Nusach Carlebach 1 - Nusach Ramah 0

I am trying to post at least once or twice a month. Here is something that has been percolating for the last two or three years:

According to scholars David Elezar and Rela Geffen, a uniquely Conservative movement prayer style developed at Camp Ramah. Referred to as Nusach Ramah, it is a variation of traditional Ashkenazi Nusach that spread from camps to Conservative synagogues, Havurot (at least in the earlier days), and elsewhere. As a whole, it is relatively traditional. Scholars (see below) note that the liturgical traditions learned at camps are often incorrect. An attempt to influence this is the appointment of Cantor-in-Residence at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin (this has spread to other camps).

I worked at Camp Ramah New England (CRNE or Ramah Palmer) during the early to late 90's (I still go for a month every summer but as a staff spouse and volunteer teacher/Safran). In '95 or '96, Shaul Magid was asked to lead Friday night davening during staff week. After Shlomo Carlebach's death in 1994 (which is how I picked 1995 or 1996 as the year above), his nusach for Kabbalat Shabbat became popular on college campuses and at many new minyanim. I joined a number of other counselors and staff in encouraging Shaul (who had lived on Moshav Mavo Modiin with Shlomo for a few years) to change the Friday night nusach. While many people enjoyed the staff week davening, the campers weren't included. The first Shabbat--I believe it was Shabbat Machon--they reverted to Nusach Ramah (to the disappointment of many staff). At the time, I did not understand the importance of Nusach Ramah as a unique American nusach. Towards the end of the 1990's, I was Rosh Tefilla at CRNE. At that time, the nusach for Kabbalat Shabbat was Nusach Ramah (sometimes with some modifications from Nusach Carlebach).

When we started returning to Ramah after moving to Northampton in 2002 (the first summer Deborah commuted so it makes it 2003), I was surprised to hear Nusach Carlebach at the first Kabbalat Shabbat. It was not upsetting--it is my personal favorite-- but something seemed to be missing. There are many benefits to using Nusach Carlebach. It is now favored on college campuses, at many traditional and liberal synagogues, and most independent Minyanim. Many campers and counselors are used to it. It is also full of energy and spirit (we rarely used to dance during Kabbalat Shabbat when using Nusach Ramah--now joyous dancing breaks out a few times). But I feel the loss of part of what made Ramah special--its own nusach that influenced generations of davenners who now live across the US and in Israel. It might even be considered educationally appropriate to have them daven the way they will at home (or at least what they will encounter on campus once they leave home).

Nusach is a musical, liturgical tradition that best reflects the character, make-up, and history of a community. One of the sad thing about the development of liberal Judaism in America has been its relative obliteration of regional variations in nusach (ie. Litvak vs. Ukrainian, Sefardic vs. Ashkenazic). A century ago, one could walk into a synagogue in America (or any Western European city) and easily tell where the davenners came from (putting aside the name which was often a give-away). Now, we Nusach Carlebach has taken over--its "taste" is so powerful that it has taken over the nusach melting pot. Nusach Ramah is part of what made the camps different. It represented their importance to contemporary Judaism. Does the loss of the distinct Kabbalat Shabbat part of Nusach Ramah reflect the deminished role of Conservative Judaism or just the rise of a powerful new force in nusach (or a force destroying nusach depending on view of the appropriateness of Nusach Carlebach).

Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce

Note: Many refer to Nusach Carlebach as Nusach Reb Shlomo.

Two asides related to the two nuscha'ot mentioned above: If you do a Google search for Nusach Carlebach you return many sites upset at its effect on traditional nusach. Even though nusach for Shabat Minchah was not the subject of my post, I learned (at CRNE) that the nusach is the same as that of the jingle for Post Crispy Critters cereal. During my research, I turned up a blog post on the Zemirot database that includes a link to the Crispy Critters commercial. The melody and even the rhythm are not the same! (I found an additonal site that uses Crispy Critters to teach Shabbat Minchah with what is perhaps a link to a different commercial.) Crispy Critters was a product spin-off from King Leonardo and His Short Subjects tv show from the 1960's. It was reissued by Post in the late 80's without the famous jingle.

