HaMirpeset Sheli

Mishpatim: Jewish Inclusion Awareness Month

2012-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Each year I travel to Israel for staff interviews, I am amazed by the quality of people I meet - their interests, skills, passions, and commitments. This is true of the veteran staff members in Israel for gap year programs, junior year abroad programs, and post-graduate studies. Regardless of whether or not they end up coming to work at camp, every conversation is interesting and covers a wide-range of topics. This year, I was particularly struck by the number of Israeli candidates I met who were working in their spare time with children or adults with special needs. Here are two of their stories:

Tamar is a Yerushalmi - she grew up in Jerusalem - and came to the interview with a typical Jerusalemite background. She attended an open, Orthodox, highly-thought-of-high school for girls (one that many of our staff members attended over the years). She was very involved in a youth group not only as a participant but as counselor. She now serves in the IAF, the Israeli Air Force, where she is an officer. She has tremendous responsibilities. Yet, somehow in her very spare free time, she volunteers to work with children with autism. She could take all of the free time she gets just for herself. Instead, she volunteers and works with children and not just any children but those on the median of the autism spectrum. These children may not speak, may have other challenges that accompany their diagnosis, not to mention that many come from challenging homes. Why does Tamar do it? Because she feels an obligation to give back, because she wants to contribute, and because she believes it is the right thing to do. And, as is so often the case, Tamar feels that she gets back much more than she gives.

Meirav has been out of the army for a few years now. She lives in Rishon LeTzion, comes from a mizrahi background and while not “religious” is committed to masoret - tradition. After her army service, Meirav went back to Rishon LeTzion and was bothered by the state of education in her community. She noticed that there were many kids who were no longer in school. They had either been cast out or had chosen not to attend. Many of the children she met came from difficult homes where parents were either unequipped to take care of their children, were involved with drugs, abuse, etc. Many children had special learning needs that the school system claimed they could not handle. For the past three years, Meirav made it her job to help these children, to keep them in school and off the streets. She believes that education is the key to changing society and is compelled to work at bringing about change. In listening to Meirav, it became clear to me that she saw herself as the last line of defense of a child’s future, that she was called to do this work, and that she too was contributing back to society.

These are just two of the incredible stories I heard during my Israel trip. There were countless others and, as I mentioned earlier, so many of the stories involved people volunteering their time with special needs populations, with individuals and groups that are often easily overlooked by general society.

The obligation to be aware of and to include those in our community with special needs is echoed in this week’s parashah. Among all the laws discussed in Parashat Mishpatim, we are taught the mitzvah of not taking advantage of the stranger, the widow and the orphan:

וְגֵר לֹא-תוֹנֶה, וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ: כִּי-גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם, בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. כָּל-אַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם, לֹא תְעַנּוּן

And you will not wrong or oppress a stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.

Exodus 22:20-21

This mitzvah is one of the negative commandments - the “Thou Shalt Not’s” - of the Torah. The midrashim on these verses, however, read an implicit positive obligation into the explicit negative commandment. The Mechilta, a set of midrashei halakha on the Book of Exodus, Bamidbar Rabbah and the Pesikta Zuta all address the question of why God loves these three groups in such a special way. By extension, since we are to strive to imitate God, we too should extend special care for and love of these three categories of people - the stranger, the widow and the orphan. What unites these three kinds of people? Based on the language of the negative commandment, strangers, widows and orphans can easily be taken advantage of, be oppressed or be ignored. You can imagine the conversation: “It is too expensive to care for these people, let someone else take care of them” or “We are really sorry but we are just not equipped to help” or “You are not welcome here. Your child makes too many strange noises during services or during class.”

If the Torah’s call to not take advantage, to not oppress, to not ignore the stranger, the widow and the orphan resonates in today’s world, if the mitzvah of אהבת הגר, היתום והאלמנה - loving the stranger, the widow, and the orphan - as extrapolated from Exodus 22: 20-21 by the midrashim - is embodied by a population in our world not explicitly included in these three groups it is the community of children and adults with special needs. February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month, also referred to as Jewish Inclusion Awareness Month. During this month, we call special attention to the need for the Jewish world to do more to include members of our community with special needs, to make them feel at home, to make them feel welcome, to make them feel loved by people as they are loved by God. Throughout the community, Jewish organizations are making extra efforts to educate their participants in how they can be more welcoming and helpful to those with special needs. I ask you to look in your community to see what is being done in honor of Jewish Inclusion Awareness Month and to get involved.

For decades, the Ramah Camps have been a model of אהבה for the special needs community through our Tikvah programs. Whether it is the Tikvah Program or the Atzmayim Independent Living Skills Program at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin or the Breirah program at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires; Camp Yofi: Family Camp for Jewish Families with Children with Autism at Ramah Darom or Camp Ohr Lanu at Camp Ramah in California, Ramah has been teaching thousands of typical campers and staff members the importance of inclusion for many years. Moreover, thousands of Jewish special needs children have found a Jewish home at Ramah camps through these programs. As each of the Tikvah programs is slightly different in population and approach, we now recruit nationally for the programs and work with families to find the right match for their child. Ramah is constantly striving to improve our programs and skills to better serve and include Jewish children and young adults with special needs. To that end, Ramah started a national network of Tikvah staff members thereby increasing our capacity to learn about best practices nationally and in our camps for including Jews with special needs. A number of years ago we initiated the Koach birthright Israel special needs trip. And, most important, we have created an atmosphere where everyone’s gifts are seen as Divine, as the reflection of God in this world. As a result, many of our campers and staff members have learned about, become involved with, become passionate advocates for, have become professionals in the field, and have been deeply touched by the Jewish special needs community.

Tamar and Meirav; Ralph Schwartz - the director of special needs programming at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin; Margaret Silverman, the chair of our Tikvah committee; and the countless staff members, Roshei Aidah or Division Heads, and Tikvah Chaverim or Friends are just a few examples of people who live the mitzvah of אהבה for Jews with special needs. During Jewish Inclusion Awareness Month, I hope that we not only find other incredible role models but that each of us, in our own way, become more aware of the importance of inclusion and find ways to actively reach out to families and individuals with special needs children who might not be Jewishly involved now and welcome them into our loving, caring, Divine embrace.

Shabbat Shalom.

For more information on the Tikvah and Atzmayim programs at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, please follow this link:

http://www.ramahwisconsin.com/site/epage/53780_697.htm

For more information, follow this link to the National Ramah Website on Special Needs Programs: http://www.campramah.org/content/specialneeds.php

Parashat Bo – Breakfast in Jerusalem

2012-01-27T05:19:00.001-08:00

Walking up to Bagel Bite, a restaurant on the corner ofDerekh Bet Lekhem and Yehudah Street, I noticed two things. First, the restaurant was refurbishedpresumably for the first time since I ate there nearly twenty years ago. Second, there were no tables available forinside seating. The sun was still outand the wind not too intense so I thought to myself: “It’s much colder inChicago than it is here. What could bebad?” I chose one of the many empty tables and sat down to enjoy a breakfast ofbagel, coffee and the Middle Eastern equivalent of the skillet breakfast knownas shakshuka, two eggs cooked in a steaming skillet of tomato sauce, peppers,and onion. Yochi, the waitress, broughtme the newspaper to read while I enjoyed breakfast. I sat, taking in the entire scene, breathingthe Jerusalem air, and feeling at Peace.

Opening up the paper, I read an article about InternationalHolocaust Rememberance Day. I had notrealized that the commemoration was today, January 27, set by the UN accordingto the date of the liberation of the death camp at Auschwitz – Birkenau. After all, we commemorate the Holocaust onYom HaShoah so I never paid much attention to the recently declared official UNremembrance. Nevertheless, here I sat at a corner café in Jerusalem, in theheart of the Jewish State, at a moment of an amazing confluence of events: It was International Holocaust RemembranceDay, erev Shabbat of Parashat Bo, and I, a committed Jew, was sitting havingshakshuka in Israel.

In Parashat Bo, we read the continuing saga of arecalcitrant Pharoah refusing to free the Israelites from slavery. We are taught the mitzvot of the PassoverSacrifice, the Korban Pesah, the prohibition against eating leavened bread, andlearn the reason for eating Matzot. Atthe climactic moment of the parashah, after the final plagues of darkness anddeath of the first born of the Egyptians, our ancestors are liberated fromslavery, from the torture of Pharoah and his minions, from starvation,deprivation, physical abuse and death. Adonai is the liberator who brings B’nai Israel to freedom with “astrong hand and an outstretched arm.” The symmetry between this week’s Parashah, thebeginning of the Exodus and freedom, and the liberation of the death camp atAuschwitz commemorated by the international community on this date is asinescapable as it is powerful.

Last night, I stood in the dining room at the FuchsbergCenter on Agron Street with a combination of shlichim, Israeli staff members,from the 2011 camp season, North Americans who have made Aliya, and camp staffmembers here for the year on Nativ - USY’s gap year program - Kivvunim, another program, as well as thosewho are working in internships through the MASA program. I listened to the North American’s stories ofthe first half of their year in Israel. I learned about how the experience of being shlichim impacted theshaliach just as much as she or he impacted North Americans. I heard about everything from studying forexams to relatively spontaneous trips to Rome to joint theater projects ofIsraeli Jews and Palestinians trying to create more positive dialogue betweenthe two groups. From updates to everyoneabout the 2012 camp season to news from the Chicago office, the discussionsranged from the mundane to the sacred, from the superficial to the mostsoulful. At the time, I was unaware ofthe impending International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I was just enjoying time with Israelis andAmericans in Israel while being reinvigorated by the palpable if unarticulatedZionist energy in the room.

Putting it all together this morning over coffee, a bageland shakshuka, however, I realized the much deeper power of the meeting thenight before, of the parashat haShavua, of the international commemoration ofthe Holocaust, and of the location of my breakfast. In exile in Egypt, one half of the promise toAbraham and Sarah was fulfilled: a mass of descendants almost impossible tocount. Yet, these descendants sufferedhorrible torture by Pharoah until they were redeemed, saved by God. While they would not reach their desireddestination for ages, they were on their way to receiving the second of the twopromises to Abraham: a homeland. Whilethe Holocaust did not bring about the immediate establishment of the State ofIsrael (there is a modern scholarly and political argument about this position– some argue that the groundwork done by the early Zionist, by David Ben Gurionand others, would have come to fruition regardless and that the Holocaustactually made it more difficult while others argue that the shame of the Shoahon the international community accelerated the establishment of Israel and makea direct linkage between the two), many survivors emerged to freedom, found a home with the yishuv and fought forthe land promised to our ancestors. Their actions led to the successful establishment of a national statefor the Jewish People in our ancestral homeland. And here I sat, a free Jew sipping coffee ata Jewishly owned coffee shop in the Jewish State, preparing for a week of workdedicated to hiring the best Americans and Israelis to inspire the nextgeneration of Ramah campers to become committed, observant, knowledgeable Jews.

In the week to come, I will be sending blog updates of mytrip, of my meetings, and of the exciting conversations I have throughoutIsrael. As we leave the suffering ofEgypt and as the international community remembers the Holocaust, let us allremember the beauty and power of our tradition, of our unique relationship withThe Divine, of the beauty of Torah and Mitzvot, of Peoplehood and of God. I pray that our knowledge, our values, andour way of living is a source of blessing and freedom for all of us.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Shemot: Roses and Thorns

2012-01-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

Roses and Thorns

Just as this bush produces both thorns and roses, so too does the Jewish people produce those who are tzaddikim and those who are rotten.

Shemot Rabbah

Our sages were very close readers of text. According to several schools of thought, there is not a single superfluous word or letter in the entire Torah. When something appeared to be superfluous, an opportunity arose to interpret the word or letter in order to learn either an ethical or halachic lesson. The most famous of such interpreters was Rabbi Akiva who was reported to learn pillars of halachot from a single letter. Close, careful reading of text can lead to some of the most fascinating lessons and conclusions. This week’s parashah gives us an excellent example of this approach and, in so doing, teaches a powerful lesson about our people and about ourselves.

During his first Divine encounter, Moses meets God in a secluded place, alone on top of a mountain. There, as we know, God speaks to Moses from a bush that burns but is not consumed. Moses is curious but does not look directly at the bush:

“ וַיַּרְא ה’ כִּי סָר לִרְאוֹת וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱלֹקים מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיֹּאמֶר “מֹשֶׁה מֹשֶׁה”-וַיֹּאמֶר “הִנֵּנִי

And when God saw that he turned aside, God called out to him from within the bush and said: Moses, Moses. And Moses said: Here am I.
Shemot 3:4

There are many aspects of the verse that are curious. For example, why does Moshe refrain from looking directly at the burning bush? Why does God repeat Moshe’s name? Why doesn’t Moshe just say, “Yes”? These and other more obvious questions are the subjects of much rabbinic commentary.

The rabbis, however, are particularly intrigued by one word in the verse –“מִתּוֹךְ” meaning “from within” – wondering why the Torah tells us that the Divine voice came from within the bush rather than just saying that it came from the bush. What can we learn from this apparently extra word in the Torah? Shemot Rabbah, a collection of midrashim, provides us with a rabbinic flourish of answers:

The bush is full of thorns and when birds fly into it, they get injured slowly by each of the thorns teaching that the era of slavery was one of multitudes of painful strikes.

Because of the way the thorns grow, a person can put their hand in easily and without injury but when they go to pull out their hand, they get cut and caught up in the thorns. Similarly, our ancestors were generously welcomed into Egypt but when they wanted to leave, the Egyptians bound them up in their thorns.

These are just a few examples of how the rabbis explain the extra word. Most of the midrashim on this verse fall into two categories: either they refer to Egypt and the pain it causes our ancestors or they refer to the greatness of Israel. In discussing the nature of the bush that was burning, however, one explanation, provides an interesting, frank and balanced assessment of the Jewish people collectively and individually:

Just as this bush produces both thorns and roses, so too does the Jewish people produce those who are tzaddikim and those who are rotten.

While we may be “עם אחד בכול הארץ” or singular nation, a light unto the nations or an עם סגולה, we are not completely perfect either as individuals or as a collective. There are good people, there are lousy people and we all contain both a good and an evil inclination in our souls. In the Torah, God refers to us as a treasured people but Adonai also refers to us as a stiff-necked people. What happens, though, when people within a certain group behave in awful, hateful, biased ways? Do we blame the collective? Do we shun them? Or do we give rebuke in a thoughtful and respectful way?

What about ourselves? When we make mistakes, it is possible for people to begin to view themselves as wholly rotten or somehow unworthy or good. Yet, acknowledging only our positive characteristics leads to haughtiness and hubris. In our daily, individual lives, we have to seek and find balance, to admit to both aspects of our souls, and to work to spend more of our time being tzadikim with the understanding that there will be times when we fall short. And when members of our community behave in unacceptable ways, we need to call them out for it, to provide loving rebuke while avoiding demonization.

When we acknowledge both aspects of ourselves and our people, we emulate the humility of the bush, the humble shrub into which God puts the Divine Voice and shares it, for the first time, with Moshe who will be God’s partner in leading B’nai Yisrael to salvation and freedom. Today, the need to lead, the need to partner in bringing about Divine salvation must begin with our own souls. At the same time, we must work as a People to lead those who decrease God’s presence in the world to realize what true piousness and religiosity is, what true love of Israel and humanity is, to actually live it and not hide behind the trappings of religiosity from habit or from devotion to political ideology. When we see that, we will know that the days of redemption are truly near.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat VaYechi - The Bert B. Weinstein z”l National Ramah Winter Staff Training Institute

2012-01-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

Standing in a circle on the emerald grass of the kikar, in front of the chadar ochel, we were warmed by the beautiful, shining sun and joyed by the Wedgewood blue sky. Arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, we stood with eyes open or closed, rocking to the beautiful singing:

טז הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל-רָע, יְבָרֵךְ אֶת-הַנְּעָרִים, וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק; וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב, בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ.

בראשית מ”ח: ט”ז

The Angel who redeemed me from all evil, bless the children, and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

If we were at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, you would understandably think that we were singing in the chadar ochel at seudah shlisheet, the third meal that comes at the end of Shabbat, during the summer. We were not, however, in Conover. Instead, we were at Camp Ramah in California for the annual Bert B. Weinstein z”l Winter Staff Training Institute. The circle included staff members from all of our camps and we were winding down a fantastic week of learning and growing together.

The seudah shlisheet song, very popular at camp, comes directly from this week’s parashah as part of the blessing that Jacob gives his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe. As far as I know, this is the only reference to an interaction between three generations - parent, child and grandparent - in the same scene in the Torah. It is rare that a group of Ramah staff members can be together in camp to sing a favorite song taken from one of the winter parshiot during the actual winter. What is more extraordinary was the strong feeling of the Divine Presence - the Shekhinah, or the Malach, the angel mentioned by Jacob - resting above the entire group, casting a warm, safe presence of love upon us as we brought to a conclusion this powerful week.

Over four days, different cohorts of Ramah staff members met, shared program ideas, strengthened skills in their respective areas, and gained deeper knowledge of and appreciation for the greater Ramah Movement. The core group attending the Weinstein Institute consists of second and third year madrichim who commit to returning to camp in the upcoming summer. Taking time from winter vacation is a statement about their commitment to Ramah and to growing professionally in order to more effectively mold the campers in their tzrifim. In sessions devoted to serving as effective mentors for junior counselors, eliminating bullying in camp, Torah study, program sharing and more, madrichim get into the mindset of the summer, becoming spark plugs for others - directors included - with new ideas for the upcoming camp season.

This year, we added a track for Daber Fellows, staff members who commit to increasing the excitement for and use of Hebrew at camp. Ramah continues to be one of the most effective settings to inspire people to want to learn Hebrew and Daber is designed to make sure that Hebrew is alive in camp outside of the formal study. By grouping madrichim in aidot to work on Ivrit, ownership for strengthening Hebrew usage expands beyond the Hebrew department and the senior leadership. Our three veteran Daber Fellows strengthened their own leadership skills in this area by running activities in the chadar ochel and a Peulat Erev for the entire Weinstein Institute. Ramah’s ability to inspire a desire to learn Hebrew is embodied by all of our fellows but I want to share the brief story of one Fellow in particular. Following her first summer on staff, this Fellow committed herself to learning Hebrew during her gap year in Israel. When we met in February of last year, we carried on entire conversations “רק בעיברית” or only in Hebrew. We did the same during the summer. This staff member did not attend day school. Her passion for Hebrew was the result of her summers at Ramah.

The third cohort, also meeting for the first time at Weinstein, was for Tikvah Staff members. I cannot fully describe how excited this group was to be getting together to share ideas and programs, challenges and opportunities with one another. Tikvah literally brings hope to countless families with children with special needs across North America by creating space for children and families that are too often excluded from Jewish educational institutions. Tikvah inspires staff members to become future Jewish special needs educators. It provides opportunities for learning independent living skills. Ultimately, it also opens the eyes of members of the “typical” Jewish community to the gifts that every soul brings to the world, regardless of a diagnosis or a challenge. Tikvah is, in so many ways, one of the crown jewels of Ramah and it is a blessing that we now have funding to bring together Tikvah staff members for greater professional development.

Finally, several participants in the nascent Ramah Service Corps cohort attended the Weinstein Institute. This National Ramah Commission program is making it possible for Ramah-style experiential education to be imported to congregations that want it. The development of the Ramah Service Corp is one more way in which the impact of Ramah is reaching deeper into the Jewish world expanding beyond the summer and our own facilities into the broader Jewish world. We look forward to seeing how this program grows, creating year-round opportunities for our Ramah graduates, and impacting ever growing circles of people of all ages.

