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Parshah Mishpatim: An Eye for an Eye

February 13, 2015 by Amanda Martin

_____sorrow_longing_tears______by_Westia

My phone buzzed with another Facebook notification. A friend had added me to a group for Jews committed to creating a more just world. Scrolling through the group’s virtual wall, I noted invitations to various awareness-raising events, all-calls for volunteers at homeless shelters, and notes from the last City Council meeting. Just a few decades ago, there was no Facebook or smartphones. Grassroots activism was fomented through in-person conversations and copy machines. DIY newsletters, ‘zines, and t-shirts at one time predominated. Not so long ago, our world looked considerably different.

Through evolving technology, demographics, politics and revolutions of all kinds, there have always been Jews and we’ve always been interested in justice. In fact, this week’s parshah reads like a penal code, listing offenses and their respective punishments. Among them, “When a man schemes against another and kills him treacherously, you take him from My very altar to be put to death. He who strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. He who kidnaps a man – whether he has sold him or is still holding him – shall be put to death. He who insults his father or his mother shall be put to death” (Exodus 21:14-17). Death appears as punishment frequently throughout the Torah. Sometimes the proscribed death seems reasonable by modern day standards – after all, 32 states still implement the death penalty. But, by my own 21st century frame of reference, death for simply insulting my parents seems egregious.

There’s goodness written into this code, as well. “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan,” appears several lines above “You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong – you shall not give a perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty – nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute.” The rights of all people are preserved. “You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes. Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clear-sighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right.” These sentiments from millennia before us are echoed in the justice systems of numerous democracies around the globe today.

Justice, compassion, and empathy flow though our Torah. So, too, do the harsh realities of life in the ancient Near East. For our holy text to remain accessible, we must be honest with ourselves about that which is worth embracing and that which must be discarded as no longer relevant. We cannot simply condemn the entirety of the Torah for “an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” (Exodus 21:24-25). Nor can we accept such a standard simply because it appears in the same parshah as, “When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him” (Exodus 23:5).

Our Hebrew ancestors faced a much different reality than any of us know today. There were no endangered species or concerns around climate change. No factory farms or genetically modified organisms. No vaccines, drone technology, or sweatshops. They worshipped our God through animal and agricultural sacrifices at one temple. They sometimes sold their daughters as slaves. We were a different people, immersed in a much different culture, at a vastly different time in history. As our world evolved, so did we.

Evolution is necessary. We moved from Temple Judaism into Rabbinic Judaism and from there flowed the Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Renewal and Humanist movements. All of these denominations continue to grow and change. We must evolve as our world evolves. Such change is critical for its repair. If we, a people so intrinsically committed to justice, are to work towards a better world, we must be armed with the information and resources to meet the most pressing issues of the day head on. The Torah can be such a resource. It holds lights of truth for us still. We must simply be discerning in how we use the illumination.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Justice, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parshah Yitro: A Mighty Fine Legacy

February 6, 2015 by Amanda Martin

Today, I drafted a living will, delineating the course of action to be taken should I ever become incapacitated and unable to make decisions for myself. This will extends beyond the medical to include treatment of my body after death, funeral, burial and management of my bank account. Lacking a spouse or children, I would leave behind the words I’ve spilled across the internet and the work I’ve done in the nonprofit sector. I own no property nor possess any family mementos. I have neither pets nor plants for whom to arrange care. I don’t like to think in terms of “legacy,” but in considering my own death, I can’t help but reflect on my journey.

When it comes to legacies, many of us place considerable value on the tangible. Individuals bequeath legacy donations to further certain causes, occasionally earning their names on a building, room, or bench. Others leave substantial funds for loved ones, or even homes, boats, and vehicles. Treasured heirlooms are passed from one generation to another and checks are issued as 401Ks and savings accounts are closed.

For me, none of this means anything. In my view, the only legacy worth anything is how good we’ve been to one another. This week’s parshah provides a useful guide for such a legacy. Known almost universally as the Ten Commandments, it’s a broad template for living a life of character and integrity.