Sources:

Observations on Practices of "Nusach" in America, Boaz Tarsi, Asian Music, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Spring - Summer, 2002), pp. 175-219 Published by: University of Texas Press

Here is more about Camp Ramah from the late Daniel Elazar (it mentions nusach a few times).

New Koren-Sachs Siddur Demonstrates How Women Can Be Part of Orthodox Judaism

A new siddur edited by Chief Rabbi of England Jonathan Sachs and published by Koren in conjuction with the Orthodox Union has been getting great reviews (The review in the Hirhurim blog has links to a number of reviews).

Koren produces great texts that are readable, accurate, and aesthetically pleasing. I often use a Koren Humash/Siddur combination on Shabbat. The new siddur expands a previous siddur Rabbi Sachs released in Britain by adding numerous prayers.

Noteworthy is the Koren-Sachs's Siddur's approach to Jewish Women. JOFA (the Jewish Orthdox Feminist Alliance) has endorsed the siddur:
Until now there was only one widely used Hebrew/English-language siddur: ArtScroll, a siddur that doesn’t really include women as active participants in prayer.
Now you have a choice–a new siddur by Koren Publishers Jerusalem, with an introduction and commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Rabbi Martin Lockshin writes that the Koren Sacks Siddur “shows a laudable sensitivity to the fact that half of all Jews are women.” Prayers are included for the birth of a daughter, and for women to recite upon returning to synagogue after giving birth. It also acknowledges that three women may constitute a quorum for zimmun, and that, following the rules of Hebrew grammar, a woman would say Modah ani.
We strongly support the inspiring Koren Sacks Siddur for synagogue and personal use, and urge you to:
· Build awareness of the Koren Sacks Siddur in your community
· Purchase one as a bar or bat mitzvah present
· Purchase a set for a women’s tefillah group
· Lobby your shul or school to replace their ArtScroll siddurim with Koren Sacks siddurim
· Encourage your friends and family to purchase and promote the siddur as well.

The Koren-Sachs Siddur website crashed after JOFA sent out the email demonstrating the excitement at the release of a feminist-friendly Orthodox siddur!

I haven't seen a copy personally but will be ordering a few soon (if anyone wants to purchase any for Smith or Amherst, please let me know).

I will have more to say about the Siddur soon.

Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce

New Wiki for Learning & Teaching About Social Justice

As I prepare to teach at CBI's Tikkun Leyl Shavuot on Heksher Tzedek/Magen Tzedek, I noticed an email from American Jewish World Service about a new wiki they created. On1foot.org is a searchable database of Jewish Social Justice texts. This is how AJWS described it in an email I received:

As we prepare to celebrate Shavuot, the holiday that marks the receiving of the Torah, AJWS is proud to present On1Foot (www.On1Foot.org), an educational resource that will help the Jewish community apply the Torah's wisdom to the pursuit of social justice.

On1Foot is an online, open source database of Jewish social justice texts. We invite you to visit www.On1Foot.org to explore this exciting new resource for Jewish social justice education.

On1Foot allows users to:
* Search and browse hundreds of biblical, rabbinic and contemporary Jewish texts about social justice
* Upload new texts
* Comment on existing texts
* Create custom source sheets using the texts and suggested discussion questions

We hope that On1Foot enriches your learning and teaching about Judaism and social justice and look forward to your active participation on the site!

On1Foot is a project of American Jewish World Service and is co-sponsored by AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, Hazon, Tzedek, Mechon Hadar and Uri L'Tzedek.

After a short time of use, I am hooked. I offered a few suggestions and have already loaded three sources. Check it out!

More Thoughts on Divestment

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about Divestment at the Five Colleges. An attempt at Hampshire College to get the school to divest from companies seen to aid the Israeli army failed (even though a student group tried to claim that it succeeded). At the other colleges, groups and individuals are trying to get the colleges endowments to divest as well (the farthest along is a vote next week at UMASS student government).

I posted a blog entry about Divestment before the Hampshire fiasco (featuring Alan Dershowitz in a public spat with the college until everyone understood what happened). A Smith student posted a comment which I only saw for the first time Tuesday evening.

Here is a quote from the comment: "You know that claiming that Divestment is anti-Semitic alienates yourself from dialogue and widens the rift between supporters of Israel and supporters of Palestine. I think you scare away those who disagree. It is an attempt to immediately delegitimize the actions of those who support divestment. No peace-loving individual enjoys being labeled as someone who hates Jewish people."

I reread my original post to see where I labeled proponents of Divestment Anti-Semitic. I still don't think I did, but will expand on my thoughts about Divestment to make it clearer. I am very concerned that something I write will be considered stifling of discussion or scare people away from interacting with me.

In order to examine these issues, it is necessary to define terms. To do so, I quote from a recent ADL publication (Fighting Back: A Handbook for Responding to Anti-Israel Campaigns on College and University Campuses):

Anti-Israel
Anti-Israel refers to extreme and/or illegitimate criticism of Israel that can take many forms, including the denial of Israel’s right to exist and/or holding Israel to different or higher standards than other countries. Anti-Israel sentiment should be distinguished from legitimate critiques or questioning of specific Israeli government policies, politicians, and so on.
Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is prejudice and/or discrimination against Jews. Anti-Semitism can be based on hatred against Jews because of their religious beliefs, their group membership (ethnicity) and sometimes the erroneous belief that Jews are a race.
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is criticism or rejection of the right of Jews to have their own homeland.

According to these definitions, Divestment from Israel (or companies that profit from the Israeli Army) is Anti-Israel because it holds Israel to a different or higher standard and extends beyond legitimate discussion of Israel government policies and actions. To give one example, China has occupied Tibet since 1959: any group that Divests from Israel without bringing the action against China (or the many similar cases) is Anti-Israel. If it were a part of a broader campaign to Divest from all similar cases, it would not be Anti-Israel. I wrote that Divestment often uses Anti-Semitic rhetoric or assumptions. Remember, I wrote this before the Hampshire incident and without reading anything written by Students for Justice in Palestine at any of the Five Colleges. All that I have read about Divestment--including the web pages of national organizations that promote it are Anti-Zionist and Anti-Israel. Many do not cross the complicated line to Anti-Semitism, but some of its proponents do so. Focus on Israel and its policies when other similar cases are ignored is heir to centuries of Anti-Semitism. That doesn't mean that it is Anti-Semitism but that Anti-Israel sentiment draws on historical Anti-Semitic rhetoric and concepts. Those who doubt this must study the history of Anti-Semitism.

In case I was not clear in my previous post or any oral communication: questioning and criticism of Israel is opinion and political thought that is appropriate, even encouraged, in an academic setting (this happens all of the time in Israel and the American Jewish community--especially in the Pioneer Valley). If the questioning denies Israel's right to exist or holds it to a higher standard than other countries, it is Anti-Israel. Not all Divestment activists are Anti-Semitic. Some may claim to be narrowly focused and not Anti-Israel. But the movement itself to question Israel alone for its existence, policies, and actions is a modern incarnation of age-old hatred of Jews. The technical term for that type of bigotry is Anti-Semitism. The actions may not be Anti-Semitic but the premise of deligitimizing Israel (no one will be able to convince me that any form of Divestment is anything but an attempt to deligitimize Israel) is heir to centuries of Anti-Semitism. (Whenever this comes up, I hear people arguing that since Arabs are Semites they can not be Anti-Semitic. The term was coined to refer to hatred of Jews and that is its only technical meaning. This has two implications: bigotry/hatred of Arabs or Muslims is not Anti-Semitsm, Arabs and Muslims can be Anti-Semites.)

When a recent Anti-Israel rally included a speaker who said: "The Jew infested US Congress. . .", that was Anti-Semitism in the plainest form. It had little to do with any political point, transcended any legitimate criticism of Israel or its policies, and should not be tolerated in the Five Colleges. It draws on historical Anti-Semitic imagery of the Jews as parasite or vermin. That no student or faculty member at the event stopped the speaker is troubling to me to say the least. If I were ever at a Pro-Israel event on my campus and a speaker spoke similar hate speech about any group, I would stop the speaker and/or issue a statement distancing myself and the Jewish communities I represent from the hate. This has still not occurred. I have a few theories for why this may be the case but I will leave these to further posts.

To summarize, I do not believe that all Divestment activists are Anti-Semites. They may not even all consider themselves Anti-Israel. I am not convinced that a credible claim can be made that Divestment (even if narrowly defined to refer to Occupation or the military) can be anything but Anti-Israel. The only exception would be if Divestment was applied equally and with the same fervor to all similar situations.

I believe that peace starts here with us. If we promote investment in peace and coexistence, if we work to build understanding and dialogue, we will help bring peace. Deligitimizing Israel, using hateful rhetoric, and standing quiet while students rant Anti-Semitic statements does none of this. Questioning and criticising Israel when done respectfully and with a critical stance is part of the academic process. Rallies where negation, deligitimization, and hatred are used creates an environment where students do not feel safe to voice their beliefs. This infringes on the academic process.

At a later time, I will write about the historical and theological importance of Israel for Jews and Judaism. Lack of understanding about this is fundamental in understanding moves for Divestment and deligitimization of Israel as well as the reaction Jewish leaders take when they arise. More on this to come.

I have been working hard on the campuses of Smith and Amherst to maintain a level of dialogue and respect. I encourage responses in person, on the phone, or by email. Learning from each other is the primary task of academia.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce

First Annual Jewish Disability Awareness Month

I want to mention that February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month.
There is a post about it at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (known to most in the Jewish community simply as the RAC) with a number of resources.
If you know the Seltzer's well, you understand why I mention this.
I hope to have a more extensive post later in the month.
Rabbi Bruce

Divestment & Boycott Means You Don't Think Israel Should Exist

The description to a vigil tonight at Smith contains language from the boycott and divestment movement. I want to state clearly that any discussion of Boycott and Divestment stems from denial of Israel's legitimacy. It is not possible to work towards a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict when using anti-Semitic rhetoric.
I am happy to provide more information about Boycott and Divestment movements and why they have failed in academia.

Those students and faculty at Smith that know me understand that I am deeply committed to peace and am greatly upset at the loss of all life. Still, I can't support any discussion of Boycott/Divestment or any vigils or events that raise these issues as a central element.
Rabbi Bruce

From the ADL:

• There is no comparison between Israeli policy and apartheid South Africa: While the anti-Israel activists point to the divestment campaign against South African apartheid as an example of how such a campaign can achieve dramatic results, most recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian situation is distinctly different. First and foremost, pro-Palestinian advocates of divestment cannot offer the same moral clarity as the 80's anti-apartheid campaigners did. The treatment of Arabs by the State of Israel can in no way be compared to the treatment of the Blacks of South Africa under apartheid.
  
  There is no Israeli ideology, policy or plan to segregate, persecute or mistreat its Israeli Arab citizens, nor Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank (Israel already unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip in August 2005). Apartheid South Africa was extraordinarily repressive, regulating every detail of the lives of its subjects – 90 percent of whom were non-white – on the basis of their skin color. By contrast, Israel is a democracy which encourages vibrant debate, which has a flourishing free press and which shares with other liberal democracies a core value: the equality of all its citizens before the law. Nor does Israel want to indefinitely rule over the Palestinian population of the West Bank. Israel's measures in the territories, such as the building of a security barrier, checkpoints and curfews on the Palestinians are driven not by a racist ideology. Rather, they are due to legitimate security concerns on Israel's part and are the consequence of a campaign of terror by Palestinian groups such as Hamas and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade, which, in deliberately targeting civilians, have claimed over 1,000 innocent Israeli lives.
  
  The South African divestment campaign targeted companies who were exploiting black labor. In contrast, Israeli and Palestinian workers have both suffered enormously from the economic downturn brought about by the four years of violence and conflict. Moreover, while South African apartheid had no popular support here in America, according to public opinion polls Israel enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of Americans and of the U.S. political leadership.
  
