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Shavuot

How Do YOU Do Jewish? Teach Us on Shavuot!

May 19, 2022 by Gillian Jackson

By Rabbi Ora Nitkin Kaner

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘two Jews, three opinions.’ It contains a kernel of truth: the idea that Jews thrive on arguing and sharing our opinions and beliefs with one another! But the phrase also reflects the diversity of perspectives, histories, cultures, and experiences present in Jewish communities; for as much as we might have in common (attending High Holiday services, or observing Shabbat in some fashion), we also have a lot of differences (what kashrut means to us, or what kind of God we believe in, or what our favorite Jewish food is).

This Shavuot, we have the opportunity to learn about and from our differences! The theme of this year’s Tikkun Leil Shavuot is ‘How Do YOU Do Jewish’? The evening’s learning will focus on the practical side of doing and being Jewish, and offer a window into how different community members express themselves Jewishly. 

Members have the opportunity to teach (for 5, 10, or 15 minute time slots) on “How I Do Jewish.” This can be interpreted very broadly, and could range from “How I Bake My Favorite Cheesecake” to “My Most Meaningful Prayer Experience” and anywhere in between. Rabbi Ora will offer an hour-long class focused on the ‘doing’ aspect of ‘Doing Jewish’: “How To Create and Lead a Meaningful Shabbat Service.”

Do you, does your family, or did your ancestors ‘Do Jewish’ in a particular way? We want to learn about it! If you’re willing to present, please email Rabbi Ora with your topic and how long you’d like to teach for. We look forward to learning from you!

Shavuot will be held at the JCC of Ann Arbor on June 4th, 7pm-10pm. We will participate in an evening of learning and then go outside for an al fresco dairy desert potluck. Please RSVP here.

Schedule of Events:

Shavuot 2022: How Do You Do Jewish?

7:00-8:15 pm: How To Create and Lead a Meaningful Shabbat Service with Rabbi Ora

Have you ever wanted to lead a Shabbat service for AARC but haven’t known where to start? Or are you looking to level up your skills? In this interactive, creative, and practical session, you’ll think about how to choose a theme, create flow, craft a dvar Torah, and make the most of your creative and musical skills!

8:20-8:35 pm: Seeing, Finding, Showing My Jewish Self in Games with Hannah Davis

It’s natural to want to see ourselves in the stories we consume. I play video and tabletop games a lot, and I look for Jewish content and themes in them. And if there isn’t much to find, I start making my own! Here are some Jewish stories I’ve found – or made – in games.

8:40-8:55 pm: Teaching Religion Responsibly with Lauren Zinn

9:00-9:25 pm: Edot of Ruth: On ‘Doing Jewish’ and Doing the Heavy Work of the Divine with Marcy Epstein

After a brief drash about mitzvot (Jewish doing; מִצְוֹתַי) in the Book of Ruth, we shall study a connection to edot (testament) to the chukim (divine decrees) at Sinai. We’ll then discuss the reconstruction of edot as “difficult witnessing” in the here and now. There’s a hands-on challenge to this session: while we talk, participants may explore sketching a small edot (by way of emblem or picturing the witness/witnessing) in charcoal on paper, something to bring home as a minhag mitzvah of decorating our Jewish homes for this holy day. Supplies provided!

9:30-10:00 pm: Outdoor Shmoozing, Cheesecake, and Havdallah!

Filed Under: Rabbi's Posts Tagged With: Shavuot

Planning for Shavuot

May 1, 2022 by Gillian Jackson

Learn about Shavuot AND Help Us Plan This Years Observation!

SURVEY LINK HERE!

