Something to Dance About--Adas Emuno's Religious School

The students and families at Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia were treated to a special Israel themed program on May 16th.  In addition to planting flowers, posting prayers on their own "Western Wall", and sampling delicious falafel, Adas Emuno was able to include Israeli folk dancing to their program. The dancing was led by instructors from the Israeli Dance Institute of Manhattan and made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Israel Programs Center of the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey.  

As you can tell from the photograph, a wonderful time was had by all!  

Tomorrow is the last day of our religious school year, and we send our congratulations to all of our wonderful students for successfully completing their studies this year, and our sincere appreciation as well to our School Director, Jennifer Katz-Goldstein, and all of our dedicated, gifted teachers!

Media Matters and Semantic Sensibilities

What year is it?  No doubt you'd answer, it's 2010, of course!  And if I asked, what year is it on the Jewish calendar, well, you might have to go look it up (I know I had to check to make sure) before answering, 5770.  As Jews living in a western society, we use the same calendar everybody else uses, and typically, we don't think twice about it.


Many of us even use the designations BC and AD, even though the abbreviations have a religious meaning that does not reflect our faith.  BC stands for Before Christ and AD for Anno Domini, which means In the Year of Our Lord.  Since we don't believe in Jesus Christ, let alone consider him our lord, using BC and AD forces us to make a declaration that goes against our beliefs.  From a traditional standpoint, that is a very serious matter indeed, although from a modern standpoint, we might use BC and AD without attaching very much significance to the terms.


There is an alternative used by non-Christians, however, and I remember first encountering it when I was a child in religious school, in the Jewish history textbooks we were given.  Instead of AD, we can use CE, which typically stands for Common Era, but also has been taken to mean Christian Era, and Current Era.  And for BC we substitute, quite naturally, BCE, which stands for Before Common Era, or Before Christian Era, or Before Current Era.


Actually, it's BCE that's the most useful of the two, as we typically do not use AD and therefore do not need to substitute it with CE.  So, it's good that BCE so closely resembles BC, as that helps to avoid confusion among those not familiar with these alternate designations.


Interestingly enough, the phrase "common era" was first used by Christians, although the formal substitution for BC and AD is traced back to 19th century Jewish scholars.  But today, BCE and CE are used by members of other non-Christian faiths, by atheists, and even by some Christian denominations.  For more on this, take a look at the Wikipedia entry on Common Era.


As you might imagine, the question of whether to substitute BCE/CE for BC/AD  in public schools and government documents can be controversial.  In fact, just recently, the progressive organization, Media Matters for America, reported on how Fox News, in their zealous defense of Christianity, made a federal case out of just this sort of thing.  The item, itself dated May 4, 2010, is entitled:
 
Fox hammers White House for not insulting Jewish Americans


And they begin by quoting the Fox News headline: 

White House Omits "in the Year of our Lord"

The Media Matters report goes on to relate

Placed in the context of a network that has consistently denounced perceived slights against Christianity as the result of political correctness and secularism run amok, the message is clear: Those godless Marxists are at it again.


But if you click through the image, you discover a report about how the White House has not included the phrase "in the year of our Lord" in a proclamation... declaring May as Jewish American Heritage Month.


Seriously, what is wrong with the people at Fox?


How can they honestly have a problem with the White House removing that reference from a proclamation celebrating Americans who don't believe Jesus was divine? Is it actually their position that the White House should be actively seeking to insult the people they are trying to honor?


Apparently, Fox has decided that America is a Christian Nation, and the rest of us are just visiting here.

Mind you, we're not even talking about the use of AD here, but the actual use of the formal phrase, "In the Year of Our Lord"!  And for a proclamation for Jewish American Heritage Month!  Is it really possible that no one at Fox News sees the irony in this?  What more can we say but, Oy Vey!  When it comes to sensitivity on Fox News, you might say that it goes in one year and out the other!

A New Perspective on Traditional Jewish Ethics

A thoughtful and heartfelt critique and call to action appeared not too long ago in the San Francisco Sentinel, with the headline of JEWS SHOULD CHUCK JEW-SPARRING, followed by the more measured subtitle of "A New Perspective on Traditional Jewish Ethics."  Written by Karen Lee Erlichman, and dated April 24, 2010, the article begins with her personal reflections based on 20 years as a professional working on behalf of Jewish communities.  Early on in the article, she states

In order for our synagogues, our schools, and our community agencies to survive and thrive, Jews need to create a new covenant and organizational culture, grounded in relationship and mutual respect. When we genuinely relate to one another as beings created b’tzelem Elohim, from the Board president to the administrative assistant, our communal organizations will become gardens of creativity, prosperity and peace. We will celebrate each other’s successes and simchas. We will view intermarriage and conversion not with suspicion, but as an opportunity to welcome new members into our Jewish family. Our religious, cultural and relational diversity will be seen as a “value add,” rather than a threat to the fabric of Jewish life.

And while we may not all agree with all of the specific points that she raises in the article, her conclusion, which consists of a new community covenant, is well worth sharing here on our congregational blog:

In the spirit of renewed commitment to these core Jewish values, I offer the following Ten Guidelines for Jewish Communal Life:

1. Derech Eretz

“The way of the land;” thoughtful conduct and common decency toward others.
According to midrash, derech eretz preceeds Torah (Leviticus Rabbah 9:3); perhaps one might say Torah rests on the foundation of derech eretz.

Our individual and institutional conduct as a Jewish community rest on the foundation of derech eretz in visible, tangible ways. We actually live up to the ethics and values we allegedly espouse.

2. Areyvut
Mutual responsibility; accountability

We hold each other accountable to “walk our talk,” and we are as invested in the success of other organizations as we are in our own success. Our practices are transparent and we are fully and equally accountable to constituents, donors, funders and colleagues.

3. Kavod
Honor and respect

We treat all of our colleagues with respect and dignity regardless of role, level of education, or economic privilege. Our respect for them is apparent in every encounter.

4. Mishpat v’rachamim
Justice and compassion

Justice and compassion are two critical cornerstones of our community values, and are evident in all of our interactions and institutions.

5. Hachnasat Orchim
Welcoming guests

We are genuinely warm and welcoming to everyone who enters our institutions; evident in every human interaction on the phone, via email, or in person, from the Board President to the administrative assistant. Hospitality is not just an industry; it’s a spiritual practice.

6. Chesed and Gemilut hasadim Acts of loving kindness

We extend ourselves to one another with kindness regardless of whether we have ever met before. We offer the same kindness we would want to receive.

7. Lashon ha’tov
“Good Tongue;” right speech

How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t want to engage in lashon hara, but….,” and then launch right into gossiping about someone in the community?! Lashon ha’tov is more than just abstaining from gossip; it is also about the spirit and flavor of how we talk to one another. Lashon ha’tov is about listening and speaking from the heart.

8. Lo levayesh
Do not embarrass

Closely related to kavod, lo levayesh means that we actively engage in behaviors that are expressly intended to comfort, delight, protect and honor someone else. Specifically, we don’t behave or speak in a manner that would embarrass others or ourselves.

9. Parnassah
Sustenance; livelihood

All Jewish communal professionals are compensated sufficiently, with salaries that allow them not only to meet their basic needs, but also to participate fully in the programs, culture, education and services of the Jewish community.

10. V’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha and ahavat ger:
Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and love the stranger (ger)

This mitzvah appears more often than any other in the Torah. It’s about love, folks—expressing love for our neighbors, ourselves, the Other. We are not only polite to one another; we are actually loving, warm and generous of heart.

We are just about to finish the season of counting the omer, a seven week period in the Jewish calendar where we reflect daily on middot, “soul traits” or character traits, to spiritually prepare ourselves for Shavuot. May this testimonial, and these guidelines, serve as a framework for introspection, discussion and renewed commitment to a Jewish community that reflects the spirit of liberation and revelation.

