Modernity and Tradition: Our Struggle for a Modern Jewish Identity

By Tami Wolf
Director, EntryPointDC

It might seem crazy, but the daily struggle we have today over the balance between tradition and modernity and identity is not new to the Jewish people.

Torah is full of examples of Israelites trying to live in the bigger world while maintaining their ways, not always successfully. Even the story of Chanukkah, which starts on December 8 this year, is about how one group of people thought Jews should balance tradition and modernity. If it weren’t a struggle, if we didn’t have conflicting feelings about this, it wouldn’t still bother us today, and that is why it is still so important.

This afternoon, the DCJCC hosted Anat Hoffman for a lunchtime update on the current state of pluralism in Israel. Hoffman works with two organizations that are working for change, i.e. changing tradition, in Jewish life in Israel. One is the Israel Religious Action Center.

The IRAC, as it’s affectionately known, is the legal arm of the Union for Reform Judaism in Israel and addresses issues of religion and state in Israel, including social justice, equality, and religious pluralism. They are trying to find a way to balance traditional and modern values and make religion in Israel something all Jews can feel comfortable with.

Hoffman is also the head of an organization called Women of the Wall (WoW), whose mission is “to achieve the social and legal recognition of our right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall.”

Women of the Wall meet every rosh chodesh (new month) to pray at the kotel together. From my own experiences with them, the Women of the Wall are not looking to start a fight with local police officers or upset other worshipers; they merely want the right to pray in a way that is meaningful to them.

This afternoon, Hoffman talked about how Israelis are attempting to maintain traditions while living in a definitely modern state. She talked about the work IRAC and WoW are doing on things we think of as extremist – things we would never dream are happening in a place we see as so western and modern:

• segregated busses, where women sit in the back and men in the front;
• uncondemned racism from state-employed rabbis towards Arabs;
• and, of course, the hold a small group of ultra-orthodox extremists have over all religious aspects of the country, including over the management of holy sites.

Hoffman’s struggles with the IRAC and Women of the Wall are two windows on the struggles we face between living our traditions and embracing the modern world we live in today.
Anat’s visit kicks off a slew of upcoming Israel programming at the DCJCC.

Theater J, the DCJCC’s professional theater company, will be staging two plays about life in Israel, and it is one of those that I want to talk about specifically.

Apples from the Desert, by Savyon Liebrecht, is a story of a search for balance. The protagonist is Rivka, a young Sephardic religious girl, whose life is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a secular kibbutznik from the south, Dooby.

Rivka has to do what all of us strive to do: find a way to maintain her religious identity in a way she feels is appropriate without dismissing the expectations of her family and community or turning away from what she really wants.
I don’t think there’s a “right” or a “wrong” solution to this problem, but I do think we can all arrive at answers we are comfortable with, at least for the moment. I have no doubt this is a daily struggle, something that as individuals we always have to come to terms with and re-evaluate as our lives move on.

Personally, I’m very much looking forward to exploring how DC’s young professionals see this issue and have made choices for themselves, on December 22 after a performance of Apples from the Desert, and especially how Israel has been a part of that process. (That means you’re invited, so come talk this out with me.)

And on that note, Happy Thanksgiving from EPDC!

Shabbat Surfing: What’s New?

Suze Orman thinks you should be going to a cool Jewish summer camp.
Image (c) suzeorman.com

Shana tova!

We’re days away from the Jewish New Year and it seemed the right time to focus on all things both Jewish and new.

Because it’s hard to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Suze Orman just making lanyards…
New Camp: Four new Jewish summer camps are gearing up to create more memorable overnight camp experiences for underserved populations, thanks to the Foundation for Jewish Camp, in the areas of business and entrepreneurship, health and wellness, sports, and science and technology.

Because it’s about time…
New Name: “Jew Pond” in New Hampshire, named as a pejorative in the 1920s when the hotel to which it was connected was bought by two Jewish businessmen from Boston, has been officially renamed Carleton Pond.

