by Lindsey Morgan

Youth Advisor A asks, “Are you going to the URJ’s Youth Engagement Conference?”

Youth Advisor B answers, “Well, I’m not entirely sure yet. I haven’t talked to my temple, board and it hasn’t been approved. To be perfectly honest, I also have no idea what ‘youth engagement’ really means and whether there’s a comprehensive enough understanding of what it is to meaningfully present a program I’ll get something out of.”

Confession, full-disclosure: I was Youth Advisor B.

For weeks, I talked with other youth advisors in my area about whether they were planning to attend this conference. I vacillated about whether these four days would be a meaningful addition and the right way for me to allocate not only the monetary investment on my temple budget line, but the time investment in an already-packed February calendar. In the end, though, I decided to attend.

After just 24 hours of this conference, I have been proven so wrong that I’m actually finding it difficult to put into words just how much I’ve already absorbed. I can’t wait to return to my congregation and share with them – with new and invigorated passion – ideas for strategies and ways to expand our points of entry for teens in our temple community.

I have always been a big believer in the reality that youth group (in our traditional understanding of the concept of a NFTY-affiliated temple youth group) is just not for everyone. As much as we want them to love it, and as much as they may honestly give youth group a shot, many teens will simply not find a connection to the teen Jewish community through that outlet. I have always seen it as my responsibility as a congregational youth director to make sure that these teens, the “unaffiliated,” feel as though they do have a connection to our congregation, that it can be a comfortable place for them, regardless of their youth group affiliation. The first 24 hours at the Youth Engagement Conference, spent establishing a common understanding for exactly what “engagement” means for our community, has already helped me feel like I am no longer on an island when it comes to finding a place and a space to really be there for these teens –not just to know that they love dance, play varsity football, or volunteer with an amazing community organization in their spare time, but to truly connect with them and provide them with a meaningful experience.

I know we’ve just begun to scratch the surface; there is an incredible amount of work to do. However, I am so thrilled to know the next three days will provide countless opportunities for personal development, professional development and beginning to develop and entirely new vocabulary for what it means to be an “engaged teen” in the vibrant life of North American Reform Jewish youth.

Lindsey Morgan is the youth director of Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, FL.

At home, we sometimes used to struggle to feed balanced meals to our three teenagers. Imagine trying to feed 1,000 as these Jewish teens sat together to for Shabbat dinner. And that was only the beginning.

We are gathered at a hotel in Los Angeles for the NFTY Convention, perhaps the largest Jewish teen gathering around. NFTY, of which our synagogue’s kids are third-generation members, has brought together teens from all over the US and Canada (and also, I heard, teens from Israel and a half dozen other countries) for five days of fun, socializing, Jewish learning, energetic music, teen issues, social justice activism, eating, talking, laughing, singing, dancing, praying…

Oh, the praying!

This is not your grandfather’s davening (worship). Growing up in many a synagogue, most teens experience prayer as a formalized experience. Lots of responsive readings mixed in with serious music. Over time, our Ashkenazi ancestors, and their American Reformer descendants, articulated a formalized experience, with precise words and structure, and instructions of when to stand and sit, and just how to bow. Services at the NFTY convention were anything but that. I imagine some of our Jewish ancestors might be turning over in their graves if they watched these 1,000 NFTYites pray.

Why? Because our teens sang energetically, chanted meaningfully and swayed with joy and abandon. It was meaningful. It was exciting. And just so inspiring. It was more early chassidism then early reformer. The early European chassidim transformed the Jewish prayer experience from the staid to the emotional. They taught their adherents to open themselves up by singing and dancing, to lift themselves beyond the “here and now” to the hopeful and the passionate.

Prayer can be spine-tinglingly, bone-shakingly uplifting. Yes, spread out all over the ballroom floor, our teens sat and sang a beautifully melodic prayer. But as the energy built up, the inspiration ramped up, and before we knew it, kids popped up onto their feet. Singing and swaying, dancing and clapping, they became the modern definition of hitlahavut, joyous enflamed passion.

Perhaps that best describes this indescribable experience. More than prose, this teen tefilah is poetry in its wholesomeness and all encompassing nature. It is chassidic hitlahavut, combined with Martin Buber’s I-Thou relationalism, mixed in with Debbie Friedman-inspired musicality.

I turned to Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the parent body of our congregations, and the older sister to NFTY. Praising the scene we were witnessing, I shared my frustration at my inability to find the words to capture the wonderful spiritual transformation we were witnessing. He nodded knowingly, as he smiled appreciatively, clearly touched by the expansive displays of prayerfulness surrounding us. We clapped on.

Most synagogues would celebrate if a dozen teenagers showed up at Shabbat services on a regular Friday night. How would it feel when 1,000 attended? Awesome. Just awesome. Rabbi Jacobs began his story drash asking, “Is NFTY in the house?” The thunderous response assured us all that they were.

Had the question been a bit different – Is God in the house? – I feel confident, the answer would have been the same.

Thanks, NFTY. Thanks, URJ. Thanks, Rabbi Dan Medwin of the CCAR for the Visual Tefilah. And thanks to the unnamed shlichay tzibur (prayer leaders). For a spiritual, musical, inspirational tefilah. Yes, God was in the house!

Originally published at Or Am I?

by Rachel Kasten

Within an hour of the official kick-off of the Youth Engagement Conference, I was already inspired. Rabbi Bradley Solmsen, the URJ’s Director of Youth Engagement, informed us that each of our presenters were asked to give a talk they had never given before, in order to model the conference’s goals of thinking new thoughts and taking risks.

Our first speaker, Allison Fine, an author, blogger, and speaker, recounted a story that she said has stuck with her for some time. It is now stuck with me, too.

A young Jewish adult attended services at the local Chabad house. She was asked: “Did you go there because it was free?” She responded: “No. I went because it was joyous.”

Ms. Fine then challenged the youth professionals assembled at the Youth Engagement Conference: “Where are you creating joy?”