  More: Israel and Apartheid: The Big Lie
  
• Divestment advocates ignore the complexity of the conflict: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace process is complex. With their rigidly one-sided view of the conflict, divestment advocates see a solution only through punitive action against Israel. The harsh rhetoric of proponents blindly ignores Israeli policies and efforts to promote negotiations and improve the situation on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These advocates also ignore Palestinian intransigence, terrorism and violence, as well as the new situation that has arisen following Hamas' success in the 2006 Palestinian Authority election. Instead, divestment campaigns singularly demonize Israel and designate Israel for pariah status. Such initiatives do not to seek creative and constructive efforts to promote dialogue, peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
  
• Israel is being unfairly singled out for human rights violations: These campaigns single out Israel and condemn its record on human rights without any reference to the myriad of human rights outrages going on in the world today including Sudan, Zimbabwe and others. In fact, Israel remains the lone democracy in the Middle East, with all of the institutions – a free press, a multitude of political parties, an independent judiciary and religious freedom — that are at the heart of true liberal democracies. The Middle East and indeed the world has many states that do not come close to living up to Israel's standards. Thus, the singling out of Israel for such punitive treatment is disingenuous and disproportionate.
  
• How concerned individuals can help promote reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians: Individuals need to educate themselves on the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promote positions that ensure peace and security for all. The well being of Israelis and Palestinians will best be advanced through policies that help to build a Palestinian society that rejects terror and is ready to accept Israel as the neighbor of a future Palestinian state. Peace will also require investment in programs that promote reconciliation and humanitarian assistance.

In A Democracy Some Are Guilty, but All Are Responsible: Executive Orders Start to Turn the Page On Torture & Detention

As promised and expected, President Obama acted quickly to revoke some of the most egregious and morally reprehensible acts of the previous administration by issuing a number of Executive Orders on Thursday 1/22/09.

In three Executive Orders, President Obama reversed American policy on interrogation/torture, started a review of detention options and policy, and decided to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and review the cases of all individuals detained there.

US Policy on interrogations/torture put a stain on us all and the detentions at Gitmo undermined our Constitution and its rights.  Together, these actions darkened the ideals of our country and lowered our status in the world.

At the RHR-NA Conference in December, experts on these issues remarked that it was not the members of the Bush Administration who did these acts.  Since they have been public knowledge for four or more years and the policies were not stopped by the public or elected officials, we all did these actions.  It is just as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught:  in a democracy some are guilty but all are responsible.

With a sense that our nation may be starting to restore shlemut (wholeness),

Rabbi Bruce

PS.  I sent a message to the White House to thank President Obama for these Executive Orders.  You may want to do the same.   The contact page had a nice comment about gifts:  instead of sending items to the White House for the Obamas or Bidens, the White House encourages people to support local charitable organizations and needy individuals.

Opportunity for Jews to Send Blessings to President Obama

I intended to post yesterday but haven't had time yet. Between sick kids, meetings about construction and watching news most of yesterday, I haven't done more than post status changes on Facebook.

This Shabbat, I am slated to offer the Dvar Torah at our synagogue, CBI. In honor of President Obama Inauguration, I will be talking about the history of Jewish prayers for the government (with a focus on those written for Americans). There is a lot of information about this topic and it is taking more time than I expected to arrange it.

--------------

For now, I want to alert you to an opportunity that ends this Friday to offer blessings to President Obama through judaism.com . They are creating a Megillat Brachot / Scroll of Blessing which will have inscribed on it individual blessings from members of the Jewish community.

I hope to add mine tonight.
Don't miss the deadline for this interesting opportunity.
RB

PS. A funny thing happened during dinner tonight. I mentioned President Barack Obama. At some point, Maayan started saying what we heard as "I Obama Baby" over and over. What she meant was that she has a Bamba baby toy. Once when I was attending at KosherFest (the largest Kosher food trade show), I won a plastic Bamba baby. Since then, it is a favorite in our household. She heard "Bamba Baby" and wanted to make sure we knew that she had one. I will try to get a picture of the doll up at some point. Until then, you can learn more about the Bamba baby at the company's web site and see a picture here. (I mentioned this as a status update on Facebook but this should be clearer).