Because sexism and agism are so passe…
New Shofar Blowers: DC Congregations, including Adas Israel and Tifereth Israel, are seeing more and more women, plus young and older adults who want to blow the shofar, and are learning for these High Holidays.

Because we notice when one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East is denied the right to worship…
New Place Without a Minyan: “For the first time in some 2,000 years, Alexandria [Egypt] will not have a minyan,” as Egyptian authorities cancel services at Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue and deny visas.

Because welcoming all Jewish families is a core value…
New Info on Interfaith Families: With interfaith relationships making up a not-insignificant amount of the Jewish community, new survey data helps Jewish organizations engage these families, who are looking for outlandish things like a welcoming attitude, invitations to learn about Judaism, and events for interfaith families.

 

The Lonely Life of the Lone Samaritan

There are about 730 Samaritans remaining in the world today.  LONE SAMARITAN offers a rare look at the community and its traditions while looking at the broader issues of identity and conflict and the cost of assimilation.  Take a look at this beautiful scene from the film.

The WJFF is co-sponsoring a screening at the All Roads Film Festival at The National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium on Sept. 30

Find your Inner Olympian

Sue Bird

As it hits Day 4 of the Olympics, most of the talk has been surrounding the USA swim and gymnastics teams, and whether or not they are competing at the level that many people want them to.

But let us focus on athletes who have not gotten as much attention–mainly the USA Women’s Basketball team and, for us here at the DCJCC, one of the players, Sue Bird.

Sue Bird, who currently plays for the WNBA team Seattle Storm,  holds a dual citizenship to both the USA and Israel.  The USA Women’s national team has so far cruised in their first two games of the preliminary rounds.

Aly Raisman

Not only do we have Sue Bird to root for, but  in the Women’s Gymnastics team final, we have yet another athlete to cheer for: Aly Raisman, who is competing for Olympic gold tonight and in the next few days for the All-Around Gold medal in gymnastics.  In this year and years past, many Jewish athletes have medaled in the Olympic games.

Join us here at the DCJCC as we start our very own fitness challenge next week–we’ll walk, bike, run and swim the length of England to meet our athletes at the games.

Find your inner Olympian!

Send a Tu B’av Card to Someone You Love!

Tu B’Av (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av) is the Israeli-Jewish “Day of Love.”  The closest thing to Valentine’s Day in the Jewish calendar, this ancient holiday occurs in late July or early August. This year Tu B’Av falls out on Friday, August 3.

Jewish tradition relates how millennia ago, on the 15th of Av, the “daughters of Jerusalem” dressed in white and danced in the vineyards to entice the young men. In recent years, Tu B’Av has experienced a revival, especially in Israel, with weddings, singles events and gifts and a flurry of flowers, chocolates and hearts.

In celebration of the Jewish Day of Love, the DCJCC invited the community to compete in a Tu B’Av Greeting Card contest. Congratulations to Rachel Scheer for her winning design! Rachel will enjoy a romantic dinner for two at the Distrikt Bistro.

Click on the greeting card image below to send a card to someone you love!

Recipes: Israel’s Summer Salads

From the desk of Jean Graubart, Director of Jewish Living and Learning

As we head into early summer, the idea of turning on an oven (or even a stove top, for that matter) is almost unthinkable. Besides ice cream in every form, size and shape, salads are the only food that make sense. So I have leafed through my many recipes, especially those I have enjoyed at friend’s and family’s homes here and in Israel, and I am picturing the wonderful Asian produce stores I frequent when in San Francisco. The combination of the vivid colors and the tastes from so many memories are inspiring me to shop for and cook a whole meal of salads.

All I need is for my power to come back on to keep my vegetables chilled and my house cool, so that when I put the salads on the bright summer table with fresh flowers and colorful dishes, they will stay crisp and tasty. Right now they would droop and sag, but I can dream.

