Very late May 2006 Newsletter

Beth Ami - Colorado Congregation for Humanistic Judaism

THIS NEWSLETTER IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE DENVER/BOULDER AREA SECULAR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM COMMUNITY!

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Jon Budoff

As I’ve been reading the newsletters from other congregations, I’ve been very impressed with many of the Presidents’ letters.  Some provide a lesson in Jewish history.  Others provide an analysis of current events.  Since I am neither well versed enough in Jewish history to provide a lesson, nor do I feel qualified to provide any sage wisdom on current events, I will continue to deal with matters for which I do feel qualified – practical matters.

Over the last few months in the Executive Committee meetings, we have had some very good discussions on how to make Beth Ami function more as a cooperative.  Since we have no central “spiritual” leader, such as a Rabbi, and no paid staff, I feel that it is essential that we find a way to get all members involved so that the burden of planning and implementing events does not fall disproportionately on the shoulders of only a few members.  I understand that members have differing abilities to contribute.  We have to find a structure that facilitates members’ contributing in the way that is most appropriate for them.

In addition to having differing abilities to contribute, members may have different levels of desire to contribute also.  It is an interesting question whether people should have the “right” to just pay dues to Beth Ami and enjoy the programs, without being asked to do any more.  My personal opinion is that while this may work fine in some organizations, it doesn’t work so well in ours.  It is easy to join a large, established congregation where all that is expected of you is to pay dues.  In a small congregation like ours, with a struggling philosophy like Humanistic Judaism, I think it takes more.  I think it takes everyone contributing to make this work.  But that is just my opinion.  I will tell you that I have no intention of trying to put in place a system that “requires” members to contribute in certain ways.  At this point, I think the best we can do is find a system that makes it easy for members to contribute to making the congregation work and grow.

When my wife Toni and I made the decision to join Beth Ami back in 2004, we did so with the express desire to try to make a difference.  We started looking at congregations back in 2003, primarily to give our kids a Jewish education and a feeling of belonging.  We originally looked at Beth Ami in January 2004, but decided not to get involved because there was no school.  After checking out several other congregations and deciding that we didn’t feel comfortable with any of their philosophies, we decided to give Beth Ami another look.  When we joined, it was primarily to help get the school off the ground. 

I will say that when we joined in June of 2004, the idea of taking over the presidency a little more than a year later didn’t even enter my mind.  I accepted the nomination, reluctantly, for two reasons.  The first was totally pragmatic – there was nobody else stepping forward, and I believed that all the work everyone had done in the previous two years “resurrecting” Beth Ami would be lost if nobody stepped forward as President.  The second reason was that I feel passionately about Humanistic Judaism.  When I found HJ, I felt it was the philosophy that I had been looking for my entire life, even though I wasn’t actively looking for most of my life because I didn’t think there was anything out there for me.  A part of me was actually disappointed to find that it had existed the whole time but that I didn’t know about it.  I truly believe that there are a lot of people out there who feel similarly, and for whom HJ would be a great fit.  So one of my desires is to do everything I can to increase the public’s awareness of HJ, and of Beth Ami.

One of the key things we need to do to increase the public’s awareness of Beth Ami is to build a sustainable congregation.  This means having an organization that can continue to offer what people are looking for without requiring extraordinary effort on the part of one or a small group of individuals.  To have this, we need to have enough members so that we have a solid pool of volunteers to do the necessary work, and we need to continually be pulling in new members to add to the pool, or at the very least to replenish it as other members move on to other things.  I once asked Rabbi Miriam Jerris how big a congregation needs to be to start reaching this goal.  She said she sees 50 households/families as the minimum.  Right now, we are at 31 households.  Whether or not 50 is the magic number, I don’t know, but I do believe we still have a ways to go.

I believe that in the last two to three years, we have done all the right things to move toward this goal of sustainability.  We have offered interesting and compelling programs, Holiday celebrations, and other events on a regular (monthly) basis.  We started the school and have now completed our second full year.  We have been holding regular meetings of the Executive Committee and other committees.  We have been participating in marketing opportunities to network and get our name out there.  We have recently even started to expand our offerings with the kickoff of the new book club.  And I believe we are making progress.  Last year, we had six new families/households join our congregation.  And several new members have stepped forward to help make things happen.

