Remembering Hector, My Betta Fish

November 21, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 3 Comments 

Some of you may remember my betta fish, Hector.  I blogged about him a year ago.  He was a nice fish, and we enjoyed our time together in my office.  This past Thursday, I discovered Hector was no longer alive.

In a tongue and cheek manner, we at Congregation Beth Adam talked about how we would memorialize Hector and give him a proper goodbye.   I was sad, but of course, Hector was just a fish and he lived a long life.  So, I kept things in perspective.

Moments like these, though, are a great example for thinking about how we approach death.  For those with young children, the death of a household fish or other pet can provide great fodder for discussion.  It becomes a safe way for children to experience the death of a loved one and to learn about grief.

Whether we are adults or children, death of those we love is always difficult.  It is important to have support systems in place.  At our online synagogue’s funeral page, we have a pdf file available called “Resources and Reflections: A Practical Guide to Issues Surrounding Death and Mourning.”  It provides information about pre-death arrangements, funeral arrangements, and Jewish mourning rituals.  Also included are great bibliographic references if you are interested in reading more on this topic.

As part of Beth Adam’s liturgy, we also have two books of readings.  “Beyond the Silence” has readings for times of crisis and “Benediction for Life” has memorial readings.

Rabbi Barr and I also talked about death and memorials during our November 6th Shabbat service. You can catch it in our on-demand library by clicking on Shabbat Services and then Shabbat 11/6/09.  During that service we talked about the recent shootings at Fort Hood and extended the conversation into memorials in general.  We are interested in your feedback – would you like more memorial readings during our Shabbat services and/or incorporated into our online synagogue in some other way?

Goodbye Hector, Ol’ Fish.  I’ll miss you.

 

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Woman Arrested for Wearing Tallit at Western Wall

November 19, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 4 Comments 

Many of you are probably familiar with the Western Wall in Israel.  But, did you know it belongs only to men?  No, no, I don’t think that.  But some Orthodox rabbis and Israeli policemen think so.

Traditional Judaism has often put women in their place (the home, of course!) and said women should not be full participants in Jewish life.  The recent issue at the Western Wall arose (once again) when a woman showed up at the wall wearing a tallit (or tallis) – a prayer shawl worn by traditional Jews while praying.

While men wear tallises and read from the Torah at the Kotel (Western Wall) regularly, there are rabbis who argue that women should not be allowed to do the same.  So, on Wednesday morning when a young medical student was visiting the Western Wall with “Women of the Wall,” a group which has a monthly Rosh Hodesh (new month) meeting at the Wall, this woman was arrested.

This comes on the heels of Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich (of the Western Wall Heritage Fund) deciding recently that during ceremonies near the Western Wall welcoming new immigrants to Israel, men and women should sit separately – and women should not be allowed to speak from the podium.

And on the heels of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Israel’s chief Sepharic rabbi said recently that women in the feminist movement are “stupid.”

So, there you have it.  Some Orthodox men think the Western Wall belongs only to men.  They believe women should not be heard.  They believe women should not be equals.  They believe they can arrest someone for wearing a ritual prayer object – because she is a woman.

I am appalled by this gender inequality.  I am particularly concerned that these are not just the beliefs of some quiet rabbis – but that police have actually arrested a woman for praying at the wall wearing a tallit.

Next time I go to Israel, I just may pack a tallit and head to the Wall…

 

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An Open Letter To Michael Steinhardt

November 3, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 1 Comment 

An Open Letter to Michael Steinhardt:

Dear Mr. Steinhardt,

I just watched the video below which contains a short speech by you at a recent conference.

I think you are right on! You spoke about how Birthright (a program you’ve funded that gives free trips to Israel to young Jews) was overwhelmingly disliked by the institutional Jewish world when it started. You added that most things that are worthy and are capable of changing the Jewish world are disliked in their early stages.

I couldn’t agree more. We know that for change to happen, we need something very different. If you always do what you’ve always done – you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.

At OurJewishCommunity.org, we are not just doing what we’ve always done. We are creating entirely new models for Jewish life. We know that existing synagogue institutions serve less than 50% of the Jewish community. We know that there are many Jews seeking a Jewish community, who have not yet found one. We know that there are people with geographic or physical or financial limitations who simply cannot join a brick-and-mortar congregation. We know that there are many people who value a progressive Jewish voice – one in which we can say what we mean and mean what we say. We know that there are people who are looking for a contemporary Jewish experience – and want to be part of the continuing evolution of the Jewish religion.

We know that OurJewishCommunity.org reaches thousands of people who are looking for a Jewish connection and who would not have one without our online synagogue. We know that we are creating such a different model that there are many, as you Mr. Steinhardt said, who do not understand what we are doing. In some people’s eyes, a new model like ours seems too new – or too different. We have approached several Jewish funders who say they value innovation and fresh ideas, but then end up funding more of the same.

It is time for people to recognize that change is not a liability – but an opportunity. We do not need to reject the institutions of the past when they offer value to us today. But we must build for today and for tomorrow – recognizing that we are in a new world and can reach people in new ways.

So, Mr. Steinhardt, please feel free to call me if you want to hear about what we are doing to change the Jewish world. We are not merely talking about changing it – we have changed it – and want to continue to create a vibrant Jewish community.

Sincerely,

Laura Baum, Rabbi

P.S. To listen to Rabbi Barr’s podcast on this, please click here.

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Jews and Halloween

November 1, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog · 2 Comments 

Yes, I know I am a day late in writing about Halloween and Jews.  But, I got distracted by all the candy yesterday.

This week during our Shabbat Service webcast, Rabbi Barr and I talked about Halloween and Jews.  If you missed it, you can catch it in our on-demand library.

We talked about whether Jews should celebrate Halloween.  And our answer was a definite YES!  Some rabbis have argued Halloween is a pagan holiday; others have argued we should separate ourselves from Gentiles (based on their reading of Leviticus 18).  I say Halloween has become a secular holiday and we should not separate ourselves from the community.  It is a holiday where people have fun – and we are not giving anything up by celebrating – so let’s join in!

Not all religious leaders agree.  Three days ago, the Vatican branded Halloween as anti-Christian and dangerous.  Catholic bishops asked parents not to let their children dress as ghosts and goblins for Halloween.  Another Catholic group, the Association of Pope John XXIII, called Halloween “a great Satanic ritual.”

As if that were not enough, TV preacher Pat Robertson issued a warning that demons may be lurking in your Halloween candy.  And no, he doesn’t mean calories.  The Christian Broadcasting Network’s website said that “most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.”  It claims curses are sent in candy of innocent people who go trick-or-treating.

Now that is crazy!  Curses in chocolate?  I think not.  Perhaps even Robertson’s TV network saw the light.  The blog post about demonic Halloween candy, written by Kimberly Daniels, was here, but the link mysteriously is not working at the moment.  Maybe a demon did that too…

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