Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

T. REX: THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR at the American Museum of Natural History (through Aug. 9). Everyones favorite 18,000-pound prehistoric killer gets the star treatment in this eye-opening exhibition, which presents the latest scientific research on T. rex and also introduces many other tyrannosaurs, some discovered only in this century in China and Mongolia. T. rex evolved mainly during the Cretaceous period to have keen eyes, spindly arms and massive conical teeth, which packed a punch that has never been matched by any other creature; the dinosaur could even swallow whole bones, as affirmed here by a kid-friendly display of fossilized excrement. The show mixes 66-million-year-old teeth with the latest 3-D prints of dino bones, and also presents new models of T. rex as a baby, a juvenile and a full-grown annihilator. Turns out this most savage beast was covered with believe it! a soft coat of beige or white feathers. (Farago) 212-769-5100, amnh.org

WORLDS BEYOND EARTH at the American Museum of Natural Historys Hayden Planetarium (ongoing). This new space show is a bit like being thrown out of your own orbit. Surrounded by brilliant colors, the viewer glides through space in all directions, unbound by conventional rules of orientation or vantage point. Dizzying spirals delineate the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. At one point, museumgoers are taken along a journey from the perspective of a comet. In illustrating the far reaches of our solar system, the show draws on data from seven sets of space missions from NASA, Europe and Japan, including the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and still-active ones like Voyager. With a sense of movement and scale that only a visual presentation could convey, Worlds Beyond Earth makes an unforced point about the dangers of climate change. Another celestial body might have an alien sea that contains more liquid water than all the oceans on Earth, as its narrator, Lupita Nyongo, states. But Earth itself, she adds later, is the only place with the right size, the right location and the right ingredients an easy balance to upset. (Kenigsberg) 212-769-5100, amnh.org

NOAH DAVIS at David Zwirner (through Feb. 22). The 27 canvases in this exhilarating show the largest yet for this ambitious figurative painter who died in 2015 at the age of 32 showcase a more than promising talent. Davis accomplished one of the most moving, effective fusions of paint handling, narrative and symbolism in recent American art. Ostensibly traditional but actually unbelievably subtle and rich, the paintings make everything count, from the gestures and expressions of their subjects to tiny touches of color. Daviss goal was to show African-Americans in normal scenarios. He did this, and more, creating images that speak to the human condition. (Roberta Smith) 212-727-2070, davidzwirner.com

MAKING MARVELS: SCIENCE & SPLENDOR AT THE COURTS OF EUROPE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (through March 1). This exhibition brings together nearly 170 elaborately crafted objects, many never seen in the United States: the mesmerizing 41-carat Dresden Green, an ornate silver table decorated with sea nymphs, a clock with Copernicus depicted in gilded brass. Some, like a chariot carrying the wine god Bacchus, are spectacularly inventive Bacchus can raise a toast, roll his eyes and even stick out his tongue. Some, like a charming rhinoceros, a collage created from tortoiseshell, pearls and shells, are merely lovely. The show could have been simply a display of ornamental wealth for the one percent of long ago, an abundance of gold and silver that was meant to be shown off in any way possible. But Making Marvels is about more than that. (James Barron) 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org

NICOLAS MOUFFAREGE: RECOGNIZE MY SIGN at the Queens Museum (through Feb. 23). More exceptional than this artists background was his art form: embroidery. As a gay man who openly embraced his sexual identity, Moufarrege happily took up needlepoint after discovering its potential, he said, when repairing an old pair of jeans. Moufarrege was in the vanguard in a sadder way, too. Among a close-knit group of East Village artists he was one of the first to succumb to the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s. This rewarding retrospective reveals Moufarreges impressive range, progressing from the small tapestries he made with a lap loom as a young man in Beirut to the scroll-like horizontal panels of his final years in New York, which combine Spider-Man, Santa Claus, and figures from Japanese prints and Picasso paintings. (Lubow) 718-592-9700, queensmuseum.org

See the article here:
20 Art Exhibitions to View in N.Y.C. This Weekend - The New York Times

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on 20 Art Exhibitions to View in N.Y.C. This Weekend – The New York Times
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Photo Credit: Adam Jones / Wikimedia

Iranian authorities allegedly threatened to destroy the historic tomb of Esther and Mordechai in the city of Hamedan, and convert the site to a consular office for Palestine, according to ARAM, the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in Iran.

The organization said Sunday in a statement posted to the Twitter social networking site, members of the Iranian Basij attempted to raid the historic site yesterday in an act of revenge against the Israelis Palestinian peace plan by President Trump.

There is no way to independently confirm the report, but if it is true, it would not be the first time the site has been threatened.

Past Threats to the TombThe mausoleum of the Biblical Esther, Queen of Xerxes I, and her cousin Mordechai, is the most important Jewish pilgrimage site in Iran. The tomb is visited by numerous people every year as Iran remains home to the largest Middle East Jewish community after Israel.

The Tomb was added by Iran to its National Heritage List on December 9 2008, where it was to be under official government protection and responsibility. But that didnt last long.

In December 2010, a group of Islamists threatened to destroy the tomb claiming there were fears Israel might damage the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, according a report by Irans Mehr news agency.

Muslims beware they have started the destruction of Al-Aqsa mosque while their second sacred site in Iran, the Esther and Mordecai tomb is at peace and no Muslims make a sound, the protesters were quoted as saying by the agency at that time. We, the student basijis warn Zionist regime leaders if they assault the Al-Aqsa mosque in any way we will destroy the tomb of these lowly murderers.

Those who threatened to destroy the tomb were Basij members from the Abu Ali Sina University. (The Basij [Persian for mobilization] is a large paramilitary organization acting as the eyes and ears of the Islamic regime in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories and ethnic tribes throughout the country.)

Less than a year later, in September 2011, Iranian authorities downgraded the status of the shrine, removing an official sign at the mausoleum that declared it to be an official pilgrimage site.

Iran also took the opportunity to officially blame Esther and Mordechai for the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians even though the Islamic Republic of Iran was far from being formed at that point.

The Iranian FARS news agency said in a statement that Iran had chosen to ignore for the time being the responsibility of Esther and Mordechai for the massacre of 75,000 Iranians, which the Jews celebrate at Purim.

