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Parshah Bo: The Power of Awareness

January 22, 2015 by Amanda Martin

Reconciling the concept of divinity with the ruthless slaughter of infants can prove a barrier of significant challenge, and one that may even be insurmountable. We are called to do so when reading this week’s parshah, and we are also asked to do so when viewing the morning’s global news report. Innocent people, many of them children, lose their lives in horrific and senseless acts every day. The luxuries of our western lifestyles appear gratuitous when compared with the daily reality of so much of the world. How do we, as Jews, actualize the command for each of us to love our God with all our heart, soul and strength? How do we maintain the fortitude to pursue justice and be that brilliant, shining light for all people?

The death of the first born is the tenth and final plague of the Exodus story, recounted every year during the Pesach seder. The story we tell around our tables, while ostensibly about freedom from slavery, includes much suffering. Lest we fail to appreciate the trials our ancestors endured, we dip our parsley in salt water to mimic the taste of tears, and choke down horseradish for the sharp sensation of bitterness on the tongue. Perhaps it is this emphasis on suffering which prompted a friend of mine to complain of the remarkable dearth of joy and celebration in Jewish holidays.

Appreciating the incalculable suffering of others, both historically and today, is valuable and necessary if we are to co-create a more just and gentle world. Understanding the persecution of our own people over the course of centuries is relevant when evaluating the anti-Semitism that now flourishes in some parts of the globe. Yet residing permanently in such a morass can be dangerous. I believe most humans are inherently empathetic, and we hurt to some degree when we learn of the pain of others. Our hearts are not invincible and our minds are not immune from the endless toll of violence, hatred and torment our news media so deftly provides. If our Exodus story were rendered in headline format, it may include such gems as, “Thousands Afflicted with Boils, No Known Remedy,” “Locusts Devour Crops, Famine Imminent,” and “Babies Slaughtered, Pharaoh Blames Hebrew God.” The information can be overwhelming. It can easily suffocate our joy, hope, and faith in divinity.

These moments call for practical intervention, returning us to the beauty of the present moment. Lengthy treatises on the dynamics of faith and the nature of God exist in abundance in our tradition. But when we are worn down by the reality of a child torn to pieces when her small body is used as a bomb, or when we burn with both anger and helplessness reading of attacks on synagogues, we need something less densely philosophical. When we honor our people through the yearly reading of the Exodus story, and the tenth plague sticks uncomfortably in our throats, all of the lofty invectives of Rabbis extolling us not to question the divine plan won’t make those murdered children any easier to accept.

This morning, I enjoyed the privilege of awakening next to someone I love, who loves me in return. There is much divinity to be found in snuggling. I climbed a mountain, ascending to its peak as the sun rose in the sky. There is peace and incomparable beauty in the wilderness outside my door. I ate lunch – itself a miracle in a world where so many go hungry – and savored an eggplant steamed to perfection. So much simple joy exists in how we choose to feed ourselves. On Pesach, we recline on cushions because the comfort of freedom is nothing less than sublime. We sing songs and hide the afikomen because silliness and laughter surely make life sweet. To live life fully, to cultivate open-hearted happiness, we must not linger too long in the shadows. We must be able to shift our awareness from a horror that deserves to be known, to a more perfect and mundane moment. Yes, a Yeshiva student praying with Chabad was stabbed by an assailant explicit in his anti-Semitic motives. We must recognize this reality. The story must be told. Any yet, we must also be able to move our awareness to the patch of sunlight illuminating dancing dust motes, or the chatter of birds outside the window. The perfection of these moments must be recognized, as well.

If we fail to redirect our awareness, we risk our joy and happiness. If we remain mired in the indisputable ugliness of our world, we risk losing the better parts of our nature which may only be nurtured through our world’s indisputable beauty. It isn’t always easy. It may seem flippant, even irresponsible. But if we are to ever truly feel a love for God, if we are to do the difficult work of justice, we need to be responsible for the tender care of our own souls. Parshah Bo calls us to tell the story of oppression. It does not ask that we reside there.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief, Passover, Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, mindfulness, online conversion, parshah bo, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Tishrei: Talking to the Dead

October 8, 2014 by Ketzirah

I thought I’d kick off 5773 by exploring Judaism’s relationship with ancestor engagement, or veneration of the dead. I don’t say “worship” because we don’t do that — at least not officially. Although we seem to mention those ancestors an awful lot. Ever heard the phrase, “The G!d/dess Abraham, Issac, and Jacob,” but I digress.

Tishrei, the official head of the Jewish year is chock full of holidays. We have Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the Days of Awe, during which is also the Autumnal Equinox. Then we have Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabba, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. This is the time of the year, where we take stock and look to the year ahead. It makes a lot of sense to do this in the Fall. In ancient times, or just an agrarian culture, this is when you finish up the harvest [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Sukkot Tagged With: convert to judaism, customs, darshan yeshiva, judaism afterlife, judaism death, judaism spirit, judaism witch, ketzirah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, peel a pom, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rituals, sukkot, tishrei, ushpizin, ushpizot

Book Reviews: Even Higher, When The Chickens Went On Strike, and Tashlich At Turtle Rock

September 10, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

Even-HigherEven Higher: A Rosh Hashanah Story adapted by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Jill Weber is a wonderful story to read aloud to children about a Rabbi who is thought to go “even higher” just before Rosh Hashanah.

Every year just before Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Nemirov disappears. He’s not at home, or in the synagogue or in the village of Nemirov. The villages believe he’s gone to heaven to beg G-d for forgiveness of their souls. But is this where Rabbi Nemirov really goes?

