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Beit Sefer Picnic and Native Tree Planting

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Photos and Article Credit: Fred Feinberg

On Sunday, May 5, Beit Sefer students, teachers, and parents congregated (as congregations do!) at Country Farm Park for not only our annual picnic, but to help plant indigenous fruit trees at County Farm Park’s Pollinator Garden. We all first learned about indigenous vs. non-native species, then donned protective gloves and took up hoes, handsaws, and strangely powerful branch clippers. 

Implements in hand, we helped take several non-native honeysuckle trees down to stumps, clear away debris, and prepare the ground for planting trees and shrubs native to our area — paw paw, American plum, persimmon, and chestnut — learning about each from a park representative. While Gdolim and Yeladim cut away and hauled large branches, Ktanim cleared a patch of ground shrubs and aerated the soil, under the watchful eye and aching backs of parents and teachers.

Afterward, Stacy Weinberg Dieve presented our hardworking teachers and helpers — Clare, Shlomit, Aaron; Zander, Avi, Rose — with tokens our our collective appreciation. We all then gathered at the Pavilion to sing a Hebrew prayer and learn a two-part round from Rabbi Ora, after which we feasted on a variety of seasonal, vegetarian dishes prepared by Beit Sefer families: vegetable casserole, brioche, fruits, challah. The weather was literally perfect, and the children spent the time afterward running and frolicking in the playground. All in all, a wonderfully successful day!

Mimouna and Interfaith Activism: A Call to Justice Work

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The tradition of Mimouna originates in a time in Jewish-Muslim relations when communities shared food and traditions to mark the end of Passover. Before the start of Passover, Jews would give away their flour, yeast, and grain to their Muslim neighbors, who at the end of Passover would celebrate Mimouna by bringing sweets to share with their Jewish neighbors. This organic intermixing of traditions was beneficial to both cultural groups.

This tradition emerged in the same period as feudalism, Chaucer, the Vikings, and the Black Plague. From our current age of space ships, solar panels, and nanotechnology, we may believe that civilization has greatly evolved since then. But the act of being civil hasn’t necessarily grown at all.

A group of AARC member met this weekend in honor of Mimouna to discuss how we might cultivate the spirit of this tradition in our time and community. To spark discussion on the topic, Rabbi Ora provided us with a quote from an Aboriginal activist group in Queensland in the 1970s:

If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.

Aboriginal Activist Group, Queensland, 1970s.

This quote suggests that if we are to do good work, we must work together in a way that lifts us all up as one community. The question was brought to the table: how might we begin this process?

After many ideas from different angles and approaches were shared, the group agreed that Rabbi Ora and members of our community would form a committee to engage with the following ideas:

  • The first proposal was to establish an organizational relationship with Islamic groups in our area. Supporters of this idea would like to initiate relationships between our spiritual leaders, supported by a committee.
  • Another congregant suggested we engage in political activism in relationship to Israel, supporting politicians that advocate for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  • A complementary suggestion was to engage with members of the Muslim community one-on-one, based on already-existing relationships. Many members of our congregation are already participating in various interfaith efforts, including an interfaith book club and the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice.
  • A final wish was to focus on making a statement. One recommendation was to do so by publishing material in social and print media. Another suggested approach was to craft yard signs, tools for schools, and political support ad campaigns.

If you would like to participate in this interfaith activism committee, please email Rabbi Ora at rabbi@aarecon.org. We will update the community when we have begun taking steps to initiate these goals. What a gift it is to engage in our traditions in a new and invigorating way! L’Chaim!

How We Are Celebrating Mimouna This Year

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By: Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

Mimouna is a community celebration that can be traced back to medieval Morocco. Leading up to Passover, Moroccan Jews would turn over their flour, yeast and grain to their Muslim neighbors. On the afternoon of the last day of Passover, these neighbors would show up with gifts of flour, honey, milk, butter, and green beans to be used to prepare post-Passover chametz dishes. That evening, Jews would host a Mimouna meal, sharing cakes, candies, and sweetmeats with their Muslim neighbors.

Last year, AARC held a Mimouna seder, during which we asked ourselves what relationships we already have with our local Muslim communities, and what relationships we want to cultivate.

