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Live in the Atlanta area? PunkTorah is looking for an intern…

At PunkTorah, our most valuable asset is our people. Our dedicated staff and volunteers serve the Jewish community through web based and in-person programs that promote independent Jewish spirituality and culture. Interested in joining us? PunkTorah welcomes all qualified internship applicants, regardless of gender/gender identity, race, age, sexuality, or disability.

Deadline: February 19th, 2012 by 5PM EST

Position: Spring Intern, Part Time (6-8 hours/week)

Timeframe: Spring 2012 (March 5th – June 1st,  2012). Additional intern opportunity available in the summer.

Description:

This unique internship opportunity will allow a hard-working, self-motivated, creative individual to work with PunkTorah’s entire network of projects to advance Jewish spirituality and community.

Our goal is to help you learn everything you need to know to start your own non-profit, web company or multimedia project. Be prepared to learn more than any classroom will ever teach you.

Some exciting things include: WordPress website development, podcasting, graphic design, social media, creative writing, non-profit management, business/job skills, and of course, Jewish studies. Experience in these areas preferred, but not required.

Including the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people and to learn job skills, interns will also receive free tickets to Jewish events, merchandise such as CDs and books, and upon completion of internship, letters of recommendation to schools and employers.

Interns will work out of our new office two days a week for four hours each day assisting Patrick Aleph as well as via Skype/phone with volunteers around the world. We honor all Jewish and secular holidays and will work with you to craft a consistant work schedule that is best for you and for the organization. Candidates must have reliable transportation and a commitment to PunkTorah’s values.

Please email a short resume and an email explaining why you are applying for this internship to patrick@punktorah.org.

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Stereo Sinai Video Podcast

Our first video podcast featuring “Biblegum pop” duo Stereo Sinai. Stereo Sinai’s infectious Europop/electronica sound mixed with “lyrics stolen from God” is at once amazingly beautiful and commanding in message. Watch our first Video Podcast with the band.

Visit Stereo Sinai online.

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Rabbi Without A Cause – Rabbinical School Update From Patrick Aleph

I’m thinking about calling this blog Rabbi Without A Cause instead of Tattooed Rabbi. You’ll see why in the video. In any case, this is where I am right now in my rabbinical school journey. Enjoy.

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Start Your Own Synagogue: The Ultimate How-To-Guide

Want to start your own indie minyan? Are you too cool for shul and need an alternative? Here’s my list for how to start your own synagogue:

Start A Facebook Fan Page

Get a Fan Page on Facebook and start hunting down like-minded people in your area. A synagogue with only one person is kinda sad. So before you do anything, make sure that there are people interested in what you want. Don’t be surprised if Liberal Christians, Muslims and other random people fan your shul-in-progress. Some people just love friending Jewish profiles. Chalk it up to Philo-Semitism.

It also helps if you already have two or three friends who are as hardcore about this as you are. I am a firm believer in keeping things small and streamlined. Plus, these friends are the people who are each going to invite another friend. Random Facebook blasting really only gets you so far.

Build Your Core

Invite your fan page over for coffee and dessert. Use this time to discuss issues of what they want out of a community (events, prayer times, halachka, minhagim, etc).

Very important: you came up with the idea, which means that no matter how much delegation of authority you do, you will ultimately always be the leader. If you don’t want this position, then do not go any further.

Find A Cool Space

If you have a nice house, then you can always take a spare room, an attic, or some place like that and build one out. I’m a big fan of flex or mixed-zoned locations, so if you have any interest in moving, why not find a place like a loft or condo that is in a heavily commercial area. That way, you can live there, and people will have plenty of room to park. Think Chabad on this one.

Craigslist is a great real estate tool, especially if you are like me and rent.

Make A Budget

The great thing about an indie minyan is that it doesn’t have the financial needs that shuls have. But here are a few things to think about:

Tools For Shuls. You’ll need kippot, siddurim, Shabbat stuff, Havdalah stuff, etc. Can you get these from other people? Often people will have kippot left over from weddings and bar mitzvahs, so that is a likely option. Know someone who collects Judaica who could loan a few things? What about a bibliophile who has some awesome Jewish books? Start with what you have, then work on your Amazon wish list.