Threats But Probably No Destruction YetAccording to a report by the Iran Christian News Agency dated February 7, The Council for the Exploration of Student Mobilization of Hamadan Universities said in a statement to the United States, Israel and the Arab countries in the region that they will turn the tomb into a Palestinian Consulate if any action is taken.

The statement was made in retaliation for the unveiling of the Palestinian-Israeli peace plan, dubbed the Deal of the Century, described by the Basij as a vicious act of treachery, threatening, You will no longer find the tomb of Esther and Mordecai in the land of Hamadan.

According to the report, Ali Malmir, director-general of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism of Hamadan province told ISNA the statement showed a lack of awareness: This shrine is nationally registered and has no affiliation with the issue of the Palestinian consulate, or anything elsewhere, he said.

The invasion and destruction of sacred and ancient sites of religious minorities in Iran, especially those of Christians and Jews, has a long history, according to Mohabat News, an agency that appears to be affiliated with minority groups.

Part of this destruction is for the benefit of the pursuit of antique objects, but most of the destruction is organized and based on extremist Islamic ideologies, the news outlet said, adding that last month an ancient Armenian cemetery was attacked in Isfahan, with a large number of graves desecrated. No group claimed responsibility.

Read more here:
Report: Iran Threatens to Destroy Tomb of Esther and Mordechai - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on Report: Iran Threatens to Destroy Tomb of Esther and Mordechai – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Books coverage is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos.

For most of us, our gender is such a given that we may not be able to imagine the experiences of those for whom it is a source of struggle.

Two memoirs from the tail end of 2019, both of which are written by former members of Hasidic communities, help attune all of us to the inner worlds of people whose gender identity is at odds with their assigned sex.

In Becoming Eve, Abby Chava Stein recounts the experiences leading to her becoming the first openly transgender person to emerge from the Hasidic world.

Stein was born in 1991 in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to a respected rabbinic family descended from the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Hasidic Judaism). As the familys first son, Yisroel Avrom Stein was expected to assume a leading role in the community. And on paper, Steins first two decades looked much as one would expect: by the age of 20, Stein had been ordained as a rabbi, and had become a husband and father.

But Steins interior life was at odds with the fulfillment of these roles.

From her earliest years, Yisroel felt that she was a girl. At the age of 11, she composed a bedtime prayer asking God to allow her to awaken in a girls body.

Steins unhappiness led to acting out in school and depression. It also led to a spiritual search, which would include finding mystical texts that actually spoke to the disconnect she was experiencing.

Eventually, Stein felt that she could no longer be part of her community, and her marriage also came to an end. She moved to Manhattan, was accepted to Columbia University and began living as a woman with a new name.

One thing distinguishing Steins experience from that of most transgender people is that the above occurred without access to the outside world, as most Hasidic communities forbid television, the Internet and secular media (and Stein was doubly isolated because, although born in Brooklyn, she was a native Yiddish speaker not yet fluent in English).

Stein assumed that she was the only person to experience this split between her biological reality and her identity. Finally, already married, she got use of a smartphone and did a search in Hebrew, and found out that she was not alone.

Mimi Lemays What We Will Become also focuses on gender identity, but from the perspective of a parent.

Lemays middle child, Em, identified as a boy at a very early stage, and Lemay and her husband, Joe, struggled with how to respond. As it became clear that the child was suffering emotionally from being pushed to live as a girl, they eventually decided to support Ems gender transition at the age of 4.

Em entered kindergarten with a new name, Jacob, that he had chosen. Lemay records her own initial lack of confidence in the move. Concerned that adopting a male name would make it harder to shift course if Em chose not to live as a male, Lemay attempted to convince Em to take the name Yonah, which doubles as a male and female name. But Em was set on becoming Jacob.

Lemay intersperses this narrative with chapters recollecting her own earlier life. Lemay grew up in Hasidic communities in Israel and the United States, and spent a number of years in a seminary program in the isolated Orthodox community of Gateshead in northern England.

Frustrated by her teachers attitudes towards women and worldly knowledge, and scarred by a broken engagement, Lemay opted to return to the U.S. to attend college. Once outside the insular ultra-Orthodox world, she gradually shed her life of observance.

Both Stein and Lemay contend with two seismic shifts in their lives. One is coming to terms with gender-related issues, and the other is a struggle with Orthodox Judaism. In fact, Stein began a blog titled The Second Transition with the first transition being her exodus from Orthodoxy, and the second being her gender transition.

These two dramatic changes are closely linked, however. Stein writes that to live an authentic life, I would have to leave the community the most egregious offense imaginable. And, writing of herself in the third person, Lemay notes how that world, one of rarefied ultra-Orthodox Judaism, began to collapse in on her when she discovered the price she would have to pay to live an authentic life.

Both Stein and Lemay experience living in the Hasidic world in which members submit themselves both to Jewish law and to their communities expectations as incompatible with expressing their true selves, and, in the case of Lemay, with being the parent she needs to be.

Lemay comes to see leaving Orthodoxy as what created the possibility of responding to her childs needs: My Jacob, my son, could not have survived the world that I escaped. His light would surely have been diminished or worse, put out.

For such communities, conflicts between collective standards and individual needs are inherent challenges, to which they may respond with flexibility, rigidity or sheer denial. And the family is often the arena in which these questions are played out.

When Stein finally comes out as transgender to her father, he informs her of the possibility that he may never speak to her again. Lemays relationship with her mother carries much tension and pain, but also the possibility of evolution.

Although not part of such a community, I am left with the mystery of how I would respond as a parent to a child like Yisroel Stein or Em. Its a question that is impossible to answer, but reading both of these books has opened my heart further.

More here:

Leaving Orthodoxy: personal stories of gender and Hasidism - The Jewish News of Northern California

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on Leaving Orthodoxy: personal stories of gender and Hasidism – The Jewish News of Northern California
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

The judge in the East Ramapo voting-rights trial accused a key witness of lying on the stand Thursday, leading the school districts lawyer to suggest that the case was all but lost and sending it into uncharted territory as testimony is slated to wrap up soon.

