Hi everyone!
A week ago, I had the incredible opportunity to attend Rooted and Relevant: Reconstructing Judaism in 2018, the convention for the Reconstructing Judaism movement. Before I dive into my unsolicited and probably incoherent reflections, I want to thank the folks at Dorshei Tzedek, Camp Havaya (formerly JRF), and the Brandeis Reconstructionist Organization (BRO) for causing me to fall in love with Judaism again and again, and especially reconstructionist Judaism. A special thank you to BRO again and to my mom & dad, for helping fund me coming to this convention.
This is aggressively long. Feel free to skim or skip to the last paragraph.
I arrived at the convention on Thursday afternoon, and after a brief confusion about what hotel I was staying in, I was able to attend some programs. The first program I attended was called Corporate T'shuvah, taught by soon-to-be-rabbi Ari Witkin, and it was about whether or not corporations are able to perform the work of t'shuvah (a Jewish term for repentance) or not, as well as how our obligation to forgive factors in. It was a really interesting to hear, and what struck me was more our discussions on who is obligated to ask forgiveness and the idea of obligation to forgive. We read some super interesting work from Rabbi David Blumenthal on the subject, and also discussed t'shuvah as a spiritual obligation vs a social one. It was great to walk in and be welcomed immediately, even though it wasn't the program I thought it would be. It was very interesting to look at corporations' morality, especially after spending so much time in classes talking about legal cases or finances.
The second program I went to was the Rule of Six, run by Victoria Guenther (sp?). It was an art project based on identity, below is my final work. The idea was to paint our identity with one word written across it, so I put a lot of multicolored dots because I always have a lot of things going on, but under the dots I had a layer of purple sparkles because I try to bring light and sunshine to everything I do. Across it, I wrote the Hebrew "דרשנה" from the root "דרש" meaning to demand, require, seek, need, or search for, and biblically to turn to higher guidance or powerful forces (thanks Morfix). Those are all things I do regularly, and I do feel like I'm constantly searching for myself in some way, and maybe that's the only true constant in personality is that it's inconstant. It's not a word technically, I just added a feminine ending to the word "דרשנ", meaning the person giving dvar Torah or a sermon. I also like that because I want to be a Rabbi, and it's very in my character to decide the word should be feminine so to create it! In addition, the root is the same as the first word in my home synagogue's name Dorshei Tzedeck- seekers of justice.
After the afternoon programs there was Ma’ariv, followed by dinner where I was able to reconnect with folks from my shul at home, QTC, camp alumni, and brandeis grads. I sat with a group of young people who are part of the Shapiro Fellowship, a fellowship to help bring Reconstructing Judaism to young people (I applied to the group but was told I’m too young- the cutoff age was 22).
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| Friends from QTC |
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| Friends from Dorshei Tzedeck (my home synagoge) |
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| Camp JRF (now Havaya) Alumni and Faculty |
After dinner there was a panel led by Rabbi Sid Schwartz with Rabbis Lauren Grabelle Hermann, Michael Strassfeld, and Shira Stutman entitled Reconstructing Jewish Communities about how Judaism is changing, evolving, and becoming reconstructed today, and how to moderate that change and growth. The rabbis were all very intelligent, and made great points about how young Jews are increasingly disaffiliated or identifying as SBNR (Spiritual but Not Religious) so Judaism needs to find ways besides prayer to engage us. I liked the phrasing of Judaism as a “technology” through which people can make meaning of life. However, it did feel like a lot of adults telling me what I wanted, and it was interesting to me that the Shapiro Fellowship was never mentioned and there were no young Jews on the panel.
After that panel and a day of travel, I fell asleep! I did have a funny moment when I walked into the hotel, and the camp directors were all sitting in the lobby. My first thought was "Wow it's way past when I'm supposed to be in my room- I'm going to get kicked out of camp!!" Then my logical mind caught up with me and realized 1) I don't have a curfew because I'm an adult and 2) I'm not at camp, or even working for camp! Haha!
