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God Demands Jewish Innovation: Second Passover

May 14, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

innovation

As if Passover Number One wasn’t bad enough, on 14 Iyar we are given the opportunity to do Passover all over again with Pesach Sheini, the Second Passover.

According to Numbers 9:1-14 (Parshah Behaalotecha), there were certain people back in the old days that couldn’t participate in the official Passover sacrifice. They included people who had been made impure by being around dead people as well as people who were not in Jerusalem at the time. They wanted to celebrate Passover, and petitioned Moses for some kind of loophole that would let them participate. So Moses calls God, and God offers up the Second Passover option. And there you have it: Jewish innovation.

People often think of religion as being a series of strict rules, used to enforce an elite’s view of you, the individual, as a screw up sinner who needs to be put back in line. We look at people in black hats and see judgmental authoritarians trying to force upon us a Bronze Age code that simply does not work in the iPhone era. We see religious people looking to passages in the Levitical code about stoning people to death as a sign that God, surely, is a wrathful, vengeful God and if you eat bacon, drive a car on Shabbat or anything else, surely you are asking-for-it-come-hell-or-high-water.

This, of course, is the harsh view. The other view we give religious people is a liberal you-poor-secularist-you-don’t-know-any-better view. We see outreach programs as a condescending attempt to make us feel dumb about our apparent lack of Jewish understanding. We believe that we aren’t sinners really, just Jews that haven’t been properly educated in Torah. If we only knew that our wrists are sexually provocative and that the rib eye at Trader Joe’s isn’t kosher enough, we would see the err of our ways and stick our noses in the Chumash.

These stereotypes; however, are just ridiculous characterizations. I have been in less observant communities which are far more judgmental than these two pictures I have painted, and I have been in more traditional communities that could care less what you do with your stomach, or any other part of your body for that matter.

What I see in this Torah portion, and with the Second Passover, is that while God is often judgmental, only God is the judge of humanity. And it appears as though God’s vision of the world is one where everyone has the opportunity to participate in spiritual fulfillment. Judaism at its best is a Judaism that recognizes this holy mission statement, and I think more often than not, we pretty much stick to this.

Second Passover is not an isolated incident of Jewish innovation. There are many times in the Torah that God and a human being debate righteousness and God sides with humanity. Torah is said to be “lo ba-shamayim hi” or “not in Heaven” (Deut. 30:12). The divide between the spiritual world and the world of the mundane is constantly ripping apart in the Biblical narrative, and through the celebration of holidays, human beings are able to enter into that same sphere of interaction between this world and the domain of the Highest. Why a Second Passver? Because God wants us to have every opportunity possible to dwell in this space of divine interaction.

God has consistently allowed the Jewish people to find ways to make Torah Consciousness possible in every generation: whether it’s through the Talmud, Jewish art, independent minyanim and chavrutah, sages and philosophers, literature and religious movements. God is not stuck in the mud, waiting for a righteous peoplehood to pull “Him” out. Rather, God takes part in our growing and sojourning, standing in front of us as we make our way through the experience of being a human family. Since I believe God shares intimately with the Jewish destiny, I become more and more certain that it is God’s will that we innovate in whatever ways we need to keep the fire of the burning bush alive for countless generations to come.

So if you missed Passover, have a matzah and remember that you’re taking part in something that is greater than yourself, and yet, has you personally in mind.

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Passover, Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: 14 iyar, 2nd passover, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jewish innovation, jewish innovator, jewish technology, online conversion, Passover, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, pesach sheini, pesach sheni, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, second passover

Tichels, Tzniut & All About Jewish Women’s Hair Covers (Plus A Video How To)

January 29, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

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You may have heard of or seen Jewish women wearing scarves as a head covering. They are often referred to as “Tichels” which is the Yiddish word for scarf. The Hebrew transliteration is mitpachat. Many of the women wear them because of the Jewish law that a married woman should cover her hair when around non-immediate family members. Part of the reason is due to honoring the privacy of the intimacy of a husband and wife since the hair is seen as a private area for a married woman. Others wear them for additional spiritual reasons, including the concept of tznius. Tichels are not the only methods of covering the hair. For example non-Sephardic observant Jewish women may chose to wear hats, snoods, or wigs.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1yHRATlOY8