Yet with all this progress, we are still “on the edge”.  Many of the members who have been contributing the most are burned out, or are unable to continue contributing as much for other reasons.  And it appears that the loss of even one or two key people still has the strong potential to disrupt our momentum.  So until we reach the point where our pool of volunteers is big enough, I believe that we have to continue to ask more from our existing members.

In the next couple of months, the focus in the Executive Committee meetings will shift to preparing for the Congregational meeting in August.  High on our list will be coming up with a new slate of recommended officers for the congregation to vote on.  It is my intention to not continue on as President for another term.  I am proud of what we have accomplished in the last nine months, and I thank all who have helped to make it happen.  Although much, if not most, of the “heavy lifting” of planning and implementing events over the last nine months has been done by others, the demands of keeping it all together and moving forward, along with the obligations that Toni and I have at home raising four young children, have begun to be a bit overwhelming.  Toni and I will remain involved with Beth Ami, but plan to focus our efforts instead on continuing to grow and improve our Jewish Cultural School.  With no heir apparent for the role of congregation president, we are in a similar situation to where we were this time last year.  I encourage all of you to step forward to take a leadership role, or give your ideas on how we can move forward, and hopefully we can find a way to make this work out.

On the upside, exciting things continue to happen at Beth Ami.  Our birthday party and picnic are coming up in June, and we will have a musical program showcasing the talents of Beth Ami musicians in July.  And we are very excited that Rabbi Wine will be joining us in October for our Yom Kippur service.  We will form a separate committee in the near future to plan our High Holiday events and other events that will happen when Rabbi Wine is in town, so again I encourage all of you to take part.

I will end this extraordinarily long President’s letter with a question for all of you.  This is a question that was asked in one of our Executive Committee meetings, with somewhat interesting answers.  The question is – What does Beth Ami mean to you?  And what would you do if this opportunity to participate in a Humanistic Judaism congregation no longer existed?

To Benefit Beth Ami!
Beth Ami has joined the Amazon.com Associates program, which pays our congregation a commission on any purchases you make through a link on our main web page. You pay regular, low Amazon prices for books, music, household items, or anything else on the Amazon web site - items you were going to purchase anyway. Only now your purchase benefits the congregation!!  You can now also shop these stores at Amazon.com - Target, ToysRUs, BabiesRUs, OfficeDepot.  Just click on the link on our website, which will take you to the Amazon.com home page, to ensure Beth Ami benefits from your purchases.

BETH AMI JEWISH CULTURAL SCHOOL

Gerrie Karasik

School’s out, and the end-of-year parent meeting scored high marks for Adam and Suzanne, teachers, and curriculum. Several constructive suggestions were discussed for next school year. We all wish Suzanne Zarnow success in her upcoming academic adventures and thank her profusely for her time and energy as teacher. Next year, our school will remain at the Westminster Recreation Center. Gerrie will schedule planning sessions with teachers this summer.

SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS

Calendar events will be updated on the website, www.bethami.com.

For Jewish events in Boulder, link to www.boulderjcc.org.

For Jewish events in Denver, link to www.jccdenver.org.

·       June 10 - Beth Ami's Annual Picnic and Birthday Party at Robby Ferrufino Park in Arvada at 10:30 a.m.  

This is a great park with close-in parking, play areas for the kids, a pavilion with picnic tables, a walking path, and lots of space to play in.  We will have the grills fired up, so feel free to bring any meat you'd like to throw on the grill.  Beth Ami will provide the birthday cake and drinks, and everyone should bring lunch for themselves and their families.  Please see http://www.bethami.com/June_10_2006-Picnic.htm for details and directions.  

·        June 11 – Executive Committee Meeting – 10 a.m. at the home of Sheila Malcolm, 280 S. 39^th St., Boulder. Call 303 499-5933 for directions.

ALSO, the 12^th Annual Boulder Jewish Festival will run 11 to 5 p.m. The family oriented celebration of Jewish culture is on the Pearl St. Mall in front of the courthouse. Plan on arts and crafts, continuous musical entertainment, informative community booths, a kids’ area, silent auction and food! www.boulderjewishfestival.com

·        June 17 – BASH Book Club Kickoff at 11 a.m.  *Details below

·       June 29 - An Evening with Nobel Laureate, Elie Wiesel, author of Night, a New York Times bestseller and one of "Oprah's books." 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theater, 1621 Glenarm, Denver. Wiesel has been nominated as one of the 100 most influential people by Time. For more information, please contact Lisa Shaoul at 303.316.6487.

