CNN's Religious Warriors Series

Okay, so maybe I have to go back and watch the whole thing again. (six hours!?) I must admit, parts of the whole thing did make me cringe. And I'm not great at being unbiased when it comes to watching a program about Israel.

But in retrospect, and after reading CAMERA's critique of the Jewish and Muslim parts of the series, I have reason to agree with CAMERA's assessment. There was a great deal of bias in the reporting. I'm not sure that it was entirely intentional -- in many ways, although CNN believes that it's reporting about apples and apples, I think the comparisons between Jews, Muslims and Christians is more like apples, oranges, and bananas. One of the comments CAMERA makes:

It is false in its basic premise, established in the opening scene in which Jewish (and Christian) religious fervency is equated with that of Muslims heard endorsing "martyrdom," or suicide-killing. There is, of course, no counterpart among Jews and Christians to the violent jihadist Muslim campaigns underway across the globe, either in numbers of perpetrators engaged or in the magnitude of death and destruction wrought.

There does seem to be a lot of focus in the Jewish segment on the pro-Israel lobby in this country. Far more than in the Muslim section, which does not speak about any of the oil lobbies that are waged on behalf of Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia (...home of many of the 9/11 terrorists, why are we friends with them???)

In fact, there was, as CAMERA points out, a much more gentle tone towards the Muslim extremists, especially those in our own country...

There was a noticeably gentler and more cordial tone toward Muslim extremists in contrast to the often snide and hectoring tone displayed toward pro-Israel Americans and Israeli settlers in "God's Jewish Warriors." In "God's Muslim Warriors," Amanpour included two apolitical segments with appealing devout Muslim women who talked about why they wear a head covering and how Islam enriches their lives. No such apolitical segment about devout Jews appeared in "God's Jewish Warriors."

Read the rest of CAMERA's critique here...and here...and let me know what you thought!

Art and Seeing

For our motzei Shabbat activity (after Shabbat ends, on Saturday night), we had the unexpected pleasure of an hour or so out...my m-in-law was home with the kids, and so we dashed out to see the Highwood Fine Arts Festival, a very small art show in our own small town. While much of the art was nice and somewhat ordinary, we were delighted with the art of Inna Deriy, who paints with pigmented polymers on stone, wood, and canvas. Let me tell you, it leads to gorgeous colors and beautiful images. I am not even really sure what a polymer is (I know I wouldn't eat it!) but I know what I think is beautiful.

I wasn't able to find a picture of the small piece that we bought. It has the image of tree trunks. I love images of trees...I think trees are so incredible and wonderful as a symbol of longevity in nature. I also love the Jewish imagery of the Torah as the Tree of Life, and I also love the idea of a family tree. Overall, I'm a tree girl.

I did find this image, though, and it is quite beautiful. There is also a story about it that the artist's husband shared with us while we perused the booth. He said a blind woman was walking through an art fair they were doing once, and she bemoaned that she couldn't really see all the art that her companion was describing. He offered to let her touch this painting (at the time it was all white, with just the texture of the image -- it's hard to see in the picture here but all her art is very textured), and as she ran her fingers over it, she said, "oh, it's tulips!" but they hadn't even told her what it was.

It is amazing how our senses work. Many people who have full functional use of their eyes are "blind" to the world, not seeing beauty or love....or not seeing problems in the world. This story was a beautiful reminder that we shouldn't always just see with our eyes...

Celebrating Shabbat without TV?

When David (now 5 1/2) was young, we told him he could only watch tv on Shabbat. When we'd visit my parents, they would let him watch tv whenever he wanted, which coined the phrase in our house: "it's always Shabbat at Bubbie and Zeyde's house!" (It raised problems for us one Shabbat that we spent with an Orthodox family. In their house, no tv on Shabbat!)

Now we don't do that anymore. He's old enough to know that there is tv available on other days of the week....and he likes to watch it. But we learned that it is possible to be non-traditional in your observance of Shabbat and make the day very special.

So now we struggle with some special thing to define Shabbat in our house, other than our Friday night dinner activities. I would like something special to do or not do on Saturday as well. I think that this may become easier as my children grow older. It's hard to explain to a 2-year-old and it's hard to be consistent in our house when mommy works on Shabbat!

How does your family observe Shabbat? What are some non-traditional traditions that you've developed to make this day special? Leave me a comment!

Watch CNN Presents Tonight...