History of Shavuot

Shavuot, or the ‘Feast of Weeks,’ is celebrated 50 days after Passover. The holiday coincides with both the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai and an ancient Jewish grain festival. In ancient Israel, Jews participated in three agricultural festivals per year where they would bring the fruits of their labor to the temple as offerings. The three holidays are Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. These agricultural based holidays allowed Ancient Jews the opportunity to gather in community to engage in ritual and celebration together. There is archeological evidence that Jews came from as far as the Mediterranean during the Greek era to reaffirm their faith and practice. When the Temple was destroyed in the first century CE, the harvest festivals transitioned from a central festival of offerings to a synagogue based practice. In diaspora, we have come to reconstruct and make relevant these holidays to provide meaning and connection in modern times. As an observance of the giving of the Torah, many Jews spend Shavuot engaged in the practice of learning.

Past AARC Observances of Shavuot

Shavuot 2021 we celebrated the end of Beit Sefer and Shavuot together by having blintzes at Aaron Jackson’s house! The congregation also attended a community wide lecture about Jewish approaches to Justice.

In 2020, we attended a nationwide (covid shutdown) Shavuot with Reconstructing Judaism.

2019 was our last in person Shavuot. We celebrated the holiday with Kehillat Israel and hosted lectures by scholars from both of our congregations. And of course ate cheesecake!

Shavuot This Year

Rabbi Ora has invited the congregation to submit their interest in a slate of potential programming choices. Please make sure that you take a few minutes to complete this survey! As always, let us know if you have any input, questions, or concerns!

FILL OUT THE SURVEY HERE!!!

Filed Under: Community Learning Tagged With: Shavuot

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

May 17, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

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.

Filed Under: Event writeups Tagged With: community learning, eli savit, justice, Shavuot

May is Open House Month at AARC!

April 26, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

Although our doors are always open, we make a special effort once a year to reach out to the community and share what makes our congregation special. If you would like to participate in any of this month’s events and do not subscribe to our mailer, please email our event coordinator.

Second Saturday Shabbat, Saturday May 8, 10 AM. The Second Saturday Shabbat morning includes ‘Ta’Shma Come and Learn’ at 10 am. Ta’Shma is a monthly learning opportunity that is participatory and based on Jewish texts. For more information about Ta’Shma, check out Clare Kinberg’s blog. Our Shabbat services (beginning at 10:30 am) are inclusive and participatory. We spend an hour and a half singing, praying, learning with Rabbi Ora, and participating in community discussion. Please join us!


What IS Reconstructionist Judaism? Wednesday May 12, 7:30 PM. Join Rabbi Ora for a conversation about the history and values of Reconstructionist Judaism. If you have a friend that has been curious about our congregation, please invite them to this event! Sign up here to participate. To learn more about the Reconstructionist movement, visit the website, or watch the video below:



70 Faces of Justice: A Community Shavuot Celebration. Sunday May 16, 7:30 PM. Join area rabbis and lay leaders for a Zoom Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit will kick off the evening with a keynote address, then choose from multiple learning sessions, including text study, embodied movement, and creative cooking. BYOC (Bring Your Own Cheesecake) and prepare for a night of learning and connecting to our Jewish community. Co-sponsored by the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Beth Israel Congregation, Congregation Kehillat Israel, Pardes Hannah, Temple Beth Emeth, and the University of Michigan Hillel.


Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat: Friday, May 28, 6:30 PM. Our 1.5 hour Fourth Friday services are joyful, participatory, and filled with music! Following services, breakout rooms are opened for new and old friends to shmooze. For this Open House Shabbat, we will pair visitors with existing members so everyone can get a chance to get to know one another. We hope that you will join us.

PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT POST ZOOM LINKS ON OUR WEBSITE FOR SECURITY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND ANY OF THIS MONTH’S EVENTS AND ARE NOT ON OUR MAILING LIST, PLEASE EMAIL AARCGILLIAN@GMAIL.COM.

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: Shavuot

AARC to Join Virtual Shavuot with Reconstructing Judaism’s Recon Connect

May 20, 2020 by Gillian Jackson

Thursday, May 28th, and Friday, May 29th. AARC will join Celebrating Shavuot @ Sinai, a virtual Shavuot celebration for the Reconstructionist movement. 

