this is the first Torah the 57-year-old will write in.
The year-long project will be completed at a Sept. 26 dedication ceremony during the holiday of Sukkot, and officials hope that all 267 families who worship at the synagogue will write in the Torah, Ettinger said. So far about 75 families have participated, Kranz said.
Rabbi Menachem Youlus is leading monthly educational programs on the Torah, which is written on special parchment, Ettinger said. Writers use a turkey feather quill, special ink and special fonts.
"They don't use anything with metal because metal is used to create weapons," she said.
The new Torah is expected to last several hundred years, Linowes said.
"We have spent our life raising our children and doing Shabbat and doing these rituals, so now here is something that we are doing together as a family in public to create for the community," Linowes said. "This is something that is in front of the community, but it's also for the community. It's not a self-focused thing. It's outward."
Her son, Jeremy, 14, who made his bar mitzvah at the synagogue, daughter Dahlia, 9, and son Nathan, 8, joined her and Richard on March 14 to write in the Torah. Daughter Selia, 16, was out of town.
To participate, contact Kehilat Shalom Synagogue at 9915 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or 301-869-7699. Educational programs are set for Sunday, April 11 and Sunday, May 16.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03242010/gaitnew192508_32549.php
Story:
Elisa Linowes picked up a turkey quill to write on holy scrolls her synagogue will use for generations.
"It's neat that it will be here for many years," the Germantown resident said. "Who knows? Maybe if our kids get married and they have children and they stay in the community and continue educating their children in our synagogue, they will have the opportunity to read from a Torah that we've actually helped [to write]."
Linowes, her husband, Richard, and her four children worship at Kehilat Shalom Synagogue on Apple Ridge Road in Montgomery Village. The synagogue's leaders started The Torah Project to raise funds and help build community while fulfilling a holy commandment. The Torah, or Jewish sacred text, includes 613 mitzvah, or commandments, one of which calls on Jews to write a Torah during their lifetime.
"Torah is the wellspring of Jewish life," Rabbi Mark Raphael said. "On some levels, we believe that it is God's words to us. And we search it and we interpret it for insights to how to live a good life."
In October, Kehilat Shalom commissioned a scribe, or sofer, in Israel to write a new Torah for the synagogue, an effort that costs between $40,000 and $50,000, said Carrie Ettinger, a congregant helping to manage The Torah Project. The Torah is written with more than 304,000 letters and the scribe left open almost 2,000 letters for congregants and their extended families to fill in.
Officials are still taking pledges, with plans to cover costs of the Torah and raise additional funds for Torah repairs and educational programs, Judith Kranz, executive director of the synagogue, said. Families or individuals can sponsor a word, a letter, a line or a verse. Donations range from $18 for a word to as much as $1,000 for a passage, or parcha.
The full Torah includes 62 panels and will not arrive in Montgomery Village until September, Kranz said. Congregants are now helping to complete two panels, the first and the last of the sacred scrolls.
This Torah is the fourth Raphael will dedicate in his life, and it is unique, he said. The previous three were refurbished; this is the first Torah the 57-year-old will write in.
The year-long project will be completed at a Sept. 26 dedication ceremony during the holiday of Sukkot, and officials hope that all 267 families who worship at the synagogue will write in the Torah, Ettinger said. So far about 75 families have participated, Kranz said.
Rabbi Menachem Youlus is leading monthly educational programs on the Torah, which is written on special parchment, Ettinger said. Writers use a turkey feather quill, special ink and special fonts.
"They don't use anything with metal because metal is used to create weapons," she said.
The new Torah is expected to last several hundred years, Linowes said.
"We have spent our life raising our children and doing Shabbat and doing these rituals, so now here is something that we are doing together as a family in public to create for the community," Linowes said. "This is something that is in front of the community, but it's also for the community. It's not a self-focused thing. It's outward."
Her son, Jeremy, 14, who made his bar mitzvah at the synagogue, daughter Dahlia, 9, and son Nathan, 8, joined her and Richard on March 14 to write in the Torah. Daughter Selia, 16, was out of town.
To participate, contact Kehilat Shalom Synagogue at 9915 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or 301-869-7699. Educational programs are set for Sunday, April 11 and Sunday, May 16.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Videos
I haven't posted much recently but hope to get back into the routine of writing regularly. I have posted a handful of videos on You Tube over the past months. I hope to post more soon.