I am right now watching God's Warriors (part 1) on CNN. It is great -- I am fascinated by the retelling of Israel's history. I'm curious to see the other two parts, the Muslim and Christian perspectives. I know (thanks to my TiVo!) that part 1 is being re-run a couple times tonight and then the others are on tomorrow and Thursday. I can't wait to write a review of the whole thing. Let me know what you think!!!

Torah Portion Friday: Tzedakah with your family

This week's Torah portion, Re'eh, contains the following line:

If however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kin in any of your settlements in the land that the Eternal your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin. Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need. (Deuteronomy 15:7–8)

This line is one of the first lessons we teach our children as we begin to teach them about Judaism. The need to help others, no, the requirement that we help others, is a central focus of what Judaism is all about. The commandment to help others appears so often in the Torah that the Talmud tell us (Bava Batra 9a) “Tzedakah (charity) outweighs all other mitzvot.”

So how can we make this a part of our family's regular activities? Here are some suggestions for making tzedakah a part of your regular routine:

• keep a tzedakah box in many places in your house: on top of the dryer for loose change, in the kitchen, on your dresser, on your kids' dressers...


• teach your kids to divide their allowance. My son has a piggy bank with separate slots for "spend" "save" "invest" and "donate" (we bought it from Amazon) -- we regularly talk about putting the money into the Tzedakah slot and what we can do with it.


• when you sort through clothes and toys, take your children with you to deliver them to Goodwill or another organization.


• suggest that your child's birthday party be a collection, asking for donations or items for others instead of gifts for the child


• collect every "request" that comes into your house and once a month (or at whatever interval works for you), sit down with your family and look at all of them to determine where your family's tzedakah money will go.


• create young philanthropists -- give your kids and/or grandkids a bank account or budget from which they can make their own gifts...discuss with them regularly what it means to make your tzedakah dollars "go far." Teach them about "matching gifts" and make arrangements to "match" your kids' gifts...or invite them to ask other family members to match their gifts.


• use tzedakah as a reward or incentive: offer to give money to the charity of your kids' choice in honor of an acheivement or milestone.

These and so many more ideas will help your family to make tzedakah (charity) and gemilut chasadim (acts of lovingkindness) regular parts of your family's life. Through these actions we can truly fulfill our mission on earth: to make this world a better place.

How does your family engage in tzedakah? Leave a comment with your ideas.

(crossposted on imabima.blogspot.com)

Take the Bottled Water Challenge...

My family has begun to swear off bottled water. It all started when my husband purchased a relatively expensive water filtration system for our house last September. You spent the money on that, I thought, so we should stop spending the money on bottles.

Well, it turned out that we all love our water filter. So much so that we took the darn thing with us to camp. (It only worked for a week, though, before the filter conked out. Camp water, very much in need of filtering.) We bought a bunch of Nalgene bottles and Camelbak bottles and we seem to be all set.

Who knew we were on the cutting edge of environmentalism. Not me.

But we are. There are now articles about how bottled water isn't better. And how it's an example of our overconsumption and indulgence. There are campaigns to end bottled water consumption (see Think Outside the Bottle and Refill Not Landfill). And hey -- I'm all for it. I even put into both of our cars a stack of paper cups and straws so we can drink on the go from drinking fountains. (Straws make it all easier with the almost-2-year-old and more fun for all of us.) Some facts to consider:

• Last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water, even though bottled water isn’t healthier or safer than tap water.


• While the EPA regulates the quality of public water supplies, the agency has no authority over bottled water. Some studies indicate that certain brands of bottled water test positive for chemical and bacterial contamination at higher levels than tap water.


• One out of six people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water. The global economy denies drinkable water to 1 billion people, while delivering to us an array of water “varieties” from around the globe, not one of which we actually need.


• Americans went through about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year, 167 for each person. We pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year - more than $1 billion worth of plastic (while the recycling rate for this particular kind of plastic is only 23%).


• We’re moving 1 billion bottles of unnecessary water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That’s a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water. (this one scares me!)

So...can you do it? Can you put an end to your bottled water consumption???

Leave me a comment to make your commitment.

crossposted on imabima.blogspot.com

A Worthy Project...

A young lady studying for her Bat Mitzvah has undertaken a very cool project. She has created a cd of music -- her own piano playing and a little vocals, all written by this lovely teenager. Only one song was written by someone else -- Billy Joel! She contacted him and received permission to use his song Lullaby on her CD. Proceeds of the CD are going to the Susan G. Komen organization working for a cure for breast cancer.

Jessica's website describes her inspiration in detail and gives information on how to order the CD. It's a nice collection of music and a great cause.

Please pass this information on to others...she's already raised $1000 with sales of her CD. Let's help her out.

