well looks like we'll be enrolling little V in the Sunday "Judaism School" offered by the Reconstructionist Temple I mentioned somewhere upthread (Or Shalom). I only know one other family there but their girls know V from our preschool co-op and I like them a lot so we'll see how it goes.
One odd thing that came up was that my wife was surprised that we have to pay membership fees to join the Temple. My wife grew up in a Catholic family (although she never attended church, catechism, etc.) and thought this stuff was free. I kinda assumed the Catholic Church is probably about the only religious institution that can afford to offer services for free, but I don't really know how it works with other churches. I figured everybody's gotta tithe/pay dues (how else would anything get paid for), this can't just be a Jewish thing right?
― Οὖτις, Monday, 16 June 2014 20:06 (ten years ago) link
That had never occurred to me, but it makes sense. Synagogues are only loosely affiliated with central organizations (e.g. United Synagogue) and I don't think they are funded by them. I assume catholic churches get money from the big church.
― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Monday, 16 June 2014 20:22 (ten years ago) link
the Catholic Church just owns so much shit, real estate, etc. but the vast majority of religious institutions aren't like that. most aren't even centralized the way the Church is.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 16 June 2014 20:36 (ten years ago) link
I'm more surprised to hear that catholic churches provide free sunday school
― Hier Komme Die Warum Jetzt (Hurting 2), Monday, 16 June 2014 20:37 (ten years ago) link
I'm not sure they do tbh. I don't know any Catholic parents sending their kids, and asking people who grew up going to Catholic School isn't really helpful since when does a kid ever know what costs money.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 16 June 2014 20:45 (ten years ago) link
baruch dayan emes, r' zalman schachter-shalomi passed away
― Mordy, Thursday, 3 July 2014 18:33 (nine years ago) link
i always heard that he used to study w/ shlomo carlebach when both were students of the Lubavitcher Rebbe at 770
― Mordy, Thursday, 3 July 2014 18:35 (nine years ago) link
temple we're considering joining hosted a talk from this guy, which I consider a positive sign: http://images.cdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/138731086/max_h-1000+max_w-1000/JEWS!.jpg
now I gotta figure out how much $$$ we can actually afford to join oy
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 16:59 (nine years ago) link
I knew he was old but I had no idea
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 18:29 (nine years ago) link
never realized scheduling a wedding was so difficult. Shabbat + Daylight Savings Time = good luck
― bnw, Wednesday, 30 July 2014 16:36 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQ1C5RJ2Vk#t=1655
If you've spent most of your time lately thinking about Israel/Palestine, this is a good thing to watch
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Thursday, 7 August 2014 04:37 (nine years ago) link
happy jewish valentine's day!
― Mordy, Monday, 11 August 2014 22:47 (nine years ago) link
great clip Hurting thx for posting
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 12 August 2014 20:42 (nine years ago) link
well I took Veronica to her first day of hebrew school at the reconstructionist temple ("don't let your child go shul-less!" lol). before class all the parents and kids and teachers sang some songs I probably haven't heard in 25 years, that was a trip.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 8 September 2014 16:52 (nine years ago) link
yay
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Wednesday, 10 September 2014 03:49 (nine years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/us/rabbis-find-talk-of-israel-and-gaza-a-sure-way-to-draw-congregants-wrath.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LargeMediaHeadlineSum&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 18:03 (nine years ago) link
only read the first two paragraphs but afaik they're not accurate - rabbi sharon's fight w/ her congregants goes beyond mentioning the names of dead civilians in prayer alongside israeli soldiers: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/182756/cbst
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 18:09 (nine years ago) link
I don't see what's innacurate...? I guess some previous issues are glossed over, but the general sequence of events seems the same in both articles
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 18:31 (nine years ago) link
w/out the background is makes the resignation seem incredibly petty
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 18:37 (nine years ago) link
it*
wtf is this:http://www.thekitchensf.org/mission/
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 19:12 (nine years ago) link
Welp, just booked a getaway for Rosh Hashanah because I couldn't get two days over the weekend, and now I feel guilty about it. Every year I go through some variation on this pain.
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Monday, 22 September 2014 19:15 (nine years ago) link
would like to try out the family service at this temple we just joined but I uh already had a recording date booked so that is happening instead
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 19:18 (nine years ago) link
ty, making me feel a little better
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Monday, 22 September 2014 19:56 (nine years ago) link
In another quandry, some are worrying about whether to get tickets for baseball postseason games that might happen (time tba) on Kol Nidre (friday oct. 3) and Yom Kippur Saturday October 4th and/or whether to check the scores or watch on tv etc (and will any Jewish players sit out such games)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/whats-a-faithful-jew-to-do-the-yom-kippur-baseball-dilemma/2014/09/18/c3319b7a-3f5c-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/09/18/choosing-shul-over-nats-park-on-yom-kippur/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/09/18/choosing-nats-park-over-shul-on-yom-kippur/
― curmudgeon, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:17 (nine years ago) link
lol i feel like they run those articles every year
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:20 (nine years ago) link
here's a local philly interest version from a few years ago:http://articles.philly.com/2011-10-07/news/30253608_1_yom-kippur-sundown-kol-nidre
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:21 (nine years ago) link
at least since Sandy Koufax's day
xp
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:22 (nine years ago) link
it's a perennial, alongside article, 'can you believe jews live in Y?'
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:26 (nine years ago) link
and 'yiddish is dying' which i just saw an article about this week and i lol'dhttp://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/yiddish-has-a-problem/379658/
Yeah, seems like one of those "What do vegetarians eat on Thanksgiving?" type stories.
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:29 (nine years ago) link
I'm not sure why or how mainstream religious or secular Jews in America would somehow also maintain a vital Yiddish-language culture; Yiddish was the Jewish vernacular of a time and place where Jews lived largely in isolated communities and its linguistic heyday in America was during a period of immigration. It's no surprise that it's now only a native language in insular Haredi communities.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:34 (nine years ago) link
haha I remember reading one of those stories over the course of a Jewish lit class I was taking in college. I remember it specifically because there was a quote from an old guy pointing out the Yiddish word for condom (shmekldekker) as evidence of the language continuing to grow/maintain relevance.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:36 (nine years ago) link
i like the bashavis singer quote that hung at the yiddish newspaper i worked at in crown heights - (paraphrasing:) "people say yiddish is dying. may it continue to die for many more years to come." the truth is that for a language that most communities don't need, it's still remarkably vibrant w/ institutions, camps, newspapers, etc. not even talking about kiryas yoel or wherever they don't additionally speak english.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:38 (nine years ago) link
did we discuss this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/us/rabbis-find-talk-of-israel-and-gaza-a-sure-way-to-draw-congregants-wrath.html
they kind of bury the lede... the article tries to be even-handed, discussing how rabbis are worried of both criticizing and defending israel in fear of alienating parts of their congregations. but then 3/4 into the article they say that a study showed that rabbis are much more fearful of criticizing israel than defending it. honestly this is one of the major reasons i'm pretty alienated from organized judaism. although my old congregation is mentioned at the end, as the one whose soon-to-step-down rabbi is actually a supporter of BDS (!).
btw the article suggests that the (modern?) orthodox account for about 10% of american jewry. i wonder what % are haredi/ultrareligious. i imagine it's a growing number.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:40 (nine years ago) link
xpost
i like that quote about yiddish
― I dunno. (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:41 (nine years ago) link
not to mention ongoing interest in preservation of the cultural work and ephemera that the Yiddish heyday in the US and in Europe produced, the importance to secular scholarship of studying literature in the original rather than in translation, translation projects, etc. Might as well lament the decline in Aramaic speakers in the Jewish community.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:41 (nine years ago) link
kol nidre is happening the same day as my birthday this year.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:42 (nine years ago) link
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, September 22, 2014 3:41 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
there's a brand-new archive of yiddish music and culture at the university where i study. it's pretty neat; they sponsor a klez-camp every summer. i haven't yet made an appointment to go listen to some of their 78s.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:43 (nine years ago) link
re: Israel, let's be real, the most liberal of Reconstructionist shuls, whose rabbis happily conduct gay interfaith marriages, are still gonna have congregants divided on Israel right now. That a pro-Israel stance among Jews is seen as "right wing" by leftist commentators is sort of garbage.