One of the overarching messages of the week, emphasized over and over again by our National Director, Rabbi Mitch Cohen and Assistant National Director/Director of Ramah Nyack, is that Ramah seeks not to create a bubble of Jewishness limited to the summer. We work to create a lifetime possession, an אחוזת עולם, for learning and living Torah. We start as a setting that is a “blessing for the children” a ברכה לנערים who grow into adults who are proud to be called by our ancestors name, to be called Yehudim, Jews, and who increase the number of Jews and the amount of Torah in the world. This week, I was blessed to see the next generation of emerging leaders and I know two things: they will continue to grow in their commitments and will inspire the generation that follows them to do the same. That is truly a blessing

Kol HaKavod to our Weinstein Institute Participants:

Madrichim and Madrichim Miktzoiim:

Debra Linfield

Ilana Lupovitch

Natlie Salzman

Judah Schvimer

Aliza Small

Daber Fellows:

Rena Forester

Elana Horwitz

Aviva Schwartz

Tikvah:

Ralph Schwartz - Director of Special Needs Programming

Scott Rosen - Atzmayim Director

Nate Gottleib

Alex Kahn

Navah Kantor

Daniel Olson

Shabbat Shalom.

Jacob's Ladder, Balance and The Jewish Future

2011-12-02T11:34:00.001-08:00

וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ

He had a dream; a ladder was set on the ground and its top reached the Heavens and the angels of God were going up and down it. Genesis 28:12

In his book Getting Things Done (GTD), David Allen, a work-flow guru, talks about different areas of focus in work and life using imagery from air travel, specifically delineating things in 10,000 foot increments. There are the things we have to focus on at 3,000 feet, the minutiae of the day to day, the logistics, the concrete next actions to move something along. He describes the twenty to thirty thousand foot levels as broader visions of projects. Forty to fifty thousand feet is the big picture of life and work, our aspirations for ourselves, for others. In Allen’s system, we are constantly moving between levels of focus depending on our energy levels, the context in which we find ourselves, how we prioritize, etc. When we are at our best according to David Allen, we are as though we are moving smoothly across water, we are working at a seamless black belt level. Of course, we still need to be aware of what level we are working at and why. We have to constantly challenge ourselves to insure that we avoid neglecting one level in favor of another.

The opening verses of our parashah present a similar idea far earlier than David Allen. Jacob, while fleeing his brother Esau, settles down to sleep and dreams of a ladder, one firmly established on earth but reaching for the Sky. Along the ladder, Divine Beings move both up and down. There is constant motion. God stands beside the ladder and beside Jacob, makes a covenant of protection and reviews the promises made to Abraham of descendants and a homeland. God reminds Jacob that there is a larger goal at hand, that of Peoplehood. Implicit in the promise is that its fulfillment will take time and that there will be many steps and challenges along the way. Until the goal is achieved, God promises to be with Jacob, never to leave. In other words, there are 50,000 foot goals: growing a people, being in constant Divine-Human relationship, and establishing a homeland. Along the way, there will be lots of 3,000 to 10,000 foot details that have to be handled. Proper work-flow and proper levels of focus are concepts that predate the modern period and, it seems, emanate from Torah.

In thinking about the work we do, that of strengthening the Jewish People and creating more love for and commitment to Torah, I wonder if we are working at the right levels, focusing on the right things and giving sufficient attention to all levels, from the 3,000 to the 50,000 plus foot levels. Are we focusing too much on finding “Big Ideas” or the next “Great Jewish Idea”? Are we focusing our attention too low by giving too much attention to symptoms and tactics when we should be focusing on whether or not we are moving in the right direction in the first place? Do we worry too much about those on the periphery and ignore the core or is it the other way around? Are we too focused on our own silos and turf thereby ignoring the power of networks to lift us up the ladder or help us learn from the experiences of other networks when they focused on details? Maimonides reminds us that we should strive to pursue the “Golden Path,” that of moderation, and his exhortation applies here as well. Finding the balance between focusing on the 50,000 foot vision challenges of the Jewish People and our 10,00 foot tactical/ operational challenges is the course we should be pursuing to insure a vibrant future for Judaism.

In the silo in which I spend the most time, that of camp, the challenge presents itself in the following ways. How do we balance recruiting campers and hiring staff with developing new programs to keep camp fresh while also focusing attention on what our vision of success looks like? How do we energize our network of campers, staff members, parents, board members, alumni and funders to help keep camp viable financially and increase the role we play as a significant Jewish touch point in the lives of those same groups? How do we balance fun and friendship with real health/safety concerns and meaningful Jewish learning and living experiences? Trying to find the balance between these different areas of focus is where I spend much of my own time.

The image of the ladder, the movement of the angels, Jacob and God being near to one another and the greater goals of land, people, and relationship serve as reminders for us of the power of networks, the importance of Big Hairy Audacious Goals, and the importance of balance in focusing on broad agendas and on operations. As we grapple with the serious challenges that face the Jewish People and Judaism in this period, from the gap in dialogue between Jews of different practice and ideology to questions of inclusion to the challenges of understanding between American Jews and Israel to how we engage Jewish teens in a more effective way (http://www.brandeis.edu/cmjs/pdfs/EngagingJewishTeens/EngagingJewishTeens111011.pdf), it will be more important than ever to make sure that we are balanced in our focus, to pay attention to the broader questions and to the details and to avoid spending “all of our time planning” and no time actually executing those plans.

Shabbat Shalom.

2011-11-11T09:05:00.001-08:00

Parashat VaYera

God and Rescue, Hagar and Ishmael, Dr. Rick Hodes and Ethiopia

In re-reading Parashat Vayera this week, my attention was drawn to one particular story among the many challenging narratives of the family of Abraham and Sarah: the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Soon after Isaac is born, Sarah observes Ishmael teasing Isaac and demands that he and his mother, Hagar, be sent away from the family compound. Despite its troubling nature, Abraham complies with Sarah’s demand after God reassures him that Ishmael will be cared for. Sent out into the desert, Hagar quickly runs out of water, and hope, and deposits Ishmael at the base of some shrubs:

וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתֵּשֶׁב לָהּ מִנֶּגֶד הַרְחֵק כִּמְטַחֲוֵי קֶשֶׁת כִּי אָמְרָה אַל-אֶרְאֶה בְּמוֹת הַיָּלֶד וַתֵּשֶׁב מִנֶּגֶד וַתִּשָּׂא אֶת-קֹלָהּ וַתֵּבְךְּ

And she went and sat down opposite him but a good distance away from him, like the distance an arrow travels, for she said: Do not let me see the death of the child. And she sat opposite him, and raised up her voice, and cried.

Genesis 24:14-15

I cannot imagine the amount of despair a person could feel that would lead them to choose to abandon their own child. It is simply beyond my comprehension.

Fortunately for Hagar and Ishmael, all is not lost. Salvation comes directly from God:

וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-קוֹל הַנַּעַר, וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶל-הָגָר מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַה-לָּךְ הָגָר; אַל-תִּירְאִי,

כִּי-שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶל-קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא-שָׁם. קוּמִי שְׂאִי אֶת-הַנַּעַר, וְהַחֲזִיקִי אֶת-יָדֵךְ בּוֹ: כִּי-לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ

And God heard the voice of the child and an angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, What troubles you Hagar? Do not be afraid for God has heard the boy’s voice where he is. Get up! Lift up the boy and hold him in your hand for I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 23: 17-18

The voice of God calls out from the heavens and saves Ishmael, revealing a well of water before Hagar from which she can draw water and rehydrate the child. In the end, it is not Hagar who saves her son; rather, it is God, specifically God’s voice, that saves them.

This week, I am thinking a lot about child abandonment and sources of salvation for such children due to a book I am currently reading. Titled This is a Soul by Marilyn Berger, the book tells the story of Dr. Rick Hodes, a physician who has chosen to live his life in Ethiopia saving children with the most challenging health conditions imaginable and unimaginable. Dr. Hodes takes an unusual path which leads him to this extraordinary life mission. Along the way, he becomes an observant Jew, a representative of the American Joint Distribution Committee, learns Amharic and adopts multiple children in Ethiopia to give them homes and to help pay for their medical treatment.

Many of the children Dr. Hodes treats and sometimes adopts in Ethiopia have been abandoned by their parents. In a place of constant famine and disease, children are often brought to Addis Ababa by family members and left there to fend for themselves, relying on foraging for scraps or begging to provide less than even the basic needs for survival. They develop diseases common in areas of extreme poverty most notably a form of Tuberculosis that causes the spine to nearly collapse. Dr. Hodes raises money to maintain a makeshift clinic in town, to pay for back surgery, medications, and other procedures. He creates a worldwide network of physicians and surgeons who work with their medical institutions to provide surgeries and treatments free of charge. He changes lives. The abandoned child seemingly condemned to a miserable, short life, riddled with disease is not an anonymous body part. He or she is a soul. In fact, the title of the book comes from a question the author asks Dr. Hodes as she observes him taking a picture of a patient that will be sent along with other documents to a physician. Why send them a picture of the patient? So that they remember that this is a soul.

If human beings are the voice of God, as Rabbi Harold Kushner teaches us in When Bad Things Happen to Good People, then Dr. Rick Hodes is the embodiment of that Voice. For children like Bewoket and Danny, those that are abandoned by their parents or whose parents stay with them but are hopeless about the potential for them to be cured and healed, Dr. Hodes is the angel of God calling out and revealing the well, the source of healing and salvation. He is the doctor who is the voice of God, creating possibilities for long, healthy, inspiring lives. He is proof that one person can change the world and he is the embodiment of the Talmudic statement that saving one person is the equivalent of saving an entire world. Through his altruistic work, Dr. Hodes gives others the opportunity to do mitzvot by asking them to house children for six months or longer in the US as they undergo complicated surgery and recovery. In fact, a member of the Camp Ramah in Wisconsin family who takes children into their home for recovery is mentioned in the book and referred to by Dr. Hodes as one of his angels.

In a world where the news is dominated by leaders, celebrities and regular people acting in the most selfish and narcissistic ways, it is refreshing to read about the life of an exceptional and selfless person; to see a person act as an extension of God, bringing healing to those who suffer and family to those who are abandoned. Dr. Rick Hodes serves as an example for us, a person we can seek to emulate whenever we encounter others who are in dire straights. The world needs more people like Dr. Hodes... and so do we.

Shabbat Shalom.

Thank you to The Covenant Foundation for the copy of This is a Soul. It is one of several books the Covenant Foundation gave as gifts to those of us attending the award breakfast for recipients of the new Pomegranate Prize, a new award whose goal, according to philanthropist Lester Crown, is “to provide the means for these already remarkable educators to further develop their skills, fulfill a dream or two, and have the chance to get to know others who, like themselves, are bringing fresh new ideas and abundant energy to the field of Jewish education.” Congratulations to all five recipients of the Pomegranate Prize, especially to my friend and teacher, Anna Hartman from Atlanta, Georgia. Congratulations to my colleague, mentor and friend, Amy Skopp Cooper, National Assistant Director of the NRC and Director of Camp Ramah in Nyack, who received this year’s Covenant Award at a ceremony in Denver this week.

Searching for Core Values

2011-10-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

At the end of Parashat Bereisheet, having heard two versions of the Creation story, we learn that even the second Creation attempt was flawed (Genesis 6:5-8), at least where human beings were concerned. At this point, early on in the Torah, all of the pursuits of the human heart are evil, or at least bad, all day long. I find myself wondering what ingredient was missing in the recipe in order for humanity to find a balance, to pursue doing good in the world, to look out for the other, to behave in an ethical way. In the formative moments of humanity, what was missing?

At the outset of Bereisheet, the only clear rule given to people is that they are not allowed to eat from the Tree of Life. We also get the clear message that murder is unacceptable, hence the Mark of Cain. Beyond these two explicit and implicit laws, however, there is not much else in the form of limit setting, no agreed upon list of rules, ethics or laws that serve as the foundation for the first society. Parashat Noah leads us through the third Divine attempt at re-creation and it is in this parashah that the Rabbis find the basic rules of society known as Sheva Mitzvot B’nai Noah, the seven laws of the children of Noah. These rules, inferred from a midrashic reading of certain verses, include prohibitions against:

Idolatry;

Murder;

Theft;

Sexual Immorality;

Blasphemy; and

Eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive.

Finally, based on the rabbinic interpretation, humanity must establish courts of law.

These seven laws, in the eyes of The Rabbis, are obligatory on all of humanity. They form the first set of core values in history. If the first two creation stories end in failure, the third story, that of Noah, teaches that success in Creation requires an agreed upon set of basic rules. As you might expect, what the seven rules are, or if the exact number of rules is, in fact, seven, is the subject of debate between the rabbis. The above list, however, is the one that is generally agreed upon.

The Sheva Mitzot B’nai Noah got me thinking a lot about core values this week and, in a roundabout way led me to ask the following question: if these seven mitzvoth are the foundation of humanity, are what is required to have a just, sustainable world then what might be the agreed upon core values for the Jewish People today? Overwhelmed by the enormity of trying to define the core values of Jewish Peoplehood, I narrowed my focus to concentrate on the core values of Conservative Judaism. In my brief search for a clear statement of our core values, I recalled an essay written by Rabbi Dr. Ismar Schorsch who was, at the time, the Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, titled The Sacred Cluster: The Core Values of Conservative Judaism. Success!

The Sacred Cluster: The Core Values of Conservative Judaism is elegantly written, and equally deep and soulful. Dr. Schorsch explicates seven core values for Conservative Judaism:

The Centrality of Modern Israel
Hebrew: The Irreplaceable Language of Jewish Expression
Devotion to the Ideal of Klal Yisrael
The Defining Role of Torah in the Reshaping of Judaism
The Study of Torah
The Governance of Jewish Life by Halakha
Belief in God

In the essay, Dr. Schorsch proceeds to address each of the core values in great depth and concludes with a statement that Ramahniks know intuitively:

It is surely in order to ask in closing whether this unique constellation of core values has ever coalesced into a vivifying ideal. I would submit that in its Ramah summer camps the Seminary created an extension of itself: a controlled environment for the formation of a model religious community. Over the past half-century Ramah has compiled an extraordinary record of touching and transforming young Jews to become the most effective educational setting ever generated by the movement. All the core values of Conservative Judaism are present in spades, defining and pervading the culture.

At Ramah, we live the embodiment of the core values the founders of Conservative Judaism intended.

Noah provides us with the foundations of the earliest attempt to identify the basic rules of civil society. If humanity in general requires a set of core values, each subset of society must develop, wrestle with, and embody an additional set of core values that defines it. Conservative Judaism is no different. We may not agree on all of the core values listed by Dr. Schorsch. Just as Hazzal, Our Sages, argued about what the seven laws of the children of Noah were, so too should we passionately argue and debate the core values of our Movement for today, and more important, for tomorrow. When the debates are over, when there is a consensus list, we must work harder than ever to bring our core values to life in every setting in which we find ourselves

Shabbat Shalom.

To read more of Dr. Ismar Schorsch’s, The SacredCluster: The Core Values of Conservative Judaism direct your browser to: http://www.jtsa.edu/x497.xml

...And the Children return to their borders.- in Celebration of Gilad Shalit

2011-10-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

At 4:04 am central time, the tears were allowed to flow freely. Like so many others, I spent the day holding them back, not wanting to tempt fate. So much could go wrong: there could be delays; another appeal; last minute demands. But now, at 4:04 am, I could not hold them back any longer. At that moment, Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai stood at the podium and announced the words that a family, a nation, and a people waited to hear for 1,941 days:

גלעד שליט חזר הביתה...ברגעים אלו, צועד גלעד שליט וניכנס לשטח מדינת ישראל

Gilad Shalit has come home...At this very moment, Gilad Shalit advances and has entered the territory of the State of Israel.

With these few, powerful words, a son was returned home alive. A family was reunited. A nation was just a little more whole. A collective national exhale and joy became palpable around the globe.

Brigadier General Mordechai’s announcement did not bring Peace to the region. It did not suddenly narrow the gap between rich and poor or establish safe borders. It did not ease tensions between the ultra-Orthodox and everyone else. It did not resurrect those who were murdered by terrorists or who fell in service to their country. But it did tell the us and the world that on this night one hero, the center of hope and prayers for five years, Gilad ben Noam v’Aviva Shalit was going to sleep in his own bed, in his own home, in his own community after 1,941 days of captivity and complete isolation.

דיינו

That is enough for us.

Pundits will argue the merits of the deal that brought Gilad home. People will try to do the math in an attempt to justify or negate the deal. There will be, and have been, debates about Jewish law regarding the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim, redeeming captives, and what price is too high. These kinds of conversations, debates and equations, however, will fail to win the point for they are all rational attempts to justify or condemn that which is completely irrational: the unconditional love of a parent for their child (or a nation for one of its children).

During these days of Yom Tov, the Torah commands us to be happy, to the exclusion of all other emotions. I have to believe that this is an aspirational command for it is impossible to be completely happy when over a thousand terrorists are now free. It is impossible to be completely happy knowing that friends mourn other friends, those who were murdered in bombings at Hebrew University and Sbarro Pizza and whose killers are now free. It is impossible to be completely happy despite the strength displayed by a parent like Esther Wachsman who supported the deal to bring Gilad Shalit home even though her own son, Nachshon, was kidnapped by terrorists and murdered while in the army. It is impossible to be completely happy knowing that for the deal to work so many others whose parents, siblings, relatives and friends were murdered in the most horrible, unimaginable ways, had to watch as the murderers walked free into Gaza and beyond. Finally, it is impossible to be completely happy given that, after more than 25 years, Ron Arad is still MIA with no knowledge of his whereabouts, no closure or solace for his family or for the other families whose children are missing-in-action.

Yet, even if complete joy is unattainable at this time, so many of us will be more joyous on this Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah knowing that in the town of Mitzpe Hila, Gilad Shalit will be alive and at home. We will hug our own children tighter than ever. We will dance with the Torah and will sing with greater gusto ושבו בנים לגבולם “And the Children return to their borders” for we have seen it with our own eyes.

With thoughts of blessing for the family of Gilad Shalit and with continued tears of joy flowing, with prayers for his complete recovery from trauma caused by five years of isolation and captivity, and with the hope that despite the threats and promises of Hamas and others, that no other Israeli daughter or son every be kidnapped again, I wish us all Chag Sameach and

Shabbat Shalom.

Erev Yom Kippur 5772

2011-10-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

I could not help but keep looking over at my son Elan during the early part of Musaf on Rosh HaShanah to do a visual check-in. He looked fine on the outside but I could not know what was going through his head. The ark was open and the ba’al tefilah was chanting the words of the U’Netanah Tokef:

וּנְתַנֶּה תּקֶף קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּום כִּי הוּא נורָא וְאָיום

Let us speak of the sacred power of this day - profound and awe inspiring.

The ba’al tefilah continued as the texts invoked images of God as Judge and Prosecutor, Expert and Witness, seated on the Divine Seat of Justice, reviewing each of our lives, deciding our fates and sealing them in ספר החיים - The Book of Life. The voice of the community joined in:

בְּראשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיום צום כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמון

On Rosh HaShanah it is written, and on the Fast of the Day of Atonement it is sealed!

I looked even more intently at Elan with increasing concern as we reached the next portion of this powerful and challenging prayer:

כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן

מִי יִחְיֶה וּמִי יָמוּת.

מִי בְקִצּו וּמִי לא בְקִצּו

מִי בַמַּיִם. וּמִי בָאֵשׁ

How many will pass on and how many will be born;

Who will live and who will die;

Who will live a long life and who will come to an untimely end;

Who will perish by fire and who by water...

This summer, Elan and his friends experienced mourning and mortality when a peer passed away. My instinct was to put my arm my son and hug him. Through the entire U’Netaneh Tokef, Elan stood ramrod straight and looked, stoically, straight ahead. When Kedushah finally ended and we sat down, I asked him how he was and he told me he was fine. Throughout the rest of Musaf on Rosh HaShanah and during this period of reflection and teshuvah, I spent a lot of time thinking about this particular text knowing that both he and I would confront it once again on Yom Kippur.

A fascinating history of the tefillah, as well as reflections on some of its theological implications, was written several years ago by Rabbi David Golinkin of the Schechter Institute and can be found at http://www.schechter.edu/insightIsrael.aspx?ID=19. This year, the prayer presented more personal challenges, among them:

Must I read the U’Netaneh Tokef literally or can I read it as metaphor for the fragility of life?