Wanna move to New Orleans? They'll pay you!

Not exactly. But similar to how Israel recruits new olim, the New Orleans Jewish community is now recruiting new immigrants...Out of the 10,000 Jews in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, only 7,000 remain. There is a strong desire amongst those who are still there to rebuil dtheir community, and so they've decided to offer incentives (from the LA Times):

So Jewish New Orleans has cooked up a novel solution: a recruitment drive. With an ad campaign crafted by an Israeli public relations firm, the city's Jewish leaders are hoping to attract at least 1,000 Jews to the city over the next five years. They will appeal to potential pilgrims' better natures, stressing the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, Hebrew for "healing the world" — or, in this case, healing a broken city.

They also plan to lure them with cash. Starting next month, any Jew who has relocated to the city since Jan. 1 will be eligible for up to $5,500 for moving and housing expenses, interest-free loans of up to $30,000, half-price tuition at Jewish day schools, and a year of free membership at a synagogue and a Jewish community center.The concept was hatched, in part, by Michael J. Weil, an economist who moved here from Israel in October to head the Jewish Federation, the umbrella group for the city's Jewish agencies and programs. As a consultant to the Israeli government, Weil helped settle thousands of Jewish refugees in Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The New Orleans benefits were based, in part, on the sal klita, the "absorption benefits basket" offered to Israeli newcomers.

The recruitment drive springs from an acknowledgment that city officials have done a poor job touting New Orleans' progress in the two years since Katrina. The Jewish community will have to get that message out to its people on its own, Weil said.

"I would hope that nobody's going to move here just because of the incentive package, but it will be a lubricant," Weil said. "We cannot sit around waiting for the Road Home program and all these other things to take place, because we want to be in that great, better place tomorrow." Road Home is a state program that distributes federal funds for Katrina recovery efforts.

So...want to relocate???

Just for laughs...because you gotta!

Dispatch from Camp #5: Yes You Can!

Today we were honored to have Lloyd Bachrach speak to our group of campers. Lloyd was born with a congenital bone deficiency that left his legs unusually small, and he now wears prosthetic limbs. He does motivational speaking around the country to inspire others to embrace their own ability and bring attention to the concept of "differently abled" instead of the idea of "disabled."

We brought him in as a Jewish hero who has overcome his circumstances. He said that he doesn't see himself as a hero, just someone who dealt with what he has. I think that his heroism is in his ability to share himself with audiences with no embarrassment or fear.

Tomorrow is Shabbat! Yay! It is also the beginning of the end of our time here at camp. We go home on Sunday, and I know that the campers are sad that their session is drawing to a close. I am getting tired and am actually looking forward to sleeping in my own bed...

Dispatch from Camp #4: Judaica Bowl & Camp Heartland

Last night we held the annual camp Judaica Bowl (see picture, it's a Judaica BOWL, get it? Ha ha. David wanted to know if there really was a bowl). It is such a cool event because we spend a lot of time cheering and celebrating and honoring the kids who know a lot about Jewish knowledge! Each eidah (unit) chooses its team and then the eidah teams compete against each other. Jerry, the camp's director, gets a big kick out of choosing hard and interesting questions to stump the campers. We, the faculty, serve as judges for the answers that might be questionable...

Even though I love the Judaica Bowl for what it honors, it also makes me a little sad. I can answer almost every question that is asked in the Bowl (aren't you glad...considering that I'm a rabbi!?) but I know that most of our campers don't know most of the answers. Sometimes this seems a little disappointing to me because I wish that our kids had a higher level of Jewish knowledge under their belts. Most of the kids who are on the teams are kids who attend day schools. On the one hand, this demonstrates the efficacy of these schools. On the other hand, does it illustrate a problem with our supplementary schools? I think the answer might be yes.

On the third hand (why not!?), most of our campers feel an incredible connection and spirit with and for the Jewish community. Watching them sing songs in Hebrew and celebrate Judaism here at OSRUI is hugely important. These are the kids who will feel a connection to Judaism for the rest of their lives.

But is it going to be enough?

Is it enough for our kids to grow up strongly connected but somewhat ignorant of Jewish law, custom, language? I know this is a struggle that so many Jews have felt thorughout the generations -- that their generation or their children's generation is growing up with less Yiddishkeit. I look at these kids and I know that Judaism is going to survive -- but will it be as strong and vibrant with less knowledge? These are the questions with which I struggle.

