The Way Forward

from the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

THE WAY FORWARD:


CREATING TRANSFORMATIONAL

JEWISH EXPERIENCES

What is the way forward for those of us who care about the future of the American Jewish community?

I’ll admit that in my last column (The Jew and the Pew) I was quite negative. Recall that I was reacting to the major new study of the American Jewish community by the Pew Research Center showed an alarming abandonment of Judaism and the Jewish people. I wrote that we should “be brave enough to admit that this portrait is devastating. We are in free fall….”

But you would never know it in San Diego last month (mid-December) at the biannual convention of the Reform movement. I was with some 5000 Reform Jews, and the spirit was something to behold. The theme of the gathering was “”Meet-Pray-Learn” and that is exactly what we did, with gusto.

I promised to write about some positive lessons in subsequent columns, so let me reflect on the Biennial experience to talk about what is right with our community rather than what is wrong.

Let’s start with engaging our youth, and talk about one small step that can be a difference maker. A modest proposal, not a panacea… but one within that is realistic and attainable for the majority of American Jewish families.

One of the most moving aspects of the convention was the enthusiastic participation of hundreds of high school age youth. How is it that these young people are so connected? I asked… and the common denominator seems to be, interestingly enough… a great Jewish summer camp experience. Specifically, these youth pointed to the Reform movement camps like Camp Eisner in Great Barrington and Camp Harlam in the Poconos. It seems that a memorable summer camp experience is the gateway to involvement in Jewish youth group (NFTY). NFTY leads to Hillel. Hillel leads to study abroad in Israel. Israel leads to young leadership roles and a lasting connection to the Jewish community. For so many of the young adults I talked to, it all starts with an exceptional Jewish experience as a teen. Jewish summer camp seems to be the ticket. Dollar for dollar it may be the best investment in the Jewish future you can make for your children or grandchildren. And to compete with all the summer alternatives, the Reform movement recently opened an elite Jewish sports camp and just announced the opening of a select Jewish science camp.

So how about an unforgettable Jewish summer for our children? Why not a community-wide “Junior Birthright” program that offers a month at camp as a prelude to a week in Israel? We need to invest in experiences that are memorable and transformational. It’s one small step for a Jewish family; one giant leap for the Jewish people.

Report on the Biennial

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News from

Annice Benamy, Religious School Director

Report on the Biennial

Audacious Hospitality… This is the new phrase of Reform Judaism. And I will use it to describe the six days, which I spent in San Diego along with about 5,000 others at the Union for Reform Judaism‘s/Women of Reform Judaism’s 2013 Biennial. Audacious comes from the word "audacity," which the dictionary defines as bold, daring, and courage. This is what I am bringing back to my synagogue and to my personal/ professional life.

What is the Biennial? Every two years, the URJ/WRJ gathers together thousands of Reform Jews – lay leaders, synagogue professionals, clergy, entertainers, NFTYites, and more – to connect and reconnect, pray, learn, network, and grasp the movement of the Reform Movement.

I admit that I am a convention junkie. I love attending conventions for professional development and rejuvenating much needed energy. In 2009 and 2011, I attended my first and second Biennials in Toronto and Washington, D.C., respectively. The experiences were unforgettable as my mind exploded with the excitement and spirit–the ruach–of the Movement. The week in San Diego, I felt that same ruach. I participated in the most exciting, stimulating, thought-provoking, and innovative programming and prayer I look forward to at each Biennial.

I love the over-stimulation and fast tempo at Biennial. There are so many people and so many things happening simultaneously. You are constantly running into people you have not seen in years, or since the last Biennial or in decades. You want to catch up, but you also want to make it to a session, maybe two or three at the same time! The programming is overwhelming in the best way possible; there are hundreds of sessions to attend. The exhibits, vendors, and Kikar-Resource Row are another piece that makes “fear of missing out” exciting to some people because, truly, there is just so much going on.

Some of the programmatic highlights where I experienced boldness, daringness, and courage were:

• Learning best practices from religious schools that are doing it right

• Discussing religious schools and leadership of the future with Rabbi Stan Schickler and members of NATE

• Reconnecting and connecting with WRJ leadership and friends as I participated as a dual URJ/WRJ delegate and was installed to a four-year term on the the WRJ International Board

• Learning how to increase youth participation by my continued involvement in the URJ’s Campaign for Youth Engagement 

• Singing fabulous traditional, contemporary, and new music by participating in the Biennial and WRJ Choirs with friends who are cantors, lay leaders who love to sing, long time friends from camp and directed by my first camp choir director, Merri Arian

• Discussing ideas about Israel, Relational Judaism, Women’s issues, and Jewish music led by spectacular visionaries including Dr. Rabbi Donniel Hartman, MK Ruth Calderon, Ron Wolfson, Ruth Messinger, Anat Hoffman, Neshama Carlebach and Rabbi Shefa Gold

• Being encouraged by motivational speeches from Rabbi Rick Jacobs, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Lynn Magid Lazar and Blair Marks to bring audacious hospitality to every Reform synagogue by inclusion, shalom bayit, new leadership models, and thinking outside the box.

