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Ageless Rite of Passage August 27, 2008 (5 Comments) By JanetheWriter From the matriarchs to Judith, Esther and Ruth, right up to some of the more recent pioneers in our own Movement--including Rabbis Sally Priesand, Elyse Frishman, Stacy Offner, Laura Geller and Janet Marder, among others--our tradition is filled with great Jewish women.   To this list I'd add the names Henrietta Blend, Dolores Wyde, Diana Wuntch, and Harriet Newport.  Recently, these four seventy- eighty- and ninety-somethings culminated nearly a year of Jewish study and learning with a joyous b'not mitzvah celebration in an assisted living community in greater Houston. Mazel tov and yasher koach to each of them.  May they continue to go and grow from strength to strength, and, as they already have done for me, teach and inspire the rest of us along the way. read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle

Sunday School is a Bummer August 25, 2008 (9 Comments) By Mary Hofmann I went to a workshop this week aimed at giving Sunday School teachers insight into and assistance in instituting and utilizing Union's Chai Curriculum.  As the only teacher from a tiny congregation (we have six to eight kids in our whole "school") I listened sadly to the tales of woe from the urban teachers. As the facilitator said, Jewish education has always been considered supplemental education--not supplemental to public school, but supplemental to what kids get at home. Sadly, it is no longer a supplement.  In many, if not most, temples, Sunday School is the whole ball of wax.   What a bummer. read MORE Filed Under: Community | Lifecycle

An Unusual Family Bar Mitzvah August 20, 2008 (10 Comments) By Marge Eiseman The preparations for my youngest son's bar mitzvah celebration are getting underway. I am not feeling stressed about it, nor will we spend a fortune (that we don't have). Here's a peek at some of the process. We are admittedly an unusual family -- we began our preparations over a year ago, and never hired a party planner, a caterer or a disc jockey. I think the first thing Zach and I did was read through the Torah portion together, Shofetim, to see which section Zach wanted to read. He saw the most famous verse, "Tzedek, tzedek tirdof" (Justice, justice shall you pursue), and owned it! read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle

A Special Rabbi August 12, 2008 (1 Comment) By Elise May My family and I recently came together for a weekend of celebration in Memphis, TN. Cousins and close family friends that I hadn't seen in years flew in from around the country. What was the occasion? My parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary! Such a joyous event that is almost unheard of today. The Rabbi who married my parents has passed away, and, since their small congregation disbanded a few years ago, my parents don't really have a Rabbi they can call their own. However, my father began corresponding with a Rabbi in Memphis some time ago. read MORE Filed Under: Community | Lifecycle

Jewish Teaching Begins at Home August 7, 2008 (5 Comments) By JanetheWriter Recently, my college roommate called me for some advice.  Her 12-year-old son had been invited to the bat mitzvah of a classmate and she didn't have a clue about what he should wear or what type of gift would be appropriate.  As one of only a handful of Jews he knows, I was excited for Matthew.  B'nei mitzvah are meaningful and fun and, as a young man who is well-versed in the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church, this would be a great learning experience for him. read MORE Filed Under: Community | Lifecycle

Keep the simcha simple June 26, 2008 (2 Comments) By Mary Hofmann While I enjoyed reading the many perspectives of the contributors to Reform Judaism this month, I was truly saddened by the plight of Elise Silverfield May and those in her situation (which includes a whole lot of us, on a lot of levels!)--the perceived high price tag of being Jewish (page 61 or online here). Her particular alarm rang concerning the temple members' expectations around her son's upcoming bar mitzvah, which were terrifyingly grandiose.  This concern connects well with Rabbi Yoffie's comments at the Biennial regarding congregants reclaiming Shabbat morning services from the grip of private "parties."  If we don't want Reform Judaism to become increasingly about status and wealth, I believe this problem needs to be addressed both in terms of reclaiming both the sanctuary and the sanctity of the event.  I guess it has to do with the values established at each congregation--and all of our opportunities (and obligations?) to revision those values regularly. read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle | Religious Life | Shabbat | The Future

For the Sake of a Namesake: L'dor v'dor June 23, 2008 (1 Comment) By JanetheWriter A few months ago, during an informal visit in my apartment from my parents, my sister and my nephew Ian, I was stretched out on the living room floor and Ian, as five-year-olds are want to do, was walking on my back and climbing all over me. When his weight hit a spot that made my back crack, I groaned, "Oh, Ian, just call me your personal Uncle Irv," before squirming out from under all 40-something pounds of him. "Like mother, like son...like aunt, like nephew," I thought. read MORE Filed Under: Community | Lifecycle

Where are we? June 19, 2008 By Rabbi Richard Address In developing our project on the aging of the baby boomers (Sacred Aging) a host of questions have emerged. Many have to do with how we, given the gift, we pray, of longevity, can continue to answer God's question of Genesis 3: "where are you?" (ayecha) So, I decided to try and start a small dialogue on our blog about these issues. read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle

Contemplating Mortality June 18, 2008 By Gardening Grandma I suspect I'm not alone in finding myself looking my own mortality more squarely in the face because of Tim Russert's untimely death. As the outpouring of emotion and tributes attest, he died doing something he absolutely loved. He clearly relished his work, making each moment he was on air count, but he also made sure there were plenty of moments for his private life. How often have you heard someone say, "That's the way I want to go," when they hear about someone who was here one moment, and then, suddenly, is not in the world any more? read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle

Of Covenantal and Other Special Relationships June 17, 2008 (3 Comments) By JanetheWriter Last week, I drafted--and ultimately scraped--a post for this blog because after it was written, I came to realize that not only was it much too personal for the vast world of cyberspace, but also, because I wrote it in anger after someone challenged my belief in the Jews' covenantal relationship with God, I wanted to give myself some time to reflect on what I was saying. Then I read the article in the New York Times quoting a letter from Abraham Foxman to Pastor John Hagee in which Foxman writes, "We look forward to meeting with you to promote a dialogue between Christians and Jews based on mutual respect, reconciliation and the recognition of God's eternal covenant with the Jewish people." Since Foxman raised the covenantal issue with Hagee, I've reconsidered my scraped post and, after a lot of thinking, I'm giving it another shot: read MORE Filed Under: Lifecycle | Religious Life | The Future