Who's In Your Community?

After more than a year of not learning Jewish Texts daily, which was actually painful, I have returned to my daily learning. I chose to go through Masechet Hagiga, because I remember well learning the very beginning of this tractate years ago in relation to who is included in our community and why.

So the Tractate begins with the following Mishneh, so very loosely translated for purposes of this discussion:

All are obligated to to perform the Mitzvah of appearing in the Temple Courtyard on the festivals except a deaf-mute, a mentally compromised person, and a minor. Also exempted from the Mitzvah to appear are a person of undetermined sex and a hermaphrodite, women and slaves who have not been freed, the lame, the blind, the infirmed, the aged and the one who is unable to ascend by foot.

So I remember thinking when learning this Mishneh years ago, so who is included in this all - inclusive group of “all [who] are obligated?” What is important to note is that I often find that too often well meaning learners read the dictum and stop there. BUT, it is critical to continue in the Gemara to understand what is going on.

First of all, the critical element of who is to go and perform this mitvah of appearance at the Temple (and bring offerings, a completely other discussion) is NOT about who I like or do not like or who I accept or do not accept. IT IS ALL ABOUT who has the OBLIGATION to do what is required to do. This is a very clear and pragmatic issue and I think that often these matters of exclusion and exemption should and MUST be learned and studied from this first intentional perspective and NOT through the lenses of so many contemporary prejudices, additional personal perspectives and so on. Let’s just, for a moment stay with the text of Masechet Hagiga because I think it comes to teach us something so critically important about how we think about community and who we include and accept in our communities.

The Gemara goes on to question EACH of the categories of excluded people, citing verses from Torah that talk to the OBLIGATION that people do or do not have. Among some of the discussions are the following points that are made:

a. There is a discussion and debate about what it means to be a “slave that is not freed.” The concern expressed is that some people were basically half status slaves and half status free people. So, if a person as a free person is obligated to do X and is not obligated to do X as a slave, how do we address this category of “slaves who have not been freed” to allow the half-free person to fulfill their obligation of appearing in the Temple Courtyard.

b. The blind and deaf persons are discussed in terms of whether they are blind or deaf in both eyes or ears or only one. One of the texts cited is that G-d has compassion on all beings and just as G-d surveys the community with BOTH EYES, would we be embarrassing the one who only sees out of one eye or one ear?

c. Women are discussed precisely in terms of what they are obligated to do and what they are not obligated to do. IT IS NOT A BLANKET EXCLUSION, but rather the various options are explored and it is suggested and discussed that women do, according to some of the teachers of the Mishneh and Gemara, have the obligation of appearing for the purposes of rejoicing at times of community celebrations.

And so the discussion goes on quite extensively. I feel compelled to think about how some categories of exclusion and inclusion have in fact changed through the years for good and some for not so much good.

For example, let us consider the mentally impaired person (the deranged person according to the Mishneh). The degree of this impairment is also discussed at great length so that we do not impose any unnecessary or excessive exclusion. While not the case in all corners of our Jewish community, it is safe today to say that through various organizations, we work with our mentally impaired Jewish children and adults and include them where and as much as possible, not unlike the point of some of the proposed teachings of Hagiga. The inclusion of children is also debated, and clearly again, in most communities of our Jewish world, we now err on the side of including our children so that they will learn what it means to be a practicing Jew and member of a community. YAY us!

Then medical advances have totally challenged us to rethink the inclusion of our deaf, mute, lame and blind community members, making them viable and capable of full inclusion in more and more cases. As just one example, some years ago, there was a question posed regarding a blind woman who wanted to light Shabbat candles. An Orthodox Posak decided that based on various texts and precedents, she could and should light candles (with assistance for obvious reasons) AND someone else who could see the candles should light them for the rest of the family. This Posek indicated that he was using G-d’s stance as RACHMANA, The Compassionate One, to inform this decision. How lovely, truly lovely!

But, in some of these groupings, unfortunately, too many segments of our Jewish community have become much more exclusive and non-inclusive than Hagiga and so many other texts teach and suggest. Think of what is going on with our women in some of our communities, our hesitancy to include GLBTQ Jews in our gatherings, and other senseless exclusions that sometimes seem informed by other factors, NOT Jewish teachings and texts.