The heated outburst came during testimony by Harry Grossman, a soft-spoken Orthodox Jewish member of the East Ramapo school board. In question after question, Grossman said he could not recall or didnt know basic facts laid out in text messages and emails between him and Orthodox political and communal operators relating to decisions about who should run for seats on the board.

I am offended by what I have seen here today, Judge Cathy Seibel thundered from her dais. I cannot tell a lie. I do not think this witness is credible, to say the least.

The sceneSeibels criticism coming amid indignant interjections from the lead lawyer for the district, David Butler seemed to push the relatively staid case into the realm of a TV courtroom drama. A trial that began with long discussions on the relative merits of different statistical methods for evaluating racial voting patterns began to reflect the emotion that has characterized the battle over budgets and power in the East Ramapo Central School District for more than a decade.

The district serves a set of suburbs in Rockland County, N.Y., about an hours drive north of Manhattan. Its schools enroll about 9,000 students, but it also provides state-mandated transportation and special-education services to some 30,000 children in private yeshivas. The Orthodox majority on the nine-member board has significantly cut teachers, teacher aides and after-school programs, rather than raise property taxes, as the rising private-school population has swelled transportation costs.

The questions asked of Grossman cut to the heart of the dispute: whether there is an informal slating organization that decides who should run for the board on behalf of the Orthodox community, then whips endorsements and votes for the chosen candidates.

The slating factor is part of the legal test, created by the U.S. Supreme Court, for lawsuits like this one contending violations of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. The East Ramapo plaintiffs, led by a local NAACP chapter, can use evidence of a slating organization to convince the judge that there is racial discrimination occurring in a voting system.

The NAACP argues that East Ramapos at-large voting system disenfranchises non-white voters, and is asking that it be replaced by a ward voting system based on geography in the highly segregated district. Such a system, the lawyers argue, would guarantee a voice on the board for the parents of public school students, more than 95% of whom are black or Latino.

Lawyers for the NAACP have argued in court filings and during the trial that a major force depressing representation of public-school advocates on the board is this supposed slating organization. They say it is composed of several prominent Hasidic figures, including a yeshiva administrator, a community center leader, a former mayor of a Hasidic enclave and an anti-tax activist, among others. Those figures help candidates secure endorsements from Hasidic rabbis, the plaintiffs say, create signs, place ads for their candidates and provide free transportation to the polls for voters.

Trial document

A WhatsApp chat between Grossman and Yehuda Weissmandl, a board member.

Trial document

A WhatsApp chat between Grossman and Hersh Horowitz.

The existence of such an organization has been repeatedly dismissed by district lawyers, who have likened the accusation to classic anti-Semitic canards.

Thats part of the grand conspiracy of a shadowy cabal of Orthodox Jews who control election outcomes in East Ramapo, Butler said in his opening remarks. Instead, he said, the people being fingered as part of such a group are just a disorganized group of interested people from the Orthodox community, who help organize support for candidates who will promote policies preferred by Orthodox East Ramapo residents.

Opponents of the Orthodox-controlled board have long suspected there is a slating groupand long been accused of anti-Semitism for saying so.

The night before the election and those who want to keep the balance of power in their favor, Eric Goodwin, a two-time candidate for the board, wrote in a Facebook post in 2017. Spending the night at your religious establishments will not mask your master plan. East Ramapo is watching your every move.

Testifying in the trial this week, Goodwn denied that this post was anti-Semitic, saying that he was referring to the few individuals he suspected were orchestrating the successful board campaigns, not Orthodox Jews generally.

Evidence presented in court so far has shown that candidates who run with the support of the Orthodox community do not generally gather the hundreds of signatures necessary for their own nominating petitions, dont buy ads, print fliers or make media appearances. Yet they have won some elections by nearly a two-to-one margin. Several current and former board members have testified that they did not know who gathered signatures for their petitions.

Including Grossman. And when he claimed ignorance that certain prominent people were directly involved in such efforts on his behalf, it pushed past the breaking point of Seibels patience.

Grossman was not the first witness to irk the judge in questions over the slating organization. Other board members and someone the plaintiffs claim is part of the slating group had also frustrated her with a series of similar I-dont-recall responses in their testimony earlier this week. And one key witnessthe yeshiva administrator, Rabbi Yehuda Oshryhas refused service of a subpoena to testify for weeks, according to NAACP lawyers.

I would hate to have to get a U.S. Marshall to arrest a rabbi, Seibel said on the third day of the trial. But well see.

But Grossman really exasperated her. At the beginning of his testimony, he said that he had no idea about what role a man named Shaya Glick played in helping candidates get elected to the board. Yet in WhatsApp chat logs shown in court, the two discussed media strategy and exchanged messages that strongly suggested that Rabbi Oshry, decided the candidates and gathered signatures for them.

Trial document

A chat between Grossman and Hersh Horowitz.

At one point in their WhatsApp exchange, Grossman asked Glick if any candidates had been selected for the 2017 elections.

Ive never known who coordinates this, Grossman wrote to Glick.

Whoever brings in enough signatures, Glick replied. Lol.

When Grossman could not answer what the this was that was being coordinated, Seibel interjected.

Mr. Grossman, I rarely say this, she said. But you did take a solemn vow to tell the truthunder penalty of perjury.

Grossman continued to maintain he didnt know what this was.

Soon after, he was shown another text message in which he said that a man named Mark was reaching out to synagogues ahead of the 2017 election. Grossman testified that he didnt know who Mark was, despite the fact that a man named Mark Berkowitz was another member of the Orthodox-backed slate.

The NAACP lawyer questioning him then pulled up more WhatsApp messages in which Grossman asked Glick about putting paid ads for the Orthodox-backed slate in an Orthodox newsletter, and going back and forth about an op-ed that Glick wrote for Monsey.com, a local Orthodox news site. Both exchanges fueled Seibels frustration that Grossman had not been truthful when he said he didnt know what role Glick played in East Ramapo school board elections.

Butler, who is representing both the district and Grossman individually, responded forcefully to Seibel, asking her if she was really accusing Grossman of lying. She said she would read back her personal notes and show every place she noted where she thought Grossman was perjuring himself.

I dont usually like to preview my credibility determinations before submitting a verdict, she said. But, she added, He made his bed and now hes lying in it.