On Friday morning, I woke up for weekday Shacharit (the morning service), where I wrapped teffilin (a ritual object-just google it if you don’t know what it is) and went through the entire service wearing it, for the first time in a room with other non-men wearing teffilin. The opening remarks after shacharit were from Rabbi Isaac Saposnik from Camp Havaya, and Rabbi Deborah Waxman, the head of the Reconstructing Judaism movement. We also watched a video that I was featured in, along with a couple of my BRO board member friends! The video can be found here:
The first workshop I attended was the Torah of #MeToo with Mira Wasserman, which addressed the ethical issues of #MeToo in relation to Jewish ethics. We read Chofetz Chaim Part I Prohibition on Evil Speech principle 10, 1-6 and Moed Katan 17a, which addressed the issue of LacShon Hara (evil speech, often in reference to gossip) and assault. The conversation revolved in large part around issues of motivation for telling- are you telling for the benefit of the victim, out of hatred for the perpetrator, or out of a zealotry for the truth? The first and last reasons are acceptable, whereas the middle one is not. It was a very interesting session, not because I actually changed any opinions, but because, as Mira said, even though “there is no Masechet Me Too in the Talmud”, “the Talmud and other resources can be very helpful in figuring out the ethical issues of #MeToo”.
The next workshop I went to was about Inclusive Judaism with Rabbi Sandra Lawson, one of the rabbis I’ve been hoping to meet for a while. Her twitter is one of my favorite rabbinic accounts (in addition to rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who I also got to learn from, stay tuned). The workshop was worth the anticipation! We sang and Koach played drums (it was so good), and then studied using this source sheet, which she made public on Sefaria because she’s awesome. We discussed the language shift from biblical sources, which refer to “other”s as “stranger”s, to talmudic sources, which discuss “other”s as “convert”s, and the possibility of this reflecting a tribal understanding to a religious understanding, and whether someone has the ability to join the Jewish people. As Koach (another amazing neshamah) pointed out though, most of the groups we as Jews have trouble including; queer Jews, Jews of color, differently abled Jews, etc, are not the stranger, but family. We also talked about what it means to “ואהבת לרעך כמוך” translated as “and love your neighbor as yourself” and ways in which self-love (or lack of self love) manifests. Someone, I can’t remember now who, said that it reminded them of the air masks in airplanes- put on your own before assisting others. We also discussed the golden vs “platinum” rule, instead of treat others as you would like to be treated, treat others as they would like to be treated- with the understanding that sometimes it’s hard to know how others would like to be treated.
My last Friday workshop was with the directors of camp Havaya Arts, and we talked about the kinds of activities they do there to bring Judaism and art together in meaningful ways for children. We did some improv, some journaling, and some drawing with pastels, again surrounding issues of identity. I really liked the program, and it was fun to get a little taste of what the camp is like.
Instead of Mincha, I went to take a nap before Kabbalat Shabbat services. The Kabbalat Shabbat service was awesome, and I sat with the Shapiro Fellows. Well, I sat in between the times when I was dancing! The d’var (sermon) was about Joseph’s dream with the ladder and the line “אָכֵן יֵשׁ ה’ בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה; וְאָנֹכִי, לֹא יָדָעְתִּי” “Surely G!d is in this place; and I, I knew it not”. After Shabbat dinner and a spirited concert that I actually skipped, I sat with some of the Shapiro fellows for a bit before heading to bed.
Saturday morning, I went to the big services with a huge torah service and sat with some friends from camp who were there! It was fun to reminisce about camp and talk about what worked and didn’t work, et cetera. At the service, I got to hear Rabbi Deborah Waxman's d'var. Shabbat lunch was also nice, and the Shabbat workshops were awesome. The first one I went to was Lessons in Humility with Rabbi Sarra Lev and it went a bit over my head. It was about Humility from a Petichta (explanation) and the Talmud (rabbinic works on Judaism). We studied Lev Rabbah on Parshat Vayikra 1:5 in relation to Leviticus I, and the extra words and letters in parts of Torah especially when G!d speaks to Moses. I wasn’t quite able to follow the conversation, because I’ve hardly studied Talmud and I was in a room full of rabbis and rabbinical students, but I really loved getting to absorb what I could. I also got to sit in between my two rabbis from my home congregation, which was grounding for me and also fun!