As we enter Mar Cheshvan (poor Cheshvan without any holidays or celebrations, except for, of course Rosh Hodesh and Shabbat, which HAVE to count for something, don’t you think?!?) let us make Cheshvan happier and our community fuller by rethinking WHO'S IN OUR COMMUNITY? May we all follow the example of G-d as The Compassionate One and not just dictate who is in and who is not, but think this thing through as carefully and completely as the voices of Hagiga!

A Lesson from Mohamed Morsi and Israel’s Bus 497

Am I the only one in the world who was not surprised by what happened this summer in Egypt? Really? In “using” the democratic process, the population elects the Muslim Brotherhood to lead a democratic state?!? What is wrong with this equation? Now, I get it. In a democratic process anything can AND DOES happen, clearly! But quickly enough, Egypt was not looking so much like a democracy after all! A few days ago, with charges of inciting murder and many other abuses being levied against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood a few months after their fall, it looks like this group’s hope for anything approaching democratic leadership have been dashed. And, it appears, appropriately so! So the debate goes another round, ding ding ding! Does the United States have a right (responsibility? Any business?) getting involved with countries like (oh right, don’t forget Syria!) where abuses are threatening internal citizenry, never mind what happens to others OUTSIDE the pale of that country’s political process!

Let us not forget that a mere two years ago, one of our own notorious political hopefuls for President was none other than David Duke, known for his many political runs for office (all of which were unsuccessful, thank G-d and the intelligence of the American people, specifically those in Louisiana). If you did not know this little tidbit of Americana, than this is the greatest success of all in terms of who we are as America! I don’t even want to consider what would have happened if ….. but then this is a democracy, in which all can speak, yell, even be abusive and prejudiced and inappropriate, but when the democratic process is in action, we are ultimately protected, may it always continue to be so!

Not so with Egypt! So once again, its people are in turmoil, going through yet another painful and protracted process of regaining its footing. Sure, there are protests and rebellions, but well, we all know what has happened during the last months in the name of ….. what, I am not sure.

So what does Bus Line 497 in Israel have to do with any of this? Bus Line 497 has garnered a great deal of attention and consternation as the self-appointed Mehadrin Line (and oh yes, there are others!), you know, kind of like the parts of the United States not so long where black people had to enter the busses through the back doors and sit in the back so as not to pollute the white people in the front. Except this time, it is TODAY – approximately fifty years after that battle -- and the protected passengers on Bus Line 497 are men and the pollutant passangers are women. Yes, this is unspeakably horrible. Now don’t get me wrong, IF an individual group or community in say, B’nei Brak or Ramat Beit Shemest want to rent their own private busses and demand such separate seating, go right ahead. BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A PUBLIC STATE SPONSORED EGGED BUS!!!!!!!!

Anyone seeing a pattern of here in terms of what happens with ideological and religious extremism and where it can and does lead!?! So, now thanks to the Israel Religious Action Center under the leadership of Anat Hoffman, the DEMOCRATIC PROCESS is alive and well in Israel, thank you very much. In fact, they have their very own FREEDOM RIDERS, a group of people who specifically go and take short trips on the Egged lines on which individuals are trying to coopt government resources and services for their own purposes. Not only that, but the Knesset has indicated quite clearly that this is illegal and now there are signs on every EGGED bus indicating that each and every passenger may and has full permission to sit wherever they wish!

It is truly terrifying when you consider the abuse and inappropriate behaviors of some of our most religious Israeli (and others for that matter) Jews towards others but, Baruch HaShem, Medinat Yisrael IS upholding and carrying on the legacy of Eretz Yisrael and NOT handing over this wonderful place and space to the extremists that are trying to impose their own code of behaviors on others.

In this season of awe and reconsideration of ourselves as human beings let us remember that religious belief and religion is supposed to make us better people and not facilitate our succumbing to forces of evil, misusing and abusing the beautiful traditions that all of our faiths have given us, whether we are Jewish, Christian or Moslem or any other people of G-d.

Gemar Chatimah Tovah!