Of course, independent minyanim can always get copies of the OneShul community siddur at cost (around $3/book), including free shipping. Just email patrick@punktorah.org and we can make that happen.

Have a vision. Does your indie minyan need to rent a rabbi twice a year for High Holidays, or are you just getting together for a lay led Shabbat? Are you going to start a Hebrew school? Side note: old folks make great Hebrew teachers. Retired Jews are an amazing educational asset to our community that are under appreciated).

Once you have these issues worked out, build a budget. Then take whatever the total is (whether it’s $200 or $200,000) and add 10% to it. Call this line item “innovation”. Every good company or organization pads their budget by 10% for development of cool projects, or bold initiatives that may or may not work out.

Start Having Events

Havdalah is a great event to have as a fundraiser and community builder. You can fundraise on Havdalah, people can bring food, play instruments, kids can play games and watch TV if they are bored. And in my experience, Havdalah is the most underrated Jewish event, which means that even if you live in a community with a thousand synagogues, you’ll still be the only game in town as far as Saturday night Judaism.

Potlucks are a great thing as well. Frankly, I think all good religions appreciate potlucks. They are free, which is awesome as well…and people have fun swapping recipes.

Also, have a tzedakah box by the door for collecting donations.Don’t be afraid to ask for money, if you need it.

Build Your Shul

Asher Meza of BeJewish.org has a great video on how he and a rabbi in Richmond built a shul in the rabbi’s attic. Home Depot, EBay, and Amazon made that place happen! Check out this video below…

Get Online — Even More Than Now

OK, so maybe I’m a liberal kook, but streaming your events online is about the best thing you can do, ever. Again, OneShul can help you with that. It’s not hard if you stay organized and have internet upload speeds of at least 1.5MBPS. Heck, even FrumSatire is talking about how Orthodox minyanim need to go online!

Grow, Grow, Grow!

Don’t allow yourself to think that ten people is enough. Maybe your indie shul will only have ten people for the first year, or three years, or five years even. But keep growing! Keep flyers with you in your bag/purse. Put them in JCCs, bookstores, community centers, wherever Jewish folks can be found. I suggest putting them in the token kosher section of your major grocery store chain (the staff will throw them away, but why not??)

Help Us, Help You

OneShul is an indie minyan. We know what we’re talking about. So send an email to patrick@punktorah.org or rivka@punktorah.org and we’ll shoot you in the right direction.

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Perspective and Respect

Late night tonight, it’s almost 3am in California. It’s about 5 hours past my typical bedtime and I am up trying to work on my rough draft for my thesis. Yet, before I sleep I read about community members that need a little extra prayer for one reason or another. Childish as this seems at first, I read with skepticism, expecting to see gripes about bruised knees and sprained ankles. Quickly, I realize there are community members who need added prayer and a speedy recovery. I no longer am able to write my thesis chapter or shut my eyes… my perspective has just changed like a paradigm shift between shallow care and deeper meaning.

It seems that the prayers we say should not just be for those who are ill, but their loved ones as well. Is that not the true Jewish value? What is community if we pray for one’s physical welfare while their loved one is emotional suffering by watching? We should pray for both. Aren’t we all affected when someone is ill, dies, suffers? G-d forbid we understand their pain, that we’ve felt it. However, being the sick or watching a loved one be sick, still is suffering.

I find it painstakingly hard to stand in shul and say the name of the person I know who is ill. I am terrified my voice will crack, might I cry, am I so worried that someone might judge me, that someone might ask who the person is and why I have mentioned them as opposed to others. On PunkTorah, people seem to offer sentiments so freely. Maybe I am committing an aveyrah or not being the community member I wish to be.

Upon further reflection, I have decided to add to my list of thoughts and blessings not only the ones who directly suffer, but all parties involved. We are supposed to value life. Like Israel has recently demonstrated with Gilad Shalit, when one suffers, we unify and suffer together.

