I was recently asked a question by a mother of a Bar Mitzvah student, on why Hebrew is required in a Bar Mitzvah service

I was recently asked a question by a mother of a Bar Mitzvah student, on why Hebrew is required for a Bar Mitzvah student. The student asked, "I want to do it in English so I can understand what I'm saying."

As I think that he's not the only student ever to ask this question, here's my response back to his mom:
I'm not sure I have a good answer, but here is my effort:

Hebrew is the language with which for thousands of years are people have prayed and pleaded, have mourned and rejoiced. So the very language itself, the sounds, the letters the utterances, are laden with the emotions of our people. When we pray in Hebrew it is not an intellectual exercise, It is a spiritual and emotional one. It's not about thinking about it, it's about feeling it.

Dissecting the prayers or the Torah for their literal meaning is helpful but not necessary while reciting them.

It's like dissecting a frog.

You have to kill it before you cut it open and look at the parts.

So too with prayer or Torah. If you are going for the intellectual, your going to kill it. Reading it in in English a good exercise, but not the one we are going for here.

Learning Hebrew is a tool of entry into a spiritual practice.

Like any spiritual practice it takes a lot of hard work. But ultimately, when you get it, it is a tool that you can use your whole life.

Hebrew is the language which unites Jews wherever we go. If you go to Italy you may not be able to ask the Italian Jews where the best wine store is, but you can pray the Amidah with them and you will be connected.

I hope that can help you figure out how to better explain why we need to do the prayers in Hebrew.

-- Rabbi Jamie Korngold, Adventure Rabbi
March 2010

Video of Book Talk From Wilderness Workshop Speaking Series in Aspen, Colorado now live

We've posted the video from the Wilderness Workshop Speaker's series in Aspen, Colorado on the God In The Wilderness Website:

http://www.godinthewilderness.com/index.php?id=27&page=Video_Book_Talk

Part I: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part II: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part III: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God
in the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part IV: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part V: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part VI: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part VII: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God
in the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part VIII: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God
in the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part IX: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

Part X: Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, speaks about her book, God in
the Wilderness in Aspen, Colorado:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skiing Video of Shabbat On Skis From Copper Mountain

Here's a video of our Shabbat on Snow at Copper Mountain from earlier today:

Book Review: Making Prayer Real by Rabbi Mike Comins

I'm featured in Rabbi Mike Comin's new book, Making Prayer Real. Here's a copy of the review I posted to Amazon:

I love this book! Making Prayer Real is the best book I have read in years.

It's like eating an Oreo cookie. (Or in my case a Newman's Hint-of-Mint cookie.) Rabbi Comins commentary on its own, would have been fabulous. Dayeinu - enough. (The chocolate cookie.) And the other contributors' voices alone, also would have been enough. (The creamy filling) But put the two together and you have a delicious, well written, inspiring, re-assuring piece of work.

I had no idea I shared the same thoughts about prayer as so many other Jewish people. We also differ, but that's okay too. I am simply inspired and relieved.

Here's a link to the book >>

This book rocks. You will read it in one sitting. Or maybe two. I had to get up in the middle to get more cookies and refill my milk glass.

-Rabbi Jamie Korngold, The Adventure Rabbi and author of God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi

In Memory of Carol Susan Roth, Agent & Mentor

Carol Susan Roth, my mentor and literary agent died this morning.

There are people in our lives that radically move us from one point on our life path to another. These interactions are rare, and we are each lucky if we have one or two of them.

Carol was that to me. How so? I never imagined that I would have a book published. I did fantasize about it, don’t we all? But I never thought it would come to fruition and I didn’t pursue it as one does something you think is realistic.

A few years back, Carol read an article about me in USA Today. She then called me out of the blue and asked me to write a book.

Under her guidance, I learned how to write a book proposal and she sold that book to Doubleday, a division of Random House, arguably the most prestigious publishing house for main stream books in the world.

When that book came out, the publisher’s catalogue listed me on the page after Jon Grisham. With such prestigious company, I felt I had no business being a Doubleday author.

But Carol got me there. She thought I had a place in their catalog and because of that, I am now writing my fifth book.

Why? Because Carol believed in me.

She believed in my rabbinic message and that it deserved amplification.

She believed in my ability to make God accessible to people who didn’t believe in God.

She believed in my ability to create community in a society very much in need of community.

She believed in the sound of my voice, the way I connected people through song and the way I expressed myself on paper.

Several months before she died, Carol told me that she was okay if death came for her now. Carol married once, and it was later in her life. She told me that through her partnership with her husband Phil she discovered the meaning of life – to love and be loved. To love and be loved deeply and completely.

Her love of Phil brought Carol perspective on her life. Let me explain. Carol was an astute businesswoman and an accomplished literary agent. She represented the Dali Lama and helped to bring his teaching to Americans. In her business, she was driven and rarely if ever did not meet her business goals. But when she met Phil, she said it was as if some barrier melted away and she could see the world more clearly. “I don’t need to be the big shot agent anymore,” she told me. “That is not what life is about. Love - that is what life is about. “

What Carol discovered is what Martin Buber defined as God. Buber described God as that interaction between two people based on the deepest of levels, not what we can do for each other, but on who we are. This kind of relationship is built on love and respect for the essential of our being.

Buber called this I-Thou. We tend to talk a lot about the meaning of the words “I” and “thou”, but the defining element of this theology is the dash. The dash is one of connection and at the same time of separation. The dash ties us one to the other, connects us and holds us in relationship.

The dash between I and Thou sustains us much an umbilical cord between mother and child sustains, nourishes, cleanses and holds. What passes between the dash enables the other to flourish and grow.

At the same time the dash separates us. It forces us and enables us to keep our individuality, so that one can not subsume the other. Carol discovered her full self through the dash of her relationship to Phil.

Buber taught that in all of our human relationships, we move in and out of the state of I –Thou. Sometimes we are in I-It (relating to someone based on what they can do for us, as in “Honey, could you please pick up some milk on your way home?”) and then we go back into I-Thou.

There is one relationship, which he called the Eternal Thou that never moves out of I-Thou. I think the only time that we are able to truly be embraced by that relationship is when we die. When we die, and we let go of the dash, we lose our individuality and return to the reservoir of all life, the Eternal Thou. We return to the oneness that connects all beings.

When the world began, there was one. Physicists tell us this, one singularity. One. And then something happened. We don’t know what or why or how. But in the beginning, that singularity was divided into multiplicity.

The Torah describes it like this:
“Bereshit (In the beginning) bara (created) eloheim (God) et ha-shamayim (the heavens) vet ha-aretz (and the earth).”

The world began as one. All beings were one. Then BANG! Division. Heavens, Earth, light, planets, water, vegetation, animals, you and me.

That means ultimately at our core level, we are all connected. We are all connected to that first singularity of oneness at some sub cellular level.

My sense is that our moments of transcendence, our moments of connection to something bigger than ourselves, our “God moments” if you will, are moments in which we become aware of this primal connection.

