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
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 3
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 3
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, 8/30/05
In the past two essays I have written about the capacity for deep reading. This is the term I learned from my friend and colleague Noam Zion of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Last year Noam taught a class in which he shared a marvelous selection from Sven Birkets, a scholar of popular culture, who wrote a book called The Gutenberg Elegies. I will share with you selections from this book with my own commentary on the nature of reading.
"What is most consicuous as we survey the general trajectory of reading across the centuries is what I think of as the gradual displacement of the vertical by the horizontal-the sacrifice of depth to lateral range, in Darnton's (a scholar in European history) terms above, ashift from intensive to extensive reading. When books are rare, hard to obtain, and expensive, the reader must compen sate through intensified focus, most like Menocchio read the same passages over andover, memorizing, inscribing the words deeply on the slate of the attention, subjecting them to an interpretive pressure not unlike what students of scripture practice upon their texts (italics mine). This is a ferocious reading-prison or 'desert island' reading-and where it does not assume depth, it creates it. "
This is what reading the Torah was and should be. The Jews are ferocious readers of the Torah. In fact, I would argue that Jews are the bearers of a culture of ferocious reading. More than anything you can say about the Jews, a characteristic of almost all Jewish cultures is a passion, near obsession about reading. One only has to review the biblical and talmudic commentary library to appreciate the bookishness of the Jews.
One way to grasp this is to reflect on why Jewish tradition insists that when we read from the Torah we must read from a Torah scroll, a revered object in every synagogue and study hall. When you think about it, why don't we just read from a bound Humash (Pentateuch) in which the Hebrew is punctuated, vocalized, and numbered. Why must we read from a scroll which very inconveniently must be rolled to different passages which are not in consecutive order? Why must public readers partially memorize passages when reading from the scroll? The laws around the preparation, writing, and public reading of the Torah scroll seek to preserve a commitment to a deep reading which Birkets speaks of. The Jewish traditions of reading from the sacred scroll survived the introduction of the printing press and all subsequent technologies because the Jews understood that the old way of reading should not die.
"Inscribing the words deeply on the slate of attention"
This striking phrase is very characteristic of Jewish reading, particularly of the Torah. The word for the Bible in Hebrew is Mikra from the word infinitive, Likro- to read. It is the Mikra-Scripture, Bible that is the object of a vertical reading. Jews assembled books of their greatest commentators and included them in the library for Jews to reflect on their own reading of Torah and Scripture. The remarkable range of commentaries on Torah enable Jews to choose different reading trajectories of the holy texts-philosophical, mystical, imaginative, analytical, psychological. But all these very different approaches to reading the same text enabled Jews to remained a unified community.
Jews brought their books to every place they wandered. Only rare instances were the Jews prevented from bringing their books with them. In a remarkable documentary called the Last Marannos, the documentarians Stan Neuman and Frederic Brenner focus on a surviving Marrano community in Portugal. The Jews valiantly held onto their traditions in secret, but they were not able to preserve their books. Outwardly Catholic they were part of a culture of enforced illiteracy where only the priests knew and taught scripture. Desperately attempting to hold onto their traditions they attempted over generations to preserve the Jewish narratives through oral memory. With chilling insight the interviewers ask the marrano residents to recount the stories they tell around their rituals. The Passover account is confusing and convoluted, yet filled with distant echoes of Jewish lore. The lingering feeling from watching the documentary is the disastrous results for Jews when they lose access to the Torah and the sources of reading.
A few years ago I was invited to give a lecture on Judaism at a prestigious private high school in Seattle. The teacher and my Jewish student who invited me to speak to the 10th grade students warned me to not assume any familiarity with the Bible despite the fact that most of the students came from very well educated families. I asked if the kids would recognize Abraham or Moses and I was told, no. The teacher commented that our kids no longer share a common text whose stories and teachings are known to all and are the subject of study and reflection.
The students of this high school are like most of us, horizontal or lateral readers. They live in a culture which offers infinite choice, but very little in a common legacy. To be Jewish is more than anything a commitment to a common reading. But beyond that to plumb the vast treasures of Judaism we must return to the ferocious reading which marked Jewish culture and religious life throughout the generations. In a generation that seeks meaning, reading in this way not only uncovers depth of meaning, the very act of reading this way, as Birkets insightfully points out, creates it.
In part 4 of this series I will continue sharing from Birkets' outstanding essay.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, 8/30/05
In the past two essays I have written about the capacity for deep reading. This is the term I learned from my friend and colleague Noam Zion of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Last year Noam taught a class in which he shared a marvelous selection from Sven Birkets, a scholar of popular culture, who wrote a book called The Gutenberg Elegies. I will share with you selections from this book with my own commentary on the nature of reading.
"What is most consicuous as we survey the general trajectory of reading across the centuries is what I think of as the gradual displacement of the vertical by the horizontal-the sacrifice of depth to lateral range, in Darnton's (a scholar in European history) terms above, ashift from intensive to extensive reading. When books are rare, hard to obtain, and expensive, the reader must compen sate through intensified focus, most like Menocchio read the same passages over andover, memorizing, inscribing the words deeply on the slate of the attention, subjecting them to an interpretive pressure not unlike what students of scripture practice upon their texts (italics mine). This is a ferocious reading-prison or 'desert island' reading-and where it does not assume depth, it creates it. "
This is what reading the Torah was and should be. The Jews are ferocious readers of the Torah. In fact, I would argue that Jews are the bearers of a culture of ferocious reading. More than anything you can say about the Jews, a characteristic of almost all Jewish cultures is a passion, near obsession about reading. One only has to review the biblical and talmudic commentary library to appreciate the bookishness of the Jews.
One way to grasp this is to reflect on why Jewish tradition insists that when we read from the Torah we must read from a Torah scroll, a revered object in every synagogue and study hall. When you think about it, why don't we just read from a bound Humash (Pentateuch) in which the Hebrew is punctuated, vocalized, and numbered. Why must we read from a scroll which very inconveniently must be rolled to different passages which are not in consecutive order? Why must public readers partially memorize passages when reading from the scroll? The laws around the preparation, writing, and public reading of the Torah scroll seek to preserve a commitment to a deep reading which Birkets speaks of. The Jewish traditions of reading from the sacred scroll survived the introduction of the printing press and all subsequent technologies because the Jews understood that the old way of reading should not die.
"Inscribing the words deeply on the slate of attention"
This striking phrase is very characteristic of Jewish reading, particularly of the Torah. The word for the Bible in Hebrew is Mikra from the word infinitive, Likro- to read. It is the Mikra-Scripture, Bible that is the object of a vertical reading. Jews assembled books of their greatest commentators and included them in the library for Jews to reflect on their own reading of Torah and Scripture. The remarkable range of commentaries on Torah enable Jews to choose different reading trajectories of the holy texts-philosophical, mystical, imaginative, analytical, psychological. But all these very different approaches to reading the same text enabled Jews to remained a unified community.
Jews brought their books to every place they wandered. Only rare instances were the Jews prevented from bringing their books with them. In a remarkable documentary called the Last Marannos, the documentarians Stan Neuman and Frederic Brenner focus on a surviving Marrano community in Portugal. The Jews valiantly held onto their traditions in secret, but they were not able to preserve their books. Outwardly Catholic they were part of a culture of enforced illiteracy where only the priests knew and taught scripture. Desperately attempting to hold onto their traditions they attempted over generations to preserve the Jewish narratives through oral memory. With chilling insight the interviewers ask the marrano residents to recount the stories they tell around their rituals. The Passover account is confusing and convoluted, yet filled with distant echoes of Jewish lore. The lingering feeling from watching the documentary is the disastrous results for Jews when they lose access to the Torah and the sources of reading.
A few years ago I was invited to give a lecture on Judaism at a prestigious private high school in Seattle. The teacher and my Jewish student who invited me to speak to the 10th grade students warned me to not assume any familiarity with the Bible despite the fact that most of the students came from very well educated families. I asked if the kids would recognize Abraham or Moses and I was told, no. The teacher commented that our kids no longer share a common text whose stories and teachings are known to all and are the subject of study and reflection.
The students of this high school are like most of us, horizontal or lateral readers. They live in a culture which offers infinite choice, but very little in a common legacy. To be Jewish is more than anything a commitment to a common reading. But beyond that to plumb the vast treasures of Judaism we must return to the ferocious reading which marked Jewish culture and religious life throughout the generations. In a generation that seeks meaning, reading in this way not only uncovers depth of meaning, the very act of reading this way, as Birkets insightfully points out, creates it.
In part 4 of this series I will continue sharing from Birkets' outstanding essay.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
A Passion for Jewish Reading, Part 2
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 2
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
August 25, 2005/20 Menachem Av 5765
In the past year I spent many hours reflecting on my experience as a pulpit rabbi in a Conservative congregation. One realization kept on recurring as I reflected on years of being part of a strong prayer community that had emerged in my former congregation. One thing I observed during the reading of the Torah was how few people followed the Humash-the text and commentary of the Torah that was publicly read in the synagogue. I also discovered in teaching families for Bar Mitzvah that many did not have Humashim at home and if they did they rarely opened them. The primary sense of public Judaism in the congregation was liturgical, a community that gathers for prayers. The young going through Bar or Bat Mitzvah were being acculturated to a community of prayer. I was more struck by what was missing. With a few exceptions most of the children and their parents had no concept of what it meant to engage in the study of texts or the joy of learning Jewishly with others.
The Torah service in the synagogue was primarily a ritual, not a serious engagement with reading. This is because the educational institutions of the synagogue and the day school struggle to convey a love of learning and engagement with Torah. Aware of this deep flaw in our community I became convinced that there needed to be a liberal Jewish initiative to celebrate and disseminate the Jewish love for reading, study, and engagement with texts. That is how Shivim Panim Latorah was born.
70 Faces of Torah is a Torah service with a Torah scroll. The core prayers of that service are retained, sung with melody, with a procession from the ark and the beloved traditions that accompany a public reading of the Torah in a quorum of 10 Jews (our service is egalitarian). But after the customary rituals we open up the scroll and engage in a deep reading of the Torah. Between eight to ten Humashim (Torah texts divided into weekly portions) with commentaries are distributed to participants who are asked to follow their commentaries on a passage of between 3-10 verses from the weekly portion. The value of multiple commentaries is that it enables everyone to get an appreciation of the multiple voices and approaches to the sacred text in Jewish tradition.
With these different perspectives we launch into a collective and deep reading of the text. I guide people first with questions of how to read the verses, refering to the differences in translation in the English commentaries and the implications of translating a biblical verse one way of another. Then I help make sense of the commentaries and the insights that they offer and the biases they represent. Lastly I bring selected sources from the rabbinic tradition as well as medieval and modern commentators who expand the conversation around the passage. In this way we begin to appreciate the loving attention and deep reading of the passage by previous generations. Lastly and most important, I ask people to close the book and reflect on how this newly mined passage informs our lives or gives insight for our times. This same approach is used for timelessly meaningful passages in the Torah as well as deeply problematic sections.
This form of reading is wonderful for many reasons. First, it slows down the process of reading allowing for reflection and imagination. Second, it conveys that sacred texts can have many readings and are not to be read one way. I think this is a very powerful antidote to the pervasive fundamentalism overwhelming all religions in our time. Third, we read together with others in an act of collective reading. All these sessions are interactive, carefully facilitated to encourage input from participants while I or other skilled teachers navigate the commentaries. Fourth, people see the profundity of the text and how it can be a spiritual resource in their lives. Lastly, it engenders in people a love for learning which leads them to the fullfilment of the mitzvah of Torah study as a part of their day or week.
In part three I want to share a wonderful essay by Sven Birkets from his book the Gutenberg Elegies about the experience of 'vertical reading'. His striking description of traditional reading captures exactly what I am trying to do in 70 Faces of Torah.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
August 25, 2005/20 Menachem Av 5765
In the past year I spent many hours reflecting on my experience as a pulpit rabbi in a Conservative congregation. One realization kept on recurring as I reflected on years of being part of a strong prayer community that had emerged in my former congregation. One thing I observed during the reading of the Torah was how few people followed the Humash-the text and commentary of the Torah that was publicly read in the synagogue. I also discovered in teaching families for Bar Mitzvah that many did not have Humashim at home and if they did they rarely opened them. The primary sense of public Judaism in the congregation was liturgical, a community that gathers for prayers. The young going through Bar or Bat Mitzvah were being acculturated to a community of prayer. I was more struck by what was missing. With a few exceptions most of the children and their parents had no concept of what it meant to engage in the study of texts or the joy of learning Jewishly with others.
The Torah service in the synagogue was primarily a ritual, not a serious engagement with reading. This is because the educational institutions of the synagogue and the day school struggle to convey a love of learning and engagement with Torah. Aware of this deep flaw in our community I became convinced that there needed to be a liberal Jewish initiative to celebrate and disseminate the Jewish love for reading, study, and engagement with texts. That is how Shivim Panim Latorah was born.
70 Faces of Torah is a Torah service with a Torah scroll. The core prayers of that service are retained, sung with melody, with a procession from the ark and the beloved traditions that accompany a public reading of the Torah in a quorum of 10 Jews (our service is egalitarian). But after the customary rituals we open up the scroll and engage in a deep reading of the Torah. Between eight to ten Humashim (Torah texts divided into weekly portions) with commentaries are distributed to participants who are asked to follow their commentaries on a passage of between 3-10 verses from the weekly portion. The value of multiple commentaries is that it enables everyone to get an appreciation of the multiple voices and approaches to the sacred text in Jewish tradition.
With these different perspectives we launch into a collective and deep reading of the text. I guide people first with questions of how to read the verses, refering to the differences in translation in the English commentaries and the implications of translating a biblical verse one way of another. Then I help make sense of the commentaries and the insights that they offer and the biases they represent. Lastly I bring selected sources from the rabbinic tradition as well as medieval and modern commentators who expand the conversation around the passage. In this way we begin to appreciate the loving attention and deep reading of the passage by previous generations. Lastly and most important, I ask people to close the book and reflect on how this newly mined passage informs our lives or gives insight for our times. This same approach is used for timelessly meaningful passages in the Torah as well as deeply problematic sections.
This form of reading is wonderful for many reasons. First, it slows down the process of reading allowing for reflection and imagination. Second, it conveys that sacred texts can have many readings and are not to be read one way. I think this is a very powerful antidote to the pervasive fundamentalism overwhelming all religions in our time. Third, we read together with others in an act of collective reading. All these sessions are interactive, carefully facilitated to encourage input from participants while I or other skilled teachers navigate the commentaries. Fourth, people see the profundity of the text and how it can be a spiritual resource in their lives. Lastly, it engenders in people a love for learning which leads them to the fullfilment of the mitzvah of Torah study as a part of their day or week.
In part three I want to share a wonderful essay by Sven Birkets from his book the Gutenberg Elegies about the experience of 'vertical reading'. His striking description of traditional reading captures exactly what I am trying to do in 70 Faces of Torah.
Monday, August 22, 2005
A Passion for Jewish Reading, Part 1
My Personal Rabbinic Passion: The Recovery of Authentic Jewish Reading
Part 1 August 22, 2005
The Rabbis of the Talmud distinguished between prayer and study. Prayer they considered to be an activity of Hayei Shaah- the life of the hour. In this view prayer is likened to eating and sleeping-a necessary activity for daily survival and living a life. The study of Torah, however, they considered to be an activity of Hayei Olam Haba- the life of eternity. They considered the act of learning, of reading the sacred text to be of transcendent value. There was something about study that takes us beyond the daily exigencies of life. Authentic learning transportes us to a place unconcerned with mere survival and sustenance. Thus the well known expression in rabbinic literature: "Talmud Torah Kneged Kulam" The Study of Torah is equal to all of the mitzvot-commandments-in the Torah.