Wildpeace by Yehuda Amichai

I share this poem that I saw posted on Jewschool. I will be away the next week at an IJS retreat. Please do not take a lack of posts or Facebook response as ignoring the situation in Gaza.

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Bruce

Wildpeace
Yehuda Amichai

Not the peace of a cease-fire
not even the vision of the wolf and the lamb,
but rather
as in the heart when the excitement is over
and you can talk only about a great weariness.
I know that I know how to kill, that makes me an adult.
And my son plays with a toy gun that knows
how to open and close its eyes and say Mama.
A peace
without the big noise of beating swords into ploughshares,
without words, without
the thud of the heavy rubber stamp: let it be
light, floating, like lazy white foam.
A little rest for the wounds - who speaks of healing?
(And the howl of the orphans is passed from one generation
to the next, as in a relay race:
the baton never falls.)

Let it come
like wildflowers,
suddenly, because the field
must have it: wildpeace.

Translated by Chana Bloch

Peace to Those Near & Far - The More Things Change, the More Things Stay the Same

For the past week and a half, I have watched the footage, read editorials and emails, and participated in conference calls with Israeli diplomats and Jewish leaders. I just started to write, 'Once again, Israel is at war with its neighbors.' That is not quite true. Once again, the world is noticing that Israel is at war with its neighbors and that the bloodshed--and therefore the news reports--are much higher than before.

During the summer of 2006, I visited Israel during its war with Lebanon. While most of the media focused on the fighting between Hezballah and Israel, the missiles raining down on the North, we also visited Sderot -- the town filled with poor and immigrant Israelis that abuts Gaza. For the last few years, there have been almost constant missile attacks on Southern Israel with limited Israel military response. Until it expired on December 19th, their were many fewer missile attacks. Still, a generation of Israeli children in the South have lived under the threat of constant, deliberate missile attack. I do not believe that Israel is without fault but international law and government responsibility to its citizens demands that it protect its citizens. Hamas' desired aim is to kill civilizians in terrorist attacks, it refuses to negotiate with or even recognize Israel. It takes no responsibility for controlling the arms in its terroritory (other than to take them away from rival Palestinian factions.

None of this means I do not care of the loss of Palestinian lives. But a few questions need to be asked: Israel has spent billions building shelters to protect its citizens. Why are Palestinian women in children dying and the Hamas leaders surviving? It is because the only shelters to have been built are for Hamas. I know it is a poor area under economic sanctions by much of the world. But Palestinian aid has disappeared to the tune of billions. What is a responsible government supposed to do when a declared enemy launches missiles at civilians populations, from dense populated areas?

Professor Alan Dershowitz--one of the foremost civil libertarians in the US wrote an editorial about the issues of proportionality and international law in the Wall Street Journal. I leave these issues to the experts but note that until the ground war, Egypt and Saudi Arabia joined many local, national, and international leaders in supporting Israel against Hamas.

One final note about Israel sovreign neighbors. While Israel has peace agreements with Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian authority, there are many inbalances in the long history of Arab-Israeli conflicts. Most of the residents of Sderot were expelled from the Arab lands they lived in for hundreds of years. They have been full citizens of Israel since arriving, were resettled, given homes, educations, job training, etc. Why haven't the Palestinians been treated the same by the Arab countries that have housed them since 1948 and 1967? Egypt has only half-heartedly stopped smuggling of weapons into Gaza from Sinai. Israel has destroyed more than fifty tunnels--including large, sophisticated tunnels reaching far into Egyptian territory. While they are quite happy keeping Palestians out of Egypt, can't they keep large, military missiles out a neighboring country? Now, Egypt is working with the EU, the US, and the UN to achieve a cease-fire. Where were they when bombs were falling for years?

I pray for a peaceful resolution to this conflict. I spent my first year after college studying in Jerusalem. It was 1993-1994, the year Israel and the Palestinians signed the Oslo Accords. It saddens me that far from being better, the conditions for Palestinians and Israelis is worse than before. I still hope that I will see a democratic, Palestinian state living peacefully with Israel but despair that it won't be until my young children study in Israel in ten or more years!

Shalom, shalom to those near and far,
Rabbi Bruce

Here are some resources that will provide a variety of viewpoints. I have previously blogged about organizations that I support personally.
I suggest the excellent Israeli papers: Ha-Aretz (the New York Times of Israel--politically moderate) and Jeruslaem Post (an Engish daily that is more Conservative). The Israel on Campus Coalition represents a broad coalition of organizations that represent Israel on campus, and (since they are not part of ICC, groups such as Rabbis for Human Rights or Peace Now.

HP giveaway

There is currently a large giveaway of HP equipment through 50 blogs.
This is my attempt to participate in the contest at one of the blogs, Moosh in indy.

This is what I would do with the HP equipment. First of all, I could not use all of the material myself. We have a new HP desktop and I have a work-owned notebook. I would use our current desktop for my children (10, 7, 5, 1 1/2) and my wife and I would use the new desktop. We would probably donate one of the laptops and an older desktop that my oldest son uses to my children's school--LGA Schechter (which could use newer computers). The Jewish Day School has a great facility and talented and enthusiastic faculty but could use more cutting edge technology versus old cast-off donations.

I use the internet in a few ways for more work as a Campus Rabbi/Hillel Director at Smith and Amherst Colleges. I have this blog and use Facebook as a means to reach out to students. The HP Mini would allow me to post more frequently and from more places. Also, the equipment would help me update the websites at both colleges. I started to use this blog a number of years ago and Facebook three summers ago to reach out to students in a non-intrusive way (versus emailing all students on my list about everything on my mind). I know from direct feedback that prospective students and even current students use the blog/Facebook to find out about Jewish life and concerns.

Please help me to do my work better and help my children's school at the same time.
Also, we took my son's class to see Kung Fu Panda! Great movie.
You may see more

Lift Every Voice and Sing--CNN Declares for Obama at 11:00pm!

Minutes after CNN declared that Barack Obama will be our next President, CNN online showed a crowd gathered at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.  This church, the pulpit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was filled with many of the leaders of the African American community.  After a prayer by the Pastor, they started to sing, "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

If you asked me a few years ago, would people be singing this song (known as the African American anthem) as an African American is elected our next President.

Mazal Tov, President-Elect Barack H. Obama.

Uniting a Divided Country--Ruminations on Ending Sinat Chinam on Election Day

This past Shabbat, Parshat Noah, I talked with Smith students about the causes of the flood.

In the Jewish understanding, cataclysmic destructions are proceeded by unraveling of society.

Whether it is the violence of the generation of the Flood or the hatred between Jews that led to the Destruction of the Temple.  In the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 55b - 56a), we learn:

There was a man – never identified in the story – who threw a party and intended to invite his good friend Kamtza.  His servant, however, erred and mistakenly invited his enemy, Bar Kamtza.  When the host realized the mistake he immediately and very publicly demanded that Bar Kamtza leave the party.  Obviously embarrassed, Bar Kamtza made a series of offers – even, ultimately, offering to pay for the entire party – hoping to persuade the host to allow him to remain.  Unmoved, the host callously throws him out of the party.  The Gemara recounts that Bar Kamtza was so offended, not only by the host, but also by the silence of the guests – some of whom were great rabbis – that he slandered the Jewish people to the Caesar.  One thing leads to another and the result of this sad story is, ultimately, the destruction of the Beit Ha-Mikdash (Gittin 55b-56a).  

The Temple is destroyed because society had unraveled to the extent that problems with party invitations lead to complainsts against entire groups of people to the government.

