Independent Jewish Spirituality Online
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
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Check out Ketzirah at PeelAPom! Lesson of the Tribe During the time in the desert, the tribe of Menasheh was positioned with Benjamin to the West of Tabernacle. Menasheh was on the side of the setting sun. Sunset is a time of endings and beginnings. In Jewish tradition our day begins when the sun goes down. So Menasheh was the one on the side of the new day. Maybe another lesson from Menasheh is to forget our anger as the sun sets in the West. According to Inner.org, “the name Menasheh (מְנַשֶׁה) permutes to spell “soul” (נְשָׁמָה). Menasheh represents the sense to reveal the Divine soul in Israel.” Considering the “soul scrub” that is the high holidays, it does seem appropriate that Cheshvan would be associated with Menasheh. It’s a month where we should still have a soul that is still holding the glow of the Days of Awe. As the year moves on it can get harder and harder to hold that feeling, but in Cheshvan we are still so fresh. In recent years, we’ve learned that we forgot the Tribe of Menasheh — not that they forgot us or what it means to be Jew. The tribe was thought to be assimiliated in the lands it lived in and fully adopted the ways of those people (Jewish Encyclopedia). Of course I don’t think the Tanach says it quite so nicely. But then in one sentence it will condem and in another it, or the Talmud, will praise. In 2005, Bnei Menashe was officially welcomed back into the fold and was recognized by the State of Israel. These Jews from an area in North East India are considered to be one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. They, like the Jews of Ethiopia, offer an alternative view of what it means to be Jewish. They are Jews who split off from the rest of the Tribe before the Rabbinic era, so their traditions evolved directly out of the Biblical era. As we move into Cheshvan it’s time to stop looking inward. We cannot grow and be fruitful (Ephraim), if we forget (Menasheh) the outside world and live in a state of constant self-examination — or celebration. The literal meaning of Menasheh is “to leap up and away.” Maybe the lesson of Menasheh is that after a month of deep self-reflection and celebration in Tishrei — it’s time to leap up and get on with the business of living. To subscribe to the monthly “Rosh Chodesh Guide” click here! |
(Originally posted here by our friend Ketzirah)
In the traditional morning prayer service, it is a common practice to gather the fringes (tzitzit) of the prayer shawl into your left hand while saying the Shema — the central statement of faith. This practice came to mind after I read what I felt to be a poorly informed, fear-based blog post about Kohenet on Jewschool. If you read this site, you know that Kohenet is my one of my spiritual homes and I spent 3.5 years in that program earning the right to call myself a Kohenet. Actually, if you read this site you probably know a lot more about the program than the author of that blog post. But, I honestly don’ t wish to put any more energy there.
What I want to do is remind everyone that fringes are sacred in Judaism.
“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them that they should make fringes on the wings of their garments throughout their generations, and they should put upon the fringe of the wing a thread of blue. They will be fringes for you, and you will look at them and remember the desires of the Eternal your God, and you will not turn aside after your hearts or your eyes that you seek to feed. Thus shall your remember my desires and be holy to the Infinite. I, Adonai, am the Infinite who led you out of Egypt to be infinite to you. I, the Infinite, am your God.” (Num 15:38-41, as found in the Kohenet Siddur)
Fringes remind us of what is important in life. What is the fringe also depends on your perspective. To me, someone who is Orthodox is on the fringe. The majority of Jews are not Orthodox. When I see someone who is Orthodox, I feel as though they are my tzitzit. I felt the same when I once attended Yom Kippur services at a Secular Humanist synagogue. They are fringes on the other side. There, I just wanted to feel a little more G!d(dess) in the experience and I was reminded of how much I treasure my own sense of spiritual connection.
Every religion has its fringes. Every movement has its fringes. Every art form has its fringes. Jews don’t, or shouldn’t, cut of their fringes. They are sacred. We gather them in with our left hand (the receptive hand) while we recite our most sacred statement of faith. We gather them in with love because they are us, and they are there to teach us something. They are there to offer us an opportunity. They are there to remind us what is sacred in life.
As we enter the Days of Awe, I invite you to look more kindly on the fringes you encounter. See them as the “thread of blue.” Bless them for being the tzitzit of life and helping you connect more fully to the Infinite — however you experience it.