Good question. Although happiness is often a by-product of our work, how often is it an explicit goal? When do we say to ourselves, “I hope our teens leave happier than they came”? I know strategies for teaching Jewish holidays, for teaching Bible, for teaching most Jewish content… but I do not know how to teach, how to create, joy.

Ms. Fine suggested that the key is not trying so hard to cram in content and a shifted focus on relationship-building. She stated a possible new goal of our work: creating happy grown-ups who infuse Judaism into their lives.

Isn’t that really what our goal is anyway? Happy, Jewish adults. Perhaps we could spend less time teaching specific content to our students and instead give them the tools to know how to access that content for themselves; that could leave us more latitude to focus on projects that would create joy.

The example given was a synagogue high school program that began the year without a set curriculum. The teens were given the opportunity to choose a yearlong project, and they chose to renovate the youth lounge. Throughout the year, the teens met regularly to work on their project, while the youth professional wove in content about teamwork, sacred space, and other Jewish concepts, creating a meaningful, joyous experience for the teens.

I don’t know what creating joy might look like within my own congregation, but I do know what the result would look like:

A teenager attends an event at a Reform synagogue. A friend asks: “Did you go there because it was free?” He responds: “No. I went because it was joyous.”

Rachel Kasten is the assistant director of education & youth Programs at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, OH.

Author and Spiritual Healer, Dr. Joy S. Pedersen, to speak at The Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Church Fellowship Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 11:00 AM Service on Change Yourself; Change the World

(PRWeb January 17, 2013)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/ExpressSuccess/LakelandUnitarian/prweb10332960.htm

by Rachel Kasten

In a few hours, we’ll be hopping off a plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan, but right now we’re a youth professional and an involved teen getting excited about attending the Youth Engagement Conference and NFTY Convention, respectively.

I’m the Assistant Director of Education & Youth Programs at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, OH, attending the Youth Engagement Conference while Alyssa Weisman, a NFTY-Ohio Valley Regional Board member and a madricha at Wise Temple’s Religious School, attends NFTY Convention. This is my third time attending NFTY Convention – once as a student, and twice as a Jewish professional. Alyssa interviewed me a bit about Youth Engagement Conference before we arrive!

1. Why were you interested in attending the Youth Engagement Conference?
   I’m really interested to see how the new Campaign for Youth Engagement is going to change the Youth Engagement Conference (beyond the name change from Youth Workers Conference). What has the CYE been up to since the big launch at Biennial last year? With so much change and innovation within the movement, including the new Reform Youth Professionals Association, it’s an exciting time to be a youth professional

2. What are you most looking forward to?
   I think every NFTY kid is forever and always a NFTY kid – so of course I’m excited about all of the great concerts and song sessions. The ruach of nearly 1,000 people singing and cheering in unison is amazing and unforgettable.

1. What do you hope to bring back to Wise Temple?
   Proven ideas and programs – I want to hear about what has already been done and actually works. And the best part about the Youth Engagement Conference running concurrently with NFTY Convention is that we get to hear straight from the teens about what they want and need their synagogues to provide.

4. How are you feeling right now?
   Excited – and a little anxious. There’s always some anxiety when going to one of these big conferences, but you’re immediately put it at ease when you realize how many people you already know!

This is Alyssa’s first time attending NFTY Convention, too. Check out the NFTY blog for four questions about her attendance!

Rachel Kasten is the assistant director of education & youth Programs at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, OH.

A meteorite hit the Russian town of Chelyabinsk and injured more than 1,000 people. It also damaged a local synagogue while congregants were praying.

Earlier this week, Reform Movement leaders outlined their hopes and priorities for President Obama’s State of the Union address. President Obama spoke about almost all the issues our leadership raised, including:

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

The majority of the President’s speech was centered on the economy and job creation. URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs wrote that “deficit reduction cannot come on the backs of the poorest in our communities” – a sentiment that the President echoed in his speech. The President proposed raising the minimum wage, making clear that “…in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” The President also opposed big cuts in funding to education and job training, Medicare and Social Security benefits.

IMMIGRATION

President Obama echoed CCAR Executive Vice President Rabbi Steve Fox’s assertion that “immigration reform must not only improve border security and immigration law enforcement, but also provide for a just and fair path to citizenship for those now in the country without legal documentation.” We would have liked to have heard more explicit language regarding protections for workers and family unity, but appreciate the President’s previous commitment to these principles.

LGBT EQUALITY

While the President did not make LGBT rights a center point of his speech, he made a welcome, if subtle endorsement of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act: “if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.”  As we have often said, no one should be hired or fired, promoted or demoted based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, as leadership within the Defense Department changes, we appreciate his affirmation that “we will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families – gay and straight.”

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

WRJ Executive Director Rabbi Marla J. Feldman called on the President “to make clear in his address that women’s rights are not negotiable and that every individual is responsible for allowing others the same liberties, rights, and responsibilities they would claim for themselves.” The Paycheck Fairness Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are key legislative priorities to our Movement and we were heartened to hear the President say: “We know our economy is stronger when our wives, mothers, and daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic violence.”

ISRAEL

In advance of his visit to Israel next month, President Obama highlighted his steadfast commitment to Israel’s security, to the pursuit of peace, and to doing “what is necessary to prevent [Iran] from getting a nuclear weapon.” Barbara Kavadias, Acting Director of ARZA, emphasized, “Now is the time for all members of Congress to also engage constructively to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer together as honest partners” in peace negotiations.

