Weekly Panim E-Newsletter
New Face(t)s of Judaism
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 22, 2005, 18 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 11
Panim Hadashot, New Faces of Judaism is a new Jewish endeavor of learning, celebration, and outreach. Panim Hadashot is the winner of the Levitan Innovation Award and is endorsed by the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Panim Hadashot is a 501c3 non-profit organization. For general information go to www.panimhadashot.com.
Contact us: General Information: Dorothy Glass at 206 280-3715, dorothy@panimhadashot.com
or Rabbi Dov Gartenberg rabbi@panimhadashot.com. 206 525-0648
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to dorothy@panimhadashot.com.
Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Shabbat and Coming Week? (Click on link for location and details. Open events unless indicated otherwise)
Shabbat: 10/1 70 Faces of Torah: - Dig Deep, Shed Light, Learn Torah 11am-12. Check out the topic for the morning.
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder Mon. 10/3 6:00pm at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah Tues. 10:4 12:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
Gates of Hope-Shaarei Tikvah: Rosh Hashannah Service for Jews with Special Needs. 10/4 4:45pm Families, and Community
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Wed. 10/12 6:15pm Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah part 2 Thur. 10/13 2:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
When is the Next Shabbat Around Seattle Program?
October 21: Shabbat in the Succah! North End. Adult and Adolescents
October 28: Shabbat in Bellevue: Adult oriented
November 4: Shabbat in Queen Anne: Young Family
Classes and Learning is Panim offering for adults?
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Open Enrollment Now
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
Family programs and parenting programs?
Will be announced in next week's newsletter.
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Dignity and Meritocracy
Dignity an Meritocracy
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
My oldest son entered Johns Hopkins University this fall. At the parent orientation in Baltimore we each received a "I am a Proud John's Hopkins Parent" bumbersticker to put on our vehicles. The bumpersticker soon went on the toyota I putter around in, serving as a marker of our familiy's place in the meritocracy.
The day after the bumbersticker found its way on its way onto my car, I went to my other son's IEP, the assessment and goal setting meeting, required for disabled students in the public schools. Mori is severely autisitic. He is in a transition program that aims to impart independent living skills for special needs adolescents. Mori will never live independently, but he may be able to work in a sheltered workshop. At the IEP the teachers proudly told us that Mori successfully cleans busses for the Kent school district each day. He stays on task and cleans the bus wiping windows, clearing debris, and dusting seats. The teachers made him a business card which he could leave in the bus each day. I was so excited for Mori and his accomplishment.
As I returned to my car I realized that I needed a second bumpersticker. "I am a proud Outreach Transition Parent"(that is the name of Mori's program. My son was cleaning buses and I was overjoyed. As I thought about marking Mori's achievement I realized how shame insinuates itself into the mind of a parent of a disabled child. In have raised children of widely different capacities and abilities. It is natural and culturally reinforced to celebrate certain types of merit, but to hide the fact of disability. Would I go around telling people how my son is a superb bus cleaner and another son is a freshman at an elite university? I decided that the right thing to do was just that.
I recently read in the Atlantic monthly a brief review about a book that criticized the dark side of American meritocracy. Meritocracy in America boasts of its ideal of the "equality of opportunity, in which power and the good life are increasingly reserved for the most talented and most able regardless of race, gender, or sexual preference." But meritocracy awards the talented but neglects the ordinary. I would add that our meritocratic culture neglects and leaves behind those who are disabled. The review ends with an insightful quote, "Opportunities to rise are no substitute for a general diffusion of the means of civilization and of the dignity and culture needed by all whether they rise or not. "
Do we extend dignity to all in our culture, our do we only honor those certain types of achievement. American Jewry, more than any community in this country, has embraced the meritocracy. We are immensely successful and have entered the elite colleges in huge, impactful numbers. We are a community that proudly places the names of elite colleges on our cars and celebrates the success of our children in every manner. But what about those who do not achieve in this way? How do we relate to those who do not rise to the top of the meritocracy?
During these High Holidays we have before us the images of the suffering in New Orleans which reminds us of the dangers of when a society fails to extend dignity to others and neglects its needy. The people who suffered greatly after Katrina were the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. I try to imagine what it would have been like to have lived in New Orleans with Mori and worrying about getting him out before the storm. Mori had someone to worry for him. But so many did not, or who had others worrying for them who were powerless to help their loved ones.
Last year I started Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope, special Jewish holiday celebrations for persons with special needs and their families. One of my goals in creating this program was to demonstrate a way our community can confer dignity and love for those in our community who will not succeed in conventional ways, who will not have bumberstickers on their parent's cars, who will clean buses, work in sheltered workshops, live in group homes.
Shaarei Tikvah is a celebration in which dignity and honor is spread around generously and abundantly. It is not only a celebration for families with loved ones dealing with special needs. It is an opportunity for our commnity to celebrate with those who are often hidden and out of sight. There is no need for the hiddeness and shame. I am a proud Shaarei Tikvah parent. Please join us for our Rosh Hashannah service. For information, see below. Click on Directions to the Talaris conference center.
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families
Tuesday, October 4th, 2005
Service 4:45-5:30 pm
Tashlich and Refreshment 5:30-6:15 pm
Talaris Conference Center – Cedar Room
A community wide non-denominational service for persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, their families, and supporters in the Jewish community cosponsored by the Jewish Family Service. The service will be led by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "ST" and note the number of people in your party.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
My oldest son entered Johns Hopkins University this fall. At the parent orientation in Baltimore we each received a "I am a Proud John's Hopkins Parent" bumbersticker to put on our vehicles. The bumpersticker soon went on the toyota I putter around in, serving as a marker of our familiy's place in the meritocracy.
The day after the bumbersticker found its way on its way onto my car, I went to my other son's IEP, the assessment and goal setting meeting, required for disabled students in the public schools. Mori is severely autisitic. He is in a transition program that aims to impart independent living skills for special needs adolescents. Mori will never live independently, but he may be able to work in a sheltered workshop. At the IEP the teachers proudly told us that Mori successfully cleans busses for the Kent school district each day. He stays on task and cleans the bus wiping windows, clearing debris, and dusting seats. The teachers made him a business card which he could leave in the bus each day. I was so excited for Mori and his accomplishment.
