Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

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MLK Day and the Ten Commandments

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by Margo Schlanger

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 18, 2016 , I got together with the Beit Sefer kids the day before, to talk about the Torah and civil rights.

We started with this picture:

Martin Luther King, Jr, with Rabbis Maurice Eisendrath and Abraham Joshua Heschel
Martin Luther King, Jr., R. Maurice Eisendrath and R. Abraham Joshua Heschel, on the March from Selma to Montgomery Alabama, March 1965.

I asked the students what the Civil Rights movement was about.  They talked about African Americans’ claims on equality–voting, jobs, buses, restaurants, and more.

So why did Rabbi Eisendrath think it was important not just to carry the Torah during the Selma march in 1965, but for the Torah’s mantle to show the Ten Commandments?  We looked together at the commandments, focusing on the “Don’t” commandments, illustrated on the Torah mantle with the Hebrew word “לא” (lo — “no” or “don’t”).

Our conversation was mostly about three of the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie about important things (“bear false witness against your neighbor”).

What do these commandments have in common? Some people think we can develop from them (and the others in the ten) a full statement of the requirements of a moral life.  But so many things are left out.  If we can deduce a principle behind these commandments, maybe that principle can help.

The students first developed a “results-oriented” justification.  Who would want to live in a world where other people were allowed to murder and steal? they asked.  Then they moved to the justification that ties the Ten Commandments to civil rights–equality.  You don’t kill people, or steal from them, or lie to them, they said, because those other people are equal to you.  Their lives matter, their stuff matters, their feelings matter.

In other words, the students ended up in the same place as Rabbi Hillel.  We each stood on one foot while I repeated the Talmudic story:

Once there was a non-Jew who told Rabbi Hillel that he was thinking about converting to Judaism, but first, he wanted to know everything he needed to know, while he stood on one foot.  And so Hillel said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation.”

Welcome Rabbi Alana Alpert

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by Deborah Fisch

Alpert_photoDuring the Aug. 28 Shabbat service, visiting rabbi Alana Alpert explained her route to the rabbinate. While her first love was community organizing in service of social justice, she worried about the high rate of burnout such work entailed. Rabbinical school seemed to her a way to prepare to help those leaders most at risk for burnout. “I never expected to be a rabbi with my own congregation!” She now splits her time as a half-time rabbi for Congregation T’chiyah in Detroit and as a community organizer with Detroit Jews for Justice – and one of our visiting rabbis.

In her Dvar Torah, Rabbi Alpert examined a verse from Parsha Ki Teitzei: “When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof…” She found this verse’s practical application in preventing potential harm to be immediately relevant to her recently purchased fixer-upper, in which she and her partner discovered rotted beams that threatened the stability of a second-floor balcony. While the installation of a roof rail or replacement beams improves physical safety, Rabbi Alpert also inferred a symbolic meaning for the rail: it acts as a limit on pride of ownership of a house – a necessary check on entitlement and privilege in the midst of poverty and homelessness.

We welcome to our congregation Rabbi Alpert and the many other newcomers who attended the service, including a large contingent of U-M Law School students. The usual outstanding potluck dinner followed the service, which this time might appropriately have been titled, “Celebration of the Tomato.”

“We heard God’s words without using our ears.”

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Shuli and Me“We heard God’s words without using our ears.” So Shavuot is described at the end of Shuli and Me: From Slavery to Freedom, the storybook Omer calendar by Joan Benjamin-Farren you will hear at the AARC havdallah and Shavuot observance. The story, told from a freed slave child’s point of view, imagines those first seven weeks in the desert. We have been following the cloud. Today we are camped at the foot of the mountain. We’ve washed our clothes. We are waiting.

After havdallah, Rabbi Michal will lead us in a discussion of approaches to the concept of torah; the capital “T” Torah, the five books in our traditional scroll, and other uses of the concept of torah. A couple that speak to me, for instance: In a Kol Nidre sermon Rabbi Mona Alfi quoted the medieval scholar, Bachya ibn Pakuda: “Days are like scrolls, only write on them what you want to be remembered.” She explained, “In essence, what Bachya ibn Pakuda was saying is that each life is a Torah for future generations to examine and learn from.”

A description of Carol Ochs’ book Our Lives as Torah: Finding God in Our own Stories, says “Through the process of seeing our experiences in relation to Biblical stories, we begin to recognize our lives as part of the ongoing story of the Jewish people–as Torah.”

Let’s meet there, at the mountain, and discuss: May 23rd 7:30pm till ? At the home, still, of Rabbi Michal and Jon Sweeney, 2960 Lakeview Drive. Dairy, dessert potluck. Early evening all ages, after havdallah for adults, childcare available. Email Clare or Rabbi Michal.

Beit Sefer Director — Job Posting

Beit Sefer Director, Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (AARC)

July 2022

Bring your enthusiasm and love of Jewish life and learning to our warm, welcoming Reconstructionist congregation. We seek a dynamic Jewish educator to guide and encourage our religious school students and teachers. The Beit Sefer Director would be both one of our teachers and also the administrator of our small religious school.

