March 10, 2010

Last week I wrote about a bad choice I made early in my rabbi career and shared the insight that bad choices often provide the kinds of experiences that we grow from. I got some responses – not as many responses as usual which makes me happy that so few of you ever made a bad choice – and heard from you about some good but tough learning experiences. Learning from bad decisions with kids, or family disputes not ended so they simmered longer than they needed to, or lies to protect someone which only made things worse. The response that struck me the most was from a young attorney, let’s call him J.

J did a complicated real estate deal, which I don’t begin to understand, and made a small error that left a Florida guy who happens to be Jewish with property that he hadn’t bought. The guy refused to return it. J’s law firm made him a large offer to compensate him for his “trouble,” he asked for 8 times more. I am not sure what happened in the end, but J was frustrated not only by his own error but by the refusal of the Florida Jewish man to do what was right, to return what he hadn’t paid for and had acquired only by an error. J now checks every deal ten extra times, but hasn’t come to peace with the behavior he encountered.

The Torah is full of teachings about returning to its owner what is not ours. It would seem to be a no brainer, anything else would be akin to theft. But there are people out there who believe they have earned anything that comes to them, however it comes. This gets played out on so many levels.  The one I see the most is on the simplest level: people who don’t say a word when they are undercharged at a restaurant or store even though ultimately it will come out of the waiter’s or clerk’s salary. And obviously there are more egregious examples. What are these people thinking? How do they get that way? If you know, please enlighten me.

I try hard to practice what I preach, always correcting any mistake a merchant makes that would cost him/ her money. I draw the line only with health insurance. Having tried twice to return an overpayment, I learned that expecting that system to figure out what to do with the money I returned,  in any reasonable amount of time with any proper cloture, was highly unrealistic. So I stopped trying and kept the money, probably one hundred bucks over the years. I apologize publicly for this, it wasn’t my money to keep. But anything else?  Anything else I consider theft, and that is not kosher.

On this Wednesday, I hope that we each examine what happens when we intersect with other people’s property and income, and make sure we do the right thing.

P.S. The Saul Bendit Adult Institute began/begins this week. You can register at the door. Tuesday morning and Wednesday night classes offer a wonderful smorgasbord of learning opportunities from the sublime to Jews in sports. If you overpay, the difference will be returned. If you don’t register, you will not know how good/fun the learning is.  Go to www.bethelmc.org for detail.

March 3, 2010

Purim has come and gone, another smashing success. And now to a new thread, about paths to wisdom.

I was with Rabbi Harris and our Adjunct Rabbi David Abramson at the mikveh last week. Together we were bringing J, who was on the ten year conversion plan,  into the Jewish people. It’s a three part process and in one of the lulls the three of us were schmoosing and one of us asked  - not sure why- if we remembered the worst moment in our rabbinate. Here goes mine.

Many years ago, I was the Hillel Director at Michigan State University. It was my first real job. We held a Simchat Torah Soviet Jewry rally in my second year. We had a service and then went into the streets to dance a little, in solidarity with Jews in Russia who on that same night dared to do likewise and express their Jewishness regardless of the consequences. One of the students suggested we head over to campus to continue our rally, and so we did. And then one said that we should go to the University President’s house (he lived on campus) and enlist his support for the cause. I didn’t think much of the idea, but I was young and inexperienced and not sure I should go against the will of the students. And I hoped the President was out of town raising money, which was what he mostly did.  So I went along. We got to his home, several students knocked on his door (it was well after 10PM) and we waited a minute or two, and it seemed that my prayers were answered. But then the lights started going on and there was the President (Clifton Wharton) coming through the front door  in his bathrobe with not the nicest smile on his face. And of course the students who had knocked on the door disappeared into the crowd, and that was “the moment.” I was left to explain what we were doing.  It was a most awkward encounter, and only got worse the next morning when the student paper wrote up the story and the Jewish faculty began calling to ask what possessed me to do what I had done. Only one of them asked for my resignation and I survived that incident, and the wisdom I acquired from it has helped me in different ways since.

I heard a story recently that resonates with that experience. After a long hard climb up the mountain, the spiritual seekers found themselves in front of the great teacher.  Bowing deeply, they asked the question that had been burning inside them for so long: “How do we become wise?” There was a long pause until the teacher emerged from meditation. Finally the reply came: “Good choices.”  “But teacher, how do we make good choices?”  “From experience,” responded the wise one. “And how do we get experience?”  “Bad choices,” smiled the teacher.

Spend a little time on this Wednesday pondering a bad experience or bad choice in your professional/ adult life, and what wisdom you acquired from it. I am always glad to hear what you come up with. Click the address below. Nobody reads my emails but me.  Best     Bill Rudolph

P.S. Today is the deadline for the Shabbat dinner that kicks off the Worship and Study Minyan sponsored Shabbaton – see the Tuesday listserv announcement or www.bethelmc.org for more information.  Sunday is our larger community’s “Routes: A Day of Jewish Learning,” featuring great teachers and many hundred students – find out more at www.pjll.org

. The BEPS annual fundraiser is Sunday night and the Saul Bendit Adult Institute begins next Tuesday and Wednesday.

February 24, 2010

The Torah readings this time of year focus on the construction of the mishkan, the portable shul used by the Israelites in the Wilderness. It says that every time we build a shul we bring God closer to us. Not that God lives in the shul - even when it is called the House of God (the name our founding fathers and mothers chose in the early Fifties) - but that God’s presence is brought nearer when we build it.

I always ask myself what about our shul would attract new members, but before I answer that I try to guess what about us would attract God if S/he was contemplating membership ( I do think we would make it honorary and skip the dues). Some years back I hit on the motto/ masthead logo for Beth El that we still use, until somebody wiser thinks of better:  “Congregation Beth El: Where Tradition and the Creative Spirit Merge.” I think that does partly define who we are, and that ethos – and the kind of members and empowerment we have – have contributed to our growth and success.

Purim begins this Saturday night.  It is Case Number One for who we are.  We have a traditional Megillah reading, done now totally by members. Some years back Scott Glick came to me and asked if we could do an additional creative reading with song parodies set to popular music. From that little conversation has come “Megillah Madness,” a totally unique and creative Purim shpiel that has engaged hundreds of congregants as performers (under Scott and now Alan Simon’s leadership) and made the Purim traditions amazingly alive for thousands and not coincidentally brought in a lot of potential members. Bit O’Megillah, for the preschool and younger set, used to feature hired entertainers and story tellers but that too has now been taken over by a small cadre of Minyan Chaverim members who are giving us “Bit O’Megillah According to Sesame Street.” In the morning we will repeat the Megillah reading and in the afternoon the Men’s Club puts on its annual Carnival. Well over one thousand different people will partake of these different pieces of the Purim three-cornered pie.  I don’t know if I want Beth El to be known as the Purim Shul, but I do know that the creative way we make the Purim tradition come alive attests to the values that we represent. 

Come join us Saturday night and/or Sunday.  And make today a day where we relish our freedom from the Haman’s of history and resolve to be like Esther in standing up for freedom when we see it endangered.  Bill Rudolph

P.S. In the winter months we have been emphasizing learning – first the Thirteenth Principle, then the Community Torah Institute and the CE21 home conversations.

Shabbat morning will see the graduation ceremony of our latest Adult Bnai Mitzvah class. The 18 people, some maybe 30 years old and some maybe 95 and the rest in between, will lead parts of the service and celebrate the completion of an eighteen month program of learning under Rabbi Harris’s shepherding hand. They know they don’t know everything, but they certainly know a lot more than they did. Come share in their accomplishment and contemplate being part of the next class that begins in the fall.

February 17, 2010

More than the usual, I have Torah on my mind. Partly because of the ongoing discussion of the Post cover story about our community scribe Menachem Youlus.  I continue to wrestle with this dilemma, and you continue to write to me about it. I am waiting now for the analysis of the expert scribe who is in town today (delayed from last Wednesday when we had a little storm here).  In the meantime, congregant S comes forward with an interesting analysis – not of the story itself but of some of our reactions to the story.