May our stories of pain and suffrage end on the note Shalit’s did. May we all find our way into the comfort of someone’s arms we love and may those who are in need of healing have the speediest of recoveries. May we as a community, no matter the size, understand that pain is not a trivial feeling of shallow distain, but of genuine discomfort. And may our understanding prove to be commentary that we as a people are constantly in prayer for those in need.

Again, for all those on our prayer list and for some who aren’t, may you find the comfort that is needed to handle these moments, may there be healing and may there be hope.

Be True to the Streets,
Yentapunker

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Will Google+ Change The Kaddish On Accident?

Google is about to change the way you pray.

A new software called Google+ is currently in beta testing before release. Google+ is an integrated system that, in theory, will kill Facebook and all other social networking websites through a series of small killer apps, my favorite of which is Hangouts.

With Hangouts, the unplanned meet-up comes to the web for the first time. Let specific buddies (or entire circles) know you’re hanging out and then see who drops by for a face-to-face-to-face chat. Until teleportation arrives, it’s the next best thing.

Here’s the Jewish part: Hangouts supports up to ten people at a time.

Ten people getting together face to face. Does that remind you of something? Kaddish!

If Google+ works, it could completely eliminate the need for a physical minyan. Granted, you could pull this off with OneShul (which we do) or any other kind of webcam software, but the ease of use and the fact that anyone can lead without having to download anything means that your everyday shmo could pray in a quorum with nothing getting in the way.

Hangouts would have one downside: online synagogues like OneShul or OurJewishCommunity host around thirty or more people at a time…something you couldn’t pull off with Google’s software.

Still, leave it to Google to revolutionize Judaism. Should put us all to shame.

Photo stolen from here.

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Are you JEWcurious? OneShul’s Judaism 101 Classes Starting July 12th

OneShul is launching a three part series titled, JEWcurious: Judaism 101. These classes provide an offbeat, unique approach to the basics of Jewish life and learning.

The classes are divided into the three key components of Judaism: God, Torah and Israel.

In God, we will discuss what God is all about. What is the nature of the Higher Power? What about Jewish atheism, deism and all the other -isms?

In Torah, we will discuss what the Bible means today, what the Law is intended to be used for, and how Judaism has survived thanks to the mitzvot, or commandments.

In Israel, we will discuss what it means to be a Jewish community today. Does the Judaism of the past help us to work, live, play and love each other?

Classes are every Tuesday at 7PM Eastern Standard Time starting July 12th. You can RSVP on Facebook or simply join the class at 7PM.

These classes are free and no one will be denied access to the class; however, we appreciate a donation of $18 for all three classes.

For more information, questions, comments or concerns, email patrick@punktorah.org

 

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OneShul Siddur Ahava Rabbah Now Available

We’re pleased to announce that Ahava Rabbah: The 5772 OneShul Community Siddur is now available online on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and in print at ModernTribe.

The siddur is gender inclusive, LGBT friendly and showcases the many, varied ways that Jews can connect to prayer, both traditional and contemporary. The siddur includes the three daily prayers, prayers for Shabbat and Havdalah, holidays, meditations, poems and more! As a bonus, the prayer book includes a full Haggadah and Birkat Hamazon (blessing after meals). A great beginner siddur for someone interested in Jewish prayer who needs a place to start.

 

The book was written by the volunteers at OneShul.

 

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PunkTorah Is Not Virtual Judaism

When the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College tweeted how they love “virtual prayer community” in response to an upcoming OneShul event, I was very pleased. It’s always nice to get praise. And having had several conversations with administrators at RRC and various parts of the Reconstructionist movement, I know them to be very genuine people*.

But then I realized that RRC actually said something that I didn’t like: that the PunkTorah community is “virtual”.

The term “virtual” can mean a lot of different things, depending on the context. Obviously what RRC was saying is that they love our “online” community. No harm, no foul. But we really do need to be careful about how we use language. Frankly, this is a conversation that is well overdue.

