Is back

not that I went away but the late-summer & early fall has been QUITE a busy time. Surgery, start of school, kids growing…you know, little things. Thankfully, “life” has starting to align itself (just in time for the start of soccer season) here in November, so I can dedicate more time to using this space. Of course, it also helps that I’ve finally started my Intro to Judaism classes…

Tisha B’av

Unfortunately, I’ve had to change my plans for this evening. My recovery from sinus surgery last Friday has not gone to plan at all; the short of it is that I’m still feeling pretty lousy/not getting much sleep/etc. Consequently, I’m not going to the Tisha B’Av: The Rise and Fall of the Jews of Spain lecture at my (can I say this now?-maybe) temple [insert sad emoticon here]. However, I’ve included a bit of background readings on today’s remembrance. I’ll try & post some more tomorrow during the periods of time where I’m not feeling lousy.

From Tablet Magazine: What Is Tisha B’Av?
From Hillel: THE 17TH OF TAMMUZ, THE NINTH DAY OF AV AND THE THREE WEEKS
From Hillel: A TISHA B’AV LEARNING

What constitutes a ger tzedek?

An interesting piece from Forward; the short is that the government of Israel is adding new guidelines on time spent/studying in a Jewish community.  The proposed policy includes not only a quota system for time spent as a Jew and restrictions on relatives living in Israel, but also sets the precedent for future qualifications on Jewish identity; as determined by the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel.

Personally, I’d LOVE to able to log 350 hours of study with my rabbi/variety of rabbis in my conversion process.  But such quotas miss the point.  Attempting to answer the ‘who is a Jew?’ question on the basis of “graduation requirements” waters down both the spiritual actions of individuals, but attempts to quantify a part of life/identity that is wholly qualitative.  Heschel would certainly not agree with such a quota, despite his strong opinions about how watered-down American Jewry had become in the middle of the 2oth century-but I digress.

The author nails it on the head when he states that, “Jewish philanthropies have spent millions of dollars in recent years trying to reverse the assimilation and reclaim the allegiance of American Jews. In light of those efforts, shouldn’t we do everything we can to remove the obstacles before those who want to become Jews, and want to take the profound step of living in the land of their new ancestors?”  I can’t see the logic in a minority-group’s attempts at determining I should connect with G-d.

Parshat Devarim

See also: Devarim

From American Jewish World Service: Parshat 5768 Devarim/Additional Commentary

Tzedakah: Heifer International

One of the themes in this week’s lesson focuses on the perspective of history.  As a social scientist and a teacher, I’ll avoid a long dissertation on the academic nature of the subject.  My own experience tells me that a person’s or family’s history is as variable as we make it.  I could not have predicted that, at 35 years of age, I would be at this station in my life.  My relationship with my wife, children, friends, my career, and (most surprisingly to me) my faith, are far better than I would have ever planned for even a few years ago.  As Moses suggests in the parsha, “history is what we do with what happens to us.’  I feel enlightened every day to continue to make a new and more meaningful history for myself, my family, and even others who I will never know around the world (through tzedakah).  It is the meanings and lessons found in the Torah that help to inspire this enlightenment.

This week, I’ll be heading to Temple Beth El on the evening of Tisha B’av for Rabbi Pam Mandel’s presentation on The Rise and Fall of the Jews of Spain.  This is one of the things that I truly love about being a Jew; the study of history.  On a personal note, I head off to have surgery on my sinuses & my deviated septum tomorrow afternoon.  The down time should allow me to brush up on my Sephardic history, mostly from Johnson’s History of the Jews.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parshat Matot/Masei

See also: Matot/Masei

Parshat Pinchas

via G-dcast

Also for this week…

Dvar Tzedek (American Jewish World Service): Parshat Pinchas

Weekly Tzedakah: Nothing But Nets

Even at the beach, no one is an island

We went to Red Reef park this morning for the first time in a while.  Cher and I enjoyed a quiet read and conversation in the sun, while the girls swam and looked at fish in the near-glass ocean.  Around us, other families, couples, and individuals were engaged in similar experiences.  One of the things I love about Boca Raton/South Florida is our cosmopolitan culture and lifestyle.  During our brief, 90-minute trip to the beach this morning, we heard families converse in Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.  While we usually take these sorts of moments for granted here in South Florida, our family’s recent trip to Ohio reminded me that not every social setting embraces pluralism and diversity as we do here in South Florida. (I’m not having a go at Columbus or the Buckeye State here; its just that South Florida is a very diverse locale.)

I reflect on Rabbi Heschel’s essay, No Religion is an Island.  The Rebbe’s point was that no one individual, group, or theology could properly maintain a monopoly on truth or connection to G-d that is superior to others.  More importantly, Heschel recognized the interdependent and pluralistic nature of humanity, in both the physical and spiritual domains, in the presence of G-d.  Consequently, it is our obligation to personally embrace the wonder of life, the universe, and everything (to borrow from Douglas Adams) and simultaneously recognize that our individual beliefs are not the only way to connect to what is holy.

Sitting on the beach, humbled the vastness of the ocean and sky, interdependent in the light of G-d.