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Reconstructing Judaism, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association will host a Shavuot evening program, beginning with Kabbalat Hag Song Fest and Candlelighting.

The celebration begins on Thursday, May 28, 7:30 pm Eastern Time, and continues with a Tikkun Leyl (translation: “nighttime study session”) Shavuot of teaching, learning, movement, and musical offerings through Friday morning, May 29, 7:30 am Pacific Time.

Reconstructionist communities and individuals are welcome to join the Zoom webinar or view the Facebook live stream for as much or as little as they wish. You can register here or watch on Facebook here. 

Want to get a jump on the learning? Take a look at Shavuot offerings from Reconstructing Judaism in previous years at the bottom of this page. You will find articles and, in some cases, audio presentations. Go ahead – revel in edification!

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: Shavuot

An Informative and Engaging Shavuot!

June 10, 2019 by Gillian Jackson

by Emily Eisbruch and Gillian Jackson

Our delicious Shavuot Desert Potluck provided by AARC! Photo Credits: Emily Eisbruch

In honor of the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai, AARC celebrated Shavuot this year by engaging in learning and discussion. We were joined by Kehillat Israel from Lansing. The evening was structured around discussion groups on interesting and relevant topics.

The first two discussion groups were led by congregation members Clare Kinberg from AARC and Ken Harrow from KI.

Clare Kinberg leading a discussion on ‘Jewish Time’ on Shavuot.

Clare Kinberg led a discussion about the Jewish concept of time and how it relates to the story of Ezra. A lively discussion followed regarding the different ways that Jews interpret history and time as it is written in our sacred texts.

Ken Harrow leading a discussion on ‘The Events at Sinai’ on Shavuot.

Ken Harrow led a discussion about the events at Sinai. In his session he focused on how to contextualize the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the commandments. Ken emphasized relationships to works of art, demonstrating our connections with facial expressions.  Ken shared slides with examples from famous artworks, including self-portraits from Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

After enjoying a potluck of delicious deserts provided by members of AARC, we embarked on even more engaging opportunities for learning with Rabbi Ora and Rabbi Zimmerman.

Rabbi Ora leads a discussion on ‘Jewish Perspectives on Abortion’

Rabbi Ora led a discussion on Jewish Perspectives on Abortion. The discussion was a fascinating exploration of various texts that reference abortion. Looking at the issue from the perspective of various Jewish Sects, Rabbi Ora showed how the Jewish people have struggled to codify when and how a woman should be allowed to terminate her pregnancy.

Rabbi Zimmerman leads a discussion on the Green New Deal.

Rabbi Michael Zimmerman’s session on “The Torah of the Green New Deal” looked at  Judaism’s approach to caring for the planet.  He shared a handout with biblical and other references urging stewardship of the land, including text from House Resolution 109 on the Green New Deal.  The group discussed the relationship between Jewish teachings on charity and preservation of the earth.

All and all much knowledge was passed and given. It was truly an enriching evening during which the two congregations were able to get to know each other and enjoy lively discussion!

Filed Under: Event writeups, Posts by Members Tagged With: Kehillat Israel, Shavuot

What is Tikkun Leil Shavuot?

May 27, 2019 by Gillian Jackson

By Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

The evening of Shavuot finds Jews around the world gathering in synagogues and learning through the night, often fueled by coffee and cheesecake.

This practice of all-night Torah study is known as ‘tikkun leil Shavuot.’ The tradition dates back to 16th century Tzfat; it’s said that the famous kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (more commonly known as the Ari) instituted the practice as a ‘tikkun’ – correction or repair – for an ancient error.

‘Tikkun’ is a familiar first half of the modern phrase ‘tikkun olam’ – that is, healing or repairing the world through acts of social, political, and climate justice. But what breach are we repairing on the night (‘leil’) of Shavuot?

Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah to the Israelites following 49 days of rigorous spiritual preparation (the Omer). According to one midrash, the night before the giving of the Torah, the Israelites did what anyone tries to do before an important event – they turned in early for a good night’s sleep. This seemingly innocent decision, however, led to embarrassing consequences. The next morning, when it came time for the Torah to be given, the base of Mount Sinai was empty. The entire Jewish people had slept in. The midrash even recounts that Moses had to wake the Israelites with a shofar, causing G-d to lament, “Why have I come and no one is here to receive me?” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:12b)

In order to rectify this ancient mistake, the Ari instituted a custom of all-night learning: we remain awake to show that, unlike our heavy-lidded ancestors at Sinai, we are ready to receive Torah and God.

This midrash may not sit comfortably with all of us. Maybe we don’t like the idea of being burdened by our ancestor’s errors, or maybe we simply want to be motivated to learn by something other than correction.

It’s customary to learn from the Oral Torah (Mishnah and Talmud) on Shavuot, rather than from the Torah itself. I think there’s a lesson here: in coming together to learn on Shavuot, we’re doing more than simply correcting an ancient mistake; we are adding our voices to a millenia-old tradition of oral learning, interpretation, and argumentation. On Shavuot, we add to our tradition by offering each other new pathways to accessing wisdom. In this sense, every Shavuot we who learn are contributing to ‘tikkun olam’ – to repairing the frayed threads of our world.

What is AARC up to for Shavuot?

Tikkun Leil Shavuot Special: Kehillat Israel Comes to Ann Arbor!

Saturday, June 8

This year we will enjoy a special celebration for Shavuot in collaboration with members of Kehillat Israel, the Reconstructionist congregation in Lansing.

Kehillat Israel members will spend the afternoon exploring Ann Arbor, and have invited us to join them! If you’d like to participate in an ecological study walk in the Arb led by Rabbi Michael Zimmerman (4-5 pm) and an early dinner at Zingermans (5:15-6:15 pm), sign up here.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot (6:30-9:30 pm at the JCC) will have multiple learning opportunities for adults and teens-and-tweens (Grade 5 and up).

The schedule for adults is:     

 6:15 pm – Gather at the JCC

6:30-7:30 pm – Choose 1 of 2 study sessions    

7:30-8:00 pm – Cheesecake and schmoozing    

8:00-9:00 pm – Choose 1 of 2 study sessions    

9:00-9:30 pm – Jewish summer camp-style Havdalah (led by our teens)

Tentative list of adult ed sessions:    

Ken Harrow – The Events at Sinai    

Rabbi Michael Zimmerman – The Torah of the Green New Deal    

Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner – Abortion and Judaism   

Clare Kinberg – Jewish Time

The schedule for teens:

Games, food, fun and a play! Concurrent to the adult study session on Shavuot, we will have two sessions for young people, ages ~ 9- 16. Our Beit Sefer G’dolim class created two pin ball games that are ready to roll! There is a puzzle board game special for Shavuot, a skit and planning for an end of the evening Havdalah. Beit Sefer G’dolim teacher Aaron Jackson will be leading the youth along with teachers from KI in Lansing. Bring the kids for a fun evening, with some learning, too!

If you plan on attending the Shavuot program, please sign up here. If your tween/teen plans on attending, please sign them up here.

Filed Under: Community Learning, Rabbi's Posts, Upcoming Activities Tagged With: Shavuot

Us, God and Challah

June 20, 2018 by Clare Kinberg Leave a Comment

touching the challah
“Everyone touch someone who is touching the challah!”

by Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

It’s hard for me to resist an easy pun, so when I decided to teach a Shavuot session on challah and how this seemingly innocuous bread is rooted in a fraught relationship between the Jewish people and God, I couldn’t help myself; I named the session, “A Long and ‘Twisted’ Relationship: Us, God, and Challah.”

We began our tikkun leil session by each sharing a memory of challah from our childhoods. We then asked and attempted to answer the question: Why do we eat challah on Shabbat?

Looking through Numbers 15 (click here to access the entire source sheet/study guide), we learned that the mitzvah of challah comes from a commandment in the Torah to set aside a loaf of bread for God “as a gift.” And why 2 gift-loaves, and not just one? Because as the Israelites wandered in the desert, God “rained down bread” for them from the sky – aka manna – and on Fridays, two portions of manna fell, so that the Israelites would not have to gather food on Shabbat.

As we read through the manna story, it became clear that manna was 1. Given by God quite begrudgingly, and 2. That the Israelites mistrusted that God would continuously and consistently provide them with food. The episode of the manna quickly became a test of Israelite faith; the Israelites were ordered by Moses to gather only as much manna as they could eat each day; any manna stored for the following day would rot and become infested with maggots.

The rabbis of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras had a field day with this enmeshed relationship as the Israelites sought safety and comfort in sustenance and God used food to teach them a lesson. The rabbis considered a variety of lenses through which to understand the relationship:

Rabbi Tarfon imagined God gently extending a hand each morning to deliver the manna like dew, and he imagined that at the same time, God collected Israelite prayers and returned with them to heaven.

Rabbi Shimon wondered why the manna didn’t simply descend once a year, and suggested alternately that 1. God wanted closeness with the Israelites, and thought that their reliance on daily deliveries of manna would reinforce the bond; 2. God wanted to reassure the hungry Israelites that they would consistently be provided for; or 3. God didn’t want to burden the Israelites by making them carry a year’s worth of manna as they trekked through the desert.

So: what are your earliest memories of biting into this sweet and complicated bread? How does challah keep you anchored to God, your ancestors, or tradition?

Filed Under: Community Learning, Event writeups, Food, Rabbi's Posts Tagged With: Challah, Shavuot

Belonging in America

June 4, 2018 by Clare Kinberg

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!

 

Filed Under: Event writeups Tagged With: community learning, Shavuot

Jewish Views on Reparations

May 25, 2018 by Clare Kinberg 1 Comment

by Clare Kinberg

May 19th, Erev Shavuot, was an evening of study, cheesecake and blintzes for AARC. There were four study sessions; I hope to do a blog post on each one:

  • Jonas Higbee: “Building a Community Response to Fascism: Lessons from Richard Spencer’s Visit to MSU”
  • Clare Kinberg: “Shavuot4BlackLives: Jewish Views on Reparations”
  • Etta King Heisler: “Belonging in America:  What is Belonging and How Does it Broaden, Limit, Deepen, or Otherwise Define Our Community?”
  • Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner:  “A Long and ‘Twisted’ Relationship: Us, God, and…Challah?”

First up, my session on “Jewish Views on Reparations.” My impetus for the session was “Shilumim,” the shavuot4blacklives study guide put together by Graie Barasch-Hagans, Koach Baruch Frasier and Mackenzie Zev Reynolds and distributed by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).

Shilumim is the Hebrew word meaning ‘reparations;’ ‘Leshalem’ is ‘to pay’ from the same root as ‘shalem,’ to make whole. The concept of the study guide is to extend the theme of Shavuot, which Jews begin to count down to on the second night of Passover, the beginning of our liberation, and which traditionally ends with the revelation at Mt Sinai, the receiving of the Torah seven weeks later. Graie, KB and Mackenzie suggest we extend this trajectory another several weeks to end on Juneteenth (June 19) with a focus on what is needed to fulfill liberation. That is, reparations.

Shavuot4blacklives introduces the study by reminding us when the Vision For Black Lives Platform was released in 2016, many members of the Jewish community had strong reactions to the way that Israel was characterized in the document, particularly the use of the word “genocide” in connection to the Palestinian people. At the same time, “Jews of Color in our community called on all of us to remain committed to the Movement For Black Lives, to racial justice, and by extension, to Black Jews no matter what.” They offer this study guide on the reparations sections of the Platform as one way to do that.