Wow Rabbi, you seem to have unleashed a torrent of projective test responses that reveal much about how we Jews in the US think about ourselves in relation to the non-Jewish community (Madoff redux) and how lashon hara is very much a relative concept (eyes/ears of the beholder/listener).  I took your column to be a justified attempt at transparency since the story involved the congregation directly and Beth El individuals closely.  The anger I read in several of the responses may be an expression of "why do we have to be worried about being worried about what non-Jews think?"  Perhaps we have the equivalent of the double negative which is saying "I worry a good deal about what non-Jews think."  But ironically, I doubt that the story created much "buzz" in the non-Jewish community.  Should the story have had top billing in the magazine? Whenever a subgroup feels that a "family" affair has been exposed, that subgroup tends to feel picked on.  As for lashon hara, again I believe it's a subgroup sensitivity.  If a cover story appears about a Hollywood celebrity or about a politician on "the other side" with the same level of facts versus innuendo, the black flag of lashon hara doesn't deem to get unfurled. S

Torah is on my mind also because this Sunday is the eleventh Beth El Community Torah Institute. You may recall that the Institute was an early creation when I began as Associate Rabbi in the mid nineties. This year we are changing up the format, doing our first interfaith Institute, bringing in teachers of  “torah” from the three major western faiths to talk about leadership as viewed through the prism of their scripture. The invitation has been posted on line and will arrive at your doorstep today or tomorrow. That is so late - it was almost printed when the storms hit. Please try to take in at least the morning plenary (10:15AM to noon then a light lunch), though some prefer the afternoon breakouts where we get to study text with the scholars in a more intimate setting. There is plenty of parking on Old Georgetown Road on Sundays. 

Sunday is the kind of day that shows the energy of our congregation - Religious School’s many hundreds of kids and their drivers, the Torah Institute, the Megillah Madness dress rehearsal,  two kinds of Yoga, two levels of Talmud, the BEPS Sundae Matinee, and more. It’s Federation Super Sunday too, try to squeeze that in and respond generously when called. And enjoy a quiet Wednesday in the meantime.    Bill Rudolph

P.S. We have now launched BECoN, the Beth El Community Network. It will someday be a terrific networking tool for congregants, offering information about congregants’ professions and businesses and services. Useful when we say, “I need an estate attorney, maybe a Beth El member does that kind of law?” And it has the beginnings of a Community Bulletin Board, where members can share interests or hobbies or Redskins tickets or borrow a roof rake. BECoN is easily accessed via our website, www.bethelmc.org.  Please take a look. It’s just up and running but its potential is great. That depends on your filling it with content and using it.

February 10, 2010

I feel like I moved to Alberta but forgot I had moved.  I hope you are blessed with good electricity or good friends. Don’t forget to study the shul listserv for program notes. This is Washington, so the odds are that everything is cancelled. Minyan continues to benefit from the presence of those living nearby. The Bar Mitzvah of Jeremy Kaplan took place in the midst of the blizzard, and the way our community chipped in to help make it happen made the day especially memorable.

Last Wednesday I wrote about the Post Magazine piece on our well known community scribe, Menachem Youlus, and whether his stories about Torah scrolls rescued from the Holocaust are true.  I sought your counsel on whether we should continue to use him as our scribe while questions remain. More than 75 responses came pouring in, and I had meetings with two of the principals. An expert scribe from NYC is scheduled to come in today to examine the rescued scrolls that reside in our area. This may determine if they could have originated at times and in places that would fit with Menachem’s accounts. We may never know if the accounts themselves are true or not, as there is little evidence and the scrolls aren’t talking (at least about this.)

I now share some representative responses. Excuse the length of this column, which isn’t 1/10 of what I received. Do read at your leisure. I will be looking to share some conclusions about this in coming weeks. In the meantime, have a good Wednesday and take good care during this storm.   Bill Rudolph

 Story [from Post] was appropriate but did not go far enough. Wish it had really answered the question of what he is doing and where the torahs he is selling are coming from. Let's find a sofer in Baltimore. D

I hope that we continue doing business with Menachem at least until the rest of this story unwinds, and I was bothered by the gotcha tone of the article. As you note, even if the allegations are true it does not appear that Menachem defrauded anyone for personal gain.  In fact, I was surprised at how little he charged for the "rescued" Torahs.  At the end of the day, if the allegations are proven, I would ask:  (1) Do the natures of any of the wrongdoings have the potential to impact the quality of the repairs that Menachem provides for us?  (2) Were any of the wrongdoings so vile and so unredeemable that Menachem should not be allowed an opportunity to maintain his business and mend his life if he owns up and apologizes with good deeds? Regards, J

I think our congregation should still do business with him if he does teshuvah.  We have all made mistakes.  My mother loves a good story and exaggerates many of my childhood experiences for comedic effect much to my embarrassment.  Menachem let the lie get too far but to the extent he admits his mistakes, apologizes to those he's harmed and tries to make amends, I think we should forgive him.  He is skilled at his craft and may be deprived of other business opportunities as a result of this endeavor.  B

I was appalled. Yes, I think the Post had an unfortunate agenda in putting it on the cover. I think Menachem was too glib in explaining away the facts that he'd given away five of the two Torahs that were under the floor boards, that he reburied 200 people from the unmarked grave (if you dig 20 graves a day, that's ten days of non-stop digging), that he used a metal detector in a cemetery, to name a few. He did profit from the finds. He lied. A goniff is a goniff.  M

With Menachem, we're dealing with actual physical evidence...torah scrolls. Either he found them at a concentration camp on in a metal box in a cemetery or he didn't. Undocumented facts just doesn't cut it anymore in a world that is demanding transparency......and we're talking about large sums of gelt.   We don't need any more bad press. Madoff dug us a deep hole. For someone who is known for repairing sacred Torahs, I hope he can repair his reputation! S

 If everyone were to stop doing business with Youlus, it would ruin him.  Unless more comes out disputing his ability, competence, or integrity when it comes to doing repairs, I don't see his offense being substantial enough to stop all dealings with him. I would question whether we want to have him speak about his Torah adventures, especially when it comes to our young people. (I thought I'd never quote Ronald Reagan but), "trust but verify" seems to me to be the way to deal with Menachem in the future on issues other than the purchase of Torahs rescued from the Holocaust. H

I am in a state of shock after reading your "It's Wednesday" this morning.

The Washington Post article itself was lashon hara, whether or not the co-author is a long-time congregant.  The article spread disparaging tales about a pious Jew in order to entertain the newspaper's readership.  As you know, the Torah forbids a Jew to behave in this way. 

Your E-mail to the congregation further publicized the lashon hara, compounding the original transgression.  As you know, repeating lashon hara originally uttered by another Jew is forbidden.

Moreover, a Jew who hears (or reads) lashon hara about a fellow Jew is forbidden to believe it.  It makes no difference whether the tales seem plausible or implausible on an intellectual level.  As you know, believing lashon hara about a pious Jew is forbidden.

Finally, your suggested "referendum" on whether Beth El should now cease to do business with Rabbi Youlus, based on this lashon hara, is truly appalling.  Rabbi Youlus's reputation has already been damaged, with the active assistance of a long-time congregant.  Why would you want to fan the flames, invite further talk, and suggest further harm to Rabbi Youlus?

I respectfully urge you to re-think this one and make this unfortunate incident into a "teachable moment" for all. M2

 On the basis of the Post's cover story  - and the fact that there is hardly a daily newspaper that doesn't include or infer a scandal - it is very easy to believe that Rabbi Youlus is basically dishonest  - a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat etc. Thus, he is "guilty" by inference. Is this the way we want to react? "Guilty" until proven "Innocent"?  I do not believe that any fair-minded person should rush to judgment. A person's good name, reputation, family, role in society, is at stake. So I say, yes, let's continue to do business with Menachem unless and until there is positive damning evidence to warrant not doing business with him. Sincerely, B2

 Like you I am very conflicted in my feelings about Rabbi Menachem.  Dishonesty is almost always unaceptable unless it is to protect life - as for example telling an SS officer that there are no Jews in your house when you are in fact hiding some.  Rabbi Menachem did not present his stories as just stories but as factual accounts of his efforts.  At the very least, his integrity is highly suspect until and unless he can verify what he has been telling people.  Until such time, I do not feel that someone like him is suitable to repair a Torah, although he still might be a suitable source from which to purchase one. B3

 I am relieved that there doesn't seem to be a taint of financial misconduct--I think that would be much worse. From what I've read, it seems clear that these *were* pre-WWII Torahs from Eastern Europe and surrounds, that he *did* restore them and make them kosher again, and then sold them for a fairly decent price, considering. The question is in their provenance. I do wish he could or would provide proof.

Unfortunately, it's also a question of shem tov [good name.] Has he forfeited his shem tov completely over this? What happens to his family's good name? What happens to the shop? He's done so many mitzvot as a sofer and a teacher and he has always seemed so warm and engaging. Does the fact that he apparently is a good storyteller take away from these?

