The Rabbi's Blog

Do you get KNW!

2009-03-26T04:10:00.000-07:00

There is a regular big debate that happens here in the Synagogue about what is the best way to communicate with the congregation at large. These days the main methods of communication are filtered through the internet. Our wonderful website (www.klsonline.org) and our weekly email keep many members updated about what is happening within the community and also allow me to have my say from time to time. There is a constant question about what we should do to keep those not yet on the internet - yes there are some - informed. However, if you have stumbled upon my blog deliberately or accidentaly then you are not one of those people and you should make sure that you regularly check the website to find out what exciting things are happening. If you are a member and not recieving KNW then why not - make sure the office has your email. We would also love to know what you think about all the methods of communication we use, so please comment. In the meantime here is my word of the week from KNW (Kingston News Weekly):

Rabbi’s word:
It was said by Rav Assi that young children begin their Torah studies with Leviticus and not with Genesis because young children are pure and the sacrifices explained in Leviticus are pure, so the pure studied the pure! (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3). Rav Baginsky says that it is a good job that children do not begin their studies with Leviticus and sacrifices or we might never see them again! However, it is into the book of Leviticus that we enter this Shabbat and into the foreign world of sacrifices. It is a challenge for a Rabbi to find something enlightening to say each week about the portions of Leviticus, it is hard to make them inspiring and meaningful to a modern Progressive congregation, but we do try and I hope that you will find yourself at a Saturday morning service in the next few weeks to find out how!

Vayikra is the first portion of Leviticus and it speaks of the sacrifices that are to be offered for one’s transgressions and how one must offer restitution to those against whom we have sinned. It is a reminder that in Judaism forgiveness must be an active venture, it is not enough to believe that you are sorry, not enough to wait until Yom Kippur, no instead one must go out and make a difference. While this can be an immense challenge, it can also be a blessed relief for Judaism allows the people the potential to change themselves. As one Yiddish proverb says: “You are what you are, not what you were”.

Elton John knew what he was talking about when he sung “Sorry seems to be the hardest word”, it is much easier to pretend we were wronged then admit we wronged another. Sacrifices make a certain about of psychological sense when they are viewed as a tool to help us admit our faults. In today’s world without sacrifice we have to find other means to allow us to take the first step towards reconciliation with others, and I would love to hear your ideas of what they could be. Yet, in the meantime perhaps this is our Progressive reasoning for reading Leviticus year after year, to remind us that while animal sacrifice has long been outdated we must still strive to achieve the meanings behind them.

New Mother, New Rabbi

2009-03-24T04:47:00.002-07:00

Extract from Friday Night Sermon -Vayakhel-Pekudey

As you can see I am back! Although I have only been away for just over two months it feels like a lot longer, despite the fact that it has flown by. For me personally so much has changed since the last time I took a Friday night service. As you all know I am now a mother and the significant fact of now having a child cannot but colour the way I look at the world. Is it too soon to come back? Many of my friends have looked at me as if I was slightly insane when I told them that when my son was eight weeks old I intended to return to work, others looked at me slightly knowingly – as if to say well you will soon change your mind. But I have not, and I am here. Do not get be wrong I did ask myself was I a bad mother to return to work so soon, was it and would it be the right thing for Joshua or not. Well I refuse to answer those questions just yet, as it has only been a week and I reserve the right to withhold judgement until he is at least forty years old! But what I will say is that a week has passed and it has been wonderful to be back in the fold of the community and to have with me my beautiful boy and indeed I also believe while he will only ever have two parents, it would be nice to think that it takes a community to raise a child...

It is often part of my job to reach out to those who are missing in our community, those who do not feel like they have something unique to offer. We often find ourselves discussing how to find them, how to make them feel welcome and how to keep them. However, tonight I want to focus on something we also need to remember – we are here and we are contributing. Once in a while we all need a pat on the back, a thank you for the contributions you all make to keeping the community ticking along – even when the rabbi decides to take maternity leave!

Today we live in a society where all to often the concept of community is foreign, where belonging is seen as destroying the individual, where the demands of belonging are frowned upon. The philosopher Sartre once wrote: “hell is other people” - yes community demands walking along side others that have different opinions and different beliefs, it means giving up part of ones life, energy and self to commit to something bigger than the individual...