The Israelites despoiling the Egyptians. Image from f. 13 of the ‘Golden Haggadah.” 1325–1349

Our discussion was framed using Aryeh Bernstein’s essay, “The Torah Case for Reparations,” in which he draws on many places in Torah to conclude “Jews must support reparations in principle, because we took reparations for our slave labor, we were commanded by God to do so, and we were promised these reparations in the earliest Divine plan for our liberation.” The Bernstein article, a long, worthwhile read (with lots of excellent links) is a specifically Jewish follow-up to Ta-Nehisi Coates 2014 Atlantic essay, “The Case for Reparations.”

As Bernstein’s essay based itself on Torah, Rabbi Sharon Brous’ LA Times Opinion piece, “Why Jews Should Support Reparations for Slavery,” is based on a rabbinic dispute in the Mishna:

Gittin 55a:12

§ The mishna teaches that Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Gudgeda further testified about a stolen beam that was already built into a building and said that the injured party receives the value of the beam but not the beam itself. With regard to this, the Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Bava Kamma 10:5): If one robbed another of a beam and built it into a building, Beit Shammai say: He must destroy the entire building and return the beam to its owners. And Beit Hillel say: The injured party receives only the value of the beam but not the beam itself, due to an ordinance instituted for the sake of the penitent. In order to encourage repentance, the Sages were lenient and required the robber to return only the value of the beam. The mishna was taught in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel

I included in our discussion packet two pieces on Affirmative Action that have relevance to our current moment, a moment in which political concord among representatives of Black and Jewish communities is needed, yet is unfortunately characterized by significant discord.

One recent example of the discord: When Starbucks announced that they were closing for an afternoon (Tuesday, May 29) to do a company-wide training on racial bias, they initially included the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a consultant on the training. The inclusion of the ADL was immediately met with push-back from some Black activists, which, in turn, was met by dismay from many Jews who think of the ADL as an outstanding leader of anti-bias education. Contemporary Black activists cite the ADL’s frequent coordination with law enforcement and the ADL’s support for U.S. police being trained on crowd-control and counter-terrorism in Israel.

I brought into our Shavuot  discussion my own perspective which relates back to the 1970s when, to my dismay, the ADL argued against Affirmative Action programs, then among the chief policy proposals advocated by African American organizations. The ADL had determined that Affirmative Action was not good for the Jews. Our Ann Arbor community should be interested in the history revealed in this 2003 article “Jews temper views on affirmative action”:

“In the Supreme Court’s landmark 1978 decision against affirmative action in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Jewish groups lined up in vocal opposition to affirmative programs. In that decision, the court banned quotas but allowed racial criteria to be used in admissions decisions. This time around [2003], their positions are more muted, as well as more diverse. Only the Anti-Defamation League, one of the then-staunchest leaders of the national fight against affirmative action, has filed a brief opposing Michigan’s program.”

I included the 2017 article “Affirmative Action as Reparations” to make the link between the current arguments for reparations and the original thinking behind Affirmative Action.

Menachem Begin protesting against the Reparations from Germany Agreement in March 1952. The sign reads: “Our honor shall not be sold for money. Our blood shall not be atoned by goods. We shall wipe out the disgrace!”

Finally, I included the Yad Vashem Shoah Research Center document on “Reparations and Restitutions,” which, to the surprise of most of us at the table, begins by saying, ‘From 1953-1965, West Germany paid the State of Israel, Jewish survivors, and German refugees hundreds of millions of dollars in a symbolic attempt to make up for the crimes committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.” The early growth if Israel’s economy was made possible by this money, yet it caused deep division among Jews.

There is a lot of information in this blog, and I hope much food for thought. The comments are open below for any who want to continue this discussion here.

 

Filed Under: Community Learning, Event writeups Tagged With: Human rights, Reparations, Shavuot

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