Torah study, however, is a mystifying for many. Most American Jews, with a religious school education or less have learned 'about' Judaism, but have not learned how to read (study) Torah. Even college courses in Jewish studies often only provide an academic reading of Jewish tradition. They fail to convey the wonder of authentic Jewish learning.
I come out of the religious school and college Jewish studies experience and can attest that I did not really learn to love Jewish learning until much later. I received a paltry Jewish religious school education, spitballs and all. In college I had great teachers in Jewish studies, but did not emerge from undergraduate school with a passion for the texts of Jewish lore. During those years I experienced the orthodox yeshivah which introduced me to traditional reading. However I found that the very orthodox Yeshivah world, while filled with passion, failed to deal satisfactorily with the hard questions and honest questions that I was seeking as a young reader of Judaism.
It was in rabbinical school that I really discovered the love of Jewish learning. Most people think of rabbinical school as a form of professional education, training young men and women to serve congregations. But I did not go to rabbinical school to become a congregational rabbi. I went in search of authentic and transforming Jewish learning and a fascination with the the infinite world of meaning of Jewish texts that I had tasted in tiny morsels my college years. In this respect I was grateful that I chose to go the Jewish Theological Seminary (even though I had not grown up in the Conservative Movement which this institution represented), because of all the movement seminaries it was the most serious institution about teaching students how to become a serious, engaged and open minded Jewish readers .
This love of reading and study of Torah has animated my life, both personally and as a rabbi throughout the years to this day. I always told myself during those years that even if I left the professional rabbinate, I was so lucky to be given a profound Jewish education which would be a source of inspiration throughout my life. It turned out that I went into the professional rabbinate , but I did so with a dedication to learning and teaching that has always stamped my public rabbinate.
One of the reasons I formed Panim Hadashot was to create a context where Jewish reading could be rediscoverd and practiced and that the rabbi would be prized first and foremost as a teacher and mentor in the wisdom of the texts as applied to life. Could there be a place in the Jewish community which was focused and dedicated to the restoration of the place of "Jewish wisdom through reading"? This is a tall order in a fast food, fast information, fast gratification culture.
In the piece that follows I will share a description of reading which I am trying to restore to a central place in our lives as human beings and as Jews.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Part 1 August 22, 2005
The Rabbis of the Talmud distinguished between prayer and study. Prayer they considered to be an activity of Hayei Shaah- the life of the hour. In this view prayer is likened to eating and sleeping-a necessary activity for daily survival and living a life. The study of Torah, however, they considered to be an activity of Hayei Olam Haba- the life of eternity. They considered the act of learning, of reading the sacred text to be of transcendent value. There was something about study that takes us beyond the daily exigencies of life. Authentic learning transportes us to a place unconcerned with mere survival and sustenance. Thus the well known expression in rabbinic literature: "Talmud Torah Kneged Kulam" The Study of Torah is equal to all of the mitzvot-commandments-in the Torah.
Torah study, however, is a mystifying for many. Most American Jews, with a religious school education or less have learned 'about' Judaism, but have not learned how to read (study) Torah. Even college courses in Jewish studies often only provide an academic reading of Jewish tradition. They fail to convey the wonder of authentic Jewish learning.
I come out of the religious school and college Jewish studies experience and can attest that I did not really learn to love Jewish learning until much later. I received a paltry Jewish religious school education, spitballs and all. In college I had great teachers in Jewish studies, but did not emerge from undergraduate school with a passion for the texts of Jewish lore. During those years I experienced the orthodox yeshivah which introduced me to traditional reading. However I found that the very orthodox Yeshivah world, while filled with passion, failed to deal satisfactorily with the hard questions and honest questions that I was seeking as a young reader of Judaism.
It was in rabbinical school that I really discovered the love of Jewish learning. Most people think of rabbinical school as a form of professional education, training young men and women to serve congregations. But I did not go to rabbinical school to become a congregational rabbi. I went in search of authentic and transforming Jewish learning and a fascination with the the infinite world of meaning of Jewish texts that I had tasted in tiny morsels my college years. In this respect I was grateful that I chose to go the Jewish Theological Seminary (even though I had not grown up in the Conservative Movement which this institution represented), because of all the movement seminaries it was the most serious institution about teaching students how to become a serious, engaged and open minded Jewish readers .
This love of reading and study of Torah has animated my life, both personally and as a rabbi throughout the years to this day. I always told myself during those years that even if I left the professional rabbinate, I was so lucky to be given a profound Jewish education which would be a source of inspiration throughout my life. It turned out that I went into the professional rabbinate , but I did so with a dedication to learning and teaching that has always stamped my public rabbinate.
One of the reasons I formed Panim Hadashot was to create a context where Jewish reading could be rediscoverd and practiced and that the rabbi would be prized first and foremost as a teacher and mentor in the wisdom of the texts as applied to life. Could there be a place in the Jewish community which was focused and dedicated to the restoration of the place of "Jewish wisdom through reading"? This is a tall order in a fast food, fast information, fast gratification culture.
In the piece that follows I will share a description of reading which I am trying to restore to a central place in our lives as human beings and as Jews.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Sunday, August 21, 2005
More Musings on the Disengagement
Today I worked on texts concerning Teshuvah-repentance-in preparation for the Days of Awe. In a conversation with a colleague I had a flash that the disengagement was a sort of national teshuvah. Of course, the politicians would not articulate the disengagement in this way. But this astonishing act of withdrawal intentionally reversed a longstanding and misguided policy (in my opinion) and did so in as decent a way as possible. It can also be analogized to a dispute between two people, neither of whom can take the iniative to change the poisonous dynamic between them. To make teshuvah it takes at least one person to take different and unexpected action, to be a change agent. There is no guarantee that the other side will change, but the only way to change is when at least one takes action. Israel's action can be seen in this way. It was done at great political cost and has restored pragmatic Zionism to its proper place in Israeli statecraft.
To me the most touching picture was in the NY Times which showed soldiers cleaning up the synagogue in Neveh Dekalim. There were some soldiers kissing the ark. Others were putting away siddurim. One was sitting on the steps of the Bimah, either weeping or exhausted. It reminded me of cleaning up the shul after the holidays. I was deeply impressed by the restraint of the soldiers and policemen in the face of taunts and abuse. May this be a model to other nations on how to respond to dissidents.
The question that emerges for me after the disengagement is how do we cultivate a Jewish religious commitment and sensibility free from the temptation of messianism but not without passion for the deepest of Jewish religious ideals. There is a new organization in Israel called Maagelei Tzedek which is trying to turn the religious community back towards social justice and away from the idolization of the land. Israel has the biggest gap between rich and poor of any developed nation. This growing gap must be addressed as Israel overcomes its addiction to the settlements. The next few years will be very telling to the future of the 3rd Jewish commonwealth. Will it be able to continue to make the compromises and tenacity needed for the possibility of a peace with the Palestinians and will it address long neglected declines in social justice and education that truly endanger the viability of its future.
It is important for us not to waiver in our support of Israel, a support that is grounded on advancing a pragmatic agenda engaged in the best of Jewish values and ideals.
To me the most touching picture was in the NY Times which showed soldiers cleaning up the synagogue in Neveh Dekalim. There were some soldiers kissing the ark. Others were putting away siddurim. One was sitting on the steps of the Bimah, either weeping or exhausted. It reminded me of cleaning up the shul after the holidays. I was deeply impressed by the restraint of the soldiers and policemen in the face of taunts and abuse. May this be a model to other nations on how to respond to dissidents.
The question that emerges for me after the disengagement is how do we cultivate a Jewish religious commitment and sensibility free from the temptation of messianism but not without passion for the deepest of Jewish religious ideals. There is a new organization in Israel called Maagelei Tzedek which is trying to turn the religious community back towards social justice and away from the idolization of the land. Israel has the biggest gap between rich and poor of any developed nation. This growing gap must be addressed as Israel overcomes its addiction to the settlements. The next few years will be very telling to the future of the 3rd Jewish commonwealth. Will it be able to continue to make the compromises and tenacity needed for the possibility of a peace with the Palestinians and will it address long neglected declines in social justice and education that truly endanger the viability of its future.