So, I am saddened by the whole situation. What I have settled on, without closing my eyes to the facts (whatever those may be), is that perhaps he was trying to do a mitzvah by getting these Torahs into the hands of congregations who needed them; he just got carried away by stories that *could have been,* but weren't. I hope he'll be able to take whatever action he needs to take in order to restore his shem tov. S2

 Thanks for doing this. I’d wondered about the article and its meaning for Beth El.  The other part of the issue is that Rabbi Youlus is obviously a fine scribe and teacher, and so far all we have are accusations by the author and what may be inappropriate responses. While I too wonder why Rabbi Youlus has responded poorly, and clearly he may have done things wrong, this is only an accusation in the press, and we don’t have his full responses to the issues. In other words, should Rabbi Youlus be “tried” in the Washington Post and then convicted by us?  Where I’m going in answer to your question is that until we have more information, and until we decide that this would keep us from using Rabbi Youlus to work on our Torah’s, I’d keep him. A

 If this man does a good job on the Torah repairs, this should be our only concern.  We do not inquire nor are concerned if our plumber or electrician or gardener has some questions about his private life. If any of these folks are out and out criminals, that is a different story, but this fellow just seems to have an active fantasy life and should only be criticized if he actually cheated someone and if that is proven. I would be happier if we were less worried about what the Gentiles think, that 's their problem.  We have enough problems.  C

February 3, 2010

Before picking up a new thread, I feel the need to respond to many inquiries and concerns about the cover story of this Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine. It was impossible to miss the story about Rabbi Menachem Youlus and the Torah scrolls from the Holocaust-era that he has rescued and restored. It appears that some of the fascinating rescue stories, sifrei Torah found under the floorboards at Bergen-Belsen and the like, stories that have earned him the nickname “The Indiana Jones of Torah Scribes,” may not have happened.

Whether or not this Post account is good for the Jews (see below), it is relevant to our own community. Menachem, as everyone calls him, is the scribe who repairs the Beth El Torah scrolls. He is also the scribal broker who arranged for the writing of our new Chapel Torah, spoke to us several times in the process of its completion, and helped us dedicate it in the fall of 2008. Not to mention that the co-writer of the Post story, Martha Wexler, is a longtime Beth El congregant. I know both pretty well.  And I have thought about this almost non-stop. My personal take on this? 

1. Our new Torah is not a Holocaust Torah, we have no exposure on that count. The Holocaust Torah in the Gallery is on loan from the Czech Judaica collection that was bought up by a British philanthropist and made available to communities around the world.

2. Menachem needs to respond to the issues raised in this article in a much better manner than he has so far. I am not a forensics expert, but for now I am left thinking that Menachem loves a good story too much.

3. There is no evidence or claim that Menachem was out to profit monetarily from rescuing (or not) these Torah scrolls and putting them in good hands. If, however,  at the end of the day some of these Torahs are not what they are purported to be, then their donors were deceived and that is wrong.

4. Some of you wrote that you wish this story had never been written. I have mixed feelings on that. But I agree with many who wrote that they would rather this had not been a cover story. I don’t know why it was. I seriously doubt it was put there to make Jews look bad, or that Gentiles will think less of us because of this article. I just think that things Jewish seem to have a fascination for the public beyond what we can understand.

I am left with many questions, but one immediate one: does our congregation continue to do business with Menachem when we need Torah repairs (remember that he is the only scribe in town) or when we want to hear a loving and exciting teacher of Torah writing? Click on my e- address below and let me know what you think. 

Have a good Wednesday, which will be one of many cancellations and hopefully some good Plans B.   Bill Rudolph

P.S. Meah begins tonight, late registrations taken at the door. Jewish Literacy 101 returns this Sunday, my first free Sunday in ages. 11AM at my house, 5214 Roosevelt Street, between the shul and NIH.

The topic flows from our Torah reading cycle:

“The Ten Commandments: Which one is most difficult to follow? Do you have to honor your parents under all circumstances? Why do Christians count them differently? Why are there really only nine?”

No fees, no registration. Weather permitting - do check the listserv Sunday morning if we get still more snow.

January 27, 2010

I just spent quality time with two of our congregants, D and S, who were genuine Jeopardy contestants. Reminds me how important learning, and competing, are in our community. So here is your chance to test your knowledge on this winter Wednesday.

1. Did you ever hear of CE21? Don’t say “no,” I will be crushed. That is the multi-year initiative to engage more congregants in lifelong Jewish learning, creating new models and rethinking what we do currently on all age levels. We launched it last spring, it was the focus of my major High Holiday sermon, and about 150 of you have been targeted for home-based group conversations that begin this weekend. Armed with data from those conversations, our Task Force begins the design phase where we propose and test new ideas and models.

2. Does the name Joshua Jacobson strike a chord?  It should. He is Professor of Music at Northeastern, expert on Jewish music and cantillation, and founder of the Zamir Chorale. He will be our Scholar in Residence this Shabbat Shirah and will teach us on Friday night and Shabbat morning/afternoon. Information is on the listserv and website (www.bethelmc.org) and page 8 of the January Scroll.

3. Did you know we have a fine library and creative Library Committee? The annual Literary Luminaries series, sponsored by our Library Committee and our Men’s Club, is this Sunday. It will  bring educators/communal leaders Drs. Erica Brown and Misha Galperin to our congregation. 10-11AM,  to talk about “The Case for Jewish Peoplehood: Can We Be One?”

4. Does the name Maimonides show up in your speed dials? Likely not, since he hasn’t been taking calls for some centuries. He is arguably the most brilliant Jewish thinker ever. And one of the most troubled, trying to reconcile faith and reason around issues such as resurrection. Monday night we host the second public reading of the play “The Thirteenth Principle,” written by our very own Steve Ashman. There is no charge but you absolutely need a reservation. Only 20 of 180 seats remain available. Contact Playreading.ashman@gmail.com.

5. Have you heard of Meah? That is the number of hours (100) of high level adult Jewish learning offered in the nationally renowned two year Meah program that we hope to embark upon soon. In the meantime, we have a “Mini – Meah” to whet our appetites, four Wednesday nights beginning February 3, on Jewish encounters with the foreigner over the ages. It features amazingly high quality Jewish Studies professors from nearby campuses. Contact Ricardo Munster at rmunster@bethelmc.org.

Quite the lineup of high quality opportunities to learn, and talk about learning, that will engage our community in upcoming days. It’s impressive, and a little daunting. I  plan to use this Wednesday to rest up for all this that awaits us.  Pace yourselves as well, and have a good day.  Bill Rudolph

P.S.  One easier question in case you were struggling with the first five. Do you know where Rabbi Greg Harris is right now? He and Rev. Ron Foster from the Bethesda United Methodist Church across the road are, as we speak,  co-leading the third annual joint mission trip to New Orleans. We wish all our folks there much good building and good community building as they do Tikkun Olam, helping to repair the world one home at a time. 

January 20, 2010

An American industrialist once came to visit the Chofetz Chaim. The Chofetz Chaim, Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838-1933), a rosh yeshiva known especially for his writings about lashon hara (gossip), proudly gave the man a personal tour of his yeshiva and asked him if he too would like to be a partner in the building of Torah. The man looked at the saintly rabbi. He observed the young teenagers studying Torah in the cold bare room. He witnessed the sincerity and genuineness of everything he saw. He thought hard. Finally he magnanimously replied, “Rebbe, I will fund the whole thing!” Only the Chofetz Chaim could merit such a miracle. The Chofetz Chaim took the man’s hand and blessed him with all of God’s blessings and then said, ”My dear friend, you are indeed a very generous and righteous person, but as much as I would like to, I cannot accept your offer. The holiness you see and feel is the result of the contribution of hundreds of people. A loving tear accompanied each small donation. It is upon those tears that we have built success.  It is upon those souls that the Shechinah (the Divine Presence) rests.”

This story resonates with the relief effort for Haiti, where the devastation is almost indescribable. We read about rock stars and athletes donating hundreds of thousands of dollars and wonder whether our relatively small contributions are worth the trouble. At the end of the day, go with the Chofetz Chaim. Two good destinations for your tzedakah remain the American Red Cross and the Jewish Federation (working through the Joint Distribution Committee). Reach them at:  www.redcross.org and www.shalomdc.org/helphaiti.

Also, with disasters and tikkun olam in mind, please look around the house for unused musical instruments, or send some cash, so that our Beth El/ Bethesda United Methodist work team arrives in New Orleans on Monday bearing tangible assistance for a wonderful after-school tutoring and music ed program called Roots of Music. Contact Sani Barr for information, sanibarr@hotmail.com

Best wishes for a good Wednesday.  Bill Rudolph

P.S. This Friday night is our annual Shabbat Shalom at Home, an early incarnation of the Shabbat dinner/RA concept that I talked about last week. I still need a half dozen RA’s (rabbi allies) to host dinners – 3 dinners/ 3 years. You will be glad you volunteered. And if you wish an invite this Friday,  write to me at my e- address below.