Trips to Israel are filled with delicious salad dishes. Enjoy these and taste the flavors of the middle east, knowing they are being enjoyed at tables all across Israel. There is a repeat of many of the vegetables in each dish, making shopping easy and flavors blending.

Serve with grilled meat or fish or as a meal itself, and don’t forget the pita.

B’teyavon!

Moroccan Carrot Salad

1 pound bag of whole carrots (organic are just so much sweeter), peeled and cut into thick round circles
1 bunch of flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Cumin to taste
Salt to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 cloves garlic minced

Blanch the carrots for 3 minutes in boiling water
Drain in cold water
Mix in oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices
Add finely chopped parsley
Mix and chill before serving

Mixed Veggie  Salad

1 large hothouse cucumber or 4 Persian cucumbers
4 large ripe tomatoes on the vine or 6 roma tomatoes
4 scallions (green onions)
Handful of red radishes or large daikon radish (white and spicier)
2 avocados, firm and ripe
2 bell peppers (use different colors, green, red, yellow or orange)
4 medium dill pickles
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
4 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste.

Dice all the vegetables into small pieces and put in bowl with greens of choice (mint, parsley, cilantro) and Toss together
Add oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss.
Chill and serve

Tunisian Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil

2 small baskets of cherry tomatoes cut in half
10 chopped basil leaves
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of roasted shelled pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoon shelled and roasted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil

Place tomatoes in bowl
Warm oil in a frying pay and add seeds and nuts to brown
Add garlic
Mix with tomatoes and add salt and chopped basil
Chill

Green Salad

1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch cilantro
10 leaves basil
10 mint leaves
4 green onions, white and green parts
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 ½ lemons
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup roasted cashews chopped

Roughly chop the greens
Place in a bowl and season
Add cashews when serving

Monday Media: A Minute for the Munich 11

The U.S. Senate doesn’t do much of anything unanimously these days.

But last week they unanimously passed a resolution urging the International Olympic Committee to observe a moment of silence at the 2012 London Olympics for the Munich 11, the 11 Israeli athletes who were murdered at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. Australia, Germany, Canada England have also shown their support.

This past May May the International Olympic Committee rejected an ongoing worldwide petitition, but international pressure on the IOC continues to mount. The Summer Olympics begin on July 27.

Watch this video to learn about the Munich Massacre.

Shabbat Surfing: Bat Mitzvah Edition

This week, we’ve all been acting like teenagers around here – sneaking out (because the weather has been so gorgeous, any excuse to get outside will do), obsessing about what we’re wearing (in last week’s Pride photos that came out this week), and gossiping about the varsity athletes (because how is it possible that the Nationals are still in first place?).

Maybe the teen behavior is just spilling over from of all these bar mitzvahs in the news right now.

Today I am a man. In a loin cloth.

Also feeling youthful this week is Kirk Douglas, who has just set a bar mitzvah date for later in the year, when he will be 96 and celebrating his third bar mitzvah. (His second was at the traditional 83.)

Douglas returned to his Jewish roots as an adult, about 20 years ago. David Arquette has also been inspired to connect to his Jewish side as an adult, having an impromptu bar mitzvah in Jerusalem at age 40. Using that most “teen” of media, Twitter, he told his followers, “Finally I’m a man.”

And in other “bar-mitzvahs-of-people-I-didn’t-know-were-Jewish” news: Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Jacob Wertheimer, became a bar mitzvah in Philly, with his family’s fab multi-culti support.

If your teen wishes their own year of bar mitzvah boogie-ing wasn’t behind them, they can now turn their Jewish dance floor moves into cash. Parents and DJs are now hiring teens to be dancers at the receptions, so no one is left out of any given Chicken Dance, Electric Slide, or even a Champagne Snowball.