Today we had a guest speaker for our units that are studying the concept of heroes. We invited Neil Willenson, the founder of Camp Heartland, to come and speak about how he saw a need and met it with the creation of his camp for kids with HIV/AIDS. He was a great speaker and I really believe that he helped our kids to "get" what we've been talking about in terms of the reality of being a gibor, a hero. He also brought with him Nile Sandeen, the young man whose story of his own struggles with HIV inspired Neal to found the camp. The two of them made a powerful team in how they spoke to our campers. One of the reasons we brought Neil was because he is a Jewish hero, but I was glad that he was able to bring along Nile, who isn't Jewish, to talk about his own story. I think it was good to show the campers that heroes can be Jewish and also not, of course.

One other point...Neil brought up the story of Jackie Robinson. I have always heard tell of him as a hero for breaking the color barrier in baseball...but when Neil told the story, he offered me a slightly new perspective. Jackie Robinson was indeed a hero for what he did. But perhaps an even greater hero in the story is Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Dodgers who signed Robinson. After all, it was almost as difficult for Rickey to choose to bring in a "colored" player as it was for Robinson to take on the task. Interesting to think about who really is a hero.

Dispatch from Camp #3: Hero Mixes

Yesterday we made "hero mixes" -- which were snack mixes of various different food items to represent the different qualities of a hero. It's important to maintain a balance of ingredients in a recipe, just like it's important for a hero to have a balance of qualities. The kids really got into this activity and really understood the lesson. We threw in cinnamon red-hot candies as well, to signify the Yetzer Ha-Ra, the Evil Impulse within each of us, to illustrate and remind our campers of the question: Who is a hero? and the answer: The one who can overcome his evil inclination.

Construction Update! July 4, 2007

Check out these awesome pictures of the building as we begin the demoltion. You can see the courtyard, the auditorium (2 pics) and the old entry-way (to the left are the windows that used to be Sharon's, Ed's and my offices!)

Wow.

Dispatch from Camp #2: The Human Knot

Today was our first day of "Limudim" or educational programming. It is also the first "real" day of camp for our chanichim, our campers. We try not to beat them over the head with the idea of "learning" but rather make it all fun. Our theme is "heroes" and today we talked about the qualities that make a hero. Then we asked the kids to do various "challenge activities" that would require them to use some of the qualities of a hero. We started with the human knot, which I think is so much fun. In case you don't know what this is, you stand in a circle and have to grab the hands of someone across from you (not the same person for both hands) and then the whole group is "knotted up"....and then you have to, without letting go of hands, unknot the group back into a circle. It can be very tricky but also a lot of fun, and requires a lot of teamwork!

After this, we asked them to get themselves into birthday order without talking...and then human pyramids. All of this was a lot of fun and made for a lot of group bonding and lots of laughter! But through it all, I was so impressed that the kids really got the message that we were trying to teach them -- that heroic qualities are inherent in us all. We may not all be heroes, but we all have in us the capacity to do so.

I love seeing how, even after only one night, the campers seem like they've been here forever. There's no question that they're all having fun!

Dispatch from Camp #1

One of my favorite times of the year is the 2 weeks that I and my family spend at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Insitute in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. This camp is an incredible place, a living, breathing, Jewish community that speaks English laced with Hebrew, prays twice a day, sings boisterously, cheers and chants and laughs...while swimming, running, riding, and occasionally sleeping. It is a marvelous place for the campers, and also a marvelous place for my family to come each year.

As a rabbi, my job is to focus on the religious, spiritual, and educational life of the camp. There are many rabbis up here, each of us work with different units of differently aged children. I work with Kallah, the youngest unit. We are now in the second session of the summer, and we have 4th-7th graders in Kallah. Our group just arrived today and they are currently settling into their cabins as I type. Tonight they will eat dinner, share an evening tefillah (prayer service) and have a fun evening program...before falling exhausted into their newly chosen bunks.

Then tomorrow the fun really begins. We don't ease into things -- a full day awaits our campers tomorrow and I'm very excited for the beginning of our limudim, "study" program. Our topic for this session is Jewish heroes, and I look forward to seeing how the staff embraces our "shtick" -- the funny skits that help to make the lessons real to the campers (as well as entertaining). Part of tomorrow's limudim program involves human knots and pyramid building, so I'll make sure to bring my camera.

And then, of course, tomorrow night is our annual Independence Day celebration, complete with fireworks. Can't wait! Will tell this story tomorrow after the fun....

Driving with Religion?

The Vatican has issued a "ten commandments" for drivers.