It is important for us not to waiver in our support of Israel, a support that is grounded on advancing a pragmatic agenda engaged in the best of Jewish values and ideals.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Musings on the Disengagment
Yesterday, I couldn't stop looking at the footage of the evacuation from Gaza. Everyone I talked to yesterday expressed intensely mixed feelings, a combination of disgust at the settlers behavior with deep discomfort of images of Jews being removed from synagogues. As I read the accounts of the settler's well planned psychological warfare applied to the soldiers and the policemen I grasped how they were resorting to Jewish guilt to undermine their evacuators. Most striking was the staged photo of settler children with their hands up wearing orange stars, harking back to the haunting photo of Nazi era Jewish children doing the same, unposed. These manipulative allusions to the holocaust aroused disgust in me as I am sure it provoked anger amongst most Israelis. Yet the images work since a part of us remains very uncomrtable with the image of Jews confronting other Jews.
During the day I thought about bizarre halachic dilemmas that must have arose in the confrontations at the synagogues. In one account I read that a group of protesters invited the soldiers to daven shahrit (the morning service) with them before they began the evacuation. Can an Jewish evacuator be counted in a minyan? It was Thursday so the Torah was read. Do you offer him an aliyah (being called to the Torah)? As I davened yesterday I thought about all the points in the morning service that must have emotionally tugged at the worshippers in those synagogues: Shomer Yisrael-Guardian of Israel-a prayer in the supplication section. Or the passage before the Shema, "Lo Nevosh Lolam Va'ed"-Let us never be humiliated for all time." When you pray in distress, every word seems to speak to you, even if it can distort reality. Loving the prayers as I do, I could relate to how these people were feeling even if I have no sympathy for their cause.
I mused also about how young the protesters were. As an educator I now wonder how to get teenagers into shul. Well now I know. Educate them into messianism and get into a big spat with the state. One of the very significant cultural crises that emerge from the disengagement is the greenhouse education system in Israel. There is a religious tract and a secular tract in Israel for educating the young. These systems seem to exacerbate, if not create the deep cultural divisions in Israel over religion and citizenship. This is one of the challenges that Israel will have to face in the coming years if it is to foster a common sense of citizenship and a respect for democracy, law, and compromise.
As ugly as the scenes were yesterday in one sense I thought this was Israel's finest hour. The guilt inducing use of the expression "A Jew does not expell a Jew." was intended to provoke and shame the soldiers. Yes, Jews have been expelled many time in our long history. But not by fellow Jews serving as agents of a democratic Jewish state. The restraint of the evacuators was admirable. Their calm in the face of derision and manipulation was impressive. The empathy of many soldiers for the authentic grief of the settlers was touching. The behavior of the soldiers and the policemen reveal a greater maturity about the use of state power in Israel, of being firm while not descending into cruelty. As Jews we know about cruel expulsions, about heartless dispossesions. But what we witnessed yesterday was not just the government, but the democratic majority enforcing a new boundary with dignity a national self restraint.
Sharon's speech to the nation included words of empathy for the Palestinians and their plight. It was little noticed but very significant coming from this old warrior. There is so much hatred in this land. The settlers so passionate about their loss, show no empathy for the Palestinians, no recognition of any legitimate claims they might have. Immersed in a messianic vision and a seething hatred many of the settlers became blind to the reality they presented to the Palestinian population that surrounded them. Sharon's political tzimtzum (a kabbalistic term meaning contraction) opens up a space for them to make something good. I have no illusions about Palestinian hatred of Jews, yet for there to be progress, the Jewish state and its people have to be prepared to contract with strength. Peace will not be won with love, it will be won with self-restraint. It will be achieved with an awareness that the land must be apportioned to let the other side begin to recover its dignity.
8/19/05
During the day I thought about bizarre halachic dilemmas that must have arose in the confrontations at the synagogues. In one account I read that a group of protesters invited the soldiers to daven shahrit (the morning service) with them before they began the evacuation. Can an Jewish evacuator be counted in a minyan? It was Thursday so the Torah was read. Do you offer him an aliyah (being called to the Torah)? As I davened yesterday I thought about all the points in the morning service that must have emotionally tugged at the worshippers in those synagogues: Shomer Yisrael-Guardian of Israel-a prayer in the supplication section. Or the passage before the Shema, "Lo Nevosh Lolam Va'ed"-Let us never be humiliated for all time." When you pray in distress, every word seems to speak to you, even if it can distort reality. Loving the prayers as I do, I could relate to how these people were feeling even if I have no sympathy for their cause.
I mused also about how young the protesters were. As an educator I now wonder how to get teenagers into shul. Well now I know. Educate them into messianism and get into a big spat with the state. One of the very significant cultural crises that emerge from the disengagement is the greenhouse education system in Israel. There is a religious tract and a secular tract in Israel for educating the young. These systems seem to exacerbate, if not create the deep cultural divisions in Israel over religion and citizenship. This is one of the challenges that Israel will have to face in the coming years if it is to foster a common sense of citizenship and a respect for democracy, law, and compromise.
As ugly as the scenes were yesterday in one sense I thought this was Israel's finest hour. The guilt inducing use of the expression "A Jew does not expell a Jew." was intended to provoke and shame the soldiers. Yes, Jews have been expelled many time in our long history. But not by fellow Jews serving as agents of a democratic Jewish state. The restraint of the evacuators was admirable. Their calm in the face of derision and manipulation was impressive. The empathy of many soldiers for the authentic grief of the settlers was touching. The behavior of the soldiers and the policemen reveal a greater maturity about the use of state power in Israel, of being firm while not descending into cruelty. As Jews we know about cruel expulsions, about heartless dispossesions. But what we witnessed yesterday was not just the government, but the democratic majority enforcing a new boundary with dignity a national self restraint.
Sharon's speech to the nation included words of empathy for the Palestinians and their plight. It was little noticed but very significant coming from this old warrior. There is so much hatred in this land. The settlers so passionate about their loss, show no empathy for the Palestinians, no recognition of any legitimate claims they might have. Immersed in a messianic vision and a seething hatred many of the settlers became blind to the reality they presented to the Palestinian population that surrounded them. Sharon's political tzimtzum (a kabbalistic term meaning contraction) opens up a space for them to make something good. I have no illusions about Palestinian hatred of Jews, yet for there to be progress, the Jewish state and its people have to be prepared to contract with strength. Peace will not be won with love, it will be won with self-restraint. It will be achieved with an awareness that the land must be apportioned to let the other side begin to recover its dignity.
8/19/05
Saturday, July 23, 2005
"A Captain without a Ship, A Rabbi without a Shul"
Did I mention I'm betrayed?
I used to be the king
But now I am the fool
A captain without a ship
A rabbi without a shul!
From the Song, "Betrayed" from the musical The Producers
After serving congregations for over twenty years, I decided last year to be a rabbi without a shul. I left something very familiar and very comfortable. There is a certain prestige which comes with serving a congregation. You have one sixtieth (the rabbinic term for a small dimension) a being a king. You are ruler of the bimah, and decisor of halachah. To many you are indispensible as the officiant at the ritual milestones in their lives. Local journalists call you for quotes ; communal leaders request your invocations at gatherings. You get paid more than all the other employees at the synagogue. You have your name on the top of the marquis.
But in truth a rabbi at a shul can become a ceremonial king who is so distracted by the demands of serving a community with endless needs that he no longer remembers why he went into the rabbinate. I woke up in the midst of a congregational crisis to realize that to save my commitment to being a rabbi I had to leave the congregation. But more than leave, I had to find a different way to serve the Jewish people.
In the months after I announced my resignation from my former congregation I reviewed the lessons I had learned as a congregational rabbi. I thought about the reasons that people fall away from or never connect to congregations. I reflected on the constraints of a pulpit rabbi and the structure he works in. I wondered why there is so little Torah in contemporary congregational life.