The last workshop I went to on Saturday was Anger, Joy, and Grief: Jewish Spiritual Resistance, with another Rabbi I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to meet and learn from, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who works for Avodah and again I follow on Twitter. The workshop was about the internal tools for resistance, and Rabbi Danya urged us to embrace positive discomfort. First, we did a meditation on anger, which made me feel actually grateful for my anger- because it means I have love and compassion. We looked at Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:6 and discussed anger as destructive vs. constructive anger, and where that anger comes from. Anger can be outrage, or it can be pain/fear. A lot of texts talk about anger with a metaphor of fire- which makes sense because sometimes anger can burn everything in its path to a crisp, but it can also be productive when wielded well. When we did a meditation on grief, it felt harder to get into and also harder to get out of. Grief opens us to understanding the human experience, and it's expressed in our texts as lament- crying out in pain when presented with the pain of others, who Rabbi Danya pointed out are also in the divine image. We cry out in "recognition that the world has been suddenly irreversibly changed," and, to use the fire metaphor again, "in the ashes, to see what is possible now". The last meditation was on joy, which allows us to connect and build beauty. The discussion moved to joy as resilience; protection from the rest of it. With the idea of resilience comes resistance, which helps grief (as an instigator for empathy) integrate with anger (as an incubator for justice) come together to form action. In talking about these three emotions - anger, joy, and grief - we thought about how emotions connect us, yet we all experience them differently. Rabbi Danya said that everybody relates differently, and has a different place in the revolution, so "we need all hands on deck, and there's a lot of deck!" I really loved that workshop, it helped me name a lot of connections that I notice in my emotions, and it felt really healthy to process in that way.
Dinner on Saturday night wasn't provided, so I went with camp friends! Aidan, Lea, Hillary, Beth (Aidan's mom- she's really a lovely woman) and I went to a vegetarian/vegan Chinese restaurant, where the food was great and the service was not. To be fair- they were a veggie within walking distance of Reconvention, so they were pretty packed. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel for a beautiful Havdalah service and an awesome concert from Nefesh Mountian- a Jewish bluegrass band that I adore! I spent some of the time hanging out and dancing with a seven-year-old I met there, and we even went up on stage for a few songs! My favorite Nefesh Mountian song is called "On and On" and camp alumni were called up for it, which was a pretty magical experience. They also sang a new song, in response to the Pittsburgh shooting, which was incredibly moving especially because they called a congregant from Dor Hadash, the Recon synagogue that meets in Tree of Life, up on stage for it. After the concert, I hung out with the Shapiro fellows then went to bed!
Sunday morning my workshop was called Challenges and Opportunities for Progressive Jews on College Campuses. It was really meant for Hillel professionals, but it was fun to be the token college student! The panelists were Rabbis Isabel DeKonick, Jessica Lott, and Joshua Bolten, and they framed campus institutions as attempting to answer the "big questions of Jewish adulthood" and find ways to bring in communal experience in an ever-more individualistic age. Rabbi Jessica talked about engaging Jewish people at the emerging state of adulthood and gave us a lot of statistics for campuses which were really interesting. One was that 95% of American Jews go to college, but "only" 80% have Pesach seders. She also argued that liberal or progressive Jews generally feel uncomfortable in services, so they tend to join other Jewish groups such as a capella (@Ba'note, Maginah, NJBeats...) social justice groups (@JstreetU, etc) and greek life (@Sigma @AEPi etc). That makes a lot of sense to me. Rabbi Josh made a distinction between what he called "empowerment Jews" who show up, who want to be Jewish leaders, and "engagement Jews" who won't naturally show up for Judaism. He said that "most Jews on campus are not motivated by their Judaism. It's barely an extracurricular for them." Later when I talked with Rabbi Jessica, she said that Brandeis is a special case, because the "engagement Jews" at Brandeis are "empowerment Jews" everywhere else- which makes sense and is interesting. Overall an interesting workshop, even though it wasn't geared towards me. I feel like I have a better understanding of what Jews on other campuses are facing, as well as a peek into Hillel International and thereby into Hillel at Brandeis.