VOTING RIGHTS

In one of the most moving moments of his speech, President Obama drew attention to the story of Desiline Victor, a 102 year-old Florida woman who waited in line for hours to vote on election day. Rabbi Jonathan Stein, President of the CCAR, called on President Obama to address the obstacles prohibiting those like Ms. Victor from exercising their constitutional rights. To this end President Obama unveiled a new “non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America.” This is a welcome step forward which will hopefully help us make meaningful strides toward improving our democratic process.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Noting the onslaught of extreme weather confronting the country in recent years, President Obama demanded, “… if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.” As the Northeast continues to dig out from the Nemo storm, the effects of Superstorm Sandy continue to reverberate, and communities across the country deal with the impact of record heat, crippling drought and the devastation of tornadoes, meaningful action on climate change cannot wait. As Commission on Social Action Chair Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman said, “The intensity of the past year’s weather patterns should be enough to convince even the most doubtful of climate change skeptics.”

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Evan Taylor, NFTY President, encouraged President Obama to focus on mental health – as NFTY is this year – and its relationship to gun violence prevention.  Though the President did not address the mental health component of comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation specifically, his speech culminated in a powerful refrain about the toll that gun violence has taken on our nation. After naming communities that have been victimized by gun violence such as Newtown, Chicago, and Aurora, he repeated, “They deserve a vote” and called on congress to act. Our Movement, which has long supported gun violence prevention measures, would welcome common sense legislation that deserves not just a vote, but passage and enactment. Nonetheless, as the President said, “If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”

We were disappointed that the President did not address the challenges facing the growing population of Americans with disabilities. The State of the Union provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on issues that do not always get their due consideration. But as states debate taking up the Medicaid expansion, we are reminded that Medicaid is the largest health care provider for people with disabilities. And as Members of Congress consider ways to avert the sequester, we remember that people with disabilities experience poverty rates more than twice that of the general population. As URJ Chairman Steve Sacks noted of February, which is Jewish Disability Awareness Month, “shining a presidential spotlight on these challenges and committing to addressing them is more necessary than ever and a recognition that in this nation, no one should be left behind.”

Earlier this week, Reform Movement leaders outlined their hopes and priorities for President Obama’s State of the Union address. President Obama spoke about almost all the issues our leadership raised, including:

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

The majority of the President’s speech was centered on the economy and job creation. URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs wrote that “deficit reduction cannot come on the backs of the poorest in our communities” – a sentiment that the President echoed in his speech. The President proposed raising the minimum wage, making clear that “…in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” The President also opposed big cuts in funding to education and job training, Medicare and Social Security benefits.

IMMIGRATION

President Obama echoed CCAR Executive Vice President Rabbi Steve Fox’s assertion that “immigration reform must not only improve border security and immigration law enforcement, but also provide for a just and fair path to citizenship for those now in the country without legal documentation.” We would have liked to have heard more explicit language regarding protections for workers and family unity, but appreciate the President’s previous commitment to these principles.

LGBT EQUALITY

While the President did not make LGBT rights a center point of his speech, he made a welcome, if subtle endorsement of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act: “if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.”  As we have often said, no one should be hired or fired, promoted or demoted based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, as leadership within the Defense Department changes, we appreciate his affirmation that “we will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families – gay and straight.”

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

WRJ Executive Director Rabbi Marla J. Feldman called on the President “to make clear in his address that women’s rights are not negotiable and that every individual is responsible for allowing others the same liberties, rights, and responsibilities they would claim for themselves.” The Paycheck Fairness Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are key legislative priorities to our Movement and we were heartened to hear the President say: “We know our economy is stronger when our wives, mothers, and daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace, and free from the fear of domestic violence.”

ISRAEL

In advance of his visit to Israel next month, President Obama highlighted his steadfast commitment to Israel’s security, to the pursuit of peace, and to doing “what is necessary to prevent [Iran] from getting a nuclear weapon.” Barbara Kavadias, Acting Director of ARZA, emphasized, “Now is the time for all members of Congress to also engage constructively to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer together as honest partners” in peace negotiations.

VOTING RIGHTS

In one of the most moving moments of his speech, President Obama drew attention to the story of Desiline Victor, a 102 year-old Florida woman who waited in line for hours to vote on election day. Rabbi Jonathan Stein, President of the CCAR, called on President Obama to address the obstacles prohibiting those like Ms. Victor from exercising their constitutional rights. To this end President Obama unveiled a new “non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America.” This is a welcome step forward which will hopefully help us make meaningful strides toward improving our democratic process.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Noting the onslaught of extreme weather confronting the country in recent years, President Obama demanded, “… if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.” As the Northeast continues to dig out from the Nemo storm, the effects of Superstorm Sandy continue to reverberate, and communities across the country deal with the impact of record heat, crippling drought and the devastation of tornadoes, meaningful action on climate change cannot wait. As Commission on Social Action Chair Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman said, “The intensity of the past year’s weather patterns should be enough to convince even the most doubtful of climate change skeptics.”

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Evan Taylor, NFTY President, encouraged President Obama to focus on mental health – as NFTY is this year – and its relationship to gun violence prevention.  Though the President did not address the mental health component of comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation specifically, his speech culminated in a powerful refrain about the toll that gun violence has taken on our nation. After naming communities that have been victimized by gun violence such as Newtown, Chicago, and Aurora, he repeated, “They deserve a vote” and called on congress to act. Our Movement, which has long supported gun violence prevention measures, would welcome common sense legislation that deserves not just a vote, but passage and enactment. Nonetheless, as the President said, “If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote. Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”

We were disappointed that the President did not address the challenges facing the growing population of Americans with disabilities. The State of the Union provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on issues that do not always get their due consideration. But as states debate taking up the Medicaid expansion, we are reminded that Medicaid is the largest health care provider for people with disabilities. And as Members of Congress consider ways to avert the sequester, we remember that people with disabilities experience poverty rates more than twice that of the general population. As URJ Chairman Steve Sacks noted of February, which is Jewish Disability Awareness Month, “shining a presidential spotlight on these challenges and committing to addressing them is more necessary than ever and a recognition that in this nation, no one should be left behind.”

by Robin Messing Bogdanoff

It started in August 2011 with, of all things, a shirt pocket. It was a very small pocket on a child’s striped tee shirt that caught my eye, because the shirt had been miraculously reinvented into a tote bag. What an inspired idea, to turn an iconic T-shirt into a bag! Strong and compact, yet expandable, colorful, playful, infinitely useful – and not difficult or expensive to make.

