Thursday, October 27, 2011

Thanking God for our Bodies

Last Sunday I did a short teaching during tefillah for the 3rd-5th graders on a prayer called 'Asher Yatzar.'  More popularly known as the "bathroom blessing," Asher Yatzar is a prayer we say at the beginning of morning services when we thank God that our bodies are more-or-less working.  I noted that when you think about the thousands (maybe millions?) of things that have to work JUST SO in order for us to be alive, much less functioning well, it's really miraculous!

Unfortunately I've been sick for most of the past week.  I have a bad cold that I can't seem to shake.  I've been thinking about Asher yatzar, realizing that when even just a few small things go 'wrong' with our physical health, it can make us feel pretty miserable.  And all the more so when there's something bigger that's not functioning properly...

So why is this prayer sometimes called the "Bathroom Blessing"?  There's a Jewish custom of saying 100 blessings a day, and one of the ways we can get up to 100 blessings is by saying one every time we go to the bathroom.  The prayer Asher Yatzar thanks God that the things in our bodies that are supposed to be open are actually open, and the things that are closed are actually closed.  How true that is when we use the bathroom - we are grateful when the 'plumbing' works correctly!  So the custom is to use the bathroom and then say the blessing to remember that even something as simple and mundane as going to the bathroom is a miraculous gift, indeed, could be seen as a gift from God. 

Without further ado, here's the prayer, as seen in our prayerbook Mishkan Tefillah... (feel free to print it for use at home!):


Friday, October 21, 2011

What is Consecration?

On Wednesday night we celebrated Simchat Torah, and we also held Consecration for all students new to Religious School this year.  For those who are curious about what 'Consecration' is, here is an article from the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) answering exactly that question!

What is Consecration? What is its connection to Reform Judaism?
by Barry Shainker

How many of us actually remember our own Consecration service? We were young, probably overwhelmed, and most likely unsure of the event’s significance. Aside from some paper flags, an uncomfortable clip-on tie, and a bunch of kids making a mad dash from the sanctuary to the social hall for cookies, today the only real memory I have of my Consecration is the picture which now hangs alongside the many others in the temple. But the meaning of the event is something that I have acquired over time. Looking back, I know that my Consecration began a lifelong experience of Jewish learning.

Consecration is a uniquely Reform event. According to historian Michael Meyer, the ceremony can be attributed to Rabbi David Einhorn, one of the early leading figures during Reform’s creation in Germany and later in the United States. Rabbi Einhorn was a proponent of placing spirituality over halachah (Jewish law), and so he suggested replacing circumcision with a consecration ritual as the opening event that would confirm a young boy’s life in the Jewish community.(1, 2)

The ceremony of Consecration marks the beginning on one’s Jewish learning, usually between the ages of 5 and 8, within an organized setting, for example a congregational religious school. When young people begin their study of Judaism, they are honored before the community as a new student and often presented with a certificate marking the occasion and gifts like miniature Torah scrolls. Many congregations will add other rituals to the ceremony such as a special blessing or a recitation of the Sh’ma.

Consecration services often take place at the end of the High Holiday season, usually as part of the congregation’s celebration for the holiday of Simchat Torah, meaning ‘joy or celebration of the Torah.’ The word “consecrate” in religious circles means an association with something holy, and throughout our tradition Jewish learning is considered a sacred task. What an appropriate time, then, to celebrate this milestone in a young person’s life. As the entire synagogue community joins in the hakafah (processional of the Torah) and Torah scrolls are unrolled for all to see, new students see the importance and centrality of this ancient and holy sourcebook. They also have the opportunity to see Judaism as a tradition that is interactive, celebratory, and engaging.

A textual basis for Consecration’s placement on this day might come from a custom of calling all in the community to hear the Torah on Sukkot, which is itself based on Deuteronomy 31:12.(3) The text reads as God’s instructions to Moses: Gather the people – men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities – that they may hear and so learn to revere Adonai your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching.”(4)

While the overwhelming majority of synagogues follow this practice, a handful in our movement do not. Some see Consecration as a statement of dedication and therefore recognize their new students on Chanukah, one of most triumphant stories of renewal and survival in the history of the Jewish people. Others look to Shavuot, the spring holiday in which we celebrate Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai, and draw a direct parallel between the start of one’s Jewish education at Consecration and the reaffirmation of it as a young adult at Confirmation.

While most of our young people cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of this milestone, we hope that they will look back on the occasion in the years that follow with a new understanding. Consecration, like so many other rituals in our tradition, is about coming together to as a community to welcome new students and new families. Wherever the ceremony is celebrated on the calendar, we affirm our commitment and dedication to educating our young people in Jewish tradition. And, as we see the hope and spirit in our young people, we renew in ourselves a passion for Jewish learning that we hope to transmit to our children.

Barry Shainker is currently an Education student at HUC-JIR in New York. He is also Educational Intern at Temple Sinai in Roslyn, NY.

1 Meyer, Michael A. Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism. Oxford UP: New York, 1999. p. 163

2 At the time, only young boys were recognized with a bris ritual, Consecration, Bar Mitzvah, or any other sort of ceremony. Similar services for girls would only be instituted years later, as the women’s liberation movement gained acceptance in Reform.

