When we go to Israel...

I just returned from the JEA (Jewish Educators Assembly) annual conference. No, it wasn't in Israel (I wish it had been), it was in Maryland however, the topic of the conference was the study of Israel. How do we address Israel in synagogue education. One thing all educators agree on is the importance of teaching about Israel, a real Israel not a mythic land of milk and honey. And I think we at B'nai Amoona do a good job. Israel is found throughout our educational curriculum. Israel education is in the ECC, Ramot Amoona and our youth groups. B'nai Amoona supports Israel in big and small ways. On February 14th we will be showing our love for Israel through an Israel Shabbat.

I want to share a very simple idea with you. In the future, when you are speaking with your children about Israel, instead of saying “if” we go to Israel, change that to “when” we go to Israel. When could be in two years, ten years or some indeterminate time in the future but it makes the statement that Israel is a place you have already decided is worth visiting. “If” implies: if we get around to it; if it is convenient; if we want to. Whereas “When” states when we can go we will. This allows your children to grow up thinking about when they go to Israel and not wonder if they should go to Israel.

Photo was taken in 2009 when I visited Israel as part of the Leadership Institute for Congregational School Educators. I can't wait to get back there.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." MLK

Sunday, January 18th will be Pardes’ sixth annual Tikkun Olam day. Throughout Pardes we are engaged in Tikkun Olam (making the work a better place) all year long in a multitude of ways from collecting cans door to door in Kadima, to baking cookies for fireman in the ECC, to Morah Jan’s mitzvah heroes in MKLC. We actively engage in Tikkun Olam all the time, so why do we set aside one day for Tikkun Olam day? Because when we are all come together and each of us share our small act of helping others, of righting wrongs we see in the world, we collectively make a big difference. And we do this on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend purposely to honor his memory, his struggles, and his message.

Dr. Martin Luther King is one of the most quotable figures of the 20th century. When we take the tenth graders to his memorial in Washington DC, I am always awed by the quotes on the memorial, how powerful and poignant they are almost 50 years later. One of his famous lines was, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Our job in the world is to try to repair the injustices we see, L’takin et haolam to repair the world, to make a tikkun, a repair. That is why we have a Tikkun Olam day each year. We hope you will join us; everyone is welcome, on Sunday morning, January 18th as we try to make our small corner of the world better through our actions.

Mom, Dad, I need the computer to do my Hebrew Homework

If you hear, “Hey Mom, Dad, I need the computer to do my Hebrew Homework” your child is not trying to get some more gaming time out of you. This year in First, Third, Fourth and Fifth grades, our students Hebrew books, and the majority of their Hebrew homework, is connected to the Behrman House’s on-line learning center.

Behrman House has worked out some of the glitches from previous years and we are really excited that our students will be able to practice their hebrew letter recognition, reading and prayers on the computer. This software engages the students in games and reading review, it allows students to hear if they are reading the Hebrew correctly and it tracks each student's progress for the teacher.

On Sunday, December 14th at 11:15 in the library, we will have a training session for parents. Come learn how to access the on-line learning center, see what the program looks like and ask any questions you may have.

I hope too see many of you next Sunday.

Summer fun builds Jewish habits

Independence, trying out new skills, summer sun, trying on new identities, no parents, cool teenagers taking care of you, hanging out with your best friends for life and living Jewishly. These are all the benefits of attending a Jewish summer camp.

Jewish summer camp not only offers children the independence, fun and skill development of regular camp but also provides for living in a Jewish community, for several weeks with no outside influences. Jewish camp offers a space where being Jewish, doing Jewish and talking about Judaism is the norm, what everyone is doing, what is cool. Attending a Jewish overnight camp helps develop Jewish habits.

Camp Works: The Long-Term Impact of Jewish Overnight Camp shares the following insight:

Adults who attended Jewish overnight camps were
21% more likely to feel that being Jewish is very important
55% more likely to be emotionally attached to Israel
45% more likely to attend synagogue at least once a month
375 more likely to regularly lights Shabbat candles

For the full report: http://www.jewishcamp.org/static/website/uploads/Camp_Works_for_Web.pdf

Along with synagogue attendance, religious education, youth group experiences and home practices, Jewish overnight camps leads to committed and dedicated adult Jews. Adults who know about their Judaism and care about it.

We are having a Jewish camp fair next Sunday, Nov. 16th from 11:30-12:30. Come learn about some excellent area Jewish overnight camps. I am happy to speak with families about camp. I have visited three of our areas most popular camps and worked in Jewish overnight camps for five summers.

Screaming, dancing teenagers or Jewish living and learning at its finest

It may look like a bunch of screaming, dancing teenagers but really it's Jewish living and learning at its finest.

