Poem for Shabbat

Krakow Yizkor Book

Earlier this week I was reading the Arts & Academe blog at the Chronicle of Higher Education, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful Jewish poem, Erika Meitner's "Yizker Bukh." 

Yizkor books (The poem title uses the Yiddish spelling.) were created by Holocaust survivors to preserve the memory of the Jews and Jewish communities of Europe.  Working from memory, survivors would record the history of a village or town, often going back hundreds of years.  They would describe families - all the relationships, births, deaths, and weddings - as best they could.  The books include recollections of businesses, important events, and daily life.  Many describe the destruction of the community during the Holocaust.  They list and memorialize those who were killed.  (Read some yizkor books online here.)

Meitner's poem is a reflection on her grief after the death of her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor.  I find it quite moving ("Memory is / ... / an animal with- / out a leash"), despite the fact that the rabbi in the poem is pretty obtuse.

For Discussion: Varying the length of the lines, the poet creates a very intentional shape for the poem on the page (or screen).  How does this shape contribute to the meaning of the poem?

Go See a Jewish Movie

Earlier this week, a man came to meet with me to talk about converting to Judaism.  I gave him an overview of the process - a course of study, participating in the life of the community, spiritual reflection, and the traditional rituals of initiation.  I also showed him a "syllabus" I've put together with suggested books and activities for those in the process of conversion.  Looking over the list, he said, "I didn't expect you to assign so many movies."

Why not?  Movies are an important medium of Jewish culture.  How many of us learned most of what we know about shtetls from Fiddler on the Roof?  In a few weeks, Jews across the country will participate in the hallowed Passover tradition of watching The Ten Commandments.  I use Woody Allen and Mel Brooks movies to talk about Jewish humor (and neuroses).  Israel, the Holocaust, the American Jewish experience - movies are shared Jewish experiences and great conversation starters.

You may remember from a previous post that I like pop culture lists.  So here are two very different and highly debatable lists (one and two) of "top" Jewish movies.

If there are movies on those lists you haven't seen, think about renting (Netflix-ing, streaming, etc.) one.  Or better yet, go out and see a new Jewish movie that might be a future classic...

Last night kicked off the 3rd Annual Jewish Film Festival at the JCC of Greater Washington in Rockville.  They're showing a different movie every night this week.

For the D.C. contingent, think about seeing Sippur Gadol (A Matter of Size) this Sunday at the DCJCC downtown.  It's about a group of Israelis who decide to become sumo wrestlers.  It's one of my favorite Israeli movies of recent years, and proceeds from the showing will benefit relief efforts in Japan.

Check out the trailer below.  And if you want to LEAVE A COMMENT, I'll give you a topic:  What's your favorite Jewish movie? (Define "Jewish" however you like.)  Why?

On Purim: Don't Forget Those in Need

Flickr user joshbousel

This Sunday is Purim.  As in most Reform congregations, our Purim observance is primarily focused on children.  They wear costumes, sing songs, and of course, there's the Purim carnival.  But Purim is not meant to be only a children's holiday.  For one thing, the themes of the Purim story - antisemitism, assimilation, jealousy, sex, revenge - are far from pediatric.  Purim also has four mitzvot, four commandments that are relevant and potentially quite meaningful for adult Jews today.

1)  Megillah - It is a mitzvah on Purim to hear the book of Esther ("the Megillah," "the Scroll") read in its entirety.  This is a tough one, since a complete reading of the Megillah is not customary in our congregation.  Still, you could read Esther online (or in any Jewish Bible).  You could even listen to a little of the scroll being chanted.

2)  Seudah - It is a mitzvah on Purim to have a festive meal.  This is the mitzvah we fulfill with our congregational celebration.  This is also the origin of the custom of drinking alcohol on Purim - but any festive food and drink will do!

3)  Mishloach Manot - It is a mitzvah on Purim to give gifts of food to family and friends.  Normally, these are ready-to-eat snacks like candy or - of course - hamantaschen!  Sending mishloach manot is a nice way to reconnect with family and friends, or just to reach out and tell someone, "I'm thinking about you."

4)  Matanot l'Evyonim - It is a mitzvah on Purim to give tzedakah to the poor.

This last mitzvah is the one I want to highlight, since I think it is most often forgotten in our celebration of Purim.  At the end of the book of Esther we read:

...observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, every year – the same days on which the Jews enjoyed relief from their foes and the same month which had been transformed for them from one of grief and mourning to one of festive joy...observe them as days of feasting and merry making, and as an occasion for sending presents to the poor. (Esther 9:20-23)

Commenting on this mitzvah, Maimonides writes:

One should rather spend more money on gifts to the poor than on his Purim banquet and presents to friends (mishloach manot). No joy is greater and more glorious than the joy of gladdening the hearts of the poor, the orphans, the widows and the strangers. He who gladdens the hearts of these unhappy people imitates God, as it is written: "I am…to revive the spirit of the humble, and to put heart into the crushed" (Isaiah 57:15).

According to Maimonides, it seems that giving tzedakah to the poor should be the MOST IMPORTANT way we celebrate Purim.  Whatever we spend on Purim costumes, we should be giving more to the poor.  Whatever we spend on hamantaschen, we should be giving more to the poor.  Whatever we spend on our festive meal, we should be giving more to the poor.  Our joy in this holiday is best expressed by bringing joy and relief to those in need. 

In the Orthodox community, there are very specific guidelines for matanot l'evyonim, the tzedakah of Purim.  The Reform Movement has generated numerous creative ways to incorporate this tradition into our modern lives and families.

Purim can be a lot of fun, but it also has a serious side.  We deepen and enrich our Judaism when we take our holidays and traditions seriously.  Let's honor and observe this Purim by making a special donation this Sunday to those in need.

What's More Jewish?

Is seltzer the most Jewish?

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) has launched a website with a game that is definitely worth a look.  It's called "Most Jewish."  The concept is simple:  The site gives you four options, and you have to decide which one is--as you might have guessed--"most Jewish."  Each time you play, the four options change.  The fun is in the diversity of the options; strange juxtapositions abound.

Which is more Jewish:  "Skepticism" or "Young Frankenstein?"  "Teach for America" or "Storytelling?"  Give your answers, and you can see what percentage of players agree with you.  (There's also an option to leave comments explaining your decision.)

Since it was developed by a rabbinical seminary, this is clearly meant to be more than a brief amusement.  How do we decide if something is "Jewish?"  Even if we can't articulate a rationale, the game forces us to adopt one.  Most of the options are geared toward contemporary American society, highlighting the issue of Jewish identity in our integrated community.  Thanks to RRC for a great conversation starter.

For Discussion:  If you play the game, let us know what your favorite "most Jewish" thing was.  Were there any very difficult decisions?  How did you decide?

Have You Ever Thought About Hebrew Fonts?

Flickr user Nir Tober

OK, probably not.  But you probably have thought about English fonts, at least a little.  When you start a new document or a new e-mail, what font do you like to use?  Perhaps there's a font that you absolutely can't stand.  Perhaps there's a font so excellent, they should make a movie about it.

There are some classic Hebrew fonts you might recognize: There's the square script of the Torah scroll.  There's the "Frank Ruhl" of many prayerbooks.  But there aren't many clean, modern options.

All of this is to introduce this great video about the creation of a new Hebrew font.  The artist, Scott-Martin Kosofsky, has attempted to digitally replicate the hand-cut Hebrew type from a 16th-century Bible.  The process is fascinating, and the result is beautiful.

And if you want to see for yourself, Kosofsky's font, "Le Bé," is used in The Selected Poems of Yehuda Halevi, a free e-book from Nextbook Press.  It includes just 35 poems, a great introduction to one of the most important poets and philosophers in Jewish history.  And if the poems spark your interest, I highly recommend Nextbook's Yehuda Halevi, by Hillel Halkin.  Halkin is a distinguished scholar, and the book is a very accessible introduction to its truly exciting and underappreciated subject.

(For now, the official font of this blog is Georgia.)

Holocaust Stories Forgotten

Bet El synagogue, Casablanca

Last night I participated in an interfaith panel discussion at the National Cathedral, following a screening of the PBS documentary, Among the Righteous.  The film traces the efforts of Robert Satloff, a Near East expert who heads a think tank here in Washington, to find the story of any Arab Muslim who saved a Jew during the Holocaust.