After the days session ended at Seibels preferred time of 2:30 p.m.before the district had an opportunity to cross-examine Grossmanshe gathered Butler and lawyers from both sides in a sidebar. The courtroom was deadly silent, perhaps the better for lawyers and lingering journalists to hear what was being said.

Thats not definitive, Seibel said to Butler at one point. You could still win this case!

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at feldman@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

Read this article:

East Ramapo trial judge accuses board member of lying on the stand - Jewish Journal

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on East Ramapo trial judge accuses board member of lying on the stand – Jewish Journal
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

MIAMI With its boarded-up facade eerily lit by a round Miami Beach moon, the Ocean Terrace Hotel looks abandoned. But when the blank metal doors swung open on a recent February evening, history suddenly came to life.

In one room, a relentless Christian temperance crusader described how she brought down a Prohibition-era den of iniquity on the corner. In another, an exuberant Jewish couple on their 1956 honeymoon decided to abandon Brooklyn for the glamorous beachside neighborhood outside their window. It feels wonderful, said the honeymooning husband. Like paradise.

Elsewhere in the hotel, a black shoemaker shared admiring tales of Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, while Andrew Cunanan, who murdered Gianni Versace in front of his South Beach mansion, raved in an imaginary disco and a young Hasidic man negotiated his reluctant attraction to a flamboyant gay bartender.

They were all actors in Miami Motel Stories North Beach, the fourth edition of an immersive theater project that uses forgotten history to bring this citys diverse, eclectic and often gentrifying neighborhoods to life.

The Ocean Terrace is a derelict structure named for this picturesque but rundown beachfront street in North Beach, a quiet area 50-some blocks north of tourist-packed South Beach.

Audiences chose one of four themed tracks (including Glamour and Crime) and were guided in small groups, to tiny, elaborately designed rooms in which the interactive scenes played out. Tickets for the show, running until the end of March and co-directed by Ana Margineanu and Tai Thompson, are $70.

Even as Motel Stories reveals North Beachs multifaceted past, the area is headed for more change. The development company Ocean Terrace Holdings, which owns the former hotel, will soon turn the street much like Ocean Drive in pre-boom South Beach into an upscale complex of condos, stores, and a public park, restoring two historic hotels but leaving just the facades of the rest.

The project is part of a wave of development flooding Miamis culturally distinctive neighborhoods, including those where other Miami Motel Stories have taken place.

Tanya Bravo, the producing artistic director of Juggerknot Theater Company, which produces Motel Stories, said the series honors a communitys history during an inevitable transformation.

We know theres gentrification, said Bravo, a Miami native. What we can do as artists is tell the story before the change comes. A heightened reality happens in this building. Were peeling off the wallpaper, archiving history.

Bravo and Juan C. Sanchez, the projects playwright and co-creator, aim not only to entertain, but to foster connection in a city where decades of arrivals often split into ethnic enclaves. One result is Miamians tend to know little about the citys history or groups besides their own.

Once we know weve all had a place here, we begin to see ourselves in each other more, said Sanchez, who spends months researching each show.

The pair, longtime friends, came up with the concept in 2016. Sanchez, whose parents emigrated from Cuba, had just finished Paradise Motel, a traditional play that told the story of Little Havana through decades at a fictional motel.

Bravo, returning to the arts after years in corporate marketing, had discovered immersive theater by acting in the New York City show Broken City, set on the Lower East Side. She suggested staging a version of Sanchezs play in a real Little Havana hotel.

The 2017 production, the first significant immersive theater produced here, was a hit, drawing a diverse, youthful crowd. That led to Motel Stories in the MiMo, or Miami Modern, District; in Wynwood, famous for its street murals; and now in North Beach.

The veteran theater critic Christine Dolen, who has seen all of the iterations, said the latest version had fewer clear standout vignettes. Yet what Juggerknot reliably delivers a dramatic deep dive into a neighborhoods changing character throughout time shines through again, she wrote in ArtburstMiami.com.

One theme in the North Beach show is the areas history of discrimination. Until the Civil Rights Act, blacks had to have work permits to be on Miami Beach, and to leave at sundown.

Luckner Lucky Bruno, 42, who plays the black shoemaker (based on an elderly man whos owned a nearby shop since the 1970s), remembers how tense family trips to the beach were for his parents.

There are so many rights that are threatened now, in Miami and America, he said. I feel even more responsibility to remind people we are all part of this patchwork.

Sanchez also featured the neighborhoods notoriously colorful past, with a 60s gangster lamenting the loss of a mobsters paradise. A quarreling, undocumented Argentine couple represents the many immigrants who led to the area being dubbed Little Buenos Aires in the early 2000s.

The historic segments mesh with a parallel plot, a fictional indie film shoot that can seem like ironic commentary on the shows idealism. I love history! proclaims the actor Alex Alvarez, as a bombastic film director. North Beach is where dreams come to live they kick ass!

Yet theres a tension underlying the project. All the Motel Stories have been hosted by hotel owners and developers who are likely to change neighborhoods in ways that push out the culturally distinctive, working and middle-class people portrayed in the shows.

Ocean Terrace Holdings recently emerged from a sometimes contentious five-year process over plans for the neglected North Beach street, where several picturesque hotels have been closed for years. Some neighborhood activists opposed a project they saw as threatening to turn their affordable community into another pricey, tourist-driven South Beach.

Im tired of giving in all over Miami Beach to developers greed, said Marsha Gilbert, a lifelong North Beach resident, at the City Council meeting last August where the Ocean Terrace project was approved, according to a story in the Miami New Times.

Sandor Scher, who owns Ocean Terrace Holdings with his partner Alex Blavatnik (a brother of Len Blavatnik, the multibillionaire international entrepreneur), said its not surprising that residents would have concerns about a project that he said will be transformational.

He predicted that new business and visitors to Ocean Terrace will restore the neighborhoods dynamism which is what attracted many of the characters portrayed in Motel Stories in the first place. The company did repairs and got permits so the show could use the abandoned hotel, and is hosting the production for free.

Arts and culture have been a big part of finding a way to activate our buildings, give back to the community, do something that creates interest in North Beach and Ocean Terrace, Scher said.

That is something the Motel Stories artists believe is worth doing.