Tefilah with WRJ and Womens Rabbinic Network Shacharit Service

Biennial Shabbat is an experience like no other that features boldness, daringness, and courage. Friday night worship was a stunningly beautiful service led by the clergy team of Rabbi Joel Sisenwine, Cantor Jodi Sufrin, Rabbi Rachel Saphire, and Noah Aronson (student Rabbi/composer) of Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley, MA and the Biennial Choir. Following dinner with 5,000 of your closest friends came the most spectacular one-hour song session featuring our cantors and songleaders led by Biennial Music Director, Josh Nelson. 

WRJ choir performs at the Installation ceremony where I and others were installed

 to the WRJ International Board.

After an engaging Shabbat Torah study with Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, National Director of Recruitment and President Scholar at HUC-JIR, what followed was hands-down the most creative and exceptional Shabbat and Torah service of all time. Led by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Cantor Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue, Movement specialist, Liz Lerman, Amichai Lau-Lavie of Storahtelling and Lab/Shul and the Biennial Choir incorporated exquisite music and readings to the service. What made the Torah service so amazing? It was bold, daring, and courageous. It was creative, it was fun, it was engaging, and it had serious depth. The best way I can describe it: thirteen platforms were set up around the giant plenary hall. Each platform served as a bimah, and those who had been asked to stand there (representatives from 13 URJ organizations) had a Torah with them on their bimah. The 5,000-person plenary chanted the Torah blessings together, and then each platform had a reader who read for each separate aliyah within earshot of their section. It gave me chills. It was beautiful. Moreover, it was interspersed with stellar “sTorah-telling,” a particular highlight being Shira Kline as the biblical character Dinah. It reinforced, so very much, all that is possible when we think outside the box. 

With my friend, Josh Nelson, singer/songwriter and Biennial Music Director.

After a moving WRJ Installation ceremony, the concluding Saturday night plenary was the most incredible opportunity to observe an event honoring 100 years of the Women of Reform Judaism and celebrating 75 years of NFTY. The program was a celebration of amazing female musicians, role models, educators, and social activists. It honored Anat Hoffman, the bold and daring director of IRAC, and it blessed the generations of old and new in sweeping musical tributes. To end the final evening, Josh Nelson and Neshama Carlebach treated us to a late-night concert that could have gone on all night.

The Biennial experience got me so energized, so pumped, about all that is ahead for us soon-to-be cantors, educators, and rabbis. It made me see so clearly how the Reform Movement is growing and shifting, how Rabbi Rick Jacobs is a visionary who practices what he preaches, how committed and passionate so many of its constituents are, and most of all, the evolution to which the Reform Movement is committed and in which it is invested so deeply. What am I bringing back? Ideas on opening our arms to change, embracing that which we do not know, engaging with all those who are “othered” and “nones” to us, and being exemplars of “audacious hospitality.”

Introducing Our New Religious School Director

From the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno

A message from Annice Benamy, our new Religious School Director:

My name is Annice Benamy and I am very enthusiastic to introduce myself as your new Religious School Director.  My love of education, music, and Reform Judaism developed at my synagogue in Cleveland, Ohio, and at URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, New York. 

For 14 years, I brought my love of Judaism and music together as a youth group songleader, educator, Junior Congregation and Family Education coordinator in religious schools in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio.  In 1986, I become cantorial soloist for a nursing home in Beachwood, Ohio and continued to share my spirituality and love for liturgy through music on the bima for Shabbat and holidays.  I am still a cantorial soloist in Ohio and New Jersey,  bringing my passion and devotion to congregants.  I am also very involved in Reform synagogue life by participating on committees and programming.

For the past 19 years, my secular educational experiences include K-8 Vocal music teacher, Fine Arts building supervisor, and staff trainer on educational topics including Technology in the Classroom, Arts Across the Curriculum, and Literacy in the Classroom. I am a National Board Certified Teacher with Supervisor Certification from Rutgers University, BA in Communication Arts from the University of Cincinnati, BM in Music Education from Kent State University, and MM in Music Education from Cleveland State University. 

I reside in Teaneck with my husband, David, my daughter, Ilana, and step-daughter, Sarah.  I love to travel, read, and spend time at the beach.

Thank you for welcoming me into your Kehillah Kadosha (a sacred community). I look forward to a great year and meeting each of you soon. 

L’shalom,

Annice M. Benamy



Congregants have had a chance to meet, and listen to Annice throughout the month of July, as she has been kind enough to serve as a cantorial soloist during Friday night Shabbat services, and look for her to return later in August.  

And be sure to join us for the Ice Cream Social Meet and Greet Open House, which will be held on Sunday, August 19 from 2:00-4:00 pm.  New and returning families may register for Religious School, sign-up for Parent Committees, and see what other innovative programming the Religious School will offer this year.  Of course, eating some delicious ice cream is always a bonus on a hot summer day.

And another great reason to join us for Ice Cream on Sunday, August 19 at 2:00 pm will be to meet the NFTY-GER Regional Advisor, Pam Schuller, and the Adas Emuno Temple Youth (AETY) Youth Group Advisor, David Benam. They will be available with all the Youth Group information. That's right, AETY— Adas Emuno is forming a Temple Youth Group for high school teens in grades 9-12. If you cannot attend, but are still interested, please contact Annice Benamy, Religious School Director, at adasschool at gmail.com.

Please note that registration is OPEN for 2012-2013 Religious School.  Please check your e-mail account for registration materials.  All forms and payment are due by August 24, 2012 to the Adas Emuno Religious School. 

The Festival of Latkes

Well, okay, Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, sure, but the candles we light symbolize and substitute for the oil that was burned in the Temple, which was a special type of sacred, purified and sanctified olive oil, the same olive oil we use to cook various foods, including potato pancakes, otherwise known as latkes.

And here's a little tidbit from the Wikipedia entry on Potato pancake:

The word leviva, the Hebrew name for latke, has its origins in the Book of Samuel's description of the story of Amnon and Tamar. Some interpreters have noted that the homonym levav means "heart," and the verbal form of l-v-v occurs in the Song of Songs as well.


Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes. Prior to the introduction of the potato to the Old World, latkes were, and in some places still are, made from a variety of other vegetables, cheeses, legumes, or starches, depending on the available local ingredients and foodways of the various places where Jews lived.

And  maybe you've got an old family recipe for making latkes, but maybe not, maybe you'd like some help, or are looking for new ideas, or just want to compare.  So here, courtesy of the Union for Reform Judaism, is a two-part video demonstration on how to make potato pancakes, by Tina Wasserman, author of the acclaimed Jewish cookbook Entree to Judaism:

And maybe you'd like some nice music to accompany you while you're cooking and/or eating your latkes, so here is a recording of the late Debbie Friendman performing her famous "Latke Song" live at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston in 2001:

And here are the lyrics for you to read:

CHORUS:
I am a latke, I'm a latke
And I am waiting for Chanukah to come
I am a latke, I'm a latke
And I am waiting for Chanukah to come


I am so mixed up that I cannot tell you,
I'm sitting in this blender turning brown.
I've made friends with the onions and the flour,
And the cook is scouting oil in the town.
I sit here wondering what will come of me,
I can't be eaten looking as I do.
I need someone to take me out and cook me,
Or I'll really end up in a royal stew.


CHORUS


Every holiday has foods so special,
I'd like to have that same attention too,
I do not want to spend life in this blender,
Wondering what I'm supposed to do.
Matza and choroset are for Pesach,
Chopped liver and challah for Shabbat
Blintzes on Shavuot are delicious,
And gefilte fish no holiday's without.


CHORUS


It's important that I have an understanding
Of what it is that I'm supposed to do,
You see, there are many who are homeless,
With no jobs, no clothes and very little food.
It's so important that we all remember,
That while we have most of the things we need,
We must remember those who have so little,
We must help them, we must be the ones to feed.


CHORUS

And if you're a regular viewer of the ABC network's program, Grey's Anatomy, you probably have heard the song, "Latke Clan," performed by The LeeVees.  Here's a live version, performed at 2007 convention of the Reform Jewish youth organization NFTY  (North American Federation of Temple Youth):

And now for the lyrics:

Hanukkah, I know it's gonna be all right
Everyone's together tonight
Feeling good, it's Hanukkah


Two candles lit
The holiday's just begun
We're in for lots of fun
The time has come, it's Chanukah


The sun is setting
Get home as fast as you can
We'll put the oil into the pan
So come and join our Latke Clan
Cause we are latke fans
It's true


Your uncle's here
Flew in from out of town
It's nice to have him around
Even though he's weird
It's Chanukah


Santa's cool
But Hanukkah Harry's the man
So come and join our latke clan
We'll save you a plate
It's Hanukkah


The sun is setting
Get home as fast as you can
We'll put the oil into the pan
So come and join our latke clan


Sun is setting, get home as fast as you can
We'll put the oil into the pan
So come and join our latke clan
Cause we are latke fans


Your weird uncle is doing the can-can
Hanukkah Harry, he's the man
Everyone's here, it's Hanukkah

And in the category of holiday season toys that never quite made it, here's one you no doubt have never heard of, Latke Larry (we're not sure if he's any relation to Hanukkah Harry):

How about a nice story instead?  Courtesy of JewishTVNetwork.com, we can enjoy this charming, animated tale from the old country, A Magical Latke Story, narrated by none other than famous television celebrity Bob Saget:

And what's that you say?  You want to hear a different "Latke Song" now?  Sure, here's one:

And, for our coda, here's a nice amateur video featuring holiday images, set to the studio version of Debbie Friedman's "Latke Song":

And with that, we hope you've liked our virtual latkes.  Now go and enjoy some real latkes of your own!  B'tayavon!

And don't forget to join us this evening, at 7 PM, for the Leonia Community Menorah Lighting outside of our shul, followed by our Shabbat service, and a Hanukkah party of an oneg!  With, you guessed it, lots and lots of latkes!