As I returned to my car I realized that I needed a second bumpersticker. "I am a proud Outreach Transition Parent"(that is the name of Mori's program. My son was cleaning buses and I was overjoyed. As I thought about marking Mori's achievement I realized how shame insinuates itself into the mind of a parent of a disabled child. In have raised children of widely different capacities and abilities. It is natural and culturally reinforced to celebrate certain types of merit, but to hide the fact of disability. Would I go around telling people how my son is a superb bus cleaner and another son is a freshman at an elite university? I decided that the right thing to do was just that.
I recently read in the Atlantic monthly a brief review about a book that criticized the dark side of American meritocracy. Meritocracy in America boasts of its ideal of the "equality of opportunity, in which power and the good life are increasingly reserved for the most talented and most able regardless of race, gender, or sexual preference." But meritocracy awards the talented but neglects the ordinary. I would add that our meritocratic culture neglects and leaves behind those who are disabled. The review ends with an insightful quote, "Opportunities to rise are no substitute for a general diffusion of the means of civilization and of the dignity and culture needed by all whether they rise or not. "
Do we extend dignity to all in our culture, our do we only honor those certain types of achievement. American Jewry, more than any community in this country, has embraced the meritocracy. We are immensely successful and have entered the elite colleges in huge, impactful numbers. We are a community that proudly places the names of elite colleges on our cars and celebrates the success of our children in every manner. But what about those who do not achieve in this way? How do we relate to those who do not rise to the top of the meritocracy?
During these High Holidays we have before us the images of the suffering in New Orleans which reminds us of the dangers of when a society fails to extend dignity to others and neglects its needy. The people who suffered greatly after Katrina were the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. I try to imagine what it would have been like to have lived in New Orleans with Mori and worrying about getting him out before the storm. Mori had someone to worry for him. But so many did not, or who had others worrying for them who were powerless to help their loved ones.
Last year I started Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope, special Jewish holiday celebrations for persons with special needs and their families. One of my goals in creating this program was to demonstrate a way our community can confer dignity and love for those in our community who will not succeed in conventional ways, who will not have bumberstickers on their parent's cars, who will clean buses, work in sheltered workshops, live in group homes.
Shaarei Tikvah is a celebration in which dignity and honor is spread around generously and abundantly. It is not only a celebration for families with loved ones dealing with special needs. It is an opportunity for our commnity to celebrate with those who are often hidden and out of sight. There is no need for the hiddeness and shame. I am a proud Shaarei Tikvah parent. Please join us for our Rosh Hashannah service. For information, see below. Click on Directions to the Talaris conference center.
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families
Tuesday, October 4th, 2005
Service 4:45-5:30 pm
Tashlich and Refreshment 5:30-6:15 pm
Talaris Conference Center – Cedar Room
A community wide non-denominational service for persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, their families, and supporters in the Jewish community cosponsored by the Jewish Family Service. The service will be led by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "ST" and note the number of people in your party.
Monday, September 26, 2005
About Panim's Rosh Hashannah Seder
About Panim's Rosh Hashannah Seder
About the Seder Rosh Hashannah of Panim Hadashot:
It is still not to late to join us for an amazing Panim Hadashot Rosh Hashannah Seder organized and ordered by Mary Engel. Mary has written a description of the seder. Below I have written out the seder-the order- of rituals so you can get a sense of how special this evening will be. The seder will be at the Talaris Conference Center in Laurelhurst on Monday, October 3rd at 6:00pm. To reserve a place, please call Dorothy Glass at 206 280-3715 or dorothy@panimhadashot.com.
"Our multi-dimensional seder will follow the three elements of the traditional Sephardi and Mizrahi Rosh Hashanah seder: chanting a series of verses from the Torah, making impassioned requests to God, and reciting blessings over eight beautiful and delicious foods that symbolize our prayers for peace, righteousness, safety, love, and other gifts It will also incorporating adaptations that honor women and culture-specific additions such as the Moroccan blessing over moonwater. Paced with lots of singing and rhythm, poetry, activities for children, teaching, and discussion, it will be a stirring experience, full of joy! Come bless and sing in the New Year with us!"
Seder Rosh Hashannah
Chanting the Book-Lshir Hasefer
Requests-Bakashot
Sanctification-Kiddush
Handwashing-Rochtzah
Blessing over Bread-Motzi
Apple-Tapu'ach
Pumpkin-Kara
Leek-Karti
Beans/Fenugreek-Rubia
Beet-Selek
Pomegranate-Rimon
Date-Tamar
Head of Fish- Rosh Dag
Dinner-Shulhan Orekh
Moon Water-Tzafun
Blessings After Meal-Barech
Conclusion-Nirtzah
About the Seder Rosh Hashannah of Panim Hadashot:
It is still not to late to join us for an amazing Panim Hadashot Rosh Hashannah Seder organized and ordered by Mary Engel. Mary has written a description of the seder. Below I have written out the seder-the order- of rituals so you can get a sense of how special this evening will be. The seder will be at the Talaris Conference Center in Laurelhurst on Monday, October 3rd at 6:00pm. To reserve a place, please call Dorothy Glass at 206 280-3715 or dorothy@panimhadashot.com.
"Our multi-dimensional seder will follow the three elements of the traditional Sephardi and Mizrahi Rosh Hashanah seder: chanting a series of verses from the Torah, making impassioned requests to God, and reciting blessings over eight beautiful and delicious foods that symbolize our prayers for peace, righteousness, safety, love, and other gifts It will also incorporating adaptations that honor women and culture-specific additions such as the Moroccan blessing over moonwater. Paced with lots of singing and rhythm, poetry, activities for children, teaching, and discussion, it will be a stirring experience, full of joy! Come bless and sing in the New Year with us!"
Seder Rosh Hashannah
Chanting the Book-Lshir Hasefer
Requests-Bakashot
Sanctification-Kiddush
Handwashing-Rochtzah
Blessing over Bread-Motzi
Apple-Tapu'ach
Pumpkin-Kara
Leek-Karti
Beans/Fenugreek-Rubia
Beet-Selek
Pomegranate-Rimon
Date-Tamar
Head of Fish- Rosh Dag
Dinner-Shulhan Orekh
Moon Water-Tzafun
Blessings After Meal-Barech
Conclusion-Nirtzah
Thursday, September 22, 2005
New Faces of Judaism
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 22, 2005, 18 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 11
Panim Hadashot, New Faces of Judaism is a new Jewish endeavor of learning, celebration, and outreach. Panim Hadashot is the winner of the Levitan Innovation Award and is endorsed by the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Panim Hadashot is a 501c3 non-profit organization. For general information go to www.panimhadashot.com.
Contact us: General Information: Dorothy Glass at 206 280-3715,
dorothy@panimhadashot.com
or Rabbi Dov Gartenberg rabbi@panimhadashot.com. 206 525-0648
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to dorothy@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Shabbat and Coming Week? (Click on link for location and details. Open events unless indicated otherwise)
Shabbat: 9/24 70 Faces of Torah: - Dig Deep, Shed Light, Learn Torah 11am-12.
Sunday 9/25: Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue
Tuesday 9/27: Join Emily Moore, noted chef and Rabbi Dov at the High Holidays Foods and Info Booth: Whole Foods, Roosevelt Store. 4:30-7:00pm
Wednesday 9/28: Jewish Day School in Bellevue. Going Meshugene: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals. 8:45am
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder Mon. 10/3 6:00pm at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah Tues. 10:4 12:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
Gates of Hope-Shaarei Tikvah: Rosh Hashannah Service for Jews with Special Needs. 10/4 4:45pm Families, and Community
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Wed. 10/12 6:15pm Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah part 2 Thur. 10/13 2:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
When is the Next Shabbat Around Seattle Program?
October 21: Shabbat in the Succah! North End. Adult and Adolescents
October 28: Shabbat in Bellevue: Adult oriented
November 4: Shabbat in Queen Anne: Young Family
Classes and Learning is Panim offering for adults?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Open Enrollment Now
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
Family programs and parenting programs?
Going Meshugeneh: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals for Parents. Wed. 9/28
Shabbas Stew: Celebrating the End of Shabbat for Young Families. Shabbat 10/1
Special Gatherings and Interest Groups?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 22, 2005, 18 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 11
Panim Hadashot, New Faces of Judaism is a new Jewish endeavor of learning, celebration, and outreach. Panim Hadashot is the winner of the Levitan Innovation Award and is endorsed by the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Panim Hadashot is a 501c3 non-profit organization. For general information go to www.panimhadashot.com.
Contact us: General Information: Dorothy Glass at 206 280-3715,
dorothy@panimhadashot.com
or Rabbi Dov Gartenberg rabbi@panimhadashot.com. 206 525-0648
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to dorothy@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Shabbat and Coming Week? (Click on link for location and details. Open events unless indicated otherwise)
Shabbat: 9/24 70 Faces of Torah: - Dig Deep, Shed Light, Learn Torah 11am-12.
Sunday 9/25: Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue
Tuesday 9/27: Join Emily Moore, noted chef and Rabbi Dov at the High Holidays Foods and Info Booth: Whole Foods, Roosevelt Store. 4:30-7:00pm
Wednesday 9/28: Jewish Day School in Bellevue. Going Meshugene: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals. 8:45am
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder Mon. 10/3 6:00pm at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah Tues. 10:4 12:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
Gates of Hope-Shaarei Tikvah: Rosh Hashannah Service for Jews with Special Needs. 10/4 4:45pm Families, and Community
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Wed. 10/12 6:15pm Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah part 2 Thur. 10/13 2:30pm with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
When is the Next Shabbat Around Seattle Program?
October 21: Shabbat in the Succah! North End. Adult and Adolescents
October 28: Shabbat in Bellevue: Adult oriented
November 4: Shabbat in Queen Anne: Young Family
Classes and Learning is Panim offering for adults?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Open Enrollment Now
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
Family programs and parenting programs?
Going Meshugeneh: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals for Parents. Wed. 9/28
Shabbas Stew: Celebrating the End of Shabbat for Young Families. Shabbat 10/1
Special Gatherings and Interest Groups?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
Breaking Open Rosh Hashannah: Reflections for the Days of Awe. #1
Breaking Open Rosh Hashannah
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
September 22, 2005
When I led services as a pulpit rabbi on the High Holidays I would frequently look over the congregation to take its pulse during the services. At my Conservative congregation I oversaw services that went for hours at a time. What I noticed year after year was that the average staying time for most congregants at the congregation was 1 hour and a half. It was only a few dozen who came at the beginning and left five hours later (on Rosh Hashannah, not to mention Yom Kippur). When I asked people their feeling about services the most common answer was, "It is hard for me to sit in services which are so long, saying words I have trouble believing. I come because I love the melodies and I want to see my friends." Even year after year of teaching the meaning of the traditional prayers, it became apparent to me that the prayer services on Rosh Hashannah remained cryptic for most of those who came to the synagogue.
During this past year as Panim Hadashot took shape, I asked my friends what might be a way to address the problems people have with prayer on the High Holidays. A new idea emerged over several months which pointed to a very different way to connect to this holy season. Prayer is not the sole authentic activity for the New Year. Jews traditionally focused on repairing relationships during this time of year by seeking out friends and loved ones to close up the breaches of the previous year. Jews also made the new year's feast a special time to mark the new year, enjoying symbolic foods with blessings, and reflecting on the changes brought by the previous year. I asked myself, why not make these activities a central focus for Jews who did not easily resonate with the prayer traditions. Why not break open Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur by focusing on these other authentic ways of 'doing Jewish' so that people could find a way to reappropriate the holidays in their lives.
So that is what we have done. We are making a beautiful Seder Rosh Hashannah on the first evening. I asked Mary Engel to take this project on. The Engel family has been hosting amazing Rosh Hashannah Seders for years in their home. For Mary the preparation of this seder has become a passionate project. She has gathered together Jewish traditions from around the world to create a 'Rosh Hashannah Haggadah and Seder' of extraordinary beauty and depth. Those attending will not only be treated to distinctive foods and rituals, but also to a Jewish ritual with powerful meaning and insight. Mary plans to publish her seder in the form of a beautiful book which you will be able to use for your own home celebrations in the future.
Moving to the experience of Rosh Hashannah day, I decided to focus on the mitzvah of Teshuvah-'return' which is the central concern of these holy days. Every year rabbis talk about how important it is to repair relationships. What would it mean to focus on this process so that we could launch people into serious engagement with this mitzvah which would impact their lives. I approached John and Julie Gottman and invited them to collaborate with me to make Teshuvah come alive for people. John and Julie know a few things about relationships (they are internationally renowned researchers on marriage). I asked them to join me in reflecting on how the ancient practice of Teshuvah can be meaningful in light of contemporary understanding of relationships. The result is two powerful sessions on Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur on making Teshuvah between ourselves, within ourselves, and with God.
The other innovation of Panim Hadashot centers on making learning a communal experience. The Torah readings of the High Holidays are both perplexing and profound. Because of the length of services and the way the Torah service is done in conventional services, these incredible texts remain unexplored for most of us. My aim is to crack open at least two of these great readings, the Binding of Isaac on Rosh Hashannah and the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur. These passages touch on an important spiritual issue: surrender versus protest. How do we live in the world? How do we regard God? Do we accept reality or do we work against it? Do we submit to God's will or to we assail God's acts? At Panim Hadashot we allow time to explore these questions in the context of the Torah reading and to gather insights on how we might change or validate our lives.
All the above is an attempt to revitalize these Days of Awe as a spiritually powerful and meaningful period in our lives. While I realize that for many Jews the path of prayer is their most direct way to God, Panim Hadashot has tried to open up other paths in the conviction that their are multiple paths to the same God within our tradition. We invite anyone who wants to try a different way or to add to what you already to join us for our unique approach to the High Holidays.
I wish you a Shannah Tovah Umetukah-a good and sweet year.
Rabbi Dov
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
September 22, 2005
When I led services as a pulpit rabbi on the High Holidays I would frequently look over the congregation to take its pulse during the services. At my Conservative congregation I oversaw services that went for hours at a time. What I noticed year after year was that the average staying time for most congregants at the congregation was 1 hour and a half. It was only a few dozen who came at the beginning and left five hours later (on Rosh Hashannah, not to mention Yom Kippur). When I asked people their feeling about services the most common answer was, "It is hard for me to sit in services which are so long, saying words I have trouble believing. I come because I love the melodies and I want to see my friends." Even year after year of teaching the meaning of the traditional prayers, it became apparent to me that the prayer services on Rosh Hashannah remained cryptic for most of those who came to the synagogue.
During this past year as Panim Hadashot took shape, I asked my friends what might be a way to address the problems people have with prayer on the High Holidays. A new idea emerged over several months which pointed to a very different way to connect to this holy season. Prayer is not the sole authentic activity for the New Year. Jews traditionally focused on repairing relationships during this time of year by seeking out friends and loved ones to close up the breaches of the previous year. Jews also made the new year's feast a special time to mark the new year, enjoying symbolic foods with blessings, and reflecting on the changes brought by the previous year. I asked myself, why not make these activities a central focus for Jews who did not easily resonate with the prayer traditions. Why not break open Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur by focusing on these other authentic ways of 'doing Jewish' so that people could find a way to reappropriate the holidays in their lives.
So that is what we have done. We are making a beautiful Seder Rosh Hashannah on the first evening. I asked Mary Engel to take this project on. The Engel family has been hosting amazing Rosh Hashannah Seders for years in their home. For Mary the preparation of this seder has become a passionate project. She has gathered together Jewish traditions from around the world to create a 'Rosh Hashannah Haggadah and Seder' of extraordinary beauty and depth. Those attending will not only be treated to distinctive foods and rituals, but also to a Jewish ritual with powerful meaning and insight. Mary plans to publish her seder in the form of a beautiful book which you will be able to use for your own home celebrations in the future.
Moving to the experience of Rosh Hashannah day, I decided to focus on the mitzvah of Teshuvah-'return' which is the central concern of these holy days. Every year rabbis talk about how important it is to repair relationships. What would it mean to focus on this process so that we could launch people into serious engagement with this mitzvah which would impact their lives. I approached John and Julie Gottman and invited them to collaborate with me to make Teshuvah come alive for people. John and Julie know a few things about relationships (they are internationally renowned researchers on marriage). I asked them to join me in reflecting on how the ancient practice of Teshuvah can be meaningful in light of contemporary understanding of relationships. The result is two powerful sessions on Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur on making Teshuvah between ourselves, within ourselves, and with God.
The other innovation of Panim Hadashot centers on making learning a communal experience. The Torah readings of the High Holidays are both perplexing and profound. Because of the length of services and the way the Torah service is done in conventional services, these incredible texts remain unexplored for most of us. My aim is to crack open at least two of these great readings, the Binding of Isaac on Rosh Hashannah and the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur. These passages touch on an important spiritual issue: surrender versus protest. How do we live in the world? How do we regard God? Do we accept reality or do we work against it? Do we submit to God's will or to we assail God's acts? At Panim Hadashot we allow time to explore these questions in the context of the Torah reading and to gather insights on how we might change or validate our lives.
All the above is an attempt to revitalize these Days of Awe as a spiritually powerful and meaningful period in our lives. While I realize that for many Jews the path of prayer is their most direct way to God, Panim Hadashot has tried to open up other paths in the conviction that their are multiple paths to the same God within our tradition. We invite anyone who wants to try a different way or to add to what you already to join us for our unique approach to the High Holidays.
I wish you a Shannah Tovah Umetukah-a good and sweet year.
Rabbi Dov
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Weekly Panim E-Newsletter: Sept 15th
New Faces of Judaism
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 15, 2005, 11 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 9
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Shabbat and Coming Week? (Click on link for location and details. Open events unless indicated otherwise)
Shabbat: 70 Faces of Torah: - (adult oriented) Dig Deep, Shed Light, Learn Torah 11am-12. Saturday.
End of Shabbat. 70 Faces of Torah for (school age) families: Grow a Love for Torah in Your Family 6:15pm-7:45 Ending with Ice Cream and Havdalah.
Sunday: Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue 9/18/05
Tuesday: Join Emily Moore, noted chef and Rabbi Dov at the High Holidays Foods and Info Booth: Whole Foods, Roosevelt Store. 4-6:15pm
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah part 2 with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
When is the Next Shabbat Around Seattle Program?
October 21: Shabbat in the Succah! North End. Adult and Adolescents
October 28: Shabbat in Bellevue: Adult oriented
November 4: Shabbat in Queen Anne: Young Family
Classes and Learning is Panim offering for adults?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Open Enrollment Now
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
Family programs and parenting programs?
Going Meshugeneh: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals for Parents. Wed. 9/28
Shabbas Stew: Celebrating the End of Shabbat for Young Families. Shabbat 10/1
Special Gatherings and Interest Groups?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 15, 2005, 11 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 9
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Shabbat and Coming Week? (Click on link for location and details. Open events unless indicated otherwise)
Shabbat: 70 Faces of Torah: - (adult oriented) Dig Deep, Shed Light, Learn Torah 11am-12. Saturday.
End of Shabbat. 70 Faces of Torah for (school age) families: Grow a Love for Torah in Your Family 6:15pm-7:45 Ending with Ice Cream and Havdalah.
Sunday: Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue 9/18/05
Tuesday: Join Emily Moore, noted chef and Rabbi Dov at the High Holidays Foods and Info Booth: Whole Foods, Roosevelt Store. 4-6:15pm
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah part 2 with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
When is the Next Shabbat Around Seattle Program?
October 21: Shabbat in the Succah! North End. Adult and Adolescents
October 28: Shabbat in Bellevue: Adult oriented
November 4: Shabbat in Queen Anne: Young Family
Classes and Learning is Panim offering for adults?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Open Enrollment Now
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
Family programs and parenting programs?
Going Meshugeneh: An Educational Romp Through the Fall Festivals for Parents. Wed. 9/28
Shabbas Stew: Celebrating the End of Shabbat for Young Families. Shabbat 10/1
Special Gatherings and Interest Groups?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Eat, Learn, Connect. A Unique High Holiday Experience with Panim Hadashot
Eat, Learn, Connect Eat-Learn-Connect.pdf
A Unique High Holiday Experience
Panim Hadashot is offering a completely unique approach to the High Holidays that combines the gastronomic with the spiritual, the intellectual with the emotional, and ritual practice with meaning. Please take a look at our unique program by clicking on High Holidays with Panim Hadashot. Below is a quick summary of what will be happening.
Rosh Hashannah Feast
We bring you the inspired teaching and leading of the novelist-theologian-ritualist, Mary Engel, who will share with us a remarkable ritual feast called the Yehi Ratzon Seder on the eve of Rosh Hashannah on Monday, 10/3. Taking from rich Sephardic and other Jewish traditions she has prepared a seder which at which we learn the text, eat the text, and chant the text. This is the first time in Seattle that a Rosh Hashannah Seder is being offered to the public. Please rsvp and send in reservation checks as indicated at our web site early since we only have limited space for the seder.
High Holiday Programs: Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur Afternoons and Kol Nidre
Sometimes the endless services on the high holidays obscure the single most important activity of the High Holidays-Teshuvah-the act of reparing relationships with our fellows and with God. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, Founder of Panim Hadashot, teams up with the renowned experts on marriage and family, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, to teach and explore the application of Teshuvah in our interpersonal relations and in our spiritual lives. 10/4 and 10/13 in the afternoon.
Rabbi Gartenberg will also share with a wider community the unique approach to Torah developed by Panim Hadashot this past year. Share in our interactive Torah readings which open up the meaning of this ancient text for our lives. 10/4 and 10/13 in the afternoon
And join Rabbi Gartenberg on Kol Nidre for a unique 'service of the ambivalent' which is a daring exploration of the meaning of prayer for people who have trouble believing in God. 10/12 in the evening.
The details for this exciting program is on our web site at www.panimhadashot.com and click the tab for the high holidays.
PLEASE RESERVE EARLY SINCE WE ONLY HAVE LIMITED SPACE.
A Unique High Holiday Experience
Panim Hadashot is offering a completely unique approach to the High Holidays that combines the gastronomic with the spiritual, the intellectual with the emotional, and ritual practice with meaning. Please take a look at our unique program by clicking on High Holidays with Panim Hadashot. Below is a quick summary of what will be happening.
Rosh Hashannah Feast
We bring you the inspired teaching and leading of the novelist-theologian-ritualist, Mary Engel, who will share with us a remarkable ritual feast called the Yehi Ratzon Seder on the eve of Rosh Hashannah on Monday, 10/3. Taking from rich Sephardic and other Jewish traditions she has prepared a seder which at which we learn the text, eat the text, and chant the text. This is the first time in Seattle that a Rosh Hashannah Seder is being offered to the public. Please rsvp and send in reservation checks as indicated at our web site early since we only have limited space for the seder.
High Holiday Programs: Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur Afternoons and Kol Nidre
Sometimes the endless services on the high holidays obscure the single most important activity of the High Holidays-Teshuvah-the act of reparing relationships with our fellows and with God. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, Founder of Panim Hadashot, teams up with the renowned experts on marriage and family, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, to teach and explore the application of Teshuvah in our interpersonal relations and in our spiritual lives. 10/4 and 10/13 in the afternoon.
Rabbi Gartenberg will also share with a wider community the unique approach to Torah developed by Panim Hadashot this past year. Share in our interactive Torah readings which open up the meaning of this ancient text for our lives. 10/4 and 10/13 in the afternoon
And join Rabbi Gartenberg on Kol Nidre for a unique 'service of the ambivalent' which is a daring exploration of the meaning of prayer for people who have trouble believing in God. 10/12 in the evening.
The details for this exciting program is on our web site at www.panimhadashot.com and click the tab for the high holidays.
