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Mail.Liberal-Judaism |
| Volume 3 Number 82 | Sat Jan 8 23:55:03 1994 |
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 94 15:09:57 -0800 From: Rick Dinitz <tekbspa!dinitz@uunet.uu.net> Subject: Re: Bnai Mitzvah Bob Braitman writes: > You know, most synagogues require that children attend religious school for > several years in order to have the privilege of Bar Mitzvah. How about > adding a requirement that they commit to confirmation training as well? Many synagogues do add this requirement (mine did, though it was not effective). The trick is helping the candidates keep that commitment by providing a program that is both engaging and meaningful. Unless we reward their second investment with spiritual satisfaction, we will have failed them twice. In my mind the two big questions are: What do they need to know? How do they need to learn it? Rick [dinitz@tss.com] Copyright 1994, Rick Dinitz
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 12:54:53 -0700 From: ac238@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Arthur K. Bernstein) Subject: Conservative Momement: Rules for Convert Marrying a Cohen I know nothing about Conservative rulings, but I would like to pass on something I believe is pertinent. I heard this from Rabbi Jacob B. Agus, z''l, who was ordained from an Orthodox yeshiva and for many years served one of the foremost Conservative congregations (Beth El) in Baltimore, and a distinguished scholar. Many years ago, in one of his many lectures to the Beth El Men's Club he told us that he believed in keeping alive the traditions regarding kohannim even though it was no longer possible to realistically trace decent-- but only providing that the maintained tradition did no harm. Thus, he would keep _pidyon_ha_ben_ as a pleasant ceremony. But any of the rules that prevented a kohan from marrying his chosen one because of some ancient tradition relating to divorce, etc. he would put aside: the happiness of a man and woman who love each other is of overriding value. Art Bernstein
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 08:00:56 EST From: Rabbi Charles Arian <CARIAN@american.edu> Subject: Re: Conservative Movement: Rules for Convert Marrying a Cohen The Conservative Movement still allows the marriage of a Cohen and a convert (or for that matter a Cohen and a divorced person). Even in Orthodoxy such a marriage is considered "prohibited but valid" and I am informed that a lot of Orthodox rabbis will find ways to cast doubts on someone's cohanic lineage in order to allow the marriage. The Conservative position is based on the fact that our knowledge of lineage today is doubtful and it is likely that many people we consider cohanim are not and many we don't consider cohanim are. So cohen status is extended just as a courtesy. (Also because of this doubt the cohen is not supposed to keep the money he receives for a pidyon ha-ben). At any rate, we allow the marriage because of this doubt but we also inform the cohen that he can't have it both ways -- subsequent to his marriage he should not accept the cohen aliyah or officiate at a pidyon ha-ben (or duchan, but I have never seen this done in a Conservative congregation at any rate.) Rabbi Charles Arian CARIAN@american.edu
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 13:26 EST From: mcrae@max.muhlberg.edu (Patricia McRae) Subject: Re: Jewish Stitchery Perhaps the moderator would like to post the names of catalogs having patterns for Jewish Stitchery. How can one find their local version of the Pomegranate Society? Is there a central headquarters? I just received a catalog of Jewish Stitichery from California and it offers some lovely patters from traditonal to modern art pieces of Judaica to stitch! [Glad to do so. A good catalog of Judaic Stichery is: California Stichery Present Creative Designs for Needlework California Stichery/6015 Sunnyslope Ave/Van Nuys CA 91401-3020 1-800-345-3332 As for books on stichery, I could find two easily: Springer, Selma and Friends. _Designs of Judaica: A Needleart Handbook_ Simcha Press: P. O. Box 5680, Santa Monica CA 90405 Borssuck, B. _The Star of David Needlepoint Book_ Arco Publishing: 219 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003. ISBN 0-668-04695-7 Rockland, Mae Shafter. _The Work of Our Hands_. Schocken Books, NY. 1973. Abert, Ita. _The Art of Judaic Needlework_. Charles Scibner's Son's. NY. 1979. La Rose, Ann Cheek. _Mazel and Broche_. Santa Monica CA. Eiseman, Marilyn, _On Making A Tallit or Prayer Shawl_. Costa Mesa CA. Now, as for the Pomegranate Guide, try contacting the University of Judaism or the Skirball Museum, both in Los Angeles. You might also try writing to Joan Rimmon, P. O. Box 49456, Los Angeles CA 90049. I know at one time she was heavily involved with the guild. -- Yr. Mod. ] Patricia McRae mcrae@max.muhlberg.edu