To what extent do I believe that there is a causal relationship between actions and consequences?

Are there really two or three things that, if done during the year, negate the consequences of previous poor choices?

If this is a text that does not fit in with my intellectual outlook should I simply not say it?
Ignore it?

Should I write it off to certain historical contexts that no longer apply?

As human beings, we are often inclined to ignore difficult texts. Rather than struggle with things we don’t like or with which we disagree, we skip over them or pretend they don’t exist. And in the polarized society in which we live, we often avoid talking about difficulties with those with whom we disagree. We surround ourselves in the cocoon of like-minded people precluding the need to struggle with others, with different approaches over the meaning of the text. Deep insight comes through interacting with people we disagree with, when we listen genuinely. We learn about ourselves, we clarify, we grow, and we sometimes change as a result of the encounter with the challenging text or the other’s perspective.

Over the years, my personal tendency with difficult texts has been to continue to say them, to struggle with them and, hopefully, to discover meaning and personal connection with them. And so it is with U’Netaneh Tokef. In my examining different commentaries on the text, I happened upon a powerful insight by Rabbi Leonard Gordon in Mahzor Lev Shalem, the new Mahzor of the Rabbinical Assembly. About the U’Netaneh Tokef, Rabbi Gordon writes:

“Most of us prefer to deny the unruliness of our fragility. But the facts on this list in U’Netanah Tokef are inescapable: some will get sick; some will be born; there will be deaths by hunger and by wars. The liturgy begs us to pay attention to these plain facts...After reminding ourselves relentlessly of the many ways that life might end, we tell ourselves that the way to cope with ultimate vulnerability is through t’shuvah, tefillah and tzedakah. Our goal is not security but a life of meaning that recognizes our vulnerability but rises beyond it.”

For Rabbi Gordon, for me at times, and for many others, the list of life statuses and endings in U’Netaneh Tokef reminds us that life is fragile, that there is always an end, and that we don’t know when it will come or why.

A close reading of the tefillah provides another perspective. Such a reading yields an important point revealed in the refrain which says that “On Rosh HaShanah it is written and on the Fast of the Day of Atonement it is sealed!” This sentence, the one we can almost hear in the form of the congregation singing, does not specify who does the writing or the sealing. It is just as possible to read this as a text about how we create our own different endings and beginnings. This is not the peshat, the simple, intended meaning of the text. Yet, I can both imagine God sitting in judgement and, at the same time, hold myself responsible for the consequences of my actions. And so in thinking about U’Netaneh Tokef this year, I find myself wondering:

What parts of my soul did I neglect this year?

What bridges did I burn?

What new ideas did I have that I suppressed out of fear?

What regrets do I have that I continue to carry, allowing them to disturbme instead of reflecting, praying, learning and then releasing them?

What can I do to be at Peace, to be whole, to be “serene” and “tranquil”?

How can I work to be more fully alive in this coming year?

These types of questions require serious thought and serious answers. U’Netaneh Tokef raises questions about ultimate endings and beginnings and our responsibility for the outcomes of our choices. The tefillah demands that we consider the beginnings and endings of daily living and of interactions with both God and with humanity.

On the eve of the most solemn and sacred day in our calendar, I pray that this be a year when we recognize how we can be more at peace with ourselves, with our loved ones, with others and with God. I pray that this be a year of good health and long life, of happiness and peace; that this be a year of supporting and being supported by others. I pray to have the strength to stand at Musaf on Yom Kippur, to encounter the U’Netaneh Tokef and, rather than feeling that it is all out of my hands, that I be inspired and emboldened to live ever more fully in this
world.

I look forward to the insights I will gain from hearing what my children, Elan, Mira, Amalya, and my wife, Becca,see and feel in this challenging tefillah.
Finally, I invite you to share your reactions to the U’Netaneh Tokef in general and, specifically, to the approach suggested here and to the questions raised by such an approach.

Shabbat Shalom, G’mar Chatimah Tova, and wishes for a meaningful fast for all.

Psalm 27: Satisfaction and Singularity

2011-09-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

It seems that most years, soon after the arrival of the month of Elul, I write about Psalm 27, also known as the Penitential Psalm or the Psalm for the season of Teshuvah. It is customary to recite this Psalm every morning and evening from the arrival of Elul through the end of the holiday season. And each year, my focus is on one verse:

אִם-תַּחֲנֶה עָלַי מַחֲנֶה לֹא-יִירָא לִבִּי

If they array a camp before me, my heart will have no fear.

Psalm 27:3

There is a perennial sense of relief in reciting this verse after camp is over. There was a camp arrayed before me and now they have all gone home! Saying this verse twice daily after the camp season concretizes both the sense of awe prior to the summer and the relief that follows the successful completion of that summer.

In praying this Psalm the last few mornings and evenings, however, my attention has also been drawn to another sentence. In verse 4, the author makes a clear statement about his ultimate goal, his singular desire:

אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ

שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי

לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם-יְהוָה וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ

One thing I ask of the Lord,

only that do I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord,

to frequent God’s Temple.

Is the Psalmist expressing a fact or an aspiration? Would he be singularly and completely satisfied? Is there truly any one thing that can bring complete satisfaction and if so, is it Divine in nature? The expressed desire of the Psalmist raises questions about satisfaction in this world, about desires, about needs, and about what we really seek.

In a consumerist world, where the cycle for new phones with more features in smaller and smaller packages becomes shorter and shorter in response to demands from the public, is it possible to ever achieve satisfaction? Do we actually aspire to satisfaction or do we just aspire to more of whatever it is we seek? The author of the Psalm looks sharply at the world in which he lives and comes to understand that a daily relationship with God, one that is so intimate that it feels as if he or she lives in God’s house, is all he truly needs. Like Ecclesiastes, the Psalmist discovers that everything else is vanity and transient. This is the setting we try to construct in the summer, in the camp arrayed before me as director. At camp, we seek to live in constant relationship with God’s glorious natural world and aspire to see people and nature as the reflection of God’s presence.

In this season of the year, can we squelch out all of the worldly, consumer noise that bombards us daily, engage in true, deep self-reflection and achieve the same singularity of desire and purpose as the Psalmist? We are slammed with over 5,000 brand images and messages daily. Can we look beyond what they tell us we want, be it a new phone or a new gadget, a new body or a new image, and see what is truly important? For some, this is possible. Others find it challenging if not nearly impossible to imagine such focus and singularity. Perhaps that is why the mishnah in Pirke Avot sees the one who conquers his desires as the truly heroic person and the one who is happy with her portion and purpose in the world as the one who is truly rich. My wish for the coming year is that we can all achieve the singularity of purpose and satisfaction expressed by the Psalmist. Let us continue to strive for in strengthening our relationship with God as we work to make this world the full-time dwelling place of The Divine.

Shabbat Shalom.

Sight and Vision, Blessings and Curses, the Present and the Jewish Future

2011-08-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Throughout the summer, I often wrote about what I saw while walking around camp. From campers sitting and talking with one another to various activities, from staff members diligently doing their jobs to the beauty of a Northwoods sunset, much of what I wrote about had to do with the sense of sight. As a parent of campers at another Ramah Camp, Ramah Darom where I served as the founding executive director, I know how hard it is to get a real sense of what is actually happening with our children. I have to see what is going on in Clayton, GA via the words of others. I have to paint a mental picture, that is, I have to imagine, through their narrative prose. In the end and despite its power, I know that what I “see” in my mind based on what I am hearing will be lacking in many ways. It will not be the reality that my children are experiencing; rather, it will be my interpretation of someone else’s interpretation of what they are seeing.

This Shabbat, we read Parashat Re’eh which begins by discussing blessings and curses. There are, undoubtedly, times when “seeing” is a blessing:

The sight of two friends walking arm in arm around camp, engrossed in deep conversation;
The eagle soaring through a clear, Wedgewood blue sky, over the sapphire blue of Lake Buckatabon;
Watching the camper who was terribly homesick at the start of the summer talking with his madrich about what he is going to do in camp when he returns next summer;
Observing campers in Machon, laughing uncontrollably, while playing a game called “Sumo,” a game which I cannot begin to explain but is clearly fun to them!
Glimpsing the tears of two girls as they cling to one another on the last morning of camp;
Or seeing our child or children the moment they get off the bus, the sense of relief we feel when we know that they are home, within our eyesight once again.

“Seeing” these kinds of moments are rewarding, they are a ברכה, a blessing. They provide a visual sense of accomplishment, a way of confirming that we actually achieve what we set out to do in the first place. The power to observe things in camp, as in life, is the ability to learn and grow, to evaluate and improve.

At the same time, “seeing” can be a curse, a קללה. Like it or not, sight is subjective. Most of what we see is not black and white or a question of fact; most things we see, rather, are questions of interpretation. Moreover, the interpretation of what we see is dependent on so many variables: how we feel on any given day; what our knowledge of the context we are observing is; how we understand the cultural norms and expectations of a place; and other factors. Sometimes, we learn something from what we see because we like it, even if it is clearly wrong. As a camp director (and also as a parent), I sometimes have what I call “snapshot moments,” where I walk into a situation and take a snapshot of that moment and draw conclusions based on that nanosecond of observation, not taking into consideration what might have happened just before I walked into the room. I see the picture I took at that second yet I get the bigger story wrong.

Let me give you what I think is a perfect example of how seeing demands interpretation. This summer, Sima Sayag introduced campers and staff members to an emerging art form: Staged Photography. The photographer looks at an iconic image and then reinterprets it visually by using actors or models to recreate the image. There are staged photographs that are near imitations and others that are radical reinterpretations of the original iconic image (To see one example of staged photography, follow this link to see the work of Adi Ness at the Israel Museum http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/galleries/viewItemE.asp?case=19&itemNum=202486 ). At Camp, staff members and chanichim alike chose from a wide-variety of iconic Israeli photographic images, reinterpreted them, and then staged photos of those images. Sima mounted an exhibition of all the photos, along with explanations of what the camper orstaff member saw in staging a photo of the original icon. It was a truly amazing process and project and we are pleased to share the images of this project with you. A different photo, along with the original iconic Israeli photo, and an explanation will appear in each edition of HaMirpesetShelanu throughout the year.

Finally, Hebrew has a different word for vision than for sight, חזון instead of ראייה . Vision is the ability to see future possibilities using imagination or wisdom. Choosing to send your child to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is part of visioning your child’s Jewish future. You knew they would have fun. You knew they would start to develop or strengthen lifelong friendships. And you knew that they would be enveloped in a beautiful bubble of daily Jewish living and learning. When you made that choice, when you put them on the bus or the plane this summer, after you perhaps shed a tear or two, what kind of Jewish soul were you imaging would emerge from the bus after twelve days or four weeks or the full summer? What kind of adult Jew do you imagine, do you hope for, after all of your child’s years at camp, as campers and staff members, are complete? And once you answer those questions, here is one more: what are you doing to help make that vision a reality throughout the year?

Sitting back in my office in Chicago just off Michigan Avenue I can look out the window and see the Chicago River. When I want a break, I take a walk to Millenium Park and see thousands and thousands of people. Yet, in my mind’s eye, I am already spending much of my time seeing next summer, the 2012 camp season, filled with smiles and laughter, powerful prayer and discussion, and the growth and strengthening of the Jewish future.

Shabbat Shalom.

Powerful Thoughts from A Staff Member to Campers at Ramah Darom

2011-08-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Shabbat Shalom,

Joe Lustig was my camper many years ago at Camp Ramah Darom. He and his family survived Hurricane Katrina. He knows what real tragedy is. He knows what it is like to lose part of yourself. This summer, he was one of the madrichim for my son, Elan, who was in the oldest aidah at Ramah Darom. Gesher 11 lost one of its members, Andrew Silvershein, to a tragic accident this summer. I was deeply moved by Joe's farewell note and share it with you with Joe's permission.

Thank you Joe for your powerful words, for your mentschlichkeit, and for being their for all of Gesher 11, my son Elan included.

Shabbat Shalom.

Hey Gesher,

Due to my bus captainhood I was able to say goodbye to very few of you and a proper goodbye to none of you. So here it is. A disclaimer before I begin: I am beginning this note with absolutely no idea what I'm going to write, so if I ramble I apologize.

"Adversity does not build character, it reveals it" - James Lane Allen

I first heard this quote on a commercial for the American Red Cross encouraging viewers to donate to help rebuild my hometown following Hurricane Katrina. At the time, it didn't make much sense to me. How could people who had lost everything - their homes, their possessions, their cars, and in some cases their family members - be expected to reveal their true character in such tragic circumstances?

Six years later, you all arrived at Camp Ramah Darom, ripe with expectations for the best summer of your lives. Almost immediately, the staff recognized something special about this group. The energy level, the excitement and the enthusiasm were electrifying. By the first Friday night, only three days into Gesher, Jeff acknowledged that he found it very difficult distinguish 1st session campers from 2nd session ones.

Only 48 hours later, your Gesher experience came to a sudden and shocking halt. You were faced with the most difficult, the most unfair, the most tragic circumstances that anyone could've imagined. As I told the boys during peulat banim that night, I thought that was the end of Gesher. I thought many of your parents would want you to come home, and if not, then that many of you would want to go home. As we all know, I was wrong. Gesher 2011 survived. Unbelievably, you decided to go with Yom Sport and CITing as planned.

Then came closing ceremonies. If there's one moment of this summer that I'll never forget, it's when you all got in a circle after a grueling day of sports and ruach, and began to to chant "72 strong." It was in that moment when I realized that James Lane Allen was exactly right. In the face of the most intense adversity imaginable, you all revealed your true character, both as individuals and as a group. You showed your strength, your courage and your resilience. You showed your compassion, your ability to comfort one another, and your leadership. And I've never been prouder of anyone in my life.

This has been a summer full of moments that I'll cherish forever. I'll never forget the laughs and the smiles, the tears of sadness and the tears of joy. I'll never forget the trip or Yom Sport. I'l never forget the flash mobs, the personalized Shabbat-o-grams, the rubik's cubes and the canjam games. I'll never forget all the times you made me feel proud. But most off all, I'll never forget how, under unspeakable circumstances, you all showed how incredible you truly are.

I made my dog tag much later than most of you, and I didn't have much time to think about what to write on the back. I settled on "Gam Ze Yaavor." While I was in Omanut, Alex Wolfson was sitting in the other room, with a siddur, looking for something to write. I gave him some suggestions, none of which seemed to please him. Later, he showed what he ended up writing, and I nearly cried on the spot. It said "Believe in the sun, even when it's not shining." This is the most important lesson I will take from this summer. This summer taught me that people are capable of incredible good, even in the face of unspeakable sadness.

I have one request of you all before I end this farewell: Take to heart whatever lesson you've learned this summer, and in your previous summers at Ramah. I'm sure that for every single one of you that lesson will be different. What the lesson is, isn't important. What is important is that you never forget that lesson, that you take it to heart and that you use it for the rest of your life for the betterment of the Jewish people and the world, because ultimately that's what camp is all about.

Thank you all once again for the most incredible experience of my life. Thank you for being an incredible group of kids that made me proud for 1000 different reasons throughout the summer. Thank you for being without a doubt, the best gesher camp has ever seen. And most of all, thank you for making me able to believe in the sun, even when it's not shining.

It occurs to me that, as Boosh beautifully said, this is not goodbye, but rather until we meet again. So, until we meet again, Shine On!

Your Loving Counselor,

Joe "Meltz My Table" Lustig

Parashat Masei - On Legacy and Inheritance

2011-07-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you take a Greek Island, a very loose plot line, and a bunch of great songs from the band ABBA translated into Hebrew? A fantastic Nivonim 2011 play titled “Mamma Mia!” I was so impressed by the energy of the entire aidah, the huge smiles, loud voices, and gigantic dance scenes. These chanichim, in their final camper stage performance, went all in and left nothing on the table at the end. When they finished their final number and all of their “Todah Rabbahs,” there were lots of hugs, some huge smiles and even a few tears. In addition, there were several parents who came up to camp to see their last camper-age child perform in their last camp Hebrew musical. Finally, there were some members of Adat HaNivonim 1986 in attendance in advance of their twenty-fifth Nivonim reunion. Nivonim was coming full circle: for the campers, their staff, their parents, and the alumni.

I honestly cannot believe that we are on the verge of the eighth and final week of the 2011 camp season. I don’t know where the time went. We always say that days in camp feel like weeks but weeks feel like days. It is so true. It seems like yesterday that I was just pulling into camp to start Hanhalla week and yet here we are, getting ready to put the final touches on what has been a phenomenal camp season. While they may not be explicit in their conversations, one of the things on the mind of Nivonim 2011 is what kind of legacy they want to leave in camp. It is an important question. When they return in twenty-five years, what will they want to remember about themselves? What impact will they want other people to remember about them and their role in camp? What is their collective identity and what did they leave to the generations that followed them in camp?

These are the same questions that the alumni of Nivonim 1986 will be talking about all weekend long. In addition to remembering all of the sweet and fun times at camp, they will talk about the impact that camp had on them and that they had on future generations when they came back as staff members (I have a soft spot for Nivonim 1986 as I was their madrich in 1985 and 1986 and over the years, many have become some of my dearest friends). They will ponder their legacies as campers and staff members. What were these years about? What meaning and messages did they hold for each individual in the twenty-five years since they completed their camper years? There will be lots of smiling and laughing as well as a lot of personal reflection for each alumnus in camp this week.

Beyond the question of what legacy Nivonim 2011 will leave on camp, there is another question to be asked, one that may be even more important: What is the inheritance we bequeath to our children by sending them to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin? In the Triptik of experiences that we give our children, the personal and communal Jewish journeys we send them on, what do we intend for them to receive? What are our Jewish hopes and aspirations for them that motivate us to send them to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin instead of some other place?

If we think about the Ramah experience as a Jewish investment that extends from entering fourth grade Kochavim campers to at least a second year tzevvet (staff) members, what kind of Jews do we hope to build? What messages do we want to send them about what is important in life? In spirit? In service? In connection with the people, the land, and the State of Israel? In Torah? In Mitzvot? In relationship to God? By choosing Ramah, you are making an investment that extends well beyond just insuring that your children have Jewish friends and have a good time. Choosing Ramah means sending the message that…

Living Jewishly every day is important;

That having meaningful encounters and relationships with other Jews on topics of import adds substance to friendship;

That we should seek to live in a fun, supportive Jewish community;

That wrestling with Jewish texts, from ancient and traditional to modern and non-traditional, adds meaning throughout life;

That just as we seek excellence in secular areas of life, we should strive for excellence in our Jewish spiritual lives as well.

And the list could go on for pages and pages…

While they are not coming home just yet (we do have one more week of camp left!), I hope that you will be thinking about how to encourage your children to continue living this way once they return at the end of the camp season. Let them know what Jewish inheritance you are giving them by sending them to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Let them know that you are aware that this is more than just a summer experience but that it is a model for lifelong Jewish friendship, learning and living. And let them know how you will reinforce these messages throughout the year.

Starting this afternoon, I will have the pleasure of sitting with my former campers and dear friends here for their 25^th reunion and listening to how camp impacted their Jewish souls and lives, what they got from the experience as an inheritance and what legacies they feel they left to the campers for whom they were counselors. We will laugh and, knowing this group well, we will cry plenty. We will remember and we will rejoice. I hope that the same will be true for Nivonim 2011. My message to them will be this: Enjoy your last week in camp, leave a great legacy, and appreciate the excellent Jewish inheritance your parents and your communities have given to you by sending you to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

And then, remember to pay it forward to generations to come.

‘It's nice to be nice. And it doesn't cost you a penny...’

2011-07-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

Late last night, unable to fall asleep, I picked up a recent edition of Sports Illustrated. The cover story was about Rory Mcllroy from Northern Ireland who won this year’s US Open at The Congressional. The running theme of the story was how nice Rory is as a person. Rory’s father was quoted in the story about how he brought up his son: “Raising his only child, Gerry McIlroy instilled this credo in Rory: ‘It's nice to be nice. And it doesn't cost you a penny.’" While I know that this is a magazine article and that it is edited and that the father probably said many things, it is telling that he chose this particular character trait, niceness, as the one that best described his son. It tells us a lot not only about Rory but about his father as well. We can tell what is most important in the Mcllroy family.