In Judaism, what we know as the Ten Commandments are more accurately categories among numerous other mitzvot. In this way, they may be read both in literal terms and metaphorically. Certainly, “You shall have no other gods besides Me,” can be read as the strict prohibition against devotion to pagan gods and idol worship. It may also be applied to our own 21st century priorities. In words we may worship God, in practice we worship money, celebrity, fashion, sex, food, work, and anything else that derails our focus from the best potential of our truest nature. When I’m gone, I’d rather people remember my commitment to Jewish values, rather than my consumer credentials.

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God,” is usually interpreted as a mini-vacation from our jobs and semi-mandatory synagogue attendance. It speaks also to work-life balance, a theme relevant for us all. Removing ourselves from our daily striving has the potential to promote oft neglected personal reflection, as well as connection with friends and loved ones, and healing rest for our bodies. Such is necessary for equilibrium in our lives.

Commandments five through ten encompass the realm of human behavior towards one another. Within these words reside the fundamental building blocks of a righteous life. Be good to your parents, biological or otherwise. Indeed, treat all elders with respect and compassion. Our American culture places such a premium on youth that we possess no collective means of honoring those much closer to being called home. The prohibition against adultery may be understood more broadly as sexual immorality, including sexual violence and abuse. In a world where sexual assault is rampant, this is especially relevant. Cheating, lying, and stealing are all prohibited and for good reason. Not only do such actions affect individuals, they negatively impact the entire community, as well.

Many of us regard the Ten Commandments as cliché, and inapplicable within the complexities of our modern lives. We may even see them as quaint and utterly irrelevant. They are worth a closer look. These Ten Commandments speak of universal human behavior, transcending time or place. They encourage us to be respectful of ourselves and others, fostering co-creation of true community. And that’s a mighty fine legacy to leave behind.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, ten commandments, yitro

Planting, Seders and Psalms: Practices for Shevat

February 3, 2015 by Ketzirah

Tree of Life Concept by Ketzirah

Editors Note: we will be having a Tu B’Shevat themed service on Tuesday, February 3rd at 8PM EST at OneShul.org

When most people think of Shevat, they think of Tu b’Shevat, the “new year” of the trees.  Tu b’Shevat is one of the four new years in the Jewish religion.  What began thousands of years ago as a tax day on fruit trees, has grown into the Jewish arbor day and/or a spiritual opportunity to explore new growth and our connection to the environment.  Like so many of our holidays there are so many layers, so Tu b’Shevat can offer an amazing array of in-roads to exploring Jewish practice.

Tree Planting
It’s no wonder that Jews love Tu b’Shevat, after all we call the Torah the “tree of life.”  In ancient Israel we even planted trees when children were born to commemorate their birth and then these trees were used as the chuppah poles at their weddings. That’s just one of many amazing tree-based traditions in Judaism! If you want to plant a tree for Tu b’Shevat, there are lots of organizations that you can donate to that will help you with that, since it’s a lousy time of year to actually plant trees in most parts of the world. If this is what you are looking for, then check out Casey Trees and Jewish National Fund. I’m sure there are tons of other great organizations, and I hope you’ll share your favorite in the comments.

Seders
By now most people have heard of a Tu b’Shevat seder, even if they’ve never been to one.  So where do you start?  Thankfully, there are many free, and really good, Tu b’Shevat seders available online.  Here are few of my favorites to explore:

  • The Copyright Infringement Tu B’Shevat Seder by Rabbi Patrick (Added Jan. 8th, 2014)
  • Tu B’Shevat Seder of the Seasons
  • Tu B’Shevat Seder of the Four Worlds
  • The Trees are Davening: A Tu B’Shevat Haggadah
  • Peeling a Pomegranate Tu B’Shevat Seder (pdf)
  • Babaganewz: Tu B’Shevat Seder for Families
  • Ritual Well: Tu B’Shevat Seder
  • Hillel: Tu B’Shevat Seder

If you are a more DIY kind of person, check out this Tu B’Shevat Seder Outline, from Kolel.  It gives you a bit of a mix and match set up that allows you to easily create your own Tu B’Shevat seder.