“Virtual”, as it is sometimes applied by others outside of PunkTorah to our community can mean “not in fact or reality”, “simulated”, or “almost, but not really”. As one person put it, “your online community is nice, but it’s not enough.”

I have partied, shared meals, had long conversations and in some cases shared hotel rooms and apartment floors with people from the PunkTorah community. If our interaction with one another was “virtual”, then we would have never had these moments together. I’ve seriously considered temporarily relocating to cities where members of the PunkTorah community are, so that we can continue to grow our online chavurah and provide further support to our prayer leaders.

I’ve listened to stories from people all over the world whose physical communities either abandoned them or never wanted them in the first place. And our community has welcomed them, no questions asked, to be a part of our…dare I say…Jewish family. That’s more than I can say of some of the physical, “real” Jewish communities I’ve encountered.

What is “virtual community”? It’s the synagogue whose rabbi has to tell everyone during the service to introduce themselves and shake hands, because open acts of kindness and hospitality are so rare. It’s the minyan members that ignore new people who wallflower at an oneg, because they are so vested in themselves. It’s the shul that asks people it deems to not be Jewish to step aside during Kaddish or act as Shabbos Goyim during a Friday night dinner. It’s the Jewish non-profits who speak the language of diversity, but in the end are run entirely by middle age, heterosexual Ashkenazic white men with Ph.Ds who are more interested in gala banquets and meaningless conferences than having a heart-to-heart with someone in need.

Bottom line: there’s nothing “virtual” about the PunkTorah family. We’re here, we’re real, get used to it.

*This is not to say that Reconstructionists are any more genuine than any other movement, so don’t take that the wrong way.

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“House” Mentality

I am always looking for topics that relate to people on a less academic level. So Patrick shared with me what I think is an enlightened thought. He said, “I was thinking about how in every generation there are “houses”…the hippies had crash pads, punk rockers had house venues, queer people have the queer house movement and how in the Jewish world you now see the Moishe Houses.”

I love the idea of group spaces in houses. I live in what is called a shotgun house. It is so called, supposedly, because if you shot a shotgun though the front door, it would come out the back door. Our house has two side rooms added, but they are small. The point of explaining this is that four of us live in a house with only one real bedroom and a finished attic room. One of us live in the laundry room. One of us live in a “pod”, which is a short of loft room in the room that is on the way to the bathroom. These “house” sort of situations are occurring more and more, I think in my generation. I believe this because of the people I interact with. Patrick was right when he said, “this [“house” movement is a] need for counter cultures to have “houses” of their own”.

I find it most interesting that many of these “houses” have names. It feels like are real community when this happens. My house is called Mulberry Manor. We, I feel, are counter culture in that we are creating a family unit to replace our dysfunctional relationships with our blood families. Our house is where people come to think and feel better. I think this is partly because our mantra is, “Mulberry Manor Loves You!”. We work to build a place that is really a family home and safe space. We also now have many young groups moving into our small in-city neighborhood which by default makes us into an interesting community.

You may ask how this relates to PunkTorah. What could this possibly have to do with the internet user, the blog readers? These ideas are a real reflection of what PunkTorah and OneShul are trying to create, a community of support. All those who participate are part of our community and we want them to feel part of a group and benefit from all the content and programs. Patrick pointed out that Moishe Houses are a physical reflection of many of the ideas of young, Jewish groups (for those who don’t know, Moishe House “supports and sponsors young Jewish leaders as they create vibrant home-based communities for their peers”). Patrick said that, “because Jewish college students are creating these unique houses, that shows that being Jewish today is, in a sense, counter cultural.” This belief is based on the idea that these houses are cropping up because these movements are rooted in this “house” concept.

I feel these new “house” movements are the next step in making our future one in which we all fit. I have found that the PunkTorah family of works have created a community, a home I can always come to. It is my virtual “house”. I can learn, express myself, and be involved in something on the front-line of change. What a wonderful world we might have if we can move these ideas forward.

Rivka

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