Those of you who are more cynical might suspect that I am buttering you up as I look for babysitters! Perhaps I am, but at the same time I know that my joy was doubled, tripled, quadrupled – there are not enough multiples for it for the joy I felt when I saw how much the community rejoiced in the birth of Joshua. It made me immensely proud to understand that I was bringing him into the large extended family. This for me is Judaism in its truest form – when we give a toast we do not say L’chai – to life, but rather in the plural L’chaim – to lives – for what in the world is a life without other lives.

In my second week back at work I will concentrate on those who stand outside and begin work again on how to draw them in, but this week, this Shabbat I want to stop for a second and say thank you. Thank you for managing without me so well, thank you for still needing me back, thank you for you kind words and thoughts to me and Steve on the birth of our son – but thank you more so for providing us with a community we could not be prouder to welcome him into. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook who askes, who am I without you, and answers bachem ani chai – in you I live. We I hope give meaning to each other and I hope long will that continue.

I am a Bad Bad Blogger!

2009-03-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Slap my hand and call me a bad blogger, for that is what I have been despite the valiant efforts of our wonderful PR lady who continuously reminds me to do better... what can I say! With several sermons a week, newsletters, articles etc. to write my poor blog has been desperately and unforgivably neglected. I can but promise I will try harder and that those of you who used to read my blog will return and give me and it a second chance!

So much has happened since I last wrote I am hardly sure where to begin. Perhaps with what is the most significant piece of news and that is I am now a Rabbi Mum! My son, Joshua Shachar Rogers was born on the 22nd of January and is now two months old. Last Monday the two of us returned to work 'together'! We discovered that the Synagogue had not fallen down in my absence, thanks to the hard work of so many, but I was also pleased to discover we still have much more to do. It will be a challenge to discover how I will do it with Joshua in tow, but like every new adventure it is exciting. I will post some of my first sermon back to give you a flavour of my thinking.

Ok so like I riding a bike I have not forgotten how to type and will endeavour to return as soon as possible. Ask me some questions, suggest some topics and I will respond...

Rabbi at last!

2008-06-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

So I am now a Rabbi! What an incredible day. Not only was the service moving and inspiring, but I am pretty sure I was the proudest student rabbi on the planet. As I stood up to get my certificate the most almight roar went up from the balacony, looking up there was my congregation!

It was a wonderful feeling to know that I am not entering the rabbincal world alone, but with this amazing, supportive and loud congregation who hired a coach to make sure that they were with me on this special day. For this I could not be more greatful.

I thought i would attach the speech I gave on Sunday as a brief insight into the event for those of you that could not make it.

Ordination Address
It was made explicitly clear that we were to speak for no longer than three minutes. I am sure that this knowledge will illicit a deep sigh of relief from the congregation who, although Nathan kept h is ordination address short, wondered whether his colleagues would as well. I can not swear on their behalf that they will, but I can assure you that we did agree to be bound by this dictum. I know there are many of you out there, my own congregation especially, who will shake their heads in disbelief that rabbis could speak but for three minutes - perhaps, some of you are thinking this is new training that Leo Baeck has introduced. Sadly no, but a realisation that if we do not keep it snappy then perhaps you will have to see us being ordained on an Israeli float!

So I have been procrastinating both in reaching this point and in writing this address for I wondered to myself what could I say in three minutes that would somehow sum up the last five years and at the same time say something profound and moving about the future. Having decided it was impossible I was suddenly struck the other morning by Pirke Avot – the sayings of the fathers. This work contains what might be considered the words of the masters of pithy wisdom. So it is to them I turn today and to one of their most famous quotes: Im ain ani li mili, Uchsh’ani laztmi mah ani. V’im lo achshav aymati. If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now when?

