In great company: GJC recognized as one of America’s most vibrant synagogues

The Germantown Jewish Centre was recognized this week by NEWSWEEK magazine as one of America’s “25 Most Vibrant Congregations,” the only synagogue so recognized in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. The honor was based on an assessment of GJC’s community engagement, growth, outreach, diversity of program, innovation, dynamism and rabbinic leadership. Specifically, GJC was cited as “a model for pluralistic and egalitarian worship and community.” Other synagogues and minyanim in the list included B’nai Jeshurun (BJ) and Kehilat Hadar in New York City and Sinai Temple and IKAR in Los Angeles.
For the full list go to:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/192586/page/1

ARISE: 5 Steps for dealing with the Economic Crisis

The Conservative Movement's Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy has produced a two page pdf (reproduced below) defining five steps every community can take to respond to the Economic Crisis. The document begins with three texts (two classic and one an excerpt from a talk given during the Great Depression in 1931) and continues with the five steps organized around the acronym ARISE.

I. Arise and shake off the dust,
Wear the clothes that suit your glory, My people.
“Lecha Dodi,” from the Kabbalat Shabbat Prayers

II. There can be no real prosperity among any people where either
capital or labor is persistently trying to give as little as possible,
and get as much as possible. One of the most sweeping causes
of unemployment is the prevalent individualism that causes a
lack of social responsibility.
To the extent that we have made no vigorous effort to apply the
principles of divine justice and righteousness to the practical
problems of economic and social life, we have greatly neglected
our duty. When we realize that the moral conditions under
which people live are vitally affected by economic conditions, it
becomes clear why the synagogue should interest itself in all
questions of economic justice: social responsibility forms the
basis of Jewish ethics and underlies most of the teachings that
fill our sacred books.
Adapted from Rabbi Alter Landesman, “Lessons We Can Learn from the
Economic Crisis,” Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly, 1931

III. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: Without Torah, there is no
decency; without decency, there can be no Torah… Without
sustenance, there is no Torah; without Torah, there can be no
sustenance.
Mishnah, Avot 3.17

How Can My Community Respond to the Economic Decline?

The Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Conservative Movement
A ssure your congregants of their continued value in your community. The financial
effects of the economic downturn are difficult enough, but the worst part could be the fear
and uncertainty. Will our family lose our community by not being able to afford
synagogue membership, school tuition, or other dues? What will people think of us if we ask for
help? Find ways to calm these anxieties. Some communities have sent an open letter to the
community, addressing these questions; others have held parlor meetings in homes or informal
meetings with the rabbi and communal leaders in order to create a safe space for members of the
community to share their experiences.
R each out to families in need. All too often, people in need don’t ask for help – they might
feel embarrassed or overwhelmed, or they might not even realize how their synagogue can
help. If you know that a family is having trouble, don’t wait for them to come to you;
reach out. Encourage the people in your community to tell you, discreetly, if they know of friends
in need. Wherever appropriate, enable friends to reach out and help one another as well. An
economic downturn presents a priceless opportunity to put fellowship and community to work.
I dentify local resources. In most cities, the local Federation, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Vocational Service, and other organizations already offer a wide range of support for people
who have fallen on hard times. Larger communities may even have a Jewish Free Loan
Association. Get the word out to your community about the resources that already exist – some
people may need their help, while others may be in a position to support these organizations’ critical
work.
S upport job‐seekers. The Rabbis of the Talmud believed that match‐making was so difficult,
God needed to arrange the matches personally. Become God’s partner in this holy work: set
up a Job and Resume Bank within your community. Inevitably, some members of your
community will be looking for work; others will probably know of available jobs. Your Job
Bank can bring them together. If people in your community haven’t needed to look for jobs in a
while, they might want to brush up on resume‐writing, interviewing, and other professional skills.
Host workshops that offer job‐seekers a leg up in their search. Leverage your organization’s
connective power even farther by working together with other local synagogues and organizations
to create a community‐wide Job Bank.
E xchange services and used items. Ultimately, all families need some help, but all families are
able to offer help as well. Set up a “swap meet” in your community that enables people to
trade used items, childcare, professional expertise, and anything else that might be of value
to others.
Produced by the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Conservative Movement
Rabbi Leonard Gordon, Chair
Abe Friedman, Rabbinic Intern
ARISE: Five Ways Your Community Can Respond to the Economic Downturn

THE GIFT OF THE DREAM: A TRANSFORMATIVE CONFERENCE

The Gift of the Dream: A Transformative Conference

Sunday, March 15, 2009
8:25am - 5:00pm
Location:
Germantown Jewish Centre
400 West Ellet Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19119

For registration information:
Contact Elana Shaw, Program Director
215-844-1507 x19
Email:
program@germantownjewishcentre.org

Information & Registration at www.germantownjewishcentre.org

Join us as world class professionals and scholars present a variety of opinions and worldviews that promise to challenge and shape whole new ways of looking at dreaming.