January 13, 2010

I want to finish up the thread about the clash of tradition and modernity.  We talked about how the individual Jew is caught between the under-institutionalized home and the over-institutionalized synagogue, and last time offered the suggestion of Rabbi Harold Schulweis that what we need for now are some kind of “halfway houses,” mediating structures to bridge the gap between home and shul, and ultimately to strengthen both. And we talked about chavurot as one lively mediating institution, both the traditional ten family kinds of groupings and the amazing non-traditional chavurot (minyanim and Family Camp for example) that we have developed. These chavurot work well, but they are not for everyone and reach less than a fifth of the congregation. 

So now for a more radical idea for a mediating structure which isn’t a structure.  Schulweis proposes creating a cadre of rabbi allies (RA’s we will call them).  These would be congregants who would themselves be the mediating structures, creating a “blood and flesh nexus” between the synagogue and the individual, between the clergy and the laity. They could be the link that helps people feel welcome in the intimidating over-institutionalized synagogue. They could be there in family rites of passage, trained to help make these rites less a routinized pro forma exercise and more a vital stage in the Jewish growth of individual and family.  They could help bring Shabbat and festivals into the homes of others through personal invitations that would model how to make these special times both comforting and natural.

The idea is that there is an untapped reservoir of congregants who want to do more than serve on committees or down some bagels. They are willing to learn in order to teach, to give of themselves to help make spiritual contributions to the lives of others. We have some already who share these kinds of tasks, who are engines for growth and change. We need more.

How would we start developing a strong cadre of RA’s? I am not sure it’s been done, and it will take time, but congregant H, responding to the difficulty most of us have making our homes more Jewish, gave me my lead:

“One thing that has helped us create more of a Jewish home is when Beth El started the Shabbat dinners.  A group of friends from [our son’s] class do Shabbat dinner now every few weeks. Maybe now it's every 2 months or so...but we all gather at each other's homes for a potluck Shabbat dinner with the kids/teens  and say the blessings, eat and chat.  Some adults thought the kids will never want to do this anymore and not only do they want to do it but ask why are we not doing it more.”

Here then is my proposed starting point:  the Shabbat dinner. As simple as it is to invite others to join us at our Shabbat table, it is still one of the most transforming experiences that modern Jews can experience. The testimonials to this are multitudinous. So let’s start with that. I am looking for a few dozen RA’s to agree to host three Shabbat dinners a year for three years. There will be some RA training, resources, help with invitation lists, whatever is needed. Down the road, I hope that the invitees become hosts themselves. I am sure that as our Shabbat dinner tables become more and more special,  so will our homes become better able to stand side by side with our synagogue in the sacred task of making Jews.

I hope you will sign on to this.  Please click on my email address below and volunteer to be pioneers in the Beth El RA Project. And have a good Wednesday.   Bill Rudolph

P.S. Tonight, at the end of this Wednesday, we tackle one of the most controversial issues in Israel’s relations with its neighbors and with the United States.  Israel Seminars – an educational organization with no political agenda - is in town and will lead a highly interactive discussion on the provocative issue of the settlements. Designed for those who are sure the settlements are stumbling blocks to peace, for those who are sure the settlements are an excuse for anti-Israel diatribes and actions, and for those who are not sure. 7:30PM.

January 6, 2010

I want to pick up on the thread begun before my little vacation break.

P.S. This Shabbat please join us for Sisterhood Shabbat. Sisterhood and Zhava members conduct the whole service. Remembering that women’s roles in the service were basically non-existent until a few decades ago just adds to the joy that we feel each year at this time.

December 23, 2009

Last week I reacted to a piece by Harold Schulweis that talks about Conservative Judaism confronting tradition and modernity, more specifically the split between the public agenda of tradition (the business of synagogues and rabbis) and the private agenda of the modern Jew which focuses more on individual needs and choices. And to the question of how a synagogue can navigate between these two seemingly conflicting streams,  I opined that Beth El is doing relatively well with this, providing lots of choices and empowerment and avenues for individual creativity. But we hardly have the solution. Looking ahead, I asked, how might we do even better?

December 16, 2009

I want to launch a new thread today, but first a shout -out to two congregants who are getting a lot of press these days. First is Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama-appointed executive pay czar.  Ken was also the Special Master of the federal September 11^th Victim Compensation Fund.  You can’t help read about his work almost daily. Just last week, Bank of America decided it didn’t want to answer to Ken any longer and paid back $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury, meaning to you and me. Yes, that is 45 BILLION dollars.  And other big banks seem to be following suit. It’s not clear if these banks are that healthy yet, and their motivation is many sided, but it’s clear that Ken is showing once again that he knows how to do the nation’s business. 

December 9, 2009

Time for a break from the news and a Hanukkah thought that also speaks to the character of the American people.

Billings Montana is an attractive metropolis nestling within the great open spaces of the American West. Citizens of Billings say it is a good, civilized place to live. They pride themselves on the quality of their schools and their strong family values. So it came as a shock to many when, in November 1995, a series of hate crimes took place against minority groups within the city.  [You may have heard some of this before, but a good complete and true story bears repeating.]

Whoever was responsible for these acts must have thought that their victims would be easy targets.  Billings is predominantly white; Native Americans, African Americans and Jews make up only a small percentage of the population. But there are just enough of them to frighten and harass.  There was a series of nasty attacks at the same time. Graves were overturned in a Jewish cemetery. Offensive words and a swastika were scrawled on the house of a Native American woman. People worshipping at a black church were intimidated. A brick was heaved through the window of a Jewish home where the child had displayed a menorah (it is halachah to publicize the miracle).

A similar spirit propelled volunteers to come together and repaint the house of Dawn Fast Horse, the Native American woman. This happened at amazing speed. Dawn had awoken one morning to see that her house had been defaced. By that evening, after two hundred people [!] showed up to help, the house had been repainted.

When it came to the incident of the brick being thrown through the window of the Jewish home, the interfaith group had a creative idea. They recalled the example of the Danes during World War II who worked quickly, within a two-week period, to transport almost every Danish Jew to safety in Sweden until the end of the war.

So the people of Billings organized a campaign. The local newspaper printed a Hanukkah page, including a full-color representation of a menorah.  Billings residents cut the paper chanukiyah out and displayed it in their windows. By late December, driving around Billings was a remarkable experience. Nearly ten thousand homes were displaying those paper chanukiyot in their windows, and they remained in place throughout the eight days of Hanukkah. It was a brilliant answer to the hate-mongers: A town that had few Jews was saying with one collective voice, “We are all Jews now.”

The story of what happened in Billings quickly spread, inspiring a national movement against hate called “Not in Our Town,” which is still going strong. That Jewish child who had so innocently displayer her menorah in the window helped set in motion a chain of events that affirmed all over America the liberating principle of unity in diversity.

Not for nothing does a menorah have many candles flickering on a single stand.

That wonderful story is my gift to you. Have a good Wednesday, one to think about all we can do when we stand together, and to think about what you are each getting me for Hanukkah this year.  

P.S. The last part of the last line wasn’t serious. Nor will our second annual Latke Hamantash Debate be at all serious.   Join our four clever debaters and then munch on the goodies (and more) this Sunday at 10-11AM. And have a Chag Urim Sameach.

December 2, 2009

Judaism places an extremely high value on truth. As the rabbis understood them, not one but two of the Ten Commandments (numbers 3 and 9) are about nothing else. An often quoted rabbinic saying (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 55a) is: “Truth is the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He.” The God of truth is found wherever there is truth and God’s absence is felt wherever there is falsehood. 

While most of us were very deep in sleep very early Friday morning, Tiger Woods was out crashing his SUV into a fireplug/tree after which his wife was smashing in the car window with a golf club to drag him out of the vehicle until help came. You must have heard about this. Even the least gossip-minded people among us are having a difficult time not pondering the most scandalous possibilities that could have led to such a situation. Tiger has issued a statement about what happened. The statement was surely not a lie, but it didn’t feel anything like the truth and it barely concealed the agent, media consultant, personal blogger, sponsor liaison and attorneys who must have worked hard on it. Rumors are flying. Woods shouldn't come forward simply to quell these rumors. He shouldn't present the real account of the event to quench the public's thirst for knowledge or because he knows the plain truth will be revealed in due time. No, he should submit to veracity mostly for his own well-being.

Many of us have done something we regretted and hoped we could get away with half truths or admitting to a small part of what we did or saying nothing, all in the hope that the whole thing would pass. Most of the time, not dealing with the situation forthrightly left open wounds and – wonder of wonders - didn’t bring us any peace either. For our own well-being, we needed to seek forgiveness and tell the truth. Truth is indeed the seal of God.