For my $10 purchase, Massachusetts textile artist Crispina ffrench included instructions on how to make more bags and gave me permission to share the instructions with our synagogue community in Bergen County, N.J. For the past two years, our congregation-wide Mishloah Manot program has been awash in handmade upcycled T-shirt totes as imaginative and useful as Crispina’s original!

Instead of purchasing baskets, boxes, or bags to contain our Purim goodies, our congregation solicits outgrown and unworn shirts. Between 2012 and 2013, our WRJ Sisterhood and religious school families enthusiastically responded by clearing more than 750 garments from dressers and closets throughout the county.

This year, we took the daring step of modifying Crispina’s original pattern in order to eliminate the need for sewing machines (even though our teens proved terrific at putting pedal to the metal and machine-seaming with abandon). Instead, we’ve been gathering in groups throughout the building, tying fringes, threading drawstrings and creating relationships as well as bags. Many dozens of individual congregants, from third-graders to grandparents, have participated in this year’s project so far.

The tee-totes are appealing both for being eco-conscious and green, as well as for the “hamisha,” the handmade touch. They are labor-intensive, although that, too, has a silver lining of encouraging participation and building community. We have been fortunate that the extra effort required by making each bag ourselves has been offset by delegating some of the administrative work to an online service. Ari Green and HappyPurim.com have been invaluable in providing database support for emailing congregants, soliciting volunteers, coordinating orders, and setting up driving routes – and their help has made it possible to put in the necessary hours for cutting and completing almost 400 bags.

We’ve made our dresser drawers a little neater and our earth a little cleaner by responsibly upcycling clothing that might otherwise have been thrown out. But truly, the best part of this project has been watching our wonderful Temple Beth Or community become suffused with the excitement of the alchemy of creating something wonderful out of something else – and watching that joy spill over to Purim holiday preparations. Now I’m just hoping that we can find snacks, sundries, and surprises which will be as much fun to receive as the T-shirt tote bags have been to make!

Make your own eco-friendly mishloach manot bags for Purim using this tutorial from textiles designer Crispina ffrench.

Temple Beth Or clergy, educators, congregants, & religious school students model their mishloach manot bags.

Robin Messing Bogdanoff is a member of Temple Beth Or in Washington Township, N.J.

In response to this week’s Senate passage of the Violence Against Women Act, Barbara Weinstein, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:

Ten months ago, we commended the Senate for its bipartisan passage of the Violence Against Women Act that included better training of law enforcement, victim service providers, and court personnel; improved protections for women in tribal communities; stronger LBGT-inclusive provisions; and made it easier for immigrant victims of domestic violence to escape their abusing spouse or partner. Unfortunately, the House followed by passing a narrow bill and VAWA was not reauthorized. Today, we again welcome the Senate’s passage of this vital and broadly inclusive bill and again call on the House to follow suit.

Since its enactment in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has proven effective in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting violent crimes targeting women. Improved reporting mechanisms and law enforcement procedures like those established in VAWA have been shown to decrease incidents of domestic violence – a trend that the reauthorization of VAWA in this Congress could further.

Maimonides reminded men of the imperative to treat women with honor and respect (Sefer Nashim 15:19) and many other Jewish sages recognized that violence comes in forms that are both physical and emotional. The Violence Against Women Act helps prevent and respond to such tragedies when they occur and is worthy of – and sorely overdue for – reauthorization. We thank the Senate for its continued support of women’s health and safety and urge the House to act swiftly to pass this bill and send it to the President for enactment. Above all, we look forward to VAWA’s reauthorization this year – and to not issuing a statement such as this one year from now.

In response to this week’s Senate passage of the Violence Against Women Act, Barbara Weinstein, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:

Ten months ago, we commended the Senate for its bipartisan passage of the Violence Against Women Act that included better training of law enforcement, victim service providers, and court personnel; improved protections for women in tribal communities; stronger LBGT-inclusive provisions; and made it easier for immigrant victims of domestic violence to escape their abusing spouse or partner. Unfortunately, the House followed by passing a narrow bill and VAWA was not reauthorized. Today, we again welcome the Senate’s passage of this vital and broadly inclusive bill and again call on the House to follow suit.

Since its enactment in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has proven effective in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting violent crimes targeting women. Improved reporting mechanisms and law enforcement procedures like those established in VAWA have been shown to decrease incidents of domestic violence – a trend that the reauthorization of VAWA in this Congress could further.

Maimonides reminded men of the imperative to treat women with honor and respect (Sefer Nashim 15:19) and many other Jewish sages recognized that violence comes in forms that are both physical and emotional. The Violence Against Women Act helps prevent and respond to such tragedies when they occur and is worthy of – and sorely overdue for – reauthorization. We thank the Senate for its continued support of women’s health and safety and urge the House to act swiftly to pass this bill and send it to the President for enactment. Above all, we look forward to VAWA’s reauthorization this year – and to not issuing a statement such as this one year from now.

The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Biennial brings together thousands of Jews from across North America for five days and nights of learning, worship, entertainment, and conversation about the most pressing issues currently affecting the North American Jewish community. In previous years, registration was limited to members of URJ congregations, but this year, for the first time, Biennial registration will be open to anyone who wishes to attend.

A significant part of the Biennial experience is learning sessions. This year, more than 100 learning sessions will be offered, representing a wide array of topic areas, and giving attendees the opportunity to learn from innovators and leaders at the forefront of the North American Jewish experience. The URJ is currently soliciting proposals for Biennial learning sessions from any congregation, individual or group that wishes to submit ideas. The Call for Learning Sessions is ongoing and the deadline to submit proposals is March 15, 2013.

