Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

community learning

Creating a Culture of Holiness

by

By: Anita Rubin-Meiller

I was blessed to attend Rav Gavrielle’s Rosh Chodesh service on Friday morning,
June 7 th and felt moved to write this short blog in case it might wake up the desire
for others to join the next month’s gathering.


In his book, “Me, Myself and God”, Rabbi Jeff Roth states that “creating a culture
of holiness is what will deliver us…it is within a culture of holiness that we all can
gain the wisdom and support to open our hearts”. With her wise and
compassionate presence, our Rabbi, is giving us yet another opportunity to
experience connection within the community in a way that accomplishes this.

Although we were on zoom, and not in person, the intimacy of our connection
could be felt as we were invited to pray the Shacharit service together and
welcome the New Moon of Sivan. The service had all the elements of meaning
and beauty that Rav Gavrielle creates in our monthly Shabbat services. We
chanted, we shared gratitudes, we offered healing prayer and observed Kaddish.
We also learned about the significance of the new month we had just entered and
how it aligned with this week’s torah portion, BaMidbar, as the Israelites created
camp at the base of Mount Sinai, preparing to receive the torah on the sixth day
of Sivan, now celebrated as Shavout.


Daily prayer- morning, afternoon, and evening- is a central aspect of traditional
Jewish practice, but my guess is that few of us engage with our Judaism in this
way. The root of the Hebrew word for prayer, tefillah, has multiple meanings
including, to judge, clarify, and decide. A definition of prayer that follows from
this is “the soul’s yearning to define what truly matters…”(Siddur Avodas HaLev) I
found the opportunity to have this space of communal prayer and ritual
observance beneficial for aligning my heart and mind in calm and gratitude before
stepping into the tasks and activities of the day. I look forward to gathering again
in this way.

Yom Kippur Workshops 2022

by

The War in Ukraine: Empire, War, Refugees, and us with Debbie Field 1:30-3pm

Our own family histories, and Jewish history in general, have been shaped by empires and their wars of conquest. In this interactive session, we’ll learn a little about the war in
Ukraine, its impact on civilians, and the creation of refugees. We’ll make some comparisons with our own experiences as Jews, and end by considering actions we might take as individuals and as a community.

Movement Workshop with Alison Stupka. 1:30-3pm

People will gain a reconnection with their bodies during their fast.

Jonah Workshop with Rabbi Debra, 3-4:30pm

During this breakout session, we will read the book of Jonah together, and share informal discussion about its themes and why the rabbis chose such a seemingly silly story for the Yom Kippur afternoon Haftarah.

Sing and Connect with Deb Kraus, 3-4:30pm

Deb Kraus will hold space outdoors if weather permits to sing together and connect.

Shavuot 5781: A Vibrant, Joyful, and Educational Holiday!

by

Photo Credit: Clare Kinberg. Clare produced over 100 Blitzes for the Beit Sefer Blintz Picnic!!!

70 Faces of Justice: A Community Shavuot Celebration

Members from Washtenaw and Ingham county Jewish congregations gathered Sunday evening for a stimulating evening of learning on Jewish approaches to justice.

The keynote speaker for the evening was Eli Savit, Washtenaw County Prosecutor. Mr. Savit offered a fascinating perspective, redefining how we pursue justice work within the legal system. Savit compared re-writing existing unjust laws to the early rabbis’ re-interpretation of the biblical commandment to kill one’s own ‘rebellious son’ (ben sorer u’moreh). The early rabbis made the discernment process for execution so long and convoluted that no one could possibly meet the standards to carry out the law. Savit likened this process to such contemporary issues as choosing not to prosecute young offenders for smaller crimes and implementing a restorative justice program for larger crimes.

Savit’s lecture led to the conclusion that the criminal justice system is influenced by larger systems of injustice in our society. Not only do we need to re-think how we prosecute crimes, but must also increase funding for education and health care–the lack of which can contribute to violence within our society. The thought-provoking lecture led to a vibrant Q and A with Mr. Savit.

Following the keynote address, attendees were sent into breakout rooms for ‘Speed Cheesecaking’ to discuss issues important to them and get to know members of other congregations. Many attendees commented that they appreciated the opportunity to get to know more people within the larger Jewish community.

The evening carried on with three consecutive study sessions where attendees could choose from discussions led by area rabbis on topics as diverse as LBGTQIA advocacy, kabbalah, gender, and social justice. Rabbi Ora led two sessions; ‘When a Pauper Takes the Bimah: The Revolutionary Message of Lecha Dodi,’ and ‘Nothing But Niggunim!’

The event was a success and everyone agreed we will carry on the tradition for years to come!

Beit Sefer Shavuot Picnic

Photo Credit: Clare Kinberg. Getting ready to make Blintzes on her special heirloom Blintz pan!