After that workshop, there was a final workshop session, but I hung out with Aidan and Beth instead before lunch. At lunch, there was a program called "Reconstructing Sharktank" where people competed with different ideas for moving Reconstructing Judaism forward, and the prize was money to help it happen. The winning idea was to hire an additional rabbi to a synagogue who would offer fee-for-service counseling etc. It was cool. Then Deborah Waxman made some closing remarks, and it was all done!
Sunday morning my workshop was called Challenges and Opportunities for Progressive Jews on College Campuses. It was really meant for Hillel professionals, but it was fun to be the token college student! The panelists were Rabbis Isabel DeKonick, Jessica Lott, and Joshua Bolten, and they framed campus institutions as attempting to answer the "big questions of Jewish adulthood" and find ways to bring in communal experience in an ever-more individualistic age. Rabbi Jessica talked about engaging Jewish people at the emerging state of adulthood and gave us a lot of statistics for campuses which were really interesting. One was that 95% of American Jews go to college, but "only" 80% have Pesach seders. She also argued that liberal or progressive Jews generally feel uncomfortable in services, so they tend to join other Jewish groups such as a capella (@Ba'note, Maginah, NJBeats...) social justice groups (@JstreetU, etc) and greek life (@Sigma @AEPi etc). That makes a lot of sense to me. Rabbi Josh made a distinction between what he called "empowerment Jews" who show up, who want to be Jewish leaders, and "engagement Jews" who won't naturally show up for Judaism. He said that "most Jews on campus are not motivated by their Judaism. It's barely an extracurricular for them." Later when I talked with Rabbi Jessica, she said that Brandeis is a special case, because the "engagement Jews" at Brandeis are "empowerment Jews" everywhere else- which makes sense and is interesting. Overall an interesting workshop, even though it wasn't geared towards me. I feel like I have a better understanding of what Jews on other campuses are facing, as well as a peek into Hillel International and thereby into Hillel at Brandeis.
After that workshop, there was a final workshop session, but I hung out with Aidan and Beth instead before lunch. At lunch, there was a program called "Reconstructing Sharktank" where people competed with different ideas for moving Reconstructing Judaism forward, and the prize was money to help it happen. The winning idea was to hire an additional rabbi to a synagogue who would offer fee-for-service counseling etc. It was cool. Then Deborah Waxman made some closing remarks, and it was all done!
There's one memory I really want to share from Reconvention. There were a few tables of vendors set up not on Shabbat, like RitualWell, the Reconstructionist Press, Roasting Rabbi, etc. One was an Israeli man, maybe in his sixties, selling handmade jewelry with Hebrew and Jewish symbols on it. It was so beautiful, I stood around for a while asking him what the Hebrew meant and talking with him. He told me he went to Hebrew U, and I told him I wanted to be a rabbi. After a little bit, I told him "I'm afraid to ask how much your Jewelry is" and he asked why, so I explained that I was a student. He asked me which one I liked, and I told him that I really love one made of silver with the words of the Shema on it. He said "that one is seventy dollars" and I started to tell him I couldn't afford it, but he said "it's a gift." I told him I couldn't accept that as a gift, he made it with his own hands and he said "and I'm giving it to you with my own hands. It is for you, so that you know that you can afford anything and in thanks that you are young and want to keep the spirit of Judaism alive." He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I left with it! It's really gorgeous.
I wanted to make sure I told that story, because I think it really exemplifies the sense of community, passion, and looking forward to the future that all of Reconvention had.
Thank you for reading my unsolicited and probably incoherent thoughts and reflections, or at leastfor scrolling to the end!
Light & Love,
LilyFish
I wanted to make sure I told that story, because I think it really exemplifies the sense of community, passion, and looking forward to the future that all of Reconvention had.
Thank you for reading my unsolicited and probably incoherent thoughts and reflections, or at leastfor scrolling to the end!
Light & Love,
LilyFish
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