11 posts tagged “judaism”
In last night's class, Rabbi Singer made an interesting statement: in modern times, the "story" of the Jews has become the tragedy of the Shoah (Holocaust). But that's not the story we need to tell. We need to reclaim the story of Exodus as our central theme.
And so we spent an hour and a half--not nearly enough time--delving into the major thematic elements of Exodus.
For me--on so many levels, Exodus embodies the Jewish soul: a release from bondage (literally and/or metaphorically, take your pick); the willing, communal acceptance of this unique covenant--embodied in a revolutionary, egalitarian code that's binding forever, for all generations for the children of Israel.
I think this is very relevant to the Jewish convert--the wandering in the desert, coming to a place when/where you're ready to accept all this, being brought to your knees in awe--and then standing back up with your people...
Sorry to get a little horsey, but... yeah. It's like that for me.
We also spent a bit of time discussion the representation/role of women at the Sinai event. The Torah writer(s) may imply that women were not present, but some Rabbinic commentary theorize they were there.
(Side note here for my non-Jewish friends: Judaism is not a "biblical" religion--it's a Rabbinic religion. We don't care so much what the actual text says--although it's important--but what the Rabbinic interpretation/analysis has to say about it. And for Reform Jews, its potential meaning in modern times is much more relevant. And the Rabbis' interpretations may be disparate--arguments and POVs literally spanning hundreds, if not thousands of years. Often times, stories were created to help fill in the gaps of understanding; sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical in nature. This is called Midrash). OK, school's out!).
And so we read a poem: Merle Feld offers a bit of contemporary midrash regarding the role of women at Sinai in "We All Stood Together."
We All Stood Together
My brother and I were at Sinai
He kept a journal
of what he saw
of what he heard
of what it all meant to him
I wish I had such a record
of what happened to me
It seems like every time I want to write
I can't
I'm always holding a baby
one of my own
or one of my friend
always holding a baby
so my hands are never free
to write things down
And then
As time passes
the particulars
the hard data
the who what when where why
slip away from me
and all I'm left with is
the feeling
But feelings are just sounds
The vowel barking of a mute
my brother is so sure of what he heard
after all he's got a record of it
consonant after consonant after consonant
If we remembered it together
we could recreate holy time
sparks flying
Saul Singer's column in yesterday's Jerusalem Post highlights a few (common?) responses from readers who objected to his claim that anti-conversion attitudes now threaten Jewish survival in the modern world.
There is nothing sacred about the birth connection. Just as born Jews migrate away from their birth religion toward nothing or another religion, there is at least some small proportion of non-Jews for whom Judaism is a much better fit.
Many converts feel they have come home to something that was always inside them. Others develop this feeling of belonging over time. Just because Jewishness may not always be "explainable in rational terms" does not mean that the only people with "Jewish souls" are born Jews.
THIS BRINGS US to the fear of "dilution." Sure, converts will, like born Jews, be spread out on the spectrum of observance and Jewish identity. But why are Jews so quick to assume that the supposed non-Jewishness of converts will affect Jewish culture, rather than vice versa?
Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg is senior rabbi of a Skokie, Illinois Conservative-Reconstructionist congregation. He's also a prolific blogger and YouTube-er who's amassed hundreds (OK, I didn't really count, but there's a lot!) of videos under the "JewU" tag. Topics include conversion, understanding the Jewish people, Israel, worship, lifecycle, humor, societal issues and more.
Here's Rabbi Ginsburg on a Jewish view of Creationism and Evolution:
Ah, notes... Wonderful notes...
- Hello, high desert diaspora! My wife and I are heading to Boise, ID in a few weeks for a family wedding, and then we're going to squeeze in a little vacation at the nearby Tamarack while the kids are with the grandparents. Idaho seems to be stuck with a racist image, but to my surprise, there are quite a few Jews in Idaho -- Reform and Chabad. I'd love to check out a Shabbat service when we're there. We'll see.
- JPost: Jewish Agency calls for recognition of Reform and Conservative Judaism conversions...
- Zed writes about the lack of Jewish summer solstice rituals.