I dont think any city has come up with a solution to gentrification, said June Raven Romero, who plays the temperance crusader. Every city is battling this monster. Maybe this is not an answer, but a conversation.

Not long after the show closes, all but the facade of the Ocean Terrace will be demolished. All the ghosts were evoking now wont have a realm, said Bruno. But we are at least giving it that last energy. Remember me, and Ill always remember you.

The rest is here:

You Cant Check In, But You Can Watch - The New York Times

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on You Cant Check In, But You Can Watch – The New York Times
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

The funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama is the fourth by Ziegler produced by Theater J

The Wanderers by Anna Ziegler begins performances in the renovated Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater at the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center on February 19, 2020 and continues through March 15, 2020. Theater Js DC premiere will be directed by Amber McGinnis. The press is invited to Opening Night on Monday, February 24 at 7:30 PM.

In The Wanderers, Esther and Schmuli are Satmar Hasidic Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldnt be more different. The play explores the hidden connections between these seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.

The Wanderers was previously produced at San Diegos Old Globe, where it won the 2018 San Diego Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play and was included in the San Diego Tribunes Best of 2018 list. Theater J gives the play its second production, and New Yorks Roundabout Theatre Company has recently announced an off-Broadway production in 2021.

The Wanderers invites us into the lives of two Jewish couples (one Orthodox, one secular), both straining inside marriages that confine them, as they imagine and hope for more, says Theater J Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr. It is an aching and beautiful play about the universal search for happiness, the way we seek the new and exciting, and the way that experiences are handed down from one generation to the next.

Ziegler is an award-winning playwright whose widely-produced Photograph 51 won Londons 2016 WhatsOnStage award for best new play, for a production starring Nicole Kidman. Photograph 51 was also selected a Best of the Year play by The Washington Post, The Telegraph, and The Chicago Tribune. Ziegler currently has five active commissions and over a dozen productions of her plays slated for the 19/20 season. Of the remarkable breadth of characters and milieu on display in her work, Ziegler states that, I am drawn to things that are not black and white, where there can be discussion afterwards about whether people did the right thing, and whether or not it makes them a bad person if they did the wrong thing.

The Wanderers will be Theater Js fourth production of a Ziegler piece, having staged Photograph 51 in 2011, Another Way Home in 2016, and Actually in 2018. Says Immerwahr, Theater J is proud to be Anna Zieglers artistic home in DC.

The cast includes Tessa Klein, Jamie Smithson, Alexander Strain (seen recently in Theater Js Sheltered), Dina Thomas, and Kathryn Tkel.

The Wanderers runs from February 19 through March 15. For more information, click here.

Read the original post:

Theatre News: 'The Wanderers' by Anna Ziegler to have Washington, DC Debut at Theater J - MD Theatre Guide

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on Theatre News: ‘The Wanderers’ by Anna Ziegler to have Washington, DC Debut at Theater J – MD Theatre Guide
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

A bochur was kvetching to a shliach at a farbrengen is a perfect sentence, rules the Oxford English Dictionary, which recently added a number of Jewish terms and words.

By Anash.org writer

The Oxford English Dictionary recently includes a selection of Yiddish terms and words, the Times of Israel reported, with some entries not particularly complimentary, such as bagel a derogatory and offensive word in the US for a Jew.

We reflect, rather than dictate, how language is used which means we include words which may be considered sensitive and derogatory. These are always labelled as such, the OED said in a statement.

The following is a sampling of the dictionarys latest additions:

bochur, n.: A boy or young man; spec. a student ofTalmudic and rabbinical writings at a yeshiva (yeshiva n.). Cf. yeshiva bochurn.

chrain[Yiddish], n.: Horseradish; spec. apiquant sauce made with grated horseradish, vinegar, and (sometimes) beetroot,used as a condiment and traditionally served with

chutzpadik[Yiddish], adj.: Esp. in Jewish usage:showing chutzpah; impudent, impertinent; audacious, very self-confident.

farbrengen, n.: A Hasidic gathering, usually with eating, drinking, singing, and discussion of Hasidic teachings, held especially on the Sabbath and other festivals

kvetchy[Yiddish], adj.: Given to or characterized by complaining or criticizing; ill-tempered, irritable.

shaliach, n.: An emissary or agent; a representative or proxy. Also (in Jewish worship): a person responsible for leading the communal worship of a synagogue; =

unterfirer, n.: In Jewish usage: (at a Jewish wedding) a person who leads or accompanies the bride or groom to the chuppah (chuppah n.).

The rest is here:

Yiddish-Turned-English in the Oxford Dictionary - Anash.org - Good News

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on Yiddish-Turned-English in the Oxford Dictionary – Anash.org – Good News
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

SOUTH FORT MYERS

A vigilant friend likely stopped a mass shooting in Southwest Florida. A plot to shoot up a south Fort Myers synagogue was foiled because a suspects friend went to police. And a security official at another local synagogue said safety measures being implemented at places of worship nationwide have become necessity.

Lee County Sheriffs Office says Alfredo Sanchez, 43, had a stockpile of weapons at his fingertips and several people couldve died if he carried out a plan he shared with a friend.

Sanchez and his family had been regularly attending Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida in south Fort Myers, which is where Sanchez is accused of speaking about targeting for a shooting.

Some of the synagogues and temples we spoke to have been stepping up their security prior to this incident.

One safety and security official at a nearby temple said its unfortunate places of worship need safety and security councils, but its necessary.

Berny Aronson is in charge of security at Temple Beth-El in south Fort Myers.

Ive never seen it this bad, Aronson said. No matter where you go, people are on edge.

Aronson was bothered after hearing a nearby synagogue was the target of a potential shooting.

We try and leave it at the door when we come here for services on Friday night, Aronson said. Its supposed to be joyful and uplifting.

Aronson believes anti-Semitism is on the rise. Thats why his temple upped its security, not just cameras but spending what they can to make sure deputies are here to protect congregants.

Its a financial burden for the temple to be honest with you, Aronson said. We cant do without it. Today, you cant do without it.

One of the most troubling parts of this story for Aronson is hearing the suspect, Sanchez, was a member of the synagogue he planned to attack for close to a year.