For Shavuot this year, Beit Sefer director Clare Kinberg organized a COVID-safe outdoor picnic for the end of the year Beit Sefer gathering. The event was hosted at the home of Beit Sefer teacher Aaron Jackson. Families were treated to freshly made blintzes, lovingly prepared by Clare Kinberg.

This was the first time since the pandemic began that most of the Beit Sefer students had been together as a group! They had so much fun catching up and playing on the playground together. Yasher koach to the Beit Sefer teachers and especially Clare for organizing this event and providing such a stimulating year of learning for our Beit Sefer students.

Community Learning Opportunities Within the AARC Tribe of Wisdom!

by

One silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the discovery of new and intimate ways to engage with each other, be it through our Mishpacha Groups, Wednesday Check Ins, Shabbat Services, or independently within the congregation.

Beginning next week, AARC will offer even more programming: free online classes taught by members generously volunteering their time and knowledge to share their skills, wisdom, and knowledge. Zoom links for classes will be sent out via email for security reasons. Look for links in the Thursday and Tuesday mailers the week before the class.

Our First Class Starts Next Week!

THURSDAY, MAY 7TH, 7-9PM. How to make Finger Fritz with Ella August. In this baking lesson, I will show you how to make a delicious cookie called Finger Fritz. The recipe comes from my husband’s grandmother who was a Viennese pastry chef. You can just watch or follow along in your own kitchen (I will provide a written recipe). If you want to follow along, be sure you have the following ingredients ready: 3 C flour, 1 package dry yeast, 1 C (two sticks) salted butter, 3 egg yolks, 1 C sour cream, 1 C almonds, pecans or hazelnuts (or a blend), 1 ¾ C powdered sugar, 2 – 2 ½  t cinnamon, 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips. 
Note that this recipe takes two days to make, since the dough needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight. We will make the first part together and then you’ll put your dough in your refrigerator to chill overnight. I’ll have an additional chilled dough on hand and will show you the second part of the recipe.

Zoom link will be sent out to membership in our Thursday and Tuesday Mailers. If you are not subscribed but would like to attend, please email Gillian at aarcgillian@gmail.com

Beginning the week of May 11th:

Tertulia—Spanish coffee conversation with Cara Spindler. Cara will lead us in a Spanish conversation hour. Cara says all are welcome and mistakes are okay!

.

.

.

Singing Class with Etta Heisler. Join Etta to learn some great songs for group singing from a variety of activist and religious traditions. Etta will teach the songs and provide some background on them; then the group will sing together. A singing class on mute is the perfect time to learn songs if you are self-conscious about your voice! No singing experience is necessary. A playlist will be provided so you can keep singing after the class.

Later this Spring:

In the pipeline for June is The Joy of Public Speaking Via Storytelling and Improv Games with Patti Smith. Patti says, “People consistently list public speaking as their biggest fear. Getting comfortable in front of others is a great skill. Learn to do this by telling stories. I will tell a story and then deconstruct and tell you how I put it together. Then we will all work on a story intro together. {For Improv Games:} You do NOT have to be funny to do improv! Play some simple improv games and improve your confidence!”

In additional, Laurie White and Carol Lessure are hard at work preparing engaging material to share with us in the months to come!

Does this article inspire you to teach a class? Email Gillian at aarcgillian@gmail.com so that we can get you on the schedule!

Introducing A Taste of Talmud: When Life Meets Prayer

by

Perhaps even more than the Torah, the Talmud can be thought of as the quintessential Jewish text. Why? Because it’s full of everything that makes Jews Jewish: love of debate, intellectual curiosity, storytelling, humor, and the search for new meaning in inherited text and tradition.

The complete Talmud (in Aramaic) comprises over 2,700 pages of conversation, law, legend, and history. If you’ve never studied directly from a page of Talmud before, it can seem daunting. But AARC’s upcoming course ‘A Taste of Talmud: When Life Meets Prayer’ is here to help you get curious and comfortable through a 5-week immersion in Talmud text. 

We’ll be study directly from the Babylonian Talmud’s tractate Berachot, a rich conversation on the power of prayer, how and why we pray, and what happens when life meets prayer.

This course will take place on Sundays, 1:00-2:30 pm, beginning February 9, 2020. 

** Please note: The first session is an introduction and will be held in the Temple Beth Emeth library. The remaining 4 sessions will be at the Ann Arbor JCC.

Course Schedule: Sundays, 1-2:30 pm

February 9: The ABCs of Talmud Study: By the end of this introductory session, you can expect to be able to define and identify terms like Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, aggadah, masechet, sugya, daf, and gemara, as well as know how to navigate a page of Talmud. (TBE library)

Note: No meeting on February 16

February 23: Berachot Chapter 5: Who should be our model for prayer? Should we follow the model of a heartbroken wife? A repentant philanderer? Who is the ideal pray-er? And how does emotion influence prayer? (JCC)

March 1: Berachot Chapter 5 continued: How should we pray? Should we use our bodies in prayer? What if our bodies are praying ‘right’ but our minds are distracted? (JCC)

March 8: Berachot Chapter 9: What can we pray for? Can you ask God for something frivolous? Can you pray to avert harm? Do you have to pray even if you’re angry at God or frustrated at life?