After 9/11, Satloff came to believe that one of the major divides between Arab Muslims and the West is the attitude of Muslims toward the Holocaust, which ranges, he observes, from denial to "glorification."  He further notes that out of the more than 22,000 people recognized for saving Jews as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, Israel's institution dedicated to Holocaust scholarship and commemoration, there are fewer than 100 Muslims and not a single Arab Muslim.  In order to present the Holocaust to the Arab world in a different light, Satloff began his search for righteous Arab Muslims who saved Jews.

His journey reveals a little-known part of Jewish and Holocaust history.  At the outset of World War II, there were more than 400,000 Jews living in Arab countries in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya).  Though the experiences of these Jews were perhaps less extreme than those of the Jews of Europe, they nonetheless faced terrible persecution.  As a French colony, Algeria instituted many of the antisemitic policies of the collaborationist Vichy France.  Tunisia was actually occupied by the Germans, who brought their campaign of destruction with them.  There were over 100 concentration camps in North Africa, with ghastly, inhumane conditions similar to the camps of Europe.  Thousands of North African Jews were killed.

Why is this story forgotten?  Following the establishment of the State of Israel and the rise of Arab nationalism in the 1950s, the relationship of North African Jews to their longtime homes grew very strained.  Many left voluntarily for Israel, and many were forced out by antisemitism.  Arabs opposed to Israel did not wish to acknowledge their prewar and wartime friendship with their Jewish neighbors.  And Jewish memory of the Holocaust was dominated by the Jews of Europe, who had suffered by far the greatest magnitude of persecution and destruction.

So, did Satloff find any Arab Muslims to add to the Righteous Among the Nations?  He did.  He found living survivors, family members, and witnesses and was able to record their stories.  They are a heartening and important part of our history.

THE ENTIRE MOVIE CAN BE WATCHED HERE.  Satloff has also written a book, with a richer account of this history and his research.

During the panel discussion, Dr. Satloff spoke excitedly of his efforts to bring these stories to leaders, historians, and the public in the Arab world - particularly through his partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  It is not easy work, but he has made wonderful progress.  As a Jewish community and as people who care about peace in our world, we should be grateful.

Photo by David Lisbona

Reform Judaism's Belief Problem

Theological Disputation, 1483

This week, the Forward published a thoughtful editorial by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, a Reform rabbi and scholar.  In it Kaplan argues that Reform Judaism has a major theological problem.  Our liberal theology, which embraces a wide diversity of beliefs and allows (I would rather say "requires") individuals to make their own decisions about religious living, prevents Reform leaders and institutions from establishing standards.  Without standards for belief, participation, and observance, Kaplan argues, identification and commitment will inevitably be low.

As a Reform rabbi--especially as a rabbi at a large synagogue--I feel very keenly the dilemma Rabbi Kaplan describes.  On one hand, my commitment to pluralism is strong; I honestly believe that there are many different way of leading an authentic and meaningful Jewish life.  I am also an advocate of theological humility.  The Jewish community has always embraced many ways of believing and speaking about God, and especially in the modern world, I am skeptical of most attempts to impose specific doctrines about God, prayer, etc. that must be accepted on faith.

But there are also many days when I wish our standards were higher.  What if being a member of a Reform synagogue came with the expectation of attending services every Shabbat?  What if Reform rabbis started teaching that to be a "good" Reform Jew, regular in-depth study is required?  If we agreed that belief in God (even in the most abstract sense) was a prerequisite--not just an option--for Reform Jews, would it make our community stronger?  Would it make our lives better?

(Personally, I would advocate at most two of the three standards above.  Leave a comment to debate which ones.)

Often, this conflict between openness and expectations is framed as a social or demographic challenge:  How will these approaches affect synagogue membership?  Kaplan identifies a deeper conflict that we talk about far less often:  What do we really believe about Judaism?  Do we believe that attending the High Holidays and an occasional life cycle event is enough for some Jews?  Do we even have any way to decide?

Kaplan does not choose sides in this debate, and that is a wise choice.  The subject is too complex to be treated adequately in an op-ed (or a blog post, for that matter).  But this is a major issue for the future of Reform Judaism.  It's a discussion we've been avoiding for decades, and I sincerely doubt we can avoid it much longer.