- Vox, which powers this blog, is frustrating me to no end. I'm a web guy by trade (albeit from a project management/producer background) and Vox is not made for noodling around in code. It's great for the out-of-the-box setup, but it lacks any real customization options. I was messing around the Google calendar open API, merged in a Jewish/Hebrew cal, and wanted to put it in my sidebar. No dice. And I'm hearing from folks that the registration system for new users (to leave comments) is tedious. I miss WordPress/Moveable Type. Needless to say, "migration" is on my mind. I already have my own server slice, what the heck am I waiting for? Oh yeah. Time.
- Want.
Shavuot ("Feast of Weeks"), is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, corresponding to late May or early June. It marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer and the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai. It is one of the shalosh regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals mandated by the Torah. (from Wikipedia)
Shavuot began, officially, at sundown. I'll celebrate this year by learning what it's all about since I don't belong to a synagogue or a study group (yet). I'm hoping next year I'll be able to properly observe and participate--perhaps in an all nighter!
I'm trying to be cautious with my son's enthusiasm for Judaism. It's all new and exciting to him, but some point it may become difficult for him, this clash of cultures, and I want this truly to be something meaningful in his life--and something he chooses to be involved with. While my wife and I agree that we'll raise him with a Reform Jewish tradition and education, it will be "daddy's religion" until he can make up his own mind about conversion.
I want him to ask questions. To be critical and inquiring.
The tipping point for his enthusiasm came once he got over the fear that he might "lose" Christmas. For a seven year old, I empathize with him; the holiday in our family has no religious significance and is deeply ingrained in out societal psyche--I could not in good conscience rip that away from my family in one fell swoop (for me, it's no problem). So, once he realized that it's still "mommy's holiday" his attitude changed dramatically. Also, the possibility of celebrating quite a few more holidays--including equal attention to Hanukkah--got his attention. He started bringing home Judaism books from the library, asking about learning Hebrew, etc.
But I wonder, am I moving too fast with him? I am very sensitive to any sort of alienation that could unintentionally result...
Back to the camping trip. On Saturday morning, I returned from the bathroom to find my son seated at the picnic bench with his friend's dad. James is an avowed atheist (I've mentioned him before) and also a good friend. His father's side of the family is ethnically Jewish, which in Orthodox circles makes him non-Jewish (matrilineage and all that) and he was raised in a secular household. At a barbecue he once told me that religion was a fairy tale for morons. Not exactly someone I viewed as a confidant with regard to my conversion experiences. Anyway, I returned to the campsite and started unpacking the stove.
"So you're converting to Judaism," James said. "Why?"
I was a little taken aback. I looked at him quizzically. How did he know...?
"Your son was telling me about Shabbat."
"Oh." I looked at my son, who was smiling shyly.
James was matter-of-fact in his disapproval. "So you just decided you needed religion in your life? You know I don't agree."
"I know," I said.
He pressed me to tell him why I was converting. So I did. He argued that he could achieve exactly the same thing without religion, as an agnostic. I told him he probably could. At about that time, his wife emerged from the tent. I forgot how voices carry that early in the morning in a campground.
"You're converting to Judaism?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"That's wonderful. We have friends who converted after they got married. They said it just felt that it was right for them."
She nailed it exactly: I didn't need to be on the defensive. It was just right for me. No other explanation was necessary. The conversation came back around to the topic once or twice during the weekend--James mentioned that I'd probably get a kick out of a Passover seder--I think it was his way of putting me at ease, acknowledging the 800 lbs gorilla in the room.
---
On Saturday night we attended an astronomy presentation in a gorgeous meadow surrounded by high canyon walls, a blanket of stars unfolding above us. The instructor was very enthusiastic. She started discussing how the moon was formed, the universe's origins, the Big Bang.
A hand shot up in the back row--it was a boy, about nine years old, sitting with his parents.
"Yes?" the instructor said.
"We don't believe in the Big Bang!" he shouted.
"Why?" She asked, puzzled.
"We're Christians!" he said.
James shot me am amused look. It said... Well, there's religion for you. On the walk back to the campsite, I tried to paraphrase a Reform Judaism position on science, but it was pointless. I knew exactly what James meant; religion can do that to people, it can bind them to literal interpretations of their bible, pre-scientific thinking and ancient cultural mores.
Having been an atheist, skepticism runs in my blood. But something else lives there now--Judaism--and it has to co-exist with the skeptic in me. And that allows me to be grounded in my beliefs but also understand that I'm a part of a living, breathing religion, one that is open for scholarly interpretation, argument, criticism and modernization. I know the world is not flat, that dinosaurs and humans did not live at the same time and that the earth not literally created in six days.
Bottom line, I don't want my son to be that kid.
Ever.
Shabbat Shalom #2!
Today, I'm kicking out of work a little early to get a jump start on the weekend; this entry is my last act of the hectic workweek. I've been swamped with new business pitches and just barely squeaked out of a trip to New York, which would have been 14+ hour strategy sessions, and then straight to Orlando and then back to LA. Ugh--the thought of a Sunday red-eye and a week of traveling would have been a weekend killer.
I have to do some last-minute errands and then I'll pick up my son from school and head out for a two-day camping trip at Malibu Creek State Park -- hello, great outdoors! It'll be a nice afternoon drive down the PCH and chance to hang out with The Boy... It's with a cub scout pack trip, so I don't know how much actual "quality time" there will be, but I get along pretty well with the other parents. They're all much older than me, but a very diverse lot. My wife is staying home with our sick daughter (who's only 14 months old, too young to go camping anyway).
I stayed up way too late last night packing--digging out gear that hasn't seen the light of day in years, scrubbing pots and pans. There was a definite funk to some of that stuff--reminding myself to wash the cookware before packing it away again :)
I'm bringing my Shabbat-in-a-bag. It will be an interesting observance tonight--either in the tent or away from the group. My son's best friend's father is Jewish by birth, but he's a very vocal atheist (a couple years ago I would have said "fellow atheist"). He almost didn't let his son join cub scouts because of the whole "do my duty to God and my country..." oath. That, and scouting's notorious (and just plain wrong) homophobic views.
So I think I'll be lighting candles and drinking the Manishevitz alone tonight. But I'm OK with that.
Shalom Aliechem is both a Hebrew greeting (the Arabic version of the greeting is “assalamu alaikum” -- Peace be upon you) as well as a traditional Friday night Shabbat song based on a story in the Talmud.
I’ve been trying to learn this Shabbat tune for a couple weeks. And how does one learn a song in this day and age? Why, we download it and put it on repeat in iTunes, of course! And there are lots of interesting renditions -- check 'em out...
- This is my favorite for it’s simplistic beauty--Rabbi Mark Zimmerman on Chabad.org.
- Here’s a choral version with piano accompaniment from Hillel Student Center.
- Another version that gets downright peppy from Leib Yaakov Rigler, Yitzhak Attias, Josh Boretsky on Aish.com.
- A haunting instrumental version by Steve Tapper and Audie Bridges—flutes, guitars, cello and Middle Eastern percussion.
- A swingin’ version from "Dixie Diaspora" compilation. This rocks.
- Ska-flavored rendition from King Djano’s “Roots and Culture.”
- A vocal chant sample from the USSR.
Here's a printable version of the words in Hebrew, transliterated and English (PDF). Enjoy!
In Biblical Hebrew, ger toshav is interpreted as a "half-convert" -- a non-Jewish inhabitant of the Land of Israel who observes the seven Noahide Laws and "has repudiated all links with idolatry."
When I started this blog, that's what I was. Ger toshav.
But ger tzedek means a full convert to Judaism.
And I have officially, as of today, embarked on the path of a ger tzedek. It may not result in conversion, but that's the point of the exercise--to help make an educated choice. It could take up to a year (or longer), but that's OK. I'm not in any hurry when it comes to such a monumental decision.
Much to think about, so much to learn. Very excited, nervous and bit humbled by the sheet volume of what I don't know.
The strange journey continues.
- Bush declares May "Jewish Heritage Month."
Tag: Judaism - Orthodox hockey player won't play on Shabbos. Related: remember Sandy Koufax?
Tags: Sports, Judaism - Noah's Ark docking at Skriball Center in LA
Tags: Events, Noahide