Introducing --- INTENTIONAL PERFORMATIVE JUDAISM

You know, it really has been a while since we added yet another ideological grouping to our growing rainbow of the many different definitions of Judaism and Jews. I often feel lost inside of all of the different names we give to ourselves. I can’t even imagine how Moshe Rabbeinu would handle this disunity since titles seem to be so important in our times that they practically walk in the door before we do.

A poem that I often have used through the years at this season in my teaching is Moshiach’s Hat by ANOMYMOUS BEN KOLANYMOUS (which can and should be found and read at http://haruth.com/Jewish/JSMoshiachsHat.html ) -- it is a thoughtful and actually chilling piece that walks us through the journey of the Moshiach who comes back to earth and tries to find where he fits in and cannot. Either he is not accepted by the “black hats” or looked at as suspect by this and that Hassidic group, not accepted by the more liberal Jews who want to be sure he is safe and so on. You get the point – think the Jewish version of Tom Lehrer’s National Brotherhood Week! It’s funny if you find tragedy amusing.

So, I have been reading this wonderful book that my daughter Rachie gave me for Channukah. It is SHUVA by Yehuda Kurtzer about how we fashion our identity today through consideration of “the future of the Jewish past.” I highly recommend this book to those who are struggling, as am I, with what has become and is becoming of that thing we call Jewish community or AMCHA! Then to add to my already pensive mood, this morning I opened up my most recent email from Morethodoxy (also a wonderful resource for thinking and consideration of difficult issues) and I see this word that keeps appearing lately in so much I am reading – PERFORMATIVE – namely the notion that to be Jewish we have to DO Jewish. So what does this mean? Well according to the Moshiach’s Hat it is ALL about the dress – what you wear and how you look wearing it. In our Jewish communities it is about who is allowed to play with your child or mine or where we are allowed to announce a variety of Semachot that may not resonate with the larger community. What will they say if my daughter has a public Simchat Bat? What if we have people of color in our shul? Where can I share the good news that my lesbian daughter and her girlfriend have decided to spend their life together? Who accepts me, with my Modern Orthodox ways and look, as a teacher of Jewish texts? Who does not accept the conversion of my son? And so the list goes on…..

Now I often say that I am going to write a book one day called “I stand in one place and they change what they call me” or some more catchy shortened version of the notion. I was born to an Orthodox identified mother who INTRAmarried my father from a non-religious background and we grew up Halachically conservative. Yes, chevra, there was once such an entity! So I learned how to be actively and purposely Jewish – you got it. PERFORMATIVE in an intentional way. Then I become an adult (at least I think I did) and there is no such thing any more. So now, I am Orthodox, then it is important to distinguish that I am Modern Orthodox and now they call me Open Orthodox. Go figure! Again, comedy is surely to be found in this tragic insanity.

So as we are in the midst of the Aseret Yemai Teshuvah/Ten Days of Repentence and return to G-d and to our rooted identity, I take stock. I am clearly intentional about my Judaism and it is most definitely performative – filled with codified actions and involvements both individually and as part of a community. So, when the Moshiach comes to look for me, he can look in my inclusive pluralistic INTENTIONAL PERFOMATIVE Jewish community and place. Please do feel free to join me.

Gimar Chatimah Tovah to all.

ON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

Yesterday morning, Sunday, August 25, 2013, I was already thinking in Baltimore terms while sitting in our Elkins Park Pennsylvania kitchen. We were preparing to go take my parents out for their 63rd Anniversary along with some of our cousins. As we were having a wonderful family breakfast the Sunday news magazine shows were on the television and the focus was on the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington and the pivotal “I have a dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I heard a statement by one of the commentators that absolutely jolted and chilled me. The observation was made that fifty years ago prejudice and exclusion and segregation was by intent in the south and de facto in the North. How much has this changed?

I well remember my freshman year in college in 1971. I quickly formed a wonderful friendship with two girls, one from South Carolina and one from New York. Having gone through my high school years in Baltimore Maryland and having been active in Student Council in my school as well as the county and state level, we constantly talked about, showed concern about and wrestled with the lack of integration of whites and blacks and all others who were part of the American tapestry as concerned, idealistic a-bit-too-young-for Woodstock baby boomers. Integration was ALWAYS the topic of discussion and dreams. By contrast, my friend and soon-to-be roommate from New York was from de facto land and my Southern friend and other soon-to-be roommate was from intentional and obvious segregation country. I on the other hand who lived in the North according to the Southerners at school and was part of the South by the estimation of the Northerners learned that this topic and angst so characterized my formative years while I also learned that no one had yet figured out exactly where that Mason-Dixon line was really drawn.