The massacre at Tree of Life last fall, the massacre in Christchurch weeks ago, and most recently the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka remind us that (to paraphrase the seder’s Vehi She’Amda prayer) in every generation extremists will attempt to sow terror into the heart of religious communities.

The antidote to terror is togetherness. On Saturday night, we’ll have a guided conversation about growing allyship and friendship with our Muslim neighbors. Come with your ideas and questions! Sign up here to attend.

Passover and Counting the Omer

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By: Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

Beginning the second night of Passover, Jews around the world will begin counting the omer. The omer is counted every day for 7 weeks, ending with the holiday of Shavuot.

The 49 day-period between Passover and Shavuot marks two kinds of movement through time: the period of time between the first barley offering and the first wheat offering during the Temple era, and the transition from slavery to spiritual liberation.

During the Passover seder we recall the moment when our ancestors took their freedom. Although the Exodus happened in a matter of hours (hence the under-cooked matzah), Jewish tradition teaches that it took considerably longer for the Israelites to truly feel free; only once they received the Torah on Shavuot were the Israelites able to conceive of their role in redemption.

In Michigan, we’re far away from the wheat and barley harvests of Israel, as well as far from the experience of being enslaved. But as spring unfolds for us, counting the omer can help us shake off the stiffness of winter and recommit to the work of tikkun hanefesh (healing the soul) and tikkun olam (healing the world).

Some resources for counting the omer this year:

A brief meditation and exercise for each day from Rabbi Simon Jacobson

Daily themes from a variety of writers on RitualWell

More apps, books, and websites to help you count the omer

Beit Sefer Students help lead Saturday Morning Shabbat Services

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Last weekend’s Second Saturday Shabbat service was such a treat! We had the pleasure of listening to the thoughts and insight of our brilliant young G’dolim students. In preparation for their bnei mitzvah, the students practiced analyzing the parsha, asking meaningful questions, and participating in the Torah service.

Miles leading the congregation in a discussion about Torah portion Metzora

This week’s “Revolution Hebrew” lesson addressed the meaning of the word Torah. Congregants shared insights into how they felt the Torah had influenced their lives and how they have interacted with the text over time. The G’dolim had a lot to say about this topic. It was fascinating to hear how they are grappling with the material and how they understand the Torah to be a part of their lives.

Sylvie reading the English translation of this week’s Torah portion

One student commented that reading Torah was a process of “receiving knowledge,” while another felt that it was like “swimming in a stream of knowledge.” Another astute G’dolim student questioned the phrase ‘The One” as a way of addressing God, and examined what that means in terms of our understanding of God and Torah. It is amazing that these young students, most of them 12 years old, had the ability to deeply engage with this material.

Sam discussing his interpretation of Metzora

The students rounded out the service with a discussion of lashon hara, or “gossip.” They queried the function of gossip in our society and why it occurs. They asked for input from the congregation and led a lively discussion on the possible role of gossip as a useful tool for understanding ourselves and communicating within a community.

We look forward to hearing these students discuss their own Torah portions at their bnei mitzvah!

If you would like to get involved in Beit Sefer or start the process of Bnei Mitzvah,please see our website for more information. Jewish education is vibrant and alive at the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation!

Not Your Grandma’s Haggadah

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You may feel it’s time to retire your Grandma’s old Haggadah. Or perhaps you’re considering putting it in a drawer and trying something new, just this once. If so, this Passover you can celebrate with Haggadot ranging from one based on Hamilton, The Musical to another in the form of a graphic novel. You can even make your own on www.haggadot.com!

It seems fitting that we increasingly move beyond simple readings of the traditional story to more actively engage with our heritage. When Clare was practicing the Four Questions with Beit Sefer students last Sunday, she remarked, “Not only is Passover a holiday for asking questions, asking questions is what Judaism is all about!” Clare was of course correct that Judaism, and in particular Reconstructionism, begs us to interact with the material in order to ask questions, to learn, and to incorporate new ways of thinking into our lives. What better time to do this than at the Seder table with our friends and family?

In this week’s blog I have selected some new and interesting Haggadot for you to explore and potentially make use of this Passover. Enjoy!