And when we realize that ultimately we are all linked back to One, this compels us to be kind and compassionate, for everything is connected.

Today, Carol Susan Roth left her body and was reunited with the Eternal Thou. I’ll miss calling her on the phone and hearing her say, “Oh Rabbi Jamie I was just thinking of you!” as she always said when I called. I’ll miss her guidance, her counsel and her belief in my potential.

But I will be comforted in the knowledge that ultimately all beings remain part of the One, and so somehow our connections remain.

May she rest in peace,
Cain yehe ratzon,
May this be God’s will.

Boulder Jewish Day School offers you great education, top notch faculty, Jewish values and an amazing community

Are you considering school options for your children next year? One of the great preschool programs that is often overlooked is the Boulder Jewish Day School.


The Day School offers you great education, top notch faculty, Jewish values and an amazing community. School starts at age 2.5 and goes up from there. There are so many Jewish perks to being in a Jewish school, but lots of logistical perks too. They offer free after school care until 6 p.m., generous financial assistance, and will even work with you to figure out transportation to Gunbarrel from wherever you live.



Check it out for your little ones! http://www.bjds.org

I Love Christmas - by Rabbi Jamie Korngold

I love Christmas.

Admittedly, this may not be something you frequently hear a rabbi say, but there it is. I love Christmas.

Let me explain.

It’s not the lights, the cards or the gifts that I love. It’s not the Christmas carols, or the glittery trees. It’s not even the cookies, although admit I do love homemade cookies and Christmas is a great source for them.

No, I love Christmas because King Soopers is closed. And so is Best Buy and Whole Foods and Target and every other store. I love Christmas because my husband doesn’t have to go to the office and I don’t have to work.

I love Christmas because my children do not have to go to school or to music or to gymnastics or the doctor or get their haircut.

When my five year old Sadie asked me why everything was closed on Christmas, I tried various explanations but what finally made sense to her is when I said it was the whole country’s day of Shabbat. “But they only have Shabbat once a year then,” she said. How true I thought. And how unfortunate.

Christmas is the one day where (almost) everybody gets a day of rest, a day of separation from work. A day where (almost) the whole country focuses on family and friendship.

On Christmas, the country gets to experience a piece of what my family experience every week on Shabbat.

When Shabbat begins on Friday night and until it ends on Saturday night, my family chooses to separate ourselves from the commerce of the world. No email, no work and definitely, no errands. If we run out of milk, we don’t go to the store to buy more. Instead we discover that actually we can make do without milk.

Shabbat is time to spend with family and community, stepping back from the frenzy of the work week. We have put certain restrictions upon ourselves to preserve this bubble. Our Shabbat is internally driven. We could go to the store to buy milk, but we select not to. Sometimes it’s tempting to give up our Shabbat restrictions and go to Costco and get the errands out of the way.
But we don’t.

We don’t because ultimately the peace that comes with taking a day off each week far outweighs the benefits of getting the shopping done a day earlier or even the delight of pouring steamed milk into my hot tea.

Christmas comes with an externally controlled cessation of work. We have no choice but to take a day off. Even if I want to go buy that milk, I can’t.

And unlike on Shabbat on which people who call or email and are annoyed not to reach me, on Christmas no one expects a call back. I like the shared quiet of Christmas without full parking lots and busy roads. I like the mutual consent that we all get a day off.

The gift we all receive on Christmas is the experience of a day off. Christmas arrives shortly before the new year begins, just in time for us to ask ourselves if we might like to build a bit of time-off into our lives more regularly. Maybe once a week. Maybe on Shabbat. I do wish Shabbat had that shared quality of everyone taking a day off, But in the meantime, at least we get a day of rest, family and friendship every week and not just once a year. And what a great
gift that is!

Passover in Moab, Utah - Early Bird Registration Ends Dec 31

Join us in Moab, Utah April 3-4, 2010 for a Passover Retreat as we, like our Biblical ancestors, return to the wilderness for Seder.

Early bird registration ends December 31.

Leave your fancy clothing at home, pack your bike, hiking boots and water bottle, and come celebrate the Passover Seder 4,000 feet closer to God. You won't fall asleep at this Seder!

More Details - Visit Here >>

Happy New Year,

Jamie

Rabbi Jamie Korngold, Adventure Rabbi

P.S. Please remember Adventure Rabbi for your end of year tax-deductible donations -- visit here to donate online.

Photos of Boulder This Frigid Morning

 

http://www.adamahadventures.org/

Many of you know Adam and Bobbee Griff – Adam (or “Griff”) has been our songleader for the Rosh Hashanah Retreat for many years. This summer, they are launching a new outdoor adventure summer program called Adamah Adventures.

Adamah Adventures offers Jewish teens the chance to take on some of the country’s most thrilling, awe-inspiring outdoor adventures. During the 18-day trek, campers work in small groups alongside highly trained staff members to experience both the thrill and the quiet — the whitewater and the campfire — and at the end of each week, an enthusiastic Shabbat under mountain stars. The inaugural summer includes trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and Tennessee, and to Utah.

If you’ve never been to a Jewish overnight camp, you could receive a grant of up to $1,500! Early bird discounts and refer-a-friend discounts are also available.
For more information, please visit their website, http://www.adamahadventures.org.

We wish them lots of success in this new venture!
-- Jamie

Bar & Bat Mitzvah Hebrew Prayers - Video & MP3 files

If you're looking for a way to learn many of the basic Hebrew prayers, we've posted videos and mp3 files on the Adventure Rabbi website:

• Amidah
• Barechu
• V'havta
• Shema
• Shecheyanu
• Blessing Before Reading of Torah
• Blessing After Reading of Torah
• Kedusha
• Gevurot
• Hatzi Kaddish
• Hamotzi Lechem Min HaAretz (Blessing over Bread)
• Blessing over Putting on Tallis
• Blessing over Shabbat Wine (Kiddush)
• Blessing over Shabbat Candles (Asher Kidushanu)

http://www.adventurerabbi.com/rabbi/Bar_Mitzvah_Hebrew_prayers.htm

Email Newsletter Archive Now Posted to Adventure Rabbi

Many people have asked us to post the newsletter archive for past email messages... will help people catch up on previous messages and keep up-to-date on what's going on with Adventure Rabbi...

Here's the link to the Adventure Rabbi email newsletter archive >>

Videos and photos from Bar & Bat Mitzvah Adventure Class Retreat

Enjoy these videos from our Adventure Bar & Bat Mitzvah Class Retreat:

Video 1: Rabbi Korngold discusses the meaning behind Adventure Bar & Bat Mitzvah Program, talks about the backpacking Torah that's been on top of 14,000 foot mountains and to the base of the Grand Canyon. She chants and reads the story of Genesis directly from the Hebrew scroll of the Torah, translating from Hebrew to English as she reads the ancient text of the Bible:




Video 2: Rabbi Korngold Continues Reading from the Torah:




Also, view photos from the snowy Bar & Bat Mitzvah hike in Boulder, Colorado >>

Photos from Yom Kippur Retreat Are Now Posted

We've just posted photos from the Adventure Rabbi Yom Kippur Retreat in Boulder, Colorado: http://www.adventurerabbi.org/photo_gallery.htm

Enjoy!