PLEASE RESERVE EARLY SINCE WE ONLY HAVE LIMITED SPACE.
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Weekly Update 9-7-05
New Faces
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 8, 2005, 4 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 9
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Weekend? (Open events)
Shabbat Dinner with Rabbi Dov Please call 206 525-0648 if you want to come.
70 Faces of Torah: - Panim's Unique Way of Reading the Torah. 11am-12. Saturday
Changing Your Life: Tree of Life Workshops on Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov. 9/11, 9/18
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Gastronomic and Spiritual Judaism combined! Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, p. 2. Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
What Classes and Learning is Panim offering in the near future?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Starting 9/14
Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue 9/18/05
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
What are some of the upcoming unique gatherings and feasts hosted by Panim Hadashot?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
An Interactive Torah Reading for Families. 9/16 late Shabbat Afternoon
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
E-Newsletter: Weekly Update on the Activities of Panim Hadashot
Thursday, September 8, 2005, 4 Elul 5765. Volume 2, Issue 9
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Weekend? (Open events)
Shabbat Dinner with Rabbi Dov Please call 206 525-0648 if you want to come.
70 Faces of Torah: - Panim's Unique Way of Reading the Torah. 11am-12. Saturday
Changing Your Life: Tree of Life Workshops on Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov. 9/11, 9/18
What is Happening at High Holidays with Panim Hadashot?
Gastronomic and Spiritual Judaism combined! Rosh Hashannah New Years Feast and Seder at the Talaris Conference Center.
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans. Talaris
A Kol Nidre Service for the Ambivalent. Meadowbrook Community Center
Plumbing the Meaning of Teshuvah with Rabbi Dov and the Gottmans, p. 2. Talaris
Sign up now because we can only accomodate 150!!!
What Classes and Learning is Panim offering in the near future?
Living the Jewish Year: Close Encounters with the Jewish Way of Life. Starting 9/14
Changing Your Life: Teshuvah Workshop at Tree of Life Bookstore, Bellevue 9/18/05
Learning Torah at Barnes and Noble. Downtown Bellevue, 10/9/05
Bring Shabbat to Your Home: A Hands On Workshop. Starting 11/2
What are some of the upcoming unique gatherings and feasts hosted by Panim Hadashot?
"Handling New Baggage": A dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study, and growth. Open house Shabbat dinner, 9/23.
An Interactive Torah Reading for Families. 9/16 late Shabbat Afternoon
How can I support the groundbreaking work of Panim Hadashot?
Learn How to Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Become an outreach or oganizational volunteer partner-Shutaf
How can I learn more about the unique approach and ideas behind the creation of Panim Hadahsot-New Faces of Judaism?
Check out Rabbi Dov's Rabbiblog for writings and reflections on Panim and other matters.
An Opportunity for Jews by Choice
“Handling New Baggage” a dialogue group for Jews by Choice for support, study and growth will have its first gathering on Friday, September 23, 2005 at 6:30pmas a Friday night dinner at the Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash.
This is an open house for people to get to know each other and to share in your experiences of being a Jew by Choice. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg will be our host for the dinner.
The group organizer, Dina Lewallen, is a lay volunteer who converted in 2003. She is interested in bringing together Jews by Choice in the Seattle area to explore the wide range of issues related to assimilation into Jewish life.
“I myself was born into an inter-faith family and converted in April of 2003. I greatly benefited from a Jews by Choice support group in Ann Arbor, MI, where I lived at the time. In my early experiences as a Jew, this group was critical in helping me achieve a sense of “belonging” in an environment that often felt intimidating. While I have successfully assimilated into the Jewish community, I still have my struggles. My intent in forming this group is to provide a supportive environment where Jews by Choice can explore these and other issues related to their assimilation into Jewish life.” - Dina Lewallen
Panim Hadashot is engaged in Jewish outreach throughout the community. One of our initiatives is to provide on-going support to Jews by Choice from all denominations. Those interested can RSVP at http://www.trumba.com/calendars/panimhadashot or email dina4panim@hotmail.com.
This is an open house for people to get to know each other and to share in your experiences of being a Jew by Choice. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg will be our host for the dinner.
The group organizer, Dina Lewallen, is a lay volunteer who converted in 2003. She is interested in bringing together Jews by Choice in the Seattle area to explore the wide range of issues related to assimilation into Jewish life.
“I myself was born into an inter-faith family and converted in April of 2003. I greatly benefited from a Jews by Choice support group in Ann Arbor, MI, where I lived at the time. In my early experiences as a Jew, this group was critical in helping me achieve a sense of “belonging” in an environment that often felt intimidating. While I have successfully assimilated into the Jewish community, I still have my struggles. My intent in forming this group is to provide a supportive environment where Jews by Choice can explore these and other issues related to their assimilation into Jewish life.” - Dina Lewallen
Panim Hadashot is engaged in Jewish outreach throughout the community. One of our initiatives is to provide on-going support to Jews by Choice from all denominations. Those interested can RSVP at http://www.trumba.com/calendars/panimhadashot or email dina4panim@hotmail.com.
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 4
The Passion for Jewish Reading Part 4
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg September 7, 2005
One of my goals in establishing Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism was to reestablish Jewish learning as the centerpiece of Jewish community. This meant a rediscovery of the joy of reading, learning, and dialogue as a way for promoting fellowship. The mitzvah of Torah study has always been considered equal to all the commandments. But Torah study in its finest and most authentic sense had to be presented to people in a way that could transform and deepen their lives.
The scholar Sven Birkets has written about the nature of reading which captures the unique quality of Torah study I am seeking to reestablish in the liberal Jewish community. In this fourth part I want to share more of Birkets insights on the comparison of how people read in the past and how we read in our high tech reality.
"In our culture, access is not a problem, but proliferation is. And the reading act is necessarily different than it was in the earliest days. Awed and intimidated by the availability of texts, faced with the impossible task of discriminating among them, the reader tends to move across surfaces, skimming, hastening from one site to the next without allowing the words to resonate inwardly."