Our USY group is full of amazing teens. Wednesday nights is BAUSY (B'nai Amoona's USY) in Pardes. Each Wednesday these teenagers get together. They socialize, spending time with their Jewish friends. They plan exciting activities like Neon Night (seen in the video), social action opportunities like cookie baking for Lydia's house, educational trips to see The Diary of Anne Frank, 9th grade leadership group that meets each Sunday morning and Shabbat dinners.

This weekend, forty of our BAUSYniks are spending the weekend together at Trout Lodge.They will pray and learn on Shabbat, they will eat together and go ziplining, they will stay up late into the night and then ride home on a bus creating memories that will last them for years to come.

Throughout all of BAUSY's programs they weave leadership oppertunitites, Jewish educational experiences, and oppertunitites for living a Jewish life. BAUSY provides our children amazing experiences for today and excellent lessons for them to take with them as they go off to college.

Come join the bunch!

Rosh Pinah Certification

B’nai Amoona is receiving Rosh Pinah Certification on November 1^st.  This is an exciting moment for our congregation. The Rosh Pinah Cornerstone Certification process offers a way for organizations and institutions to meet the requirements of their special needs populations by leading them on a year-long journey to create meaningful, enduring change, producing a truly inclusive community. Certification not only serves those with special needs but also positively impacts the organization as a whole. By making deep, long-lasting change on all levels, we ensure that individuals and families of all abilities are included as integral parts of the Jewish community. B’nai Amoona will be the first organization outside the San Franscisco Bay Area to receive this National Certification.

This past year the inclusion committee and B’nai Amoona staff members have been working on the Rosh Pinah process. Here are some of the things we have accomplished:

·         Creation of an Inclusion Statement

·         Funded and hired an Inclusion coordinator for The Meyer Kranzberg Learning Center

·         Funded and hired an Inclusion coordinator for Camp Ramot Amoona

·         Creation of a second Family Bathroom for  increased accessibility

·         Added electronic door openers in the sanctuary building

·         Hosted special needs professional development for the Meyer Kranberg Learning Center teachers

·         Acquired a portable ramp for B’nai Amoona events that are help off campus

The Rosh Pinah process has also identified the following areas which we are in the process of working on:

·         Creation of  a speakers series targeted at different populations within the synagogue around the theme of inclusion

·         Improved synagogue signage relating to inclusion and access

·         Including the topic of inclusion on the agenda of each synagogue board and committee meeting at least once a year

·         Improved PR: Both telling our story and using inclusive language in synagogue publications, both print and electronic

·         Creation of Inclusion Advisors who help with the planning of synagogue programs

We should all continue to be proud of the on-going work that our community is engaged in, attempting to make everyone who wishes to be part of our community welcome. We still have more work in the area of inclusion but thanks to the dedicated members of our community, we are more inclusive than ever.

My house shall be a house of prayer for all.  Isaiah 56:7

כִּי בֵיתִי בֵּית-תְּפִלָּה יִקָּרֵא לְכָל-הָעַמִּים:

Simchat Torah

Shalom, well we have almost survived another high holiday season. But before it’s all over there is one more holiday to go, Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah (translation = Torah happiness) is the holiday where we celebrate both the ending and the beginning of the Torah’s yearly cycle. A portion of the Torah is read each Shabbat. When the rabbi’s were deciding how to divide the Torah into Parshot (weekly sections) they organized it so that the Torah would be read, in its entirety, each year.

Simchat Torah (Thursday evening)  is also an amazing, kid friendly holiday. We basically throw a big party in the synagogue to honor the Torah. There is singing, dancing, flag waving, candy apples and lots of fun! 

For Simchat Torah we read the very last parsha in the Torah and the very first. The last line says, "Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses - Whom the Lord singled out face to face, for the various signs and portents that the Lord sent him to display in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his courtiers and his whole country, and for all the great might and awesome power that Moses displayed before all Israel" (Deuteronomy 34:7). This leaves us with the word Israel as the last word of the Torah. Israel in Hebrew ends with the letter Lamed (ל).

The first sentence in the Torah is, "When God began to create heaven and earth - the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water - God said, "let there be light"; and there was light " (Genesis 1:1). The first word in Hebrew is Bereshit (In the beginning); Bereshit begins with the Hebrew letter Bet (ב).

So, if you take the last letter of the Torah, the Lamed of Israel and place it next to the first letter of Bereshit, the Bet you have a new word, בל which means heart. One explanation for this is that the words of the Torah are there for us only as words, but they come alive when we add our hearts into the conservation.