Be nice...It is such a simple, easy thing to do. Being nice is

Smiling and saying hello to someone as you walk by;

Stopping to help a camper who is struggling, whether or not they are in your cabin, because ultimately, they are all our campers;

Helping someone carry food across the kikar to a kiddush even if it is not from your community;

Talking to another camper in the cabin that is perhaps not your friend yet and being open to the gifts that they bring to the world; and, being nice is

Making someone feel welcome in camp.

Be Nice...Such a simple thing, yet something we need more of in the world.

In the first chapter of Pirke Avot, mishnah 15, Shammai teaches:

"שמאי אומר, עשה תורתך קבע, אמור מעט ועשה הרבה; והוי מקביל את כל האדם, בסבר פנים יפות

מסכת אבות א, טו

Make the study of Torah your primary occupation; say little, do much; and Greet every person with a cheerful face.

In other words, learn lots of Torah; turn that learning not into more words but into actions; and be nice to others. It is not just the Mcllroy family that holds niceness as a core value; rather, it is the Jewish people as well.

Camp is a place where campers have a chance to hone their niceness skills. Of course, in the process of improving those skills, there are stumbles along the way. Nonetheless, camp is where niceness and kindness are the rule, the expectation, the desire. Our job is to help each camper and staff member get even better at this simple but essential life skill.

As we close in on the last two weeks of the summer, we see many campers excelling at the character trait of niceness. We see many that are doing it well. There are still others that are developing the basics of niceness beyond their own small circles of friends. In each case, our task is to help guide them on the path to increasing niceness, kindness and goodness in camp and in the world. We appreciate your support in this ongoing effort.

Shabbat Shalom.

The Wizard of Oz, Pinhas Ben Elazar, and the Power of Daily Jewish Living

2011-07-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, we were treated to a wonderful performance of “HaKosem Me’Eretz Utz,” known in the vernacular as “The Wizard of Oz.” The Sollelim, our entering 7^th grade aidah, did a great job on stage. They were energetic, sang loudly, and smiled throughout. At the end of the show, they thanked everyone, presented their plaque, sang their aidah song, and then joined with the rest of camp in the traditional singing of the Hymnon Ramah, our camp song. It was a beautiful night.

We all know the story of the Wizard of Oz and ramahniks know the show not only in English with Judy Garland as Dorothy but in Hebrew with any number of current and former campers having played the lead role. We know the travails of Dorothy and her friends as they search for what they need the most: Knowledge, heart, courage and home. We revel in their defeat of evil, their uncovering of the imposter, and their discovering that what they really need already resides in their own souls. Knowledge, Heart, Courage, and Home…That is what they need, what they seek, and what they already have.

In my walks around camp this week, and throughout the summer, I see campers discovering knowledge, exploring their Jewish hearts,finding the courage to be fully who they are as budding members of the Jewish community, and I see them both building their Jewish homes for the summer and filing images away for what their own Jewish homes will be like in the future. Jewish knowledge, heart, courage and home are the pillars of what we accomplish here at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. At the end of the day, this is what we are really all about. Take those things out of camp, do them for shorter periods of time or in a “lite” way, and we lose our soul and our direction. Do them right and we change worlds.

Our camp is percolating with great Jewish programming and interactions. Bogrim and Machon worked with Carl Schrag and their staff on a simulation game about the possible upcoming vote in the UN in September toward Palestinian statehood. The chanichim took this incredibly seriously. They were totally invested and engaged. And you know what, they had a lot of fun in this very serious program. They learned by doing, did not shy away from a difficult subject, and looked beyond the simple solution to attempt to understand the nuances of a complicated issue. In Bogrim tefillot, campers are sharing their own version of NPR’s “This I Believe…” revealing to their peers some of their deepest, most soulful thoughts about who they are and what being Jewish means to them. Campers in our bet midrash program are wrestling with traditional Jewish texts on a daily basis while campers in our film program are wrestling with Jewish identity through an artist’s lens. Finding one’s Jewish voice, be it in a creative writing workshop with camp alumna, Deanna Neal, or in a Jewish Chicks Rock session with camp alumna, Naomi Less, is another path to strengtheningone’s Jewish connection during the summer.

Chaninchim and madrichim – campers and staff members – gain a new level of Jewish literacy, comfort and fluency through daily Jewish living. The repetition of the daily routine and ritual of Jewish life during the summer becomes an investment in how people can choose to live in the future. This Shabbat, at the heart of Parashat Pinhas, we read about the importance of routine and ritual rhythm in the context of the daily, weekly, holiday, and celebratory sacrifices to be brought by the Israelites. This was the framework for creating a sense of peoplehood and of connecting with God. While profoundly different than animal sacrifices, the daily and weekly routine of Jewish prayer, values, and rituals that we live at camp become springboards for communal strengthening and investment in the future.

We don’t append Judaism to what we do at camp. It is front and center. It is the root structure of what we are all about. From morning services to learning Hebrew with cool Israelis, from singing in Hebrew in the chadar ochel to dancing to Israeli popular music on the kikar, campers grow as Jews by doing fun, engaging, content-full activities with their friends. The ruach of Friday night Tefillot and the powerful sense of the Divine Presence that descends on the chadar ochel during Saturday evening seudah shlisheet speak to the souls of the campers who make themselves fully present and open to the experience. Campers develop increased pride in themselves as Jews and discover the courage to stand up as Jews throughout the year. It is truly amazing to watch and to be a part of this entire process.

Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is unique in our ability to be a place where campers discover their Jewish knowledge, heart and soul, courage, and a model for a Jewish home. We are not a place that is “somewhere over the rainbow” a magical place that cannot be home; rather, we are a microcosm of what the future can be for the individual Jew, their community, and our people. We don’t create the minds, hearts, strengths and homes – we help people discover them within themselves.

So thanks to Aidat HaSollelim not only for a great performance last night but for the profound message for all of us: the ability to grow our Jewish knowledge, heart and soul, spirit and courage all residewithin ourselves. We need to be in a setting that fosters their growth and expansion. And it is precisely this setting that Camp Ramah in Wisconsin provides for each of us. The only question left is: will we have the courage to use them, to grow them, and to strengthen them.

Shabbat Shalom.

Balak, Tents, and Friendship

2011-07-08T15:16:00.001-07:00

מַה-טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ, יַעֲקֹב; מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ, יִשְׂרָאֵל

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!

Numbers 24:5

Bilaam looked down from the mountain. He saw the tents, the mass of people, from a distance. Just as we stare out the window of the plane at 30,000 feet and see a beautiful vista but no detail, Bilaam could only detect the beauty of the tents themselves but not of what was transpiring within or around them. I wonder how much richer the blessings would have been if he was privy to the conversations and interactions that took place within those tents. Of course, we will never know but we can imagine.

A similar thing can happen when you come into camp for the first time. You see a gorgeous facility. Our donors have done an exceptional job of making sure that Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is a beautiful place, that our facilities are state-of-the-art, that our fields and courts are the best, and that there is gorgeous art all over the camp. Our exceptional maintenance staff and housekeeping staff work tirelessly to make sure that everything is well taken care of. The natural beauty of the site combined with the high quality of the buildings can be blinding. It can take center stage, commanding every bit of our attention. We should be proud of these facilities and appreciative of those who made them possible and those who maintain them.

But it is what happens in the tzrifim, within the tents, in the interactions between campers and staff members, in the friendships that are formed, where the real beauty of camp, where the ultimate blessings are found. Seeing campers walk arm in arm, sharing a laugh, sitting on the kikar and sharing a memory is a big part of what this is all about. Shared, fun experiences are the entry way into fostering friendships and building community. Whether it is Yom Sport or a Hebrew Musical, a polar bear swim or an overnight campout, the interactions that take place between campers as a result of moments in camp are the building blocks of friendship.

Shared memories become the anchor of discussions and the stuff of lifelong Jewish friendships for decades to come. Just yesterday, two alumni of the camp from my years as a senior staff member, returned to camp after many years away. They did not know too many other people at camp. They did not recognize most of the new buildings. But it did not matter. They felt at home. Their souls were rekindled Jewishly as was their memory. Their friendship, already strong, became stronger.

Today, I had a group of Garinim boys over to the house for lunch for a pizza party. They were having the party because one of the parents bid on it at an auction to raise scholarship funds for Ramah at the shul. The guys had a great time. At one point, I suggested that they could do the same thing when they were in Nivonim (nearly eight years from now!). “Yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” They all yelled. And then, they added, “But we all have to be here and we all have to sit in the same places and we have to make the same pizzas, and, and, and…” Yes it was fun but even more, it was a memory they were creating that would be the basis for friendship.

Ramah friendships are just different. They are, at their foundation, substantial Jewish friendships. They grow out of conversations about whether or not there can be faith after the Shoah; whether we can change the siddur and if so, under what conditions; whether we have free will or everything is dictated. And those are the conversations that the younger chanichim are having. Imagine what discussions are leading to stronger friendships in the older aidot. At their core, Ramah friendships are infused with Jewish meaning, ideas, and debates. Fun and engaging activities lead to meaningful discussions which lead to substantial friendships.

Bilaam only saw the physical beauty. Sometimes we are blinded by the physical and natural beauty of our camp. But when you come to visit, make sure you look closely and listen to the kinds of things that Ramah friends talk about. You will be amazed. You will see the true beauty of this community. You will witness its true power. And you will see the return on the investment that you and thousands of others make in order for Ramah to be the place with the kind of impact that it has year after year after year.

Shabbat Shalom.

Shabbat Hukkat - Shabbat Rosh Hodesh: Fun

2011-07-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

זֶה-הַיּוֹם, עָשָׂה יְהוָה; נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ
תהילים קיח כ"ד

This is the Day that God has made; We will rejoice and be happy on it!
Psalm 118:24

Walking around camp, I find it very easy to get distracted. There is so much going on in every corner of the camp that I have to remind myself to focus on one thing. Without that internal reminder, I miss so many little details of things that happen. Everywhere I turn, I hear laughing, see smiles, and see chanichim (campers) having tons of fun. Here is a small sampling of what I watched over the past few days:

An impromptu, multi-age water splashing match on the lower kikar replete with giggles and laughter (it was finally warm enough for such a fun activity)!
A Garinim carnival with campers enjoying all kinds of fun activities from tumbling to face-painting, from bowling to being mesmerized by Scott “Lefty” Rosen and his Diablo juggling and Rubik’s Cube mastery, all while wearing balloon animal hats created by our own Rabbi Ronnie Garr.

A Bogrim boys sunset ultimate Frisbee game while the banot were up in the Porcupine Mountains on their linat layla (overnight).

An impromptu concert by tzevvet shira on the kikar with a great audience. All the songs were in Hebrew and everyone was singing along. Nobody came up to me to complain that there were no English songs. They just had a great time.

A staff celebrity basketball game created by Adat HaShoafim to raise money for their tzedakah projects. A great time was had by all (and I even had two points and was given a 9.7 by the Israeli judge for the massive tumble I took at the start of the game)!

Campers from every single aidah participating in a scriptwriting and creativity workshop by the Northwoods Ramah Theater Company. They looked at a poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, created a human tableau and then wrote scenes based on what they saw. They learned a text from Pirke Avot on Community and then kept working. This was serious work and they were having a ton of fun.

Twenty campers from Shoafim making tefillin from scratch with artist Noah Greenberg.

The Kochavim girls playing on the kikar and then going to do their music video peulah!

Sollelim campers painting benches with themes informed by the Amidah. And there was as more paint on the benches than on the campers.

Machon boys went on a bishul erev (a cookout) and the girls had a special secret society dinner in camp, the Lavender and Cream Dinner.

Like I said, this is just a small taste of what takes place in camp every minute of every day. There is nearly unlimited fun, and even a bit of frivolity, going on in camp all over the place. Campers are engaged in meaningful conversation all the time…and having fun while doing it.

To get to the core of what we are about, building meaningful Jewish lives, we have to open the door and to do that, we need several keys: fun, friends, great role models and excellence. We create an environment where we rejoice, where we enjoy, where we are sometimes carefree, and where we are connected. This is a place where Hebrew is fun, where Jewish living is fun, where Jewish conversations are engaging and enjoyable.
This Shabbat, we celebrate Rosh Hodesh Tammuz. While Tammuz is a reflective and somewhat sad time in Jewish history, leading up to Tisha B’Av, Rosh Hodesh is a time of rejoicing. Toward the end of Hallel, we recite a verse from Psalms:

This is the Day that God has made; We will rejoice and be happy on it

That is every day at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin: A day where we rejoice in the Glory of God and the glory offriendships and community, of Torah and fun, of great people and stronger Jewish identities.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Loren Sykes

Shabbat Korah - Time Flies

2011-06-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים, בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל, כִּי יַעֲבר ֹוְאַשְׁמוּרה בַלָּיְלָה

For a thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday when it is past,
and as a watch in the night.
Psalm 90:4

At camp, we always say that days seem to last for weeks but weeks are over in a few seconds. Before you know it, the summer gone. It feels like the Kochavim, our first group of fourth graders, just got here yet they are leaving early on Monday morning to return to home. It feels like I just arrived for Hanhala (senior staff) training and planning week and here we are on the verge of our second Shabbat. Twenty-five percent of this summer’s camper Shabbatot are now completed. Campers who only arrived yesterday look like they have been here all summer. Where does the time go?

After lunch today, I was walking on the kikar when I saw the Kochavim playing a game. One camper who was particularly quiet and shy when I met her before the summer came over to me with a big smile. Before camp, she was worried about being homesick. She told me that she had a great time, that she could not wait to come back next summer, and that she was so glad her friend encouraged her to come to camp. On a similar note, I heard from a parent whose child in Garinim wanted to stay for the whole summer! Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is now their summer home and they will miss it once they leave. And you know what? We will miss them too.

This Shabbat, we celebrate the thirteenth reunion of Nivonim 1998. It must seem like yesterday that the Givah - Nivonim Hill - was theirs. They did not have spouses or significant others, full-time jobs or infants. Here they are thirteen years later, remembering how they loved camp, how camp loved them, and how the camp world was at their fingertips. They are showing their spouses and children the places where they played, made lifelong friends, and transformed and grew as Jews each and every summer. They are reconnecting with one another, with the camp, and with themselves. And, I imagine, that they are looking to the future as well. Where will they be when their twenty-fifth Nivonim reunion arrives? Where will their children be in the summer (here, we hope!)? What Jewish and camp friends and memories will they be creating.

No matter how long any given day feels, we know that time is fleeting. The Psalmist reminds us that our moments are so brief when compared to The Eternal One: One thousand years in the eyes of God are so brief. Each moment is precious. We are charged with filling each minute, each encounter, each learning with meaning, to value it higher than any precious stone. We are compelled to not take a moment for granted, to allow it to pass as though it does not matter. This summer, a teacher from Chicagoland Jewish High School died unexpectedly. Many of his students talked with great love about Mr. Gross z”l and stressed one message above all the others that they had learned from him: always tell people who you love that you love them. Never miss an opportunity. Implicit in Mr. Gross’ message is not to take time, people, or moments lightly. While 1,000 human years may seem like just a moment in God’s eyes, each one is sanctified, kadosh, and Divine.

For a variety of reasons, the preciousness of life, of savoring and appreciating every moment took on greater significance for me this week. I know it did for so many of us in the Ramah world. May this Shabbat be one where we renew our investment in every minute of every day. And may we never miss an opportunity to tell people that we love them.

In memory of Andrew Silvershein z"l, 16 years old, of Davie, Fl.

Shabbat Shalom.

A Son's Words on Israel

2011-06-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about my son, Elan, a lot the past few days. The letter that follows was posted in the CHUSY Region USY June Newsletter. For those who say that the connection to Israel is being lost or diminished, this shows the contrary! I am so proud of Elan and just wanted to share this:

Hi CHUSY Parents,

I am Elan Sykes, CHUSY Regional Executive and Israel Affairs Vice-President for 2011-2012. I moved to Chicago in 2009 at the beginning of my freshmen year at Chicagoland Jewish High School, and fell in love with CHUSY from the moment Adam Blue dragged me to CBS USY, where I am currently a member. A condensed life story: I was born right here in Chicago. After a year and a half, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia where my dad, Rabbi Loren A. Sykes (a former CHUSY Rel/Ed and SA/TO), became the founding director of Camp Ramah Darom. Right before 7th grade, my parents decided that we were going to Israel for a year, and we moved to Jerusalem, where I went to an experimental education school. My academics took a backseat for a year, but my love for Israel blossomed and I am fluent in Hebrew because of that year. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I have 2 younger sisters, Mira and Amalya, who attend Chicago Jewish Day School, and my mom Rebecca is a multi-talented educator, theater performer, and yoga instructor.

Having been raised by a Ramah director, Conservative Judaism has most certainly played a major role in my life. In USY just as in the greater community, people are becoming less engaged day by day, and I decided to run for CHUSY board to counteract this trend. Israel has always been and will always be an enormous part of my political, social, and family life, so I chose to use my personal love for Israel to increase the engagement of all teens in CHUSY with our ancestral homeland. I truly believe that Israel can act as the spearhead of my generation's Jewish identity, and know that CHUSY executive board will provide me the platform upon which I can capitalize on Israel as such a focal point. In USY, Parents are just as important as the USYers themselves, so feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, or comments.

Elan - you are an incredible mentsch, leader, person and son. I am so proud of you. I love you more than you can every know.

Dad.

Spying Around Camp – Parashat Shlach

2011-06-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I spend the first few days of camp walking around, watching and listening. Who seems happy? Who looks a little sad? Which madrichim need a pat on the back or a kind word? After a year of planning, the campers arrive and for a few days, my job as director is to watch, to spy a little bit and see how things are developing. I shuttle from place to place, engaging in quick, touch-base conversations with staff members and longer conversations with campers of all ages. It is hard to believe just how much a person can see and hear about in two days when that is the focus of their job. Here is just a sampling:

A high energy, excellent Shira (song) and Ruach (spirit) in the Chadar Ochel Bet. That is where our Bogrim (entering 9th graders) and Machon (entering 10th graders) eat. Campers and staff members were totally energized and loving it.

I walk into the Atzmayim Lounge where our Tikvah Vocational Program meets. I listen as each of the participants, graduates of our Tikvah program, describe their first day at work in town or in camp. They are very excited about their new responsibilities and are also able to articulate their concerns. They are so appreciative of my being there and I am embarrassed because I feel so blessed to be listening to them.

Tag played three different ways by our newest campers, Aidat HaKochavim who are entering 4th grade. They are happy and excited about whatever they do. They bring a totally new energy to camp. Their staff members look incredibly happy.

I watch as last year’s Machon aidah becomes this summer’s Nivonim, the leaders of the camp, the oldest aidah. Feeling proud, they are also trying to figure out what it means to lead and what responsibilities accompany leadership.

Campers excited to be in the bet midrash doing serious exploration of Jewish texts.

A group of campers and staff members really enjoying camp while still feeling the loss of a beloved school teacher, Mr. Harvey Gross of Chicagoland Jewish High School who died unexpectedly this past weekend. One of the students spoke about Mr. Gross this morning at Tefillot which was followed by a memorial prayer.

Endless games of basketball.

Countless groups of friends walking arm in arm, hand in hand, smiling warmly and broadly.

Laughter, smiles, friendship and fun.

Sometimes, being a spy is fantastic. You get to see so much. The question is what lenses do you wear while you are spying: those of pessimism, of feeling threatened or those of joy and optimism. This was the challenged that faced the m’raglim, the spies sent to check out the land of Israel prior to entering. All but two, Yehoshua bin Nun and Calev ben Yefuneh, saw only the obstacles. They could not see the positive possibilities.

Our campers and staff face the same challenge each summer when camp begins. What possibilities do they see? How will they grow this summer? Will the people that appear to them as giants on the first day of camp become accessible friends and role models? What can they do to enjoy their eight-weeks of camp? All of these questions will be answered this summer, and the answers will unfold before my very eyes.

As I spy around camp my personal binoculars filter everything through four lenses, representing four core values of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, the essence of what we are about and how we try to accomplish things:

Am I seeing FUN?

Am I seeing friendships being cultivated and communities being built?

Am I seeing Jewish meaning and content coming alive at that moment wherever, it may take place?

Am I seeing the embodiment of excellence in planning and execution?

If the first two days of camp are any indication, my spying leads me to conclude that our future as a camp and as a people is very bright.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat B’Ha’alotecha – Candles, Menorahs, and Mrs. Unickel

2011-06-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sitting in shul two weeks ago, my last Shabbat in Chicago before heading to camp, I was not really paying attention to the pre-kiddush announcements. My mind was focused on the variety of details connected to starting the camp season, not what would be happening in shul over the summer. As images of Lake Buckatabon passed through my memory, my ears perked up when the gabbai asked that we all remember to congratulate the two families that had simchas in the main sanctuary. One name I did not recognize. The other, Unikel, was too rare and too familiar to me to escape my attention. What were the chances that I knew this family?

I walked into Kiddush and asked my colleague and friend, Rabbi Michael Siegel, if he would introduce me to the family. He walked me to the mother of the bar mitzvah and made the introduction. The conversation went something like this:

“Shabbat Shalom and Mazal Tov!” I said.

“Thank you. That is so kind of you.”

“My pleasure. I have to ask you a question. By any chance did your mother teach elementary school in the northern suburbs?”

“No. But my mother-in-law did. I get asked that a lot,” she replied. “She is standing right over there.”

“Well. Mrs. Unickel was my fifth grade teacher at Willowbrook. We were her first class at the school. She was such a warm and wonderful teacher. I have very fond memories of her class.”

I had not seen Mrs. Unickel since the late 1970’s. My last memory of her was from the very last day of 5th grade, of her saying goodbye to us, speaking with love of our class as tears filled her eyes and her voice broke slightly. She was a gracious teacher who invested in each of us collectively and individually, who pushed us to investigate and be creative, as well as to be accepting of everyone. She was a truly special teacher, the kind that you remember your entire life.

Walking across the room, I saw the same warm, beaming smile and welcoming eyes that I remembered from my childhood. How do you reintroduce yourself to a teacher you have not seen in thirty years? What do you say? Remembering that straightforward is best, I walked over and extended my hand. “Mrs. Unickel, Mazal Tov. I don’t know if you remember me but I am Lor...” Before I finished pronouncing my first name, Mrs. Unickel interrupted me: “Loren Sykes! Of course I remember you…” Warm hugs were exchanged as we caught up on thirty years of life in about forty-five seconds. There were many people waiting to share congratulations so I kept the conversation brief. “Mazal Tov again,” I said, as I turned to her son saying, “Just know that your mother was a fantastic teacher and as a student in her first class, I can tell you that her warm, welcoming, investing personality had a deep impact on me.” And that was that.

As camp comes closer and closer, I find myself thinking about Mrs. Unickel and her impact on us, they way she lit up while teaching and the way she lit us up as students. The Torah portion for this Shabbat, B’Ha’alotecha, opens with instructions for lighting the Menorah in the portable Tabernacle, from where to stand to how to light. There is intentionality involved in the sacred act of lighting the candles, of creating illumination in the Tabernacle. The Kohanim must be fully present and aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it. They have to focus on each candle as they ignite it and watch as the flame jumps from one wick to the next. They cannot move onto another candle until the one before them is fully lit. They have to pay attention to it and focus exclusively on that one candle at that moment. That is how you kindle a light. And when you tend to each one individually, the entire group of candles, the Menorah becomes one light.

Mrs. Unickel was one of the many teachers I had over the years that knew how to properly light a candle and create a Menorah, how to inspire students, to care for each one of them and invest in them. She knew how to pay attention to each student as if he or she was the only candle before her, all the while managing the entire class. She lit a candle in me, one of love of learning, of passion for discovery, of compassion for others. Through her own kindness, love of her work and of her students, along with her ability to both set high standards and have realistic expectations, she simultaneously became a shining light, the candle that lights other candles, and the kohen that stands fully present and focused passing the light from one candle to the next.

We spent this week kindling lights, the souls of the staff, as they returned to our summer home. Counselors who are now supervisors spent time re-nurturing mentoring relationships they had with former campers-now-turned-counselors. Staff members of every age, from recent high school graduates to doctoral students, kindled the fires of Torah in each staff member during our Tikkun Leyl Shavuot – our all night learning session that precedes sunrise services and the reading of the moment of Revelation at Mt. Sinai. Over the course of Shavua Hachanah, or prep week, we ignite nearly two hundred individual flames, focusing on each one until they burn as a collective candelabrum.

This coming Tuesday, nearly 480 candles, our campers, will arrive in Conover in the afternoon for the start of the 2011 camp season, waiting to be kindled with the warmth of Torah, of community, of exceptional role models, of love for Israel and for being Jewish. As we kick off the camp season, as I look at the staff seated at Shabbat Services, I will be looking and wondering: who here is going to be the Mrs. Unickel for a camper and for a cabin? Which staff member is going to properly kindle each individual candle while focusing on the entire cabin? Which campers will finish camp transformed for the better because they received the complete, undivided intention and attention of a counselor or a teacher? Who will be remembered thirty years from now for the good that they brought to the life of another Jewish soul?

Thank you, Mrs. Unickel for the goodness and kindness you shared with us thirty years ago. Thank you to this summer’s staff for taking up the challenge of being an inspirer for a love of Torah. And thank you all for entrusting us with your candles, your precious children, for the summer.

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat BaHar - Three Years after Elan's Bar Mitzvah

2011-05-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that this Shabbat is the third anniversary of Elan's Bar Mitzvah which we celebrated in Israel. In 2008, Elan was still shorter than me. Now, he is almost 6'3". Back then, he was riding a bicycle around Yerushalayim. Today, he will soon get his driver's license. in Chicago. Back then, he was looking forward to returning to camp for his Shoafim summer. Today, he is packing for his Gesher summer, his last summer as a camper, at Ramah Darom. Then, we were living in Jerusalem. Today, he is the Israel Affairs Vice-President for CHUSY.

In honor of the anniversary of Elan's Bar Mitzvah, I am reposting the d'var Torah I gave at his Bar Mitzvah. Elan, our pride in you and your accomplishments is only exceeded by our pride in your menschlichkeit and our love for you!

Mazal Tov.

Shabbat Shalom,

We were not originally supposed to be here this Shabbat. For many years, we planned to have Elan’s bar mitzvah at Camp Ramah Darom, where I had the privilege of serving as the founding director for eleven years. Were we there, I would have spent the past few weeks trying to make some kind of connection between the specifics of the laws of shemittah, the year of release for the land, and Camp Ramah. Not a simple task. But we are not at camp. We are in Yerushalayim where we have been living this year. The fact that your bar mitzvah fell on Shabbat Behar which deals with Shabbaton, with the land of Israel, must have been a foreshadowing of our being in Israel. It was bashert.

The classic question about our parashah is asked in Torat Cohanim and repeated by several of the meforshim:

מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני. והלא כל המצות נאמרו מסיני?

In other words, what is it about shemittah, letting the land rest, that is so important that the Torah begins the parashah with:

וידבר ה' אל משה בהר סיני לאמר:

“And The Lord spoke to Moses at Mt. Sinai, saying,”

Why does it take us back all the way to Sinai?

Many of the commentators focus on the question from a temporal standpoint. That is, they are bothered that this appears at the end of Sefer Vayikra, Leviticus, after Matan Torah, the Giving of Torah, and after hakamat hamishkan, the construction of the portable Tabernacle. Others consider the severity of the punishment connected to failing to observe Shemittah. From Rashi, restating Torat Cohanim, we learn that the connection between shemittah and Sinai is here to teach us that while the general rules of shemittah were mentioned in Exodus, we should not think that what is taught here was taught at a later moment in history in a different place; rather, these mitzvoth were taught at Sinai in detail and are simply restated in their specifics here. Similarly, Ibn Ezra reminds us that there is no earlier or later in the Torah and that this parashah is taught prior to the beginning of Vayikra but appears here nonetheless.

אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה. וזו הפרשה קודם ויקרא,

Implicit in the responses of the commentators is the understanding that there is something special, something unusual about this parashah.

In looking at the structure of our parashah, I see the following pattern:

Our parashah begins with God:

'וידבר ה

“And God Spoke…”

And it ends with God:

אני ה

“I Am God.”

Our parashah begins with sacred land, space, where we encounter God:

ויקרא פרק כה

כי תבאו אל הארץ אשר אני נתן לכם

“When you come into the Land that I give to you…”

And it ends with sacred spaces where we encounter God:

ויקרא פרק כו

ומקדשי תיראו

“Revere My Sanctuaries...”

Our Parashah begins with Shabbat for the land, Shemittah:

ויקרא פרק כה

ושבתה הארץ שבת להי

“…the land will observe a Sabbath of the Lord.”

And it ends with Shabbat for those who work it:

ויקרא פרק כו

את שבתתי תשמרו

“You shall keep My Sabbaths…”

The central sections of our parashah deal with how we relate to our fellow Jews, both in the ethics of our business conduct and at times that they are in trouble, in difficulty. Furthermore, it gives us difficult questions with which to deal, not just theoretical questions but real, everyday life questions like how we relate to the “Other.”

The parashah puts front and center

Elohei Yisrael – The God of Israel
Eretz Yisrael – The Land of Israel
Shabbat Yisrael – Sacred time to Meet God;
and Am Yisrael - The People of Israel

By referring us back to Sinai, the moment of Revelation, our parashah brings us full circle to Torat Yisrael.

By taking us back to the powerful moment of Standing at Sinai, Parashat Bahar comes to teach us that even in a portion that deals with the micro-details of land transactions and agricultural practice we are able to find the central values of Jewish Peoplehood. In a parashah like Kedoshim, it is easy to see the values. The opening chapter deals with how we relate to God and how we relate to people. Behar comes to teach us that how we relate to the land is also important. That the way we relate to our inheritance demonstrates our sacred relationship with God and the sacred role we are commanded to play in the world.

Elan, I hope that as you grow, the values that we have tried to instill in you and that are so clearly present in your parashah:

Elohei Yisrael – a special relationship with The God of Israel;
Eretz Yisrael – a special, treasure connection to The Land of Israel;
Mitzvot Yisrael – living a meaningful life organized by the covenant between us and God;
Shabbat Yisrael – taking time weekly to break from mastering time to Meet God ;
Am Yisrael – a sense of collective responsibility to Jews in the world;
and to Torat Yisrael – to learning and living our Torah, in all of its broadest definitions

Serve as your guideposts, are the organizing principles of your life and of your menshlichkeit, as they are for ours.

Yesterday, we went to Neot Kedumim to begin celebrating your bar mitzvah. After tefillot and brunch, we went to the area dedicated to Shemittah. We planted acorns from Israeli oak trees in small cups. The staff will tend them as they become saplings and after the Shemittah year is over, they will plant them throughout the preserve.

As we were planting, afterwards as I was looking out over the beautiful vistas and fields of Neot Kedumim, and as I was smiling with great pride at what a mentsh you are, I couldn’t help but think a bit about today’s haftarah. Jeremiah is told that his cousin, Hanamel, will come and tell him to buy his field in Anatot. Jeremiah is commanded to keep an achuza, a possession in the land, even though he is soon to depart into exile. The command to acquire an achuza is an investment in a future return. We hope, Mom and me, that this year has been one of acquiring a possession, a love of the Land, the People, and the State of Israel, and one of gaining a sense of being part of a collective, to Clal Yisrael, for which you have a responsibility. We hope that you, as we also wish for ourselves, will return here soon, to reacquire that achuza, the possession, not temporarily but permanently.

We are so very proud of you and love you very much.

Shabbat Shalom.

The Fine Line Between Sanctifying and Desecrating.

2011-05-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Of the many laws mentioned in this week’s parashah – from purity standards for the Kohanim to the mitzvah of sitting in the Sukkah – one verse in particular grab my attention:

וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ, אֶת-שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי, וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי, בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: אֲנִי יְהוָה, מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם.

And you shall not profane My Holy Name; rather, I will be sanctified among the children of Israel: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Leviticus 22:32

What is the meaning of sanctifying God’s Name - Kiddush HaShem? What about Hillul HaShem - desecrating God’s Name? Who decides when an action or statement is one or the other? And when are things done in the name of one that are actually the opposite?

The contrasting behaviors presented in this verse, the prohibition of profaning God’s Name versus the positive commandment of sanctifying God’s name, is on my mind a lot these days. Religion is used far too often by extremists to justify behavior that is a Hillul HaShem - a desecration of God’s Name - in order to eliminate behavior by others that they, the extremists, define as a desecration. That is, in order to eradicate the desecration, these extremists engage in behaviors that they claim are sanctifying God’s Name when, in fact, all they are doing is bringing desecration in a different way. Using religious principles or laws to justify or explain away bad behavior is simply unacceptable and yet it seems to happen all the time.

Examples abound. In its most extreme form, we see it this week in the extremism that found a face and a voice in Osama bin Laden. Or we could look to the ongoing pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church. It would be too easy to stop there, though, at the big and obvious acts of violating God’s Name just as it would be too easy to ignore supposed acts of Kiddush HaShem that simply desecrate of God’s Name committed among our own people. The new Hekhsher Tzedek or Magen Tzedek is a perfect example of just such an issue.

The Hechsher Tzedek, Magen Tzedek, is a certification conceived by rabbis in our own region to highlight companies whose products represent “fair treatment of workers, humane treatment of animals and care for the earth.” Sounds like a good thing, right? Certified Kosher and produced in a way that pays people fairly, that treats the animals well, and that is a good steward of the earth. This is baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. Yet, Magen Tzedek is under fire from Jewish extremists. Despite the fact that Biblical and Rabbinic laws address these areas of business practice and should be applied in our time, there are those who claim that the Magen Tzedek is trying to fundamentally change Kashrut: to replace halakhic kashrut - proper slaughter, etc - with a new ethical standard that is not based in Jewish law. Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course. Magen Tzedek is an added level of stringency to products already certified as “kosher” in the traditional sense. It will not be applied to food that is not certified kosher. Magen Tzedek is a true effort to sanctify God’s Name in this world that is being categorized by others as a desecration.

So, which is the greater desecration of God’s Name?

Products where the animals are slaughtered properly according to all standards of Kashrut. Yet, the animals are mistreated throughout the process. Their lives are lived in miserable, overcrowded places. The employees are not paid living wages, are denied basic benefits, and are not treated well. And animal refuse is discarded in ways that pollute the environment.

or

Products where the animals are slaughtered properly according to all standards of Kashrut AND the animals are treated with care, the employees are paid a fair wage and the environment is cared for, and there is an additional certification acknowledging that the company meets all of these requirements as well.

Is there really a question here? We live in a world where certain meat products in the US need to have not just one but perhaps two or three different kashrut certifications, one more stringent than the next, to meet the standards of different people. Magen Tzedek is an added level of stringency and should be applauded by every corner of the Jewish world because it will result in greater sanctity. Instead, there are corners of the Jewish world that are intent on smearing the good names of those involved, like our own Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob in St. Paul Minnesota and Rabbi Michael Siegal of Anshe Emet in Chicago, instead of praising the efforts to raise the level of halakhic behavior to new levels.

In leading halakhic lives, lives of meaning and spiritual connection with God, we are charged with bringing greater sanctity to God’s Name and prohibited from desecrating or bringing desecration to God’s Name. Let us always be counted on the side of those seeking to bring more קדושה to the world and to God’s Name.

Shabbat Shalom.

Time Flies - Shabbat Hol HaMoed Pesach 2011

2011-04-22T12:07:00.001-07:00

“Time Flies.” Trite, I know, but nevertheless it is a concept that is so very true. As we were driving toward Clayton, GA where we spend Pesah at Ramah Darom, I looked from the front passenger seat over to the driver’s seat and wondered how we had gotten to this point so quickly. Sitting in the driver’s seat, somewhere between Nashville and Atanta was my son, Elan. He turns sixteen years old on Sunday. Wasn’t he just sixteen months old? Wasn’t it just last week that I could carry him around on one shoulder for hours at a time? How is it that he is now 6’3” and can carry me around...or at least drive me around?

I glance into the rear view mirror and see Amalya, our youngest at age 9, watching a video. Mira, who just became bat mitzvah, is watching “Get Smart” on her iPod. Time really does fly. I remember when I was a kid and we drove to Florida for winter break. We could spread out in the back of the station wagon - no need for seatbelts - and play license plate bingo or the alphabet game. Now, we drive or, rather, my son drives and the girls are individually occupied with small screens. Forgive me for being so sentimental but, where did the time go?

The Torah reading for Shabbat Hol HaMoed Pesah gives us a bit of a hint to an answer. In Exodus 34:18 - 24, we are taught the key cycles that dictate the rhythm of Jewish life and the passing of time. We are commanded to observe Pesach, referred to in this Torah reading as חג המצות or the Feast of Unleavened Bread; to observe Shabbat; to observe Shavuot; and חג האסיף, the Feast of the Ingathering, which we refer to as Sukkot. Three times a year, the pilgrimage festivals, we are commanded to go to the place God will show us. In so doing, we mark the year, we mark time. The reading commands not only ritual but the centrality of appreciating time - days, weeks, cycles, years. The reading even marks birth order, the ritual of pidyon haBen, the redeeming of the first born (we are a family of Levi’im so we were exempt from this ritual for Elan). And while not noted in this reading, we are in the season of counting with tonight marking the 4th night of the Omer.

Time does fly. It seems like the 2010 camp season just ended yet in just a few weeks, we will be moving up to Conover for the 2011 camp season. It feels like Pesah was just a few weeks ago but here we are again - with a number of current Camp Ramah in Wisconsin families and alumni - enjoying living in a shabbat and Yom Tov/Pesah observant village. Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that I was a camper (David Sandberg is here and he taught drama my first summer at camp) or at least a Junior Counselor (Rabbi Amy Roth of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires was my rosh aidah in 1984) yet now I am back on the shores of Lake Buckatabon for my second summer at the camp director.

Yet, for as much as time flies, our Jewish calendar and rhythm of life give us dedicated pauses to stop and reflect, to appreciate, to reconnect - with our own memories, our families, our People, our values, and with God. The passage of time can be intimidating and terrifying. It is amazing how quickly the gray hairs come in these days. Yet, reflecting on all the good that time brings us, we can see our own growth and development and that of our children, our families and our friends. We can appreciate our triumphs and heal from our tragedies. We can not only note where we have been or dream about where we are going but we can appreciate where we are right now, at this moment and be filled with the glory of God that permeates our world.

Recently, our family experienced another milestone. Elan, who got involved with USY not because we pushed him but because his camp friends recruited him, was recently elected to serve as the Israel Affairs and Executive Vice-President of CHUSY region USY. His goal is to constantly strengthen the connection between CHUSY USYers and the State, People, and Land of Israel (his words, not mine). USY is our valued year-round partner in keeping Jewish teens involved and connected to the Jewish community and we deeply value this partnership on the chapter, regional, and national levels. I personally benefitted from years in USY and am so excited that Elan has chosen on his own to be involved and to make Israel his priority for his USY work. Wasn’t it just last week that I was serving as religious/education vice-president in CHUSY under Bennet Kaplan, our regional president? Now, our family time will be marked not only by ice skating and aerial class, carpool and train pick-up by regional board meetings and conventions, as well as international board meetings and conventions.

We are half-way through Pesah. Honestly, the food here is exquisite so there is no kvetching for hametz or the end of the holiday but I remember the days of being tired of matzah and cream cheese sandwiches at school every day. We rush to have the holiday end, to move on, to get past the “restrictions” of Yom Tov and Shabbat. But...take a breath, slow down, enjoy the taste of the matzah - the taste of freedom - and take stock of where you were, where you want to be going, and where you are right now. Enjoy the time with family and friends. Appreciate the partnerships from which we all benefit. And then, give thanks to God for giving us the cycle of days and weeks, months and years.