K’eyn yehi ratzon– May it be so.

To which we can add our own hearty, Amen!

Israel: Defying the Odds

In anticipation of Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, here is a video courtesy of aish.com, entitled Israel: Defying the Odds:

Holocaust Remembrance

Sunday was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and it was observed by Jews all around the world, including a very moving ceremony held at Congregation Adas Emuno.

A friend of mine, Pier Marton, who is a filmmaker and faculty member at American University in St. Louis, and someone who frequently lectures, writes about, and exhibits artwork on the subject of the Holocaust, shared the talk he gave on Sunday out in Missouri with me, and with his permission, I would like to share them with you:

I start with a quote by one my father’s favorite writers, the Nobel prize winner, Romain Rolland:

There are some dead who are more alive than the living.


My name is Pier Marton, I was born and grew up in Paris, five years after the war.
My parents' stories of survival are stories of resistance.


The odds and the times were against you two, but between luck, being politicized and smart, you both managed to make it.


Papa, in 1937, you left Budapest, Hungary for Paris, to establish your second studio of the artistic Modern Revue, which was to have offices in Budapest, Paris and New York. You advertised your artwork in Esperanto (the language which means “one who hopes”, created by another Jew, Dr. Zamenhof, an ophtalmologist from Bialystok, a man of great vision). 

You had designed some stamps with the star symbol for Esperanto. You hoped Esperanto could become the universal language of the future, to eliminate like communism, the injustices and the misunderstandings between people.


It needs to be clear, there was no such thing as “The Holocaust”, we spoke of “the war” throughout my childhood.


I remember you telling me, I was possibly 8 years old, about the bullets flying by your head as you were waiting for the German convoy that you were to ambush, right from the rooftop of that last building you moved into, to escape arrest.


That’s the building I grew up in, where we lived below the roof, in an artist’s studio that had been vacated because it was too close to a munition factory, and in danger of being bombed.


I remember being amazed by looking at the sawed off metal bars by the window in the loggia, the small room where we all slept  and where one could not stand up because of the low ceiling. 

If someone was going to arrest you, the escape route was clear: it would take a second to lift off those metal bars. To a casual observer they looked normal, but if one looked very carefully, black paint was hiding the cuts. They remained there throughout the 21 years I spent in that apartment: reminding me of the need to have both vigilance and an escape route.


At another time, you told me that the police interrogated you and that they released you.


You also spoke of hearing the police going through another apartment you had lived in, Rue Daguerre, as you were walking up the stairs.


I remember seeing that photograph of you with the medal you received upon the liberation of Paris.

But you did not expand, I had to fill in the many gaps.


One cannot ever know the life of another, do we even know our own lives?


Many years later, in a book by the famous Spanish writer, Jorge Semprun, strangely enough, there was a character with my name, as Semprun describes a resistance network in my own street.


As a curious child, going through the closets I did find a book, the most horrible book I was to ever look at, with piles of mutilated and sawed off bodies, collections of tattoed skin [I let youimagine the rest].

It established for me the need for solid documentation of human rights abuse. 

THERE, was one of the loudest screams emanating from these pictures, a sound that says in the most urgent manner, WAKE UP, something terrible was happening, and IS CONTINUING TO HAPPEN. 

OPEN YOUR EYES, even if it is difficult and painful.


From time to time, we visited that family in Freiburg. You had hidden the father, Henri, a German deserter. But we did not speak about the past, we were in the present.


Later, the puzzle came together further when the letters you had mentioned, “FTP-MOI” became those of the notorious network, mocked by the Nazis in the famous Red Poster, characterizing the resistance as Jews, foreigners, and communists - which in your case was completely true. 

Those 23 who were arrested and executed by the Germans were immortalized by the famous French song, L’Affiche Rouge.

====

Maman,  

Your trust in people was repeatedly broken. It might have started  as a kid on a tramway car in Kiskunfelegyhaza, the small town in Hungary where you grew up, when you had asked a stranger for the time. He had answered: “I don’t have to tell Jews the time”.