What emerged from several months of Heshbon Nefesh (soulful reflection) and innumerable conversations with friends and colleagues was a new model which required rabbinic leadership, but was not a synagogue. From the perspective of a year later I will enumerate a number of central insights that led to the founding of Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. These insights have become more clear over the year as we attempted to implement them in the form of programs and learning.
1. Placing the Emphasis on Learning Over Prayer
The first insight was that the contemporary synagogue had lost the capacity to instill a love of learning. Most congregations define their success on the popularity of their communal worship. The measure of a good member was if he or she was a regular at services. The modern synagogue was organized around worship, yet the dirty little secret was that the great majority of the congregation did not attend and many of those who did attend did so for every other purpose other than to pray. After fifteen years of leading learner's minyans, teaching prayer to converts and congregants I realized that intentional prayer is one of the hardest aspects of tradition to inculcate in others.
What would it be like to build community around learning instead of prayer? Judaism is a tradition which is sustained by a seemingly limitless number of great texts, Torah, Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, philosophy. Why not help Jews to make a profound connection to their great texts, open their minds to the profound conversations over the ages. Why not model ongoing learning as an authentic mode of commitment and create an institution which supported people in their desire to learn and grow.
By putting the emphasis on learning, could you open up Jewish life to people with diverse backgrounds who would share the commonality of exploring a text filled with meaning. Wouldn't this be a way to help disconnected Jews to gain a respect for Judaism by showing the great depth and playful quality of our literature.
2. The feast around the table is the bubbling spring of Jewish life.
The most transforming Jewish experiences in my rabbinate were around a Shabbat table. Yet the demands of congregational life make it a secondary dimension of a rabbi's life. What would it mean to build an institution that focused on modeling and sharing Shabbat table feasts that truly inspired a love of Shabbat and Judasim. What would it mean to create Shabbat experience in home that helped people rediscover rest and joy in their overbusy lives? What would it mean to teach a Judaism of kugels, of songs, of salting hallahs, of storytelling, and holy conversation?
I realized that I wanted to build a rabbinate that helped Jews rediscover the home-centered beauty and holiness of Jewish life, giving people the spiritual tool box to bring Shabbat into their homes and among their friends and family. We forget how many Jews have lost touch with these traditions. We forget how Shabbat has vast potential to bring meaning and connection back into our lives.
3. Sharing Our Judaism in an Open Society
I believe that Judasim is a remarkable religious and moral teaching. I chose the rabbinate because I wanted to dedicate my life to teaching its message. But I cannot do this alone. I seek to empower Jews to live and share their Judasim along with me. The reality of synagogue life is that it is structured as a local community to serve its membership. Jews don't join a syangogue to serve the Jewish people. Many join the synagogue to be served.
What would it be like to create a model of Jewish life in which Jews would come together to serve and support other Jews and interested non-Jews in gaining a deeper understanding of its message and way of life. What is wrong with Jews being excited about being Jewish? What is wrong with Jews wanting to share the beauty of their Shabbat with others? We do not live in a ghetto anymore. We don't have to be afraid of the outside? We do not have to be ashamed of our tradition.
The implications of this approach brings us back to the first insight: the emphasis on learning. Jewish learning must help Jews be able to articulate the central teachings of Judaism to themselves and to others. We are no longer living in a time when most Jews grow up with in culturally and religiously rich Jewish home. Most of our Jewish upbringings are thin in practice with shaky, poorly defined values.
There is content to Judaism. It is more than food and feelings. The capacity of Jews to share a joyful and thoughtful Judaism is the key not only to our wellbeing as a community, but also our standing in an open and democratic society. I am trying to build an institution where the content of Judasim is taken seriously while we live out our Jewish lives joyfully.
Then why did I chose the name Panim Hadashot-New Faces as the name of this new model? I was inspired to use this talmudic term because it is associated with a very lovely but little observed tradition in the liberal (Reform, Conservative, Renewal) community. It is a longstanding Jewish custom to extend the joy of a wedding into the week with parties at which blessings were recited over bride and groom. In order to celebrate and bring joy to the couple we are required to bring in new faces-panim hadashot. This custom embodied for me a Jewish value of sharing joy. Judaism is not a religion which focuses on teaching an exclusive truth. It is, instead, concerned with creating relationships between people and God of meaning, commitment, and hope. We want to share our joy, with others in our community and beyond. Cultivating that joy and sharing it with others through learning and celebration is the focus of Panim Hadashot.
So I am a rabbi without a shul. But I am a rabbi who has rediscovered his purpose. Dayyeinu. Over the year many others have come to share the vision of Panim Hadashot. There are many other insights that are emerging from our efforts. I hope you will join us for one of our programs and support our efforts to bring new life to Judasim in the Pacific Northwest.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
I used to be the king
But now I am the fool
A captain without a ship
A rabbi without a shul!
From the Song, "Betrayed" from the musical The Producers
After serving congregations for over twenty years, I decided last year to be a rabbi without a shul. I left something very familiar and very comfortable. There is a certain prestige which comes with serving a congregation. You have one sixtieth (the rabbinic term for a small dimension) a being a king. You are ruler of the bimah, and decisor of halachah. To many you are indispensible as the officiant at the ritual milestones in their lives. Local journalists call you for quotes ; communal leaders request your invocations at gatherings. You get paid more than all the other employees at the synagogue. You have your name on the top of the marquis.
But in truth a rabbi at a shul can become a ceremonial king who is so distracted by the demands of serving a community with endless needs that he no longer remembers why he went into the rabbinate. I woke up in the midst of a congregational crisis to realize that to save my commitment to being a rabbi I had to leave the congregation. But more than leave, I had to find a different way to serve the Jewish people.
In the months after I announced my resignation from my former congregation I reviewed the lessons I had learned as a congregational rabbi. I thought about the reasons that people fall away from or never connect to congregations. I reflected on the constraints of a pulpit rabbi and the structure he works in. I wondered why there is so little Torah in contemporary congregational life.
What emerged from several months of Heshbon Nefesh (soulful reflection) and innumerable conversations with friends and colleagues was a new model which required rabbinic leadership, but was not a synagogue. From the perspective of a year later I will enumerate a number of central insights that led to the founding of Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. These insights have become more clear over the year as we attempted to implement them in the form of programs and learning.
1. Placing the Emphasis on Learning Over Prayer
The first insight was that the contemporary synagogue had lost the capacity to instill a love of learning. Most congregations define their success on the popularity of their communal worship. The measure of a good member was if he or she was a regular at services. The modern synagogue was organized around worship, yet the dirty little secret was that the great majority of the congregation did not attend and many of those who did attend did so for every other purpose other than to pray. After fifteen years of leading learner's minyans, teaching prayer to converts and congregants I realized that intentional prayer is one of the hardest aspects of tradition to inculcate in others.
What would it be like to build community around learning instead of prayer? Judaism is a tradition which is sustained by a seemingly limitless number of great texts, Torah, Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, philosophy. Why not help Jews to make a profound connection to their great texts, open their minds to the profound conversations over the ages. Why not model ongoing learning as an authentic mode of commitment and create an institution which supported people in their desire to learn and grow.
By putting the emphasis on learning, could you open up Jewish life to people with diverse backgrounds who would share the commonality of exploring a text filled with meaning. Wouldn't this be a way to help disconnected Jews to gain a respect for Judaism by showing the great depth and playful quality of our literature.
2. The feast around the table is the bubbling spring of Jewish life.
The most transforming Jewish experiences in my rabbinate were around a Shabbat table. Yet the demands of congregational life make it a secondary dimension of a rabbi's life. What would it mean to build an institution that focused on modeling and sharing Shabbat table feasts that truly inspired a love of Shabbat and Judasim. What would it mean to create Shabbat experience in home that helped people rediscover rest and joy in their overbusy lives? What would it mean to teach a Judaism of kugels, of songs, of salting hallahs, of storytelling, and holy conversation?
I realized that I wanted to build a rabbinate that helped Jews rediscover the home-centered beauty and holiness of Jewish life, giving people the spiritual tool box to bring Shabbat into their homes and among their friends and family. We forget how many Jews have lost touch with these traditions. We forget how Shabbat has vast potential to bring meaning and connection back into our lives.
3. Sharing Our Judaism in an Open Society
I believe that Judasim is a remarkable religious and moral teaching. I chose the rabbinate because I wanted to dedicate my life to teaching its message. But I cannot do this alone. I seek to empower Jews to live and share their Judasim along with me. The reality of synagogue life is that it is structured as a local community to serve its membership. Jews don't join a syangogue to serve the Jewish people. Many join the synagogue to be served.
What would it be like to create a model of Jewish life in which Jews would come together to serve and support other Jews and interested non-Jews in gaining a deeper understanding of its message and way of life. What is wrong with Jews being excited about being Jewish? What is wrong with Jews wanting to share the beauty of their Shabbat with others? We do not live in a ghetto anymore. We don't have to be afraid of the outside? We do not have to be ashamed of our tradition.
The implications of this approach brings us back to the first insight: the emphasis on learning. Jewish learning must help Jews be able to articulate the central teachings of Judaism to themselves and to others. We are no longer living in a time when most Jews grow up with in culturally and religiously rich Jewish home. Most of our Jewish upbringings are thin in practice with shaky, poorly defined values.
There is content to Judaism. It is more than food and feelings. The capacity of Jews to share a joyful and thoughtful Judaism is the key not only to our wellbeing as a community, but also our standing in an open and democratic society. I am trying to build an institution where the content of Judasim is taken seriously while we live out our Jewish lives joyfully.
Then why did I chose the name Panim Hadashot-New Faces as the name of this new model? I was inspired to use this talmudic term because it is associated with a very lovely but little observed tradition in the liberal (Reform, Conservative, Renewal) community. It is a longstanding Jewish custom to extend the joy of a wedding into the week with parties at which blessings were recited over bride and groom. In order to celebrate and bring joy to the couple we are required to bring in new faces-panim hadashot. This custom embodied for me a Jewish value of sharing joy. Judaism is not a religion which focuses on teaching an exclusive truth. It is, instead, concerned with creating relationships between people and God of meaning, commitment, and hope. We want to share our joy, with others in our community and beyond. Cultivating that joy and sharing it with others through learning and celebration is the focus of Panim Hadashot.
So I am a rabbi without a shul. But I am a rabbi who has rediscovered his purpose. Dayyeinu. Over the year many others have come to share the vision of Panim Hadashot. There are many other insights that are emerging from our efforts. I hope you will join us for one of our programs and support our efforts to bring new life to Judasim in the Pacific Northwest.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Friday, July 22, 2005
Loving Letters of 'Teshuvah'
Jerusalem 15 Tammuz/7/22/05
A dear friend and colleague shared with me a lovely family tradition she does with her family prior to Yom Kippur. Each parent prepares a "Teshuvah" letter for each of the children. In their letters they review the milestones in the child's life during the past year and their perceptions of changes in the relationship over this period of time. They extend praises and and ask for forgiveness for wrongs. The letters provide the parents an opportunity to reflect on their relationships with their children, to validate growth and change, and to convey their deeply held values. The husband and wife write letters to each other as well. The letters are read at the meal prior to Kol Nidre (seudat hamafseket) which they begin in the mid afternoon to allow for time to discuss and reflect on the letters.
What a beautiful family custom and an authentic application of the practice of Teshuvah which marks the season of the Days of Awe. What a wonderful way to bless children and spouses before the entry into the holiest day of the year. This lovely custom reflects a very conscious awareness of Judaism as a religion of convental relationship. The word Brit-covenant-is an critical term in Judaism. God and Israel are connected through Brit. A marriage is called Brit Nisuim-the covenant of marriage. Brit Milah or Brit Bat are rituals in which we mark the 'covenanting' of a child, the act of a parent bringing a child into the covenant between God.
Brit, then, is a way of giving great weight to relationships and the claims they make on us. David Hartman, when talking about his theology of covenant, askes his listeners to understand Judaism as one understands the relationship of a parent to a child. The experience of child rearing places a claim on a parent. Whenever we enter a serious relationship, the very reality of that relationship makes us feel a claim on us toward the other person. In Judaism there is a profound awareness of the claims of relationships, between parents and children, between teacher and student, between husband and wife, between friend and friend, between God and a human being.
In the Talmud there is an expression, 'Gadol hametzuveh v0seh mhalo metzuveh v'oseh'. Greater is the person who is commanded (to perform mitzvot) and does them than the one who is not commanded and does them. This seems completely counterintuitive in our contemporary culture. We are reminded by bumper stickers to perform random acts of lovingkindness. We are told to do acts of charity from the heart. But in Jewish tradition relationships and acts arise out of claims, not just inner feelings. Here is one way to interpret the talmudic dictum. A person's relationships are more meaningful and enduring when there is a claim which is responded to with loving attention.
Teshuvah-repentance makes sense when we see relationships as covenantal-making claims on us. The act of teshuvah, or repairing a relationship with God or human beings is responding to a claim they have on our lives. We seek to repair breaches in our relationships because our most enduring relationships make a claim on us. We cannot ignore these ties; they call out to us to attend to them, to care for, to have empathy for the relationship partner. Judaism is a way of life which commits us to attending to the most important relational claims, family, community, and ultimately God.
The Teshuvah letters of my colleagues' family than is a deeply authentic Jewish practice, one that honors the claims of relationships by attending to them at an auspicious time. I encourage my readers to consider this custom for their own families and significant relationships as we enter the sacred season of the Days of Awe. In this way the act of Teshuvah becomes concrete and our most important relationships can deepen and be repaired.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
A dear friend and colleague shared with me a lovely family tradition she does with her family prior to Yom Kippur. Each parent prepares a "Teshuvah" letter for each of the children. In their letters they review the milestones in the child's life during the past year and their perceptions of changes in the relationship over this period of time. They extend praises and and ask for forgiveness for wrongs. The letters provide the parents an opportunity to reflect on their relationships with their children, to validate growth and change, and to convey their deeply held values. The husband and wife write letters to each other as well. The letters are read at the meal prior to Kol Nidre (seudat hamafseket) which they begin in the mid afternoon to allow for time to discuss and reflect on the letters.
What a beautiful family custom and an authentic application of the practice of Teshuvah which marks the season of the Days of Awe. What a wonderful way to bless children and spouses before the entry into the holiest day of the year. This lovely custom reflects a very conscious awareness of Judaism as a religion of convental relationship. The word Brit-covenant-is an critical term in Judaism. God and Israel are connected through Brit. A marriage is called Brit Nisuim-the covenant of marriage. Brit Milah or Brit Bat are rituals in which we mark the 'covenanting' of a child, the act of a parent bringing a child into the covenant between God.
Brit, then, is a way of giving great weight to relationships and the claims they make on us. David Hartman, when talking about his theology of covenant, askes his listeners to understand Judaism as one understands the relationship of a parent to a child. The experience of child rearing places a claim on a parent. Whenever we enter a serious relationship, the very reality of that relationship makes us feel a claim on us toward the other person. In Judaism there is a profound awareness of the claims of relationships, between parents and children, between teacher and student, between husband and wife, between friend and friend, between God and a human being.
In the Talmud there is an expression, 'Gadol hametzuveh v0seh mhalo metzuveh v'oseh'. Greater is the person who is commanded (to perform mitzvot) and does them than the one who is not commanded and does them. This seems completely counterintuitive in our contemporary culture. We are reminded by bumper stickers to perform random acts of lovingkindness. We are told to do acts of charity from the heart. But in Jewish tradition relationships and acts arise out of claims, not just inner feelings. Here is one way to interpret the talmudic dictum. A person's relationships are more meaningful and enduring when there is a claim which is responded to with loving attention.
Teshuvah-repentance makes sense when we see relationships as covenantal-making claims on us. The act of teshuvah, or repairing a relationship with God or human beings is responding to a claim they have on our lives. We seek to repair breaches in our relationships because our most enduring relationships make a claim on us. We cannot ignore these ties; they call out to us to attend to them, to care for, to have empathy for the relationship partner. Judaism is a way of life which commits us to attending to the most important relational claims, family, community, and ultimately God.