While I don't believe we have reached this level in the US, I am alarmed by the negative tone of the campaign.I am cognizant that despite predictions of an Obama landslide (when Karl Rove predicts a Democratic landslide, you can take it to the bank), the country remains more divided than at any time I can remember.  If it was not for the Electoral College, it would be little more than a statistical advantage for Obama.

We have to remember that hatred of someone for their ideas or membership in a minority group unravels the fabric of our society and threatens to lead us to chaos.  Whether it is calling the Democratic candidate a terrorist or labeling those who vote for McCain as racists, this does nothing to solve the serious domestic and international problems facing our country.

I hope that we can come together after this divisive election, remembering to respect the divine image contained within the losers, and help our country reachieve its reputation for good in the world.

If you haven't voted yet, what are you waiting for?  As Hillel would say, if not now--when?

Rabbi Bruce 

PS  Tonight, after Barack Obama was declared President-Elect, Senator John McCain gave a great concession speach.  He spoke of the historic nature of P-E Obama's candidacy and now Presidency.  Unfortunately, his followers yelled "boo" every time he mentioned his opponent's name.  To his credit, he tried to stop this.  

Prayer for Voting by Rabbi David Seidenberg

A Prayer For Voting

If you can't pray in a voting booth, where can you pray? And where would you need more to pray? Here is the 2008 text of the prayer:

With my vote today I am prepared and intending
to seek peace for this country, as it is written:

“Seek out the peace of the city where I cause you to roam
and pray for her sake to God YHVH*, for in her peace you all will have peace.” (Jer. 29:7)

May it be Your will that votes will be counted faithfully
and may You account my vote as if I had fulfilled this verse with all my power.

May it be good in Your eyes to give a wise heart
to whomever we elect today
and may You raise for us a government whose rule is for good and blessing
to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of the world and to Jerusalem,
for rulership is Yours!

Just as I participated in elections today
so may I merit to do good deeds and repair the world with all my actions,
and with the act of...[fill in your pledge]...which I pledge to do today
on behalf of all living creatures and in remembrance of the covenant of Noah’s waters
to protect and to not destroy the earth and her plenitude.

May You give to all the peoples of this country, the strength and will
to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as unified force
in order to cause to flourish, throughout the world, good life and peace
and may You fulfill for us the verse:

“May the pleasure of Adonai* our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us, may the work of our hands endure.” (Ps. 90:17)

Download a pdf with interlinear English and Hebrew (with vowels)

You can also download just the English, and both are available above in PDF and editable format. If you distribute a modified version, please keep the name neohasid.org and please keep it non-partisan.

* YHVH and Adonai are Hebrew names for God.
The first is usually translated as "The Lord" and is the source of the name "Jehovah", but it is actually derived from the verb "to be". It means something like "Source of Being". The second means "my Lord", and is the word we traditionally say when we read YHVH, which is considered too holy to pronounce. But Adonai is also a name of God in its own right.

Rabbinical Assembly Appoints First Female Rabbi to Head Rabbinical Organization

Women Rabbis have arrived and change is in the air.

Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld was named the next Executive Vice-President of the Rabbinical Assembly today. She succeeds current EVP Rabbi Joel Meyers on July 1st. I am a member of the Rabbinical Assembly--an international organization of almost 1600 Conservative Rabbis.

Julie is an impressive rabbi and leader. I worked with over the past year organizing Conservative rabbis who work in Hillel and helping the Rabbinical Assembly serve their needs. Julie is a graduate of Yale University and was ordained by Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical School in 1997.

In the past, our organization has not fully understood or appreciated the work of non-pulpit members. When Julie (who has been working as Director of Rabbinic Development at the RA) was assigned to work with us, she took a great interest in us and our needs. She worked to understand how Hillel colleagues could benefit from RA programs and what the RA could do in the future for Hillel professionals of all backgrounds and affiliation. It was a different approach than previous encounters.

I am full of hope that Julie's vision and skills will help the RA reinvigorate the Conservative Movement in the US and around the world. I have already emailed her to offer my help in any way she needs.

Mazal Tov, Julie. May your new position help advance the cause of women leadership in the greater Jewish community.

Rabbi Bruce