March 15: Berachot Chapter 9 continued: Who do we pray for? Do we pray for ourselves? For our loved ones? For strangers? Can prayer ever be selfish or unwelcome?

Questions:

Q: Do I need to know Hebrew or Aramaic to participate?

A: No! We’ll be using the Steinsaltz English translation of the original Aramaic.

Q: What if I can’t make every session?

A: The learning will be cumulative, so while the ideal would be to attend every session, drop-ins are welcome.

Q: Do I need to bring any texts to class?

A: Just a notebook in case you want to write anything down. All texts will be provided.

A Meaningful Human Rights Shabbat with Kehillat Israel

by

This past Saturday, AARC made the journey to Congregation Kehillat Israel in Lansing to share in celebration of Human Rights Shabbat, an annual celebration initiated by T’ruah, a Rabbinic Organization advocating for human rights in North America, Israel, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The annual Human Rights Shabbat initiative is intended to educate Jewish Communities about the intersection between Jewish values and the values of International Human Rights. It is typically celebrated on the Shabbat closest to the anniversary of the UN’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Kehillat Israel and AARC chose to focus their Human Rights Shabbat on bringing together children and families to learn and build community. Rabbi Michael Zimmerman and Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner led all of us in a beautiful Shabbat morning service that asked congregants, “What does the story of Isaac and Esau teach us about justice, forgiveness, and identity?”

Services were followed by a potluck lunch that featured not only delicious foods from both congregations, but also much enjoyable conversation between new friends and old. After lunch, Rabbi Ora led the adults in a conversation entitled, “Who Deserves Punishment? Considering ‘Goodness’ and ‘Badness’ through a Jewish Lens.” The thoughtful and stimulating conversation examined not only Jewish moral thought on crime and punishment, but also its relevance to current political policy on incarceration and the resulting reality in human terms.

Many thanks to everyone who attended last Saturday and special thanks to our hosts, Congregation Kehillat Israel, for including us in this Shabbat exploration of human rights.

On Naming: What Do We Call Ourselves

by

Drawing inspiration from Rabbi Ora’s blog post on naming last week, we put out the call to members of our congregation to explore what naming means to us in the context of ourselves, our congregation, and as Reconstructionists. For today’s blog post, the first in a series, we explored what we call ourselves.

For many, one of the most sacred parts of belonging to a Jewish community is taking part in the same Jewish rituals throughout our lifetimes that our ancestors have observed for generations. As Reconstructionists, many members of our congregations have chosen to fulfill these rituals in ways that honor these traditions while holding a specific meaning for themselves.

My great grandfather’s pen

When I was a child, the few belongings we had from my great grandfather, Godfrey August Garson, were passed on to me as I was his namesake. Since I was born female, I was given his initials rather than his full name, in the Ashkenazic Tradition.

Just the other day while rustling through a drawer, my son found my great grandfather’s gold pen, engraved with the initials GAG. I told my son that this pen belonged to our ancestor who I was named for; I then got to have a great conversation with him about which ancestor he is named after. Knowing that my name and my children’s names have meaning and are part of a tradition is important to my Jewish identity and sense of self.

Like me, AARC member and Beit Sefer teacher Shlomit was named after an ancestor. However, rather than use the initials, her parents chose a name that sounded like Shlomo, her grandfather’s name, and referred to King Solomon. Shlomit says, “I love its meaning, from the word Shalom, a peace maker. I am working on inner peace with yoga and nature walks, and I work on my communication skills to bring peace to those around me. I’m not royalty like King Solomon, but I do believe we can all make a difference.”

As a parent, participating in a naming ceremony or Brit Milah is one of the first rites of passage we take with our children. Congregant Carol Lessure remembers participating in a group naming ceremony during Fourth Friday Shabbat! This is a perfect example of how Reconstructionists redefine these traditions, in this instance to include our larger community.

In addition to the traditions surrounding our English names, many in our congregation also have Hebrew names. Cherished member Alan Haber received his Jewish name, Eliyahu, at the age of 50. It was given to him by Rabbi Zalman Schachter in recognition of Alan’s work in Israel and Palestine. To Alan, his name means “may he show himself in you to you” and “who made an Ark for the Shekhinah.”

Participating in a Reconstructionist congregation offers so many opportunities for us to express ourselves as Jews and to incorporate these traditions in ways that feel both meaningful and relevant. Naming doesn’t happen only at birth or during a Bris; it can be given to us during adulthood to honor our work. Our names can also serve as guiding lights, reminding us how we embody concepts such as Shalom, or how we honor the ancestors for whom we are named. What does your name mean to you?

