Weekly Email-June 23rd

Weekly Email-June 23rd

June 23, 2005, 16 Sivan 5765. Volume 1, Issue 24

A Message from Rabbi Gartenberg

Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism will take a planned hiatus from programs from this week (June 20th) through the beginning of August. During this time we will be planning our fall programs and events. I will also be in Israel the month of July studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute. We are now completing our first year of activity. During this year we built a new Shabbat experience in Seattle which has touched many people. We created new opportunities for many to experience the beauty of Judaism. Panim Hadashot fostered ways in which people could be enlightened by Torah and Jewish learning. I wish to thank the many people across the Jewish community who have supported the efforts of Panim Hadashot with their time, ideas, and financial resources. I especially want to thank the leadership of Panim Hadashot for being partners with me in implementing a vision for our Jewish community.

Panim Hadashot means new face or new faces. We chose a name which is not immediately accessible to the non-Hebrew speaker. Yet, we chose it because it forces us at every turn to explain its beautiful and multi-faceted meanings. Panim Hadashot-new faces describes the Jewish tradition's insistence on the sharing of our joy with others. It is a term which also means 'many facets'. Another tradition uses the term to describe the holy Shabbat.

The term Panim Hadashot itself reveals the multifaceted, creative, imaginative, tolerant, welcoming, meaning-laden nature of the Judaism. We teach a pluralistic Judaism, a Judaism of many resonant voices. I acknowledge that there are many versions of Judaism, including intolerant and narrow understandings of Torah. But the passionate commitment of Panim Hadashot is to present an alternative yet very authentic interpretation of Judaism and Torah. The Torah teaches us to be engaged in the world, to affirm its sanctity, to embrace the humanity of the other, to stand up to injustice, to cry out against human cruelty, and to be witnesses to a God who teaches and commands us to live this way. Panim Hadashot seeks to articulate a core message of Judaism which joins our vision of a better world with an affirmation of the uniqueness of the Jewish way of life which refines our humanity through the love of learning, the Sabbath, and a life of caring for and serving others. Please join us in advancing this vision of Judaism.

I will continue to be in touch with you during the summer with occasional emails and writings. We will soon announce our plans for the Fall program which will be posted on the website. I think you will be excited Panim Hadashot's Shabbat programs, learning and dialogue opportunities, and unique outreach activities.

Please go to our website for a fuller view of the scope of Panim Hadashot's activities and approach: www.panimhadashot.com.

Help support the good work of Panim Hadashot: become a haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot. Click on 'haver' to take you to the site to sign up.

Recent News
On June 9th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism received the Levitan Innovation Award.

The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.

Panim Hadsashot won the award based on a grant for the Shabbat Around Seattle Program. As winners of the award Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant in support of the program. We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition. Panim Hadashot thanks the Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award and the review committee for electing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.

Below is a summary of the Shabbat Around Seattle program as it was described in the grant proposal.

"Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. Our project offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Our director, Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes."

If you are interested in participating in this program as a host or a guest, please write to Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Our Shabbat Around Seattle Program will resume in September after a summer hiatus.