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The Shema is the central prayer in Judaism

February 16, 2011 By punktorah

The Shema is the central prayer in Judaism. Interesting, because it doesn’t really say much. While Christians (of certain stripes) have the ____ Creed, a point-by-point theological statement, us Jewish folks don’t seem to have as much to work with.

Or do we?

The Shema, I think, works on at least three different levels:

Non-Duality. I don’t need to quote massive amounts of text from Jay Michaelson’s recent book to explain this, so I’ll paraphrase: if the great, central teaching of Judaism is that there is one G-d (as opposed to a legion of demiurges), then the Shema should more appropriately read, “Listen Israel, there is one G-d” instead of “our G-d is one.” G-d, in this way, is Oneness. G-d is everything, and yet nothing.

The Politics of Monotheism. We can’t forget that the Torah came at a certain time and at a certain place. The Shemat, as read to Hebrew Canaanites every seven years, would have been a not-too-subtle reminder to smash those Molech idols that many families had in their homes. While some wish to believe that the ancient Israelites were better Jews than us, archeology has dug up (pun intended) plenty of settlements filled with clay idols. Adonai Echad, in this way, is like the guilt trip of times past.

G-d’s Greatness. Again, language is funny. “The Lord” is an obvious statement of power. And while “lord” is often used as a substitute for G-d in the vernacular, it need be said that if the Shema were simply an affirmation of monotheism, the Shema would be better to read, “Hear Israel, G-d is one”. It also speaks to G-d’s providence. Remember that “G-d” is not G-d’s name. G-d’s name is a riddle of “I am what I am”. G-d’s hugeness transcends even the ability to name G-d.

Anything else y’all can think of?

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Rants Tagged With: 3xdaily, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, shema

PunkTorah Radio: Alternative Judaism

January 30, 2011 By punktorah

Shalom chaverim!

This week we talk about mainstream movements vs. alternative Judaism (do we really wanna go to their party?), and Michael has the first (of many) conversations with our good friend Ketzirah from Peeling A Pomegranate. Check it out!

PunkTorah Radio: Alternative Judaism

Also, click here to subscribe on iTunes!

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: alternative, convert to judaism, darshan yeshiva, earth based, Judaism, kohen, kohenet, magic, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, preist, priestess, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, wicca, witch

PunkTorah Radio: Living A Jewish Life Online

January 24, 2011 By punktorah

This week we discuss whether it is possible to live a Jewish life online. You probably already know our answer, but there’s more! And, Werewolf Bar Mitzvah! Aaah-ooooooooooooooh!

PunkTorah Radio: Living A Jewish Life Online

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Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: community, convert to judaism, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, online, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, Punk, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, service, Torah

Riding Uphill, part II

November 3, 2010 By punktorah

By Leon Adato

(Originally posted at www.torahdinner.com)

One of the comments I got back from the post “Riding Uphill” was from my friend Phil, who said, “Davening is hard, although it gets easier after the first, oh, five or seven years.  Then it gets hard again because you’ll have become so fluent at it that you will need to consciously slow down and focus on Kavana.”

I started to think about how long it might take to get “good” and what “good” looked like? Was “good” the people who led services at my synagogue?

Seth Godin wrote once about expertise in “The Myth of Preparation“. In it, he described 3 basic levels and the amount of effort to go from one to the other. The first phase – “beginner” is characterized by a steep rise in learning. The middle “novice” phase is mostly just repetition and practice with small incremental improvements, until you hit “expert” level.

All of this is pretty simplistic and the analyst part of me would love to see the supporting data. But that’s not the point. The point is that Seth’s description is close enough for his final premise:

“Here’s the myth: The novice stage is useful.

If all you’re going to do is go through the novice stage before you ship, don’t bother. If you’re not prepared to put in the grinding work of the expert stage, just do the beginner stuff and stop screwing around. Make it good enough and ship it and move on.

Go, give a speech. Go, start a blog. Go, ship that thing that you’ve been hiding. Begin, begin, begin and then improve. Being a novice is way overrated.”

Seth talks about “shipping” but what he really is talking about is making something public – going ahead and DOING instead of PREPARING TO DO.

This morning, instead of self-consciously whispering through my morning blessings – trying to hide what I was skipping, or what I was reading in English instead of Hebrew – I said them aloud. Sang a few of ‘em, when I could remember the tune.

As Seth would put it, I “shipped”.

It was rough. It was “not ready for prime time”. It was definitely not easy.

It might, as Phil said, take me another 4 years before it gets easier. But you know what?

For today, for the beginner that I am, it was Good Enough.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, daven, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Torah

Who Needs A Siddur Anyways?

October 7, 2010 By punktorah

A prayerbook is an interesting thing. It begs the question, how well can someone else’s words describe your inner feelings, your deepest needs and desires? Why do we even need a siddur anyways? Isn’t the point of prayer to talk to G-d, or whatever we call that awe-some power that is larger than ourselves?

If we allow ourselves to look at things from a different point of view we can see how we can benefit from a written liturgy.

While we have invited the members of our community to contribute new interpretations of standard liturgical pieces, new understandings of traditional blessings and prayers, we have attempted to maintain a particular sense of order in the creation of the daily service. The reason for this is because the daily services are crafted for a very specific purpose, to create a distinct experience that is a stark reflection of our spiritual journey throughout the day. The services are, in fact, both the map and the territory of a journey into the deepest realms of the spirit.

The order of the service was crafted by the sages to guide us through an experience that reflects the importance of communicating with the Source of Life. Taking us by the hand, the order of service walks with us, laying out a clear pathway to elevate our souls, to describe the madness and miracles we see everyday, and to give us words when our own fail us.

Starting at the beginning, the opening psalms energize us, they prime the pump of spirit, and help to fuel the engines of prayer that we need to journey deeper into the presence of the Holy One. Each successive prayer gives us new insight into our experience and draws us closer to the heights, symbolically ushering us through the sefirot, guiding our minds and hearts. We reach the apex of our journey, our approach to the Throne of Glory in the Shema and the Amida, the Standing Prayer. We have worked our way upwards the highest heights, reflecting on the oneness of the Universe and the relationship of a people and their essence, the liturgy giving us the words to express the inexpressible inside of us. The Aleinu gives us time to reflect and express our gratitude as we slowly descend in a meditative state, slowly backing down the ladder, en-wrapped in the Shekhinah, enmeshed in the ultimate and miraculous Oneness of Reality. Reciting psalms allow us to de-compress and release excessive spiritual energy, and to rest in reflection of the transformative nature of the prayers.

Does this mean we have to pray exactly as the Sages have written? No. We keep the map, but we need to discover the territory ourselves. This is why we have a community siddur. No one person can express what is in another person’s heart, but they can sometimes come close. If you feel drawn to some prayers in this or any other siddur, use them! If you feel that you need to use your own words, use them! I encourage you to write your own! But do not discard the resources from those who have been there before you.

Does this mean that we are always going to have a “magical” prayer experience? No, absolutely not. The order of the service is there to make sure we make the journey; it does the heavy lifting for us. All we have to do is to commit to the going. It is the doing that makes the difference. Judaism is a spiritual practice and not a “creedal” religion; it’s not about what you believe, it’s about what you do. Take a step, keep moving forward. Allow yourself to be changed, and you can change the world.

Filed Under: Jewish Media Reviews, Judaism & Belief, Rants, Your Questions Answered Tagged With: 3xdaily, alterna-rebbe, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, jewish prayer, Jews, Judaism, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, punktorah, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Religion, service, siddur, siddurim, Who Needs A Siddur Anyways?

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