If I am not for myself – who will be for me? I have always been a huge advocate of the idea that we become rabbis for ourselves. I have wanted nothing more since I began this course than to stand on this bimah and be ordained as a Rabbi. I do this job and thrive on this vocation because it is what I have always believed was the best thing for me to do. But as the adage says, if I am only for myself what am I? It is through working with a community that I have learnt truly what it means to be a rabbi. If I were to answer the question what is my hope for my future rabbinate, then it is simply to continue to learn and teach, grow and develop with my community that we might together become the best we can be.

And if not know when? The question I have heard more often than any other over the last few weeks is, are you ready? How can I say yes? My Hebrew is not always as good as I would like,. I have managed to read the Torah from cover to cover, but certainly not the Talmud. I have dealt with some life cycle situations but be no means all. I have coped with with some difficult and moving pastoral moments but once again not every event which I shall have to deal with in the future.. I have worked out some of the nuances of our burial insurance scheme but I have to admit there are still many beyond me.

But are we ever ready to take the steps out into the big wide, rabbinical world? – Probably not, but if not now when? I have had five wonderful years and I recognise they are but preparation for the years that follow. – But if you will be patient with me and the rest of my colleagues and recognise that while no longer students we are not super human then I can promise you I will take the jump and put as much into our future as I have put into standing here today.

So finally in the words of the new pithy wisdom of the Jews – the Haiku:

"Can't you just leave it?" the new Jewish mother asks -- umbilical cord.
No I can not just leave it, it must be broken – for if not know, when?

Aches and Pains...

2008-05-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been absent for a few days not only has it been a very busy time but during a rather enthusiastic burst of Israeli dancing at our Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) party I hurt my back. It was, I must make clear before you all worry, nothing serious rather I just strained the muscles in my lower back. However, it hurt. If I walked I hurt, if I sat down it hurt, if I laughed it hurt… you get the picture. In the end I was forced to just lie down and be still. I am not one of those people that reacts well to being still, I am much more a constant movement sort of person. It was immensely frustrating to have to plan your every trip to the bathroom, every trip to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and to wince every time the phone rings because you know it means sitting up.

Now that I feel better, I realise that not only have I developed a much better understanding of what people mean when they say they have backache and how debilitating it can be. But, I feel I have had just a taste of what it means to be housebound; that I have dipped a small toe into the frustrations involved in being stuck in the house without the freedom of movement most of us enjoy. I hope that I am able to hold onto that memory and that it will make me more conscious of those in our community that suffer this confinement.

On a happier note I have now been informed that I have passed the rabbinical course and that my ordination on the 29th of June can indeed go ahead! When I first began this blog I had just handed in my thesis. I felt on the edge of a new era, now that era is speedily approaching. It is hard to imagine what will change come the 30th of June, after all I am already working full time as the Rabbi here at KLS. Will it be that I wake up on Monday morning suddenly feeling like a Rabbi? I doubt it, I think there is something healthy about feeling somewhat under-qualified for this job, after all the responsibility and privilege is immense. Rather, I suppose that I might finally feel relieved!
Starting out five years ago this time seemed so very distant. The more time that passed the more you begin to wish the time away and have the chance to step out into the big wide world. Therefore, it surprised be that on handing in the thesis I felt sad and almost bereaved. I was pleased with my work and now receiving the grade, am still very pleased, but the sadness was deeper and harder to explain. Finishing my studies is not only the end of several months of intensive research and writing, but also means the end of five years of being a rabbinic student. There can be no more excuses – ‘I am only a student’ – the future begins. It is wonderfully exciting, but it I realise that I am also sad to leave the college. I realise how much it gave me, how many friends I made and how much I learnt. Closing one door and opening another exciting door and truly embracing that, does not mean that you can not be sad about the other closing. Life exists in shades of contrasts. We understand the world through the lens of comparison, we know we like this, because we dislike that; all our understandings are in relation to something else. I understand how important the college was to me through my imminent absence from it, just as it took hurting my back to appreciate my freedom of movement.

Moments in Time

2008-05-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

There are moments when something touches you that is so beyond this earth that it reaffirms your belief not only in God, but in the power of community. Last night we had our annual Yom Ha Shoah service (Holocaust Memorial). It was a really moving evening. Not only were we joined by a survivor but many of us remembered names of family members lost in the Holocaust. It was incredible the importance that all of us there placed on the service. The emotion moved us all. It is a wonderful testament to the Jewish community that we have not allowed the victims of the Shoah to be forgotten but that at least once a year we come together and reaffirm our promise to remember. However, we cannot leave it there; it must inspire us to play a part in ensuring it never happens again, to us, to anyone.