Shabbat Shalom and Moadim l’Simha.

Jerusalem Thoughts - Tazria 2011

2011-04-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

There is something so restorative about the air here. Even the first breath of air outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, replete with the fumes of planes and taxis, brings in part of the נשמה יתירה - the additional soul. Driving through the maze that is the airport exit, my friend, Ronnie Garr, rolled down the windows and I was overwhelmed by the smell of fresh flowers and Jasmine of the airport gardens. Another little bit of the neshama made its way in. Exiting the car in Yerushalayim, all it took was one very deep breath to feel completely restored. All the little pieces of my soul, the pieces that I leave as deposits after each trip here, seem to immediately find me upon my return. They fill me up and render me complete, at least for the duration of my trip.

I quickly made my way through passport control - with the customary questioning about the purpose of my visit followed by the request of the questioner to become a shaliach at camp. After that, I went straight to Koska, where I enjoyed my necessary and ritual first cup of Cafe Hafuch or the Israeli equivalent of a cross between a latte and a cappuccino (or as Pini, the character in a series of short films on the internet my son introduced me to, would say “Cafe, eh how do you say - upside down. right Upside down...”). After I ordered, I turned around to see four burgundy t-shirts that red “Ramah Israel Institute, “ immediate familiarity. Speaking in Hebrew, I met each of the members of the RII team coming to welcome a day school group from the US.

Even today, I felt right back at home. A greeting by the fruit stand guy at the corner of Derekh Bet Lehem and Esther HaMalka; A quick visit to my dry cleaner where we exchange updates on our children; followed by a walk toward Yael and finally Emek Refaim. Over the course of the morning, I see no fewer than three Ramah Wisconsin alumni, two Ramah Darom shilichim, as well as two rabbis from the US. The same women who has been asking me for tzedakah, she usually stands around Emek Refaim and Rahel Imeinu, approaches me for my regular contribution. And I feel complete.

This is a beautiful time of year here. It is almost 80 degrees and dry, a far cry from the low 40s and rain of Chicago. The blossoms on the trees, bright pinks and purples, cast a radiance on everything nearby. The air is full of the smell of flowers and the chirping of birds. The parks are full with the sweet cries of children. The relaxed atmosphere of Friday, combined with the sounds, sights, and smells, adds to the sense of personal restoration. It always amazes me.

All of the natural and physical beauty of this season of the year stands in direct contrast to this week’s Parashah with its focus on skin maladies and the resulting external ugliness. The plain text of the Torah does not tell us why these skin diseases develop only that they render the person impure for a period of time. It is left to the Sages, based on their reading of this and other parts of the Torah, to make the connection between external maladies as reflections of internal flaws or certain trespasses of the law, such as the telling of tales or the spreading of gossip. Does a skin malady reflect a Divine consequence for a transgression? Are diseases sent by God to cause external pain as punishment for causing pain to another person? Even if not sent by God, do things happen to our skin that reflects things going on emotionally on our inside? Think about stress related rashes and the like.

So, this Shabbat, I will sit with the contrast of the outer natural beauty of this season in Jerusalem and the skin ugliness discussed in parashat Tazria. I will ponder the connection between what is going on the inside emotionally and how it might be reflected externally. And I will enjoy both the נשמה יתירה, the extra soul granted to us by God on Shabbat, and the completeness of my neshama that I feel whenever I am in Israel.

Shabbat Shalom.

Communities or Empires?

2011-03-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am constantly fascinated by the unexpected places where I encounter profoundly meaningful messages. In an incident I may have related in previous postings, I was walking down Michigan Avenue when just such a message jumped out at me from the window of a Caribou Coffee location:

Build Communities
Not Empires

I gazed at the window pondering the meaning of these four words. “Build Communities” stands alone. Depending on how it is punctuated, this message can be a statement, a command or an aspiration. “Not Empires” is a fragment no matter what punctuation mark is placed at the end. What does the combination of a potential sentence and a clear fragment add up to? Why did these two phrases call out to me from the window? And what, if anything, is there to learn about the Jewish future from this message in the window?

Without delving too deeply into the grammatical implications of the phrase, “Build Communities” can stand alone because community requires multiple people and implies multiple structures. Implicit in “Build Communities” is the understanding and necessity that the community be one of meaning and covenant. Absent a strong sense of connection, mutual responsibility and obligation, what appears to be “community” is, in actuality, just a group of people living near one another but existing more or less as individuals, private human empires. Like the phrase “Not Empires,” one person standing alone is just that - standing alone, a fragment detached from the rest of society.

Just as one person is not a community, neither is one building. An edifice that is not part of a community, believing that it can stand alone or rule entire areas on its own, can be an empire but it cannot stand for long. Ultimately, it is either abandoned due to emptiness or is crushed under the weight of the empire it seeks to rule. A grand edifice is, more often than not, a sign of growing hubris. In many it ways, it marks the beginning of the end. Whatever the original purpose of the edifice, the absence of community within it overcomes the existence of purpose if one exists. If nobody buys into the purpose, the grand building sits alone, falls into a state of disrepair, and eventually crumbles.

Parashat Shemini presents us with a model that long predates the Caribou Coffee window message. The opening verse says:

א וַיְהִי, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי, קָרָא מֹשֶׁה, לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו--וּלְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

Vayikra 9:1

When the Torah says “...on the eighth day...” what eighth day is it talking about? Rashi, in citing the midrash Torat Cohanim, teaches that this is the eighth day of the installation of the Cohanim. At the center of this installation was the erecting and dismantling of the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle over a seven day period. On the eighth day, once the Mishkan was put up again and the Cohanim installed, only then did Aharon transmit the blessing to the entire people, the Community of Israel, and only then did the Divine Presence - השכינה - descend to dwell among them.

At the end of the parashah, after the offerings by Aharon and the strange (and deadly) offerings by two of his sons, after other details and lengthy expositions of acceptable and unacceptable animals for consumption, the importance of all of these rules, the essence of why the community exists, and why the Mishkan is central, is reinforced:

כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי;

For I am the LORD your God; therefore, sanctify yourselves and be holy; for I am holy;

Vayikra 11:44

When completed, the Mishkan is not a stand alone building: it is at the center of the camp, of the community; it holds the path to sanctity, to holiness, to purpose - The Torah and Mitzvot; and is the meeting place between the members of the community and God. Everything else is built around and connected to this central place and mission. In its eventual and perfect framework, everyone is connected to one another and to God. Nothing stands alone; it is all purposeful community with a social/ethical/behavioral contract, also known as a ברית or Covenant.

Yesterday, I had an incredible, hour-long conference call with six staff members who attended the National Ramah Commission’s Bert B. Weinstein Winter Staff Training Institute. Together, we talked spiritedly about the social contract of camp. I listened as they shared their sense of what makes camp sacred to them and to others, why it is important, and what the shared obligations must be in order to maintain the holiness of the community. Their strong sense of loyalty and commitment to camp as an institution and to Judaism as a way of life, to one another as staff members and, most important, to the well-being and development of their campers was inspiring. For them, as for their peers, camp is a place where Torah and People, not buildings and selfishness, stand at the center all with an eye to the future, for this is the meaning of community versus empire.

Spurred by my encounter with the Caribou Coffee window message, “Build Communities, Not Empires,” by my conversation with our Weinstein participants, and by the explicit messages of the installation days, the putting up of the Mishkan, and the statement of ultimate purpose in our parashah, I want to raise the questions I believe we all should and must be pondering:

Are we standing alone or are we building and being part of community?

Do we articulate, repeat and live by our explicit mission? Or is the mission and vision a document to be written and then tucked away and ignored?

Are we meeting the requirements of our social contract and inspiring and providing for future generations? Or are we cutting off our future for an expedient solution to today’s financial challenges?

A movement is not a set of institutions or “members.” It is an idea, a set of values, aspirations, and covenants that centers and directs a group of people to achieving meaning and Divine interaction. Take people and purpose out of camp and all you have is a bunch of buildings on a lake. But, when those same people and purpose are put back into those buildings, we get community, purpose and a future working toward what we call “The World to Come.” The questions listed above serve as reminders that whether we are talking about camp, our local institutions, our Movement or our People, purpose, meaning, ultimate outcomes, and Covenant must be at the center. In so doing, we insure that, rather than creating short-lived empires and fragments, we are building sustainable, holy Jewish communities in constant interaction with one another and with God, working to bring about the perfect world and an insured future.

Shabbat Shalom.

Vayikra – Transitions

2011-03-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

For 36 hours this week, I was sequestered in Tarrytown, NY thinking about Jewish transitions with a group of leaders, philanthropists and staff members. A guest of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, I was once again inspired by the questions raised by The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (CLSFF), by their exceptional approach to hachnassat orchim, and by their desire to improve the Jewish world. Every conference and convening by CLSFF I attend pushes all of my buttons and makes me uncomfortable – all the buttons that need to be pushed and the kind of discomfort that comes from dealing with difficult questions and thinking about them outside of my comfort zone.

We wondered aloud, in small and large groups, about how to make Jewish transitional moments for those leaving high school and entering college, as well as those making the post-college transition, more seamless and easier to navigate, more welcoming and user-friendly. Are there intentional and positive ways we might help people engage all along the way, to help each soul move along the paths of her or his own Jewish journey? What kinds of inter-organizational partnering might be possible and necessary? What are the roadblocks and stumbling blocks, the assets and liabilities? And to what extent is each organization responsible for helping steward people along even after they leave the organization’s direct orbit?

On Thursday morning, we started our day with an exceptional and stimulating limmud session with Rabbi Will Berkowitz of Repair the World. He wove together a rich and varied group of traditional Jewish texts with Jewish texts of another kind – those of Bob Dylan, from a song about longing to return to a more innocent time, before tough transitions. In a room full of diverse backgrounds and opinions, we had a Jewish convening with serious, moving, and intellectually challenging Jewish learning. It was directly connected to pushing us in our own fields to think about making transitions easier. The learning was amazing and it was the way things should be.

These conversations reminded me of a class in rabbinical school with Dr. Neil Gillman on liminality in Judaism – how we mark transitional times with ritual and prayer. During the course, we looked at everything from birth and death rituals to prayers such as Kiddush levana – the sanctification of the moon, which is recited every month. These liminal moments are examples of transitions that are filled with great possibility and great trepidation. To ease the transition, we concretize the emotion into ritual.

The connection between ritual and transition is brought to the forefront this Shabbat, when we start a new book of the Torah, Vayikra. This week, we literally transition: We are out of Egypt and have created a meeting point for the community and God. Now, we focus on the method by which our ancestors communicate with the Divine – with ritual sacrifice to mark times of joy and thanksgiving, daily routine, sins and mistakes. Vayikra opens with words of communication: ויקרא – to call, וידבר, spoke with, and ואמרת , and you will say to them. Rituals are the vehicle for human-Divine communication and the centerpiece of community, in this case in the form of animal sacrifice.

With the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, animal sacrifice ends. Rather than reinstituting sacrifices in another location, they are replaced entirely by our Rabbis with public and private prayer: New rituals created when former ones could no longer be performed. Today, we face the question of creating rituals for transitional moments that did not exist in the same fashion hundreds and even thousands of years ago. We have rituals for so many life transitions yet, very few to mark those arising between bar/bat mitzvah and marriage. Are there rituals and prayers, broadly defined, that can be created and be authentic and powerful, not contrived or hokey, that can speak to and in the voice of those making the transition? Can these be points where the Jewish community fills the space and helps people move to the next stop on their Jewish journey?

The question we pondered this week is about far more than ritual. It is about our future as a Jewish People. In a world where individuals affiliate differently than in the past, where people don’t join but engage at different touch points, how can the entire Jewish organizational ecosystem (traditional organizations and new frameworks included) work together, put aside turf issues and launch out of our silos, in order to strengthen the Jewish People by supporting the individual. Is it possible? Can we do it?

We can and we must. For so many of us, camp is our major Jewish touch point . It is where we have our rebbes, those who serve as our coaches and mentors, those we turn to when we seek guidance, who help us make choices during transitional moments. These rebbes may, in fact, be rabbis and cantors but they can also be madrichim, roshei aidah, and peers. We have to make it a priority to connect people with the activities and organizations that speak to their souls, that energize their activism, and stir their hearts. To do that well, all of the rebbeim have to be knowledgeable about and connected with the panoply of opportunities, leaders, and groups doing meaningful work, be it service work or spiritual work. We have to connect with the folks at Moishe House and Avodah, Repair the World and B’nai (put in the name of any synagogue). And we must recognize that our work is not over once someone stops coming back to camp. We at Ramah must continue our efforts to create programming for alumni in their 20’s and beyond.

As we transition from Shemot to Vayikra and as I transition from CLSFF and Tarrytown back to Chicago, I am more convinced than ever that Jewish camping in general and Camp Ramah in Wisconsin can and do play a central role in helping people move along in their Jewish journey at the critical transitional moments from teenager to college student, from college student to emergent adult. And with all that we are doing, there is more we can and should do and the need to do it in broad partnership. So, I invite you to join me in thinking about these questions as I was invited by FJC and CLSFF. And as graduation season is not that far away, make it a point to identify specific ways that you personally can help someone making one of these key Jewish and life transitions in the coming months.

Thanks Jeremy Fingerman (CEO of The Foundation for Jewish Camp and Nivonim 1977 Camp Ramah in Wisconsin alumnus) for inviting me to join you at the Jewish Transitions Convening. Thanks to the entire Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Staff for an excellent convening and for pushing the buttons that need to be pushed.

Shabbat Shalom.

Yali Derman - Courageous Artist, Survivor, and Leader

2011-03-07T07:04:00.000-08:00

Yali is an exceptional role model for all of us. Her story is profoundly moving and should inspire us to act for the causes for which we believe. Spend the ten minutes watching. It is worth your time.

2011-03-04T10:51:00.001-08:00

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Visioning Future Success: The Next Iteration of a Central Organization for Conservative Judaism and Kehillot

2011-03-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

As the USCJ prepares to vote on its new strategic plan prepared in conjunction with the Hayom Coalition, I feel compelled to share a vision of what a central organization designed to insure the future of Conservative Judaism could look like. We know that people are moved by and energized by vision which then leads to support for strategy and tactics. By no means do I believe that I have all or even any of the answers nor is this intended to be a comprehensive or complete response; rather, it is meant to spur a public discussion not about the past or the present but about the future. Finally, there is nothing here that is great chochma - most of what is suggested here reflects what is going on in the best of the business and not-for-profit world. By focusing on what is already working, constantly evaluating it, and driving creativity and innovation, the future of our movement can be secured.

I welcome any and all comments and suggestions and hope this will begin a respectful and intense discussion about the future of the central body of North American Conservative Judaism.

As we move into our next stage, I believe that to succeed, we and our central organization must:

Change our name.
Articulate a set of core values for the Movement.
Provide multiple visions for what soulful, meaningful, compelling, intellectually and spiritually fulfilling, mitzvot-based kehillot can be by highlighting the best that exist today and envisioning new models for tomorrow
Provide high quality marketing materials to support our brand on the local level
Negotiate contracts with consultants in each region of the country to support our kehillot in areas where they need it: marketing, hachnassat orchim, budget and finance, mediation, legal, etc.
Be the highest quality provider of media based learning for our constituents at every level using existing platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and whatever may develop in the future.
Support early childhood and young family inreach and outreach education programs
Lead the best middle school and high school youth programs directed toward building the next generation of thoughtful, committed, observant, creative, progressive Jews
Invest heavily in supporting our college students by focusing on campuses with large populations of our students
Work with post-college students, known by some as the lost generation or often referred to as Emerging Adults, to develop and implement models that will keep them connected, involved, learning and growing in the context of the values of our Movement.
Make The Fuchsburg Center in Israel the pinnacle of experiential and intensive Jewish learning for high school students, college students, graduate students and Adults.

A branding expert that I know often quotes Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead who when asked what the band wanted to accomplish responded:

“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.”

We are faced with the challenge of determining or at least clarifying what it is that we are about, what we uniquely do and, in actuality, accomplishing it at the highest level of quality.

Changing Our Name

The name United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is not a core value - it is a name, one that is no longer viable. Rightly or wrongly, the name is now a hindrance to our moving forward with success. There are many examples of companies and organizations changing their name as part of a process of reinvention. Whatever sentimental attachment there is to the name USCJ, it must be replaced with a new name as soon as possible.

One possibility for a new name for our central organization is Masorti Kehillot International of North America (MKI-NA). The name Masorti is already in use by our sister movements outside North America and adopoting it in combination with a preference for Kehillot instead of Synagogues, along with identifying a specific region, starts to unify the brand.

Many other possibilities exist. What is important it that the current name is not an asset but a liability. I am by no means committed to the name MKI-NA. There are certainly disadvantages to it such as the fact that the individual words may not resonate with our kehillot. I do, however, use the name MKI-NA for the rest of this document to be consistent in dreaming about the future, and as a way to demonstrate the urgent need to change our name.

Articulating Core Values

In Built to Last, Jim Collins argues that one of the reasons why some companies achieve true long-term success is because they have a clear, unchanging set of core values. They stress innovation not by changing those values but by innovating because of them. To know where we want to go, we must have a compass that provides unwavering, value-based direction, core values that will not change. MKI-North America will join with all of the other central institutions of the movement to articulate our movement’s core values. MKI-North America core values could be:

Neshama - We are committed to investing in the individual souls of our congregants. We recognize that before the intellect is engaged, we must reach the soul of each person
Kehilla - Building and strengthening sacred, spiritual community is what we do. It is the point where we nourish individuals, connect them to others, and engage them all with The Divine.
God - The point of strengthening the individual and community is to be constantly in the Divine-Human dialogue, working to make the world a worthy dwelling place for the Shekhina.
Talmud Torah - Soulful, serious, creative study of our sacred texts at all ages and stages brings us into direct dialogue with each other and with God. Torah, broadly defined, is the compass that directs us to a perfect world.
Mitzvot - Our Covenant with God brings obligations and rights. Mitzvot are the path to perfecting the world described by our tradition. They are the glue that binds the individual neshama to the community and to God. The kehilla manifests this value by building a variety of rich communities throughout the week and year with a central focus on Shabbat communities of living and learning.
Egalitarianism - MKI-North America believes that egalitarianism, however it is manifest in each kehilla, is central to the future of the Jewish people.
Hachnassat Orchim - Not only a core value but a mitzvah, MKI-North American Kehillot will be the models for making people feel welcome.
Israel - Our ancestral and national home, MKI-North America is committed to the right of the Jewish People to have our established state in our ancestral homeland. We revel and take pride in its success, share our heartfelt critiques out of a desire to strengthen her as a democratic home for the entire Jewish people and for all of her citizens, and make it an essential center of Torah for our constituents.

This list can be changed, lengthened or shortened. It is presented here as an example and as a discussion trigger. Once agreed upon by the entire MKI-North America and the other movement central institutions, however, it cannot change. Tactics and strategies for imbuing kehillot with these values may change but the values themselves must be timeless.

Best Current Practices and New Directions

MKI-NA will devote much of its time to identifying best practices in and for our kehillot, those that are genuinely unique, that promote strong participation, that succeed in building the strongest sense of kehilla, and that bring fulfillment and growth to our members. MKI-NA will work to encourage new models of creative, compelling, kehillot that can be adopted by current or new kehillot. MKI-NA will create program incubators to set aside time to develop new models of belonging and contributing. MKI-NA will be expected to be honest and critical of programs that do not meet commonly established standards of excellence while actively promoting those that do.

The Brand

MKI-North America is the protector and promoter of the brand, in this case, thoughtful, soulful, intellectually honest, Torah and Mitzvah based, egalitarian Jewish community. MKI-North America will provide a clear and thorough brand strategy to support all of its kehillot. Moreover, MKI-North America will provide the highest quality national marketing materials to support that brand on the local level, materials that can be tailor-made to the needs of each constituent kehillah. This is one of the main tasks of a central organization.

Constituent Kehilla Support

It is our belief that MKI-NA should focus on doing and supporting in our constituent kehillot what it uniquely does, do it at the highest quality level and subcontract the rest. Therefore, MKI-NA, working in partnership with our kehillot, will develop a list of common areas where kehillot require support from outside consultants. MKI-NA will then negotiate contracts for consultants in those areas for each region of the country. Such areas may include but are not limited to:

Fundraising
Budget and Finance
Mediation
Marketing
Hachnassat Orchim or Excellence in Support
Leadership Development
Succession Planning

In each of the defined regions, MKI-NA will negotiate prices for congregations based on membership units. When kehillot require consulting services in these areas, they will be able to call and set up appointments with prices already agreed upon. Regional staff will serve as liaisons between the consultants, the kehillot, and MKI-NA.

Regional or distric staff (whatever the final terminology may be) will serve as the local presence of MKI-NA. In addition to serving as the liaison between kehillot and outside consultants, they will also serve as outside evaluators of the process and monitor success. They will be regular and constant presences in the kehillot, maintaining strong ties between all of the local kehillot, as well as serving as a direct presence for the national organization.

Social Media as a Platform for Learning and Connecting

Using pre-existing platforms such as YouTube, etc, MKI-NA will be the premier provider of compelling Jewish learning opportunities for every age and stage. Torah developed in North America, in Israel and around the world will be made easily accessible. MKI-NA will ensure that only the finest, highest quality presentations will be sent out. TED talks serve as a model of what excellence can be. Similarly, G-D Cast demonstrates what creative learning can look like. MKI-NA will make it easy to know about and subscribe to the best of the Jewish Internet without having to build expensive platforms or portals. Moreover, by using resources that are easily accessible via the Internet and promoting those resources, all of our kehillot regardless of how remote or accessible, large or small, will benefit, whether they are webinars created and delivered by the movement or videos, courses, articles, etc that are posted by others.

Young Families and Early Childhood

MKI-NA will focus much of its energy on assisting kehillot in developing and running the most compelling early childhood and young family education programs possible at the most affordable prices. Investing in and connecting family neshamot to the kehilla at the earliest possible time, providing excellent, positive Jewish early childhood experiences, and connecting families to one another will help insure the future of each kehilla.

Kadima and USY

For decades, many of us have heard people say that they belong to the central organization to gain access to rabbinic placement and to the youth programs, Kadima and USY. Whether or not such statements are accurate or acceptable, we should embrace the centrality of our youth programs to the future of our kehillot and our movement. MKI-NA youth programs, Kadima and USY, will be on the cutting edge of where kids are going in the future. Careful understanding of the changing nature of youth and youth programs will help set a path to keep our children engaged Jewishly during these years in a thoughtful, egalitiarian, observant kehilla. This kehilla within the larger Kehilla will not mirror the leadership or programming structure of the larger adult Kehilla; rather, it will be attuned to and up to date with where kids are and where they are going.

MKI-NA will support the infrastructure for national and international programs, will retain current models that work well, and develop new models to engage more teens than ever before.

Koach - The College Years

The college years are, in many ways, the most crucial in insuring the future of the Jewish people and the future of our kehillot. As such, MKI-NA will make an unprecedented financial and personnel investment in the college years. At the same time, we recognize that it is impossible to deliver high quality programming, experiences, and community on every college campus. As such, MKI-NA will work together with Hillel to strengthen the quality of programming on the vast majority of college campuses.

MKI-NA, together with the other central Movement organizations and local kehillot, will identify the ten college campuses in North America that consistently become home to the largest numbers of our kehillot’s college students. MKI-NA, through its college arm, will hire ten rabbinic families, one for each campus or metropolitan area, to reach out to and connect with students constantly thoughout the year. They will be their rabbinic family during their college years.

MKI-NA Campus Rabbinic Families will build model kehillot for and with college students, will model what such kehillot can be like, and will reach out directly to individual students to support them in their spiritual journey during their college years. Such Rabbinic families must be our highest quality graduates who are also passionate about working with the college-age population. MKI-NA will provide a great salary, housing, and budget for a period of no less than four years for a family that agrees to take on this challenge.

It is crucial that we keep in mind that there are plenty of our students that will not be at these largest of campuses. MKI-NA will adopt a model similar to that of the Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) pioneered by Macy Hart to reach out to Jewish students on those campuses. MKI-NA will create regional college rabbis who ride the circuit in different parts of the country on a regular basis to strengthen and support these students.

To give over the college-age to those who are already working in these ways on campus is to cede our future to them. Make no mistake: I greatly respect what these organizations do. We should learn from them and do what only we can do: provide the same services in a way that strengthens the spiritual and critical minds of our future kehillah neshamot.

Finally, in designing programs and methods for successfully impacting the college cohort, MKI-NA will actively seek out the opinions of diverse members of the college student population and include them in the process.

Connecting with Emerging Adults

Given the success of our youth programs and our summer camps, we are uniquely positioned to keep our post-college emergent adults connected. We will use existing networks and programs and develop new ways to help these crucial populations connect Jewishly in the ways that speak to them at this point in their lives. This may be done in the context of existing kehillot or in new settings in ways similar to PJ Library programs that take place in family-friendly settings, etc. A multitude of possibilities for success exist and the populations are actually looking for ways to connect. MKI-NA will include members of this age cohort in the conversation about what their needs are and the best ways to meet those needs. MKI-NA will seek out a diverse set of opinions in this regard.

MKI-NA will share best practices from local communities and organizations. It will develop training models for kehilla leaders to develop the skill sets necessary to grow the involvement with and investment in our post-college emerging adults whether or not they “join” the kehilla in an official way. MKI-NA will create a position on the national level to learn from organizations that focus on this population and that which is important to them, organizations such as ROI, Reboot, etc.

Israel, The Fuchsberg Center, and the Conservative Yeshiva

MKI-NA, as part of Masorti Olami, recognizes the central role of Zionism - broadly defined - and the State of Israel to our future. A center in Israel devoted to serious Torah study that is both critical and soulful, that reflects the core values of movement, is crucial to our survival. Many high school students, college students, graduates students, and families experience their most powerful personal Jewish transformations in Israel and MKI - NA must have an address to provide those experiences.

At the heart of this endeavor lies the Conservative Yeshiva. MKI-NA will insure that this exceptional institution has the financial resources required to recruit students, to provide them with stipends to make it possible to take a year off to learn, and promote it constantly as the place to go and do Torah Lishmah - be it in the summer, for a few weeks, over winter vacation, etc.

The faculty of the Conservative Yeshiva will provide exceptional learning opportunities in-person, online, and via live stream that reflects the values of MKI-NA, which will work to insure its long-term financial viability.

Conclusion

I am more convinced than ever that what we need today is a vision of success - one that is compelling, that will energize and inspire people, and that is eminently achievable. Vision and a leadership willing to make revolutionary change on the national level is what will insure our future. This is an attempt to jumpstart that discussion. I realize that this effort does not include: summer camp, educational structures, seniors, revenue to support the vision, or a host of other topics. At the same time, the conversation, and the development of a vision has to begin somewhere. I know that there are many who want to engage in such a conversation and I hope this stimulates public discussion about future visioning of success for our movement.

Vayakhel - Bringing Gifts

2011-02-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

During three nights over the past week-and-a-half, I sat in a room at different congregations in Chicago having individual conversation with eager, enthusiastic young adults. Partly nervous, partly excited, each one had their own story to tell. While most of the narratives I heard had many individual elements, they were all united by a single characteristic: a passionate love for their Jewish summer home: Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. It is junior counselor interview season, and Jacob Cytryn (A huge Mazal Tov to Tamar and Jacob, by the way, on the birth of their son!) and I get the privilege and pleasure of listening to people talk about all the ways they love camp:

“Camp changed my life!”

“Camp made me who I am today!”

“Because of camp, I chose one college over another because there is a better Jewish community there.”

“I am going to Israel for a gap year program because of the Israelis I met at camp.”

“My best friends in the world are from camp.”

“I got so much from camp and now it is my turn to give back and to give to the next group of Ramahniks.”

You can’t help but walk home with a smile on your face at the end of such days. They are long and listening is an exhausting activity if done well; yet, it is also exceptionally filling for my own soul and reinforcing for a sense of hope for the future of the Jewish People.

Vayakhel speaks of the building of the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle, where Israel encountered God while traveling in Sinai. For the past few weeks, we learned of the mitzvot associated with building and we heard God dictate the design, appearance, specifications, and procedures for that building. For the next two weeks, we read about the actual construction and completion of The Sacred Space. There, we are told:

קְחוּ מֵאִתְּכֶם תְּרוּמָה, לַיהוָה, כֹּל נְדִיב לִבּוֹ, יְבִיאֶהָ אֵת תְּרוּמַת יְהוָה: זָהָב וָכֶסֶף, וּנְחֹשֶׁת.

Take from among you gifts to the Lord; everyone whose heart moves them shall bring them, gifts for the Lord... Exodus 35:5

וְכָל-חֲכַם-לֵב, בָּכֶם, יָבֹאוּ וְיַעֲשׂוּ, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה.

And let all among you who are skilled come and make all that the Lord has commanded.
Exodus 35:10

The gifts to which these verses refer are not only “things,” such as gold and silver, cloths, etc, but personal, individual gifts - the skills that they have as craftspeople, as artists, as creators. The verses refer to the specific items and structures to be built. When the Torah here says, “...all that the Lord has commanded,” it is referring to these specific things. At the end of the two week process, there will be a new building, a new meeting place, and a new relationship between B’nai Yisrael and God.

During this period, we are in the process of the building of our own mikdash me’at, our personal small sanctified space. This year, we are not building new buildings but we are building new souls, those of our campers and those of our staff. We are building the next generation of Jewish lay and professional leaders and the next generations of participants in Jewish life. The high school seniors, the college and graduate students, and the post-university veteran staff are all coming and bringing their own unique gifts to the endeavor and they are coming to make “...all that God commanded:” to learn and teach, to preserve and to do, and to uphold” future Jews and themselves. Their stories may be similar but they are individual gifts. And whether or not they articulate it, they bring these gifts out of love not just for Camp but for Judaism and the Jewish people as a whole.

This summer, we look forward to watching everyone, camper and staff member alike, bring their individual and special gifts to the construction of our Divine summer home on the shores of Lake Buckatabon.

What special gifts are you bringing to your community to inspire more contact with God and the world? Something to think about at your Shabbat Table.

כן יהי רצון

Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Ki Tissa - Stepping Up.

2011-02-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

"ובִמְקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִיש"ׁ
במשנה במסכת אבות, פרק ב' משנה ה

Hillel said... “And in a place where there are no people, strive to be a person.”
Pirke Avot 2:5

Last week, I wrote about a meeting with a remarkable leader in Israel, one who is standing up and speaking out against what are popular positions in some quarters but are destructive to the well being of the Jewish People both in Israel and abroad. Despite knowing that his opinions were anathema to many in his party, this individual chose to put the needs of Clal Yisrael above petty sectoral and fundamentalist interests. He knew that staking out such positions publicly would bring difficult times for him and for his family yet he felt that he had no choice - in a place where people were not behaving humanly, he had to strive to be human.

One of the classic interpretations of the section of Pirke Avot quoted above understands this statement to refer to teaching Torah. In other words, in a place where people are not or are unwilling to teach Torah, strive to be the teacher. Others, based on the context where the word appears throughout Torah, איש (person) to refer to the acts of tzaddikim. The רשב”ץ, Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Doron (Algeria, 1361-1444) wrote explicitly that Hillel’s statement meant:

“In a place where nobody is willing to stand in the breach and take care of the needs of the community, strive to be the person who does, even if it means taking a break from studying the words of Torah.”

For the רשב”ץ, stepping up when others do not or will not, either to lead or to care for the needs of the community or the needs of individuals, is paramount. It is the embodiment of what it means both to be human and to be created in the Divine Image we strive to imitate.

Throughout my visit to Israel, I met examples of people stepping up to meet the needs of the community, especially in areas where those needs were not being met. I reconnected with Elana Bekerman Frank. Elana worked at Ramah Darom the first summer of the camp and several subsequent summers. She and her husband recently made Aliyah and she serves as the Director of Development for Kfar Hassidim, a branch of Kfar HaNoar HaDati, a youth village near Carmiel. Working with CEO Beni Hadad, Elana is improving the physical facilities of the village and funding for its programs while Beni works to make life better for the the students, to provide them with hope for the future, and to inspire them to change the world. The students at Kfar Hassidim, mostly the children of immigrant families from Russia and Ethiopia, come from difficult family situations. They are joined by other students during the day because the school has excellent programs in education. Beni, Elana, the faculty and the staff are working hard to make a good place and a good life for these exceptional students. They are stepping into the breach because it has to be done. Kol HaKavod!

On Thursday, I visited a program called Shutaf, literally “Partner.” Shutaf was created by our friend Beth Steinberg, as a day camp and, during the school year an after-school program, for children with special needs. One of her sons has such needs and there was no program appropriate for him. Beth quickly realized that there were others like her son looking for such a program. In the summer, Camp Shutaf is made up of approximately 75% children with special needs and 25% typical campers. They are together. They learn from each other. They play. They have fun. And all boundaries between people disappear. I watched the afternoon program which meets at the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem, just off of Emek Refaim, behind one of my favorite bakeries, Pe’er. The smell of challot and baking bread, of cookies and rugelah waft through the air as we walk to watch the program. What was happening here socially, intellectually, and on all levels was nothing short of extraordinary. Beth and her friends, all of the staff and the volunteers are changing the world. They are striving to be human, to lead, in places where far too few are willing. And Beth and I started talking about ways that Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Shutaf could partner in the future.

Standing in the Shuk Mahane Yehuda, shocked by the out-of-place nature of the new Cafe Aroma, I received a call from our friend Marni Mandell. Marni was telling me about her new job as Executive Director of American Friends of the Jordan River Village, a very special new camp being built in Israel. According to the website:

The Mission of the Jordan River Village is to enrich the lives of children from throughout our region, who suffer from serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions. They will experience a vacation that is cost-free, memorable, medically sound and physically safe. The specific medical needs of each child, no matter how profound, will be addressed by a fully staffed medical center on site, functioning 24 hours a day. These children will regain some of their lost childhood and will benefit from reinvigorated minds, bodies and spirit.

Marni’s enthusiasm for her new project is contagious, the scope of the vision stunning, inspiring, and deeply moving. This is not a new project and Marni is not the only person working on it, but she has moved it forward in ways that it has not moved in several years. It will become a reality as a result of her work and lives will be touched in deep and important ways. Marni is stepping into the breach and being human in new ways.

In a few weeks, our own Yali Derman will debut a new bag in her collection at Saks Fifth Avenue in Highland Park. Saks agreed to sell the bag at cost, to make no money at all, and to donate all of the proceeds to K.I.D.S.S. - Kindness is Doing Something Special for Kids, a project of Children’s Memorial Hospital. At $85, the bag could have sold for $200 to $400 or more but Saks stepped into the breach, along with Yali, to make this happen and to support kids with cancer. Yasher Koah to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Alumnus Yali Derman for stepping up and showing Kindness to kids like her who will draw inspiration from her creativity and her success as a cancer survivor!

Today, there are many leaders that are too self-interested, that worry about their own well-being more than that of the community, who display painful lack of integrity. There are also those charged with or take upon themselves the challenge of providing and creating inspiring visions for the future that do not actually do that but instead provide short-term tactics and quick fixes. A vacuum of leadership leads to pandemonium. It leads to what we call hefkeirut, to each person doing what is best for themselves. In Moses absence, there was little willingness to stand up, to fill the breach, and thus, we ended up with the Golden Calf, the false god worshipped and prayed to, the deceiver created by people to fill the gap of leadership.

During my recent trip, I saw Elana and Beni, Beth and Marni. I met Rabbi Haim Amsallem standing up for the good of the entire Jewish People. I met Rabbi Yoav Ende, working with a group to re-establish Kibbutz Hannaton, the first Kibbutz of the Tnua Masorti. And back in the US, I was reminded about Yali and her new bag. Each of these people, individuals of courage and hope, integrity and humanity, are stepping up to change the world, to lead, to make a difference. I pray that we are inspired by each of them and that when we are in the place where there are no willing people that we stand up, fill the breach, and be the human beings that we know we can be.

Shabbat Shalom

2011-02-15T07:03:00.001-08:00

Seth Godin makes some powerful statements about how not-for-profits should operate, and it is not like a business. Please make time to watch these four minutes of video. They are worth your while!

Shemot and Thoughts on Being Called

2010-12-24T08:47:00.001-08:00

This week, a new documentary titled,The Calling, executive produced and directed by Camp Ramah in Wisconsin alumnus, Danny Alpert, aired on PBS over two nights. This powerful and inspiring film follows:

...seven young, vibrant, thoughtful and vastly different Americans as they embark on the most extraordinary journey of their lives. Representing Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant faiths, each is ignited by the "call" to serve humanity and has decided to join the clergy. The Calling ...follows them from their first days of training, through years of challenges, doubts, triumphs and surprises, and into their early practice as ordained professionals. (The Calling provides an) ...intimate look behind cloistered seminary walls and into the hearts of future religious leaders provides a rich, nuanced portrayal of faith never before seen on national television.
From The Calling Website

As the website points out, the word “Calling” is derived from the Latin term, vocare, “to call.” But the translation leaves open one very clear question: from where does the call originate? Does it come from the outside, from some external source, voice, being? Or does it come from within, either placed there by someone, something, or The One from the outside, or is it sitting inside quietly waiting for the moment to make itself known? Is this a religious experience? Can it be a secular experience? And what do people do when they experience being called?

The filmmakers created a companion website for The Calling that is extraordinary in many ways. At http://whatsyourcalling.org/ , you can view segments of the documentary and follow-up pieces by theme, by which are most popular, or by the speaker it features. After viewing clips, you are invited to join the conversation by sharing your thoughts either on the response of the person in the clip or in answer to the question or challenge raised in the clip. The creators of The Calling want to include you in the discussion and in the pursuit of hearing your own calling.

One of the companion pieces on the website consists of students from Auburn Theological Seminary answering the question: “What do you think of when you hear the term “Calling”? The answers range from “Something you just can’t get away from” to “...knowing what I am supposed to do” to “...something that is really inside even though it sounds like it should be from the outside - a really small voice” to “...some larger, external force” to “predetermination.” In other words, and as noted above, a calling can be an internal knowing, whose origins are unclear, to a grand voice calling out and telling you what you have to do. It can be a strong sense of purpose to change the world in a specific way or it can be the knowledge that God expects something specific of you in this world. There is no consensus among the students at Auburn; rather, they reflect the full gamut of understandings of the term “Calling.”

The move from the Creation Stories and the early origins of the world in general to the specific creation story of the Jewish people comes in the form of a Divine Call to Abraham - לך לך - Go forth. The Book of Exodus also opens with a “Calling”, the call from God to Moshe at the bush on Mt. Sinai. In film and in literature, both Jewish and not, the Calling is portrayed both as a commanding outside voice or a demanding interior one. It is described as the Grand Divine Instructor, the Cecille B. DeMille voice speaking to Charlton Heston, clearly telling Moses from outside himself what he is to do and how he is to do it. Similarly, it is painted as the quiet voice so similar to his own, emanating from within while appearing to originate from the bush, as in this case the that of Val Kilmer who plays both The Divine Voice and the voice of Moses in The Prince of Egypt.

We know from tradition and experience that “Callings” can be frightening. Moses demurs by raising doubts as to whether or not the Israelites will listen to him, let alone Pharaoh. Jonah flees, running to a boat to take him far away. Yet neither is able to escape the mission which they know they must complete. It is not uncommon for people to know deep within their souls that there is something that they are supposed to do, something that will change the world and themselves, and to know let it go un-acted upon for years. Some will know it forever and fear failure or success and thus refuse to act on it. Others, however, follow the calling to places they cannot imagine and touch lives, change lives, and transform worlds in the most Divine ways.