I was really already on the civil and human rights wagon, even though I was too young for the March. In student council we were constantly pushing lines of integration much to the chagrin of many of our parents. We learned to “fight the establishment” and to hold on to those dreams, the ones of Martin Luther King Jr. and others of that era for a better and more shared collective future for all members of the human family. I remember being horrified by the words of prejudice and cringing from the lack of acceptance indicated by too many of the adults in my life at that time – definitely part of the generation gap from my perspective.

And here I sit FIFTY years later. I can say the word FIFTY but I still cannot fully grasp much less fathom what it means, personally or historically – a topic for another post, to be sure. What I do note is that on one hand I agree with the commentators that we have made incredible, though slow and at times rocky and painful progress. What I also note is that we still have so far to go. So at the same time we can feel pride and happiness at goals achieved in the acceptance and appreciation of those different than us in any way (actually, wait, aren’t we all different from each other if we really think about it?!?); while also wanting and needing so much more.

While we were eating breakfast and watching television, we were also reading the paper. We are such great multi-taskers, aren’t we?!? Lo and behold as if in not-so-hidden hidden code, while the front page of the main section of our Sunday paper was about the same fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s dream and the pivotal March, the first page of the local section was about another set of dreamers for something better, a lesbian couple who had been married recently in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. These women were celebrating that they were finally accorded their civil rights as two partners sharing their lives and simultaneously not sure this recognition will stick, given the political battles now waged in Pennsylvania amongst other states.

Our Jewish tradition reminds us that we will not complete the serious work and task at hand by ourselves or immediately but that we must all do our part as the course of time moves on. So here we sit on the cusp of the next fifty years. Tom Lehrer reminds us across generations about how easy it is for all to hate the other in his seminal parody, National Brotherhood Week. But as we move into these coming decades, let us remember “it is not for you alone to complete all of the work, but neither are you exempt from doing your part” and that only by all of us doing our part will all of our hopes and dreams, dare I say expectations, of being accepted by each other, be a goal we can realize together. As Jewish tradition also teaches, “If you will it, it is not impossible.” Here’s to the next fifty years and making dreams reality!

LETS GO TO THE CIRCUS!

LETS GO TO THE CIRCUS! Mark Rosenstein and I never officially met (and no we are not related to each other!) but our professional lives crisscrossed and at different times and in different gilgulim, we each gave so much on behalf of an institution in which we were involved, Akiba Hebrew Academy in Merion, Pa. Mark went on to make Aliyah and I continued to try to do everything I could for Jewish Education and Jewish communities in North America. Through the years, our paths crossed briefly. But this I know, we also share a dream and a vision for our collective future, in addition to our shared stints at one Jewish educational institution. We both just want us to realize that at the end of the day we are all much more alike than different and if we do not learn how to play nicely on the same playground, there will be no playground on which we may play – my words and image, but a shared vision, I think, perhaps, nonetheless. So several weeks ago, again our paths briefly crossed. And for those of you who have been wondering what ever became of Mark, I can fill you in on at least part of his wonderful story as a committed educator, a passionate Jew and a successful professional. Mark has joined the circus! Let me explain. The Galilee Circus is explained in the following way in its brochure: “In the world – and a region – where fear and distrust between peoples lead to insecurity and violence daily, how can the individual make a difference? One way is through the circle. After all, what is circus all about? It’s about overcoming fear, it’s about trust, it’s based on non-verbal communication, it represents a multicultural tradition, it creates a place of shared culture – and its purpose is to make people smile.” Our group from Hartman went to the circus as part of our Arab-Israeli experience and we did smile. Not only that, but they were GOOD! I felt at times like I was at training camp for Cirque d’Soleil hopefuls. The aerial acrobatics and the gymnastics included some very impressive routines. And what is most important was that these routines were based on the complete trust between Arab and Israeli from beginning to end. The Galilee Circus includes kids who are Arab and Jewish aged 6 through 19. This is a project of the Galilee Foundation for Value Education from Moshav Shorashim of which Mark is a part. As the consummate educator that he is, Mark explained that when the kids met, there were definitely negative reactions to each other. But, through trust building exercises, peer work, and a shared goal of creating a circus, that eventually dissipated and wonderful friendships and trusting relationships were formed. Now that is truly an accomplishment! I was thinking of the teaching -- “All of Israel is responsible for each other.” Yes, truly these kids were responsible for each other and trusted that the other would hold on to them and protect their safety as their responsibility while they were jumping through the air, on top of a human pyramid, doing stunts over each others’ bodies, and so on. This became part of the collective culture and individuals made this happen, where they were Jewish Israelis, Arab Israelis, or …. It was indeed a lesson in action, devoid of words. Maybe it is words that get us into trouble. It certainly seems that way. I know I spend a lot of time trying to fix the harm that words do in many venues. What a concept – instead of sitting at tables and negotiating ourselves out of the very corners we get ourselves into, let’s all join the circus. Oh and by the way, the clown was also entertaining. That is the only part I would have a chance of trying out for, as my gymnastics skills are, shall we say, underdeveloped or more accurately never developed!

What I Learned In The Corner of an Arab Woman's Kitchen

One of the many things I love about being part of the “Hartman Institute Gang” every summer is the field trips. This year, as I usually do, I went into and was able to explore areas and meet people that represent the widest breadth (and breath for that matter) of what it means to live in Israel and be Israeli and maintain so many complicated identities at once. So allow me to introduce you by way of these words to an amazing Arab woman named Amna Kanana. Amna lives in Kafr Kara nad is originally from Kafr Ara. She is an accomplished Israeli Arab woman who directs Man Ajliki (For You: Awareness). This organization was begun in 2003 by a group of women with the stated goal of improving the lives of Arab women in the Wadi Ara area and empowering them to go forth and do wonderful things with their lives. So, Amna, modestly dressed in her hijab, graciously invited into her beautifully appointed home and brought us to the Arab woman’s “place” in the home, the farthest corner of the kitchen, where the men who are sitting in the salon (living room and dining room combination) would not see her and the required sense of modesty she must maintain in her community, culturally and religiously speaking, would not be compromised. Amna is a religious Druze woman and shared with us her stories of rebellion and acclamation of self (and trust me, this woman rocks!). We stood crowded in the corner of her kitchen in front of a very large floor to ceiling pantry. She explained how oppressive life can be for a religious Druze woman and continued to beckon us to crowd in the corner so we could better understand “her place.” Then she said something to the effect of the following: “So now I want to show you what I have turned my corner into.” At that point, she opened the pantry doors, and expecting to see shelves of food, there were curtains through which we walked into a large welcoming and colorful room. This is the place where “Amna School” occurs and you immediately see the joy and pride in her beautiful face. Amna meets with women here and she and others support their religious sisters and encourage them to follow their dreams. There are colorful posters, a white board with markers for lessons and tables of crafts that the women have made and are for sale. This corner has become a haven, a sort of intellectual and educational spa for women of Wadi Ara, if you will. She spoke lovingly of her work and the triumphs of the women she works with, while showing us their handiwork with pride and joy. She also told us the beautiful story of how she met her husband and married him (a very cool guy by all standards and the details of her story) – who totally supports what she does (obviously). There is definitely a revolution going on in this room and Amna is the capable general, teaching, encouraging, guiding – and all without compromising who she is as a religious observant woman who is also educated and has great dreams and hopes. Hers is an undertaking we can all understand. What she has so expertly done is turned her corner to which she was confined culturally and religiously relegated by convention into a wonderful and lighted room of learning, growing, laughing, hope, sharing and so much more. May we all take this lesson from Amna and turn those dark corners imposed upon us into something light and airy and wonderful! May you continue to be blessed in your wonderful work, Amna!

Fragmentation or Fusion, You Choose!