We try and play some role in this by opening our synagogue up once a year on England's National Holocaust Day to local schools. On this day we run a programme for secondary schools where the children have a chance to meet a survivor and explore modern issues of discrimination, leaving hopefully understanding the importance of tolerance. We have only run two years so far, joint with the local United synagogue, but the response from the children has been phenomenal. As part of our service we included several of their comments which once again reminded us of the importance of Holocaust education.

Right, I must turn my attention to Shabbat. We have a busy weekend, beginning with our monthly chaverah. Each month we have a theme for the service and dinner. Tonight it is Israel in honour of Israel’s 60th Birthday, which we will celebrate later this week. It promises to be very lively full of Israeli songs and stories. Tomorrow, Shabbat morning, the service will be taken by our Kabbalat Torah class. Kabbalat Torah was introduced as a way of allowing 15-17 year olds a means to choose to become full members of the Jewish community. There is a recognition that while Bar and Bat Mitzvahs are important children are not old enough to make the decision to accept the responsibility of being an adult Jew. As well as taking a service tomorrow which they have prepared, they will read from the Torah and explain the portion. They have spent the year preparing for this, studying Jewish philosophy and history, ethics and texts. They have been a wonderful class to teach and I am excited to watch them tomorrow and participate in what, I am sure, will be a wonderful and emotional service. I hope that all of your Shabbats are equally fulfilling, Shabbat Shalom - have a peaceful Shabbat

Is there anyone out there...?

2008-04-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Today I found myself involved in a long conversation with a member of my congregation. Like me, they are in their late 20s/ early 30s and find themselves wondering about Jewish expression as a person in their late 20s / early 30s. When we were children and teens Jewish identity was, in many ways, easy. If religion was not our thing there were social events, if social events were not our thing there were sports activities and if sport activities were not our thing then were study sessions... and all within a Jewish context. Today it is much harder, especially if you live south of the river.

I have to be honest, as much as I would love it not to be true I do not see that many people of my age in the synagogue unless they have children. Now I love mixing with people of different ages, circumstances and beliefs but at the same time I cannot help feeling that we are not catering enough for what has constantly been called our 'missing demographic'. By no means is this community alone I hear my colleagues voice similar concerns. But the problem is we very rarely hear from those people we would love to attract. So here is a challenge, if you are reading this and are in that group or know someone in that age group who is looking for some sort of Jewish connection get in touch and let me know what you would like to see happening in the synagogue – or outside the synagogue for you. Please be as inventive and creative as possible and perhaps we can get a discussion going…

The Power of Song

2008-04-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

"You will certainly not be able to take the lead in all things yourself, for to one man a god has given deeds of war, and to another the dance, to another lyre and song, and in another wide sounding Zeus puts a good mind" wrote Homer.

I sincerely hope that I have a sound mind for I most certainly was not gifted with a great singing voice. It is a big disadvantage for a rabbi for the obvious reasons. But Homer was right in suggesting that no one person can lead everything all on their own and my lack of talent in the singing arena allows others to shine!

This Shabbat, for the seventh day of Pesach, we read the Song of the Sea. This song was sung by the Israelites after they had crossed the sea in safety. One Midrash tells us that the crossing was not as instantaneous as we might have thought. The waters, tells this Midrash, did not part until one man, Nachshon, took the first brave step. I wonder if the same was true of the song at the other side. Did everyone stand there waiting for someone start the song… did they look sheepishly at each other as Moses broke into song, wondering whether they should be the one to join him. I imagine I am not the only one that has had a moment like that in shul – where we look at each other wondering whether anyone else is going to join in.