The Teshuvah letters of my colleagues' family than is a deeply authentic Jewish practice, one that honors the claims of relationships by attending to them at an auspicious time. I encourage my readers to consider this custom for their own families and significant relationships as we enter the sacred season of the Days of Awe. In this way the act of Teshuvah becomes concrete and our most important relationships can deepen and be repaired.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Monday, July 18, 2005
Heroism at its Twilight
Heroism at its Twilight
As I right thousands of opponents to the disengagement are descending on the boundary of Gaza to confront 20,000 police and soldiers who will not let them enter the closed off Strip. This is just a few days after Hamas send Qassam rockets into Israel and a suicide bomber killed five in Netanya. The papers are filled page to page with coverage of the rising tension and everyone here is nervous about violence breaking out from one of several directions. As you can imagine it is hard to concentrate on anything else. But it should be emphasized that most Israelis support the disengagement and that most of Israel is engaged in a regular work day.
The opponents of the disengagement wear orange ribbons while the proponentss wear blue. A colleague suggested that orange connoted fire and blue connoted ice. Certainly the passion and zeal flows from the settlers and their supporters who seem to get more and more enraged by the day. It is hard to get passionate about disengagement. Its the right thing to do, but no one savors it, especially as everyone here expects chaos to reign in Gaza when Israel leaves. I am one of the icy ones, because I fear the fires ignited by the religious fervor of the settlers will scorch us all.
I am struck by how far Sharon is prepared to go to make the disengagement happen. He has closed Gaza. He has deployed thousands of troops to deter protesters. The authorities have declard the today's huge protest at the southern border to be illegal. People in buses headed to Gaza are being stopped by police in an effort to prevent them from reaching a march at which the organizers are expecting 100,000 people. It appears that Sharon will do almost anything to stop the settlers and their supporters from slowing down the evacuation. My view is that he is showing Abbas the type of political needed to suppress extremists. Abbas is weak. Sharon is not. The bulldozer will crush his opposition. How ironic that Sharon, the champion of the settlers is villified by them and will not back down before their fury. It is amazing to watch all this transpire before our eyes. No one knows how this will turn out. But the next few days appear to be pivotal.
Meanwhile I am in what I call the Hartman bubble. In the Hartman bubble we sail around Jewish history and thought without the distractions of events of the day. We are here to reflect and absorb and shlep our insights back to America. I would say that the spirit of Yochanan ben Zakkai hovers in this place. He was a rabbi who stepped out of Jewish history to continue Judaism in the beit midrash. He was a rabbi who lived during the revolt against Rome. He realized that history would not be kind to the Jews so he decided he had to bring together the rabbis, make accomodation with Rome, and perpetuate Judaism through his gatherings of the sages.
We are not in such dire straights, but Israel's historical current historical drama can become an obsessive concern. So we use the old rabbinic technique of returning to the texts to leave history for a while and see Judaism, Jews, and humanity with the longer view. I come to Israel in the summers to study at the wonderful institute for the month in a special program for rabbis from around North America. This summer the theme is religion, ethics, and violence. So instead of hanging out at demonstrations or making field trips to Gaza or the West Bank, we struggle with the issues as faced by previous generations. The past speaks then in the midst of this uncertain present.
Today David Hartman taught us one of the great texts in Jewish history: the Epistle on Matyrdom. Over 800 years ago Maimonides lost his temper when he read about a rabbi who gave bad advice to Jews who were forcibly converted to Islam. The rabbi urged them to matyr themselves instead of carrying on as Jews in secret. Maimonides rejected with fury the all or nothing approach of his colleague. He argues that the Jews should not matyr themselves, live outwardly as Muslims, but continue their secret devotion to Judaism until better times allows them to reemerge as Jews. Hartman calls Maimonides Epistle a treatment of the question of unheroic behavior. Is matyrdom the only choice?
I hear the echoes of these texts and the accounts of more recent times such as the Shoah. What is the heroic path for Jews today? In the heat of argument in Israel it is the settlers who see themselves as spurned heroes, defending the land, guardians of the outposts facing the enemy. But many in the country do not see them as heroes. There are many who once saw them as heroes but no longer feel this way. In the age of disengagement it is hard to point to heroes. This is the age of accomodation to harsh realities. It is not at all like Jews in Maimonides times who made decisions from a stance of profound vulnerability. Instead Israel has to weigh the limits of its power and the limits of its heroics. During this month as Israel attempts to leave Gaza, it will have to leave behind its illusions about what consitutes a Jewish hero. A new form of heroism will have to emerge.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
7/18/05, Jerusalem
As I right thousands of opponents to the disengagement are descending on the boundary of Gaza to confront 20,000 police and soldiers who will not let them enter the closed off Strip. This is just a few days after Hamas send Qassam rockets into Israel and a suicide bomber killed five in Netanya. The papers are filled page to page with coverage of the rising tension and everyone here is nervous about violence breaking out from one of several directions. As you can imagine it is hard to concentrate on anything else. But it should be emphasized that most Israelis support the disengagement and that most of Israel is engaged in a regular work day.
The opponents of the disengagement wear orange ribbons while the proponentss wear blue. A colleague suggested that orange connoted fire and blue connoted ice. Certainly the passion and zeal flows from the settlers and their supporters who seem to get more and more enraged by the day. It is hard to get passionate about disengagement. Its the right thing to do, but no one savors it, especially as everyone here expects chaos to reign in Gaza when Israel leaves. I am one of the icy ones, because I fear the fires ignited by the religious fervor of the settlers will scorch us all.
I am struck by how far Sharon is prepared to go to make the disengagement happen. He has closed Gaza. He has deployed thousands of troops to deter protesters. The authorities have declard the today's huge protest at the southern border to be illegal. People in buses headed to Gaza are being stopped by police in an effort to prevent them from reaching a march at which the organizers are expecting 100,000 people. It appears that Sharon will do almost anything to stop the settlers and their supporters from slowing down the evacuation. My view is that he is showing Abbas the type of political needed to suppress extremists. Abbas is weak. Sharon is not. The bulldozer will crush his opposition. How ironic that Sharon, the champion of the settlers is villified by them and will not back down before their fury. It is amazing to watch all this transpire before our eyes. No one knows how this will turn out. But the next few days appear to be pivotal.
Meanwhile I am in what I call the Hartman bubble. In the Hartman bubble we sail around Jewish history and thought without the distractions of events of the day. We are here to reflect and absorb and shlep our insights back to America. I would say that the spirit of Yochanan ben Zakkai hovers in this place. He was a rabbi who stepped out of Jewish history to continue Judaism in the beit midrash. He was a rabbi who lived during the revolt against Rome. He realized that history would not be kind to the Jews so he decided he had to bring together the rabbis, make accomodation with Rome, and perpetuate Judaism through his gatherings of the sages.
We are not in such dire straights, but Israel's historical current historical drama can become an obsessive concern. So we use the old rabbinic technique of returning to the texts to leave history for a while and see Judaism, Jews, and humanity with the longer view. I come to Israel in the summers to study at the wonderful institute for the month in a special program for rabbis from around North America. This summer the theme is religion, ethics, and violence. So instead of hanging out at demonstrations or making field trips to Gaza or the West Bank, we struggle with the issues as faced by previous generations. The past speaks then in the midst of this uncertain present.
Today David Hartman taught us one of the great texts in Jewish history: the Epistle on Matyrdom. Over 800 years ago Maimonides lost his temper when he read about a rabbi who gave bad advice to Jews who were forcibly converted to Islam. The rabbi urged them to matyr themselves instead of carrying on as Jews in secret. Maimonides rejected with fury the all or nothing approach of his colleague. He argues that the Jews should not matyr themselves, live outwardly as Muslims, but continue their secret devotion to Judaism until better times allows them to reemerge as Jews. Hartman calls Maimonides Epistle a treatment of the question of unheroic behavior. Is matyrdom the only choice?
I hear the echoes of these texts and the accounts of more recent times such as the Shoah. What is the heroic path for Jews today? In the heat of argument in Israel it is the settlers who see themselves as spurned heroes, defending the land, guardians of the outposts facing the enemy. But many in the country do not see them as heroes. There are many who once saw them as heroes but no longer feel this way. In the age of disengagement it is hard to point to heroes. This is the age of accomodation to harsh realities. It is not at all like Jews in Maimonides times who made decisions from a stance of profound vulnerability. Instead Israel has to weigh the limits of its power and the limits of its heroics. During this month as Israel attempts to leave Gaza, it will have to leave behind its illusions about what consitutes a Jewish hero. A new form of heroism will have to emerge.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
7/18/05, Jerusalem
Sunday, July 17, 2005
A Unique High Holiday Experience, Talaris Conference Center, Seattle, WA
A Unique High Holiday Experience, Talaris Conference Center, Seattle, WA
Panim Hadashot will offer a unique and innovative 2005 High Holiday Experience at the Talaris Conference Center open to the Jewish Community in October. We suggest a donation of $180 per person to become a Panim Hadashot Haver-Friend in support of our programming. Please note that you must rsvp for each event you wish to attend (i.e. Rosh Hashannah Seder, Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah, Shaarei Tikvah, and Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur).
The Panim Hadashot High Holiday Program is summarized below:
Entering the Holidays Around the Table: Rosh Hashannah Seder-Ritual Feast
Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6 p.m. Talaris Conference Center Dining Hall.
Join us as we begin the days of Awe together with the unique feast of Rosh Hashannah called the ‘Seder Y'hi Ratzon’. As with all Jewish sacred feasts the rituals, the food, and the song of this seder move us into the distinctive mood mood of this period known in tradition as the Days of Awe. Come experience a beautiful and memorable gathering and an opportunity to participate in a distinctive and beautiful Jewish tradition that sets the tone for the new year. Dietary Laws observed.
Reservations for the Rosh Hashannah Seder are accepted by mail only with $40 per person payment. Please send check payable to Panim Hadashot to "RH Seder, Panim Hadashot, P.O. Box 15151, Seattle, WA 98115. Please note the number of people in your party.
Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 12:30-4:15
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "RH" and note the number of people in your party.
Starting with the blowing of the Shofar, we will gather for an afternoon of rich learning and public conversation on two great themes of Rosh Hashannah. Dr. John Gottman, the world-renowned scholar on marriage and family, will join Rabbi Gartenberg in a study of traditional texts on the theme of Teshuvah-repentance with the focus on Jewish and modern teachings on the repair of relationships. How do we seriously apply Teshuvah to our lives and to the most important people in our lives?
Following this stimulating conversation, we join for an interactive Torah reading of the Binding of Isaac from chapter 22 of Genesis. Rabbi Gartenberg will take us on a journey through some of the great commentaries that attempt to understand this most perplexing and disturbing text about a father and son and of God and His adherent.
The afternoon will conclude with Tashlich on the beautiful grounds of the Talaris conference center.
12:30 Shofar Blasts
12:45-2:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
2:45-4:15 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with Torah on Genesis 22-The Binding of Isaac.
4:15-4:30 Tashlich-Casting ceremony
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families.
Tues. October 4th. 4:45-5:30pm Service; 5:30-6:15pm Tashlich and Refreshment.
Talaris Cedar Room.
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.
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 lead by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Thursday, October 13th. 2:00-7:10pm. Talaris Cedar Room
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "YK" and note the number of people in your party.
Opening with moving Yizkor-the Yom Kippur memorial service, Panim Hadashot presents an afternoon dedicated to exploring the great theme of Yom Kippur and of the High Holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance and Change. Rabbi Gartenberg will lead an encounter with the book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Dr. John Gottman will follow with the second dialogue on the theme of Teshuvah. We will conclude with a simple closing service-Neilah-followed by the final blast of the shofar to end the fast day.
2:00-2:30 Yizkor-Memorial Service
2:45-4:30 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with the chapter 4 in the Book of Jonah: God and Teshuvah. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
4:45-6:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
6:40-7:10 Neilah-Closing of the Gates and Shofar blast
Location: Talaris Conference Center
Nestled against a large wildlife pond, Talaris Conference Center is located on an 18-acre wooded oasis of lovely landscaped lawns, courtyards, and walking paths. It is located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood just blocks from the University of Washington and features a beautiful dining hall and the cedar room where the High Holiday programs will take place.
Panim Hadashot will offer a unique and innovative 2005 High Holiday Experience at the Talaris Conference Center open to the Jewish Community in October. We suggest a donation of $180 per person to become a Panim Hadashot Haver-Friend in support of our programming. Please note that you must rsvp for each event you wish to attend (i.e. Rosh Hashannah Seder, Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah, Shaarei Tikvah, and Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur).
The Panim Hadashot High Holiday Program is summarized below:
Entering the Holidays Around the Table: Rosh Hashannah Seder-Ritual Feast
Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6 p.m. Talaris Conference Center Dining Hall.
Join us as we begin the days of Awe together with the unique feast of Rosh Hashannah called the ‘Seder Y'hi Ratzon’. As with all Jewish sacred feasts the rituals, the food, and the song of this seder move us into the distinctive mood mood of this period known in tradition as the Days of Awe. Come experience a beautiful and memorable gathering and an opportunity to participate in a distinctive and beautiful Jewish tradition that sets the tone for the new year. Dietary Laws observed.
Reservations for the Rosh Hashannah Seder are accepted by mail only with $40 per person payment. Please send check payable to Panim Hadashot to "RH Seder, Panim Hadashot, P.O. Box 15151, Seattle, WA 98115. Please note the number of people in your party.
Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 12:30-4:15
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "RH" and note the number of people in your party.
Starting with the blowing of the Shofar, we will gather for an afternoon of rich learning and public conversation on two great themes of Rosh Hashannah. Dr. John Gottman, the world-renowned scholar on marriage and family, will join Rabbi Gartenberg in a study of traditional texts on the theme of Teshuvah-repentance with the focus on Jewish and modern teachings on the repair of relationships. How do we seriously apply Teshuvah to our lives and to the most important people in our lives?
Following this stimulating conversation, we join for an interactive Torah reading of the Binding of Isaac from chapter 22 of Genesis. Rabbi Gartenberg will take us on a journey through some of the great commentaries that attempt to understand this most perplexing and disturbing text about a father and son and of God and His adherent.
The afternoon will conclude with Tashlich on the beautiful grounds of the Talaris conference center.
12:30 Shofar Blasts
12:45-2:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
2:45-4:15 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with Torah on Genesis 22-The Binding of Isaac.
4:15-4:30 Tashlich-Casting ceremony
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families.
Tues. October 4th. 4:45-5:30pm Service; 5:30-6:15pm Tashlich and Refreshment.
Talaris Cedar Room.
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.
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 lead by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Thursday, October 13th. 2:00-7:10pm. Talaris Cedar Room
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "YK" and note the number of people in your party.
Opening with moving Yizkor-the Yom Kippur memorial service, Panim Hadashot presents an afternoon dedicated to exploring the great theme of Yom Kippur and of the High Holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance and Change. Rabbi Gartenberg will lead an encounter with the book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Dr. John Gottman will follow with the second dialogue on the theme of Teshuvah. We will conclude with a simple closing service-Neilah-followed by the final blast of the shofar to end the fast day.
2:00-2:30 Yizkor-Memorial Service
2:45-4:30 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with the chapter 4 in the Book of Jonah: God and Teshuvah. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
4:45-6:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
6:40-7:10 Neilah-Closing of the Gates and Shofar blast
Location: Talaris Conference Center
Nestled against a large wildlife pond, Talaris Conference Center is located on an 18-acre wooded oasis of lovely landscaped lawns, courtyards, and walking paths. It is located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood just blocks from the University of Washington and features a beautiful dining hall and the cedar room where the High Holiday programs will take place.
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