This week, the Torah reminds us of the call to Moses, the call to bring freedom to the oppressed; to bring law to the lawless; and to bring redemption to the captive. This week, Danny Alpert and The Calling push us to confront our own souls, to listen to the still small voice that comes from within or that emerges from an encounter with another, and to go and change the world. If you have not yet watched it, take time to view The Calling which is now available from PBS and at The iTunes Store, visit the website, http://whatsyourcalling.org/ , explore there, listen to the voices of others, join the conversation. And then focus on your calling and go, get started.

Yasher Koah to Danny Alpert and the entire team of “The Calling.”

Shabbat Shalom.

This post also appears on the blog of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

Judah, Joseph, Self-Revelation and Autism

2010-12-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

The following were words of Torah that I was honored to share at the Bar Mitzvah of Jack Rosen, the magnificent son of my friends Wendy and Michael Rosen, as well as their son, Charlie.

Jack became a Bar Mitzvah this past Shabbat, Parashat VaYigash, at Bnai Joshua Beth Elohim in Northbrook, Illinois. Mazal Tov Jack, Wendy, Michael, Charlie and Jan.

These words are dedicated in honor of Jack and other Jewish children with Autism and to their incredible families who deserve the greatest support the Jewish community can provide.

The air is heavy with anticipation. Emotions, already running high all morning, reach a crescendo of tension. The speaker completes his impassioned plea for mercy, an edited retelling of a family story: a bitter tale of favoritism and selfishness, of jealousy and hatred, of love for a father and his inconsolable pain of loss. Threatened with the possibility that he will be the cause of his father Jacob’s ultimate demise, Judah pleads with the listener for mercy and for the release of his youngest brother, the most beloved, Benjamin. This morning, we read one of the most dramatic moments in the entire Torah, the moment when Joseph, now second only to Pharaoh in power and authority, reveals his true identity to his brothers.

Joseph the listener, identified until now to the brothers by his Egyptian name Tzafnat Paneach, is completely overwhelmed by Judah’s words:

א וְלֹא-יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק, לְכֹל הַנִּצָּבִים עָלָיו, וַיִּקְרָא, הוֹצִיאוּ כָל-אִישׁ מֵעָלָי; וְלֹא-עָמַד אִישׁ אִתּוֹ, בְּהִתְוַדַּע יוֹסֵף אֶל-אֶחָיו. ב וַיִּתֵּן אֶת-קֹלוֹ, בִּבְכִי; וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ מִצְרַיִם, וַיִּשְׁמַע בֵּית פַּרְעֹה. ג וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל-אֶחָיו אֲנִי יוֹסֵף, הַעוֹד אָבִי חָי; וְלֹא-יָכְלוּ אֶחָיו לַעֲנוֹת אֹתוֹ, כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ מִפָּנָיו.

Joseph could no longer control himself before all of his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!” So there was no one else about when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. His sobs were so loud that the Egyptians could hear, and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I AM JOSEPH! Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer him because they were terrified before him.”

During their previous encounters, Joseph conceals his identity. Only now, hearing Judah acknowledge their brotherhood and realizing that continuing the ruse puts Jacob’s pain and most likely death on his own shoulders, does Joseph reveal himself. Until this moment, everyone, the brothers, Pharoah, those in the room, have one picture of who he is and what he can do. Now, Joseph screams out, “This is who I really am! I am Joseph! I am not Tzafnat Paneah! I am not who you think I am! I am different. I am human!” Joseph, the whole person, is revealed.

The Torah tells us that Joseph “can no longer control himself before all of his attendants” or

לְכֹל הַנִּצָּבִים עָלָיו . In other words, Joseph can’t hold back anymore in front of all of these other people. That translation raises the possibility that perhaps if he was alone in the room for the entire speech, Joseph may have been able to hold back and not show himself but with everyone watching, Joseph simply crumbled. One commentary understands this phrase to mean that along with all of his brothers and servants, the room was full of people coming to ask things of Joseph. The combined pressure of his brothers, members of Pharaoh’s house, and all of these people with expectations of who he was simply overwhelmed Joseph. Revealing himself, in this understanding of the verse, is actually a sign of weakness. There are numerous commentators who give varying explanations for why this moment is so overwhelming for Joseph, why he chooses to show his true self at this exact minute.

For me and on this morning in particular, these three verses paint a very different picture. Imagine that most people have one picture of you, of who you are, of what you are about, of what you can do. Imagine that they have expectations based almost exclusively on what they see on the outside, what their first impressions are. They have decided who you are. Not you. Them. And then, in one exquisite moment, all you have to do is say your name and their picture of who you are completely unravels. It transforms completely and forever. It is no surprise then that the revelation can be terrifying for them. For years, they were able to pretend that you did not exist, not as an individual and not as a category. But now you have told them who you are and they can no longer deny your existence. Imagine the power of that moment.

Sadly, in most places in the Jewish world, people and institutions do not see children and adults with autism. Some choose not to see them, to not acknowledge in deep and real ways that there is autism in the Jewish community while others are simply unaware. Far too often, our synagogues, our Federations, our day schools and religious schools, our summer camps make it virtually impossible to know that there are children with autism in the Jewish community because we close our doors to their families: the child is too different, too demanding, too expensive. We deny their existence or we decide what they can or cannot do, who they are, what they are about. And then, a moment comes and the child reveals himself and shouts out to the world, sometimes in phrases, sometimes in chirps and tweeting sounds, sometimes in silence, “I AM JOSEPH!” “I AM A REAL PERSON!” “SEE ME FOR WHO I AM ON MY TERMS, NOT ON YOURS!” At that moment, of course the outsider is terrified - they are forced to confront their own limitations and their own nearsightedness. And, at the same time, imagine how freeing it must be for the child to shed everyone else’s expectations and be who they know that they are.

On this morning, in this specific synagogue, with this specific family and friends, we are part of an exceptional revelatory moment. Today, Jack shouts out to the world that he is a beautiful soul, a precious young Jew, the vessel that holds a warm and powerful Divine spark. He announces that he is who he is, on his terms. Other b’nai mitzvah talk about how they become a “man” on this day. Today, Jack demands in his own sweet way that the Jewish community sees him, comes to know him, values him.

What makes our Jack different from Joseph is that there is already a whole world that sees him as he is, that loves him for being exactly who he is, that shuns its own limited view of who he can be in order to embrace who he fully is. From this bimah, I watch my friends Wendy and Michael, Charlie and Aunt Jan, beam with love for Jack, a love so powerful and deep that there are no words to describe it. Everyone here today loves and values you Jack for who you are. They don’t measure you against any other. They love you for who you are. Cantor Frost and all those who worked with you to prepare for this day love you, know that you are capable of so much, of changing worlds, and are so very proud of you.

This is a synagogue that welcomed Jack and his family when so many others could not or, honestly, chose not to. Rabbi Kedar, who is so sad not being here today, was a visionary among rabbis who did not recoil at Jack’s autism but, rather, perceived the strong Godly spark that lives in Jack and in his family. BJBE opened its arms and its doors and welcomed in an entire family where others were only willing to open the door to three, not four people. In an era where we fret about our shrinking numbers, where philanthropists and organizations devote tens of millions of dollars to convincing those least interested in being connected Jewishly to do something, anything Jewish, too many institutions close their doors to families like the Rosen’s who want Judaism and the Jewish community in their lives, who want to give to and be supported by the Jewish community, slam doors in the faces of Jack Rosen’s all over the country. Yet, BJBE, Keshet, the Ramah Day Camp, Camp Beber and Camp Yofi and others open those very same doors and are changed for the better because of it. They are examples of how the Jewish world should be and I pray that others learn quickly from their example.

Jack, everyone here this morning that knows you loves you and knows how truly exceptional you are. They have been blessed to see through a window that you opened into your soul so that they can see the sweet, smart, beautiful Jack that you are. When I think about when that window opened for me, it was at Camp Yofi: Family Camp for Jewish Families with Children with Autism. I was sitting at the pool with your Mom and we were catching up, sharing stories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the golden era of John Hughes’ movies. And you and your dad and your brother and your Chaver, Asaf, were in the pool. You would splash and sing and then you would dive under the water and stay there for long periods of time. There, splashing in the water, there enveloped by the pressure of the warm, clear water, you allowed yourself to emerge, to shine, to blossom. This was a new moment for me, not you, a moment where I saw a spark that could only be seen through the prism of the water. It was the moment where I got to see you clearly, to see the fun spark of God in your soul. It is a moment that I cherish and that I will never forget. I know that Susan Tecktiel, Sue Kabot, Christine Reeves and the staff of Camp Yofi learned you at those kind of moments as well, that they too love you for who you are, and that they send congratulations and love to you and your family on this magnificent day.

And those who are here this morning that did not know you before are also changed for the better because they got to meet you. Today you become a ben Torah, a son of Torah. You said the Shema, you said the blessings over the Torah, and like Abraham our Father, you are a blessing. And when you said the blessings, your glorious smile let us know that you understand what being Torah is all about, being a living examplar of good and of Godliness.

On the global Jewish level, let today be one where those standing in the virtual room, with all of their expectations, be shocked into seeing that they are obligated to recognize Jews with autism as full members of the community and that they are thus obligated to provide a space for them equal to all other Jews. Let this be a day of reckoning for those organizations who, pressed in difficult financial situations, may look to reduce or eliminate funding for special needs programs. Let this be an uncomfortable day of reflection, of being forced to acknowledge and open the doors fully to all of those who are like you Jack.

And for those of us in the actual sanctuary, sharing this moment with the קדוש ברוך הוא - The Holy Blessed One - let us enjoy this moment of celebration together for a truly beautiful and exception soul who shouted out so quietly and tenderly, “I am Jack. I love the tradition of my parents.” And after Shabbat, let’s make sure that the rest of the Jewish world learns how to celebrate you as well.

Shabbat Shalom.

A New Sefer Torah Comes to CJDS - Mira's Words of Torah

2010-12-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Chicago Jewish Day School, under the magnificent leadership of Judy Taff, celebrated the donation and dedication of a Sefer Torah to the school from the Northwest Suburban Jewish Congregation. Once a flourishing synagogue with a fantastic USY chapter, Northwest Suburban Jewish Congregation recently sold its building and a piece of suburban history came to a close. However, the congregation lives on in the vibrant Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago through the gift of the Torah.

Our daughter, Mira, was asked to deliver the D’var Torah at the celebration. The following are her words of Torah for the occasion:

Who here has a Mezuza at home?
Who here knows what Tefillin are?
Who has ever held a Torah?
Who knows what these three things have in common?

The Shema appears in these three important items, the Torah of course is the most important one, which is the reason for today’s special occasion.

In the Shema it says,

וכתבתם על מזוזות בתיך ובשעריך

Inscribe it on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Shema tells us that we need to have Mezuzot on our doors as a constant reminder of these rules, and of yetziat metzra’im - the Exodus from Egypt. It is also supposed to remind us of the Torah when we walk into our homes and out of them.

The Shema also teaches us to wear Tefilin:

וקשרתם לאות על ידיך והיו לטוטפות בין עיניך

Bind it as a sign on your hand, and let it serve as a symbol on your forehead.

Tefilin is a sign of love between Bnai Israel, and HaShem, and we see that when the mitzvah of Tefilin appears in the paragraph after the Shema where the first word is ואהבת - love.

The Tefflilin on our arm is close to our heart. The Tefillin on our head is close to our mind. I think that this shows that we can’t have an idea with only our mind, and we can’t have an idea with only our heart, so we have to use them both.

This summer I had an amazing opportunity, I was allowed to make my own Tefilin with the Israeli artist Noah Greenberg. He not only showed us how to make Tefilin, but taught us about it, and I learned how the Shema is one of the prayers tucked into the boxes at the top of the Tefilin. At camp, I get to learn from experience. We are lucky to do this at school too.

What I like about how I learn Torah at school is that no one sits us down to tell us what’s there. We get up and do it together. I like how when we don’t understand something, we can have a discussion about what we get, don’t get, and what we think. When I have a question about Torah, I get to ask it, and say what I think with the full support of my class.

Here at CJDS, the teacher doesn’t just talk to us, but we have big discussions, and we can debate about what we think. It’s more interesting and it’s more fun to learn. I love it how not only the students are in the conversations and debates but the teachers are too. They’ll take sides, and it takes everything to a whole new level of learning.
I get to share what’s in my head and my heart, and I know my teachers do too.

I think that we say Shema so often because it reminds us of HaShem and HaShem’s rules. I think that because in what Orly is going to read this morning HaShem says a lot about love and loyalty. I think that G-d says that so that we stay on track in our lives, and we always remember that G-d loves us.

Thank you so much for giving me the chance to share some Torah with you this morning, I would like the chance to thank the members of The Northwest Suburban Jewish congregation for giving us this amazing new Torah. I know that we all appreciate your generous donation to CJDS.

Boker tov.

Mira’s words of Torah are a synergy of all that she has learned over the years at The Epstein School, Camp Ramah Darom, our home and, most recently The Chicago Jewish Day School. We are so proud of her and feel fortunate that she and Amalya are learning in such a special place.

Looking to the Future

2010-11-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

This week, I had the good fortune to attend a series of conversations about the Jewish future. Specifically, the group was dreaming about what a bright future for Conservative Judaism might look like. The positive feeelings and optimism was energizing and not pollyanish. The experience was exhilarating and uplifting. The conversations were focused at 50,000 feet, on broad visions and new ideas, not at 3,000 feet on tactics and quick fixes. We often spend so much time focusing on the immediate, on the problems of the day, on short-term trends and on the quick fixes that we fail to look above and beyond, to dream of the future. Sometimes, looking to the future is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

The second morning of our sessions started with a d’var Torah, placing Torah squarely at the forefront of what we are about and where are our vision should be focused. Commenting on the changing of names from Ya’akov to Yisrael, the speaker examined the explanation the Heavenly angel gave for this change:

כִּי-שָׂרִיתָ עִם-אֱלֹהִים וְעִם-אֲנָשִׁים, וַתּוּכָל

...for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.

Deuteronomy 32:29

That is, Yisrael is the new name because it acknowledges the struggles Jacob experiences and his triumphs in those struggles. Hidden in the name Yisrael is another very similar Hebrew word: Yashar or straight. Thus, the name Yisrael can be seen to denote both struggle and straightness or directness.

Jacob has to struggle with his own identity, with other people and with the Divine. Moreover, Jacob has to be direct in his self-examination. He has to be honest with himself. In exploring his identity, he cannot pretend, he cannot ignore, and he cannot whitewash. He has to undergo the difficult process of being straight with himself. It is only when he undergoes the process of self-examination and struggle with his own soul in the most honest, clear and direct way that he is able to emerge as a new soul with a new vision and thus deserving of a new name.

Sitting in the discussion about visions of the future of Conservative Judaism, I found the two meanings of Yisrael to be profoundly relevant to our work. In order to envision the future, we need to struggle among ourselves to flesh out, in clear terms, what is most important to us, what our core values are. That struggle has to take place concerning our humanity and our understanding of God’s mission for us, our vision of what a repaired and healed world looks like and how we are going to get there.

Moreover, we have to be straight with ourselves and with others. We are obligated, as the leader of the meetings instructed us, to put it all out on the table, to be honest, to disclose our hopes and dreams as well as our concerns and fears. We are not to hold back. We need to devote some time to assessing where we are today and how we got here but the bulk of our energy needs to be an honest and deeply struggle with visioning the brightest universe of possible futures for Conservative Judaism at the highest altitudes.

The outcome of such a process will inspire. By stuggling and dreaming in an honest and straight way, we can set a course for a vibrant, progressive, committed, spiritual Conservative Jewish future and then we can work vigilantly and hopefully to triumph in achieving that vision.

What is your vision of a bright future for Conservative Judaism? What do you think our Core Values are? Please share them with us either on our facebook page or at lsykes@ramahwisconsin.com. I look forward to sharing the answers with you and with others.

Shabbat Shalom.

The Impact of Working with Special Children on Staff members.

2010-11-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Lilli Flink, a staff member in the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, recently shared this essay with me. It is part of her application to graduate studies. It captures the impact that working in a special needs program such as Tikvah has on a staff member as well as the importance of such a program. The Jewish community needs to hear the words of Lilli and understand that it must DO MORE for members of the special needs community and their parents and loved ones. It also demonstrates that working in these programs leads people to make them lifelong commitments. Thanks Lilli for sharing this. If you wish to share it, please forward in its entirety and please credit Lilli Flink for the work.

     I have had the best summer job in the world. No, it’s not because of the money, the benefits, or the title—those are far from prestigious. It’s for the community, the challenges, the support, the final feeling of immense reward, and much more. For the past three summers, I have been a camp counselor in the Tikvah program at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Tikvah is a specifically designed program for adolescents with Asperger’s Disorder, ADHD, and high-functioning Autism. Working as a counselor in the Tikvah program has been extremely rewarding and challenging for many reasons. For two months straight, I eat, sleep, and breathe special needs kids. My job tests my patience, but also makes me laugh harder than anything else. My campers struggle with behavioral and social disorders that inhibit them on a day-to-day basis, on both the individual and interpersonal levels. At camp, the Tikvah staff works to create a supportive, warm environment for our campers to succeed, cultivate positive relationships, and work towards individualized goals. These kids are infinitely more than what they look like on paper or at first glance. They are extremely talented; some are geniuses, some trivia fiends, and others amazing artists and singers. As a part of the Tikvah program, my campers are not defined by what they cannot do, but by what camp empowers them to accomplish and brings out in them.

           Along with the numerous responsibilities I have for my campers are the everyday joys associated with their personalities. The comic relief in the campers’ unconventional ambitions often remedies the everyday stresses of my job. One of my most recent campers can be summed up in two words: ‘teddy bear’. Avi is tall, with curly light brown hair, and is shy at first. Once he trusts you and feels comfortable he assumes his happy demeanor and
talks incessantly. Every day I was greeted by Avi’s refreshing delight in life, a soft handshake, and his cheerful catchphrase, “boy, aren’t I looking sharp today?” Memorable moments like this made my summers worthwhile.

           Over these summers, I have learned a tremendous amount from my supervisors, colleagues, and campers. Being a Tikvah counselor is intensely gratifying, as it refocuses my intentions and priorities and puts life into perspective. Many campers struggle to form and maintain social connections at home. That is why we, the staff, essentially create a family and a community for our campers—so that they can have positive mentors and learn basic life skills such as healthy eating habits, living actively, job techniques, and how to lose gracefully. Through living at camp, they learn appropriate social skills and develop meaningful friendships—abilities they may not otherwise ever acquire.

           As a Tikvah counselor, I have gained a deeper understanding of the social boundaries and challenges confronting my campers as they relate to their peers. Through this process, I have also become more acutely aware of my own social boundaries and interactions. Because I consistently reminded my campers of basic social skills and cues, I was forced to be a constant role model for them through my own behavior and actions. I also gained insight every summer into new approaches towards our campers and programs due to the innovative, hard-working staff. Because the nature of our program demands creative and dynamic activities, our staff learned to operate as a cohesive group—one that communicated well, organized and prepared, and, most importantly, learned to be flexible. Not only have I grown as an individual by being around my campers and teaching by example, but I have also learned a great deal from the talented staff with whom I have worked and planned. Above all, by developing skills as a Tikvah counselor, my passion for special needs has deepened.

           This job has simultaneously tested my patience and forced me to re-imagine the hidden and oft-overlooked potential of adolescents with special needs. By leaving my comfort zone to create a magically positive and influential atmosphere like the one at camp, I have seen Tikvah campers create friendships with typical adolescents that outlast the eight weeks of camp. It is truly a highlight to watch these bonds develop and enable our campers to take advantage of the opportunities that Ramah offers.

           My campers have taught me more than I will ever teach them. They have enabled to me to overcome some of my inhibitions, take risks, and find laughter in the hardest moments. These three summers have also helped me develop a passion for programs like Tikvah—ones that enable teens with special needs to achieve what other teens do naturally. While I am uncertain of what area of medicine I will ultimately pursue, I can see myself devoting my professional career to helping kids like Avi and my former campers, and it’s all thanks to my first summer job.