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 10:18:06 -0800 From: Rick Dinitz <tekbspa!dinitz@uunet.uu.net> Subject: Re: Jewish Stitchery The back pages of Hadassah magazine often contain small ads for companies or artists selling Jewish needlework designs, patterns and kits. Rick
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 17:22 EST From: Jehuda J. Levin (jjlevin@mcimail.com) Subject: Re: Lubavitch/Chabad Ruth Schachter asks about information on Lubavitch/Chabad. For two different views, may I suggest: (1) A booklet, "What You Should Know About CHABAD", by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, published by the Association of Reform Zionists of America, 838 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021, phone (212) 249-0100; and (2) The book "Holy Days", by Lis Harris, published by Summit Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, 1985. [Your moderator adds: Interested readers are also referred to the Chassidism section of the reading list, found on israel.nysernet.org in the file israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/chassidism. The file may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following line in the body of the message: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/chassidism ] Jehuda J. Levin
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 11:49:42 -0500 (EST) From: Joel I. Ehrlich <ehrlich@aecom.yu.edu> Subject: Ritual Imperatives Arthur Bernstein writes: > Oh, I accept ritual -- mainly for the reason that we ritualize what has > value to us yet we do not rationally comprehend (what Rick calls his > "mystery" justification). But another question is: "Which rituals?" The > claim that God has told us is empty for me, for I reject the whole process > of revelation. If we accept the imperative of rituals, we still must decide > which, and how they will be observed (and enforced?). To me, and I believe > to many other liberal Jews, the Talmud (and derivative codes) are human > creations. So we cannot ignore the responsibility of defining the nature and > structure of our religious life. Arthur is correct that the question of what consititutes proper observance is wide open and subject to much variance. I would suggest two things though: 1) "No observance" is not proper observance. This is in the general case. If the reasons are right, it is acceptable within Reform to not observe a particular mitzvah (although this doesn't work so well for me personally any more). Just be careful when you do this, as human nature tends to transform ignoring one into ignoring many... 2) once we have decided what is proper, honesty and the desire to perpetuate our faith prohibit allowing ourselves to treat the said rituals as optional, rather, if you'll forgive a pun, we must observe them *religiously*. Hence, the "ritual imperatuve". No one denies that the Talmud is of human authorship -- the disagreement is over the orgin of the laws and ideas contained therein. But if you and I agree that it is strictly a human creation, then we must agree that our own personal creations are not inherently superior to it. That being understood, we are foolish to ignore what consititutes a very deep and thorough, and brilliant analysis of what it means to live as a Jew. What is to be gained by starting from scratch when there is so much wonderful material already out there? At first, Reform Jews such as ourselves have to wade through a lot that we can't relate to very well in studying the Talmud, but the "good stuff" is defintely there. We should feel free to read critically and supplement our own thoughts, and take the responsibility for our choices. Still, a Jew, Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform, who wants to discover how to translate the Torah into his or her daily life, and the lives of his/her family, is well advised to start with the Talmud. Beware, though... if you start, you'll probably never be able to stop :-) Joel I. Ehrlich \ ehrlich@medusa.bioc.aecom.yu.edu Department of Biochemistry \ Home: (718) 829-5569 Albert Einstein College of Medicine \ Lab: (718) 430-2777
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 94 16:45:13 -0800 From: Rick Dinitz <tekbspa!dinitz@uunet.uu.net> Subject: Teaching Spiritual Value in Judaism In v3n79, Alex wrote about how he models his personal spirituality for his students. I think he's got exactly the right idea -- independent of my opinion of his spirituality. The point is that he's demonstrating something that is authentic for him. He gives his students something real to wrestle -- not abstract ideas about God or Judaism, but a real live Jew who believes a certain way, acts accordingly, and is articulate about it. Adolescents need to try on many personalities before they find their own styles. They need to find their own persona in every sphere of their lives -- career, image, speech, sport, spirituality and more. Alex gives them a chance to see themselves wearing his spiritual wardrobe, so they can decide whether it fits them, needs minor alterations, or just isn't the right cut. When they say "I really don't think of God in those terms," I think they mean that they've never tried on the clothes Alex is wearing. One approach to religious school is as a fashion show. Over the years students get to preview many different styles, modeled by their teachers. With God's help they'll each find one that fits right. If they leave without one, or leave thinking that the Judaism Collection isn't for them, perhaps the problem is that we don't show them enough different styles, or the models don't know how to properly show off what they wear. If our spirituality is weak, or it is strong but we wear it hesitantly, then we will certainly fail as models. If the emperor wears no clothes, the children know. A fashion model needs to adopt an attitude to match the clothes, and then make it look convincing. Alex models in his own clothes, so the attitude always matches; he doesn't need to make it look convincing, because it is real for him. This can be magic if it makes his students sit up and take notice, then evaluate on a personal level. The best teachers I had in religious school were the ones who had a strong sense of what they were about, knew how to communicate that, and had the confidence to put themselves in the spotlight for young minds to challenge. Responding to Alex, Mark Carroll writes [v3n80]: ... The biggest problem of > Jewish education isn't that we're not teaching our children the right > concept of God - it's that we're not teaching our children the meaning of > the practices of our religion. We teach them to memorize prayers and > rituals, but we don't give them the sense of meaning that those practices > have - it's just regurgitation. ... I think he's right to repeatedly cite "meaning" as the missing ingredient. But perhaps we _can't_ teach meaning -- students must find it for themselves. Maybe all we can do is show them where to look, and tell them how to know when they're close and when they've found it. Maybe all we can do is tell them stories about how our own hunt for meaning, and what we learned along the way. Finding spiritual meaning in religion is the initiation quest (if you'll permit me to switch to a "guy thing" metaphor), the hero's journey for novices who would become adult Jews. If we fail to train our young people adequately, how can we expect them to reach their goal? They need more than information; they need examples and role models to emulate in their own search for meaning. When they finally meet and capture their elusive quarry, they need to know how to make it part of them, carry it back to home and synagogue, and make it live again in every Jewish ritual. In this metaphor it isn't so much the content of his spirituality that Alex models in class (although that's important too), but his hunting skills and the rewards of a successful quest. As Jewish teachers we need to share our quest stories -- the experiences that made us the Jews we are today. We need to be explicit about the thrill of the chase, the suspense as we and our emerging spiritual selves stalk each other, the prolonged moment as we wrestle with meaning, and the satisfaction as we return home wearing our spirituality. We need to lead our students along familiar trails, so they learn the skills they need to find the meaning of Judaism on their own. Rick [dinitz@tss.com] Copyright 1994, Rick Dinitz
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 08:13:01 EST From: Bob Baumann <NEU101@ukcc.uky.edu> Subject: Re: Tu B'Shevat Seder In v3n71, Muriel@aol.com was interested in organizing a Tu B'shvat Seder: A couple of suggestions: 1. She, or anyone else who is interested, can contact the National Havurah Committee, 7318 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119-1720 or 215- 248-9760 and ask for copies of the Tu B'shevat Haggadah & other planning materials. 2. Our Havurah has been holding Tu B'shavat Seder for 16 years and we would be happy to help others. Contact Judy Baumann 606-223-1299 (Lexington Havurah, Lexington, Ky)
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