A skeptical, but pious man-a Litvak comes to town and tells the villages they are wrong in their thinking. He uses the writings of ten Rabbis to back up his conclusion. However days before Rosh Hashanah the Litvak follows Rabbi Nemirov and what he finds makes him believe and declare that Rabbi Nemirov might go “even higher.”

 

When the Chickens Went on StirkeWhat makes something a custom? Why do we do the things we do? Over time, as things change are we to change too or do we hold fast to the past?

The book When the Chickens Went on Strike: a Rosh Hashanah Tale adapted from a story by Sholom Aleichem by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Matthew Trueman asks and deals with these very questions in a manner accessible to children.

This story takes place in a Russian-Jewish village, many years ago so many in fact that most if not all of us were never around to witness to take part in Karpores (the Jewish tradition of holding a clucking chicken above the head of a person and saying a prayer to rid the person of his or her bad deeds. The little boy in this tale wants to behave very badly to make his papa proud, but he also wants to make his sister, who, I have to point out has to sit in the women’s section of the Shul, laugh. The boy’s father tells him to go outside because he causes such a disturbance. Outside the boy sees the chickens clucking. “Strike! Strike!” the chickens declare.

At first the boy is taken aback because he too, like the other villagers, believes in Karpores. He’s afraid there is no other way to get rid of his “bad deeds.” But perhaps there is after all as the story tells us: “Customs come and customs go.”

TashlichTurtleRockTashlich is another Jewish custom of Rosh Hashanah, but unlike the custom of Karpores, Tashlick is still practiced by some Jewish people today. Tashlich is a Jewish custom of going to a body of water during Rosh Hashanah and tossing pieces of bread, which symbolize mistakes of the past year, into the water.

Tashlich at Turtle Rock by Susan Schnur and Anna Schur-Fishman and illustrated by Alex Steele-Morgan is a great way to look at or start your own family or friend customs or traditions during Rosh Hashanah.

Annie, Lincoln along with their mom and dad are off to do Tashlich. This year Annie is in charge of coming up with the family’s route. Annie chooses to stop at Turtle Rock first and to have the family write one good thing from the past year on the rock with the rock. After the family does this, dad washes their words away with water. Next they stop at Billy Goat’s Bridge and toss a piece of nature that represents something they want to throw away or ‘cast off’ from the past year. Annie chooses to stop at Gypsy Landing thirdly where each member of the family makes a promise for the New Year. Finally the family walks together to Old Log where they enjoy some yummy apples and honey.

So what are your families and friends traditions leading up to Rosh Hashanah and during the High Holidays?

Reviews are by Tamara Levine, who works in a children’s library and is active in our online community at OneShul.org.

Filed Under: Jewish Kids, Jewish Media Reviews, Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat & Holidays 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, tamara levin

YouTube Video Siddur: Coming Soon? Coming Never?

September 3, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

siddur

Several years ago, a few of us here at PunkTorah bounced around the idea of a video siddur. Jeremiah, aka @circlepitbimah, was one of them.

The idea is pretty simple: a series of YouTube videos that played each portion of a siddur. Instead of opening a book, you would pop a DVD in (or go to a YouTube channel) and start your davvening. You could skip the parts you don’t do by pressing the forward button, in the same way you might flip over a few pages.

This is already somewhat possible through the power of YouTube playlists. While sitting next to my friend and colleague Don Kramer, I combed through the Shabbat service, picking videos and dropping them into the playlist below. Feel free to suggest better/different videos, as I did this in about 15 minutes.

The big questions are:

  • Do you like the idea of a video siddur?
  • What would you want in it? What would you want to exclude?
  • If we did this project as a community, how would you want to put it together?
  • Everything has a price: time, money, etc. What would you pay for a video siddur? How much time would you commit to making this project possible?

Or, if its all too much, just make your own playlists and post them below! We’re happy to share them.

Written by Rabbi Patrick

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews, Judaism & Belief Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jewish prayerbook, judaism prayer, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, prayer book, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, siddur

YouTube Is My Siddur (or, Why I Can’t Stand Prayer Books)

August 26, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

youtube

By Rabbi Patrick

For many years, I have struggled to find a siddur that reflects the poetry of my life. I have trouble finding a book that speaks with honesty about human life, about Jewish life, and at the same time understands that humanity is not a species that lives in the literal, but lives in the metaphorical.

While I love vintage clothes and furniture, vintage faith is not where I am in life. I cannot pray Kaddish knowing full well that the growth of the Kaddish into the Mourner’s Kaddish may have been a response to the Catholic Church’s teaching of plenary indulgences. I cannot thank God in Asher Yatzar for making my body perfectly, only to shoot interferon beta 1-a in my stomach so that my immune system will stop eating my spine like the unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks at Olive Garden. I find myself wondering if false prayer is Lashon Hara to God, and if in the Amidah the phrase, “may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you” is more like an admission of guilt (dear God, I know I am faking my way through this Artscroll nusach Sephardim, so please bear with my insincerity) instead of a testimonial to the Sacred about a desire for holiness.

Unfortunately, going in the opposite direction does not work either. I have tried picking up progressive siddurim and using them, only to find that they are the same old texts of before, warped into an agenda that reads more like a political treatise than a response to the everlasting God. The tortured metaphors of progressive siddurim are at once an attempt to make everyone happy by reinterpreting the Godhead to the point of neutering, and yet, trying desperately to leave the flavor of the “old time religion” in a half-hearted attempt to console the traditionalist (or at least, what the progressive thinks the traditionalist is). Prayer in the progressive sense becomes more like a negotiation between the author and the reader, than a rapture between I and Thou.

It’s a no win situation. Really.

When I was in business school, I was taught something that has forever impacted the way I view the world:

The message is in the medium.

In my own experience, the greatest thing that happened to the Internet was video. And it’s in video that I find my siddur. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Podcasts & Videos 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

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