Tznius is the Jewish concept of modesty and privacy but not only for the husband and wife relationship. It also has a beautiful meaning for a woman’s relationship with the Holy One. The idea is that the holiness is revealed when the physical is hidden which is why we wear clothing. When a person, man or woman, reveals their bodies that is often the first thing a person will notice about them. This is not a judgment but an observational occurrence. However, when you meet someone with their bodies covered and their hair/head covered you tend to notice the windows of the souls first, their eyes. Many women have said that they fear hair covering causes us to lose our freedom or is oppressive. However many of us do not see it this way. When a woman is not forced to practice hair covering, we see it as a beautiful freedom for the soul. How could tying scarves on the head be freedom you may ask? One answer is because we are free from the sexualized image norms bombarding us in society. Our physical self no longer dominates our soul, and the way other people see and treat us is different as well. Ultimately, we are expressing our freedom of religion and identity as Jewish women.

Personally for me the practice of hair wrapping and head covering elevates my soul, my mind focuses on higher things, and as a practical element my hair stays clean when I go out. Additionally my environmental allergies are not as strong for some reason. I truly cannot start my day until my head is wrapped and I even add an adapted blessing because it is so special to me: “Baruch atah HaShem, Eloheinu meleckh ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al mitzvot tznius.” This translates to “Blessed are you Holy One, our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the practice of modesty.” We are commanded to walk modestly before our Creator and this is part of my fulfillment of this beautifully rich and delicious command. Also, there is a cultural element. For thousands of years women have been wearing scarves on their heads with flowing beautiful gowns. Tichels give me that feminine connection to my ancient sisters as well as my modern ones, no matter which religion or denomination of Judaism, there is this respect for the Holy One, for ourselves, and for each other that scarves tie together.

Chavivah is a graphic design volunteer and beta tester for Darshan Yeshiva

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, LGBTQ & Women Tagged With: chavivah, convert to judaism, darshan yeshiva, hair covering, hijab, jewish wig, jewish women, modesty, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, sheitl, snood, tichel, tzinut, tznius

A Prayer For NOT Healing (or How To Thank God For Refusing To Cure You)

December 18, 2013 by Patrick Beaulier

I’ve been sick for about a month now. With an MRI next week, assuming everything looks good, then I’ll make a full recovery.

But what if I don’t? What if God does not heal me?

A lot has been written about this in Jewish history: an attempt to understand why bad things happen, and what God’s reasoning is for allowing life to come to a bitter, violent conclusion, or be swept back into glorious renewal through some series of events that could only be a miracle.

I was asked last year to perform a bedside vidui (a sort of Jewish version of “last rights”) for a man who, quite honestly, had no real hope of recovery. The machines were working at maximum strength to keep his body alive — or as alive as one can be when unconscious.

Before I began, I pulled out my rabbi’s manual, ready to recite the uncreative, dry poetry of mourning that reads something to the effect of, “dear God, cause a miracle to happen. And if not, then give us the strength to move on.”

I hated this prayer. It makes God either impotent or apathetic. It takes away the real pain that people feel, knowing full well what is going on, and replaces it with a platitude. It’s like telling the mother of a dead child that “at least he’s somewhere better.” I’m not sure what hurts more, the pain that comes along with human impermanence, or the sting of well meaning but completely clueless comforters.

Judaism teaches that there are certain prayers which cannot be said. Talmud Brachot 54a reads:

TO CRY OVER THE PAST IS TO UTTER A VAIN PRAYER. IF A MAN’S WIFE IS PREGNANT AND HE SAYS, [GOD] GRANT THAT MY WIFE BEAR A MALE CHILD, THIS A VAIN PRAYER. IF HE IS COMING HOME FROM A JOURNEY AND HE HEARS CRIES OF DISTRESS IN THE TOWN AND SAYS, [GOD] GRANT THAT THIS IS NOT IN MY HOUSE, THIS IS A VAIN PRAYER.