Rabbi Ora has recommended Velveteen Rabbi, the website of Rabbi Rachel Barenblat. There you will find a Haggadah that focuses on poetry, mindfulness, systems of oppression, and a theology of liberation.

The Reconstructionist movement’s Haggadah features recommended outlines according to your demographic (younger children, older children, women, and interfaith families).

The American Jewish World Service’s Haggadah focuses on global justice.

Last but definitely not least, I couldn’t fail to celebrate the newly published work of AARC’s very own Carol Levin! Haggadah Reggata! is written especially for children and features beautiful, fanciful watercolor illustrations.

Whether these creative Haggadot inspire you to try something new this year or you decide to stick with Grandma’s old faithful, I wish you a peaceful and thought-provoking Passover!

AARC’s Megillah Ark

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The Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation is proud to present one of our hand-crafted sacred objects, a Megillah Ark created by Alan Haber, with components crafted by Idelle Hammond-Sass. The Ark is a beautiful piece of artistry specifically designed to shelter a hand-illustrated scroll of the Book of Esther or Megillat Esther. For more on the Scroll of Esther acquired in 2016, see Barbara Boyk Rust’s blog post. Please enjoy this description of the symbolic elements of Ark in the artist’s own words:

I made it like a city within which to live and be safe, with 6 walls to hold the story. Each of the wall boards has two tenons like the boards of the tabernacle. In the front are the city gates, Boaz and Joachim. In the back is a dark post, ready also to serve as gallows. The wall boards on each side of the gate have the smile of Vashti, in the grain, through which the story unrolls.

The story scroll is held tied between 2 pieces of rosewood attached to a piece of white holly wood, which serves as the handle to draw the story out between the city gates, though the smile of Vashti. The gate is closed, with the story inside, and latched  by a piece of ebony wood, tied with a blue thread. When the gate is unlatched, the ebony latch bolt is inserted and held at the top of the gallows post and the blue thread serves as the rope and noose. The crown of Esther is on top of the central post holding the scroll, and is turned to unroll the story, and turned back to re-roll. Mordecai sits at the base of the city gate and aligns Esther when the story is returned to within the city and the latch retied. The city walls and earth below and roof above are all of cherry wood … surely a favorite of Esther, without ointments and oils.

– Alan Haber, 2019

According to Idelle Hammond-Sass, the scroll was designed by an Israeli woman artist she saw at the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery. Says Idelle:

Barbara Boyk-Rust and I purchased it, hoping to have a housing created for it. It is color-offset, richly decorated and signed.
We arranged to collaborate with Alan and I made a brass Crown etched with the Hebrew for Megillat Esther, which fits the fulcrum of the turning for the scroll. It has designs pulled from the scroll itself. Barbara and I also visited the Megillah container Alan made for Beth Israel and helped to fund the project.

Idelle Hammond-Sass, 2019

Purim Fun at AARC

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AARC’s Purim celebration last Friday was a blast! Rabbi Ora, dressed at Mr. Rogers, opened services with an original composition that welcomed us to Purim; it was set to the tune of “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” In addition to our regular Shabbat songs, our abbreviated Shabbat service included many silly lyrical compositions written by Rabbi Ora, who astounds and amazes us every Purim! See her upside-down Megillah reading from last year!

Alan Haber and Idelle Hammond-Sass display AARC’s newest sacred object, a handmade Megillah ark to hold the Megillah scroll.

Alan Haber revealed the handmade Megillah ark that he constructed to hold the beautiful Megillah scroll acquired by Barbara Boyk Rust and Idelle Hammond-Sass.

Members Rebecca Ball, Dina Kurz and Debbie Field dressed as their personal hero, Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

For this year’s costume theme, members dressed up at their personal heroes. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsbergs was a hero in triplicate!

Purim costume parade.

After services, we enjoyed a delicious potluck followed by a performance by Beit Sefer students, a costume parade, and dancing!

Stacy Dieve (a.k.a. Albert Einstein) reads from the Megillah.
Dina Kurz (a.k.a. Ruth Bader Ginsberg) reads from the Megillah.
Dave Nelson reads from the Megillah.