You did not volunteer much, you did not want to talk about any of this ever. I think you wanted for us to walk straight, trust the world. 

You did not speak much, but when you spoke, you meant it. 

You would say: "Alles ist halb so wichtig/everything is half as important” which you attributed to Ernst Toller, the left-wing Jewish playwright.


Like for most children of survivors, WHAT WAS NOT SAID had the most impact.


One could say that we received the war, like our mother’s milk, through our body (the transfer was not through words). 

Our history books and our lessons: how we all breathed, how we walked, and how we used our brain... and even how we smiled. We became specialists in the topic. Our bodies were the place where we heard the stories.


We had to know what to ask to get answers. That’s how you told me that you had to step over so many cadavers when walking on the streets at the liberation of Budapest.


For the sake of time, I will ask you to read the stories which are described on the panels outside in the lobby.


These are stories I heard for the first time as my mother spoke to a TV crew when we were both in Salt Lake City for the opening of my video installation “JEW”.


The message was clear: work for the public good and do not trust the powers that be... a politics of non-politics.


THE PEOPLE WHO DIED AND THOSE THAT SURVIVED WHILE BEING ATTACKED FOR BEING DIFFERENT, THOSE ARE THE RESISTANCE FIGHTERS, THE HEROES.


AND THE RESISTANCE, THE RESILIENCE THAT WAS THEIRS IS NOW OURS.

For more information about Pier Marton, you can take a look at his websites:   http://artsci.wustl.edu/~marton and  http://piermarton.wordpress.com.

A New Torah Cover

The Sefer Torah was the subject of a recent post here on our congregational blog,  A Sister Shul's Torah Restoration, and while the old saying tells us that you can't judge a book by its cover, we do like to honor our sacred scrolls with special coverings and decorations.


And not too long ago, we were pleased to be able to replace one of our Torah coverings that had grown old and worn with a brand new one, courtesy of Adas Emuno congregant Bara Capote, commemorating her daughter Alexia's Bat Mitzvah.  Here it is:

And let's move in for a little closer view:

Judging by this particular cover, our Torah will be well cared for, and our congregation will be grateful to the Capote family for many, many years to come.

Shabbat Meyuchad

Once a month, on the first Saturday afternoon at 2 PM, Congregation Adas Emuno holds a Shabbat Meyuchad service that has been designed to be especially appealing and welcoming for people with developmental disabilities and their families.  The service is open to all, of course, and can be appreciated by and meaningful for everyone.  But it is also meant to be especially welcoming and comfortable for families and individuals touched by autism, and other forms of disabilities.

The service is called Shabbat Meyuchad because it is an afternoon service, and as Sabbath services go, it is brief, and highly musical.  The idea for the service came after our spiritual leader, Cantor Shapiro, worked with my daughter Sarah, who has moderate autism, to give her an uniquely-tailored Bat Mitzvah ceremony a year ago.  And this made for a great story for our local cable news program, as you can see from the video below.

A brief note:  The person who came to film us on a weekday afternoon made it a point to get us to pronounce all of the Hebrew words correctly, but somehow the anchor was not able to get it right when she said "Adas Emuno" (should be ah-Dahss eh-Moon-oh), "Meyuchad" (should be may-Yoo-chahd), and even "Shabbat" (should be shah-Baht)! And their use of the phrase, "mentally challenged," in reference to individuals with developmental disabilities is inappropriate.

Be that as it may, it certainly was a worthwhile topic for a news report:

The question of inclusion comes up quite often in discussions relating to the education of people with disabilities. Religious inclusion does not receive anywhere near the same amount of attention, but it is very much relevant to inclusion in general, to be a part of one's family and community. And while you might expect it only natural for religious institutions to make the effort to include individuals with disabilities, all too often that's not the case. It means a great deal to me and my family that our congregation has that kind of openness, and is willing to make the effort.

The next Shabbat Meyuchad service is this Saturday, all are welcome to join us!