When I was a kid I was taught the Evelyn Wood method of quick reading. In school I was taught to read a lot and to cover a lot of ground in a quick amount of time. Only much later did I learn to read the old way, to digest a text, to pour over words, to reflect on their meaning.
Birkets continues, "The possiblity of maximum focus is undercut by the awareness of the unread texts that await. The result is that we know countless more 'bits' of information both important and trivial, than our ancestors. We know them without a stable sense of context, for where the field is that vast, all schemes must be seen as provisional. "
My question became, how do we reestablish focus in Jewish life. Synagogues attempt to establish focus liturgically, by bringing people together over a common set of prayers and pulic readings which are repeated week after week (except for the Torah reading). Panim seeks to bring people together with an even sharper focus on the weekly reading of the Torah. The act of slow, 'ferocious' reading is done with everyone present and creates a stable yet very engaging experience of learning and exploration.
Birkets continues, "We are experiencing in our times a loss of depth-a loss, that is, of the very paradigm of depth. A sense of the deep and natural connectedness of things is a function of vertical consciousness. Its apotheosis is what was once called wisdom. Wisdom: the knowing not of facts, but of truths about human nature and the processes of life. But swamped by data, and in thrall to the technologies that manipulate it, we no longer think in these larger and necessarily more imprecise terms. "
The Torah reading which we call Shivim Panim Latorah-70 Faces of the Torah- is a conscious attempt to rediscover 'vertical consciousness' and to engage in a form of reading that gives us a chance to reflect on human nature, on God, on the attempt to live life purposefully. Because of the specificity of the Torah, we can approach these themes in many different ways. Because of the rich tradition of commentary, we have profound pundits (as opposed to the contemporary retail industry of the same name) who engage in the important questions about the meaning and message of the text. A holy text as I understand it is something that yields up the minerals and raw materials in which we build a house of wisdom. Why not allow time in our lives to live intimately with this text.
"Wisdom", Birkets adds, "and ideal that originated in the oral epochs-Solomon and Socrates represent wisdom incarnate, ...is predicated on the assumption that one person can somehow grasp a total picture of life and its laws, comprehending the whole and the relation to the parts. To comprehend: to "hold together".
When we read Torah we are engaged in a shared act of holding together, both by reading the same text and by engaging with it and plumbing it for wisdom. This is a spiritual act as a Jew. Yes we can use the same time to pray, to meditate, to sing. These are also fine spiritual activities, but Jews saw the collective act of seeking wisdom and insight through the slow reading of Torah to be the greatest spiritual act, worthy of the reward of eternal life. Panim attempts to revive the Torah reading as a form of slow, vertical, depth reading that Birkets describes so beautifully.
In part 5 I will continue commenting on Birkets marvelous insights focusing on the impact of data overload and the impact on how we read in our times.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg September 7, 2005
One of my goals in establishing Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism was to reestablish Jewish learning as the centerpiece of Jewish community. This meant a rediscovery of the joy of reading, learning, and dialogue as a way for promoting fellowship. The mitzvah of Torah study has always been considered equal to all the commandments. But Torah study in its finest and most authentic sense had to be presented to people in a way that could transform and deepen their lives.
The scholar Sven Birkets has written about the nature of reading which captures the unique quality of Torah study I am seeking to reestablish in the liberal Jewish community. In this fourth part I want to share more of Birkets insights on the comparison of how people read in the past and how we read in our high tech reality.
"In our culture, access is not a problem, but proliferation is. And the reading act is necessarily different than it was in the earliest days. Awed and intimidated by the availability of texts, faced with the impossible task of discriminating among them, the reader tends to move across surfaces, skimming, hastening from one site to the next without allowing the words to resonate inwardly."
When I was a kid I was taught the Evelyn Wood method of quick reading. In school I was taught to read a lot and to cover a lot of ground in a quick amount of time. Only much later did I learn to read the old way, to digest a text, to pour over words, to reflect on their meaning.
Birkets continues, "The possiblity of maximum focus is undercut by the awareness of the unread texts that await. The result is that we know countless more 'bits' of information both important and trivial, than our ancestors. We know them without a stable sense of context, for where the field is that vast, all schemes must be seen as provisional. "
My question became, how do we reestablish focus in Jewish life. Synagogues attempt to establish focus liturgically, by bringing people together over a common set of prayers and pulic readings which are repeated week after week (except for the Torah reading). Panim seeks to bring people together with an even sharper focus on the weekly reading of the Torah. The act of slow, 'ferocious' reading is done with everyone present and creates a stable yet very engaging experience of learning and exploration.
Birkets continues, "We are experiencing in our times a loss of depth-a loss, that is, of the very paradigm of depth. A sense of the deep and natural connectedness of things is a function of vertical consciousness. Its apotheosis is what was once called wisdom. Wisdom: the knowing not of facts, but of truths about human nature and the processes of life. But swamped by data, and in thrall to the technologies that manipulate it, we no longer think in these larger and necessarily more imprecise terms. "
The Torah reading which we call Shivim Panim Latorah-70 Faces of the Torah- is a conscious attempt to rediscover 'vertical consciousness' and to engage in a form of reading that gives us a chance to reflect on human nature, on God, on the attempt to live life purposefully. Because of the specificity of the Torah, we can approach these themes in many different ways. Because of the rich tradition of commentary, we have profound pundits (as opposed to the contemporary retail industry of the same name) who engage in the important questions about the meaning and message of the text. A holy text as I understand it is something that yields up the minerals and raw materials in which we build a house of wisdom. Why not allow time in our lives to live intimately with this text.
"Wisdom", Birkets adds, "and ideal that originated in the oral epochs-Solomon and Socrates represent wisdom incarnate, ...is predicated on the assumption that one person can somehow grasp a total picture of life and its laws, comprehending the whole and the relation to the parts. To comprehend: to "hold together".
When we read Torah we are engaged in a shared act of holding together, both by reading the same text and by engaging with it and plumbing it for wisdom. This is a spiritual act as a Jew. Yes we can use the same time to pray, to meditate, to sing. These are also fine spiritual activities, but Jews saw the collective act of seeking wisdom and insight through the slow reading of Torah to be the greatest spiritual act, worthy of the reward of eternal life. Panim attempts to revive the Torah reading as a form of slow, vertical, depth reading that Birkets describes so beautifully.
