Judaism on Auto-Pilot: A Guest Blog by John Sussman

August 3, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 2 Comments 

Every once in a while, someone writes a fabulous guest blog for us.  So, I did not write what is below.  John Sussman did – and I think it’s very thought-provoking.

My name is John Sussman, and I had a naming for my daughter Eden O’Shea Sussman last week.  (Yes, my wife was there too, but this is not important right now).  I am not a member of a synagogue here in Cincinnati, nor do I practice Judaism unless it is convenient, which we all know is an oxymoron. (However, two examples that do come to mind are the nine permissible glasses of wine on Passover, and taking off work for the High Holidays.)  In fact, even though I haven’t practiced my religion since “becoming a man” with my bar mitzvah, I still call myself Jewish.  It is simply too much effort to explore my role with God and Judaism right now, and so much easier to just go on Jewish “auto-pilot”.  So much easier that way.

Anyway, when my daughter was born, my parents asked if I planned on doing a naming.  Without giving it much thought, I agreed.  It simply seemed like the right thing to do.  Why not allow my parents the opportunity to drool over their grandchild?  I might even get some real loot out of the deal.  We had a beautiful ceremony with family and then opened the reception up to friends.  To use my Mom’s words, “it was truly lovely” and it was—it was a beautiful night, thanks in part to Rabbi Laura Baum’s wonderful service.  The second star was my beautiful daughter Eden O’Shea Sussman (aka Elana Hanna Sussman).  Now, most people would have examined their Judaism in the weeks leading up to the naming, but I did not.  In fact, I hardly considered my religion during the naming.  You see—those who live with Judaism on auto-pilot don’t make the effort to look internally for answers.  Again, so much easier that way.

Last night, after eating Hitching Post fried chicken, my 6 month old daughter looked at me strangely as I was putting her to bed in her crib.  Now, she had given me a similar “look” last time that I ate fried chicken, so I thought initially that she was unpleased with my greasy fingers and stinky breath.   As I examined more closely, I noticed this look was slightly different.  She looked at me as if to ask, “Do you know what you are doing right now?”  In which case, the answer is “no”.  Honestly, I have no idea how to parent, but I am giving it my best.  Do I screw up sometimes? You bet, and it gets ugly (for example, forgetting the diaper bag on a long walk through neighborhood which ends with a blow-out in the men’s bathroom of the local tavern is no laughing matter).  More often than not, these days, I am getting it right.  Cut me some slack—-I didn’t like babies until this one came my way on January 8th 2009.  I can promise you one thing—-I may screw up more than most Dads, but it is not for a lack of trying.

So, if I am not on auto-pilot as a parent, then why am I on auto-pilot with my religion?  I don’t know the answer.  What I do know is that my daughter deserves better than a Dad who auto-pilots ANYTHING, including his religion.  How will I hide from her the fact that I don’t know if Haman was a good athlete?  How will I mask that I don’t know the taste of an Etrog?  Eden is a smart, precocious little whip, and she will be asking the tough questions in a few years.

So, for her sake, consider this blog Chapter One for getting off auto-pilot with my religion.  Sure, most books never make it past Chapter One.  And plenty of atrocious books have started with a terrific Chapter One.  Let’s pray this one doesn’t follow either of these patterns (You see, I am already catching on).  Worst case scenario is that we turn this into a B-movie.

Tags:

Video Streaming Shabbat on Twitcam – Reflections

August 1, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 3 Comments 

I would say that our first Twitcam Shabbat was a lot of fun…  (By the way, thanks for all of the great comments here and on Twitter!)

We had no idea what to expect since it was our first time (and nobody else has done it before us!).  We were thrilled to have 23 active participants with us live – and we also know that many of you watched the archive.  That’s part of the joy of streaming Shabbat – you can watch it anytime – regardless of your schedule (or time zone!).

We did get one request to light candles… which I definitely think is a great idea.  We were hesitant to do that for our first week – it seemed like a minor fire hazard. But, we’ll see what we can do to make it work.

We would love your feedback on what else you would like to see during our Twitcam streaming Shabbat services.  We plan to combine some Shabbat readings, some rituals (wine, challah, or candles), and some discussion.  Would you like to see more service and less discussion?  Fewer readings and more discussion?  Do you have ideas for what you would like us to talk about?  How long do you want the total streaming Shabbat experience to last each Friday?

We have some ideas – and we’ll keep experimenting.  Please feel free to share your thoughts- we’re building this online synagogue together!

By the way, we will continue to have video-streamed Rosh Hashanah and video-streamed Yom Kippur services this year (we started those last year).  Those are streamed live during the services at Congregation Beth Adam – so they are a bit more formal.  We’re picturing the streaming Shabbats on Twitcam as a quicker and more casual experience.

We’ll be giving away prizes for the near future… although some would argue Shabbat is a gift in itself!

Congratulations to Nathan from California who won a Home Service Set for his participation in our streaming Shabbat service last night.  I asked Nathan to share a little more about how he found us.  Nathan wrote me that he found us on Twitter- after searching for rabbis, reading their bios, and deciding who to follow.  Nathan said: “I like what you have to say about our people. Judaism has recently become more important in my life than before, and I thought what a great way to reach out, the internet. I am on a computer all day anyway, and I thought the online service yesterday was the exact reason I reached out. I whole heartedly agree with what you are doing.”  Thanks Nathan!  We’re glad you’re here!

See you every Friday at 6PM EST on Twitcam.  Please spread the word – you are our best advocates!  Shabbat Shalom!

Tags: ,

« Previous Page