Fragmentation or Fusion, You Choose! Some years ago, I heard Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (one of my favorite voices of our contemporary world, truly a Gadol – great and singular teacher – as far as I am concerned!), quote and expound upon the following statement: “Peace is counter-intuitive to the human nature; unfortunately war and conflict is a much more comfortable domain for us. Why, you ask, did he make such a statement? The moment he said it, I was hooked. Peace, you see, involves giving up a bit of ME for the greater good of WE. In Peace, we see all people and sides of a potential problem as equal with equally legitimate voices. The OTHER becomes a legitimate and important voice in our own gestalt. This is not something we in our modern era do so well collectively. This thought was reinforced for me during the last few weeks as I have read through an amazing book, "The Sacred Hoop" by Paula Gun Allen, which is subtitled “Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions.” Forgetting for a moment the clear feminist orientation (perhaps a topic for another post), I want to share one specific paragraph about identity that I found resonates so loudly within me as an American Jew or …. Just substitute the words of your choice that apply to you and your own identity when you read “American Indian” or “Indian” in the following passage: A contemporary American Indian is always faced with a dual perception of the world: that which is particular to American Indian life, and that which exists ignorant of that life. Each is largely irrelevant to the other except where they meet -- in the experience and consciousness of the Indian. Because the divergent realities must meet and form comprehensible patterns within Indian life, an Indian poet must develop metaphors that not only will reflect the dual perceptions of Indian/non-Indian but also will reconcile them. The ideal metaphor will harmonize the contractions and balance them so that internal equilibrium can be achieved, so that each perspective is meaningful and that in their joining, psychic unity rather than fragmentation occurs. Throughout this wonderful treatise, Allen talks about identity and the ongoing internal dialectics between the various elements of our identity. She goes on to lament how the portrayal of the American Indian as a war chief and with weapons of conflict is not accurate and that the American Indian’s world is traditionally and generationally invested in the maintaining of peace at all costs. This, as some of us may recall, was actually their undoing when the Europeans came to this ground and the indigenous population was willing to share all that they had in a peaceful manner. This overture was misunderstood by the Europeans and perceived instead as “their victory” over the lowly Indian. How sad! This is precisely what I, as a Jewish educator, have been trying to address with my students and the communities with and in which I have worked and learned and grown. I often find that this very issue is the ultimate disconnect between others and myself. Where so many see internal conflicts, yes, even wars, I see confluence and the need and desire to unite all elements of our multi-faceted being in a calm and unified matter of fusion. I DO respect and honor others with view different than my own; and I suspect that others do not always understand the space that I occupy in this universe, being personally observant and accepting the standards and ways of others as legitimate and possible as well. Many see this as compromising or not standing by what you believe, or worse, not having defined beliefs at all. Oh, quite the contrary. Allen, in her well written book, talks lovingly and with a connection that is palpable about her beloved Indian heritage and its beautiful feminine unity and fusion that is often not seen as such and worse, rewritten into male dominated conflict language that inaccurately skews how many of us have come to learn and understand the American Indian. She proclaims that the picture that we have which has been sifted through the eyes and pens of male dominant writers is not the heritage and rootedness of American Indian tradition at all. Funny, in addition to sympathizing, even empathizing with Allen, I feel some of the same pangs about the Judaism that I know and live and love and have tried to communicate to family, students, friends and colleagues. This explains why my involvement in human rights issues is NOT antithetical to my Orthodox observance but mandated by my adherence to Halacha. For me the Shechina, the feminine presence of the G-d Force and Power, The One and Only, is not relegated to obtuse discussions of mysticism or warm and fuzzy nostalgia, but part of the daily world in which I live and learn. I see the unity and fusion of my life as a Jew, woman, American and citizen of the world in a multi-faceted yet unified way. Thus I care about the asylum seeking refugee in Israel, am proud of the work that Jewish scientists and doctors are doing to heal people throughout the world, always encourage my students to work for wonderful organizations like Habitat for Humanity, do see that our concern for the environment and its resources IS a Jewish OBLIGATION according to Halacha, and that we are kind and caring and non-judgmental towards all members of our human family. Yes, for me the texts, teachings, values and deeds of Judaism are fused and unified. I guess I would make a wonderful American Indian or at least could be good friends with one or two. Rabbi Sacks would also enjoy the shared perspective, I suspect!