The Gift of the Dream Conference is an exploration of the history, philosophies and science of dreams as they affect us spiritually, emotionally and physically. This event will center on Rodger Kamenetz’s most recent book, The History of Last Night’s Dream, in which he challenges Judaism and Jewish texts into communication with current trends in psychology and neuroscience. Modern psychiatric and psychological theories of the dream, as well as recent advances in brain science studies of dreams and what those findings could portend for the future will make the conference equally appropriate for individual seekers as well as those giving pastoral or psychological counseling.

Workshops include:
Introduction to Archetypal Dreamwork and Demonstrations with Marc Bregman and Christa Lancaster
Harnessing the Imagination with Carol Rose
The Dreams of Joseph’s Journey with Sarah Braun, M.D.
The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming with Ernest Hartmann, M.D.
Dreams in the Jewish Tradition a panel with Professors Joel Hecker, Chava Weissler and David Kraemer
A Journey Into Dreams with Jessica Dibb
Music with Rayzel Raphael

Co-sponsors include:
Inspiration Community of Baltimore; Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia; Minyan Sulam Yaakov @ the Gershman Y; North of Eden; Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia; Temple University Jewish Studies Department; P’nai Or; Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC); Big Blue Marble Bookstore

A New Study Text: Massekhet Hahammah

On April 8, 2009, the Jewish world will celebrate a unique alignment of ritual moments. In addition to erev Pesach, and thus the Siyyum of the Firstborn, April 8 is also the date of Birkat HaHammah (“Blessing of the Sun”) when, once every twenty-eight years, Jews everywhere celebrate the sun’s return to the place in the sky that it occupied at the moment of its creation.

In response to this unique moment, and in partnership with a broad coalition of Jewish environmental organizations, the Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy of the Leadership Council of the Conservative Movement has produced a new study text, Massekhet HaHammah ("Tractate of the Sun"), edited and translated with commentary by Abe Friedman (a rabbinical student at the Zeigler school at AJU). Massekhet HaHammah draws on two millennia of Jewish thought on the awesome majesty of the sun and other celestial objects. Through its commentary, Massekhet HaHammah demonstrates how classical Jewish texts offer important guidance for contemporary Jews struggling with climate change, resource allocation, and other crucial environmental challenges.

In bringing together diverse texts from all periods of the Jewish tradition, Massekhet HaHammah offers a fresh look at Jewish attitudes toward the sun, moon, stars, and the mysteries of creation. Through diverse topics such as the dynamics of power between humans and the heavenly lights, astrology and omens, and return and redemption, Massekhet HaHammah enables learners to reflect on the natural world and their place in it. The texts are presented in the original Hebrew and Aramaic with a new translation, and the commentary both elucidates the nuances of the text and helps tie the issues raised in the traditional sources to contemporary environmental challenges. Rabbi Elliot Dorff notes that “as a modern example of some of the massekhtot ketanot … people who study it may say the Hadran prayer afterward,” and it is our hope that rabbis and educators throughout the Jewish community will look to Massekhet HaHammah as they plan their pre-Pesach study.

Massekhet HaHammah is currently available on the website www.ritualwell.org (look under Birkat Hahammah) and will be up in coming days on www.blessthesun.org together with a study guide designed for educated laypeople (written by JTS student, Jill Levy). It will be available soon from the Rabbinical Assembly’s publications site, along with Rabbi Joe Prouser’s Sun Siddur, as a print on demand book.

At the upcoming Limmud conference in Philadelphia (on Sunday, February 22 at 3:00 p.m.) I will be teaching excerpts from the Massekhet together with Professor Mitch Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania.

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Shabbat Shalom.

DAY FOUR: Our Hopes

Today was the final day of our solidarity mission, a day for visits to the Foreign Ministry (the office of North American relations) and the National Police Command Center. We also prayed in the morning at the Conservative Yeshivah and in the afternoon at the Kotel Masorti (the part of the wall in the Old City set aside for egalitarian minyanim). And we studied texts about offering consolation with two young rabbis at Masorti congregation Ramot Zion in French Hill. Finally we had a closing circle and heard the beautiful voices of the Noam youth choir sending us off.
It was a day to absorb what we have seen and to cry about the present and the future. Having witnessed America at War these past years, the contrast with what we experienced these past days amazes me. Not a single person we spoke to, neither spokesperson, hospital administrator, teenager or soldier, spoke with anger or hatred. Not a single person excused the death of civilians or the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as “what happens in war.” No one spoke about Palestinians or Arabs or Muslims as a group in derogatory terms. Everyone, to a person, spoke of Israel’s responsibilities towards the preservation of civilian life on both sides. People know that terrible and gruesome things are happening in Gaza and there are no excuses, only hopes for a speedy end to the conflict and a return to calm. People hope that Hamas does not mistake Israel’s desire to end the war with weakness. People are worried about Iran and Iranian influence. But the people we spoke to do not hate.
We saw children going off to war, and other children who in a year or two will begin their military service. How many years has it been since the song “I promise you, my small child, that this will be the final war” was written? We prayed at the site of the destruction of the Second Temple and we reflected on the fragility of the moment we live in – the rare moment in Jewish history when there is a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
May calm return to the region soon. May the missiles stop falling. May the people of Palestine find a place of hope that includes living in peace alongside Israel. May the people of Israel know peace.

DAY THREE: In and out of a War Zone

I am writing at the end of a long day spent close to Gaza. In fact, at one point less than a km. away. No previous experience I have had in years of travel to Israel prepared me for today and I know that writing about the experience will tax my ability to navigate how my heart and mind responded to what I saw and heard. Please bear with me.
We began our day in the “homeland security” situation room in Ashkelon. Ashkelon received 3 ketusha rockets in 2003, 10 in 2006, 7 in 2007, 20 before the war in 2008 and 90 (including larger, more powerful Grad missiles produced in Iran) since the war began. In 2006, the citizens had 12 seconds to find cover after a siren, today they have 30 seconds. The missiles are powered by fertilizer and detergent, they are armed with ball bearings and poison, they are aimed at the hospital and at civilians (and not at strategic targets like the power station or port).
26,000 children are at home, only High School seniors have returned to classes so they can complete studying for matriculation exams in the shelters (which have limited space). The Mayor showed us maps of the city indicating where children live, where the old people are, which houses do and do not have shelters. 60% of the citizens do not live within 30 seconds of a shelter. Many of the elderly (some Holocaust survivors and others who have been through Israel’s wars) do not leave their homes no matter what happens.
The Mayor also spoke of the collaborative projects between himself and two mayors of Gaza City before the Hamas takeover.
We visited the Masorti kehillah and a member of the community pointed out that, unlike Israelis, no one in Gaza can avoid the bombings by going to a shelter. This was one of many moments during the day when sympathy was expressed by Israelis for the civilians in Gaza.
In Barzalai Hospital in Ashkelon we learned that 80% of the patients were sent home to keep the hospital free and available to receive mass casualties. Patients come from the battlefield, from missile hits and patients at the hospital include Palestinians wounded in the fighting. The head of the ER referred to the hospital as an “island of sanity” in the region. When a Palestinian child was recently born in the hospital someone asked her, “how do you feel about giving life to the next shahid (suicide martyr)?” to which the doctor replied, “I am helping give birth to the next President of Palestine who will bring peace.” A JTS rabbinical student and I go to the bedside of a soldier nursing a leg wound and we talk and offer a prayer for healing.
We then moved from the 30 second zone to the 15 second zone. In front of us on the road we see smoke rising from Gaza, tanks in formation, and dirigibles taking pictures from the sky. We are a few kms from Gaza. A political poster near the road reads: “without fear at all” and above it is a sign from followers of Rabbi Nahman.
We learn that minutes after we left Ashkelon two missiles hit.
We are at a forward staging area for soldiers about to return to Gaza after 24 hours away from the battle. Together with members of the Masorti/Conservative youth movement NOAM we talk to the soldiers and distribute hats, prayers and candy. We hug and say the prayer for their safety aloud. In America we have debated the language of the prayer, here all of its words seem just right. This was the context for which it was written. The soldiers cover one another’s heads with their hands as a sign of respect. I walk away and call home (it is 5:30 in the morning EST). I can not bear what I am seeing as the kids start rolling in their half-tracks back into Gaza. It is so painful to know what they are about to face and the damage that is being done.
We have lunch with the IDF spokesperson at Kibbutz Alumim right along the border with Gaza. As at every stop today, we begin with instructions on the location of the shelters. A kibbutz member asks us where we think the story of this war begins: 1967? The election of Hamas (2006)? The killing of the PLO leaders in Gaza (2007)? The evacuation by Israel (2005)? The Balfour declaration? One of our group suggests that it started when Abraham failed to make peace between his sons, Isaac and Ishmael.
Another trivia question: What famous medieval Jews lived in Gaza? Two answers: Nathan of Gaza (who proclaimed Shabbtai Zvi the messiah). The author of the Shabbat piyyut, Yah Ribon Olam.
We then visit a (near) ghost town, Sderot, under missile attack since 2001. The mayor tells us that he felt abandoned until the war. 70% of those still in the city are under psychological care of some sort. We are joined by the assistant Foreign Minister, who is Druze (an Israeli Arab). The Mayor tells us that the secret to ending the conflict is both sides realizing that all people are made in the image of God. He also says that he feels pain for the Palestinian children being hurt in Gaza as much as the pain he feels for his own children in Sderot. His city has been under attack for 8 years.
On our way home we hear a short talk from a Professor in Sderot about the need for a new Marshal Plan for Gaza to break the cycle of connecting food to terror.
As we drive home I get a call: there was a bombing in Sderot as we left the area. We return safely to Jerusalem not having heard even a siren all day.