I wish you a good Wednesday, maybe a day to deal with regrets and full truths.  Bill Rudolph

P.S. Two good upcoming events are the Teacher Recognition/ Kol Haneshama Service Friday night at 6:30 (dinner follows but you need to call today for a place) and the second annual Latke Hamantasch Debate on Sunday December 13^th.  Parents of the 71 (!) kids who will be Bnai Mitzvah in 2012 should report this Sunday at 11AM. 

November 25, 2009

It’s Erev Thanksgiving, and we are fresh off one of the best and certainly best attended joint services we have ever held with our neighbors at the Bethesda United Methodist Church. Our adult choirs joined together to perform the “Chichester Psalms,” music composed by Leonard Bernstein for orchestra and chorus, and it was amazing. Our children’s choir also sang a moving rendition of “Children of Freedom.” And I gave the sermon, about Herb Stein and Ben Stein and developing an attitude of gratitude.

Here is what I didn’t have time to say about Thanksgiving to our friends across the street (the Psalms took a big chunk of the one hour service):

Thanksgiving was certainly not ordained by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai, but it feels very much like a Jewish holiday. First, because it teaches us to be thankful for all our blessings, and gratitude is surely a Jewish value. Not just Jewish of course, but high on our list.  And second, because Thanksgiving is observed with a festive meal, and eating is surely THE essential Jewish way to observe a holiday. Thanksgiving is probably the day when Jews feel most at home in America. And then, our mazal, THE VERY NEXT DAY comes the official beginning of the Christmas season, which is when Jews feel least at home in America. But we Jews across the street have the advantage of having you on the opposite corner, so we don’t feel nearly so alone.

America is a great and welcoming land, and we are fortunate to be here. Even in the Christmas season, we don’t feel that much not at home. Double negative, but you get the point.

For  your Thanksgiving meal, here is a prayer provided by the Partnership on Jewish Life and Learning. A little ritual is in order at the big meal. If you want more, get hold of our own Debbie Fink’s It’s a Family Thanksgiving (www.harmonyhearth.com). For now, this might just work:

A Blessing for Thanksgiving

We are grateful for the food before us and for the friends and family around us, for the good in others and the bounty in our lives.  May we appreciate our country and never take our freedoms for granted.  May we seek ways to perform tzedaka and mitzvot, charity and good deeds.  And, may we thank God for "nourishing and maintaining us constantly, every day, at all times, and in every hour." Amen.

Have a good Wednesday and a great Thanksgiving Day.  Bill Rudolph

 P.S. Saul Golubcow is a new member who is Thursday night minyan captain (and on the CE21 Task Force.) This Thursday night is one of the biggest challenges of the year minyan-wise. We can’t expect a miracle every year, like the one I wrote about after last Thanksgiving. Please join Saul if you can. And Sunday night is not easier. 8PM. Takes 15 minutes. Saul is also author of a wonderful piece in the latest Voices of Conservative Judaism. If you can’t find it, go to http://www.uscj.org/Betting_on_Belief8222.html

November 18, 2009

Yesterday morning I spoke to a world religions class at WJ. Those who were awake at the 8:20 hour heard me say that one of the things I like most about Judaism is that it speaks both to the head and the heart. What I saved for you was how just the previous 36 hours had brought home that wonderful reality to me.

On Sunday evening I was privileged to conduct a shivah minyan following the funeral of Ruth Smallberg z”l, mother of Sheila Smallberg Cohen. Sheila and her family moved 5-6 years ago to California. While in our community, Sheila was a major force in Jewish music, with our adult choir and Friday services and with the Calliope singing group. The Calliope people, mostly Beth El members, were all at the packed shivah. Already at the Shema it was clear this would be no ordinary shivah minyan. Calliope members – besides Sheila there are Deborah and Debbie and Debbie and Sandy and Rene -  have beautiful voices and harmonizing built into their DNA, and so we prayed in three and four part harmony in the most elevating and spiritual way. Totally not planned. As Sheila said when I looked over to her right after that Shema,  “I can’t help it.” All of our hearts were touched.

Monday evening I had a different kind of privilege. I was invited to hear the first public reading of a play called “The Thirteenth Principle.” The play was written by one of our newest members, Steve Ashman. Steve is a banker. In his spare time he writes plays. This one was presented at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 13^th and H NE. My going was a five hour commitment, on my day off,  and I was wondering why I agreed to go - until I was there.

The play explores the controversy around the major theological issue faced by Moses Maimonides (the Rambam). He is famous for his thirteen principles of faith, a rendering of which surrounds our chapel doors. The thirteenth principle is about bodily resurrection. Did the Rambam believe in it or not? Would pressure from the Orthodox rabbinate sway him to the traditional view, or would the forces of reason move him to a more rational position? And what role would a simple house servant play in his decision?  Steve has created a wonderful and stimulating framework in which this dilemma plays itself out. The audience gets wrapped up in the theology, and matters of Middle Age Jewish and Muslim history and faith become real and captivating. It was a treat for the mind of the highest order.

Write back, if you will, and briefly share with me a time (the more recent the better) where your heart or your mind was grabbed by some thing or some event in the smorgasbord that Judaism sets before us. Thanks in advance, and have a good Wednesday.   Bill Rudolph

P.S.   Jewish Literacy 101 meets again this Sunday (November 22^nd) at my house, 5214 Roosevelt Street, behind the shul, 11AM – noon. Plenty of parking and snacks. Speaking of snacks, our topic will be:  “Keeping Kosher – Why You Should Consider Doing It and How It Is Done.”

November 11, 2009

Boker Tov. I want to share some thoughts about Kristallnacht, the anniversary of which was this past Monday evening. It is lodged in Jewish memory as a turning point towards the Final Solution. I just read an account of one reaction to that worst of evenings that reflects the best in the Jewish spirit.

In 1872 the Hochshule fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentum opened in Berlin, operating as an academic institute for Jewish Studies and as a rabbinical seminary. Many well-known professors of Jewish Studies and rabbis were educated and taught at this institute. They included Leo Baeck, the uncontested leader of German Jewry as well as lecturer in Midrash; Ismar Elbogen, lecturer in Jewish History; and rabbinic student Günter Friedländer, who managed to obtain visas to South America for a good number of other students including Heinz Fischel, Manfred Braude, Karl Rautenberg, Fritz Winter, Hans Harf and others. From 1933 until November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht, the Hochshule served as a social, spiritual and religious center, existing under the intolerable conditions imposed by the Nazi regime in Berlin.

Jump 65+ years later. In 2004, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rabbi Hans Harf passed away. One of the published eulogies stated: "The formative event in Rabbi Harf's life that led him to Jewish activity was Kristallnacht. As he often said, it was also the formative event for many teachers and students at the Hochshule who were present at the pogrom that took place on the night of November 9, 1938."

What happened that night? The eulogy goes on to shed light on that. Many Hochshule teachers and students were present that night,  paralyzed with fear. Cries of "death to the Jews" were heard, and all thought that their end was near. Windows were smashed, stones were hurled at a dizzying rate. Leo Baeck took control within the building. He gathered the students and teachers together and ordered them to each pick up a stone that had been thrown from without. In an authoritative voice he said, “We swear today that each one of us takes one stone thrown by these who persecute us, and at the first chance we can, to escape and settle in other countries; and each stone will become the cornerstone of a synagogue or Jewish school.”

Just one of the survivors’ stories illuminates the response to this charge. Rabbi Fritz Winter traveled to South America from Germany. Rabbi Winter passed through Cochabamba, Bolivia and established a synagogue there, which stands to this day. Later, in Montevideo, he was one of the outstanding rabbis of the New Jewish Community (NCI), at which scores of Conservative rabbis have served.

It seems that others who were present that night in the Hochshule did similar things. Beyond the historical truth of the story, it no doubt stands as a symbol of Jewish behavior throughout history - to transform mourning into joyousness, destruction into building, repairing the broken shards in order to mend the world.

Amidst the difficult memories of the Holocaust lie so many stories of hope and determination. May we be inspired by them to do more ourselves to repair the broken shards that we see all around us.  And what better day to make that our resolve than Wednesday?      Bill Rudolph

P.S. It’s Veterans Day. The news from far away and as close as Texas should remind us of the sacrifices that American soldiers make in serving our country. Try uso.org or troopssupport.com for a myriad of ways to support our military. Also, there are 10,000 Jews in the military. See jcca.org/JWB for ways to help them.