In the next two articles, we will explore what we call ourselves as Reconstructionists and what we call our congregation. If you would like to contribute to this discussion, I encourage you to email your ideas to me at aarcgillian@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Belonging in America

by

By Etta Heisler

I was delighted to dive back into Jewish education at this year’s Shavuot celebration. For five years I worked at the Jewish Women’s Archive writing curricula and supporting Jewish educators as they incorporated contemporary Jewish texts and women’s voices into their work. Upon returning to my roots here in Ann Arbor (and quite literally as a program director at a nature center), I had no idea how much I was missing getting to dissect, share, and explore Jewish texts in this setting.

A quick note: this Shavuot, it was particularly meaningful for me to do some teaching as I continue to mourn the recent death of my Savta, my grandmother Dr. Diane Averbach King. My Savta was a passionate educator and respected scholar, in addition to being a doting and committed grandparent. While much of her work focused on Hebrew and Israel education, she is one of the few people I could always call to talk through ideas, struggles, or interesting new sources. I greatly appreciate the AARC community for inviting me to participate in this way–I cannot say enough how meaningful it was to connect with her memory at this time.

In my session, we explored our own experiences belonging–or not–in Jewish community before diving into four non-traditional “Jewish texts” that depict Jewish life in America: a photograph, a page from a newsletter, an excerpt of letter from a daughter to her parents, and a screen shot of a social media post. I have included the text study packet via Google Drive–feel free to use it or share it, just make sure you give credit where credit is due!

Thinking about the current political state of our country, and of the Jewish community both in the US and globally, there were several ideas that rose to the front of my mind as I looked through sources on jwa.org for this session:

  1. What is the relationship between personal identity and community identity?
  2. What makes, or who defines, a community?
  3. How does one know if one is “in” or “out” of a given community? In other words, how does one know if one belongs in a community or not?
  4. What is the relationship between inclusion (saying who is in) and exclusion (saying who is out) in creating community?

As we looked at each source, we started first with observation (I do, after all, work in science education, so we followed the scientific method). I like to use some standard questions adapted from the method of Visual Thinking Strategies: “What is going on in this source? What do we see/read that makes us say that? What information is missing or confusing?” After we explored, looked for evidence, and hypothesized, I provided some additional historical context and we asked “What more can we see or understand? What more do we want to know?”

In the end, our conversation barely got started before time was up (perhaps next year, we’ll have an all-night session?!). However, our wide-ranging discussion did leave me with a few observations that I think we might be able to use to draw some generalities around the idea of “Belonging,” our theme for the night:

  1. There are many forces that create belonging, some are experienced internally in individuals, and some are experienced externally in groups.
  2. One does not have to feel that one belongs in order for others to see them as part of a community.
  3. Search for belonging can sometimes lead to cohesion and sometimes to separation, or even bigotry.

I encourage you to take one, some, or all of these sources and explore them on your own, with friends at a Shabbat dinner or lunch, or a chevruta learning partner either face-to-face or virtually. What questions do these sources raise for you? What lessons can they teach us, or what insight can they provide about our contemporary communities? How do they help us understand our own sense of belonging–or exclusion?

Thank you again for this tremendous opportunity. Looking forward to learning more!

 

AARC Shavuot 2018: Belonging, Behaving, Believing

by

“In 1934 Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, wrote his classic text Judaism As Civilization. Kaplan taught that there are three ways of identifying with a religious community: by believing, by behaving, and by belonging…And it’s true that no matter what Jews believe, and no matter how Jews behave, there is an underlying, fundamental and intrinsic interconnection that ties us together in a common history and present reality.”

–Rabbi Joe Klein

Celebrate Shavuot with a Night of Learning

Saturday May 19, 7-10 pm at the JCC

Choose from 4 study sessions taught by AARC community members

Eat cheesecake and other dairy sweets

Bring a box of grain to donate to Food Gatherers

Close the evening with Havdallah

7:00 PM:  Gather

7:15-8:15:  Jonas Higbee: “Building a Community Response to Fascism: Lessons from Richard Spencer’s Visit to MSU” (‘Behaving’)

7:15-8:15:  Clare Kinberg: “Shavuot4BlackLives: Jewish Views on Reparations” (‘Behaving’)

8:15-8:30:  Cheesecake Break

8:30-9:30:  Etta King Heisler: “Belonging in America:  What is Belonging and How Does it Broaden, Limit, Deepen, or Otherwise Define Our Community?” (‘Belonging’)

8:30-9:30:  Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner:  “A Long and ‘Twisted’ Relationship: Us, God, and…Challah?” (‘Believing’)

9:30-10:00:  Havdallah