Mark J. Pelavin, senior advisor to the president and director of the URJ Biennial, said, “Opening up the Biennial and the Call for Learning Sessions are not token gestures. We are committed to working across the Jewish landscape in all of our work as we continue to reimagine Jewish life. We recognize that there are creative ideas and programs both inside and outside our Movement and we look forward to sharing them with our Biennial attendees. Our members are energized to learn from a wide-range of presenters, representing the best of North American Jewish life, and we look forward to sharing our successes as well.”

The URJ’s 72nd Biennial Convention will be held December 11-15, 2013 in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit urj.org/biennial13.

Two thousand years ago, a rabbi recalled the breadth and depth of what his teacher had given him. Yohanan ben Zakkai remembered his teacher Hillel saying: If all the heavens were parchments and all the trees quills and all the seas were ink, it would still be impossible to write down even a part of what I learned from my teacher. (Sofrim 16:6)

I am no Yochanan ben Zakkai, but these words express how I feel about Rabbi David Hartman.

I would not be a rabbi if I had not studied with Rabbi David Hartman, the founder and spiritual leader of the Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartman Institute.

Back in 1975, not long after David brought his family on Aliyah, I walked into a class he was teaching at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The course was entitled “Spinoza, Maimonides, and Halevi.” Learning with him was nothing short of exhilarating. He stripped away all of the superficialities of Jewish life and thought with his single-minded focus on finding truth. Learning with David was as if someone turned on the lights in a dark room. He shattered forever my narrow conception of traditional Judaism.

I would leave his class on Mt. Scopus and wander through Mea Shearim wondering if there were other Orthodox Jews who shared his worldview. Inspired by Rabbi Hartman, I even spent part of that year living on an Orthodox kibbutz searching for the living Jewish community about which he taught. But my time on the kibbutz was filled with disillusionment. I soon discovered what all of us learned: That my teacher was a singular force; that there were no others like him. His brand of Judaism was fearless, always evolving, brutally honest, defying all labels and yet profoundly authentic.

I told David that he was the reason I decided to become a Reform rabbi. Many Orthodox rabbis would consider this a failure, but not David.

David Hartman was born in 1931 and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. He was a local legend on the basketball court—he had a deadly two-handed set shot. Playing in a semi-pro league in the 1940s, David outscored the great Celtics legend Bob Cousy: Hartman 24, Cousy 18.

He studied with Rabbi Soloveichik at Yeshiva University and received his rabbinical ordination in 1953. Professor Hartman went on to study philosophy at Fordham and McGill University where he received his Ph.D. For years he was the beloved rabbi of a large congregation in Montreal before making aliyah in 1971 with his wife Bobby and five children. His books include: Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest, A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism, Conflicting Visions: Spiritual Possibilities of Modern Israel and A Heart of Many Rooms, to name just a few.

Rabbi Hartman blessed me and my classmates at our graduation from an intensive three-year course of study at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and gave us the new title of Senior Rabbinic Fellows of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. This title is one that I will cherish for the rest of my days. It was as if Rabbi Hartman had ordained us for a new kind of rabbinate, one that is fully cognizant of Judaism’s “heart of many rooms.”

I’m proud that in 2004, at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi David Ellenson bestowed an honorary doctorate upon Rabbi Hartman. We wanted him to know, then and always, how much we could not imagine our Reform Jewish world without him.

This fall, as scholar-in-residence at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations, I taught Torah that I learned from Rabbi Hartman, a Torah that is desperately needed in the fractured Jewish communities where we live, especially in Israel. I pleaded in his name that our Jewish communities must expand the circle of our concern to include both the Jews with whom we agree and those with whom we disagree. This was David’s Torah of pluralism, which he taught with passion and persuasiveness.

In his Beit Midrash, his iconic Jerusalem school, you can hear the echoes of his students of all denominations respectfully debating our ancient and modern texts. David helped us discover that we are not all the same. Our sustenance—and strength—as a people must come from being a Jewish community that values many authentic paths to Jewish commitment and multiple ways to love Israel.

David taught us to question traditional beliefs, so I’m not convinced he believed in a Yeshivah shel Ma’alah, a heavenly academy. I’d like to imagine, however, that there is such a place in this vast and mysterious universe, and it looks a lot like the Beit Midrash of the Shalom Hartman Institute. There aren’t just “frum” scholars debating law and philosophy but rather there are secular, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Reform men and women, probing the depths of our tradition with no one presuming to have the automatic “upper hand.” Convincing arguments and imaginative thinking ruled supreme in this heavenly academy with our Rabbi Hartman pushing everyone to dig deeper and deeper.

Rabbi Hartman’s disciples are spread out all over God’s earth planting new seeds of respect, tolerance and hope in the hearts and minds of new generations of students. He was the consummate public intellectual that we need so desperately in our world today, to heal the divisions inside Israel and between and among Israel and Diaspora Jewry.

Ashreinu, how blessed were we to call him our rabbi and teacher but as the Talmud (Sanhedrin 111a) teaches “chaval al de’avdin vela mishtakchin—Woe unto us, for he cannot be replaced.” May we have even a fraction of his insight and backbone as we help shape a more compelling Judaism for the next generations.

Mourners gathered in Jerusalem this week to pay tribute to Rabbi David Hartman.

This piece is based on a eulogy Rabbi Jacobs delivered at Rabbi Hartman’s funeral on February 11, 2013. It was published as an op-ed in Haaretz.com.

This weekend, I led a group of six teenagers from my congregation, Temple Shalom of Naples, Florida, to participate in the L’Taken seminar at the Religious Action Center.  The exciting experience, filled with activity in Washington, D.C., culminates with students lobbying their congressional representatives.  Having spent hours researching and writing their lobby speeches on topics including gun control, stem cell research, and disability rights, students asked about the impact of their efforts.

The answer came in a chance encounter we had on Capitol Hill.  While waiting in a security line with other L’Taken participants, we noticed a little girl and her mother in front of us.  The girl, about nine or ten years old, had on a t-shirt that said Sandy Hook Elementary on the front, and had a list of inspirational words including “hope,” “faith,” and “prayer” on the back.  One of the students noticed, and asked me if I thought they were from Newtown, CT.  I said it was possible, especially with the State of the Union scheduled the next day.

After going through the metal detector, I found myself standing next to the girl’s mother, who was collecting her items.  She noticed my kippah, and asked where we were from.  I responded that we were from Florida, and were in Washington, D.C. on a program with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.  I then asked if she was from Newtown, CT.  “Yes,” she answered.  “We are here for the State of the Union.  I just want to say thank you to the Reform movement, and all the Reform Jews who called Congress and stood up against gun violence. Your support really means a lot.”

The mother and daughter left to meet with Members of Congress, and I gathered the students who were present to share the story.  After hearing the mother’s words, they understood the power and impact that their efforts could have.  Every one of us has an obligation to speak truth in the face of injustice.  Every voice matters.

Adam Miller is the rabbi at Temple Shalom in Naples, FL and is a member of the Commission on Social Action.

by Rabbi Jeffrey Brown

Our temple, in the southern Westchester County suburbs of New York City, first began addressing the implications of the forecasted blizzard (Winter Storm Nemo) during the day on Thursday, February 7th. Our weekend schedule was to have included 8pm Erev Shabbat services on Friday night, a Shabbat morning service and b’naei mitzvah (which was to include our entire board and Communal Worship Committee, in conjunction with a lunch and study discussion we were hoping to have later on Saturday). We also had a program scheduled to take place in a congregant’s home Saturday evening, plus religious school and adult ed programming scheduled for Sunday morning.

Throughout the week, our clergy were in touch with Saturday’s b’nai mitzvah family multiple times via phone and email, mostly to provide moral and pastoral support as they navigated the obvious anxiety that comes along with a major winter storm. In this case, half of their extended family was coming from Canada, so there were the natural concerns about logistics and safety of travel, etc. Although we never seriously considered rescheduling the service, we did make a point of keeping our lines of communication open with them.

By the time Friday morning rolled around, we had effectively decided that it was not reasonable or prudent to go forward withour evening service. We did not want to run any sort of risk that our service would somehow be putting service-attendees in harm’s way in terms of either getting to our building or returning home. (We wound up cancelling the Saturday afternoon and evening programs, but by Sunday morning, we were “back to normal.”)

As that decision-making process played out, I happened to be catching up on a round of email that had been initiated by my colleague Rabbi Jonathan Blake at nearby Westchester Reform Temple. Rabbi Blake had reached out to a number of area colleagues to see what everyone was doing about holding services over the weekend. Another colleague, Rabbi Daniel Gropper of Community Synagogue in Rye, wrote in to the group to indicate that his synagogue considering doing a service by conference call. As soon as I read his email, I knew that that was a great idea for our community and hoped he would forgive me if I “borrowed” it for our purposes.

I am a big fan of freeconferencecall.com and had used their service for a variety of purposes during my previous tenure as an associate rabbi in California. I brought my knowledge of this valuable, free tool with me to Scarsdale, where I began in July, and have also used it here – though admittedly, this was the first time I had ever considered using it for worship.

After getting the idea from Rabbi Gropper, I reached out to our cantor, Chanin Becker, and we agreed we would seek to facilitate an approximately 30-minute Shabbat experience. We did not explicitly think of this as a service, both out of concern for the length of the call and because we knew that those calling in would not have access to a prayerbook. (In a subsequent email exchange with Rabbi Gropper, I learned that he and his team thoughtfully took the time to put together a PDF version of the siddur, which they emailed to congregants to follow along during their service. What a great idea!)

For us, the less formal structure of a so-called “Shabbat experience” was a fantastic success. We welcomed everyone, with Cantor Becker making a point of inviting each person to announce themselves at the start of the call and later acknowledging them by name. We sang, shared words of Torah connected to that week’s Torah portion, blessed candles and wine, and had a chance to schmooze together at the beginning and end of the call. (Callers were muted while the “service” was going on.)

Our community had no history of using technology in this way, and so we set a modest goal for ourselves. We hoped we would be have a minyan of 10 households on the call. Instead, we had 30! (Freeconferencecall.com automatically generates a summary email of the callers’ info after the call is over.) Beyond the technology and the content, we realized that what people were hungering for on Friday night (and what they hunger for perhaps every Shabbat) is the desire to feel an authentic sense of shared connection with a larger community. And though we were not together in person, I have heard from many on the call that the sense of connection for them was palpable. Even as a blizzard raged on outside, our simple conference call provided them with a sense of warmth and the presence of friends old and new.

We are already beginning conversations about how we can utilize technology more effectively so that we can create a similar sense of community (even if there isn’t a dangerous blizzard going on). One of the things I would like to study further is what the best technology platform for this kind of gathering could be, given the limited budget that we and so many other temples have for this sort of thing. With less than eight hours’ notice, we put together the conference call, as well as a chat room space that was open concurrently for those who were inclined to share their thoughts as the service progressed. It turns out that the free chat service I had chosen (but not fully “vetted!”) limited the number of participants that could be in the room. On top of that, two minutes into the “service,” my wireless Internet went down at home, which prevented me from being able to join the chat room. I had been looking forward to sharing reflections there about the music that we were singing, etc. The lesson: Technology doesn’t always cooperate!

Finally, a last reflection about what made the call run so smoothly and successfully. Mostly so that we could ensure that Cantor Becker was able to get to the synagogue the next morning for our Shabbat morning service, she decided to spend the night with me and my family at our home, and so we were able to lead the call in person together. Those that have co-led worship with someone else in the past know how important non-verbal cues are to insure that the worship runs smoothly and meaningfully. In retrospect, I think that we probably would not have been able to pull off what we did if she and I had not been in the same room together. That made all of the difference in the world, and would be something I would work to insure in the future if we decide to do this again.