November 4, 2009

Last Wednesday I shared some of your memories of your rabbis growing up, following on my discussion of  the Minneapolis Three (rabbis) portrayed in the Coen brothers’ movie A Serious Man.

I have a woman rabbi story. [Editor: only one I received about women rabbis but more than worthy of inclusion]  We grew up in a 300 member family congregation (the only one in our town) with a revolving door of rabbis.  Fast forward to our son and family moving to Minneapolis... a woman rabbi - Stacey Offner.  She was warm to all of us.  She quickly found niches for our son and daughter in law within the congregation (Social Committee/Finance Committee).  Most important, when one of our grandchildren had problems at birth and was in the hospital for a month, she visited him often and sat for an hour or more each time just rubbing his hand/back and never told the kids.  The nurses finally told them.  Here is a woman rabbi and a true mensch (female version!! )  J

My wonderful Rabbi when I was growing up was Rabbi Benjamin Brilliant of the Pelham Parkway Jewish Center -- a conservative synagogue in a Jewish shtetl-like neighborhood in the Bronx.  A great place to grow up!  Rabbi Brilliant was like a grandfather to me.  To give you a snap shot of the man, one day I was not able to go to Hebrew School because I was sick.  Rabbi Brilliant, who glanced in each Hebrew school class every day, called my mother to make sure I was okay because he noticed Sara Rivka wasn't in class.  Our childhood centered around the synagogue, with Hebrew school (Mon thru Thurs for the boys and T/Th for the girls), Friday night services, Junior Congregation on Saturday morning, Tallis and Tefillin club on Saturday night, and Sunday school! Rabbi Brilliant knew every single one of us and made us feel loved, secure, and part of a very special community.  He will always hold a special place in my heart. B'shalom,  R

Enough with rabbis, next week we start a new thread. Have a good Wednesday. Bill Rudolph

October 28, 2009

Last Wednesday I wrote about the Minneapolis Three, the three quite unexceptional rabbis portrayed in the Coen brothers’ movie A Serious Man. I asked you to write back about the rabbi whom you remember most from your growing up days, and whether s/he was a good influence in your life. As a sign of those times, not one of you wrote about a woman rabbi. That will be different going forward. Besides reading all your comments, many many dozen, I also had time to write a sermon on the film and deliver it last Shabbat. It’s on our website www.bethelmc.org with other brilliant sermons.

 smart but cold and aloof, clearly preferring his wealthier congregants. L

 Let's try Rabbi Saul Teplitz, whose arrival in our town (Harrison, NY) in the late 1950's, and into the house directly across the street from ours, meant no more cherished Christmas tree and no more pretty Christmas lights adorning the outside of our home.  Sigh.

Teplitz delivered some of the best sermons ever, but what I remember most was his obliging my father by visiting me one day ca. 1970 to attempt to persuade me to break up with my gentile girlfriend. Sigh.

Definitely "a force in producing the kind of Jew that I am today": confused, conflicted, and angry.  A

 There were two rabbis. The one who ran the Hebrew School made a bigger impression. He was a holy [I deleted the not positive expression]--turned me from being a model Hebrew student to ditching my studies as soon as I had my Bar Mitzvah. M

 The rabbi that defines my childhood and my religious experience most profoundly though is Rabbi Joe Weinberg, who I'm sure you knew as well. He was the man who sat with my family as my aunt died at 39 in the mid-1970s, the man who led my family's trip to Israel in 1977, the man who spent time with my father as he tried to come to terms with my relationship with a non-Jew, the man who worked with my now husband in his process to convert to Judaism, the man who married us, and the man whose legacy in the civil rights movement and political activism I truly respect and admire. Despite the sheer magnitude of the congregation we belonged to, he still managed to have a personal connection to so many of us.  I felt that he was there and accessible to me and to my family when we needed him. I'm just so sorry that he's not still with us and able to guide more people.

Thanks for taking me down memory lane ... I've run through a number of tissues in the process! L2

I grew up at Temple Beth Shalom, Haddon Heights, NJ, led by Rabbi Albert Lewis.  My strongest memory is not a good one. I was terrified of the questioning that Rabbi Lewis put the Bar and Bat Mitzvah's through on their haftorahs [during the service.]  I always thought that he was ruthless in questioning kids on the content...so much so that I was terrified of my own Bat Mitzvah.  I was so nervous, that I didn't want to drive to shul that night.  My haftorah was for Vashyislach.  I was a wreck.

Turns out that, while I did not wish the Rabbi ill, he was sick that night and was not able to lead the service.  A family friend, the go to 2nd, led the service and mercifully skipped the Socratic questioning.  I knew I was lucky, for sure.

Fortunately, I didn't live in fear of Rabbi Lewis forever.  I came to appreciate his skill as a leader and as a very smart, charismatic and holy man. S

 I grew up across the street (literally) from Rav Soloveitchik (aka "The Rav").  I davened at his shul (Maimonides) and sat next to my dad, grandfather and brothers, no more than 5 feet from him.  I didn't realize until years later how amazing that was.  I now remember the reverence of all the "grown ups" towards him (they would stand when he went to the bathroom), but to me, he was simply a very soft spoken, easy going man.  I knew he was "holy", and assumed this was what all rabbis are supposed to be and to look like -- a personification of Hashem.  I was in a shul where many people made me feel like they were constantly frowning on my lack of piousness. The Rav was just the opposite -- he seemed perfectly content simply to see me in the building.  J

 I always read, but never write.  First time for everything.

Growing up in a small town, I learned about capitalism and Rabbis in two ways.  First, the small towns didn't get the best Rabbis, and even then, they didn't stay.  Second, I grew up thinking the words "and $50 to the congregation" were part of the Misheberach.

So, yes, there is tremendous variance in quality of Rabbis in the country and how they are able to help. B

 The senior rabbi at Baltimore Hebrew in my youth was _________. He was distant and had no influence on me at all. What I remember most about him is that he once told my father, in regard to the Holocaust, "we must forgive and forget." My father never talked to him again. We were married at Baltimore Hebrew by Cantor R, who was as warm as Rabbi _______ was cold. M2

 When I was 8 years old, I was hit by a car going home from Hebrew School.  I was not hurt much.  But what I do remember is that the Rabbi was at my side almost immediately and drove my mother to the Hospital behind the ambulance and stayed with us and brought us home.  To this rabbi, every congregant was important, even little me.  A2

The sermon at my bar mitzvah (women in the balcony behind a curtain)...started w/ "What is a schlemiel ?"...I remember the warmth in my cheeks & the relief when I realized he wasn't talking about me! J2

October 21, 2009

With the holidays in the rear view mirror, Gail and I took in a movie late Monday afternoon. A Serious Man seemed the obvious choice, a Coen brothers production, very Jewish in content with strong reviews.  There were just 10-12 people in the theatre at that odd hour, only half were from Beth El.

October 14, 2009

The holidays are over for a while. Though I am fine with that, I must admit that the crush of holidays make it impossible to keep up with all the tasks on my To Do List. That little luxury is over. Don’t hesitate to remind me if I owe you a response.

Learning is on my mind now.  Saul Bendit classes started yesterday for Tuesday morning learners and tonight for the majority of stakeholders. The snappy new brochure is an appropriate vehicle to display a great smorgasbord of classes about kings and presidents, prayers and teshuvot, life and death, early local Jews and women of valor, great books , sustainable foods, healing.  If you misplaced the brochure, try our website, www.bethelmc.org. You can register at the door.

This Sunday Jewish Literacy 101 resumes. At my house behind the shul. No fees, no sign ups, no prerequisites, good coffee and snacks, learn this time about Jewish perspectives on health care and why I didn’t talk about that on the holidays.  JL 101 will continue once/ twice a month through the year, please G-d.

CE21 (Congregational Education for the 21^st century) was the subject of my High Holiday sermon given in each service. The sermon is posted on the website. I said we need new thinking about Jewish learning on all levels of our congregation. And no sooner did the wisdom of that statement hit me than with the start of Religious School. The School – meeting Sundays and weekdays - is larger than it has been anytime this decade, which is great. But after its Sunday opening there followed four weeks of cancelled Sunday classes due to the holidays.

What if we were already doing new thinking, not even radical thinking? We might have said this:  why must Jewish holidays be like American holidays, which are primarily observed by taking off from school (or work) and hanging around or going to the mall/ beach. Why not have our kids build sukkot on the second of the Sunday mornings, the eve of Yom Kippur?  Why not invite all the kids and parents to those sukkot for social time on the third of the Sundays, Sukkot?  Why not have the kids at shul for Simchat Torah related activities  - for example opening up the whole Torah and doing a GPS through its columns - this past Sunday which was the fourth?  Even with some teachers unavailable because of yom tov’s, we still could have fashioned an experiential program that would have been at least as worthy and create more good memories than what most of the kids (and their parents) did all those Sunday mornings. Correct me if I am wrong.