     Ticket Prices: Students $20, Adults: $40, $60 and $100. Tickets on sale at www.ticketmaster.com, 303.830.8497.

·       July 15 – Executive Committee Meeting – 10 a.m., location TBA

·       July 22 – Havdalah and Musical Program at 4 p.m.

·       August 19 – Executive Committee Meeting – 10 a.m., location TBA

·       August 26 – Annual Congregational Meeting in the a.m., followed by lunch and schmoozing

·       September 16 – Executive Committee, 10 a.m., location TBA

·       September 23 - Rosh Hashanah Service at 1^st Universalist Church, followed by picnic at Mamie Eisenhower Park

·       Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 Rabbi Wine visit to Denver for High Holidays

·       October 1 – Evening Yom Kippur service and Kol Nidre with Rabbi Wine at 1^st Universalist Church

·       October 20 – Shabbat at Aspen Village

·       October 21 – Executive Committee Meeting – 10 a.m., location TBA

COMMITTEE NEWS

Ellen & Bennett Inkeles

*New Jewish Book Group Starting…
Please join us for the first meeting of BASH, a new Jewish book group co-sponsored by Beth Ami and Shir Chadash. Beth Ami is a

Denver/Boulder-based humanistic congregation; Shir Chadash is a Denver-based progressive, egalitarian congregation. The mix of philosophical approaches to Judaism should make for enlightening and rollicking discussions. We hope to meet five times during the year on a third Saturday of the month. In the future, dates, times, locations and titles will be determined by the group. Bring along a list of titles you’d like to discuss as well as you favorite brunch potluck dish. In the meantime, please plan to come to the home of Shir Chadash-member Rachel Lederer.
Date: Saturday, June 17
Time: 11:00-1:00

Title: Born to Kvetch by Michael Wex

RSVP: Ellen Inkeles: 303-779-6741 or beink@iglide.net When you RSVP you’ll get directions to Rachel’s home.

The Program Committee is STILL Looking for a Few Good People!

The Beth Ami Program Committee is looking for additional people to help plan and carry out the monthly programs being offered.  The Committee meets monthly.  If you are interested in quality events that meet the needs and interests of our members, please join us. This year will be particularly important because of Rabbi Wine’s visit in October.  Also, with more members, the committee can better distribute all the tasks that need doing to make sure all events come off smoothly.  For more information, contact Barry Levene at blevene@ecentral.com or 303-750-4317, or Ellen/Bennett Inkeles at beink@iglide.net, or just come to the next Program Committee meeting.

LOCAL EVENTS

Performances begin June 6 for the Denver Civic Theatre production of The Yiddish Are Coming, the Chosen Musical! This spontaneous, light-hearted review celebrates the rhythms, culture and hilarity of the “chosen people,” who want to be in the “show business.” Tickets are available at King Soopers, or TICKETSWEST AT 1-866-464-2626, or the DCT Box Office at 303-309-3773.

LINKS

The following were recommended by Bert Rothschild: 

www.jewishresearch.org/
Scholarly research and publishing.  There are books and other items for sale.

www.myjewishlearning.com/
Full of information about Jewish life, history, ideas, etc.  Very interesting and not focused on religion.

NEWS FROM NATIONAL

RABBI MIRIAM S. JERRIS RECEIVES SHERWIN T. WINE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

Barbara Bloom, Development Associate

As a leader of the Society for Humanistic Judaism for the past 35 years, Rabbi Miriam S. Jerris has maintained that people are not just at the

center of a Humanistic Jewish philosophy, they are the very heart of the movement.  Reaching out to individuals and congregations, she has been

instrumental in organizing communities from San Diego to Portland, New York to Florida, in Minnesota, Arizona, and beyond.  On April 28, at the Society's

annual conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rabbi Jerris became the recipient of this year's Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime AchievementAward, honoring

years of work exemplified by dedication, devotion, adherence to and activity in the Secular Humanistic Judaism Movement. The award was established by Bert Steinberg, a member of SHJ and SanFrancisco's Kol Hadash congregation, in 2003 in honor of the 75^th birthday of the movement's founder, Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine.