He comes to the synagogue; he prays; he studies; he volunteers; he helps out, said Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz of the Chabad in an interview with WINK News. So, yes, absolutely, it was a surprise. We had no inkling of any of this stuff.

Rich Kolko, WINK News Safety & Security Specialist, says this should serve as a reminder that all places of worship need to be prepared.

A lot of the attacks that have happened at the religious sites, South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, they were not in big cities. Theyre small areas, Kolko said. So every religious facility is vulnerable and has to take the appropriate steps to protect themselves and their congregants.

Sanchez faces charges of possession of ammunition and firearms by a felon. Whether he will also face federal charges is something investigators are still looking at.

Its not a waste of money, Aronson said. Its a deterrent. Its something that we need.

See the original post here:

SWFL synagogue security official says increased safety is necessary at places of worship - Wink News

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on SWFL synagogue security official says increased safety is necessary at places of worship – Wink News
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Conservative

AGUDATH BNAI ISRAEL: Meister Road at Pole Ave., Lorain. Mark Jaffee, Ritual Director. SAT. 10 a.m. 440-282-3307. abitemplelorain.com

BETH EL CONGREGATION: 750 White Pond Dr., Akron. Rabbi Elyssa Austerklein, Hazzan Matthew Austerklein. FRI. Young Family Shabbat 5:30 p.m.; SAT. 9:15 a.m.; SUN. 8:45 a.m.; WED./FRI. 7:30 a.m. 330-864-2105. bethelakron.com.

BNAI JESHURUN-Temple on the Heights: 27501 Fairmount Blvd., Pepper Pike. Rabbis Stephen Weiss and Hal Rudin-Luria; Stanley J. Schachter, Rabbi Emeritus; Cantor Aaron Shifman. FRI. Shabbat Service 6 p.m.; SAT. Morning service with guest speaker 9 a.m., 6 p.m.; SUN. 8 a.m., 6 p.m.; MON. 7/7:30 a.m., 6 p.m.; TUES.-WED. 6:50/7:15 a.m., 6 p.m.; THURS. 7/7:30 a.m., 6 p.m.; FRI. 7/7:30 a.m. 216-831-6555. bnaijeshurun.org.

MONTEFIORE: One David N. Myers Parkway., Beachwood. Services in Montefiore Maltz Chapel. Rabbi Akiva Feinstein; Cantor Gary Paller. FRI. 3:30 p.m.; SAT. Service 10:30 a.m. 216-360-9080.

PARK SYNAGOGUE-Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo Cong.: Park MAIN 3300 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights; Park EAST 27500 Shaker Blvd., Pepper Pike. Rabbi Joshua Hoffer Skoff, Rabbi Sharon Y. Marcus, Milton B. Rube, Rabbi-in-Residence, Cantor Misha Pisman. FRI. 6 p.m. (Park East); SAT. 9 a.m. (Park East), 6 p.m. (Park Main); SUN. 8:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. (both Park East); MON.-FRI. 7:30 a.m., 6 p.m. (both Park East). 216-371-2244; TDD# 216-371-8579. parksynagogue.org.

SHAAREY TIKVAH: 26811 Fairmount Blvd., Beachwood. Rabbi Scott B. Roland; Gary Paller, Cantor Emeritus. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat 6 p.m.; SAT. 9 a.m.; SUN. Minyan 9 a.m. 216-765-8300. shaareytikvah.org.

BETH EL-The Heights Synagogue, an Independent Minyan: 3246 Desota Ave., Cleveland Heights. Rabbi Michael Ungar; Rabbi Moshe Adler, Rabbi Emeritus. SAT. Morning Service 9:15 a.m., Shabbat Morning for Learners 10:20 a.m. 216-320-9667. bethelheights.org.

THE SHUL-An Innovative Center for Jewish Outreach: 30799 Pinetree Road, #401, Pepper Pike. Rabbi Eddie Sukol. THURS. Toast & Torah at Corky & Lennys 8 a.m. See website or call for Shabbat and holiday service dates, times and details. 216-509-9969. rabbieddie@theshul.us. theshul.us.

AHAVAS YISROEL: 1700 S. Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights. Rabbi Boruch Hirschfeld. 216-932-6064.

BEACHWOOD KEHILLA: 25400 Fairmount Blvd., Beachwood. Rabbi Ari Spiegler, Rabbi Emeritus David S. Zlatin. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat 5:48 p.m.; SAT. Shacharit 9 a.m., Study Group 4:50 p.m., Minchah/Maariv 5:35 p.m., Havdalah 6:50 p.m.; SUN. 7:30 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 5:55 p.m.; MON.-THURS. Shacharit 6:30 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 7:45 p.m.; FRI. Shacharit 6:30 a.m. 216-556-0010.

FROMOVITZ CHABAD CENTER: 21625 Chagrin Blvd. #210, Beachwood. Rabbi Moshe Gancz. SAT. Morning service followed by kiddush lunch 10 a.m. 216-647.4884, clevelandjewishlearning.com

GREEN ROAD SYNAGOGUE: 2437 S. Green Road, Beachwood. Rabbi Binyamin Blau; Melvin Granatstein, Rabbi Emeritus. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat 5:55 p.m.; SAT. Hashkama Minyan 7:45 a.m., Shacharit 9 a.m., Youth Minyan 9:30 a.m., Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m., Rabbis Talmud Class 4:40 p.m., Minchah 5:40 p.m., Havdalah 6:50 p.m.; SUN. Shacharit 8 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 6 p.m.; MON. Shacharit 6:40 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 6 p.m.; TUES. Shacharit 6:30 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 6 p.m.; WED. Shacharit 6:30 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 6:05 p.m.; THURS. Shacharit 6:40 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 6:05 p.m.; FRI. Shacharit 6:40 a.m. 216-381-4757. GreenRoadSynagogue.org.

HEIGHTS JEWISH CENTER SYNAGOGUE: 14270 Cedar Road, University Heights. Rabbi Raphael Davidovich. FRI. 7:15 p.m.; SAT Morning Parsha Class 8:30 a.m., Morning Services 9 a.m., Minchah 30 minutes before sunset; SUN. 8 a.m., 15 minutes before sunset; MON.-THURS. 6:45 a.m., 15 minutes before sunset; FRI. 6:45 a.m. 216-382-1958, hjcs.org.