We are soon to engage all of you in the CE21 process.  Please be ready with your thoughts and wisdom. Have a good Wednesday in the meantime.   Bill Rudolph

October 7, 2009

Last week was the interview with God. You liked it, and have spread it ‘round the world. This week, the holidays are coming to a close. For clergy, they are always both elevating and exhausting. Right now I am feeling more the exhaustion.  Next week I pick up a new thread for this column. Today will be mostly business.  

P.S. Jewish Literacy 101 returns from a long hiatus Sunday a week, October 18! Last year it fell victim to our renovation. That work is done, the dust has mostly cleared. You know we always are finding some more. Join me at our home, 5214 Roosevelt Street (behind the shul), 11AM – noon, for the first JL101 of the new year. Topic: “Is there a Jewish View on Health Care Reform?” No registration or prerequisites or anything, but not this week, it’s Simchat Torah and I’ll be out celebrating. 

September 30, 2009

There is nothing resembling an original thought left in me at the moment, so let me share a reading that I found preparing for Yom Kippur. The author is unknown, but I wish I could take credit as it packs in one place more good advice about life than I thought possible. And what better time for good advice than the start of a new year? 

“Come in,” God said. “So, you would like to interview me?”

“If you have time,” I said. God smiled and said:
            “My time is eternity and is enough to do everything. What questions do you have in mind to ask me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered: “That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future.  That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived…”
            God’s hands took mine and we were silent for while, and then I asked…

“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”

God replied with a smile:

Author Unknown

I hope you have a good Wednesday and a happy and festive Sukkot.  Sukkot is overtaking Pesach as my favorite holiday. I hope you will experience it at least a little, beginning Friday night. Moadim L'Simchah.

September 23, 2009

We are in the midst of Aseret Yimei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance. This is a good time to think about reconciling ourselves with God (if needed) and with other people whom we might have harmed or treated less than well (who of us doesn’t need that?).  If our repentance is done with sincerity and we make good whatever damages can be made good, then we hope for forgiveness from God/ the other person.  This Shabbat morning, in the sanctuary service, I will lead a discussion about repentance and forgiveness, using as test cases Bernie Madoff, Lt. William Calley and Michael Vick.

It’s also a time to think about where we are going in life. To guide our thinking, we turn to the great rabbinical scholar Dr. Seuss.  In his famous book “Oh the Places You’ll Go!,” Dr. Seuss talks about a very familiar place to us all in our journey through life, a place he calls “the waiting place.” Dr. Seuss writes:

You can get so confused

that you’ll start in to race

down long wiggle roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,

Headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or a No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for the wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

September 16, 2009

September 9, 2009

Last Wednesday I published a sampling of the close to 100 responses (now more) to my High Holiday survey question  - Why Do You Come to Services? As promised, today I will share my effort to put your responses into categories – similar to those in the Scarsdale survey – and indicate which were more/less common.  Some of the categories need a little explanation and that is done in brackets. There is much to ponder here.  Next week, on the eve of yom tov, I will compare you to your counterparts in Scarsdale. There are differences. I know you won’t sleep waiting to hear what they are, but have a good Wednesday in the meantime. And forgive if the formatting is poor, which seems to happen even if the original is total perfection.

Jewish People/ Tradition.  Very Common   [To feel connection to the Jewish people, be part of something larger, “link in a chain.”]                                               

Spirituality/ Personal Peace.  Very Common [To find sense of peace in an otherwise hectic and stressful life, experience the holy.]                                               

Social/ Community.  Most Common [To be with friends, the extended synagogue family, sharing  in each other’s lives. “I come to see my friends.”]  

Sermons/Learning.            Somewhat Common

Communicate with God.            Somewhat Common

Sense of Obligation.  Somewhat Common [Feeling obligated, commanded to come, along with apologies that this wasn’t a good reason. It is. ]                                   

Rituals.   Somewhat Common  [Hear the Hazzan, davven, say kaddish.]             

“For the Children.”  Occasional [Come for their sake, to solidify their sense of being Jewish.]

Family/ Nostalgia.   Occasional      [To create, or recall, powerful memories of “doing Jewish” with parents or grandparents.]                                               

Personal Improvement.  Occasional  [Become a better person.]           

P.S.  Remember that you can get an early start on some of your High Holiday goals by attending Selichot, this Saturday night, beginning at 10PM. Joint program and service at Ohr Kodesh.

September 2, 2009

There were close to 100 responses to last week’s pre High Holiday survey question  - why do you come to services? They were mostly brief. I am seeing categories and more/less common responses forming in front of my eyes and will share them next week. And compare them with the Scarsdale shul the following week. In the meantime, here are some representative responses to ponder. Much more content here than my usual - there was a lot to choose from and it was hard to cut. Read as much as you can.   And have a nice Wednesday.   Bill Rudolph

I come to services to be together with ALL my ancestors (beginning with Adam and Eve) and all the other Jews from China to Australia to Argentina, and so on. I also come for the music. (Short enough?)  M

major chord: friendship and inspiration.

minor chord: tradition and feeling of community   W

To honor my ancestors, celebrate the joy of simchas, seek shelter from life's storms and visit with dwindling friends.   M2 

Also, in answer to your inquiry, I attend HH services out of habit, because I always have like my father, grandfather, etc. before me.  I fear being the “weak link” in the generational chain.  My entire being hopes that my son and his progeny will continue to attend.  It also helps that I find a calming comfort (the opposite of jewish guilt?) from attending. A 

Reasons I attend:

1. General feeling of duty/obligation to the tradition/religion

2. Set example for my children

3. My wife would never let me live it down if I missed high holidays

4. Forced introspection

5. See friends--bask in the communal spirit

6. Hedge my bets by slipping into the book of life before it closes

M2 

It's where I feel I belong.  While I'm lost during most of the Hebrew portions, I love the sermons, the songs and sharing "yom tov" greetings with people I see often, see seldom and total strangers, with whom I feel a major connection. R  

I come to services to pray to my God, the God of Israel. W2 

With regard to Shabbat there is a highly emotional and hedonistic reason--I love that intangible feeling of calm, of pausing to reflect, of feeling the meaning of Shabbat.  I also enjoy being part of a community, and I can always count on that happening.  I like remembering I am Jewish in a very pure way.  The High Holiday services are different--it's usually much more about obligation, I sometimes have to struggle to organize the family, and there's the somewhat high-stakes meal planning.  However, once I'm there I'm always glad, even if those feelings I have on Shabbat are attenuated.  The focus of reflection is different, looking back and forward, and that is meaningful in a different way.  C  

I come to shul because it is a place of comfort, security, balance, a sanctuary in a sea of secularities. A place to learn, question, explore, express gratitude, find favor, remember and nurture.

I come to shul to experience the contrast between the hush of silent devotion and the exuberance of melodic harmonies. I come to add my voice and kavahnah to my community of prayer.

As a self-proclaimed guardian of this gift of faith, it is my right, obligation, honor and calling to preserve this precious legacy for those who will walk after me.  J 

1.)   Outside possibility of spiritual uplift - Occasionally, when the congregation is davening loudly and passionately, most likely at Neilah or some similar moment, I get a palpable feeling that there is a many thousand year vein of very powerful energy that we tap into and experience as a deep buzz in our gut.