Included are:
Blessings before the Haftarah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7rVxpG9V_U
Doing an Aliyah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdnd15trhvk
A piece about Writing in the Torah for Mitzvah 613 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaEWk7oTO7Y
How to Do Hagba http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gxFqMOhFqo
Included are:
Blessings before the Haftarah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7rVxpG9V_U
Doing an Aliyah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdnd15trhvk
A piece about Writing in the Torah for Mitzvah 613 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaEWk7oTO7Y
How to Do Hagba http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gxFqMOhFqo
Friday, February 5, 2010
Interfaith Dialogue
Last Sunday I attended an interfaith program at Tikvat Israel in Rockville. There was a panel discussion with local leaders: Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian. There many points shared about the spiritual quest which resonated with me and I share just a few:
How would I describe my relationship with God: a personal one or awareness of an impersonal force? Yes to both. I certainly do talk to God asking for strength and wisdom and from personal experience sense that God does love me (and everyone). I also have frequent experiences of radical amazement, often in the wonders of nature, flowing through an awe which fills me with an awareness of the creative and loving flow of the Spiritual Force of the Universe. I also frequently experience wonder in the knowledge of another person's story and soul - I affirm that these connections are possibly because of the Divine connection between all the spiritualities of the universe, thanks to God.
A few of the speakers spoke about: MYSTERY. I know that God exists having felt the Presence, but I don't understand what God is. I believe this is impossible for our finite minds. We can't conceptualize a completely spiritual reality - since we can only conceive of physical reality. The mystical tradition affirms this when it articulates the idea of "Ein Sof" (literally 'without end') - that the God who created the universe is inherently unknowable, except for God's emanations into creation. For Judaism we also live in the mystery of the suffering of the world. There are partial but no fully satisfying answer to: why a good and powerful God would create a world filled with so much suffering. This (and human free will given God's knowledge) are paradoxes in which Judaism is willing to live.
Third, when do I feel most distant from God? For me there are three internal negative which eclipse God from my life. When I'm not in the moment ... God is distant. For example, when I'm worrying about the logistics and choreography of services, instead of praying, I don't feel any connection to God. Second, when I'm angry, especially at someone else, it's almost impossible to pray (just to ask for calm) and empty of spiritual connection. Finally when the prayers/thoughts are all about me - I don't feel the holiness. I used to hate the artificial breaks in the Yom Kippur Service. I! hated the mass outflow of people who would rush out of services after the sermon before Yizkor. And I raged! again after Yizkor at everyone who rushed out and blocked the Cantor from beginning Hineni and the Musaf Service by their "exodus." I! know what's best for people - they shouldn't leave! The readings we do now really help me to focus on continuing to be in the right place spiritually and (even though I may disagree about priorities) to allow people their own spirituality: to feel uncomfortable reciting the Memorial Service while their parents are still alive or to leave to get their kids and to spend time with their family. When the worship is about me - I can't daven. There are times when I deeply meditate at the end of the Amidah that the "me" actually fades away and for a moment or two I sense something beyond me - connecting everything.
Just one more of many thoughts shared and reflected upon last Sunday. Someone commenting on the historical and present-day intolerance too often created by our various faiths said, and I paraphrase: "It's scary when we're so sure we know what God wants me to do..." To think that I possess the absolute truth and that I can impose that certitude on others - is truly terrifying. I think the great religious traditions all have slices, large pieces of God's message to mankind. To think I'm the one who possesses the whole answer - to often leads to human suffering and certainly not to sanctifying God's Name and Presence.
How would I describe my relationship with God: a personal one or awareness of an impersonal force? Yes to both. I certainly do talk to God asking for strength and wisdom and from personal experience sense that God does love me (and everyone). I also have frequent experiences of radical amazement, often in the wonders of nature, flowing through an awe which fills me with an awareness of the creative and loving flow of the Spiritual Force of the Universe. I also frequently experience wonder in the knowledge of another person's story and soul - I affirm that these connections are possibly because of the Divine connection between all the spiritualities of the universe, thanks to God.
A few of the speakers spoke about: MYSTERY. I know that God exists having felt the Presence, but I don't understand what God is. I believe this is impossible for our finite minds. We can't conceptualize a completely spiritual reality - since we can only conceive of physical reality. The mystical tradition affirms this when it articulates the idea of "Ein Sof" (literally 'without end') - that the God who created the universe is inherently unknowable, except for God's emanations into creation. For Judaism we also live in the mystery of the suffering of the world. There are partial but no fully satisfying answer to: why a good and powerful God would create a world filled with so much suffering. This (and human free will given God's knowledge) are paradoxes in which Judaism is willing to live.