Cars can be "instruments of sin" when used inappropriately, but the Vatican suggests that prayer is a good use for the car -- and it's a good idea to recite the rosary while driving.

Seriously, they are behind -- haven't they ever heard of a MitzvahMobile? This is a thing that Chabad has been using for a long time.

It does speak to the idea that any modern technology can be used for both good and ill. Internet? Good for connecting people, but has obvious downsides. Telephones? Work for calling those in need, but can be disruptive. Ipods? Can shut you out of the world but can also bring in holy music or oral teachings....and I could go on and on.

I find it interesting that the Vatican is looking for ways to integrate their religious teachings into "modern" life -- and that they started with the CAR, something that's been around for so long.

Summer Reading List

(also will be printed in the July KOL)
Last summer, I put together a summer reading list. While I’ve been a little busy this year (baby and all), I’ve still managed to find some interesting reading. By special request, here are some suggestions for your summer (or is that Sommer?) reading list:

Seven Days to the Sea: An Epic Novel of the Exodus by Rebecca Kohn – last year I suggested a number of books in the genre of biblical fiction. This is a new one, just out in March (but available in paperback), and a marvelous entry into the category. I couldn’t put down this retelling of the story from the perspective of both Miriam and Tzipporah (Moses’ wife) – and I already knew how the whole story ends! I found it to be a creative and fresh take on this ancient story.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz – a lovely little volume that my husband discovered this year. The four agreements themselves are simple (my favorite is “don’t take anything personally”) but it’s the explanation of how and why these are the four most important concepts that make the book a quick but potentially life-changing read.

My Monastery is a Minivan by Denise Roy – While this is not a Jewish book, I really enjoyed the parenting lessons and tales told by Denise Roy, a minister and psychotherapist (and mom of four). I found her stories to be heartwarming and also inspiring, as well as real-life. I never felt that the book was preachy although I definitely yearn to be the kind of mom who, like Roy, can actually find holiness in even the dirty kitchen floor. (I’m working on it!) (Her other book, Momfulness, was also a great little volume.)


Gonzo Judaism by Rabbi Niles Goldstein – an easy to read argument for the survival of Judaism in the 21st century. "Judaism, when presented in its best and most authentic light, doesn't coddle—it confronts,” says Goldstein. I really enjoyed reading this book which also seemed like a laundry list of some of the coolest and most creative things going on in the Jewish community in America today. Some of the ideas are worth integrating into your own practice or considering as ideas for our own synagogue.


There are so many great books out there – I look forward to hearing some of your favorites! Please share – email me at phylliss@amshalom.com (I definitely plan to curl up with the new Harry Potter book this summer but I’m sure I’ll find time to read something else too.)

Happy reading!!!

We have a new wall!

There's now a new wall at Am Shalom, the wall that will separate the sanctuary from the construction site that is going to be our building for the next 16 months or so. The wall is up so we can continue to use the sanctuary, and it's very nice. It makes the sanctuary lobby a little bit smaller, but very bright and nice to be in. Here are some pictures of the construction of the wall...

Look what's going on at the Temple!

Hard to believe how fast the construction has begun to move...we have signs, fences, and even our own construction equipment! It's very exciting and fun to see:

We have an incredibly beautiful stone relief carving that is a part of the front entrance of the building. It illustrates a quote from Micah: Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This relief is going to be in the front entrance of our building when the construction is complete, as well, so to protect it and preserve it, it was removed from the wall and will be stored. I missed the moment of extraction (which I bet would have been awesome to see...) but here is the relief being prepared for storage as well as the hole in the wall where it used to be!

There's also a lot of packing and moving going on. Here are some images of what the temple looks like right now, full of boxes and with the lobby filled with various items...

Come by and see how the packing is going and walk through the halls one last time before construction begins in mid-June!

"Breaking Ranks" on Circumcision? Really?

In the Chicago Tribune this week, there was an interesting article, on the front page, no less, about how Jewish parents are "breaking ranks" and choosing not to circumcise their children.

This follows in the wake of some interesting medical news that circumcision actually prevents HIV, not to mention that it's been one of those on-going traditions for thousands of years.

But I found the article itself strange and confusing. I, as a rabbi, have done many a "bloodless bris," but I've never had a family who didn't choose circumcision -- most choose to do it in the hospital instead of in their home or synagogue ceremony. While I personally find this troubling (both of my boys had a mohel perform their brit milah in the synagogue), I understand the desire to do it in the hospital.

But the article made it seem like a real "movement." I haven't heard a lot of "movement" towards this. I'm always open to new traditions. But I'm not sure about this....what do you think?