Rabbi Jeffrey Brown is the spiritual leader of Scarsdale Synagogue – Temples Tremont and Emanu-El in Scarsdale, N.Y. In partnership with the Senior Staff and Lay Leadership of his previous congregation, he was the winner of three 2011 URJ Techie Prizes. You can visit his website at www.bit.ly/rabbibrown.

A highlight of my trips to Kiev has been visiting the Progressive synagogue, Congregation Hatikvah. It was hardly necessary for Rabbi Alex Duchovny to explain their hope (Hatikvah): upgrade their small, shabby facilities, to help make Progressive Judaism attractive as a religious force in Ukraine, where Orthodox institutions, even if not Orthodox lifestyles, are dominant. Well, the good news is that today a new, modern, Progressive synagogue in Kiev is in process, thanks to the hopes and dreams of Rabbi Alex and his congregation and the generosity of the Beutel, Klau, and Molloy-Posner families. As Oscar Hammerstein taught, “You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”

As I contemplate the 25 member congregations of the Union for Reform Judaism whose names include the word tikvah, hope, I ponder what their hopes and dreams are. With two exceptions, which chose Tikvah because they hoped people would come and join, they have not articulated – at least on their websites – what they were hoping for when they started out, nor what they are hoping and working to achieve today.

One Congregation Beth Tikvah explained its naming decision not to be Temple Beth Tikvah to emphasize community rather than building. Did similar thinking apply in the nine other Beth Tikvah Congregations, and what was the deciding factor at the 10 that opted to be Temples? (Size and style undoubtedly determined the choice for the one that identifies as a Chavurah.) Similarly, we might speculate why three chose to prefix their Tikvah with B’nai, and 11 chose Beth or Bet. (One chose Or Tikvah, Light of Hope.) Can we assume that the three Kol Tikvahs and the three Shir Tikvahs (“voice of hope” and “song of hope,” respectively) are committed singing congregations? I wouldn’t bet on it. Nor do I suspect any particular push toward singing Hatikva, Israel’s anthem, as an expression of the value they place on Israel and Zionism. (I’d be delighted to have someone respond to this blog post and tell me how wrong I am.)

My ongoing interest in congregational names and how they came to be emerges from three of the things that interest me most about synagogues – the extent to which they are process-driven, values-driven, and market-driven.

Process: Who decides, and how?

A typical process, as reported repeatedly in the Tikvah network, is a couple of families in a relatively isolated area coming together for Shabbat dinner, and talking about organizing a synagogue. Often they were smart enough to check out the available resources, especially the then-Regional Directors of the Union. One nascent Beth Tikvah had planned to call itself Beth Israel, until the R.D. reminded them there already was a Beth Israel in the greater community and urged them to be distinctive. So name selection involved a process of dialogue and consensus, as well as market-consciousness.

Because all the Tikvah congregations were start-ups, not break-aways, name selection probably preceded rabbi selection, and thus was a lay function, perhaps with guidance from the URJ. (My hypothesis is that in breakaway congregations, the rabbi is the decisive influence in name selection, and as I have discussed before, breakaways often include shalom in their names, to mask the rancor of the split.)

Marketing: Are you hoping or strategizing?

Three congregations stand on their Tikvah-compound names alone, without identifying that they’re in the shul business by adding Congregation or Temple. Are they thus limiting the ability of hopeful searchers to find them? It won’t matter if someone uses the URJ’s Find a Congregation feature, but Google might or might not pull up just plain Shir Tikvah as part of a synagogue search. I would be more direct.

Most of the Tikvah congregations are relatively young, so by the time they were founded, there likely already was a nearby Emanuel, Sholom, and Beth Israel to limit their choices. So what did the founders talk about? Did they think about the impact their name choice for the congregation would have on attracting members? Did they argue Hebrew name vs. English, values vs. geography, god-centered vs. people-centered What led them to settle on Hope, rather than peoplehood, unity, justice, or location? (Sixty years ago, geographic temple names, in English, were in vogue; today many such congregations have adopted or reverted to Hebrew names.)

Values: What do you stand for?

As someone who favors synagogue names reflective of synagogue values, hope seems to me to be a somewhat vague and inchoate value, unless the congregation spells out what they are hoping for – with an agenda for moving that hope towards reality. This then becomes a marketing technique as well – positioning the congregation as action-centered, rather than just school or worship centered.

People joining congregations today are looking for an active rather than a passive experience. Praying hopefully for a better world is all well and good, but successful congregations are actively involving their members in making it happen. Where will you ultimately derive more spiritual satisfaction? From attending Friday night services, or from hoping for and building a better world through bridges of understanding with the neighboring Muslim and Christian communities? I do not see our 25 hopeful congregations talking about their hopes and dreams, and they shortchange themselves by their failure to do so.

Since I began blogging about congregational names five years ago, my personal focus as well as that of the URJ has changed. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the distinction between a temple and a synagogue was critical, and I was concerned with breaking down the distinction. Congregations were rooted in their schools, affiliation had not become problematical, and reaching out to the “uninspired” wasn’t even on the radar screen. I upset a few people then by crassly talking about synagogue branding and marketing; today I see it as more important than ever.

While most people ask why join a synagogue, your challenge as a synagogue leader is to explain why someone should join your synagogue, rather than the shul down the street. (In the past, the differentiator tended to be the rabbi’s personality; now, it had better be the congregation’s personality.) It took 2000 years to attain the hope expressed in the Israeli anthem. Your congregation – whether Tikvah is in its name or not – can’t wait that long. Now is the time to spell out what you are hoping for and what you are doing to achieve your hope.

Like this post? See these previous entries in my series on temple names:

• Whose Name is On the Door and How Did It Get There?
• The Taxonomy of Temple Names
• Know Us By Our Names and By Our Deeds
• God and Man at Shul
• The Temple
• What’s In a Name?

