Eep- Essay kvetching

Writing this application about what I see as the biggest challenges facing the Conservative movement and how I want to use my rabbinate to face them, I feel like it sounds like I should be saying that I want to go into Kiruv. And I don't. I want to write so that Judaism feels right and makes sense to people, and to make interesting rituals accessible to people, and I want to do some teaching just so people have the skills for approaching text confidently for themselves, and I want to work with the elderly so they have good access to religious life and Jewish learning and are not being ignored. I don't want to go out and tell people that it's my way or the highway. Darn it, I Don't want to go into Kiruv. No way in heck. I want to show people how much there is out there in Judaism, that's all. I want to present all the complexities and how incredibly beautiful they are, and not scare people. I want to help Jews be more sophisiticated thinkers about their Judaism.

And well, I want to address things that aren't just challenges to Conservative Judaism- I don't think I need to be that insular. I may be a Conservative Jew, and I may want to be a Conservative rabbi- but my first allegiance is to Judaism as a whole. Taking care of our elderly isn't a Conservative problem, it's a fundamental obligation on humanity, and making sure that they have Jewish outlets and honoring them for all that they have done is just as fundamental to Judaism as teaching Torah to our children is. It just isn't a Conservative issue, it's a human issue. Now how do I fit that into this darn essay?

Eep- Essay kvetching

Writing this application about what I see as the biggest challenges facing the Conservative movement and how I want to use my rabbinate to face them, I feel like it sounds like I should be saying that I want to go into Kiruv. And I don't. I want to write so that Judaism feels right and makes sense to people, and to make interesting rituals accessible to people, and I want to do some teaching just so people have the skills for approaching text confidently for themselves, and I want to work with the elderly so they have good access to religious life and Jewish learning and are not being ignored. I don't want to go out and tell people that it's my way or the highway. Darn it, I Don't want to go into Kiruv. No way in heck. I want to show people how much there is out there in Judaism, that's all. I want to present all the complexities and how incredibly beautiful they are, and not scare people. I want to help Jews be more sophisiticated thinkers about their Judaism.

And well, I want to address things that aren't just challenges to Conservative Judaism- I don't think I need to be that insular. I may be a Conservative Jew, and I may want to be a Conservative rabbi- but my first allegiance is to Judaism as a whole. Taking care of our elderly isn't a Conservative problem, it's a fundamental obligation on humanity, and making sure that they have Jewish outlets and honoring them for all that they have done is just as fundamental to Judaism as teaching Torah to our children is. It just isn't a Conservative issue, it's a human issue. Now how do I fit that into this darn essay?

Spell Check Confusion

Why does my computer know the work kashrus and not the word kashrut? Does Steve-the-computer have a preference for Ashkenaz Hebrew or Yiddish?

Spell Check Confusion

Why does my computer know the work kashrus and not the word kashrut? Does Steve-the-computer have a preference for Ashkenaz Hebrew or Yiddish?

Halakhic Thought

So the egal minyan at JTS does not give the first and second aliyot to a kohen and levi, respectively. However today the person to whom they gave the first aliyah was a kohen. And they went on about their usual progression, so the next person was not a levi, nor did they give the second aliyah to the same person. And I understand not giving out aliyot based on that status issue, and since it was established for the sake of peace, I wouldn't complain about a minyan that does not hold by it for the sake of peace. But once you do call a kohen for the aliyah- I do wonder what the best choice of action would have been. On the other hand, they had handed out the aliyot in advance, and I know that once you call someone, you don't replace them, even if you should have called someone else- so maybe handing out the aliyot has some of the same status. It's just an interesting thing to think about.

Halakhic Thought

So the egal minyan at JTS does not give the first and second aliyot to a kohen and levi, respectively. However today the person to whom they gave the first aliyah was a kohen. And they went on about their usual progression, so the next person was not a levi, nor did they give the second aliyah to the same person. And I understand not giving out aliyot based on that status issue, and since it was established for the sake of peace, I wouldn't complain about a minyan that does not hold by it for the sake of peace. But once you do call a kohen for the aliyah- I do wonder what the best choice of action would have been. On the other hand, they had handed out the aliyot in advance, and I know that once you call someone, you don't replace them, even if you should have called someone else- so maybe handing out the aliyot has some of the same status. It's just an interesting thing to think about.