KHAL YEREIM: 1771 S. Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights. Rabbi Yehuda Blum. 216-321-5855.

MENORAH PARK: 27100 Cedar Road, Beachwood. Rabbi Howard Kutner; Associate Rabbi Joseph Kirsch. SAT. 9:30 a.m., 4:15 p.m.; SUN. Minyan & Breakfast 8 a.m. 216-831-6500.

OHEB ZEDEK CEDAR SINAI SYNAGOGUE: 23749 Cedar Road, Lyndhurst. Rabbi Noah Leavitt. FRI. Minchah 5:50 p.m.; SAT. 9 a.m., Minchah/Seudah Shlishit 5:35 p.m., Maariv 6:35 p.m., Havdalah 6:50 p.m.; SUN. 8 a.m.; MON.-FRI. Shacharit 7 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 5:40 p.m. 216-382-6566. office@oz-cedarsinai.org. oz-cedarsinai.org.

SEMACH SEDEK: 2004 S. Green Road, South Euclid. Rabbi Yossi Marozov. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat at candlelighting; SAT. 9:30 a.m., Minchah at candlelighting. 216-235-6498.

SOLON CHABAD: 5570 Harper Road, Solon. Rabbi Zushe Greenberg. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat 5:45 p.m.; SAT. Torah Study 9 a.m., Service 10 a.m., Minchah 1:30 p.m.; SUN. 8 a.m.; MON-FRI. 7 a.m. 440-498-9533. office@solonchabad.com. solonchabad.com.

TAYLOR ROAD SYNAGOGUE: 1970 S. Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights. SAT. Shacharit 9 a.m.; SUN. Daf Yomi 7 p.m., Shacharit 8 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 5:15 p.m.; WEEKDAYS Daf Yomi 6 a.m., Shacharit 6:45 a.m., Minchah/Maariv 5:15 p.m. 216-321-4875.

WAXMAN CHABAD CENTER: 2479 S. Green Road, Beachwood. Rabbis Shalom Ber Chaikin and Moshe Gancz. FRI. Minchah 5:55 p.m.; SAT. Shacharit 10 a.m., Minchah 5:50 p.m.; WEEKDAYS 6 p.m. 216-381-1770. waxmanchabadcenter@gmail.com.

YOUNG ISRAEL OF GREATER CLEVELAND: Hebrew Academy (HAC), 1860 S. Taylor Road; Beachwood (Stone), 2463 Green Road. Rabbis Naphtali Burnstein and Aharon Dovid Lebovics. FRI. Minchah 5:55 p.m.; SAT. Shacharit (Stone) 8/9 a.m., (HAC) 9 a.m., Minchah 5:40 p.m., Maariv 6:49 p.m., Motzei Shabbat 6:57 p.m.; Shacharit: (Stone) SUN. 7:15/8/8:30 a.m., MON./THURS. 6:40/7:50 a.m., TUES./WED. 6:30/7:40 a.m., FRI. 6:45/7:50 a.m., (HAC) SUN. 7:20 a.m., MON./THURS. 6:40 a.m., TUES./WED. 6:40 a.m., FRI. 6:45 a.m. WEEKDAYS Minchah 6 p.m. 216-382-5740. office@yigc.org.

ZICHRON CHAIM: 2203 S. Green Road, Beachwood. Rabbi Moshe Garfunkel. DAILY 6 a.m., 6:45 a.m. 216-291-5000.

KOL HALEV (Clevelands Reconstructionist Community): The Ratner School. 27575 Shaker Blvd., Pepper Pike. Rabbi Steve Segar. SAT. Mindful Jewish Practice 9:30 a.m., Musical Shabbat Service 10:30 a.m. 216-320-1498. kolhalev.net.

AM SHALOM of Lake County: 7599 Center St., Mentor. Spiritual Director Renee Blau; Assistant Spiritual Director Elise Aitken. 440-255-1544.

ANSHE CHESED Fairmount Temple: 23737 Fairmount Blvd., Beachwood. Rabbis Robert Nosanchuk and Joshua Caruso; Cantor Sarah Sager; Jordana Chernow-Reader, Rabbi-Educator. FRI. Shabbat Evening Service 6:15 p.m.; SAT. Torah Study 9:15 a.m., Shabbat Minyan 10:30 a.m. 216-464-1330. fairmounttemple.org.

BETH ISRAEL-The West Temple: 14308 Triskett Road, Cleveland. Rabbi Enid Lader. Alan Lettofsky, Rabbi Emeritus. FRI. Service 7:30 p.m.; SAT. Torah Study 9:30 a.m., Service 11 a.m. 216-941-8882. thewesttemple.com.

BETH SHALOM: 50 Division St., Hudson. Rabbi Michael Ross. FRI. Kent State Hillel Shabbat service and dinner 6 p.m. 330-656-1800. tbshudson.org

BNAI ABRAHAM-The Elyria Temple: 530 Gulf Road, Elyria. Rabbi Lauren Werber. SAT. Shabbat Service with anniversary and birthday blessings 10:30 a.m. 440-366-1171. tbaelyria.org

SUBURBAN TEMPLE-KOL AMI: 22401 Chagrin Blvd., Beachwood. Rabbi Allison Bergman Vann. FRI. Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6 p.m., Come Grow With Me Shabbat 6 p.m.; SAT. Torah Study 9:15 a.m. 216-991-0700. suburbantemple.org.

TEMPLE EMANU EL: 4545 Brainard Road, Orange. Rabbi Steven L. Denker; Cantor David R. Malecki; Daniel A. Roberts, Rabbi Emeritus. FRI. Doing it Jewishly 5:30 p.m., Shabbat Service 6:15 p.m.; SAT. Parshat HaShavuah 9 a.m., Service 10:30 a.m. 216-454-1300. teecleve.org.

TEMPLE ISRAEL: 91 Springside Drive, Akron. Rabbi Josh Brown. Cantor Kathy Fromson. FRI. Service 6:15 p.m.; SAT. Torah Study 9 a.m., Morning Service 10:30 a.m. 330-665-2000 templeisraelakron.org.