Music has the power to transform a service, to transport us from one realm to another in seconds and leave us moved. It can evoke memories and create new ones. But what happens when we can not find our voices or when our voices do not make the sounds we would like them to? Well perhaps we have to be like Nachson and just jump in there and see what happens. Another Midrash tells of Reuven and Shimon who did nothing but moan about crossing the sea. All they could see was muck and mud. However, the others looked at the miracle that was in front of them and lifted up their voices in song, expressing their awe. Tonight, I am going to try and embrace that attitude, to be like Nachson and not like Reuven and Shimon. We have a choral service tonight and as the choir lead us in beautiful music I am going to make sure my voice joins them, taking the energy that I give to worrying about my voice and placing it in embracing the wonder of Shabbat. I hope that you will join me.

Hummus...

2008-04-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

I love hummus… it is one of those foods that has the potential to transport you to another place and time. A taste of good hummus takes me back to Israel and reminds me of friends, family and wonderful memories. Last week three members of Liberal Judaism’s Yom Chinuch (Education Day) went to check out a hummus restaurant that we had been recommended. That restaurant was called the Hummus Brothers. Have a look for yourself on http://www.hbros.co.uk/ - although be warned those of you who are avoiding bread at that moment might want to wait until after Passover to steer clear of temptation. Not only was the food excellent but the staff were lovely, good humoured and very helpful. So if you find yourselves in London, craving hummus I suggest that you head on over there…

Although I will have to wait until after the weekend to try their food again I will be making my way over there today. We are hoping that the hummus brothers will be able to make an appearance at Liberal Judaism’s Education Day in June. The day is for all synagogues in the movement, designed to bring us all together to celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday. There will be a hummus and wine tasting (not together of course) and speakers for the adults, arts, crafts, music, dancing and other activities for 4-14 year olds. Specially designed programmes for religion school teachers and rabbis. If you are interested then please contact our office for more information or check out Liberal Judaism’s home page http://www.liberaljudaism.org/index.htm

Mike's Place Film

2008-04-23T04:50:00.001-07:00

In a previous incarnation I worked in a bar in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv called Mike's Place. It is a famous bar, particularly amongst ex-pats and tourists. But, for me it also provided a second family. Over the years that I was there the bar expanded into a restaurant and opened up two more branches. The reason for its phenomenal success, despite the situation in Israel, was an amazing combination of the people and the spirit that resonated in the bar. On any given night you could see any combination of people from different religions and nationalities propping up the bar. As hard as it sounds today, we talked together, listened to music together and dreamed dreams together. But, on the 29th of April 2003 a homicide bomber walked inside the bar and killed three people and injured many more.

However, none of us – either in England or Israel – were allowed to be despondent. Mike’s always promoted a strong message of peace and always held to a policy of being a haven for all, regardless of where they were from. Within hours hundreds of people heeded that message and flooded to Mike’s place to help them rebuild. The bombing was not going to be allowed to destroy the belief that a better future was possible. They re-opened and founded a charity to help all victims of terror.

We are now coming towards the fifth year anniversary of the bombing. Fate brought film-makers together in April 2003. They had begun a documentary about a live music blues bar by the beach in Tel Aviv, Mike’s Place. They had aimed to show that there was more to the Middle East than seemingly endless war and terrorism. But there filming was abruptly ended when the harsh reality of the bomb hit Mike’s Place and changed the course of their film.

What follows is the Press release for Blues by the Beach:

BLUES BY THE BEACH ONLINE PREMIERE APRIL 30TH, 2008
Blues by the Beach officially debuts on the fifth anniversary of the Mike’s Place terrorist attack. On April 30, 2003 an American producer and his film crew were in the midst of a lighthearted documentary about the popular music bar when two British Nationals participated in a suicide bombing. The film captures the unprecedented before, during and aftermath; footage from this film aired around the world.The award winning documentary film Blues by the Beach about the April 30, 2003 terrorist attack at Mike’s Place bar in Tel Aviv, Israel, is now available to everyone online via new video streaming technology from VIVIDAS. There are no downloads and no installation of programs. Within seconds Blues by the Beach is ready for viewing. This innovative technology takes up no computer memory and lets users watch video in a vibrant full-screen mode and connect their laptop to TV.Blues by the Beach is not distributed on DVD or television. The film is playing exclusively at www.bluesbythebeachfilm.com. Pay Per Views are $4.99 each and viewers get three screenings for one month - any of these three screenings may then be e-mailed to friends and family.You are invited to preview the free trailer and purchase Pay Per Views at the film’s Official Website and Online Cinema www.bluesbythebeachfilm.com. Experience this new video streaming technology and delivery system from VIVIDAS and see Blues by the Beach. As Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist and filmmaker David Mamet writes: “This is a very, very important film”. View the Film Trailer on YouTube: .http://youtube.com/watch?v=UN-ORfYk2ZE