Third, when do I feel most distant from God? For me there are three internal negative which eclipse God from my life. When I'm not in the moment ... God is distant. For example, when I'm worrying about the logistics and choreography of services, instead of praying, I don't feel any connection to God. Second, when I'm angry, especially at someone else, it's almost impossible to pray (just to ask for calm) and empty of spiritual connection. Finally when the prayers/thoughts are all about me - I don't feel the holiness. I used to hate the artificial breaks in the Yom Kippur Service. I! hated the mass outflow of people who would rush out of services after the sermon before Yizkor. And I raged! again after Yizkor at everyone who rushed out and blocked the Cantor from beginning Hineni and the Musaf Service by their "exodus." I! know what's best for people - they shouldn't leave! The readings we do now really help me to focus on continuing to be in the right place spiritually and (even though I may disagree about priorities) to allow people their own spirituality: to feel uncomfortable reciting the Memorial Service while their parents are still alive or to leave to get their kids and to spend time with their family. When the worship is about me - I can't daven. There are times when I deeply meditate at the end of the Amidah that the "me" actually fades away and for a moment or two I sense something beyond me - connecting everything.
Just one more of many thoughts shared and reflected upon last Sunday. Someone commenting on the historical and present-day intolerance too often created by our various faiths said, and I paraphrase: "It's scary when we're so sure we know what God wants me to do..." To think that I possess the absolute truth and that I can impose that certitude on others - is truly terrifying. I think the great religious traditions all have slices, large pieces of God's message to mankind. To think I'm the one who possesses the whole answer - to often leads to human suffering and certainly not to sanctifying God's Name and Presence.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Shabbat Sermonette
I've always been ambivalent about the themes in our sacred literature of God as warrior. I know that it is powerful metaphor for divine power ... and seeing God's hand of justice defending the disenfranchised, fills me with hope and even some courage. And although I am excited by reading the Story of the Red (Reed) Sea and God's mighty hand crushing the Egyptian chariot (tank) corps ... still calling God "eesh milchama" - a man of war, is disturbing.
My new insight [from one of my colleagues] is understanding this metaphor from yoga. One of my favorite, yet challenging positions on Tuesday mornings in my class (when I have time to go) is the 'Warrior pose.' It's great stretching, great toning and takes great concentration. It energizes me for the rest of my day. But the warrior pose is mostly not about physical strength, it's about mental strength. It takes warm up preparation. It's about focus. Thinking about your position, breathing, relaxing into the position and maintaining it - it's as much internal as external.
Maybe that's what it really means to be a warrior. It's about meeting the challenges of life: some physical, many interpersonal, just as many struggles within for making the right choices. Ethics of the Fathers asks: who is the person who is truly mighty? The person who can control their inclinations... That's real strength and power.
Maybe that's what it means to be a warrior. It certainly does in yoga. Maybe it's God who gives us the focus and strength to make the right choices. That would make God the Ultimate Warrior - the spirit that makes possible the strength to choice goodness.
My new insight [from one of my colleagues] is understanding this metaphor from yoga. One of my favorite, yet challenging positions on Tuesday mornings in my class (when I have time to go) is the 'Warrior pose.' It's great stretching, great toning and takes great concentration. It energizes me for the rest of my day. But the warrior pose is mostly not about physical strength, it's about mental strength. It takes warm up preparation. It's about focus. Thinking about your position, breathing, relaxing into the position and maintaining it - it's as much internal as external.
Maybe that's what it really means to be a warrior. It's about meeting the challenges of life: some physical, many interpersonal, just as many struggles within for making the right choices. Ethics of the Fathers asks: who is the person who is truly mighty? The person who can control their inclinations... That's real strength and power.
Maybe that's what it means to be a warrior. It certainly does in yoga. Maybe it's God who gives us the focus and strength to make the right choices. That would make God the Ultimate Warrior - the spirit that makes possible the strength to choice goodness.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Our New Torah
Last Sunday we began our educational programs for celebrating the creation of our brand new Torah. It was a wonderful day. Rabbi Menachem Youlus did a wonderful presentation to prepare everyone for the significance of what we're doing. The letters of the Torah provide a personal pathway for every one to connect with God. It was clear that everyone who participated felt this spirituality. It was sublime. When people came up it was clear that they were: realizing the holiness of the Torah and its history, sincerely praying in the moment for whatever flowed into their hearts, and knew that this scroll will last more than 200 years ... you could see it in everyone's faces - this was a sacred time of connection. And more than 100 people attended.