TEMPLE ISRAEL NER TAMID: 1732 Lander Road, Mayfield Heights. Rabbi Matthew J. Eisenberg, D.D.; Frederick A. Eisenberg, D.D., Founding Rabbi Emeritus; Cantorial Soloist Rachel Eisenberg. FRI. 7:30 p.m. 440-473-5120. tintcleveland.org.

THE TEMPLE-TIFERETH ISRAEL: 26000 Shaker Blvd., Beachwood. Senior Rabbi Jonathan Cohen; Rabbi Roger C. Klein and Rabbi Stacy Schlein; Cantor Kathryn Wolfe Sebo. FRI. Pre-Oneg 5:15 p.m., Kabbalat Shabbat 6 p.m., TGIS 7:30 p.m.; SAT. Torah study 9:15 a.m., Havdalah & Conversation 5:30 p.m. 216-831-3233. ttti.org.

JEWISH SECULAR COMMUNITY: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, 21600 Shaker Blvd., Shaker Heights. jewishsecularcommunity.org.

THE CHARLOTTE GOLDBERG COMMUNITY MIKVAH: Park Synagogue, 3300 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights. By appointment only: 216-371-2244, ext. 135.

THE STANLEY AND ESTHER WAXMAN COMMUNITY MIKVAH: Waxman Chabad House, 2479 South Green Road, Beachwood. 216-381-3170.

This is a paid listing with information provided by congregations.

View post:

Synagogue service times: Week of February 21 | Synagogues - Cleveland Jewish News

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Synagogue service times: Week of February 21 | Synagogues – Cleveland Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

You dont often see rabbis on business journals 40 under 40 lists, but Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham made the San Antonio Business Journals list in 2018, which was a first for a clergy member.

Despite that recognition of his success in Texas, Abraham recently decided to leave Congregation Agudas Achim for a rabbinic post at Congregation Bnai Amoona. He starts July 1.

Abraham, 37, spoke with the Jewish Light about his time in San Antonio and what led him to accept the position at the Conservative synagogue here. His responses have been edited for space.

What led you to Bnai Amoona?

My wife, Lauren, and I had made the decision about four months ago that we were going to be leaving San Antonio, where we had been for the last six years, and not because we havent enjoyed the synagogue or San Antonio. The Jewish day school in San Antonio unfortunately closed a couple of years ago, and we have three boys, 9, 7 and 2, and we really made the decision that we wanted to move to a city that had a really vibrant, viable Jewish community day school.

I will preface that with saying that I am not always a believer in fate, but a lot of times I am. I happened to be going in the second week of December to the [United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Rabbinical Assembly] convention in Boston and, unfortunately, there are no nonstop flights from San Antonio to anywhere in the northeast, so I had to switch planes in St. Louis.

By total chance, as I was waiting at the airport to switch planes, Rabbi [Carnie] Rose and [Bnai Amoona] president Jeff Singer and Liessa Alperin, [director of innovative learning and engagement] were heading to Boston for the same conference. In the moment it felt not so lucky, but in the end, it was great. Our flight ended up being delayed for three hours. We ended up talking for the whole three hours, and I told them that I had decided I was going to be leaving San Antonio.

I knew Rabbi Rose from other conferences, and they all perked up and said, What incredible timing. Were looking for a new associate rabbi as well. And so one thing led to another and by the end of the conference, Jeff Singer was telling me, We really want you to consider coming to Bnai Amoona.

I ended up doing a couple of Skype interviews with their committee, and they had us out in mid-January. We really fell in love with the synagogue and community.

How did you end up being on the 40 under 40 list?

The main reason is we have grown the synagogue in San Antonio from a little under 450 families to well over 600 families in five years. It was a recognition of growing a business, albeit a nonprofit and a synagogue. Its unusual for a synagogue in todays world to grow at that pace, and so that was the main reason for the recognition.

I have also done a lot of outreach in the larger community, working on different interfaith projects and trying to bring the whole community together around issues that we can all agree upon and not letting the politics of our day divide us.

Why were you able to grow Agudas Achim when other Conservative synagogues are shrinking?

I think the biggest thing in todays world to succeed, especially as a Conservative synagogue but I think synagogues in general, is you have to meet people where they are. You cant just stay within the walls of the synagogue and expect that people are going to come knocking at the proverbial door and say, Tell me about your synagogue. I am now at every community event you can imagine trying to meet people. Im hanging out a lot in the lobby of the JCC, just places where you might meet people and just building on those conversations. Its really all about relationship building.

What was some of the interfaith work that you are most proud of?

We built a really great relationship here with the Muslim community. We do this really phenomenal event with them every year during Ramadan when they do Iftar, their version of break the fast at the end of each day.

We have this event on Saturday night where we come in and have a dialogue about Jewish-Muslim relations. We allow people to ask questions and to meet each other, and we always play a little music from our different groups, and then we break the fast together. We always let them of course go through the line to get food first because they are fasting and we arent. We enjoy time together, and at the end of the night, we end with Havdalah, which has really been a phenomenal way to bring our cultures together.

I have also worked on the Keruv Initiative, which is really reaching out to interfaith families to get them or keep them involved in the Jewish community. You can look at all the polls and rates of Jews marrying non-Jews, so its important to not only accept that as the new normal of the 21st century but to actually really do outreach and show them that our synagogue is a place where they can feel welcome and very much a part of the community, so their non-Jewish spouse isnt going to feel alienated.

The Conservative stream does not allow rabbis to officiate interfaith weddings. What are your thoughts on that?

There was a ruling about a year and a half ago that allows Conservative rabbis to attend an interfaith wedding, and I think that has been a very positive step. Even though I may not be the main officiant, I can still be there to show my support.

Most millennial couples are not coming to a rabbi to officiate their wedding, whether they are interfaith couples or even Jewish couples. A lot of times it might be the parents or grandparents that are pushing that. But my experience is that I meet a lot of these couples long after they have gotten married, and I play the role of welcoming them in once they start having children and are looking for a spiritual home of some sort. I have found it important to be really open and welcoming beyond the actual wedding ceremony, which is one day out of their whole lives.

Original post:

Chance airport meeting led Texas rabbi to B'nai Amoona - St. Louis Jewish Light

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Chance airport meeting led Texas rabbi to B’nai Amoona – St. Louis Jewish Light
Tags: