Adventure Rabbi Blog - Rabbi Jamie Korngold - the Adventure Rabbi

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2010-03-21T18:23:00.001-06:00

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Rabbi Korngold Named One of 50 Top Jewish Spiritual Leaders In US

2010-03-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

In Rabbi Mike Comins new book, Making Prayer Real, Rabbi Jamie Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, is featured as one of the leading 50 spiritual Jewish voices in the Jewish world.

Other Rabbis mentioned in the list of top 50 most influential rabbis: Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement (he also lives in Boulder, Colorado), author Rabbi David J. Wolpe, and author Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD.

I read a lot of books. Lately I have been reading a lot of books about God.

2010-03-16T16:29:00.000-06:00

I read a lot of books. I used to take my books out from the library because I don’t like to own a lot of stuff and my office is already crammed with floor to ceiling bookshelves overflowing with books. But now that I am a published author, I feel a responsibility to purchase books to support other authors as well as to do my part to help the struggling publishing houses.

Now that I actually own the books, reading has become a multi-disciplinary event for me. I write copious notes in the margins and underline in blue, green and yellow marker. I draw brackets, stars, arrows and passionate explanation points, “Yes!” next to passages I love. My books have that “well loved” look to them.

I do not however, bend page corners over. I abhor the bending down of pages. My sister, a poet who taught me my love of books, also somehow taught me this. Somehow it seems like unperpetrated violence against the book. Funny isn’t it, where we each draw the line of right and wrong?

Lately I have been reading a lot of books about God. I didn’t know there were so many books about God. God probably doesn’t know there are so many books about God. I would think you would have to have name like Sir Reginald Oxberry Meticulous III to have so many books written about you. But no, its just 3 simple letters, G-o-d.

Books about God remind me of the pre-Galilean models of the solar system. Back then astronomers thought the earth was the center of the universe. In order reconcile the orbits of the planets that they observed (reality), with the belief that the earth was the center of the universe, they had to build elaborately complicated (and erroneous) models to explain the universe.

This reminds me of theology. It seems to me that theologians and clergy do elaborate gymnastics to prove why a kind and loving God allows such terrible things to happen in the world.

When I read books about God, I find that I often am intrigued by the questions, such as, “Why do bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people?” and, “Does healing prayer work?” and, “What happens when we die?” and, “Why is there suffering in the world?” But sadly, I am seldom satisfied with the answers.

The other consistency that I notice in books about God is the big words that authors feel compelled to use. The other day I was reading a book that was going off about the “urtext” and “theurgy.” Now I can urtext and theurgize with the best of them, but what’s the point? Why not just say “original text and “divine or supernatural intervention in human affairs?” I guess it might mess up the word count for a limerick, but it sure would be more accessible.

I once read that Renee Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, often wrote in the layman’s French rather than the Latin used by the academics of his day because he felt that everyone should have access to his work, not just the intellectual elite.

That is the kind of God book I am trying to write. No fancy models concocted to support the unsupportable. No bizarre words that require you to leave your comfy chair and go to your computer to look it up on. My goal is to write a book that keeps it simple, so that you can sit on the porch and read it while eating a bag of chips. Of course you may want to bring a pen to draw some arrows, stars and hopefully a few big exclamation points, “Yes!”

Now I better get back to writing……

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

2010-03-13T21:49:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

Book Review: Making Prayer Real by Rabbi Mike Comins

2010-03-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-12-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-12-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-12-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.adamahadventures.org/

2009-11-16T15:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-11-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-11-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T21:11:00.000-06:00

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

2009-09-29T16:26:00.001-06:00

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

2009-09-26T11:17:00.000-06:00

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

2009-09-14T16:17:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-31T21:29:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-25T21:46:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-25T21:44:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-25T20:41:00.000-06:00

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?

2009-08-21T19:24:00.000-06:00

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

2009-08-11T22:14:00.000-06:00

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:

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.

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?

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)

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.