Or you could just hire these two:

The Sticker Song | שירת הסטיקר

By Anton Goodman, the Jewish Agency Israel Engager Shaliach to the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Cross-posted from DC-ach | D. שיח
Original Post: http://www.shalomdc.org/blog.aspx?id=374 

On May 10th The Washington DC JCC will be hosting HaDag Nachash as the headliners of their Jewish Music Festival. The band plays a diverse range of music but falls into the Israeli hip hop category, and their songs are known to be as rich in lyrics as they are in musical depth. HaDag Nachash has provided a soundtrack and a commentary to contemporary Israel, fusing themselves into the essence of Modern Israel, and due to this, their songs have become a staple for Israel education.

One song that took the Israeli music scene by storm was שירת הסטיקר – the Sticker Song, composed, or rather compiled by David Grossman, the internationally renowned Israeli author, the lyrics are comprised of Israeli bumper stickers crafted into a biting critique on Israeli society. The sticker song gives new meaning to these slogans, and despite the fact that some of the stickers are dated in their message, the spirit of the song remains as relevant as ever. It was with this song in mind that I began contemplating to what extent HaDag Nachash’s music has transferrable qualities for American Jews.

Bumper stickers are ubiquitous in Israel. They express the breadth and depth of political, religious and social convictions and often embrace radical, yet catchy, language. Bumper stickers such as “Medinat Halacha – Halcha HaMedina – A religious State will be the end of the State” and “Justice for the Oslo Criminals” constantly remind us of the complexity of our political reality and the diversity of the opinions of those around us. This is not the case in America, where there are far fewer bumper stickers – could this be due to the fact that there are also many more nice, new cars that their owners don’t want to deface? Or that Americans are less comfortable expressing their views in public space? Or, more cynically, that Americans’ identities and burning issues are not those of the State? There was only one place to find the answers to these questions: the parking lot. I decided early on not to count the initials of places on a sticker to be a bumper sticker (e.g. OBX – Outer Banks) there is only so low we can stoop to be inclusive in this genre.

In total I sampled around 500 cars and found that only about 10% had a bumper sticker at all. Of those with a bumper sticker, the majority discussed dogs. Right, dogs. You’d think they could drive. From large paw prints asking sphinx-like “who rescued who?” to a small cheeky “woof!”, the dogs were the hands-down winner. And of these canine stickers the majority advocated for a specific breed, dog-lovers but partisan.

The next largest category was kids, and more specifically, showing off that your kid is on the honor roll. If you’d have asked me a year ago what an honor roll was, I’d guess something a gymnast did after winning a medal. But it’s clear that it is actually a great way for schools to get free advertizing on the back of a proud parent’s car.

Next category is back to the partisan advocacy, this time for a hobby.

Skiing, running, swimming, diving, all have their campaigners, who not only want to share their love but also encourage others, almost coercively, to get involved.

Next category is life-lessons. From “wag more, bark less” (another canine theme!) to “life is good” there are a number of bumper stickers that share those life lessons that you can impart in 8 words or less. Here is my favorite, again presented as a directive:

Lastly came the politically charged stickers, and I don’t mean those with merely a candidate’s name and date. But those that actually express a conviction, such as the daring:

Imagine Phillip Roth compiling these bumper stickers into a song for Matisyahu and we are starting to get a sense of the culture gap.
And to my friend who asked me if HaDag Nachash are just hip-hop in Hebrew, my answer is no.

Just go and hear them.

Podcast: Israel, Loose Nukes and the End of the World

With all the discussion around Israel, Iran and “the bomb,” this seems like the perfect time to share this riveting panel discussion, Israel, Loose Nukes and the End of the World, from the 2011 Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival.

Professor Avner Cohen, author of The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel’s Bargain with the Bomb, and journalist Ron Rosenbaum, author of How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III, sat down with distinguished journalist and former network correspondent Marvin Kalb to discuss the history and risks of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity and worst-case-scenarios in an age of atomic anxiety.

Right click and “save link as” to download as an MP3
Or listen online here