LOCATION CHANGE FOR KOL NIDRE SERVICES - Millennium Harvest House Boulder - 1345 Twenty-Eighth Street

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, WE ARE CHANGING THE LOCATION FOR KOL NIDRE SERVICES

Millennium Harvest House Boulder
1345 Twenty-Eighth Street
Boulder, CO 80302

Turning

The New Year came,
But I, so busy wiping sticky jelly off my little ones faces
And the house a mess
And my inbox overflowing with unanswered emails,
I, consumed with the project due last week, now late
Heard the holy words and
Echoes of tekkiah blasts
But could not slow down enough to catch them.

And next I noticed,
Snow was falling
And I was digging wax from the menorah
for this year’s Chanukah candles.
I turned to turn the latkes
and noticed a new year had arrived.
“Shana Tova,” I said to no one.
And promised this would be the year
I would slow down.

-- Rabbi Jamie Korngold, Adventure Rabbi

Videos from Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Hike in Boulder, Colorado - discussions about the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holidays

Rabbi Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, shares thoughts on preparing for the upcoming High Holidays:

Video 1: Preparing for Rosh Hashanah - Starting Out (2:00)

Video 2: Discussion at the Bridge (4:51)

Video 3: Blowing the Shofar (7:30)

Video 4: Call & Response (4:53)

Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah Class to begin this fall

Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah Class to begin this fall

Over the past two weeks, I have had many amazing conversations with families considering our new Adventure based Bar and Bat Mitzvah program. Since it is a new program, there were all sorts of pieces that needed explanation.

One mom asked me if I answered the same question again and again from prospective bar and bat mitzvah parents. I thought about that and then said, “Not really, because each family really comes to our b’nai mitzvah program with their own story, their unique struggles with tradition and their personal excitement.”

I also realized that I really loved talking with the moms. One mom joked, “Well, if my daughter doesn’t want to join the program, maybe I will!” I had already received some emails from adult asking for an adult bar and bat mitzvah program, (because the kids one looked so amazing) so, I thought, let’s see if we can rally a group of people to study for an adult bar bat mitzvah! Check out the plan and let me know if you might be interested.

More details on the Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah Program in Colorado >>
http://www.adventurerabbi.org/rabbi/adultbarbatmitzvah.htm

These are two of the text I shared on our Tuesday night hike

These are two of the text I shared on our Tuesday night hike. Some members of our group were asking to see the, so I post them here to share:

Reading 1:
Said Dov Baer, the Preacher of Mezhirech:
Your kind deeds are used by God
As seeds for the planting of trees in the Garden of Eden;
Thus each of you create your own Paradise.
- Esser Orot, Ukraine (died 1772)

Reading 2: On Tu b’Shevat
When spring comes,
An angel descends, ledger in hand,
And enters each bud, each twig, each tree,
And all our garden flowers.
From town to town, from village to village
The angel makes a winged way,
Searching the valleys, inspecting the hills,
Flying over the desert
And returns to heaven.
And when the ledger will be full
Of trees and blossoms and shrubs,
When the desert is turned into a meadow
And all our land is a watered garden,
The Messiah will appear.

-Shin Shalom (adapted)
Poland/Vienna/Paelstie/Israel, b. 1904

Shofar blast in Golden, Colorado by Rabbi Steve Booth-Nadav

Charlie on our Saturday night hike shot this quick video of Rabbi Steve Booth-Nadav blowing the shofar outside Golden, Colorado:
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/cfa4787951d7ae5f114d8353841cf425/video/5759512

What are we suppose to do with all our incandescent bulbs once we switch to CFLs?

This week we study the Torah portion known as Shoftim. It contains one of the primary Eco-Judaism teachings Ba'al Taschit, which urges us not to waste anything. So in that spirit, I bring you a bright idea. (a bright green, eco Judaism, Ba'al Taschit, Thou Shalt Not Waste, idea.)


Question:
What are we suppose to do with all our incandescent bulbs once we switch to CFLs ? You know that box or two or three under the bathroom sink or in the garage waiting patiently for an empty light socket that now will never need it?


When we go green and switch to CFL light bulbs, how green/ environmentally sensitive is it to throw out our old incandescents?


For that matter, what are we supposed to do with burned out incandescent bulbs? We can't recycle them, at least not easily.


I've go the solution! My bright green, eco Judaism, Ba'al Taschit, Thou Shalt Not Waste, idea.


At countless Jewish weddings, the last "step" of the wedding is when the groom stomps on the glass, and the guests yell, "Mazel tov!"


Did you know that glass need not be a fine crystal wine glass? It just needs to be some thing glass that breaks and makes a loud noise. Incandescent bulbs, it turns out, fit the bill. They break and because of the vacuum, they make a far superior popping sound to a wine glass. (And it also relieves the worry of the stem of the wine glass gong through the groom's fancy, thin soled, Italian shoes and piercing his foot. That, it turns out, is a great way to ruin a wedding.)


You probably know about the Adventure Rabbi Sisterhood Gift shop. (Giftshop sales help us fund our programs, because all proceed go right back into the Adventure Rabbi program budget.) But you may not know that we make and sell the special breaking of the glass kits we sell. We take light bulbs, sew a beautiful ivory, purple or black cover around it, decorate it with beads or flowers, bless them with blessings for a good marriage, and then ship them around the world for grooms to stomp on. (Is that the last time the man gets to put his foot down?)


What do we use for incandescent bulbs? Well, in the beginning we simply took the ones we could find on the back shelf of our linen closet or from old lamps we no longer used. Then, when we switched our home and office over from incandescent bulbs to CFL, our incandescent bulbs supply chain ended. (Note: you cannot use CFL bulbs for this project.) We could buy incandescent bulbs to break, but that seems really wasteful.


So back to my bright idea, my green solution! My bright-green, eco-Judaism, Ba'al -Taschit, Thou-Shalt-Not -Waste, idea.
You have bulbs you don't know what to do with, and we can use incandescent bulbs. If you bring us your old light bulbs, we will reduce waste, reuse and recycle your bulb into a beautiful wedding accoutrement. Nice, eh?


Check out the final product>>

http://www.adventurerabbi.org/giftshop/



So... if you want to mail or drop off a bag of bulbs, our office is at 5353 Manhattan Circle suite #103 Boulder 80303


Let me know your bright-green, eco-Judaism, Ba'al -Taschit, Thou-Shalt-Not -Waste, ideas and I will post them here.

The Theme for our Shabbat hike on August 8, 2009 was Judaism’s view on the ethical treatment of animals

Part I: Rabbi Korngold Talks About Jewish Views on the Ethical Treatment of Animals


Part II: Rabbi Korngold Talks About Jewish Views on the Ethical Treatment of Animals


Part III: Rabbi Korngold Talks About Jewish Views on the Ethical Treatment of Animals


Part IV: Rabbi Korngold Talks About Jewish Views on the Ethical Treatment of Animals


We began by going around the circle, introducing ourselves and answering, "If you were an animal. What would you be and why?"

We had jaguar (run fast and graceful) chimp (related to us) mountain goat (like to climb mountains) and a host of other animals . Feel free to respond to this blog with a posting of what animal you would be and why.

Then I introduced the following teaching gleaned from a fabulous source http://www.jewfaq.org/animals.htm:

"Judaism places great stress on proper treatment of animals. Unnecessary cruelty to animals is strictly forbidden, and in many cases, animals are accorded the same sensitivity as human beings. This concern for the welfare of animals is unusual in Western civilization. Most civilized nations did not accept this principle until quite recently; cruelty to animals was not outlawed until the 1800s, and even now it is not taken very seriously."

But for Jewish people it is an ancient tenet of our religion. For example, the historian Josephus wrote in Antiquities of the Jews, in 93 CE

"Herod also got together a great quantity of wild beasts, and of lions in very great abundance, and of such other beasts as were either of uncommon strength or of such a sort as were rarely seen. These were trained either to fight one with another, or men who were condemned to death were to fight with them. And truly foreigners were greatly surprised and delighted at the vast expenses of the shows, and at the great danger of the spectacles, but to the Jews it was a palpable breaking up of those customs for which they had so great a veneration."

In case you are wondering about who Josephus was, he was a Jewish man who become a Roman. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 C.E. Despite his ambivalent role, Josephus was an eyewitness to history, and his writings are considered authoritative.

As we hiked to our next stop at the pup station, I invited people to think about why Judaism might have such a strong ethic about taking good care of animals.

At our next stop, we regrouped and discussed our answers. Basically they fell into two groups:

1. Links between treatment of animals and the way a person treats human beings.
   
   
   
   • A person who is cruel to a defenseless animal will likely be cruel to defenseless people.
   
   
   • There are many studies citing a correlation between childhood animal cruelty and adult criminal violence.
   
   
   
   


2. Idea that God has a covenant with all creatures not just people. God values all creatures and so should we.
   
   Genesis 9:8 - 10 And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living things that is with you  birds, cattle and every wild beast as well  all that have come our of the ark, every living thing on the earth."

As we continued to hike, I invited people to think about the connection between treatment of animals and people. Can you think of biblical examples of heroes and villains who are presented in relation to their treatment of animals? Modern examples or contradictions?

1. Biblical figures who were good to animals
   
   
   
   • Moses chosen to lead people because of his compassion as a sheep herder. Talmud, "The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said 'Since you are merciful to the flock of a human being, you shall be the shepherd of My flock, Israel.
   
   
   • Rebecca chosen as a wife for Isaac because of her kindness to animals. When Abraham's servant asked for water for himself, she volunteered to water his camels as well, and thereby proved herself a worthy wife (Gen. 24).
   
   
   • Other biblical figures who cared for animals: King David, Jacob (as opposed to Esau the hunter)
   
   
   
   


2. Figures who were bad to animals:
   
   
   
   • Esau the hunter is a villain
   
   
   • The Talmud tells the story of a great rabbi, Judah Ha-Nasi (born 135 CE, redactor and editor of Mishna) who was punished with years of pain because he was insensitive to the fear of a calf being led to slaughter.
     
     
     Excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_haNasi
     Various stories are told about Judah haNasi to illustrate different aspects of his character. One of them begins by telling of a calf breaking free from being led to slaughter. According to the story, the calf tries to hide under Judah haNasi's robes, bellowing with terror, but he pushes the animal away, saying: "Go  for this purpose you were created." For this, Heaven inflicted upon him kidney stones, painful flatulence, and other gastric problems, saying, "Since he showed no pity, let us bring suffering upon him".
     
     
     
     The story remarks that when Judah haNasi prayed for relief, the prayers were ignored, just as he had ignored the pleas of the calf. Nevertheless, it goes on to describe him subsequently preventing his maid from violently expelling baby weasels from his house, on the basis that "It is written: 'His Mercy is upon all his works.'" For this, Heaven removes the gastric problems from him, saying, "Since he has shown compassion, let us be compassionate with him".
   
   
   
   

At our outdoor synagogue site: I passed out slips of paper with the following rules about treatment of animals. People read them aloud and we talked about them.

Text 1: Animals get to rest on Sabbath:

Exd 20:10 - but the seventh day is a Shabbat to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

Texts 2-3 - We are required to relieve an animal of its burden, even if we do not like its owner, do not know its owner, or even if it is ownerless (Ex. 23:5; Deut. 22:4).



Exd 23:5

If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don't leave him, you shall surely help him with it.



Deu 22:4

You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely help him to lift them up again.

Text 4: We are forbidden to muzzle an ox while it is working in the field so it can eat as it works:

Deu 25:4

You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out [the grain].

Text 5-6: just as we must allow human workers to eat from the produce they are harvesting (Deut. 23:25-26).

Deu 23:25

When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat of grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your vessel.



Deu 23:26

When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.

Text 7: Animals permitted to eat the grain from fallow fields the sabbatical year:

Exd 23:11

but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.

Several commandments demonstrate concern for the physical or psychological suffering of animals:

Text 8: We may not plow a field using animals of different species (Deut. 22:10), because this would be a hardship to the animals.

Deu 22:10

You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Text 9: We are not permitted to kill an animal in the same day as its young (Lev. 22:28)

Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.



Text 10-11: and are specifically commanded to send away a mother bird when taking the eggs (Deut 22:6-7), because of the psychological distress this would cause the animal.



Deu 22:6

If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young:



Deu 22:7

you shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take to yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.

Text 12-14: In fact, the Torah specifically says that a person who sends away the mother bird will be rewarded with long life, precisely the same reward that is given for honoring mother and father (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16), and indeed for observing the whole Torah (Deut. 4:40). This should give some indication of the importance of this law.



Exd 20:12

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Text 13:

Deu 5:16

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you; that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Text 14:

Deu 4:40

You shall keep his statutes, and his mitzvot, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD your God gives you, forever.



Text 15: A person must feed animals before feeding self and may not purchase an animal unless he has made provisions to feed it, and a person must feed his animals before he feeds himself ( Talmud interpreting Deut. 11:15).



Deu 11:15

I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be full.



Conclusion:
Humanity is given dominion over animals (Gen. 1:26)

Text 16:

Gen 1:26
God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the eretz, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the eretz."



Which gives us the right to use animals for legitimate needs.

" consumed for food

" animal skins can be used for clothing

" The Torah, mezuzh scrolls written on parchment (animal hides),

" teffilin must be made out of leather.

" Shofar rams horn

However, dominion does not give us the right to cause indiscriminate pain and destruction.

Based on all we have discussed, what should our dominion be like?

• The group agreed it should be composed of careful and compassionate stewardship.


• Examples were given about kosher laws prohibit harming the animal any more the necessary. There can be no nicks in the butchers blade or anything that prolongs death.


• And finally, we talked about how in the messianic age we will all be vegetarians and what an ideal way of eating that is, in terms of treatment of animals.

Then we sang a few songs with the backpacking guitar, ate some vegan candy and went back on down the trail.

 

Best Rosh Hashanah Service Ever? Adventure Rabbi

Type this into Google, and see what comes up:
"Best Rosh Hashanah Service Ever"

(Hint: it's Adventure Rabbi at #1)

Here's the link to the Google results page:
http://www.google.com/search?q=best+rosh+hashanah+service+ever

Sign up for the best Rosh Hashanah service - ever - by going here:
http://www.adventurerabbi.org/rh/

(If Google says we're #1, who are we to argue?)

Shema - Hearing - A Teaching By Rabbi Korngold

Here's a 10 minute teaching about the Shema - Hearing, that took place during our Tuesday night hike in Boulder, Colorado. Enjoy!

Photos posted from Adventure Rabbi Events

FYI, we've now posted photos from these events:

• Aspen-Crested Butte - July 17-19, 2009
• Denver Hike with Rabbi Steve Booth-Nadav - July 25, 2009
• Temple Shalom Hike - July 25, 2009
• Flagstaff Shabbat Service - July 24, 209

http://www.adventurerabbi.org/photo_gallery.htm

On July 14, 2009, I officiated at the funeral of Jeff Willner at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado.

On July 14, 2009, I officiated at the funeral of Jeff Willner at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado. It was a perfect venue for this lover of music. Jeff and I had an agreement about Judaism: He claimed me as his rabbi, and I never claimed that the Torah or the Prophets could say it better than Jackson Browne or the Grateful Dead.

I like to think that Jeff is in heaven now, jamming with Jerry, and hanging out with his father, Willy, while simultaneously watching the Sports Channel and spotting some egrets taking off in flight. In heaven, you can do all of those things at the same time.

Jeff Willner z”l
Boulder Theater
7/14/09 12 noon

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and more specifically, to celebrate the friendship of Jeff -- Jeffrey Adam Willner – born December 19, 1967.

Jeff was very explicit in his wishes for his memorial service. It should be celebratory, not somber. No wallowing in misery, but rather focused on the positive of our precious time with him.

I don’t know if we can meet his wish. The grief is thick. The sadness is real. There are tears that must be shed and even screams of anguish that must be screamed.

But, in honor of who Jeff was, and what he taught us by the way he lived his life, we will try to assuage our pain by remembering all that good and great and the best of our time with Jeff.

Because for those of you who knew Jeff, you remember he had a positive superlative to describe every situation.

We will allow for laughter and smiles, shared glances of acknowledgement and nods of recognition, to lift our hurt.

We will gain our strength to get through this pain by recalling the joy that we held in the all too brief years we had with our friend, your son, your brother, your cousin, your uncle, your son-in-law, your husband.

There is nothing in the world that was more precious to Jeff than his relationships. Not even football, the Grateful Dead or Jackson Browne, although those came pretty close.

But creating, sustaining and deepening relationships was the core of his life.

Jeff was an amazing friend because in a world which conspires to separate us, he brought us back together.

His smiling eyes, his smiling spirit, eased you into conversation. And then he listened deeply to what you said. He engaged with you beyond the level of superficiality. His infectious optimism and his loyalty kept you close. And you knew he loved you. Each of us, in a different way.

His soulmate, his love was his wife Stephanie.

His role models, his support team, giver of life not once but twice were his mother Linda and his father Willy who passed away 18 months ago (may his memory be for a blessing) His rock, who was always able to say what needed to be said, was his Sister Nancy.His cousins, nephews, uncles, aunts, in-laws, so dear to him His colleagues who supported and cheered for him, who inspired and worked with him. And that amazing, amazing circle of friends that he maintained throughout.

It will not surprise you that his friend Andy, one of his friends since he was 2, and who flew in from Spain to sign his ketubah when he and Stephanie wed in 2004, flew back to the States last weekend to say good-bye to Jeff and is here today, along with friends from every part of Jeff’s life.

And of course, his cousin David Rubell is here. In 1995 when Jeff was diagnosed with Leukemia, he called up his cousin David who lived in Colorado and said “I need some positive energy before I go through this. Will you show we your Colorado?” Jeff and his sister Nancy flew out and spent two weeks traveling Colorado with David, listening to Jackson Brown and as Jeff said, “I took the memories and the music into the bubble with me.” In 2004, David signed as the witness on Jeff and Stephanie’s marriage license, weeping with joy that Jeff was alive.

When death was imminent, when many would have been consumed by anger, fear and blame, even then Jeff was positive saying,” I had a wonderful life of love and friends. I feel like I hit the jackpot.”

And so it is so appropriate to turn the microphone over to family and friends.

• Scott Falenstein (worked with at CBS)
• Jeff Gorletchen (college friend)
• Mark Ross (college friend)

Speaking to them:

Linda, I cannot even imagine your pain. I am so sorry. But I want to thank you for this wonderful gift you gave us all. You modeled for your son the importance of connection and in turn Jeff influenced so many people. He was a leader, both subtly and formally and the lessons he taught us will abide in each of us.

I pray that you achieve his wish for you, that you continue to live your life with tenacity and fortitude and most importantly to reach always toward happiness and joy.

Nancy, You and Jeff, sister and brother, the team from the beginning. As a child, you so yearned to be in your brothers orbit, that you let him to give you Grateful Dead lessons, “Listen to this song and be prepared to discuss it,” and football lessons, “Study these cards and be prepared to identify the players.”

Throughout all that came to pass, you were his rock and his strength. You could say to him the words, which no know else could say, and he could make you smile and laugh in any situation.

When your father was dying, Jeff got some fruit loops and confidently (albeit incorrectly) assured you that he could identify each color in a blind taste test. The peals of laughter sustained you both through your mourning.

I pray that in time, memories of Jeff will bring you smiles more often than tears and that you will live your life as he wished for you, in pursuit of happiness.

Stephanie, When you met Jeff you began the happiest period of your life. I remember how exhilarated you were after just three dates with Jeff.

For the first time ever, you occasionally missed one of our early morning workouts because you and Jeff had stayed out so late the night before. And soon after, on your first anniversary, he proposed marriage. We joked that for the first time in your life, you were speechless. He taught you perspective and modeled mellowness. You introduced him to Mocha and then Willa and to savoring fine food.

Such laughter filled your life. You felt for the time ever that you found someone who totally accepted you for who you were. When you were married, your soul soared.

You always knew that your time with Jeff would be short. And yet you choose him. You choose him because you and Jeff shared a love of such depth, acceptance and belief in each other.

I know you treasure the 7 years you had with Jeff. I know you would not have traded them for anything. But I wonder if sometimes you wish that you had spent the time with him differently, with more spectacular moments –more adventure and travel, back stage passes to Jackson Browne, home cooked multi course Japanese dinners – all the many things you wanted to do more of together.

And so if those thoughts creep in, I want to reassure you that it is the mundane moments that are life – walking Willa in the park, teaching a spin class, talking about your day, even watching sport center while reading the paper and listening to music and watching 3 games simultaneously on Television.

The love you share with Jeff is a love built on genuine connection, abiding trust, and laughter. So much laughter. You two grew so in your time together.

I cannot stand here and pretend to fathom the depths of your grief. But I can tell you this. It is your love for Jeff that will carry you through.

I want to close with Jeff’s words.

On September 5, 2004 at the Tucker Canyon House in Boulder Canyon, your soon to be husband spoke these words to you:

"You open my eyes, you embrace my heart and you nurture my soul.

You give my life meaning beyond my farthest reaching hopes and dreams.

For all that we have and so much more, I love you.

Stephanie Jill Schaffer, I love you today, tomorrow and forever…

Wherever life takes us and whatever the world brings us I will embrace every precious moment that I have with you for as long as we both shall live."

May his memory be for a blessing.

Adventure Rabbi Summer Camp

Adventure Rabbi Summer Camp:

http://www.AdventureRabbi.org/camp/

Back in the days of B.C. (before children) when people asked me when the Adventure Rabbi program would start doing children’s events, my answer was always, “When I have children.” Well, now that Jeff and I have two girls and are raising our own Jewish children in Boulder, Colorado you may have noticed we have added more kid’s events each year.

This year I am thrilled that we are putting on a one day family camp. How did that come to be?

Well, I frequently take my girls to event at the Boulder Jewish Community Center (Boulder JCC) and so when Shari Blake asked me if I would run a one time event of a day long family camp partnered with the Boulder JCC, I thought it was great idea. Together with her team of Beth Litz and Linda Lowenstein, we have put together a fabulous, one day, Jewish summer camp for families.

Take one look at our staff and the price ($36 per family) and you will realize something is strange. How did hire such fabulous talent like Peter Himmelman, Tommy Feldman (Director Mountain Day Camp), David Hansburg (Director Rocky Mountain Day Camp) Sydney Solis (Story Time Yoga), and Caroline Saliman if we are only charging $36 per family?

The answer is this retreat is the brain child of the 18 Pomegranates Foundation’s Dare to Dream project. 18 Pomegranates worked ceaseless for several years, hosting numerous focus groups and retreats, to determine what the Jewish community in Boulder was lacking. The answer was retreats. So 18 Pomegranates is funding this retreat, based on those focus groups. Glorious!

Meanwhile, we get to enjoy a day up in Ward, creating community, hiking, hanging out and listening to great music. It’s going to be quite the day. I’ll be sure to include lots of Judaism in nature teachings, eco-Judaism and help us use the time together to prepare for the upcoming High Holidays. (In case you are wondering, yes I can link archery, map and compass with Eco-Judaism and the High Holidays. Come and find out how!)

I hope you can join us. If you don’t have children come as a counselor. What a fun way to get outside for the day!

More Details:

http://www.AdventureRabbi.org/camp/

Why am I the Adventure Rabbi and not the Environmental Rabbi?

People often ask me why I am the Adventure Rabbi and not the Environmental Rabbi. The first and most obvious reason is that I doubt the Enviro Rabbi gets to wear a cool cape.

But the reality is that most of my community lives the environmental message and so does our organization. Eco-Judaism (as they call it today) is completely intertwined with our lives. Eco-Judaism is an integral part of what I do. So much so that I feel like it doesn’t need to be named.

The participants in the Adventure Rabbi program are well aware of the connections between Judaism and nature, even if we don’t call our Shabbat services “Eco-Judaism Shabbat, ” our High Holidays “Eco-Judaism High Holidays,” or our classes “Eco-Judaism classes”. Our prayer books are filled with Jewish texts about nature gleaned from our ancient and modern sources (i.e. Eco Judaism.) My teachings, sermons and services abound with references to the sacred relationship between Jews and the earth, more Eco-Judaism.

I think that Eco-Judaism is simply such an integral part of what we do that it wouldn’t have occurred to us to call it that any more than it would have to call it Jewish Rabbi.

I will admit that when I travel, I am amazed to realize what an environmental and health conscious bubble I live in here in Boulder. As the distance from Boulder increases, the number of Priuses on the road decreases proportionally. So too it seems, does access to healthy foods.

Those of you who live in Boulder may be as shocked as I was on a recent trip to learn that most of the country does not eat organic food. “Free range? What is that?” Their milk does not come from happy cows! Their vegetables are gown with insecticides! And check this out. Not only do people not compost, but they actually throw things in the garbage. And their toilet paper is not made from recycled fibers. (But it sure is soft and white. They might be onto something there.)

I was at an event out of state and was shocked to learn that Styrofoam cups still exist! And here we at Adventure Rabbi Council meetings debating if we should supply compostable cups or have everyone bring their own as we strive to create zero waste events. How silly of us.

Here in Boulder the idea of serving dinner on paper plates sounds as crazy as throwing out a brand new, unopened pint of Chunky Monkey ice cream. Why would you do that? It would not even occur to us.

I chose to live in Boulder because of the preeminence of values that are important to me. Our community stresses the importance of taking care of the earth, each other (social justice) and ourselves (health). But I suppose it might be good for me to remember what is going on in the rest of the country and see if we can share a bit of our Eco-Judaism message beyond the Prius Perimeter.

Eco-Judaism is important and I am glad that it has become so popular as of late. How do you feel about it? Do you think we should emphasize the environmental message more? Or is it just such an integral piece of what we already do?

Hey… I wonder if my friend Alison Rabinoff could sew me a cool Enviro Rabbi cape.

Speaking of Alison, Alison Rabinoff is one of our Leadership Council. She has taken the lead in making Adventure Rabbi events as green as possible. Putting Eco-Judaism into action, she helps us keep our events as close to Zero-Waste as possible. I know we don’t always reach the goals she sets for us, but with her at the helm of our Eco-Judaism action squad, we are continually trying to lessen our impact on the earth.

I’d like to share with you an email I recently received from Alison about some great work she is doing for the Rocky Mountain Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Alison puts Eco-Judaism into practice everywhere she goes. Go Alison!

From Alison:
Last weekend I ran a green program for the Rocky Mountain Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. As a walker in 2007 & 2008 I was disappointed by the amount of event waste – so this year I stepped up and designed and ran a green program. The program included composting, recycling and food donation.

I was part of the Pack Up Crew (really the trash team) who’s 10 members were in charge of keeping the event site spotless, and this year also learned about composting. I’m excited to report that my homemade green program was a huge success - even winning over some big, national, skeptics.