In part 5 I will continue commenting on Birkets marvelous insights focusing on the impact of data overload and the impact on how we read in our times.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Panim-Facets: Weekly Update from Panim Hadashot
Weekly Update on Panim Hadashot-New Facets of Judaism
Thursday, September 1, 2005, 27 Av 5765. Volume 2, Issue 8
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Week?
There will be no activities the Shabbat of September 2-3rd. We resume our programs on the following Shabbat. Please go to our calendar for a listing. In this issue you will find.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
High Holidays Programs of Panim Hadashot
Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Latest Writings of Rabbi Dov Gartenberg on Rabbiblog
1. High Holidays with Panim
Rosh Hashannah Seder
Panim is pleased to bring to the Seattle Jewish community a unique and alternative approach to the High Holidays. We will start the Days of Awe with the first ever public Rosh Hashannah Seder. This distinctive feast has been put together by the novelist and educator, Mary Engel. The seder will build on Sephardic traditions of the Yehi Ratzon (May it be God's Will) platter with eight distinctive foods, each the vehicle of blessings for the new year. This seder which is open to both adults and children will also feature distinctive foods such as rodanchas, an autumn pastry, Keftedes de Prasa, leek fritters, Salata de Panjar-baked beet salad, Harissa-a hot pepper dish, and Hrous-a home style chlli paste with onion slices. This will be a unique and spriritually moving experience. Because of limited space we urge people to sign up and send in payments for the meal as soon as possible. To do so go to Rosh Hashannah Seder
High Holiday Programs
I look forward to sharing with you my collaboration with Dr. John Gottman on the central theme of the holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance. We will be leading two special sessions, one on Rosh Hashannah first day in the afternoon and on Yom Kippur afternoon on: Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships and Ourselves. We will bring to you a synthesis of traditional teachings with the insights of Dr. Gottman based on his internationally recognized research on marriage, childrearing and relationships. Our collaboration is a model of how a living tradition can integrate new insights about how we sustain meaningful, loving, and purposeful relationships with our families and friends. Because of limited space we urge people to sign up and send in payments for the meal as soon as possible. To do so go to High Holidays.
2. Become a Haver-Friend of Panim Hadashot Campaign
September will be a fundraising period for Panim. We invite you to become financial supporters of our groundbreaking work by becoming Haverim-Friends of Panim Hadashot. We believe that the Jewish community needs a new approach to outreach, learning, and celebration which brings vitality, openess, and new passion to Judaism. Its easy to sign up. Go to Become a Haver.
3. Links to the Rabbi Dov's Blog.
I am writing a new series of short essays. Click on the links to the blog.
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 3
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 2
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 1
Recent Writings on the rabbiblog
Musings on the Disengagement, posted August 2005
Loving Letters of 'Teshuvah' posted August 10, 2005
Captain without ship, Rabbi without Shul July 26, 2005
Heroism at it's Twilight, July 17, 2005
Baggage July 10, 2005
Report from Israel, July 6, 2005
Thursday, September 1, 2005, 27 Av 5765. Volume 2, Issue 8
Email Recipients: Please send correspondence, subscribe and unsubcribe requests to rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Having trouble reading this email? Find it online at our news page.
What is Happening at Panim Hadashot this Week?
There will be no activities the Shabbat of September 2-3rd. We resume our programs on the following Shabbat. Please go to our calendar for a listing. In this issue you will find.
An Appeal for Action in Response to the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina: Please click on Hurricane
High Holidays Programs of Panim Hadashot
Become a Haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot
Latest Writings of Rabbi Dov Gartenberg on Rabbiblog
1. High Holidays with Panim
Rosh Hashannah Seder
Panim is pleased to bring to the Seattle Jewish community a unique and alternative approach to the High Holidays. We will start the Days of Awe with the first ever public Rosh Hashannah Seder. This distinctive feast has been put together by the novelist and educator, Mary Engel. The seder will build on Sephardic traditions of the Yehi Ratzon (May it be God's Will) platter with eight distinctive foods, each the vehicle of blessings for the new year. This seder which is open to both adults and children will also feature distinctive foods such as rodanchas, an autumn pastry, Keftedes de Prasa, leek fritters, Salata de Panjar-baked beet salad, Harissa-a hot pepper dish, and Hrous-a home style chlli paste with onion slices. This will be a unique and spriritually moving experience. Because of limited space we urge people to sign up and send in payments for the meal as soon as possible. To do so go to Rosh Hashannah Seder
High Holiday Programs
I look forward to sharing with you my collaboration with Dr. John Gottman on the central theme of the holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance. We will be leading two special sessions, one on Rosh Hashannah first day in the afternoon and on Yom Kippur afternoon on: Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships and Ourselves. We will bring to you a synthesis of traditional teachings with the insights of Dr. Gottman based on his internationally recognized research on marriage, childrearing and relationships. Our collaboration is a model of how a living tradition can integrate new insights about how we sustain meaningful, loving, and purposeful relationships with our families and friends. Because of limited space we urge people to sign up and send in payments for the meal as soon as possible. To do so go to High Holidays.
2. Become a Haver-Friend of Panim Hadashot Campaign
September will be a fundraising period for Panim. We invite you to become financial supporters of our groundbreaking work by becoming Haverim-Friends of Panim Hadashot. We believe that the Jewish community needs a new approach to outreach, learning, and celebration which brings vitality, openess, and new passion to Judaism. Its easy to sign up. Go to Become a Haver.
3. Links to the Rabbi Dov's Blog.
I am writing a new series of short essays. Click on the links to the blog.
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 3
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 2
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 1
Recent Writings on the rabbiblog
Musings on the Disengagement, posted August 2005
Loving Letters of 'Teshuvah' posted August 10, 2005
Captain without ship, Rabbi without Shul July 26, 2005
Heroism at it's Twilight, July 17, 2005
Baggage July 10, 2005
Report from Israel, July 6, 2005
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