In 1972, Rabbi Jerris served as the national president of the Society prior to becoming SHJ's first executive director from 1980 to 1995.  She is currently the Society's Community Development Coordinator. Jerris has a doctorate in Jewish studies, a master's degree in Near Eastern studies, and a master's degree in humanistic and clinical psychology. Ordained as a madrikha in 1988, Jerris was ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. She is a member of its faculty.  Jerris has served on the boards of most movement organizations and is currently the vice president of the Association of

Humanistic Rabbis.  A specialist working with Jewish intermarried families, she has officiated at hundreds of weddings and baby celebrations,  led dozens of intermarriage workshops and seminars, spoken to Jewish organizations, and is a regular contributor to www.interfaithfamily.com, a Web magazine serving the intermarried population.  Jerris has raised two children in Humanistic Judaism.

Reflecting on her rabbinate, Rabbi Jerris cites five key characteristics that have shaped her role as a leader, teacher, and mentor:  1) tikkun halev, healing the existential pain of human existence through compassion; 2) supporting people to accept responsibility for themselves and the goals they wish to achieve; 3) nurturing Jewish identity; 4) increasing Jewish literacy; 5) being open to creative alternatives as they relate to liturgy and celebrations. Rabbi Jerris' personal philosophy resonated with this year's conference theme, "Thinking Outside the Box:  Building, Growing and Inspiring Humanistic Jewish Communities." 

Following is an article from JTA — The Global News Service of the Jewish People. For in-depth coverage of the latest developments affecting Jews all over the world, click: www.jta.org <http://www.jta.org>  

 

Without any help from God, Humanistic Jews look to expand
By: Penny Schwartz

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 8 (JTA) — When Rebekah Rosenfeld was 10 years old, she started the “I don’t believe in God” club. A logical choice for Rosenfeld, since she was raised in a secular humanist Jewish family in Rochester, N.Y.

“We didn’t actually do anything,” Rosenfeld recalls with a chuckle, “but I had this idea that I was going to form this atheist club. I even made up application forms.”

Now, 11 years later, a junior at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia, Rosenfeld admits she is not so sure. Rosenfeld, who delivered the teen and young adult keynote address at the conference of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, describes herself as on a search, and says that while she values her upbringing, she is trying to find a level of observance that is comfortable for her. Rosenfeld’s search exemplifies the challenge faced by the organization.

Founded in 1969 by a small group led by Sherwin Wine, an ordained rabbi who left the Reform movement, the Society for Humanistic Judaism rejects the concept of God. Instead, adherents celebrate Shabbat, holidays and b’nai mitzvah ceremonies, emphasizing Jewish identity through the lens of Jewish cultural and historical traditions. At a time when Jewish organizations are continuing their seemingly eternal quest to attract younger Jews, leaders of the Society of Humanistic Judaism say the tenets of their philosophical, humanist approach to Judaism most resembles the secular character of a majority of Jews today. Its leaders are embarking on new initiatives to attract new members in the United States, Israel and, increasingly, in Europe and South America.

The April 28-30 conference of 120 participants from across the United States attracted 40 teens and college students who participated in workshops such as Women in Humanism and volunteered for a community service program at a local charitable organization. The conference posthumously honored Sigmund Freud on the 150th anniversary of his birth. The society says the beliefs of the leading figure in modern psychology epitomized the tenets of secular Judaism.

The humanistic movement would be wise to avoid the tactic of merely trying to reel in young American Jews, cautions Joshua Neuman, who is editor and publisher of Heeb Magazine, which caters to young Jews in their 20s and 30s. In his keynote speech at the Cambridge, Mass., convention, Neuman, who is not affiliated with the movement, describes his generation as having no connection to organized Jewish life, “although many [have] a feeling of deep connection to their Jewish identities.”
Young people are looking for authentic experiences, and are drawn to “real, open-ended conversations where there aren’t preordained answers, and about what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century,” Neuman told JTA. The Society for Humanistic Judaism is in a unique position to connect with young Jews if they respond to these needs, he says.

The appeal of cultural Judaism to young people is evident in the rise in interest in Jewish college courses, says Susan Shapiro, associate professor of Judaic studies at the University of Massachusetts. “There are clearly students who would not take Judaic studies courses if they are about the Jewish religion, but they would take courses on Jewish culture,” says Shapiro, a member of the board of the Center for Cultural Judaism in New York, which provides grants to her department as well as other Judaic studies programs to develop and teach courses. Courses on Jewish culture offer a “way in” for many students because they come from secular families, or because they are not religious themselves but want a connection, Shapiro says.