This text leaves me with a question: if it’s inevitable that I am going to be permanently ill, are all my prayers in vain?

I don’t know what the right answer is, so I’m going to do what all rabbis do: I am going to completely cop out and do something else.

I am going to thank God for making me sick.

The morning blessing includes a line called Asher Yatzar, sometimes known as the “bathroom prayer” because…well…you say it after going to the bathroom!

It speaks of God as creator who fashioned our bodies with wisdom, and remarks that had God made us in any other way, we might not function at all. That prayer is great, but it’s total garbage when frankly, your body does not feel like a wondrous creation.

So I decided to rewrite this blessing, taking the Asher Yatzar and folding into the words of other Biblical and Jewish texts. The English translation is a weaving together of the JPS Tanakh, The New Union Prayerbook (Classical Reform), Siddur Or Hadash (Conservative) and Siddur Eit Ratzon (post-denominational), as well as my own words.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving For Ill Health

I give you thanks, Eternal source of comfort, for allowing my body to arrive at this place and in this time in whatever fashion it may be in, for today I am alive and can stand before you, and your perfect design is clear to me. Praised are you, Adonai my God, for sustaining me in wondrous ways.

I offer praise to you, Eternal God, for forming my body with all of its part arising from a natural order: allowing your creation to steer its own course and develop in its own way. In showing me your true and everlasting love through the gift of this freedom, I humbly show you my love by accepting the mitzvah which you commanded: to love all creatures and to bring them closer to your Torah.

My soul you have put in me is pure, and so long as my soul remains in me, I will offer thanks to you, my God and God of my ancestors, creator of all living things, guardian of all souls.

I offer this prayer of thanks to you, Eternal God, in Whom all things are possible.

Written by Rabbi Patrick Aleph, Executive Director of PunkTorah.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, 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

Oy, Revolt! Channukah and the Story of the First Punks by Joedah Maccabi

November 25, 2013 by Patrick Beaulier

oy revolt! cover photo

Hello all, sorry about the delay in writing but I’ve been quite busy with university. So without further ado, let’s get to my theory of Jews being the first punks.

If we look at all the various cultures that Judaism has encountered throughout its history, Pagan, Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Greek, Roman, 21st century secularism. Yet throughout it all, Jews, for the most part. resisted any changes or demands.

Unless it was Halakhah (Jewish Law) or was necessary for their survival and continuation, it was simply rejected and the tribe rolled on.

So how does this fit in with Chanukah? The Maccabees were a group of Jews, that could see that Hellenistic culture was attempting to “socially airbrush” Jewish culture out of existence.

This social airbrushing would have made sense as a war tactic, because given the fact that this was a people that had made it past so many adversaries they knew that oppression and combat alone wouldn’t have won.

Instead, they combined oppressive laws such as the forbidding of Jewish worship and keeping kosher under penalty of death, with the second option of assimilation as a Greek citizen, thus giving the Jews an ultimatum: to end 1000’s of years of practice and tradition and risking their life, in return for a relatively comfortable existence.

But, just as many Jews had done throughout the history, the Maccabees said no and rebelled against this. The reason they did this is because they knew long before the Magna Carta and long before the declaration of human rights, that the right for future generations to be different was something that couldn’t just be discarded.

So to everyone on Punk Torah I say, keep being different, be proud of being different and keep fighting to be different!

Chanukah Sameach/happy Chanukah !

Filed Under: Chanukah, Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants, Shabbat & Holidays Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, joedah maccabi, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, StuckInArk

Veiling My Wife (Parshat Vayetzei)

November 5, 2013 by Patrick Beaulier

wedding-flowers (11)

This week’s Torah portion comes from our friend Joshua Kuritzky. Want to post a d’var Torah on PunkTorah? Email questions@punktorah.org

At the outset of Parashat Vayetzei, Yaakov, weary from traveling, lies down to rest, using a rock as a pillow. Let’s let him sleep for now—he’s tired and has earned his rest—and talk about another Yaakov: Yaakov ben Pesach Kuritzky, otherwise known as Joshua Kuritzky. (Yes, yes, I know: Why isn’t my Hebrew name Yehoshua? Just as valid and strong a biblical namesake, but, alas, not the name my parents chose.)