Psalms
I learned about the tradition of reciting the fifteen “Psalms of Ascent” (120-134) during the first fifteen days of Shevat from my teacher, RK’Jill Hammer.  She has taken this practice further by associating a specific type of tree with each psalm.  Since the psalms have become a big part of my daily spiritual practices right now, I’m very excited to explore this concept this year.

You could even create prayer trees by writing or printing out pieces of the psalms of ascent and tying them to trees in your yard.  Imagine if you write the psalms on pieces of ribbon or fabric, how pretty the tree would look!  You could leave the fabric up just during Shevat, or if you use unbleached cotton or muslin, you could even just leave it to disintegrate naturally over time.

Final thought…

Whatever you do, take some time to appreciate Judaism’s long and complicated history with trees.  You might even want to take time to reflect on your own relationship with trees and nature.  No matter where you live, take some time to appreciate these amazing partners in life.  Without trees, we couldn’t breath, have paper, firewood, and a million other things!

Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist.  She works with individuals and groups to explore, discover, and create meaningful rituals and ritual artwork to mark moments in life.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Shabbat & Holidays, Tu B'Shevat Tagged With: calendar, darshan yeshiva, family, haggadah, jewish practice, nature, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer, psalms, punktorah, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rosh chodesh, seasons, Seder, shevat, trees, tu b'shevat, winter

Tu B’Shevat Happy New Year Trees

February 3, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

em_fwf_wa_rainforest

Tu B’shevat is very much a minor holiday to us today, perhaps it’s because most of us no longer work the land to provide for our families and communities. Perhaps it’s because few people care for the Earth as deeply as we once did. Whatever the reason is this is no longer a holiday celebrated by most families with a full Seder. It’s now seen almost as an Earth day or Arbor day. A day that even most people in America don’t tend to celebrate. Tu ‘B’shevat is important to me though, it is the new year for the trees. What exactly does a new year for a tree mean? One thought holds trees as one of the closest to immortal things living on this planet today. While no tree is immortal some are very old. The oldest non-clonal tree in the world today is known as The Sisters or the Sisters Olive Trees of Noah, The sisters are believed to be over 6,000 years old and is thought to be where the dove found the olive branch to bring Noah at the end of the great flood. What is another year for them? What does that mean for us? The trees new year means for them an awakening. Almost all trees especially fruit baring ones go through a dormant phase during the year and Tu B’shevat is the time that inside of them they grow another ring. This ring might be thin or thick depending on how the growing season treated them. You can learn a lot about a trees life from their rings. So what does that mean for us? It’s hardly time to plant trees the only thing right now you can do is prune the dormant and dead branches.

Well for us I believe that Tu B’shevat is a great time for our own awakening. It’s time to awaken to ourselves and to our soul. The great thing is that we don’t have a yearly dormant phase but perhaps our community involvement or passions or even our spirituality does. Perhaps you were volunteering your time more frequently around Rosh Hashanah. Or maybe you get in the mood to let your passion of baking run wild for Chanukah (which would make a ton of sense considering you may have been meshuggah enough to host a giant Thanksgivukkah party.) However, lately you have found that you haven’t been doing these things as much as you would like. Perhaps you were taking comfort in going to minyan and meeting new people and then for one reason or another just stopped. Inside of you as with the trees it is time for an awakening. One that will allow you to flourish and blossom just like our trees. This doesn’t happen over night. Our trees won’t bud tomorrow, they will simply begin to put their energy in that direction, that will allow us to appreciate them. Perhaps you can take this Tu B’shevat and begin to use that energy to awaken yourself so that you can greater appreciate the world around you. We don’t have the luxury of living up to 6,000+ years but if we can appreciate today maybe we can plant the seeds for others to appreciate their tomorrow.

Melissa Bullins is an Atlanta based chef and is active in the local Jewish community at Shabbat Atlanta. Come hang out with Melissa and the Shabbat Atlanta chavurah!

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Shabbat & Holidays, Tu B'Shevat Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Melissa Bullins, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, tu b'shevat

Parshah Beshalach: Mi Chamocha

January 30, 2015 by Amanda Martin

music

As my voice rises with that of the cantor, I tell myself my enthusiasm more than makes up for my staggering lack of singing ability. Shul is the only public place where I will bust out song with abandon, disregarding the sidelong glances thrown my way. I am unabashedly loud, and also happiest, when worshipping through song.