While a majority of Jewish college students define themselves as secular, this does not mean they subscribe to the principles of humanistic Judaism, says Amy Sales, co-author of the recent Brandeis University study “Particularism in the University: Realities and Opportunities for Jewish Life on Campus.” Sales cautions that college students don’t use the same language used by followers of humanistic Judaism. “We find that there are students who define themselves as secular or non-denominational Jews but they’re not atheists.” The mission of attracting new members of all ages rests in large part on the increasing number of leaders being trained in the secular Judaism movement.

“We feel we are serving a part of the Jewish people who have not been adequately served before and that gives us great gratification.”

From the first humanistic congregation at the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills, Mich., in 1963, the Society of Humanistic Judaism has grown to 31 local branches in North America serving 10,000 members. While the society began with individual memberships, they found people were looking for a group or congregation, explains Rabbi Miriam Jerris, director of the society’s international rabbinic program. The rabbinic program, which Jerris says includes traditional studies of biblical text, Talmud as well as practical studies in congregational life, is a four-year program, including one year of field work. Students are required to have at least an accredited master’s degree in Jewish studies, which they can earn simultaneously, Jerris says. They must also know Hebrew.

With 11 ordained rabbis in North America, the society is attracting a growing number of students into its own rabbinical program. Since 1997, eight rabbis have been ordained, and three more are enrolled in the four-year program, says Jerris, who was the group’s first executive director. Jerris has known Wine since her childhood, when he was the rabbi at her Reform congregation in Canada.

Last Friday, Rabbi Peter Schweitzer was inducted as the first full-time humanistic rabbi in New York, at the City Congregation, a humanistic congregation that will receive a $50,000 Pivnick community development grant established by Lorraine and Ben Pivnick. Adat Chaverim in Los Angeles is the second recipient of the three-year grant announced at the conference. Schweitzer, who like Wine was ordained in the Reform movement, left his position at a Reform congregation in 1982 when he realized his secular beliefs did not mesh with the Reform philosophy.

But the latest and most exciting frontier for the society is unfolding in Israel, according to Wine, where, in December, for the first time, nine rabbis who are enrolled in the Israeli branch of its rabbinical institute will be ordained.  Others will follow, Wine predicts, as there are 34 Israeli students currently enrolled in the institute, located in Jerusalem.

“Israel was established by secular Zionists, not by conventionally religious Jews,” Wine says. But Wine says that there has never been a movement that has adequately served the philosophic or spiritual needs of the mostly secular Jews in Israel.  Wine points to the large number of Israelis who go to India following their army service. “They’re searching for some kind of message,” he says. “We weren’t sure what the response would be,” Wine recalls of the decision to establish a rabbinic institute in Israel, at the urging of an Israeli rabbi who was ordained in the North American program. “Most secularists had been hostile to any form of ‘institutionalization.’ But we found there were a considerable number of people interested in becoming secular rabbis.”

The Israeli rabbinical students range in age from 30 to 50 years old, and are choosing a second career, Wine says, many having worked as teachers, social workers and community organizers. “They really feel they have a mission. They have organized themselves as a group of people who can perform secular ceremonies for people, for newborn babies, bar and bat mitzvahs, and funerals, and are beginning to create their own communities.” 

SEND A LITTLE SMILE…

Please contact Maida Deborah if you know of someone who is ill, needs help or is celebrating an important life event!

In the spirit of modeling the above request, your editor would like to mention that she is retiring this June from the Boulder Valley Schools after 31 years of teaching just about everything to children and young adults with an array of special education and regular education needs, mentoring new teachers in the Teacher Assistance Program and most recently teaching reading to English language learners in middle school. She has been hosting the parents of her exchange student from Mexico, who, like her own two wonderful offspring, just graduated from Fairview High School. Sheila and her engineering husband of 25 years, John, are also preparing, in their own unique ways, for Ride the Rockies. Due to her extensive party schedule, she apologizes for the delay of this publication, and knows that she will have fewer excuses in the future, unless, of course, she is in Guatemala or NYC or the west coast of Ireland or…

This newsletter will be published at least four times/year with the goal of communicating events and information to inform our members and those interested in celebrating "Jewish culture and identity consistent with a humanistic philosophy of life." Kindly send submissions by email to sheilamalcolm@comcast.net. (New email)

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Last modified: 11/05/06