Image from Yosef’s Dreams

by Lisa Friedman

Recently I had the good fortune to offer a workshop for educators that I called, “Parents as Partners: Working with Parents in Jewish Special Needs Education.” I was well aware, from the start of the workshop, that the educators assembled wanted pointers on how to handle difficult conversations with parents. They were eager to help their students, but seemed to feel great apprehension around how to potentially develop open and supportive communication with parents.

Open and supportive communication with parents is essential for a successful Jewish supplemental school experience for any child, especially those with special learning needs. However, my goal in this workshop was to encourage a “bigger picture,” more reflective approach to such dialogues, rather than just diving in to the challenging conversations.

Here are the key points that I feel can help to build the foundation for meaningful, supportive and productive relationships with parents:

• It’s all about relationships.
  All of the work that we do in synagogues is relationship-based. Building strong, lasting relationships with congregants is at the center of the work of rabbis, cantors, educators and other synagogue professionals. It should also be at the center of the work of our teachers in supplemental schools. Strong relationships are built on trust. Our parents need to trust that we are really here to support their children and that we really want to take this journey with them. All the more so for families of children with special needs, which leads me to my second key point.

• Say YES:
  Parents of children with special needs can spend many hours of their days in “battle.” They often struggle with doctors, insurance agents, therapists, secular school teachers and so on. When they join a faith community, what I believe they most want is to find a place where they don’t have to fight, where they can be accepted as they are and where their family can come for respite and rejuvenation. It seems logical that they should be able find this in a synagogue community. The most significant thing that synagogue professionals can say to parents and family members of those with special needs or disabilities is, “Yes, we can meet Jonah’s needs. Now help me understand how to do that” or, “Yes, of course your family can worship here and be a part of our community. Please help me understand how we can make that possible for you.”I am not suggesting that every request can and will be met with “yes,” but we have to start by opening the door and building the relationship, so that if there are things that are not possible, we can speak about them openly and honestly. When we start with yes, we rely on our trusting relationships to guide us.

• Parents of children with special needs need to grieve.
  When parents learn of a child’s disability, they need to grieve – not for the child, but for the idea of what they thought parenting would be. They have to process through the grief of what they may not be able to have, while coming to terms with the new reality of what they can have. This is not easy. But isn’t this the very nature of the work of a religious community? Aren’t we in the business of pastoral care?Too often, I think that educators believe that grief counseling is the work of clergy. Too often, we compartmentalize our congregant’s needs into “clergy stuff’ and “school stuff.” But when a child with special needs significantly struggles in religious school, parents can be thrown back into the grief cycle, this time wondering if they will have to give up on their idea of bar/bat mitzvah (not to mention confirmation, marriage, or any other Jewish life cycle events). When educators focus on a student’s limitations, they may inadvertently put a family back into a stance of defensiveness. Again, I am not suggesting that we don’t ever discuss a child’s limitations, but rather that we need to do this in the context of supporting relationships that begin with “yes.” When we honor the grief process and support our families through such challenges, we continue to foster trusting relationships.

Fostering relationships leads us to build community and enables us to open our doors, our congregations, our schools and our hearts so that all will be welcome.

Lisa Friedman is the Education Co-Director at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, New Jersey. This position includes overseeing an extensive Special Needs program within the Religious School with programs designed to help students successfully learn Hebrew, learn about their Jewish heritage and feel connected to their Jewish community. In addition, Lisa’s works with families, staff and clergy to ensure a smooth transition for special needs students from Religious School through the b’nei mitzvah process and beyond.

Originally posted at Jewish Special Needs

A unique gathering happened this morning at the Western Wall. During Women of the Wall’s usual Rosh Chodesh prayer service in the women’s section of the Kotel, we were fortunate to be supported by some very special visitors. Veterans from the IDF’s famed Paratrooper Battalion 66, the men who liberated the Western Wall in 1967, were with our supporters in the men’s section. These men are living legends and among Israel’s modern heroes.

It was only after the prayer service was over and the paratroopers had left that the police detained ten women, including myself, for committing the crime of wearing a tallit at the Western Wall. This group included two Conservative rabbis who were supposed to meet with Natan Sharansky today to discuss the Kotel issue, one Reform rabbinical student who is 8 months pregnant, two congregants from the Reform congregation in Kiryat Tivon, and several other women. As of this writing we have all been released without restrictions.

The veterans who joined us today are now in their 70s, but their days of fighting for a Jew’s right to pray at the Western Wall have not ended. When I asked one of them why they came to support us he told me that they liberated the Wall for the Jewish people, but it is not really liberated. He said that since the Western Wall Heritage Fund governs the Wall it does not represent all Jews. He told me that they came because they want to help liberate the Wall again.

These veterans of the 1967 Six Day War represent an Israel that is sane, idealistic, and courageous. They served when they were asked to serve, and when the job was done they did everything they could to build Israel into a modern and prosperous state. Their role in Israel’s history is why the authorities at the Wall waited until they left to detain us. They knew that desecrating Judaism’s holiest site in front of the men who risked their lives to liberate the Kotel for all Jews would bring on the wrath of the entire country.

Our opponents understand that they are on the wrong side of history and that their monopoly will soon come to an end. We are on the verge of winning this battle. Israelis have become accustomed to accepting the religious dictates from the ultra-Orthodox Rabbinate. The best way to break out of this cycle of learned helplessness is to achieve a great victory. Once Israelis see that it is possible to change the status quo, they will demand pluralism in other areas; they will want freedom of choice in marriage and divorce; they will demand that gender segregation in the public sphere be completely done away with; they will no longer accept religious coercion from the Rabbinate.

The Western Wall was the crown jewel of the victory in 1967, and the Wall will once again be the crown jewel when it becomes the site where the battle for religious pluralism is won.

Image courtesy of Haaretz.com.