An 'A' isn't what it used to be: a rant about student performance in examinations

The following is based on a sermon delivered at B'nai Israel on Friday, February 26th, 2010.


I've been pondering recently some of the many debates about the quality of education today.  Such debates are widespread, whether it be regarding Jewish education in day schools or supplementary schools, or public schools in general.  The consensus seems to be clear - students just seem to be more stupid than they were in the 'good old days'.  The general lack of achievement seems to be an international phenomena... I have been aware for years of the annual ritual in the UK whenever the national examination results come out and we see large numbers of high grades that appear to be quite unexpected for such a stupid student body that commentators everywhere come to the only possible conclusion: An 'A' just doesn't mean what an 'A' used to mean.  We've been lowering the bar to the extent that just about anyone with the ability to spell their name at the top of the page is within reach of what was once the highly sought after but difficult to pull off 'A' grade.

Clearly, issues of educational quality are of great concern among the Jewish community.  We have always believed strongly in the importance of a good education, and there is much to be found in rabbinic literature that offers guidance on how to ensure the best possible education is available for our children.  As I pondered what words of advice I might have on these issues of concern, I decided that I should first do some real research to see whether or not these concerns are actually backed up by data and hard facts, or simply commentators being nostalgic for an era of slide rules and long division, of a time when all could differentiate between an active and a passive clause.  But there, right on the pages of the British Council, reporting on some of the findings from British History exams*, the evidence was laid bare.  I share with you a selection of their findings, and leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Answers to exam questions written by history students

1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.


2. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children, Cain, asked, "Am I my brother's son?"


3. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients.Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada.


4. Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.


5. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.


6. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.


7. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock.After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.


8. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the java.


9. Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long.


13. In midevil times most people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the futile ages was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature.


15. Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen." As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted "hurrah."


16. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper.


17. The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Romeo's last wish was to be laid by Juliet.


18. Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.


21. One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. Finally the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay for taxis. Delegates from the original 13 states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.


23. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. His mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation.


25. Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the autumn when the apples are falling off the trees.


26. Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German half Italian and half English. He was very large.


29. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is in the East and the sun sets in the West.


*For the original context, see here.

P.S.  Happy Purim!

 

When did concern for human rights become unpatriotic? The case of the New Israel Fund & Im Tirtzu

As a young adult living in London, I think that the first time I ever wrote a check in support of an Israeli charity it was to the New Israel Fund.  The NIF has always represented, to me, the compassionate and pluralistic face of Israel - funding groups and programs that deal with immigrants rights, women's rights, religious pluralism and tolerance, social and economic justice, civil and human rights, environmental issues, and issues of equality for the minority Arab and Bedouin populations in Israel.  You can learn more about the work of the NIF on their website.

If you've been following any Jewish or Israeli press this past week, you'll know that The NIF has come under fire in Israel, the focus of a campaign spearheaded by a group called 'Im Tirtzu'.  Im Tirtzu presents itself as group engaged in a 'second Zionist revolution'.  They see themselves as a response to what they describe as 'Post-Zionist' and 'Anti-Zionist' voices that they identify as prevalent in Israeli universities and media.

Why has the NIF become the focus of Im Tirtzu's ire?  Running an ad in The Jerusalem Post, Im Tirtzu has made the claim that the NIF has funded many of the groups who were quoted in the controversial U.N. Goldstone Report that looked into accusations of human rights abuses by Hamas and Israel during Israel's incursion into Gaza, responding to hundreds of rockets that had been fired out of Gaza into Israel over an extended period of time.  Im Tirtzu has made a number of accusations against The NIF.

Protestors against the New Israel Fund in Jerusalem, dressed as Hamas.

The placard reads 'Lovers of Naomi, Haters of the Israeli Army'.

The Horn image is a play on word 'Keren' which means both 'fund' (as in 'New Israel Fund') and horn.

It is an intentional play on old anti-semitic imagery of Jews with horns.

For example, Im Tirtzu claims that the NIF supports the Goldstone Report. A spokeswoman for the New Israel Fund, Naomi Paiss, said that although her group took no position on the Goldstone report, it “is very proud of the groups we have supported. ... Their reports were carefully documented and in some instances were the only available information out of Gaza because the international press and the Israeli press were kept out.

“Those human rights organizations are there to do a job,” she continued. “They reported on their concerns about the Gaza operation and were the first to declare that the Israeli government should launch an independent inquiry into the events of Gaza. Had that been done, perhaps there would not have been a Goldstone report.” (as reported in 'The Jewish Week', 2/2/10)

In recent days, many have been looking closely at these accusations and Im Tirtzu's report, and more closely at the organization itself, finding many of its claims to be inaccurate and some aspects of their agenda, funding and connections troubling.  For example, the JTA reports:

'Liberal organizations and bloggers have been reporting that Im Tirtzu has received money from the Central Fund of Israel, a U.S.-based nonprofit that has also supported pro-settler organizations and a group that aids militant Israeli Jews accused of carrying out violence. They also note that Im Tirtzu reportedly has received $200,000 over the past two years from John Hagee, an evagelical pastor in San Antonio, Texas, who is staunchly pro-Israel but came under fire for having declared in a sermon that God allowed the Holocaust to happen as part of a plan to bring Jews to Israel.'

What is the result of this attack on the NIF?  The Knesset is considering an inquiry into the NIF to look at the claim that they are funding groups who do not have Israel's interests at heart.  This is a troubling development.  The NIF are strong supporters of a two-state solution, an ongoing peace process, and they believe that it is important to build an Israel that is founded upon principles of justice and equality.  They believe that Israel's long-term future, and the soul of the country, is dependent on Israeli's being willing to look at those questions when they arise and to defend democratic values, pluralism, and the rights of all who live in Israel.  Some are seeing this attack on NIF as part of a trend that is causing concern, seeing the increased limitations placed on Women of the Wall, the recent interrogation of Anat Hoffman, the push to segregate public buses by gender, as indications that a narrowly-defined, right-wing and non-pluralist voice in Israel is a threat to democracy, free speech and civil rights in Israel.  To read more on these perspectives, read the excellent piece by Leonard Fein in this week's Forward or a response by Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater in The Huffington Post.


Within Israel, there has also been a strong reaction to Im Tirtzu's accusations.  The JTA reports that, '... in early February, a group of leading Israeli academics, writers, actors, directors and political activists, including novelists Amos Oz and A.B. Yehoshua, placed a full-page ad in Haaretz expressing "disgust at the campaign of incitement and hatred" being waged against Chazan, the NIF and the organizations it supports.'


These events highlight an ongoing debate within Israel and within Jewish communities in the diaspora.  I have been having these debates since my college days and they are a sign that, while the perspectives are many, all who are engaging in the debate do so from the place of deep caring about Israel.  There are some who argue that it is unpatriotic or anti-Zionist to be critical of specific actions or policies of Israel.  They are concerned that such voices will be used by Israel's enemies to denigrate her on the international stage and, as such, they are irresponsible.  There are others who believe that we must be willing to be self-critical, to take accusations seriously, out of love for Israel - to hold her to the highest standards.  I believe that the debate is healthy; but actions designed to shut down dialogue in Israel - to silence the debate - are not.  


Those who know me know that I tend toward the latter of the two positions.  I believe that we must take a good hard look at ourselves when we find ourselves turning a blind eye to the human rights of others and are willing to ignore all other ethical considerations in our steadfast support for the State of Israel. That is not a good foundation for a Jewish state. I feel that those who believe Israel is weakened by Israelis and diaspora Jews offering loving, critical feedback on Israel's actions need to consider the international image of both an Israel and a Jewish people who appear unwilling to take responsibility for the ethical standards they hold their beloved nation state to (think of the international image of the USA before Obama's administration sought to directly address the issue of torture and humans rights abuses in Guantanamo bay etc.)   


But I am also not naive, and I recognize that there are many shades of grey between the two poles of this debate, and there are times when we must be thoughtful about how and where we offer loving critique.  We must not assume that all accusations of wrong-doing are accurate (which is why organizations like the NIF or J-Street were eager for Israel to conduct its own inquiry into Operation Cast Lead in Gaza rather than leaving it to the U.N.) and we must be just as loud and strong at speaking up when Israel exhibits the highest ethical standards (as it does so often), leads the world in humanitarian aid response (as it did in Haiti and on countless occasions in the past), and has the right to defend itself against the threat of terrorism and against those who seek to destroy her.


But let's not shut down the debate by denigrating the work of others who care for and love Israel.  We can, and we must, do better than that.
Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

A British Rabbi reflects on the State of the Union & the political engagement of Reform Jews

Last night I sat and watched the State of the Union address, along with millions of others in the USA and beyond.  As I listened to what was surely an impressive speech - a call to action, a call to unity, outlining so many specifics with clarity, passion and care, I found myself reflecting on the nature of political discourse in the USA and contrasting it with my experience back in the UK.  There isn't really an equivalent in the UK - the closest might be Queen Elizabeth's speech to Parliament upon its opening.  Culturally, it could not be more different.  Take a look at this youtube of the address in November 2009 (and if you'd like to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the ritual surrounding the opening of Parliament, you can click on the option to watch direct on the Youtube site, and then look at some of the related links):

In truth, I do not remember a year when I lived in the UK when I actually watched this.  It certainly was not a family affair; we did not sit and discuss, or listen to TV pundits dissecting the speech, or the response to the speech in the chamber (as you can see, there would be little to discuss on this latter point).

But it is the engagement with the political process, the amount of commentary and response to the content of the State of the Union speech, both immediately after and today in newspapers, blogs, and online magazines throughout today that, as an 'import' from the UK I find so engaging and interesting.  While there are times when I find the degree of political parsing here over-the-top and a barrier to good common sense where the priority is to get things done (which I was pleased to hear President Obama call attention to last night), the level of political engagement in this country is, by and large, quite remarkable.

I do not plan to offer my own thoughts on the specifics of last night's address - there are many others far better qualified to do so.  But I would commend listening to a selection of some of our leading Jewish activists respond by watching the youtube below - among them Rabbi Jonah Pesner of Just Congregations, and Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center.


Tomorrow, I leave with a group of this year's Confirmation class to our annual L'Taken Social Justice Seminar with the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C.  It is an exciting time to go, so close to the State of the Union speech.  Our teens will learn about some of the social justice issues that Reform Judaism engages with as we seek, as Jews, to improve our world, and how they take form in the political arena through the legislative process.  They will learn why Reform Judaism teaches about these issues, and how we read Jewish sources to create our visions, and they will learn how to lobby their Representatives in ways that demonstrate why we care about their votes on a variety of upcoming legislation.

Again, reflecting on my UK experience, such a program would have been unheard of when I lived there.  Jewish communities would speak out on issues that directly affected specifically Jewish things, but rarely would you see a community or a Jewish denomination speak on an issue that went beyond that narrow remit.  We might teach about the issues in general, but making a direct connection to the legislative agenda of Parliament at any particular time was rare.  But look at the issues that our students will have a chance to learn about this weekend:
Homelessness, Environmental issues, inequality for low-income households, reproductive rights, health care reform, GLBT equality in the workplace, immigration reform, and international relations.

All of these issues effect our lives, the lives of those in the communities where we live, our futures, and our world.  As Reform Jews in the USA, one of the strengths of our movement is our ability to speak with relevance on all matters that affect our lives, and we are called to do justice, inspired by the prophetic tradition, for all in the society we live in - especially the weakest and the poorest.  We want our students to grow up to be good citizens as well as good Jews.  We want them to be educated and empowered to take their place among those who were engaged in debate and analysis after hearing the State of the Union address last night, ready to respond to the President's charge: 'Let's get it done!'
Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

The face of the IDF and Israel in Haiti

The week's news coverage of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti (and the subsequent aftershocks) has been in turn devastating (as we begin to contemplate the scale of the humanitarian disaster), inspiring (as we see aid workers and soldiers working tirelessly to help), frustrating (as the infrastructure imposes limits on the ability of the world to deliver and distribute resources), and motivational (inspiring us to dig deeply into our pockets and offer financial support for the aid efforts).

Every news channel in every country has a tendency to highlight the contributions of its own people - its own aid workers, soldiers, etc.  Of course, the bottom line is that lives are saved and people are sustained and supported, but it is natural for us to notice how well the representatives of 'our people' are doing on the ground.  For American Jews, that means noticing what our US troops and aid workers are doing, and also what those of Israel are doing.

The fact is that, in the aftermath of these kind of humanitarian disasters, Israel is often one of the very first responders - they have the experience, the skills, the technology and equipment to mobilize very quickly with experts who are adept at rescue and emergency medical support.  After the first few days of news coverage in the USA which, rightly, focused on assessing the scale of the devastation and the urgent task of recovering and saving as many lives as possible of those trapped under rubble, the past couple of days have seen a turn to other stories, including the remarkable work of the IDF hospital that arrived and was set up with lightening speed, and has impressed so many American journalists with the equipment, use of technology, and overall competency displayed.

Here, Jewish values and global humanitarian values intertwine.  The goal of every doctor, every soldier and every aid worker in Haiti right now is to save lives.  But I couldn't help but be moved to hear that expressed by an IDF soldier at the end of one of the media interviews thus: 'Every time we save a life here it is like we save a world.'  This is, of course, the citation of a teaching that has been part of Jewish wisdom for over 1,500 years:

• Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:8 (37a)

I heard from family in the UK that the perception among the Jewish community there is that the remarkable contribution of the IDF and the IDF hospital has not had the coverage it deserved in the UK television media. [update: @Israeliaid tweeted me with a link to two examples of UK coverage, so there has been some.  See here] For their benefit, and for all those who might have missed the coverage, below are embedded excerpts of several news reports that I hope will inform and inspire.  A summary of all activity by the IDF in Haiti as of today can be found here.
CNN reporting on the difference between IDF Field hospital and US resources in place:

IDF Hospital featured on Fox news, January 17

Link to CBS news coverage of patients being moved from a UN facility to the IDF hospital for treatment:

CBS- “Life-Saving Efforts Continue”, 17 January
http://is.gd/6EYHb

These are just a selection of some of the news reporting on the role of the IDF and the IDF hospital over the past few days on US Television.  To keep up-to-date with reports from the IDF, you can check in with this blog.  If you are a Twitter user there are a number of tweets you can follow for up-to-the-minute information, new photos, video coverage, etc. Follow the hashtags #idf #haiti and twitter accounts like @idfspokesperson @idfinhaiti @israeliaid @yaelbt

Extending a helping hand to Haiti

Image from National Geographic

Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have lost loved ones and are suffering in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Word has quickly spread on a variety of charities that are collecting funds that will be directed at aid and follow-up efforts that will be needed in coming weeks and months.
There are many ways to direct financial aid to help in the aftermath of this natural disaster.  The URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) has set up a fund, and you can donate here.
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) also has a fund, and you can go direct to their donation page here.

If you are looking for other Jewish organizations who are directing funds to help, the AJC and B'nai Brith are both directing funds to IsraAID, an Israeli non-governmental relief agency that brings humanitarian medical assistance to disaster areas.  You can send support via these groups by clicking on the organizational names above.

Video - Anat Hoffman interviewed about her arrest by JTA news

I wanted to share this additional piece after last night's blog, which was brought to my attention via a tweet from @religion_state who provide a really invaluable resource on all Religion-State issues in Israel via their blog (which I have now added to our blogroll on the list in the right column).



JTA news posted a video interview with Anat Hoffman after her arrest.  Please take a look at it here:



What can you do?  Call to Action from Women of the Wall

Batya Betsy Kallus sent a message to the members of Women of the Wall Nashot HaKotel. (You can join this group on Facebook for continued updates)

--------------------
Subject: Protest letter following interrogration of WOW chairperson Anat Hoffman: circulate and send onl

Dear Facebook supporters of WOW,
As you can see from the posting to the site today, Anat Hoffman, the chairperson of WOW was detained and interrogated today, and threatened with a felony offence for praying with a tallit at the Kotel. This appalling and disgraceful action must be protested in every possible way. Thanks to International Committee of WOW member Shulamit Magnus, below is a draft protest letter that can be sent to ambassadors, diplomats, politicians, etc. Please feel free to amend, revise, and change but please send it onward to whomever you think should receive it, and please, send a copy to the Facebook page or to info@womenofthewall.org.il

Thank you for your support and commitment to the right of Jewish women to pray at the Kotel in our own voices.
Sincerely,
Batya Kallus
Women of the Wall

This particular letter was written to Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to USA.
To: info@washington.http://www.facebook.com/l/e711e;mfa.gov.il; dpaofficer@washington.http://www.facebook.com/l/e711e;mfa.gov.il
Subject: For Ambassador Oren URGENT

Dear Ambassador Oren,

I read with shock and disbelief that Anat Hoffman, a founding member of the
Women of the Wall, past member of the Jerusalem City Council and participant in many efforts to improve civil and consumers' rights in Israel, was detained by the Jerusalem police, interrogated, finger-printed, and threatened with prosecution for felony for her leadership role in the Women of the Wall.

This is a terribly shocking new chapter in the sad history of this affair.
At stake is Israel's very character as a democratic state that respects
human rights, including freedom of expression and worship, and abjures
discrimination on the basis of gender in its founding Declaration of
Independence. The State and Municipality of Jerusalem have proceeded down a very ominous, regrettable path in this gratuitous escalation, which if
allowed to proceed, will do terrible damage to the fabric of Israeli
democracy and to its reputation abroad.

The Women of the Wall are an independent group of religious women from all
walks of Jewish life who seek the opportunity of women's group prayer at the
Western Wall, with talit and sefer torah; that is, Jewish prayer, as is
practiced day and night at that site, 24/7.

Can anyone in their right mind begin to comprehend why pursuit of these
goals would constitute a FELONY? Have the Municipality of Jerusalem and the State of Israel no more important issues to pursue than the suppression of this group; no more dangerous individuals to pursue than a group of mothers and grandmothers seeking to pray at Judaism's holiest site? Are women at prayer to be prosecuted as felons while thugs who attack them physically and verbally, including with threats of violence and antisemitic defamation, to be coddled; the holiest site to all Jews left to their vigilante actions?

We ask you to convey to the Government of Israel our strongest protest against these absurd and dangerous actions.

Yours truly,

Women of the Wall update - Anat Hoffman interrogated by police

It was reported today in The Forward that Anat Hoffman, founding member of Women of the Wall and Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, was interrogated by police in relation to the group's prayer gathering at the Kotel in December for Rosh Chodesh Tevet, the month after Nofrat Frankel had been arrested at the wall.  The article begins:

The leader of Women of the Wall, a group of women who gather monthly to pray at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, was questioned by police, fingerprinted, and told that she may be charged with a felony for violating the rules of conduct at what is considered Judaism’s most sacred site.

Inked: On January 5, Israeli police interrogated and fingerprinted Anat Hoffman.

Anat Hoffman, director of the Israel Religious Action Center, said that police interrogated her for more than an hour on January 5 about her activities during Women of the Wall’s last monthly service in December. Speaking by phone from Jerusalem, Hoffman said she did nothing differently that day than she had for the 21 years of her group’s existence... (continue reading here)

Apparently the crime being investigated was the wearing of tallitot by some women while praying (something which some women do beneath their jackets in a way that is not visible to others).  When the Supreme Court ruled a number of years ago that Women of the Wall must move to Robinson's Arch for their Torah service each Rosh Chodesh, they also ruled that women could not been seen wearing tallitot at the Kotel.

This police action is outrageous and quite clearly intended to intimidate the leadership of Women of the Wall.  After the arrest of Nofrat Frankel there were calls for events around the world to demonstrate Jews standing in solidarity with Women of the Wall.  At B'nai Israel our Rosh Chodesh group responded with and evening of study which led to 8 blogs in solidarity with Women of the Wall, published here at the end of December. 

In light of this ongoing intimidation, we must voice our disgust at the treatment of these women and call for action to be taken to ensure that the Kotel - a holy site and heritage for all Jews - does not continue to be controlled in its use as an ultra-Orthodox synagogue.

Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Once in a blue moon - Blessings for 2010!

If you've been paying attention the last couple of days, you'll have heard some fuss being made about this New Year's Eve being a 'blue moon.'  This phrase has changed its meaning over the centuries, but these days it is defined as the second full moon in a single month, or as the third full moon in a season that has four full moons.  Tonight's moon is the second full moon of December; the first occurred Dec. 2.

Though the expression "once in a blue moon" is used to describe extremely rare events, blue moons aren't all that unusual, occurring every 21/2 years or so. But a New Year's Eve blue moon is somewhat more remarkable -- we haven't had one since 1990.  Another titbit of information - Blue moons of this sort aren't actually blue in color (which I was a bit disappointed to learn).

Wikipedia informs us that: The earliest recorded English usage of the term "blue moon" was in a 1528 pamphlet violently attacking the English clergy, entitled "Rede Me and Be Not Wrothe" (Read me and be not angry): "Yf they say the mone is belewe / We must believe that it is true" [If they say the moon is blue, we must believe that it is true]. (From this we also learn that the ancestors of my homeland had terrible spelling!)

Some interpret this "blue moon" as relating to absurdities and impossibilities, and a similar moon-related adage was first recorded in the following year: "They would make men beleue ... that þe Moone is made of grene chese" [They would make men believe ... that the moon is made of green cheese].

One thing that this little splurge of media attention has done is to bring many more people's attention to what the moon is doing on any particular night - how many thousands will look up and notice (hopefully, if the sky is clear) a beautiful part of our night sky this evening?  They are getting just a taste of something that, if we are tuned in, is a gift of the rhythm of Jewish time each and every month - we run on a lunar calendar.  Each announcement of the new month brings us a dark sky with the merest sliver of light, waxing to its fullness in the middle of the Jewish month (note that our major holiday of Pesach begins on a full moon - 15 Nisan), and then waning again.  We bless the month in our liturgy, and some Jewish communities practice the ritual of Kidush levana - Sanctification of the Moon - about a week later when the moon is fully visible.  At B'nai Israel, our monthly Rosh Hodesh group - a women's spiritual study group - honors the tradition of the new moon being a 'holiday' for women, and a time to come together to connect and engage.

Tonight is the 14 Tevet, in a month with 29 days.  Look up at the moon tonight, and the next night, and the next... feel the rhythm of turning, ebbing, flowing, spiraling... onward and into 2010.

Blessings for health, happiness and wholeness to all.

Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Prayer by a Jewish Woman: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Tonight, our last blog in solidarity with Women of the Wall is a prayer, written by Becca, created last week at our Rosh Hodesh group program.

Dear God,
I am a Jew and I celebrate my life as a Jew.
Dear God,
I am a woman and I celebrate the joy of being a woman,
and dear God,
I am both Jewish and a woman and can only imagine embracing both passionately.


I want to draw closer to You, to learn more about how to learn Your truths, Your love, Your trust in the people of this world.  I want to understand more and cannot get enough of Your Presence.


Dear God,
I am a Jew and a woman and I want all of that, and I celebrate becoming that Jewish woman, growing and blossoming in Your love.


I am thrilled to know that I, and my Christian male bell choir director, and my Conservative daughter, and my atheist son, and all the other people who I have not yet met - that we are all loved by You.


And I sing Hallelujah!

My Bat Mitzvah Miracle: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Tonight's blog, in solidarity with Women of the Wall, is written by Barbara Levine:

Most of my life I was religiously non-observant.   Born Jewish, growing up in Brooklyn NY, I was connected Jewishly in my heart, but not ritualistically.  After marriage and children, we moved to Connecticut and eventually joined B’nai Israel. I almost never went to services – not even on the High Holy days. My children grew up at B’nai Israel since we wanted them to have the Jewish education I never had.  Each  had a Bar or Bat mitzvah. I was then, and remain to this day, very spiritual  in my outlook.  

After Rabbi Prosnit became our Rabbi, I began to study with him and questioned ‘why should I be Jewish’ as a faith.  I already believed strongly in God and prayer. But I hadn’t felt a comfortable fit within any worship community.  I felt challenged by Rabbi and committed myself to attend Friday night services every week for a year, no matter what.

I remember feeling uncomfortable and afraid, thinking people would notice and question, ‘why is this woman coming here all of a sudden?’  I thought they knew each other  and would see me as the outsider – the interloper.  Instead, after less than a month, I realized that I was a regular and loved services.  The clergy and others saw me as one who could be counted on to be there.  For over 10 years morning or evening I rarely missed a service or weekly torah study. I belonged and people knew me.  It was a good fit!

After much time and study, I decided I would attempt to have a Bat Mitzvah.  Cantor Gilbert believed I could do it even though my paralyzed vocal cord inhibits my ability to speak loudly, much less chant.  My portion in Vayetze – Jacob’s dream meant a lot to me.

Before the Friday evening group Bat Mitzvah service, I went to the local mikvah for the ritual of purification by immersion in water. I had wondered what the mikvah experience felt like.  This was a perfect time to do it.  Basya, a very pregnant busy mother with many children, was the mikvah attendant.  I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by the loving, caring attention I received from her. We spoke about my expecting a miracle that my paralyzed vocal cord would be healed, in front of the congregation, when I got to chant my Torah portion. I believed God might  heal my voice from weak and gravelly to strong and melodic thus inspiring whoever was there.  She disavowed me of that belief in a very loving way and showed me that just because I thought God would want to use me for a miracle, that might not be God’s plan.  Her words of wisdom astounded me.

The Bat Mitzvah was wonderful and many of my loved ones – family and friends were there.  My voice remained the same.  But I was overjoyed and uplifted, not disappointed.  Over time I recognized the many real blessings I received.  I had my miracle.

Later, I wrote about the mikvah experience and my Bat mitzvah for the Jewish Ledger and Reform Judaism magazine.  Still later (perhaps 2 or 3 years on), I was at a lecture sponsored by Ahavas Achim (the local Orthodox synagogue).  I got to talk with the guest speaker and somehow she heard that I had written the article about the mikvah experience.  I was really surprised she was so excited to meet me.  She then shared that she and others had read my article about the kindness and wisdom of the mikvah attendant and the Many Blessings of my experience.  She used my article to convince many Orthodox, and other women, to go to the mikvah.  And she thanked me!

The power of inclusion & exclusion: in solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel.  Tonight's blog is by Heidi Gassel.

My first memories of Temple are sitting high in a balcony with other children and women during Purim. I remember being sad that I couldn't be with my daddy who was sitting below with all of the other men. I looked at my bright polka dotted grogger but it just wasn't fun. Even though I was just three years old, I still remember crying "Dada" and my mother comforting me. My father died unexpectedly of pneumonia just five months later.

My mother continued to bring all four of us to the orthodox synagogue. She made sure that her three daughters and son were involved in the Orthodox Synagogue and part of the community. She encouraged my then teenaged sisters to be active in the youth group and they ran for office. My sisters ran for Treasurer and Secretary and won. Even though they were active in their jobs, they still had to sit up away from the men. I continued to ask why we were not allowed to sit on the main floor. I remember feeling left out and not as important as the men.

One night, after a youth group meeting my mother noticed that some teenaged boys from New Haven were about to head home during a giant snowstorm. We lived near Mystic, CT and this is not a short ride especially for an inexperienced driver. My mother insisted that the boys stay with us where they could be safe - she probably saved their lives. The boys had guitars, sat by the fire and had a sing a-long with all of us. I was only four but I remember feeling very spiritual about the jewish melodies they sang.

The boys slept downstairs, the girls slept upstairs; it was very innocent. The snow was cleared by the morning and the boys got home safe and sound. Shortly after, my mother got a call from the Synagogue. She was called a brazen hussy, she was told she was no longer welcomed in the orthodox synagogue and that her daughters were no longer elected officials for the youth group. My sisters were devastated.

I didn't know about this until some years later when my sister Michele, alav hashalom (may she rest in peace), was on her death bed. She told me the entire story, from her perspective. We had just had an argument about organized religion. I then realized that the day the orthodox community denounced her and our family, was the very day that she no longer wanted to practice Judaism. That was the day the jewish community lost my sister. Two very strong, smart and spiritual jewish people were lost due to such sexist standards and that's really a shame.

My siblings are much older than I am. My mother joined a Conservative temple. I was happy sitting with everyone else. A year later, a reformed temple opened up in Groton. It was at the Reform temple that I felt connected for the very first time. The Rabbi was young and funny. I remember waiting for each of his sermons...I remember sitting on the edge of my seat and then falling off in laughter as he performed puppet shows. His sermons challenged me, provoking thought...I was only six or seven years old! The cantor played guitar, it was wonderful.

We stayed with this Temple till I was 12. We were very poor in a rather wealthy community. I found acceptance from the Rabbi. One day he announced that he was moving away. I remember crying. One day, shortly after he had gone I was attending hebrew school. My teacher was female and a mother of one of the other children. She made a callous comment about my clothing and snickered at the fact that I wore the same clothing last week. We didn't have money for a big wardrobe and it was bad enough that I got these comments at public school but to receive it from a grown woman from our congregation...was humiliating.

I told my mother I wasn't going back. And I didn't. I was not to be Bat Mitzvah-ed. I would not be wearing the tallit. I remember seeing my brother's Tallit and Tefillin when he was Bar Mitzvah-ed in the conservative temple. The Tallit was passed down to him. It was my understanding that I would not get to wear a Tallit in the conservative temple; my brother told me how special the tefillin was and told me not to touch it.

When I was 18, I moved to Chicago on my own. I did not know a soul there. I was lonely and yet one Friday night I walked into a synagogue. I didn't know anything about the synagogue but I just walked in. And, I was home. The music was universal...it didn't matter what sex I was...it didn't matter what denomination it was. I was home when I was there. I would go from synagogue to synagogue. And I always felt like I was home when I heard the music.

I met my soulmate a few months after moving to Chicago. One day I was talking to his niece. She told me of her Rabbi and how he inspired her. She told me he was funny and thought provoking all at once. As I was about to tell her that he sounded like my childhood Rabbi the words "Rabbi Knobel" flowed out of both of our mouths simultaneously! Over a thousand miles away, and there he was...my childhood rabbi!

I went back to hebrew school and started to learn again. Unfortunately I had just joined a touring post alternative band and wasn't able to continue. I do plan on going back someday. I do want to read Torah and I do want to wear the Tallit. I feel fortunate to be in a day and age when I will have the opportunity to wear a Tallit and that our daughter will be able to as well. I have seen many beautiful tallitot and admire the art.

Rabbi Peter Knobel and Cantor Jeff Klepper,1983 

In 1997, Rabbi Knobel married us and Cantor Klepper played melodic guitar at our wedding. It was the same music I remembered from childhood. My very favorite memory of our wedding is when the Rabbi wrapped the tallit around me and my bashert. We were soul-mates, foreheads touching, wrapped in beautiful judaic culture, wrapped in history, wrapped in a tallit I felt safe and at one with my bashert. It is a beautiful memory.

It wasn't until we had our daughter that I realized some things about being a Jewish girl in 1960's America. We had a really nice naming for Madison Michele who is named after my late sister. But I found out that in the 50's and 60's when my sisters and I were born, just my father went to the synagogue to name us. It's kind of sad to think of the birth of a daughter as being less significant than the birth of a son. I'm happy to be a part of a community where I can sit where I want, wear what I want, and to be a mother who can tell her children that we all have these opportunities. Our daughter and son can sit with us and wear what they want and enjoy the sermons and music of a male Rabbi, a female Rabbi and a female Cantor.

Touching the Torah: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel.  Tonight, Beth Lazar reflects on meaningful moments drawing close to the Torah.


My cousins are Reconstructionist Jews and I went to services with them.  They sang some of the same tunes that we sing at B'nai Israel and they also have a Saturday morning Torah study group that meets before Saturday morning services, to study and discuss the portion of the week.  I felt very at home at my cousins' temple.


My cousin also took me to a gathering of Conservative and Orthodox Jews who rented space to have Shabbat and Festival services.  We went to pray with them for a Passover Shabbat service.  The leaders of the service noticed that I was a new face, and asked me to dress the Torah after the reading.

I have a T-shirt with a picture of women dancing with the Torah at the Western Wall.  It is my hope that someday that drawing become a reality.  And all Jews can pray together here in the USA, and Israel.

My First Tallit: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel. Tonight, Rabbi Gurevitz shares a reflection:

I grew up in an Orthodox synagogue.  As a young teen, I watched the boys in front of the mechitzah with envy.  I wanted to be fluent in reciting prayers that no-one ever taught me.  I wanted to wrap myself in a tallit and cover my head to have intimate conversations with God.  I was not permitted to partake, and so I chatted with friends, I yawned, I ignored the hushes when our voices rose too much - what did they care?  Our voices didn't count anyway.


Fast-forward 13 years.  In adult bat-mitzvah classes with a woman rabbi.  We studied texts and made tzitzit.  We talked about wrapping ourselves with the presence of the Shechinah.  We talk about the tzitzit connecting us to the covenant and our heritage.  Our heritage.  I am invited to reclaim my heritage.


In an ethnic arts and crafts store in Swansea, Wales.  Hanging on the wall - a large cloth, banded with stripes, like a Tallit.  But these bands are fire orange and black.  And, at the boundaries of the fire and the black, the colors merge - not hard, firm boundaries, but blurred, permeable boundaries.  This is my tallit - my first tallit.


It transforms my prayer and, soon, it will transform my life.

To be Holy in the sight of God: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel.  Tonight's blog is written by Marjorie Freeman, who grew up in a Reform congregation.


As a school girl, I attended - participated in - services every Saturday morning.  All the adult women wore hats, the men were bare-headed, in order to show respect.  I studied Jewish history, the holidays, ethical teachings, and the bible - with more intensity each year.


In my senior year of High School, our class read key portions of the Torah each week, coming together ready to present our own view of the meanings.  After heated discussions, our teacher present the 'official' Reform interpretation, which we sometimes respectfully disagreed with.  But isn't that the Jewish way?


At the end of the year, four of us, two girls and two boys, were chosen to give 'sermonettes' the Friday evening of our graduation ceremony.  It was such an honor to be chosen, but also so scary!  What topic to choose, how to write something worthy of the congregation and the rabbi's attention? How to stand up in front of so many people and speak the words?


Never once did it occur to me to question why two boys and two girls.  We were the top students in the class; it was obvious why we were chosen.  Yet this was 1962 - none of us had ever heard of a bat mitzvah, let alone a woman rabbi.


My sermonette was on the first commandment - everything follows from 'I am the Lord your God.'  All the other commandments, all the ways of righteousness, of helping others, of doing good.  "I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.'


Now it is for us to do the same for each other, and to worship God together and to be Holy in the sight of our God.

My first experience at the Kotel: In solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel.

My first experience seeing the Kotel was after sundown on a Yom Kippur.  We were on our way to a Break Fast with a very close friend from home - a kid I grew up with who was like a brother.  I was to have been visiting and traveling with him but, after making Aliyah, he went into the army.  So when I arrived I went to his apartment and was staying with his roommates.

He came home for the holiday and we went to his friends for Yom Kippur.  Of course, I didn't even get to sit with him in Shul either.  So after sundown we went to Yerushalayim and the Old City before joining other friends to eat.  I actually was on the rooftops looking down, and then we went into the plaza of the Kotel.  I'm glad I was with 'family', even though he didn't come in the women's side, but was waiting when I was finished.

Yom Kippur services, Yizkor (memorial), my prayers, and the notes at the wall, and being with a person who is family, was the perfect first time to have this incredible, moving experience.  It was still early, and the Kotel was quiet and still, and fairly empty.

To Pray in a Tallit. In Solidarity with Women of the Wall

Part of a solidarity blog series for Women of the Wall.  Each piece is written by a member of the Rosh Hodesh group of Congregation B'nai Israel.


Wrapped in the 'arms' of God
Embraced in love and intimacy ...
Easing into the secure comfort
I am free to pray with all my heart ...

God's voice pours out of me
as I feel the Breath fill my body ...
Sometimes there are tears of joy or sadness
But always there is a feeling of 'coming home.'

One of the most powerful times of prayer was in the beautiful space of a chapel at a Christian Retreat Center.  This was clearly a sacred place.  God was in this place and, yes, I did know it.  Freedom to be who I am, a Jewish woman of faith ... welcoming sisters.

How ironic that Jewish women do not have that freedom to pray so safely in 'our homeland', at one of the most sacred sites of the Jewish people.  How sad to realize that 'my people' would not honor my right to pray, abuse me and treat me as less than human.  Maybe they are not 'my people'.  Does God listen to and answer their prayers?

Praying with Women of the Wall, Rosh Hodesh Tevet, Dec 18, 2009

Lisa Grant is a member of Congregation B'nai Israel, and Associate Professor of Education at Hebrew Union College, New York.  Lisa is currently in Israel and, after seeing last night's blog entry dedicating the coming week to solidarity blogs with Women of the Wall, she sent me this eye-witness report of being one of the women praying this Rosh Hodesh, on Friday morning at the Kotel.

I arrived in Israel on Thursday night and woke up early Friday morning to attend Rosh Chodesh Tevet services with the Women at the Wall.  In the pouring rain, we were well over 100 strong, with women of all ages, students, mothers, grandmothers.  We gathered at the back of the Women's section at the Kotel, clustered tightly under umbrellas and joined together in prayer surrounded by a chorus of voices shouting out bitter epithets ranging from the rather mild "Shame" and "scum" to the more shocking "Die" and "You're the reason why the Intifada happened."  We were not deterred by either weather or curses and managed to raise our voices together in prayer.  There were a number of police in our midst, who mainly kept telling us to keep our tallitot under our coats.  When we finished Hallel, we began a slow walk out of the Ezrat Nashim towards Robinson's Arch for the Torah service.  On the way, we sang songs of faith and strength in support of our right to freely express ourselves as Jews in the Jewish state.  We were joined by a couple dozen men who walked with us in solidarity.  Other men continued to shout at us and spit on us while the police looked on.  

I shared my umbrella with two young women who kept saying "this is so sad. It just makes me want to cry."  A sad statement indeed, that there were men (and some women) who found it more important to throw insults and slurs our way than to direct their hearts into their own prayer. On this 7th day of Hanukkah we sang out for religious freedom and the right to pray peacefully and respectfully in this most holy of sites that belongs to the entire Jewish people. 

Lisa D. Grant
Associate Professor of Jewish Education
Hebrew Union College - New York