3 Knobel, Peter S. ed. Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year. CCAR Press: New York, 1983. p. 135.

4 Translation from JPS Tanakh, 1999 ed.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Release of Gilad Shalit

As many of you are, I've been quite emotional about the release of Gilad Shalit from captivity this week.  Rabbi Howard Ruben, the Head of School of the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, recently sent a message regarding Gilad's release that explains my thoughts / feelings to a T... so I share it with you here:

Gilad: The Mystery of Relief and Fear
Rabbi Howard Ruben

Last night as we sat in our Sukkah to welcome the sixth day of the festival, we followed the mystical tradition of welcoming 'virtual guests' from Jewish history into the Sukkah. Last night, the biblical Joseph led the guest list. Joseph is known not only for his coat of many colors, but also for being held captive and, ultimately, released and reunited with his family.

And last night in the Sukkah we used our smart-phones to stay virtually connected to events in Israel around the pending release of Gilad Shalit from five years of isolated captivity at the hands of Hamas. We prayed that Gilad, like the biblical Joseph, be safely released and, in time, reunited with his family.

And now that Gilad is free, I celebrate in my heart with his family.

The deal for Gilad's release has stirred up many emotions for Israelis and those who care for Israel around the world. JCHS students discussed the terms of the exchange for Gilad's release at Hakhel on Monday and a number continued the conversation through lunch afterwards. Several classes have also discussed it from a variety of perspectives - political, societal, and religious.

I admit to being conflicted - agreeing in my heart with those who support this deal that released Gilad from captivity and agreeing in my heart with those who opposed this deal. (My colleague Avi Weiss writes today about celebrating with a heavy heart - with a heart that celebrates with Gilad and a head that recognizes the deal is bad for Israel. Link to Weiss)

...

The timing of Gilad's release also coincides with the reading of parashat Bereisheet that includes the conflict between Cain and Abel. The first life and death struggle in the Torah occurs when Cain kills his brother Abel.

God accuses Cain of murder by declaring that "the voice of your brother's blood is screaming to Me from the ground." Bereisheet 4:10. The Sages puzzle over the term for blood being in the plural. Rashi, for example, interprets the plural to mean, in effect, that in addition to Abel crying out from the ground, God also hears the voices of all the children he would have had and all of their descendants but for the murder at Cain's hand.

These cries are the foundation for how deeply Judaism values life.

So it is with Gilad: many voices have been crying out in pain over Gilad's silent captivity. Many now are crying out in pain over the prisoners with blood on their hands who have been released by Israel in exchange for Gilad. And many from both of those camps are weeping together now in fear over those who may be killed in the future by some of the prisoners released in exchange for Gilad. The weeping is for each of them and for their descendants.

While it is true that Judaism values life, it is not clear how to enact that value when there are competing claims on it. What is clear is that Judaism encourages humility toward valuing one life over another life. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 74b) teaches that a person is not permitted to say one person's blood is redder than another's. Yet that was precisely the dilemma that Israel faced with Gilad.  

My colleague Jan Uhrbach, when writing about this admonition toward humility, quotes Reb Nachman of Bratslav who taught about the inevitable mysteries we confront through life. In Reb Nachman's words, "Just as there are unanswerable questions directed to (or against) God, so, too, it is inevitable that there will be questions even the wisest of us cannot answer." The power of that mystery reveals both how precious life is and how confounding.

That mystery is embedded in each of us. Each of us is filled with contradictions and paradoxes. We are careful in some settings and careless in others. We are generous and stingy on the same day. We are often wise and foolish in the same week - or in the same moment. If that is true for each of us, how much more so it must be true about a community or a country.

This is one of those mystery moments.

There was no "good" deal that could have brought about Gilad's release. There was only the opportunity to choose from a number of "bad" deals. A contradiction wrapped inside a paradox.  

We sigh with relief and joy over the deal that brought Gilad's release even as we sigh with fear that his release may/will lead to more deaths.

Even as we celebrate with Gilad's family, we pray for all those whose hearts have been shattered by loss - for whom there is no release from the captivity of grief. We pray for the safety and security of all those whose lives remain (and may be even more) vulnerable now because of the deal for Gilad's release.

Most of all, we pray for both the wisdom and strength to endure a world filled with mystery.

Rabbi Howard Ruben

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Sukkot!

Sukkot is almost here!  A few suggestions for reading / listening / watching / learning:

A year ago I recorded a podcast comparing the Jewish tradition of building a Sukkah to the Christian tradition of putting up a Christmas tree.  I'm on a 'mission' to convert the holiday of Sukkot from a barely-observed American Jewish holiday to one of the biggest, most fun holidays we have!  Check out my podcast for details: http://yourjewishneighborhood.libsyn.com/yjn-206-09-26-10-decorating-your-home-sukkah-can-be-a-new-family-tradition

If you'd like to know how to shake the lulav and etrog for sukkot, here's some information:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Sukkot/In_the_Community/Lulav_and_Etrog.shtml

Last but not least, check out this fun video of people in Jerusalem shaking the lulav & etrog: