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Monday, June 22, 2009

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

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

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

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Obama, Leviticus and the Class of 2028

Obama, Leviticus and the Class of 2028
(A sermon for Congregation Ohr Shalom, May 14, 2009)

Earlier this week, President Obama delivered the commencement address to the University of Arizona . He challenged the graduates to strive toward significance rather than financial success. He implored them to measure their accomplishments by their impact rather than their titles.

How much the world is changing. We are in the midst of the most spectacular societal transformation most of us have ever witnessed. If these ideas take hold, my children will grow up with very different goals then I did. My daughter’s graduating classes of 2025 and 2028 will create very different lives for themselves then did my graduating class, the Cornell University class of 1987.

Who among us was not raised in a paradigm that exulted in financial success above all? For decades we in our society have dedicated ourselves to the ceaseless pursuit of acquiring material wealth, larger homes, fancier cars, more extravagant vacations. Only recently have we learned that not only does material wealth not insure happiness, but that our greed has led to the veritable collapse of our economic system and the disintegration of our planet.

Obama encourages us to stop chasing the dollar and start chasing our dreams. To follow our passion, to cultivate our creativity, rather than being seduced by the ceaseless pursuit of wealth.

On the one hand, for me very little has changed. As a non-congregational rabbi, I have never earned a large salary. I recognize many of the consequences of my decision. For example, Sadie and Ori will not attend the Ivy League school I did. I will not be able to afford the tuition. But, I also appreciate that although I earn less than my peers, I spend more time with my children than my colleagues do with theirs, and far less time in boring meetings.

So in some ways, for me nothing has changed. I already pursue my passion – I’m an author with a book out and more on the way! (B”H) I have already eschewed fancy titles in exchange for following my dream of combing Judaism and nature, of creating a 21st century version of Judaism that is accessible, meaningful and relevant.

But how do I measure my impact? How do I measure that significance of which Obama spoke?

This is for me where I cannot seem to shake off the old equation of achievement equals financial success. What should be the standard of measurement? How should I decide if at the end of the day I have spent my time in a worthy fashion?

Doubleday, my publisher, measures my significance in book sales, number of hits of my website, and the quantity of my appearances in the media. Not enough “significance” will mean no second book deal.


With Doubleday’s profit margin hitting abysmal lows and their parent company Random House reconfiguring, I doubt even Obama could convince them that anything other than their bottom line is important to consider.

I too have trouble breaking free from the confines of this equation.

I am of course not the first or last to struggle with this predicament. Upon reading out Torah portion this week, Behar, it occurred to me that even our ancestors struggled to find a comfortable place between striving to acquire and finding satisfaction with less. Between competitively getting out ahead of one’s peers and living as equals. Between viewing everyone as someone who can buy your product and advance your agenda in some way, and simply being amongst a community.

Our Torah portion discusses the sabbatical year. For six years the farmer is to tend to his land, and the seventh, is to be a Sabbath of the land, a year of rest for the earth. The farmer is to neither sow nor harvest his field nor tend his vineyard.

I would like to draw your attention to three striking verses. In Leviticus 25:5 we read, “Even crops that grew on their own [from the seeds of your previous ] harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your untended vines you shall not gather; it shall be a year complete rest for the land. “ (Leviticus 25:5)

These are seemingly simple instructions. Do not harvest anything, even that which grew on its own accord. Go to Costco, but don’t harvest the field for your food.

But in the very next two verses we read, “The produce of the land’s Shabbos year shall be for yourselves, for food, for you, your servant and your maidservant, for your hired hand and your resident sojourner who reside with you. Also for your domesticated animals and for the wild beast that are in your land, shall all of its produce be for food.” (Leviticus 25:6-7)

Wait a minute! You just told us we can’t eat it, and now you say we can? How do we make sense of this?

Rashi explains: “You shall not treat it as an owner does, but all shall be equal in it. You and your hired hand and your resident sojourner.” (Rashi 25:6)

The environmental teachings in this passage – the concept of giving the year off – is of course important and a sermon onto its own. But what I found comforting in terms of my struggle was this concept that for 6 years a man manages his land, and then on the 7th, the land in effect returns to God. In the seventh year, all the community are equal before the land -- owner, servant, Jew, non-Jew and animal.

To me the passage exhorts, “So go, pursue your riches, sow your seeds and harvest your wealth. But in that 7th year, remember that we all stand before the earth, with no titles, no wealth, we all stand – the rich the poor, even the animals as equals.

Even more extreme is the section that follows on the jubilee year. Every 50 year there shall be a jubilee year in which all slaves shall set free and all land shall revert to its original owner. Theoretically, this prevented constant striving after wealth for if one worked to amass land against land and house upon house, one would still lose it in the 50th year. All the earnings of 50 years get wiped out. So why strive?

Now the rabbis agree that this probably never was implemented. They “deregulated” the jubilee practice. But none the less, to me I see the presence, even in these ancient writings, of a struggle between our innate tendency to strive to outdo others and to gain a financial advantage, and our philosophical hope that in the end we all strive for goodness.

I don’t think the parsha fully gives me the key to release myself from judging the efficacy of my work by my book sales, but it does comfort to me to realize that even thousands of years ago, our people struggled with a similar concept.

I hope we are entering a new time. I hope that it will become as prestigious to be a rabbi or a teacher or a social worker as it is (was?), to be an oil executive or a hedge fund manager. I hope we will pursue creativity, community and meet the challenges of our day with a renewed sense of hope.

Cain yehe ratzon.

Monday, February 16, 2009

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.

Monday, December 29, 2008

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

Wednesday, December 24, 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.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

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