Because a PhD in Politics doesn’t suffice

I expect that the “why?” question is going to hang out here for a while; its something that I can’t possibly address in a single post/essay.  I probably will never have a complete answer to this-thus the beauty to become a Jew by choice.  That said, I’ll begin with the premise that after Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in politics (international and comparative) and two years of study at the PhD level (long story), I still know very little.  The Rambam said that, “Teach thy tongue to say ‘I do not know,’ and thou shalt progress.”  I’ve come to recognize that for all my 35 years worth of living, my 11 years of marriage, 8 years as a parent, etc. I still have so much more to learn and embrace about life.

This is not to say that I feel naive, unworldly, or uneducated-far from it.  I read & discuss constantly; from politics and history (my passion), lectures & books in the fields of physics & biology, literature on business and creativity, as well as classic and modern texts on religion & philosophy.  As Cher-my wife-will attest (she will feature prominently in these posts), I also have a strong penchant for discussing anything and everything I read.  All of you who’ve ever spent time with me at the pub, in a tour van, in the classroom, or almost anywhere will also agree with this assessment.  Cher & I have also traveled extensively throughout the U.S., made the occasional jaunt to either the Caribbean and Canada, and plan (as soon as the girls can stay for an extended period of time with relatives) to embrace a long, winding trip through Europe.

And yet…

Knowledge is not something you simply accumulate.  Like capital, knowledge is only useful if its fungible.  What I can say about my learning so far is that despite our better efforts, we humans simply fail to understand most of the world we in habit.  If you need reinforcement on this point, read Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.  My own study of politics either a) is limited in its insight in explaining human behavior, b) that the study of politics is at its best when it is reflective and historical, not necessarily predictive, c) is narrow in its scope, relying on other disciplines to , and d)-most importantly-fails to provide a holistic approach towards living. We humans are rational beings, but also reflective, intuitive, creative, and reactive entities.  Psychological and cognitive studies demonstrate that human decision-making is a far more complex process than simply a rational calculation of interests and preferences.  Its not that interests, preferences, capabilities, opportunities, and the like aren’t important; but that’s not all there is (not by a long shot) .

Consequently, a PhD in Politics, Economics, Sociology, or even Religion does not suffice in and of itself in explaining the complexities of the human condition.  Greg Graffin‘s poignant words, “no Bad Religion song will make your life complete,” applies to nearly everything. No single academic discipline, epistemological standpoint, ontological program, or other worldview can offer a complete explanation or guidance for practice in our world.  Recognizing this fundamentally human of limitations should make us not throw up our hands in a crisis of existentialism, not throw the scientific baby out with the bath water of post-structural criticism.

Rather, I see my embrace of Judaism as an evolutionary step in my own consciousness towards helping to understand and live a more meaningful existence in  light of the wonderful complexity that is life.  The insight and intuitive knowledge (yes, along with the history, politics, and philosophy) of Judaism offer pathways for different and deeper meaning than I could find simply by sitting in a classroom, crunching data-sets, or prowling lecture halls.  One of the reasons I have chosen to convert is because I am curious.  Judaism may not offer all, or even very many answers, but the process and path I have chosen will undoubtedly bring more insight and a greater appreciation for myself and all I hold near and dear.

My abbreviated bibliography

I won’t do formal book reviews now for two reasons; first, it would take too long. Second, I’m sure I’ll have to do the same for my Rabbi at some point, and I want those to be fresh.  I also have a ton (it seems like) of books on my “to read” list. All of these have either taken over space on my desk at home or are at the top of the queue of my Barnes & Noble wish list:

Buber (I’ll try I and Thou again, plus On Judaism); Dorf (The Way Into Tikkun Olam); lots more Heschel (Man is Not Alone, The Prophets, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, Who is Man?, Between G-d and Man, A Passion for Truth, plus somehow find his 1964 lecture series at Stanford); Kaplan (The Meaning of G-d in Modern Jewish Religion); Solovetichek (The Lonely Man of Faith); Kushner (The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition); Steinsaltz (The Essential Talmud, The Thirteen Petaled Rose); and Weisel (Wise Men and Their Tales).

If anyone has suggestions, please email me. That said, I’ve spent the past year delving through a number of texts, in addition to my Tanakh, podcasts, and lectures. In any event, here’s my list:

Introductions

Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Judaism

Sylvia Barack Fishman, The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness

Robin Chotzinoff, Holy Unexpected

Anita Diamant, Choosing a Jewish Life and Living a Jewish Life

History (this doesn’t cover geopolitical history such as Marcus’ 1913, Morris’ 1948 or Oren’s Six Days of War.)

Max I. Dimont, Jews, G-d, and History

Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews

Philosophy

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, G-d in Search of Man

Edward Kaplan, Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Eyes Remade for Wonder

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and David Mamet, Five Cities of Refuge

First posts are normally awkward, but

this one actually isn’t; for me anyway.  I’m going to begin my process of converting to Judaism.  For my friends and family, save for my wife, this will come as a rather stunning piece of news.  I hope to use this forum as a venue to discuss, explain, and to reflect on this journey.  This decision is neither knee-jerk or without foresight.  I’ve spent the last year or so thinking, reading, and trying to articulate my ideas about becoming a Jew.  While I’m comfortable with the path I have/am/will continue to choose, there will be times when I vent my inequities, problems, as well enlightenment here on these pages.

In the words of Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, it is now time that my “eyes [are] remade for wonder.”