The Wonders of Modern Technology

2008-04-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

The idea of a blog, I suppose, is that one can have spontaneous musings and that these spontaneous musings can be shared with the public at large. Aside from wondering who might want to read my musings, I have been thinking about whether there is a certain tension between rabbis and spontaneous musings. Rabbis who decide to speak spontaneously have a tendency to be long winded and here with no congregation to fall asleep in front of you there is, perhaps, the danger that we might get carried away with blogging, musing to our hearts ’content – but to little interest to anyone else. In contrast, we have all experienced the danger of the spontaneity of emails! An email comes through to you and in a rush of adrenalin a reply is sent out only for two seconds later the regret to begin to seep in. How much more so with a blog? Words that one second are in your head are suddenly out there and available to the World Wide Web community.

Therefore, I have found myself sitting here in front of the computer wondering what the purpose of my blog will be… It seems strange to write for an unknown audience, not knowing exactly what it is you are searching for. However, perhaps that is exactly the usual existence of the rabbi – putting things out there into the public sphere and hoping that it might touch someone. Rabbis, however, like everyone, need feedback – we need to know what you are thinking and whether there are things that you would like to discuss. Thus, I ask you to tell me what is on your mind. Is there something you have always wanted to ask the rabbi and never dared? Ever wondered what we spend the rest of the week, once Shabbat has finished, doing? Well now is your moment. In the meantime, I will try and share with you some non-long winded musings that will be spontaneous and without regret!

KLS goes online!

2008-02-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

So Kingston Liberal Synagogue is hitting the World Wide Web, it is about time the world had a chance to know what we are up to! These days communities take all sorts of forms. At KLS we have a wonderful, exciting and welcoming physical community I am sure that this is just the beginning of us creating a similar virtual one.

It is an exciting chance for us to be able to develop further. I hope that this will become a forum where we can share ideas, study and develop further. Through this blog I will try and let you all know what I am up to, what I am thinking about and hope that all of you out there will add comments and let me know what you think.

Today is the 29^th of February 2009. It was a day I had dreaded coming. It is not that I have an irrational fear of leap years but rather that a month from today I have to submit my thesis. As you will have realised from the title of this blog I am still a student rabbi. This thesis is the culmination of five years work and it is, I hope, all that is left between me and the removal of student from my title.

So, until the 1^st of April I am officially on study leave! This means that from morning until evening I sit in the library at Leo Baeck college and try and write. I wake up in the morning and I am thinking about my thesis, I go to sleep thinking about my thesis. When I read the paper on the train in the mornings every article seems to be talking about my thesis and when I finally collapse in front of the television in the evening, every programme seems to be talking about my thesis. I am pretty boring for my friends and family as well, well more boring than usual, as I seem to only be able to talk about my thesis. Now all this may sound odd because my thesis is on the tractate of Yevamot from the Talmud, the tractate that deals with Levirate marriage!

I am sure that by now you are all thinking what is a Liberal Student Rabbi doing writing a thesis about the Talmud, more so what is a Liberal Student Rabbi doing writing a thesis about Levirate marriage, a practice that we have long ago abandoned. If I were you I would wonder if this meant that I was out of touch with the community out there. But I would like a chance to explain…

My thesis is entitled PENNED AND PENNED –Gender Imagery and Language in the Construction of Group Identity in Tractate Yevamot. It explores the ways in which identity is assembled in the Talmud, at a time when the people writing it had been exiled. In today’s society we no longer think of life in the Diaspora as exile, indeed many of us make an active decision to live in the Diaspora. However, we are all a product of our environment and our Judaism is a product