re: Yiddish, the National Yiddish Book Center was on my college campus! It was really cool, and you can buy any of the books they have out and take them home with you. It was an incredible project. Much nicer building than any of the actual school buildings too, what with that Jewish philanthropy strike force.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:45 (nine years ago) link
honestly this is one of the major reasons i'm pretty alienated from organized judaism. although my old congregation is mentioned at the end, as the one whose soon-to-step-down rabbi is actually a supporter of BDS (!).
i kinda wonder if this dynamic is the issue though? are ppl who are more likely to resonate w/ issues like BDS also ppl who feel alienated from the jewish community in the first place? tho judaism as a theology+philosophy has a lot of space for outsiders to the community (both culturally - spinoza types - and even within the religion there are traditions of hermits and theological anarchists like the kotzker rav), the jewish community isn't separable from tribalism really.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:46 (nine years ago) link
are ppl who are more likely to resonate w/ issues like BDS also ppl who feel alienated from the jewish community in the first place?
I don't think this is so.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:47 (nine years ago) link
well, maybe more likely, but I think you'll find tribally-engaged Jews floating around campus BDS groups as often as not.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:48 (nine years ago) link
ok, maybe not. that's just my impression reading jews who are active in BDS. i guess jewish voices for peace would be an exception - as a jewish community organization forming exclusively around the issue.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:48 (nine years ago) link
i think it's always going to be controversial suggesting boycotting coreligionists for political (as opposed to theological) rifts. that'll never be mainstream jewish community.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:49 (nine years ago) link
are ppl who are more likely to resonate w/ issues like BDS also ppl who feel alienated from the jewish community in the first place
I would say yes probably to some limited extent
tho judaism as a theology+philosophy has a lot of space for outsiders to the community (both culturally - spinoza types - and even within the religion there are traditions of hermits and theological anarchists like the kotzker rav)
this is one of the best things about the tribe imo
― Οὖτις, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:50 (nine years ago) link
yes for sure, and i've benefited tremendously from it. i think there's actually been a breakthrough in a some traditional jewish communities around recognizing this. i think it's why i can participate in an orthodox community without fully committing to a 100% orthodox lifestyle, and i'm accepted in the community and invited for meals and my kids go to the school, etc. i see this in chabad and in modern/open orthodoxy and in traditional/conservative too. actually the conservative synagogue near my house is the supplier for free-range kosher chicken, as well as hosting the hazon sustainable food convention this year, which is being orthodox catered. there's a lot of commingling among millennial jews i find in this community from a kinda broad spectrum of practices.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:52 (nine years ago) link
like for sure the historically traditional model of halachic performance was that everyone lived in the same community and you did what you did and some ppl were probably very stringent and some ppl weren't -- i think the worldwide jewish community kinda lose the thread on this post-WW2 (maybe for good reasons) but it seems to be making a comeback.
― Mordy, Monday, 22 September 2014 20:54 (nine years ago) link
That a pro-Israel stance among Jews is seen as "right wing" by leftist commentators is sort of garbage.
i have a hard time parsing this comment. surely many of those jews who are critical of israel's recent attacks in gaza and their policy of expanding settlements are very pro-israel in a more meaningful, existential sense?
― I dunno. (amateurist), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:58 (nine years ago) link
Well, yes.
― Spirit of Match Game '76 (silby), Monday, 22 September 2014 21:00 (nine years ago) link