Background: 

AARC is a small Reconstructionist congregation in Ann Arbor; we currently have about 100 member households.  Our Beit Sefer typically has 15-20 students, divided into three multi-grade classes.  School meets for two hours on Sunday mornings, September through May.  Students study Jewish traditions—including holidays, liturgy, bible, and ethics, and also Hebrew. There are typically three teachers, and several madrichim (high school student assistants).  Over this past year our Beit Sefer adapted to the pandemic, meeting outdoors and monthly at a congregant’s farm. Lots more information about the Congregation and the school is available at our website, aarecon.org – Religious School

These are qualities we are seeking in our Beit Sefer Director:

  • A love of children – someone who can see the gift of every child, and who finds joy in helping others on their Jewish journey.
  • Strong interpersonal skills – someone who communicates effectively by sharing information and who can listen to and comprehend what others are saying.
  • Strong administrative skills – someone who is good at communicating, organizing, planning, and scheduling.
  • A love of Judaism – someone who possesses Jewish knowledge, is comfortable in a liberal Jewish environment, and is committed to progressive Judaism.
  • A good teacher—someone who makes Jewish education fun, relevant, experiential and accessible to students.
  • Commitment to diversity—someone who will develop and maintain an inclusive atmosphere respectful of and responsive to the needs of different kinds of families, learners, and beliefs.
  • A role model – someone who leads by example, who has the ability to supervise others with dignity.
  • A collaborative leader – someone who can collaborate with the teachers and parents, share ideas with them in order to reach a common goal, someone who can motivate and inspire staff to fulfill their responsibilities.
  • Flexibility and creativity – someone who is able to plan for the future, but is also able to make adjustments as needed. Someone who comes up with creative ways to teach and engage students.  For example, a Jewish-natural world curriculum was adopted last year to coordinate with meeting outdoors. 

Position Qualifications

  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent preferred
  • Prior experience in Jewish teaching/education
  • Approachable and enthusiastic about Jewish learning
  • Knowledge of Jewish traditions, including holidays, prayers, bible stories.
  • Some knowledge of Hebrew—sufficient to teach students to decode letters (reading and writing), play games (e.g., Shimon Omer), berachot and tefillot.
  • Experience with classroom management
  • Ability to teach in ways appropriate to students of varying ages and knowledge levels.
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented
  • Enthusiastic and positive attitude in dealing with clergy, staff, members
  • Knowledge about or engagement with Reconstructionist approaches to Judaism, or willingness to gain some familiarity

Compensation and administration

  • Pay:  We anticipate that this job will take about 25-30 hours per month, for nine months of the year starting in August 2022.  We’ll calculate the salary based on an hourly rate of $35 – $45, depending on experience.
  • Reports to a designated member of the Congregation’s board. Expected to participate in occasional staff meetings.
  • Ideally, the Director will begin work right away to solidify next year’s Beit Sefer Curriculum, with the assistance of members of our Beit Sefer Committee.

How to apply

  • Send a resume and cover letter to AARC Board Co-Chair Rena Basch, via email rena.h.basch@gmail.com. 
  • We are receiving applications immediately.

Get involved!

Come to events
  • All our events are listed on the calendar!
  • Regular events: Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat, Second Saturday Shabbat services, at the JCC and online.
Fourth Friday Help
  • Fourth Fridays at the JCC are our largest regular community gatherings, for prayer, discussion, eating, socializing and just plain participating in community. We need your help to set up and clean up. Rabbi AJ Heschel taught us to “pray with our feet,” and we can pray with our hands, too (dishwashing can be meaningful!).
Mitzvah Corps
  • The Mitzvah Corps provides the opportunity for members to participate in Tikkun Olam within our community. The Corps organizes support for member families and individuals experiencing life-cycle and emergency needs.
  • Contact the Mitzvah Corps chair for more information or to volunteer.
Beit Sefer Committee
Food, Land & Justice
Book Group
  • Once a month, AARC’s book group gathers at someone’s home to discuss a novel, story, or work of non-fiction.
  • For information about the book group, click here or  here.
  • For upcoming book group meetings, see the calendar.
Membership Committee
  • This committee helps prospective and new members get integrated into our community.
  • Contact the membership chair about joining the committee.
Welcomer
  • When new members join us, we try to link them with one or two longer-standing members, to help them integrate.
  • Contact the membership chair about being a welcomer.

Rosh Hashanah with the AARC

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By Carol Lessure

The Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation invites anyone who is looking for a home for the High Holidays to join us at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road at the corner of Ellsworth Road. Whether you are a newcomer or long-time resident, curious about Reconstructionist Judaism or looking for a community, you are welcome to join AARC for the holidays. No tickets are needed to attend our musical, participatory High Holiday services, although donations from non-members are appreciated.

For Rosh Hashanah, there will be opportunities to gather informally as well with an oneg following Erev Rosh Hashanah services on Wednesday evening, September 24 and lunches hosted by congregants following services on Thursday, September 25. We will also gather for Tashlich at a home on the Huron River in the early evening where we will use pebbles for our ceremonial casting away of our past deeds. All the details at the links below: