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Issue #295 – 17 January 2008 / 10 Shevat 5768
IN THIS ISSUE:
NEW REFORM AND PROGRESSIVE SIDDURIM APPEARING AROUND THE GLOBE
NETZER YOUTH WARM UP TO WINTER CAMPS IN FSU
ISRAELI CONGREGATIONS MAKE PROGRESS WITH BUILDING PLANS
NEW REFORM AND PROGRESSIVE SIDDURIM APPEARING AROUND THE GLOBE
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) recently made headlines by introducing the North American Reform movement's first new siddur (prayer book) in over 30 years. Ten years in the making, the 712-page Mishkan T'filah includes services for Shabbat, weekdays and festivals, as well as other occasions of public worship, and texts for more than a hundred songs. Hebrew prayers, along with translation and transliteration, appear on the right-hand page, while the left has related English readings and commentaries. To assist congregations in making the transition to Mishkan T’filah, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Joint Commission on Worship, Music and Religious Living has created a website, www.urj.org/mishkan, which offers resources in understanding and leading worship with Mishkan T’filah. For order information, please see the CCAR Web site at www.ccarnet.org.
Cover of the new North American siddur, Mishkan T’Filah.
The Reform Movement in Britain is also offering a new siddur, called Siddur Ha’Tefillot: Forms of Prayer. Available this coming summer, the 750-page text will feature new material "whilst retaining a very familiar feel." It will have Hebrew prayers with transliteration, as well as commentaries, footnotes and a revised glossary. It also includes an extensive anthology and new prayers for life events. The final draft follows what the movement called an "unprecedented process of consultation" that followed the use of a draft edition by selected congregations.
Cover of the British Reform movement's soon-to-be-published siddur.
And Congregacao Israelita Mineira (CIM) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, recently published its own Siddur for Shabbat and Yom Tov. Publication was made possible by funding from the World Union's Yad B'Yad task force on Latin America, Men of Reform Judaism (MRJ)(formerly North America's National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods) and local donors. CIM is offering the siddur for use by other congregations in Brazil and can be contacted via cim@pib.com.br.
The World Union invites other national Progressive and Reform movements around the world who are also introducing new siddurim to share that information through WUPJnews by writing to wupjis@wupj.org.il.
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NETZER YOUTH WARM UP TO WINTER CAMPS IN FSU
Hundreds of campers and staff members in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have been sharing the warmth of Jewish living and learning at various winter camps held by Netzer Olami, the international Zionist youth movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
In Moscow last week, more than 80 teen campers and their staff leaders enjoyed activities and workshops that focused on the theme of “The Five Books of the Torah,” learning about the way each book reflects the development of the Jewish People. Rabbi Leonid Bimbat, one of the World Union's Moscow-based rabbis, and Rabbi Yelena Rubinstein of Israel, co-led the camp.
"Having two religious leaders resulted in a very spiritual atmosphere," says Yevegeny Leshenko, the Netzer coordinator for Russia. Nevertheless, Leshenko says Shabbat morning services were conducted by Netzer madrichim (youth leaders). "It was important for both the chanichim (student participants) and madrichim to feel part of the new generation of Reform Jewry," he says, "and not merely to be passive observers."
Near Kiev, a similar number of pre-teen and teen campers and staff members took part in a camp whose theme was: “Successes and Victories of the Jewish People.” The focus, according to Aleksei Haydar, Netzer coordinator for Ukraine, was on such historical events as the Maccabean rebellion and Hanukkah (– Is it a holiday about victory and bravery only, or a holiday of miracles?) as well as resistance efforts during the Shoah. They also studied the lives of Theodore Herzl, Albert Einstein, S. Y. Agnon, Yitzhak Rabin and Moses Mendelsohn, and their contributions to Jewish history and the Jewish people.
Michael Kapustin, the World Union's Crimean-based rabbi and the camp's spiritual leader, led Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat morning and Havdallah services, as well as eight limmud sessions on various topics. The final day of the camp highlighted Israel and Tikkun Olam, with discussions on Gilad Shalit, the army corporal held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, reservists being held by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"Being part of the world Zionist Reform movement, it was very important to us to…express our concern for Gilad, Udi, Eldad and their families, and for Israel," says Haydar.
“Jewish Festivals during the Four Seasons” was the theme for some 90 teenagers and staff who gathered in Minsk for their Netzer winter camp session. According to Nataliya Ellman, Netzer coordinator for Belarus, each day focused on a different season, its holidays and customs, and on a related theme.
Fall highlighted Rosh Hashana and creation, she said, while spring, with such holidays as Purim, Pesach and Israel’s Independence Day, emphasized renewal. Summer, with its often oppressive heat, prompted the theme of destruction and discussions about Tisha B’Av. Typical of Netzer camps, the madrichim conducted Shabbat morning services on their own, symbolically assuming responsibility as a new generation of Jewish leaders.
Young campers observing Shabbat at Netzer camp in Ukraine. Rabbi
Kapustin reads from the Torah.
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ISRAELI CONGREGATIONS MAKE PROGRESS WITH BUILDING PLANS
Several congregations affiliated with the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism have recently made major strides in their quest for building facilities for worship and community activities.
• Kehillat Yozma in Modi’in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, recently took delivery of a prefabricated structure provided by the housing and construction ministry. (You can watch their video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uLGvWcyczA.) The structure was installed on an acre of land allocated several years ago by the city, and more recently signed over by the interior ministry. With three pre-school classrooms already in place, Yozma is currently conducting a capital campaign to build a permanent synagogue and community center.
• Congregation Or Hadash in Haifa recently received approval from the municipality to acquire adjacent land to allow it to expand. While it has long had a permanent home it can call its own, high atop Mt. Carmel, it has outgrown this facility and embarked on a fund-raising campaign to construct a new wing.
• Congregation Darchei Noam (Web site is in Hebrew) in Ramat Hasharon recently completed the foundation and basic structure for its new building and will hold a tree planting ceremony on the site next week to mark Tu B'Shevat, the "Hebrew Arbor Day." Iri Kassel, executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, recently praised the congregation, saying that despite the retirement of its rabbi last year, Darchei Noam – without a single paid staffer - is building a synagogue thanks solely to the efforts of its enthusiastic and dedicated members.
In addition, this past Shabbat, Jerusalem's Kehilat Har-El held special Golden Jubilee services and programs in honor of its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1958 as the ''Association for the Renewal of Religious Life in Israel," it is Israel's oldest Progressive congregation and has been in the same elegant building just off King George Street in the center of town since the early 1960s. It is led by Rabbi Ada Zavidov. The congregation paid tribute to its past rabbis and lay leaders, and received special congratulatory greetings in person on behalf of the World Union from its vice president for international development, Rabbi Joel Oseran.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
January 29-February 3, 2008 – Annual conference of the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean (UJCL), Kingston, Jamaica
February 21-27, 2008 – Annual conference, TaMaR Olami, various locations in Israel
February 27-March 20, 2008 – “Shalom India: Seeing India through Jewish Eyes” tour, led by Rabbi Fred Morgan of Melbourne, Australia
March 6-16, 2008 - Second URJ Adult Study Program in Israel at the World Union's Anita Saltz International Education Center
March 13-16, 2008 – Biennial conference of the World Union’s European Region, Vienna, Austria
May 15-19, 2008 – World Union mission to St. Petersburg, Russia for the dedication of Sha’arei Shalom Synagogue-Center.
July 3-13, 2008 – World Union mission to Brazil and Argentina, culminating in the biennial conference of the World Union’s Latin America region, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
March 17-23, 2009 – CONNECTIONS 2009 – The 34th international convention of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