2.)   Am Israel Chai - The experience of community on the haggim can at moments also very powerful.  My favorite moment is on [Kol Nidrei] when the crowd of people soberly crossing Old Georgetown road is so great that it begins to offset the traffic and signal patterns.  A2

I go to services mainly because I think I have to.  I want to be an observant Jew because I feel it is my responsibility and something I am supposed to do.  I also enjoy feeling close to God which I do when I see the majesty of the ark and Torah.  Finally, I like the social aspect--seeing my friends at shul.  hope this doesn't upset you.  I know you want the truth.  A3

My reasons for coming on the holidays: 1. family tradition (including guilt), 2. setting an example for children to remain in the fold, 3. maintaining a "discipline" of repentance, 4. hearing your sermons. (Numbering meant to separate the reasons; not to prioritize.) S

Among the most important reasons I attend high-holiday services ... to teach my children and to honor my parents, who would be proud of me for doing what I can to pass Judaism on to their grandchildren. R2

1.  Preserve and continue crucial aspects of Jewish observance so as to preserve overall Jewish existence

2.  It would feel strange and "wrong" to be anywhere else

3.  Reconnect with the Shul and fellow members

4.  Inspiration and opportunity for self-reflection

5.  Relearn how to parallel park in a space 4 inches longer than the length of my car.  A4

I come to services for spiritual sustenance and the positive feeling of being part of a Jewish, prayer community.  Riveting, I'm sure....sorry Rabbi - that's all I got!    S2 

This may sound weird, but I think I come to services both to get a break from my children and for my children.  By "getting a break," I don't necessarily mean physically, because many times they are with me, but getting away from catering to their every need, and to be able to escape and to focus on my faith for a few hours.  It's an opportunity to feed my soul and feel the connection to my faith that I haven't been able to fully do for a number of years because of my constant struggle to balance "me" time and "kid" time.  At the same time, I bring them to services so they can start to appreciate and learn the service, and hopefully develop their own sense of faith and belonging so one day, they will escape to their synagogue to get away from their kids!  L

The first reason I go to shul on the high holidays is because I cannot do otherwise.   Not going would feel as if I had abandoned a core connection with Judaism. The second reason I go is to bond with my family and experience with them a sense of awe about the holidays rooted in my childhood. The third is that I feel good being in shul.    H

August 26, 2009

The High Holidays are coming, too fast. The clergy surely think about them more than the average congregant. The September issue of the Scroll will describe some of those thoughts.

In the meantime, so we are not alone in anticipation, I want to conduct an online – but lo tech – survey. It follows on a similar survey done by my colleague David Fine and written up in the summer 2008 issue of Conservative Judaism which was part of my vacation reading.  Fine had read The Jew Within (Eisen and Cohen) where High Holiday services are presented as posing a particular challenge. “People believe they should be participating, but they don’t quite know how to endow Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with personal significance.”  Rabbi Fine wanted to see if this is so. On Rosh Hashanah in 2007 Rabbi Fine asked his Scarsdale congregation to send him notes explaining why they come to services. He did not specify if he meant on the High Holidays or Shabbat though most assumed he meant the former.  He received 102 responses. Each was in the congregant’s own words, not based on picking from multiple choices that the Rabbi might have presented but which could have influenced how people responded. Congregants could point to more than one reason. Rabbi Fine then analyzed the responses into basic categories in order of popularity and presented them on Yom Kippur

Now I ask you to think about this question – why do you come to services? - and make your own responses. You can present multiple reasons for coming. Be as thoughtful and provocative as you wish. There are no wrong answers. You won’t offend me. But please also try to be brief, 25-50 words should suffice - I can only read so much if you want me to also keep up with the rest of my job.  In the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah, I will share some of the responses individually and then as they fall into categories that make sense (Rabbi Fine came up with 13 based on the responses he received). Since you are competitive, I will also compare your responses with the feedback from Scarsdale. I think this will help us achieve a focus as we think about  High Holiday services and tell us a lot about the yearnings and doubts and hopes that we bring with us to shul.

August 19, 2009

The book list is out, the High Holiday thread will be delayed a week while I deal with a rather atypical It’s Wednesday topic.

I meet with a lot of families and hear lots of stories. I trust in the law of three - when I hear something three times, I think it is not to be ignored. When I heard the following story for the third time in recent weeks, I decided to share it with you. It is probably irrelevant if you don’t have a spouse or significant other. If you do, read on.

The story is basically this:  the husband has pretty much managed the family funds over the years. There were problems due to investment decisions or loss of income, or the current recession, that caused the husband to make financial decisions (loans, second mortgages, notes) that would serve to keep the family budget “whole.” The husband never shared these decisions with his wife. She only found out because he died and there was less to live on than anticipated, or because bank or collection notices came to the wife’s attention. The situations were not good, causing pain and anger.

I was shocked to hear this three times in a short period.  Each of the three stories was a little different of course, but in each case it was the husband who made financial decisions without his wife’s knowledge. In no case was there deception for personal gain – no money was being stashed away so the husband could run off to a golf resort or worse. I think the husband just didn’t want to worry his family. And he didn’t want to disappoint anyone, didn’t want anyone to think that the major breadwinner (which the husband still is in most families) was not meeting the family needs. I think the husband took on a burden that must have been heavy. I do not think he needed to bear it alone.

So, I am recommending – for the sake of shalom bayit (domestic tranquility) down the road and shared responsibility now - that couples do some taking stock about money. Both about what has gone down already, and looking forward.  In these difficult economic times, how much more important it is that both know what is going on and what challenges the family may face. Make sure there are wills too. From the Jewish standpoint, the High Holidays represent a time in which we are commanded to do a cheshbon hanefesh ( accounting of our spiritual wellbeing). It will be good to do a general cheshbon as well. It’s the right thing to do.

Best wishes for a good Wednesday and a good conversation soon - about money - with your loved one.

August 12, 2009

Boker Tov.

Summer is fading, but not the opportunities it offers. I have a thread that I will take up next Wednesday that will lead us into the holidays. In the meantime, I have decided not to dwell on the NJ money-laundering rabbis. But did you hear the “Top Ten Signs that Your Rabbi Was Indicted?” My favorites from the list are these four: that he suddenly takes on the tradition of wearing his hat on his face, another is that the shul’s silent auction now includes kidneys, a third is that the rebbitzin is suddenly on JDate, and a fourth is that the rabbi announces that he will be spending the rest of the summer “upstate.” Reacting to this and other gloomy developments on the international scene can wait. Let me dwell instead on literacy, and see the good place where the gloom about that can lead us.

In the summer reading pile was a review of a book called Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t, written by BU Religion Chair Stephen Prothero. He notes that America is the most religious nation in the developed world, if religiosity is measured by belief in the supernatural (though we Jews do our best to bring down the numbers but fortunately there are few of us). At the same time, Americans are also the most religiously ignorant people in the Western world. Fewer than half of us can identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible, and only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. 75 percent mistakenly think the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves,” which is opposite of what the Bible teaches and is Ben Franklin speaking. More than 10 percent think that Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc [do you get why?].  One half cannot name even one of the four Gospels. And so on. Given America’s role in the world, it is more scary to think that we must know even less about Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism, than we do about Judaism and Christianity.

Prothero spends much of the book explaining the reasons for this decline in religious literacy. Unquestionably it’s one manifestation of a more general decline in the public’s cultural and civic knowledge. He talks about that too. According to polls conducted by the National Constitution Center, only one third of Americans can name even one of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. So is it any more startling that only one third can identify the preacher of the Sermon on the Mount?

I know our congregation is more literate than this, even about Christianity. But we can do even better, and the decline of religious and general literacy is everyone’s problem. It can be fixed one book at a time. I do hear from you about all the fiction you are reading, but that’s only a partial solution.  So, using the miracles of the electronic age, and with summer still holding forth for a few weeks, I ask you to share with me a book of non-fiction – Jewish or religious or general - that you read and enjoyed lately. I will tally the inputs, look for patterns, and share the results with you right away – before too much more of the summer is gone - in a special edition of It’s Wednesday. Just click on the email address below (don’t push Reply). Title and Author.  Thanks in advance. And best wishes for a good Wednesday.

August 13, 2009

August 5, 2009

Boker Tov.

With thanks to God for keeping me alive on 12,000 foot Colorado mountain passes, I once again provide for your Inbox, beginning on the first Wednesday of August, by 7:30AM, and then each Wednesday thereafter, like clockwork, this little column. Quite the grammatical disaster was that sentence, but it’s good to be back and I hope you missed me a little.

My extended vacation was what I hoped it would be. I didn’t quite figure it out in advance, but it worked out that June was a month to get back control of my life – reintroduce myself to my family, cut down the email and reading piles, pull out the weeds, make our new spaces part of our home. July was more for fun and relaxation. I won’t bore you with the detail.

I confess that I still agonize for weeks over this first column of the new season. Not for lack of something to say. Not to worry, I did read a lot and think about the macro and the micro of Judaism and shul life at this juncture in history. You will hear more as the Wednesdays and Shabbatot go by and on the High Holidays. But to pick out THE most important issue or idea to inaugurate this new season of It’s Wednesday? That was too daunting.

So let me just share a quote from Abraham Joshua Heschel  (in an essay in the collection Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity) that continues to guide me through work and play and might serve all of us well:  “I seek to understand the present and the future while I disagree with those who think of the present in the past tense. I consider in my own intellectual existence that the greatest danger is to become obsolete. I try not to be stale. I try to remain young. I have one talent and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised at life, at ideas. This is to me the supreme Hasidic imperative: See life as doors. Some are open, some closed. You have to know how to open them.”

I look forward to talking with you each Wednesday, and hope that this Wednesday will include at least some sense of wonder and other good things.