On the 14th of Elul, 5768, I married my sweetheart, Bayla Rivkah (English name: Beth). We had a traditional Jewish wedding service, which included the Badeken ceremony, in which the groom veils his bride. It is said that this custom originated because of events in this Parasha. Because of Laban’s deception, Yaakov inadvertently married Leah instead of Rachel. (We’ll leave all conniving in-law-related exegesis for a later date.) So now, as part of the Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom is given the opportunity to verify that his bride is indeed the woman he wants to marry. But in an age where we’ve already modified the wedding ceremony to fit modern culture and custom—the modern Jewish wedding ceremony condenses the official engagement and wedding into one ceremony, whereas historically these two separate events occurred months apart—why keep a custom that seems, at least on its surface, to be superfluous? Given all the trappings of a modern wedding, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for a devious father-in-law to swap out daughters without a photographer, videographer, wedding planner, dress fitter, hair and/or makeup stylist, etc. noticing that something isn’t, well, kosher.

If the purpose of the Badeken today is not exclusively a means for bridal inspection, what other purpose does it serve? For me, the Badeken remains the first thing I think about when recalling my wedding day. As is tradition, I fasted the entire day and have little recollection of the Kabbalat Panim (the separate pre-wedding receptions for bride and groom) besides a feeling of lightheadedness, anxiety, and an intense desire to see my best friend, partner, and confidant: my bride. As the singing turned into dancing and I was escorted to the Badeken, all I wanted to do was to see her. We’d been separated for a week, each left to deal with our separate versions of wedding stress and jitters. But this was it! A day months in planning and years in dreaming—it was finally here. In the next room, surrounded by the women in her life, sat my bride upon her bridal throne, waiting for me to be danced in, to see her and to veil her. What I remember most is that before veiling her, time slowed and what takes barely a minute in our wedding video felt almost dreamlike: I stared into Beth’s eyes and knew that I was glimpsing my past, present, and future all at once. I was no longer alone. I had someone to travel through life with. As I veiled her, the “deal” was unspoken: we would walk together—where she would walk, I would walk; where I would walk, she would walk. As we noted under our Chuppah, the letters in the word Elul match a line from the Song of Songs: Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li—“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” This line has always defined us as a couple.

What followed, from the Chuppah to the reception, all felt like a confirmation of what happened in the Badeken. We may not have been married until later in the day, but for me, that ritual—the verification not just that this was whom I wanted to marry and spend my life with, but that this was the life I wanted to share—made it final and made it real.

Now let’s return to Yaakov our forefather, who is sleeping fitfully and dreaming the most biblical of dreams. What does he dream? He sees, depending on the translation, a stairway or ladder that reaches to the heavens with angels moving back and forth. Whatever it is, it is a conveyance—a connection to the divine. As a dream it is beautiful—symbolic and spiritual, fraught with meaning. And then, in the dream, Hashems peaks to Yaakov, promising him and his descendants, who will be like the “dust of the earth”, the land on which he lies. Hashem promises to protect Yaakov. Where Yaakov goes, so will Hashem. And Yaakov awakens convinced of the dream’s meaning, recognizing the importance of his journey and what his life will bring. And in a strange, surprisingly confident, voice, Yaakov makes a promise in return: If Hashem watches over and protects Yaakov, then Hashem will be G-d to Yaakov.

What can we make of this dream in light of what comes later in the Parasha? Perhaps we can see Yaakov’s dream as a Badeken in its own right. The veil has been lifted, however briefly, to show Yaakov and, by extension, us, that we are connected not just to each other through our friendships and marriages, but to the divine, each and every day. The twin promises between Yaakov and Hashem are echoed when we marry: We promise to protect each other, support each other, and journey through life together. As Yaakov’s story becomes our story, we see, again and again, our connection to Hashem, who can also be seen as the subject of the Song of Songs. We are Hashem’s and Hashem is ours.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief Tagged With: Badeken, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, jewish wedding, online conversion, Parshat Vayetzei, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punk torah, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, this week's torah portion, torah portion of the week, Veiling My Wife

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