During the formal program we had five individuals (supported by their spouses and/or families) come up to the table to write a letter on the parchment. The letters were already outlined and you learned how to ink the quill and dab the ink onto the letters. Each person represented a different decade in the history of our sacred community. It was clear that everyone was in the moment and moved by the seriousness and holiness of filling in a letter in the Torah for themselves and as representatives of the entire community.
After a great fleshig lunch, we had two hours of those who had arranged to ink their letter. If you'd like to participate in writing your own Torah by writing a letter in our Torah - contact the office. I don't expect future programs to be as well attended as the first one - but I am confident that we will provide 7-8 opportunities in the coming months to energize individuals and our community through this mitzvah. On September 26th, we will complete the Torah, dedicate it and use on the holiday of Sukkot - hold the date - for a very, very special sacred time.
During the formal program we had five individuals (supported by their spouses and/or families) come up to the table to write a letter on the parchment. The letters were already outlined and you learned how to ink the quill and dab the ink onto the letters. Each person represented a different decade in the history of our sacred community. It was clear that everyone was in the moment and moved by the seriousness and holiness of filling in a letter in the Torah for themselves and as representatives of the entire community.
After a great fleshig lunch, we had two hours of those who had arranged to ink their letter. If you'd like to participate in writing your own Torah by writing a letter in our Torah - contact the office. I don't expect future programs to be as well attended as the first one - but I am confident that we will provide 7-8 opportunities in the coming months to energize individuals and our community through this mitzvah. On September 26th, we will complete the Torah, dedicate it and use on the holiday of Sukkot - hold the date - for a very, very special sacred time.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The "B" page of the Amidah at Kehilat Shalom
Around 10 years ago when we switched from the "old" Sim Shalom Siddur to the newer "Slim" Shalom Prayerbook we had several months of discussions at Kehilat Shalom about utilizing the "B" page which includes the Imahot (the Matriarchs). At the time, I had indicated that I had no problem with adding words into the paragraphs, but that I was opposed to changing the benediction at the end of first blessing of the Amidah.
I've changed my mind, for two reasons. First, I've been reciting the "egalitarian" page frequently for the past six months and I've become comfortable with the words we add. More important though, in studying sources about the Amidah and the fixing of its wording, the evidence indicates to me that these words are not "biblical" in origin or time creation (as I had previously believed.) I still believe the words are divinely inspired, but not literally. They are not prophetic in origin, I believe from the time of the Pharisees or the Men of the Great Assembly. Therefore the possibility of changing the words is true of both the paragraphs as well as the chatimot (the closing blessing formulas).
After discussions with the Ritual Committee and the Board of Directors, we will be implementing use of the "B" page in the Musaf Amidah ONLY. We will retain the "A" page in all other services at Kehilat Shalom. I believe this affirms two other fundamental values: respect for tradition and pluralism. Using the A page affirms our devotion to our heritage. Using the B page in this fashion says that both versions of the Amidah are 'kosher' - there are legitimate liturgical variations in different communities and even within communities. We also have regulars at our services who will not wish to recite the egalitarian version of the Amidah and making the change in this way enables their desire to recite the A page for themselves.
I still know we have a serious issue regarding transition and being comfortable with change. In the coming weeks, the hazzan will be reviewing the Amidah with the new words. I will also use Q&A time on Shabbat mornings to take questions. If you have any questions regarding this - please feel free to contact me.
I've changed my mind, for two reasons. First, I've been reciting the "egalitarian" page frequently for the past six months and I've become comfortable with the words we add. More important though, in studying sources about the Amidah and the fixing of its wording, the evidence indicates to me that these words are not "biblical" in origin or time creation (as I had previously believed.) I still believe the words are divinely inspired, but not literally. They are not prophetic in origin, I believe from the time of the Pharisees or the Men of the Great Assembly. Therefore the possibility of changing the words is true of both the paragraphs as well as the chatimot (the closing blessing formulas).
After discussions with the Ritual Committee and the Board of Directors, we will be implementing use of the "B" page in the Musaf Amidah ONLY. We will retain the "A" page in all other services at Kehilat Shalom. I believe this affirms two other fundamental values: respect for tradition and pluralism. Using the A page affirms our devotion to our heritage. Using the B page in this fashion says that both versions of the Amidah are 'kosher' - there are legitimate liturgical variations in different communities and even within communities. We also have regulars at our services who will not wish to recite the egalitarian version of the Amidah and making the change in this way enables their desire to recite the A page for themselves.
I still know we have a serious issue regarding transition and being comfortable with change. In the coming weeks, the hazzan will be reviewing the Amidah with the new words. I will also use Q&A time on Shabbat mornings to take questions. If you have any questions regarding this - please feel free to contact me.
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