At final count the walk raised 2.7 million to fund research, prevention programs and support those with breast cancer. And my green program impacted approximately 2,200 people; composted and/or recycled 75% of the event waste; and donated 1,700 lbs of food and 500 gallons of water.

Of our 10 team members, 8 of us have already signed up to do it again in 2010. So I’m already planning the program’s improvements and expansion!


Send us your eco-Judaism stories and we’ll post it here as well!
- Jamie

Boulder Jewish Events Site

For a long, long time, people have been asking for one common calendar for the Boulder Jewish community that allows everyone to see what's going on here in town.

We've created a simple site, www.BoulderJews.org, that allows you to see the common calendars for:

• Adventure Rabbi
• Aish Kodesh
• Bonai Shalom
• CU Hillel
• Har HaShem
• Nevei Kodesh
• Pardes Levavot

The Boulder JCC's site is being redesigned, so we'll be able to link their calendar into the system soon as well.

We're excited to provide this new resource to the Boulder Jewish Community.
Here's a link to check out the site: www.BoulderJews.org

Why do people seek out alternative Bar or Bat Mitzvah?

Everyone has a unique reason but here are 13 reasons we hear repeatedly:

1. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families seeking a spiritually meaningful experience.
2. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who wish to experience something unique.
3. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families needing a flexible study schedule.
4. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families looking to compress bar and bat mitzvah studies into ten months or less.
5. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who don’t have a lot of friends of family they would want to invite and so their synagogue sanctuary feels too big to fill.
6. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for students who don’t want to speak in front of a large group.
7. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for students who have not connected with their bar and bat mitzvah class, rabbi or teacher and so doing the ceremony at home lacks appeal.
8. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for students who are deeply connected to the outdoors.
9. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who want some quality time together.
10. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who are looking for a less stressful, easy going Bar or Bat Mitzvah experience.
11. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who want to stress the ceremony rather than the party.
12. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who want to spend their money on things other than centerpieces and DJs.
13. Alternative Bar and Bat Mitzvah are for families who can’t make it to Sunday or Saturday school every week and need a program that is more compatible with their busy lives.
    

Our programs offer independent study options supervised by monthly phone meetings with Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav.

For the service, you can come to us in Colorado, we will come to you, or pick a destination of your choosing and we will meet you there!

Read More about our unique program>>>
http://www.adventurerabbi.org/rabbi/barbatmitzvah.htm

When the World was Flat, God had it Easy.

Last month we began a discussion about when “Science meets Religion.” I was taken by the conversations that followed and continue to be inspired by your questions. The thought that presses on my mind is one Miriam presented, “When we allow Religion and Science to educate each other, they each evolve. If we allow ourselves to update our religious views based on our scientific learning, the toughest question remains, “What is God?” Thus, an essay:

*****

When the World was Flat, God had it Easy.

When the world was flat God had it easy. God could wake up just before sunrise, and have plenty of time to put a pot of coffee on to brew, before getting the sun started rising through the sky. Then He would take down the moon and stars and tuck them away until He needed them again the next night.

Next God would pour a nice big mug of coffee (organic shade grown of course. God has always advocated protecting the earth). God would sit down in His favorite celestial easy chair and read the paper. God needed to keep up with all the goings-on down on earth, but back when the world was flat there were not so many people, so it didn’t take too long.

God had given the people an instruction book, so they knew what was expected of them. He liked to call it the Good Book because it taught you how to be good. If the people obeyed the rules, God gave them rain in its season, autumn and spring, so their crops would grow. But when they did not obey the rules there was pestilence, drought, blight, bareness and whole host of retributions.

Some people complained that God lacked patience. For example, back in Noah’s day, God got so fed up with everyone’s mishagas that He decided to flood the entire world. But word on the street was that God was so annoyed when He got the water bill that He promised never to flood the world again. From that point forward God stuck to more available (read: inexpensive) punishments such as locust and frogs.

It’s not that God wasn't reasonable. When God got word about what was going on in Soddom and Gemorrah, he decided to destroy the whole place. But Abraham convinced him to hold off if there were 10 righteous people. Which there wasn’t. So he torched the place.

My point is, back then you knew what was expected of you. Only to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. And 613 other dos and don’ts.

Life could have remained simple if Ferdinand Magellan had sailed off the end of the earth. But once he proved the earth was spherical by sailing around it, all sorts of things feel apart for God. Before you knew it, earth ceased to be the center of the universe, the earth eastward rotation took on responsibility for the sun rise, and all sorts of thing that used to be the domain of God were outsourced.

Soon draught was caused by climatic fluctuation, sickness was created by genetic mutation, ice storms were due to a layer of warm air being trapped between two layers of cold air, and the common cold was inflicted by touching infected shopping carts handles.

Soon there was little left for God to do, so he moved south to Florida, bought a condo in Century Village and now spends His days playing golf and catching early bird dinner specials. (Sometimes he takes half his portion home to have for lunch the next day. It’s a lot of work to cook for one.)

*****

When we did not understand how the world worked, we committed these functions to the realm of God. But as we have come to understand the natural workings of our universe of our world, we must rethink, “What is God?”

While it made sense for our ancestors to believe in a God that causes rain, snow, and fertility, what makes sense to us?

Does God begin where science ends? Meaning science explains the creation of the universe with the big bang, but what or who set the big bang in motion?

Or are science and religion layers of the same experience, one that educates the other? For example, science can explain the enhanced red and orange colors at sunrise and sunset with the mathematically explanation of the Mie Solution or the discrete dipole approximation. At the same time religion can help express the sense of awe we experience and provide us with ritual and community in which to place the experience.

What happens when science and religion meet is an intriguing and ongoing conversation. Let’s continue to explore it together.

My salary was published in a prestigious magazine, read by approximately 184,000 people

My salary was published, without my permission, in a prestigious magazine, read by approximately 184,000 people. The magazine printed two hundred salaries, gleaned from public records, with the expressed purpose of enabling readers to decide how their own salaries measure up.

I know they say even bad press is good press, but did they really have to go and tell everyone that I make less money than a paramedic or a tow truck operator? Jewish law teaches that we are prohibited from publicly embarrassing anyone. I guess the magazine editors didn’t get the memo.

Most of the time I have reconciled myself to the fact that I don’t earn as much as my peers and rabbinic colleagues. I’ve chosen style over money. I care deeply about my innovative work and because I created the Adventure Rabbi program, I get to set my own agenda and schedule. To me, that is worth making less money that I could in a traditional congregation directed by a conventional board.

Admittedly, at times I do resent my small salary and feel taken advantage of by people who think religion should be free and don’t want to pay for my time. But, that is my own internal struggle. It’s another thing entirely to have my salary aired for the public to judge.

Let’s face it; success in our culture is determined not only by how many digits we earn, but by how our salaries compare to other’s income. According to a Harvard study reported in the New York Times, given a choice, many of us would opt for an annual salary of $50,000 when others are making $25,000 rather than earn $100,000 a year when others are making $200,000. (Sonja Lyubomirsky, "Why We’re Still Happy," New York Times December 27, 2008, p. A19.) The actual income is less important than our comparative ranking.

The fact that the article gave my incorrect salary did nothing to dissipate my feelings of financial failure. Because the truth is that even my actual compensation package pales in comparison to that of a newly ordained rabbi, ten years my junior.

Why do I care? The truth is that the side of me who chooses lifestyle over money, still has not convinced the competitive high school side of me that the big house and the big investment portfolio and the big salary are not important.

I am trying to live according to my values. You would think that would be easy since they are mine, but sometimes it is a struggle.

My continuing effort is to align myself with what is truly important to me. It remains true that I would rather have an extra hour to walk in the woods or to play with my daughters, than to pursue a higher wage. I would rather have time to work on my new book, go skiing on a powder day, and still make dinner for my family almost every night of the week, than work more hours to earn more money. This is the choice I have made for myself.

Still, it is reassuring to know that if I decide my choice no longer works for my family or me, that at least according to this magazine’s report of what I earn, I could become a parking meter collector or public school teacher and get quite the raise.

- Boulder, Colorado, Dec 29, 2008

Chanukah Teaching - Dec 2008

A week ago Saturday, leading services on skis at Copper and it was very, very cold. As our group gathered, several people asked me, "How long does the service need to be? "Can you make it quick Jamie?"

We moved quickly from Barchu, to Shema to the Amidah, (leaving out several major prayers like Veahavtah and Michamocha to name a few.) I overheard someone whisper, "Wow, she really is the express rabbi!"

I gave my teaching and then someone asked, "Jamie what is between us and the chocolate?" (I always give our chocolate at end of a service.) I said, "How about the Kaddish?" and skipped Aleinu.

And so that is how I earned my newest nickname, "The Express Rabbi." I also learned, which I did not know, that when my husband Jeff explains the philosophy of the Adventure Rabbi program he says, "We do Jewish stuff outdoors, quickly."

I started thinking about the Shabbat morning service and how long in tends to be, compared to our 9 minute cold day version. When I do an indoor service, the service might be as long as an hour and a half. Other rabbis tend more toward two and half and even a four hour service is not uncommon for Shabbat morning.

It was not always like this. Over the centuries, as more liturgy was composed, the service grew and grew. Aleinu for example, was composed during Talmudic times for the Rosh Hashanah service and only later was it included in the daily service. Adon Olam, composed in the 11th century, also hailed from the Rosh Hashanah liturgy.

If you have ever felt like a service goes on and on and on, then you had good company with the early Reformers. In the 1800s, the creators of Reform Judaism became the first the first Jews ever to shorten the service instead of lengthening it. Out went he repletion of the Amidah, out went the repetitions of the Hatzi Kaddish, that page markers of sorts, which demarcate each section from the next.

Many of us find that this experience of "less" enhances our prayer experience, rather than takes away from it. As an extreme, I'll offer our Yom Kippur retreat where we might recite no more than four or five prayers. However each prayer gets the full focus of our attention. For example, before we chanted Kol Nidre, we thought about it, talked about it and journaled about it. We each came to grips with what it meant to us personally and for our group collectively. By the time we said the words, they were fully of meaning for us.

Sometimes less is truly an opportunity to hone our attention and increase our focus.

Our current economy is forcing many of us to reacquaint ourselves wit the concept of less. Can we use this financial hardship as a spiritual opportunity?

There is a teaching in Chanukah that I think can help us realign our thoughts toward the power of less.

We all know the tradition that each night of Chanukah we add one candle to the menorah. But did you know this was not always so? In the first century there were two great rabbis, each with his own academy, who debated how Judaism should be practiced, including how we should light the menorah. The Talmud offers both opinions, citing that they each have merit for different times.

Rabbi Hillel taught that each night we should add one candle, symbolizing the number of nights that the mitzvah of Chanukah has been completed

Rabbi Shammai, (50 BCE–30 CE), took the opposite stance, beginning with all the candles and taking one away each night. He taught that we should look ahead to how many night are left. Each night we take away one candle, so that by the end of the holiday we have only once candle (plus the shames.)

It occurred to me, that Shammai's teaching might have a modern application. We are accustomed to using Hillel's method, adding one candle a night, and associated the increases light with a corresponding increase in awesomeness. Adding candles encourages us to focus on more to come.

But what if instead we took away a candle each night and tried to teach ourselves to focus on the beauty that becomes apparent when there is less? Eight candles, then seven, then six, and so on until we are looking at one candle, plus the shames, shining ever so bright? Less candles, but also less distraction.

This may prove to be the spiritual challenge of this season. Can we find the beauty, the awe, the spiritual uplift of less instead of more? I believe we can.

Sukkot Thoughts... building a sukkah

Friends-

Join us for a Sukkot Hike this Saturday at 10 am - 12 noon on Flagstaff Mountain. Co-led by Reb Tirzah Firestone and Rabbi Jamie Korngold.

Sukkot is a great holiday with one major flaw. Timing.

The minute Yom Kippur is over we are literally supposed to grab hammer and nails and start building a sukkah. The moment Yom Kippur is over, all I want to do is go to sleep for about a week, preferably in a very comfortable bed.

Now for those of you who have already built your sukkah and are enjoying dinners under the full moon, I applaud you. Feel free to skip to the end.

For the rest, perhaps one of the following rings true?

* I am too busy to build a sukkah

* A pre-fab sukkah costs how much?

* Why would I own a hammer and nails?

Fortunately, there are many magnificent ways to celebrate Sukkot without a sukkah.

The main intentions of the holiday are to:

1. Reunite us with the ancient Israelites wilderness experience

2. Remind us of our agrarian roots.

During the week of Sukkot, try to do an outdoor activity each day and consciously link it to Sukkot.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Take a Sukkot hike. (I`m leading one this Saturday)

2. Ready your garden for winter

3. Invite a friend to an autumn picnic at a local park.

4. Light Shabbat candles on your porch.

5. Visit a pumpkin farm.

6. Go camping.

7. Snuggle up under the covers with my book, God in the Wilderness, which is full of Jewish lessons we can learn from nature.
Wishing you and yours a joyous Sukkot.

See you on the trail,



Jamie

Third Step of Repentance

On our Rosh Hashanah retreat, I was asked how to prepare for the third step of repentance.

The steps are:

1) Acknowledge the sin and apologize.

2) Repair the damage or compensate the victim.

3) Don't repeat the offense in the same or similar situation.

Rabbi Tellushkin offers some advice to help us retrain ourselves. Based on the medieval Gates of Repentance (1:35) he writes, whatever faculty you used to sin, use it now to do good.

For example, "If your tongue lied, be exceeding careful to be truthful and use your mouth to speak words of loving-kindness. If you used your brain to deceive others, apply it now to find ways to help others." (You Shall Be Holy, p. 169)

See you on the trail!

Jamie