In this week’s parshah, the righteous Miriam famously gathers the Hebrew women in song and dance to celebrate escape from the Egyptians. “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her in dance with timbrels. And Miriam chanted for them: Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea” (Exodus 15:20-21). The late Debbie Friedman rendered this moment in her own track. “Miriam’s Song” is on regular rotation during the “Rock Shabbat” services staged by my local Reform Temple, a favorite of both adults and children.

Most of the music in which we engage during services, however, is prayer. It is praise, it is gratitude, and it is supplication. Whether Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Humanist, Orthodox or Renewal, the prayers are largely the same. Shalom Rav, Hashkiveinu, Lecha Dodi, and V’Shamru are familiar standards, though they may be delivered somewhat differently by each movement in our collective tradition. No High Holiday service is complete without Avinu Malkeinu and any Passover Seder would surely fall flat without the inclusion of Dayenu. Communication with the divine encompasses innumerable languages, including music. Its power does not reside in literal, linear understanding, but rather its ability to foster a certain feeling within and around us. I know I am not the only Jew who can sing a perfect Yismechu without being able to translate what any of those beautiful words actually mean.

In addition to Miriam getting her groove on with her sisters, Parshah Beshalach also includes a lyric poem that gives us the Mi Chamocha prayer of our modern day services. I have participated in slow, sonorous versions, as well as riotously joyful renditions and have felt the tones fill me with awe, deep appreciation and peace. Our tradition tells us that it is this song the Israelites sang after emerging safe from the Sea of Reeds. It begins with the somewhat rhetorical question, “Who is like you, Oh God, among the gods who are worshipped?”

Music is contextual in my life. What I listen to in the gym is quite different than what I put on when making dinner which is certainly not the same as my getting-ready-for-work playlist or the road trip compilations capable of fueling hours of driving. For spiritual purposes, I prefer our Hebrew prayers. Some I find comforting, others electrifying. All rouse within me a sense of connection to something greater than myself. For me, they also feel like home.

This is not true of all Jews, certainly. I know many for whom these prayers are simply something to sit through as we wait for the Mourner’s Kaddish to signal the end. Those I sit beside in Shul are often much quieter, participating by phrases, and sometimes taking the opportunity to whisper to their neighbor. This is ok. It can feel inherently meaningless to worship in a language other than our own, no matter its holy status. We may feel self-conscious exercising our vocals in front of strangers or friends. Perhaps it’s altogether just uncomfortable. Some find divine connection through the sermon or the oneg. Others, in simply donning a kippah or tallit. And others still, in skipping services entirely and enjoying a Friday night cocktail with a friend. All means of connection are valid and one is not inherently better than another.

Our Torah reminds us that celebration, song and dance are inherently human behaviors. They may be individual but are more often communal – connecting us to one another as we connect with God. Today, we need not limit ourselves to the songs of the siddur. Holiness may be found in the music outside of synagogues and summer camps, as well. Certainly, Jews continue to make positive contributions to all areas of music. Maybe the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” can prove a compelling anthem for the story of the Maccabees. Perhaps we can hear “Raise Your Glass” by Pink and be reminded of Miriam and other outspoken women in our tradition. Personally, I can’t listen to Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” without thinking of our ancestors wandering the desert for 40 very long years.

We are fortunate to be Jews. We live within a tradition that continues to evolve through our sometimes intentional, but often unconscious, contributions. Our Jewish identities are not simply one small compartment of who we are, but a glorious container encompassing the totality of our lives. We breathe, we eat, we listen to music. When performed by Jews, these actions are inherently Jewish. It’s a beautiful phenomenon. The next time you update your Spotify playlist, take a moment to think of it in a Jewish context. What of our vast tradition does listening to your go-to Pandora station evoke? Test the possibility of connecting with God through Grooveshark. Who are you when you hear your favorite song? All music is potential connection and a reflection of our very personal Jewish journeys. Music is language, it is prayer, and it is life.

Filed Under: Jewish Media Reviews, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief Tagged With: beshalach, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jewish music, Music, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Torah

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